The National tribune., 1883-09-13

testimony Oh the uelghboThOOd, confirmed
By the TACT Of parish relief y as that the two
able-bGdied young men cogid not maintain
their old parents It seems probable that the
fTajl, gentle old woman viii really toll on asI
saw her s0Iiing until old age iDeapacitates her
wholly, when the workhouse VIII be her sheI-
ter until she finds rest under the sod. The
row or Ierges is long Que IN Stocking Lane,
and IN every forge there was a melancholy
woman or q group Of women making nails and
everywhere the same sad story OF bad pay and
bad houses and heavy school fees and general
discOUrageuent.
We were thankful 20 reach the end Of Stock
ing Lane and turn out again into the road,
though cur guide was grieved at having to give
up All hope OF finding q child 1t work and gain
ing his extra sIXpence. 4" II you wont find a
child IN Stocking Lane yOu won't find one IN
the Iye nor the Waste, be sad reluctantly.
This Is the I've and that's the Waste" hs
said, pointing down a hill 10 one and up TO
another, and verify there was little to choose
between them. The same CRIME, the same bad
houses, the same rows of forces, tbe saTne black,
dIugy road. @e4inally chose TO see the W Was5e,
and walked up the hIll
The people whom we had questioned could
have no object II making their ease seem
harder than it is, Tor they were n0s begging.
Ia no case did a naIier ask as for help, though
we paid each one to whom We talked q trifis
for the time that we made her lose IS we
CARED 70 me TO verify some OF the statements
OF low wages By other questions as 70 food
THE BUTCHERS TESTIMONY.
The butcher was iresl-.aced man with
contented air and an appearance Of prosperity
surprising, IN view Of the customers whom We
had Just been examining His shop was small,
and the only meat exposed for sale was a heart
and two very small pieces OF mutton suat. i
told him frankly that I did not come to buy,
y,,,k
wishing tn ask questions. he laughed good
naTuredly when l said Surely, they are noe
your only customers" and answered +" Lord
bless your soul. no I'd be clemming lstarving1
ike themselves if they were. No; I go TO
market far enough from here, and sell to the
briekmakers and the traders. I wouldn't never
kill d whole animal Just for the naieFs alone.
They don't get meat. only little Of Saturday.
What do they have TO eat? Why, grUels and
such things. Aie2 They don't get it! The
truth is, they're near about eleHmIn' the whole
time" To this our guide agreed, saying: Its
scond lOGs, the state o the poor things The
bricklnaSers, whom We questioned later, re-
peated the very words of the butcher: Ale7
They don't get it :" In the bakers shop the
tale was the same. The nailers are poor Gus
toners, for they live chiefly upon Cruel Every
where the story Of the strict watch Of inspect
ors was repeated and of the trouble in earning
school fees, and the only remedy suggested
was that the n2ilers should g0sint0 ether trades.
As we stood at the butchers door we saw
women tOiling up the hill to the Waste, with
bundles Of long iron rods on their shoulders,
each bundle weighing fifty-tw0 or hfty-six
pounds according to the sort OF nails 20 BE-
made from it. This is the material that the
masters or the fOggers furnish and other
women were wheeling down the blu barrOws
heavily laden with bags OF nails, on their way
back to the fOggers, 70 be weighed and PAID
/ for and shipped 70 distant markets. The
women with the burdens on their backs moved
wearily along. and We were thankful TO escape
t from the sight Of them and turn from the heart
syckeuiag misery Of the naiiers to study the
work OF the briekInakers, whom the n2ilers
regard with envy.
THE GIRL BEICRMAEERs.
On our way up the hill towards the Waste,
I our guide pointed out two new mediocre houses,
such as any prosperous artisan in America
might own, though they looked palatiai amid
the stlualid dwellings, of the English nailers.
/ These, he said, with a kind OF awe, were
bought and paid for by two brickmakers, who
/ had worked side by side with him 1t the nall
/ eTs' forge when they were ali small boys to-
/ gctner. But che briekmakers had worked into
/ positions foremen, II the course OF years,
T @tcr quitting the forge, and to f0reIneD fortune
/ Is kind. But he added, its mostly pit
+ wosk the men gets 70 do now; the women and
/ Wenches does the maxim Of the bricks" And
/ 50 il proved, for not man was 70 be seen at
/ work in the brickyaFd into which we presently
/ turned. Everywhere there were 1.-the girls,
/ from sixteen to twenty years Of age, running
/ swiftly across our pash. their simple, clay
! stained. cliHgiag garment, with Reager folds,
/ making them l0Ok ike swIftly moving statues
/ Their feet and legs were bare, and their heads
/ covered with tightly wrapped kerchIeis, Knot
I ted at the back OF the neck. Their step was
nOiseless as they sped over the clay dooT from
/ the ShaPeTs bench TO the heated platform
I WhereOn they placed wet bricks to dry. Their
simple dress, and the strange gray color Of
their whole Surroundings, and the peFteet 81
/ Ience OF the OrickyaTd made these fitting 6g-
I ures seem TO beIOag 70 q wOrId apart; and some
I thing In the severe sinphsi5y Of their most
/ uu-EDgiIsh robes set OF, n q marvellous way
the grace of figure aud beauty of face of these
athletic workers. Slight, graceful, rosy, agile,
| they seemed, indeed, to deserve the envy OF
the unhappy nailers, until the thought Oc-
CURED TO Us that, after all, Ia spite OF their
I n0n-human appearance, these. too, are simple,
/ human, English women, who should one day
be the wives Of English wOFkiRgEen and tho
/ mothers of English children. Then the pref
tiness lest is charm, and the classic garb lost
its power TO remove It's wsarers rom she sphere
Of human action and temptation; and the cues
ton arose and could nos be answered, What
Is the effect on the mOdesty and the domestic
quality OF these young girls, Of working month
afser month, bare-armed, bare-legged, in . sin
gle garment. at drudging work, in which there
IS no clement OF training for future home
Efe2"
LTBERAL WAGES, IxDEEDi
The wages which these girls rsceived--whess
hberality makes brick making the dream OF
the nailer-never exceeds, SO far as we could
LEARN, seven shIlhngs per week, or SLT5
Shaper" and placer are paid alike and
there are no drawbacks such as the uailer's ex-
peuses for carEiage OF material and finished
work between the fogger and the naiieTs forge,
for fuel. t00ls &c; the seven shilliags is clear
= profit, and there is no expense for clothing.
:. .Ehs less clothes they as the better. 'eep5 rhs
kerchief over their hair explained eur guide,
in enGmerating the advantages Of The brick
makers
But it DO make EN- that way hungry :"
said Mailer mother Of her brickmaker daugh-
ter: she's no sooner al her dinner nor she's
ready for her tay. Bus we works hard and
fares hard, and she must bide like Ehe rest OF
us" :" It's bad for m 'tis. and no mistake =
said cur guide. OF the brickmakers whom We
had seen. When asked why these girls DO not
90 TO service, he said. s0rFOwfUliy - Well, you
see, they IN down they IN nailers children,
and they amt got the clothes; they 'm too far
down to 90 to service.
The factory acts prevent children from
working IN the bFiekyards, thanks 20 the ex-
erti0nS of George Smith, of Coalviile a self
educated bricxmaker, whose little book, The
Cry of the Children IN the BTiekyards of Eng
land" has done much to promote the extension
and enforcement Of these acts. and the state