Star.
London, England, 1816-10-04 00:00:00

s; •
be doing a good deal of work of gigolos kina es go- "
ing of errands or weediag, and ti thorliOd employ.
menu which I cannot atiwesent calf up to My ailed
That answer mail to refer more perticulatly to
children in the country; as tbe manufactoriesth=
nerally bruit/as; it does not apply to them;
tint-Committee wish to know whether you conceive,
aY .chlldren at an early period of life were prevented
byAct of Parliament from working in factories, their
'situation would be better than it is conceive it
,mould be more 'favourable to health to be at huge,
although they might sometimes be not well nourished;
l' and although sometimes they would be in hot rooms.
they would have a great deal more time in which
they touldbe playing about, and Ming their lacul-
ties ofileervation..
. if those children were • left on the parish for
support, and many sent the workhouse, their situ-
clots would be better than at present t—l think that,
children Would be better situated in a workhougpf
.wore they 'not so employed, than in manufactoriesn
Do you give this as an opinion • that .you der*,
from an accurate observation of facts, with respect to
the condition of children in factOries, or do you give
it upon general reasoning 3—UpOn general reasoning.
'1 ben you are not really acquainted with the con-
dition of children employet in Oath manufactories ?
I am not really acquainted with the condition of
children employed in such manufactories; but
Mention ...what I suppose must be mote
.or less the
lagiuence of confinement which children are subject to
id those manufactories upon their health, from the,
„general principles that guide us in ascertaining the
causes that emintain health or lead to sickness, with
respect to the huthan body generally.
Itt a gfactory Consisting of 875 persons, the annual
,deaths in Which were not more than from two to five,
should you conceive that the employment was incim-
'local with the health of the people employed ?—I
'shoutit.say, it doea not appear from that statement
to-have beeh inconsistent; I conceive a great many
of those children might not be in vigorous healtk—
not in the same health in which they would otherwise
be, and yet not be attacked 'with diseases which
Ntlif death.

wow, occasion
Your answer refers to the number of deaths in a
particular year; but if the average for seven years
should be about the same, would not you consider
that fact as tolerable evidence of the health of the
employment ?—lndeed I should think so.
Then if in another factory consisting of 289 per-
sons, two only died in the year 1818; and on the 13th
of April one only was sick ; would not that afford a
tolerable inference of the healthiness of the persons
employed in that factory ?—lt certainly would; but
as I stated before, I can easily believe that those chil-
dren may not be attacked by diseases which would
lead to death; but at the same time be many of them
less vigorous than they otherwise would be if em-
ployed in the usual manner.
Then in factories', where on the average persons are
employed seven years, and where a great portion re-
main from 14 to 20, if the general state of health has
ben good, would not that be tolerably good evidence
of the healthiness of the employment ?—I think so.
Have you ever had reason to conceive that there
exists in the lower liaises of people a want of affec-
tion and tenderness for their children ?—I believe you
will find very often less affection, both of fathers and
mothers, far their chtidren in the lower classes, than in
She middle ranks. But at the same time there are
many strong instances of the purest maternal ana
paternal affection in the lowest classes of society, where
there may be very great difficulty to rear children ;
thiy will often. submit to every kind of privation re-
specting themselves, in order to rear the children with
some degree of comfort.
Then the lowest class are not the pets's where the
greatest degree of affection is found for their chil-
dren I—l think not.

Does not a family press touch harder on a poor
man than on any other class ?—No doubt.
And is it not of greater importance to hinrto su-
perintend the care of those children, than to any other
chi' of persons in life?—lt must be of more impor-
tance to him to superintend, if he can, the education
and the bringing up of his children, because, in other
tangs of Mb, there are persons who can be procured
to do that office for them.

Does not any sickness or want of health in the
children of the poor press upon the parents more than
upon any other class of persons ?—Certainly.
In the communications you have received from
other practitionersr have you ever heard of any great
detriment that has occurred to children from too in-
tense employment in manufactories ? —I do not recol-
lect that I have ever received a communicidon upon
the subject.
Have you had opportunities of observation upon the
condition of the children of the poor not employed in
ManufActories in large towns have been engaged
almost from the beginning of my medical life in the
middle and higher ranks of society.
Are you of opinion that the proportion between the
cubic feet of air in a room and the number of persons
employed in it, has an important effect on the health
of the petiple ?—Certainly.
'Ten, would you be of opinion that, if proper means
of ventilation were attended to, a bilikling containing
a greatet proportion of cubic feet of air to the number
of persons employed in it, would be more healthy
than one containing a smaller proportion of air
if the ensployments were the same, undoubtedly.
Have you bad an opportunity of remarking, from
your oWn observation whether the condition of children
bound apprentice to the common tradesmen, such as
shoemakers, and people of that desctiption, is better
or worse than that of the children in factories ?—I can
give no answer to this question in any satisfactory
meaner.
The observations you have made are those ilmwn
from general reasoning, not ,from practices is there
not NOW danger in forming an opinion merely upon
theory It an animal, a cow forkstance, were taken
and confined totally is a house, do you believe it
would have an effect upda the health of the animal ?
—I do not know that it would have much effect upon
the visible eirsumstanceeguit constitute health ; but l
have no hesitation to say, Ibelievothat a herd of cows
which were in the open air a coitsiderable part of
their time would he in fact helithier than tboseton-
fined, though it would be difficok to ascertain the
difference between the two.
Has it ever occurred to
it
to know that the het
is direCtly opposite I—No, t has not.
Do you connive that WAR% where means are,