. wii J 2 402 133 COMMISSION ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG st PERSONS, AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE (1867). FIRST REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS, WITH APPENDIX PART I. Presented to both Wouses of Parliament Dy Command of Wer Majesty. LONDON: PRINTED BY -GEORGE EDWARD EYRE AND WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, PRINTERS TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE. 1868. 21157, . ea) CONTENTS. COMMISSION” - - = : CONTENTS OF REPORT REPORT - - 3 APPENDIX PARTI - - 3 Page ili iv vii Reports from the Assistant COMMISSIONERS. The Rev. James Fraser, M.A., Report on the Counties of Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, Gloucester, and parts of Suffolk (A.) - Joseph J. Henley, Esq., M.A., Report on Northumberland and Durham (B.) - The Hon. Edward Stanhope, M.A., Report on the Counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leicester (C.) = The Hon. Edwin Berkeley Portman, M.A., Report on Cambridgeshize and York- shire (D.) - - Frederick H. Norman, Esq., M.A., Report on Northamptonshire (E.) - s George Culley, Esq. B.A., Report on Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire (F.) MISCELLANEOUS EVIDENCE. Extract from Journal of the London Cen- tral Farmers’ Club; discussion on the allotment system - - - 52 72 93 110 122 139 Communications on the allotment system from :— The Right Hon. J. Sotheron Estcourt Captain Scobell, R.N. - - The Rev. E. Moore - = . F. G. Henley, Esq. Communications on the half-time system from :— Sir P. Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P. - C. P. Tebbutt, Esq. - 7 “| Charles Paget, Esq. - - = On benefit societies - “ = Evidence of Mr. Samuel Sharp, architect, on Mr. B. Nicoll’s mode of constructing labourers’ cottages - = = Memorandum on concrete made of Port- land cement, in reference to the above evidence - - 7 - Description of the requirements for health, decency, and comfort for an agr icultural labourer’s cottage - - - Evidence as to the receipts and expendi- ture of a Scotch and of an English labourer - - 7 < Documents issued by the Commissioners :— 1. Letter of instructions to the Assist- ant Commissioners - - 2. Circular of inquiries - - 8. Abbreviated circular for districts where no agricultural gangs are einployed - Circular letters, (a.), (b.), (¢.), (a. )s bed by the Assistant Commissioners - Page 145 146 146 146 147 147 148 149 150 158 158 161 163 164 168 COMMISSION. VICTORIA R. GWirtorta, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Treland, Queen, Defender of the Faith. Co Our trusty and well-beloved Hugh Seymour Tremenheere, Esquire, and Edward Carleton Tufnell, Esquire, Greeting. @Mhereags it has been represented unto Us, that it is expedient that inquiry should be made into the several matters herein-after mentioned. Pow know pe, that We, reposing great trust and confidence in your ability and ‘ discretion, have nominated, constituted, and appointed, and do by these Presents nominate, constitute, and appoint, you the said Hugh Seymour Tremenheere and Edward Carleton Tufnell to be Our Commissioners for the purposes of the said Inquiry. An We do hereby enjoin you, or either of you, to inquire into and report upon the Employment of Children, Young Persons, and Women in Agriculture, for the purpose of _ ascertaining to what extent, and with what modifications the principles of the F actory Acts can be adopted for the regulation of such Employment, and especially with a view to the better Education of such Children. QGnv for the better discovery of the truth in the premises, We do by these Presents give and grant unto you or either of you full power and authority to call before you or either of you such persons as you shall judge necessar ys by whom you may be the betier informed of the truth in the premises, and to inquire of the premises and every part thereof by all other lawful ways and means whatsoever. Qn Our further Will and Pleasure is, that you Our said Commissioners do, with as little delay as may be consistent with the due discharge of the duties hereby imposed upon you, certify unto Us, under your hands and seals, your several proceedings in the premises. Qnv We do further will and command, and by these Presents ordain, that this Our Commission shall continue in full force and virtue, and that you Our said Commissioners, or either of you, shall and may from time to time proceed in the execution thereof and of every matter or thing therein contained, although the same be not continued from time to time by adjournment. @nv for your assistance in the execution of this Our Commission, We have made choice of Our trusty and well-beloved Prideaux Selby, Esquire, Barrister-at-Law, to be the Secretary to this Our Commission, and to attend you, whose services and assistance We require you to use from time to time, as occasion may require. Given at Our Court at St. James’s, the Tenth day of May 1867, in the Thirtieth year of Our reign. By Her Majesty’s Command. SPENCER H. WALPOLE. CONTENTS OF THE REPORT. Appointment of Assistant Commissioners - - Preliminary proceedings of the Commissioners on entering upon their duties - = 2 Counties embraced in this year’s inquiry - - The leading subjects for inquiry andes this Commis- sion - - - - Final report will be presented next year Principal points in reports of Assistant Commis- sioners = - - - - - Mr. Fraser’s Report on the counties of Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, and Gloucester, and on two districts in Suffolk - 7 3 - = Varying condition of agricultural labourer - Very young boys wanted in some localities, in others not - - - - - Employment of younger Gilden fluctuating - School attendance may be insisted on in the intervals of demand for child’s labour = - - - Restrictions in boy’s labour recommended in Mr. Fraser’s district - - - - - Diversity of opinions as to nerizicting the labour of females - - - - - Education of agricultural ildieass - - - Efficient schools must be provided in sufficient number 7 - - - - Regular attendance must be secured - - The evil of a too ie ee from school must be prevented - . Different views as to ‘compulsory attendance - Even the plan involving the least sacrifice to the parents is met with the difficulty of the poverty ot a large proportion of the parents - Rates of wages in Mr. Fraser’s district - - Mr. Fraser’s conclusions after reviewing all the systems existing and proposed = - - The state of the agricultural cottages in his district Possibility of a Jaw on the principle of the Artizans and Labourers Dwelling Act, and for prevention of overcrowding - - - 7 a Mr. Fraser’s remarks on we subject of Rottages generally - - - “ Other subjects eee of by a Fraser in his report + - Effect of the Agwicntara sags Acti in Mr. F Fraser’s district - Mr. Henuey’s REporT on Northumberland ae Durham - Mode of hiring and L payment in North Novthuin: berland - = - Employment of women in North Novihiunheriand, Its results not injurious - - - a Their working dress - - * Children in North Noiihumberiand seldom go to work before 11 or 12 yeats of age, and ny only for summer work - In rare cases children leave school at 10 years of age In South Northumberland married women go out to farm work - - - - - ‘Wages are paid in money - - e The old dietary of the country abandoned - Ill effects of - - i = . The many advantages of the farm labourers of Northumberland, and their good habits, account for their general well-being and excellent social state - - - - e . The same system exists in parts of Durham with the same results - = = - = Page vil vill vill viii ix ix ix ix ix ix ix xi xi xi xi xi xi xi xii xii xii xiii xiii xili xili xiv xiv xiv xiv xiv In other parts of Durham the holdings are small - The labour of children at an early age impor- tant to their parents - - - - The children are consequently taken away from school when very young - - - The best farm labourers used to be trained in the families of these small occupiers - - - Effect of employment of women in these ome counties - - - - - Zeal for education by the class of sandtae labourers in Northumberland and Durham - Plan of parents for education of their children should be made compulsory - - - - Amount of school attendance oe ered be re- quired - - - - Opinions which “look to the teashing side of te question ”’ must be weighed with care = - Result of the training and sociai system in these two counties - . - 7 State of labourers’ dwellings in the north - - Mr. Sranuops’s Reporr on the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leicester - - Large farms of the Wold district - - Labourers hired by the year, and paid partly in kind Others hired irregularly = - - - - Effect on education of children = - - - Cause of the unequal distribution of labour - Process of remedying this gradual - - Garden cultivation in the Axholme and the Carr Gistricts - - - - . Effect of on children’s education - - - Periods of the year in which children are employed Similar features in part of Nottinghamshire - Low rate of wages in Leicestershire - - a of on education of children and in reduced iet - - Necessity of limiting Sunday labour - - Private gangs ; the system increasing - - Best remedy will be the extension of cottage accom- modation - - - - - Mr. Stanhope’s conclusions as to legislation - Opinions as to field work for girls - | - - As to restricting the distance to which children should go to their work - - - - Employment of women upon thrashing machines condemned - - - Demand for edubution among the labouring classes in these counties very active : - ‘ The supply of schools satisfactory - - : Due chiefly to the self-sacrifice of the clergy - Nevertheless the demand for juvenile labour so great that the “ school results ”” are pe Eeireely: un- satisfactory - - - 7 Review of suggested remedies - - = Remedies to which Mr. Stanhope’s opinion inclines Mr. Portman’s Report on Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire - - - . i Favourable influence of high earnings on education in Yorkshire - - - - é Contrast in Cambridgeshire - - - Bad effect of gang systen? and ee low wages on education - ‘s - Where holdings are very small the i of the chil- dren’s earnings would be severely felt - - Page xiv xiv xiv xiv xiv xv xv xv xv XV XV xvi xvi xvi xvi xvi xvi xvii XVil xvii xvii xvii xvii xvii xvii xviii Xvili XVili xviii xviii xvili xviii xix xix Xx xX xx xX xxi ga. &. a. A 4. A Many parents indifferent to their children’s educa- tion even in Yorkshire - - - - Different views prevalent as to compulsory attend- ance at school - - - - - Some measure much needed - - - Employers would not object to exclusion of children from work up to the age of lO - - - How would such a mode affect the Jabourer where wages arelow? - - - - How could school attendance before the age of 10 be enforced - - - - - Difficulties attending the requirement of a certifi- cate of school attendance during the years previous to hiring - - - - A’ plan founded on the Printworks Acts, bua improved, would be most suitable - Continuity of attendance to be aimed at as much as possible - - - - - - Night schools; their wants - - - - The farmers should encourage the education of the young men in their employ - Intellectual condition of the farmers in parts of Yorkshire - - - = = Industrial schools for girls - - Age at which girls shou bs preluded fem field labour - é . Statute hirings - - - - - Agricultural Gangs Act well received - - The gang system would disappear if cottages more numerous - - - - - Labourers’ cottages - - - - Gardens almost universally attached to cottages in Yorkshire, or, in default of them, field allotments Many labourers also have a “ cow-gate” - - Great advantages of the Yorkshire agricultural labourer generally - - 7 - Such circumstances much facilitate the raising of © education to a proper standard - - - Mr. Norman’s Report on Northamptonshire = - Employment of females discouraged - - Employment of boys at an early age general - They are continuously employed after 10 years of age - - - - - - Bad effects of on education - - - Plan for school attendance - - - - Opinions of farmers in favour of exclusion of chil- dren from work up to the age of 10 - - Objections to - - - - - Improvement of night schools urged - - Cottages in Northamptonshire Mr. Cuuey’s Report on Bedfordshire and Buck- inghamshire - - - - - Cost of labour per acre in these two countries, com- pared with North Northumberland . 2 Total family income of labourers compared - Final result of the two systems on the labourers of the North and the South - - < Total net earnings of the individual labourer in these two counties Question of restriction of age for the purposes of education - - - - - School returns - The cottage question - - - 3 Allotments - - - - = = Lace and straw plait schools - = - Benefit societies - - » z 3 The evidence shows that earnings of younger chil- dren are often of much importance to labourer - Consequent obstruction to school attendance - Can the pecuniary resources of the agricultural la- bourer be improved ? - - : z It would be the interest of the employer to improve - them - - - - - - And this improvement would tend to a greater amount of school attendance = - - 7 General effects of, and their importance = - = Page xxi xxii XXii xxii XXxil xxii xxii xxii xxiii xxiii xxiii xxiii xxiii Xxiv xxiv xxiv Xxiv xxiv XXV XXV xxvi xxvi XXxvi xxvi xxvi xxvi xxvi Xxvii Xxvii XXxvii Xxvii XXVili Xxvili XXVili XXViil xxix xxix XXX XXX ¥xxi Xxxi XXxi XXxi xXxxi XXxi * xxxi Xxxi XXxi Page Improvement from better wages or better modes of payment must be left to private adjustment - xxxii The improvement of labourer’s pecuniary resources from cottage gardens of a proper size, or, in default of them, from field allotments - + xxxii The Legisiature might by simple means give a stimulus to this practice - - - - xxxti Great interest which this subject possesses for the labouring poor - - - - - Xxxii Committee of the House of Commons on the sub- ject in 1843 - - - - XXxili History of the field allotment system - - xxxill Action of Legislature in furtherance of the system, if necessary, proposed by Poor Law Commission- ers in 1834 - - - - - Xxxvi The leading facts and opinions elnnibeHl by we Com- mittee of 1843 = - XXXvi Net value to the labourer of a settee eases or an allotment, of a quarter of an acre, ranges from 41. to 57. per annum - - - - xxxvii But some can well manage half an acre. Great moral benefit in addition. Effect of this on school attendance of his children - - - XExvil Presumed obstacles to the general adoption of the system not valid - - - - -Xxxvili Farmers benefit by the system - - Xxxix Allotments should Be held any from the land- lord - - xxxix Mode of proceeding in adopting the allotment system = - = XXXIxX Bill brought into House of Commons in 1845, to promote allotment system - - - XXxix Discussion on - - ei oe - xl Passed the House of Commons and read a second time in House of Lords - - - - xl A modification of one of its clauses might be now adopted - - - - - - xl The allotment system discussed in 1858 at meeting of London Central Farmers’ Club - - xii Conclusive as to its continued good effects - - xii The extent to which it has been adopte® throughout the country unknown xii Estimate in 1843 of the quantity of land required to give every agricultural labourer a garden or an allotment of a quarter of an acre - - - xii Estimate founded on the census of 1861, including half-acre cottage gardens or alintntenty in the pro- portion of one-fourth - - - xii Increased annual value of that quantity of land so applied - - - - - - xiii Of that total quantity, how many acres are so applied? - : - - - - xiii Gardens or allotments still far from general . - xiii A return of the quantity so applied should be made in the agricultural returns - xiii A return as to cottage gardens and aguas made by order of quarter sessions for the county of Cambridge in 1831 - - - - xiii Opinion in Prize Essay of the Royal Agricultural Society, on the condition of the agricultural labourer, as to why allotments not general - xiii The gradual alienation of the labourers from the land which has been in progress during the last 100 years affords a still greater reason for en- couraging the allotment system - - - = xiii Select Committee of the House of Commons on Waste Lands, 1795 - - : - xiiii Rights of cottage on to econ of the waste - - - - = xiiii High wages and common vite of free labourer in the middle of 14th century - - - xiii Prosperous condition of labourer up to the close of 15th century - - - - - xliv Civil wars and rise of manufacturing industry for a time injuriously affected his condition - xliv Efforts to improve his eondiia RoHIng 16th ; century - - xliv Prosperity of the ishouiae- in ee towards the end of the 16th century continued until checked by the civil war of the 17th - - xivi A 3 Act relating to cottages enforced during the civil war - - - - - . Prosperous condition of labourers in agriculture during the first half of the 18th century - - Change for the worse became visible in 177& - Effect of inclosures of waste land and the consolida- tion of small farms - - - - Displacement of small tenants and labourers from occupation of or interest in the land - = The object of the “ Society for bettering the Condi- “tion of the Poor” in 1796 to restore the cot- tager to the land - $ = Z = The manner in which the waste lands of the country have been dealt with since the first Inclosure Act inJ710 - : a is z ss Effect of this large amount of inclosure upon the condition of the agricultural labourer —- - Opportunities and means of bettering his condition lost ; and in very many cases his pecuniary re- sources low - - - . = He cannot therefore be entirely deprived of the earnings of his children unless his condition is improved - - - - s s It has been shown that one mode of improving his condition is to replace as far as possible the oppor- tunities he has lost by good sized gardens or field allotments - - - - - Reports of Select Committees, &c. enforce that view - - - - - - Public allotments, over and above those set out on behalf of rights of commons, recommended by Committee of 1843 - 7 = s That recommendation embodied in General Inclo- sure Act of 1845 - - - jy a The reports of the Inclosure Commissioners show how the Act has operated - - 3 Small number of acres assigned in public allotments since the Act passed - - - i Page xlvi xlvi xlvi xlvi xlvii xvii xlvii xlvii xlviii xlix xlix li li The greater reason why the possessors of inclosed lands should take care that the labouring poor working on those lands should be in possession of cottage gardens or field allotments of suitable size The annual return suggested in s. 233 would afford the means of seeing whether this was done The spirit in which the General Inclosure Act was intended to be carried out - - - The opinions thus expressed upon the subject, both in and out of Parliament, strengthen the sugges- tion above adverted to for annual return of land occupied in cottage gardens and field allotments - The second great question in relation to the moral improvement of the agricultural labourer is the state of his dwelling - - - - Immense sums expended within the last 30 years in improving labourers’ dwellings _ - - A large proportion of the labourers in agriculture still badly housed - - - - Bad state of labourers’ cottages noticed at the latter end of the last century - : Prizes offered by the Board of Agriculture in 1800 for improvement of cottages - - - Abuse arose of paying cottage rents out of poor- rates ; existed up to the year 1834 - - Great efforts made since that time to supply good cottages - - - = a The obstacle to more rapid progress has been ‘ts great expense - - - a . Hope expressed by Sir Frederick Eden in 1797 that some improvement in the useful arts might fur- nish the means of supplying a cheaper but not less comfortable dwelling - - - 4 Fair probability that Mr. Benjamin Nicoll’s new mode of construction may secure that result - Description of Mr. Nicoll’s mode of construction - Other endeavours to construct agricultural cottages at a cheaper rate than is now common - - Other important subjects will be dealt with in our report of next year - - . 7 Page li hi hii liv liv liv liv lv Iv lv lv lvi Ii lvi lyii lix « lx COMMISSION ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE (1867). FIRST REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS, TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. May rr PLease Your Maszsty, “ 1. We, the Commissioners appointed by Your Majesty to inquire into the Employment of Children, Young Persons, and Women in Agriculture, humbly submit to Your Majesty this First Report of our Proceedings in execution of Your Majesty’s Commission. 2. In obedience to the Commission addressed to us by Your Majesty’s commands on the 18th June 1865,—in extension of the previous Commission of the 18th February 1862 on the Employment of Children and Young Persons in Trades and Manufactures not then regulated by Law—we inquired into the system of organized agricultural gangs, commonly called “ public gangs,” existing in some of the eastern counties. The evidence and report upon that inquiry, laid before Parliament on the 5th March 1867, caused the Act 30 & 31 Vict. c. 130. for the Regulation of Agricultural Gangs to be passed on the 20th August 1867. The inquiries which led to that Act, and to the Factory Acts Extension Acts of 186% and 1867, and the Workshops Regulation Act of 1867, (which gave effect to the recommendations of our reports, and placed ail remaining trades and manufactures under regulation,) caused a general conviction that the children, young persons, and women employed in agriculture otherwise than in “ public gangs,” that is, either in “ private gangs,” as in some counties, or individually throughout the kingdom, could not be permitted to remain the only portion of the labourmg community to whom the beneficent legislation of the Factory Acts, or legislation on a similar principle, was not applied, if it should be found, after due inquiries, that there was good reason for extending such legislation to them. 3. Accordingly it pleased Your Majesty to issue to us Your Majesty’s Commission, which we had the honour to receive on the 18th May 1867, enjoining us “ to inquire into “ and report on the employment of children, young persons, and women in agriculture, “ for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent, and with what modifications, the prin- ciples of the Factory Acts can be adopted for the regulation of. such employment, and “ especially with a view to the better education of such children.” 4. On the 4th June 1867 we had the honour to submit to Your Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Home Department the names of five Assistant Commissioners, the number which we deemed necessary to enable the inquiry to be completed for England and Wales within a period of two years, beyond which period we did not think it advisable that the inquiry should extend. 5. On the 7th June we received the approval of the Secretary of State to our nomina- tion of those gentlemen, namely, the Rev. James Fraser, M.A., Rector of Ufton, Berks, ‘late Assistant Commissioner to the Education Commission and to the Schools Inquiry Commission; Joseph J. Henley, Esq., M.A., of Shirburn Lodge, Oxon; the Hon. Edwin Berkeley Portman, M.A., late Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, Barrister-at-Law; Charles James Boyle, Esq., M.A., late Fellow of All Souls, Oxford; and the Hon, Edward Stanhope, M.A., Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, Barrister-at-Law. 6. In the course of January 1868 Mr. Henley and Mr. Boyle resigned their offices, the former in consequence of accepting an appointment as Poor Law Inspector, the latter in consequence of ill-health. Their resignations were communicated to the Secretary of State on the 4th of February, and on the same day the names of their successors were submitted for approval, namely, Frederick Henry Norman, Esq., M.A., late of Trinity College, Cambridge, Barrister-at-Law; and George Culley, Esq., B.A., late of Trinity College Cambridge, of Fowberry Tower, Northumberland. '% On the 8th February the Secretary of State signified his approval of these appoint- ments, and within a few days those gentlemen proceeded to the districts assigned to them. Appoint- ment of: Assistant Commis- sioners,: Preliminary proceedings of the Com- missioners on entering upon their duties. Counties embraced in this year’s inquiries. The leading subjects for inquiry under this Commission. vill EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 8. On the 15th June 1868 the Rev. James Fraser, having completed his report on the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Sussex, and Gloucester, resigned his office as Assistant Commissioner, in consequence of the pressure of other duties, and on the same date his resignation was communicated to Your Majesty’s Secretary of State. At the same time the name of Robert Frederick Boyle, Esq., M.A., Fellow of All Souls’ College, Oxford, Barrister-at-Law, was submitted to the Secretary of State, and approved of by him. 9. Our first duty on receiving Your Majesty’s Commission was to draw up instructions for the guidance of the Assistant Commissioners ; to construct tabular forms to be filled up by employers of children, young persons, and women in agriculture; to frame queries that might be annexed to those forms; and circulars to employers, magistrates, clergymen, and others, directing their attention to the inquiry, explaining its objects, and inviting their co-operation. ; 10. The instructions were issued to the Assistant Commissioners on the 8th July 1867; and to the instructions and to the tabular forms and circulars which we have added in the Appendix (P. 161) we beg leave to refer, as exhibiting the view we take of the nature and extent of the inquiry, and the spirit in which it should be conducted. 11. The portion of the kingdom embraced in our first year’s inquiries comprises ‘the eastern, some of the northern, and some of the midland and southern counties. 12. In commencing with the eastern counties we were influenced by the fact that public attention had been already much directed to those. counties by the inquiry into the “ public gangs,” and that it was therefore desirable to complete the inquiry there by investigating the question of the number of children, young persons, and women employed in “ private gangs,” which had been represented to us as very great. It was said that the nature and circumstances of their employment differed very; little from those of the ‘public gangs,” and equally called for regulation. In the same counties there were also the ordinary number of children, young persons, and women employed individually as in other agricultural districts. 13. In taking next the counties of Northumberland and Durham, where agricultural wages are high and many of the arrangements of hiring and payment favourable to the labourer, and the important counties of York (North and East Riding), Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton, Huntingdon, Bedford, and Buckingham, where farming is carried on on a large scale, and where the questions to be dealt with in this inquiry, in their bearing both upon the farmer and the labourer, would be sure to receive full investi- gation by a large number of most intelligent occupiers and owners of the soil, we conceived that we should best prepare the way for the consideration of those questions in other parts of the country. . 14. Two southern counties (Sussex and Gloucestershire) comprised in our investiga- tions of this year will afford some materials in this Report for contrasting the condition of the agricultural labourer in the south, and the current of opinion there in reference to the matters under consideration, with the facts and opinions prevalent in the northern and midland counties, 15. The leading subjects for inquiry under this Commission are,— I. Is the labour of children, young persons, and women in agriculture any where habitually, or in any places occasionally, of that excessive kind which was found to exist in the factories and workshops of the kingdom, and which justified the legislature in placing them under regulation in respect of hours of work and meal times ? II. Does the employment of females in agriculture have an injurious effect upon their morals, or on their proper training for domestic duties? If so, would it be possible having due regard for the demands for labour, and the pecuniary resources of the agricultural labourer, to place any and what restrictions on the employment of females ‘ FT ihe | hould be ad II. at limitations should be adopted in regard to th i i oe we ee to be employed in ren Roe Nee ey Munn Poy Bue IV. at amount of school attendance of boys and girls employed i icul would it be justifiable under the circumstances to Ue aad bebnten hak ae _ 16. The evidence already collected by our Assistant Commissioners, and their respec- tive reports upon it, will be found to have materially advanced these questions towards their solution. But any attempt on our part to draw general conclusions from them IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION !---FIRST REPORT. 1x would at present be manifestly premature. The evidence and reports will doubtless be well considered, not only in the counties to which they refer, but in those to which the inquiry has not yet extended. In the course of the ensuing six months a sufficient number of counties in the western aud southern portions of England and in Wales will probably have been visited by the Assistant Commissioners to enable us to present to Your Majesty the evidence they will collect and our final Report in the course of the next session of Parliament. . 17. In proceeding now to direct attention to the principal points in the reports of the Assistant Commissioners, we are withheld from entering into any great detail by two considerations. Tirst, we are apprehensive of weakening the effect of the full, minute, and comprehensive statements of facts embodied in each report, and of the inferences so carefully drawn by each Assistant Commissioner from what fell under his own obser- vation. Secondly, the time will not have arrived for contrasting these facts and opinions and endeavouring to present general conclusions upon some of the most important topics involved in this inquiry until the reports and evidence relating to the counties which will occupy the Assistant Commissioners during the next six months are received. 18. In Mr. Fraser’s report, which is such an one as we anticipated from his great practical experience and well-known ability, may be noticed the great variety of circum- stances affecting the condition of the agricultural labourers in different localities, which so materially increase the difficulty of applying satisfactorily to their case and that of their children the legislation which, in the case of factories and workshops, has been finally adopted without hesitation. 19. In one district wages are 13s. and 14s. a week, and cottage rents moderate ; in another, with wages at 13s. a week, cottage rents are high and provisions dear (A. 27). Elsewhere wages are low and rents high (A. 31). In another district the proportion of labourers who have only precarious employment, “ catch work” men or “ shifty labourers,” is unusually large. 20. And as regards the employment of boys at an early age, in one case boys as young as from 7 to 10 were sought for (A. 26 and 27). In others they are not wanted for constant work until they are 11 or 12; in other cases, such as where there is stiff clay, they are not wanted until they are strong enough to drive a plough, at the age of 12 or 13. “ On this heavy land a boy under 11 or 12 would not have strength to get “ through the day” (A. 26). In that district wages are 13s. a week, but rents struck Mr. Fraser as “ranging high,” and the poor rates are high; and it is in this same district that in February and March little children between 7 and 10 are employed, their occu- pation being to follow the dibble and drop peas and beans into the holes. 21. The chief characteristic in reference to the employment of the youngest children is, as described by Mr. Fraser, (A. 42), that it is “ precarious, occasional, and fluctuating.” When a child, and particularly a boy, arrives at 10 years of age he begins, in some localities, to be “ of constant use upon a farm, and is probably employed without inter- “© mission throughout the year” (ibid.). The fluctuating nature of his employment up to 10 years of age affords good ground for the opinion that advantage might be taken of it to insist upon a certain amount of school attendance during the time which is not required for work. Schoolmasters assured Mr. Fraser that, ‘it is not at all uncommon «* for boys to leave. school early in the spring and not return again till the late autumn, “ though for half that time perhaps they have only been expecting work, and not been ‘ actually employed.” A compulsory school attendance to a certain extent during those periods would be no hardship to the parent, and would secure to the child the proper use of time now wasted. And it is highly satisfactory to find that in “ the almost unanimous “ opinion of the labouring men” whom Mr. Fraser questioned on the subject, even con- tinuous school attendance up to the age of 12 or 13 would be no detriment to a boy with a view to his future career as a farm labourer. Their opinion is ‘‘ that there is no need « for a boy to turn his hand to farm work till he is 12 or 13 years of age, if only his ** parents can afford to keep him at school and dispense with his earnings,” and that his remaining at school up to that age will not stand in the way of his making “a thoroughly “ efficient agricultural hand.” This opinion is the more important as coming from labourers in the southern counties, because it entirely accords with the practice of those in Northumberland and Durham, as described by Mr. Henley (B. 90), who voluntarily keep their boys at school often even to the age of 12 or 13. 22, The restrictions as to the age and hours of labour for children employed in agriculture mentioned by Mr. Fraser (A. 46, 47) as having been recommended by practical persons at several of the meetings which he summoned, attended both by 21157. B x4 Final report will be pre- sented next year. Principal points in Reports of Assistant Commis- sioners. Mr. FrAsEr’s REpPort on the counties of Norfolk, Essex, Sus- sex, and Gloucester,* and on two districts in Suffolk. Varying condition of agricultural labourers. — Very young boys wanted for work in some dis- tricts, and not in others. Employment of younger children fluctuating. School at- tendance may be in- sisted on in intervals of demand for their labour. Restrictions on boys’ labour re- commended. Diversity of opinions as to restricting labour of females. Education of agricultural children ; conditions necessary for. Different views as to compulsory attendance. x EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN labourers and farmers, and of which Mr. Fraser approves, will receive further illustration in the course of the inquiry in other districts. There is much in them to invite acceptance. They are “that 10 hours labour in the day is as much as ought to be required from any “ boy under 12 years of age;” that “no children under the age of 12 should be employed “ in out-door agricultural work between the 1st of November and the Ist of. March ; also,—a point which no doubt is likely to be entertained,—* that where children are “ employed in bird scaring, sheep tending, or other farm work, including stable work, “ the same child should not be employed on two successive Sundays, but only on “ alternate Sundays.” 23. In regard to the employment of females, in some localities they are not employed at all in the field (A. 24), in another only scantily (#id.) ; but elsewhere they are largely employed (A. 30), and yet in a district where the land requires much cleaning, and women and children are much sought for by most of the occupiers, some of the largest farmers “ cultivate the land without employing females at all,” and one gentleman who occupies 2,000 acres, moved a resolution “ that girls under 16 should be prohibited from working “on the land.” It is noticeable also that where the custom of employing females on the land had declined,—not a tithe of the number being employed that were so 20 years ago,—the employment of men and boys has increased, “four men, a big lad, and a boy “* of 12 or 13” being now required to cultivate 100 acres (A. 26). 24. The effect of employing females on the land is, Mr. Fraser says, “ admitted to be “ demoralising” (A. 49), but to forbid their employment would, at all events in the case of adult and married women, be considered a hardship and an unjustifiable use of the powers of the legislature. In some counties farm operations could not be successfully performed without them (§ 49); on the other hand Mr. Fraser heard that the women were found to be less and less disposed to go out to work upon the land; “that they ** refused unsuitable work, and would stay at home on wet days.” 25. But with respect to young girls, the bad moral effects of their employment in field labour are very generally admitted, and almost without modification, and that not more distinctly by the clergy than by the farmers themselves (A. 51), and it is notice- able that in Norfolk, “where the employment of girls attains considerably larger dimen- “ sions than in any other of the three counties ” which Mr. Fraser visited, “the opinion “ in favour of restriction was the strongest, and the age to which most persons were ‘* prepared to recommend that the restriction should extend was 16” (§ 52)... Various other opinions were however strongly held. Some would allow work up to 13 and prohibit it afterwards; others would prohibit it at 18 or 20. Mr. Fraser is of opinion that the restriction up to 16, if adopted, should be accompanied with dispensation for girls between 12 and 16 working in company with or in assistance to their mothers in the six summer months (April to September). . 26. In dealing with the question of the education of agricultural children Mr. Fraser records opinions to which his experience under the Duke of Newcastle's Commission in 1859, and in other public employments, necessarily gives great weight. He reminds us of the fact that it is only by the combined fulfilment of three conditions that any great improvement upon present results can be obtained. A sufficient number of good schools must be provided; regular attendance must be secured; the evil of a too early with- drawal from school must be prevented. The two last conditions alone fall within the view of this Commission. 27. It is a very hopeful feature in the present state of things, and a proof that the efforts made in behalf of education during the last 30 years have begun to exert a wide influence among the agricultural population, that Mr. Fraser, speaking of the apathy and carelessness of parents in some parishes in regard to the education of their children, is nevertheless able to say, that “ there is fully an equal number of parishes in which the “ parents are most anxious to get the best education for their children which is within “* reach, and where the existing freedom produces quite as happy and quite as abundant “ results as any mode of compulsion could hope to do.” Sometimes it is the efforts of the clergyman that have dissipated that apathy; sometimes that of the landlord, as mentioned by Mr. Fraser in the case of the schools on the estate of Mr. Osman Ricardo, near Ledbury, who “ not being deterred by difficulties ” arising from the condition of the people, and the example of the surrounding neighbourhood, has, by providing really efficient schools, succeeding in “ filling them to the utmost of their capacity with a “ crowd of eager and punctual scholars,” many of whom come from a distance of two miles, “ deserting an inferior school close to their own doors” (A. 32). In other cases similar results have been produced “ where the awakened public spirit has been general, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. xi and it has been felt that the degradation of one class has been a reproach and a peril ** to all.” 28. But in the absence of any probability that a more enlightened appreciation of the benefits of education will within any“reasonable time become general among the labourers in agriculture, compulsion in some form, Mr. Fraser says (A. 62), is thought by a con- siderable number of persons to be “ the proper corollary of a prohibition from labour.” Therefore that if, for example, the legislature should think fit to declare that no child should be employed in agriculture under, say, 10 years of age, such child should be compelled to attend school up to that age. But this, as it goes beyond any principle hitherto sanctioned in the factory legislation, requires the fullest discussion and the most careful consideration with respect] to the state of the labourers in all parts of the country, before it could be recommended for adoption. On the other hand, the principle that there should be attached to employment for wages certain obligations of sehool attendance up to a certain age, is a principle already adopted by general consent in regard to all other occupations. 29. But even were the latter proposition accepted, as involving less sacrifice to the parents—though in many cases less acceptable, as Mr. Fraser shows, to the farmers— there arises at once “ the formidable difficulty” (A. 66) in the way of giving it by legis- lation the full effect which all the evidence points out as desirable—the poverty of a large proportion of the parents. Mr. Fraser refers to a statement which he made to the Duke of Newcastle’s Commission, and which he deems still applicable, viz., that “ the agricul- “tural labourer’s wages are never up to the mark that can allow of his sacrificing the “ earnings of his child to higher considerations.” 30. The rates of wages given by Mr. Fraser in the counties which he visited (A. 24, 32, 69, 76) “only profess to regard the case of the best labourers, and even then suppose “‘ them to lose no time” ($76). But below these there are the “ ‘ catch-work’ labourers, “ or ‘ shifty’ men, whose work is irregular; the men with less natural aptitude for work, ‘“‘ and who can only do one thing; the men who, from sickness or weather, lose a consider- “ able amount of time in the year” (§ 75) ; the men of unsettled habits. Many of these may be in the prime of life, and have a family of young children. If the steady, first- rate labourer in good employ cannot at the rate of wages in many counties dispense with the earnings of his younger children without hardship to himself and them, what is the case with the second class of labourers? It is ‘to the poverty of the parents, mainly,” Mr. Fraser says, “that we are to trace that irregular attendance during the children’s nominal school life, and the premature termination of that life, which constitute the two “ great obstacles to the education of the farm labourer ” (§ 78). 31. After a very able review of all the systems hitherto embodied in our legislation, or proposed, for securing some amount of school attendance in conjunction with work for children up to a certain age, and after pointing out the defects in what has been adopted, and the objections he sees to what has been proposed (A. 80-97), Mr. Fraser proceeds (§. 99) to state the conclusions he has arrived at. He contents himself “ with asking for “a jaw which shall require regular uninterrupted attendance at school up to the age of “10; and for the two years beyond 10 and 12, while the child is at work, a certain “ amount of attendance, as suggested by the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture, either at “ day or night school, during the leisure part of the year.” Such a solution would doubt- less best suit the convenience of the farmer, as appears abundantly throughout the evidence collected by Mr. Fraser. But how far it could be entertained consistently with the acknowledged fact of the poverty of a large proportion of the parents can only be detcrmined when ali the evidence which will be collected by this Commission will be submitted to the judgment of the country. 32. Mr. Fraser’s picture of the state of the agricultural cottages in the counties which he visited cannot fail to produce a deep impression (A. 113). He says of it that “it is a “‘ hideous picture, and the picture is drawn from the life” ($116). “‘ It is,” he declares, “ impossible to exaggerate the ill effects” of the present state of things ‘‘in every aspect, “ physical, social, economical, moral, intellectual” (ibid.). At the same time Mr. Fraser fully recognizes the fact that a great deal has been done of late years, especially by the largest landowners, to remedy the evil (§ 137). Unfortunately the complete remedy does not rest with the wealthiest landowners. Many cottages belong to small proprietors too indigent to have any money to spare for their improvement ; some to absentee and embarrassed landowners; some to mortgagees ; a large proportion to speculative builders, particularly in the “open ” parishes (§§ 115, 128). “ It is estimated,” Mr. Fraser adds, “ that the proprietorship of less than half the cottages in Norfolk is in the owners of the “« soil” (§ 128). Sao Difficulties arising from poverty of parents, Rates of wages in Mr. Fraser’s district. Mr. Fraser’s conclusions. Agricultural cottages. Effect of Agricultural Gangs Act. Mr. Hen- Lry’s RE- PORT on Northumber- land and Durham. Mode of hiring and payment in North Northum- berland. xii EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 33. As the Artizan and Labourers Dwellings Act has now become law, the time, happily, cannot be far distant when Parliament may be able to see its way to some measure of a similar kind applicable to agricultural districts, and also to some more effectual inspection for the prevention of overcrowding than the present one, depending as it does on the local authorities alone, which Mr. Fraser notices as quite ineffective (A. 116). 84. The whole of Mr. Fraser’s remarks on the subject of cottages,—the best and fairest mode of tenure, the true view of cottages as property, the possibility of making them fairly remunerative, their construction and arrangement, and other points,—will be read with the greatest interest. 35. Mr. Fraser also gives much valuable information on the different modes of hiring which he found in his different districts, the beer-house system, the harvest homes, the existence of “ largesse” in Norfolk, the effects of the preservation of game, the co-operative system, and other topics. Mr. Fraser’s observations on these and on all the other subjects so ably dealt with in his report will doubtless be studied by all persons interested in the objects of this inquiry with the attention they eminently deserve. 36. We are glad to find that Mr. Fraser is able to state (A. 37) that the Act passed last year for placing public agricultural gangs under regulation, founded on our recom- mendation contained in the Sixth Report of the Children’s Employment Commission (1862) is producing “some good.” It appears that some of the worst characters among the gangmasters have been unable to obtain a licence; and that the separation of the sexes, and the requirement that where females are employed they should be superintended by a licensed gang-mistress, have been carried into effect. But it appears also that what we stated would in all probability occur is already taking place; the “public” gangs are being turned into “ private” gangs. For the regulation of these some legisla- tion may possibly be required similar in principle to that for the public gangs (A. 38, 40). 37. Mr. Henley’s inquiries were prosecuted chiefly in Northumberland; but he was able also to present a short report upon the county of Durham. 38. It was a cause of much satisfaction to us that we were able to secure the services of Mr. Henley for the duties of the Commission in these two northern counties, inasmuch as his experience as a magistrate and a poor-law guardian, and also his practical knowledge as an agriculturist in Oxfordshire, pointed him out as a gentleman whose description of the state of things in the north would be received by landowners and occupiers in the South as those of one who was qualified to look at them from a southern point of view. 29. We much regret that the present is the only report we shall receive from Mr. Henley, in consequence of his having accepted the offer of the more onerous employment of a poor-law inspector. 40. ‘The Glendale Union was selected by Mr. Henley for minute inquiry, as presenting a suitable type of the agricultural system of the north; but the same system prevails in the unions of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Belford, and Alnwick—in other words, in the whole of North Northumberland. The peculiarities of this part of the county are that there are very few villages, the farmers being almost entirely dependent upon their cottages for the labour of their farms, and the men being generally hired by the year (B. 5); also that it is the custom of the country to pay the labourers mostly in kind. Their wages are stated at 15s. to 18s. a week, including everything (B. 7). 41, Mr. Henley sums up very fully the advantages and disadvantages of this system (B. 8-12), but decides in favour of the advantages, which he thus describes (B. 8) :— “ The advantages of this system are certainty of payment for the whole year, both in sickness and health, absence of temptation to spend money, and of any necessity for overtime or over exertion at piece work, a constant supply of good wholesome food at cost price, including abundance of meal and milk for the children, besides the various cakes of barley and peas, brown and white bread, butter, cheese, vegetables, and home-fed bacon, and fuel brought to the door from the pit’s mouth free of charge.” 42. He adds that “ it redounds tc the credit of the system, as well as to the credit “ both of employers and employed, that at. the Wooler Petty Sessions in the year ending “December 31, 1866, not one conviction of ‘servants in husbandry misbehaving’ is ‘“* recorded.” 43. Also, from his own observation and much conversation with the wives of the labourers, he is “‘ convinced that those who are paid in kind or ‘ corn conditions’ are the “best off; and though at times the want of ready money may press, the children’s “earnings bring a good deal mto the family. Children are paid in cash, and this is “usually half yearly. Even after they have reached the age of maturity the whole family IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-—-FIRST REPORT. xili (Bris) common cause with a common purse. Cows are also a great source of profit” . 12). 44.. Labourers hired by the day or otherwise than by the year receive from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a day (B. 14). 45. The employment of women in North Northumberland in farm labour presents some striking features. The old “ bondage” system by which “the hind was bound to “ find the work of a suitable woman whenever she was needed,” receiving her earnings and “ engaging to give her wages, lodging, food, and washing,” is described as “ gradually ** dying out,” (B. 16-20). Where the woman was one of the daughters of the hind, it was a profitable arrangement, but where they had to hire a stranger it was said to be otherwise. The name “bondager” is becoming unpopular, and the term “ woman worker” is being now substituted. The women thus employed turn their hand to every description of work on the farm, including the barn work which is described as the hardest, the driving of horses, filling dung carts, and turning straw heaps, spreading dung, and forking and loading hay and corn—work generally considered in the south unsuitable to women, and condemned by some persons in the north (B. 21-25). Mr. Henley’s opinion after seeing them in the field, and visiting them in their cottages is that it does them no harm, physically or morally (B. 28). It is almost exclusively performed by the unmarried women living in their own homes. In the Glendale Union, out of 373 women returned in our circulars of inquiry as “ working out’ only 29 were married. On this Mr. Henley remarks that ‘“ throughout North Northumberland the daughters are content ** to forego the pleasures of town life and higher wages in order to live with their parents, ‘ thus leaving the mother free to attend to her home duties. But they cannot remain at ‘““ home, unless they are prepared to accept any description of work that is offered to * them, including perhaps that which has been censured” (B. 29). 46. And of these same women when they come to be mothers of families and have a home of their own—though often the very inferior one in point of accommodation of a Northumbrian cottage of the old style—Mr. Henley draws the following picture 28) :— S, Th are many who hold the opinion that field work is degrading, but I should be glad if they would visit these women in their own homes after they become wives and mothers. They would be received with a natural courtesy and good manners which would astonish them. Let the visitor ask to see the house, he will be “ taken over” it with many apologies that he should have seen it not “redd up.” He will then be offered a chair in front of a large fire, with the never absent pot and oven, the mistress, meanwhile, continuing her unceasing family duties, baking, cooking, cleaning, &c. Not one word of complaint will he hear; but he will be told that though “working people” they are not poor, and a glance at the substantial furniture, the ample supply of bacon over his head, the variety of cakes and bread on the board, and the stores of butter, cheese, and meal! in the house, will convince him of the fact. When he inquires about the children he will hear that though they have not much to give them, the parents feel it to be their sacred duty to secure them the best instruction in their power, and ‘ that * they are determined they shall have.’ The visitor will leave that cottage with the conviction that field work has had no degrading effect, but that he has been in the presence of a thoughtful, contented, and unselfish woman.” 47. The example of these north-country women is also well worthy of imitation in the south in another important respect, namely, their dress when engaged in farm work. It is made of “strong materials that defy all weathers,” fitting easily. ‘* Generally it “ consists of a pair of stout boots, a very short thick woollen petticoat, warm stockings, “ a jacket, &c., over all a washing pinafore with sleeves (called a slip) which preserves “ their dress from the dirt. Their faces are protected by a shade or ‘ugly’ of divers “ colours. Thus equipped they present a great contrast to the draggled appearance of “ the women who only work in thesfields occasionally, wearing some thin gown, with “¢ perhaps the addition of the husband’s coat and boots. Nor is the difference less “ striking in the results. The occasional worker not being inured to field labour fre- ‘* quently suffers from exposure to weather, while the very appearance of the habitual ‘“‘ workers is sufficient to prove the healthiness of their mode of life; and the medical ‘“* evidence is overwhelming as to the’ absence of disease, and of the usual complaints “ attendant on debility ” (B. 31). 48. Another remarkable peculiarity in this county is that the children seldom, if ever, go to work before 11 or 12 years of age, and “then merely for summer work” (B. 32). “© Horses are never intrusted to the care of boys before the age of !4, consequently till “ that time it is only summer work for which they are required, so that they are able to “ continue their school attendance during winter” (B. 33). 49, The returns from South Northumberland, Mr. Henley says, (B. 90), do not show any children at work under 10 years of age. In North Northumberland 10 is considered too young (B. 89). But although this custom of the people in this county B 3 n a Effects of employment of women not injuri- ous. Their work- ng dress. , Children seldom go to work before 11 or 12, and then only in summer. In rare cases children leave school before 10. xiv EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN to keep their children up to 12 and 14 at school until they are of proper age to begin to learn farm work is the rule, it is subject to occasional exceptions, with which, Mr. Henley is of opinion that it would not be wise to interfere. ‘In rare cases,” he says (ibid.) «¢ the eldest child is sent out by the pressure of a large family rather earlier than may ‘ be desirable as regards its education, so as to provide schooling by its earnings for “ younger ones; but any restriction upon this would only drive the mother out to work, ‘ while the eldest child would be kept at home to attend to the household duties, and ‘“‘ would therefore be no way better off in point of instruction.” In South 50. South Northumberland presents some remarkable contrasts with the northern Northum- —_ portion of the county, such as the extensive employment of married women in the farm berlsnd labour, “neglecting their homes, and leaving a child that ought to be at school to look. married 3 7 ° z women go ‘* after the house” (B. 52); secondly in the payment of wages in money,—which for out to work. hinds may be fairly stated at fully 11. a week,—instead of in kind; thirdly, in the Wages are abandonment of the old dietary of the country, which was similar to that of the Scotch, paid in namely, porridge, crowdy (scalded oatmeal), barley, pea flour, bread of whole meal-and fine n Old diatary flour, milk, cheese, and butter, home-fed and cured bacon, and their hot meal during their of the long mid-day rest of two hours, for tea, coffee, butcher’s meat, and white bread. It ap- 8 y : : : , a country ears that the use of tea and coffee is becoming excessive, sometimes as often as four times abandoned. P 8 : a day, the coffee often being not free from adulteration. Grave evils are resulting from this change of diet. An experienced witness believes that “it takes three men now to “* do the work of two” (B.58). Another that the change of food of the working people is deteriorating their physical health and strength. It appears that this undesirable change has arisen since “ coffee, tea, and sugar have become lower in price and more “ attainable by the working classes” (B. 59-67). ‘The many 51. Mr. Henley notices the great advantage to the farm labourers of Northumberland advantages of cheap fuel, by which they are not only better enabled to provide cooked. food, but of ‘abourers'_« to dry their working clothes at night, by which means they keep off rheumatism and warlaatl ~ © its attendant evils,” and he shows that in the severe winter of 1864 the rise in the account for rate of mortality in the northern divisions of the kingdom was only 4 per cent., whereas their general the general rise throughout the kingdom was 18 per cent. ‘These advantages,” Mr. well-being. Henley adds, “together with the good habits of the people, account for their general “ well-being and excellent social state” (B. 60, 63). So high, indeed, is the “ general “ condition of the people,” that Mr. Henley sums up his account of them by quoting the evidence of a gentleman of much experience, both in this country and in the United States, who states (B. 63), that “he had never found working agricultural labourers so “ well off in any place, including America.” Similar 52. In the county of Durham Mr. Henley found “on the estates that were thrown results in “ into large occupations” the same or nearly the same. organization of agricultural some parts labour as in North Northumberland, with similar results. The wages are so high, as of Durham. H ees sa ‘ : ? compared with other parts of England, that he dismisses the idea of children being sent to work at too early an age from the poverty of the parents in those portions of the In other country where the farms are large. But “in a great part of the county” the land is parts, small ‘* broken up into small farms.” ‘“ The labour upon these small holdings is done by the holdings and « farmer and his family, perhaps assisted by one or more young people hired into the ieee “ house and living with the family” (B. 65). This is the class of persons which, Mr. Henley rightly says, “ holds a position which bridges over the distance between capitalists “ and labourers.” ‘They are described as “an honest, industrious race,” but they have “a hard struggle to live.’ It is important to observe the consequence in reference to the education of their children. They “ fail to obtain sufficient school instruction, being “ usually taken away from school at a very early age, as their parents were before them, “ and they pick up a little schooling when they can” (B. 66). They are taken from school “ not to work for wages, but to assist their parents,” and some few “ begin work “ about the age of 9 or 10” for a limited time at the light exceptional work of assisting in the barking season (B. 69). Best labour- 58. It is remarked (B. 65) that it was in the families of the small occupiers of this ers formerly class that the best farm labourers used formerly to be trained. The “ hired boys” living a ae with the farmer were not, until recent years, tempted by the higher wages in the collieries, ofthesesmall 1fOD, or lead works, or other manufactures of the district, but remained long in farm occupiers. | service. ‘The result is observed to be that “ farm labourers are not so skilful as formerly “* from the absence of long training in farm service, when they were taught every kind “ of labour required on a farm”’ (ibid). Effect of 54. Mr. Henley’s careful inquiries as to the effect of the employment of women in oe bas these two counties appear to establish the fact that they are, as affirmed in the return or women IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. XV from the Hexham Board of Guardians, “ both in morals and in domestic duties ia advance “of those of like standing in towns” (B. 76). 55. Mr. Henley’s account of the zeal for education shown by the shepherds in the Cheviot Hills, as well as by the class of agricultural labourers generally in Northum- berland, will be read with much interest. “‘ The demand for education combining religious ‘¢ training with sound practical instruction,” says Archdeacon Hamilton, “is universal, ‘* and the supply has kept pace with the demand” (B. 106). Weather or distance do not seem much to affect the attendance where the teachers are good; “slight causes do ‘* not stop them ;” and the attendance of children who come from the greater distances is generally the best and most regular (B.111), Neither does it appear to be much affected by considerations of expense, “the parents considering it a sacred duty to let “* their children receive all the instruction they can ” (B. 116), even those whose earnings were lowest (B. 120). In some cases the quality of the teaching is not such as to satisfy the people, who are unwilling that the teaching should be “below that of the “* Scotch schoolmasters.” In Durham, also, ‘among the working people and the small “ farmers” there was “a very strong feeling against the system of instruction pursued “* by the certificated schoolmasters,”’ which is that of class teaching. They appear to think that it fails in reaching each individual child, and they miss the absence of the Scotch practice of giving school work to be taken home to be prepared for the next day (B. 115). With this general desire for sound education it is not surprising that there should be a general concurrence of opinion among the persons of higher position best qualified to judge, that the plan which “ is now carried out in the district by the parents “ themselves is the best method of obtaining for their children the instruction they so ** much value” (B. 97) should be embodied in legislation, namely, that from Martinmas to May (11th November to 12th May) a certain amount of school attendance should be made compulsory. 56. Of this Mr. Henley says (ibid.) that— “When the potatoes are housed in the autumn the work of the children ceases for that season; and fortunately in North Northumberland they are not required at home to attend on younger members of the family by the absence of the mother at field work. Therefore during the winter season they can always attend school, and they do so as much as is in their power, braving all difficulties of distance and weather.” 57. The schoolmasters of the district think that “in schools under certificated masters “‘ an annual attendance of 88 instead of 176 whole days in school should be accepted as “ the condition of a capitation grant for boys over 18 years of age” (B. 98). And as “ most of the children up to 12 do attend” in this way, Mr. King, a clergyman in the district, suggests that 150 school attendances, .as a maximum, should be made compul- sory (B. 99). The Hexham Board of Guardians concur in this, deeming it “ quite “ practicable to enforce a certain amount of school attendance up to the age of 12 or “ 13” (B. 100). : 58. But even in this county Mr. Henley reminds us that opinions which “look to “ the teaching side of the question ” “‘ must be weighed with great care;” inasmuch as even here, “ where the average earnings are so high,” the assistance given by the children to the support of the family is the first consideration, and the pressure particularly falls on large families of young children” (B. 101). 59. Of the result of this training and of the social system generally in these counties, Mr. Henley speaks in cordial terms. ‘“'The Northumberland peasants are,” he says, ‘“ as “they were described by Sir Francis Doyle in 1842—intelligent, courteous, with a manly ‘¢ independence of demeanour: remarkably sober, rarely touching beer at their work ;” ‘“ they bear a high character for honesty; ‘‘ and crime of a serious character may be “ said hardly to exist among them” (B. 138). By working when young half the year they. are enabled, Mr. King says (B. 143) “to pay for their own education and assist in “‘ their maintenance.” Their education and training makes them “efficient farm ser- “« vants,” and “able to avail themselves of any opening which may offer to benefit their * condition,” so that “the stewards on all the large farms are almost to a man Northum- ‘* brians who have commenced life as hinds” (B. 144). 60. It is to be regretted that the dwellings of this exemplary race of agricultural labourers in the north are still, in numerous instances, in a very unsatisfactory state. Great progress has been made within the last 30 years in improving them, but still there are, Mr. Henley says, “ probably some of the best and some of the worst” cottages in England in this district. The description given of the cottages of the old type shows how great must have been the discomfort, and how many the sources of injury to health and morals connected with them (B, 152). But this blot on the otherwise remarkably B4 in these two counties not injurious. Zeal for education among la- bouring class in North- umberland. What amount of school attendance should be made im- perative. Opinions which look to the teaching side of the question must be weighed with care. Result of the training and social system in these two counties, Labourers’ dwellings in the North. Mr. Stan- HOPE’s RE- PORT on the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leices- ter. Large farms on the Wold. Labourers hired by the year ; others in the same district irregularly. Importance of these facts as respects obligation of school attendance. Causes of the unequal distribution of labour. Garden cul- tivation in the Axholme and Carr districts. Xvi EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN favourable features of agricultural life in these northern counties is im course of being removed ; “ it will be found that farms, at the expiration of their present leases, will not “ let without suitable cottage accommodation, which is as essential as suitable stabling “ for the horses” (B. 156). The farmer must either pay extra wages to bribe a hind “ to occupy what is so miserable for himself and his family, or he must remain content “ with second class labour.” It must also be said, Mr. Henley adds, “in justification “ of the landlords,” that “the work of improvement is progressing rapidly.’ The Dukes of Northumberland have built and improved 931 dwellings for farm and other labourers on their estates during the last 20 years, and “ attention is attracted by the excellence of the cottages ” on the large estates of Earl Grey and Mr. Creswell Creswell, and on many other estates, the list of which, Mr. Henley says, would be too long to mention. ‘The ground floor cottages are the most popular. A witness said, ‘ how is “‘ the mother to cook the dinner and look after a small bairn when it is up stairs? She “is always on the stairs.” Mr. Hunt, Surgeon, Belford, also states that “ the most * suitable construction is a ground floor, the mother then being able to look after her “ children in time of sickness.” Mr. Henley adds many other particulars relative to the cottages in the north, both the old and the more recent ones, which are of general interest ; also a full statement of the effect of the rules of the Inclosure Commissioners in the case of cottages built under their sanction, with money borrowed under the powers of Acts of Parliament (B. 186), with suggestions for the relaxation of the terms now imposed. He also supplies much valuable information on the other topics to which attention is called in our circular of inquiries. 61, Mr. Stanhope’s Report comprises the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leicester. These three counties present strong contrasts in soil and cultivation. The very varied conditions of agricultural employment consequent upon these contrasts are fully exhibited by Mr. Stanhope. 62. The great Wold district extends from Barton on the Humber to Horncastle and Spelsby. ‘The northern half of it is remarkable for the very large size of the farms, “many of them reaching 800 or 1,000 acres. The villages are numerous and not far “ apart, but small,” in many cases only large enough to afford cottage accommodation for the labourers who are hired by the year, “confined” labourers (C. 6). These labourers are paid “partly in kind, and their wages amount to 40/. or 45/. a year” (C. 21). Their wives are described as being too well off to work (C. 8). 63. But in this same district there are many men who only get “irregular and’ “ uncertain work,” ‘‘ who live from hand to mouth,” and whose wives and children go out in the “ public” or private gangs which do the light work of the district; ‘“ whose “« children must work at the earliest age they can” (68); men described in other portions of the county as “catch work ” labourers, “‘ who work for no fixed employer all the year,” and whose earnings fall below the average of the district (C. 21, 22). 