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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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jeopte % « ¥ e recently shewn , by the enthtraiasm irith which they have oome to the . national ( tanfifcrd , thst thereTvaa no need to buy their goodwill tfy * tty bubtswimee to old 'agitations , the jrtOtttttneotiB ^ Ct of grace is-a proof that the gooTlivill ^ dP the Imli fe * e < jiproeated in high quarters . Et 4 a * * wi « e * fcd generous act . 7 B * it the * e ttre other political prisoners in Auatr ^ iA ^ fflttd ^ InBiSt everythiiig « hat is said in favour oFJMr . Smith O'Brien « an be said in favour of
JWHi Ertwt , Zephaniah Williams , and their associfttfes—With-t-wo difltinctions . We do not know thtttrthose n * £ n can compete with Mr . . SmitL CTBriettmpeNiigre © ; We do know ttat he cannot coHkpfeDe with' them in application to laudable indilffltt * y tinder a hatd life . If the Irish-people htt ¥ « ^ hown good- ^ ill , so have the English ; if am a '
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« PEB 6 BaasrOA ^ HBKE > STBIERS AN ® l mooE-oua ? . ; -: . » . . ; ¦ ¦ . ¦ : ** . . ; HUE , < 3 BERAnv * E . T ^ &w ^ iag&rera 'treat men <« b ^ fibstmotidas , . land giM | g < ali > e ^ npoa , lfBHQB -of' ^ en , ^ ifey > are -uau&Uyf guittyi ^ f ^ reat injustice £ bid : many inaccuracies . To steak M-the- ; € lperative 8 as or a class composed en « - tirely ^ . perwns animated by like impulSea , atid sui ^ un ^ iieu . 'iQr exactly similar ^ circumstances , 651-dSwe ^ t mth tn ^ affi'e ° nataTal'g ^ fts ,. 4 i ^ T ^ jby ^ ing tfc © advantage * 6 tHhe ^ same -cultivation , * rould % e * 1 W » atemltithe ^ armff ^ bstn- ^ tY ^ tht ^ 'who fuboinSte
wfiolatifcle coEd « mnationa against vseots ininsiligion aili ^^ aitieitPin ^ oiitKii ; ? n © VetthelesijiiMJthing is + in < w © . v c « riBioii * haaik ) hear those ^ hbbuiytheinaelvee , in , . a ^ lW ^ anfeSw&y . about the condition of the jpeqpLe , speek of " Jthe-Qperative' * in precisely the same tone , wti ^ a ^ tiu ^ ist assum « s when he lectures about ^ Jl » mdnKey * 'Jj 6 r ^^ Ib ^ a ^ poitanius . 1 Tetf no one clItaL ^ hftve 6 tu 91 ed " the ^ OTkmfe-ictass ^ ai ^ niuch ttd-^ tft % e , irithoat imm « liatblyi > ercehdnff thjit they diiBferamcmg&t 'themselves as widely and as - 'essentfl $ ! m * -m- ^® Q $ ^ ther ^ gwaft division *> f 4 he -social * !
