資本論 CHAPTER 15: MACHINERY AND MODERN INDUSTRY010

115

[Note

in

the

4th

German

edition.

—

This

applies

to

Germany

too.

Where

in

our

country

agriculture

on

a

large

scale

exists,

hence

particularly

in

the

East,

it

has

become

possible

only

in

consequence

of

the

clearing

of

the

estates(\"Bauernlegen\"),

a

practice

which

became

widerspread

in

the

16th

century

and

was

particularly

so

since

1648.

—

F.

E.]

116\"Machinery

and

labour

are

in

constant

competition.\"

Ricardo,

l.c.,

p.

479.

117The

competition

between

hand-weaving

and

power

weaving

in

England,

before

the

passing

of

the

Poor

Law

of

1833,

was

prolonged

by

supplementing

the

wages,

which

had

fallen

considerably

below

the

minimum,

with

parish

relief.

\"The

Rev.

Mr.

Turner

was,

in

1827,

rector

of

Wilmslow

in

Cheshire,

a

manufacturing

district.

The

questions

of

the

Committee

of

Emigration,

and

Mr.

Turner's

answers,

show

how

the

competition

of

human

labour

is

maintained

against

machinery.

'Question:

Has

not

the

use

of

the

power-loom

superseded

the

use

of

the

hand-loom

Answer:

Undoubtedly;

it

would

have

superseded

them

much

more

than

it

has

done,

if

the

hand-loom

weavers

were

not

enabled

to

submit

to

a

reduction

of

wages.'

'Question:

But

in

submitting

he

has

accepted

wages

which

are

insufficient

to

support

him,

and

looks

to

parochial

contribution

as

the

remainder

of

his

support

Answer:

Yes,

and

in

fact

the

competition

between

the

hand-loom

and

the

power

loom

is

maintained

out

of

the

poor-rates.'

Thus

degrading

pauperism

or

expatriation,

is

the

benefit

which

the

industrious

receive

from

the

introduction

of

machinery,

to

be

reduced

from

the

respectable

and

in

some

degree

independent

mechanic,

to

the

cringing

wretch

who

lives

on

the

debasing

bread

of

charity.This

they

call

a

temporary

inconvenience.\"

(\"A

Prize

Essay

on

the

Comparative

Merits

of

Competition

and

Co-operation.\"Lond.,

1834,

p.

29.)

118\"The

same

cause

which

may

increase

the

revenue

of

the

country\"

(i.e.,

as

Ricardo

explains

in

the

same

passage,the

revenues

of

landlords

and

capitalists,

whose

wealth,

from

the

economic

point

of

view,

forms

the

Wealth

of

the

Nation),\"may

at

the

same

time

render

the

population

redundant

and

deteriorate

the

condition

of

the

labourer.\"

(Ricardo,

l.c.,

p.

469.)\"The

constant

aim

and

the

tendency

of

every

improvement

in

machinery

is,

in

fact,

to

do

away

entirely

with

the

labour

of

man,

or

to

lessen

its

price

by

substituting

the

labour

of

women

and

children

for

that

of

grown-up

men,

or

of

unskilled

for

that

of

skilled

workmen.\"

(Ure,

l.c.,

t.

I.,

p.

35.)

119\"Rep.

Insp.

Fact.

for

31st

October,

1858,\"

p.

43.

120\"Rep.

lnsp.

Fact.

for

31st

October,

1856,\"

p.

15.

121Ure,

l.c.,

p.

19.

\"The

great

advantage

of

the

machinery

employed

in

brick-making

consists

in

this,

that

the

employer

is

made

entirely

independent

of

skilled

labourers.\"

(\"Ch.Empl.

Comm.

V.

Report,\"

Lond.,

1866,

p.

130,

n.

46.)

Mr.

A.Sturrock,

superintendent

of

the

machine

department

of

the

Great

Northern

Railway,

says,

with

regard

to

the

building

of

locomotives,

&c.:

\"Expensive

English

workmen

are

being

less

used

every

day.

The

production

of

the

workshops

of

England

is

being

increased

by

the

use

of

improved

tools

and

these

tools

are

again

served

by

a

low

class

of

labour....

Formerly

their

skilled

labour

necessarily

produced

all

the

parts

of

engines.Now

the

parts

of

engines

are

produced

by

labour

with

less

skill,but

with

good

tools.

By

tools,

I

mean

engineer's

machinery,lathes,

planing

machines,

drills,

and

so

on.\"

(\"Royal

Com.

on

Railways,\"

Lond.,

1867,

Minutes

of

Evidence,

n.

17,

862

and

17,

863.)

122Ure,

l.c.,

p.

20.

123Ure,

l.c.,

p.

321.

124Ure,

l.c.,

p.

23.

125\"Rep.

Insp.

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1863,\"

pp.

108,109.

126l.c.,

p.

109.

The

rapid

improvement

of

machinery,

during

the

crisis,

allowed

the

English

manufacturers,

immediately

after

the

termination

of

the

American

Civil

War,

and

almost

in

no

time,

to

glut

the

markets

of

the

world

again.

Cloth,

during

the

last

six

months

of

1866,

was

almost

unsaleable.

Thereupon

began

the

consignment

of

goods

to

India

and

China,

thus

naturally

making

the

glut

more

intense.

At

the

beginning

of

1867

the

manufacturers

resorted

to

their

usual

way

out

of

the

difficulty,

viz.,

reducing

wages

5

per

cent.

The

workpeople

resisted,

and

said

that

the

only

remedy

was

to

work

short

time,4

days

a-week;

and

their

theory

was

the

correct

one.