64, It is obviously of the first importance that facts of this kind should be kept prominently in view in considering the questions of the restrictions in the employment of juvenile labour, and the obligation of school attendance that could with propriety be enforced. 65. The unequal distribution of labour, which is one of the chief causes of the state of things just described, and which exists not only in the wold district “but in other ‘“‘ parts of the county,” has not arisen, Mr. Stanhope says, from the destruction of cottages by the Jarge landowners to save the rates, but from its being a new country. Large tracts of land have been brought into cultivation, farm-houses and farm cottages have been erected, but cottages in sufficient number upon, or near the farms have not yet been supplied (C. 9). Some landlords have done a great deal towards remedying this, and much progress is making on many estates (C. 184). The progress is also stimulated by the farmers, who consider that it has become “a vital question” to them. But “on some few of the large properties” which Mr. Stanhope visited “ hardly an “« improvement has taken place,” of which he gives some striking proofs (C. 186-8). Under the most favourable circumstances the more even distribution of labour over these wide districts must be a gradual process, and until it is effected many serious obstacles are interposed to the moral and intellectual improvement of the young, and the general well-being of the labourers in agriculture. 66. Entirely different from the circumstances prevailing in the wold are those of the Isle of Axholme and the Carr district, in the north-eastern corner of the county. Here the rich soil is “especially suited for garden cultivation,” and is “mainly owned by small “ freeholders cultivating their own land with the help of their families.” From J uly, the IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—FIRST REPORT. time of the potato setting, to that of the potato harvest at the end of November “ almost all the female and juve u nile population is engaged in field work” (C. 16). These cottagers” or small frecholders are also very numerous in many parts of the fens (C. 26). They are a class in many cases very little raised above the hired labourer, and more hardly worked and less well fed and housed (ibid.). “They often live under a “ heavy incubus of debt” (C. 27). Where the land they occupy is sufficient to employ fully a man’s labour throughout the year, or where if less (only four or five acres) they will consent to hire themselves out when their own land does not require their labour, ‘* they appear to be prosperous ; but to the latter resource they are unfortunately averse, Effect of on ‘‘ and the consequence is that their children are worked earlier, and have less schooling education. “ than those of hired labourers” (ibid.). 67. The period of the year during which the demand for these children’s labour is the Periods of greatest,—from July to the end of November,—is noticeable as indicating the time left the year, free for school attendance. On the other hand in three other districts of the same enone county, the wold, the cliff, and the heath, in consequence of the prevalence of turnip employed. cultivation, the winter is the time when the boys from 9, 10, and 12 years of age are chiefly employed (C. 13). This is also “the case in Notts. (C. 49). Picking stones is also another description of winter work (C. 14). On the other hand weeding and many other employments give occupation to boys from 7 to 11 and girls from 7 to 13 years of age “ almost through the summer” especiallyin the fens where the weeds spring up rapidly (C. 19). 68. In Nottinghamshire, one-half of which, that not adjoining Lincolnshire, ‘ presents Similar ** many features of similarity with the Lincolnshire wolds,” troops of children “ are em- features in ‘“* ployed almost all the summer and even a part of the winter for stone picking” (C. 30), eo Kage and in the other half of the county, where the soils are heavy, boys are wanted to lead zhin. the horses in ploughing, and “ in some parishes go as early as 8 or 9, in others not till “ 10 or 11” (C.31). “ In this county wages may be said to be 15s. a week throughout ‘“* the county ; near the collieries or the large towns 16s. or 17s. for first-class labour.” In Leicester, the adjoining county, wages for able-bodied men vary from 11s. to 13s. a week. Boys from 9 to 12 years of age are taken permanently on the farm for ploughing (C. 34); and younger boys are occasionally wanted for ‘‘ tending birds.” The low rate : of wages shows itself in the reduced diet of the Leicestershire labourer; “ meat once “a day, and for the father only, is the rule;” whereas in Lincolnshire “ the men * often eat meat two or three times a day, and sometimes give it to their families ” (C. 35). 69. We have only attempted to draw attention to some of the principal points, in their bearing on future legislation, dealt with by Mr. Stanhope in the preliminary portion of his report. The succeeding portions of it enter minutely into detail on all the questions submitted to him. The necessity of limiting the Sunday labour of boys occu- Necessity of pied not only in “ bird scaring,” but in “ tenting” cows, pigs, sheep, or horses, is clearly limiting shown by his remarks in § 45. He has given an elaborate description of the private eee gangs, which are employed in one form or another throughout Lincolnshire and Notts. ior Mr. Stanhope states, that in his opinion the true distinction to be drawn between the Private different sorts of gangs is ‘‘ between those in which young children only are employed, gangs in- “ and those in which old and young are mixed together” (C. 62). Where girls and ¢te#5ins- boys work together in companies of moderate size, Mr. Stanhope says that “ very little «* harm is represented as being caused to their morals” (C. 63). He looks therefore, not so much to the separation of the sexes in gang work, which is ineffectual at meal times, and while they are going to or coming from their work, as to the separation of the old from the young. ‘“ Itis the elder women who demoralize them.” “It is the bigger ° “ girls that corrupt the little ones, and no one else.” “ It’s the old_married women that ‘* talk bad and corrupt the children” (C. 64). Private gangs, as already mentioned by Mr. Fraser (§ 36), and as we anticipated, have increased since the Agricultural Gangs Act came into operation. Whatever may be hereafter found practicable in the way of Extension further regulation to prevent the serious demoralization caused by the present system, of cottage the best hope for the complete amelioration of the system is to be found in the extension ee. of cottage accommodation upon or near the farm, and the consequent substitution of Ste family work for the gang (C. 67, 84). 70. Reviewing all the circumstances that came under his observation in these three Mr. Stan- - counties, in regard to the employment of boys, Mr. Stanhope comes to the following hope’s con- conclusion, which commends itself to the most attentive consideration :—. (C. 73, 74.) Vee “ Seyere restrictions upon boy labour will also have the effect of driving out into the fields many more women and girls, or of causing the work whice they now do to be neglected. And much of the eg atons 21157, xvii Opinions as to field work for girls. Distance to which chil- dren should go to their work. Employment of women on thrashing machines. Demand for education very active among the labouring class. ' Supply of schools satisfactory. Due to the clergy. But school results ex- | tremely un- satisfactory. xviii EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN to first rate farming, is not light labour now done by children is of a character which though essential will be felt far more by the absolutely necessary ; and the neglect of it, though a loss to the farmer, poor families whose earnings are thus impaired. . “ Whatever, therefore, may be the case with reference to the necessity of requiring some better school attendance from boys, there is no reason, on the ground of health, for fixing any limit before which they shall not be allowed to work different from that of the Factory Acts.” . 71. Mr. Stanhope reviews very carefully the evidence regarding the age at which girls should be allowed to work, and the conclusion he arrives at is, that the employment of girls from 8 to 12 or 13 is the most free from objection, if properly regulated. In many districts females above that age are but little employed, in others not at all; everywhere it appears that there is a growing disinclination to field work among the women themselves (C. 75-84). Looking therefore to the spread of that disinclination, one witness remarks (Evid. 206), that “any restriction had better be left to personal “ feeling.” Let field work for girls be considered “a last and loathed resource. Let “ everything from the gentleman’s situation, and the shopman’s down to the lowest farm “* service, come to be preferred to the field.” Such is the general opinion of field work in the south. It has been shown in Mr. Henley’s report, that as conducted in Northum- berland it is not found to injure the women as wives or mothers. 72. With regard to the distances to which children have in some districts to go to their work (C. 95-100), which are sometimes very great, Mr. Stanhope thinks that although cases of injury to the children from that source ‘‘ appear to be rare,” and that they become labourers who can compare in strength and working ability with any in England (C. 101, 102), “ if any regulations should be thought advisable, some simple “ rule forbidding all children from being taken to work on foot beyond a distance of two ‘miles would appear to be the readiest mode of effecting the object with least inter- “ ference with the labour of the children” (C. 102). Other persons, however, think that more stringent regulations are necessary (C. 103). The employment of women upon thrashing machines is also strongly condemned (C. 104-108). The employment of very young boys (of 8 years old or even less) in leading horses in carts is noticed. In Leicestershire Mr. Stanhope found “many boys of 10 regularly driving horses, and “ employed all the year round in this way” (C. 109). But nevertheless inquiries led him to believe that accidents from this cause are not more common to boys of 9 or 10 than to boys of 14 to 15, that when they do occur it is more frequently from riding on the shafts or from carelessness than from any other cause, and that boys who begin early to go among horses get accustomed to their ways, and when under the eye of any one who can prevent careless habits are little exposed to danger; and he instances the difficulty of enforcing any restrictions on this point “‘ unless they fall in to a certain extent with “‘ the public opinion of the country,” by referring to the Act 3 Geo. 4. c. 126., by § 131 of which no boy under 13 is allowed to drive a cart on the turnpike road, an Act which in his district “is absolutely ignored.” 73. The question of education is dealt with by Mr. Stanhope very elaborately in §§ 114 to 182 of his Report. Among the many valuable facts there brought forward, it is of much interest to notice that in these three counties “‘the demand for education “ among the labouring classes is very active” (C. 118), and the supply of schools—a large proportion of them good ones—so satisfactory, that in Lincolnshire and Notting- hamshire the number of parishes in which there is no school available within a reasonable distance is certainly small (ébid.). This is attributed almost exclusively to “ self-sacrifice “ of the clergy” (C. 116); and where their exertions have not been able to reach, private schools, which when good are much valued by the parents, are serving a very useful purpose, especially where “ the growing tendency to place the labourer nearer his “* work ” has increased the difficulty of providing schools within a reasonable distance of his home (C. 122, 123). Yet with this unusually good supply of schools, and in counties where the rates of wages are high, and the condition of the peasant good, and the difficulties in the way of maintaining schools consequently “less than ordinary ” (C. 119), such is the demand for juvenile labour at field work that the “school results” are extremely unsatisfactory. “ The greater cultivation of root crops,” Mr. Stanhope says (C. 139), “and the large amount of land recently brought into cultivation, the very slight increase of population to meet those demands, and the increasing unwillingness of married women to go out to field labour has given rise to a. much larger employment of children than formerly in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. ‘They are employed in occasional jobs and are taken into regular sevice at a younger age.” 74. Two results follow; first, the attendance becomes irregular at an earlier age, “even infant schools are affected by the demand for field work.” In one parish the children going to such work included 12 boys and five girls of 8 and under; one girl was 6 only (Evid. 83). In one village on the wolds “some few have goné as é IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. xix “ early as 6, but 8 is about the usual age.” At Croyland “in the summer only ** infants attend” (Evid. 233). At Dorrington on the day of my visit, six boys and two, girls under 7 were taken from school to work (Evid. 110). (C. 140). 75. The second result is that “the age at which children finally leave school is *“* gradually dropping.” 76. “ Twenty years ago,” said one witness, “ we kept them till 12 or 13, but now it “¢ is rare to keep them till 10” (Evid. 189). ‘The girls used to be older and bigger “ than the boys; now they are about as young and fewer in number” (Evid. 231). Out of the 17 last children mentioned in the Kirton register as having finally left school, eight were 9 years of age (Evid. 66). At Morton “we cannot depend on their * staying at school till after 9” (Evid 254). At Worksop (Notts.), “a great many “boys leave altogether at 8 years old. At that age they will have got to read a chapter ** in the Testament, they can write a little on a slate and some of them on paper” (C. 141). 77, Thus the number of boys on the books of any school at 10 years of age being small, “the proportion of those who attend with any regularity falls in many cases to “ nothing,” especially in the case of children of agricultural labourers (C. 142). The same facts exist in Leicestershire with the addition that ‘the schools are inferior,” and “the Government schools not being so much within reach,” even fewer children remain at school after 10 (C. 143, 147). 78. The effect of all this is that the evidence exhibits a lamentable picture of the existing state of education among the rising generation in these counties. The little knowledge the children have gained at school is quickly lost. One witness states, that “taking the lowest standard of a sufficient education for an agricultural labourer, he ‘* believes that more than one-half the population is growing up without it.” A large proportion of youths examined by other witnesses were found either not to be able to read or write at all, or not to any practical purpose; and Mr. Stanhope gives this summary of the results of his own examination of children whom he found at work :— ** Out of 180 children in Lincolnshire over 10, and actually engaged in field work on the day that I examined them, 42 could not read or write, 36 could read only, 60 could read and write a little, while only 42 had received a really satisfactory education in these respects, but no less than 31 out of the 42 who were uneducated came from towns or large open villages. On one farm between Retford and Worksop, out of 15 lads between 12 and 16, four could neither read nor write (three of them coming from large towns) and two could read only, five were well educated. One employer at Deeping St. James, says,—‘ I have 10 boys only; of these four cannot read or write. I asked them to-day, and I ‘was much surprised, because I know two of those who could not read to have been at school a * great deal’” (C. 146). ; oe 79. The parents, though for the most part “professing to see the advantages of “ education ” and supporting private-adventure schools where there are no others, and eager to avail themselves of any opportunities afforded, have nevertheless set before themselves a very low standard of education for their children, not much regarding the moral duty of providing them with a good one, and taking their children away from school the moment their services become valuable to them (C. 151). The children also seem to get beyond the control of their parents as soon as they earn enough to support themselves (C. 152). 80. Mr. Stanhope reviews with great care the suggestions that have been made for improving this state of things, especially the half-time system carried into effect by Mr. Paget at Ruddington (C. 157), and the “somewhat more elastic schemes suggested “ by Mr. Lakin and by Mr. Willes (C. 169, 170); as also the plan most approved of “ by the farmers, which would set boys free for farm work at 10 if not at 9 years of age” (C.173), compelling them to a certain amount of school attendance before that age; a plan above noticed as the wish of the farmers in the counties reported on by Mr. Fraser. 81. Mr. Stanhope inclines to requiring a certain amount of school attendance in every youth up to 12 or 13, as more likely to produce enduring results (C. 174), and thinks it would be effected without loss to the farmers who might return to the old hiring system, and take lads rather older into their houses (idid.). He also points out that in one district exclusion from field work would be attended with great hardship to individuals and disadvantage to the public (C. 175). He shows also by accurate calcu- lation that, “speaking generally,” in the districts ‘where young children are much in “ request for agricultural labour,” there were 95 school days when they were absolutely unemployed, “so that to require 100 days school attendance in each year from 8 to 13 “would have been to deprive the families of very little money, and hardly to interfere “ for a single day with the requirements of the farmer. The best proof of this is that C2 Review of suggested. remedies. Remedies to which Mr. Stanhope’s opinion inclines. Mr. Port- MAN’s REPORT on Cambridge- shire and the three ridings of Yorkshire. Favourable influence of high earnings on education in Yorkshire, Contrast in Cambridge- shire. Bad effect of gang system and of low wages on education. XX EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ many parents in Lincolnshire voluntarily adopt this system, and the acquirements of “ their children, so faras I could test them by personal examination, appeared to me little * inferior to those of the more regular attendants of the labouring class. Some boys under “13 are no doubt employed all the year in these districts, but in order that a farmer “‘ may be sure of such labour at certain seasons, he will often employ at other times “‘ when not absolutely necessary to him” (C. 176). 82. Mr. Stanhope is of opinion that restrictions “if carried so far as to exclude the “ children from labour altogether” up to a certain age, would “be very widely felt,” and seriously affect the resources of poor families. But “if half a year’s work at any * rate is still left open, it would not be a very serious loss.” The age at which the restriction should begin he thinks, for the reason he assigns (C. 180) should be that of the Factory Acts, namely 8 years, and he is disposed to think that 12is the age at which it should cease. He says,— “ A very serious questicn, however, to both employers and employed is the age at which any re- strictions should cease. The age of 12 recommended itself on many grounds. Throughout these counties boys can get employment almost all the year at that age, and in most cases, not before that age; and in the event of restrictions upon the labour of young boys would be sure of getting it. It is the age at which boys usually begin to learn how to drive a plough, and other more skilled work. In Leicestershire some begin this sooner, but in a Table which will be found in the evidence (Evid. 328) two-thirds of all the boys under 14 employed were over 12” (C. 179). 83. Two other suggestions are also submitted by Mr. Stanhope, under this head, for consideration ; one that better support should be given to infant schools, the other that Boards of Guardians should be required to do what they are now empowered by law to do, namely, ‘to send the children of the poor receiving out-door relief to school. The “ young children of such families are often forced out to work on every day that they ** can get it, and no provision whatever is made for their education” (C. 182). 84, Mr. Portman’s report deals with Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire. The favourable influence of a prevailing and uniform high rate of earnings upon the disposition cf the parents to give their children the benefit of education is strongly exhibited by Mr. Port- man in the portions of his report relating to Yorkshire. 85. In all the principal agricultural districts in that county the average rate of wages is 14s. a week, or more frequently 2s. 6d. a day for a man, ls. a day for a woman, and 10d. or 1s. for a child (D. 13). In addition to this there is the “harvest pay” and extra earnings at piece work in draining, banking, singling turnips, flax pulling, pea picking, &c. The custom of hiring farm servants by the year, and boarding them is also very general; a foreman obtaining 30/. a year and board; a waggoner, 161. to 201. a year and board, and plough lads, 10/. to 14/. a year and board (D. 14). 86. As the gang system does not here interpose to force the children into premature employment, the parents are described as yielding to the dictates of their own proper feelings in encouraging the education of their children. Mr. Jackson, of Waghen, in the East Riding, says (D. 49) that he has “ great pleasure in stating that the feeling ** of parents generally is that parental duty is not fulfilled if their children have no ** education ; this feeling appears to grow with those parents who have not had that advantage, and in this part of the East Riding of Yorkshire the children generally ** attend a day school about nine months in the year.” 87. Again Mr. Angas, on behalf of the agriculturalists of Holderness, says that D. 50) :— ( “With a view to guard against the possible contingency of such evils arising in this district as exist in the gang counties, they would be quite willing to agree to a minimum standard of age in respect to children as field hands, but at the same time would feel strongly opposed to any coercive means being put in operation, believing not only that the feelings of parents would revolt from what they would certainly consider as an arbitrary law, but that, left to the dictates of their own consciences and free will, with the example of those a little higher in the social scale, the education of our young rural population would certainly and steadily progress.” 88. Consequently, as regards the state of education throughout Yorkshire, while it appears that in the East Riding “ the children generally attend a day school about nine ‘“* months in the year,” in the portions of the West and North Riding visited by Mr. Portman, “there appeared to be no dearth of available schools, and the state of “ education is probably better than in many parts of England” (D. 52). 89. The contrast between Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire in these respects is remark- able. In the southern portions of the latter county wages are in one district 10s. a week, in another 11s. ; women’s wages average 10d. a day; children’s from 4d. to 6d. (D. 12). In the northern part of the county “the wages of an ordinary day labourer ” are 12s, and 13s. a week; in one instance at Parsondown they were “said to be 15s. a week.” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—FIRST REPORT. xxi 90. In Cambridgeshire “the private gangs may be said to be universally employed “on the light lands” (D. 18). In the Isle of Ely and the northern parts of the county “ the public gang system is in thorough operation ” (D. 24). ¢ . * . 91. Accordingly it is found that throughout the county, both where wages are low and where they are high, education, notwithstanding Mr. Portman did not find “any ‘‘ want of accessible schools” (D. 48), is in an exceedingly unsatisfactory state. Mr. Portman thus describes it (D. 46) :— “In Cambridgeshire the state of education among the labouring class is in many instances lament- ably deficient; the old and middle aged cannot, with rare excepticns, either read or write, and conse- quently they place no value on learning, but think it far more important that a child should go out as soon as it is able to earn its daily bread. In many parishes it is stated that it is very rare that a couple when they come to be married can sign the register. The practical working of the system of field labour with regard to education is that now as a rule boys leave day school entirely at 9 years of age, never to return. Those who leave school at 7 or 8 years of age generally go to field labour for weeding in the months of March, April, and May, and return for a short time previous to the harvest holidays, they are then absent from school until November, when field work for children ceases. ‘The Sunday school is usually well attended, but the benefit of religious instruction on that day is much decreased by the inability of the children, who only attend once a week, to follow the reading of the teacher, and that is the only education which, often from the age of 8 years, children are able to get.” 92. It is manifest that in those portions of the county where wages are high, and where, consequently, the parents might, with the exercise of a due amount of self-denial, forego the earnings of their younger children, the public gang system draws them away prematurely to field labour ; while in the southern parts of the county, where wages are low, the necessities of the parents and the prevalence of private gangs on the light soils operate in the same direction. 93. Mr. Portman presents this point as follows :— “Under this head of the general employment of children the question of the necessity of the children’s earnings for the maintenance of the family must be considered. Where wages are low it is no doubt of very great importance to the mother that every sixpence that can be earned should be obtained. During the past winter, when flour was at a high price and where the wages had not risen in proportion, I found that out of 12s. a week (the husband’s earnings) the outgoing for flour alone for the support of the family of six children was 10s. 6d. per week (see No. 28); the woman said she could not live without the children’s earnings. There may be some truth in that statement where wages are low, but in Yorkshire, where the average rate of wages may be said to be above 14s. a week, it is hardly possible to believe that there is this necessity for sending the children into the fields at a tender age” (D. 36). 94. The foregoing was written when flour was very high, but the case is not much altered when the price is lower, if the average rate of wagesis low. The ordinary state of things in such cases appear to be represented by Mr. Portman in the succeeding paragraph, in which he states that “at present parents solicit employers to take children into service ‘¢ when so young as to be worthless, and until wages are raised it appears probable that “ they will continue to do so” (D. 37). 95. But this account of the state of things as regards education in the principal por- tions of these two counties, where farming is carried on more or less on a large scale, does not exhaust the view that these two counties present. In parts of Cambridgeshire, and in the dales near the moors, and in other parts of the North and West Ridings of elaine Yorkshire, there exists a class of smaller occupiers “holding four, five, or ten acres of nial ths z * land which they cultivate by themselves and their children, and rarely, if ever, employ loss of the ‘¢ a Jabourer.” children’s “To these men the loss of their children’s aid would be fatal, they are too poor to hire labour, and ©7208 the assistance rendered by a child of 8 or 9 years old is of great value. I think that as a rule these eee lt men are desirous of giving their children as much education as they can, and I may instance the case S°V°'Y 1°" of “Chop Gate” school, in Bilsdale, North Riding, to which children come two miles and a half and three miles up and down the dale over a bad road, and where the master said, ‘He had had from 40 ‘to 50 children at the school in winter when the snow was lying deep on the ground’” (D. 39). 96. It is satisfactory to find that even this class of small occupiers is desirous of doing their best for the education of their children. And of the better class of labourers in both these counties Mr. Portman is able to say (D. 38) that, as a general rule, they “ are now beginning to see the evils resulting to their children from the loss of schooling “ consequent on field work at so early an age, and will gladly forego, if possible, the ‘“‘ weekly earnings derived from their labour.” ‘There is at the same time “a very large Many «* class of people who are entirely indifferent to the advantages of education, and would parents in- “ sooner receive the money and totally disregard the future prospects of their children” aad (ibid.). Persons of this class are, “in too many instances ” found even in Yorkshire, el em where, in any part of it, “ poverty can hardly be pleaded ” in excuse (I). 59). There is, tion, even in Mr. Portman states, a decided indisposition on the part of some of the parents to forego Yorkshire. Different views preva- lent as to compulsory attendance _ at school. Some mea~- sure much needed. Employers would not object to exclusion of children from work up to the age of 10. How would sucb a rule affect labourers, where wages are low ? How could school atten- dance before the age of 10 be enforced ? Difficulties attending the requirement of a certifi- cate of school attendance previous to hiring. A plan founded on the Print- works Act, but im- proved, would be most suit- able. xxii EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the weekly sum that is added to the family earnings by the child’s labour. “In too “ many instances there is, I fear, a tacit understanding between the employer and the “ labourer that, in consideration of yearly and permanent employment for the father of “ the family, the labour of the wife and children shall be placed at the employer's ‘* disposal if required at any particular season” (2bid.). ” 97. Mr. Portman fully represents the different views which he found prevalent in these two counties as to the means of meeting by legislation these various circumstances, and the many other points which the problem involves. 98. In Cambridgeshire the children go out to work as. young as 6 years old, many at 7 and 8(D. 18). Evenin Yorkshire, the Rev. T. Hedley stated in 1861 that the children “ begin to leave school about 9;” and Mr. Watkins informed the Education Commissioners at the same date that 74 per cent. of the children in the schools of Yorkshire were under 10 years of age (D. 57 and 58). This state of things still continues in some parts of that county (D. 59). And Mr. Portman says, as regatds Cambridgeshire (D. 46) that “the practical working of the system of field labour with “ regard to educa- “ tion is that now, as a rule, boys leave day school at 9 years of age never to return.” 99. Can the duration of the school life of these children be prolonged? Can they, as many persons desire, be excluded from work up to the age of 10 years? As far as the interests of a large proportion of the employers in Yorkshire are concerned they could be. ‘Many parts of Yorkshire would not be affected at all by a restriction to 10 years” (D. 40). But even in Yorkshire such a rule must be subjected to important qualifica- tions. It could not, Mr. Portman thinks, be applied to the small occupiers in the Dales, and elsewhere it would be necessary to relax it at certain seasons (D. 39, 41). The general question also presents itself in a different aspect from the labourer’s point of view, where men’s wages are on a low average, and children can add to the family earnings 2s, and 3s. a week, as in the southern parts of Cambridgeshire (D. 12). 100. But even were children to be excluded from farm work until the age of 10, as so many employers, not only in these, but in other counties hitherto reported on by our Assistant Commissioners would not object to, and indeed would prefer, because it would create no interference with their demands upon juvenile labour, how is security to be taken that the years previous to the age of 10 will be given, to a satisfactory extent, to school instruction ? . The difficulties are well stated by Mr. Portman in the following paragraphs :— “ T have frequently submitted for the consideration of private individuals, as well as for discussion at public meetings, the question of the desirability of requiring the production of a certificate of a given amount of school attendance during the years previous to hiring, and on many, I may say most, occasions the scheme appeared to be acceptable, but the details appear more difficult of arrangement. On whom, whether employer or parent, the penalty for noncompliance should be placed? What would be the best means of enforcing such a system when you find so utter a disregard of character, as compared with physical strength, as now exists among the employers? I fear it would be somewhat difficult to enforce the school certificate without a very well organized system of registering and local inspectors” (D. 43). : “ What would be the effect of the requirement of such certificate on the labourer himself? It is thought by some that it would be a spur and an inducement to the parents to take more heed of the education of their children, but by many other others that nothing short of compulsion will secure the desired amount of school attendance for the young” (D. 45). ‘ 101. It is evident that a compulsory school attendance “during the year previous to “ hiring,” although it has recommended itself to so many earnest persons who’ have considered the subject, is a matter uot only involving the difficulties above pointed out, but, in the words of Mr. Portman, would require for its successful adoption “ a very ‘ well organized system of registering and local inspectors” (D. 44). * 102. Mr. Portman notices (ss. 62-87) the various modes suggested in his district for meeting the difficulties of the case, and he concludes that “ the evidence fairly justifies ” him in saying that a plan “founded on the model of the Printworks Act, modified and ““ made ‘elastic’ enough to meet the necessities and vicissitudes of agricultural opera- “‘ tions, would be found most practicable and most acceptable to the employer and “ employed” (D. 78). He states :— hs “ The most feasible plan for obtaining continuous education appears to be to fix an age below which no child shall go to work for hire, with or without compulsory attendance at school, to require a certain amount of school attendance from that age to 13 or 14 years of age, and perhaps, in addition, the pro- duction of a certificate of such school attendance before hiring. Very few objections will be found to this plan, with the exception of the certificate; but I think that when a good system of registering, which might be combined with a register for farm servants, is once established, the supposed difficulties and inconveniences will soon vanish” (D. 77). YP are i IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. - XXiil 103. Mr. Portman directs attention to the evidence of Miss Simpson, of Baynton, ‘“‘ whose experience among farm lads and the children of the agricultural class is as “* extensive as that of any one in Yorkshire,” and who points to the defect of the Print- works*Act in not securing to the extent desired, “the great desideratum,” continuous attendance at school. If the intervals of attendance are long, it is manifest that much that has been acquired will be lost. | “ When a child is little he cannot exercise his mind ‘“* much on what he learns, and having no real grasp of it, it is the sooner lost before “ he is of an age to know the real meaning of anything.” Any knowledge, whether religious or secular, acquired in early childhood, if it is not kept up, fares in most cases “like the seed that fell by.the wayside” (D. 61). The inference, the®fore, naturally follows, which is embodied in Mr. Surtees’s evidence (D. 58), that not only would it be desirable that greater continuity of school attendance should, if possible, be secured than that now required by the Printworks Act, but that the slight amount of knowledge acquired in the early years of childhood should be kept up and increased by attendance at night school wherever practicable, or by occasional returns to the day school when the boy’s labour can be dispensed with, until a certain age, or until he can show, on examination, that he has acquired the elements of education in a manner likely to be durable. ; 104. Mr. Portman quotes much valuable evidence obtained in his district on the subject of night schools, their difficulties, the modes of improving them and making them popular, and the errors to be avoided (D. 67-75). He draws attention to the want, “* which was equally expressed in Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire,” of further Government aid to the small rural. schools (D. 53). He states also that it was suggested that “ itinerant schoolmasters might with advantage be supported in some districts where “ the population is scattered” (D. 73), that in such cases “it would be beneficial if ‘* owners of isolated farms would provide a room for service and teaching, where the “ the clergyman could occasionally visit” (ibid.); and that employers should acknow- ledge and act upon, to a greater extent than they now do, their sense of responsibility to the young men in their service, whether those who board with them or those who live in their own homes. . The moral duty imposed upon a master, who places a youth under his own roof as a member of his family, appears unfortunately to be little thought of. From the time of commencing regular service in Yorkshire, the lads boarded with the employers “rarely. got any instruction at all. No books are supplied to them, and “ but little is done to encourage them to spend their evening profitably. The masters ‘“¢ take no heed about it, as was evident by the tone of the meeting at Howden, when it “* was suggested that they might help to stimulate a desire for improvement by reading “ aloud, &e.” (D. 79). It appears to be even worse with the lads who live at home in the villages: These “too often spend their evenings in the pothouse, or idling about the “ street, except where you find a considerate landlord, an energetic clergyman, or some “‘ kind and benevolent people resident in the village, by whose aid a reading room or a “ club room is kept up, where the labourer can spend his evening by a good fire with “ books and papers, and free from the temptations of the beerhouse” (ibid.). 105. It is a forcible proof that in Yorkshire education is also greatly required in the class above the labourers that Mr. Portman is constrained to add the following :— “The employer is too often worse educated than his labourer, and is utterly unaware of the respon- sibility of looking after those in his employ further than to see that they do their work” (D. 80). 106. The intellectual condition of the farmers in one part of Yorkshire is aptly illustrated by a fact mentioned by Mr. Portman in s. 83 of his report. He obtained the evidence of 63 farmers on Lord Wenlock’s estate as to their opinion of the value of educated as compared with uneducated labour. ‘The result was that of the 63 only six preferred the uneducated ; but 21 said “‘ they perceived no difference in the value of the *¢ labour ;” while 23 “ preferred the educated man” (D. 83). Mr. Portman remarks upon this, that ‘“ as the use of machinery in agriculture is daily becoming more common, « it must surely be an advantage to the farmer to have in his employment men who, at “ at any rate, are able to read those instructions which are necessary for the management of the various implements with the care of which they are intrusted. Mr. Joseph ‘ Barugh, a large farmer near Bridlington, spoke strongly on the subject at a meeting of “ the East Riding Chamber of Agriculture, held at Bridlington, and gave his testimony to the value of educated servants” (D. 84). 107. ‘The four industrial schools for girls of which Mr. Portman gives an account in ss. 85, 87 of his report are extremely worthy of attention, as showing how the want may be supplied of that instruction in the ordinary domestic duties of washing, cooking, cleaning, needlework, &c. which used pny to be obtained by the daughters of agri- 4 n € 66 Continuity of attend- ance to be aimed at as much as possible. Night schools ; their wants. . The farmers should en- courage the education of the young men in their employ. Intellectual condition of the farmers in parts of Yorkshire. * Industrial schools for girls. Age at which girls should be excluded from field labour. Statute hirings. Agricultural Gangs Act well re- ceived. The gang system would disappear if cottages more nume- rous. Labourers’ cottages. XXIV EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN cultural labourers by early training in the farmers’ “families, and which was an excellent preparation for higher service, or for their future duties as wives and mothers. The school at Harewood challenges observation, as it appears more capable of imitation, A building containing a kitchen and a laundry is attached to the “ National School,” anda certain number of girls from the first class are, week by week, taken from the school on fixed days to be taught washing and working, all having their turn. The satisfactory result is that “ the money earned by washing goes far towards paying the expenses of “ that branch of the school.” Mr. Portman adds :— “‘ J have great pleasure in calling your attention to this school, as being at the same time an inexpen- sive and a most ugeful method of securing for girls a certain amount of industrial training. It is the only instance of the kind I met with, and it is quite worthy of imitation by those who have the oppor- tunity with the view of drawing the tastes of girls away from the license of field labour, and fitting them for domestic service and their future duties in life.” 108. The difficult question of the age at which girls should be excluded, if at all, from field labour, is touched upon by Mr. Portman in ss. 32-35 of his report, and the same differences of opinion are recorded that have been found in other districts. If the public opinion of any district were to discourage the continuance of women at field labour after they were married, as has been shown to be the case in Northumberland (§ 45), doubt- less much good would result. Mr, Portman observes that “ the effect of this constant ‘¢ field labour after a woman is married is that their cottages are in an untidy state, that the families are neglected, and where there are small children they are left in charge of an old woman on the payment of so much a day; and that this system has often led to a serious evil, as it is a common habit to give the infants an opiate for the purpose of keeping them quiet during the day.” Mr. Portman proceeds to say :— ‘Tt has been alleged by persons whom I have met that the cottage of the field woman is not more untidy than the cottage of the woman who remains at home all day; but from personal inspec- tion 1 have formed the opinion, which is borne out by many clergymen and others, that field labour does lead to a want of care at home, and consequently to the bad bringing up of the children, and the driving of the husband to the public house when he comes home from work in consequeuce of the untidiness of his home” (D. 32). 109. The system of statute hirings, which has been described as dying out in many localities, is in full vigour in Yorkshire, and Mr. Portman descrihes its many disadvan- tages in a moral point of view and the efforts making in the county to substitute for it a system of register offices for farm servants. The principal obstacle to any change seems to be the unwillingness of the farmers to incur the trouble; indeed, Mr. Portman describes them as, in general, disinclined to make any exertion, either for changing the present mode of hiring for a better, or on behalf of the education or morals of those in their service. Mr. Portman says that— “¢ After the servants are hired little or no trouble is taken to keep them in the right way; I regret to say that the farmers, as a rule, pay little attention to the education of those engaged in their service; there is more thought for the physical than the moral. There are, of course, bright exceptions, such as Mr. Wells (No. 329), Mr. Wheatley (No. 223), and others, who have taken great pains with those living on their premises. The masters, taken as a whole, seem unaware that they are in duty bound to take some interest in the moral condition of their servants. The separation of the sleeping rooms of the two sexes is very often most incomplete. Mr. Broadley, of Welton, told me that in building some farm houses he had made a living room and a bed room for the boys entirely separated from the kitchen and sleeping room of the women, but that the farmer objected to have two separate living rooms, but preferred having them sitting altogether in one kitchen ” (D. 65). 110. On the subject of agricultural gangs, public and private, Mr. Portman informs us (ss. 18-26) that, on discussing at various meetings in the Isle of Ely, where the public gang system is in thorough operation, the provisions of the new Act, ke found that it was as a rule most favourably received ; that “the farmers themselves are anxious to get rid of “ the evils existing under that system, and that they believe if proper attention is paid “ by those in whom the authority is vested much of the evil would be done away with. « Ata meeting of the Wisbeach Board of Guardians, No. 33, it was stated that the gang ‘ system would vanish when there is a sufficiency of good cottages on each farm for the “ number of hands required for the working of the land” (D. 24). 111. And with regard to the system of the private gangs, the evidence obtained by Mr. Portman leads him to think that if the age of 10 should be fixed below which a child should not be employed in field labour, there would not be “much need for applying to “ it any such restrictions as are now placed on public gangs by the Act of last session ” (D. 25). 112. In Mr. Portman’s report, as in that of the other assistant commissioners, the sub- ject of the cottages of the agricultural labourer assumes great prominence. The opinion seems to be universal that the bad state of the cottages and the overcrowding of the sleeping rooms is “ the root of the demoralization of both sexes” (D. ss. 88-93), 6c “cc ce ce IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPOR'T, XXV 118. At various meetings where the cottage question was discussed, Mr. Portman reminded those present that it was ‘‘a landlord’s question ;” but he very properly adds that, in giving the result of his inquiries into the general condition of the agricultural labourers—without a clear comprehension of which no legislation on the subject of his children’s education could be safe or satisfactory—he feels it “no less his duty to set ** forth plainly that which he finds to be in want of improvement,” and to call our atten- tion to that which “is in all cases said to be, more than anything else, the cause of “ immorality and degradation” among that class, namely, the crowded and neglected state of their dwellings (D. 121). 114, Mr. Portman states that if his colleagues “ have found the same strong feeling ** on this matter existing in their districts” that he has in his, “ it must surely show that * the evil is a great one, and much in want of a cure, and that it behoves the owners of “ cottage property to bestir themselves (D. 120); and he asks (D. 117): ‘ What are “*the causes of the bad state of the cottages??” Mr. Portman thus answers this question :— “One of the principal ones is ‘absenteeism,’ under which I include not merely non-residence of the owner in the county where his estate is situated, but that which is equally bad, viz., non-attention to the outlying portions of that estate. On many occasions when, being struck by the poor state of the dwellings, I have inqured who is the owner, I have been told he is some one living perhaps in the county, but rarely, if ever, visiting the village, or taking any heed as to the condition of the people. On the estate of Mr. Montague, in Yorkshire, less care is taken of the cottages than on any other large estate that I visited. The contrast between the cottages at Marston belonging to him and those in the adjacent village belonging to Lord Wenlock was too marked to pass by without notice. In Marston (Evid. 355) it is true the actual rent paid is very small, but the tenements are wretched, the whole repairs have to be done by the cottager, and so the rent becomes, in fact, very high ; and as one of them teld me, ‘ He’ (the landlord) ‘ does not care if they all tumble down.’ On other portions of his estate there was a great want of cottages, many having been pulled down and scarcely a new one built” (D. 117). 115. It is not indeed under the landowner only that the cottages are bad. The prac- tice,—which all, Mr. Portman thinks, must now admit to have been a mistake,—of those ‘‘who formerly for the sake of keeping down the rates or making a co-called model * village pulled down cottages and drove the poor to distant villages, has had the effect “ of leaving the field open to small tradesmen and other speculators, who have built “ cottages in open villages, and to whom they are a property that is expected to pay” (D. 123). A rent isdemanded in excess of what a field labourer can pay; the conse- quence is that he takes in lodgers, and crowds into as small a space as possible his perhaps numerous family” (ébid.). But as this is the direct result of the mistaken action of landowners of former years, the duty of applying a remedy devolves, as Mr. Port- man points out, upon their successors. And although Mr. Portman refrains “ from ‘* suggesting any remedy or discussing the need or the form of legislation on the subject « until he has completed his share of the inquiry in other parts of Mngland” (D. 122), he nevertheless draws attention to several practical suggestions from gentlemen of expe- rience contained in his evidence, upon the amount of accommodation required, the disposition of cottages on an estate, the best mode of meeting it, the alterations required in the Lands Improvement Act (D. 127-28), the necessity and means of preventing over- crowding (D. 127, 130), and other subjects, the consideration of which may aid im the ultimate solution of the problem. 116. The question of the improvement of cottage accommodation appears from the evidence to be more pressing in Cambridgeshire than in Yorkshire. Of the cottages ‘in most parts of Yorkshire” Mr. Portman says there is much comfort in them, and that “although there may be reason to wish for improvement in some, an increase of “ their number, or a change of situation in others, they are vastly superior to the “ average dwellings in the southern counties.” Gardens are almost universally attached “ to them, and in default of those there are fields close to the village divided into allot- « ments for labourers; many also have a ‘cow gate,’ or run for a cow in the lanes” (D. 115-16). In fact in one part of Yorkshire at least the advantages enjoyed by the Yorkshire agricultural labourers generally in yearly hirings, high weekly wages, oppor- tunities of piece work, and good gardens attached to their cottages, or allotments in default of them, are, according to the evidence of the Rev. S. Surtees (D. 137), made good use of towards securing a provision for old age. Mr. Surtees says that near Doncaster “it is the rule and not the exception for a labourer to leave at his death 50/. “ to 100/., and he quotes a case of one man who commenced life as a farm servant, and “ had brought up and started in life a family, who left 3501. Another who died at 35 «“ years of age, an ordinary agricultural labourer, leaving 170/. These are uo doubt, « special instances, but considering the high rate of wages in Yorkshire, the almost, 21157. D Gardens al- most univer- sally attached to cottages in Yorkshire, or in default of them, field allotments. Many labourers have also a “ cow gate.” Great advan- tages of the Yorkshire agricultural labourer gene- rally, Such cir- cumstances much facili- tate raising education to a proper standard. Mr. Nor- man’s Re- PORT on Northamp- tonshire. Employment of females discouraged. Employment of boys at an early age general. Continu- ously em- ployed after 10 years of age. Bad effect of no education. Plans for school attendance. XXVi- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN n * universal possession by the labourer of a garden or allotment, and in many cases of a cow gate or other advantages, I see no reason to doubt. that a man commencing | life as a farm servant and exercising ordinary prudence can, by the assistance of a savings bank, lay up a fair provision for his old age” (D. 137). 117. Under circumstances so favourable as this there ought to be no difficulty in gradually bringing up the standard of education among the young, and of good habits and intelligence among the adult population, to that of Northumberland and parts of Durham, as described in Mr. Henley’s report, the first impulse towards which, beyond the agencies now in action, must be such legislative measures to secure the education of the young as, on the conclusion of our inquiries, the legislature may think fit to adopt. 118. Mr. Norman having been appointed, as we have mentioned in § 6. to succeed Mr. Henley, proceeded in the month of February last to Northamptonshire, to which county his report refers. 119. Mr. Norman describes the character of this county, considered as affecting the employment of women and children in agriculture, as “ generally uniform.” He selected the centre of the county for special inquiry, and in other parts of it he collected and recorded a sufficient amount of evidence to explain any peculiar features which he found to exist. 120. It appears from Mr. Norman’s statement of what fell under his observation, that the characteristics of this county in regard to labour are the following :—-~The system of working by private gangs is very rare, and where it does exist the numbers of women, young persons, and children working together are so small as not to give rise to any objections “other than those which may be used against the employment of women, ‘“¢ young persons, and children individually” (E. 6). In no part of the county are females generally employed in field labour. ‘“‘In 19 parishes, with a total population of 8,975, only 190 females are employed in field work” (E. 8). The employment is con- sidered “to have a bad moral effect upon them,” and upon young women “is said to be ** most demoralizing ; they get into loose and disorderly habits and are rendered unfit “‘ for domestic servants, and badly trained for labourers’ wives” (E. 20). It appears consequently to be discouraged both by employers (E. 9), and by the best of the labour- ing people themselves (I. 20). But the employment of boys at a very early age appears to be general. ‘They begin to work about the age of 8, a few as young as 7; and ‘¢ almost all of them have been to work before they are 10” (E. 10). The youngest boys, and occasionally girls also, are employed in scaring birds, for about ten weeks in the spring, about three weeks in the summer, and about the same time in the autumn ; also occasionally in dibbling beans or wheat in the spring, and singling turnips in summer (E. 13). Occasionally the work performed by them occupies them all the year round, “but after the age of 10 they are usually employed continuously throughout the whole ** year” (E. 10), their principal occupations being to “go with the team,” and to clean the stable, cut chaff, and do other similar jobs in the yard (E. 13). The boys who scare birds appear to be generally employed also on Sundays though “ occasionally they are “ relieved for a part of the day by another member of the family” (E. 17). “ce ce a ‘ 121. The facts recorded by Mr. Norman as to the distance to which the women and children have to go to their work, their hours of work, and meal times, show that no ill effects are produced on health. But the occasional employment of so many under the age of 10 years, and their continuous employment after that age, have manifestly affected greatly the state of education. ‘The facts mentioned by Mr. Norman under this head, and his mode of testing them, leave no doubt upon this subject (E. 24). The deficiency arises from no want of schools, but, as a general rule, first, from “the indifference on the * part both of the parents and the employers” (EK. 26), and, secondly, “ to the unwilling- “ness of the parents to forego the earnings of their children” (E. 27). 122. The boys begin to leave school at about the age of 8, and leave altogether at g (E. 27), Mr. Norman discusses the various proposed modes of meeting this state of things. He points out the difficulties in the way of the half day and the alternate day system ; and also the objections to requiring a child to pass an examination as the condition of being permitted to go to work (E. 28, 29). 123. The plan which in the words of one witness “had found most favour in that county” was this: “Let the children be kept at school altogether until a certain age (10 or 11) and for the next three years be required to attend school during those months ‘ when they would not be wanted so much in the fields; during these months (say six ‘ altogether) let them work and receive wages” (E. 30). And Mr. Norman proceeds to 6c “ na on IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. XXVii show that the general opinion, in which he is disposed to concur, was that “the restriction “ of labour up to the age of 10 could hardly throw any serious expenditure on the ** farmers ;” while, according to the best information he could obtain, the loss to the parents of thé children’s earnings, for the comparatively short time during which children between the ages of 8 and 10 are employed in this county, ought not to be held as a valid objection. This loss he estimates to amount in some cases to about 15s. a year, in others to 20s.; seldom to more than 20s. a year, wear and tear of clothing, and increased food being taken into account (E. 31, 32). This is, however, less than the loss to the parents in other districts, where the earnings of the children are much higher (C. 24). The average yearly earnings of boys between 9 and 11 “in Lincolnshire and great part of “ Notts” are described by Mr. Stanhope as amounting to 4/. 7s. (C. 176). Against this Mr. Norman thinks is to be set the probability that “if children were prevented “ from going to work up to a certain age, the wages of those just above that age would “ yise,” and that “if education were improved, the boys when they were allowed to go ** to work would earn more than they do at present” (E. 33); also that “if the wife and “ the children do not earn wages, the whole amount necessary for the support of the “ family, must be earned by the husband,” by an increase of his wages, otherwise the agricultural population would decrease, probably by emigration. Possibly these results may gradually take place, to the great benefit both of the labourer and the employer, but they will require to be very carefully estimated before they are accepted as a basis of legislation. Mr. Norman adds that, | “ None of these points must be lost sight of in considering the effects upon the earnings of the family of a restriction imposed upon the labour of the children. The effect of moderate restriction would probably be that what was lost in wages by the younger children would be made up for by the increased earnings of the father and of the elder ones.” ‘“¢ These considerations lead me to the conclusion that the labour of children in the fields might be dispensed with up to the age of 10, without interfering seriously with the present system of culti- vation on the one hand, or encroaching too much on the earnings of the family on the other. If this prohibition was enforced, the numbers at work now in the 10 parishes from which I received statistics, whose employment would become illegal, would amount to 88 boys and 10 girls out of a population of 8,975. If the labour of children were prohibited up to the age of 10, the parents would be unable to avail themselves of their children’s earnings, and one of the main causes of the present defective state of education would be removed; and it is the opinion of the school teachers that a child who attended school regularly at least 200 days a year from the age of 5 to the age of 10, would fairly reach Standard V. of the Revised Code” (E. 33-4). 124. In connexion with this portion of the subject it is important to bear in mind the rate of wages in this county as given by Mr. Norman. “ The usual wages for a common day labourer are 12s. a week ; in the south, around Towcester and Brackley, they are only 11s. (Evid. 178) ; and in the north they are 13s. or 14s. (Evid. 23). A great deal of work is done by the piece; and Mr. Pell calculates that when wages are at 12s. a good labourer will earn by piece work a sum sufficient to bring his average weekly wages up to 15s. 10d., including all allowances (Evid. 136) ; women usually receive 8d. or 10d. a day, and in the north Is. (Evid. 23). Boys when they first go to work at the age of 8 or 9 receive 3d. or 4d. a day;,in the north 5d. or 6d. These wages are generally raised as the boys get older” (E. 14). 125. As a means of carrying on their school attendance to a certain extent after the children go to work, the improvement of night schools is urged to be desirable; but the majority of witnesses examined by Mr. Norman were unfavourable to any com- pulsory attendance at night schools. “ They anticipated that the object in view might « be satisfactorily obtained by an extension of the present voluntary system” (E. 35, 7). 126. In Mr. Norman’s account of the cottages in Northamptonshire the results of the system of “close” and “ open” parishes, now happily passing away under the influence of the Union Chargeability Act, are strikingly exhibited. 127. In the close parishes the landowners have “already done a good deal” and “ are likely to do more” to repair the errors of a former generation. They have built a great number of new cottages which are described as “ excellent” in every respect, and improved a great number of old ones. They have been prompted to this, Mr. Norman says, “partly by feelings of benevolence,” partly by becoming aware of “the “« additional value conferred on their farms by a supply of labourers well housed and “ near at home” (E. 39-59). But the number of cottages in the close parishes it still « very frequently,” if not generally, quite insufficient (E. 47). The consequence is that the labourers necessary for the cultivation of the land have in many cases “to go two “ or three miles to work ” from their dwellings in the open parishes, which are of such a kind that “ rarely if ever is the accommodation sufficient to provide for the health, “ comfort, and morals of the inhabitants” (E. 42, 46). It is an additional disadvantage to the labouring man that the rents of these inferior cottages are “ often, if not “generally, higher, notwithstanding the deficiencies in accommodation, than that of D 2 Opinions in favour of exclusion from work to the age of 10. Objections to. Improve- ment of night schools urged. Cottages in Northamp- tonshire. XXVill EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ cottages in close parishes” (E. 43). But “the small speculator” to whom they generally belong would not have built them unless he could secure a proper rate of interest for that species of property. Mr. Norman observes that the worst class of these cottages are being left unoccupied, by the double influence, first of the increased building in close parishes, secondly of the tendency in many open parishes in the southern part of the county, where there is a large population of shoemakers, to remove, in consequence of the growing use of machines, from the villages to the towns (E. 47). But many remain occupied which cannot fail to be unhealthy from bad drainage, want of repair, want of common conveniences, and over-crowding ; and it was urged upon Mr. Norman that these defects would be remedied if the provisions of the Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. 90. ss. 19 and 20 instead of being optional “ were made compulsory ” (E. 58). 128. Upon this and other portions of the subject of cottage accommodation,—the most desirable position for cottages, the best arrangement between landlord and farmer for letting them, the best plans for cottages, and other topics, Mr. Norman’s remarks are of much value; as also is the information collected by him on allotments, and on co-operative stores (E. 60-78). Mr, CuL- 129. Mr. Culley has brought to the preparation of his report, in addition to his other urr’s Re- —_ qualifications, that intimate knowledge of the details of agriculture which befits the repre- Bedfordshire Sentative of a family to which practical agriculture is so much indebted. His account and Buck- ‘ of the position of the labouring class as affected by the agricultural requirements of the inghamshire. “ two counties he is treating of” brings to light the striking fact, that the cost of labour Cost of is upwards of 7s. per acre greater in Bedfordshire than in North Northumberland. Of ee ee the reduced cost in Northumberland, “some part,” Mr. Culley states, “may be due to two counties “ Management, some part is due to the employment of a class of women almost equal compared ‘“¢ to the ordinary run of Bedfordshire male labourers, and the remainder, which is no with North ‘“ very small part, is due to the fact that the northern hind at a slightly higher wage is ear “* a much cheaper article” (F. 10). And the results to the farmer, the landowner, and i the labourer are as follows:—To the farmer “it amounts to an ability to pay about “* 7s, an acre more rent, besides escaping with a much smaller poors’ rate; to the land- * Jord, there is the difference of 7s. an acre greater rent as a confpensation for building eight cottages (an obligation he cannot escape in Northumberland), and letting them ‘ rent-free, instead of building, or thinking he ought to build 14, for which, if built, “* he would receive a rent amonnting to a fair interest on the cost of eight” (F. 11). The net result to the landowners is an addition of 84/. in rent upon every farm of 400 acres (the basis of Mr. Culley’s estimate), after deducting the “fair interest’ of 7 per cent. on the cost of eight cottages. To the labourer the result is still more important. Total family Jn Bedfordshire, the mcome arising from employment in agriculture on a farm of the income of ' size above named, “ amounts to 603l. 4s., to be divided among 14 families, giving about labourers — ** 43/7, Ls. Od. to each;” whereas in the other it amounts to 4831. 16s., “ to be divided compared. « among eight families, giving 60/. 9s. 6d. to each” (ibid.). 130. In Buckinghamshire the cost of labour per acre is, in some cases, higher than in Bedfordshire, and the contrast greater with that of the north. While in Glendale, North Northumberland, the cost, as given by Mr. Culley (F. 10), is 1/. 3s. per acre, and in Bedfordshire 1/. 10s. 2d. per acre (zbid.), in Buckinghamshire cases are stated where ‘“« the cost of labour paid in wages on farms having the larger portion arable,” was “over «© 2]. an acre; in the Valley of the Thames, in one instance, 2/. 10s. per acre, and in ‘“‘ another instance, where the labour books are well kept, and almost all the work is “« done by the piece, it appears to be 2/. 5s.” (F. 19). 131. The difference between the net earnings per family (43/. 1s. 9d.) in Bedfordshire, and that of the north (60/. 9s. 5d.), as given above,—amounting to upwards of 17/. per annum,—has to be made up to the southern family, if it is made up at all, “by the far “« Jess certain earnings of one grown up daughter in lace making or straw plaiting, and the chance of having yonnger children employed in farm labour than would be the case in the north; if ‘plait was good,’ the Bedfordshire girl of 18 would probably ‘ make the 17/., but how much of it would go to the family purse? And, unhappily, ** plait is not always good” (F. 11). Final result 132. Taking the individual earnings of the heads of families in the south and in the of thetwo north, it appears that the difference in favour of those of the north is not great. The systems on southern labourer often adds considerably to his ordinary weekly earnings by piece work the labour- é 3 : : . 3 o ’ ers of the | by which ‘the earnings of industrious men are increased without adding to the actual cost north and“ of work done, and by which, in these two counties, he brings his net receipts nearly the south. ‘ up to an equality with the labourer of the north” (F. 92-101). But the final result of the two systems of employment upon the capacity for labour, the character, conduct, n n ¢ n ce ce a IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. XXIX intelligence of the northern labourer, as compared with the southern, and upon his disposition and his power to allow his children the proper opportunities of education, are thus summed up by Mr. Culley towards the conclusion of his report. The earnings of tlte northern labourer, Mr. Culley says, “are very little higher than those of any “* fairly industrious man in Bedfordshire or Bucks, and yet he is mentally and physically ‘a superior animal, treating his family in a manner which three or four times the diffe- rence in wage would not account for. What then are the causcs operating in his ‘* favour? I take them to be chiefly the following :— ‘« He has no need of a club, his hiring is a yearly hiring, and his wages are paid “ when he is sick as punctually as when he is at work. ‘“ His own earnings, and those of his family all go to the family purse, and suffer “ very little variation. “ And last, but not least, it is not his habit to drink beer, excepting at the annual “‘ hiring ; he hardly knows what a beershop means, and his children suck at the ‘¢ milk-bowl instead of himself at the beer jug” (F. 104). 