dy * t « ni . rftey have tfeeir distinctions and their clittUw , * heir : * telrionable and their vulgar , their ifieBjHK ^ hlemnd'theiirdiKreputable , themfeerious aad th ^^ drldlvfolk , even their rich , and their poor , ^ ia t ^«^^ denaj » dbfmd -as 'Strictly observed as among , •^ y ^ r ^ e ^ f . tbe superlbr classes . In a single mill th&fedBng of classification may be found perfectly deyelo | fed . - ^ tfter the managers , the overlooker , atfd % fe clothwOT ^^ in authority , anti &e ureWeTs , who earn a high tate of ' wages'aaid ^ HdSfcfen'Very superior men , the general taffy'tif bp ^ rtfttves form themselves into classes and orange tfceflwetves , by common consent , ^ ntoa sort of social « a 3 atlon . Ihemont fashionable class of operatives
ini 4 imill , 'isgeneraUy * hought to ' be the winders . - It i& < 4 he'task *> f these youflg ladies to wind the twist qpW ^ bobbins , previous to the construction of the warjiy ana as this is an operation requiring , great neatness and cleanliness , combined with no little 8 kil 3 y to be a winder is held to be a certificate for the possession ( if all those estimable qualities . Generally speaking , ih » iriha ' ers are very well -paid , often making from , twelve to sixteen shillings pej ? week ; th « y take the lead of the mill in matters relating to dreisa , < and unless they chance to have relatives « t the loema «; usualiy- < i&sociate only with those of their own cMtaMUid would deem it unworthy of their position to n&itf with -the Card Room hands . These last form
the lowest grade of null-hands , and it is in tkese racks ,-that the Irish immigrants generally enlist . With the exception of Roving , there is no operation in ; the 'Card Eoom which requires any very great amount 6 t skill , and it probably takes less instruction to make &n average hand there , than in any otiier department of the mill . To this must be added the important consideration that the work is dirtier than in the other branches , dust and cotton fluff flying about in great abundance , and interfering with the personal cleanliness Of the operative . Even in-the Curd Boom itself , we find that the easiest and dirtiest Work is Mi at which is most despised , for of all the operatives in a mill , no one meets with less consideration from her fellows than the Devil-tenter , —she whose only duty it is to supply the machine called tho Devil * with raw cotton , and to remove the same when it has been cleansed thereby .
This sense of distinction , which is commendable in itself , and begets a spirit of progress and emulation , is Often found to exist between the operatives in different mills . When ascertain mill gets a character
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lfi * TIE LJEABEB . GS ^ u * # ay ,
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* To understand tlio forco of this simile , the reader should understand that PiBhorgule iu Lho principal utrcct , and Marsh-lano tho lowest quarter in Preston .
club 4 U « wujg the TOyments to c ^ aserKrithont fin ^ s . Prior to Augost , I generally admitted at each fortnightly . meeting Bix persons engaged in the cotton business , which stmril * has now wholly 'eeassd . Taking into consideration the amount withdrawn faring the ' look-out , ' the- « moaat which would iave been paid by the memberB who hove ceased paying , and the loss oi new members , > I should fix the deficit » t nearly 6000 J . '' As these facts refer to only three out of eleven building' societies , some faint idea may be gathered of the terrible inroads made by the " Lock-outs" into those humble savings -which might one day have ¦ raised their owners above their present . position in the social scale . ~~ ^>
tit will be seen , then , that the operatives have both the ^ power and the will to effect very considerable saving * , and that they do so , appears to be . a very 1 sufficient-answer to those who love to look ^ pon the ' gloomy side of the . picture , and to regard the condition of ihe operative as . pitiable in every respect . When such persons refer to the days of the Dutch loom and the one-thread spinning-wheel as the golden , age of cotton-spinning , it is necessary to remind them that , although the wages of individual
workers might'have been more ,-the-gross earnings of i the working classes-were incalculably less ; that living was then ^ cnore costly even than now ; rand , above all , Ithat those children who then cumbered the house in i idleness may « 11 now find profitable employment in the factories . A century ago , the father , by his in * ' dividual labour ,-might perhaps earn from a pound to ! thjrty « sKilling 8- per wieek , but then his family was tcompaura ^ iYejy * tnpToductivef ; whilst in the present * day it is Tib 'uncommon thing for the aggregate ( earningsof-ufemiiy ^ toTreaidhfbar pounds per week , 1
f <* r' « ven' « aore . ^ Bttt'if ^ otne ^ of the opetattres ' Bare money , others 'do rtfae irery rever *© , ^ bV-getttng 'into debt . Brink 'arnong'thecmen , aadlloveof finely among the women , 'diMipate rwhat otherwise ¦ would make a very com * i £ bstable >« tore 4 igainst / the rainyday . The . extent to 'which thelatter ^ passion is indulged in would-be perifectly incredible to those who have never seen the ! iactory , people-at their festivities , or'even as they
sp ^ nd Sunday- To . obtain the Means ' 6 f ; purchasing ifeathers , attiftcial Sowers , Birmingham jewellery i cheap silks , trad cotton velvet , the factory lass will be content to liveTnjon meal porridgei throughout the week , and it 4 sweU if Jhersacriflces 4 o fashion ate : connned ¦ toigiving upiher meals * When Mr- Cowell said that if the operatives were better paid , they would fgive-a stimulus to the Spitalfields' silk trade , he uttered a severer criticism upon the habits of his ( ilients . than he was aware of . The jer ^ y-shop and the haberdasher ' s have hitherto been the most
dangerous-of the rocks upon Which the factory operatives'have gone to ruin . Another monstrous evil to be noticed , is the habit of purchasing goods upon credit . If the tradesmen were to : set their Faces resolutely ^ against the custom it could at once be put an end to ; but , as in the University-town so in the FactoTy-town ,: therace of competition-is keen , and no man , has the courage to risk his own business for the sake of working out a practical reform .
