The flax, tied up in small bundles, is placed perpendicularly in wooden frames of from twelve to fifteen feet square, and being launched into the river, straw and clean stones are laid upon it till it sinks just so far below the surface of the stream as to leave a current both above and below it, which carries away all impurities, and keeps the fibre clean and sweet during the period of immersion. This continues for seven or eight days, according to the heat of the weather and the temperature of the water, and so soon as the requisite change has taken place in the plant, the frames are hauled on shore, and the flax spread out upon the grass to sun and dry it previously to its being removed to undergo the further processes. The rouissage at Courtrai is usually performed in May, and again in the months of August and September; after which the flax merchants of Brabant and the north send their agents amongst the farmers, who purchase from house to house, and, on a certain day, attend at the chief town of the district to receive the “deliveries,” when the qualities of the crop and the average prices are ascertained and promulgated for the guidance of the trade.
From the flax grounds which lie close by Courtrai, on the right bank of the Lys, we crossed the river to the bleach-green on the opposite side of the river, and if we might judge from the extent of the buildings, which were not larger than a good barn, the process must be a very simple one in Flanders, or the employment very limited at Courtrai. The most important establishments of this kind, however, are at Antwerp, Brussels and Tournai.
The cloth on the grass was principally diaper made on the spot and at Ypres (whence it derives its name, d’Ypres,) but it was coarse, and the designs ordinary and inartificial. The manufacture of the article in which Belgium formerly excelled so much as to supply the imperial household during the reign of Napoleon, was ruined by his fall and the breaking up of the continental system. At one time not less than 3000 workmen were employed in this branch alone, but the separation of Belgium from France in 1815, and the simultaneous imposition of an almost prohibitory duty on her damask has reduced the trade to a mere cypher, not above three hundred workmen being now employed at Courtrai, the great seat of the manufacture.
Close by the bleach-green, we entered a windmill for grinding bark, and at a short distance from it, another of the same primitive edifices was at full work, crushing rape oil. I never saw such a miniature manufactory—in one little apartment, about ten feet square, the entire process was carried on to the extent of a ton of seed, yielding about thirty-six gallons of oil per day. In one corner, the seed was being ground between a pair of mill-stones; in another, pounded in mortars by heavy beams shod with iron, which were raised and fell by the motion of the wind; the material was then roasted in an iron pan over a charcoal fire, till the oil became disengaged by the heat, and was then crushed by being inclosed in canvas bags enveloped in leather cases, and placed in grooves, into which huge wooden wedges were driven by the force of the machinery; the last drop of oil was thus forced out by a repetition of the process, and the residue of the seed which came forth in cakes as flat and as hard as a stone, were laid on one side to be sold for manure and other purposes.
A manufactory of sabots was attached to the back mill, and sold for five-pence and six-pence a pair for the largest size, and half that amount for those suited to children. Surely the introduction of these wooden shoes would be a great accession to the comforts of the Irish peasantry, as well as a new branch of employment in their manufacture. An expert Flemish workman can finish a pair within an hour, and with care they will last for three months. Four pair of thick woollen socks to be worn along with them costs eighteen-pence, so that for four shillings, a poor man might be dry and comfortably shod for twelve months. In winter, especially, and in wet weather, or when working in moist ground, they are infinitely to be preferred, and although the shape may be clumsy, (though in this respect, the Flemish are superior to the French), it is, at least, as graceful as the half-naked foot and clouted shoe of the Irish labourer. I doubt much, however, whether the people, though ever so satisfied of their advantages, would get over their association of “arbitrary power and brass money” with the use of “wooden shoes.”
Courtrai itself is a straggling, cheerless-looking town, and possesses few objects of any interest. Outside the gate is the field on which was fought the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, and a little chapel still marks the spot which was the centre of the action. Its large market for flax and linen has made its name familiar abroad, but it has little within itself to detain a stranger in search of the picturesque. Its only antique buildings are the Town Hall and the church of Notre-Dame, the former contains two richly carved mantel-pieces, evidently of very remote date. The latter was built by Count Baldwin, who was chosen Emperor at Constantinople in the fourth Crusade, and contains, amidst a host of worthless pictures, a Descent from the Cross, by Vandyck. Amongst the curiosities in the sacristy, is a sacerdotal dress of Thomas a’Becket, of most ample dimensions, which the saint left behind him on returning to England after his reconciliation with Henry II. At either extremity of the bridge which crosses the Lys in the centre of the town are two vast circular towers, called the Broellen Torren which were built in the fifteenth century, and still serve as the town prisons. The chief support of the town is still derived from its linen weaving, which unlike the usual practice in Belgium, is done in large factories, at which the workmen attend as in England. The production of linen of all kinds at Courtrai is about 30,000 pieces a year. There is also a considerable manufactory of thread.
We this morning accompanied Count d’Hane to visit the celebrated prison of Ghent, the maison de force, which received the applause of Howard himself, and has been the model for most of the improved penitentiaries of Europe. It was erected in 1774, under the auspices of Maria Theresa, whilst the Spanish Netherlands were still attached to the House of Austria, and for its present state of completion and perfected system, it is indebted to the care and munificence of the late King, William I. of Holland. It, at present, incloses upwards of 1,100 prisoners, divided and classified into various wards, and employed in various occupations according to the nature of their crimes and the term of their punishment. Of these, two hundred were condemned to perpetual labour, and one to solitary confinement for life, the remainder for temporary periods.
In Ghent there has not been more than three capital executions since the year 1824, and as Belgium has no colonies to which to transport her secondary offenders, they are condemned to imprisonment in all its forms in proportion to the atrocity of their crimes.
Labour enters into the system in all its modifications, and as the rations of food supplied to the prisoners are so calculated as to be barely adequate to sustain life, they are thus compelled, by the produce of their own hands, to contribute to their own support. According to the nature of their offences, the proportion of their earnings which they receive is more or less liberal; they are separated into three classes:—1st. The condamnés aux travaux forcés, who receive but three tenths of their own gains; 2nd. the condamnés à la réclusion, who receive four tenths; and 3rd. the condamnés correctionellement, who receive one half. The amount of these wages may be seen to be but small, when the sum paid for making seven pair of sabots, or seven hours’ labour, is but one penny. Of the sum allotted to him, the criminal receives but one half immediately, with which he is allowed to buy bread, coffee, and some other articles at a canteen established within the prison, under strict regulations, and the other moiety is deposited for his benefit in the savings’ bank of the jail, to be paid to him with interest on his enlargement. A prisoner, notwithstanding his small wages, may, after seven years’ confinement, have amassed one hundred and twenty francs exclusive of interest.