183. Mr. Culley rightly states that “the whole question, how by education or other- “ wise to improve the condition of the agricultural labourer, depends so much upon the “ removal of the causes which have tended to degrade him,” and the comparative effect of those causes is so clearly shown by examining the results which follow their absence in the case of others of his own class, that this portion of Mr. Culley’s report cannot fail to arrest most earnest attention throughout the southern counties. Read in connexion with Mr. Henley’s report upon Northumberland and Durham, it will enable all persons to whom the subject is a matter of interest, to comprehend the causes of the greatly superior condition of agricultural life in the portions of the north referred to. 134. Mr. Culley has investigated with great care and minuteness the question of the total net earnings of the ordinarily efficient agricultural labourer in full employ throughout the year in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, inclusive of all extra earnings and allow- ances. He puts them as ranging on an average between 13s. 6d. and 14s. 6d. a week for the year through. In two portions of Bucks,—the Valley of the Thames and the Vale of Aylesbury,—including the value of an allotment, they reach 15s. and 15s. 6d. (F. 101). 1385. With these facts before them, the boards of guardians with whom Mr. Culley discussed the question of legislative interference on behalf of the young for the purposes of education,—-bodies of men justly described by Mr. Culley as persons “ who ought “* thoroughly to understand the effect of such legislation on the supply of labour necessary “ for the cultivation of the land, and the capability of the labouring class to bear such ‘“‘ pressure as is implied by restricting the age at which their children should be em- ‘* ployed,” were “pretty evenly divided in opinion as to the desirability of such inter- “ ference” (F. 51). The considerations which seemed to influence them are thus described :—‘‘ On the one side there are the weaknesses and inequalities of the voluntary “ system, and the duty of the State for its own sake as well as for theirs to help those who ‘ cannot help themselves. And on the other, a certain amount of interference with the ‘ liberty of the subject, the chances of an educational tax which may or may not be ‘ levied as a poor rate, some doubt as to the ability of the parents to bear the necessary “ pressure, and some fear of over-education” (ibid.). ' 136. Of the occupiers who approve of legislative interference, nearly all think, as has been shown to be the case in many other districta, “‘ that it would be sufficient to prohibit ‘ children from being employed under 10 years of age, and leave the maintenance of the * education then arrived at in the hands of the parents” (I. 53). This opinion, Mr. Culley says, ‘is very much shared by the magistrates and clergymen.” whom he consulted. ; So eee : . 137, The qualifications, however, to which this opinion is subject, which have been al- ready adverted to above, are here again recognized. First, it assumes that regular school attendance, “ from five, some say six, years of age up to 10,” can be secured. If it could, it is believed that “a child of ordinary capacity would be able to read and write and use “ the first four rules of arithmetic with facility,” and that the work of keeping up or extending that amount of acquirement might be left to occasional instruction in night schools between the ages’ of 10 and 13 (I. 67). Secondly, it assumes that boys could be excluded from farm labour up to 10 years of age “ without putting any serious pressure se the parents.” . 138. To this latter opinion Mr. Culley inclines, while at the same time he puts forward very fairly and distinctly the considerations that may be urged on the other side (1’. 55). 139. The high rate of earnings in these two counties, obtainable by ordinarily efficient labourers in constant employ, favours this view. Again, the total number of boys under 10 years of age, included in our returns to 177 circulars from 130 different parishes in D3 iT9 n n Total net earnings of the indi- vidual labourer in these two counties. Question of restriction of age for the purposes of education. School returns. The cottage question. XXX EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Beds and Bucks, was only 141, or one-eleventh of the total males under 18 returned as employed (F. 28). It thus appears that boys under 10 years of age are, in these two counties, “very little employed in farm labour except in occasional jobs, such as field “ keeping, twitching, stone picking, and the like” (F. 29). It appears also from Mr. Culley’s inquiries that the most a labourer in those two counties “‘can expect to receive “ from the earnings of such of his children as are between 8 and 10 years of age would be * 1s. a week for the year, and which would, therefore, measure his loss if boys under 10 “ were prevented from being employed in farm labour” (F. 102). 140. On the other hand, although the minimum loss to the labourer from the exclusion of his children from farm labour up to the age of 10 may be taken, as above, at 2/. 10s. a year, Mr. Culley shows that cases may occur in which the maximum loss might amount to 3s. a week, or 7/. 10s. a year, if the restriction was continued for four months in the year up to the age of 13 (ibzd.). Such cases might occur; where they did occur, even although the father of the family might be in full employ all the year round, and conse- quently obtaining the full earnings of the county, 13s. 6d. and 14s. 6d. a week, Mr. Culley thinks that “ it cannot be denied” that in such cases “ aid in some shape would “ have to be applied for (ibid.). Butas in these counties weekly hirings are the rule, the earnings of the labourer are liable to be reduced by bad weather and by sickness. Mr. Fraser has pointed out on good authority that, where weekly hirings prevail, those two causes are apt to reduce the total earnings of the year to the rate of the average weekly wage. Again, the whole earnings of the family do not in these two counties, as Mr. Culley has shown, go into the family purse as they do in the north, and are also considerably less in amount per family, as has been described above, than those of the north. There is also the case of the “ catch-work” labourers to be considered—men who, for various reasons, are not in constant employ. Of these, Mr. Culley says that in one large “ open” parish (Toddington), “a large portion of the male population of the “ so-called catch-workmen expect the female plaiters to maintain them throughout a great “* portion of the year” (F. 12). It cannot be doubted that a restrictive law, excluding from farm labour all children under 10 years of age, in order that they might go to school, would often bear hardly upon families in all the cases last adverted to, and would “* necessitate the aid of charity in one form or another ”’ if such a law were to be carried into effect. But great unquestionably as would be the benefit to the labourer and to the in community of “ such an elementary education as will suffice to put the labourer’s career ‘¢ his own hands” (F. 102), it is of the utmost importance to avoid “‘such pressure as might “* tend to reduce still lower the feeling of self-reliance now existing” among the labourers in question. And doubtless, in the ultimate determination of this question by Parliament due force will be given to the consideration, as expressed by Mr. Culley, that “ the great ‘* lessons which the labourers of these counties require to be taught are independence and “* providence” (ibid. ). 141, Mr. Culley’s school returns were obtained from 46 parishes in Bedfordshire and from 32 parishes n Bucks. One of the principal results brought out by these carefully tabulated returns is that, in both counties, “farm labour does not,” Mr. Culley thinks, “* affect the school attendance of boys under 10 so much as is supposed, and that there ‘“‘ are a considerable number of boys over 10 years of age whose employment in farm “¢ labour is confined to the summer months” (F. 42). And the general result. of the returns is expressed by Mr. Culley as follows :—‘‘I think there can be no reasonable “ doubt that there are a great many young people of the agricultural labouring class “ growing up without sufficient education, meaning by sufficient education the power of “ reading and writing, and using for ordinary purposes the first four rules of arithmetic, “and that not a few are growing up without any education whatever in both the “‘ counties to which these returns apply” (F. 50). The principle of the Printworks Act, with some modifications, is pointed to by many witnesses as most applicable to the agricultural districts, and most likely to effect with the least disturbance. the required improvement of elementary education (F. 51-54). 142. The cottage question is treated of very fully, and precisely to the same effect as by the other Assistant Commissioners. ‘The difficulties in the way of entirely remedying the evils pointed out are illustrated by Mr. Culley’s notice of what has been done on the estate of the Duke of Bedford. “Tt has never been my good fortune to see any large estate upon which so much has been done for many years past, and is now being done for the comfort of all persons connected with it, as on that of the Duke of Bedford, and I have only cited this instance to show that even with a large purse and a willing hand the evil growth of past years has not yet been altogether overcome ” (F. 15). 148. Mr. Culley adds that “ The Union Chargeability Act will no doubt have its effect “ jn increasing the proportion of landowners’ cottages ;” and he points out that the power IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRS'IT REPORT. XXXx1 of borrowing money on entailed estates, “for the erection and improvement of labourers’ “ cottages,” under the authority of the Inclosure Commissionres, requires to be simpli- “« fied and cheapened” (F. 16, 79). The whole of the facts collected by Mr. Culley on the subject of the cottages of these two counties, and his observations upon them in ss. 70 to 79 of his report, will be read with a very painful interest. 144, Mr. Culley has obtained much valuable information on the subject of allotments, as substitutes for cottage gardens where garden ground is not obtainable, showing their moral as well as their pecuniary value to the labourer; on benefit societies, and on the employment of children in making lace and plaiting straw in these two counties. The evidence on the subject of the lace and straw plait schools, obtained by the late Chil- dren’s Employment Commission, led Parliament to endeavour to include them in the Workshops Regulation Act of last year. But as it appears by a letter quoted by Mr. Culley in a note to s. 88 of his report, from the Under Secretary of State, the Hon. A. F. O. Liddell, to the Rev. T. J. Ouvry, that the Attorney and Solicitor General are of opinion that the definitions employed in that Act do not bring the plaiting schools under the Act, some further attention must be directed to the question. The subject of benefit societies will, as we have intimated above, be treated of in our next year’s report. 145. The evidence to which we have now called attention in the reports of our assistant commissioners cannot fail to have distinctly impressed the fact that in many of the districts to which our inquiries have extended the earnings of a considerable portion of the labourers in agriculture are so small that they are reluctant to deprive themselves of what can be added to the family income by the labour of their children from the earliest age at which their labour is available; and that, as a consequence, the children are not allowed to remain a sufficient time at school to enable them to derive the necessary benefit from their school attendance. . 146. It is manifestly, therefore, a matter of pressing public importance that full and earnest consideration should everywhere be given to the means by which, consistently with sound principles, the pecuniary resources of the agricultural labourer may be improved. 147. For many years past there have been able advocates of a high rate of remuneration to the agricultural labourer as the best means of obtaining a good day’s work. Among the earliest of those advocates was Mr. Burke. “It is the interest of the farmer,” Mr. Burke says, (‘‘ Thoughts on Scarcity,” A.D. 1795,) “ that his work should be done “‘ with effect and celerity ; and that cannot be done unless the labourer is well fed and ‘¢ otherwise found with such necessaries of animal life, according to. his habits, as may “ keep the body in full force, and the mind gay and cheerful. For of all the instruments ‘* of his trade, the labour of man is that on which he is most to rely for the repayment of “his capital.” It is not to be inferréd from these expressions of Mr. Burke that high wages may not in many cases be misused and spent in mere self-indulgence, or that high wages are justifiable where the labourer is inferior and cannot fairly earn them; but where fairly earned and properly used, the means they give of adding to the physical strength of the labourer are of much importance to the employer. It is very commonly noticed that ill paid labour is the least profitable from the defect of physical power which is its common accompaniment. The same result is found to be produced by a bad dietary, although the wages may be high, as in South Northumberland where the old nourishing dietary of the North has of late years been abandoned, in consequence of which “ it “ takes three men now to do the work of two” (Mr. Henley, B. 58). Mr. Culley also quotes excellent authority for the fact that the ill-fed labourers in the South are inferior in physical power to those he is accustomed to _in the North in the same pro- portion as mentioned above, namely, as three to two. (C. 104, note). This is further confirmed by the experience of Mr. Blackburn in his communication quoted at p. 158 of the Appendix. The whole'evidence indeed appended to our report places in strong relief the fact, that the farmer best consults his own interests who gives his labourer the command of a nourishing diet and ample means of comfort by such a system of remu- neration as is found in North Northumberland and in parts of Durham. (B. s. 58) or by the somewhat similar systems existing elsewhere (C. 21, D. 14). In such cases the farmer obtains a physically more capable labourer, and the labourer, if not pressed by the employer, willingly and eagerly performs his duty to his children by keeping them at school until the age of 11, 12, or 13 before he allows them to begin to work at farm labour. In their turn, these children bring a more awakened intelligence to their work; when they become men they are mentally as well as physically worth the high standard of remuneration they receive ; and they desire that their children should not grow up without the advantages of instruction of which they themselves feel the benefit. ‘And it is evident that these considerations are daily increasing in importance in conse- 21157. D4 + Allotments. Lace and plait schools. Benefit societics. The evidence hitherto collected shows that earnings of labourer are” often so small that his children’s labour is of mouch im- portance to him. Consequent obstructions to school attendance. Important therefore that the means should be con- sidered by which his | pecuniary resources can be im- proved. It would be the interest of the em- ployer to improve them. And this im- provement would tend to a greater amount of school attendance. General effects of ; and their importance. Improve- ment from better wages or better systems must be left to private ad- justment. The im- provement of his pecu- niary re- sources from cottage gar- dens or field allotments of a proper size. The Legisla- ture might by simple means give & stimulus to this practice. Great inte- rest which this subject possesses for the labouring poor. XXXil EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN quence of the rapidly extending use of expensive machinery in agriculture, the right and economical use of which so much depends on the intelligence of those intrusted with its management (D. 84). 148. It is plain, therefore, that the condition of the agricultural labourer can and, under a better system of remuneration, would be greatly improved where it is now defective, and that such improvement would be in harmony with the best interests of his employer. It. would also permit the Legislature, without any fear of inflicting hardship upon tbe labourer, to require that the early years of his children should be secured to them, free from premature toil, for the purposes of that mental and moral training which is calculated to be an inestimable benefit to them during the whole course of their lives, and which it is for the public interests to promote. But it is to the employer that the public must look for that more correct appreciation of his own interests which will lead him to place the labourer in a better position as far as it may be done by better wages fairly earned, and where requisite by a better system of remuneration. 149. Where the labour market is overstocked there is unquestionably a strong tempta- tion to the farmer to take advantage of it, and to pay a low rate of wages. Also where a particular mode of remunerating the labourer has been long in use, it is very difficult for both farmer and labourer to fall into a new one, even. although it may be clearly brought to their notice that better modes exist in other parts of the country. It may be hoped that such evidence as Mr. Henley has collected on the rate and modes of remunera- tion in North Northumberland, and his report thereon, may have a considerable effect in leading the owners of land elsewhere to consider and if possible to adopt arrangements on the same principle as those of North Northumberland and parts of Durham which have so much contributed, first, to the physical welfare, and ultimately to the intellectual and moral improvement of the labourers in the north. Doubtless also the attention of agriculturists will have been attracted by the account given by Mr. Bailey Denton in his recent’ pamphlet entitled “The Agricultural Labourer” (Stanford, London, 1868), of his mode of enabling inferior labourers gradually to increase their earnings until some of them become equal to the best men employed in the extensive works of the “ Lands Drainage and Improvement Company,” under Mr. Denton’s direction as their principal engineer. The same principle has also been acted upon by Mr. Grey, of Milfield (F. 104, note). i. . 150. The most direct way of improving the resources of the,agricultural labourer where they are low, namely, by higher wages and better modes of remuneration, being a matter with which the Legislature cannot deal, and which must be. left to private adjustment, it remains to be considered whether there is any other way by which the pecuniary condition of the agricultural labourer, where low, can be improved directly or indirectly, - or both, and to which the Legislature might give a salutary stimulus by simple and unobjectionable means. : 151. Such a mode exists in the more general adoption of the dried of attaching such an amount of land to the labourer’s cottage, or in default of that, in assigning to him such an amount of land as near to his dwelling as possible, as will profitably employ the leisure hours of himself and his family, without turning him into a small farmer, or leading him to place his chief dependence on the produce of his land and not on wages. 152. Our evidence already shows that the practice of attaching gardens of a proper size to cottages, although in some places pretty general, is far from being as common as its benefits, both material and moral, suggest that it should be. There is no difference of opinion as to the fact that a proper sized garden attached to the cottage is the -best form in which the labourer can derive benefit trom the occupation of a portion of land. But as it is not always practicable to attach land, or a sufficient portion, to a cottage, a field allotment as near as possible to his dwelling is to be regarded in the light of a substitute. All our Assistant Commissioners speak in the strongest terms of its value. 153. It is now 25 years since the subject of allotting small portions of land to the inde- pendent poor, in default of gardens attached to their cottages, came prominently before Parliament in the report of a Select Committee of the House of Commons which stamped the system with its most cordial approval. In the interval that has since elapsed. the subject has fallen somewhat out of mind. - It is one of very great importance, both in a physical and in a moral point of view, to the labouring poor. It is, indeed, difficult, without opportunities of referring to the great amount of evidence which exists upon the subject, to realize the deep interest which this question possesses for them. Landowners who have more recently adopted the system are unanimous in recognizing its benefits, which, in the words of the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons of J uly 1843, above adverted to, “ are obtained without any corresponding disadvantages,” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—FIRST REPORT. Xxxili 154. The very great importance of the subject to the large majority of agricultural labourers and their families, as well as through them to the public generally, in its bearing upon the question of the education of the labourer’s children, will, we trust, be accepted as our excuse for presenting ample particulars regarding it, for tracing his- torically the rise and progress of the system, and for showing, by the large mass of evidence thus brought together, and which cannot fail to carry conviction, that the objections still expressed in some quarters against it have been founded on instances in which it has failed from errors of management, or from the allotments being too large ; and finally for submitting considerations which we presume to think would justify Parlia- ment in sanctioning the simple measures which seem desirable for its encouragement. 155. The Committee of the House of Commons of July 1843, on allotments of land for the labouring poor, was appointed “‘ to inquire into the results of the allotment system, and “ into the propriety of setting apart a portion of all waste lands which shall be enclosed “ by Act of Parliament, or of any lands which under any Inclosure Act shall have been ‘“* appropriated to the benefit of the poor of the district, and also into the best means of “ effecting the same.” 156. The Committee state in their report (p. 1) that “feeling how important a bearing “ the subject has upon the welfare of the labouring class of Her Majesty’s subjects,” they have inquired— ist. Into the effects of the arrangements under which the labouring classes are now enabled to hold and cultivate land on their own account. 2ndly. Into such arrangements for that purpose as might be advantageously made in the inclosure of waste lands. . 3rdly. Into any more general mode of extending the benefits of the allotment system. 157. The conclusion to which the Committee was led upon the first branch of their inquiry was “ that the tenancy of land under the garden allotment system is a powerful “ means of bettering the condition of those classes who depend for their livelihood upon “ their manual labour ;” and they add the important opinion “ that its benefits are not “ obtained at the expense of any other class, nor accompanied by any corresponding “ disadvantage.” 158. The Committee refer to the fact that “the practice of parcelling out fields in small *¢ allotments for cottage tenantry may be traced back to the end of the last century, and “ was advocated in the publications of Sir Thomas Bernard” towards the beginning of the present. 159. The Committee do not specify the instances to which they refer. As these instances are in themselves very instructive, and as allotments are noticed in Acts of Parliament previously to the General Inclosure Act of 1845, a brief reference to some of those cases, as well as to those Acts, will be found to throw light upon the subsequent growth of the system. 160. One of the earliest instances of allotments attached to cottages is referred to in a note by Sir John Sinclair, to the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Waste Lands, in 1795, p. 204. ‘ The lord of the manor of some commonable lands, “ near Tewksbury, had observed, a few years previously to the year 1770, that the occu- “ piers of some cottages with land annexed to them” were remarkable for bringing up “‘ their families in a more neat and decent manner than those whose cottages were without “ Jand.” He accordingly, about the year 1772, caused “an allotment of 25 acres to be set “ out” for the use of “ some of the poor.” The excellent effects of that measure are then described in detail. ‘ It had not in one instance failed of giving an industrious ‘‘ turn, even to some of those who were before idle and profligate.” The production of the land and the comforts of the cottagers were greatly increased ; “ the poor rates were “ reduced to 4d. in the pound, while those of neighbouring parishes were at 2s. 6d. to «“ 55,” ° Sir John Sinclair adds, “‘ who would not wish to see every waste in the kingdom “ improved on such principles ? and how much will not the situation of every cottager be “ ameliorated if such a system were to be adopted ?” 161. In accordance with that opinion the Conmittee recommended that in any general Inclosure Bill that ,might be passed some regulations should be inserted to secure for the cottagers as much “ accommodation ” in the use of land “as they may have occasion “for” * * enlarging where circumstances will admit it, the garden annexed to 21157, E Committee of the House of Commons on the sub- ject in 1843. History of the field allotment system. XXXiV EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND’ WOMEN “ their respective cottages, giving them.a decided..preference with respect to locality “over the. larger rights, and throwing the burden of the ring fence upon the larger commoners.” . ».,, 162, In the year 1800, among the premiums offered by the Board of Agriculture are two gold medals, one to the person who shall build on his estate “ the most cottages for labourers’ “ families; and assign to each a proper portion of land, for the support of not less than a “ cow and a hog; and also a sufficient garden;” the other to the person “ who shall “‘ explain in. the most satisfactory manner the. best means of rendering the allotment ““system as genetal throughout the kingdom as circumstances will admit,” which they assert to be “a great national object.” a | 168, During the early years. of the. present century, the ‘ Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor,” among the earliest. members ofwhich were Mr, Wilberforce and Sir Thomas Bernard, urged in their annual reports the advantage of attaching suit+ able allotments to. cottages, as one of the. means by which the condition of the agricul- tural labourer would be improved both physically and morally. — 164, Anticipating an objection commonly made, that where the allotment is too large the labourer is tempted to grow corn, which is generally a disadvantage to him, Sir Thomas’ Bernard’ says,’ “ the possession of arable land is hurtful to the. cottager.” “ But,” he adds, “ his condition is materially*improved' by possessing a garden,” and by being permitted to rent grass for one or two cows. He proceeds to say (Report for 1810): ' -€!'he! experiment has been extensively tried’ by the Earl of Winchelsea. ‘Thére are’ from 70 to 80 labourers upon his estates’ in Rutlandshire, who’ keep from one to’ four cows each; and of all his tenants thesé men are the most:punctual with their rents. Lord Winchelsea asserts from experience that nothing is so beneficial to them and the landlords as this system; that the labourers and their families, living better are consequently more able to.endure labour ; that they are contented with their situation and attached to it; that having acquired a sort of independence which makes them set a higher value upon their character, they are generally considered in the neighbourhood as men the most to be depended upon and trusted ; that feeling the advantage of possessing a little, their industry is excited by hope. an ee 8 Se eee . “The experiment was also tried in Wiltshire, in a parish containing 140 poor persons, divided into 32 families, chiefly enxployed as labourers in husbandry,” * * “half an acre of land was giver to, each., It had the best-effect ;- the children are educated to husbandry and.are better fed; the father employing in hopeful, and therefore willing occupation, hours which he would otherwise spend:idly and injuriously.” 1 165. In’a‘subsequent Report Sir T. Bernard mentions an instance of a man obtaining a grant of'a quarter of an acre of common, upon which he built a cottage and formed a garden.’ On being visited by his landlord, he said— = a “ Now, Sir, you have a pleasure in seeing my cottage and garden neat; and why should not other squires have the.same. pleasure in seeing the.cottages and gardens as neat about them? The poor would then be happy and would Jove them and.the place where they lived ;. but now every nook of land is to be let to the great farmers, and nothing left for the poor but to go to the parish,” _ Sir T. Bernard remarks upon this case that— tes we 3 os * Upon his rood of ground he had 15 apple trees, one greengage tree, three winesour’ plum trees, two apricot trees, currants, gooseberries, and three bee-hiyes; he reared also from this garden abund- arice‘of common vegetables, and about 40 ‘bushels ‘of potatoes annually.” © . 166. Commenting upon instances such as these Sir Thomas ‘urges. that in“endeavouring to improve the condition of the poor it is most desirable ‘to operate upon them by the “ prospect: of acquiring property.”, oe : 167, In the year 1806, the Rev. Stephen.-Demainbray, rector of Broad Somerford, Wiltshire, suggested that a clause should be-introduced into an Inclosure Bill then under consideration for the parish, assigning to every cottage in the. parish, whether the owner had:-any common rights or not, an allotment of. half an acre of land to be vested in trustees to secure its proper use. ‘The Act was passed in 1806, “ and the example “ was, followed. by almost every adjoining parish. in; that part of Wiltshire” (s. 186. of evidence of 1843). Mr, Demainbray stated. that the same thing. had been previously “ done “ by the father of the present member for Oxford, Mr. Estcourt, at Newnton, near is “ Tetbury, Gloucestershire” (s. 189) “ with the, best results.” _ a cara ew «fk 168. In the years immediately succeeding the peace of 1815, when the public mind was much perplexed on the subject of the Poor Laws, the -alleviation: of the condition of.the poor derivable from allotments of land, was strongly adverted to in many able pamphlets. (Pamphlets on the Poor Laws, 1815-20.) \Among other writers the Rev. W. L. Bowles J.P, for the county of Wilts, in a letter to Sir James. Mackintosh (Salisbury.1815), urges that “a small portion of land should be allotted to each cottager;” that such a measure 9 . IN AGRICULTURE. (1867) COMMISSION :!—FIRST REPORT. peomy was,. whenever practicable, '“‘ imperiously required ;” atid that landowners should. reserve “in every lease a portion of land for that: purpose.” He complains:that if farmers’ give up any of their land with that object it is “at double their. own rent;” and-he cites the example of Lord Peterborough who has acted upon the plan of reserving land for that purpose “to the great benefit of the labourers.” "3 169. In 1817 Mr. R. Gourlay, at one time in the employ of the Board of Agriculture, in a pamphlet published at Bath, and addressed to Arthur Young, secretary ‘to’ that board, among other remedies ‘for the then state of the poor, forcibly advocates “ half-acre allotments.” , ne ee “ai 170. About the year 1820, the Bishop of London (Dr. Blomfield) while rector of Chesterford, Essex, adopted the system (s. 698 of Evidence of 1843). °° *, 171. Mr. Cobbett in his “rural rides” notices, in the year 1821, “the benefit to “the labourets of the good gardens which he observed in several parts of England, especially in the southern ‘countries. © Thei‘e, he says, you see— . eet ee ‘ « That most interesting of all objects, that which is such an honour to England, and that Which distinguishes it from all the rest of the world, namely, those neatly kept and productive little @ardens round the labourers” houses, which are seldom unornamented with more or less. of : flowers: : ‘We. have only to look at these gardens to know , what. sort of people -English-labourers ane:”. .(Edit. -of 1853, p. 86.) : are ; dee = 83 = 172. He speaks of the great. advantages formerly possessed. by the cottagers from: the * cows, pigs, geese, and poultry,” which they were able to keep on the wastes: over which they had rights. He estimates that a pig at that time was worth to the cottager ll. per annum at least besides the manure, and he adds that in Sussex he “ saw,, with “ great delight, a pig at almost every labourer’s house. The houses are good and “ warm; and the gardens some of thé best that I have seen in England.” And he refers to the greater capacity for work of a labourer when can he.“ get some bacon.” — 173. As a contrast he refers to the disadvantage the labourers are often under “in « a purely corn country ;” and to the “dismal and miserable” state of those districts of country “where every inch of land is appropriated to farming purposes.” “ No “ hedges, no ditches, no commons, no grassy lanes, the Jabourer has. not a stick of wood, “ and no place for a pig or a.cow to graze on.” (P,254.) ee ee 174. In 1827 a witness examined before the Select Committee of the. House, of Commons on emigration, Mr. B.. Wills, stated (s. 3812.) “I gould load :the com- “ mittee with information as to the importance of the cottagers renting a portion :of “ land with their cottages; it keeps them buoyant, and it keeps them industrious ms and he urges “that every agricultural cottage should have a “piece of land”; enforcing his opinion of the duty of placing such land freely within their reach, on the ground that ““ since 1760 they had lost about 4,000,000 of acres of common, which they had‘formerly “ the privilege of using for their pigs, geese, and a variety of other things.” . 175. In the year 1828 Mr. William Miles, M.P., caused some land that had been left to a parish in Nottinghamshire to’ be let in allotments to the poor (Evidence of 1843, s. 1823); and about six. years after “he made allotments on his. own land. in “© Gloucestershire to about 100 ‘persons (ibid., s. 1830.) In the year 1830-1 Captain George Treweeke Scobell introduced it into the parishes: of High Littleton and Mid- somer Norton in Somersetshire, and carried it into effect on a considerable scale, and with great success (ibid., ss. 275-413). From those parishes it spread rapidly into 50 adjoining ones (ibid., s. 338). Much favourable evidence was also given upon the subject of field allotments before the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Poor Laws in 1830-31. 176. Up to that period, two Acts of Parliament had been passed encouraging the letting of small portions of land to cottagers, withthe view adding to their resources. 177. In 1819 the Act 59 Geo. 3. c. 19. ss. 12 and 13 empowered the churchwardens and overseers of any parish, with the consent of the inhabitants in vestry assembled, to urchase or take on lease on account of the parish any suitable portion of land not exceeding twenty acres, for the promotion of industry among the independent poor ; they were directed by s. 13, to let any portion of such land “ to any poor and indus- «¢ trious inhabitant of the parish” to. be occupied and cultivated on his own account and for his own benefit, at such reasonable rent and. for such term as might be fixed by the vestry. ae . “ , a. 178. In 1831 the Act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 42., reciting that the limitation to 20 acres in the above Act. having’ been found inconyenient in manly parishes, extends the quantity of land that might be taken on lease to 50 acres. E2 Oey” Action of Legislature in further- ance of allotment system, if necessary, pee by cor Law Commis- sioners, 1884, The leading . facts and opinions elicited by the Com- mittee of 1843. XXXVI EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 179. It makes also the following important additions to the former Act. By s. 2 it enacts that ‘in order to extend the salutary and benevolent purposes of the Act,” the churchwarden and overseers of the poor may enclose from any waste or common land in the parish, with consent of the persons having rights thereupon, any portion of such waste or common not exceeding fifty acres, * * and may let any part or parts of the same to any poor and industrious inhabitant of such parish, to be occupied and cultivated on his own account. 180. And in the following year (1832), another Act passed (2 Will. 4. c. 42.) having the same object in view. It is intituled “An Act to authorize (in parishes “ inclosed under any Act of Parliament) the letting of the ‘ poor allotments” in small “* portions to industrious cottagers.” 181. The Act recites that “in parishes inclosed under Acts of Parliament there are, in many cases, allotments (from the waste or common lands) made for the benefit of the poor, chiefly with a view to fuel, which are now comparatively useless and “ unproductive,” and that “it would tend much to the welfare and happiness of the “* poor, if these allotments could be let at a fair rent and in small portions to industrious cottagers of good character, while the distribution of fuel might be augmented by appropriating the said rents to the purchase of an additional quantity.” 182. Clauses follow to secure that the land be preserved “in a due state of fertility,” for the regulation of the letting, and for the exchange of allotments that may “ be found “ to be at an inconvenient distance from the residences of the cottagers * * for land “ of equal value more favourably situated.” 183. In the year 1834 the attention of the Poor Law Commissioners was called to the subject, and in their report for that year (2Ist February) they state the “ general ‘* results” of their “inquiry into the allotment system ” to be that, 1. ‘‘ A labouring man, “ even when his family is large, can seldom beneficially occupy more than half an acre,” continuing to rely upon wages as his regular and main support. 2. “‘ Where the “ system is carried on by individuals it has been generally beneficial, but when managed by parish officers it has seldom succeeded.” They add “the immediate advantage of allotments is so great, that if there were no other mode of supplying them, we think it would be worth while, as a temporary measure, to propose some general plan for “ providing them.” 184. The Acts above adverted to, and the favourable opinion of the Poor Law Com- missioners on the principle of allotments, called further attention to the system as a means of benefiting the independent labourer, and according soon after that time it made much progress in several parts of the kingdom. 6 ce ce if 4 ce ce n ‘ 185. In the year 1834 the magazine of the Labourer’s Friend Society was established expressly “ for disseminating information on the advantages of allotments of land to the “« labouring classes.” During the ten years of its existence it brought before the public many striking instances of the successful working of the system. 186. About the year 1836, Mr. Henry Martin, of Hadlow in Kent, advocated its introduction into that county. Mr. Martin was the first witness examined by the committee of 1843, and stated that at that time 3,000 families in the county of Kent had allotmnets (idid., s. 186). Sir George Strickland in Yorkshire (ibid., s. 843), Lord Chesterfield, the Duke of Newcastle, and Lord Manners in Nottinghamshire (id¢d., ss. 1665, 1743, 1938), Lord Portman, Mr. Sturt, and Lord Rivers in Dorsetshire (ibid., s. 2227) and other landowners in various parts of the country adopted the system pre- viously to the inquiry of 1843, and as appears by the evidence, with most satisfactory results. 187. The attention of Parliament not having been called to the subject since the inquiry by the committee of 1843, it is desirable to reproduce in this place, as briefly as possible, some of the valuable facts and. opinions elicited by that committee. 188. The arrangements and regulations under which the allotment system is most advantageously carried out are thus stated by the Committee ( Report, p. iv.)':— 1. As it is desirable that the profits of the allotment should be viewed by the holder of it in the light of an aid, and not of a substitute for his ordinary income accruing from wages, and that they should not become an inducement to neglect his usual paid labour, the allotment should be of no greater extent than can be cultivated during the leisure moments of the labourer and his family. The exact size which would meet this condition must of course vary according to the nature of the soil, the strength and numbers of the family, and their leisure time; but -IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. EXXvii ite quarter of an acre is the size usually adopted, and best suited to the average of cases. - The allotment should also be near the dwelling of its occupier ; much of its benefit * depends upon the facility afforded to the man, his wife, and his children of devoting spare moments to the care of their ground, and being able to visit it frequently without fatigue. . Though the land will yield larger profits under this mode of cultivation than under the usual method of tillage, the proprietor who wishes to benefit the poor man should not exact more rent than he could expect to receive if he let it out to be farmed in the ordinary way. ’ . Tithes, parochial rates, taxes, and all other charges should be included in the rent, and paid by the owner and not by the occupier, for the purpose of saving trouble in the collection, of preventing the accumulation of arrears, and of guarding the tenant against frequent and sudden demands for payments which he might not be prepared to meet. 189. These regulations and suggestions were founded on the evidence of the gentlemen from various parts of the country, who had given to the Committee in full detail the results of their experience on the subject. 190. With regard to the size of the allotment, although a quarter of an acre was said to be that best adapted to average cases, a steady and skilful man, with the aid of his family, could well manage half an acre (Evidence of 1843, §§ 119, 185, 298, 707, 845), and as much as an acre and even two acres had been given with great advantage to old men, or men not sure of constant employment (ibid. §§ 99, 258, 1443). 191: The net profit of a quarter of an acre was found to be, for poor land, 4d. (ibid. 18- 20) ; for good land, 5/. (1508). The value of a quarter of an acre is stated in other words by one witness as 13 week’s consumption, or ‘‘ one-fourth of a man’s subsistence, “* with a large family” (1657). By another it is estimated at “‘2s. per week on an “* average to each family ” (344). 192. The most profitable employment of the land is in vegetables (zbid. 36, 289), by which the labourer obtains also the advantage of a variety of food for himself and bis family. It is often the only mode by which any vegetables are procurable by him; their price, or his distance from shops, places them out of his reach. 193. “I have known children,” says one witness, ‘‘ of 10 and 11 years old announce that “ they had tasted vegetables since they had these grounds which they never saw on their “‘ father’s table before; they go almost daily to fetch something for the dinner, even “ throughout the winter, for winter crops are very much cultivated” (ibid. 309). The land “ is necessary to the rural labourer; he cannot get vegetables without it” (397). 194. To these direct pecuniary benefits those also are to be added which flow indirectly from the system. In the words of Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart., “the good is seen not only “ in the money it puts into the pocket of the labourer, but in the money it keeps there, in “ inducing him to go to his allotment instead of the public-house.” “It creates domestic “ habits very much.” ‘A man and his wife and children work at it together.” “It « raises their moral character” (ibid. 191, 303, 314, 355, 1522, 1864), and causes a marked improvement “ in the internal economy and management of their cottages” (309). 195. If it should be urged that any direct pecuniary advantage to the labouring man from his allotment would be neutralized by its value being taken into account in the rate of wages offered to him, the answer is found in the evidence of 1843. It is stated on the best authority that an allotment has no effect upon wages; that the allotment has been a clear addition to the labourer’s resources (281-282). No witness before that Committee suggested or apprehended that an allotment would operate in diminution of wages or would be otherwise than a clear gain. Still less could any such apprehension be enter- tained at the present day in the face of the increased demand for agricultural labour. 196. That being so, the possession by the labourer of a cottage garden or of an allotment of the proper size has manifestly a direct and immediate bearing upon one of the prin- cipal questions with which this Commission is concerned—the school attendance of the children. If a quarter acre allotment is of the net value to a labourer of 4/. or 51, according to the quality of the land, and if, having a family, he can be advantageously trusted with half an acre by which that net return would be doubled, he is at once enabled to dispense with the addition to the family income which would arise from the premature employment of his children. And it is highly probable that the cultivation bo oo i Net annual value to labourer of garden or allotment of a quarter and of half an acre. Moral benefit in of land will lead him, if uninstructed himself, to appreciate the value of the power of jadition. reading and writing and keeping accounts, and will thus increase his desire that his E3 Effect of this on school attendance of his children. Presumed obstacles to general adoption of system not valid. XXXVILi EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN children should be educated ; while, as mentioned by Sir Henry Fletcher (§ 71), the moral effect of giving him the means of rational employment and amusement during his leisure hours ‘will often be, that a portion of his earnings now squandered will be husbanded for the benefit of his family. ms 197. It has been urged that the 4/. or 5/. soadded to the labourer’s income would be more legitimately added in the shape of wages. It is doubtless very desirable that it should be in the labourer’s power: to command a rate of wages which will enable him to dispense with such aid as is attainable from-a garden or field allotment of the proper size. But under existing circumstances ‘it is not often:in his: power. Neither is the money value of the garden or field allotment the only matter to he considered. Their moral advantages have been shown to be great. The question is thus raised above the rigid rules of supply and demand. And such’ a supplement to the labourer’s wages as arises from the garden or the field allotment is similar im kind, and similarly justifiable on moral grounds, to the very common supplement of another kind, namely, that which arises from giving him a dwelling at a rate of payment much below that which constitutes a proper return for the outlay on such dwelling; a-benefit. often far beyond what the labourer could acquire by payment out of his wages. pa 198. The presumed obstacles to the extensior of the allotment system, in default of cottage gardens, are not such as ought to weigh against its. acknowledged benefits. 199. On the part of landowners it was apprehended ‘there would be much trouble in collecting the rent from so many small tenants, and that there would be loss from arrears. 200. The whole tenor of the evidence: of :1843 shows that such apprehensions were groundless. The great desire that the labourers felt to possess this means of adding to their resources made them careful not to lose it. ‘The testimony was unanimous in 1843 as to the punctuality with which the rents were paid (Report, p. v.). “In 12 years ‘ witness had not lost a quarter per cent.” (Ev. 287). ‘‘ Witness never had a difficulty “ about a farthing of rent” (1880). ‘There has not been a defaulter to the amount “ of a penny ” (2120). “Tenants bring the money on the appointed day without being “* called upon.” ee ee 4 se 201. On the part of the farmers there was at first a fear-that the men would give. up too much of their time to their allotments, working at them in the early morning or late in the evening, and so exhausting their strength. But that had not been found to be the case. There are occasional spare hours which can be ‘so oceupied without detriment to the employer; and it is noticed in practice that the farmer will tella man that he is not wanted for a half or a quarter of a day, and may go and work upon his allotment (ibid. 181-3). Much also of the work is done by the wife and the children. 202. It was apprehended further that it would make them too independent, and cause the men to rely too much on the produce of their own ground. But. this apprehension also soon ceased. In Kent the committees managing the allotments were “in séveral “ parishes composed entirely of farmers” (7bid. 29). The fear that it would induce them to steal straw where they kept a ‘pig was, on ‘experience, entirely repudiated (30, 2241). There is no suggestion in the evidence of 1843 of a fear that the labourers would steal corn if permitted to grow corn upon their allotments,’ = 203. Two objections raised by the farmers in some localities were of a kind which’ ought not to have been allowed to weigh with them, and if still existing anywhere ought to be overruled. The first was that the allotment system diminished their facilities for getting cheap manure (ibid. 693). ‘The ‘second was the ‘very high rent which they obtained from any piece of land let to a labourer as ‘potato ground, and manured by him, and the great additional benefit to the land, which appeared in the succeeding crops. If the ]and was dug as well as manured by the labourer its value ‘to the farmer was quad- rupled. Mr. William Miles, M-P., stated: ‘The farmers are in the habit of letting “ their land for 8/. an acre for potato ground.” “ Iftone of these poor people worked ver “ hard on those pieces of land the consequence was he not only quadrupled the rent the ‘“* farmer paid to the proprietor of the land for the use of it, but at the same time. he “* established the best possible fallow for the after crop” (1841). Sir George Strick- land, Bart., M.P., stated the same as the result of his experience in Yorkshire (849). Captain Scobell said (360), “ Before they had these gardens they were paying the “ farmer 6/., 7/., and 8/. an acre for rent for potato ground.” Captain Scobell further stated (422-4) that the average quantity of manure which the holders of allotments got together and put upon the land is at the rate of from 14 to 17 two-horse cartloads per acre, or four times the quantity which on an average the farmers in his neighbourhood place upon their land. - 4 ; IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. XXxixX 204. That the majority of farmers are ready to forego these advantages for the sake of the benefit conferred on their labourers by these allotments, whenever the landlords encourage the system, is proved by the evidence of 1843.. There can indeed be no doubt that the farmers are benefited by the system in various ways. The effect of the allotments is to keep labourers and their families off the rates (ibid. 1896, 744). “The tenants:are “* frequently kept off the poor rates. by consuming the produce of their allotments ” (294-297). Their moral character, their steadiness and industry, and their skill as labourers are greatly improved. (301-307, 359, 1977). Crime becomes less frequent (79-82). Their feelings towards those above them are improved (303-306), and, what is of much importance to the farmer at times when labour is scarce, the attachments to home are increased, and the motives of the labourer for seeking the means of bettering his condition elsewhere are diminished (402).. , . _ 205. ‘The allotment system in the hands of the landlord relieves the labourer from the liability of being obliged to submit to the high rent.sometimes charged for his allotment by the farmer as above mentioned. All the witnesses are of one mind as to the impor- tance of the general practice that the allotments should be held directly from the land- lord. The landlord is more likely to adopt the sound view urged by all the principal witnesses in 1843, that in no‘case should a higher rent be charged for an allotment than ordinary farmer's rent, plus the tithes and rates for the sake of the facility of collection (bid. 300, 850, 1830, 2277). A better feeling is also produced in the mind of the labourer when he holds immediately from the landlord (303-306, 876-877). It increases his self-respect when he finds himself in possession of “a little lease” from a landowner (1878), and it operates as a great inducement to industry and good conduct, that he may not forfeit it (1867). Mr. Miles, M.P., stated (1878) :— ‘TI think it very desirable that there should be an agreement drawn up; the tenants like to have an agreement; a little lease; the tenant and miyself both sign; he has’a copy, and I keep a copy, and he looks upon it as the title deed of his estate as long as he acts up to the conditions.” 206. The mode of proceeding recommended by Captain Scobell to any gentleman dis- posed to adopt the allotment system is thus admirably described by him (7bid. 378) : “The regulations I would recommend from experience are these, and which I have never known to fail, although applied in very many parishes under different circumstances: Announce your intention of letting field gardens in your parish. Ascertain the number of labourers, the size.of each family, and the quantity of garden ground then in the occupation of each. Exclude none for previous bad character; they may be reclaimed. Do not include any pauper. Let no parish officers have anything to do with the arrangements. If -your ‘population is scattered or large fix on two or more fields rather than one large one; the quality of the land should be good and fresh. The quantity to each family from 20 to 50 poles. Ifa man occupies more than he can permanently uphold by manure, the land will be losing stamina. Divide the fields in stripes, from top to bottom, abutting against the highway. All manure should be carted in the winter months when it can be done without injury. Let the parties who are to have the same sized gardens draw lots.. Havé no favourites. The fields should be as near as practicable, and easy of access. ‘The hedges should be cut low and kept.so, and an additional gate or style added. The rules should be few and clear; be explained: by yourself :to your collected intended tenants previous to giving possession of the land. These rules should be signed by yourself and themselves whilst all assembled ‘together, and each have a copy. The rent should be precisely that which a farmer would or does pay per. acre for. similar land. If more they may suspect your motive, if less you injure their proper independence. Whatever charges besides rent are made, such as tithes and rates, should be distinguished from the rent itself, The whole year’s rent should be made at one payment, in the autumn. Condition not to dispossess your tenants except on conviction by law of some crime, or a wilful breach of the regulations. The effect’ of this guarantee will astonish you, even in the worst characters before. If you give any rewards for good cultivation let it be in tools, or seeds or clothes, and not in money. For the first year or two: contract, if you can, for some one to cart the manure provided by the tenants, at the lowest. possible price, making them pay by the measure of their field-garden, and not by the load.’ Cause an account tobe kept of the quantity found by each; you will find it ample to uphold good or'even fair‘land. There should be a condition’ that if any tenant subjects himself to removal:he will surrender ‘up his dccupation on being so required to do, Have no fear of the trouble, it will,be but a light-amusement. If, you crdgs the fields but, twice m the Farmers benefit by the system. Allotments should be held directly from the landlord. Mode of proceeding in adopting the allot- ment system. year and see your tenantry once in the year assembled together, the system will work. quietly and . ” z well. a : HG he eo ag, KEE SBE 4 ate 207. This exposition of the easy.manner in which the allotment system can be introduced is well calculated to afford. encouragement to-all persons having the means of carrying it into operation. . It, justifies the strong opinion invits favour, as the result of his own experience, expressed at the same period by Mr. Miles, M.P., in the words, following :— “The more I think of it the, more I-am astonished.that all proprietors do not invariably “adopt it upon their estates.” Poe be ees ea . 208. Two years after the very favourable Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the allotment system,—namely in 1845,—a Bill, amended from one of the previous ‘Session, was brought into the House-of Commons by the Honble. H4 Bill of 1848 to promote allotment system. Diseussion on, Passed the House of Commons, and read a second time in the House of Lords. A modifica- tion of one of the clauses might be now adopted. xl EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN W. Cowper, entitled, ‘“‘ A Bill to promote the letting of Field Gardens to the Labouring “ Poor.” That Bill passed through the House of Commons (with amendments), and also passed a second reading in the House of Lords, but did not go to a third reading. Its object was to enable any parish that might adopt the Act to appoint a parochial board consisting of the officiating minister for the time being, and two elected trustees, to be styled “ field-wardens,” with authority to hire land to be let out in field gardens and allotments to the labouring poor. 209. Mr. Cowper in the course of explaining his reasons for introducing this Bill (Hansard, vol. 78, p. 310), stated that— “ Tt appeared from history that before the land of England was brought fully into cultivation, almost all cottagers had land for tillage. All those above the condition of serfs had land in their own occu- pation, and in addition to that had common right over the waste lands. . . He believed that previous to the 16th century all the peasantry drew portions of their maintenance from the soil. a z ‘ * Since 1800 no fewer than 2,000 Inclosure Acts had passed. The amount of acreage was not set forth (in the returns); but it must form no inconsiderable portion of the land of the country. The consolidation of small farms, so extensively adopted during the war with France, had contributed to deprive the labouring man of his opportunities of holding land. The giving up the tenure of leases on lives also had the same tendency. The result of these combined causes was, that ag the allotment system was revived the English labourer was severed from all connexion with the d* * * ee * What he particularly valued in the system of allotments was the moral effect on the holder. The management of a garden was an important ingredient in his happiness. It was just the amusement which suited the labourer and for which he was suited. This amusement was elevating in its tendencies; and many idle, careless, lawless individuals would be converted into steady, sober, industrious men, simply by having the means of harmless, rational, and profitable employment. The desire among the labouring classes to possess gardens was almost universal. The wealthy were not more desirous to become landed proprietors than the poor were to become occupiers of such tracts.” 210. On the second reading of the Bill Sir James Graham thus expressed himself in favour of its principle— “ The principle of the Bill was in favour of making allotments for the use of the poor. He believed that it was admitted on all hands that the appropriation of portions of land in aid of the comforts of the labouring population of this country was an object most praiseworthy and desirable. The sole intention of the Bill was to facilitate such an arrangement. The Honble. Member who had introduced this measure might not altogether succeed in obtaining his object, but a more desirable one could not exist.” 211. Sir James Graham proceeded to take exception to the clause making the rates a security for the rent, which was afterwards expunged. He also doubted the policy of constituting the proposed parochial trust. Mr. Roebuck and other members opposed the Bill on the ground that “ the labouring classes ought to depend solely for their existence “upon their wages,” and that the field allotments under the proposed arrangement might be used to reduce wages, to introduce the cottier system of Ireland, and to increase the dependence of the poor. Sir James Graham stated (July 2) that in his opinion the labouring man should depend for support mainly on wages, an opinion in which Sir Robert Peel agreed, but he did not think that the measure would have the effect of reducing wages. Sir Robert Peel considered the Bill “entitled to favourable con- “* sideration.” ‘“ He thought that giving the labouring classes small allotments of land “might conduce to their welfare and comfort.” Mr. Bright, while thinking that “« attaching small gardens to the cottages of the agricultural labourer was desirable,” said (July 2) that “ the voluntary system of arrangement would do all the good which was “ expected to accrue from the allotment system;” and although the Bill passed the House of Commons, and was read a second time in the House of Lords, that opinion appears to have prevailed, the Bill not having been proceeded with. 212. But it may be worthy of consideration whether a modification of one clause in that Bill (Clause XI.) might not be adopted with useful results. 213. That clause recites that “ obstacles sometimes arise to the letting of land to “ cottagers for field gardens by reason of the land most conveniently situated for such “ purpose being under lease for a term of years.” In such cases if a portion of the land so leased was to be given up by the lessee even with the consent of the lessor, unless under a fresh deed, the covenants of the lease would be disturbed, and questions might arise which might be a source of litigation (Woodfall’s “ Landlord and Tenant,” 9th ed, 1867, p. 135). , 214. To prevent this the Bill in question provided, by the 11th clause, that— “ ‘When any lands are held under any lease for a term of years, it shall be lawful for the lessor, with the consent of the lessee, to resume possession of any portion of the said demised lands for and durin the residue of such term, without in any way affecting, disturbing, or making void the said lease, or the covenants, conditions, and provisions therein contained, or any of them, so far as the same relate to iN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—Fi2st REPORT. xli the residue cf the lands therein contained ; and the amount of rent payable on behalf of the said portion of demised land of which possession is resumed shall be endorsed in a memorandum on the said lease ; and the said lessee, his executors, administrators, and assigns, shall be discharged and exonerated from so much and such part of the rent reserved in the said lease as is mentioned and set forth in the mémorandum.” 215. Fifteen years after the inquiry before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1843, and their favourable Report, the question of the allotment system was discussed at_a meeting of the London Central Farmer’s Club (39, New Bridge Street, Blackfriars), and a full report of the discussion was published in the number of the journal of the club for November 1858. 216. ‘The members present comprised many well-known practical agriculturists both of the neighbourhood of London and of distant counties. 217. The subject was so ably dealt with that we have deemed it right to add in the Appendix copious extracts from the report of the discussion (Appendix, p. 139). 218. The objections which had been occasionally urged against the system were fully stated, and were shown to have arisen from its abuse and not from its proper and judicious use. In some cases the allotments had been too large. Some farmers had objected to the allotment tenants growing wheat, on the ground that it offered tempta- tions to the cottager to steal the farmer's corn. But it was thought undesirable to limit the discretion of the cottager as to what crop would be most profitable to him, and unjust to him to act on the assumption that he would feel himself so tempted, and if so, would be unable to resist the temptation. The cultivation of the allotments on Sunday was noticed as habitual in some places ; that however was a practice “ upon which the owner *‘ should put his veto.” 219. But it will be seen from the whole tenor of the discussion that it would be diffi- cult to express more strongly the general benefits of the system, or the value attached to it by the farmers and landowners present, than was done on that occasion ; and a perusal of the opinion given in its favour resulting from such large and varied experience will be calculated strongly to commend it for much more general adoption. 220. Our evidence brings down the history of the system to the present time, in the counties hitherto visited by our Assistant Commissioners, and is conclusive as to its continuing good effects wherever it has been introduced. 221. We have, in particular, the pleasure of being able to refer to a series of answers from Mr. Sotheron Estcourt to our inquiries relative to the allotments at Newnton (Appendix, p. 145), and to an interesting letter from Captain Scobell (Appendix, p. 146), describing the satisfactory manner in which the system which he commenced in 1836 continues to work. 222. The extent to which the allotment system has been adopted throughout the country is unknown. The evidence which has come before us raises the presumption that it has extended considerably since 1843; but it is equally clear that the total quantity of land thus allotted falls greatly short of that which might most usefully be thus applied. 223. The total quantity of land which might be thus applied in England and Wales in giving to each labourer in agriculture an allotment of a quarter of an acre, was stated by Captain Scobellp from calculations with which he furnished the Committee of 1843, at 200,000 acres; and the increased value which would be given to that number of acres if employed in allotments instead of under ordinary farming cultivation, he calculated at a large sum per annum. The Committee accepted the statement as a reasonable approximation, without challenge (§§ 419-421). In an estimate given in the volume of The Labourers’ Friend Society for 1834, p. 117, the quantity of land so required, at the average of three-eighths of an acre for each agricultural labourer’s family, was given as 315,000 acres. 994, The census of 1861 affords the means of checking these calculations, as regards the quantity of land required to give every labourer in agriculture a cottage garden, or, in default of that, an allotment, of a proper size; and the result arrived at, although by a different process, is almost identical with that of Captain Scobell. 295. According to the census of 1861, there were in England and Wales— Agricultural labourers of 20 years of age and upwards (out-door) 725,318 Shepherds 0. do. 20,659 745,977 Total agricultural labourers of 20 years and upwards - 21157, F The allot- ment system discussed in 1858 at meeting of Central Farmers’ Club. Very strong opinions in favour of the system. Evidence as to its con- tinuing good effects con- clusive. The extent to which it has been adopted throughout the country unknown. Estimate in 1843 of the quantity of land required to give every agricultural labourer an allotment of a quarter of an acre. Estimate founded on the census of 1861. Increased annual value of that quan- tity of land so applied. Of that total quantity, how many acres are so applied ? Gardens or allotments still far from general. A return of the quantity should be made in the annual agri- cultural returns. A return as to cottage gardens and allotments made in 1831 _ “ a penny a week to-form a fund to meet the outlay upon first entering upon land” (§§ 1613-16). A large xii EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 226, It may be assumed that one-fourth of these (745,977 +4 = 186,494) would, by reason of their skill and industry, and the: size of. their families, be able to manage profitably half-acre gardens or allotments, while for the other three-fourths, or 559,483, the quarter-acre allotments would be the most desirable size. 227. Thus 186,494 half acres (=93,247 acres) and 559,483 quarter acres (=139,870 acres) give together 233,117 acres as the number required for the above purpose. 228. It has been shown that in the opinion of the witnesses before the Committee, of 1843 the net annual value of a quarter-acre allotment to a labouring man, let to him at the ordinary farming rent, was from 4/. to 5/., according to the quality of the land (§ 191). The land allotted being usually of good quality, the higher sum may be fairly taken to represent the value in a large proportion of cases. . 229. But if the lower rate, equalling 16/. an acre, be taken, the total net value given to those 233,117 acres, in gardens and allotments, would be (233,117 x 16 =) 3,729,8721.