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FITZHUGH, WALKER, and Co., 12, Goree Piazzvs, Liverpool, will despateh the following \ r „ _ _ t i_'i_ i* a. ji t *t i* esselswnicu ncieu witn ior
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aiiaaiesex JUSfcl tU Lebds .- —Printed for the Proprietor, FEARQVS O'CONNOR, Esq. of Hammersmith, Coun^ ^ & * % W ¦ ^v ^^ — ^~^ ^_^_ — ^ j l — _ m ^^* ^ -— SV
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^ ^ . v , are up expressly care the accommodation of Second Cabin and Steerage Passengers , and sail punctually on the following days : — FOR NEW YORK . Ship . Captain . Tons . To Sail . CHKSTER , Wilson , 580 24 th March NEPTUNE , Ripchinburg , 540 1 st April . 'IRVINE , " Mldgwick , 500 6 th April . FOR NEW ORLEANS . A FIRST CLASS SHIP , 5 ; h April . Each Passenger is provided by the Ship with One Pound of good Bread , Flour , Oatmeal , and Potatoes , and Three Quarts of Water per day during tho voyage , free of charge . Rates of Passage , and any other information may be obtained by application ; : s above , whioh will be answered by return of Post .
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THE CHEAPEST WORK EVER PRLNTED ! t rpHE MYSTERIES OF PARIS , Part 15 , Prica -1 . Four-peace , cempleting the Work , ia this day Published , and may be had in Sixty Penny Nos ., Fifte « H Parts at Fourpence each , or in one Volume price 5 s . 6 d . It contains Fifty Lithographic and Wood Engravings , and 9 G 0 pages , and has . a Portrait of the Author , Eugene Sue . The most appal * ling and interesting Romance of modern days ; ifc throws in . o shade all that has preceded it . Up * wards of 50 , 000 copies have been sold in New Yorkf and in P-iris it has become a perfect rage . This Edition is printed in double columns , Crown 8 vo ., in small type , aud is calculated for an immense circulation . Also may be had , uniform with it , VOLTAIRE'S PHILOSOPHICAL DICTIONARY , 120 Penny Nos ., 30 Parts , Foutpence each , or in two handsome Yolumes 123 ., bound . All the Nos , constantly in print . VOLTAIRE'S ROMANCES , Ta ' esand Novels , being the first complete and uniform Edition of aix these celebrated productions . Parts three and four may be had at Fourpence each , or sixteen Nos . oao Penny each , will be speedily completed . DEVIL'S PULPIT , in " 48 Nos . reduced to One Penay each , or two Volumes , bound , 5 s . All the Nos . are reprinted as they fail out . DIEGESI 3 , by ihe Rev . Robert Taylor—Parts 9 and 10 , are now ready , and No . 40 will be speedilj finished . The Complete Works of VOLNEY in Penny Nos . with all the Plates and Illustrations from . the last Paris Edition . No . 1 will appear next week . THE POLITICAL AND THEOLOGICAL WORKS OF THOS . PAINE , to be completed in one Volume , Price 5 a . No . 1 , with a Portrait , next week . It will include every Work of this great writer , and this Volume will be known as the Stand * ard English Edition of Thoma 3 Paine ; the first that has appeared in the language of the land of his birth , and the fittest monument to his memory . Catalogues may be had at W . Dugdale's , 16 , Holjstreat , Siraad .
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HOUSE DF LORDS—Fbidat , March 15 . Some talk rcspeelicg the Rev . Herbert Marsh , and the Yec * ni operations in India , "were the only matters "which occupied the attention of their -Lordsliips . Moxdat , Makch 18 ih . americas slateb . t . ^ ard Dexmas said , he was anxious to bring * Eiftgec ; under their Lordships' no fi c o which , ' he knew , cmiid not he formally taken np on the ^ srt *» f that Honse , which was yet a matter of snea immense interest and importance that no . person of ¦ sense or tramaiiUT could possibly aToid adverting to it without feelings of an extremely painful nature . He was aware that his Noble &od Learned 3 Triend ne % r him ( Lord Bioagnam ) had , -some days ago , stated ihat in Lousiana , an individual had been condemned to suffer death for promoting the ¦ rescue or psc&t » of & flare . It appeared that
some doubt was then entertained as to the ; sentence being carried into effect . The pro- j l » biliiy was—sneh , ai least , was the feel- ing—that when the law was declared , anneonc- ¦ ing the punishment aSxed to thi 3 description j of offence , that declaration of the law would have i been considered sufficient for every -n .-eful pur- j pose , and that no pnnishment—no capital punish- 1 meni—woald be iiifl . cied . But , ^ i nce that time , he had snforrunately seen a doctment in the pnblic papers which staled , that one « f theii fellcw-crea tures was senteEced to undergo tlie punishment i , » f de » : t on the " 250 * of April , fcr effecting the esca pe of a slave . He believed that nothing of the kind > iad everyet taken placs , andhetssld not but xbiak 1 , iia 4 after some consideration on the subject their sentence would no ! be carried into effect . America w& 3 lemaikable ' ior having beeE one of the first nations ¦ to form a ceiminal code mere humane than had
before prevailed . Some vsars agt > Mr . Livingston 3 iad introdaoed a code mecTa less sever © than that -which preTicusly existed . Almost all the nations of Hnrope >( 03 r own amongst lie number ) had profited ^> y « , aod found the bpt-Scial effects of adoptiug certain parts of that initiated cede . He did not lava * ferwaTd this qneiiion with respect merely to 4 tn indmdiLal case . U iad reference to the propriety 'of investigation as to the extinguishing of Trhat iinst be considered an unequal measure of puuiEfcmen *—it had reference to an icquiry as to hew i&x » punishment so evidently di ^ proportioned Jo the offence shoaJd bo carried into effect ! He eoalti not think tbci in any civilized Btate , indi-Tldoals could be fbaad who would be induced to « srrv into tffect a ls ^ r of such extreme seventy after % . general expression of public feeling . He therefore thouaht it riskt , with the strong feeling which
ie entertained up * a the suoj'Ct , and which h ° knew was shared by many of his Learned Brethren , to bring this matter under the notice of their Lordships . He hoped that the expression of the opinion of that House trould meet the eyes of these who had the power to mitigate this sentence , and that , while they earned out all the other laws o ( their connrry , for the protection of personal property , they would not allow & fellow creature to be put to death for the effence of which ihis man had been found guilty , for , by so doing , the ^ would be ihrowrag back tae canse of civiljzatJoa . humani-y , and Christianity for centuries . He felt quite aware that it was not for the constituted and responsible authorities of this country to interfere in any W 3 y in this matter ; bus still he thonght tLat the expression of pnblic opicien on the subject might prevent the execution of the sentence .
Same talk respecting the three and a half per C ^ nts , and the Irish Church , coacluded the business -of the evening . Tuesday , Mabch IS . The Three and a Half per Cent ' s . Bill was . on the motion of the Earl of Rrpon , read a third -time . The Consolidated Funds ( £ 8 , 000 , 000 ) Bill was lead a third time . The Honse then adjourned to Thursday .
