The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-20 00:00:00

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TO WOKEN.

A FEW WORDS BY ONE OF THEMSELVES, THE AUTHORISES
OF "A BIPB-LONG STORY."

A pamphlet, entitled An Appeal to the Women
of the United Kingdom, on a Subject demanding
Immediate Attention, has just been published by
Messrs. Houlston and Wright, Paternoster-row,
price threepence. Every woman in England should
get a copy. It is a compilation of facts which thrill
humanity to its very centre. These have been
collated from minutes of evidence given by the
Queen's Commissioners appointed to examine into
the system of overworking in dyeing, bleaching,
and finishing establishments, and are disseminated
by a few noble, loving-hearted women, who, like
the prophet of old, " weep and sigh" over the sins
and sorrows of the land. Earnestly and solemnly
do they exhort their countrywomen, in city, town
and hamlet, to be at once " up and doing," and by
pouring in petitions to the Legislature, praying
that its power-arm may be extended in its legiti-
mate office of protecting the weak against the
strong ; and, as it did in the case of the factory
children, put a stop to this English Legreeism.
There is not a woman in this favoured land who
may not become the active, radiating centre in this
her pre-eminent mission, trnd who may not practi-
cally second the thrilling " appeal." Only let her
realise her responsibilities, and resolve to give
neither " sleep to her eyes, nor slumber to her eye-
lids," till she has thrown herself " between the dead
and the living; and this plague may be stayed."
Fearing the further loss of time—inexpressibly
precious in this case,—by waiting for abler and
better hands to be put to the noble work, the writer
has ventured to beseech attention to the full and
clearly-stated directions in the " pamphlet" alluded
to ; fearing, moreover, to trespass on the ever ready
courtesy of our editors in opening their columns to
any advocacy of the claims of down-trodden hu-
manity, only one extract from the minutes of evi-
dence will be given :—" Their ages vary from 7 to
20. They work in the stoves; some with blood-
raw feet, others with feet scorched and blistered by
standing eighteen consecutive hours on the burning
hot floors ;—sometimes too exhausted to move, they
throw their worn-out bodies on piles of unfinished
goods, and snatch a few moments' sleep ere the re-
curring eighteen hours of toil comes round. They
frighten the children to keep them awake."
Can anything be added, by way of comment, on
this sickening expose ? This, in the land that spent
millions on millions to rescue the swarthy African—
" Heir of the selfsame heritage
Child of the selfsame God"—
from the Satan-forged chain of slavery ! This, in
the land of bibles, and pulpits, and " societies,"—
the eye of Christianity ! And for what ? For what
are souls and bodies seethed in the blood-stained
crucibles of England's labour market ? Why does
the cry, "How long, oh ! Lord, how long !" go up
to the bright throne of heaven from wailing women
and white-lipped childhood ? Why ? That their
quivering thews and sinews may be transmuted
into gold !—to slake the fever-thirst of mammon !
to enable England's traders in human flesh to play
" fantastic tricks" in the sunshine of prosperity, or,
most likely, when " dust to dust" shall requiem all
their grandeur to evoke
" Hell's loudest laugh,
The pride of dying rich 1"
Let us for a moment contemplate young fresh
life, subjected to this Egyptian bondage. Infants
of 7 years old offered up on the shrine of this mo-
dern Moloch ? Let us fancy it, we who love to see
rosy childhood, bathing its untroubled brow in the
flooding beams of midday sun, or sleeping sweetly
when midnight unfurls the sable banner. We,
who if death invades the domestic fold, and bears
away the pet lamb, evermore put out of sight the
toys of the little hands mouldering in the quiet
grave. Can we—dare we know " such things are,"
and remain at ease ? Nay ! the echo of ten thou-
sand phantom voices around us thunders Nay !
Let us then be "up and doing !" Let us, with
all our energies, act in accordance with the spirit
of this heart-stirring " Appeal to the Women of the
United Kingdom." How else shall any one of us
stand before him, at whose glance earth and heaven
shall pass away, and hear the withering sentence--
" Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of
these, ye did it not unto me. Cast ye the unprofit-
able servant into outer darkness, there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."