* ° : 230. The question suggests itself,—of these 233,117 acres necessary to give suitable cottage gardens or field allotments to the 745,977 out-door agricultural labourers in England and Wales above 20 years of age (most of them presumably heads of families), how many acres are so allotted? 231. Mr. Cowper, in introducing his Bill of 1845, (§ 209), stated, that “ notwithstanding ‘ all that had been done, he believed that a generation might be expected to. pass away “ before there would be a general allotment of garden grounds for labourers.” 232. A generation has now passed away since that expectation was uttered, and still gardens or allotments of a proper size are far from being general. The time, there- fore, appears to have arrived when the opinion of the Poor Law Commissioners, expressed on the allotment system in 1834, may with propriety. be acted upon by Parliament giving the system such aid from legislation as may be shown to be expedient (supra, § 183). 238. It would be highly desirable that a return of the quantity so allotted should be made from each agricultural parish; and such a return would probably be attainable, with very little additional trouble, at the same time that the annual agricultural returns are collected by the. officers of the Inland Revenue Department under direction of the oe Statistical Department of the Board of Trade. A os .284.. The officers of the Inland Revenue Department now issue forms to every occupier of land for obtaining the acreage under agricultural crops. 235. One more form would enable them to collect the information required; and the total for:each county would find an appropriate place in ‘Table No. 5 of the returns as given for 1867, under a heading of “ Acreage in Cottage Gardens and Field Allotments.” ' 236. A statement of the total acreage in each county occupied by cottage gardens and in field allotments would enable any person to see, by reference to the column in Table No.:3 of the agricultural returns, giving the total area in statute acres under farm culti- vation in each: county, whether or not the proportion occupied by cottage gardens and field allotments was satisfactory, regard being had to the total number of heads of families engaged in agriculture in the county (which is approximately ascertainable from the census), and to the proper average size for a cottage garden and field allotment. 237. Such a comparison in some counties, as in Nottinghanishire (C. 32), Yorkshire (D. 115), Nottinghamshire (E. 60), and Bedfordshire (¥. 80), would be eminently satisfactory ; while on the other hand it would call attention to deficiencies elsewhere, and produce a desire to remedy them. 7 7 238, A return of this kind was in fact obtained in the year 1831 from every parish in the county of Cambridge, “ pursuant to an order made at the adjourned quarter sessions “ for that county, held 10th December 1830.” ‘The return is given in extenso at pp. 316-333 of the evidence taken before the Select Committee of the House of Lords on * It is not the labourers in agriculture alone who are interested in this question. The working men in towns have shown the greatest desire to avail themselves. of similar allotments whenever they have had the opportunity. Land near Nottingham has been let in this manner for the last fifty years (§ 1747). There were in 1843 “ about 400 gardens held under the Corporation of Nottingham” (§ 1746). ‘The Northern and Midland Counties Artisans’ and Labourers’ Friend Society “had at that date caused 853 acres to be let in “ allotments in-the neighbourhood of large towns.” Societies were formed, each-member of which “ put by * portion of the evidence in the inquiry of 1843 is devoted to pointing out the benefit derived by the artisans, in regard. to health, comfort, and rational enjoyment, as well as, ry additions to their pecuniary means, from the possession ‘of small plots of garden ground on the outskirts of towns; aiid urging that provision should be made forthe-alfotment of land for such purposes in any future Inclosure Bills. bis Pate eek: IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT” wlifi the Poor Laws in 1830-31. ‘Phe answers from each parish are generally somewhat vague, but they show on the whole that, while perhaps the majority of the parishes were “well” or “tolerably well” provided with gardens or allotments of a fair size; the agricul- turalelabourers in many parishes at that time had ‘either no gardens or allotments, or very small. ones. a 289. The late Sir George Nicholls, in an admirable prize essay on the condition of the agricultural labourer, published in volume vii. of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society (1846), in expressing a strong opinion in favour of good-sized gardens or allot- ments, as one of the essentials towards the improvement of the labourer’s condition, quotes the following sentence from the ‘ Farmer,” which he describes as a work published by Mr. Charles Knight in 1844, expressly for the use of the agricultural classes: “ The ** possession of a quarter of an acre of garden ground may make and often will make to the labourer and his family all the difference between want and sufficiency, between privation and comfort.” Sir George then proceeds to ask ‘“‘ Why this boon. to the labourer has not become general ?.. Why are not cottage gardens of a proper size, and in default of. them,. allotments as near the cottages as.possible, universal?” He answers, ‘‘ In consequence of the difficulty of so fixing the attention and working upon ** the convictions of the landowners and the employers of labour as to arouse them ‘to “ exertion with sufficient earnestness for overcoming local impediments.” He then adds the words following: “That it is expedient, if not absolutely necessary, that some effort “* for accomplishing this object should be promptly made, every one who attends to the “¢ temper and circumstances of the times will admit” (p. 21 of Prize Essay). We beg leave to submit that such\a return as we have ventured to suggest in § 110 would be calculated to fix that earnest attention to this subject which it so eminently deserves. 240. It must be borne in mind that there is all the greater reason for encouraging this system in consequence of the gravity of a subject which is adverted to by many persons whose opinions are quoted in this Report, (§§ 174, 209, 260, 262, 270, 301, 302, 305, 312, 313-316), namely, the gradual alienation of the class of labourers in agriculture from the soil, which has been going on for the last century anda half, but chiefly during the last hundred years (§ 263). ~ Ui 241, This is a subject which cannot be overlooked or treated otherwise than with the deepest sense of its importance, in any inquiry having for its object the material, as intimately connected with and essential to the intellectual and moral benefit of the agricultural labourer, (4 o ; po Gab Hs 242. To the full and clear comprehension of this subject a brief historical. retrospect is necessary. eee: 243. The report from a Select Committee of the House of Commons on waste lands in the year 1795 comprises, in its Appendix (p. 203), an address by Sir John Sinclair, Bart., President of the Board of Agriculture, to the members of that Board, in which address Sir John Sinclair, with the view of illustrating the rights of cottage tenants to portions of the waste. in cases of inclosure, and the condition of the small tenantry and of the labourers in husbandry in former days, shows that the condition of the agricultural labourer relatively to the other classes of the community, cannot be fully understood without reverting to the mode in which land was held and occupied in feudal times, which he thus describes. ; _ a és 244, It was held, as is well known, in large masses, by grants from the Crown ; and as the importance of the feudal landholder depended upon the number of his tenantry capable of bearing arms, it was his interest to divide as much of his land as he could find tenants to cultivate, into a number of small farms, and to grant certain rights of common over large portions of the rest, in order to enable each family to be supported in comfort. 245. By the middle of the 14th century not only a large body of. small tenants. but also of free labourers had grown up in England. The mass of the English labouring people had passed from the condition of serfs to that of freemen. ‘The great plague of 1348, which is. said to have carried off half the people, very much improved the condition of the labouring class. The recital of the first “‘ Statute of Labourers” (23 Edw. 3. c. 1., A.D. 1349) states that a great part of the people, “and especially of workmen and “ servants, had late died of the pestilence.” Accordingly.the wages of “ carters, plough- “ men, drivers of the plough, shepherds, :cowherds, reapers, mowers, threshers, and other “ Jabourers in husbandry” rose “to the double or treble of what they were wont “ to take.” ae 246, At the same time they were in the enjoyment of rights of pasture, and rights to cut turf or wood for fuel, over the lords’ wastes. Professor James E. Thorold Rogers in F 2 a ‘ wn € ce ww ‘ by order of quarter ses- sions for the county of Cambridge. ' Opinions in Prize Essay of Royal Agricultural Society as to why allot- ments not general, Greater‘ reason for encouraging the allotment system ; alienation of labourers from the soil during the last 100 years, Select Com- mittee on waste lands, 1795. Rights of cot- tage tenants to portions of the waste. High wages and common rights of labourers in the middle of 14thcentury. Prosperous condition of labourers up to close of 15th century. Civil wars and rise of manufac- turing in- dustry for a time in- juriously affected his condition. Efforts to improve his condition during 16th century. xliv EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN his history of agricultural prices in England from the year 1259 to 1793 (Oxford 1866), a work “founded on facts collected from the muniment rooms of colleges and cathedrals “ and from the Public Record Office,” states,— “In the 14th century the land was greatly subdivided, and most of the inhabitants of villages or manors held plots of land, which were sufficient in many cases for maintenance, and in nearly all cases for independence in treating with their employers. Most of the regular farm servants, the carter, the ploughman, the shepherd, the cowherd, and hogkeeper were owners of land, and there is a high degree of probability that the occasional labourer was also among the occupiers of the manor (287-8). a “The medieval peasant had his cottage and curtilage at a very low rent, and in secure possession, even when, unlike the general mass of his fellows, he was not possessed of land in his own right held at a labour or a money rent, and he had rights of pasturage over the common lands of the manor for the sheep, pigs, or perhaps cow which he owned.”—(P. 290.) 247. This state of things placed the labourer in husbandry, in the latter half of the 14th century, in a condition described as “one of rude abundance.” A hundred years after this the Act 23 Hen. 6. c. 12. (A.D. 1444), proves the increased value of the servant to his master, by enacting that ‘‘a servant in husbandry purposing to depart from his “* master must give him half a year’s warning,” and that “a carter and a chief shepherd ‘ shall have for his services no more than 20s. in money, and. vesture to the value of 4s., ‘* with meat and drink; a common servant in husbandry 15s. in money, and vesture to “ the value of 40d.; a woman 10s. and vesture to the price of 4s., with meat and “* drink; and an infant below the age of 13 years, 6s. and vesture to the value of 3s., “‘ with meat and drink.” As it appears by an Act passed eight years previously (15 Hen. 6. c. 2., A.D. 1436) that wheat was then “at 6s. 8d. the quarter,” twenty shillings in money at that time would purchase the value of three quarters of wheat at the present day. It is evident, therefore, that these money payments, in addition to his food and clothing, placed the labourer at that time in a situation of ease and comfort. “'To the peasantry it was a period,” says Professor Rogers, “ of comparative opulence ” (p. 676). 248. But towards the close of the 15th century both small tenants and labourers were great sufferers in the course of the gradual changes effected by the civil wars, and by the contemporaneous rise of manufacturing industry, which severely affected some parts of the country. The course of legislation during the following century affords clear evidence on this point. “a 249. The breaking up of the feudal system consequent on the Wars of the Roses put an end to the motives which had led to the encouragement of a numerous race of small tenantry ; and at the same time the increase of the woollen manufacture, by raising the price of wool and making the rearing of sheep more profitable in some counties than the production of corn, caused extensive tracts, that had been in tillage as common fields, to be converted into pasture, and enclosed in order to keep the sheep and cattle from straying. At the same time, as much less labour was required for these pasture lands, an extensive pulling down of cottages and of almost entire villages took place, causing a great amount of depopulation and consequent distress. Petitions. to Parliament and the Statutes at large during the course of two centuries testify to the amount of suffer- ing with which this step in the course of social progress was in many places attended, and to the frequent and earnest endeavours by the legislature to apply a remedy. A petition was presented to Parliament in the year 1450, stating that 65 “towns (villages) “‘ and hamlets” within 12 miles of the town of Warwick had been destroyed. An Act of the year 1487 (4 Hen. 7. c. 16.), recites that the Isle of Wight “is lately decayed “ of people by reason that many towns and villages have been beaten down, and the “ fields ditched and made pastures for beasts and cattle, and also many dwelling places, ‘“* ferms, and fermholds have of late time been used to be taken in one man’s hold and “ hands that of old time were wont to be in several persons’ holds and hands, and many “ several households kept in them, and thereby much people multiplied, and the same “ isle thereby well inhabited, the which now, by the occasion aforesaid, is desolate, and ** not inhabited, but occupied with beasts and cattle, so that if hasty remedy be not “ provided, that isle cannot be kept and defended, but will be open and ready to the ‘“« hands of the King’s enemies, which God forbid.” 250. To counteract the effect of these changes remedies were attempted by this and many subsequent Acts during the succeeding century and a half, which, although entirely at variance with the principles of sound legislation, were nevertheless dictated by the desire to benefit the labouring population according to the best knowledge of the day. The remedy attempted by the Act above quoted was that no one should take more than one farm, and that its value should not exceed 10 marks yearly A general Act passed in IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION!:—FIRST REPORT. xlv the same year (1487, the Act of 4 Hen. 7. c. xix.), aiming at the same object, by imposing a penalty for not keeping up “ houses of husbandry,” and for not laying con- venient land for the maintenance of the same. This was the Act eulogized by Lord Bacon, who said, in accordance with the ideas then prevalent, that “its wisdom was “* admirable,” and that it “did wonderfully concern the might and mannerhood of the “ kingdom.” (Life of King Henry VIL, vol. 3 of edit. of 1825, p. 235). In the year 1533 an Act was passed even more at variance with the maxims of political economy, which, after attributing the sufferings of the “poor husbandman” to the accumulation “ of great portions of the land of the realm” in few hands, “by reason of the great ‘* profit which cometh of sheep,” attempts to limit the number of sheep that should be kept by any one “at one time.” Acts also, similar to that of 1487, by which it was sought to enforce the maintenance of “houses of husbandry,” were passed in 1535, 1552, 1562, 1593, and 1597 (39 Eliz. c. 2). 251. ‘Two other statutes also are noticeable which aimed at the same object. The Act 3 & 4 Edw. 6. c. 3.(A.D. 1549), after reciting the statute 20 Hen. 3.c. 4. (A.D. 1235). to the effect that “the freeholders of small tenements should have as much pasture upon ‘* the lord’s waste as did suffice unto their tenements,” (a statute that is said in § 3 to have been “thought beneficial for the commonwealth of this realm of England,”) and after reciting that “in divers counties in this realm there hath been builded upon com- ‘* mons or waste grounds, certain necessary houses with ground under the quantity of “ three acres,” * * “ enclosed to and with the same, and that in some places there is enclosed a garden, orchard, or pond out of or in such wastes or grounds which exceed not the quantity of two acres or thereabouts, which doth no hurt, and yet is much commodity to the owner thereof and to the others,” secures such portion of land to the occupant of such house or ground, free from any disturbance by the owner of the waste. ‘The Act 31 Eliz. c. 7. (A.D. 1589) aims also at attaching land to agricultural cottages where such cottages were necessary. It requires by § 1, that no person shall “ build, * convert, or ordain any cottage for habitation or dwelling for persons engaged in “ husbandry,” unless the owner “ do assign or lay to the same cottage or building four ** acres of ground at the least.” The object was to restrain the excessive building of cottages, unless there was a certainty that the occupiers would always be able to have the means of maintaining themselves in default of employment for wages (Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons on Emigration, A.D. 1826, § 1416). It appears not to have been fully acted upon; butas the sixth section of the same Act provides, (witha view to sanitary purposes, and especially to the prevention of fevers, see note to the Act,) “that there shall not be any inmate, or more families or households than one, dwelling or “ inhabiting in any one cottage, made or to be made or erected, upon pain of forfeiting ** to the lord of the leet the sum of 10s. for every month that any such inmate or other ‘** family than one shall dwell or inhabit in any one cottage,” it must be presumed that, with the increase of the agricultural population, the number of cottages must have increased to some extent, and the specified quantity of land have heen attached to many of them. That it was not inoperative is proved by the notice of it in 1648 (7n/fra, § 254), and by the reason given for its repeal in 1775 (§ 258). 252. Contemporaneously with the Acts above referred to efforts were made in accord- ance with the opinions of the time to improve the condition of labourers in husbandry. The Act of 5th Eliz. c. 4. (A.D. 1562) was passed, regulating their wages anew, in order to raise their ‘‘ wages and allowances, which in divers places had become too small and ‘* not answerable to the advancement of prices of things belonging to the said servants « and labourers.” Although at variance with the more enlarged experience of the present day in regard to the fixing the rate of wages by general regulation, that Act was in its intention benevolent towards the labourers, both in that and in other particulars. It fixed the hours of work for “labourers hired for wages by the day or week,” and secured them “two hours anda half in a day ” for meals and rest (§ 12), and by § 14 empowered the justices of the peace and other persons having regard “to the plenty or scarcity of “¢ the time and other circumstances,” * * “to rate and appoint the wages by the year, or ‘ by the day, week, month, or otherwise, with meat and drink or without meat and drink, ‘¢ and what wages every workman or labourer shall take by the great for mowing, “‘ reaping, threshing,” and all other occupations in husbandry. And indeed the whole spirit of the legislation of the four successive centuries above referred to was, as described by Mr. Froude (History of England, vol. 1, pp. 28-87,) one of “ equity ;” in which an effort was made, although in a manner often at variance with the principles of political economy, to protect employers against labourers and labourers against employers, and ‘to maintain the physical well-being of all classes at the highest possible degree. F 3 ce x ‘ oc xlvi EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 258. All these Acts, together with the continued existence of the ancient rights of common, are referred to by competent authorities as having greatly contributed, before the end of the 16th century, to replace the small tenantry, and also the labourers for the most part, in a condition of comfort not much inferior to what it had been at the latter end of the 14th century. The increase of security and the increase of industry had caused a considerable increase of wealth and population. The “new occupations” that had arisen from the inclosures, namely, “setting of quickset, ditching, hedging, “ plashing,” had benefited the labourers, who “enhanced their wages, as well as the “ farmers their corn. and. cattle ;” “the counties where most inclosures be” were become the most wealthy, as Essex, Kent, Northamptonshire, &c. ;. and the general effect upon the condition of the labourers and small tenants in husbandry, as described by con- temporary authorities towards the latter end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries was, that they had “ grown to be more powerful, skilful, and careful, through “ recompense of gain, than heretofore they had been,” and had obtained proportionately a greater command over the necessaries and luxuries. of life. (Hollingshed’s Chronicles, ed. of 1586, p. 166. Knight’s History of England; the chapters on the condition of the people). Also the class of independent yeomanry became numerous and powerful. (Macaulay’s History of England, vol. 1, p. 335). . a ee 254. The civil war of the 17th century checked the prosperity of the labouring class. agriculture Butin one particular in which the means. of comfortable existence of the class of labourers towards end in agriculture had been aimed at, it is remarkable that even the civil war did ‘not of 16th prevent attention being paid to it. The duty of observing the Act of Elizabeth re- eae by quiring four acres of land to be allotted to every agricultural cottage was enforced upon the civil var the grand jury of the county.of York in a charge delivered to them on the 20th March of the 17th. 1648. The officiating judge (Sergeant Thorpe), addressing the grand jury, called Act relating Upon them to inquire, among other things, “ touching common nuisances and offences to cottages ‘* done against the general easement of the people.” enforced & : £ : : wade coving ie. a mey erect a cottage and do not ny four ‘acres of ground to it, to be occupied sail “If they continue such unlawful cottages.” “Tf they keep an inmate or under-sitter in any cottage.” (Harleian Miscellanies, vol. ii. p. 1, 4to. 1774.) 255. And it is further observable that this Act was not repealed until the year 1775 (by the Act 15 Geo, 3. s. 32.), and then only on the ground that it was operating “ inconveniently to the labouring part of the nation” by restricting the number of cottages. It will be seen, however, in subsequent paragraphs (§§ 322, 323) that its repeal did not have the effect of producing any adequate increase of cottage accommo- dation. -< Prosperous 256. Of the condition of the agricultural labourer from the beginning to the middle condition of of the 18th century Professor Rogers remarks that it was “‘a golden age” to the labourer labourers (p. 10).. ; . o BRE A ah 5 : in agricul- phe. ture during 257. In the volume for 1831 of the: Magazine of the Labourers’ Friend Society, p. 40 the first * . et ee ; yx P ? half of 18th 18 the following statement, “ founded on evidence taken from parish account books, and century. the testimony of old and trustworthy labourers.” “ Previously to the American war, which commenced in 1775, the agricultural labourer was in a most prosperous condition. His wages gave him a greater command over the necessaries of life : his rent was lower, his wearing apparel was cheaper, his shoes cheaper, his living cheaper ee formerly ; and he had on the common and wastes liberty of cutting furze for fuel, with the chance ot getting a little land and in time a small farm.” a Change for 258. The year 1775 is noticed as the period from which a marked change for the the worse worse in the condition of the agricultural labourer began to be visible. "The chance a oo was attributed to the inadequate wages compared with the cost of the necessaries of life, 1775. the prices of which were raised by taxation, to the consolidation of small farms, to the loss of privileges by inclosures of common, and also to the loss of small portions of land which had contributed to the labourer’s resources, and which his necessities compelled him to sell. Effect of 259. About the commencement of the reign of. George 3. it began to be re- inclosures of marked that the progress of improvement in the system of husbandry and. the bringing cee in of waste lands, although unquestionably beneficial in many respects in a public point solidation of Of view, was producing the same effect upon the small tenants and the labourers as the email farms. inclosures of the 16th century. In the year 1764, in a comment on the Act of 4 Hen, ¥.. the effects of displacing small tenants “of moderate circumstances,” and throwing their farms into one, was noticed, and it was “submitted to public consideration ” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—FIRST REPORT. xvii whether some provision was not requisite..at that time, similar to that adopted by the Displace- statute of Hen. 7. (Statutes at Large, vol. ix. p. vii.) The remedy proposed,—that of ment of small “ preventing the engrossing of large farms into one hand,”—would, indeed, had it been adopted, have been, in the words of Lord Bacon, ‘tenants and : labourers “to forbid the improvement of the from occupa- “‘ patrimony of the kingdom,” and “to strive with nature and utility.” But as it is tion of or conceded that “the patrimony of the kingdom” has been greatly improved, the “ utility and advantage of many large classes. greatly promoted, and the public wealth vastly increased by the modern system of husbandry, and the consequent. enlargement of farms, and also by the immense additions made of late years to the cultivated area of the country by the inclosure of waste lands, it is of urgent concern not to overlook the effect of those changes upon the labourers in husbandry. 260. In a pamphlet entitled “The Case of ‘the Labourers in Husbandry,” by the Rev. D. Davies, Rector of Barkham, Berks, published in 1795, it is stated that,— -_ © Cottages have been progressively deprived of the little land formerly let with them, and also their rights of commonage have been swallowed up in large farms, by indlosures, Thus an amazing number of people have been reduced from a comfortable state of partial independence to a precarious state as mere hirelings, who when out of work come immediately upon the parish.” (Volume of the Labourers’ Friend Magazine for 1835, p. 12.) a 261. ‘These causes of the distressed condition of the agricultural labourer during the great continental war, together with the injurious effects produced on him by the mal- administration of the old Poor Law, are strongly commented upon by Professor Rogers in pp- 10 and 693-4 of his work above referred to (§ 246)... : 262. The society “ For bettering the Condition and Improving the Comforts of the “ Poor,” set on foot in the year 1796 by Sir Thomas Bernard and Mr. Wilberforce, had for one of its main objects the restoring. the cottager to the land, with which, as has been seen (§§ 243-259,) he had,—except during an interval, and then in some parts of the kingdom only,—been for many generations so much connected. They state that their desire is to give the cottager “the opportunity of acquiring property, and the means and “« habits of improving it ” (Baker's Life of Sir Thomas Bernard, pp. 162-3, London, 1819). This they describe as .“ their first duty and their nearest interest,” inasmuch as by so doing they would “sweeten and encourage the labourer’s toil, and attach him to his ‘“* condition and situation.”—(Ibid.) The same question also, at that period, and on several occasions since, has attracted the attention of the Legislature, as will be seen in subsequent paragraphs (§§ 274-281). 263. The manner in which the waste lands of the country have been dealt with since the first Inclosure Act in the reign of Queen Anne (A-D. 1710), is a subject which requires the fullest exposition in so far as it bears upon the means still available for improving the condition of the agricultural labourer, and therefore for enabling him to dispense with the labour of his children for a vertain portion of their time, with a view to their acquiring a sufficient amount of education. = a 264. According to the estimate made by the Select Committee of the House of Com- mons on Emigration in 1827, and the calculations of Mr. Porter in 1843 (Progress of the Nation, title Agriculture), 7,175,520 statute acres’ had been inclosed in England and Wales since the first Inclosure Bill in the year 1710 up ‘to the year 1843. To these, since 1843, have been added 484,893 acres, as ‘appears by the annual report of the In- closure Commissioners for 1867 ; making together 7,660,413 statute acres added to the cultivated area of England and Wales since 1710, or above one-third part of the total of 25,451,626 acres in cultivation in 1867, as given in the agricultural returns for that year recently presented to Parliament. Of the total of 7,660,413 acres inclosed since ‘1710, only 334,974 were inclosed between 1710 and 1760, leaving 7,325,439 acres inclosed between 1760 and 1867. Some particulars regarding this large amount of inclosure will be referred to in a future page; but the bare statement of the - total | is sufficient to call attention to the fact of the vast extent of land which has within the last century and a half been’ placed in a condition which’ for the most part removes it out of the reach of the agricultural labourer, and prevents his acquiring any benefit from it except that which he may derive from employment at day wages. 265. Now itis made abundantly manifest by the evidence appended to this report, as indeed it has been long since by evidence on former occasions presented to Parliament, and otherwise brought’ before the public, that, beneficial as the extensive inclosure of waste lands, and the system of large farms, have generally been in providing better remunerated and more employment: for the Jabourers in agriculture (while the public interests have been thereby, and at the same time, greatly promoted), other circumstances have: arisen in conjunction With those gréat changes which have been pointed to as in F4 2 interest in the land. The object . of the society set on foot in 1796 was to restore the cottager to the land. The manner in which the waste lands of the country have dealt with since the first Inclo- sure Act in 1710. Effect of this large amount of inclosure — upon the condition . _ of the agri~ ~ cultural. _ labourer. Opportu- nities and means of bettering his condition lost, and in very many cases his xlviii EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN some places greatly diminishing, in others entirely putting an end to advantages which the agricultural labourer formerly possessed. First, the inclosing of waste lands has often, and in various ways, prejudicially affected the condition of the cottager. Secondly, the absorption of the small farms in larger ones has, in proportion as it has advanced, lessened his opportunities, and tended to deprive him of the hope, of rising out of the condition of a day labourer into one of comparative independence. 266. In very many, probably the great majority of cases, the inclosure has deprived the cottager of the benefits he had enjoyed from the waste, without any compensation. The cases are those in which the cottager was merely a tenant. Compensation for the privileges attached to the tenement would, at the time of the inclosure, be awarded to the landlord. The plot of land so assigned to the landlord might be immediately thrown by him into an adjoining farm or otherwise disposed of without reference to the tenant of the cottage. It will be seen in future paragraphs (§§ 312-316), that such losses of what had been valuable privileges to the cottager have been of frequent occurrence. 267. Again, if the cottager was the holder of a freehold cottage, and as such had enjoyed rights over the waste, or if he had obtained rights by user, which after an enjoyment of twenty years are recognized by the General Inclosure Act (8 & 9 Vict. c. 118. § 50), a portion of land would indeed, on his proving the value of such rights, be assigned to him at the time of the inclosure ; but he is immediately subject to the temptation to sell his portion to the owner of the farm which it may adjoin, and the temporary benefit of the proceeds is a small compensation for the permanent privileges which will have been extinguished (§ 313). : 268. Further the inclosure of wastes puts it out of the power of all future generations of agricultural labourers to acquire, as their forefathers did, new rights and privileges over the waste by grant or user; a loss of advantage which is not fully compensated for by the increased employment which the inclosures create. 269. With regard to the disappearance of the small farms, adverted to in § 265, it has been well remarked that while they existed the labouring man might look onward to one as the reward of his industry and good character; it was to him “the attainable point of “ hope,” (Quarterly Review, April 1816). Since their extinction over many wide districts of the country, and the great reduction of their number everywhere, an accessible step in the social scale has been taken from him, and ‘a wide gap has been created which no exer- “ tion on his part can surmount.” ‘The possibility of rising into a better condition kept “ him buoyant” (§ 174), and gave him motives for self-denial. An illustration of this may be seen in the evidence at pp. 158-160 of the Appendix to this Report. ‘The loss of that hope is admitted to have acted in very many instances with most prejudicial effect upon his moral character not less than upon his physical condition. . 270. The remarks of Sir George NicholJls on the altered condition of the agri- cultural labourer, in his Prize Essay above adverted to (§ 239), are as follows: “ The ** frequent consolidation of small farms into farms of a larger extent, doubtless to the ** general benefit, by the increase of produce it has given rise to, has occurred without a “ corresponding improvement in the condition of the agricultural labourer. Indeed, “ upon him it has had a contrary effect, for the application of more capital and skill to “‘ the purposes of cultivation, and the consequent increase in the size of farms, have ** tended to increase the distance between the farmer and the farm labourer, elevatin “« the one, and relatively depressing the other” (p. 4). It has “ increased the difficulty “ to the labourer of emerging from his position, and rising into a higher grade.” ‘‘ How- “ ever industrious and provident, he can hardly hope to raise himself by his own efforts “ to the condition of a small tenant farmer,” * * “and is practically restricted from “ rising above the condition of a day labourer;” * * “his position, though not “ actually, is relatively worse.” * * “ Hence the duty to impart to him all the “ improvement of which his condition is susceptible; to strive to increase his comforts : “‘ and to endeavour by every means in our power (in accordance with sound principle “and without weakening his reliance on his own exertions) to make him happy and “* contented in his position ” ( : 56. I do not think these efforts have always been appreciated at their true worth. In the petulant talk that is sometimes heard about emancipating schools from “ elerical influence,” as from some obstacle to the extension of national education, it seems to be forgotten that to that influence, and that alone, the vast majority of those schools owe not only their birth, but their life ; and in these days of the disestablishment and disendowment of churches, I cannot but look forward with sad foreboding, in the interests of national prosperity quite as truly as in the interests of religion, to the time when, the position of the clergy being changed, their influence, and in many rural parishes, possibly, their very existence, will be swept away. I fail to see anywhere even the yet unassociated elements of the class that will replace them. We do not live in Prussia or in America, where public spirit is high-and the whole community, in theomatter of education, is animated by but one mind. In England public spirit, except under the influence of temporary excitement, is low; and zeal for education is the exception, indifference the rule. 57. It cannot be denied, however, that the apparent feebleness of the voluntary system, and the oe of inequalities in the way of educational provision which, if it does not generate, it seems powerless to seme prevent, furnish the most cogent argument to the advocates of a system of schools supported by local main argument rates. The argument in favour of this system would, indeed, not only: be cogent, but irresistible, were ee it not remembered that American experience proves that schools maintained by rates have their own achools by i special difficulties, and still are found to vary infinitely in merit; that ratepayers, retaining the control rate. ‘of expenditure, are fond of cutting it down to the very lowest point; and that even liberal supplies of money, unaccompanied by intelligent supervision, are a very inadequate guarantee for the efficiency of a school.§ + “ elementary knowledge than Standard IV. denotes.’ No wonder, with this state of; things existing even in our best, that is, in the ¢ inspected schools, that, in the language'of the Report, ‘the inquiry is everywhere rising, whether time should simply be trusted « to, or progress accelerated by new measures.’ (p. 20.). That our rate of progress needs to be accelerated somehow if we « would not fall into the rear of every civilized nation on the globe, cannot I think be doubted by any one who will remove the “: film of prejudice and look at things clearly as they are.” is an ; oe . J may add, .as the almost universal opinion of the most competent teachers, repeated to me again and again in the course of this Opinion o inquiry, that a child who leaves school with a smaller stock of elementary knowledge than is denoted by the ability to pass an teachers, examination in Standard IV., is not likely, unless he has used some effective contrivance for retaining it, to be found in possession of as much of that stock after two years’ working life in the fields. In the Central Chamber of Agriculture on March 8, there was a Abortive discussion, which, however, came to nothing, whether it might not be possible to satisfy the interests: of education by requiring a attempt in certificate of a certain minimum of attainment as a condition of a child’s being allowed to go to work. It was gravely suggested in Central Cham- the discussion, that passing the examination in Standard I. might be a sufficient fulfilment of the condition ; that is, that the child ber of Agri- should be able to read monosyllables, to form on a slate manuscript letters, capital and small, name at’ sight and write down if culture to fix required figures up to 20, and add and substract figures up to 10... The meeting, I presume, foresaw the ridicule that awaited such a of a standard proposition, and it was wisely abandoned. - of attainment. "See their Report, vol. i. 77; vol. ii. pp. 69-77. Appendix, pp. 132-7. a E In my report to the Duke of Newcastle’s Commission, “ Report of the Commissioners,” vol. ii. pp. 72, 99. Of course I am speaking generally. Ido not wish to be understood as implying that all clergymen are full of, or all land- owners and farmers lacking in, educational zeal. But I am certain that I have not overstated. the case in the text, though I do not in the least mean to state it as a case which has no exceptions: == i . Theaciachil -§ Not that I am myself hostile to the principle of a rate, provided it is incorporated into our present system, and does not throw +2¢ principle the control of the school into the hands of the ratepayers. In the shape of a rate in-aid, levied on a certain defined area and dis- of a rate, tributed on equal terms to all certified schools within that area, not displacing the present management, but simply stimulating local properly interest and compelling reluctant’ owners of property to do their duty, I regard it as a principle not only perfectly sound, but guarded, decidedly beneficial. The commissioners have allowed me to print in the Appendix a letter which I addressed to the editor of the sound and « Times” about a-year ago (April 20, 1867); in which I sketched the outlines of such a scheme, which in principle, though varying salutary. considerably in detail, is the scheme of the commissioners-of 1861. Mr. Bruce, in introducing his Education Bill into the House of Comnions last year, did me the honour to notice and to criticize my scheme.. He seemed to think that it would apply sufficiently well to the case of country parishes, though he considered it to be inapplicable to towns. I certainly meant the scheme to apply to K 4 n A. The principle of a rate has, as yet, few supporters in my district. Grounds of objection. The principle, however, believed to be gaining ground, Compulsory education. A compulsory law, unless effective, would be de- moralizing. 20 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 58. I cannot say that I found, in the course of this inquiry, many warm supporters of the principle of an education-rate. I found a few, and those sometimes where J little expected to find them ; but the great body of opinion, whether on the part of the landowners, or the clergy, or the farmers, is decidedly arrayed against it. The clergy oppose it generally on the ground that, in their judgment the necessary correlative of a rate is secular education; the owners and occupiers of Jand are for the most part hostile to it, not so much because it would -involve secular education (though they are not friendly to that), as because they apprehend that it would fall entirely upon one class of property which they affirm to be already unfairly burdened. J] do not know that this need necessarily be the case. In America, both in the United States and Canada, they manage to tax both real and personal property for local purposes; it. is- true, not without difficulty, nor without opening the door to many evasions. Without going to the length to which sometimes gentlemen went at my different meetings, maintaining that the whole public support of schools should come from the resources at the disposal of Parliament, which represent, it was argued, the equal incidence of taxation upon all kinds of property, I certainly think that the observance of a certain proportion between the contribution of the State and the con- tribution of the locality, the former being the produce of taxation, while the latter is raised by rate, would remove the ground of the apprehension entertained, and distribute the burden, in its fair pro- portions, upon an equitable principle. ‘Though the wealthy fundholder or proprietor of railway shares, residing in a district, has his duties towards, and ought to feel an interest in, the material and social condition of the population by which he is surrounded, and who to a greater or less extent minister to his convenience, his relation to them is different from that of those who, whether as owners or occupiers, have, so to speak, called that population into existence and settled them on the land. He has merely to discharge the general duties of a wealthy citizen ; they have to fulfil the special responsibilities of wealth towards those by whom it has been created.* 59. But as all principles that are really sound will not only bear discussion, but are the better for being discussed, so, 1 believe, the principle of an education-rate, apart from any particular form in which it may be embodied—some of the forms proposed being objectionable enough—is slowly making its way into the minds of thinking men as the only mode of rernedying the anomalies of volun- taryism, and securing, I won’t say, necessarily for every parish—but for every district, -an efficient school. 60. The principle of compulsory education, by which I mean some adequate legal provision to secure the regular attendance of children at school, has (as will be perceived from a perusal of my notes of meetings) many more friends and supporters in the districts which | visited than the principle of an education-rate. ‘The mere prohibition of children from labour up to a certain age would, it was thought by many gentlemen, do nothing for education, unless it were accompanied with a requirement that such children should attend school. + Sir George Jenkinson, in speeches which he made both in the Gloucester and the London Chambers of Agriculture, in which he seemed to carry the feelings of the majority of those present with him, even thought that such a prohibition would be positively injurious ; would make things worse than they are now, would fill our Janes and village-streets with a troop of noisy and mischievous idlers. ‘The apprehension rests upon a strong and deep-seated conviction of the apathy and carelessness of parents. in the parish of Pulham Magdalene, in Norfolk, where there is an efficient, accessible school, the rector told me that there must be at this moment from 40 to 50 children of the proper age, who are neither at school nor at work. Similar cases could be multiplied to any extent. At the same time,—so many are the anomalies of the present system,—there is fully an equal number of parishes in which the parents are found most anxious to get the best education for their children that is within reach, and where the existing freedom produces quite as happy and quite as abundant results as any mode of compulsion could hope to do. Sometimes, the efforts of the clergyman alone have succeeded in dissipating the apathy, which, for want of some energetic move- ment, has hung over a parish like a cloud; but results, higher both in kind and in degree, have been produced where the awakened public spirit has been general, and it has been felt that the degradation of any one class is a reproach and a peril to all. 61. If a system of compulsion, which is to bring all children below a certain age to school, is to be devised, it should be one that will be at once general and effective. The spectacle that is to be seen in Massachusetts of a Jaw, couched in stringent terms, existing in the statute-book, which no one ever dreams of attempting to put in practice, is net edifying, Not only is it not edifying, but it is demoraliz- ing. ‘In Prussia,” says Mr. Pattison, “it is a general feature of the administration that nothing is law “: which is not actually in force,” and consequently the law requiring attendance at school “is well and “ uniformly carried into effect.”t But there seems to be no ‘third or middle course between the iron coercion of a Prussian system and a free reliance on the softer influences of moral suasion and a more enlightened appreciation of the benefits of education, which, if an adequate public interest could once be generated, would carry us, I fully believe, fairly over the difficulties that at present obstruct our progress, And the great obstacle in the way of introducing the Prussian system here would arise from schools in either situation ; but I should be quite content with the admission that it might work with j tural schools. Perhaps a fatal error in our past educational policy has been that it has heen too mean a ee to make all schools mould themselves after one type, and earn help on the same terms, , * When I used this argument in the London meeting of the Council of the Central Chamber i i i rebutted, and I was told that capital, not labour, had created the wealth that arises from the ig, ‘ a Dea eos ae claims of capital as a wealth-creator, because I pressed the claims of labour. ‘The gentlemen who so loudly demurred fa m “a ; would probably have found something to say against the manufacturer who might have gathered into one spot 500 or 1,000 Pacdot hands for the purposes of some productive industry without making any provision for the education of the children ; yet thine would simply be a parallel case. ? t See the paper handed in to me after my meeting at Newent, and printed at the end 7 i i also doubts if the boys who have left his gang will attend school iilead compelled. The elie vee aan, ere caged { Report of Education Commission (1861), vol. iv. p. 197. He adds : “Some of the more stringent provisions of the factor la “ are said to have been evaded at one time; but this was soon corrected, and it is now enforced to the letter.” i IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-~REY. J, FRASER’S REPORT. 2] our inveterate, and not unreasonable, aversion from any rigorous or inquisitorial system of police.* Nor, as Archdeacon Hankinsont pointed out with much force to the meeting at North Creake, could a system of compulsion with any equity be applied till we have established throughout the country a complete system of efficient schools. 'To compel a child to spend five or six years of his life at a school where he*could learn nothing really profitable would be an unredeemed hardship. 62. I am not sure that it falls within my province to discuss this matter further. It was, however, a subject that was continually being brought under my notice during my inquiry, and the Commis- sioners, I think, ought to know that there is a considerable uumber of persons throughout the country, the proportion being larger among the laity than among the clergy, who entertain the opinion that the proper corollary of a prohibition from labour, should such be enforced by law, is a compulsory re- quirement of attendance at school, Not a few gentlemen, it is true, argued backwards from the latter to the former; and objecting to compulsion in the matter of school attendance, objected to prohibition in the matter of labour. They admitted the unsatisfactory state of things at present, but they believed that they saw evidences of improvement, brought about by the natural operation of moral and econo- mical causes. They mistrusted the effects of restrictive legislation, as likely to create more evils than it would remove. ‘They wished “ patience to have her perfect work ;” andin the fact of the progress accomplished in the last five-and-twenty years they saw grounds for hoping that, by building steadily on foundations already settled, the next five-and-twenty years would witness progress greater still. They dreaded the introduction of elements of disturbance.t 63. There can be no doubt that the defective state of education in agricultural districts is attributable, in various proportions and in different localities, to all the causes specified in the instructions issued by the Commissioners to their Assistant-Commissioners. The want of schools readily accessible to the children ;_ the inefficiency of the instruction in many of the schools which exist; the poverty of the parents, and their consequent indisposition to forego the weekly sum that may be added to the family earnings by the child’s labour; the low moral tone which leads parents to be indifferent to the education of their children; and the pressure put upon the parents by the employers to induce them to allow their children to go to work at too early an age, are all of them influences unfavourable to the attainment of any high standard of mental cultivation by the agricultural poor.§ * Tt may save the reader trouble if I extract from Mr. Pattison’s report a description of what the Prussian system actually is :— “It is not enough to bring the children to school or to enter their names in the school register unless their regular attendance is * also secured. ‘This point is accordingly guarded in the German system with as much vigilance as the former. To take a single province of Prussia, Silesia, ex. gr., it is the duty of the pastor and the schoolmaster to use their moral influence with the parents * to make the children come punctually and regularly ; but this moral persuasion can be enforced, if need be, by an appeal to the police. The police office of the place makes out the list of the children as they arrive at the school age. This list is put into the “ hands of the school board, which from that moment becomes responsible for the attendance of all whose names are inscribed in “ the register. The master keeps the book of absences, marking them as ‘excused’ or ‘ inexcused ;’ and it is one of the duties of the school board in its periodical meetings to watch this book. If the offence be repeated they send in the offender’s name to the “ police office, and he is mulcted in a small fine for each day of the child’s absence. In case of non-payment he is sent to gaol for “ a period corresponding to the amount of the fine. In some towns a messenger is attached to the school, and at the end of the “ first hour the master marks off the absent names, and despatches the messenger round to the houses to inquire the cause of “ absence, which is duly entered in the book. In Berlin the control of attendance is undertaken by the school delegacy, which « employs as its organ for this purpose bodies called by the name of schulcommission. Former arrangements for securing attendance “ having been found insufficient this new system was organized in 1845. Berlin was divided for this purpose into 35 districts, or “ yather the division already existing for the purpose of the poor’s commission was adopted. In each of these districts a schul- “ commission was appointed. This body consists of a chairman, vice-chairman, and a number of members, varying with the “ population of their district from 6 to 10. The members are elected for three years by the Common Council, and confirmed by “ the magistrat. It is usual to ask the lay members of the school boards to serve as members of the school commission of the district in which their school is situated. As the office is an unpaid one, and the duty thankless, the city has great difficulty in “ getting anyone to serve. The commission meets once a month on a fixed day, three members forming a quorum. Its proceedings ‘* are minuted, and the minutes may be called for by the school delegacy. It has but one business, that of controlling the school “ lists and school attendance. For this purpose it employs as its organ the royal police, in the same way as. the school board “ in a country town employs the town police. The police commissary of the district sends in to the commission the list of the “ schulpflichtig children ” (those, i.e., within the ages that limit the period of compulsory school attendance, which in Prussia begins at the completion of the child’s fifth year, and extends over the eight, in some parts of the country the nine, following years). ‘“ The members of the commission are expected individually to visit the parents, to urge upon them the moral obligation of « seeing that their children attend regularly. Only when this private admonition is ineffectual an official admonition is given to « the parent or guardian. If within a month from this monition a second ‘ inexeused ’ absence occurs, a written notice issues from « the commission, reminding the defaulting party that he makes himself liable to a penalty. This notice is registered. If a third “ ¢inexcused’ absence occurs within a month, the commission sends notice to the school delegacy, adding from the record a copy « of the previous notice. This notice is handed to another committee of the school delegacy, which is charged with the enforce- « ment of the fine. This committee inquires into the case, assesses the fine, and orders payment within eight days. It is open to « the condemmed party to appeal during these eight days to the magistrat. _The sentence of the magistrat is final, The fine may be « levied by execution. If there are no effects the offender is punished’by imprisonment.”—Report, vol. iv., pp. 193-4. It is plain that this system, for its successful working, requires an amount both of public spirit and of submissiveness to the power represented by the policeman which, in England, is absolutely unknown. I do not believe that the gentlemen who not unfrequently at my meetings seemed disposed to favour a system of compulsory education had ever pictured to themselves any organization such as this for carrying it out. Yet without such an effective organization a mere law of compulsory attendance would be practically inoperative. I have my doubts of the efficacy of the Workshops’ Regulation Act on this account. It is the “duty of the local “ authority ” to carry out its provisions ; but among those provisions there is none to compel the local authority to discharge the duty. Even in Prussia, with this vigorous law, difficulties, says Mr. Pattison, are found in making the attendance “uniform and « punctual ;” and he traces these difficulties to two chief sources : (1), the poverty of the parents ; (2), the unsatisfactory condition .—Report iv., p. 198. ; . : re oe at lane, who assisted me most cordially in my inquiry in West Norfolk, has since entered into his rest, carrying with him the respect of all who knew him. ; - ; { The Rev. R. C. Burton, rector of Taverham, Norfolk, a zealous and active educationist, may be taken as a representative of these opinions, which are very widely entertained. See his letter quoted in “ Notes on Schools, No.7. . § Under the head of inaccessibility of the school must be included the state of the roads and field paths in the winter months, as well as distance from the children’s homes. Under the head of parents’ poverty must be comprised inability to providetheir children with decent shoes and clothing, a very common thing; not inability to pay the school fee, a very rare thing. The poverty too, though very real, is in most cases the result of improvidence, mismanagement, or drunkenness. No doubt, in some cases, employers put pressure upon parents. I could mention if it were necessary some strong cases, but much more frequently they are the parents who put the pressure upon the employers. Indeed several employers, Lord Leicester among them, told me that they would be thankful for a legal prohibition from employing children under a certain age, which would enable them to give a decisive answer to such importunity. As things are a refusal would be considered a piece of harshness. - 21157. L A. Compulsory attendance pre-supposes efficient schools, Opinions upon the subject very much divided. Circumstances affecting school attend ance, The Prussian system of com- pulsion. Conditions required for its successful working. Influence of bad roads and of want of shoes. A. Amount of school accom- modation pro- bably sufficient, if better distri- buted. 22 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 64. T do not believe, if it were properly distributed, that there is any deficiency of school area in relation to the wants of the population. At the date of the Duke of Newcastle’s Commission there was a considerable surplus ;* and though certainly the population has considerably increased in the last ten years, the work of school building also has not stood still, though no doubt it has been partially dis- couraged both by the reduced scale on which the Committee of Council have made their building grants since the introduction of the Revised Code, and also by the apprehensions produced by the Conscience Clause in many cases attached to the reception of such grants. But a much more important question than the extent of schoolroom area is the mode of its distribution; and this is a question surrounded by numerous and serious difficulties. Sometimes the population itself is so dispersed or so aggregated that ‘it is impossible to place the school in a situation conveniently accessible to all, Sometimes, from the ‘reluctance of the owner, or from certain circumstances belonging to the property, the best site cannot be obtained. Sometimes the school has been placed near the church or the parsonage (proximity to the latter being a very important element in its well-doing), but not near the village in which the people live. Sometimes, it is an old building, once conveniently situated, but from which, owing to some change in the industrial circumstances of the locality, the population have gradually drifted away. Some- times a physical barrier, a river, or arm of the sea, interposes between the school and a hamlet that might Other obstacles otherwise be benefited by it.t At the same time, I believe that the distance of the school from the more serious than the dis- tance of the school, _ Apathy of parents. Their poverty. Rate of wages of the agri- cultural labourer very variable, What I found it to be. Amount of homes of the children is the smallest of all the obstacles that stand in the way of the adequate education of the people. Children who would catch at any excuse for absenting themselves from a school where they are either not kindly treated or feel that they do not get on, think nothing of a walk of two or even three miles-to reach a teacher who has the art of attracting them; and not only will they make nothing of the distance, but they will probably be found to be among the most regular and punctual pupils, on the same principle on which, as the farmers often told me, the labourers who live farthest from their work generally keep the best time. I do not know how we shall ascertain with any accuracy the actual distribution ‘of our schools till we have, as suggested by Mr. Lowe, an educational survey. An Ord- nance map, on a sufficiently large scale, with the situation of all existing scliools distinctly shown, and some easily arranged conventional symbol to indicate the character of each, would throw much valuable light on a subject where, I think, everybody must feel himself to be a good deal in the dark. 65. The apathy and low moral tone of the parents, exhibiting itself in indifference as to whether their children attend school or not and in their retention at home on every trifling pretext, are much: more serious difficulties. Yet even these are found to exist chiefly where the school is, or for a long time has been, notoriously inefficient, or where no very vigorous efforts have been made by the clergy- man and school managers to awaken a higher sense of duty. There is the greatest possible difference in this respect frequently observable between two immediately contiguous parishes ; in the one everything betokens activity, interest, co-operation, progress ; in the other you see as plainly the symptoms of torpor, disunion, disorganization, and decay. I believe myself that where this apathy exists it is because the people want stirring, An active, zealous clergyman coming into one of these stagnant parishes has been known in a few months to work wonders. It is part of my creed that personal influence is the great instrument of social regeneration; and the barrenest soil may be made to yield a crop, if it is properly manured and farmed. In nine cases out of ten, apathy is the result of neglect. The advantages of education have never been fairly presented to the parents, either from some defect in the school or from some supineness elsewhere, and therefore they do not appreciate it. My own experience, ranging over upwards of 20 years, as a school manager, is that apathy in the matter of education may be got rid of, if you will take the pains. At present, however, it must be admitted to be, in many parishes, a very deep-seated cause of difficulty and discouragement. It is from such parishes that the cry for compul- sory education comes the loudest. On the other hand, I could name parishes by the score in which, under our present system, the Prussian standard, at least in respect of attendance, if not of age,t is without any difficulty attained. 66. But the most formidable difficulty of all, seeming to defy any attempt to deal with it either by moral or legislative action, is, not the apathy of parents, but their poverty,—duris urgens in rebus “ egestas.” As I stated to the Duke of Newcastle’s Commission, ‘the agricultural labourer’s wages are ‘* never up to the mark that can allow of his sacrificing the earnings of his child to higher considera- “ tions;” and in this nineteenth century we cannot, I suppose, attempt to regulate the rate of wages by Act of Parliament. 67. It is a problem that has a good deal vexed my mind, how it is that the economical law of supply and demand, which is what generally determines the price of labour, penetrates with such feeble power the condition of the agricultural labourer. Mr. Holland, M.P., at the Gloucester Chamber of Agricul- ture, thought he could account for it by the extent to which the English peasant is still as it were adscriptus glebe, by the influences of habit, association and want of enterprise. And no doubt the law of supply and demand, for its perfect action, pre-supposes free movement in the particles that compose the mass. The men must carry their labour to the best market, if they are to get the best price for it. Anyhow, the difference in the rate of wages for the same class of labour in different parts of Eneland is very remarkable, ranging (as I am informed) from as high a rate as 18s. a week in the northern coun- ties, to as low a rate as 9s. or 10s, in the western and southern. 68, I made it my especial care to ascertain as exactly as I could the earnings, both weekly and yearly, both at day and piece work, of the agricultural labourers in those parts of the country which * In the ten sample districts selected by the Commissioners there was an excess of 46 7 per cent of accommodation at cite accommodation square feet per scholar, so that for each 100 scholars in attendance there was accommodation for 146 - 7.—Report, i. 650. in 1858-9, + A case was mentioned to me in which some children were prevented attending school because they were not allowed to take the shortest route across a gentleman’s park, the distance by the road-being upwards of two miles. ¢ I mean that the number of children attending school is fully one in-64 of the population, though they may not reach the Prussian maximum age of 14, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-—REV,. J..FRASER’S. REPORT. 23 formed my territory in this inquiry. 1am perfectly aware, that owing to the different habits and modes of payment that prevail in different localities, * It is a somewhat complicated problem, and that. many other elements have to be taken into account, besides the current rate per week and the number of weeks ingthe year, Any one who will take the trouble to read my minutes of meetings will see the answers that I obtained to the questions I put upon this subject in each of my four counties, 69. In Norfolk, where the weekly wage at the time of my visit was 12s,, it was estimated that the total annual earnings of an able-bodied Jabourer, including his piece-work, would range from 871. to 402 t 70. In Essex, the weekly wage being 11s., a man’s total earnings for the same period were calcu- lated at 351. or 362. t 71. In Sussex, the weekly wage being 13s, and 13s. 6d., a man was believed to earn from 401. to 45/. in the year, including what he gets from “flawing” timber in the spring. § 72, In Gloucestershire, on the Cotswolds, the weekly wage being 10s, a man in constant employ was supposed to earn, with his piece-work, from 30/. to 32/. a year ;|| in the union of Newent, the labouring men themselves estimated their earnings, if in constant employ, at an average of 11s. a week, exclusive of drink ;{ in the Vale of Berkeley, the weekly wage being 1s. or 2s,a week higher, the year’s earnings would be increased proportionately. ies 73. It must be remembered, however, that these estimates contemplate only the case of the first class labourer, who can “turn his hand to any kind of farm work,” and suppose constant employment throughout the year. At the Cromhall meeting, in Gloucestershire, at which Lord Ducie presided, it was stated that, allowing for lost time, the maximum earnings of an able-bodied labourer in the year would barely exceed the average of the current weekly rate.** ; 74, These estimates may be tested in another way. They may be compared with, the earnings of the carter or the shepherd, the two most important servants upon a farm, who certainly would not be satisfied if their yearly earnings fell below the level of the ordinary day labourer, The carter is a servant hired for the year, who gets no piece-work nor harvest. His ordinary wage is 1s, or 2s, a week beyond the current rate of the district ; his cottage rent free, to be estimated at 1s, 6d. a week more; probably a patch of potato ground ploughed and planted for him; and a gratuity of one or two pounds at harvest. At one of my meetings it was stated that the earnings of the carter. might be regarded as ** equal to the maximum wages of an. agricultural labourer” in constant employ. tt 75. I come, therefore, to the conclusion that the annual earnings of a farm labourer, who. loses no time and gets his fair allowance of piece-work, would give an average throughout the year of about 2s. per week in excess of the current weekly wage. ‘Thus where the weckly wage is 13s., the annual earnings would amount to 39/.; where the wage is 12s., to 362. 8s. ; with a wage of 11s. to 332, 16s.; and at 10s., to 811. 4s,; and these estimates. do not differ widely from those arrived at by other modes, 76. I have said that these estimates only profess to.regard the case of the best labourers, and. even then suppose them to lose no time. ‘The classification of farm labourers is admitted, at present, to be very imperfect,{{ and farmers regret that the. only mode. of discriminating and rewarding superior skill or industry in a labourer is by the expedient of piece-work or by private gratuities.