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HOUSE OF COMMONS—Fbidat , JIabch 15 . THE PACTOE . IES * BliL . PetJtfons -were presented by Lord Ashxet , freni -Vxkport , Hiniley , Burnley , Leigh , and delrfjate noeetfarf lin Lancashire , in favour of the Ten Honra' Bill -, by Mr . - ShaKHas Crattfokd , from the mUl-owners . ¦ jnsnnfectnriiig operatives , ar . d other inhabitants of SoothlU 2 f ether , pariah of Dewsfcnry . West Biding of Tfork , to the efii < tthat pensioners object to the seventh clause of the Factory Bill , which limits the time of children ' s labour to six hours each day ; and thai any child employed before twelve o'clock at noon shall not be afterwards employed in the same day . The petitioners Stated other otjt ^ tiouB , and prayed for a separate clause *» ith reference to -woollen districts , allowing chiidren of eleven years old to woik eleven hours ; and children from eight to eleven years of age to -work eigei tours .
Petitions were also presented by Mr . Hhidley , Mr . 51- G : bs"n , " Mr . StrutC ilr . P . M . S := wart , " a = d Mr . 3 > enison-Mr . "Waxxace postponed his motion that it be an ¦ instruction to the Committee on th * Factoiies' Bui , that they have power to extend the rrovisioBS of the Bill to similar peisrns engaged in the bleaching trade . The Houre tb ^ n -went into Committee en the Factories ' SHI ; Mr . GKEE ^ r in the chair . Gauss 1 vras ajreed to . On clause 2 being read ,
lord Ashlet said if the House wocid bear with iim for a little time he would explain the nature of the amendment of vthich lie h * d given notice . He proposed to define the term " night " to mean from fix ¦ o'clock in the evening to six o ' clock in the morning , leaving twelve hours during "which all work should -esue . By the -word * ' meal-times" be proposed to Tnpan an interval ot two hours of cessation from labour , Jeavirg ten hoars for -work . Ho persons would be Affected by that amendment , if it were carried , except those who , under clause ten . are gnarantetd against . night work , children , and young persons under thirteen ; jears of age . If I succeed in this tmendment it will be necessary to mate some corresponding alteration in the eighth dause . He proposed to leave the tenth
¦ c lause as it stood , because that wonld give a catain j elaxatioii during tha Bummer months—the hours cf JsboBT during the winter months beinz twelve , and in funmitz fourteen Lours , with two hours for- msaK "With a vieT ? Xo mett the opposition "which he anticipated , he propt-sed to take the limitation to ten hours in parts—* hat was to say , to take eleven hours from tbeJ-st cf October in the present year , and ten iours from the 1 st of October , 1845 . Nearly eleven jyeais had elapsed since he had first made the proposition he low submitted to them , but at no period did heieel half se interested or anxious as at the present . moment 2 vot that he had any fezr from disappointment , for that was " the badge of all his tribe ; " tut 'fcscvuse he ftlt the deep and solemn responsibility ,
. and he knew full well the unhappy constqntnees that would remit from any inducrttiou orleeblecess on his part as regarded the welfare of those "who had so loDg -and bo confidently entrusted their cause and their Interests to his care —( hear , hear- ! He wished at the -outset to anticipate the objections that might be made ihat he "was iiflaeEced by some particular antipathy to the owners cf mill property . He wonld show them -that that was altogether unfounded . When he undertook the cause in 1 E 33 , the question of factory wrongs and factory labour , it was that question which Beemed to comprise the greatest smonnt of evil , and afforded the greatest facilities for legislation . Ten years' experience had convinced him , had he doubted it- before , that avarice and cruelty were not the attributes of any
-Peculiar class ; but that they pervaded all walks of life , and they "wonJd ever be found where the means of profit were combined -with great and virtually irresponjoble power . They -were all alike , whether landlord or jn&DulaetErer ; and he was quite sure , although they all might cot rtqnira the same supervision of pnblic opinion , asd the same rtstrietions upon the indulgence -of thslr passions , they "would always be indulged where ihey could be with safety , and profit , and impunity . JLel them only look at the awful records cf the sufferings endured by the milliners and dressmakers of London ; and ^ cr whom did they wear out their health and strength ? To meet the sadden caprices of fashion-Sere was no Iandlerd—here was no manufacturer—the Agency was ehanged , and the responsibility too : and
¦ who WBre those to whom he was to ascribe it ? In ^ po aB&ny instances to sn utter recklessness aad indifference in toe tender see ; and be regretted to say , but ^ ie jssid it bcldly , that among them were ^ wij of their cwn intimate * and connections . "Be feared that what ne was going to say -would excite a t Teryrtroog feeliag .-tf hostility , but as he had said en a iormer occasion , " strike me , bet hear me . " He ¦ K « dd Dot . enter into any of the wjamercial part of Ik , * argument , not becasise he was nnwilHng , or nnablb . trot l > ecaase he had neser at any time allowed it to lu ^ e any weight , being firmly of opieion ' tbat what T » r -j , "fcacally wrong , nevar could be politically right ( Hear , hux ) £ e put the question on tee grounds of justice **^ cuxsanity , and Seeause it deeply concerned large mi ^»« = s of the people . Me wonld not discuss the abstract , l ^ sstion of interferiug with the right of labour —the qm vsaa -was not whether the House aeculd interfere btt *« ea these great interests , but whetfcer they
would not 4 e £ & 2 &ioe that the Jaonrs of laboor should fcs limited to" a grsat « extent than , at present . He thought tfeey 1 v& the iaa » right at any other tsate to interfere on bt ^ balf of the physical and moral "ReJfare of the laboarinf' eltnfw ? tfcat right wn lecogniaed by all civilised nati ' ona , and at the present time it « u being carried out by alnosfc all the continental nations Lord A . stated the jegulatiora which were established In Russia , Pnusia , Switaerlaad , and France ; aad jhowed . the great in ere « e which bxa teken pLu » ia a » iaimbeisof tbepenx > ns employed in England upon ihafiTB principal brani'sbes ol manufacture . In 1 S 3 » t h oea branches ocenpied 57 , 000 pereonB ; in 1829 their nnrnbea were 419 . 000 . He explained the nature and se-TOity of as labonr refuired by Bechinery ; calculatinr 4 e leDgtfa of ground which in some sorU at work each peieer goes ova- pei day of twelve bonra SfcSSnV the machine * called male » -a lepgtb . MnsaiitiM oitisn to more torn fcwenty-five , aometimes erss to more than fc « ty-8 Te toS « k $ * & ?> Se
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pointed out the ill effects of this excessive labour upon ihe health and eyesight of the operatives , and fortified hiB < iedttctior . s Dy the opinJona of several eminent physicians . Since 1816 . eighty surgeons and physicians , and three medical commissioners , in 1833 , one of vrh « iTJ ) i > r . BissBtt Hawkins , declared that he had the fcu . ihority of a large majority of the medical men ct Lancashire , have asserted the prodigious evils of tf » system . The Government Commissioners themrelves furnish a summary of particulars ;— "Tbo excessive fatigue , privation of Bleep , pain In various parts , of the body , and « welling o ? tiie feet , xperienced by ! the young wotkera , coupled with the constant Btanding , the peculiar attitnite of the txriy , and the pecular motion of the limbs required in the labenr of the factory , together with the elevated temperature , and tho impure atmosphere in which the labour is often
carried on , do sometimes ultimately terminate in the production of * eri « mB , permanent , and incurable diseases . " T > r . Loudon ;— " 1 think "it has been already prov& ' i that children bave been wo * bed a most unreasonaV Ae aod . crutl length ol time * iaily , and that even adul ' a have been expected to do acertain quantity of labou / , "which scarcely any hun&n 'bsing is able to endure , " " / vs a physician , 1 -would prefer the limitation to ten h < / ore for all pereonB who earn "theiT bread by their ind astry . " Sir David Barry : — 1 am of opinion that less J ibour oueht to be required from the infant workers , And that rsore time should be allowed them for sleep , recreation , and the improvement of their minds , than they at present enjoy . " Dr . Hawkins : — " 1 am com-] pelltd to declare my deliberate opinion that no chird ! ebottld be employed in factory labour below th « age of ! ten ; that no individual under the age of eighteen should
t be employed in it longer than ten hours daily . As to j the redncrion of all below eighteen , I feel the less \ distrust in my own opinion , because it ib sanctioned j by a large majority « f eminent medical men prac-! Using in Lancashire . " When he ( Lord Ashley ) wia ! in Lancashire some time ago , he consultt-d with ¦ maay medical men on the subject , and the following \ was a note made by himself , daring a tour in A « gust , j is 4 i : —Scrofulous cases ^ ipparently universal ; tha ward s i were filled with scrofulous knees , hips , ancles , && > Tbe medical gentlemen informed me that they were I nearly invariably factory cases . He attributes the
prest-Dce of scrofula to factory employment , under all its circumstances of great heat , low diet , ba 4 ventilation , protracted toil , 4 a , &c " In the operations of the cotton business , " cays Dr . Villern . i ( speaking of factories in France ) , * ' congb , pulmonary lffl-immation , and the terrible phthisis , attack and carry off many of tb . 8 workpeople ; but numerous es are the victims of these disorders , their premature death seems to me ltss deplorable than the development of scrofula in the m&&s of our workpeople in manufactories . " The mischief showed itself in the early superannuation of tbe people , of whom not morn than Bbont six per cent remained fit for full work affc = r forty-five years of age .
