The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-14 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Bodily Exercise. By Thomas Hopley, F.S.S.
Houlston and Wright.
This is the third of a series of lectures on the
education of man, written in a plain and practical
style, intended for general reading, ;and aiming at
placing in a new and striking light some of those
great physical and physiological laws which bring
such severe suffering on- those who disregard them.
A few of his " prefatory words" are sufficient to
speak for themselves :
" Upwards of one hundred thousand human beings are
annually perishing in England from preventable diseases.
" In Scotland and Ireland the preventable mortality is
comparatively even greater than in England.
" Upwards of thirty per cent. of all the men, and upwards
of forty-three per cent. of all the women, who marry in
England, sign the marriage-register with a mark.
"In Scotland and Ireland the people are not less igno-
rant than in England.
" Throughout the length and breadth of the land crime
prevails."
Allowing for a little extravagance of style, the
lecture is plain and straightforward, within the
comprehension of all readers. It forms one of a
series intended for popular instruction, which treat
of the most important of the natural laws. The
one before us insists on the importance of muscular
exercise, and especially laments the injudicious
management of the young, in schools more particu-
larly :

"And now to reflect upon the general routine of what
are termed fashionable boarding-schools for young ladies.
I allude more particularly to the schools of London and
other large towns ; though even in our smaller towns, where
for the most part beautiful country invites from every side
to healthful and elevating recreations, schools for females
are rarely more philosophically conducted than if the heads
possessed not their golden opportunities. In these esta-
blishments, then, studies of some kind or other are generally
progressing for about an hour before breakfast. The pupils
occupied with their various tasks are during that period
either quietly sitting or quietly standing. In other words,
the muscles of the spine, &c., are, as we have seen, in a
state of contraction, engaged in supporting a very heavy
weight. A slight bend forward now and then, an inclina-
tion to the right or left, or any alteration of the posture of
the back, would be very grateful to the system : fresh
muscles would be brought into activity, while ethers would
find repose. But young ladies must sit or stand upright,
and must not fidget ;' and so their tired muscles must con-
tinue on duty. Now comes breakfast, during which
the condition of the back remains the same : the same
muscles are still taxed to keep up the same position.
After breakfast there is perhaps half an hour's relaxation,
when, studies recommence, and the wearied muscles of the
spine are again summoned to exertion. The upright
_posi-
tion must be maintained till noon or one o'clock. Then
comes the formal, spiritless walk, during which an erect
carriage is to be practised, and the arms are not to be
swung. Thus these poor, unfortunate muscles, already
over-fatigued by supporting their heavy burden so many
hours, have still to continue m their unnaturally contracted
condition—are, in fact, altogether deprived of that real and
proper exercise shown to be so requisite for their invigora-
tion—while muscular activity is almost entirely confined to
the lower limbs. Dinner follows, and with it a repetition of
the postures of breakfast: the same muscles are still taxed.
The afternoon is a repetition of the muscular exertions of
the morning. Tea-time is another period of toil, which is
generally followed by another hour of upright study. Then
comes the interval allotted to repose ; and during slumber
these wearied muscles remain in a state of comparative re-
laxation. With the dawn of morning, wearied and weak-
ened as they are from the treatment of the preceding day,
they are excited to a renewal of the routine."
At the conclusion of the lecture is inserted a paper,
entitled " Wrongs which Cry for Redress," which
forcibly exposes the evils and injustice from which
the working classes suffer. The cruelty which
keeps the dressmakers' apprentices at work for
eighteen hours at a time has often excited
public indignation, and the details quoted
from the Parliamentary evidence are fright-
ful. It would seem that this evil will never
be effectually dealt with while, dressmakers are
allowed to have apprentices. These establish-
ments are not alone in their unjustifiable demands
upon their workpeople. Some of the evidence
from the bleaching and dyeing establishments is
equally startling. The picture of the poor little chil-
dren, under ten years of age, toiling at the injurious
employments of lace . running and drawing, or
" dipping" in the earthenware manufactories, is
very distressing. The long hours are the great
evil everywhere. The following extract, from the
evidence of workers at bleaching and finishing
works for cotton and woollens, speaks for itself
" I have scores of times seen both men and children asleep
at their work, and very dangerous work too" (No. 10).—
"Very often they go to sleep over their work" (No. 51).
" I have had almost every day to take a board and beat it
on the table to waken them, as they were slumbering at
their work. At that time they would be hooking cloth
and while they should be doing it I see them nodding and
trying to catch the hook" (No. 83).—" As to the older ones,
I have often and often seen them down asleep, not being
able to hold up for their work. If the manager had gone
out, they would drop down in a minute in the packing-
boxes and go to sleep" (No. 68)..—" We have often gone to
sleep on the tables, or with our heads on the wet cloth, or
anywhere where we could sit still", (No. 378).—" The little
ones very often fall asleep standing to their work: They
fall asleep standing before their hooks. I have to keep them
awake ; and my heart is so sore for them that I cannot
speak to them. I have worked at bleach-works, in the
finishing-room, twentT years, and it has always been so in
all the works where I have been" (N o. 462).—" It falls
very hard upon the weaker boys. I have often seen them
sleeping on their legs, and I have done so often myself. Their whole frame suffers. I have known at least eight
in the last twelve years who have fallen into consumption
and,died." (No. 414).