§§ Still, no doubt, the best labourers earn the most money ; and though the more liberal farmers pay their regular men “ wet * Jt isa common assertion among farmers that, owing to variations in modes of payment, the system of allowances in kind, lower rent of cottages, &c., the difference in the rate of wages in different localities, which measured by the money payment looks very considerable, is apparent rather than real. There is a slight foundation for the statement, but only a slight. ‘The wages paid in the Cotswold district are given with all the fulness possible in the “ Notes of my Meeting at Elkstone,” No. 76, but beyond the allow- ance of cider, valued at 1s. 6d. a week, I can'see no perquisite'that the men enjoy. ‘The harvest work is set at from 2s. to 3s. anacre lower than in Essex and Sussex. (Compare “ Notes of Meeting at Halstead,” No. 53; “ West Grinstead,” No. 63.) Cottage rents it is true are low in the parishes represented at Elkstone—one shillling a week, but elsewhere in the Cirencester Union and also in that of Newent, where the same, and in some cases even 4 lower, rate of wages prevails, rents seem to rule quite as high as in counties enjoying a higher wage rate. Atthe same time I am bound to admit, and this is the strangest phenomenon of all, that the material condition of the people, at least in the two articles of dress and the furniture of their homes, does not strike the eye as sensibly worse in the lower than in the higher wage districts. Some parts of the union of Newent, certainly, are in a bad plight ;. but other parts, with no higher wage rate, seem fairly well-to-do. Mr. Constable, the Principal of the Agricultural College at Cirencester, told me a remarkable story. Some years ago, Mr. Gray, the then manager of the northern estates of Greenwich Hospital, touched with the accounts he had read of the wretched condition of. Dorsetshire labourers, from motives of pure benevolence advertised for a hundred, to whom he offered constant employment at the northern rate of wages, undertaking also to defray the cost of their journey. Many came, but few stayed any length of time. Whether a sort of nostalgia or home sickness, very prevalent in this class, affected them ; or whether, being of a race slow to change, they found an irksomeness in their new situation which, in some particular frames of. mind, time, instead of mitigating, at last renders intolerable, I cannot say. The fact was merely stated, not-explained, Anyhow, they returned to their old Dorsetshire wages and ways. I heard, not unfrequently, instances of the same temper, though on a 1 r scale. : 1 See “ Notes of Meetings at Morton, No. 2; Felthorpe, No. 8 ; Dickelburgh, No. 22; Hunstanton, No. 37.” In the two last cases where the figure was set as high as 40/. it was with special reference to a “ first-class labourer,” of the best quality. ae t Mr. Foster, of Great Totham, paid last year in wages 50/. to “a man of remarkable ability.”—“ Wickham Meeting, Be See “¢ Meetings at Slinfold, No. 61; West Grinstead, No. 63” (where . flawing,” and Sussex work generally, are described) ; « Singleton,” No. 70. At Warbleton, No. 65, and Sidlesham, No. 71, the estimate was that a man’s total earnings in the year would give an average of 16s. a week. eect ie re or || See “ Meeting at Elkstone, No. 76; at Siddington, No. 82. ; : q See “ Newent Meeting,” No. 96. ‘The cider they valued at 1s. 6d. a weels, at the rate of three quarts a day. Almost without exception, the men are found to prefer the allowance of drink to its equivalent in money. ‘ When a man has nothing to eat but “ bread and cheese, and sometimes only bread without the cheese,” aman said to me, “a drop of drink is very comforting.” But in spite of this preference it is manifestly a vicious mode of paying wages, and many of the best farmers are making efforts to abandon it.—See “Notes of Tibberton Meeting, No. 91; Falfield Meeting, No. 88. #* See “ Notes of Cromhall Meeting,” No. 87. ee : . . 2 +t See * Alveston Meeting,” No. 85 ; also “ North Cerney Meeting,” No. 77. _ The perquisites of the shepherd, which are given in “ Notes of North Cerney Meeting,” No. 77, for the Cotswold district, bring his yearly earnings to some slight éxcess, depending partly on the size of his flock, over those of the carter. Sometimes, the shepherd is allowed to do as much of the shearing as he can ‘find time for in addition to his ordinary work. This is paid at the rate of about 4s. 6d. per score of, fleeces. tt See “Paper read at Newbury Farmers’ Club,” by Mr. H. Frampton, Appendix p. 20. . — ae §§ See Evidence of Edmund ‘Oldfield, Esq., “‘ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 7. ‘There are difficulties about piecework which are stated by Mr. Frampton in his paper. _ i s L2 In Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, and Gloucester. These esti- mates tested. General con- ‘clusion. Many men do not earn so much as this. The weekly wage the true measure of the farm labourers’ ordinary resources. Poverty of parents the chief obstacle to the educa- tion of the children. Irregular at- tendance more serious evil than early withdrawal, Indebtedness of the agricul- tural labourer. Results of providence. 24 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “or dry,” yet this is by no means a universal practice, and the ‘* shifty ” men who only work for the farmer when they can’t get a job elsewhere, and leave him the moment they hear of anything more attractive, are naturally treated with much less ceremony.* So that there must be a very large number of men in an agricultural district—men, not disabled but past their prime; men with less natural aptitude, and who can’t put their hands to any sort of farm work; men who from sickness or weather lose a considerable amount of time in the year; men, whose roving, unsettled habits indispose them to regular employ, whose sum of yearly earnings must often be pounds below what farmers would state to be the standard of their neighbourhood, 7't. Besides, though itis true that the annual earnings of the farm labourer, owing to the various jobs of piece-work that he gets in the course of the year, are perhaps five or six pounds in excess of the mere aggregate of the ordinary weekly wage, yet this weekly wage is probably for 40 weeks out of the 52 the true measure of the man’s available resources. Improvidence, unhappily, is the rule of his class, Increased earnings are generally spent, too often in dissipation, as fast as they are earned, The harvest money is always considered as bound to clear off two scores, the rent of the cottage and the shoe- maker’s bill; and if by any mischance the man or any part of his family lose their harvest, the landlord will probably lose his rent, and the shoemaker will almost to a certainty go unpaid. In measuring, therefore, the ability of the agricultural labourer to dispense with the earnings, in consideration of the education of his children, it will not be safe to rate him as having more money coming in than is implied by the current weekly wage of the district in which he resides.f " 78. It is, then, to the poverty of the parents, far more frequently than to their apathy or low moral tone, though there is an indefinable connection between the two, and people’s moral tone is very much raised or lowered by the elevation or depression of their outward circumstances,{ still, it is to their poverty mainly that we are to trace that irregular attendance during children’s nominal school-life, and the premature termination of that life, which constitute the two great obstacles to the education of the farm labourer. » With the value of every sixpence so appreciably brought home to their intelligence, and with odd jobs of all kinds which children can do and by which sixpences can be earned, so con- tinually presenting themselves, it is a matter of regret rather than of surprise that parents of this humble rank should not be superior to a temptation, the power of which no other class of parents can so fully feel. Here and there, one meets a parent who resists and conquers the temptation, and though the effort is made in a lowly sphere, the stedfastness of purpose it implies rises almost to the height of heroism; but the majority, it must be confessed, yield to it.¢ And the natural result is the comparative failure of our schools. 79. Of the two evils, the evil of irregular attendance is much the more serious. We can rarely keep our agricultural boys in our schools beyond the age of 10 or 11, and I am afraid from all the evidence that T have been able to collect, that the maximum age is lessening; but, given efficiency in the school and regular attendance in the scholar, a boy who entered school at 5 would be prepared to leave it with a fair amount of mental equipment at 1], and even, if his industry had been properly stimulated, at 10. | Few persons, unless they have carefully looked into the matter, have any conception of the difference that in a vast number of cases exists between a child’s nominal school-life and his real. Mr. Beckett, of Ingoldisthorpe, a school-inspector in the diocese of Norwich, has furnished me with some tables, exhibiting the facts in relation to his own parish and district, to which I beg very earnestly to call the * At the Cromhall meeting it was stated, “ About half the men on a farm—those, namely, employed about horses and stock— ‘« would be employed wet or dry. The others would be paid if they chose to brave the weather, which few of them are inclined to “ do.” Notes of Meeting,” No. 87. See also ‘“‘ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 24. { Partly from their own improvidence, and partly from the wretched system of ‘‘ touting” for customers which prevails among village shopkeepers, a very large proportion of our peasantry are hopelessly in debt; so hopelessly, that many of them do not even try to shake off the burden. It is painful to observe how dull their moral perceptions are upon this point, and how seldom the more thriftless regard it as an act of dishonesty to incur debts which th y have no prospect of being able to repay. ‘I have not, however, much pity for the shopkeepers, who counting it a triumph to draw away a customer from a rival, by their lax system of credit bring upon themselves the losses of which they complain. The effect of the system is that though our agricultural labourers, as a body, are I believe surprisingly honest, considering their opportunities of peculation, towards their employers, the principle of integrity among them, in the matter of paying just debts, is very seriously undermined. The books of most country shopkeepers, if examined, would tell a sad tale, That the provident labourer may not only pay his way honestly, but even put by considerable sums of money, is proved by the following four cases, all of them cases of labourers living in one Norfolk parish, which I was allowed to extract from the ledger of the Harleston Savings Bank. I think it right to suppress the names. 1. A. B. Labouring man in the employ of the rector, Earns 12s, a week; aged 45; no family; wife carns 2s. a week and two days’ board as laundress at the rectory. Made his first payment of 10 guineas in Dec. 1857; has now 1241. 5s. 2, C.D. Yardman to a farmer; aged about 50; married, and has one son and three daughters. In December 1856 had 211; has now 62/. 11s. 3d. ; 3. IE. F. Yardman on another farm; aged 40; married, but no family; earns 13s. a week, and has his house rent free. In December 1856 had 45/. 10s.; has now 1201. 6s. 3d. 4. G. H. Gardener to the rector; earns 13s. a week ; pays 4l. 10s. rent for cottage ; aged 32; married and has two children; wife sickly, and has been a considerable expense to him; a remarkably sober, well-conducted man. In 1856 had 35/.; has now 70/, At Burnham Thorpe, the case was mentioned to me o: a shepherd who had been able, by his thrift, to purchase four or five ex- cellent, in fact “ model,” cottages which had been built by the late Lord Orford, and were sold at his death. whether the property is unmortgaged. { The Roman satirist thought that what gives the keenest edge to poverty is the scorn of the world: * Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se Quam quod ridiculos homines facit.” (Juv. Sat. iii, 152.) And it may be so, from the world’s point of view. But in the eye of the moralist, its most mali the loss of self-respect, and the loss of natural affection. It is, emphatically, “ natural man.” § See Cases No, 28, 33, 35, in the “ Evidence of the Labouring Class.” Those mothers must have had in their years of trial an amount of determination that comes up very nearly to the English idea of heroism. I must say that I felt touched by it, as the told me their simple _— " ‘ fas 2 y || I have seen nothing in the course of my present inquiry to lead me to change, or even to modify, th ini i expressed on this subject in my report to the Duke of Newcastle’s Commission —See Report, vol. ii, p. 46-7. Sai I cannot however say S gu aspect is in its power to gencrate hardening—at any rate in its influence upon “ the IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT. 25 Commissioners’ attention.* The five years of nominal school life, when tested by the entries in the register, are constantly found to dwindle down to less than three ; and those three, not years of uninterrupted attendance, but distributed at intervals, growing more and more intermittent as the boy grows elder and every year becomes of higher value, over the five. From Mr. Beckett’s table a further fact, of no slight importance in its bearing upon this question, emerges: that the irregularity of attendance is greatest in the case of those boys whose school life is shortest, a result probably attributable either to the greater poverty, or the greater improvidence of the parents, which thus by a double action deprive the children of the educational advantages they might otherwise have enjoyed. 80. And so we are brought face to face with the question into which the Commissioners are charged by Her Majesty specially to inquire. -Can this interception of the benefits of education from the child of the agricultural labourer be prevented? Can the principles of legislation, which have been applied with such beneficial results to the regulation of the employment of children in almost every branch of manufactures, be introduced with any reasonable prospects of success here ? 81. Of course, every one must at once appreciate the wide difference in the conditions under which manufacturing and agricultural operations are carried on. The former are carried on under cover, independently of weather, in the midst generally of a dense population from which the labour supply is easily drawn ; are unvarying in their character ; can, if necessary, be easily brought under the eye of an inspector and controlled by law. Every one of these conditions is directly reversed in the case of agriculture. Further; work in a crowded room, even with the best provisions for ventilation, cannot but be unwholesome ; work in the open field, “ when proper precautions are used ” (to borrow a phrase that I heard used in the Gloucester Chamber of Agriculture) is healthy rather than otherwise. 82. I am not prepared to speak, from personal observation, of the actual results of the Factory Acts, as regards the employment of children, whether physical or educational, as I have never lived in, nor had an opportfinity of examining (more than very partially), any district in which they have been in force. My knowledge of those results is derived chiefly from the Report of the Education Commis- sioners in 1861, who of course made them a special subject of inquiry.t But I suspect that they have secured the physical object for which they were passed more effectively than the educational ; { and that in some respects they have exercised an influence even prejudicial to education. Otherwise, I cannot account, after their operation for upwards of a quarter of a century, for the lamentable tale of educational destitution which we have been hearing of late from Birmingham and Manchester.§ ‘Fhe Commissioners of 1861 hit the one great educational blot of all the legislation which has produced these various Acts, and also indicate the mode in which their operation appears to have had an unfavourable influence upon education itself. ‘The blot is, that the Acts, while making provision for the children’s attendance, make no provision for the efficiency of the school; and the consequence is that the inspectors’ reports “are full of the excellent results of the half-time factory education in the few “© factory schools that are good, and of its failure in the vast majority.”|| The unfavourable influence is, that parents, knowing that they will be obliged to send their children to school as soon as they begin. to earn wages till they attain the age of thirteen, often let them run wild in the streets till the wage- earning period arrives... ‘The general conclusion at which the Commissioners arrived on the subject of these Acts is thus expressed : “ The beneficial operation of the education clauses of the Factory Acts depends upon the quality of the schools; and the quality of the schools depends to some extent on the countenance * given by the manufacturers. Where the schools are good the clauses act well, subject to a certain * drawback arising from the tendency which the prospect of compulsory attendance has to induce the ‘* parents to neglect the child’s education during its earlier years. The education clauses of the Acts 6 a a * See ‘Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 12, Appendix, p. . I could not attempt to collect many documents of the same kind ; but I am quite sure, from what 1 saw and heard elsewhere, that these figures of Mr. Beckett’s indicate neither an exaggerated nor an exceptional case.—See ee “N ae on nies Bake ae - 27, 28, 88, 45. issioners’ Report, Part i. ch. 3 (vol. 1. pp. = ‘ t a ne aa meee the framers of the het at 1833 (8 & 4 Will. IV. c. 103) of indifference to education. “ Its imperfect provisions,” he says, “ prove the correctness of the statement which’I have often heard made, that in the clauses making attend- ance at school imperative, the passers of the Act had education much less on their mind than the providing a security against the children being employed in the factories for a longer time than that to which the Act restricts their daily labour. ‘The so-called education clauses enact no more than that the children shall attend a school; nothing is said as to the kind or quality of the educa- tion which they are to receive.”—Quoted, ibid. p. 207. f ; ‘ § Even the physical objects seem from Mr. Horner’s Jast report (1859), to be very imperfectly secured. “I have in many former reports,” he says, “ brought the subject of over-working prominently forward. I have pointed out the existence of the evil, and how punishment can be evaded , . I have also suggested remedies . . . But as there is evidently no disposition in any quarter to have the glaring defects of the law corrected, it is unnecessary for me to enlarge upon this subject any more. I have also “ pointed out at some length in former reports, how the education of the children, professedly provided for, is in numerous cases an * ‘utter mockery; how the protection of the workpeople against bodily injuries and death from unfenced machinery, also professedly “ provided for, has become practically a dead letter; and how the reporting of accidents is to a great extent a mere waste of the “ public money. These defects in the working of the Factory Acts will, I presume, continue; for those who formerly took an “ active interest in this question, and those whom it most directly concerns, seem to be satisfied with the good which the factory * legislation has done and is doing, notwithstanding these imperfections ”—Quoted, ibid. pp. 207-8. 1 i| Report, i., p. 204. In p. 206 some samples of the schools that were allowed to grant certificates of attendance are exhibited, taken from one of Mr. Horner’s reports, in which the inspector states that of the 427 schools in his district “ only 76, or Jess than “ one-fifth, are good efficient schools; 26 more are only tolerably good; 146 are considerably inferior to these last ; 112 are so “ low in quality that the term ‘ indifferent ’ is better than they deserve ; and 66 are not only of no value but positively mischievous, “ as deceptions and a fraud upon the poor ignorant parents who pay the school fees.” / he ; , Mr, Assistant Commissioner Winder says: —“ I satisfied myself by repeated questions to individual children and by an inspec- “& tion of school registers, poth at Rochdale and Bradford, that, on the average, half-time children at the commencement of their “ work have been a shorter time previously at’ school than day scholars of the same age. Iam afraid that it is the prospect of * compulsory education which is at the bottom of this exceptional neglect, and this I found to be the opinion of those best qualified “ to judge. The knowledge that a child must go to school at a later period of life makes its parents more careless during its earlier ** years.” ‘i : : i ; ¢ children d i ne also, speaking from an experience of 25 years in Lancashire, states that great numbers of children do not guectvcn Tae coe wines ae aihich they are compelled by the Factory Act to do so.—* Report,” vol. i., p. 199. L 3 ¢ ‘ ROS 6 2 aR 8 a s 6 6 s ? RR How are these evils to be prevented P Difference between manu- facturing and agricultural operations. Opinion of the Education Commissioners of 1861 as to the effect of the Factory Acts. Mr. Horner’s opinion. Physical objects im- perfectly realized. Condition of schools granting cer-. tificates of attendance. Effect of Factory Acts on early edu- cation. a The question must be dis- cussed, not with reference to past success or failure, but on its own merits, Question pro- posed. Answer universally received. Objections to the half-time system forcibly put by Mr, Wilkinson. Failure of the education pro- visions of the Print-works Act. T wo modes of half-time. Two modes of the periodic system. 26 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ affecting print works are nearly useless.*¥ The expediency of extending these clauses to other “ manufactures and to mines”—and we may now add, to agriculture—“ depends upon the power of “ the Legislature to secure good schools and regular attendance.” Report,” vol. i. p. 226. 83. If the educational legislation embodied in the Factory Acts had been successful, and the circumstances of the two departments of labour were alike, a good case would have been made out for extending at once and without hesitation to agriculture principles that had been so prolific of good results in trade. But seeing that, in the opinion of the most competent judges, owing to the oversight which did not recognize the necessity of making provision for efficient schools and (in the case of children emplcyed in printworks) for continuous, regular attendance, the educational results have been disappointing, and the circumstances of the two cases are widely dissimilar, the question of the propriety of applying the principles of this legislation to children employed in agriculture must be discussed on & priori grounds, irrespectively of past success or failure in other spheres, and upon the understanding that if applied at all, they shall be applied effectively, the goodness of the school being guaranteed and the regular attendance of the children secured, Because the principles have failed hitherto, it does not follow that they should continue to fail if proper steps are taken to enable them to work with due effect. The Legislature, if it has the will, certainly has the power to repair. its own omissions. 84. The question, then, to be discussed on its own merits, unfettered by any other influence than that of simple recognition of the circumstances of the case with which we are dealing, is—can we reasonably hope to improve the education of children employed in agriculture by requiring them to attend school for a certain number of years after they have gone to work, in one or other of the recognized modes of the half-time system, or in one or other of the recognized modes of what (for want of a better name) I will call the periodic system. 85. I may say at once, that upon putting this question, as I did put it everywhere, not only to farmers, but to school managers and school teachers, I got but one nearly unanimous answer: the half-time system in either of its forms is declared to be utterly impracticable in agriculture ; and though the mode of requiring school attendance adopted in the Print Works Act might be practicable in the case of younger children for the slack months of the winter season, yet even that would labour under many serious difficulties and objections, while to enforce it upon boys of as high an age as 13, who are employed about stock and horses, and whose services are as much needed in the winter as in the summer, would cause great inconvenience to the farmer. 86. The objections to either form of the half-time system cannot be more tersely or forcibly put than they are by the Rev. John Wilkinson, a zealous educationist, in his Prize Essay published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society on the Farming of Hampshire.{ He is speaking of night- schools, in favour of which he found, as I also found, a strong feeling. prevailing among the farmers, on the ground of their hours not interfering with agricultural labour : *‘ Night schools,” he says, “seem to have arisen naturally out of the necessities of the case, as * the best means of supplementing the inevitable deficiency consequent either on the early age at which “ the day school is left for labour, or on an irregular attendance, or on no attendance there. They «* may be taken to be one mode of proved efficacy for solving that difficult problem in the elementary “ education of the labouring poor, viz., how to combine instruction with the demand for juvenile “labour. No other plan, such as half-day or alternate day schools, has yet been devised which is not ** open to grave objections, A half-day system will not answer, because the boy has a whole day’s * The commissioners are very strong in their language upon the failure of these clauses. ‘The provisions,” they say, “appear “ to be of little use. ... Mr. Horner says, ‘ Of all the mockeries of the education which the Legislature intended that children “ © employed in factories and print works should receive by the enactments for that end, none is so great as in the case of a large “ ¢ proportion of the children employed in print works. The children sometimes attend one hour in the day ; are then away for a “ © week, and attend another hour; and so on in the most irregular way, until a pressure comes to make up their qualification, and ‘* ¢ then they attend the five hours daily. 1 have reason to believe that the attendance certified is set down carelessly and sometimes “ ¢ fraudulently.’ The whole body of inspectors, by their joint report of October 1855, thus denounce the system :—‘ There is a “ « part of the Act to which we feel it our duty to call your earnest attention, namely, the provisions for the school attendance of “ ¢ children employed in print works. . . . There are some instances of the owners of print works having provided good schools, “ © and in such cases, and when the attendance of the children is carefully looked after, and they are not stinted to the legal « ¢ minimum of attendance, such schooling may do good; but as regards the great majority of these children this nominal school * ¢ attendance has been found in practice not only a farce but 4 mischievous delusion, for it is a semblance of education without “ © any reality. The children,get no good ; their attendance at school is at uncertain intervals, no more than sufficient to make up “ ¢ the statute number of 150 hours ; and the records of such very irregular attendance, required by the law to be made out by the “* © teachers, can be very little relied upon. . . . We feel ourselves bound to bring this subject forward, because we should be sorry “ ¢ if from ignorance of the actual working of the so-called education clauses of the Print Works Act they should be quoted as a “ © good precedent to follow.’ ”—“ Report,” vol. i. pp. 210-212, . In the new Workshops’ Regulation Act there is a similar deficiency. ‘The inspector can disqualify a teacher who is unfit, either on moral or intellectual grounds, for granting certificates ; but there are no powers in the Act for replacing such disqualified teacher by a better ; and if there is no school within one mile of the workshop or the child’s residence the educational provisions become at: once inoperative. See ss. 14, 17. f : Our statute book is too full already of inoperative enactments. In a recent debate in the House of Lords on the “ Regulation of “ Railways Bill” Earl Grey stated that “an existing law required railway companies to use engines consuming their smoke, but it “« had become a dead letter, because there was no one to enforce it. As long as only a general law stood on the statute book “ without any provisions for enforcing it railways would transgress the Act with impunity, because no private person would take “ the trouble to prosecute.” See “The Times,” May 12, 1868. + By the two modes of the half-time system I mean the half-day plan, by which the child is half the day at work and the other half at school, and the alternate whole day plan, by which he gets five days’ schooling and seven days’ working every fortnight; Saturday being a dies non as regards the school. The two recognized modes of the periodic system are—(1), that of the Print Works’ Act, by which the child must attend school for 150 hours in every half year, as a condition precedent to his employment in the following half-year ; and (2), that of the recent Workshops’ Regulation Act, by which “every child employed in a workshop ~ “ must attend school for at least 10 hours in every week during the whole of which he is so employed.” I am not competent to interpret the language of an Act of Parliament, but I do not quite understand how a child can be said to be “employed during the whole” of a week in a workshop, of which week he is required to spend 10 hours at least, that is, at least two full days, in a school. } See “ Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England,” vol. xxii., part ii. I quote from a reprint (1862), p. 83. The remarks have the advantage of being written six years prior to, and therefore independently of, this inquiry. - ; Re IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REY. J. FRASER’S REPORT, 27 “ work set him, and that very possibly at a distance ftom home; alternate days will not answer, “* because every workman’s usefulness depends on his acquainance with his work, and if he be away * half his time he is just twice as long learning his business; neither will master, bailiff, or headman ** be hothered with teaching two sets of boys; they say one is trouble enough. Besides, where are the “ relays to come from? At pressing times every boy and girl is wanted ; and even for constant places, ‘in parishes of ordinary density of population, the supply of boys is not beyond the demand. ‘There “ is no juvenile reserve. The application of these schemes to an agricultural district is an inipracticable “ theory. They proceed on a mistaken analogy between manufacturing and agricultural operations. « In the one there is concentration of uniform work, under cover, in one spot, independent of season ** and weather ; in the other the work is spread over some square miles, is exposed to wet above and * mud below, varies with every season, and is dependent on every atmospheric change. From “* circumstances so different the same practical conclusion cannot be deduced.” 87. It will be seen by reference to the opinions expressed both at my meetings and in the replies I have received to the Commissioners’ Circular, that this is, in substance, the stereotyped answer of" almost everyone in my district to whom I have put the question. Mr. Wilkinson may perhaps be thought to use extravagant language when he says, “ ‘The application of these schemes to an “ agricultural district is an impracticable theory.” The experiment made by Mr. Paget in Nottinghamshire of the alternate whole day system is well known; and, though not perhaps so widely known, an equally successful experiment on a larger scale was carried on by Lord Rayleigh in Essex with a gang of boys, who were half the day at work and half at school.* No doubt both these experiments are alleged to be, or rather to have been, successful; for, owing to an asserted deficiency in the crop of boys at Terling, Lord Rayleigh has discontinued his half-time gang for the last three or four years. But if successful as experiments, it must be remembered that in each case the experiment has been tried under exceptionally favourable circumstances. A great Jandowner is almost autocratic on his estate, and can ride any hobby and carry out any fancy that he pleases; and with so limited an induction of particular cases, and those cases so far removed from the ordinary conditions under which the tenant farmer occupies and cultivates his land, it would be unsafe to proceed, against an almost universal opinion to the contrary, as though the practicability of the plan were assured,f 88. Ihave not the least doubt that the half-day system, if it could be adapted to the exigencies of the farm, would be found infinitely the most advantageous in the interests of education. ‘The boy’s body would not be over-tasked at his work, nor his mind at school. Four hours’ schooling and four hours’ working in the day would produce very good results, physically and intellectually. But I am afraid that the plan would disorganize the farm, and would also disorganize the school. I was permitted to see a carefully written paper, communicated by Mr. Tebbutts, a large occupier in Huntingdonshire, to my colleague, Mr. Boyle. Mr. Tebbutts has a decided preference for the half-day to the alternate whole day system; and, provided all labour-restrictions were removed during two months in the year (I presume that he has in his eye the seasons of haymaking and corn harvest), he thinks that, in his neighbourhood at least, the farm work could be so arranged as to dispense with the services of all boys under 13 years of age after one o’clock, at which hour, therefore, the farmer should be bound to dismiss them, and they should go to school.{ But what, if the boy leaves off work at a distance of two miles from the school? What, if his clothes are wet, or his boots clogged with mire? What, if he has to go home and get his dinner, and that home, as may well be the case, lies in one direction, while the school lies in another ? “ Intervalla vides humané commoda.” g9. Andd hardly know what the village schoolmistress would do with this somewhat disorderly element introduced into the disciplined ranks of her afternoon school. She would not have quite so hard a task, it is true, as would be hers, were she called upon, as she would have been if Lord Shaftes- bury’s Bill had become law, to reduce to order and fuse into her classes a knot of rough farmer lads, who in eight or nine months spent in working on the land had forgotten their good manners, and lost their * See Lord Rayleigh’s statement in my “ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 23. In Mr. Paget’s pamphlet, describing his experiment, if I remember rightly, he states that eight was the number of boys whom he so employed. Lord Rayleigh’s number Sometimes rose to as high a figure as 40. When I cali Lord Rayleigh’s a“ successful experiment ” Iam giving his Lordship’s own estimate of it. As it has been discontinued, or at least reduced to very insignificant proportions, I had no opportunity of forming a judgment of my own. Ihave stated in a note on Lord Rayleigh’s evidence that some farmers in the neighbourhood who had seen the experiment at work did not think that it worked well. _ ce ; ae I doubt if I have the right to produce evidence which does not properly belong to the territory assigned to me, ‘because I may be thought to be trespassing on the preserves of one or other of my colleagues. But, while staying at Lord Ducie’s, in Gloucester- shire, I had the good fortune to meet Sir Philip de Grey, Lady and Miss Egerton. In conversation with Miss Egerton, I found that the half day system is worked on her father’s estate in Cheshire, and she was kind enough to give me the following account arn Philip Egerton employs on the garden and the home farm at Oulton Park six boys on the half day system, paying them each 3d. for halfa day’s work. The system has been modified once or twice ; and its success depends on the willingness of the bailiff to co-operate in the experiment. It requires the boys to be thoroughly well looked after. ‘The gardener finds the boys good at their work, and they get on well at school. They have only half a mile to travel from their work to the school, Miss Egerton doubts if the half time system could be worked on a farm, particularly on a small farm (as most of the Cheshire farms are); though she hopes to induce one of her fathers’ tenants to try the plan. By a system of encouragement, boys in,this parish (Little Budworth) are kept at school till 14, and girls til 15. Regular attendance is promoted by a system of prizes. ‘Wages in the neighbourhood are 10s. and 12s, a week. ‘he'people are poor but'neat and well-mannered. Many families of five and six children are maintained solely by the parents’ earnings. All the women work on the land; their doing so is not thought to ‘produce good results. “Many of the men only work on fine days. A man seldom, if ever, eats fresh meat, except on Sunday, His dinner generally is boiled potatoes and butter-milk. The children bring only bread and butter; sometimes fruit pies. Their drink is water or butter milk. Cottage rents, including a garden, are about 3L 10s, Damson trees are in every garden, and the people often pay their rent with the produce, Thess eople keep their cottages in tidy order, and are yery contented. There'is ‘4 very strong feudal feeling 5 and the féudal relation i intai both sides.’ ; EG ; ; : | - SE ne aacuer tents of an experiment tried under the most favourable conditions. I shall be curious to know what the ~ if induced to venture on the plan, makes of it. oor . p te cites Ou in his « nuetionthood. the work for which boys are required is morning and not afternoon work.” As he does not specify, I am ata loss to conceive what-that work can be. The bird-keeping boy, the sheep-tending boy, the plough-driving boy certainly could not leave the field at 1 o’clock unless his place were supplied by another. L4 The half-time system has been tried successfully, But under exceptionally favourable circumstances The half-day system, if practicable, certainly the best for the individual child, but would intro- duce an ele- ment of dis- turbance upot the farm, and into the school, + Experiment tried in Cheshire by Sir Philip de Grey Egerton. The alternate whole day system only practicable when relays of children can be pro- cured. The principle of the Print- works’ Act most applicable to agriculture, but proved, in its own sphere, to be ineffec- tive. Opinion ex- pressed by myself to the Education Commissioners of 1861. Work would have to be re-arranged, 28 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN habits of unquestioning obedience; but she would have a hard task still; too hard, I fear, for any but a first-rate disciplinarian and a first-rate instructor to accomplish.* It must not be forgotten, in discussing this question, that by far the largest proportion of our rural schools, which ex hypothesi are the schools concerned, are schools under a single teacher, and that teacher a woman, in most cases without any great flexibility of method or fertility of resource; and that to make room and find work for these half- timers, the principle of her existing classification would have to be modified, or a new principle be introduced, either of them an operation to her nearly as perilous as that of the general who has to change his front in face of an enemy. I do not say that the difficulty is insurmountable; but at any rate it is formidable; and in estimating the probable gain, the certain loss must be taken account of too, 90. It is possible to conceive such a re-arrangement of the hours and modes of work upon a farm as to allow ofa half-day attendance at school ;+ though to be really practicable, the school attendance must be in the morning, as in Lord Rayleigh’s plan, and not, according to Mr. Tebbutts’ proposal, in the afternoon, Such an arrangement, I say, may be conceived, though I am afraid it would have to over- come much prejudice and many difficulties, before it could be carried out; but it is impossible even to conceive the alternate whole day system applied to agriculture, as Mr. Fawcett proposed to apply it in his Bill, except in localities where there is a sufficient number of boys of the proper age to carry on the work of the farm by the system of relays. In fact, two boys would be required instead of one. And here again, supposing the practical difficulties, noted by Mr. Wilkinson, overcome, would be a loss to be set over against the gain. If in any parish, at present, 50 boys are wholly employed on the land, under the alternate whole dav system 100 boys of as nearly as possible the same strength and age would be required to do the work of these. This juvenile reserve,” as Mr. Wilkinson calls it, can only be found in the school; so that the practical result would be that instead of 50 boys wholly at work, and 50 boys (with more or less regularity) wholly at school, you would have in the parish 100 boys, earning the same sum in the aggregate, but with very different effects on the condition of families when it came to be distributed, only half their time at work, and half their time, or at least, for five days in a fortnight, at school. What Mr. Paget can do with eight boys at Ruddington, in a population of 2,300, it might be found impossible to do even there, if every farmer in the parish attempted the same thing; it would certainly be found impossible in the thinly peopled parishes of the South of England, where boy-labour is in great demand, and there is asserted to be no redundancy of the article. 91. If the Commissioners of 1861 are right in their view of the ground for the legislative distinction between factories and print-works, it should seem that the rule governing the employment and educa- tion of children in these latter establishments is also the rule that should govern their employment and education in agriculture; { and so, though probably ignorant, as I was myself, of the ground of the distinction, it has, as a fact, seemed to almost all the persons, conversant with the nature of farm opera- tions, who have expressed to me their opinion. It is generally, though by no means universally, admitted that there are three or four slack months in the winter, from the middle or end of November to the beginning or middle of March, during which the farmers do not require the labour of children, and when, therefore, they might be sent to school. In some districts, it is true, where boys are chiefly employed about horses and stock, their services are said to be as necessary to the farmer in the winter as in the summer; indeed, even more so, as the cattle are then in the yards, and not at pasture, and require much more attention and waiting on. And all are agreed that the slack time is only to be found in the winter months, a season of the year when the state of the weather, and on clay soils the impassableness of the roads, are apt to thin, and reduce the regularity of, the attendance at school.§ Still there is the time, the farmer says, which it is the business of the educationist to take and utilize. * This difficulty, a very serious one, pressed itself strongly on the minds of the clergy of the Redenhall deanery in Norfolk, when they considered this question. See the Report of their discussion, Appendix, p. 19. In my Report to the Education Commissioners of 1861 I briefly touched upon the half-time system to the same effect. I said, “ T have met with no instance of an attempt to introduce the half-time prifciple into agricultural pursuits. Most persons conversant with the character of farm labour, and also with the temper of farmers, appeared to consider it an impracticable theory. No one had ever dreamt of trying it. Even in the case of children employed in factories, and who come under the operation of the Act of Parliament, as at Axminster, Lyme and Sherborne, the arrangements made for the instruction of the half-time scholars « did not seem very satisfactory : the compliance with the terms of the Act (as far as I could ascertain, which was a matter of “ considerable difficulty to do) appeared to be nominal rather than substantial ; and as the number of the scholars, as compared with the bulk of the school, was in all cases insignificant, and the instruction of the classes went on continuously while they were absent “ on the alternate days, so that they missed in fact just half of what was taught on each subject, I doubt whether the system can “ work very advantageously either for them or for the rest of the school. ‘The case is removed into entirely different conditions if, “ as probably happens in purely manufacturing localities, the children come in relays to school, as they go in relays to work. You “ then have to do with two sets of children entirely distinguished, and the continuity of the instruction of each set is not interrupted. “ But this is not at all parallel to the case of a small manufacturing (or half-time) element intermingled with the ordinary constitu- “ ents of a rural school. I can only say that the system was not giving satisfaction either to the managers or the teachers in the few “ places where it professedly was being tried. The small extra amount of attendance which it secured did not compensate for the “ element of disturbance which it introduced into the school.” “ Report,” vol. ii., p. 63-4. It is from no foolish reluctance to change my opinion, if I saw good grounds for doing so, that I must declare that my mind upon this matter is still the same. + Bird keeping must be done by an old man with a gun ; boys above 13 must be got to drive plough and tend sheep and stock ; women must be more largely employed. There would not be much left for the half-timers to do but weed, which they would be required to do, under superintendence, in a gang. t “The ground for the legislative distinction between factories and printworks appears to have been that the demand for the “ article produced by the printworks has hitherto been liable to such sudden and irregular changes as to require a large amount of “ labour at particular times, and thus to make it more difficult in this case than in the case of factories to divide the children into “ sets for alternate labour.” “Report,” i, 210. What, I suppose, the inexorableness of fashion does for the printworker, the inexorableness of weather and seasons does for the agriculturist. He ‘‘ requires a large amount of labour at particular times,” ; § There are, however, great and remarkable discrepancies between different neighbourhoods on this point. In Essex, the school attendance, particularly of boys, is very much smaller in winter than in summer; in Sussex, the two attendances are about equal ; in many parts of Gloucestershire the winter attendance of boys is 25 per cent. larger than the summer. The discrepancies could all no doubt, be easily accounted for by those acquainted with each district. In the woodlands of Sussex, employment in the coppices comes in to take the place of employment on the land. In Gloucestershire, when the fruit is picked, the children have nothing else to do till the next spring. In Essex, young boys assist their fathers during the winter, in surface-draining. «i IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT. 29 92. But we have already heard, on the highest authority, that of those who have watched, and in fact, directed, the operations of the Print Works’ Act in its own sphere, that ‘such of these provisions ** as refer to education are found to be of little use.”* There is not, therefore, much encouragement to try? in its application to agriculture, a principle which, where it had infinitely more chances of being successful, has proved a failure. Certainly the principle might be modified; and by being modified, might be made much more effective; and a modification of it is what I shall venture to suggest when I come presently to recommend the course that I think ought to be pursued. 93. Some years ago “six of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of schools memorialised the Secretary of * State for the Home Department in favour of ‘one general and simple law for securing a certain amount ** ‘of schooling to all children employed in mines and manufactures,’ urging, among other arguments, “ that a general law would be less likely to disturb the children’s labour market than any partial mea- ‘ sures.”{ If these inspectors were to memorialize Her Majesty’s Government now, I suppose they would add the case of children employed in agriculture and every other form of manual labour, to the case of those employed in manufactures and in mines. In fact they would probably suggest the desir- ableness of one simple, universal law dealing with elementary education, The Prussians have one such simple law, and therefore their system of education is effective; our legislation on the subject is broken up into. a thousand rules, and therefore our system is ineffective. In all legislation, the object should be to embody comprehensive principles, and to avoid complicating the measure by any attempt to deal with details. The moment you descend from generals to an enumeration of singulars, you open the door to evasion. The art of man, itis said, can always drive a coach and six through an English Act of Parliament. 94, Instead, therefore, of applying, with very doubtful prospects of success, the regulations of the Factory Acts to agriculture, I should like to see, as the Commissioners of 1861} wished to see, the Factory Acts themselves revised. I am satisfied that the age of 8 is too early, on physical grounds, for children to go to constant work; Iam satisfied that the age of 8 is too early, on educational grounds, for them to commence half-time or periodic attendance at school, But whether the Factory Acts are thought to require revision or not, it will be seen by any one who cares to peruse the evidence that I have collected, that it is the almost unanimous opinion of every person and body of persons who have expressed opinions upon the subject, that the best mode of promoting the education of children in agricultural districts would be (1) to prohibit their employment on the land under the age of 10; (2), to make provisions for securing their regular attendance at school for the five years preceding that age ; and in several cases the suggestion was added that (3) to prevent the possible loss, by disuse, of what they had attained, the children, when emancipated from entire restriction, should still be required to fulfil a certain amount of winter attendance—say 150 hours— either at day or night school, for two years more. I should add that not only do farmers think that this mode of dealing with the subject would be the mode least embarrassing to them in the cultivation of their land; but that managers and teachers of schools declare that they could do more for the children’s education in this way than they could hope to do if regular attendance ceased at 8, and intermittent attendance took its place till 13, My own opinion, formed upon an experience of twenty years as manager and (to a considerable extent) teacher of a rural school, entirely coincides with theirs.§ It is the opinion of the teachers particularly, that irregularity of attendance is the most formidable difficulty with which they have at present to con- tend,—children kept at home for all sorts of frivolous purposes by the parents, or withdrawn for all sorts of varying lengths of time by the farmer ; and that a child kept constantly at school till 10 ought to be able to pass in the Government’s Fourth Standard, indicating an amount of attainment which, though something of its completeness may be detracted by the friction of life, is likely, in its main elements, to stick to him to the end. | 5 95. I found a perfect agreement amongst the farmers that, whether his education makes him a better labourer or not,{] every English labouring man ought to have placed within his reach the opportunity a a * “ Report of Education Commissioners,” i. p. 210. See above, p. 26, note *. + “Report of Education Commission” (1861), vol. i. p. 201. ; . : : t One of their recomme ndations was, “That the defects in the Acts of Parliament respecting the employment of children in ‘“ factories, printworks, mines, and collieries, should be remedied by legislative enactment.” —“ Report,” vol. i. p. 226, § 11. gi have stated that prohibition of labour under the age of 10, with a view to taking advantage of the preceding years for the purposes of education, has been the almost unanimous opinion both of individuals and of the bodies of persons with whom I have coevetin contact during this inquiry. I must, however, except two important bodies ; the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture, and the Council of the Central Chamber following the suit of the Norfolk and Leicester Chambers, who, after full discussion of the subject, at which I was myself present, have passed resolutions in favour of the limit of prohibition being fixed at nine. It is needless to say that to consent that a child should be prohibited from labour up to the age of 9, and to make no further provision for his education, is to make no concession to the demands of public opinion in this matter. One year gained by the school after 9, is, in educational lue. robably worth three years passed. within its walls before it, Indeed, the Norfolk Chamber seem to anticipate that their con- value, P would not be deemed sufficient, for they add a clause that, “ Should attendance at school be insisted upon after the boy has eee labour, school on alternate days or weeks would render the boy almost useless to the farmer. He had much better e ‘tien the school for a certain number of consecutive days during the leisure part of the year.” ‘The Cirencester and Gloucester Chambers, though neither of them relishing the prospect of legislative interference, and the latter in express terms deprecating it, both ¢ onsidered that a boy ought not to be employed in farm labour under the age of 10, “or” (the Gloucester Chamber added) a nless he can read, and write efficiently ;” and the latter body “pledged itself,” in its Resolution, ‘““to use its influence in all “ legitimate ways to secure this rule being adopted and acted upon.” See “ Appendix,” p. 15. : an ' T beg to refer to the case of the boy William Stephens of Bromsberrow (“ Evidence of Labouring Class, No. 42), as one in I Fis boy’s school learning had stuck to him admirably. He could read well, and write well, and read writing well. He poe hool 2 1 years and had never attended a night school, though his mother, who can read, had made him keep up his ie left _n a Hes home. But he was for five years uninterruptedly at school, and reached the first class. He was intelligent cotta but his intelligence was probably simply the fruit of cultivation. ep Y> a good deal as to the relative value of an educated and uneducated labourer. Lord Leicester speaks very q Ce Plan of school training as developing intelligence, and of the value of intelligence, when developed, to an employer. strongly hi re d, at one of my meetings, a gentleman delivered himself of the yéun (as Aristotle would call it) that “It takes On the, of oa - id to do two ignorant men’s work.” When I tried to fathom the grounds of such opinions, I generally-found them eine on euch convictions as these: that the educated men are the most discontented, the most shifty, the least inclined for drudgery, the sauciest in their answers, fonder of reading the newspaper (a charge frequently made) than of work, always on the 3 21187. M Advantages of one general simple law. The Factory Acts them- selves need revision. General opinion of the best mode of dealing with children em- ployed in agriculture Opinion of teachers in particular. Opinion as to the amount of education that ought to be attained. Opinions of the different Chambers of Agriculture. An individual instance, Opinions as to the relative value of edu- cated and uneducated labourers, Ae Ability to read the most important power, A certain . measure of this power once attained not likely to be lost. The Education Conimissioners’ view’ of what could and should be realized. Necessity for governing our efforts by our circumstances, Instance of rapid attain- ment of power to write and to cipher. Infant schools impossible in small parishes. Mr. Bellairs’ estimate of the period of the school life, Sentiments of Mr. Bright. The 30 _,, BMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN of, education, and that his education ought, at least, to.extend as far as the power to read, to write, and to cipher; and the admission was very frankly made that ‘thie present general standard of attainment is far below this. I entirely go along, also, with the opinion very frequently expressed, that the ability’ to write and to cipher are of secondary importance compared with the ability to read. They can be easily and quickly secured, if ‘the desire exists, at almost any period of life, and there will always be abundant ‘motives for securing them;* but the power to read, if not acquired in youth, is rarely acquired with any facility at all, while it is, emphatically, the key of all subsequent knowledge and self-improvement. And there is a certain analogy between the capacity to read and the capacity to swim. A man whose mastery of this useful accomplishment, when a boy, was limited to the power of sustaining himself in in the water for half a dozen strokes, and whose practice stopped there, if he should unhappily fall into deep water twenty years afterwards, even within easy distance of the bank, will infallibly be drowned ; ‘but he who has once accomplished the feat of swimming across the Thames will find that he has endowed himself with a power that he will never lose, So too with reading. No wonder if the poor lad, removed from school just as with infinite labour he can spell out “ easy narratives ” written’ in words none of them more than two syllables long, with no subsequent practice, and no one to urge him to keep up his learning at home, soon loses the modicum he has acquired, and in two years or so can only distinguish his master’s sacks from a neighbour's by the colour of the initials stamped upon them ;t but let a boy only once get to read a page in a fourth or fifth reading book, such as is ordinarily found in our schools, with intelligence and fluency, and I undertake to say he shall never forfeit that power. T will not say it may not be impaired; but it shall never ‘be wholly lost; and if impaired, a little pains, a season’s attendance at a night school, shall rapidly make it good again. Posey cate bets i _ 96, The Commissioners of 1861 considered that “ under the present circumstances of socféty, a’ satis- “ factory point will have been reached when children go to the infant school at the age of 3, and from «¢ the infant school to the day school at the age of 6 or ‘7, and remain inthe day school till 10; 11, or 12, *€ according to the circumstances of their parents, and the calling to which they are destined ; provided “ that they attend, while on the school books, not less than four hours a day for five days in the week, “¢ and not less than 30 weeks, ranging, under the most favourable circumstances, up to 44 weeks, in the “ year;” and they believe that “ there is nothing in the feelings of the parents on the subject of “« education to prevent well directed efforts to insure this amount of attendance from meeting with “ general success.” ‘Those efforts, they added, “ should be directed principally to increasing the “regularity of the attendance, rather than to prolonging its duration,” inasmuch as “ neither.the « Government nor private persons can effectually resist, or would be morally justified in resisting, the * natural demands of labour when the child has arrived, physically speaking, at the proper age for * Jabour, and when its wages are such as to form a strong motive to its. parents for withdrawing it from 0 «° school.” t ; _ 97, These opinions are characterized by the moderation’ and good sense which are such marked features in the Report of that Commission, and are well worthy of being pondered before we take another step which ought to be a step in advance, but which, if running too strongly counter to popular ‘sentiment, Mr. Bright told his hearers at Birmingham, might be forced into a retrograde movement.§ Our social circumstances are such as to awaken us rudely from the dream that it is possible to develop in England a high ideal of elementary education, and even to hope to reach the Prussian standard. With the increased activity that is developing all the material resources of the country, it seems to be a sort of economic law that material progress can only be purchased at the cost of moral and Yook out for an opportunity to better themselves. Mr. Iles, vice-chairman of the Cirencester board of guardians, an intelligent and liberal-minded farmer, justly attributes these results, which must be admitted to exist to some extent, to partial education ; when it becomes general, the evils complained of will disappear, and the natural gradations of society, temporarily displaced, will be restored. I observe a similar remark, in alia materia, made by Earl Granville, in his capacity, of Chancellor of the University of London, in his recent. address at the admission of successful candidates to degrees. ‘He was ready to admit that the-most detestable women “he had met -with were those who. might properly-be. called ‘ blue.stockings ;’ but he agreed with Dr. Johnson, who meta similar “ argument by saying, that if you gave a silk-laced waistcoat to a country lad he would be proud and haughty over his fellows of the “ village, but that if you gave all the boys in the parish a silk-laced waistcoat, there would*be no one over whom they: could be “ proud. This he thought applicable to women. If they were all -éducated alike, they' would have ‘no cause to Pique themselves “ on their superiority.”—Reported in the “ Times,” May 14, 1868. '_ ca ‘ Sree: * A case was mentioned at nity meeting at Morningthorpe (Norfolk) of a man who had-an offer of a bailiff’s place upon a farm. He could read, but could neither write nor cipher. Having three months’ notice he attended the clergyman’s night. school, and in the course .of the winter acquired sufficient knowledge of these two arts to enable him to accept the place. See “ Notes of meetings,” No. 29. ; ; : . Per ‘ ; t See the case mentioned by Mr. Howlett in ‘Notes on Schools,” No. 18. t “Report of the Education Commission,” vol. i. p, 225, s8.6,7,5,4. | on. & It‘is well known to all persons acquainted with the circumstances of small, that is, of the large majority of, rural parishes, that in them the establishment of an infant school is an impossibility, and that where children have a mile or more to travel; the educationist miist-be' content if he can get them under instruction at as early an age as five: I regard from 5 to 10 or 11 as the practicable schoo} life in an agricultural district ; and if that were realised in the case of all, or even most of our children, the condition of things, in respect of intelligence, in'thosé districts would be as different from what it now is as light is different from darkness. Mr. Bellaivs. the oldest, I believe, of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of schools, seems to confirm this view by his wide and long experience. Speakin, . of irregular attendance, he declares his “ conviction, that until some means are devised to secure regular attendance for the ohildres “of the poor from 4 to 10 or 11 years of age, a very large amount of our exertion and money will be wasted, and our jails, peniten- “ tiaries, and reformatories will show our shortcomings by the presence of a mass of inmates untrained and untaught 66 ne ort of the ee of Council on a a ey p- a ae Ps AY Soa port “T should recommend,” said Mr. Bright, “what I call a steady progress rather than a great “ri cause i ikine a upon this question and introducing measures based upon what I look at with great sous Hamsieeaee Soa at schools, I am not sure that you will not produce among the people a reactionary feeling which would defeat the very object you have at heart. Suppose you establish a great and broad systemi, and proceed to lay considerable and heavy rates upon a fe le oe at present do not much appreciate education, and you establish in your towns a sort of ‘truant policé’-to look after the childten who do tof go-to school, if you bring too much weight to bear on the ‘people before they are. sufficiently enlightened to approve your efforts, rou ms find that there is a great reaction, and your difficulties become almost, if not altogether, insuperable. The great oar éhi F mass of your children now are uneducated: If you propose at: once to create a great revolution of that kind, I am certain uw wi ‘find Le ‘those for whose benefit you are acting will not give you that co-operation without which it is impossible that on chona Fe ILE Beier va oie .@ Mat Qavils Pac ag a a eek ee TS eo 2* GMa ty oe ABS Set as ea a ee IN AGRICULTURE. (1867) ‘commission #-REV; J, ‘FRASER’s’ REPORT. 31 intellectual ; it is‘a question whether the. Prussian standard itself, in spite of the high value set’ by’ the people themselves on’ education, can be maintained. |“ Since 1850,” says Mr. Pattison, “a turn has “ taken place, Factory labour and pauperism:are both gaining ground, and irregularity in’ the’ ‘* attendance at the commion schools ‘is on the increase.”* Certainly, in the New England States, by the united testimony of superintendents of schools, in all the great centres of manufacturing industry, the tendency of things is downwards rather than upwards, and as, Mr. Horace Mann confesses, educationists of the present generation are forced to accept and acquiesce in a lower idéal of general culture than was set’ up, and possibly for a time realized, in the simpler days of the pilgrim fathers.}' If we cannot wholly bend circumstances to our views, we must to some extent adapt our views to circumstances. Dea. ag 8 De Ekim si ieee tic, oe 98. I have already said that what we want seems to me to be a simple, uniform law, which everybody shall understand, and which there shall be some effective power to compel everybody to obey. What I wish to say now is that such a.law must be moderate in its demands, practicable in its details, not’ seeking to inflict unnecessary inconvenience upon the employers of labour nor what the Education’ Commissioners consider would be unjustifiable hardship upon those who have to. maintain. themselves by their labour. I must do the farmers of England the justice to say that, in discussing this, question, though naturally sensible of embarrassments to themselves that might be created by restrictive’ legislation, they appeared to be still more apprehensive of such legislation’ pressing intolerably on‘ the condition of the poor. It was, therefore, again ‘and again urged upon me that any such legislation ought, in equity, to be accompanied with some dispensing: power. If a-high amount. of school attendance in the year were required, the magistrates, it was said, might be empowered ‘to’ relax the requirement in. the case of any man who couid show that his family was above a given size'or his earnings below a certain sum, If the age of 10 were chosen as the age under which children should be prohibited from labour, a trustworthy certificate that a child had reached a given standard of attainment at an earliér period might be a ground for relaxing the prohibition in favour of that’ particular child ; and it was further thought that the possibility of attaining such a certificate at the early age would act. as an indirect form of compulsion, and.induce parents to seize every opportunity of sending their children to school.§ ss : 99. It will be seen by reference to my Evidence that several gentlemen who have favoured me with their views upon this subject, recommend that the age of prohibition should be raised as high as twelve, and assert that no inconvenience which .could not be surmounted by a little management would be thereby inflicted upon the farmer ; ‘and I should myself be much better satisfied if we could’ secure the attendance of the children at our schools from five to eleven—for six years instead of five. But, seeing what I have seen and hearing what I have heard. of the poverty of the parents, I am afraid to press for an amount of restriction which, however desirablé in the interests of education, would bear with undue severity upon the physical condition of the Jabouring poor. I.content myself with asking for a law which shall require regular, uninterrupted attendance at school up to the age of 10; and for the two years between 10 and 12, while the child is at work, a certain amount of attendance, as suggested by the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture, either at day or night school, during the leisure part of the year. . iia En oad Boe eiedume ds spatial Gs 100. The mention of night schools suggests that this is not an improper place in which to deliver myself of what I have to say about this educational, agency. Mr. Wilkinson, in the essay already referred to, says that he found among the. Hampshire farmers a strong feeling for Sunday-schools and winter night schools, chiefly on the ground that the hours for these do not interfere with agricultural labour; and he himself thoroughly endorses this opinion, “that they are the right thing for an “ agricultural district,” as well as bears witness to their being “ most popular among the poor.” I would be the last person in the world to depreciate the value of a rural night school, as for 10 years of my life I have been in the uninterrupted habit (till last winter, when I was engaged on this Commission) of conducting and teaching in a very successful one. But if any one will be at the pains of reading * « Report of Education Commission (1861),” vol. iv, p, 194. ~ ’ : + “Horace Mann’s 10th Report (1849),” p. 10. oy ; Ba ge ; ae t Mr. Albert Pell pointed out, in the London Chamber of Agriculture, the possible difficulty that might arise from two laws, one prohibiting employment (as:in the case of factory children) only up to the age. of 8, and another (supposing such were the enact, ment) prohibiting the employment of agricultural children under 10 in any district, of which there must be many, where an agri- cultural and manufacturing population was intermixed. ‘'Again, a law which dealt only with the case of agricultural children on the shores of the Wash would drive scores of children, excluded from the land, into the occupation of mussel-picking’; in Essex, jnto the straw-plait; in Gloucestershire, into “gloving ;” and so on. A uniform law would extricate the question from all these difficulties. ~~ eat aoe sials an Eh a gt eee) Pe ie porte, fee OO d Wee Cea ae Pe § See Richard Hooker’s argument for the existence of dispensations, “ Not to turn the edge of justice or to make void at certain “ times and. in certain men, through, mere voluntary grace and, benevolence, that. which continnally’and universally should be,of “< force (as some understand it), but in very truth to practise general laws according to their right meaning. . .. Which things ee ‘being considered we require that it may not seem hard if in cases of necessity, or for common utility’s sake, certain profitable & ordinances sometime be released, rather than. all men be always strictly hound to the general rigour thereof.”