"I am, Sir,
"Your obedient Servant,
"John Fielden.
"Klay Clegg, Esq., Oldham."
[THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.]
Source.—The Curse of the Factory System, by John Fielden, M.P. London, 1836.
The Commissioners have given a short summary in pp. 26 to 28 of their report, of the "Effects of Factory Labour on Children," from which I make the extracts following. It is taken, it appears, from the mouths of the children themselves, their parents, and their overlookers.
The account of the child, when questioned, is:
"Sick-tired, especially in the winter nights; so tired she can do nothing; feels so tired she throws herself down when she gangs home, no caring what she does; often much tired, and feels sore, standing so long on her legs; often so tired she could not eat her supper; night and morning very tired; has two sisters in the mill; has heard them complain to her mother, and she says they must work; whiles I do not know what to do with myself; as tired every morning as I can be."
Another speaks in this way: