The Sun.
London, England, 1818-03-25 00:00:00

APOCRYPHA TO MACKLIN'S BIBLE.

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N ANALYSIS of BLACKSTONE's COM-
ENTARIES on the LAWS of.ENGLAND, in a series
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Commentaries on the Laws of Englat-id, by Sir William
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jIIE PRACTICAL GARDENER; or, Im-
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'IV This %York contains the Laying-out and Culture of the
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.THE QUESTION BETWEEN THE COTTON SPINNERS
AN THEIR LABOURERS.
TO TH E EDIT( )R.
111 ROBERT P
EEL'S.BILL, now tinder the
LY consideration of Parliament, which involves the grand
question at issue between-the Owners of Cotton .Factories on
one hand, and the Friends of Humanity on the other, touch-
Ing-the extreme Measures, of Labour at present imposed On
Children and others employed in thote Factories, is calculat-
ed to interest the feelings of every man whose heart is alive
to the cause of truth and justice, and open to the tender claims
of weakness and of youth. As one who is not insensible to any
orthese impresSiont, and kelt b'-sides some regard for the
reputation of the, town of Manchester, I beg to offer a few re-
flections on this Most iurportaitt and interesting subject to
the notice of- the candid and the humane.
And that I may not lose sight of justice in remembering
mercy, let mesfirs,t profess that, deeply as I deplore the evils
of a system which seems to me to rival in wretchedness that
of a Slave Plantation undrir the torrid zone, yet aan I far from
imputing cruelty of disposition to the owners of Cotton Mills
indiscriminately. That there are amongst them Gentlemen
of enlarged minds and real benevolence, lam slispose&to be,
lieve ; and it is the more lamentable to reflect, that the asso-
eiatiOns of habit and self-interest should have powers to warp
• even the gentlest natures, and blind the most virtuous and
'honourable minds. It is on this prinCiple, no doubt, that
we are to account for the line of conduct which, I understand,
has Vreen adopted by the Proprietors of these Establishments,
in sttenuonsly opposing the Bill now before the -House of
Commons fur curtailing the present exorbitant hours of la-
hour ;. for surely, those are exorbitant 'hours, which oblige
Children of even six, seven, and eight years, to foil in heated
rooms for Fobrieen or Fifteen floors in a thy, and grudge
the little labourers the fresh air of Heaven, and the noon-
tide rest, enjoyed by the very benstt of burden. There is a
written law, Sirs, that will not, I am sure, be denied by the
Gentlemenln -question, which says, a good moo is merciful
to his beast. How much rather, I would ask, will he be
merciful to his Servants ? Put the case, their, that those Ser-
vants are Children: bow gentle and how just will be the
good man's authority over the meekest and the gentlest of the
Minim] race. 'Bust this is a strange world, and society teems
with contradictions. There seems to Ire something in the na-
ture of a Cottons Mill, I know not whether it be steam,or bad
air, or the scintillations of lucre amidst the precious flocks,
that can work up into activity the worst parts of our nature,
and deface tire best, so that the warp of human-kindness (to
speak in the idiom of the trade) shall become, as 'it were,
lost in the weft of sordid gain, and the• mats be no longer re-
cognized in the manufacturer. Certain it is, be tire cause
what it may,- that in those towering buildings, where art and
science contend for ,pre-eminence, and illumination bursts
from an hundred windows, whibli are the property, and under
the controul of ,persons not wanting, in general, either in
virtue or philanthrophy—in those splendid fabrics, I say,
practices are resorted to, and miseries engendered, which ml li
quire only to be known to revolt the minds of all good and
enlig,fitened men, and suffuse every christian eye with
tears. Shall I disclose the
.secrets of the prison-house
?
Will it be credited by a British Public, that such are the ex-
treme measures of labour exacted in sonic of these Factories,
that it is found necessary to have recourse in an everins„-,
to ropes and straps, to rouse the little wearied victims, and
force exhausted nature from sinking into sleep in the midst
of its dreadful and inhuman task ? Can it he heard without
emotion, by any man who knows the consequence of breath-
ing heated air, that the temperature in which these wretched
children perform their Egyptian toil, is riot nnfrequently
from 80 to 90 degrees ; that in general no time is appropriated -
for breakfast, or even the afternoon's repast ; but that they
must snatch a mouthful of refreshment as they can during
the progress oftheir stated work ! Yea, to crown the whole,
that it is actually a common practice in most of these esta-
blishments, during three-or four, and in .souse of them even
five daysof the week, to employ the children, during the time
that should be spent at dinner, in cleaning the machinery,
and quickening those wheels which revolve fur nearly 15 hours
a day ;—ton long, alas! for humanity ; too swift fur Mercy's
claims! yet, not lop enough, it' seems, nor- sninc,-;”irtty
swift to keep pace with thethe avaricious proveristries of man.
Potts my reader-startle at such facts at these ? Seems it in-
credible to him that he should have been living for years in
the neighbourhOod of such enormities, unconscious perhaps,
of their existence ? Let not this too much amaze him. There
are intelligible reasons to account fur the mystery, and were
he near to my elbow, I would whisper them in his ear. Mean-
while, let rise request so much of his confidence as to rest fof
the present in this solemn assurance, that 1 Lowe indisputable
authority for the truth of my statements, and proofs within
my reach, too many, God knopeth! and too affecting to leave
even the shade of a doubt' as to the accuracy or the certain-
ty of these sad realities. It -may be stated generally, in part
of such proofs, and those the must afflicting, that numbers,
of the unhappy subjects of this oppressive servitude become,
its consequence, deformed in their legs, knees, and ancles,
and still greater numbers radically injured ere they reach
maturity, and doomed to :waste what should be the best of
their lives in lingering disorders which end in an untimely