—“ Eccles. Polity,” v., ch, ix. eS ae hg hz || Prize essay on Farming.in Hampshire, by Rev, John Wilkinson, p. 82 . .. rs : xe RP ae ee 4 The-numbers on the register of my night school for the winters of 1863-64, 1864-65, 1865-66, and 1866-67 respectively, my population being 368, were 31,82, 36, and 24, .In the three earlier years there was a considerable infusion of scholars from a neighbouring parish. My population is very scattered, and some of, the most regular scholars came a distance of nearly two miles.. In 1864-65, when-the school was open 48 nights (16 weeks of three nights each), 19 out of the 32 scholars. attended ‘upwards .of 40 times, and obtained a prize therefor. In the same years there have been the names of 60 scholars on the register of the day school, with an average attendance of from 45 to 50 ; so that I do not know that even a compulsory law could do much more for us than, bya little effort, we manage to do for ourselves. IL must confess, however, that I am obliged myself, to a greater extent than is agreeable, to play the part of a truant-officer. But country parsons who want the comfort of an efficient school must not be above doing, not necessarily any dirty, but some unpleasant work, both in begging for subscriptions and. stimulating attendance, When once, however, the public interest is generated, it is’ surprising to find how light the work soon becomes, “Lam certain, thanks: to the attractive powers of a very efficient schoolmistress, that the children in my parish would infinitely rather come to school than stay away. M 2 The law should be uniform and moderate. Accompanied, too, with a — dispensing power. Some would raise the age of prohibition as high as 12, Value and position of the night school. Its difficulties, Difficulties ___ likely to arise from want of a uniform law. Richard Hoo- ker’s argument - for dispensa- tions. My own ex- perience ‘of night schools. The night school not a substitute for, but a supple- ment to, the day school. The Commit- tee of Council have never done much to encourage evening schools, The Duke of Marlborough’s Instances of obstruction night schools. Instance of men making themselves scholars in night school. 32 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the answers, printed in my Appendix, which I have received to the questions in the Commissioners’ Circular on the subject of this class of schools, they will find that the night school is a most_precarious institution, The evidence of Archdeacon Hopper, of Starston; of the Rev. EF. B. Everard, of Burnham Thorpe; and of the Rev. W. T. Beckett, of Ingoldisthorpe,* illustrates the special difficulties under which it labours. ‘The fact of the fitful and intermittent life of a vast majority of night schools, disclosed in the same body of evidence, proves that, in the face of these difficulties, the night school too often cannot be carried on. Still more necessary to it even than to the day school is the personal superintendence of the clergyman, or of some one in the social position of the clergyman 5. stil] greater are the difficulties of raising funds and providing teachers; still more discouraging are the irregularities of attendance, and the decay of interest, the listlessness and drowsiness, in the scholars who come. The farmers cry up the advantages of the night school, and in not a few places co-operate willingly and zealously with the clergyman in superintending one; but elsewhere they praise its advantages without helping to bear its burden; and I have even met with instances of their actively opposing it, and refusing to make any arrangements of their work so as to facilitate the attendance at it of lads in their employ.t 101. The night school must not be regarded as a substitute for but as a supplement to an efficient day school. It carries on the education process a little farther, or prevents its retrograding; it cannot conduct it successfully ab initio.t It rests at present on too precarious a basis to be trusted to as a permanent and universal institution. As things are, it is very far from permanent, and very far from universal. Out of 189 parishes making returns to me, 44 have no evening school; many, probably, are never likely to have one. A large number report that the evening school which they once had, and which flourished for a time, while the clergyman was young or strong and when the interest was fresh, has, owing to a change in these conditions, been discontinued. And from the nature of the case, these conditions, which are essential to the vitality of the evening school, are conditions always liable not only to change but to collapse. . 102. The Committee of Council on Education, till quite recently, has never seemed to recognize the importance or appreciate the difficulties of evening schools. They were relegated, so to speak, into a corner of the system, almost out of sight, and only offered aid on terms with which in nine cases out of ten it was impossible for them to comply. Even the Revised Code, from which at the outset great things had been expected in relation to this class of schools, placed them in some respects under almost increased disadvantages. It removed the restriction, which in most cases practically amounted to a prohibition, on the employment of the master of the day school to teach or assist in teaching the evening classes; but it introduced some fresh restrictions equally embarrassing. No grant could be earned in respect of any night scholar under 12 years of age.§ The principal teacher must be duly certificated. The conditions of examination were so framed ag almost to preclude the possibility of holding one in cases (very frequent) where the clergyman happened to be the sole manager and had also himself taught in the school.|| ‘The organic connexion between the day and night school was still required to be maintained. All these regulations are, to my mind, the very reverse of encouragements, and seem to be drawn up in entire ignorance or disregard of the fact that the two most serious Jiffculties under which night schools labour are, firstly, want of teachers, and secondly, want of funds. 103. The Bill introduced during this Session of Parliament into the House of Lords by the Lord President of the Council, whether as defective as it is by some asserted to be in other points or not, is at least a step forwards in the right direction here. It dissolves the organic connexion, often so difficult to maintain, between the day school and the night school by recognizing schools which meet in the evening only, provided that they meet not less than 100 times within the school year, It does not demand, in order to earn a partial grant, the possession of a certificate by the teacher. It allows scholars to be examined at 10 years of age. If only the stringent regulation with regard to the mode of conducting the examination itself were modified, there would then, J think, be no demand made upon the managers of night schools with which they might not fairly be expected to comply. In the recognition of schools meeting in the evening only not less than 100 times within the school year there is a provision made for such a possible amount of school attendance during the winter months as would be more than equivalent to the requirements of the Print Works’ Act, and would meet the views of those who assert that this is the only practicable form of carrying on the education of’ agricultural boys above the age of 10. If, as has been suggested, the day’s work of boys under 12 years of age, between the Ist November and the Ist March, were required to terminate at four in the afternoon, these evening schools, where they could be established, might prove a very useful Institution. * See “ Answers on Evening Schools,” Nos. 20, 28, 32. ; t In one Gloucestershire parish I was informed of a case of a farmer threatening to discharge a Jad of 16 if he attended night school, as he claimed his services from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. In another instance a boy was told that if he liked to go to night school he must come back and finish his work on the farm when it was over. These are extreme cases of obstructiveness to education, but they occur in sufficient numbers to justify the statement made in the text. At some of my meetings farmers expressed the opinion that the moral results of night schools were not entirely satisfactory. { It is true that Archdeacon Hopper pointed out to me three men in his parish, now tolerable scholars, who did not know their A, B, C, when they commenced attending his night school. But these are exceptional instances, as Archdeacon Hopper himself is an exceptional man for educational ability and zeal. And whatever men might be found to have perseverance enough to do in a night school, I venture to doubt if the most skilful teacher would ever get boys to learn their A, B, C, there. § The objection to this regulation is that the larger proportion of agricultural boys leave the day school at ten, and that instead of being encouraged to attend the night school immediately, they are, as far as the influence of this regulation extends, almost dis- couraged from attending for two years, when much of their little stock of learning will have slipped away. I suppose the idea was that the existence of the limit would be a motive to the boys to remain two years longer at the day school. It is needless to add that it has not had this effect. || The Rev. W. L. Hussey, of Ringstead, Norfolk, informed me that a grant, or at least an examination with a view to a grant. had been refused to his school on this ground. ; IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REY. J. FRASER’S REPORT, 33 104. In two or three’places.I found evening schools held in the summer as well as in the winter, in fact, carried on throughout the year. The general opinion, however, seemed to be that you would never draw young men and lads away from their garden or their game of cricket in the summer evenings into a school; and I am myself afraid that such would be the case. Otherwise, if it could be contrived, a summer evening school would have some very manifest advantages. 105. Still, when all has been said and done, every suggestion listened to, and every expedient tried, the night school has to encounter so many, and apparently such inevitable obstacles, from want of funds, want of teachers, want of interest, sparseness of population, physical exhaustion of scholars, influences of weather, distance, roads, that, however useful when it not only exists but thrives, its thriving, and even its existence, is far too uncertain to justify our trusting to it even as a supplementary agency, or to relieve us of the obligation to secure for every district a thoroughly efficient and accessible day school.* 106. Similar is the position of the Sunday school, the other educational instrument in favour of which Mr, Wilkinson says he found a “ strong feeling ” existing among the Hampshire farmers. Its utility, or rather its capacity of usefulness, was occasionally, though not very frequently or very strongly, pressed upon myself in the course of this inquiry. It is more generally admitted to be a school in form rather than in power. Indeed, a very vigorous pamphlet has been written by a Norfolk clergy- man,t in which it is plumply asserted that the institution ison its deathbed, and that it can only be revived (I doubt if the remedy would have occurred to many minds) by a larger infusion of dogmatic teaching. Whether this recipe would act as a tonic to the system or not, it is beyond all doubt that the present influence of the Sunday school in rural districts is very feeble, both as regards the formation of character and the development of mind. It may not be so in thoroughly well worked parishes, where the clergyman has time and strength to devote to its superintendence; but it is so in most parishes, And it is so for reasons, many of which are beyond even the most zealous clergyman’s control. It is very rare to find boys, or even girls, willing to be kept under religious instruction, as boys and girls are in Germany, till the time of their confirmation. Many boys, when they have once gone to work, think themselves too much of men to attend school even on Sunday; or, if they do come, often introduce into it an element not only of dullness but of disorder, with which it is not always very easy to deal. The farmers, again, if strongly in favour of Sunday schools, do not let the school derive much advan- tage from their favour, by arranging the Sunday work of their boys so as to enable them to comply with its requirements. ‘Che Sunday work of the boys who “keep” birds, or tend sheep, or are employed in the stable is, as I have already noticed, altogether incompatible, as at present laid out, not only with attendance at church, but with attendance at school; and such boys, in consequence, are often found to lapse into the mere ignorance and darkness of heathenism. Almost every clergyman, who prepares candidates for confirmation, tells the same tale. It is a ‘precious oppor- tunity lost through a combination of adverse circumstances; and I cannot but regret that farmers if they really feel, as they profess to feel, a strong personal interest in the moral character of their workpeople, do not make a more vigorous effort than they do, in the years when that character is taking the bias that will perhaps shape its course for life, to bring to bear upon its formation the united influence of the ‘place of worship and the Sunday school. With such co-operation on the part of the employer, and with a little stirring up of the parents to a higher sense of their duty in the matter, there is no doubt that the Sunday school might soon be made an effective instrument of educa- tion. I use the word in its widest sense, as implying both the regulation of the affections and the development of the mind. My own experience is that no lessons are more capable of sustaining the interest, and drawing forth the intelligence of children, than lessons either on the great, scripture biographies, or on the principal events and general course of Bible history, or on the grand precepts and doctrines of Christianity, in the hands of an earnest and competent teacher. Unhappily, too many of the teachers in our Sunday schools, though earnest, are not competent. ‘They undertake the duty from a laudable desire to do good, but they rarely realize the difficulty of the task, or even themselves possess the amount of knowledge of their subject, or the pedagogic skill to enable them to discharge the task successfully. And this, in addition to the reasons stated above, is a further reason of the ill success of Sunday schools. 10%. Before I quit the subject of education, I may mention one or two agencies which I found at work in connection with it, with such an amount of success as to justify the hope that, if applied elsewhere, they might contribute to extend the benefits and increase the efficiency of the school. 108. One of these agencies is the savings’ bank connected with the school at Tortworth, established for the purpose of encouraging the habit of thrift in the children, but also found to act sensibly, though indirectly, on the regularity of their attendance and the length of their continuance at school. There are at present 35 depositors, whose deposits vary from a minimum of ls. to a maximum of 4/. The deposit itself need not be withdrawn when the children leave schoo), but the interest ceases then; and it is this growth in the amount of the deposit by the accessions of interest that probably in not a few instances secures for a child another year at school.{ In this case, Lord Ducie himself pays the interest; but as three per cent. is found to be a sufficient attraction, the system could be adopted in any school, through the agency of the ordinary savings’ banks, without involving the managers in any additional responsibility or expense. A. Possibility of evening schools in the summer. The evening school not to be trusted, even as a sup- plementary instrument. Position of the Sunday school in respect, (1), of the scholars. (2), of the farmers. (8), of the teachers. Notice of some collateral agencies. (1). School Savings’ bank at Tortworth. 109. I took another hint, which I think valuable, from the manner in which, under the influence of (2). Utiliza- the vicar, the endowment of the Blue and Yellow Schools at Cirencester has been used. Instead of tion of en- * : in the return for the parish of Thornbury, where the evening school (in a population of 2,500) is only oontret ‘with 18 Ping, it is stated that eae years back there ie a flourishing school of 90, which has dwindled to its present proportions owing to a decay of interest in those to whom it would naturally look for support. ‘The Rev. J. B. Sweet, of Colkirk. ‘t See account of this bank in “ Notes of Meeting at Cromhall,” No. 87. § See “ Notes on Schools,” No. 35. — dowments. “> 34 - pMPLOYMENT OF ‘CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN being admitted, as was the case under the old practice, to the benefits of the endowment at eight, no children are now admitted till they are 10, and they are thus retained in the school till they are 18.’ (3). Addition, where possible, of an industrial department, The Essex plaiting schools, what they prove. Til-success of the attempt to introduce plaiting into parish schools accounted for. Six MORE POINTS TO BE NOTICED, 1, Condition of cottages. Captain de Winton’s plan of industrial teaching Straw-plaiting a“ handicraft,” and a “ plait- ing-school” a “ workshop.” Here, then, is a way of utilizing many a small endowment, which at present is quite unprofitable, if not mischievous. An endowment of 102 a year, broken up into exhibitions of 2/. annual value, would. probably keep five boys of the labouring class at school till they were 12, instead of their being, as now, lost to education at 10. As there is a strong feeling growing up in favour of the diversion of many miscalled “ charitable ” endowments to the purposes of education, no better application of them can be conceived than this, which will at once act as a charity in relief of the poverty of the parents, and advance the interests of. education by.securing the longer attendance of the children at school, 110. The phenomenon of. the so-called “ plaiting schools ” in Essex suggests the probable attractive- ness of the addition of an industrial department, in which the children could earn some money either for themselves or their parents, to the ordinary routine.of a school. By the addition of a savings’ bank, as at Tortworth, at the same time, a powerful reciprocal influence would be exerted, I am not prepared, in consequence of any thing that I have seen since, to unsay a single word that I said in my Report to the Commissioners of 1861, about the difficulty, and in most cases the impossibility, of grafting a course of “ industrial training,” as it is called,. upon the system of an ordinary elementary school.* It seems to me now, as it seemed to me then, simply a question of finance, An industrial training depart- ment, which should turn out good cooks, housemaids, laundresses, dairymaids, bakers, or, in the case of boys, give them a sort of introductory apprenticeship to the more useful trades or the more skilled branches of farm-labour, would, if effective, be a most expensive adjunct; if ineffective, would be a mere plaything.t But the fact. of the Essex plaiting schools,} proves two things: (1) that the parents prefer for their children a school in which they are supposed to be taught something that in after life will help them to gain their livelihood, a preference which may be shortsighted, but which certainly is very natural; and (2) that the prospect of gain from their children’s earnings now is a powerful incen- tive in favour both of their longer and more regular attendance at school. It would be quite possible, without going to the length of advocating the introduction of an industrial department, to introduce kinds of work, capable of being taught by a woman, and. suitable both for girls and boys, which if properly done might deserve remuneration, and should be remunerated according to its desert. I have. introduced, to a limited extent, the principle of payment for needlework done by the girls into my own - school. I find that the expedient is very popular, and when more generally applied, I think it will prove a healthy stimulus in many ways, 111. I admit that the experiment has not succeeded very well, where it has been tried competitively. In some of the parishes in the Union of Halstead, in which the plaiting schools exist, permission was given by the managers to the children to bring their plait with them to the parish school for a certain number of hours or afternoons in the week. But, of course, the money earned under such a limited permission could not compete with what the children can make at the regular plaiting schools, in which they work at their little trade five or six hours every day. It seems to me, however, that straw- plait is a “ handicraft” ;§ and, therefore, if the Workshops’ Regulation Act is ever thoroughly and generally enforced, these schools, which are really workshops, will come under its operation, and their. influence, which is at present said to be very mischievous, be reduced within due bounds, _ 112, There are a few more points, not directly related either to the education of agricultural. children or the employment of agricultural labour, but intimately connected with and influencing the social condition of an agricultural population, on which I desire to touch before bringing this Report toanend. They are (1) The question of cottage accommodation, and of close and open parishes 3. (2) the modes of hiring farm servants, and the influence of the so-called “ statutes” and “ mops” held for that purpose; (3) the multiplication of beerhouses ; (4) the system of “largesse” and “¢ harvest frolics ” which prevails in the eastern counties; (5) the preservation of game ; and (6) the co-operative principle in its application to the circumstances of a rural community. a; , 113, It will be observed, upon reference not only to my Notes of Meetings, but to the special. body of. evidence upon this subject collected out of my returns, that nothing can be more widespread than. the, feeling entertained, nothing can be stronger, than the language used, about the general condition of the * «© Report of the Commissioners,” vol. ii. pp. 61~63. iGEM) ama Shag + In the Gloucester Chamber of Agriculture, Captain de:-Winton, who took up, the question of the education of the labourer with great earnestness, said, inter alia, that he “ should like to see in connection with day school an industrial room, furnished with “ models illustrating the best mode of laying a hedge, thatching a cottage, building a rick, &c.,as well as of the more complex “ agricultural implements, and he would have the boys taught-to answer such questions as ‘How wéuld you clean’ out that ditch?’ ‘ ¢ How would you lay that hedge?’ _‘ How would you thatch that rick.?’ ‘ How ‘would. you plough?’ and so forth. He thought “ that then, when the lad went into the field, the practical work would come easy to.him.” But the difficulty would, be when you had built your industrial room and fitted it up with models to get a teacher, who in most cases would be 4 woman, capable of using and explaining them. And none of this knowledge is of the sort that a boy would be required to possess when he first came to work: upon a farm ; and if he had any wits in him and kept:his eyes open, he would acquire the knowledge by degrees against the time when he would want it, by the obvious expedient of imitation and from the natural motive of a desire to excel... : t I remember seeing in 1858 similar schools in Devonshire, in which children of a very. early age were taught to make the ex- quisite Honiton lace. There are also the “ braiding schools” in Dorsetshire, in which nets are made for the Bridport trade. : § By the definitions of the Act, a “ handicraft is any manual labour exercised by way of trade or. for purposes of gain in or « incidental to the making any article or part of an article, or in or incidental to the altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, or “ otherwise adapting for sale any article;” while “a workshop is any room or place whatever, whether in the open air or andy “ cover, in which any handicraft is carried oe : eae oes on, e In his return for the parish of Great Maplestead in Essex, the vicar (Rev. E. S. Corrie) says; “About a dozen of i “ go to a plaiting school at Little Maplestead: We allow no plait in our kaise attendance el fe Gainey. ‘* increased were plait allowed, but I consider the whole character of the school would be lowered by it, This straw plait is a great *« cause of the low state of education in this district, and of many. other evils besides.” 9 rs + ae er: When Mr. Corrie expresses the opinion that the introduction of plait would lower the whole eharacter of the school, T presume he - has in his eye its introduction to an extent that would allow him to compete successfully with the plaiting. schools, where the pro- portion of the literary instruction to the manual labour is about the same as that between Falstaff’s bread and his sack : 0 adi , strous! but one eo of bread to this intolerable quantity of sack!? 1.04) 650.2 0 ok bas 0 a At Great Yeldham the experiment had been tried, but with no great measure of success. It waé the. with whi came under my notice in Dorsetshire in 1858, to rival the “ raiding schools,” a IN AGRICULTURE (1867), COMMISSION :—REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT, 35 cottages of the peasantry, certainly in every one of the agricultural districts, almost in every one of the parishes, which I have visited. In one ‘return they are described as “ miserable;” in a second as “ deplorable ;” in a third as ‘¢ detestable ;” in a fourth as “a disgrace to a Christian community.”* Even where they are spoken of.in favourable terms, it will generally be found that if adequate in quality they are inadequate in quantity ;+ and that some rich landowner, “lord of all he surveys,” and having exercised his lordship by evicting so much of his population as were an eyesore or were ikély to become a burden to him—still employing their Jabour but holding himself irresponsible for their domicile—has, by a most imperfect system of compensation, built a limited number of ornamental, roomy cottages, which he fills with his own immediate dependents. Out of the 300 parishes which I visited, I can only remember two—Donnington, in Sussex, and Down Amney, in Gloucestershire— where the cottage provision appeared to be both admirable in quality and sufficient in quantity; and I mention these cases with the, greater pleasure, because in each the landowner, though not resident, is as willing to recognize and as careful to discharge his responsibilities as though he were. 114, The majority of the cottages that exist in rural parishes are. deficient in almost every requisite that should constitute a home for a Christian family in a civilized community. They are deficient in ‘bedroom accommodation, very few having three chambers, and in some parishes the. larger proportion only one;{ they are deficient in drainage and. sanitary arrangements ;§ they are imperfectly supplied with water; such conveniences as they have are often so situated as to become nuisances; they are full enough of drafts to generate any amount. of rheumatism ; || and in many instances are lamentably dilapidated and out of repair. | y pea . es 115, The natural history, so to. call it, of these miserable, ruinous dwellings is very various. Some ree of the worst are parish cottages,.either erected in the time of the old poor law or bequeathed to the parish,as a last home for its aged paupers, which there are no funds to repair. Another almost uniformly bad class are the cottages run up by.squatters on the waste, or held upon a lifehold or copyhold tenure, and which have not yet fallen in to the lord ofthe manor. Others have been put up by speculative builders of the flimsiest materials. . Others are converted stables or farmhouses, attesting in the one case the conquest of the railway over the road, in the other the. change.in the phase of agricultural life which has merged half a dozen petty occupations into one large holding. Some belong to small proprietors too indigent to have any money to spare for their improvement ; some to. absentee or embarrassed landowners, the former of whom are unwilling to improve an estate which they never see, the latter, in addition to being unable, are equally unwilling to improve a property from which they get no advantage 7... 3 7" m, ee Me 116, It is impossible to exaggerate the ill effects of such a state of things in every aspect—physical, social, economical, moral, intellectual. . Physically, a. ruinous, ill-drained cottage, “ cribbed, cabin’d, “ confined,” and over-crowded, generates any amount of disease—fevers of every type, catarrh, rhenmatism—as well as. intensifies: to. the utmost that tendency to scrofula and phthisis which, from their frequent intermarriages and their low diet, abounds so largely among the poor. Socially, nothing can be more wretched than the.-condition of ‘“ open” parishes, like Docking; in Norfolk, and South Cerney, in Gloucestershire, into which have been poured remorselessly the scum and off-scour of their “ close” neighbours. Economically, the imperfect distribution of cottages deprives the farmer of a ‘sleeping in a sin, large proportion of his effective labour power. The employer who has no cottages to offer those whom he employs must either attract labourers by the offer of higher wages or must content himself with refuse; and in either case, when he gets his man gets him more or less enfeebled by the distance he has had to travel to his work.. The moral consequences are’ fearful to contemplate. “ I only wonder,” writes one clergyman to me, “ that our agricultural peor are as moral as they are.” Modesty must be an unknown virtue, decency an unimaginable thing, where, in one small chamber, with the beds lying as thickly as they can be packed, father, mother, young men, lads, grown and growing up girls—two and sometimes three generations—are herded promiscuously ;, where every operation of the toilette and of * T beste call particular attention to the: evidence ‘of Mr. Saniuel Clarke (“ Medical and’ Sanitary Evidence, No. 5), as to the state of things. generally in the county of Norfolk) 0 0 2) MEM ed : an a ee . + Thus at Spixworth there are only three cottages to 1,200 acres; there, might well be 25. At Waterden only two cottages to 760 acres; 15 would be no excessive supply. At Markshall only fiye to 830 acres; at- the usual Essex rate there should be 25. At Buckenham Tofts there are only two resident labourers.on 650 acres; ‘at “Didlington no more on 1,850 acres. At Sedgeford, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have an estate of 2,000 acres without a single cottage, and in this parish we hear of 10 and 11 persons gle bedroom. At Titchwell, Magdalene College, Oxford, the chief landowner and lord of the manor has nota single cottage. At White Colne, in Essex, the chief landowner has not one either. Instances of this kind could be accumulated um. -- zor OP Oey. * a & Pts he BEES tia Serato a f a0 tes at Hellesdon 32 cottages ‘have only one bedroom ; at Horsford, 65; at Ingoldisthorpe, 17 out of 50; at Titchwell, 16 out of 30; at Thornham and Sedgeford (in Norfolk), and at Stone in Gloucestershire, “the majority.” : ; van -& "Thus at Hatfield Peverel in Essex I was told that “the parish isofrequently visited: with fever. and when fever settles there it is “ apt to stay, the drainage being defective,” in this case “owing to natural difficulties.” - (“ Minutes of Meetings,” No. 58. In the next parish, ‘Terling, since I visited it last autumn, there has been.a. terrific outbreak of typhoid fever, resulting in upwards of 200 eases and more than 40 deaths, out of a population of 900, attributable to the-same cause. At Burnham Thorpe the long-continued presence of a low type of fever led to an investigation into thé ;possible sources -of the. disease at the instance of the Board of Guardians, and that investigation produced the Report printed among’the “ Medical and Sanitary Evidence,” No. 6. ~ At ; , || Inthe return for the district. of Southwater in'Sussex, a case.is mentioned of a cottage, an ¢ld converted farmhouse, with so Pork hy ‘ % : Inige a-chimney that on a wet day the fire can’t. be kept alight, and the’ occupiers have before now ‘been obliged to go to bed on a to keep themselves warm, In Linton, I was informed, very few of the cottages have a staircase ; the bedrooms.are See by a leader or pe The cases in which the roof—particularly, when it is old thatch—is so utterly unsound as to be unable to-resist anything like a dowtipour, and where the people’s. bedding, in. consequence, constantly gets deluged, are too numerous to mention, . Among many badcottageswhich I saw in'the course of’one morning’s drive in:the neighbourhood of Newent, I think the worst—indeed the worst I ever saw anywhere—was a cottage occupied by a man named Shale in. the hamlet of Kileote, his own freehold, but which, from some circumstantes attached to the title, he cannot sell. . Part of one of the outer walls.had fallen down, ‘and tthe ‘space was filled up with. feather bed ; the door could-not be hung: on-the jambs ; one of the sides was of wattle and dab, and the dab had peeled away, and. a neiglibour who lived 50. yards away said he-could see the lights at night as plainly as through a wattled hurdle. The house ought long ago‘to have been condemned as unfit and unsafe for human habitation. It is occupied by a family of nine persons, who might be buried in its ruins any stormy night. -— het ae : 4 There are three parishes in the single: Union. of ‘Cirencester which suffer, in the state of their cottages, from this cause. M4 A. Their deficiencies, Natural history of ruinous cottages. Deplorable consequences, Deficient chamber ac- commodation. Bad drainage. Dilapidation. The farmers keenly alive to this evil ; and also to the evil of close parishes. Proportion of cottages to the hundred acres. 36 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN nature—-dressings, undressings, births, deaths—is performed by each within the sight or hearing of all ; where children of both sexes, to as high an age as 12 or 14, or even more, occupy the same bed ; where the whole atmosphere is sensual, and human nature is degraded into something below the level of the swine. It is a hideous picture; and the picture is drawn from life. Mr, Clarke, of Norwich, can tell any one who will ask him tales of things that he has himself seen, horrifying enough to make the very hair stand on end. The medical gentlemen whose evidence I publish assure me that cases of incest are anything but uncommon. We complain of the ante-nuptial unchastity of our women, of the loose talk and conduct of the girls who work in the fields, of the light way in which maidens part with their honour, and how seldom either a parent’s or a brother’s blood boils with shame —here, in cottage herding, is the sufficient account and history of it all. 117, And the character of the home affects profoundly the condition of the school. It would be a rare thing indeed to find education valued where domestic comfort and decency ate impossible and unknown. A low physical condition induces a low moral condition and a low intellectual condition. Elevate the man in one element of his nature and you elevate him in all; depress him in one and you depress him in all. Not only in the complex organization of society, but in the complex organization of each individual man, is it true, “ If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; and if one “© member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” 118. I am happy to say that at all my meetings the farmers were quite as loud and outspoken as the clergy in denouncing the mischievous results of the present condition of too many English cottages. It was unanimously agreed to, again and again, that every cottage inhabited by a labourer with a mixed family ought to have three bedrooms.* It was more than once suggested that something in the shape of a Building Act should be introduced which should require a certain proportion of the cottages of every proprietor to have this amount of accommodation. Inspection of cottages by an independent officer like the exciseman, who should have power to limit the number of their inmates in some proportion to the number and cubical capacity of their rooms, was in many cases urgently advised. While still stronger, perhaps, and under the circumstances even more natural, was the feeling of the farmers about “ close” parishes. Indeed, anything more selfish and, I will venture to say, wicked than the motive which led to the creation of such parishes it is difficult to conceive. They arose from a desire to rid one’s self of a just share of a burden which is only tolerable when borne by all equally, Mixed with this was a desire to get rid of an eyesore and of a nuisance; of people intruding upon the squire’s privacy or disturbing his game. Added to which was an utter abnegation of all moral and social responsibility in respect of those whose Jabour was producing our wealth, and whose strength and muscle was being worn out in our service. By the change in the law of settlement, it is true, “ nous “6 avons changé tout cela.” At least we have changed the principle; though it will be long before we have undone all the effects of the practice. Just now a righteous Nemesis has fallen upon the creators of close parishes. They find their rates increased three and four fold;{ they sometimes experience a difficulty in letting their farms. I am informed that a farmer’s questicn when he comes to look at a farm no longer is, “* What are the rates?” because he knows they will be equal throughout the union, but, “ How many cottages, and what supply of labour can I command?” ‘Tenants are beginning to fight shy of farms without cottages, and of a labour supply that has to be fetched three or four miles, It would almost be a less loss and a less inconvenience to a farmer to go that distance after his water. 119. The proper proportion of cottages to each 100 acres of land depends very much on the nature of the soil, whether heavy or light; the mode of cultivation, whether arable or in grass; and the kind of labour employed, whether chiefly adult male or that of women and children too.§ In the dairy district of the vale of Berkeley, one or at the most two cottages to the 100 acres is considered a sufficient supply; in Essex and Sussex, where female labour is less used, four cottages is the proportion desired ; in Norfolk and on the Cotswolds, from two and a half to three. Heavy land requires more labour than light; arable land than pasture; a district that produces corn than a district that produces butter and cheese ; while the labour of women and children, of course, to a certain extent displaces the labour of men, I consider, however, that in an average district, where the farming is of a mixed description, and the labour employed is mixed too, three cottages to 100 acres would be an adequate, perhaps almost an excessive, proportion.|| A superabundance of cottages and of population is nearly, if not quite, as great an evil as a defective supply. It lowers wages and produces pauperism ; and the lowest type of * Where the family is mixed it is evident that two bedrooms is a very small step in advance, in the way of improvement upon one. What is required is one bedroom for the parents, a second for the boys, a third for the girls. It has even been suggested to me, with, I think, a good deal of force, that for such a cottage a labouring man could afford to pay a considerably higher rent than for one with less accommodation, inasmuch as, with such possibility for separating the sexes, he could keep his sons at home till they married, and their earnings would largely augment the family exchequer. { The existing Sanitary Act is quite ineffective, owing to the local influences by which it is hampered, to act with the vigour that is required. Some Boards of Guardians (as at Depwade) leave it to the parishioners who have a grievance to take the first ste Other Boards, composed of men who perhaps themselves live in glass houses, shrink from interfering with a neighbour for fear Mf being interfered with themselves. Others are reported to be advised by their clerks that the clause in the Act power to prevent overcrowding in dwellings, only applies to the case of cottages used as lodging-houses. and Ingoldisthorpe, cases were mentioned to me in which the powers, supposed to reside in the sanitary vain. $ See some instances quoted in ea aps es No. 7. § The question is further affected by the size of the holdings. In the Berkeley district, where th the proportion is reduced by so much of the work being done within the euaere own family. The ea eoeeners of a farmers’ children in this neighbourhood is often more irregular than that of the labourers’. || At the Gloucester Chamber of Agriculture, Capt. de Winton said he should like to see a law comp erect two cottages on every hundred acres. The Earl of Leicester reckons at about the same rate. His lordship is credited with being the owner of 50,000 acres of land: and in a speech, quoted in the Commissioners’ Sixth Report, p. xxii (8. 94), he * eal “* lates that 950 labourers are required to cultivate his property.” He estimates also that 520 cottages (the ‘number he a supply him with about 450 able-bodied labourers. He told me that he is quite sensible of his deficiency of cottages, and of ae injury he suffers from it, and he is building every year as many as he can afford to build. . i which seems to give _ At Starston, Sedgeford, inspector, were invoked in elling every landowner to IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REY. J. FRASER’S REPORT. 37 rural civilization is to be found in those large, over-peopled, “ open ” parishes, in which, at the slack seasons of the year, there is always a considerable number of men out of employ, 120. Unreasonable demands are sometimes made upon landowners. They are not only expected to stock their estate with as many cottages as it requires for its proper cultivation, but they are sometimes expected to provide house-accommodation for the servants of railway companies and others in no way connected with their land. In several of my returns parishes are represented as suffering from a defective supply of agricultural labour because cottages built for those who should cultivate the land are occupied by parties who gain their livelihood in some other way. The result generally comes about in this way. An intelligent and skilful farm labourer seeing a chance of obtaining more remunerative employment as a platelayer on a railway, or in some other capacity where manual skill and strength are required, changes his service but retains his cottage. The possibility of this happening, and the fact that it often happens, opens an important question: what is the best tenure of a cottage for all parties concerned—to secure to the occupier his home, to the farmer his labour supply, and to the landlord his rent—and who should have the immediate disposal of the cottages on an estate, he who owns or those who rent the land? An infinite variety of opinions, mostly resting on some intelligible ground, are entertained upon each of these points. To attach the cottages to the farms and transfer the right of nomination to them from the landlord to the farmer would, it is asserted, be placing the men too much under the thumb of their master and allowing him to deal with them pretty much on his own terms.* On the other hand, for the landlord to retain the control of his cottages wholly in his own hands might occasion great inconvenience to the farmer, and even deprive him of the power of procuring his necessary labour supply.t In a Gloucestershire parish of 1,500 acres, where all the cottages belong to one landowner who keeps them entirely in his own hand, the farmers feel very strongly the disadvantage of the arrangement ; and in the case of one of them, his carter lives two and a half miles from his stable.t Perhaps Lord Leicester cuts the knot in the best way ; all his cottages are held direct from him, and are not sublet by the occupier of the farm; he gives, however, to his tenants the privilege of nominating to the cottages adjacent to their farms, subject to his agent’s approval. . 121. Cottages are held on all sorts of tenure in respect of time, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly. The most frequent tenures, however, are by the week and by the year. The weekly tenure is, of course, the favourite with landlords and employers; the tenant, naturally, would prefer being secured in his tenement for the year. I think the general feeling at the meetings in which the subject was discussed was that the fairest tenure to all parties was by the year, with a right on either side to give up or to turn out on three months’ notice. Leases, I suspect, in the case of cottage tenants, are never known ; but as much confidence appears to exist between the parties to the contract as if they were; and violent, harsh, sudden evictions are very rare. If the power to evict on summary notice were ever exerted, it would be most likely to be put forth upon the provocation of poaching, the sin of sins in a tenant in the eyes of a game-preserving landlord.§ 122. In fact, the very tenderness with which the domestic sentiments of the people, and their natural attachments to their home are treated by landlords, throws a difficulty in the way of dealing with the cottage accommodation of a parish or an estate with the freedom that the case requires. I was fre- quently told, in reply to a question upon the subject, that “ we should not be so badly off for cottages, if “ the families were better sorted.” The principle of “sorting,” that is, of moving families, once large but now reduced in number, from a cottage which they can no longer fill to a smaller one more suited to their need, is, I believe, freely applied by Sir Edward Kerrison in Suffolk, and by Earl St. Germains at Down Amney ; and if applied with due consideration, ought not to be regarded by anybody as a hardship, particularly if it is known beforehand that the cottages are occupied on such terms, But, still, in all cases there must be more or less of a wrench felt, when a man and his wife are removed from the house in which they brought up their family, the garden where perhaps every fruit tree was planted by their own hand, to a new home to which they are required to attach themselves in their old age. The violence of the wrench may be mitigated by a variety of expedients, some of which would be no more than acts of common justice,—by a proportionate reduction in the rent, by compensation for unex- hausted improvements, &c. But still, there cannot fail to be a shock to the natural sentiment which, happily for England, attaches all of us, whatever may be our rank, to the dear, familiar place we call our home. || 123. The true mode of regarding cottages as one of the elements of property, at any rate the true mode of regarding cottages built by a landowner for the purposes of his estate, cannot be better * A case was mentioned by a considerable landowner in Norfolk in which three large tenants of his applied to him to have the control of the cottages on their farms. These cottages were at the time being let at 1s. a week, about half the rate of other cottages in the neighbourhood. The object of the application, my informant believed, was to enable the masters practically to reduce the wages of their men by charging them the full rent for their cottages. For the honour of the English farmer I believe such instances of ‘‘ sharp practice” would be rare. ; Eee oe ; Every farmer expects to have at least enough cottages at his disposal to house his bailiff (if he. keeps one), his carter, his shepherd, and his stockman, in a word, all the servants whom he hires by the year. { Hiberton. See “ Notes of Meetings,” No. 84. y ~~ ; : : .§ In one Norfolk parish, where the bulk of the land belongs to a kindhearted nobleman, who likes every cottager to have half an acre of garden ground, the cottage rents are paid yearly, but each tenant signs an agreement by which, if guilty of any offence against the law, and it is pretty generally understood what offence is meant, he can be turned out at a fortnight’s notice. || A woman in my own parish, who had been moved last Michaelmas into a new cottage quite as comfortable as the one she quitted, upon my asking her the other day whether she had got reconciled to the change, replied, “ Pretty well, Sir; but I ‘have « never been able to pass by the old place since, and I always go round another way.” It was suggested to me by some one, though I forget by whom, in the course of this inquiry, that the best form in which to build cottages is that of the double cottage with five bed chambers between the two tenements, so ‘planned that in case of one of the two families increasing and the other growing smaller, one of the bedrooms, by the simple contrivance of stopping up one doorway and opening another could he attached to either tenement, as required. The suggestion seems to me a valuable one. 21157. N A. All that can be demanded of landowners is to stock their estate with a suffi- cient supply. Question as to the best tenure of cottages. Cottage tenures in respect of time. Difficulty in sorting fami- lies, True view of cottages as property. A Norfolk instance. 88 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN A. expressed than it is by Archdeacon Hopper in his return, “ A cottage,” he says, “ built so as to be “ durable, cannot per se be self-supporting, that is, yield a rent equal to a good interest for the cost of “ the building, plus the expense of continuous repair. But this is not the aspect in which, in my « judgment, the building of cottages ought to be viewed. They ought to be considered as a necessary “ part of landed property, the adjunct of a farm leased to a tenant for occupation. Viewed in this “ light, the building of cottages, if built by. the landlord, will return a fair interest for his money, The “ tenant will gladly pay 5 per cent. on the outlay for the command of the cottages, and the advantage “ of having his labourers near to his homestead; deducting 1 per cent. for repairs, there will remain “ A’per cent. for the landlord, a sufficient remuneration.”* This view not 124. I suspect that it has been the practice of the landlords themselves, letting their cottages and generally receiving the rent from them as a separate item in their rent roll, that has prevented the recognition of recognized. their true relation, so clearly stated by the Archdeacon, to the farm. They are as necessary an adjunct to the homestead as the barn or the stable, which no landlord ever dreams of régarding as separate sources of income. It is as important to the farmer to have a comfortable weather-proof building to house his labourers, as to house his horses or his corn. When an estate is sold, the cottages upon it are included in the purchase just as much as the mansion or the farm-houses; and upon the same principle, the rent arising from them ought not to be regarded, except for the mere purposes of account, as a separate source of income, but as simply one of the constituents of the total return which the money laid out upon the purchase was expected to bring.t Cannot cot- 125. Indeed, the only part of Archdeacon Hopper’s statement to which I am inclined to demur, is as built that in which he says that “a cottage, built so as to be durable, cannot yield a rent equal to a good “* interest for the cost of building, plus the expense of continuous repair.” I do not despair ‘of seeing the time when cottage property can be made remunerative, partly by the adoption of a more economical plan of building, and partly by an improvement in the circumstances of the labourer, enabling him to pay ahigher rent. I have quoted, among my miscellaneous evidence, the opinion of Mr. Barwick Baker, that it is a mistaken charity, as well as a false principle of political economy, to'let cottages at an unremunerative rent. I think the opinion is sound. It is questionable policy, even when dictated by benevolence, in a large Jandowner who lets his cottages at a rate below that current in his neighbour- hood ; and where low cottage rents prevail as a rule, it will generally be found that a low wage-rate prevails too. People seldom object to pay money for money’s worth, and though when I hear of cottage rents as high as 41, 51, 62, and even 71. a year, I think them as high as they ought to be under any imagin- able improvement of the labourer’s circumstances that is likely to come in our time, yet, on the other hand, when‘ I find cottages ‘let at a 1s. a week and the labourer’s wage only 10s., I consider that another ‘Is. put on to the rent, and 2s, added to the wage, would materially improve the relations of all parties. Cost of cote '126. Even at present rents and out of present rates of wages, speculative builders and others who are ne al, NOt Speculative contrive to erect durable cottages, by an economical use of materials, and by adapting are utilized not their construction to the locality, at a price which certainly ought to pay. | Almost every district offers enormous. its own most suitable material to the cottage-builder. In north and west Norfolk, the “ carr-stone” ; in south Norfolk and Essex, the clay lump or clay-stud; in the woodland parts of Sussex, the mode of weather-boarding without and plastering within; on the Cotswolds, the oolite lying in sizes just suited to the stonemason, a few inches below the surface,—each offers to the builder a suitable and inexpensive material ready to his hand. I am satisfied that where these advantages are made the most of, and I have seen admirable solid cottages’ constructed in all the four specified ways, a double tenement, which on every’ account is the most advantageous arrangement, with three chambers to each dwelling, or, as already suggested, with five chambers between the two, and the other fittings in keeping with this, can be built for a sum not unfrequently falling below, seldom rising much above, 20014 Two such dwellings, with from 30 to 40 rods of fair garden ground, would easily let at from 87. to 91. a year; which weuld be a return that even Archdeacon Hopper would consider to be remunerative. I am by no means disposéd to acquiesce in the proposition that cottages cannot be built so as to pay. * See “Opinions on the Subject of Cottage Accommodation,” No. 31. ee oe + No doubt; the repair and maintenance of cottages, especially if they have been allowed to fall into a bad condition through neglect of that homely maxim about the value of a stitch in time, is a serious matter. Sir Edward Kerrison has 330 cottages, which bring in a nominal rent of 1,000/.a year. In the 12 years that have elapsed since he succeeded to the property, he has expended 9788/. in putting them into order, and in this time has only been able to build seven new ones. See the account given by Mr. Freuer, Sir Edward’s agent, of the admirable system of keeping a Cottage Register, by which the condition of any one of these 330 tenements in all important particulars can at any moment be known by the landlord.—“ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 18. t I will state a few of the grounds of this opinion. At Horsford near Norwich I saw a row of eight excellent, new brick cottages Actual cost of ich had been built for 4002, and were letting for rents amounting in the whole to 33/. a year. I believe these cottages have only cottages in two bedrooms each. Lord Leicester, building of brick, with 14 inch outside, and 9 inch partition walls, estimates the cost of a different parts double cottage at 2301, and has built a block of four cottages of stone found on the spot, with three bedrooms each to the two of my terri- outside and two bedrooms each to the two inside, for 357/. Mr. Brock, a builder of several cottages, estimates the cost of “a tory. “ double cottage with five bedchambers, 32 feet long x 22 feet wide x 16 feet high to the wall plate, with a shed to each tenement “ and separate privies, if of brick, at 210/.; if of clay lump, at 180/."—(Alburgh Meeting, No. 21.) Mr. Barton, of Threxton (Swaffham Union), built a pair of cottages with three bedrooms each for 1471. 12s. for the pair, baking his own bricks (which cost him 14s. per thousand), and cutting down his own timber for the roof, which he valued at the same price at which he would have sold it. Captain Caldwell (Lord Ashburton’s agent) states that the cost of a double cottage, of flint stone with brick coins, the timber foreign deal, two rooms and a pantry om the ground floor, and three bedrooms to each tenement, is 2001.—(Igburgh Meeting No. 47.) At Great Yeldham, in Essex, Mr, Whitlock has recently built two single cottages of brick, the one thatched, the other tiled, with a keeping room, kitchen, and pantry on the ground floor, and three chambers above, at a cost of 701. and 851. respectively. —(Meeting, No. 55.) Mr. Kaye, bailiff to W. HE. Hubbard, Esq., of Lower Beeding, Sussex, estimates the cost of three cottages, weather board outside, lath and plaster within, with two rooms, pantry, and wash-house below, and two chambers above, separate wood houses, privies, and pig styes, at 200L—(“ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 26.) Mr. Earwicker, who has built some of the Duke of Richmond’s admirable new cottages in Sussex, estimates the cost of a double cottage such as his Grace erects, of a somewhat ornamental character, with 14-inch outside and 9-inch partition walls, of brick (bricks being very dear, 32s. per 1,000), at 3001,’ At Amney Crucis, in the Cotswold country, it was estimated that a pair of cottages, each with three bedrooms, the materials being all obtainable on the estate, could be erected for 180/.—(Meeting, No. 81.) Mr. Herbert Jenner Fust showed me at Hill, in the Berkeley vale, a pair of ornamental cottages, admirably finished and fitted up, with three bedrooms to each, which he had just built by contract for 2502. I have now collected instances from the whole of my territory. mee IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT, 39 12%. In the districts over which I have travelled, amid many instances to,the contrary, it was pleasant also.to find not afew of the largest landowners setting a noble example.of their consciousness of responsi- bility. in. respect of the dwellings of the labourers who cultivate their land. .] may select for special mention, the names of the Marquis of Cholmondeley and the Earl of Leicester in Norfolk; of the Duke of Grafton and Sir Edward Kerrison in Suffolk; of the Duke of Richmond, Lord Leconfield, and the Hon. Mrs, Vernon Harcourt in Sussex; of the Earls of Ducie and St. Germains in Gloucestershire. J do not mean to say that the estates of these noblemen and gentlemen are everywhere adequately supplied with labourers’ homes; Lord Leicester has publicly admitted his own great deficiency ; *. but all are working onward in the right spirit to the right end, and their example tells upon other landowners with an effect proportionate to its conspicuousness. There are some grounds for hoping that, 25 years hence, the villages of England. will present a different and a more:pleasing picture to.the eye of the traveller than they .present now. ais } 128. One great difficulty in the way of any large plans of improvement is the extent to which the cottages in our villages, particularly in “‘ open” parishes, are in the hands, not of the landowners, but of small, and often needy, proprietors. It is estimated that the proprietorship of less than half the cottages in Norfolk is in the owners of the soil. The small proprietor looks to his.cottage property as a source of. income purely, and of income derivable from it,alone. He has no land connected with it 4 often, not so much as a strip of garden. He grudges every 6d, expended on repair. Not unfrequently he has mortgaged it nearly to its full value, and he is the proprietor only in name. As his tenants occupy his houses for their own convenience, and with no reflex advantage to himself beyond the payment of the rent (which he does not always obtain), he feels himself under no moral responsibility, such as a landowner would be almost forced, by his very position, to recognize. . No doubt, if good cottages. were built by the landowners in sufficient numbers, the bad ones would soon become tenantless, because the English poor have certainly sense enough to appreciate the comfort and the decency-of a good home.t But till this is done it confessedly is a difficultand an anxious problem, how to improve bad cottages; The Rev. E. B. Everard, of Burnham Thorpe, offers a suggestion, which I think worthy of attention, ‘here. “© Tam persuaded,” he says, “ that the most efficient means of providing good accommodation in our ** rural. districts, would be found in local societies for the improvement, not building, of cottages. The system would be to buy up, as opportunities offered, cheap, i.¢., indifferent or bad, cottage property, * and to do this with a view to such repairs and alterations as would make bad good; taking care that “the price should be such as would leave, after all works were done, a sufficient margin to secure at *¢ least 5 per cent, on the capital (in shares) subscribed.”{ Such a plan, well conceived and ably carried out, would be not only.a possibly remunerative scheme of investment, but also an operation of the purest and most beneficent philanthropy. 7 129. With regard to the principles to be borne in mind in the construction and arrangement of cottages, I have only a few remarks that I wish to offer. 180. In many of. the new cottages, the rooms, especially the upstairs rooms, are sadly too small. The size, I suppose, is dictated not by any deficiency in the space, but with a view to saving expense in the materials. Sir Willoughby Jones, at my meeting at North Creake, insisted strongly on the superiority of the arrangement which, in planning that a cottage shall have three bedrooms, places one of them on the ground floor; you thus secure space and ventilation above. The suggestion seems worth bearing in mind.§ : ist The fittings-up of cottages should all be of the simplest kind, and one great aim in the builder should be to furnish it with none of those ingenious but complicated contrivances, which work admirably for a week, then get out of repair, and if not quickly put in order again, spoil, There is nothing that is so difficult to get done in cottages as little repairs ; and little repairs are always wanted where there are taps, and boilers, and kitchen ranges, and pumps, and piping. Simplicity both in the general plan and particular details of a cottage is the true law both of beauty and usefulness. ; 132. The two plans of clustering cottages into a hamlet or viliage, and of scattering them at intervals over the whole area of the parish, have each its advantages. The first brings the population nearer to the church and school; but also probably nearer to the beerhouse too: the second has the convenience of placing the labourer closer to his work upon the farm. At Rackheath, dispersion was thought to have a bad effect upon education: at Great Witchingham, concentration was thought to have a‘bad effect upon morals. The most awkward, perhaps, of all arrangements is that which prevails in many large parishes, Sible Hedingham for instance, where in a wide area a large population is clustered into a number of independent groups, each, probably, with its own beer-house, but remote alike from church and school, dissipating and thereby weakening the energies of the clergyman, and by its mere topographical configuration able to defeat the most vigorous action of benevolent and humanizing:schemes. - 133. Lord Leicester, who, after.long thought and much experience, thinks he has at last hit upon a model plan, builds his newest cottages in blocks of four, the two interior with two bedrooms, the two exterior with three bedrooms each. I do not myself see any advantage that the block of four has over the block of two ;|| while it seems to me to labour under several manifest disadvantages. It is not * See his speech, quoted in Commissioners’ Sixth Report, p. xxii. : . eee ; _ | Always excepting the cases of occupiers of lifehold or freehold cottages. Whether it be the immunity from paying rent or the sense of proprietorship that exercises a spell over them, it is remarkable with what tenacity the poor will cling to the most wretched hovel if only they can call it their own. But the small proprietor generally demands a higher rent than the landowner, even for an inferior cottage ; and this would act as an additional motive to the labourer to induce him to change. 5" t See “ Opinions on Cottage Accommodation,’ No. 39. ; : L - § Sometimes, when admirable cottages have been built, the comfort of them is neutralized by unreasonable or arbitrary restrictions. I have in my mind the case of a village where the landowner provides excellent cottages but- will not allow their occupiers to hang out a shirt on a clothes-line in the garden, or to keep a pig in the stye. : ; | There may be, certainly, a slight saving of money in the construction, particularly in the matter of outer walls, which require half as many bricks again as partition walls. Lord Leicester’s outer walls are 14 inches thick ; his partition walls only 9. N2 A. Improvement already going on, Cottages held by small pro- prietors, How toim- ~» prove bad cot- tages, Construction and arrange- ment. Rooms should not be too small, Fittings-up should be simple. Advantages of dispersion and concentration, Proper size of a block of cottages. Importance of a good garden. Best size for gardens, Gardens versus allotments. The condition of his home affects the whole life and character of the man. 40 . EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN always that you can find four families who can live in peace and comfort in such close neighbourhood. The pranks of the children are apt to prove an endless source of quarrels and angry words, Again, unless there is an open passage way, which entails a loss of room, through the centre of the block, the two middle cottages cannot get their wood, coals, &c. to the rear without travelling through their neighbours’ premises on either side; and the mere arrangement of the gardens, so as to secure independence, is a matter of some difficulty. I have no hesitation in saying that I infinitely prefer the arrangement of cottages in blocks of two—the “ double cottage ” system, as it is commonly called. A “ row ” of cottages in a country place is, of course, a simple abomination. ; 134. A good garden attached to his cottage is not only a great convenience, but a great gain to the labouring man. It is an addition to his domestic resources, which, notwithstanding his lower wages, places the material condition of the peasant, in many cases, on a level with that of the town artizan, It supplies him with all the vegetables he consumes, If well stocked with fruit trees, as cottage gardens often are in Gloucestershire, it almost pays his rent. ‘There is a reciprocal and a beneficent connection between it and the stye; the garden half keeps the pig, and the pig in turn more than half keeps the garden. The garden enables the labourer to make a profit out of his own spare time; there, under father’s eye, the children make their first rude essays in the cultivation of the soil. There is something even refining in its influence; the flower-beds, often tended with no ordinary care, at least gratify a pleasurable sentiment. and develop a purifying taste. The heart is nut irredeemably gross which can appreciate the simple beauties of nature. One of the saddest features in a case like that of Docking is to hear, “ there are very few gardens.”* 135. A garden, to be profitable to a labouring man, need not be very large. Of ordinary land, 30 rods would be an ample quantity; of rich land, requiring a good deal of trenching to bring out its quality, an eighth of an acre would probably be thought enough. No man, I am told, ought to have more garden than he can cultivate thoroughly in his own time. If he has to hire labour the profit is gone; while 30 rods of thoroughly worked ground will bear a larger crop than a quarter of an acre badly done.+ 136. With a garden of a sufficient size attached to his house the labourer does not require, probably would not even desire to have, a distant allotment. The garden, it is obvious, has many superior advantages. It is close under the man’s eye, and he can turn to account in it any ten spare minutes of time. It is manured, being within reach of the pig-stye, with a much less expenditure of labour. An allotment-ground is always an ugly feature in a landscape ; the cottage garden, if only tolerably cared for, as certainly enhances the beauty of the scene. ‘The large allotments which prevail in some parishes in Gloucestershire—occupations of from three to ten acres in size—are found to exercise an influence highly unfavourable to education, though probably contributing considerably to the material comforts of the people.t ‘The farmers don’t like them any better than the schoolmaster. They deprive the former of his proper supply of labour; they deprive the latter of his proper supply of pupils. Being worked entirely from within the family, on a sort of garden system of cultivation, they demand the whole time both of parents and children for many months, in the aggregate, in the year. When a man cultivates both an allotment and a garden he commonly regards the former rather as his little farm, cropping it on a three or four course system of husbandry, and growing his 10 or 20 rod patches of wheat, or barley, or beans, or potatoes. I have known cases where labourers, prohibited, by what I think are barsh restrictions, from keeping a pig, have thrown up their allotment, which they found they could no longer cultivate to a profit; but speaking generally, allotments are much prized, and on Sir Edward Kerrison’s estate there isa keen competition for any vacant parcel. Both on Sir Edward’s and Lord Cholmondeley’s estates, which are managed by the same agent, careful supervision is exercised over the allotments, without which Mr. Freuer thinks they would be of little benefit to the people ; and prizes are annually given for the best samples of cultivation, which are found to have operated with the very best effect; in fact, the two motives are applied which are in other cases found to be most effective in dealing with human nature—the motive of kindly encouragement, and the motive of salutary, but liberal, restraint. 