Wh » t was it tb » t induced tbe late King of Prussia to pass a la-w for the protection of childr . n and young persons engaged in factory labour , assigning the period ten honrs a day ? What was it that induced him to pass that law eo essential to the interests of the country . It was a report made to the King in Ccn :: cil , by Lieutenant-General Von Horn , at tbe head of tbe recruiting department , in the mannfastnrin ? district /" . And what was his testimony ? Teat the manufacturing districts would not fully supply tfetir contingents for tbe recruiting of tbe array ; thai the physical development of personB of tender years was checked , and that there was reason to btlieve that in the
manufacturing districts the fnture penerations would grow up weaker and more crippled than the existing one ; thft they ¦ were stated to be employed from eleven to fonrteen hours daily , in excessive labour , frightfully disproportioned to the powers of persons from eight to eighteen years of . aj ; e . Then followed inquiry Very similar to our own , which fully confirmed every statement ; and the report proceeds" The preceding facts show that urgent necessity for legislative interference felt by tbe King , to put a stop to such premature , unnatural , and injurious employment of the young operatives in factories . ' This showed that in our own country , unless something was done , the manufacturing districts woul < 1 not be able to susul 5 theii conunseut . He spoke only of those
districts , even in the macufftcturisg counties , where tbe factory system prevailed . He knew that even to this hour , in tha West Riding of Yorkshire , the agricultural distitcls continued to pour forth tbe most magnificent race of msn ; bat he spoke of districts whtre , the factory system prevailed and had prevailed for a considerable period . Lst him press on the House the necessity of attending to this , because they would see the tendency of the system , and what must be the tfftct on the future generations of the country if this systen was allowed to run its course without any sort of limitation or control . Tee Noble Lord then read the evider . ee of many surgeons which provtd that the excessive labour to which females were subjected in mills was most injur icng to them in parturition—most unnatural and very
prejudicial to health ; that their infants at birth were much below tbe average size , and in a score of children they could poiat on ; all tbo « e whose maternal parent had been a factory worker . The children were in most rasas , shortly after birth , given into the care of others , while the mothers went to the factory , and the eviltnca proved that tfee consumption of Gjdfrej'a cordial and other poisonous drugs lor tbe puip > se of quitting the children , greatly exceeded the belief of any one nst acquainted with tbe facts . Tub m-j ' . hera b--ns deprived of theii children while nature was at ¦ work , their milk became too abundant ami therefore bad—interns ! di > orders were the consi quenee , the uvnal remciy for "which was gin . Ulcerated legs , arising fr * m varicose veins , w&p tbo natural result of
such long-standing at work , and tbe attempts tu procura abortion , et&n amon ; married women , were frightfully frequent . In addition to tne evidence of the surgeons , he had had the personal testimony of many women -who were employed in factories fully confirming all the facts . Many of tbe married women sUttd with shame that they were wholly ignox * nt of any domestic duties ; that they were cornpeH « d to be dirty , untidy ; could not cook , take care of their children , or in fact do anything fcr themselves or the comfott of their hnsbaruls ; in fact , both married and single affirmed that leaving home at five o ' clock in the morning , and not returning until eight in tbe evening—sometimes much later , they in f . vct knew nothing but " mill and bed . " He adverted still more earnestly to the fearfnl effects
produced cpon morals through the promiscuous way in which males and females are intermingled in their working hours ; and through the insubordination produced by the consciouaaess of the women ana cUikiren tout their earnings are tbe chief dependence of thi-ir husbands and fathers . Females now cot only occupied the places of the men , but adopted thu 3 e various associations , amu&emen ' s , and privileges which were considered exclusively suited to men . They had now associations called Female Clubs , of which be had this description by an eye-witces : — " Fifty or sixty females , married and single , form themselves into clnbB , ostensibly for protection ; but in fact they meet to drink , sing , and smoke ; they use , it is stated , the lowest , most brutal , and most
disgusting language imaginable . " Here was a dialogue in one of them , from an ear-witness : — " A man came into one of these club-rooms with a child in bis arms ; * Ceme , lass , ' said be . addressing one of the women—* come home ; for I cannot keep this bairn quiet , and the other I have left crying at home . ' I won ' t go home , idle devil , * she Teplied ; I have thee to keep and the bairns too , and if I can't get & pint of ale quietly , it Is tiresome ; this is only the second pint that Bess and me have had between us ; thon jcay sup if thou likes , and sit thee down , but I "won't go home yet . ' " These evils had at lengtb produced an impression upon the minds ef the mill-owners themselves , who were now found in great numbers desirouB to co-operate towards such a limitation of labour with regard to time and sex as should apply a remedy to the mischief , and restore the women to their conjugal and maternal duties .
Appealing to the House , the Noble Lord asked—Can any man in bis senses now hesitate to believe that the permanent prosperity of tbe manufacturing body , in all its saveral aspects , physical , moral , and commercial , is essential , not only to the welfare , bat absolutely to tbe existence of tbe British empire ? We fear not the increase of your political power , nor envy yonr Btupendons riches ; " peace be within your walls , and pltnteousness within your palaces ! " We ask but a slight relaxation of toil , a time to live , and a time to die ; a time for those comforts that sweeten life , and a time for these duties that adorn it ; and , therefore , ¦ with a fervent prayer to Almighty God th « it may please Him to turn the hearts of all -who hear me to thoughts of jastice and of mercy , I now finally commit the issue to the judgment and humanity of Parliament .
