The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1865-12-23
WIG slaveFy ln England.

The English Abolitionists reproached
the South during the war for the " crime "
Of holding slaves. Contrast the slave sys-
en- Of the South with the following taken
from official British sources:
In the English House of Lords recent
", the Earl of SALISBURY, in rising to
move That an humble address be pre-
scented to her Majesty to request that she
viii be graeiously pleased to direct that
the Commission appointed in answer to
an address of this House on February Is,
1s62, 70 inquire into the employment of
children and young persons in trade and
manufactures not regulated By law, do in
elade children and young persons employ
Cd in the country under an organized sys.
ten known i hat Of the agricultural
Rags," said that it was q subject un-
known 20 many, aud that he had not been
able himself to institute a personal inquiry,
but he was sure from letters he had re-
oeived that it was a subject worthy of at
tention. The system had been in opera.
ton for the last twenty-five years Gangs
Of children Of both sexes prevailed in the
ten counties Of Lincolnshire, Cambridge
shire, Huntingdonshire and Northamp-
tonsAire, and in many parts Of Norfolk.
The children ranged in age from Eve tc
sixteen years. From ten to City or sixty
k9ys and girls congregated in each gang
They were collected together by persons
called a~ndertakers OF gang drivers, who
hired them from their parents to contract
for them with the farmers at so much
per score or per acre. They were EN-.
ployed in wedding, ditching, hoeing and
other kinds of agricultural labor, aud had
frequently to walk great distances to their
work. The gang drivers are often men
Of drunken and dissipated habits, and
their object being to get all the work out
Of the children that was possible, at the
cheapest rate, they treated them frequent
II with harshness aud cruelty. The chill
dren being away from their parents. and
having no power of appeal, we're practical
" slaves. Indeed the circumstances had
ell the characteristics of slayery@ slave
market and a slave driver. The Rev. Mr.
Hutton, the Rector of Stilton, gave the
following description of a gang parish
which exactly agreed with the testimony
he had received from other parts of the
country: " The population is about 5000
Here all the farmers encourage the gangs.
There are eight gangs at work, contain.
ing 20 children each-fve of these are
smixed gangs Of boys and girls; two
consist entirely of girls, and one is formed
Of boys only. During the three winter
months, the average attendance at school
is 100 boys and 80 girls, but when the
gangs are IN full work, these numbers are
reduced 70 40 and 20 respectively. The
association of the younger children with
the hardened, wicked aud corrupted boys
and girls Of fifteen and sixteen years o.
age Is described as the most d~emoralixing
Their language IS awful; vice and immor
atty in every form are the fruit of tn.
system. These children may be frequent
y seen % Saturday night: as late as ter
O'Clock, going from q beershop to anoth
er IN search of their driver, for thei
weeks wages. The educational status o
his parish Is represented to be so pc
cent. lower than that of the manufactur
ingdistricts Of Lancashire and Yorkshire
How 10 Do 1.-THE following, from