137. It would be a natural anticipation, entirely fulfilled, so far as my evidence goes, by the event, that any improvement in the condition and surroundings of the labouring man’s home not only enhances his domestic comfort but raises his social status, and affects with a perceptible influence for good his moral character. Lord Kimberley, indeed, in the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture, questioned the ameliorating influence of a good cottage upon the parents ‘‘ brought up to dirty habits which they “ could not change,” though he admitted that “ the children underwent a change in that direction.” But though cases in which good cottages have not mended the habits of slovenly people, no doubt, can be produced in considerable numbers, [ am happy to think that the balance of evidence inclines largely the other way. Mr. Edmund Oldfield, Mr. Lombe Taylor, Captain Caldwell (agent to Lord * “ Opinions on Cottage Accommodation,” No. 40. + Mx. Stanton, sub-agent on Lord Cholmondeley’s Norfolk property, considers that a man can do better with 30 rods of garden ground than 40. Mr. Freuer, Sir Edward Kerrison’s agent, believes that the 20 rod allotments at Brome answer better to their occupiers than those of double the size. Lord Suffield’s half-acre gardens at Frettenham are generally considered too large. The working men who met me at Newent think that “a quarter of an acre is about as much garden ground as a man can cultivate in his “ own time; but if his master could spare him occasionally for a day or two, he could occupy half an acre profitably.” See “ Notes “ of Meetings,” No. 96. : t Mr. Fergus O’Connor’s “ Chartist Settlements” (as they are called in the neighbourhood), established in the union of Newent and described in my “ Notes of Meetings,” Nos. 90, 92, failed, not because they were vicious in principle, but because the system was worked without any practical knowledge. The “‘coloni” were artizans, tailors and shoemakers imported from the manufacturing towns of the north, who did not know how to handle a spade and had a sort of notion that potatoes and cabbages would grow without cultivation. The original allotments, also, were under-sized, varying from two to four acres, not enough to maintain a family on without other employment. I heard, however, of a case at Castle Hedingham in Essex, of a man’s maintaining himself and oe ae on an occupation of four acres, But that could only be done by the very highest system of spade husbandry on the very best land, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—REV, J. FRASER’S REPORT. 41 Ashburton), Mr. Kersey Cooper (agent to the Duke of Grafton), Mr. Freuer (agent to the Marquis of Cholmondcley and Sir Edward Kerrison), Captain Valentine (agent to the Duke of Richmond), in addition to almost every clergyman who has given evidence upon the subject, all bear witness to the benefits being direct, rapid, general. ‘The drunkard begins to find a better way of spending his time and hig money; the slattern becomes a notable housewife; the habits and dress of the children indicate the difference that has taken place in the tone and circumstances of the home. The greatest arrears of civilization are where the domiciles of the people are squalid and neglected ; in parishes like Docking or South Cerney, into which rubbish has been freely carted from neighbours’ premises. Vain, say the clergy, are churches and schools till the people are provided with better homes. The statement I believe to be the simple truth ; and I think the country has a right, in the interests of a class whose material and social condition is still anything but one on which the mind can rest with satisfaction, to call upon those who own the soil to see to it that their estates are adequately provided with decent residences for those by whom they are tilled. 138. Modes of. hiring farm servants are very various; some of them, I venture to think, might be very much improved for the better; and others are attended by circumstances which, in their social influence, are as mischievous as anything can be. Women and the ordinary day labourer, as his name implies, are hired by the day, and generally paid their wages once a fortnight. The rate of wages for women is usually fixed at so much per day; but of the men, when engaged on day work, at so much per week. This might seem to lead to the inference that the man is hired by the week, or even, as wages are only paid once in that time, by the fortnight; but in practice it is not so, and though the more liberal farmers feel themselves bound to find work for their men “ wet or dry,” and others would not refuse out-door work, in cases where no in-door employment could be found, even on the wettest day if the men chose to brave the weather and undertake it,* yet there are other farmers of harder natures and tighter-drawn purse-strings, who will without scruple send a day labourer back on a wet morning or if there happens to be no directly remunerative job which they can set him to do.f This seems to me to be hard treatment of the men. 1f they are hired for the week they ought to be found in work for the week; and I believe, from what I have heard in many places, that to treat them otherwise generates a rankling sense of wrong in the minds of the men in relation to their masters, and produces that race of “ shifty ” labourers who have no regard for their employers’ interests, of which the farmers in many places so bitterly complain. 139. The system of monthly hiring, which is the rule of domestic service, is applied in farm labour whenever workmen are engaged for the purpose by time at all, to the solitary instance of the harvest. § Those who are emphatically called farm servants are hired mostly by the year.| This applies chiefly to the labourers without whose services the farm could not be carried on for a single day, and whom, therefore, the farmer considers himself obliged to secure by bonds not easily broken—the shepherd, the carter, the stockman, the ploughboys, the dairymaid. ‘he usual periods of such hirings are in the spring, or, more commonly, in the autumn; and, where those abominations exist, the transaction generally takes place at the * mop ” or “ statute-fair.” 1 believe that in law a verbal agreement, if it can be proved, is as valid as a written one; and as a matter of fact, the terms of the contract are seldom put upon paper; what weighs most on the mind of the young farm recruit, and impresses him with the strongest sense of obligation, is the mystical shilling which passes from the palm of his new master into his own, and which may be regarded as the agricultural sacramentum. 140. These yearly hirings appear to me to operate illin many ways. The statute fair, which is one of their accompaniments in many counties, in Gloucestershire to wit, is one of those ancient customs, which, however out of keeping with our present stage of civilization, however demoralizing in their modern abuse, still hold their ground in this conservative country, simply because they are ancient] A contract entered into between two parties, each probably previously a stranger to the other, and in which small account is made of character on either side, cannot but too often issue in a result unwelcome to both ; the servant finds he has got an unsatisfactory master, the master that he has hired an unprofit- able servant. The boys often run away, and the master does not think them worth the cost and trouble of apursuit. The case of these boys, hired away from home at the age of 13 or 14 has become, in con- * See “Notes of Meeting at Cromhall,” No. 87. + A case of this kind was mentioned to me in Gloucestershire in which an employer treats his men in this way, keeping back, however, from such as live in his cottages, the full fortnight’s rent out of their wages. How do such employers expect their men to live? are they not directly tempting them to dishonesty ? { See ‘ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 24. § The modes of contracting for harvest work are very various ; sometimes by the month, sometimes by the job irrespectively of time, sometimes at per acre. Sometimes the “job” includes carrying and building the stack, as well as cutting and tying; some- times it is confined to the two latter operations, the carrying and stacking being done by the farmer’s ordinary labourers at day wages, which, at such times, are generally double the ordinary rate. Carters, who have properly speaking ‘no harvest, receive 1L or 2l. as a gratuity for their work during the operation, instead. I have called it a gratuity, but it really is part of the hiring contract. No two counties—hardly any two farmers—follow precisely the same fashion in these customs. || In some parts of Sussex it is the custom to hire young lads and men, who live in the farm-house, by the half-year ; they get half as much again, or even double the amount of wages in the summer half as in the winter. See “ Notes of Meeting,” No. 61. q TI need not here stay to describe the circumstances and consequences of a statute fair. It is probably the most demoralizing agricultural institution. In Norfolk, happily, it has died down in most of the places at which it used to be held, at Swaffham and Fakenham, for example—into little more than a pleasure fair, and the hirings appear to take place with just as great facility without it, But in Gloucestershire the evil of the statute fair is as rife as ever it was. Hiring fairs are held at Cirencester, Thornbury, Gloucester, and in most of the other towns. A few years ago a united effort was made in the county to put down the one at Gloucester, which is, I believe, the most considerable, and substitute for it a system of registration, but the effort proved unsuccessful from the difficulty in getting all the parties concerned—and particularly the farmers—to persevere in sustaining it. In Cirencester, those who were dissatisfied with the old state of things took perhaps, the wiser course of attempting to improve it, rather than rudely break it down. Instead of assembling in the street, the candidates for services are marshalled in different buildings, according to their sex, and a little more decency is thus infused into the transaction. But even so, there are certain inevitable evils arising from the indiscriminate mixture of several hundreds of young people in the same town, on the same ‘day, for the same purpose, which no precaution can prevent, or cven do much to mitigate. The grossness of the scene does not unveil itself till the shades of night have fallen, Then the orgies begin. aw 2. Modes of hiring farm servants. Yearly hirings. Their bad effeets. Modes of con- tracting for harvest work. A. Susser, custom. Statute fuirs, The security supposed to be given by the yearly hiring illusory. Monthly hiring recommended in its place. 8, The; beer- house system and its con- nexion with drunkenness, Opinions of the farmers, 42 . EMPLOYMENT OF, CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN sequence ofa change introduced by modern manners, one deserving very serious consideration. Five and twenty years ago, they were taken into the farmer's house, treated as members of his family, fed at his table, watched over in respect of morals in the way in which most masters consider themselves bound to watch over the conduct of their household. ‘This is all changed. Owing to the greater refine- ment that has varnished the outer surface of. the life of all classes of society, the presence of these raw, ill-mannered youths would now be considered intolerable by the farmer, and still, more so. by the farmer’s wife, even in. the kitchen. They are expelled from the house.. They occupy any building, not always the most suitable, that happens to be vacant; or their rough beds are put up in the Joft over the stable; or they lodge about, sometimes as chance may direct, sometimes under the terms of a special contract,* with strangers. ‘Their washing and mending their mother still does at home, perhaps six or seven miles away ; and one Sunday a fortnight, sometimes, every Sunday, is occupied with. the journey to and fro, They board themselves, getting their victuals cooked as best they can. Of moral super- vision they receive next to none. Perhaps a quarter of their year.slips away ‘before the clergyman has even caught.a sight of them; and unless he succeeds in getting them to his night school in the winter months, he has hardly the opportunity of exercising any other influence over them, 141. I think-that in revising or defining the law between master and servant, this case of the farmer and his labourers hired by the year deserves consideration too, I am sure that many farmers themselves are thoroughly discontented with the present state of things, and would gladly welcome an alteration, if only they could enjoy under it the same security that they fancy they enjoy now.t I say advisedly, the security that they fancy they enjoy. For in many cases, in all cases where it has to be trusted to as a security, the sécurity is illusory, The only security that can guarantee good treatment to a servant, or good service to a master, is the security of mutual confidence and mutual regard. I cannot see what gain it can possibly be to a farmer to be tied to, and unable to rid himself of, a worthless servant for a year. If the man is good for anything, the master can always make it worth his-while to stay. .The mere settlement of him in his cottage is a sort of lien upon his continuance. There are not many men with families who care to shift their homes every three or six months, or even every year, But I will not dwell longer on this subject. I touched upon it in my Report to the Education Commissioners of 1861. I will venture to repeat my words, I said: mos “Tt is not easy to see a reason why the hiring of farm servants should stand on a different footing “ from the hiring of any other class of domestics; or why a month’s engagement should be found a “ sufficient security for mutual convenience in the one case, while a year’s service is exacted. in the “ other. From all I can learn, I believe that no real hardship would be occasioned to anybody, and * that the relation between master and servant would be materially improved,—more consideration “ shown on one side, and a more willing service rendered on the other; more value set on a good * character, and more anxiety felt to retain a comfortable place ;—and an important social contract thus * be rescued from its present accompanying circumstances of degradation, if the law that governs farm “ servants, as distinct from other classes, were repealed, and the custom of. hiring for a year,.and “© the custom of holding statutes, were, happily for society, to expire together.” t 142, The two deepest stains in the moral condition of an English village, are the unchastity of the women and the drunkenness of the men. When persons descant on the immorality of our peasantry a * T mean that the carters often have their cottages rent free on condition of taking in one or two such boys + See, particularly, Mr. Frampton’s Paper on Agricultural Labour, printed in the Appendix p. 21. “Were it practicable with “ us, and could we feel assured of being treated fairly, I should prefer the monthly hiring system, month’s wages, month’s warning.” In the discussion which followed, Mr. ¥. Everett said that he “had never hired a servant ”’—by the year] presume he meant—“ nor “ discharged one when winter was coming on.” Mr, Frampton’s paper is thoroughly well worth reading. ot { “Education Commissioners’ Report” (1861), vol. ii., p. 106. I don’t know whether I am right in calling it a “law” which governs the contracts made with farm servants, and which 1 say might with advantage be ‘‘repealed.” At any rate, it is a custom which has, practically, the force of law. : ita : § The following letter, which appeared in the “Times ” of June 8, 1868, is written by a gentleman who took the chair at my meeting at Witham, and describes in a very clear form the present condition of the “beershop” nuisance. Two policemen, who attended and gave evidence at my meeting at Castle Hedingham, in Essex, spoke strongly about the exceeding difficulty of control- ling the proceedings of houses which sell beer off the premises. Till I read the explanation given in Col. Shakespear’s letter, I did not quite understand how this could be, as I fancied the in-door' house was the more mischievous of the two. In the Union of Hailsham I heard-of beer being frequently sold by retail in houses not licensed at all, the.sellers running the risk of detection. and penalties. Iam satisfied that, in the interests of society, this whole question needs careful and thorough scrutiny. I append Col. Shakespear’s letter :— whe Ui egg : . , TO THE EDITOR OF THE “ TIMES.” ; « Srr,—In February last you were good enough to allow me to draw attention to certain provisions of the ‘Nuisances Removal Acts,’ and I now beg of you to extend the same favour in regard to Beer Acts; for, affected- as they are “by a-clause in the Inland Revenue Act of 1863, a nuisance of another kind is gathering around us. Brice vg ae « Beerhouses are now so frequently styled ‘ the curse of the country’ without any reason being assigned why so now more than formerly, that with your kind permission I will endeavour to explain the cause. ‘The preamble to 1 William IV., cap. 64, runs thus :—‘ Whereas it is expedient for the better supplying the public with beer,’ and agreeably to that Act every applicant to the Excise authorities for a licence to keep a house for the retail of beer to be drunk on the premises had to pay. 2/, 2s. for the same; he must be a householder rated to the poor, and had to find sureties, The Act.4 and 5 William IV., cap 85, amends the above, ‘and compels, in addition, a certificate of good character from six inhabitants rated to the poor at not less than 61. each, such being vouched for by an overseer of the parish ; but where there are not 10 inhabitants rated at 6/., the certificate of the majority so rated is sufficient, and the licence was made 3/. 6s. 13d. That Act was again amended by 3 and 4 Victoria, cap. 61, the ‘house- holder rated to the poor’ was by it compelled to be the real resident occupier of the premises on which the business was to be carried on, who must bs rated to the poor in sums of not less than 151, 111. or 82, according ‘to the population of the neighbourhood or other circumstances, such as the distance from any polling place, &c.; and this Act imposed restrictions-on the hours at which a beerhouse might be open—viz., from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., or 11 p.m. or 12 at midnight on week days, according to the nature of the locality, and other times are specified in regard to Sundays, &c. There are heavy penalties for infringements of these excise laws, and the police have powers and authority to enter at any time and as often as they think fit, every house licensed to retail beer to be drunk on the premises. : «« What I have stated is intended to show that for 33 years subsequent to 1830 the principles on which beerhouse licences were granted contained some guarantees of respectability, and furnished a wholesome restraint against lawlessness and vice without too much interference with liberty. As the licence to retail beer to be drunk on the premises permitted the taking off the premises, the poor man had every facility for obtaining beer to take to his home whenever he had the money to pay for it. I now come to the turning point from all those salutary laws and to the most important part of my letter ; for public morality; hitherto so well guarded has been most seriously encroached upon, and the law hourly evaded by the effects of: clause 1 of 26-and 27 Victoria, cap. 33, passedion the 29th of June, 1863, which empowers a beer dealer, i.e., one who sells wholesale, or not less than43 gallons at any one IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT, 43 they have these two forms of vice principally or solely in their mind. The English villager is not otherwise wanting in the principles of virtue, Considering their poverty and their facilities,—the way in which articles of property belonging ‘to their master lie about, unwatched and easy to be secreted— their honesty is surprising. Among many of them, where they have not been subjected to pauperising influenees, there is a fine spirit of independence.* They often display wonderful sympathy, and real kindliness of feeling one towards another, in their hours of need. They take an honest pride in their work, for the work’s sake. Their master’s well-being largely depends, not only on their sagacity, but on their trustworthiness ; and they rarely betray or prove themselves unworthy of the trust. But when all has been said that can be’ said in their praise’ there remain, it must be confessed, two deep stains. ‘The women set lightly by their honour; the men do not reckon drunkenness in the catalogue of sins. When speaking of the condition of cottages, I traced the former evil to its source; the drinking habits of the men may be attributed partly to the repulsiveness of their home, and partly to the attractions of another place in which they often spend more time than in their home: I refer, of course, to houses of whatever kind, in which exciseable, intoxicating liquors are sold. 143, I was happy to find in almost every part of the country which I traversed a very general testimony borne to the fact that drunkenness, in country places, is decreasing rather than increasing. Young men, in particular, are observed to care less about beer, and more about dress. They like to have a suit of cloth clothes for Sunday, a watch, a well bound Church service, and so forth, while their fathers never thought of indulging in any luxuries of the kind. And, of course, money spent on these objects is so much withdrawn from the capacity and the inclination to spend money on beer. Still, admitting the improvement, there is too much cause for that loud cry that rises both from farmers and clergy, that the curse of the village is the house which sells beer. These houses are alleged, I fear with truth, to be multiplied, for the sake of the money they bring in to the national exchequer, to an extent far beyond the legitimate wants of the community ; those licensed under the new system are said to be practically exempt from nearly all control; the police state that they find more trouble in dealing with the houses where the beer is not, allowed to be consumed on the premises than where the customers can go in and drink ; the Sanday traffic in these houses is felt to be an almost unmixed evil; and altogether, as will be seen from sentiments uttered in almost every one of my public meetings, there is no subject within the range of this inquiry on which I have found a greater strength of feeling or a more remarkable unanimity of opinion. It was, of course, here as everywhere, easier to point out and lament the evil, than, to suggest a remedy.’ The remedies, however, that were suggested were such as these: give the licensing power to the magistrates; if you allow it still to reside with the excise, require a sufficiently high qualification in the ratepayers who: sign the petition for the licence, to be something like a guarantee of character; remove the disabilities which at present prevent a poor man from brewing his own beer, which I suppose’ to’ mean, repeal the malt tax ; close the houses absolutely on Sundays, except against bond fide travellers; make it much easier for the magistrates to proceed summarily against a disorderly house ;{ render the recovery of a licence, when once forfeited for mis- conduct, more difficult, if not impossible, ' time, not to be drunk on the premises—to take out, in addition to his wholesale licence of 3/. 6s. 13d., a retail licence of 1. 2s.'04d., by which he can also sell by retail—z.e., any quantity less than 4} gallons, but. not to be drunk on the premises. _ “And now, comes the explanation. of the misfortune in the ‘Act last-named. The certificates of character and qualifications required from the retailer as before-named are in no way required of the beer dealer, nor is there any restriction as to his hours of sale, nor police supervision over him ; the clause above cited grants him an immunity from. such troubles; to obtain his retail licence he need only produce to the excise authorities his wholesale licence, to get which the only requisite. is paying the duty of 31. 6s. 13d, oe A as ee “ The result of this combination of these two licences is that we have growing up among us throughout the country a class of beerhouses of the lowest order, over which practically there is no means of control, for they may be open at any hour of the day or night, and may be kept by anybody who can pay, 4i., 8s, 24d. for, the two licences, and often, are so by loose characters and others under the influence of those most interested in the general consumption of beer. It is by no means an uncommon thing in regard to these houses of dealers and retailers of beer not to be drunk on the premises, that persons sit and drink in a back parlour or adjoining outhouse, away from general view, or stand in the highway, but close to the door or window of the beerhouse, and drink their fill‘handed from the bar, or even beer may be passed through a window or over a .wall on to the adjoining premises of a confederate. Thus is contempt for the law engendered among the least-informed portion of the people, and great irregularities are apparently sanctioned with impunity to the’‘injury of the general moral welfare of the nation. : : < ? “ Having: so far stated my. complaint, I feel bound-to point at least to a check, and I submit for consideration that when a beer dealer thinks fit to become also a retailer of beer not to be drunk on the premises,he should be placed.on the same footing in regard to character, qualification, and supervision, asthe person licensed to retail beer to be drunk on the premises, or that he be compelled to take out a brewer’s licence and to brew the beer he offers for sale. bee Pe Pore : .. am not in favour of paternal supervision and restrictions over poor people; but I do advocate that their beerhouses, while giving them every reasonable facility for obtaining beer, be kept respectable, convenient, and comfortable, and as the poor cannot do that for themselves, not having, like the rich, a great choice of houses for their patronage, the law ought to do it for them in all cases. © a : , : “There is no doubt whatever that the advantage taken of clause 1 of 26 and 27 Victoria, cap. 33, by the very persons who mostly need restraint is demoralizing in the extreme. I have reason to think the use made of this clause was not for a moment contemplated by those who introduced it; if that is the case, the sooner legislation puts it right the better for all parties. cae : : ; “ Your obedient servant, “ Witham, June 6, 1868. Er. Se See « J. D, Suaxeseuar, J.P., Lieutenant-Colonel, half-pay, R.A.” * At Olveston and Almondsbury, in Gloucestershire I was told that it was considered the bitterest and most disgraceful thing of all “to be buried by the parish.” ‘In my own neighbourhood, I am sorry to say, there is much less feeling of the kind. The people are not mendicants, but they have a sort of notion that, in the first moment of distress, the parish is bound to come to their aid. There are no two qualities that need more development in the poor than the qualities of providence and independence. — ah A case was reported to me in Sussex which illustrates the necessity of this. A man, who kept a beerhouse in a distant hamlet of the parish of Horsham, kept it in such a way as to be a perfect nuisance to his neighbours. Turned out of his house, for some reason or other, by his landlord, he found refuge in a house not a hundred yards off, where he wished to carry on his old trade as a retailer of beer. Amongst.his immediate neighbours, who had suffered from his former disorderly proceedings, he could get no one to sign his petition, so he goes into Horsham, 3 miles away, procures, possibly by means easily conjectured, the requisite number of signatures, gets his licence from the excise, and wins the day. ee ; T often read in the newspapers when the nation’s quarterly accounts are made up flourishing paragraphs about the increase of income from the excise being one of the great indices of national prosperity. It certainly indicates that people are spending their money freely on drink and tobacco, and so far’ (as public houses can no longer give credit), I suppose, that they have money to spend.’ As a nieasure of national prosperity, in the true sense, I cannot myself appreciate the phenomenon. / { In more than one place I was informed that the lower beerhouses, besides being the ‘resort of the worst. characters , of the neighbourhood, are little better than brothels. See Sir Willoughby Jones’ statement at my “ North Creake Meeting,” No. 44. N 4 Drunkenness not believed to be increasing in rural places, A. The evil ad- mits rather of moral than of legislative remedies. 4. “Largesse ” and “ harvest frolics,” The custom of “Jargesse ” described. The Banham “ monster har- vest home.” Attempted on too large a scale. 44 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 144, It will be seen, at once, that many of these remedies are vague, and some perhaps impracticable ; and, indeed, it is always hopeless to reach by law’ an evil which lies properly within the domain of morals.* My correspondent, the Rev. Edgar Montagu, cries out loudly, make women feel and blush for, more deeply than they do, the shame of bastardy ; I echo the cry with another, make men more sensible than they are of the sin, and more ashamed of the selfishness, of drinking. The farmers themselves, loudly as they exclaim against the beer-house system, are too apt, in mere good nature, to encourage in their men a taste for liquor. Extra jobs are remunerated in drink; wages are supple- mented with beer or cider; at a harvest home it would be thought an impeachment on the master’s hospitality, if the men did not get, as the phrase is, “ well on.” And all these are influences on the bad side; they tell against the principle of sobriety ; they naturally make men think that the master who does not care about seeing his men tipsy at one time, ought not to care, so long as his property does not suffer, about seeing them tipsy at any time. Many farmers, I believe, with the high motive of helping their men to escape from the bondage of a degrading vice, are trying to break through the custom of paying part of their wages in drink; but they are met with the stubborn resistance of a tradition which has nothing to plead in its favour but its antiquity; but which, with unreasonable minds, in that very antiquity finds its power. 145. It is a fact, which every one must lament while he admits it, that the English working man is far behind the continental working man in his conception of the mode in which it beseems a rational creature to spend a holiday. His notion of pleasure is too often coarse and animal; the idea of beer is the predominating one in his mind, I have sometimes thought that if he had more frequent holidays as the Frenchman has, he would perhaps use them better; and that he recoups himself for the drudgery and exhaustion of his everyday life by sensual indulgence on his rare and sombre opportunities of recreation. Be this at it may, everybody who has lived in a village knows what are too commonly the orgies of a club-day ; everyone who has made the attempt knows how hard it is to substitute sober enjoyment for vicious excess at a “ harvest-home.” In Norfolk, the harvest-home is called the “ harvest-frolic”; and the degradation in the name is by itself sufficient to indicate the degradation in the thing. The “ frolic ” is accompanied, preceded, or followed by another thing, called “ largesse,” unknown to me by experience in southern or western England, but which in Norfolk, and I believe, the Eastern Counties generally, once was universal, and still to a considerable extent prevails. I will describe this thing in the language of one who saw it in operation, was shocked at its baneful effects, and endeavoured to rouse a general public determination to put it down. 146. “The custom,” says the Rev. Scott F. Surtees,t “ is as follows:—The harvest ended, the “ master sometimes gives his men a supper at his own house; but that is the exception. He more “ generally gives a sum to be spent by them in supper at a public house; after this supper, which is “* sometimes attended by persons of both sexes, and at which the language, the songs, the utter absence * of decorum, the drunkenness and riot surpass I believe all and more than we can conceive to be “ possible amongst a society calling themselves Christians, the harvest party, half stupefied by the “* debauch of the previous night, start * begging largesse.’ This largesse gathering is not confined to “ their own parish, but is extended from house to house throughout the district wherever a friend or “ tradesman of their employer is to be found. At some places they get beer, at others they collect “* money, stopping at all the public houses in their way ; and the sum so collected, if sufficient, is spent “¢ in another supper, but more often expended wholly in beer. Respectable men, who at other times *“* never enter a public house, are frequently thus seen disgracing themselves, and speak with bitterness ‘< of the tyrant custom which compels them to do as others do, The consequence is that the harvest “ debauch is oftentimes prolonged for days.” 147. Thirteen years ago, the Karl of Albemarle and other leading gentry and clergy of the neighbourhood, endeavoured to inaugurate a better era at Banham by substituting for the harvest frolic and its accompanying custom of largesse a monster tea-meeting, attended by from 2,000 to 3,000 persons, which it was hoped that the rustic mind, enlightened by some admirable addresses which were delivered on the occasion, might be brought to appreciate as “a more excellent way.” ‘The Earl of Albemarle, who presided, gave utterance to the hope that “ largesse had got its death-knell;” and the «‘ Times ” newspaper, ina leading article, in which the writer gave his lordship the praise that he deserved for his honest and earnest endeavour to “ reform the manners of the Eastern Counties,” was “ disposed, “© from the spirit in which he had commenced operations, and the hearty acquiescence in his views *¢ displayed by his country neighbours, to anticipate favourable results.”{ I am informed upon authority upon which I believe I can fully depend, that the attempt was by no means a complete success at the time; that the day could not be brought to a close without “ much drunkenness ;” and that the experiment “ has never been repeated at Banham.” 148. The attempt, probably, was made on too large a scale. A “ monster meeting” is not the best remedy for a social evil, ‘The mere conflux of a crowd is what Roman Catholic divines call “ fomes « peccati.” ‘Three thousand people, accustomed from their infancy to the licence and libertinism of a « frolic,” were not likely to be won over to sobriety and decorum by any amount of speeches delivered to them by their betters with whatever good intentions at a tea-meeting, An experiment of more moderate dimensions would probably have achieved a greater measure of success, Three times in the course of the last eight years we have conducted a general harvest-home in my own parish, tarnished by no drunkenness, which everybody seemed to enjoy, and which, if I live long enough, 1 hope to see repeated as many times more. But only by slow degrees and by persistent effort can we expect 1o é : ti isa question now 1,800 years old, “ Quid leges sine moribus vane proficiunt ? ” See a pamphlet entitled “ Banham Harvest Home ;” containing a speech of the Earl of Albemarle, with a preface and di by the Rev. Scott F. Surtees, rector of Banham, 1855, p. 3-4. : : nEap Sn { “Times,” of October 1, 1855. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT. 45 rid the English peasant’s mind of the notion that a holiday means a day of drunkenness and profligacy, I am afraid that the law cannot step in to mend things here. It is a moral evil, to be cured only by moral remedies, It needs for its cure a greater sense of responsibility in the masters, as well as a greater strength of principle in the men. _149. I have said that I believe that the harvest frolic in its old corrupt form, and « largesse” too, still prevail to a considerable extent in Norfolk; but I believe, also, that the latter evil is steadily diminishing under the combined influence of various causes, while many employers, and among them the Earl of Leicester,* are substituting a fixed money payment for the entertainment that they used to give their men. I confess, as far as my own feelings go, | would rather see the harvest -home purged of its demoralization than changed into a simple money payment. ‘These old English customs, however degraded, point to a time when the relation between master and man was ennobled by a higher sentiment than the greed of gain; and in this nineteenth century anything that breaks down the distinctions of caste, and gives an opportunity for the effusion of the feelings of good fellowship and true hospitality, is a link in our social system not lightly to be snapped in twain. 150. A Norfolk clergyman who, 1 venture to think, would share my views, and who has given me much valuable information upon many points, and upon this among the rest, thus describes, in answer to my inquiry, the present condition of the harvest frolic and of the largesse system in his neighbourhood :— Both largesse and frolics, or harvest suppers,” he says, “ prevail in this part of Norfolk, as they “* did also in the paris of Essex and Hertfordshire in which I formerly lived; and as they are “ generally conducted here they are productive of much drunkenness and mischief, Against largesse *¢ T have set my face ever since I have been in Norfolk, and I am glad to say that, to the best of my belief, it has almost died out in this parish. My attention was first drawn to the evil of the system in Hertfordshire, where on one occasion when I was in a field I rented, where one of the parishioners, * a most respectable woman, the wife of a cottager, was hoeing, her husband and another man came ** up to me and asked for ‘largesse.’ ‘The woman immediately earnestly entreated me not to bestow it, *¢ and said to me in the presence of her husband, ‘My husband is generally good and kind, and seldom “ © gives me an angry word ; but after the feast provided by largesse,’ he invariably comes home tipsy “ “and gives me a good beating, which he never does at any other time. Ah, sir,’ she said, ‘ we “ * women dislike the very name of ¢ largesse.’’ I consider ‘ largesse’ to be but another name for begging * and drunkenness, and that it is discreditable both to the giver and receiver ; to the giver, because, ** with his eyes open, he contributes to drunkenness and debauchery ; to the receiver, because it is sheer * begging, as ‘largesse’ is asked not from the employer or those with whom the men are in any sense ** connected, but from strangers, and even from those not living in the parish, as the men will frequently “ beg for a distance round their village extending to three, four, or even six miles. “ ‘The harvest home as conducted in this part of Norfolk is very objectionable. Irequently ** money, generally from half-a-crown to five shillings a man, is given by the employer in lieu of a ** supper, and with this the labourers procure a supper at some public house, where, there being no “ restraint over them (the master or employer not being present), the drinking is excessive, and rioting “ and fighting are frequently the result. When the supper is given by the farmer it is customary for “ the men to come again the next morning to consume the remains, and generally after the breakfast ‘* they adjourn to the public house and spend the remainder of the day in drinking. Even in the “ case of the supper given by the employer drunkenness is very general, as it is not considered either “ generous or fair to limit the supply of beer. The harvest supper is not considered a matter of “ charity or kindness on the part of the employer, but as a regular part of the harvest wages, and “ therefore the labourers think they have a right to ali they can get to eat or drink. It is not ‘* considered at all wrong for a man to get intoxicated on these occasions; indeed, it is rather the “ contrary way—a man is not considered to have kept the harvest feast properly unless he does get “ drunk. ‘The employers do not discountenance, as they should do, this feeling, but give way to it, so * that men who are habitually steady, sober, and respectable, will on these occasions regularly break * out. Attempts have been made in some parishes in this neighbourhood to commence a better state ** of things, by having a general harvest feast for the whole parish, with attendance at charch (not “ compulsory) in the morning. But these attempts have, after a year or two, all proved unsuccessful. “ The labourers did not like having a restraint imposed upon them, by the presence of the more respectable parishioners, in respect of drink, language, and songs, the latter of which are frequently * obscene and disgusting; and the employers, finding the dissatisfaction on the part of the labourers “ gave way and returned to the old system. I do not now know of any place in the immediate «neighbourhood where a general harvest festival for the whole parish is successfully carried out. I “* may mention that this drinking is not absolutely necessary, and might be abolished by firmness on ** the part of the employers, for I have been accustomed in this parish to have supper parties attended “ by 50 or 60 labouring men who have remained till 11 or 12 at night and have thoroughly enjoyed ‘ themselves without a single case of drunkenness occurring, and this even when habitual drunkards ‘* were among the company. ‘The reason for this was that I took care, first, that the beer should not ** be too strong, and secondly because it was understood that any one who misconducted himself in “ respect of taking too much drink, or improper language or behaviour, would not be invited again, « As my supper was a free gift, and not looked upon as a matter of right, I never had occasion to ** exclude any one on any of these accounts any year.” —— : 151. I fully agree with my correspondent that all that is required to put this evil down is firmness on the part of the employer; a steady setting of the face against drunkenness in every shape, at all times, * Lord Leicester gives his men 5s. instead of a “frolic,” and 10s, instead of harvest beer.—See “ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 1. . 21157. O Harvest frolie: and “ largesse still prevail. Description of their present condition. The evil could be mitigated, if not put down. 46 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN A. But the thing which farmers as a body dread almost more than anything else is a reputation for inhospitality ; and this, combined with a not unnatural reluctance to do an unpopular thing—the commonest form of moral cowardice—is the reason why no resolute effort has yet been made by those who alone can make it successfully, to mitigate an evil which is universally admitted and universally deplored. The remedy cannot come from peers or clergymen; it must come from the farmers themselves,* If they would only unite vigorously for the purpose—a thing that they themselves admit they never do—there might soon be an end of all that is evil in harvest frolics and statute fairs.T 5. Effectsof the 152. The extent to which the system of game preserving is carried in many parts of England, and preservation of particularly in the county of Norfolk, is assuming a serious significance both in a moral and in an pe economical point of view. The farmer cannot cultivate his land with the proper measure of profit, and there is a tangible loss thereby sustained in the resources of the country; while the way in which, and the extent to which, preserves are stocked to meet the present taste for battue-shooting and to satisfy the notion that you have had no sport unless, like Samson with his Philistines, you have slain “ heaps “ upon heaps,” act as irresistible incentives with the peasant, who loves his bit of sport as truly as the gentleman, and whose honest earnings are not sufficient to enable him to overcome the temptation thus thrown in his way, to both poach and steal.. The. sport of shooting certainly assumes proportions in Norfolk that, so far as I have observed, are unknown elsewhere. It is the one thing cared for. It has enhanced within the last 25 years by I know not how much per cent. the value of land.{ Fabulous rents are offered for the occupation of a mansion and the right of shooting over a few thousand acres of stubble and plantation, where the hirer possibly does not intend to reside more than a fortnight, or at the outside a month in the year. The art of preserving is studied and cultivated as if it were the great business of life. The highest ambition of the sportsman is to exhibit from his game-book at the end of the season the greatest aggregate of slaughtered game. Indeed, this document is almost as valuable to the owner of a property as his title deeds, and I suppose that no one would ever think of either renting or purchasing an estate in Norfolk without having this proof of its value submitted to his inspection. Fifty brace of partridges shot in a day would be thought no extraordinary performance for three or four guns; and when battue-shooting has commenced, it would be deemed poor sport if the day’s spoil were not reckoned by hundreds. Two sorts of 153. Game in Norfolk is classified into two species—‘' ground game” and “ winged game,” the a first belonging to the quadruped, the second to the biped order, ‘The first species is the one that works pocket of the Most mischief to the farmer ;§ the second species is that which most harms the peasant. Rabbits and farmer, the hares play havoc with the farmer’s oats and barley; partridges and pheasants corrupt and demoralizé other he the virtue of the labourer. Adequately to stock these vast preserves and these illimitable stubbles, the morals of the q y Pp , labourer. keeper is obliged to lay in, in the spring, a proportionate supply of pheasants’ and partridges’ eggs. These eggs are sold, I know not how far openly, at 12s. and 18s,a dozen. To show the extent to which trade in these articles is carried on I will relate the following anecdote, told me by a gentleman who is fully alive to the demoralizing tendency of the present system of things. Himself and a friend, not with any purpose of buying, but merely as trying an experiment of curiosity, went to a well known purveyor in Norwich one market-day and asked for 2,000 eggs. ‘ Longs” or “shorts?” was the question put in reply.|| I forget which of the two classes was selected, but the information arrived at was, that though not in stock at that moment, the quantity could be procured by the following Tuesday. There is, I believe, a legitimate way of procuring eggs so ordered ;{ but there is also an illegitimate; and I was assured, upon more than a single authority, of what it requires no credulity to believe, that many a Jad tending sheep or scaring rooks has been taught his first lesson in crime by the agents of these egg-purveyors, who will offer them 4s. or 5s. a dozen for any number of eggs they can procure. Thus, while the magistrate punishes, the game preserver through his servant encourages, the poacher ; and a system of things is growing up which in its development seems, to my humble judgment, to be fraught with mischief to the morality of at least one important class of our countrymen who are affected by it. Game preserving, carried to this excess, I regard as a simple evil; and I venture to raise the question whether noblemen and gentlemen are morally justified in buying their pleasure at this price: — “ Est modus in rebus ; sunt certi denique fines.” 6. The co-ope- 154. With remarks on one more subject I shall have done; and as my later pages have been written rative principle, under the influence of somewhat depressing thoughts, it will be pleasant to part company with my readers in a rather more cheerful mood. If there are many things to make a patriotic mind sad as it contemplates the social condition of England, there are others—and I hope I have not lost sight o. them altogether in the foregoing pages—of a more cheering character, sufficient to encourage effort and to prevent either the statesman or the philanthropist from yielding to despair. One such thing is the * I should perhaps say that these remarks upon harvest homes are intended to refer only to what I understand to be the system in the eastern counties. In my own part of England I know of no objection that can fairly be taken to the way in which the farmer and his men keep their “ feast of ingathering.” It is an occasion of conviviality certainly, and some of the men perhaps may be tempted to take more beer than does them good ; but it is not a debauch, nor do I think that the strictest censor morum would wish it, in the interests of morality, to be discontinued. I, for one, certainly should not. + “If farmers would unite among themselves—but the worst of it was they would not—the hiring system might be done away ‘ with.’—Speech of Mr. Samuel Wentworth, in the discussion on Mr. Frampton’s paper on Agricultural Labour, Appendix, . 22. ‘ E t [heard of an estate, which may extend over 6,000 acres, which has changed hands twice within about this period of time. The second purchase-money is said to have been 40,0007. in excess of the first. § The statement in the text is true of the game itself; but I am informed that where the system of feeding winged game pre- -yails,—and it prevails wherever partridges and pheasants are largely preserved,—enormous quantities of rats and other vermin are attracted, with of course the natural consequences to the farmer... ae reer cs ”, || I understand that in the mystical language of these transactions, which sometimes needs interpreting, “longs and shorts” indi- cate pheasants’ and partridges’ eggs respectively, The epithets are believed to refer_not to the shape of the eggs, but to the length of tail of the two sorts of birds. . {| I mean that there are mews where tame birds are kept for the express purpose of-laying the eggs; just as innocently asa map may make profit out of keeping poultry. bo ings es oe 2 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REV..J, FRASER’S: REPORT. 47 action of the co-operative principle, especially in its elevating effects upon the condition of the sons and daughters of toil, ye PS ati § 155. The principle of co-operation is asserted by its most prominent advocates to be the one great tie solvent of the most difficult and agitated social problems of the day. It is to put an end to strikes; it is to adjust the relative claims of capital and labour, which is the question of questions just now, I have no faith, myself, in panaceas, nor that any one mode.of treatment, of man’s devising, can cure the complicated diseases of modern civilization. Still, I have seen co-operation at work; and I believe it, when not pressed extravagantly far, to be sound in principle, and, when prudently conducted, to be beneficent in its results; and if it does offer the solution of difficult economical problems, I believe that: to the.sagacity and benevolence of a country gentleman belongs the merit of having discovered it, or, at least, of having been the first to apply it. 156, In the year 1830, 14 years, therefore, before the commencement of the enterprise of the Rochdale Pioneers, which has attained such gigantic proportions, the idea suggested itself to a Suffolk squire* that he would attempt to apply, byway of experiment, the principle of co-operation or co-partnership to a farm. Selecting 60 acres of land of medium quality, furnished: with a rough but not unsuitable homestead, he formed his little company of shareholders, all of them taken from the class of farm labourers, to which. he gave the name of The Assington Co-operative Agricultural Society. The number of the original shareholders was 15, who put 3/. a piece into the concern, by way of subscribed capital; the landlord, to give his bantling a chance of life, liberally advanced to the co-operators the sum of 4001. without interest, on loan.t The society has grown and prospered. The occupation has been increased from 60 acres to 130; the number of shareholders has been enlarged from 15 to 21. The present value of the shares, as the bailiff told me, is “ all of 502” All years have not been equally remunerative, but there has not been one since the concern started without some little matter to divide, The company have repaid the landlord all the borrowed money, and all the stock and implements on the farm are now their own. The stock consists of six horses, four cows 110 sheep, and from 30 to 40 pigs. The rent of the land is 200. a year, the company paying tithe, rates, and taxes, The farm is held on a 14 years’ lease, which is on the point of being renewed. The land is farmed on the four-course system of husbandry, and ordinarily employs five men and two or three boys, The members are not bound to work upon the farm, which, indeed, could: not find employment for all; but it is understood, though there is no rule to the effect, that if a co-operator is out of work elsewhere, he has a claim to employ- ment before any other man. When a co-operator works on the farm, he is paid wages at the usual rate; and if he were not an efficient labourer, there would be no scruple about discharging him, The affairs of the concern are managed by a committee of four, but the practical direction of the farm rests with the bailiff, himself a co-operator, but employed as a servant of the company, and paid 1s. per week above the usual rate of day wages. Some of the members of the committee cannot read or write, Two fresh members are elected in rotation. every year; and though want of scholarship would not exclude him, yet if a man were not thought sufficiently intelligent for the business he would have to discharge, he would be refused when his turn came. All the voting is by ballot. No member is allowed more than one share; only labourers of the parish are eligible for membership; and if a man goes to live three miles away from the parish, he must dispose of his share. As long ashe remains a member, he must, by the rules of the society, be a member also of the Stoke and Melford Benefit Club. A member can sell his share, with the landlord’s and committee’s approval. When a fresh member is admitted, he pays 51. down, and the remainder of the current value of the shares by successive instal- ments. The landlord chose the original members, and claims to have the approval of new members; but he does not interfere with the company, as regards the cultivation of the land, more than he would with any other tenant. The premises are required to be kept in ‘repair by the tenants, the landlord finding rough materials, They are to be insured in the amount of 5002, and every 12 years the farm is revalued. A member, falling into difficulties, can have a loan advanced to him up to half the current value of his share; a privilege, however, I was informed, which has rarely been used, The annual profits are divided equally among the shareholders. Among the members are four widows, one of whom has four small children; they do what they can for themselves, and up to the present time have been able to maintain themselves by their work and the dividend on their shares, without the aid of parochial relief. Indeed, the guardians would disallow relief in the case of any person possessed of property of the amount represented by the value of a share, so that the scheme has a direct tendency to diminish pauperism. ; ' 15%, The first experiment apparently succeeded so well, that in 1854 Mr. Gurdon was tempted to try a second, and started the “ Assington Co-operative Agricultural Association.” The new concern began with 70 acres of land, and 36 members, each subscribing 3/. 10s. by way of capital. Again, the liberality of the landlord was taxed to supplement this inadequate amount of capital by a loan, without interest, of 4002. The company has so “far prospered that, though the times have been somewhat hard with them in consequence of the burden of this debt (which is now, however, wholly repaid), and the taking in and stocking a considerable accession of land, their present condition is as follows :—they now occupy 212 acres, at a yearly rent of 325/,, the company paying tithe, rates, and taxes, which amount to about 50/. a year, The company is entirely out of debt; the stock of the farm is valued at 1,200/.; the original 32. 10s, shares would sell freely for 30/.. ‘There has not yet been anything worth speaking of in the way of profits to divide ; and what has generally been distributed has been some article in kind, as a ton of coals, or something of the sort to each shareholder ; but the members are satisfied with the state of things, and the prospects of the concern are bright in the future, All the * J, Gurdon, Esq., of Assington Hall, near Sudbury. ; t The capltal olor ea estimate per acre; but seems to have been sufficient to keep the land in good heart and cultivate it profitably. 02 illustrated at Assington in Suffolk. Mr. Gurdon’s first experi- ment. The second experiment, 48° EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN A. members but six are of the class of farm labourers ; the six excepted ones are a miller, a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a wheelwright, and two carpenters. Female labour is only employed at weeding time, or for a job of stone-picking; and at present there are only three boys working on the farm, one of 10, the second of 14, the third of 16 years of age. . ; 158. The societies are not yet incorporated, but intend to be. The squire, I believe, has ceased for some years to be resident at Assington; so that the success of the two experiments may fairly be set down, not to any sentimental fondling on his part, but to the sound principles on which they were based, and the prudent management by which they have been conducted. The only exceptional advan- tage which the societies have enjoyed, as they do not appear to be at all favoured in the matter of rent, was in the landlord’s original loan, in both cases now paid off, to enable them to stock their farms. _ Sources of my 159. I paid a visit to Assington, to see phenomena with my own eyes. I gathered the information, information. ~— which I have summarized in the preceding paragraphs, from Mr. Hedges, a large occupier in the parish, and churchwarden, and from the two bailiffs, John Crisell and John Marshall, upon the co-operative farms.* Judging as well as I could judge from appearances, I have no hesitation in saying that the experiment has been au eminent success, and that it is an experiment well worth trying in other localities.t Objections 160. The only objections of any force taken to it were that of Mr, Hedges, that if the system became ce oan me general, it would extinguish: the tenant-farmer class ; and that of Mr. Maud, that the tenant-farmer class being extinguished, there would be a chasm in our social, and particularly in our parochial, system that it would be difficult to throw a bridge over. But these objections, though theoretically forcible, may be practically disregarded. It is not likely that the small-farm system will ever become general, or the capitalist tenant farmer be displaced by a body of co-operators little if anything above the rank or intelligence of labouring men. No landlord would retrace the steps of the last half century, and break up his estate again into a number of small holdings. I think it very questionable if these co-operators would be able to manage a larger business than they are at present conducting. I am not at all the more assured of the permanence and solidity of the great Rochdale enterprize because I am told that there is invested in it, in one form or another, a capital of several hundred thousand pounds. Concerns may become too unwieldy to be manageable, too gigantic to be safe. The very success of the Assington experiment appears to me to be due, in part, to the moderate limits within, which it has been carried on. Its advantages, 161. Mr. Mand, though thinking that the drawbacks of the system outweigh its benefits, enumerates among these latter some very considerable items. It attaches, he says, the labourer to his parish, in fact to the soil. It counteracts the drain of which farmers so loudly complain; that is, of their best men into other employments supposed to be more remunerative. It is a decided help, Mr. Maud allows, to the labourer in a pecuniary point of view; and if widely adopted, would greatly diminish poor-rates, i.e. pauperism; and, with pauperism, crime. 162. To these admitted advantages may be added others. At the same time that the system displaces no labour, the co-operative farms employing no more hands than if they were occupied by a single tenant, it diffuses among a much Jarger number of the population an interest in the soil, and with that, an interest in the prosperity and stability of the country. In these revolutionary days, the tendency of the system is decidedly anti-revolutionary. ‘The co-operator is a man who knows and feels that he has some- thing to lose. And not only so, but the system increases that honest spirit of independence and self- respect which I am sure is as necessary in the lowest class as in the highest to rescue it from degradation, Mr. Maud says that it has not yet done much for education; but I think it, infallibly, will do, It is hardly conceivable that a system which has such a direct tendency to develop the sense of personal interest, should not at the same time develop a desire of knowledge, which may be called the correlative of the sense of personal interest. It is the poor drudge, to whom to-morrow is as to-day, without prospect and without hope, who is content to remain in his ignorance. Assington co- 163. The two farms are not the only instances of the application of the co-operative principle in the operative store. little community at Assington. In the year 1863, there was also established there a co-operative store. The idea of it probably grew out of the success that had attended the co-operative farms; but partly also was due to suggestions made in a useful little periodical called “The Co-operator.” The projector of the scheme, I believe, was a person resident in Assington, who has been a gentleman’s servant, but is now retired upon a small independence, and, one of the true benefactors of society, occupies his leisure by trying to be as useful to his neighbours as he can. If, as has been asserted, the “ enthusiasm of humanity ” is the central principle of Christianity, this worthy man has certainly caught something of its fire. I had the pleasure of seeing him; and from him and the manager of the store I took down the following particulars in my note-book :— 164, The store is called the “ Assington Industrial and Provident Society.” As already stated, it was established in the year 1863. It has, therefore, completed its first dustrum, and may be fairly considered to have passed through the perils of infancy. It started with 36 members; it now reckons 88 names on its roll of shareholders. ‘There have been at one time as many as 104, but some of these have left the parish and withdrawn from the concern. The value of the shares is 1/., and each member is expected to hold at least five shares. Five per cent. interest is allowed to each shareholder on his capital, and the balance of profit is divided among the members, who are purchasers, in proportion to * I was unfortunate in not finding the clergyman, Mr. Maud, at home. He has, however, kindly given me his view of the matter in a letter which I have printed in my “‘ Miscellaneous Evidence,” No. 19. Clergymen t It is an experiment as it seems to me that many a clergyman might find it advantageous, both to himself and to his parish, to might apply try upon his glebe. I read recently an interesting paper addressed to the Newbury Farmers’ Club by Mr. F. W. Everett, in which the co-ope- the writer lamented, on economical and social grounds, the disappearance of small farms, meaning by “small farms” holdings be- rative principle tween the size of-50 and 250 acres. He considered that many articles of daily consumption, requiring close personal attention, such to their glebe 28 poultry and stock, were produced more successfully on small farms than on large ones. The co-operative system would encourage land. the reappearance of small farms, without the reappearance of a class that neither did themselves nor anyone else much good, the class of small farmers. } IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION !-—REV. J. FRASER’S REPORT. 49 the relative amount of their dealings. The amount of members’ purchases in the September quarter 1867 was 660/.; of non-members’, 45/. The store is licensed to sell beer off the premises ; the beer is brewed by the manager, and sold at the uniform price of 1s. a gallon. ‘The amount sold in the same quarter was 56/., or about 20 hogsheads. Credit is not given to non-members, nor to members beyond the value of their shares. If, at a division of profits, a member does not choose to take his share in money, he can have it added to the amount of his capital. ‘The average dividend, which is declared quarterly, on the amount of purchases last year was 134d. in the 12 The manager is paid a fixed salary. The establishment consists of a manager, his wife, and a shopman. The establishment expenses are 25s. a week,—14s. to the manager, 8s. to the shopman, 3s. to the woman, ‘The concern is directed by a committee of shareholders, is registered, and is conducted according to a code of rules which has the sanction of the Registrar of Friendly Societies in England. 165. I was assured that the members have a very lively sense of the value of their institution. Upwards of 60 of the shareholders are agricultural labourers, and some of them have been heard to say that they ‘ have no call to look after their rent now,” as its amount is almost made up out of their dividend on capital and purchases. The manager, Mr. John Deal, considers that the condition of the labouring men who are members either of the farms or of the store is very much bettered thereby, especially in the case of shareholders in the farms. I think there can be no doubt that he is right.* * J have met with another instance of a rural co-operative store in my district, in the village of Tortworth in Gloucestershire ; but I have preferred to describe in the text the Assington experiment for two reasons: first, because it is an experiment of earlier date ; and, secondly, being entirely free from what is called patronage, it better illustrates what people, when so disposed, can do for themselves without any fortuitous or adventitious aid. The Tortworth store flourishes under the countenance of a benevolent nobleman, and much of its success is attributed to the indefatigable exertions of the curate of the parish ; and though, probably, it has won its way by its own merits, the world might be apt to think that it is to these exceptional circumstances that its success is due. Lord Ducie described the working and the results of the Tortworth store in a letter which appeared in the “ ‘Times ” of April 9, 1868, from which I cannot do better than make the following extracts: — “In March, 1867, some 20 of the most intelligent persons in my employ met and agreed to attempt a co-operative store for groceries. Nearly 50/. was subscribed by them on the spot as share capital, and a committee was elected. Suitable accommodation was easily provided, rough shop fittings were extemporized, stores were purchased, and in a few days sales commenced. Ready money payment was established, and has ever since been rigidly enforced. “ The committee was composed of persons of various grades, including day labourers. A carpenter working half-time at his trade, and giving his afternoons and Saturdays to the store, with the occasional assistance of a schoolboy as clerk, was found sufli- cient to carry on the business. Beginhing with but a moderate amount of skill, he has improved with practice, and has kept him- self fairly on a level with the increasing custom. « The weekly supervision of the committee, which meets in the store itself, has kept the supplies well up to the demand, and the personal benefit which every member of the committee derives from the store secures a keen and steady interest in the enterprise and a careful consideration of every purchase of stock-in-trade. The store is conducted on the principle of the northern co-opera- tive societies ; the goods are sold at the ordinary shop prices, and at the end of every quarter a division of profits is made among the purchasers. Shareholders take double the profit of non-shareholding customers, and receive in addition five per cent. per annum interest on their paid-up share capital. “ The London co-operative stores, selling at a low price and retaining only a sufficient profit to meet the ordinary expenses of: management, are, no doubt, well suited to the class by which they were instituted. The store at Tortworth seems, however, best fitted to the circumstances of an agricultural district. The system of quarterly dividends insures at least a quarter’s saving, and the store operates to some extent as a savings-bank; labourers who had always been behind the world find themselves at the end of a quarter in the novel position of capitalists, and are astonished to learn that while they have heen receiving their goods at the usual prices and of a better quality than formerly, a fund has been mysteriously accumulating which is their own, and which is large or small in proportion to the extent of their purchases. A man with a large family, and whose expenditure on the necessaries of life is consequently large, thus finds a new light thrown upon the text which assures him that happiness is among the possessions of the man whose quiver is full of young children. : : : “ The majority of the poor are deeply, almost hopelessly, in debt at the village shops. Some, however, roused by the advantages to be derived by dealing at the store, have already freed themselyes, and others are for the first time stimulated to forethought, and economy in order to rid themselves of their liabilities and to avail themselves of the benefits which their more prudent or more prosperous neighbours enjoy. The moral action of the store thus becomes of great‘ value, encouraging a virtue which precept alone has long failed to promote. ‘ : . f “¢ The store is in an agricultural district in which the villages are straggling ; abundance of water everywhere, the ancient fre quency of waste lands inviting squatters, or the exigencies of the small dairy farms, haye ‘produced a very scattered population. The nearest shops of any pretensions are four miles distant, though small village shops of an inferior description are not uncommon. The position of the store is favourable ; there is easy access to Bristol, where large wholesale provision warehouses exist. Candles, bacon, and cheese are all made in the neighbourhood ; a contract with a local baker provides bread, and a carrier delivers all goods at the store at a moderate charge. : “ The total sales for the year ending March 23, 1867, have amounted to 1,648/.