The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-25 00:00:00

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found Mr. Thomas saying that he himself had called upon
the plaintiff, and that the account which had originally ap-
peared in their paper was true, they were morally, though
perhaps not legally, justified in inserting the report of the
meeting at Gloucester. The Learned Sergeant concluded a
long speech by calling upon the jury not to make the de-
fendant?; pay what it would neither be honourable nor credit-
able for Mr. Bellers to receive.
Mr. Baron PAsuu having summed up, the jury retired, and
after an hour's absence returned into Court, giving their ver-
dict for the plaintiff, with 1501. damages.
This was the last cause that remained to be tried, and upon
its termination Mr. Baron Parke proceeded to try prisoners.
Both of the Learned Judges will be occupied till a late hour,
and Mr. Sergeant Talfourd is gone forward to Monmouth
with the intention of opening the Commission there, if one o f
the Judges should not arrive to do so in person by ten o'clock.

THE FACTORIES BILL.
(From the Leeds Times.)
We shall not stop at present to inquire into the mo-
tives of the majority of the Members of the House of Com-
mons, and whether they would have been equally ready
to concede a measure of justice had the clients beet►
their own wretchedly oppressed and over-laboured serfs,
and had the question concerned their own " vested
rights," and rents, and mortgages, and class interests.
It is enough that a great act of moral justice has been
done—an act of unquestionable humanity—of real
practical philanthropy and benevolence. We therefore
hail the success of Lord Ashley's motion with feelings
of almost unmingled joy and satisfaction.
The case of Lord Ashley and his supporters is based
upon irrefragable evidence. Long-continued labour is,
deleterious to the human constitution in any case, but
especially where the tender frames of women and chil-
dren are concerned ; and the tendency of the factory
system, of late years, has unquestionably been, to ab,,orb,
a larger proportion of female and infant labour, to the
great detriment and injury of the entire working popu-
lation. They have taken the place of men in almost all,
departments in some factories—especially in Lancashire.;
the consequence of which has been that women, anct
children are employed, while men are thrown idle.
Nature's arrangements are thus entirely reversed, and
the father, instead of being the supporter and the guar-
dian, becomes the dependent and the domestic drudge of
his wife and children !

And what is the consequence as regards the women
and children themselves ? The most fearful degradation
—often the most appalling vice ! The sacred character
of woman has been terribly lowered. Withdrawn from
their domestic functions, their homes have been nece,..4a •
rily neglected ; the social and family ties have been
broken up ; children have grown up uneducated aud
entirely neglected ; the domestic affections, by *Web
society is held together, have been crushed and de-
stroyed ; and woman,—instead of being the domestic.
helpmate of man, the mistress of his household, the ma.-
nagg of his home, the mother of his family,—has be•
come his fellow day-drudge, the ,rival competitor wtea
him for labour, and often also the participator, if not the
rival with him, in his bad and vicious practices.
Who can doubt the magnitude of these evils ? Who
can overlook then'', or refuse to alleviate or remove
them ? Now, Lord Ashley's motion does not propose to
take women and children
_out of the factories, as the
same Legislature has already taken them from the coal-
mines. It merely lays down what is considered to be a
proper day's work for the women and children employ( d
in factories. The Legislature has already established
the principle of interference in such matters, and it now
merely carries the principle forwards in the salutary dt-
rection. If anything, Lord Ashley's motion is too ex-
acting: looking upon this solely as a question of' hu-
manity, we consider ten hours' daily labour in factories.
far too much for either women or children. Lord'
Ashley's proposition is, therefore, in our opinion, an e&..
ceedingly reasonable one; and, if the Legislature is, to
interfere at all, it cannot do less than affirm the Noble
Lord's motion.

