The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-09-03
The BrickAelds of England.

The question of the state of tie children
in the Brickyards of England was brought
before both Houses of the Legislature q
few weeks ago, by Lord Shaftesbury and
Mr.. Mundella. 1t ia time that legislation
were brought to bear upon their unfortu-
nate condition. 1t is owing to a pamphlet
"a very able pamphlet-by Mr.. George
Smith, entitled The Cry Of the Children
from the Brickyards Of England, that the
subject has received attention. 1t is now
seven years since Blue book detailed the
horrors of the Brickfield. The =" brickie"
was shown to be the lowest and most de-
PRAYED character of all the workmen of
England. The report then presented to
Parliament contained the following evil
dence: -
Those who carry away the brick from the
moulders are mostly girls from nine to twelve
ss1 and mould lbs lbs at
each Journey say 1000 times day. yards
each journey; carrying the mould back the
yards also 1000 times SO that they y each h re-
or 12a tons, yards, and 5000 lbs. yards to-
tai, SO 900 lbs, OF over liz tons in the day:
Moreover the bricks when reared" "gormed,"
up" all require moving three times over, and
i'll one instance are carried quite yards. But
this work is shared in by all that work for
that particular moulding table. The moulder,
who is usually woman from from 20 to 30
years old, and the two clay carriers, who gen.
orally from 10 to 16 years old, assist; 80
| that the portion of work performed by the
! carrier away may be taken one remove or
one-fourth of the same $4,000 lbs. weight, for
| z yards distance, which, added to the 16 tons
before mentioned, makes up total of 2s3 tons
| carried each day by child of to 10 years of
| age. .
Those who carry clay to the moulders, called
! clay carriers, remove on an average, 20 to 40
lbs. of clay the head, and about 10 to 20 lbs.
in their arms say one of 10 years old, carrying
! in all full 80 lbs. of clay, each Journey of 40
yards, and traversing $50 journeys per day, re-
moving 81 tons q distance of 40 yards daily,
walks At miles in doing it and Al miles back
walks 3 miles in "resriug," "gorming," and
"hacking" the bricks, and on an average
miles going to and returning from work, Civ
ing n total distance traYersed by the Younger
clay carriers of IA miles; likewise, this clay
carrier does the same amount of work in re-
moving the bricks to the "gorms" and "hacks'
as the carrier off does, namely, 1000 lbs. carried
yards, SO that in all he carries more than 81
tons of clay daily fully AZ yards, aud walks
in all quite IA miles per day.
Mr.. Smith has verified the truth of this
evidence by personal observation. AS to
the length Of hours he says:
1 want the reader to fix the fact on his
memory that the brickyard childrens houre
til eight and nine at night and in rery man,
cases. all night at the kitns for one f,ro and epen
} three nigkts a tCeek.
Under the heading of Tmmorality,D Mr.
Smith makes revelations such as we refrain
from detailing. 1t is enough that they are
known to those whose business it is to apply
t the remedy: they are hideous and foul
> beyond description.
L The following is Mr.. Burritt's account
) of what he saw in a Brickfeld in the Mid.
, land district:
8 middle-aged woman, as we took her to be
= from some dress indications of her sex wa,
!, standing at the bench, bntter-stick in hand