Sir J . Graham felt mnch pain in opposing the motion of the Koble Lord . The ieal point now raised was "whether the working day for women and young persons should consist of twelve hours or of ten ; and that was a question rsthtr of degree than principle . He questioned Lord Ashley ' s details of the spinner's mileage , which appeared to him to be impossible . Those details had been calculated at a certain reasonable rate of velocity in the machinery ; but if the hours shonld be shortened , tfee velocity was rnre to be so accelerated as to compensate the deficiency . He would not examine into the question of comparative salubrity as between agricultural end manufacturing indnstry ; for both employments were essential to the prosperity of this great country . He denied that economy was unknown among the operatives , and adduced some
striking examples of it which had come to bis knowledge on that very day . Tbe sympathies of all men must be "with the Noble Lord ' s object ; but he believed that the manufacturing labourers themsel ves would not be gainen by the concession of this particular proposal ; sod tbe muten had acquiesced in the other limitation * which the preeeat bill contained , on the express understanding that tbe Government would support that main clause which allows young persons and women to be employed for twelve bouts . It was now proposed to abridge by one-sixth tbe whole period allowed for th « replacement of capital and the production of profit But what would be the consestquence of that abridgement ? Why , that a proportionate abridgment would immediately be made in the wages of tbe workpeopla Lord Ashlet explained , that with reference to the peed of machinery , that be had taken the average between tbe two extremes . He had also stated that tie knew in » tanws of persons "who had thriven in other tostoes * after being employed ia manufacturing , bat
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those only had survived who vrote possessed » f peculiar vigour . Mr . M . Gibson said , that the operatives themselves objected to a compulsory abridgement of their woiking time , as an interference with their only propertytheir labour . ; If the labour of the women and young persona were stopped by the law after a certain number of honrs , the law in effect stopped at the end of those hours the working of tbe whole factory . The Srat ten or eleven hours were necessary to replace the capital ; tha profit "was wholly produced by the last hour or two .
Now , the profit was essential to the existence of the manufacturer , and tbe existence of the manufacturer was essential to tbe existence of tbe operative . Tbe true policy was to enlarge , not to contract , the field of employment . Much had been Bald about the miseries of the operatives ; Senior's testimony snowed that the factory population was in so such wretched plight Foreign countries fr \ d adopted our machinery and improvements , and with restricted time how was it possible to compete with them , unless a large reduction was made in the wages of labour !— ( hear , bear ) .
Mr . J . S . Wortley ceuld not help expressing his deep regret that tbe Right Hon . Baronet , the Secretary for tbe Home Department , had thought it necessary to prepare himself this evening to take an attitude so deridedly hostile to the motion of bis Noble Friend . Had tbe Bight Hon . Gjntlemaa forgotten , that eleven years ago , when bis Noble Friend first pressed on the attention of tbe House , that he supported his case by facts and well-authenticated proofs , by which means be induced Parliament to depart from a principle it had abided by—namely , the principle of abstinence from interference with labour , and yielding to the necessity of the case , they stepped ia with a legislative restriction . His Noble Friend and himself were alike in their
object . They wished to bring tbe duration of labour to a [ proper limit . It was impossible for any one acquainted with the real state of the manufacturing districts not to Bee that in those legions thero existed a fomplete subversion of tbe natural order of all tbiags . The male population depended for support on those who ought to look to them for subsistence —( bear ) . He was persuaded that either this or some other government must shortly take up the humane views of bis Noble Friend , and arrive at the conclusion tbat it is the duty of the government to interpose and protect the factory labourers from being over-worked .
Mr . Wahd said , that Lord Ashley's argument , if goed for anything , was good te abrogate tbe whole system . A mere reduction of two hours weuld not restore the women to their domestic duties , nor stop the degradation of the race . Tbe two hours of labour could not be restricted by statute without interfering with tbat ¦ well-rrfulated principle of self-interest which wbb tbe proper spring of manufacturing enterprise ; and o . iy attempt to limit in this way the amount of tbe supply of labour , wonld most assuredly defeat the humane intentions of its mistaken promoted—( hear . )
Lord F . Eserto . n rose to support tbe motion of bis Noble Friend near him , who might be said to be the object ef general envy . His Hon . Friend appeared to firry his argument so far as to contend there should be no interference with labour at all . He did not txpeet this would prove a panacea for all the evlis experienced by those p > raons who were tbe object 6 of the bill , nor did his Noble Friend think so ; but was he tor that reason to bo compelled to abstain altogether from attempting to mitigate those 6 vils r—( hear , hear , hear ) . He tbould like to learn that no womnn was ever to be allowed to inter 5 factory in future . Since , however , that was impracticable , surely it was something to aUeinpt tbat a woman so unwholesomely employed , and confined in bo noxious an btmogpheie , should have the hours if labour somewhat abridsjeit . The women were wearied and invalidbd by the very length of time they were kept on their feet ; and a reduction of an feour or two at the end of their day ' s work misbt be a most important alleviation .
Lord Howick said that since he aad had the honour ef a seat in that House he had never knuwn an occasion on which he bail felt so much difficulty in making up bis mind as to which way he should givt * his vote He raw on both sides of tbe question considerations which were very weighty . On the one side it was proposed that there should be ten bourn of labour—no inconsiderable portion of labour to be r < q-iired from females and young persons—and to tbe ten hours was to be added the time of going and coming ; so that altogether they could not reckon less than twelve hours and s half out of tbe twenty-four hours , during which they would be taken away from their homes Again , in the event of tbe amendment of tbe Noble Lord being carried , it did appear to him that a very large
portion of the day was to be so occupied , in respect to women and young persons . But on the other band it was perfectly true tbat by ogreeing to this amendment they might reduce the rate of wages very considerably . He was afraid it was also tiue , au had been stated , that though this Bill nominally applied to women and ; young persons , yet that ultimately they would legislate for adults of the male B 3 X . He quite felt tbat that House was n " -t , perhaps , very well qualified to decide upon such questions as the regulation of labour , but , on the other bond , they had adopted the principle ; for , whether he v » ted for the amendment or for the Bill , he tqially took upon himself to decide what wait the number of hours during "which people ou « ht to be
entgaged in 1 ibour —( htar / . Upon that part of tLe subject he could not help remarking tbat tbe whole of the arguments of the R'ght Hon . Baronet , the Secretary of the Home Department , would have benn guite as applicable if the question had been betw . en twe ve and fourteen , instead of between ten and twelve—( bear ) . He < f-ord Howick ) apprehended tbat the question bad really resolved itself to tLiB , having found it necessary to interfere , thi-y bad only to consider , knowing what th » y did of the capabilities ot the humsn frame , and loaking at all the authorities that could be obtained upon the su * jt-ct , whether they should establish , as the term of labour in factories for young persons , ten or twelve hours—( bear , bear ) Upon the whole , when the question was put to him in that
shape , he must say that he thought ten sours waa as much as they onght , with propriety to allow —( hear , hear ) . He had come to that conclusion , under great apprehension as to what might be the result ; and , after duly wtigbing tbe subject , he did think that the balance was in f . ivour of shortening tbe long hours of labour . The Hon . Member for Manchester had stated that , if they took that decision with respect to factories , they should be called upon to carry the principle farther . He lLord Howick ) wim not without epprebt-nsionfl tb ; it auch mi fc ht be the case ; for he did think that inquiries of late years had establibhed the conclusion tbat they could not entirely rely upon the principle that men were the best judpes of their own interest , and would alw . iyg
