New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-03-24
rHc STATE or BRITISH kANUFAc-
TURES.

/ propose nov giving Q notice OF TIE tSO Fac
tory Reports alluded 10 in former letter. The
frat IL written BY Mr.. A. RdgrOve, whose factory
district comprises Middlesex Gin snd sbont Lon
doo), Surrey, Essex, parts e Cheshire DeroJso
and Lancashire, and the East Riding (Yorkssire).
There we're caused danDg the half year term'DA'7o
on Oct. 81, 1861, 33i accidents BY machiuefJ' Oi
which ~ proved fatal NJ RedsroVos report
turns almo,t excu,ively Oh one pOin'' VIZ soe euu
c.,ion.l enac,mspts for factories and print works.
Prsviou. 10 the permanent employment OF cahd
or youpg person in factory or Print-"orA, the
mil oecuoi,r i. required to obtain certificate from
tbr eert,f,ips surgeon, who, BY virtue Of Vtc;,
* ..h A i. ooand 10 refuse that certificate If
the person preseDtedtss NOT the Ordinary sIrensIh
/" md ,pnearance Of a child Of at least eight years
" Of age or of young person OF at least thirteen
.xesrs of age riff il no incapacltated by disease
.. Add bodily iofrpity from working daily IN the
az Factory for the time allowed by law" Children
between the ages Of eight and thirteen years, are
legally disqualified for full-time employ ment, and
have part Of their time TO give to school attend
snee, the surgeon being authorized 70 tender them
hslft me certificates only. Now, It appears from
Mr.. Redgrovs's report that, on the one hand, the
parents. II they can obtain fulltme wages for their
children. are anxious 10 withdraw them from school
and half wages, while the only thing the ml't0"ner
looks for in he juvenile hands s strength 70 enable
them TO perform their respective work. Whlie the
parent seeks fdll-time wages, the manufacturer
seeks the full time worker. The following aver
tissmept. which appeared 10 the local newspaper
of an important manufacturing town IN Mr.. Red
groves district and which smacss strangely Oh toe
slave. trade. will show how the mlli-o~ners con-
form to tbe provisions Of the law, literally;
yxyANTED-Fron ~ to 20 BOYS, not younger
w than chat V'H pos' for 10 Jen' Oh age wages
a. per west.
In point of fact, the employer is legally not
bound 10 procure certificate Of the chlldrens age
from an authentic source, but an opinion, relying
upoD appearance. The haf-time system founded
upon the principle that child labor should not DO
pernitted lUless, cODcurreItly with sucn employ
meDt the child attend some school daily, IL o.
iect.d To by the manufacturers, on two grounds.
They object TO their resp Dusbity of enforcing the
school attendance Of the half times (cblldren under
10 years Of sge) aud they find it cheaper and lees
troublesome to employ Que set OF children Iustead
Of two sets, working alternately hours. Inc hrst
result therefore, Of the introduction Oh the nall
time ~ stem was the nominal dImlnutl0n 10 nearly
one half the children under IL years employed In
factories. From So, 455, to which their number
amounted in 1885, it had sunk to 9,253 III 1888.
This di intuition, however, was TO great extent
nominal only since the cOmpalsance OF the certi-
fyibg surgeons worked sudden revolution IN the
respective ages of tho juvenile hands OF the United
Kingdom. At the same ratio, therefore, mat the
certifying surgeons were more strlcuy watched ny
factory inspe cOrs and sub inspectors, aud that the
facility Of ascertaiDng the real age OF the Children
from the Registrars of Births increased movement
opposite to that of ls3S set in. From 29,2>3, To
which the number If children uUder l3 years OF age
employed in factories had fallen IN 1873, 1t rose
again to 81 100 in lo50 and 10 1901 IN 1850, tae
latter legal return being still far from exhibiting
the real proportion Of such employment. On the
one hand, many Of the certifying surgeons know
still bow To battle the surveillance of the inspectors,
and Old the other, many thousand children were
withdrawn from school and the halttm system al
N wears of age, by the alteration OF the law with
respect to silk mills, "a sacrifice which, as one
of the factory inspectors says, "Inay have been
I" accommodating to the mill occupyers' out
(which has proved injurious TO the social in-
tere.ts of the elk districts. Although we
may consequently infer that the number OF
children between and Is years now employed IN
the factories aud prmtworks Of the United King
dom exceeds the number similarly employed IN
1885, there can exist no doubt that the halt time
system had great share in stimulating inventions
for the suppression Of child-labor Thus Mr.. Red
grove states:
"In fact, one class Of manufacturers spinner,
of voolsn ysrn--now rarely employ children under ~
yeaIs Of age H. e., hslftiuesl. They have introduced
In proved and new machinery OF VARIOUS Kinds, which
Altogether fuptrecdes the necessary Iof the emPov
Inert Of chldlen. For instance, I will mention one
process as an illustration Of this dininutoo 10 the
lumber OF children, ahersln, by the addition OF so
apparatus called piecing machine 10 ex'stiog ms
ctfnes the work Of six or four haftmes, according
10 the peculiarly Of each machine, can be performed
by one yourg person
How modern industry, IN Old-settled coun-
tries at leAst, tends 10 press children into money
making employment, has been again illustrated
by recent instances in Prussis. The factory
law of Prussia 1T 1853 enacted that after the
Ist Of July, 1855. no child should be employed in =
factory until IT had completed its twelfth year. and
that children between II and 4years Of age should
not be employed for more than hours per day, snd
attend school at least hours per day. This law
met with such opposition from the manufacturers,
that the Government hsd 10 give way, and enforce
il, not throughout Prussia, but by way Of expert
ment in Elberfeld and Bsrmen only, two contnu-
GUS manufacturing towns, containing large msnu-
factnring population, engaged IN spinning, calico
printing, &c In the Annual Report of the Cham
Der of Commerce for ElbeTfeld and Barmen, for
lo56 the following representations 90 this subject
are made TO the Prusslan Government:
1.-THE Increase Of the rate Of labor, as also the u-
creased price OF Goals and s materials necessary for
there branches of manufacture, such Leaf er, OIL,
metal sc has proved big dissdvsntsze0ls 70 toe
trade In addition 10 this, the strot enforcement OF
the law OF May 1855, cOpcernpg the employment OF
chdreb io the manufactures, has worked very pruti.
ciaIy. Not oTly has Il csused the Withdrawal of
number Of chdres bot Il hiss beer rendered inpOssi
BILE 10 give them that early instruction cacuat-d
render them skiufnl soTkmen In consequence Of the
lack Of these youthful hands the machines 10 seveTs
ss,sbhshnents were brought 20 8 stsSd-snu, as the
hspdhpg of them could not be performed by grown.up
persons. modi6c.ioD Of this Lag is rec,mmsuisd
60 a. 10 shorten the forced attendance 81 school Of
children who have reached q certain Standard Of
knowledge, a. being measure advantageous 10 nd