After

holding

out

for

some

time,

the

self-elected

captains

of

industry

had

to

make

up

their

minds

to

short

time,

with

reduced

wages

in

some

places,

and

in

others

without.

127\"The

relation

of

master

and

man

in

the

blown-flint

bottle

trades

amounts

to

a

chronic

strike.\"

Hence

the

impetus

given

to

the

manufacture

of

pressed

glass,

in

which

the

chief

operations

are

done

by

machinery.

One

firm

in

Newcastle,

who

formerly

produced

350,000

lbs.

of

blown-flint

glass,

now

produces

in

its

place

3,000,500

lbs.

of

pressed

glass.

(\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.,Fourth

Rep.,\"

1865,

pp.

262-263.)

128Gaskell.

\"The

Manufacturing

Population

of

England,\"London,

1833,

pp.

3,

4.

129W.

Fairbairn

discovered

several

very

important

applications

of

machinery

to

the

construction

of

machines,

in

consequence

of

strikes

in

his

own

workshops.

130Ure,

l.c.,

pp.

368-370

131Ure,

l.c.,

pp.

368,

7,

370,

280,

281,

321,

370,

475.

132Ricardo

originally

was

also

of

this

opinion,

but

afterwards

expressly

disclaimed

it

with

the

scientific

impartiality

and

love

of

truth

characteristic

of

him.

See

l.c.,

ch.xxxi.

\"On

Machinery.\"

133Nota

bene.

My

illustration

is

entirely

on

the

lines

of

those

given

by

the

above

named

economists.

134A

disciple

of

Ricardo,

in

answer

to

the

insipidities

of

J.

B.

Say,

remarks

on

this

point:

\"Where

division

of

labour

is

well

developed,

the

skill

of

the

labourer

is

available

only

in

that

particular

branch

in

which

it

has

been

acquired;

he

himself

is

a

sort

of

machine.

It

does

not

therefore

help

matters

one

jot,to

repeat

in

parrot

fashion,

that

things

have

a

tendency

to

find

their

level.

On

looking

around

us

we

cannot

but

see,

that

they

are

unable

to

find

their

level

for

a

long

time;

and

that

when

they

do

find

it,

the

level

is

always

lower

than

at

the

commencement

of

the

process.\"

(\"An

Inquiry

into

those

Principles

Respecting

the

Nature

of

Demand,\"

&c.,

Lond.

1821,

p.

72.)

135MacCulloch,

amongst

others,

is

a

past

master

in

this

pretentious

cretinism.

\"If,\"

he

says,

with

the

affected

naveté

of

a

child

of

8

years,

\"if

it

be

advantageous,

to

develop

the

skill

of

the

workman

more

and

more,

so

that

he

is

capable

of

producing,

with

the

same

or

with

a

less

quantity

of

labour,

a

constantly

increasing

quantity

of

commodities,

it

must

also

be

advantageous,

that

he

should

avail

himself

of

the

help

of

such

machinery

as

will

assist

him

most

effectively

in

the

attainment

of

this

result.\"

(MacCulloch:

\"Princ.

of

Pol.

Econ.,\"

Lond.1830,

p.

166.)

136\"The

inventor

of

the

spinning

machine

has

ruined

India,

a

fact,

however,

that

touches

us

but

little.\"

A.

Thiers:

De

la

propriété.

—

M.

Thiers

here

confounds

the

spinning

machine

with

the

power-loom,

\"a

fact,

however,

that

touches

us

but

little.\"

137According

to

the

census

of

1861

(Vol.

II.,

Lond.,

1863),the

number

of

people

employed

in

coal

mines

in

England

and

Wales,

amounted

to

246,613

of

which

73,545

were

under,and

173,067

were

over

20

years.

Of

those

under

20,

835

were

between

5

and

10

years,

30,701

between

10

and

15

years,42,010

between

15

and

19

years.

The

number

employed

in

iron,

copper,

lead,

tin,

and

other

mines

of

every

description,was

319,

222.

138In

England

and

Wales,

in

1861,

there

were

employed

in

making

machinery,

60,807

persons,

including

the

masters

and

their

clerks,

&c.,

also

all

agents

and

business

people

connected

with

this

industry,

but

excluding

the

makers

of

small

machines,such

as

sewing-machines,

&c.,

as

also

the

makers

of

the

operative

parts

of

machines,

such

as

spindles.

The

total

number

of

civil

engineers

amounted

to

3,329.

139Since

iron

is

one

of

the

most

important

raw

materials;

let

me

here

state

that,

in

1861,

there

were

in

England

and

Wales

125,771

operative

iron

founders,

of

whom

123,430

were

males,2,341

females.

Of

the

former

30,810

were

under,

and

92,620

over

20

years.

140\"A

family

of

four

grown-up

persons,

with

two

children

as

winders,

earned

at

the

end

of

the

last,

and

the

beginning

of

the

present

century,

by

ten

hours'

daily

labour,

￡4

a

week.

If

the

work

was

very

pressing,

they

could

earn

more....

Before

that,

they

had

always

suffered

from

a

deficient

supply

of

yarn.\"(Gaskell,

l.c.,

pp.

25-27.)

141F.

Engels,

in

\"Lage,

&c.,\"

points

out

the

miserable

condition

of

a

large

number

of

those

who

work

on

these

very

articles

of

luxury.

See

also

numerous

instances

in

the

\"Reports

of

the

Children's

Employment

Commission.\"

142In

1861,

in

England

and

Wales,

there

were

94,665

sailors

in

the

merchant

service.

143Of

these

only

177,596

are

males

above

13

years

of

age.

144Of

these,

30,501

are

females.