-From one cause or another it may be safely estimated that , even in . the best of times , one-half of the Operative population are in debt , and how far they are excusable in being so may be imagined from the following case , which is by no means exceptional . A single 'famil y In Preston , consisting of a father , two daugliteTB , and four lads , takes home \ neeklyfrom the milLat which they work * eighty-Jive shillings and sixpence . The sum is made-up thus :
I s . d . y Eather , a spinner 85 0 Two daughters , in the card-room ,. lls . 3 d . each , 22 G Eldest lad , a piecer 11 0 . Three lads , in the card-room , 5 s . 6 d . each 16 6 85 0 Yet this family is in debt to the extent of more tha fifty ground ' s . One great cause of this improvidence is undoubtedly the deplorable want of a propeT education among the factory operatives , and how far-this want exists may be inferred from the unquestionable fact , that not more than one-tliird of them can read and write j whilst the proportion of those who have received any training at all worthy of being called an education is infinitely smaller . Not that there is any lack of
schools and school machinery , or that the clergy are remiss in their duty by neglecting to persuade parents into letting their children enjoy the benefits of these ; the fault lies in the people themselves . Such is the blinded eagerness to make their children profitable , that a very common offence against tho law throughout the mannufacturing districts » the falsification of baptismal certificates , in order to tranagrees the limit assigned by act of Parliament as the earliest period of admission to factory labour . Undur the Factory Acts , cliildren between tlie ages of eight and thirteen are admissible into factories as half-timers , working six hours a day , but it is incumbent upon the employers to ensuro their being sent to school : after thirteen they are permitted to enter the factory and work upon full time , no
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* Tho Devil is a sort of Willow machine , used for removing the grosser partiolea of dirt , Beedtt , stalk , and other impurities from lho raw ootton . Tho name is probably derived mnw'thodiabolioal ferocity with which it sotaea the Cotton , tears 11 to pieces , and then tortures and vvhtrLo it about in proportion to iU impurity .