rio that which was Vest for themselves —( hoar , bear ) . Tbe reports which of late years , they hnd had from various commiseionrrs hail shown that tbat wus a moss intense evil . The origin of that evil was intense competition ; and they could not remedy that evil unless by some means or otber they could diminish tbat intensity of competition which wob now animating the capitalist and the workman . That could only b « effected by enlarging the fivlds of thair employment , \ j breaking down these artificial barriers antf restrictions by which it was now hedged in and coDflned—( hear , hear ) . Unless they were prepared to do that , they must prepure to see that intensity of competition which he { Lord Howick ; believed to be the origin ef the whole of the evil , become daily greater and greater . He thought it
might be advisable to take measures to check the abuses which under the stimulus of intense competition did arise in the mode of carrying on certain great manufacturing branches of our industry—( hear ) . With that view only he was prepared to vote for the adoption of that measure , and , adopting that measure , he thought it would be more perfect in the shape proposed by the Noble Lord opposite , than in the shape proposed by Her Jlajesty ' B Government—( hear , hear ) . At tho same time he couid not help observing ; that this discussion , and every similar discussion made him | L-rd Howick ) feel more and moTe painfully bow incompetent that House was to den ) satisfactorily with questions of that description ; and he could not help thinking that in adopting that bill they were recognising principles
which they ought to carry out further —( hear , hear , hear ) . It at least deserved the consideration of Gentlemen upon both sides of the House whether they might not to a certain degree meet the difficulty which they experienced of introducing the necessary regulations with regard to trade , and do something by "which the parties interested shoal J themselves choose the regulations which were rtquired . It did not appear to him altogether impossible that they might not form some body in which the interests both cf tbe masters and of the men should be represented , which should have authority to frame those regulations for carrying on those branches of industry which Parliament wua confessedly incapable of Itself framing with advantage . There were corporate bodies in the middle ages which
did possess a power of that kind , which , in the sequel , no donbt became liable to great abuse , but which were in the outset of great advantage in encouraging the first seeds of trade and civilization . But proper protection might be taken to guard against their degenerating into a mischievous monopoly , while a power might be committed to their hands for making regulations upon this subject Be was the more impressed with this idea when he saw bow the Trades' Unions had flourished , and had maintained themselves even in spite of severe laws against them , ns well as when those laws were relaxed . The fact seemed to his mind to afford no slight ground for concluding tbat they had arisen out ef a necessity for some system of organization of those trades and branches of industry : and , were they properly recognised by law , not being framed upon intimidation , or any other unlawful principle ,
nor composed of one particular clan , they would be of great advantage . Som « body ehould be foimed , which should be recognised , to bind til together ; » body whose powers should be strictly defined and regulated , and in which sot only the working classes , but their employers » houM have a share of authority ; the whole to be placed under the supervision of the Crown . Though this bill might pass into a law , he trusted that with reference to the future , regulations would be made not only with regard te factory labonr and that of other trades , but tbat the subject would receive tbe eerious consideration of some gentleman more able than himself to come to some practical conclusion upon the question , whether it might not be poeBible by some such means as be had suggested , to meet the difficulties of regulating , the mode of carrying on some of the great branches of industry ia this country . ( Hear . )
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Lord Sandqn felt that tb \ a measure was experimental bnt thought there was go ^ id ground to expect ita success . It had succeaded on a If . ego scale in factories where it had been voluntarily ' / . dopted . Mr . Bright saw no need for a new Factory BitL There was hartle y a complaint made by Lord Ashley against the manufacturing towns of the north which might not h / equally well alleged against London or Birmingham . He then went Into details , for the purpose of . contradicting what Lord Ashley had said of the uo ' jealtuinesa and other miseries of tbe manufacturing -fiistricta . The Noble Lord alluded to the condition c * the millions in the metropolis , and deplored their unhappy situation . He ( Mr . Bright ) would infer to one or two instances to sbow the manner in which they
were treated . There were 15 , 000 milliners employed in London , about the same number of persons employed in factories . In some of the best regulated establishments during the fashionable season , occupying about four months in the year , their regular hours of work were fifteen '; but on emergencies , which frequently occurred , thsy extended to eighteen , In many of the establishments the hours were unlimited , the young women never getting more than six , often not more than four , sometimes only three , and occasionally not more than two hours rest and sleep out of the twenty-four , and very frequently they wore obliged to work all night . The Sub-Commissioner said the labour dessribed above was quite unparalleled in the history of the manufacturing processes There was
nothing in the worBt conducted factory to bo compared with the facts elicited by that inquiry . Sir James Clarke said , that a mode of life more calculated to destroy human health could scarcely be contrived , and that too at a period of life when exercise in the open air and a due proportion of rest were essential to the development of the system . And the Sub-Csmmiasioner said be believed there was no class of workpeople in the country whose lives were so unscrupulouaiy sacrificed as those of the young milliners —( hear , be ;» r ) . A friend of his ( Mr . Brighi ' s ) bad mentioned to him a casd which had c « me to his knowledge within the Inet two or three days . A yountf girl , seventeen years of age , with whom a premium of £ 40 had been paid to a dressmaker at the East End for three years '
apprenticeship , bad had HUle more than two hours ' rest out of the twenty-four for about four weeks . A week ago she worked from two o'clock on the Saturday morning until Sunday morning at eight o ' clock , without any rest whatever—a , period of thirty houra The gentleman who placed her in this situation brought her back in coustquouce of this excessive cruelty ; though he belitwd thia excessive cruelty was not unusual with many of those employed in this sort of work . He travelled into a variety of statistics , to show the high wages and general prosperity and comfort of the manufacturing population ; and contrasted tbe rarity of parochical relief among them with its frequency in the . county which Lord Ashley represents Lord Ashley looked through a telescope at tbe manufacturing
districts , and brought their evils magnified and approximated to his sight ; but when he had to view tbo suffering state of bia own neighbours in Dorset-Hhire he reverted the glass , and made the object smaller , nnd more distant the roality . He did not charge the Noble Lord whh nvnice against the manufacturers ; but he believed him to have been completely deluded with respect to tbe situation of the manufacturing diairicu . by tbo representatipna of persons with whom ho was connected . Ho knew the huiivujuals well enough , and ihi-y were notorious characters in bis ( Mr . Bright ' s ) district . He held in his hand two books , dedicated to tho Noble Lord—( cries of "Oh , Oh , " and " read ")—one , " Tho Narrative of the Suff rings of W . D , dd , a Factory Cripple , written by himself ; " another eutitlod "Toe
Factory System illustrated . In a letor addressed to the Noble Lord by W . Dodd . " He would not enter into particular * ubout this man—it was rot desirable for his character that he shouUl ; but he was in possession of proofs sufficient to show tbat a very large proportion of the ttatements in these books were utterly false , and nearly ell gross and most malignant exaggerations . Tha writer stated himself at the age of thirty-two to be " done up" through factory labour , and obliqad to find some other occupation . Now he ( Mr . Bright ) could prove by most indisputable authority that he left tho f . ictory in consequence of tbe gross immorality of his conduct . He hail a letter from that same Dodd in his pocket at that moment , and if the Noblu Lord wishud it he would read extracts , in which
he stated that the Noble Lord aud the parties connected with him had used him as long as he could get anything out of him , and cant him off when he had no further use for him . The Noble Lord used to give him dinners at his own house , and hu had stated to a friend of bis ( Mr . Briehtj that the Noble Lord Baid he exhibited him as a factory crippie , ia order to illustrate the factory system ; and whin he asked the Noble Lord for a small balance due to him , the Noble Lord wrote him an un ^ ry letter reminding him how many dinners he had bad at tbe Nuble Lord's house , and that be had been an object of chirity to the Noble Lord . He did not wish to go into that statement—( loud expressions of disapprobation ) . Lord ASHLEY —Goon .