145Of

these,

137,447

males.

None

are

included

in

the

1,208,648

who

do

not

serve

in

private

houses.

Between

1861

and

1870

the

number

of

male

servants

nearly

doubled

itself.It

increased

to

267,671.

In

the

year

1847

there

were

2,694

gamekeepers

(for

the

landlords'

preserves),

in

1869

there

were

4,921.

The

young

servant

girls

in

the

houses

of

the

London

lower

middle

class

are

in

common

parlance

called

\"slaveys.\"

146Ganilh,

on

the

contrary,

considers

the

final

result

of

the

factory

system

to

be

an

absolutely

less

number

of

operatives,at

whose

expense

an

increased

number

of

\"gens

honnêtes\"live

and

develop

their

well-known

\"perfectibilité

perfectible.\"Little

as

he

understands

the

movement

of

production,

at

least

he

feels,

that

machinery

must

needs

be

a

very

fatal

institution,if

its

introduction

converts

busy

workmen

into

paupers,

and

its

development

calls

more

slaves

of

labour

into

existence

than

it

has

suppressed.

It

is

not

possible

to

bring

out

the

cretinism

of

his

standpoint,

except

by

his

own

words:

\"Les

classes

condamnées

à

produire

et

à

consommer

diminuent,

et

les

classes

qui

dirigent

le

travail,

qui

soulagent,

consolent,

et

éclairent

toute

la

population,

se

multiplient

...

et

s'approprient

tous

les

bienfaits

qui

résultent

de

la

diminution

des

frais

du

travail,

de

l'abondance

des

productions,

et

du

bon

marché

des

consommations.

Dans

cette

direction,

l'espéce

humaine

s'élève

aux

plus

hautes

conceptions

du

génie,

pénètre

dans

les

profoundeurs

mystérieuses

de

la

religion,

établit

les

principes

salutaires

de

la

morale

(which

consists

in

's'approprier

tous

les

beinfaits,'

&c.),

les

lois

tutélaires

de

la

liberté

(liberty

of

'les

classes

condamnées

à

produire')

et

du

pouvoir,

de

l'obéissance

et

de

la

justice,

du

devoir

et

de

la

l'humanité.

\"[The

classes

condemned

to

produce

and

to

consume

diminish,and

the

classes

which

direct

labour,

which

relieve,

console

and

enlighten

the

whole

population,

multiply

...

and

appropriate

all

the

benefits

which

result

from

the

diminution

of

the

costs

of

labour,

from

the

abundance

of

products

and

the

cheapness

of

consumer

goods.

In

this

way,

the

human

species

rises

to

the

highest

creations

of

genius,

penetrates

the

mysterious

depths

of

religion,

and

establishes

the

salutory

principles

of

morality,the

laws

for

the

protection

of

liberty,

and

power,

of

obedience

and

justice,

of

obligation

and

humanity]

For

this

twaddle,

see\"Des

Systèmes

d'Economie

Politique,

&c.,

Par

M.

Ch.

Ganilh,\"2ème

ed.,

Paris,

1821,

t.

I,

p.

224,

and

see

p.

212.

147\"Reports

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31

Oct.,

1865,\"

p.

58,

sq.

At

the

same

time,

however,

means

of

employment

for

an

increased

number

of

hands

was

ready

in

110

new

mills

with

11,625

looms,

628,576

spindles

and

2,695

total

horse-power

of

steam

and

water

(l.c.).

148\"Reports,

&c.,

for

31

Oct.,

1862,\"

p.

79.

At

the

end

of

1871,

Mr.

A.

Redgrave,

the

factory

inspector,

in

a

lecture

given

at

Bradford,

in

the

New

Mechanics'

Institution,

said:

\"What

has

struck

me

for

some

time

past

is

the

altered

appearance

of

the

woollen

factories.

Formerly

they

were

filled

with

women

and

children,

now

machinery

seems

to

do

all

the

work.

At

my

asking

for

an

explanation

of

this

from

a

manufacturer,he

gave

me

the

following:

'Under

the

old

system

I

employed

63

persons;

after

the

introduction

of

improved

machinery

I

reduced

my

hands

to

33,

and

lately,

in

consequence

of

new

and

extensive

alterations,

I

have

been

in

a

position

to

reduce

those

33

to

13'.\"

149See

\"Reports,

&c.,

31

Oct.,

1856,\"

p.

16.

150\"The

sufferings

of

the

hand-loom

weavers

were

the

subject

of

an

inquiry

by

a

Royal

Commission,

but

although

their

distress

was

acknowledged

and

lamented,

the

amelioration

of

their

condition

was

left,

and

probably

necessarily

so,

to

the

chances

and

changes

of

time,

which

it

may

now

be

hoped\"

[20

years

later!]

\"have

nearly

obliterated

those

miseries,

and

not

improbably

by

the

present

great

extention

of

the

power-loom.\"(\"Rep.

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31

Oct.,

1856,\"

p.

15.)

151Other

ways

in

which

machinery

affects

the

production

of

raw

material

will

be

mentioned

in

the

third

book.

152

153

154The

economic

development

of

the

United

States

is

itself

a

product

of

European,

more

especially

of

English

modern

industry.

In

their

present

form

(1866)

the

States

must

still

be

considered

a

European

colony.

[

Added

in

the

4th

Germanedition.

—

\"Since

then

they

have

developed

into

country

whose

industry

holds

second

place

in

the

world,

without

on

that

account

entirely

losing

their

colonial

character.\"

—

F.

E.]