But do not let us shut our eyes to the immense eon.-
sequences involved in the passing of this clause of Lord
Ashley's by the Legislature. A ten hours' labour bill
for women and children will also prove a Ten Hots'
for men ; because, when the women and children quirt
work in mills, they constitute such a large prepedefer-
ance of the factory operatives that the men must quit.
also. Well, then, a Ten Hours' Bill will be the neces-
sary consequence of the final adoption of Lord Ashley's:
clause. And the next result will be a general reduction.
of wages in proportion to the limitation imposed up .ist
the duration of factory labour. The reduction may be
to even a greater extent than this, if means be not
adopted by the Legislature to open up new channels of
trade and commerce. But certainly a reduction to the,
extent we have mentioned—in other words, by about;
one-sixth of the present weekly Ni iures of the facto-4r
operatives will take place immediately on the enacttr.ent
of a Ten Hours' Bill by the Legislature. _

We state this to prevent subsequent disappo;:atment
on the part of the operative classes. As for the mas-
ters, they are mostly in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill,
and a large proportion of them, during the last few
years, have been working their mills considerably under ,
the time prescribed by Lord Ashley's motion. Of.
course, they have done this from necessity, and not
from choice ; and most of the operatives have heta
obliged to be satisfied with a`‘ short time" wage. Ali
they know that it was no inure than reasonable that
they should be paid in proportion to the duration of
their labour, as is the case in all other employments. Orr
the same grounds, Lord Ashley's motion, which en
forces permanent short time of working, will enforcer
also a permanently reduced wage, unless large remedial
measures are adopted to prevent it. And without tAcla
measures, the limitation of the hours of factory 4Abour
may yet possibly be regarded as evsn a mer„suilv oft
merciless injustice. •
(From the Leeds Mercury.)
By a strange combination of mistaken friends af huinan%ty wit/1
men who deliberately aim to cripple the manufacturing interest,
Lord Ashley has been enabled to carry his amendment millet Fac-
tories Bill, to restrict the labour of women and young persons
under 21 years of age to 10 hours a day. This extraordinary vote
was given by a majority of 179 to 170, on Monday last, against
the decided and strenuous opposition of the Government, and
against the declared and strong opinion of the Factory Inspectors.
Several of the Members who spoke in favour of Lord Ashley's
amendment seem to forget that the true principle of e ocial eco.
nomy is to leave industry free and unrestrained; and that this is
not a principle of small importance, but one vital to. the pro.po.
city of a nation, and connected with the persone.i liberty, tia
dearest rights, and the substantial comforts of the ~,eople.
They seem also to forget that factory labour is not compulsory;
it is purely voluntary. A factory worker, if 0,41 t of liealth, or d,s,
satisfied with his treatment or remuneration., or induced by
any personal or domestic circumstance,'br even by caprice,
may quit his work whenever he pleases. He sees men in a
thousand other occupations around hint. and he may change Its
line of life whenever he thinks at, I( so doing he could better
himself.

They forget, too, that the wages of factory workers—ter
they are high, comparatively_ obtain for them better food, better
clothing, better houses, .nd more of all the comforts of life, con.
ducive at once to bealth and to respectability, than could be had
for the lower Wages which abridged labour could purchase.
They fe:rget, when talking of the selfishness of manufacturers—.
who, by the way, are no more open to the charge than any otl.cr
class of men, and not so much so as that class which produces
hitual scarcity of food in the country, for its own pecuniary advana
tage—that the profits of the manufacturer are indisriolubly con.
nected with the comforts of the labourer. Profits and. wages rise
and fall together, and you cannot destroy or reduce the former,
without equally destroying or reducing the latter.
They apparently forget, that though the Legislature may fix a
maximum of labour, it cannot fix a minimum. Id cannot prov.de
that the mills shall work ten hours, or eight hours, or at
The talk about equalising labour is pure nonsense, To dimin.al,
the productiveness of industry, has no tendency Winatever to make
the demand for it more steady,

They seem to forget that the grand cause of the superior wea.til
and greatness of England is the superior industry and energy of ifs
inhabitants ; and that whatever fetter* the latter endangers the
former.

