The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-01-11 00:00:00

THE FACTORY BILL.

It must be fresh in the recollection of all readers of
newspapers, that Michael Sadler, the humane and fear-
less advocate of misery all over the world, was indebted
for his rejection from the representation of Leeds, for
his zealous support of a bill for shortening the duration
of the hours of labour for children in factories. His
Toryism and impatience of Reform would have been freely
forgiven, but for this unpardonable offence against the
mill-tyrants of that pious and slave-emancipating neigh-
bourhood. His opponent, the son of that zealous abo-
litionist, who is so indispensible a piece of furniture
at anti-slavery meetings, refused to support Mr. Sadler's
humane and philanthropical views, and overthrew him
upon his own ground. Were those views unreasonable
or anti-Christian—or had they been taken up without a
due investigation of the subject? Let us see !
The voluminous parliamentary evidence on this most
interesting subject, will supply the best answer that can
be given to such an inquiry. . Well has it been remarked
by the Morning Chronicle, to whose columns we stand
indebted for the facts we are about to present to our
readers from these documents, that the life of the West
India negro is happiness itself, compared with that of the
wretched beings for whose special relief Mr. Sadler's bill
was designed. The part of the evidence selected by our
contemporary, has reference chiefly to Scotch factories;
but we can declare, from personal knowledge, that pre-
cisely the same system prevails both in Leeds and Man-
chester, as, no doubt, it does in many other manufactur
ing districts in England.
*

We suppose that Mr. Thomas Babington Macaulay
(for his assurance is without bounds) will repay his ob-
ligations to the mill-tyrants of Leeds, by defending, or,
at least, extenuating these atrocities.

" At what time of the morning did you have to attend your
labour there ?—I have been called up by the master, who stood
at the door cursing and swearing, at three o'clock in the morn-
ing.
",How late in the night were you kept at that work ?—We
were never kept less than till ten and eieven o'clock at night.
" The flogging or strapping is continual."
It seems, that this "flogging, or strapping" (we have
seen the strap bloody, from its recent contact with the
lacerated flesh,) is fined, if carried to an extravagant
length. There is an instance on record, in which a girl
cited her ruffian DRIVER before a magistrate. His master,
however, repaid him the fine, and turned the wretched
child into the street. It may be supposed, that after 16
hours' hard labour, in a close and fcalid atmosphere, the
miserable little slaves will be in danger of falling asleep.
It is the duty of the driver to " strap them continually, to
prevent them from dropping asleep!"
'lt was his efforts to abolish this astrocious system, a
system that would disgrace a horde of uncivilised- savages,
treat precluded Mr. Sadler from the honour of representing
thp town of Leeds. It was to his acquiescence in this
system that the son of the celebrated slave7emancipator,
Mr. Babington Macaulay, stood mainly indebted for suc-
cess. Who shall deny that this is not pre-eminently the
age of cant !—(From the Alfred.)

THE LATE ELECTION.

(PROF THE LIVERPOOL COURIER, JAN. 9.)

We have to apologize to the public for again referring
to the circumstances of the recent election, because it is
neither our wish nor can it be interesting to our readers
to have the personalities or the misrepresentations which
occured in a state of great excitement brought again un-
der their notice, when the cause of that excitement has
ceased to exist. If the liberal criticisms on the conduct
of the Rev. J. Bunting had been confined to this town,
they would, as far as•we are concerned, have been per
witted to merge 'amongst the numerous mischievous and
unnoticed misrepresentations which have been urged
against Lord Sandon, and against the cause we have -ad-
vocated. It was not till last week that, in consequence-
of an editorial paragraph in. a, distant publication, we
made it cur business to inquire into the facts of the case
which has been so industriously disseminated to the pre
judice of a gentleman, who will' probably not think the
affair worth his own notice; and as one of a series of
distorted, highly coloured, ex parte, and unfounded state-
ments, we wish -to lay before our readers the result of
that inquiry.