155In

an

appeal

made

in

July,

1866,

to

the

Trade

Societies

of

England,

by

the

shoemakers

of

Leicester,

who

had

been

thrown

on

the

streets

by

a

lock-out,

it

is

stated:

\"Twenty

years

ago

the

Leicester

shoe

trade

was

revolutionised

by

the

introduction

of

riveting

in

the

place

of

stitching.

At

that

time

good

wages

could

be

earned.

Great

competition

was

shown

between

the

different

firms

as

to

which

could

turn

out

the

neatest

article.

Shortly

afterwards,

however

a

worse

kind

of

competition

sprang

up,

namely,

that

of

underselling

one

another

in

the

market.

The

injurious

consequences

soon

manifested

themselves

in

reductions

of

wages,

and

so

sweepingly

quick

was

the

fall

in

the

price

of

labour,

that

many

firms

now

pay

only

one

half

of

the

original

wages.

And

yet,

though

wages

sink

lower

and

lower,

profits

appear,

with

each

alteration

in

the

scale

of

wages,

to

increase.\"

Even

bad

times

are

utilised

by

the

manufacturers,

for

making

exceptional

profits

by

excessive

lowering

of

wages,

i.e.,

by

a

direct

robbery

of

the

labourer's

means

of

subsistence.

One

example

(it

has

reference

to

the

crisis

in

the

Coventry

silk

weaving):

\"From

information

I

have

received

from

manufacturers

as

well

as

workmen,

there

seems

to

be

no

doubt

that

wages

have

been

reduced

to

a

greater

extent

than

either

the

competition

of

the

foreign

producers,

or

other

circumstances

have

rendered

necessary

...

the

majority

of

weavers

are

working

at

a

reduction

of

30

to

40

per

cent.

in

their

wages.

A

piece

of

ribbon

for

making

which

the

weaver

got

6s.

or

7s.

five

years

back,

now

only

brings

them

3s.

3d.or

3s.

6d.;

other

work

is

now

priced

at

2s.

and

2s.

3d.

which

was

formerly

priced

at

4s.

and

4s.

3d.

The

reduction

in

wage

seems

to

have

been

carried

to

a

greater

extent

than

is

necessary

for

increasing

demand.

Indeed,

the

reduction

in

the

cost

of

weaving,

in

the

case

of

many

descriptions

of

ribbons,

has

not

been

accompanied

by

any

corresponding

reduction

in

the

selling

price

of

the

manufactured

article.\"

(Mr.

F.

D.

Longe's

Report.

\"Ch.

Emp.

Com.,

V.

Rep.,

1866,\"

p.

114,

1.)

156Conf

\"Reports

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

October,

1862,\"

p.30.

157l.c.,

p.

19.

158\"Rep.

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

October,

1863,\"

pp.

41-45.

159l.c.,

pp.

41-42

160l.c.,

p.

57.

161l.c.,

pp.

50-51.

162l.c.,

pp.

62-63.

163\"Rep.

&c.,

30th

April,

1864,\"

p.

27.

164From

a

letter

of

Mr.

Harris,

Chief

Constable

of

Bolton,in

\"Rep.

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

October,

1865,\"

pp.

61-62.

165In

an

appeal,

dated

1863,

of

the

factory

operatives

of

Lancashire,

&c.,

for

the

purpose

of

forming

a

society

for

organised

emigration,

we

find

the

following:

\"That

a

large

emigration

of

factory

workers

is

now

absolutely

essential

to

raise

them

from

their

present

prostrate

condition,

few

will

deny;

but

to

show

that

a

continuous

stream

of

emigration

is

at

all

times

demanded,

and,

without

which

it

is

impossible

for

than

to

maintain

their

position

in

ordinary

times,

we

beg

to

call

attention

to

the

subjoined

facts:

—

In

1814

the

official

value

of

cotton

goods

exported

was

￡17,665,378,

whilst

the

real

marketable

value

was

￡20,070,824.

In

1858

the

official

value

of

cotton

goods

exported,

was

￡182,221,681;

but

the

real

or

marketable

value

was

only

￡43,001,322,

being

a

ten-fold

quantity

sold

for

little

more

than

double

the

former

price.

To

produce

results

so

disadvantageous

to

the

country

generally,and

to

the

factory

workers

in

particular,

several

causes

have

co-operated,

which,

had

circumstances

permitted,

we

should

have

brought

more

prominently

under

your

notice;

suffice

it

for

the

present

to

say

that

the

most

obvious

one

is

the

constant

redundancy

of

labour,

without

which

a

trade

so

ruinous

in

its

effects

never

could

have

been

carried

on,

and

which

requires

a

constantly

extending

market

to

save

it

from

annihilation.Our

cotton

mills

may

be

brought

to

a

stand

by

the

periodical

stagnations

of

trade,

which,

under

present

arrangements,

are

as

inevitable

as

death

itself;

but

the

human

mind

is

constantly

at

work,

and

although

we

believe

we

are

under

the

mark

in

stating

that

six

millions

of

persons

have

left

these

shores

during

the

last

25

years,

yet,

from

the

natural

increase

of

population,and

the

displacement

of

labour

to

cheapen

production,

a

large

percentage

of

the

male

adults

in

the

most

prosperous

times

find

it

impossible

to

obtain

work

in

factories

on

any

conditions

whatever.\"

(\"Reports

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

30th

April

1863,\"pp.

51-52.)

We

shall,

in

a

later

chapter,

see

how

our

friends,the

manufacturers,

endeavoured,

during

the

catastrophe

in

the

cotton

trade,

to

prevent

by

every

means,

including

State

interference,

the

emigration

of

the

operatives.

166\"Ch.

Empt.

Comm.

III.

Report,

1864,\"

p.

108,

n.