Mr . Bright could tell tin- Noble Lord that although he believed him perfectly honest and sinceie in his itesire for the improvenu-nt of tbe factory system , yet , until his agents were more respectable and trustworthy characters , it would be impossible for him to meet with much co-operation on the part of the nmnu aclurer 8 of his district , who would rienrd his viewa with suspicion . He would not go further into this questioniloiul ironical chutrs ) . Tho Government mi ^ ht ta ke wbat course they pleased with regard to the present measure . If they permitted the rimeurtnient to pass , another session would uot elapse btfor ? , they would be called upon to review the bill . He should give his vote against the amendment .
Lord Ashlet ( who spoke with markod emphasis ) said—Sir , I think tho House will feel that I have one or two observations to make upon the remarkable statements of tho Hon . Gentleman . 1 will thank tho Hon . Member to attend to me . He has made a charge which he insinuates , but which he says he does not moan to press ; but I shall not allow ifc to pass —( loud cheers ) . I throw myself upon the indulgence and upon the consideration of tho House — Cchecr 6)—and I request of all those around me to DX'irciso whatever influence they nny have as gentkmen and as Member . * , to induce tho Hon . Gentleman to press his charge , and state his case—( renewed cheering ) .
Mr . Brioht—I beg to ask tho Noble Lord what charge he means ' —( cries of " O , " and cheers ) . I told the Noble Lord tint tho instruments with which he : had curried on operations in Lancashire were uot worthy of his cause , or of himself—( O , and cries of ** question ") . I am prepared to maintain that ; and tell the Tf oblc Lord that he has been misled by these men , and I told him so before . I am prepared Eo provo that these agents are of a ciiaracter that I would not take their testimony in any question connected with agriculture , and I do not think the Noble Lord ought to take it on a question connected with manufac'ures . But if he wishes to have any information on the subject—( loud cries of " spoke , " " question" ) , thero are many respectable manufacturers who could supply him .
Lord Asm , £ Y . —No charge ! ( Ckeers . ) No unpaid balance , I suppose ! ( Loud cheers . ) No cripple for parade and exhibition ! ( Renewed cheering . ) Well , sir , if the Hon . Member says he hf > s made no chargo , and if before the assembled Commons of England he states that , I assure him that I am content to leave it whore it resta . ( Cheers . ) Those who heard it wil ) judge whether tho charge was made . Those who hear the Hon . Member can best judge whether ho has bad tho courage to maintain it . ( Great cbferingr . ) Now , sir , let me appeal to the Houso . In tho course of the long speech which they
wera kiud enough to hear , did I say anything to proVoke pernonal feeling ? ( No , no . ) Did I utter a singlo sentence—did [ exasperate a single individual , or throw into the discussion of this great matter any sentment or expression nnsuited to so sacred a subject ? ( No , no . ) If tho Hon . Gentleman thinks that tins is the way in which he can best maintain his own cause , I must eay that I am extremely sorry , becau <; o it is unworthy of tho cause which he professes to advocate—became it is not suited to the dignity of the House in which we sit—and it is by no means worthy of that mo t respectable society of which he is a member . ( Much cheering . )
Mr . Bright . —The 3 Nob ! e Lord entirely mistakes me , if he supposes that 1 judge of his character by the men whom I tell him uot to trust . ( Cries of " the charge " ) I toll him I have in my hand letters from Hiat , individual asserting what 1 hare stated to the House , ( loud cries of "read" ) , but I only tell him ( renewed criea of "read" and " the charge" ) I shall hand the letters over to the Noble Lord with pleasure ; and I can state further that that individual offered , for a sum of money , to an intimate friend of mine a large number of other letters , whioh that friend of mine was too ( a pause and a lau ^ h ) fastidious , as 1 thought him , not to lay hold of . ( Cries of " name . ") f Mr . Bright proceeded to read extracts from letters purporting to bo written by the man Dodd , having
read them , the Hoc Member said : ] Now mind you . I don't believe one word of this ( Loud laughter ) . I would not convict the Noble Lord upon such testimony in any court of law ( cries of " oh , oh . " and laughter ) . I beg the Noble Lord to believe that 1 did not mean to insinuate any chargo against him upon such evidence . I bring no chargo against him ; nor do I believje he had any intention of doing wrong ; and there is no one who knows me but would say that I would not be guilty of any such thing . I regret it if in stating these things I have said a word that could be considered derogatory to the character of the Noble 'Lord . I know I have a warm temper , but I meant no personal insult ; I
desired merely to state T&cVb , and I readily withdraw any offensive expression ( very much cheering ) . Lord Ashley—it ia high time that this matttr should terminate now . I am perfectly satisfied with what the Hon . Member has said . It is perfectly true I have been acquainted with a person of tha name of Dodd . He called on me . I received a letter from him , stating that he was a person in the most indigent circumstances , and uttorly destroyed by factory work—he called on me , and he certainly did appear to metoba a most wretched object . He had lost his hand , as it Lad been amputated , and his shape altogether was not like that of a human being . 1 allowed him to take dinner in my house , and i offered bits eo far hospitality , X believed him to be ¦ v ' *¦ / ¦ ¦ A ' .. ¦ .- ¦¦¦ ¦ ' . ' - ' ¦ . ' :- ¦ : . " ¦ ' " - ¦ " - - : ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ " - " ¦
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in a state of great distress , and I told him that if he chose to come when the servants were at dinner , he might dine with them . He certainly did go down to the manufacturing districts , from whence he did write me a letter . But I must say that I never , in anyone single instance , quoted a single fact on his authority—( hear , hear ) . That is the sum and substance of the whole matter . While at the manufacturing districts ( ho had a little money to assist him to go down there ) , and while there , he , it is trae , wrote me a letter . I am now very rn « ch inclined to think that he is cartainly a very unworthy character , and undeserving of the charity which he appeared to be in want off- ( hear , h » ar ) . On the motion of Mr . Warbueton the debate Was then adjourned . }
Monday , March 19 . the factories bill . The Committee on the Factory Bill was resumed in the House of Commons , when the disenssion upon Lord Ashley ' s proposed limitatioa of factory labour to tea hours & day proceeded . Mr . Warburtos began . He controverted some of the allegations of fact contained in Lord Ashley ' s speech ; and gave a . general and temperate summary of the arguments usually employed against any legislative interference in the regulation of labour .