fortaktn&nows 'tout the best bands , it becomes an Object of ambition to center that mill , irrespective of any nice , calculations as to slightly advanced earnings . To have worked there is a certificate of skill and good conduct of "far . greater moment to the hand than the immediate advantage of increased pay , and we cannot , therefore , be surprised at finding that'the favourite-mills are not alwayB those "which pay the highest average earnings . This feeiirig -was very
significantly expressed by a weaver , who , during the "lioc ^ -out , " has been working at an establishment which has been paying the advanced prices . Knowing that she had been accustomed to work in a mill which is justly celebrated foe its ^ advantages * the querist asked Jher how she liked , her new place , f ^ thra contemptuous toss of / the head , she replied : "Wall , its joost loike uittifag from JTishergate to Marsh-lane . " * /
It is curious to observe h < 5 Vr far the feelings of the operatives towards each other are influenced by the respect universally accorded to superior skill and intelligence , and to notice the -tone , almost approaching reverence , with which they speak of any -very high qualifications for their particular art . ^ -Speaking of his 'wife , a man fsaid to me : — " Thereiadaot a xnaBd ^ Prieston eati wave boike herJ i I too «* a wove myiVed ^ off . " Certainly . the ^ ifiexeiLce is
tin ^ sMll rver-yrremarkable ,. and these are degrees ^ i dexterity which no practice or asiduity could ever enable the generality of operativesto acfluire . Qttd i man , now a ver ^ / Muehtial traionist , "worked tbnr i looms -in 'Blac ^ btiiAii , yithom tire ^^ awistaifise < SF ¦ & tteiitefV-ln additioTitwWhich / hetjaught'at'an ^^^ tschool ,-arid ciiltivatea -pfactitealknttthematicstos * aeh ! goodjpxirpoflc thatlhe is now reputed tobe : oHeusfrthe > besstrcalcMlators hi ^ EAncashlre . i
Animates by all ^ hose Sentiments ' which . inspire , i men Jwith ta desire * to rise—^ -ambition , a -keen <^ sr-f iception ^ of social distinction , and an admiration -for . » superior industry : aBd « kiil—4 t is-notsurprising that , the operatives should bring them to hear upon Iheir own ^ positions in very different SegreB *; that w » me Of them should" be-careful and industrious , others idle and thoughtless ; that some should be mt > de 9 t ^ Md'SoTatar , Others prodigal and dissolute ; that ^ Bome should lay by the ^ outfaStionB of wealth , oth « rsisow the seeds of m «?« Ty . '^ It ^ outd te = veryJaiffleult , if not 'impossible , tto obtain fin -exact account of the ; savings effected Ibythe working classes ; but 4 v-few facts , that have come Within my / knowledge , -are , sufficient to prove that they -are-not inconsiderable .
In Breston there- are eleven building Societies ,- and one JFreehold X . and Society ; one Savings Bank , one District Provident Society and Sick Glubp fc * nent SoGieties , Societies of ¦ Freemasons , Odd-IWows , IVruida , Foresters , and Rechabites too numerous to mention . In all these Societies , ^ with the exception of the District Provident Society , the operatives are so mixed up with the general public , that it would be impossible , from any examination of their accounts , to extract a correct statement of the funds -subscribed by that particular class ; but the District Provident Society carries on its operations exclusively among the poorer classes * of milt-hand * , and
its accounts furnish , some interesting details i * s to the saving habits of these people . The District Provident Society sends visitors to the cottages of the operatives ! , to persuade them into entrusting a weekly mite to the care _ of the Society . If these sums are left with the Society for a longer period than three months , they are augmented in the proportion of a farthing per shilling , per week ; if Ibr a longer period than . six months , the rate is increased to a halfpenny per shilling , per week . TheBe augmentations are supplied by subscriptions made among the townspeople , the clergy , gentry , and mill-owners contributing very handsomely . In the
year 1851 , 1308 / . was so deposited . From a statement now before me , taken from the memorandumbook of one of the visitors , some idea may be gathered as to the inroads made by the " Lock-out" upon these little savings . It would seem that the sums collected by that one ^ visitor from August , 1852 , to October . 1853 , amount , upon an average , to twenty pounds ^ per month , and that the number of depositors during the Bame period was ninety per month ; during the four months of the " Lock-out , " the average collection of the same visitor has been seven pounds per month , and the number of depositors only thirty per month .
A gentleman who has the sole management of three very important building societies , has been good enough , after a very careful analysis of his books , to furnish rne with the following inteiesting report : — "In the month of Augnat , 1853 , I find that there were 123 nmmbers in tho building societies of which I have the management , who were solely engaged in the cotton-mills . The united deposits of these members amounted to nearly 8000 / . Since that lime GO of those members have wholly ¦ withdrawn , and upwards of 100 ( M . has heen received by them . Of the remaining (} tf members , the main portion of them ] iave ceasod paying until the milla resume work , tho
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 25, 1854, page 182, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2027/page/14/
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