447.

167In

the

United

States

the

restoration,

in

this

way,

of

handicrafts

based

on

machinery

is

frequent;

and

therefore,when

the

inevitable

transition

to

the

factory

system

shall

take

place,

the

ensuing

concentration

will,

compared

with

Europe

and

even

with

England,

stride

on

in

seven-league

boots.

168See

\"Rep.

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

p.

64.

169Mr.

Gillott

erected

in

Birmingham

the

first

steel-pen

factory

on

a

large

scale.

It

produced,

so

early

as

1851,

over

180,000,000

of

pens

yearly,

and

consumed

120

tons

of

steel.Birmingham

has

the

monopoly

of

this

industry

in

the

United

Kingdom,

and

at

present

produces

thousands

of

millions

of

steel-pens.

According

to

the

Census

of

1861,

the

number

of

persons

employed

was

1,428,

of

whom

1,268

females

from

5

years

of

age

upwards.

170\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.

II.

Rep.

1864,\"

p.

LXVIII.,

n.

415.

171And

now

forsooth

children

are

employed

at

file-cutting

in

Sheffield.

172\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.,

V.

Rep.

1866,\"

p.

3,

n.

24;

p.

6,

n.55,

56;

p.

7,

n.

59,

60.

173l.c.,

pp.

114,

115,

n.

6,

7.

The

commissioner

justly

remarks

that

though

as

a

rule

machines

take

the

place

of

men,here

literally

young

persons

replace

machines.

174See

the

Report

on

the

rag

trade,

and

numerous

details

in\"Public

Health,

VIII.

Rep.\"

Lond.

1866,

app.,

pp.

196,

208.

175\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.

V.

Rep.,

1866,\"

pp.

xvi-xviii,

n.

8697,

and

pp.

130-133,

n.

39-71.

See

also

III.

Rep.,

1864,

pp.

48,

56.

176\"Public

Health.

Sixth

Rep.,\"

Lond.

1864,

pp.

29,

31.

177l.c.,

p.

30.

Dr.

Simon

remarks

that

the

mortality

among

the

London

tailors

and

printers

between

the

ages

of

25

and

35

is

in

fact

much

greater,

because

the

employers

in

London

obtain

from

the

country

a

great

number

of

young

people

up

to

30

years

of

age,

as

\"apprentices\"

and

\"improvers,\"

who

come

for

the

purpose

of

being

perfected

in

their

trade.

These

figure

in

the

census

as

Londoners,

they

swell

out

the

number

of

heads

on

which

the

London

death-rate

is

calculated,

without

adding

proportionally

to

the

number

of

deaths

in

that

place.

The

greater

part

of

them

in

fact

return

to

the

country,

and

especially

in

cases

of

severe

illness.

(l.c.)

178I

allude

here

to

hammered

nails,

as

distinguished

from

nails

cut

out

and

made

by

machinery.

See

\"Child.

Empl.Comm.,

Third

Rep.,\"

pp.

xi.,

xix.,

n.

125-130,

p.

52,

n.

11,

p.114,

n.

487,

p.

137,

n.

674.

179\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.,

II.

Rep.,\"

p.

xxii,

n.

166.

180\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.,

II.

Rep.,

1864,\"

pp.

xix.,

xx.,

xxi.

181l.c.,

pp.

xxi..

xxii.

182l.c.,

pp.

xxix.,

xxx.

183l.c.,

pp.

xi.,

xii.

184\"Child.

Empl.

Comm.,

I.

Rep.

1863,\"

p.

185.

185In

England

millinery

and

dressmaking

are

for

the

most

part

carried

on,

on

the

premises

of

the

employer,

partly

by

workwomen

who

live

there,

partly

by

women

who

live

off

the

premises.

186Mr.

White,

a

commissioner,

visited

a

military

clothing

manufactory

that

employed

1,000

to

1,200

persons,

almost

all

females,

and

a

shoe

manufactory

with

1,300

persons;

of

these

nearly

one

half

were

children

and

young

persons.

187An

instance.

The

weekly

report

of

deaths

by

the

Registrar-General

dated

26th

Feb.,

1864,

contains

5

cases

of

death

from

starvation.

On

the

same

day

The

Times

reports

another

case.

Six

victims

of

starvation

in

one

week!

188\"Child.

Empl.

Comm.,

Second

Rep.,

1864,\"

p.

lxvii.,

n.406-9,

p.

84,

n.

124,

p.

lxxiii,

n.

441,

p.

68,

n.

6,

p.

84,

n.

126,p.

78,

n.

85,

p.

76,

n.

69,

p.

lxxii,

n.

483.

189\"The

rental

of

premises

required

for

workrooms

seems

the

element

which

ultimately

determines

the

point;

and

consequently

it

is

in

the

metropolis,

that

the

old

system

of

giving

work

out

to

small

employers

and

families

has

been

longest

retained,

and

earliest

returned

to.\"

(l.c.,

p.

83,

n.

123.)

The

concluding

statement

in

this

quotation

refers

exclusively

to

shoemaking.

190In

glove-making

and

other

industries

where

the

condition

of

the

work-people

is

hardly

distinguishable

from

that

of

paupers,

this

does

not

occur.

191l.c.,

p.

83,

n.

122.

192In

the

wholesale

boot

and

shoe

trade

of

Leicester

alone,there

were

in

1864,

800

sewing-machines

already

in

use.

193l.c.,

p.

84,

n.

124.

194Instances:

The

Army

Clothing

Depot

at

Pimlico,

London,the

Shirt

factory

of

Tillie

and

Henderson

at

Londonderry,

and

the

clothes

factory

of

Messrs.