Mr . Beckett , ' observed , that the statements advanced by the Noble Mover as to the evils of the factory eytem had been neither opposed nor palliated , except by such an excuse aa was n » real ground of palliation , —tho excuse , namely , that agricultural labourers were no better off . On the other band , there were , he said , plenty of proofs that the existing system ! was bad . Many owuors of machinery might be reckoned among the opponents of a twelve hoars' labour system , h had been argued on the other side ; that a twelve hours' system was necessary to secure a profit to the manufacturer . Who could prove that position ? He had consulted several authorities upon this point , aud he was told that it was impossible to secure a profit on capital by any given Kours of labour . ( Hear , hear . ) He had been requested to support this resolution ; but
before giving an opinion he had thought it right to take the sense of a number of practical men . He had , consequently , consulted seventy manufacturers ; forty were for a teu hours' system , and not' one of them for a twelve . ( Hear ) All over the country there was arising a great movement agaitist protracted labour . Tho shopkeepers , merchants , and several other classes had all been obliged to abridge their hours . In the town of Barnsley at the present time 119 man worked more than ten hours ; and when such examples were set in large towns and by entire classes throughout the country , it was clear that the Government must not strive to enforce a twelve hours' system upon women and children . ( Cheer 3 . ) At the same time , he could not make up his mind to goat , one © for a Ten Hours' Bill . He was afraid the alteration would be too violent . He should desire to
see a change of this sort m ' ado progressively , and , if possible , almost imperceptibly . It ought not to go f ' or'li as the opinion of that House , that twelve-hours was to be tbe standard of labour ( loud cheer *) ; but he shonld be contented to take eleven hours for one , tvro , three , or four years ; but wilh an ultimate view of its reduction to ten hours . With that understanding , he shouM vpte for the amendment ot the Noble Lord ( Ashley . ) ; Sir Geob « e Grey declared himself in favour of Lord Ashley ' s ' , propo .-al . The adroissibility of 1 ' X ¦ ••"• lative interference had long siuce been settled affirmative ' y by Parliam nt ; it was too la e . to question it now ; and the matter to be decided in this Committee > vas only whether the term of labour for women anu young persons should be twelve hours or ten . He cited th « opinions of factory
inspectors that twelve hours' work is too much for any such labourer . He had heard nothing to show that twelve hours was a point to which we might safely reduce the day ' u work , but that below that point wo could not safely descend . It might be that the millowners , if the time were reduced , would reduce the wage 3 al > o ; but from those whom ho regarded as intelligent and competent representa-• ives of the operatives he found it was tho opinion of the operatives themselves that they had better take le-is wageg thau give the present length of time . Twelve hoara was an arbitrary period ; but ten appeared tojbea natural one , inasmuch as it was that which in other occupations had been very generally fixed by mutual concurrence between masters and servants . Tne evidence , in his judgment , preponderated Sgreatly ia favour of Lord ABhley ' s period , and for that period he should vote .
Sir Jamks Gbaham reminded the Committee that the period of twelve hours was not a new limitation , The first introduction of that term by the Legislature had been in 180 ' , in favour of parish apprentices . In 1819 it was applied in favour of archil dren under nine years of age . Subsequent acts in 1825 and 1831 had extended the same protection to other classes . In 1033 Lord Ashley had first proposed the limit pf teu hours ; which the Government of that day , arid among them Lord Spencer , thai whom there was no man more humane , had thought it their duty to resist ; and the twelve hours' term had continued to be the law until the present day . Meanwhile bilk had been put on the same footing with cotton-wool and flax . Iu 1838 and 1839 a
proposal had been ma-ie precisely similar t . o ths present one , and the Gov > rnment had resisted it , on tho ground then taken by Lord John Rui < sell , and now by the existing Ministry , that there were no means of providing against a diminution of wages proportioned to the restriction of time . In tha list of those who had so resisted it , and with whom / ho himself had then voted , were Sir G . Grey , Lord Howick , Mr . Labouchere , and others , who now seemeu zoalous in the very opposite direction . Amon / r , the masters carry ing on tbe less costly manufactures there might be a disposition to tho shorter term ; buc ho believed there was no such disposition among the manufacturers in cotton and
worsted , whose ; expensive machinery must be replaced in every twelve or thirteen years ; and he felt assured that in these employments a ten hours ' enactment wauld reduce wages by twenty-five per cent ., which he ! entered into calculations to prove . This was a responsibility which ke could not contemplate without horror , and which nothing should induce him to share . It was urged that this proposal would equalise the distribution of labour ; but experience showed that labour had left those employments wherein the L gislature had interfered , and crowded into those which had been left free ; so that , instead of an equalization , there was a depletion in the regulated , and a congestion in the unregulated , employments .
Mr . M'Geachy said that the ten hours' term had a hereditary claim upon Sir R . Peel , whose father had introduced ] a Ten Houra' Bill . He censured the Government ! as not sufficiently identifying itself with the wants of the people . That state of things was a dangerous one in which the people were taught that agitation was a necessary preliminary to the redress of any grievance . Matters could not go on long , if one cla £ s confined itself to improveitg the breed of cattle , and the other to improving machinery , both alike neglecting the benefit of the people . :
Mr . Labduchere lamented to see the powerful oposition which , the Government had to encounter , aud would give ( them what assistance he could by h's voice and his vote . He believed that twelve hours of work were more than could be good for the individual ; but in all human things good and evil were mixed . jand the resolve must be taken upon the balance . It iwould be a fearful thing to put a stop to our trade by cutting down , our means of competition with foreigners . Mr . Colquuoun insisted that the three hundred man ^ facturtsr 3 who were now petitioners in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill were competent judges of their own interests , and that at least one-third of these were engaged in the finer and more expensive kinds of manufacture . . <
Mr . Fielden said , the speakers opposed to the proposal of his noble friend ( Lord Ashley ) to substitute six for eight , in the clause under discussion , had all uttered the old story , that ruin would succeed to our commerce and manufactures if the reduction of the houra of labour from twelve to ten per day in factories were jenaoted ; that was , if the houra of work in factories were made conformable to tho hours worked in most other branches of employment . He denied that any puch consequences would follow Buch a step ; nay , he went further , and maintained that the manufactures of the country would be sooner suspended and these engaged in them ruined by a continuance of twelve hours' labour per d » y , than by a reduction of ; toe hours to ten . He went further
still , and would say that eight hours would be more preservative than ten ; and that the factory system of employment would not be what the steamengine ought to make it , if it were to benefit mankind , until its use , where masses of human beings had to accompany its motions , was / restrained to eight hours a-day . The speakers opposed to his Noble Friend ' s amendment , all expressed their sympathy for the hard lot of the factory workers , but said there was uolhelp for them : that their condition would be worse jif their prayers for shorter hours of work were conceded . The cry of ruin to manufacturtg and commerce had always been raised when it was proposed to abridge this slavery ; and yet , though it had been abridged , manufactures and commerce had flourished under it , if increase of production , increase of commerce , and increase of mills
and machinery were its indications . All the efforts to curtail tho hours of labour in factories had been met by this cry ; and all had been falsified by expert * ence . In the ease before the committee an act of humanity and of justice was sought to be obtained for the factory worker , and the objection , to it , in hit opinion , was dictated more by love of mammon than or mercy or sound policy . The Hon . Member proceeded to combat the several statements of those who opposed the amendment , particularly Mr Milner Gibson ; that Hon . Member had argued ' that , if tea hours instead of twehe houra were enaoted , the production of manufactures would be diminished twenty percent . Hq ( Mr . Fieldeu ) denied that they would be diminished by anything like that extent ; but suppose they were diminished one-nun , that w * b , auppoae there were one-fifth
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less of goods manufactured , then , if there were any truth in the position sa often maintained by the Hon . Gentleman himself , and so often heard in Par * 1 iament , that prices depended on supply and demand , prices would rise —( ironical cries of " hear , hear ") . He knew what Hon . Gentlemen meant—( laughterj but if tho supply of goods , when lessened by one-fifth , were not adequate to the demand , manufacturing establishments would be increased , more people would be employed , and tho demand for then would ba greater—( hear , hear ) . This would cause a rise in wages , and increase their powers of consumption . Mr . Fielden argued that the most respectable portion of the manufacturers were ia favour of a Ten HourB Bill an d , in proof thereof .
