The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-16 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

CORRESPONDENCE.

SUFFERINGS OF FEMALE WORKERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SlR,—One that has read with intense interest your re-
marks on the sufferings of female workers, would, had she
influence, or power, agitate the question widely, from hav-
ing been an eye-witness to its disastrous results. If one
fact stated, or hint given, can in any way be made useful
in continuing your remarks on this subject, it will, I hope,
plead as an apology for thus intruding upon your valuable
time. To be then as brief as possible, I would say that
the originating cause of all this wide-spread evil is the
sewing done at schools for prices that no human being
could gain a subsistance by. And the ladies you so justly
describe, as having obtained their work on such cruel
terms, will not give more than such prices. Many never
having made articles of the kind in their lives, have
no notion what time and trouble they require, and
that nothing but actual starvation will indtice any
one for a short time to undertake them ; for, alas !
work done and thus paid for is soon fatal. 1 have
known a poor widow walk four miles in a pouring
rain, to take home a little work, thus miserably paid for,
without any breakfast, for that she had no means of pro-
curing until this poor pittance was received ; kept waiting
at a house of great luxury until noon, and sent away with-
out money or food, because the lady could not be seen.
0 ! it is an easy thing to say to the poor, you should
work, but these are hard things to bear ; and paid as they
are, no wonder they become despairing. Industry is pa-
ralysed, and hence the fearful increase of crime in every
form and shape. Should any wish to remedy this evil, let
them form societies, pledging themselves to give a fair
price for sewing, and employ suitable persons to receive
and give out the work. A few such establishments would
soon put to shame this miserable private screwing of the
poor BY THE RICH, if fair prices were fixed for each arti-
cle, and the sewing done at schools regulated by the same
rule, for this is the originating cause of all this evil. Pay-
ing so little for it, and KNOWING SO LITTLE ABOUT IT,
ladies are really guilty of cruelty they would shudder to
contemplate. I have heard families in moderate circum-
stances,who ought to have done theirown work, say, " Oh !
why do you bore your eyes with stitching, you can get it
done almost for nothing, forgetting the life-blood expended
over it. And was the money thus saved better spent ?
O no ! it was given to obtain the materials to appease
conscience, or rather gratify self, by making some fashion-
able article for a bazaar, and thus deluge the town with
articles which formerly a poor family could have obtained
a livelihood by making, but which now they cannot sell.
Another very serious evil arises from the work procured,
as you SO TRULY DESCRIBE, from schools. Those girls
who sew the best are often deprived of that instruction
which should be the vital point, to finish some work that
muss be done. Another evil also arises from it. I have
known the poor mistress obliged to be up at two and three
do
a' cyl ckin h
Now
t ise it morning,possi b 1 e tot fix h h
at thee
cwo k for
the
after
suc
enter as she should do, with zeal and energy, into the
MORE IMPORTANT part of teaching. Many schools I
know are obliged to help out their funds by the work (I
wish it was not so) ; but raise the price of work, and then
the inducement for the misnamed charity (but selfish be-
nefit) would be done away with, and things would have a
better chance of being called by their right names. Of
the sufferings of the poor school-mistress about the work,
you might convince yourself by personal inquiry, though
she may not be aware of the injustice to those children
who can sew well, of leaving their poor souls altogether un-
cared for, that they may get the work done in time to
oblige some lady who must have it, or her favour and in-
terest is lost.

Purchasing ready•made linen is another source of evil,
which gives encouragement to a fearful amount of human
wretchedness, giving licence and opportunity for profit to
be extracted by the shopkeepers from their poor female
workers, WHILE THEY can parade a public donation to a
charitable institution, and close their eyes to the wretched-
ness they cause to increase their gain.
Pray excuse these hastily-written words. Forbear cri-
ticism ; and may God make you instrumental in working
out this glorious cause. It is one I have reflected upon,
and I am thankful you have taken it up ; it is the only and
the best means to have it attended to; and I sincerely
hope you will continue to work it well into the public
mind, and not let them forget it.
A WELL-WISHER TO THE CAUSE.
10th January, 1844.