The Commission on Children's Employment in 1866[63] first disclosed the fact that substantial abuses prevailed throughout the printing and kindred trades. Long hours, frequent nightwork, Sunday labour, irregularities regarding meal times, and insanitary conditions—such, roughly speaking, were the hardships which made it desirable to bring them under State supervision. Mr. Lord, who took an active part on these Commissions, said that the general state of printing houses in London was very bad; not only were the composing rooms generally overcrowded and ill-ventilated, but even machine rooms were often extremely dirty, close and unhealthy. He cites the case of a machine room, where the roof was so low that a hole was cut in the ceiling for the head of the boy who was "laying-on" to go through. "The heat of steam printing," says he, "is very deleterious in close cellars, such as many places in this town are."
[63] Children's Employment Commission, 1862-1866 (Report V.).
Speaking of the factories of wholesale stationers, the same witness says, "Many of the workrooms are ill-ventilated and overcrowded. The cubical contents of one large room measured by me were 136 ft. per head; those of another only 87 ft. per head."
With regard to hours, the Commissioners report: "These ordinary hours (viz., 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for females, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for men and boys) are from time to time exceeded to the extent of one or two hours, and sometimes more. In the case of those who bind for publishing houses the four or five winter months are the busy season, and the six weeks immediately preceding Christmas those of the greatest pressure; at one such place work often continued from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in those six weeks. The 'push' of 'magazine day' also affects this trade as it does the printer, keeping the workpeople for several days at the end of each month until 10 or 11 p.m., and on rare occasions till 1 or 2 a.m. The case of railway guides is even worse than that of magazines, for females sometimes have to work the whole night through till 6 a.m., returning to work at 10 on the same morning, and when the first of a month is on a Monday, work the whole of the preceding Sunday. On Sunday, April 30th this year, at one place twenty females worked from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and after a rest of two hours went on again through the night. Even girls of thirteen had worked in the same week once from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twice from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Another rather older (fourteen and a half) worked on one day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on the preceding day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. A boy aged fourteen had worked two or three times in a week from 7 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. and three Sundays through."
"With paper-box makers," the Commissioners say, "it is not uncommon to make two or even three hours overtime (this after a day of from 9 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m.). For two months in spring and six weeks in autumn fourteen hours is the usual length of a female's working day. At one place females over fifteen are said to work constantly in the busy time from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and in some places till 1 or 2 a.m., especially with 'little men' working at home with their family and two or three girls to help. These are instances of London work, but in Manchester the hours are even longer. One girl worked, at sixteen years old, night after night in succession, from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.; the younger ones there worked from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; at another place the same witness had frequently worked from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Another, at nine years old, worked from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. generally; she said that the older ones worked a good deal later than that. Some young women had worked on three or four occasions all the night through."
"Boys of fourteen and fifteen employed at making cardboard, have in some cases worked from 8 a.m. till 10 or 11 p.m. twice a week for four or five weeks running, but that is not general in the trade. Girls of that age have worked at making paper bags nearly every night for a similar period, till 10 or 11 p.m. from 8 a.m., and were very much tired by it. As paper-box making is all handwork and paid for by the piece, it is not uncommon for work to go on in the meal hours—'they please themselves.'"
The following was the experience of one girl which she gave before the Commissioners. "I am thirteen; I have been here twelve months. Some of the girls worked all night last month for two nights together. I call 'till 4 in the morning' all night. We generally work one night till 4 a.m., and three or four nights till 12. My mother thought all night hurt me and so would not let me go on, but I work till 12. Last month I worked five times in the night till 12. It is only in that week; we get very tired towards the end of it."
With regard to the moral conditions of the workers the Commissioners reported: "The indiscriminate mixing of the sexes which still prevails in many workrooms is generally condemned. The evil of such a practice is especially conspicuous where they are late and irregular in their hours. The bad language and conduct of the boys is made the subject of very strong comment by two witnesses, who go so far as to say that there is a marked deterioration in this respect during the last ten years."
Again, "The younger children were in many cases unable to read. The evil of late and irregular work in letting women loose on the streets at all hours of the night is justly censured by an employer as necessarily leading to great immorality."