The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-08 00:00:00

THE COMIC PAPERS.

(From Punch.)

THE REAL "CAPTAIN OF THE WATCH."—" The
Captain "—just launched—and all congratulation on your
child, Captain Cowper Coles.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE ?—Gold has many properties,
but we never knew that it could feel a desire fur drink,
until playbills and posters told us of The Thir,t of Gold
at the Olympic.
. _

A PRIENDLY SUGGESTION.—The " Miners" are amongst
those on strike at Preston. Would it not be well for all,
br,th masters and men, to be " minders'' of the advice of
such counsellors as
AN EXCEPTIONAL 'A- - eom.
~eat about the weather which we have had
minrcilt-he past month. Nevertheless, atter an, tins lasi,
March has been none so dusty.

REVIEWING THE PAST.—What the Volunteers would
like to have, when they go again to Dover, would be a
Walmer reception by the Lord Warden—and the
weather. They hope the next tide they see there w:11 Le
a Whitsuntide.

A Item AHEAD.—A telegram from Madrid has agi-
tated our Foreign Office by the portentous information
that :" In to-day's sitting of the Cortcs, Senor Orense
gave notice of an interpellation respecting the future of
Gibraltar." That future some Spaniards wuld fain have
us make a present of, by presenting them with Gibraltar.
As long as Gibraltar is necessary to our maritime position,
don't they wish they may get it ?

(From Judy.;
THE FOOT GUARDS.—Boots and shoes.
NOT A BILLY-DOUX.—Mr. Gladstone.
MOTTO FOR THE LIGHT BLUE EIGHT.—" After Dark."
THE LATEST CABINET QUESTION.—" Who shall be
nearest?"

OF COURSE IT ISN'T !—Unlees we are very much mis-
taken, Mr. Gladstone will shortly find that the "Bench
of Bishops" is not to be sat upon, at any rate by him.
FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR. —Mr. Bright doesn't feel him-
self quite so free to act as he did last year, having specu-
lated rather much lately in Treasury Bends /
A WORD OF ADVICE.—The cotton spinners at Preston
are now on strike. Judy advises them to get back to
work again as soon as possible, or else their condition
may shortly turn out to be one of Reel di: tress !
LORD DUNDREARY AGAIN.—When his lordship recently
saw the announcement that a little pamphlet, under the
title of " Gardening All the Year Round," was in the
press, he wittily remarked that he himself had just been
" Weeding All the Year Round!"
BROTHERS IN HE ROIS3I. —All the world gives its meed
of praise to that noble animal which Mounts St. Bernard
to rescue the snow-covered traveller from his icy bed ;
and the other "Doggy" who descends Brierley Hill Pit, as
Tom Brown recently did, to save his fellow man, is equally
worthy of that praise !

From the Owl.

WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT LIKE THE SUN?—Because
when it is not Lowe it is Bright !
THE TABLES TURNED.
The Grammar School, Birchington.
Dear Owl,—We are all delighted to hear that there is-a
clause in the "Endowed Schools Bill" which compels tha
masters to be examined. What fun ! Do you think they
will allow the boys to examine them? We would do it
capitally. This is the sort of paper work we should give
them.—Your affectionate OwLETs.
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS, PRACTICAL AND CRITICAL,
2 TO 4 P.M.

I.—Write out 100 lines.
2.—(a) Do you believe the story of Romulus and Remus?
(b) Or, Do you think the wolf merely represented the
schoolmaster of the period ?
(c) If you do not believe it, have you ever tried to
look as if you did?
3.—Give an anatomical analysis of the floggahle por-
tions of the human frame, having special regard to their
relative sensitiveness.
4.—Define "swipes," " sky blue, de resur-
" "pat 6
rection," " squish," and " scrape."
s.—Subject for Latin Elegiacs (not to exceed 250
lines) :

" The Minimisation of Small Beer."
6•—Supposing you to have given "an extra week at
Christmas" on the occasion of the birth of each member
of the Royal Family; what has been your aggregate
saving in butchers' meat since the A ccession of her
Majesty ?

On 7ruesday morning the town of Wigan was alive
with a rumour that a sec,lnd explosion of fire (lamp lind
occurred at the pits of Messrs. Mercer and Evans, in Park-
lane, Ashton, near Wigan. An accident, indeed, had oc-
curred, but happily no very serious damage was caused.
Shortly before ton o'clock in the morning, a portion of the
brick lining of an up-cast shaft, which had probably been
loosened by the explosions frequently occurring during
tho combustion of the coal, and which bad escaped notice,
became detached from the sides and fell down the
shaft to tho Pemberton four-feet seam. The descent of this
mass of material had the effect of reversing the ventilation
for a few moments, and the ascent of the smoke up the
down-cast gave tho impression that an explosion had oc-
curred. The news spread, and the wives and mothers of the
men working fn the pit wore soon anxiously moving to-
wards the shaft._' liie true facts of the c_itee were, homer,
tolin knumui _

THE FACTORY INSPECTORS' REPOR2'.-

The reports of the inspectors' of factories for the half year
ending October, 1868, have been issued, and form an octavo
volume of goodly size. They contain a great deal of useful
information concerning the application of the new Factory
Acts to the miscellaneous trades and occupations of the
country, and to the educational questions connected with
them. In the first place it is satisfactory to find that few
instances have occurred during the half-year, in which it
has been necessary to prosecute offenders under the Factory
Acts. In the district of Mr. Redgrave, the senior in-
spector, there were only twenty manufacturers he felt
called upon to proceed against.,Of the 5,396 occupiers of fac-
tories under the earlier acts only 16 have been prosecuted,
and of the 7,580 occupiers of works under the act of 1867
only three, and in one of these three cases the prosecution
was undertaken with the view of settling a doubtful point
of law. It is, as Mr. Redgravo observes, most gratifying to
find the good feeling and co-operation increasing in every
class of works. The number of accidents reported 2,789, is
much larger than the previous year, but that is owing to
the regulations being better known. Mr. Redgravo is of
opinion, however, that most of these reports are
useless, and more than half the accidents were not
caused by machinery, and many. of the remainder
were purely accidental. It is worth notice, however, that
Mr. Baker, the second inspector, holds a different opinion on
this point. Mr. Baker thinks that it is highly important the
origin of all accidents should be ascertained. There is often
negligence or indifference or dislike to incur expense on the
part of the owners, and great carelessness or nonchalance
among the workers, and a dangerous amount of curiosity
among the now hands. It is stated that since the accidents
in mines have been carefully inspected the number has been
greatly reduced, and it is hoped the same result will follow
the accident reports in the factories. Mr. Baker advises the
compulsory maintenance of all sufferers by accidents from
unprotected machinery by the employe; with pensions to
families whose head is killed by such prevent:blo disasters.
Another point on which Mr. Baker diffors from his colleague
is that of the surgeon's certificates. At present the em-
ployers aro obliged to obtain a surgical certificate of age for
every young person under eighteen whom they employ, a
regu ation which Mr. Redgravo thinks is needlessly oppres-
sive, as the registrar of births could supply tho requisite in-
formation. This clause in the act excites a good deal of
discontent among the employers, who have to pay the
surgeon's fees. Mr. Baker, however, is anxious to main-
tain the law as it now stands, believing that it pre-
serves us from the physical evils produced by
factory work. The 'Workshop Regulation Act has woi ked
very well, and is likely to do much service. In every con-
viction under it during the half year the offence was the
illegal employment of young girls and women. Some diffi-
culties exist in the way of enforcing all the Acts in special
cases. Thus many tobacco manufacturers are Jews, whose
scruples prevent them from employing- women and young
persons on Saturday, while the law fi.rbi Is tLem to Co so on
Sunday. The job printers, too, aro dissatisfied with the re-
strictions imposed on them, while the establishments for
needlework of various kinds suffer from the enforced limita-
tion of their hours. In this case, It mover, it would be
necessary to proceed very carefully in the way of relax-
ing the law. The educational effect of the Factory Acts
is not their least important aspect, and we are sorry to find
that as yet they have proved valueless in raising the stan-
dard of education in the metropolis. Mr. Hendersor, ono
of the sub-inspectors, says that, with one solitary exception,
he is not aware of any children attending school under
the Act of 1867 in his division. Employers have made no
effort to adopt the half- time system, because they can
get as many young persons over twelve as they choose to
employ. With regard to the half-time system itself, it is
noticeable that these reports fully confirm all that has been
said of its advantages. In spite of the general advantages
of the Scotch in the matter of education, only 46 per cont.
of the factory children of Edinburgh could read and write,
while in Leeds, Rochdale, and Blackburn, where the half-
time system is adopted, the percentage was respectively 67,
66, and 76. The several inspectors advise some slight
modifications or alterations in the Acts, though sanguine as
to their general effects, and on the whole the impression loft
by their reports is encouraging.