Mr. Cook, in 1817, stated to the Committee that the cleansing of a chimney by a boy or by a machine occupied the same space of time; but I find the general opinion of the sweepers now to be that it is only the small and straight chimneys which can be swept with as great celerity by a machine as by a climber; in all others the lad was quicker by about 5 minutes in 30, or in that proportion.
I heard sweepers represent that the passing of the Act of Parliament not only deprived them in many instances of the unexpired term of a boy’s apprenticeship in his services as a climber, but “threw open the business to any one.” The business, however, it seems, was always “open to any one.” There was no art nor mystery in it, as regarded the functions of the master; any one could send a boy up a chimney, and collect and carry away the soot he brought down, quite as readily and far more easily than he can work a machine. Nevertheless, men under the old system could hardly (and some say they were forbidden to) embark in this trade unless they had been apprenticed to it; for they were at a loss how to possess themselves of climbing boys, and how to make a connection. When the machines were introduced, however, a good many persons who were able to “raise the price” of one started in the line on their own account. These men have been called by the old hands “leeks” or “green ’uns,” to distinguish them from the regularly-trained men, who pride themselves not a little on the fact of their having served seven or eight years, “duly and truly,” as they never fail to express it. This increase of fresh hands tended to lower the earnings of the class; and some masters, who were described to me as formerly very “comfortable,” and some, comparatively speaking, rich, were considerably reduced by it. The number of “leeks” in 1832 I heard stated, with the exaggeration to which I have been accustomed when uninformed men, ignorant of the relative value of numbers, have expressed their opinions, as 1000!
The several classes in the chimney-sweeping trade may be arranged as follows:—
The Master Chimney-Sweepers, called sometimes “Governors” by the journeymen, are divisible into three kinds:—
The “large” or “high masters,” who employ from 2 to 10 men and 2 boys, and keep sometimes 2 horses and a cart, not particularly for the conveyance of the soot, but to go into the country to a gentleman’s house to fulfil orders.
The “small” or “low masters,” who employ, on an average, two men, and sometimes but one man and a boy, without either horse or cart.
The “single-handed master-men,” who employ neither men nor boys, but do all the work themselves.
Of these three classes of masters there are two subdivisions.
The “leeks” or “green-uns,” that is to say, those who have not regularly served their time to the trade.