§ Dr. Tarrop’s Report.—“Of the first two thousand cases noted 1771 may be described as specimens of the ordinary factory child, and I separate them into three classes—341 superior, 1106 medium, and 324 distinctly below average. [Lancashire average, nota bene.] As to the rest of the 2000, 151 were really fine children, of whom twenty-one were excellent examples of humanity, weighing 130 lbs., 126 lbs., and 120 lbs. respectively. The balance of the 2000—78 in number—were a feeble folk, amongst whom were some eight veritable pigmies, ten to thirteen years old, and not scaling fifty pound a piece. It must be borne in mind that the medium average of Lancashire factory children is not equal to the average elsewhere. The latter standard is hardly reached by the 341 children described as superior, while the medium division is greatly below the standard of good health. This is much more distinctly marked amongst children of thirteen, ‘full-timers,’ who have passed some years in the factory, than it is in those of ten years of age. Of sixty healthy children, averaging thirteen and a half years, and taken as they came (thirty-one girls and twenty-nine boys), the average weight was seventy-four pound, or eighteen pound below the average of good health elsewhere. The lower division of 324 included many defective and diseased cases, and of course the seventy-eight residuum were poor indeed. The cases of defective or diseased children numbered 198.” He appends to these numerical particulars the observation that “Factory work is not so excessively laborious, it is the heat, impurity, and dust-laden state of the atmosphere that injures health. The promising child of ten degenerates into the lean and sallow person of thirteen, and this progress is continued until a whole population becomes stunted, and thus the conditions of life in factory towns become a real source of danger to England’s future. In addition to the loss of physique it is instructive to note the deterioration in personal appearance. Out of the 2000 children under notice only sixteen could be described as handsome, and of these the larger portion were girls from Ireland.”
§ Linen. Dr. Purdon’s Report.—The conditions in the linen trade, the head-quarters of which are at Belfast, are similar in kind to those in the cotton trade. Careful inquiries were made nearly twenty years ago by the late Dr. Purdon, certifying surgeon of Belfast, who has devoted many years of his life to this investigation. He states that—
“The skilled operatives amount to 25,759, and out of this number only five arrive at 70 years, and only one, a weaver, has been working 55 years (hand and power-loom).… Another class, to which I would draw special attention, is the carders, whose life averages 45·7, and the average length of time employed as such is only 16·8 years. I may mention that if a girl gets a card at 18 years, her life is generally terminated at 30 years.… The next class that suffers greatly from the pouce is the preparers, and the average time that they work is 28·7 years, and the longest time that any have been employed in the department is 48 years. I may say that when the workers that are employed in the unhealthy departments begin to feel that they are suffering from affections brought on by their employment, they at once select (if they can) the healthier processes, but the chest disease has already made too much progress, and their lives are only prolonged for a short time. The departments generally selected are the weaving, winding, and reeling. The dressing department is … of special importance. The room … requires to be kept at a very high temperature, varying from 90 to 120 or 125 according to the character of the fabric. On account of the great heat, no one under 18 and not free from chest affections is engaged, and as it is considered that their days are shortened by several years they are paid very high wages. It is seen from the tables that the average time of employment is only 16·6 years, and only one has worked for 30 years; they suffer greatly from the unhealthiness of their employment. I would recommend in addition to my former recommendations that the temperature of the mills should be especially attended to, and that at three o’clock each day steam fans should be set on (if the temperature has increased much), as the system that has been working for so many hours in an atmosphere of so high a temperature is still further exhausted by an increase of heat as well as by prolonged labour in the same; and also that males should be employed at the cards.
“Age of ‘Oldest Workers’ in Forty-Two Mills and Eight Country Mills.
Averages. Dr. Purdon’s Tables.
| Town. | Country. | |
|---|---|---|
| Roughers | 46·4 | 46·1 |
| Sorters | 52·7 | 56·4 |
| Carders | 44·9 | 46·5 |
| Preparers | 48·4 | 57·4 |
| Spinners | 44·8 | 49·1 |
| Winders | 45·3 | 65·7 |
| Weavers | 46·2 | 50 |
| Warpers | 40·2 | 36·7 |
| Dressers | 45·8 | 51 |
| Reelers | 52·6 | 55·5 |
| 46·73 |
Temperature.
| June 21st. | Monday. | Tuesday. | Wednesday. | Thursday. | Friday. | Saturday. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 8 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 8 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 8 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 8 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 8 a.m. | |
| Weaving Shed | 72 | 82 | 87 | 74 | 79 | 86 | 75 | 82 | 86 | 74 | 82 | 84 | 72 | 85 | 85 | 77 |
| Dressing Shop | 98 | 106 | 106 | 98 | 104 | 107 | 97 | 111 | 106 | 95 | 103 | 105 | 101 | 108 | 111 | 98 |
| 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 a.m. | ||||||
| Outside Linen Hall | 60 | 65 | 56 | 68 | 58½ | 65 | 60 | 64 | 60 | 44½ | 62 | |||||
| Inside Linen Hall | 59 | 65 | 58 | 63 | 60 | 63½ | 59½ | 61½ | 58 | 62½ | 61½ | |||||
“The Mortality of Flax, Mill, and Factory Workers.