Tait

at

Limerick

which

employs

about

1,200

hands.

195\"Tendency

to

Factory

System\"

(l.c.,

p.

lxvii).

\"The

whole

employment

is

at

this

time

in

a

state

of

transition,

and

is

undergoing

the

same

Change

as

that

effected

in

the

lace

trade,weaving,

&c.\"

(l.c.,

n.

405.)

\"A

complete

revolution\"

(l.c.,

p.xlvi.,

n.

318).

At

the

date

of

the

Child.

Empl.

Comm.

of

1840

stocking

making

was

still

done

by

manual

labour.

Since

1846

various

sorts

of

machines

have

been

introduced,

which

are

now

driven

by

steam.

The

total

number

of

persons

of

both

sexes

and

of

all

ages

from

3

years

upwards,

employed

in

stocking

making

in

England,

was

in

1862

about

129,000.

Of

these

only

4,063

were,

according

to

the

Parliamentary

Return

of

the

11th

February,

1862,

working

under

the

Factory

Acts.

196Thus,

e.g.,

in

the

earthenware

trade,

Messrs.

Cochrane,of

the

Britain

Pottery,

Glasgow,

report:

\"To

keep

up

our

quantity

we

have

gone

extensively

into

machines

wrought

by

unskilled

labour,

and

every

day

convinces

us

that

we

can

produce

a

greater

quantity

than

by

the

old

method.\"

(\"Rep.

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

p.

13.)

\"The

effect

of

the

Fact.Acts

is

to

force

on

the

further

introduction

of

machinery\"

(l.c.,pp.

13-14).

197Thus,

after

the

extension

of

the

Factory

Act

to

the

potteries,

great

increase

of

powerjiggers

in

place

of

hand

moved

jiggers.

198\"Report

of

lnsp.

of

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

pp.

96

and

127.

199The

introduction

of

this

and

other

machinery

into

match

making

caused

in

one

department

alone

230

young

persons

to

be

replaced

by

32

boys

and

girls

of

14

to

17

years

of

age.This

saving

in

labour

was

carried

still

further

in

1865,

by

the

employment

of

steam

power.

200\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.,

11.

Rep.,

1864,\"

p.

ix.,

n.

50.

201\"Rep.

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

p..22.

202\"But

it

must

be

borne

in

mind

that

those

improvements,though

carried

out

fully

in

some

establishments,

are

by

no

means

general,

and

are

not

capable

of

being

brought

into

use

in

many

of

the

old

manufactories

without

an

expenditure

of

capital

beyond

the

means

of

many

of

the

present

occupiers.\"

\"I

cannot

but

rejoice,\"

writes

Sub-Insp.

May,\"that

notwithstanding

the

temporary

disorganisation

which

inevitably

follows

the

introduction

of

such

a

measure

(as

the

Factory

Act

Extension

Act),

and

is,

indeed,

directly

indicative

of

the

evils

which

it

was

intended

to

remedy,

&c.\"

(Rep.

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865.)

203With

blast

furnaces,

for

instance,

\"work

towards

the

end

of

the

week

being

generally

much

increased

in

duration

in

consequence

of

the

habit

of

the

men

of

idling

on

Monday

and

occasionally

during

a

part

or

the

whole

of

Tuesday

also.\"(\"Child.

Empl.

Comm.,

III.

Rep.,\"

p.

vi.)

\"The

little

masters

generally

have

very

irregular

hours.

They

lose

two

or

three

days,

and

then

work

all

night

to

make

it

up....

They

always

employ

their

own

children,

if

they

have

any.\"

(l.c.,

p.

vii.)\"The

want

of

regularity

in

coming

to

work,

encouraged

by

the

possibility

and

practice

of

making

up

for

this

by

working

longer

hours.\"

(l.c.,

p.

xviii.)

\"In

Birmingham

...

an

enormous

amount

of

time

is

lost

...

idling

part

of

the

time,

slaving

the

rest.\"

(l.c.,

p.

xi.)

204\"Child.

Empl.

Comm.,

IV.,

Rep.,\"

p.

xxxii.,

\"The

extension

of

the

railway

system

is

said

to

have

contributed

greatly

to

this

custom

of

giving

sudden

orders,

and

the

consequent

hurry,

neglect

of

meal-times,

and

late

hours

of

the

workpeople.\"

(l.c.,

p.

xxxi.)

205\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm,

IV.

Rep.,\"

pp.

xxxv.,

n.

235,

237.

206\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.

IV.

Rep.,\"

p.

127,

n.

56.

207\"With

respect

to

the

loss

of

trade

by

non-completion

of

shipping

orders

in

time,

I

remember

that

this

was

the

pet

argument

of

the

factory

masters

in

1832

and

1833.

Nothing

that

can

be

advanced

now

on

this

subject,

could

have

the

force

that

it

had

then,

before

steam

had

halved

all

distances

and

established

new

regulations

for

transit.

It

quite

failed

at

that

time

of

proof

when

put

to

the

test,

and

again

it

will

certainly

fail

should

it

have

to

be

tried.\"

(\"Reports

of

Insp.

of

Fact.,

31

Oct.,

1862,\"

pp.

54,

55.)

208\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.

IV.

Rep.,\"

p.

xviii,

n.

118.

209John

Bellers

remarked

as

far

back

as

1699:

\"The

uncertainty

of

fashions

does

increase

necessitous

poor.

It

has

two

great

mischiefs

in

it.