" This retiring from work to die is of course very common:
" I have buried one little sister ; my parents always
thought it was from the long hours. She came here at ten,
and was fourteen when she died, and she used to work very
long hours. She was ill" (that is, off work before she died)
"ten days only" (No. 223).—"1 have often been ill from
working in the great heat. My leg is now bad from it,
and the doctor told me I must give up. The girls :very
often suffer from it; go away and die from it and the long
hours" (No. 646).
Ten consecutive witnesses (pp. 42-44) employed at different
establishments, mention "many cases within their know-
ledge, of boys and young men having been ill and off work,
and who have died from the long hours" No. 422).
But perhaps there is nothing in this report more touching
than the patient and almost despairing anxiety shown among
the operatives for a protecting law :
"We are all most anxiously looking for the bill" (No,
420).—" Is there any sign of a ten-hours bill being gotten"
(No. 213) ?—" Is there any chance for the bill being passed
this session" (No. 240) ?—" I feel very tired many times, but
I dare not stop. I would like the short-time bill" (No.
211).—" I know that all in this room are very anxious for
the short-time bill" (No. 221).—" Every girl in the room
would like a short-time bill, though they would earn less
wages" (No. 276).—" I should like the short-time bill very
much" (No. 278).—" I have talked to them many a time
about the hours being shortened like the factories. They
wish that time would come" (No. 462).—" We have long
been waiting for the short hours" (No. 494).—" We all
very much want the short-time bill" (No. 495).—" They
all wished for the short-time bill very much" (No. 509).—
"The short-time bill will do us all good" (No. 543.)—" I
have seen the girls, when they have been taking a piece
from the pulling-up machine, fall asleep : one of them was
not ten years of age. The child looked as pale as a piece of
the cloth. I have seen men take this child in their arms
and say they wished they could see it in London in this
state ; that is, so livid and wan from the work. I mean
that if they could see such things in London, they would
know that there was a want of a bill" (No. 68).
It is mortifying to find, after reading the evidence
given by so many different labourers, foremen,
doctors, &c., that the Parliamentary committee
arrived at the conclusion that " the labour of women
and children in bleaching, dyeing, finishing, making
up and packing work, should not be restricted by
legislative enactment." It is still more so to find,
after reading the subjoined evidence given before a
Select Committee of the House of Lords in 1855,
that Lord Shaftesbury states in the following year
the state of things was made worse owing to the
failure of the attempt to restrain them :-•-•
MISS SARA.II COULSTON, EAMINED:—.I
[This witness had worked in two establishments with
Mrs. Elizabeth Eartrup, and of course could attest the same
facts regarding those establisments as were attested by Mrs.
Bartrup.]
Earl a Shaftesbury—With respect to the establishment
in which you worked without Mrs. Bartrup, what was the
number of hours you were employed was worlcea there
from six in the morning till twelve at night.
Lord Elgin—Habitually ?—Yes ;* all through the season.
For how many months was the season P—l was only
there four months myself ; I would not remain any longer.
During the whole of that time you worked from six in
the morning till twelve at night ?—Yes, sometimes later ;
but those hours were the shortest that I ever worked.
Lord Privy Saal—What was the average age of the young
persons that worked there P—From 14 to 27.
Were there many as young as 14 P—There were two
about 14 and 15.
Were they worked the same hours as their elder com-
panions ?—Yes.
Earl of Shaftesbury—Did you observe the effect of this
work upon their health and strength F—Yes, upon every
one of them ; I have seen them sit and faint, t, and left to
come-to as they liked, or as they could, and no notice taken
of them.
Earl of Malmesbury—What time did they give you for
your meals in that establishment ? Sometimes ten
minutes. We used to breakfast at seven, and we dined
about two ; we had nothing between those hours.
You had only ten minutes for dinner?—There was no
stated time ; but that was about the average time that we
were allowed.
Lord Bruce—When you worked those very long hours,
did you get any rest the day followingY—No ; even if we
did not go to bed till five o'clock, we got up at the same
hour.
Lord Privy Seal—From what you know of the present
condition of the trade, would you say that the majority of
the establishments are adopting the long-hour system P
I think they are.
You think that it is as bad now as it ever has been P—l
think it is.
Lord President—Have you ever observed any cruelty
exercised towards these young ladies beyond keeping them
at work so many hours P—Yes, I witnessed one very cruel
action ; Miss Newton wished that I would complain of it at
the time, but I did not. One of the young ladies was very
ill indeed, and yet she was obliged to work at the business
until after twelve at night ; and when the doctor was sent
for to her, he said she ought to have been in bed weeks ago,
and that she had been in a very bad state of health ; she had
sat and cried over her work every day a long time before
the doctor was sent for ; she died a week after she had
advice ; she was worked till the very last moment she could
sit up.
Lord Privy Seal—But they did not work her after the
doctor had pronounced her unfit to work P—No, she was
obliged to go to bed ; and she never got up again.
The.plain and succinct classification of these start-
ling facts reflects great credit on Mr. Hopley. We
heartily commend the good sense and straightfor-