, cited the many petitions he ( Mr . Fielden ) had presented to that House from the master manufacturers ; among those petitioners were Mr . Jaeob Bright , and Mr . Thomas Bright , the father and brother of the Member for Durham . Mr . Fielden at great length recited a number of most shocking accidents resulting from the working of machinery , and tbe neglect and cupidity of the millowners . The Right Hon . Baronet ( Sir J . Graham ) had told the committee that he would give his decided opposition to the proposition of the Noble Lord , not on the ground that he asked for anything unreasonable ; for the Right Hon . Gentleman declared that hia feelings were with the Noble Lord ; but ( and it surprised him to hear it ) because the Noble Lord ' s
proposition would lay the axe to tho root of the tree of the commercial greatness of this country , —that to restrict the labour of females and young persons ia factories to ten hours in the day would destroy tho commerce of this great and civilizid country . He ( Mr . Fielden ) was ashamed to hear this declaration from an English Minister of the Crown . He almost wished the declaration might not pass beyond those walls . Was it come to this 1 Did tho greatness of England depend on suffering a continuance of the misery ^ cruelty , and depravity that the Noble Lord had laid bare to the House in that debate ! If so , ke wondered the Right Hon . Gentleman could talk of the civilization or the greatness of our country : surely the picture that the Noble Lord had
drawn was ft picture of barbarism and decay . But the Right Hon . Baronet was much mistaken . He ( Mr . Fielden ) could assure him that no such consequences as he anticipated could result from acceding to the Noble Lord's proposal . He had looked into the commercial and manufacturing results of the acts to abridge factory labour step by step ; and he found that increase of manufacture and commerce bud always followed restriction , though that restriction had always met with the same opposition in the same terms as the present proposal . He would give figures to prove it . In 1819 , when the labour of children in factories was reduced by Sir R . Peel ' s Act to seventy-two houra a week , the consumption of cotton , was 109 , 000 , 000 \ b .
In 1831 , when the hours were reduced to sixty-nine hoirs a week , the consumption of cotton was 262 , O 00 , 000 lb . In 1833 , when the labour of childrea under thirteen was reduced to forty-eight hours a wofik , the consumption of cotton was 287 , 000 , 0001 b , In IS 10 , the consumption of cotton had increased to 458 , 000 , 0001 b . ; and in the last year the consumption had increased still more . The increase of power for turning ra-chinory between 1835 and 1841 was fifty-three and a half per cent . ; and the increase ia the number © f hands employed in the game period was twenty-one per cent . These facts spoke for themselves , and they proved that the R'ght Hon . Baronet's argument was untenable . Tho Right Hon . Baronet had told the House on a former occasion that we owed an eternal debt of gratitude
to the working people ; and even on that occasion he said that he reluctantly opposed the amendment . His decided opposition to that humane proposal was a singular method of showing his gratitude . He ( Mr . Fielden ) trusted that the House would aot be influenced by the Right Hon . Baronet ' s example , but tnat they would imitate the Noble Lord the Member for South Lancashire ( Lord F . Egerton ) , the Noble Lord the Member for Liverpool ( Lord Sandon ) , and the Noble Lord the Member for Sunderland ( Lord Howick ) , to all of whom ho ( Mr . Fielden ) returned his sincere thanks for thesupport they had given to his Noble Friend , whoso steady perseverance in trying to lessen the houra of toil eudured in factories entitled him to the thanks of his country , and he had great pleasure in supporting tbe amendment . ( C » ntinv $ 4 in »« r Fifth pemt . )
Fitzhugh, Walker, And Co., 12, Goree Piazzvs, Liverpool, Will Despateh The Following \ R „ _ _ T I_'I_ I* A. Ji T *T I* Esselswnicu Ncieu Witn Ior
FITZHUGH , WALKER , and Co ., 12 , Goree Piazzvs , Liverpool , will despateh the following \ r „ _ _ t i _ 'i _ i * a . ji t * t i * esselswnicu ncieu witn ior
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Leeds Cobn Makkbt , Tuesday , March 19 , — The arrival of Wheat to this day's market is smaller ; but there has been a good show of samples from vessels near at hand . The trade has been very slow , and the stcond qualities are rather lower . Fine Barley no alteration , other descriptions rather lower , Oats and Beans have been rather lower . THE AVERAGE PRICES OF WHEAT , FOR THE WEEK skding March 12 , 1844 . Wheat . Barley . Oats . Rue . Beans . Pea Qrs . Qrs . Qrs . Qi-s . Qrs . Q « 29 G 3 2181 321 0 516 19 £ s . d . £ e . d . £ s . d . £ s . d . £ s . d . £ s . d 2 17 14 1 14 Si 118 * 6 0 0 1 13 Oi 1 15 71
York Corn Market , March 19 . —We have a tolerable supply of Wheat to-day , but the condition is rather aff cted by the weather , and sales proceed slowly , at rather under the prices of last week . Barley is scarce , yet the demand continues languid . Oat 8 the turn lower . Beans , as before . Mai / ton Corn Market , . Saturday , March 16 . — In consequence of the boisterous aud stormy weather , we have had a limited 6 upply of grain offering to this day ' s market . We note no alteration in the value of any kinds of grain , except inferior samples of Barley and Oats ; the former Is , the latter Si per qr . lower . Wheat * red , 58 i to 62 s ; ditto white , 64 s to € 7 a per quarter of 40 stones . Barley , 30 s U > 34 s per < jr . of 32 stones . Oaty , SJ to lOd per stone .
Aiiaaiesex Jusfcl Tu Lebds .- —Printed For The Proprietor, Fearqvs O'Connor, Esq. Of Hammersmith, Coun^ ^ & * % W ¦ ^V ^^ — ^~^ ^_^_ — ^ J L — _ M ^^* ^ -— Sv
aiiaaiesex JUSfcl tU Lebds .- —Printed for the Proprietor , FEARQVS O'CONNOR , Esq . of Hammersmith , Coun ^ ^ & * % W ¦ ^ v ^^ — ^~^ ^_^_ — ^ j l — _ m ^^* ^ - — SV
, oj UA . ) BSQN , kC DM nuw ing Offices , Kos . 12 and 13 , Market-street , Brlggatdf and Published by tbe said Joshua HobsO !»» ( for the said Fsargtjs O'Conkob , ) at bis Dwel « ling-noose , No . 5 , Market-street , Briggatej •» internal Communication existing between the said No . 5 , Market-street , and the said Nos . 12 and 13 , Market-street , Briggats , thus constituting tb » whole of the said Print ng and Publishing OfStt one Promises . All Communications must be addressed , Post-paid » W Mr . HOBSON , Northern Star Oriice , Leeds . . ( Saturday ilatch 23 >; Wt ^ jjJ ^ MM
Local Markets.
LOCAL MARKETS .
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8 THE NORTHERN STAR . \ March 23 ,. 1844 .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 23, 1844, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1257/page/8/
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