1st,

The

journeymen

are

miserable

in

winter

for

want

of

work,

the

mercers

and

master-weavers

not

daring

to

lay

out

their

stocks

to

keep

the

journeymen

employed

before

the

spring

comes,

and

they

know

what

the

fashion

will

then

be;

2ndly,

In

the

spring

the

journeymen

are

not

sufficient,but

the

master-weavers

must

draw

in

many

prentices,

that

they

may

supply

the

trade

of

the

kingdom

in

a

quarter

or

half

a

year,

which

robs

the

plough

of

hands,

drains

the

country

of

labourers,

and

in

a

great

part

stocks

the

city

with

beggars,and

starves

some

in

winter

that

are

ashamed

to

beg.\"

(\"Essays

about

the

Poor,

Manufactures,

&c.,\"

p.

9.)

210\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.

V.

Rep.,\"

p.

171,

n.

34.

211The

evidence

of

some

Bradford

export-houses

is

as

follows:

\"Under

these

circumstances,

it

seems

clear

that

no

boys

need

be

worked

longer

than

from

8

a.m.

to

7

or

7.30

p.m.,

in

making

up.

It

is

merely

a

question

of

extra

hands

and

extra

outlay.

If

some

masters

were

not

so

greedy,

the

boys

would

not

work

late;

an

extra

machine

costs

only

￡16

or

￡18;much

of

such

over-time

as

does

occur

is

to

be

referred

to

an

insufficiency

of

appliances,

and

a

want

of

space.\"

\"Ch.

Empl,Comm.

V.

Rep.,\"

p.

171,

n.

35,

36,

38.

212l.c.

A

London

manufacturer,

who

in

other

respects

looks

upon

the

compulsory

regulation

of

the

hours

of

labour

as

a

protection

for

the

workpeople

against

the

manufacturers,

and

for

the

manufacturers

themselves

against

the

wholesale

trade,states:

\"The

pressure

in

our

business

is

caused

by

the

shippers,who

want,

e.g.,

to

send

the

goods

by

sailing

vessel

so

as

to

reach

their

destination

at

a

given

season,

and

at

the

same

time

want

to

pocket

the

difference

in

freight

between

a

sailing

vessel

and

a

steamship,

or

who

select

the

earlier

of

two

steamships

in

order

to

be

in

the

foreign

market

before

their

competitors.\"

213\"This

could

be

obviated,\"

says

a

manufacturer,

\"at

the

expense

of

an

enlargement

of

the

works

under

the

pressure

of

a

General

Act

of

Parliament.\"

l.c.,

p.

x.,

n.

38.

214l.c.,

p.

xv.,

n.

72.

sqq.

215\"Rep.

Insp.

Fact.,

31st

October,

1865,\"

p.

127.

216It

has

been

found

out

by

experiment,

that

with

each

respiration

of

average

intensity

made

by

a

healthy

average

individual,

about

25

cubic

inches

of

air

are

consumed,

and

that

about

20

respirations

are

made

in

each

minute.

Hence

the

air

inhaled

in

24

hours

by

each

individual

is

about

720,000

cubic

inches,

or

416

cubic

feet.

It

is

clear,

however,

that

air

which

has

been

once

breathed,

can

no

longer

serve

for

the

same

process

until

it

has

been

purified

in

the

great

workshop

of

Nature.

According

to

the

experiments

of

Valentin

and

Brunner,it

appears

that

a

healthy

man

gives

off

about

1,300

cubic

inches

of

carbonic

acid

per

hour;

this

would

give

about

8

ounces

of

solid

carbon

thrown

off

from

the

lungs

in

24

hours.

\"Every

man

should

have

at

least

800

cubic

feet.\"

(Huxley.)

217According

to

the

English

Factory

Act,

parents

cannot

send

their

children

under

14

years

of

age

into

Factories

under

the

control

of

the

Act,

unless

at

the

same

time

they

allow

them

to

receive

elementary

education.

The

manufacturer

is

responsible

for

compliance

with

the

Act.

\"Factory

education

is

compulsory,

and

it

is

a

condition

of

labour.\"

(\"Rep.

Insp.

Fact.,31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

p.

111.)

218On

the

very

advantageous

results

of

combining

gymnastics

(and

drilling

in

the

case

of

boys)

with

compulsory

education

for

factory

children

and

pauper

scholars,

see

the

speech

of

N.

W.

Senior

at

the

seventh

annual

congress

of

\"The

National

Association

for

the

Promotion

of

Social

Science,\"

in\"Report

of

Proceedings,

&c.,\"

Lond.

1863,

pp.

63,

64,

also

the\"Rep.

Insp.

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

pp.

118,

119,

120,

126,

sqq.

219\"Rep.

Insp.

Fact.,

31st

Oct.,

1865,\"

p.

118.

A

silk

manufacturer

naively

states

to

the

Children's

Employment

Commissioners:

\"I

am

quite

sure

that

the

true

secret

of

producing

efficient

workpeople

is

to

be

found

in

uniting

education

and

labour

from

a

period

of

childhood.

Of

course

the

occupation

must

not

be

too

severe,

nor

irksome,

or

unhealthy.But

of

the

advantage

of

the

union

I

have

no

doubt.

I

wish

my

own

children

could

have

some

work

as

well

as

play

to

give

variety

to

their

schooling.\"

(\"Ch.

Empl.

Comm.

V.

Rep.,\"

p.

82,n.

36.)

220Senior,

l.c.,

p.

66.

How

modern

industry,

when

it

has

attained

to

a

certain

pitch,

is

capable,

by

the

revolution

it

effects

in

the

mode

of

production

and

in

the

social

conditions

of

production,

of

also

revolutionising

people's

minds,

is

strikingly

shown

by

a

comparison

of

Senior's

speech

in

1863,with

his

philippic

against

the

Factory

Act

of

1833;

or

by

a

comparison,

of

the

views

of

the

congress

above

referred

to,

with

the

fact

that

in

certain

country

districts

of

England

poor

parents

are

forbidden,

on

pain

of

death

by

starvation,

to

educate

their

children.