grave.
It is with set ious.pain, Sirs, that I have sketcheitthe outline
(for it is only an outline) of this melancholy picture, moved
thereto by no selfish or party feeling—haring no connection
with trade, and without a particle of jealousy ,or to-
wards the Gentlemen who are owners of cotton-factories;
some of whom merit and, possess much of my respect. Time
facts and teflectians- which I now submit to you have no other
design than the simple exposure and reprobation of a system.
which I judge to. be barbarous, andtherefore unwarrantable
—which I know to be the source of unnumbered sufferings
to•the rising generation. and therefore feellt. a duty. at such
a crisis to hold it up to the notice of the friends of humanity
in this seat of commerce, distinguished as it has hitherto been.
not more for its trade. than for its known phifinthropby.
.Would it earn a fresh title to honourable fame, and raise for
itself an imperishable monument of the purest praise ? An op-
portunity is riot wanting to augment its laurels. 'Mercy, with
a weeping eye, invokes the man of benevolence at this mo-
ment to come forward and support her cause; and make a
generous effort for her afflicted-children. The time is propi-
tious—the extremity a great one—the evils of time case, how
sad ! And how treme,ndousl The cries of the sufferers from
the houses of their bondage have reached the ear of the Bri-,
tish Senate,. and found an honourable advocate in that high
assembly. Honour and success attend hind Generations
yet unborn shall sound hiS high encomium. The prayers of
good men are with him : his own conscience yields an ap-
piattes that is better than a thousand tongues. What do I
say ? Providence itself is engaged on the side of Mercy, and
promises him blessings, glory, ;mud reward ! And can Man-
chester. behold the generous enterprise in apathy and in si-
leper ? Shall the,friends tit humanity bold their peace, and
good men be thought, to view with indifference the Provi-
dential invocation ? It must not and it cannot be. Honour
and Consistency are against the supposition : slostice, Cow-.
passion, Patriotism, and Religion, enjoin, in high and per-
emptory terms, the opposite obligation.
Manchester, March 12, 1318.

ATTICUS.