The subjoined represents the income of an unmarried operative scavager casually employed by a small master scavager six months during the year, at 15s. a week, and 20 weeks at sand and rubbish carting, at 12s. a week.
| Casual Wages. | £ | s. | d. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal weekly wages at scavaging, 16s. for 26 weeks during the year | 20 | 16 | 0 |
| Perquisites, 2s. for 26 weeks during the year | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Actual weekly wages for 26 weeks during the year | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Nominal and actual weekly wages at rubbish carting, 12s. for 20 weeks more during the year | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Average casual or constant weekly wages throughout the year | 0 | 15 | 4½ |
The expenditure of this man when in work was nearly the same as that of the regular hand; the main exceptions being that his rent was 1s. instead of 2s., and no dogs were kept. When in work he saved nothing, and when out of work lived as he could.
The married scavagers are differently circumstanced from the unmarried; their earnings are generally increased by those of their family.
The labour of the wives and children of the scavagers is not unfrequently in the capacity of sifters in the dust-yards, where the wives of the men employed by the contractors have the preference, and in other but somewhat rude capacities. One of their wives I heard of as a dresser of sheep’s trotters; two as being among the most skilful dressers of tripe for a large shop; one as “a cat’s-meat seller” (her father’s calling); but I still speak of the regular scavagers—I could not meet with one woman “working a slop-needle.” One, indeed, I saw who was described to me as a “feather dresser to an out-and-out negur,” but the woman assured me she was neither badly paid nor badly off. Perhaps by such labour, as an average on the part of the wives, 9d. a day is cleared, and 1s. “on tripe and such like.” Among the “casual’s” wives there are frequent instances of the working for slop shirt-makers, &c., upon the coarser sorts of work, and at “starvation wages,” but on such matters I have often dwelt. I heard from some of these men that it was looked upon as a great thing if the wife’s labour could clear the week’s rent of 1s. 6d. to 2s.
The following may be taken as an estimate of the income and outlay of a better paid and fully employed operative scavager, with his wife and two children:—
| WEEKLY INCOME OF THE FAMILY. | WEEKLY EXPENDITURE OF THE FAMILY. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | ||
| Nominal weekly wages of man, 16s. | Rent | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Perquisites, 2s. | Candle | 0 | 0 | 3½ | |||
| Actual weekly wages of man | 0 | 18 | 0 | Bread | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Nominal weekly wages of wife, 6s. | Butter | 0 | 0 | 10 | |||
| Perquisites in coal and wood, 1s. 4d. | Sugar | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| Actual weekly wages of wife. | 0 | 7 | 4 | Tea | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Nominal weekly wages of boy. | 0 | 3 | 0 | Coffee | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1 | 8 | 4 | Butcher’s meat | 0 | 3 | 6 | |
| Bacon | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Potatoes | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||||
| Raw fish | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||
| Herrings | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||
| Beer (at home) | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| „ (at work) | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Spirits | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Cheese | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| Flour | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Suet | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Fruit | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Rice | 0 | 0 | 0½ | ||||
| Soap | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| Starch | 0 | 0 | 0½ | ||||
| Soda and blue | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Dubbing | 0 | 0 | 0½ | ||||
| Clothes for the whole family, and repairing ditto | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Boots and shoes for ditto, ditto | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Milk | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||||
| Salt, pepper, and mustard | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Wear and tear of bedding, crocks, &c. | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Schooling for girl | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Baking Sunday’s dinner | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Mangling | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Amusements and sundries | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | 7 | 6 | |||||
The subjoined, on the other hand, gives the income and outlay of a casually employed operative scavager (better paid) with his wife and two boys in constant work:—