“At this time of the year we knock off work at dark, that is, at five [I am informed at the Commercial Docks that the usual hour is four] o’clock, and we remain at our master’s until pay-time, that is 7 o’clock. This we do for three nights a-week certain; and after our work at other nights we mostly meet at our master’s public-house. The men generally draw from 2s. to 4s., and on a Thursday night the same sum is advanced to them. The men are not enforced to spend anything in the house. Each man has a little beer while the master is getting ready to pay him on the draw-nights; and he generally remains in the house after he has received his money some time, as he thinks proper. On a draw-night in the brisk season many out of the hundred he employs will stop drinking till 10 o’clock. Some go away immediately after they have drawn their money. At least half stop for some time, that is, till 10 o’clock. Some sit there and spend all they draw. All the beer that the lumpers have on board ship is supplied by the master. He supplies any quantity that is wanted. The reason why he keeps the public-house is to have the right of supplying the men with beer. He wouldn’t, of course, like to see us take beer from any other house than his; if we did he would give us the sack. Every master-lumper works out of a public-house, and the men must have their beer from the house that he works out of; and if they don’t, why they ain’t wanted. We generally take about two pots per man a-day from the house when we go to our work in the morning. On a Saturday night we mostly stop longer than on the draw-nights. Upon an average, the working lumpers I should say spend about 2s. a-day in the season in the public-house. [It will have been seen, that the lumpers’ wives whom I saw declare that the men spend 20s. out of every 24s.] After a hard week’s work I think they have generally 8s. or 9s. out of the 1l. 4s. that they earn at the busiest time of the year. I myself have taken home as little as 5s. [According to this statement, assuming that there are 100 hands—many say that there are more—regularly employed out of this public-house in the spring season, and spending each upon an average from 12s. to 20s., or say 16s. a-week, as much as 80l. a-week is squandered in beer.] I should say, taking all the year round, the men make 10s. 6d. a-week. For at least four months in the year there is no work at all; and for two months more it is very slack. I am a married man with one child: when I am in full work I take home 5s. a-week at the least. My wife and child has to suffer for it all.”
Let me now cite the following table, which I have been at considerable trouble in obtaining, as the only means of arriving at a correct estimate as to the collective earnings of the “journeymen lumpers,” or men generally engaged in discharging the cargoes of the British timber and deal ships. The information has in the three principal instances been derived directly from the books of the Dock Companies, through the courtesy and consideration of the superintendents and directors, to whom I am greatly indebted.
NUMBER OF SHIPS WOOD-LADEN DISCHARGED AT THE DIFFERENT DOCKS IN 1849.
| By the Dock Company. | By Lumpers. | By Crews. | Total. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ships. | Tonnage. | Ships. | Tonnage. | Ships. | Tonnage. | Ships. | Tonnage. | |
| West India Docks | 36 | 22,556 | 69 | 24,347 | 24 | 6,796 | 129 | 53,699 |
| Commercial Docks | 2 | 1,186 | 154 | 63,213 | 259 | 75,096 | 415 | 139,495 |
| Grand Surrey Canal | .. | .. | 153 | 45,900 | 59 | 17,000 | 212 | 62,900 |
| East Country Docks | .. | .. | 11 | 3,400 | 64 | 19,091 | 75 | 22,500 |
| Regent’s Canal | .. | .. | 2 | 600 | .. | .. | 2 | 600 |
| 38 | 23,742 | 389 | 137,469 | 406 | 117,983 | 833 | 279,194 | |
By the above returns it will be seen, that in the course of that year 389 timber and deal ships, of 137,469 tons burthen collectively, were discharged by lumpers. This at 9d. per ton, which is the price usually given by the Dock Companies, would give 5,155l. 1s. 9d. as the gross amount paid to the contractors. The master-lumper derives little or no profit out of this sum directly. This will be evident from the subjoined statement. A gentleman at the West India Docks, who has been all his life connected with the timber trade, informs us that twenty men will discharge a wood-laden ship in seven days. Now,—
| 20 men at 3s. 6d. per day for seven days, comes to | £24 10 0 |
| And 600 tons at 9d. per ton, to | 22 10 0 |
| So that the master-lumper, by this account, would lose by the job at the very least | £2 0 0 |
This statement is fully borne out by the fact that the master-lumpers will often agree to discharge a ship for 10l. less than the company could possibly afford to do it for with their own men. The question then arises, How is it that the master-lumper is enabled to do this and live? This is easily answered. He is generally either a publican himself or connected with one, and the journeymen in his employ spend at his public-house, according to the account of the wives, five-sixths of their wages in drink, or 1l. out of every 24s. they earn. Say, however, that only four-fifths of the gross earnings are thus consumed, then four thousand and odd out of the 5,155l. will go to the publican, and one thousand and odd pounds to the men.
TIMBER-DOCK LABOURERS.
Having already given an account of the supply and consumption of timber throughout the country generally, I shall now speak of the importations into London, and more especially of the condition of the labourers connected with the foreign and colonial timber trade.
The quantity of colonial and foreign timber that has been brought into the port of London since the year 1843 has been as follows:—