Thus,

e.g.,

Mr.

Snell

reports

it

to

be

a

common

occurrence

in

Somersetshire

that,

when

a

poor

person

claims

parish

relief,

he

is

compelled

to

take

his

children

from

school.

Mr.

Wollarton,

the

clergyman

at

Feltham,

also

tells

of

cases

where

all

relief

was

denied

to

certain

families

\"because

they

were

sending

their

children

to

school!\"

221Wherever

handicraft-machines,

driven

by

men,

compete

directly

or

indirectly

with

more

developed

machines

driven

by

mechanical

power,

a

great

change

takes

place

with

regard

to

the

labourer

who

drives

the

machine.

At

first

the

steam-engine

replaces

this

labourer,

afterwards

he

must

replace

the

steam

engine.

Consequently

the

tension

and

the

amount

of

tambour

power

expended

become

monstrous,

and

especially

so

in

the

case

of

the

children

who

are

condemned

to

this

torture.

Thus

Mr.

Longe;

one

of

the

commissioners,

found

in

Coventry

and

the

neighbourhood

boys

of

from

10

to

15

years

employed

in

driving

the

ribbon-looms,

not

to

mention

younger

children

who

had

to

drive

smaller

machines.

\"It

is

extraordinarily

fatiguing

work.

The

boy

is

a

mere

substitute

for

steam

power.\"

(\"Ch.Empl.

Comm.

V,

Rep.

1866;\"

p.

114,

n.

6.)

As

to

the

fatal

consequences

of

\"this

system

of

slavery,\"

as

the

official

report

styles

it,

see

l.c.,

p.

114

sqq.

222l.c.,

p.

3,

n.

24.

223l.c.,

P.

7,

n.

60.

224\"In

some

parts

of

the

Highlands

of

Scotland,

not

many

years

ago,

every

peasant,

according

to

the

Statistical

Account,made

his

own

shoes

of

leather

tanned

by

himself.

Many

a

shepherd

and

cottar

too,

with

his

wife

and

children,

appeared

at

Church

in

clothes

which

had

been

touched

by

no

hands

but

their

own,

since

they

were

shorn

from

the

sheep

and

sown

in

the

flaxfield.

In

the

preparation

of

these.

it

is

added,

scarcely

a

single

article

had

been

purchased,

except

the

awl,

needle,thimble,

and

a

very

few

parts

of

the

iron-work

employed

in

the

weaving.

The

dyes,

toci,

were

chiefly

extracted

by

the

women

from

trees,

shrubs

and

herbs.\"

(Dugald

Stewart's

\"Works,\"Hamilton's

Ed.,

Vol.

viii.,

pp.

327-328.)

225In

the

celebrated

\"Livre

des

métiers\"

of

Etienne

Boileau,we

find

it

prescribed

that

a

journeyman

on

being

admitted

among

the

masters

had

to

swear

\"to

love

his

brethren

with

brotherly

love,

to

support

them

in

their

respective

trades,

not

wilfully

to

betray

the

secrets

of

the

trade,

and

besides,

in

the

interests

of

all,

not

to

recommend

his

own

wares

by

calling

the

attention

of

the

buyer

to

defects

in

the

articles

made

by

others.\"

226\"The

bourgeoisie

cannot

exist

without

continually

revolutionising

the

instruments

of

production,

and

thereby

the

relations

of

production

and

all

the

social

relations.Conservation,

in

an

unaltered

form,

of

the

old

modes

of

production

was

on

the

contrary

the

first

condition

of

existence

for

all

earlier

industrial

classes.

Constant

revolution

in

production,

uninterrupted

disturbance

of

all

social

conditions,everlasting

uncertainty

and

agitation,

distinguish

the

bourgeois

epoch

from

all

earlier

ones.

All

fixed,

fast-frozen

relations,with

their

train

of

ancient

and

venerable

prejudices

and

opinions,

are

swept

away,

all

new

formed

ones

become

antiquated

before

they

can

ossify.

All

that

is

solid

melts

into

air,

all

that

is

holy

is

profaned,

and

man

is

at

last

compelled

to

face

with

sober

senses

his

real

conditions

of

life,

and

his

relations

with

his

kind.\"

(F.

Engels

und

Karl

Marx:

\"Manifest

der

Kommunistischen

Partei.\"

Lond.

1848,

p.

5.)

227\"You

take

my

life

When

you

do

take

the

means

whereby

I

live.\"

Shakespeare.

228A

French

workman,

on

his

return

from

San-Francisco,writes

as

follows:

\"I

never

could

have

believed,

that

I

was

capable

of

working

at

the

various

occupations

I

was

employed

on

in

California.

I

was

firmly

convinced

that

I

was

fit

for

nothing

but

letter-press

printing....

Once

in

the

midst

of

this

world

of

adventurers,

who

change

their

occupation

as

often

as

they

do

their

shirt,

egad,

I

did

as

the

others.

As

mining

did

not

turn

out

remunerative

enough,

I

left

it

for

the

town,

where

in

succession

I

became

typographer,

slater,

plumber,

&c.

In

consequence

of

thus

finding

out

that

I

am

fit

to

any

sort

of

work,

I

feel

less

of

a

mollusk

and

more

of

a

man.\"

(A.

Corbon,\"De

l'enseignement

professionnel,\"

2ème

ed.,

p.

50.)