They seem, almost without exception to be ignorant that the
price of mantifactured goods cannot be raised or kept, 'op. at the
pleasure either of the manufacturers or of the hovAe consume',
(howreVer self.denying the latter might be.) It governed lie
long as we are an exporting nation) by the price of similar produds
in the markets of the world; and that price is ?,uelf governed 11
the cost of production in the country where goeija can be made the
cheapest. When we cease to manufacture cheaper than othw
countries, we must cease to export; but we 'cannot cease to export
without ruining the country and starving Yta inhabitants. . Would
this be "humanity P"
Many, who talk of banishing wom,er, and children from tLe.
mills, and setting adult men to do lb.eir work, forget that Vas
would be to degrade adult labour both, in Its character and its te.
muneration. When men do the vw nk of women and children,
they can only receive the wages of: women and children. 'I 1.. s
is the sole reason why the hand-loona weavers receive such miser.,
able wages—it is work which womer c and children can do nee eV
as well as men. But if the women . and children should be chi% en
out of the mills, and the husba:ade and fathers should only receike
the wages which women and chile hen received before, what wot
kl
be the condition of the families t Their wages would not be rt.::
duced a sixth, but at least a halt, perhaps tyro-thirds! And MA?
would this conduce to the coma Jrt of the working classes P—
to their health P—or to their educ ation and moral improvement?
If we believed that the workin ,g class would be advantaged bye
Ten Hours' Bill, we would supp ort it with all our 'Aearts. We
would do it for their own sakes, because they are by, far the greater
number, and therefore their inte rests are more sanportant both ha
the eyes of God and of all good, men. But We would do it clae
for their masters' sakes ; for we know that what was good for tf e
workmen would be good also for the masters. The interests of o.e.
two are identified. Capital and labour will ride upon the stmt
horse as long as the world lasts.

But Inasmuch as we believe that! this measure is not called for
by humanity—that its effects wou Id be the reverse of what I.u.
Inanity would desire--that it Inc ceeds on a principle which is
dangerous to liberty—WA it wou' id be very perilous to the trado
of the country, and all who dif spend upon it—that it would sits:
a most formidable-advantage to .our foreign competitors—knd tht.t.
therefore it would bring prverty, misery, and consequent demo.,,ralizationt'aistead of happiness 'to the community—we feel bound
to raise our warning voice agar ist it.
Themill-owners of Leeds, 'both in the flax and the woollen
hades, have sent up a memorial and deput,..tion to London, to
protest against the ten hours" clause. Br,.c we find the manufac.
turers in Manchester, Husid ersfield, raid other towns are very
supine; for which two reasons are ealeged—lst, they do not be.
lieve it possible that Government van allow the Bill to pass ; and.
2d, they are so disgusted and -wvaried out with the yearly inter..
ferences or threatenings of th e Legislature, that they have becomes
hopeless or sulky.

We think they are very wrong. If they do not protect them-.
selves, they may rely wenn it no one else can efficiently protect
them. If they are indifferent to their own interests and characters,
they must not be surprised at. the loss of both.

•
DRURY-LANETHEA.TRICAL FUND FESTIVAL.-011
Saturday the committee of this charity were engaged iat
making arrangements to give effect to the festival to b e heldl
at the Freemasons' Tavern on Wednesday next. The semi-
tary, in announcing the manes and liberal donations r,f many
illustrious and distinguished persons who had becor ne vice-
presidents, took occasion to communicate to the o ammittee
the gratifying intelligence, that Miss Burdett C;outts had
honoured the fund with a donation of 50L ; tha t Monsieur
Duprez had sent a very kind letter, enclosing f . cheque for
101., as a " tribute to a charity founded and end 'awed by that
great master of his art, David Garrick, for his, less fortunate
brother artists ;" that Mr. Webster, I:essee of tine Haymarket,
and Mr. Maddox, lessee of the Prit.iceses, lvid consented to
become vice-presidents, fsubserilsin-handsome donations;
and that Miss Rainforth, Miss. P. Morton, M Buddens, oil
the grand pianoforte, lit.Oury, on the violin, the Misses
Williams, and Messrs. W. Harris
,on and Leffler, had kindly
condescended to volunteer their I Jrilliant services at the fes.
tivaL His Royal Highness the President and Chairman will
be attended by the Marquis o' Clanricarde, Viscount Rane-
lagh, Lord Wm. Russell, hl
a e Gore, Esq., M.P., James
tagu
Matheson, Esq., JA.P., Sph

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