—a sum which the promoters of the scheme never even ventured to dream of on commencing business. A percentage of this amount is due to increased consumption. Complete confidence in the quantity and quality of the article sold, and the prospect of the dividend at the end of the quarter, which is now beginning to be comprehended as an equivalent to a reduction in price, encourage the poorer customers to purchase a larger quantity of the necessaries and even of the comforts of life than they could formerly indulge in. “The shareholders at the end of the first year are as follows:—Labourers, 25; carpenters and masons, 11; tradesmen, 9; farmers, 6 ; gardeners, 6; clergy, gentlemen, and domestic servants, and various occupations, 16. Large purchases have been made by non-shareholders, receiving only half profits. ; a The sales have been, for the first quarter, 320/.; second, 349/,; third, 468/.; fourth, 5112. The dividends to shareholders have been, in the pound expended, for the first quarter, 3s.4d.; second, 2s. 9d, ; third, 3s. 2d. ; fourth, 3s. 6d. For various reasons, which I need not discuss now, it is not probable that the dividends will in future range higher than 3s, in the pound. These are the general results ; but I think that the following statistics of individuals will prove of greater interest. I take as typical cases the accounts at the end of the year of three labourers who joined at the commencement: — ' Dividend on Paid-up Capital. Money Expended. A - - - £1 0 O - - 5 O 7 B - - - - 1 14 #10 - - 2 10 O Cc - - 0 19 8 - 3°17 ~«#O rn 12s. each per week ; the difference in the amount of their dividends arises from the different amounts expended by sie "h, tor instance, hae a large family, some of whom add to the family income ; his purchases have been large, and the result is a dividend which much more than pays the rent of his house and garden. These men have also received 5 per cent. upon their i — i 1. se eT ot at give statistics of persons in better circumstances, whose purchases, and consequent dividends, are frequently larger. The first year of the store has just ended, and the committee have ventured upon bolder flights and fresh enterprise. They have. added a drapery branch, having expended 230/. in stocking it. They have determined to pay their salesman 23 per cent. upon sales in lieu of a fixed salary, and have secured tbe whole ofhis time. They have also decided to pay committee-men 6d. each for every attendance, an humble extravagance which will contrast favourably with the practice of more ambitious institutions. : “ T trust that I am not over-sanguine in attaching much importance to this movement. I do not expect the renovation of society by means of cheap groceries, but when country co-operative stores can be established I do look for a more thrifty population, better supplied with better necessaries of life, and deriving a certain advantage mentally from the interest which they learn to take in the 0 3 A. Its value appreciated. The Tort- worth store described by the Earl of Ducie. AL Advantages of co-operative stores, Evils of the credit systeni. Ready-moriey dealings en- - courage provi- dence. Retailing beer at a store would diminish drunkenness. Other advan- tages of co- operation, ConcLvusioy, 50 _. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN . 166, Qne of my Gloucestershire correspondents appends to. his parochial return the following postscript : re as “ May I be allowed to express my regret that no question has been asked relating to the shops at which our agricultural labourers generally deal. ‘These are kept principally by people of insufficient capital, unacquainted with business rules and methods, imperfect judges of. goods, bad accountants, sometimes unable to read and write. The consequences of this latter defect are frequent disputes as to.indebtedness. Government might well interfere with such shops in the matter of credit,* which on the present system, is equally injurious to tradesman and customer. I think a great step towards remedying this evil would be that Government should offer assistance towards establishing co-operative stores by pecuniary advances, as they now do towards drainage and cottage building.” 167. The Assington experiment shows, I think, conclusively that no Government assistance is required ; nor, indeed, could it be well granted, as I know not what adequate security co-operators would have to offer for borrowed money, that a Chancellor of the Exchequer would be likely to accept. But in the other remarks of my correspondent I entirely concur, He has not noticed one feature in the shop- dealings of the agricultural labourer that has always impressed me ; ‘and that is this—that the smaller are the means of the purchaser, the higher is the price that he pays for his goods. He buys his tea by the ounce, ‘his sugar by the half-pound, and all the commodities he requires on a similar scale ; and both tea and sugar are high in price, and low in quality. It is only by this mode of dealing that many a country shopkeeper, with his heavy burden of debts, contrives to keep his head above water. His customers who pay atone for the delinquencies of his customers who do not pay. A ready-money system would at once cut at the roots of this evil, Better goods could be obtained at lower prices ; the dishonest man could no longer live at the cost of his honest neighbour. 168, Another great benefit that wouid accrue to the agricultural labourer—indeed, to the labouring class generally—from ready money. shop-dealing, would be its value to him as a lesson of thrift and providence. If the English labourer’s lot is hard, its hardship is in. no small measure due to his own want of common management and foresight. He lives, emphatically, from hand to mouth, He seldom puts by. . Young men, earning high wages, with no one to provide for but themselves, spend recklessly all they earn. They never think of the time when. perhaps they will wish to marry, have to furnish a cottage, and set up housekeeping. The wages are always anticipated. If a man meets with an accident which throws him out of work, you wil! find in nine cases out of ten that he hasn’t half-a- crown of money in the world. And this thriftlessness is intensified by the facilities offered by the credit system, A man who has no need to pay, makes no provision for paying. ‘The money that ought to be spent in wiping off the score against him at the shop is too often spent, without a qualm, in self-indulgence at the beerhouse. Ready money dealing, such as is enforced at the co-operative stores, would oblige men to look at least a little forward. ~ : , _ 169. I think also that if all co-operative stores would adopt the practice of that at Assington, and sell wholesome, home-brewed beer t at a moderate price, to be consumed off the premises, a great step in advance would have been made towards the extinction of drunkenness. Men would then buy no more beer than they wanted, and would drink it at their supper and with their family at home. They would get a better article at five-and-twenty per cent. less cost. As credit cannot now be given at beer- houses, or, if given, can only be given at the publican’s own risk, the two establishments would, so far as this is concerned, stand on the same footing. It is easy to see which of the two, in the interests of society, most deserves encouragement. , 170. There are many other obvious advantages in the co-operative system ; in the opportunities it gives the labouring man of a profitable investment of small savings; in its binding together a class, socially often too much isolated, by the bonds of a common interest; in its placing within the reach of the poorest comforts and conveniences previously unattainable; in its action in the way of developing business habits, and so fostering general intelligence; but if it can be shown, as I think it can be shown demonstrably, to have a direct tendency to encourage providence and diminish drunkenness, enough will have been said in its favour to induce every well-wisher of the working classes to bid it good speed. , 171. I ought not to conclude this report without expressing my acknowledgments, which I most gladly and gratefully do, both of the readiness with which information was everywhere afforded to me, and small commercial experiences which are thrust upon them. I believe also that a landed proprietor will benefit both himself and bis dependents by encouraging the movement, and that a clergyman who will assist and give his parishioners the advantage of his superior intelligence in their attempts at self-help will’ not transgress the bounds or the duties of his office. Let me conclude by adding that to the curate of this parish, the Rev. R. Tilbury, a very great proportion of the success of the undertaking is due. “Tam, Sir, your obedient servant, “ April, 1868. Duc.” A feature of difference between this store and that at Assington is, that at Tortworth non-members are allowed a share of the profits. : ‘ : * Government, certainly, have interfered “in the matter of credit,” in the case of public houses ; and, generall of Limitations. I do not know whether it would be wise or practicable to press she principle ‘of ‘this bEtute rebel ao of small debts, making them irrecoverable within a less period than six years. It would be a waste of pity to expend much of it upon the shopkeepers. They are generally only too ready to draw away a customer from a rival by the offer of credit, and the fact that this is the case acts unfavourably upon the honesty of the people. When a man has exhausted his credit at one shop, he knows he can get a fresh lease of it at another; and so, as Lord Ducie says, he falls “ almost hopelessly into debt.” I have always warned shopkeepers who I thought would listen to my advice, that if they let a labouring man get on their books to an extent beyond 2/. they must never expect to see their money. No doubt shopkeepers are badly treated sometimes by unprincipled customers, whom they trust on the faith of promises which are never fulfilled. They complain also, not without justice, that the remedy offered them by the County Court is illusory, and consider that they are only throwing good money after bad in attempting to recover debts through its processes. : + Not that the beer need be home brewed. There are now brewers in all parts of the country who make and sell a wholesome pleasant-drinking beverage at from 10d. to 1s. a gallon, which would answer every purpose. , IN AGRICULTURE (1867). COMMISSION :—-REV, J. FRASER’S' REPORT. 51 of the courtesy, kindness, and hospitality with which I was everywhere received. Coming, as I thought I should come, among agriculturists on a somewhat unwelcome errand, I expected to encounter not a few rebuffs, possibly not a few unpleasantnesses. -I..do not remember that I met with one; certainly, not with one that has left any painful impression ‘upon my memory. There was a little heat in the discussion at the Central Chamber of Agriculture; ‘but perhaps I provoked it by some want of tact, and by treading too carelessly on explosive gtound. But if. there ‘was heat there was no bitterness, and the truth often comes out all the better from a debate that is somewhat warm; and I hope that those among whom I have been will have given me credit for conducting the inquiry with fairness and candour. As I am printing all. the evidence: I have received, absolutely suppressing none, the value of my Report can be tested by comparing my statements with the facts upon which they are founded. If I know myself, it is not the temper of my mind to form’ foregone conclusions, or to delight in painting things in other colours than their true. I may, no doubt, in some of my descriptions, have committed errors; some of my conclusions may be pronounced hastily drawn or inadequately sustained : but if there are errors, they are errors of inadvertence; if my reasoning” is illogical, it will correct itself by failing to carry conviction. I would be the first to rejoice at being shown any mistake, either of fact or argument, which I may have made. I venture to think that Her Majesty. has never appointed a Commission of Inquiry upon a more important subject ; and I trust that my own share in the labour of that inquiry may be instrumental to the public good. It is perhaps right to add that I have had no comntunication with my colleagues throughout the whole course of my proceedings, and that the value, therefore, of any agreement in our several reports will be enhanced by the fact: that they are entirely and absolutely independent. - a 172. Thanking the Commissioners for their confidence, and. yourself for thé unvarying kindness and courtesy of all your communications, _ a . ie ee ae I remain, Sir, : Ufton Rectory, Reading, Yours most faithfully, June Ist, 1868. JAMES FRASER, Assistant Commissioner. - P. Selby, Esq., oe Secretary to the Commission . on the Employment of Women and Children in Agriculture (1867). NS B. Private instructions, Appendix E, Registrar- General's Report, 1864. System of tillage. Terms of service. Payment of labour. Advantages of system, Disadvantages of system, 52 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN REPORT.—By Mr. HENLEY. To Her Magzzsty’s CoMMISSIONERS. GENTLEMEN, . 1. I wave the honour to submit to you my report on the “Employment of Children, Young “ Persons, and Women in Agriculture,” in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. . I was instructed to select, in the first instance, a district in Northumberland suitable for making a minute inquiry, and afterwards to prosecute a more general one over the remainder of the county; and I was furnished with “circulars of inquiry,” &c., &e., to be placed in the hands of “ landed proprietors, “ clergy, farmers, farm labourers, medical practitioners, officers of health, relieving officers, and other “ functionaries or private individuals who are conversant with agricultural life under its various * conditions.” 2 2. Glendale Union having been pointed out to me as affording a suitable field for minute inquiry, I proceeded thither on the 8th of July 1867. It comprises 45 parishes and townships, extending in a southerly direction from Wark and Carham on the Tweed over an area of 147,698 acres by Ordnance Survey, with a population of 13,210 and a rateable value of 129,290). It is a purely agricultural district with the exception of some small collieries. To this district the greater part of the following Report refers. It is mainly based on the replies which I received from 50* gentlemen, chiefly occupiers of land, to the circulars above mentioned. A detailed summary of these replies is given in the Appendix. “ Glendale in Northumberland ” says the Registrar General “is a model district in statistical tables. With Farnborough, Bellingham, and Rothbury it stands a monument of salubrity to which a sanitarian immediately turns when he seeks a comparison or would direct an aim. In the 10 years 1851 to 1860 the average mortality of Glendale was only 15 deaths to 1,000 living.” 3. The cultivation of the land is principally on the five-course system of tillage ; that is, it remains two years in grass. On the Cheviot Hills some large sheep farms are included in the district. The farms are of great extent and occupied by gentlemen of good social position and high intelligence. It is mentioned by Mr. G. H. Ramsey, in his evidence before the select Committee on Agricultural Customs in 1848, that “he believed 20 of Lord Tankerville’s farms in this district were let for 20,000/. “a year.” There are now many farms let at rents far above 1,000/. 4. Although there are no “private gangs” in the sense in which the term is understood in the eastern parts of England, as described in your sixth report, yet, according to the strict definition given in your circular of Inquiry of a private gang, viz. “‘a group of children, young persons, and “ women in afarmer’s own employ, and superintended by one of his own labourers,” such, undoubtedly exist in this county. They may indeed be met with on every farm; but under circumstances entirely different from those which appear to characterise them in the eastern counties. 5. As there are very few villages in this part of Northumberland, the farmers are almost entirely dependent on their cottages for the labour of their farms, and the men are generally hired by the year. ‘The term of service commences south of the Tweed on the 13th of May, and north of the Tweed on the 26th of May; it is therefore practically impossible for a labourer to go northward, as he and his family would be houseless between times. 6. “Hind” is the name given to the carters who work the horses; each man looking after two horses. ‘There are also shepherds, spademen, and byremen. 7. It is the custom of the country to pay the labourers mostly in kind, but a few prefer money payments. Their wages may be put at 15s. to 18s. a week, including everything, and taking the average price of corn as a basis. The hind who is paid in kind has a cow kept for him, and receives also 5/. or 6/. of stint money in lieu of an allowance formerly given for the keep of a “dry cow.” He has a certain amount of corn, permission to keep one pig, or two as the case may be, a house rent free, coals led, and potatoes planted. The three last items are more or less considered as the retaining fee of the woman worker, formerly known by the name of the “bondager.” Where the hind is unable to find a cow, the master will in some instances “put one on” for him. 8. The advantages of this system are certainty of payment for the whole year, both in sickness and health ; absence of temptation to spend money, and of any necessity for overtime or over-exertion at - plece-work ; a constant supply of good wholesome food at cost price, including abundance of meal and milk for the children, besides the various cakes of barley and peas, brown and white bread, butter, pee vegetables, and home-fed bacon ; and fuel brought to the door from the pit’s mouth free of charge. 9. The disadvantages and objections are as follows:—That the hind is at the mercy of a bad master or a bad steward ; that if the harvest is wet he is paid in bad corn and bad potatoes ; that having no ready money he is at times compelled to barter his corn ; and that he and his family must occupy the house which is given to him, however miserable a tenement it may be, and however distant from any school suitable for his children. 10. The payment in corn is no doubt unequal, as good land and high farming produce the earliest and best crops. These are soonest harvested, and thus the grain is of greater value to the hind than that which is produced on inferior land and by lower farming. The profit of a cow may also vary proportionately to the goodness of the land; but this is of course well known to all the men in the district, and bargains are made accordingly. * Namely, 3 landowners, 31 occupiers, 9 clergymen, 2 Presbyterian ministers, and 5 schoolmasters. ¢ In South Northumberland it is common to engage the yearly binds with the understanding “ k Pe come on the rates when sick. (See Appendix D. 12.) oa ; REE eee Sa EY IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :+—-MR. HENLEY’S REPORT 33 11. It might be supposed that under this system disputes would frequently arise between masters and men, but I never heard of any complaints. The men say, “ We get the best corn on the farm, we * cannot expect more,” and it redounds to the credit of the system, as well as to the credit both of employers and of employed, that at the Wooler Petty Sessions in the year ending December 31st, 1866, not one conviction of “servants in husbandry misbehaving ” is recorded. 12, From my own observation in many cottages, and much conversation with the wives of the labourers, I am convinced that those who are paid in kind, or “corn conditions,” are the best off; and though at times the want of ready money may press, the children’s earnings bring a good deal into the family. Children are paid in cash, and this is usually half-yearly. Even after they have reached the age of maturity the whole family make common cause with a common purse. Cows are also a great source of profit. 18. I have included in Appendix A some interesting details as to the value of the payments to the hinds, with copies of the “conditions ” usually signed on their engagement. To these I have added a similar paper bearing date in 1857, which will show how considerably wages have advanced in this district in the last 10 years, especially for women. 14. The day labourers are called “day tale men” (told by the day). There are other independent labourers who work “at their own hand” as it is called. These men receive 2s. 6d. to 3s. a day. 15. I must now refer to the system known by the name of the “bondage,” about which so much has been said and written. Great misconception has gone abroad on the subject. 16. In this thinly populated district there are very few villages, and it is therefore necessary for the occupier to have upon his own farm all the labour he may require. To secure this the hind is bound to find the work of a suitable woman whenever she is needed. The woman thus hired is called the “ bondager” or “ bound woman.” Her earnings are paid to the hind, who engages to give her wages, lodging, food, and washing. The usual payment to the hind for the bondager is 1s. a day, and 2s. 6d. or 8s. at harvest time for a certain number of days. The wages given by the hind to the woman would at the present time be 12/. 10s. a year, that is 8/. 10s. for the summer half-year, and 4/. for the winter. Her earnings would probably amount to 15/, or under the most favourable circumstances to 172; 300 days at 1s. making 15/, and 2/. extra for harvest. This leaves a very small margin for her main- tenance; but, as I mentioned before, part of the hind’s privileges of free house, coals, and potatoes are supposed to be compensation for this. 17. Of late years many objections have been raised to this system, mostly coming from the hinds themselves, principally on account of the loss entailed upon them, if they are compelled to hire a stranger, not having any member of the family capable of working the bondage. ‘They usually say, “The woman only earns her wages, we meat and wash her for nothing.” It certainly cannot be said that any hardship is inflicted on the bondager, as she enters into the engagement of her own free will, and the whole arrangement is a simple matter of business among the three parties concerned, master, man, and bondager. On the other hand, when there are sufficient members of a family to “ work out,” and dispense with the probable discomfort of introducing a hired stranger into the house, it is a great advantage in every way. 18. The system is also objected to, both publicly and privately, on the ground of morality and decency, from the probable necessity of having to lodge the hired woman in the same room as the family. Tn the old description of cottages this was often unavoidable, and the practice may be justly censured as indecent; but there are many instances of a family dividing the one room by the box beds, and making a separate place for the hired woman. I shall refer to this subject of crowding in a later part of my report under the head of cottages. . 19. The old cottages are, I hope, fast passing away; but with all the disadvantages under which these hinds’ families labour, I was unable to trace any excess of immorality as connected with the bondage system. B. Appendiz A. Children’s payments. Day tale man, Bondage system. Earnings of bondager. Wages of bondager. Objections. On the ground of morality. 20. Owing to the circumstances above stated large families are in great request, as it is necessary to have female labour on a farm, particularly during the turnip season. Thus the bondage system is not universal and is gradually dying out ; and the name “bondager” is becoming unpopular, “ woman worker” being now substituted. Sometimes a spare cottage or “ bondage house,” as it is called, is given to a single. woman rentfree, coals being led, and potatoes planted for her, in return for which she is bound to work on the farm at a certain rate. When there is an aged parent or relative for whom a house is required this is an excellent arrangement ; but when, as happens in rare instances, such houses are let to one or two single women, it cannot be said that the practice is conducive to morality. 21. Women are extensively employed throughout the whole year, and their labour is considered essential for the cultivation of the land. The work of two women is usually required for every 75 acres of the light land, and a larger proportion for that which is heavier, or farmed on the four-course instead of the five-course system. Their labour consists in the various operations of cleaning the land, picking stones, weeding, &¢.; turnip hoeing, haymaking, and harvest work, rooting and shawing (that is, cleaning _turnips);. barnwork, with the thrashing and winnowing machines, fillmg dung carts, turning dung heaps, spreading dung, and sowing artificial manure; turnip cutting in the winter for sheep, &; and occasionally driving carts or harrowing; in some instances forking (pitching) and loading hay or corn, though when such is the case two women are put to the work ofone man. 99. The Northumbrian women who do these kinds of labour are physically a splendid race ; their strength is such that they can vie with the men in carrying sacks of corn, and there seems to be no work in the fields which affects them injuriously, however hard it may appear. The universal opinion and feeling is that it conduces to health. Mr. Henderson, steward of South Rock farm, in Alnwick Union, says, “ Women carry up stairs to the granary sacks of corn of the following weights :— 8 stone of wheat, 112 lbs. 9 ,, of oats, 126 lbs. 8 ,, _ of barley, 112 lbs. 93, ‘The barn work consists of passing the sheaves of corn to the man who feeds the thrashing machine, clearing away the straw, and sacking the corn, sometimes carrying it up to the granary. This barn work they consider the hardest part of their labour, for it has the exhausting effect of factory work, owing to the constant strain of attending on a machine. 21157, P Employment of women, “ Kinds of labour. Not injurious, Barn work. Appendix E. question (1), Do. Evidence, Glendale, 2. Evidence, Glendale, 6. Field work thought degrading. Dress of women in Northumber- land. N.Northumber- land, Evidence, 3. Children’s work. 54. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 94. Reaping machines have generally put an end to the “ shearing ” (reaping) which women con- sidered laborious. They are now merely employed in putting the corn together for men to tie up and “stooke” 7. e. shock. Ve gs 25. It has been frequently suggested to me by many gentlemen and occupiers of land, whose opinions are entitled to the greatest respect, that the practice of women driving or leading horses, either on the road or the farm, is both dangerous and objectionable, unsuitable in every point of view. The Rev. T. Knight says, “They ought to be exempt from ‘such labour as no female should be “ employed in, viz., the filling and driving of'dung carts, and the turning of dung hills.” Mr. G. Culley also remarks, “Women should not be put in charge of horses and carts, which I think dangerous, “ nor employed in heavy work, such as filling dung, as on many farms in this district.” Mr. Brown, surgeon, Wooler, ‘‘thinks that women should not be allowed to go with horses drawing carts or “ harrows, as he has known of accidents happening from this cause.” The evidence of Patrick Baker, overseer at Lowick, is, that: “there is some employment not suitable for women, such as leading horses “ and carts.” He considers that ‘‘ women’s work in the fields degrades them.” 26. I have always found that such work was not forced upon the women. Their own words are “ we “ fight to drive the carts, it is easier work than loading.” ‘They are undoubtedly as fit to be trusted as those of the same sex, in a higher social position and of greater rank, who drive horses in the highest condition in every description of carriage; and with regard to the latter few would be bold enough to suggest that they do not show as much science and nerve as many men, or to propose legislative interference. ae ; ; 27. It has been also represented to me that such work as. turning manure heaps, filling dung carts, &c. is insuitable for women, and the first feeling may be that itis so; but it must be borne in mind that if such labour were not desired by the women and tendered by the farmers, these women would for many weeks be compelled to remain idle in their cottages from want of occupation, to their own and the hinds’ loss. . 28. There are many who hold the opinion that field work is degrading, but I should be glad if they would visit these women in their own homes after they become wives and mothers. They would be received with a natural courtesy and good manners which would astonish them. Let the visitor ask to see the house; he will be “taken over” it, with many apologies that he should have seen it not “yredd up.” He will then be offered a chair in front of a large fire, with the never-absent pot. and oven, the mistress meanwhile continuing her unceasing family duties, baking, cooking, cleaning, &c. Not one word of complaint will he hear ; but he willbe told that, though “working people,” they are not poor; and a glance at the substantial furniture, the ample supply of bacon over his head, the variety of cakes and bread on the board, and the stores of butter, cheese, and meal in the house, will convince him of the fact. When he inquires about the children he will hear that though they have not much to give them, the parents feel it to be their sacred duty to secure them the best instruction in their power and “that they are determined they shall have.” ‘The visitor will leave that cottage with the conviction that field work has had no degrading effect, but that he has been in the presence of a thoughtful, contented, and unselfish woman. ES ‘ 29. There is one very important fact bearing on this subject, viz., the great proportion of unmarried women among those who are employed in field work. _In the Glendale Union, out of 373 adult women returned in the Commissioners’ circulars of inquiry as “ working out,” only 29 were married. Through- out North Northumberland the daughters are contented to forego the pleasures of town life and higher wages in order to live with their parents, thus leaving the mother free to attend to her home duties. But they cannot remain at home, unless they are prepared to accept any description of work that is offered to them, including perhaps that which has been censured. 30. On the contrary in the southern part of the county single women seldom remain at home, but go out to service. The consequence is that the mother.is compelled to go into the field, taking her eldest girl from school, or hiring one (as the case may be) to look after the house and young children. The girl thus employed loses her schooling, and the mother on -her return finds that she has to begin a second day’s work to “ bring things into order.” me ae | 31. The dress of these north country women is admirably adapted for their work; being made to fit easily it dces not encumber them, and being of strong materials it defies all weathers. Generally it consists of a pair of stout boots, a very short thick woollen petticoat, warm stockings, a jacket, &c. ; over all a washing pinafore with sleeves (called a slip), which preserves their dress from the dirt. Their faces are protected by a shade or “ugly” of divers colours. Thus equipped they present a great contrast to the draggled appearance of the women who only work in the fields occasionally, wearing some thin gown, with perhaps the addition of the husband’s coat and boots. Nor is the difference less striking in the results. The occasional worker not being inured to field labour frequently suffers from exposure to weather, while the very x.) ascgpeeriras the habitual workers is sufficient to prove the healthi- ness of their mode of life ; and the medical evidence is overwhelming as to the absence of disease and of the usual complaints attendant on debility. Dr. Cahill, of Berwick-on-Tweed states “from his know- “ ledge of the town and country population ” that “the women of the latter are far more healthy than “‘ the women of the former, and tenfold less affected by female complaints. He considers that their “ field work fits them to be good bearers of children, and the strength of the population is kept up by “ them ; and that the surplus of the agricultural population that enters the large towns maintains the “ standard of health and strength by marriage wail the inhabitants of towns.” 32. Children seldom, if ever, go to work in the Glendale Union before 11 or 12 years of age, and then merely for summer work. Their employment is herding potatoes and corn, turnip hoeing (two being put to the work of one woman), hay making, assisting at harvest by making bands, &. &c., weeding and picking up stones, getting up potatoes, and making straw ropes for thatching. Both boys and girls begin work at the same age, their physical strength at that time being about equal. | 33. Horses are never entrusted to the care of boys before the age of 14; consequently till that time it is only summer work for which they are required, so that they are able to continue their school attendance during the winter. x ey as . fg IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 55 34. The turnip crop may be considered the principal one in this district, and as the turnips are drilled on the ridge, at hoeing season the women and children are formed into a line, and directed by. a steady man, called the “ woman’s steward.” Rach woman takes one drill, two children doing the work of a woman. Five women on this light land are expected to do two acres in a day. It astonished me, as asoutherner, to observe children hoeing and singling the turnip crop, and doing their work in a first-rate manner. I had the advantage of seeing on a farm belonging to Mr. George Rea 55 people at work hoeing turnips in one field, of whom. 36 were women, and girls, the. youngest child a girl. of 11. They were. under the charge of three stewards, who kept excellent order. As some of the workers had to come from Mr. Rea’s other farms they were brought to and fro in carts well lined with clean straw. Such cases should be considered in any recommendation for restriction as to the distance to which children should be allowed to be taken to work. 85. As the farms are generally provided with cottages for their cultivation, women and children employed upon them have no great distance to go to work; although in exceptional cases, when‘ the work lies at the extreme boundary of a large farm, their walk may be somewhat extended. 36. The hours of labour for women and children are nine and a half hours in summer, viz., from six to six, with two hours and a half for meals, that is two hours for dinner, and a short break at nine and at four. In winter the ours are regulated by the light. These hours of work are earlier and longer than in the south. On the other hand, the women and children are able to return home for a long rest in the hottest time'of a summer’s day, when they find their dinner cooked for them; and as the majority are single women the early start from home cannot be prejudicial. ON bod 37. Iam persuaded that any restriction or interference in the present system of employment of women and children would be detrimental to the social condition of the district, and destructive to the turnip husbandry of Glendale Ward. - a 38. At certain seasons it'is absolutely essential that all the labour on the farm should be united— men, horses, women, and children working together. And though the work at such seasons is severe, the pressure only lasts for a limited time.'' The system was established in this district by Culley in the last century, and is ably described by that distinguished agriculturist, Mr. Grey, of Dilston, in the journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 1841 :— “ Turnip cultivation is the branch of rural economy in which the district peculiarly excels, which exercises by far the greatest influence upon its prosperity, and has produced the greatest effect, as I have previously stated, upon the value of the land and the well doing of all who possess and are connected with it. “ Turnip culture is like gardéning on a large scale. — * oe o% % * * “ The process when conducted on a large scale presents a scene of uncommon animation and interest, and might afford to Adam Smith himself an apt illustration of the advantage of the division of labour.” Although Mr. Grey’s report was published 27 years ago, I found matters remaining exactly on the same footing. na ; 39. The Glendale hind: has been’ accustomed ‘to shift his quarters frequently, and sometimes for slight causes, such as the refusal by his master to allot him a favourite horse, &c. &c., but oftener for graver reasons, such as the desire of advancing his family either by work or education. Some however, remain for.a long time in the same service, and I beg to annex a list given to me at my request by Mr. Langlands and Mr. Marshall, which will prove that under some circumstances they’ lose the roving spirit. — With Mr. Langlands :— its John Hall, 44 years, 30 of which he has been steward. John Scott, 29 years, now steward at Harehope. George Strong, 20. years. _ . 2g. a Margaret Elliott, a deceased husband and herself, 22 years. Andrew Best, 11 years. William Clough, six years. : Alexander Rogerson, shepherd, eight years ; succeeded a brother who was 15 years ; he succeeded the - father, who was 21 years. 5 Ie : James Rogerson, shepherd, 37 years. The blacksmith and carpenter have lived with Mr. Langlands 44 years. With Mr. Marshall :— One man, 61 years. One groom, 27 years. One do., 10 years. One steward, nine years. Three shepherds, nine, five, and two years. Two hinds, 11 years each. One do, 6 years. One do. 2 years. One do, 1 year. sts ; ; ; Two do., engaged last May, one of Mr. Marshall’s men having died and another left.his service. 40. The opinion of John Hall, a fine specimen of a Northumbrian, who has been 44 years with Mr. Langlands and is now steward, is that— “ An oft removed family, And an oft removed tree, Never thrive so well As those that settled be.” 41. Benefit societies do not ‘prevail in this district, probably on account of the farm servants being hired by the year and their wages being thus secured during sickness. There are two such yearly societies at Wooler, dividing annually... The first contains 89 members, of which only 16 are agri- P 2 B. Turnip crop. Distance not great. Hours of labour. See Bailey & Culley’s if Survey © Northumber- land, 1797. Frequent re- moval of hinds. Glendale, Evidence, 28. Benefit Societies, Wooler Dispensary. Cow club. Appendix A. North North- umberland. South North- umberland. Journal of the R. A. S. of England, 1841. Hours of work . S. N, Evidence, 12. Married women work in the fields, Farm labour- ers, 56 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN cultural. The second contains 77 members, 23 agricultural. Many of the members belong to both societies. 42. The Post Office Savings’ Bank at Wooler has only about six agricultural depositors, and not one has made use of the Government insurance. 43. Considerable sums are lodged in the Alnwick Savings’ Bank from this class. The Vice-Chairman of the Alnwick Board of Guardians, informed me “that there are 1,905 depositors in the Alnwick “ Savings’ Bank, a very large proportion of whom are agricultural labourers.” He adds, “ From my “‘ own observation I am of opinion that before marriage the provident habits of females are greater than “ that of the males, and amongst the larger depositors the principal part of them are either agricultural “ labourers or shepherds. I have known several of the depositors commence farming with the produce “ of their savings, and that successfully.” oo 44, A dispensary is established at Wooler for the purpose of affording medical and surgical aid gratuitously to the necessitous poor. Every annual subscriber of 12 1s. has three tickets of recom- mendation. There is also a cow club in Alnwick for the whole district ; a friendly society, “ to ‘“‘ indemnify the insuring members from loss by the death of their cows. Insuring members consist “ only of farm servants, cottagers, mechanics, and the labouring class generally. In the year ending ‘¢ the 12th of May 1867, 21 losses were made good by this society, saving many families from serious loss.” 45. From the returns of the Clerk of the Glendale Union, which I beg to append, it appears that out of et paupers who were relieved in the ninth week of the Michaelmas quarter, 1867, 199 were non- resident. 46. The districts comprised in the unions of Berwick-on-Tweed, Belford, and Alnwick do not differ materially in the kinds of work or the hours of labour, from the Glendale Union.* The chief difference is that in parts of these districts sea-weed is used as manure, and much labour is spent on carting it from the sea shore; a considerable part of which labour falls on the women. 47. I shall therefore pass to the south of the Coquet,+ and borrow again from the same able author whom I have before quoted, Mr. Grey of Dilston. “In the southern parts of the county the valleys of north and south Tyne, with others branching from them, and also that of the Wansbeck, contain land of excellent quality, and afford many specimens of superior hushandry ; but in general the farms are on too small a scale, and their occupiers too limited in means, to entitle them to a place in the lists of those distinguished agriculturalists who occupy extensive farms in the highly cultivated districts of Glendale and Bamborough Waeds. The Vale of Coquet too is fertile and well cultivated.” 48. About the Coquet the hours of work are somewhat different; women and children commence at 7 in the morning instead of 6, and work on till 6 in the evening, with breaks of a quarter of an hour at 10, an hour in the middle of the day, and a quarter of an hour again at 4... ; 49. South of the Wansbeck the hours are shortened. Thus, at Ponteland, Mr. Spraggon, relieving officer, says :— “The onan who are not confined ” (Mr. S. does not use the word in its common acceptation, but in the sense of “hired,”) “ go out from 8 till 6. They have an hour and a half for dinner, going and returning in “ their own hours, 15 minutes at 10 and 4.” ' 50. This arrangement extends to the extreme south of the county, though some of the northern farmers who have migrated south carry with them their own hours and kinds of labour. 51. In the description of work performed by women the south differs from the north. In Mr. Spraggon’s evidence I find :— “Tt is not customary here and would not be tolerated to fill dung carts, turn dung heaps, or drive carts,” 52. But the great difference between the systems of the north and the south as regards female labour is this, that as a rule, in the former, single women are most employed, being free to go to work at any hour in the morning, and ready and anxious to undertake any kind of labour ; whereas, in the south, many married women go out to work, neglecting their homes, and leaving a child that ought to be at school to look after the house. oe ta 53. In the south and west of Northumberland large tracts of land are in pasture and moorland, affording but little scope for my enquiry; though the valleys of the Tyne, both north and south, contain some highly cultivated farms, many of which are occupied by northern farmers, whose hours and kind of labour exactly accord with those which are described in my former statement. 54. The farm labourers south of the Coquet are paid in money, instead of the “ corn conditions ” of which I spoke in Glendale and the north. 55. The hind’s wages in South Northumberland may be stated at fully 12. a week. Usually he receives 16s., a free house, coals led, some potatoes, and often some com at Christmas. 56. There is a great difference in the food of the north and south. The former follow the habits of the Scotch and principally live on porridge, crowdy (ie. scalded oatmeal), barley, and’ pea flour made into cakes, bread of whole meal and fine flour. Milk, cheese, and butter, home fed and cured bacon. They rarely touch butchers’ meat, though at times the master may sell them some. They have always a hot meal at their long midday rest. 57. In the south the butcher’s cart is always on the road. “ They eata vast of meat.” Meal and milk are not used; the- children lose by this, as the bread and tea are poor substitutes. And whether from this cause, or the mixture with an urban manufacturing and mining population, their inferiority in physical power to the northern agricultural class is very evident. * The answers received to the Circular of Inquiry from these districts are embodied in Appendix E. The evidence taken there will be found in Appendix C. + From South Northumberland I received 20 answers to the Cireular. The substance of the statements in these papers will be found in Appendix E, The evidence taken in South Northymberland forms Appendix D. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 57 58. Mr. Lumsden “ does not believe that the labouring classes hereabouts are so strong asformerly. They B. “ have entirely changed their food, given up meal, milk, &c. &c., and taken to white bread and butcher’s gv. Evidence “ meat. He quite believes that it takes three men now to do the work of two.” 24, Mr. Lymsden’s opinion as a practical man is of great value, as he has been employed for 21 goers by Sir M. White Ridley, M.P., to drain his extensive estates, and now occupies a considerable arm. 59. It may not be out of place while on the subject of food to draw your attention to the concurrence of medical evidence against the excessive use of coffee and tea, in which the working women of Northumberland appear even to surpass those of a higher station. Not unfrequently they indulge four times a day in this enervating beverage, which they procure by bartering their valuable meal with travelling hucksters. Mr. John Paxton, medical officer of the Berwick union, says :— N. N. Evia “The change of food of the working people is deteriora(ing their physical health and strength: The use of nce, 2. coffee not free from adulteration instead of oatmeal and barley bread is the chief cause. This alteration has taken place since groceries, such as coffee, tea, and sugar. have become lower in price and more attainable to the working classes.” Dr. Dodd of Rothbury remarks that— e N. ae “There has been a great change within the last 20 years in the food of the people ; with an increase of drinking °°" ”* they have taken to tea and coffee three or four times a day, given up porridge and milk,” &c., &e. Mr. Brown, surgeon, Berwick-on-Tweed, says :— NN. Evim ‘There is one growing evil, the giving up cows of their own and taking so much to tea and coffee.” dence, 1. Dr. Turnbull of Coldstream : Glendale “The change of diet is injurious, substituting weak tea for oatmeal and milk.” Evidence, 4. Mr. Patrick Baker, overseer at Lowick, speaking of the “ corn conditious :”— Glendale “The present system obliges them to have six months’ credit, and they are at the mercy of people who go Evidence, 6. about with carts and barter things with them for their corn. They part with corn for coffee and other things which do them no good.” 60. The farm labourers of Northumberland have the great advantage of cheap fuel, coals being carted for them to their doors free of charge. ‘The glorious coal fires unknown to our cottagers in the South of England, where fuel is arare luxury, enable them in the first place to cook their food, for which purpose every cottage is provided with a pot and oven fixed on each side of the fire ; and in the second. places to dry their working clothes at night, by which means they keep off rheumatism and its attendant evils. ; 61. In a severe winter the result is sometimes very striking; thus the Registrar-General, in his Registrar- Report for 1864, says:—‘ The [general] rate of mortality was 18 per cent. higher than it was in the two General’s preceding March quarters. In the northern division the rise in mortality was only four per cent.” Report, 1864, 62. These advantages must be weighed when speaking of Northumberland and its wages, and comparing them with other counties. These, together with the good habits of the people, account for their wellbeing and excellent social state. 63. I may sum up as to the general condition of the people, by quoting the evidence of Mr. McCabe, surgeon, Matfen. He has been a union medical officer in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire ; has also been in business in America, U.S., and has been living in Northumberland for a year and a half. He says:— “He has never found working agricultural labourers so well off in any place, including America. In fact, there are no poor people at all here.” : 64. I entered the county of Durham* on the 11th of November. At that time the autumnal work Durham. upon the land for women and children had ceased, and as circumstances obliged me to conclude the inquiry on the 20th of December, J had not an opportunity of forming a sound opinion upon the various matters intrusted to my investigation. J found the condition of the agricultural population entirely different from that of Northumberland; in fact, the manufacturing wealth of the county has so absorbed the population that a pure bred Durham farm labourer is very rare. 65. In order to explain the condition of the people [ must touch upon the cultivation of the land Cultivation. upon which they are employed. The land is much subdivided, that is, broken up into small farms, the quality of the land in a great part of the county not being tempting to farmers of large capital. The labour upon these small holdings is done by the farmer and his family, perhaps assisted by one or more young people hired into the house and living with the family.. These hired boys rarely remain long in farm service, the higher wages around them from iron, lead, coke, or coal naturally tempting them away, and Mr. Parrington, agent to Lord Boyne, remarks in his evidence that farm labourers are not so skilful as formerly from the absence of long training in farm service, where they were taught every kind of labour required on a farm. 5 66. These small farmers are always spoken of as an honest, industrious race, and though in their Small farmers. hard struggle to live their children fail to obtain sufficient school instruction, being usually taken away from school at a very early age, as their parents were before them, to “pick up a bit of schooling when “ they can,” yet they hold a position that bridges over the distance between capitalists and labourers. Having had the advantage of meeting the tenants of Lords Eldon and Boyne, through the kindness of Mr. Snowball and Mr. John Parrington, the agents, I was much impressed with their intelligence. 67. Mr. Flavel, auctioneer in Sedgefield, speaks of the small farmers in that neighbourhood as having in many instances begun as working men, and Mr. R. L. Pearson, relieving officer of Stockton, makes a similar remark as to his district. 68. On some estates the farms are thrown into large occupations. This is the case on Lord Durham's Large farms. property, on that of Mr. Burdon, of Castle Eden, and in other cases. In these the Northumberland or * An abstract of the answers to the Circulars of Inquiry from Durham will be found in Appendix F, ; the evidence taken there constitutes Appendix G. ies : P 3 Age of chil- dren. Work of women. Effects of employment on morals. Training for domestic duties, Evidence not unfavourable. Appendix E., question (k). Bastardy. 58 EMPLOYMENT. OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND, WOMEN | Seotch- system! is adopted:;. the hinds (already described by, me,when speaking of Northumberland) being thired. by the year, and,being usually procured from Scotland, Northumberland, Cumberland, or North Yorkshire at some of the hiring,fairs. I only found one’ calling himself a Durham man in this -capacity.,... The wives and children of these people are the only pure agricultural ‘labourers, tho extra women being easily procured fromthe’ numerous pit villages: ‘These hinds carry with them the characteristics of their own countries. Thus the wives of Scotchmen and Northumbrians are far more particular about education for their children than the more southern people. I found a strong example of this when visiting one of Lord Durham’s farms-with Mr. Morton... Onicquestioning a woman as to her children, she told me that she “ had two children at the Presbyterian school, paying 44d. each for “them, and one boy, 13 years of age, working out. She took her boys away from the National school, “ ‘though it was cheaper and nearer, because she did not like the way they were taught ” (see evidence of Mrs. Forester). . .,69, The wages of Durham are so high as compared with other. parts of England that I may dismiss the idea of children being sent to work at too early an age from the pressure of poverty upon the parents, and as.a matter of fact the evidence will show that they are tiot sv employed, with the exception, perhaps, of those of the small farmers, who are taken from school, not to work ‘for wages, but, as I have mentioned above, to assist the parents. Some few, indeed, begin work about the ages of 9: or 10, to assist in the barking season (see evidence from Castle Eden),‘but this is only. for a limited time, and is light exceptional work, .) , ” iat re ahh es ae | era eran ae Reema Bs a 70. The women who work in the fields merely do the light work common to thé south of Northum: berland., The hours of work also are short, being from ‘8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; with arihdur for dinner. 71. Having thus described the various districts which I visited as to their cultivation, as to the organization of their agricultural labour, and as to the general condition of the labourers, I will proceed to speak of the other matters to. which my inquiry was directed. What follows applies to the whole of Northumberland, except where it is expressly confined to one part.:- With much more qualification, a good deal ‘of’ it will apply also. to the county of Dutham, though, as explained above, the strictly agricultural population is there so very limited, and my time there was so short, that the application of my remarks. to it.is not of great importance. . ' 72. “Are the females or the young subject to any ill-treatment a tae | “The evidence on this point is overwhelming; no ill-treatment is attempted, and none would be possible. (Sée Appendix E., question (i).)° er mee ade: at '~73, A8 to the “effect of the employment of females in agriculture on morals and on their. proper * training for domestic duties,” the information given to me is conflicting. : 44. Dhe, bulk - of. the evidence I have received does not bear out’ the ‘opinion that field work is one of the great causes of immorality ; and indeed, it is difficult to understand how such employment can have an influence for evil, considering the conditions under which it is exercised. Whilst the work is going on the utmost order must be enforced by the stewards to carry on the business of these large farms, otherwise the whole machinery would be thrown out of gear ; and’ during. the mid-day rest the vottien and children do not remain in the field, but return home together for their dinner, so that no opportunity is given for licence or disorder. Re sft 75. The evidence as to the fitness of field work for training women for domestic duties is also conflicting, but on the whole favourable; and from personal observation in a great number of cottages, I am convinced that the women in Glendale district who have “worked out” are not to be excelled as wiyes.and, mothers, They have learnt'from the earliest’age to turn their hands to every description of work,, both inside,and outside their homes, and if they are. somewhat deficient in needlework, this may be accounted for by the roughness of.a hand accustomed to hard out-of-door labour. Nor is the want of aptitude for needlework seriously felt, for among several families there are generally one or two girls who, being physically incapacitated from field work, can devote their hours to this employment. 76.‘ The great demand which exists in the towns for country servants, shows in what esteem the latter are held. The Hexham Board of Guardians in ‘their return, when speaking of field labour, say. “ We do “ not think it has necessarily any bad effect on their morals... - Wherever young people of either sex are “ congregated together, without. proper supervision, evil is likely to arise. As to their training for % domestic duties, were they constantly in the field they could not have such training ; but this is not * the case, and the constant demand from towns for country servants shows that. both in morals and ** domestic duties they are in advance of those of a like standing in towns.” . — ‘77. In Durham the majority of the women employed are married, excepting the girls hired into farm houses. It is hardly necessary therefore to enlarge upon this question as to them. 78. The'great blot on the character of the agricultural population of Northumberland is the pre- valence of bastardy. ‘This is referred to by many of the witnesses. It is important, however, that the discredit arising from this cause should not be exaggerated. .In comparing the bastardy statistics of different districts, it must be borne in mind that there are several circumstances which tend to make a rural district appear worse than it really is. In the first place, nearly all the births are registered in the country; “In the large towns, itis probable that. the children born out of wedlock. are not “ registered to the same extent as other children” (Registrar-General in 19th Report). In thé next case (as is remarked by one of the witnesses), many illegitimate children in towns are registered as legitimate, the proceeding being possible there, though not in the country, where everyone is known, Further, the figures given by the Registrar-General show the numbers only of the children who are born alive. Now the proportion of such children born of the healthy women of the country is no doubt larger than in other cases, and infanticide, which is supposed to be very common in some towns, v is rarer in the country, and is quite unknown‘in Glendale. uF 3b IN’ AGRICULTURE: (1867) COMMISSION ——MR. ‘HENLE Y’S REPORT. 59 79. By a return furnished to me by the superintendent’ registrar’ of the Glendale district, I find that out of 1,000 children (whose births had been registered there consecutively) 116 (or, 11:6 per cent.) were born out of wedlock. _ The proportions for the other districts (calculated in the same way) are,— ® ‘Tynemouth - - - a 5. per cent. ’ ‘Newcastle- - im a ve we BOE gue Morpeth - wm s a a re Castle Ward “ - 7 Bes EU cn gt Alnwick - - - - - - 96 39 Belford -- - - : aia -.10°1 i Berwick - - . - = - 10°4 ss Bellingham = - : ee 1PO. ay Hexham - - = * - 1111 a Haltwhistle - - < ~ 198 4 Rothbury e - 5 a - 132 5 80. With every qualification the rate is undoubtedly a high one, and many causes have been stated to me in explanation of it. 81. The Venerable Archdeacon Hamilton who has had great experience of the habits of the people, both in his present living and at Berwick-on-T weed, and has studied this subject, attributes this laxity, of morals to the prevalence of border marriages in past. days, causing the marriage tie to be lightly. held ; and many others are ofthe same opinion. The evil is said to be increased by other causes, such as hiring fairs, overcrowding of cottages, the licence given in farms to night visitors, and the shifting character of the population, which has little or no influence brought to bear upon it by employer, clergyman, or schoolmaster. By some it is attributed to field work, while others speak of the bondage system. eo : . rs MGE 5. Vek 1 _ 82. The Rev. T. R. King; vicar of Carham, says in his return, “Out of 237 families in this parish, “12 months ago 44 have left’ the parish, and 29 changed their place of abode within the parish,, “ while in the same period 52 new families have come into the parish.” Be te NG 83. The Rev. Thomas Knight, of Ford, in his answer to the “enquiry,” writes:— =<. < “ There can be little doubt that the employment of females in agriculture is one of the’ causes of the low state of morality in this district. In large gangs from 12 to 20 there are too often some who are given to indulge’ in improper conversation by which the minds'of the young’ are corrupted.’ * * * Yet in justice it ought to be mentioned: that though the tone of morality be unfortunately low in this district, the crimes of infanticide and adultery are unknown. ‘The women who have once fallen never become utterly depraved, but generally marry and turn out good wives.” -.: , oN ; 2 ‘84, The information collected by me does not, support the belief that the low state.of morality, in this respect is due either to employment in the fields. or to the “bondage” system.. Thus Mr. Carr, for 20 years: Relieving Officer and Registrar of the Wooler District of the Glendale Union, furnished me with a list of 58 mothers of illegitimate children; of these only two were returned as bondagers. Of the rest,. eg. EP Us 15 were'domestic servants. -' Bitte The ty bs sD ‘* 96 field workers living at-home.': ° 3 a a 9 under their parents’ roof. : wie ae 4 in the workhouse. 2 widows. Other returns from the county point to the same conclusion. 85. According to a return by Mr. Hopper, the Master, there were;in November 1867, 14 women with illegitimate children in the Stockton-on-Tees ‘Workhouse. Of these 7 had one child,:1 two, 4 three, and 2 as many as four children. Of 11 of these women the previous occupation is returned as “ household,” one had been a pottery hand, and one had been engaged in “brick-yard work.” » Only one is marked as “ agricultural,” and she had but one child. Ss ‘ id . ' 86. Mr. Watson, Relieving Officer and Registrar, Morpeth Union, informs me that in the Bedlington or mining district the illigitimate births formed seven per‘cent. of the whole number ‘registered, while in the Morpeth or agricultural district they amounted to 9°6 per cent. He gives the following summary of the history of the mothers:— ; eS ies = Living with parents; town - oe country - Living at service in towns = - ” 2) country . Living alone in Morpeth - - » With sister - - Widow residing on own farm - - + , Lunatic woman in asylum. - : Remainder unknown. -.. a Two out of the number were Irish. The number unknown were apparently domestic servants who had been residing in both town and country, and had no parents to go to, and who were confined in Morpeth... ° + } Nearly all work in fields or gardens. — i ; 0 = (Of these three were house-keepers.) Pe al i ‘ Ca ae ace AT me OD , 87. In the Ponteland: district ofthe’ Castle Ward Union: ithe: mothers of the illegitimate children ‘were ‘-— aa wat ce gee SP fF BPR, ae aee Bete gh an Ab ee Town girls | - a - -e : 2 “2 bo Country gitls-~ = ~ = . - 2 - 9 = Pit girls - = - - = - yo dhe P4 B. Appendix A, Appendix A. Age of children, Appendix E., question (1). Appendix E., question (m). Appendix A. Restriction of distance. Appendix E., question (7). 60 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN In the Stamfordham district the mothers were :— lan! B Pitman’s daughters - - > - Brickmaker’s daughter - - - Waterman’s daughters - - - Furnaceman’s daughters = - - - Mother employed in glass-works or paper-mill Innkeeper’s daughter -* - - - - : Domestic servants - - - i = Su Farm servants Hind’s daughters Farmer’s daughter Widow’s daughter - - - - - : 2 Vagrant’s daughter - - - - - - - KK SEDO a mols ton oH a nm 88. The remarks as to the absence of infanticide and adultery are borne out by other testimony. According to a return furnished to me by the clerk of the peace (and also the chief constable), no conviction for child murder took place during the years 1860 to 1863, and the cases of concealment of birth were very few. The coroner’s return for the Northern Division of Northumberland for 1866 shows a similar state of things. The various ministers of religion concur in stating that breaking the seventh commandment is almost unknown in this district; and it is entirely free from the vice of towns, prostitution. Mr. Wightman, Superintendent Registrar and Clerk of the Glendale Board of Guardians, a gentleman to whom I feel deeply indebted for his constant attention to my wishes says, “* As it is creditable and partly of a redeeming character to set against the prevalence of illegitimacy “ amongst our labouring population, I think it only fair to tell you that several of the mothers are “ afterwards married to the fathers of their children, for instance, Mr. Carr (Registrar) from recollec- ** tion marked 10 in his list enclosed (out of 58), who were so married, after the birth of the child, and ‘“ there might be others that had escaped his memory. I think fully one-fifth of the whole would be “ afterwards married.” 89. There is a general concurrence of feeling among employers and workers that no child should begin labour before 10 years of age; and it rarely, if ever, happens that they are employed in North Northumberland at an earlier age. I never found a mother of a family, however large, who did not assent to this, usually adding “Ten is young enough,” which in Northumbrian dialect means “ too young.” In rare cases the eldest child is sent out by the pressure of a large family rather earlier than may be desirable as regards its education, so as to provide schooling by its earnings for younger ones ; but any restriction upon this would only drive the mother out. to work, while the eldest child would be kept at home to attend to the household duties, and would therefore be no way better off in point of instruction. 90. The returns in south Northumberland do not show any children at work under 10 ‘years of age.: I cannot do better than quote on this subject the return of the Hexham Board of Guardians, where this point is carefully and ably handled :-— “Few, if any, farmers in this union employ either boys or girls under 12 or 13, and they would prefer not to have either till they are 14 or 15 ; but they must learn to work, and their parents press to have them employed, that they may be taught.” And again :— , “To prohibit female labour in this district would simply be to prohibit farming.” The Bellingham Board of Guardians return this answer, that :— “Children of either sex under 12 years of age.are of little use to the farm, and ought to be at school under that age.” The Morpeth Board of Guardians :— “ That, in the opinion of this meeting, no legislative interference is required in this union for a better regula. tion of agricultural labourers ; for, as a rule, with rare exceptions, women are only employed in the summer months from 7 in the morning till 6 in the evening, and in the winter from 8 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, with ample allowance of time for rest and meals during the day; and, that in this union, the age at which children are to be employed may safely be left to the discretion of their parents.” : 91. I need not occupy your attention with the restriction as to the age of children in Durham, because they are not employed for agricultural wages at an early age, though, as I mentioned before, some very young children assist their parents who are farmers. Others keep house to allow the mothers to go out to work, and this is an admitted evil. I have found a girl under 8 years of age in charge of a cottage and children; all untidy and neglected. 92. With regard to “ restrictions of distance in reference to age” I have only to remark that such restrictions would not apply to Northumberland, as the labourers live on the farms. 93. Mr. King of Carham mentions an exce ptional case :— ; “T should prefer a minimum limit of one and a half miles, and certainly a2 maximum limit of three miles for all under 17; above that no prohibition. In respect to the first point in this parish there is only one village, Wark, where there is any independent population, and it is more than a mile from any other farm so that the limit of one mile would amount to absolute prohibition.” : 94, In Mr. Rea’s case, already mentioned, of moving children from one farm to another in carts any restriction woul’ be quite uncalled for. : : ; i: @ IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 61 95. I proceed to notice the three methods pointed out in your circular of inquiry “by which 7 a A aa amount of school attendance of children employed in agriculture might be obtained.” 1.) By half day at school and half day at work. (Factory Act, 7 Vict. c. 15. ss. 31-9.) All agree as to the impracticability of this scheme in Glendale, owing to the distance of the schools from the homes of the working classes. 96. (2.) By ay whole days at work and whole days at school. (Factory Act, 7 Vict. ¢. 15. 31-39. This plan would not answer. ‘The whole population is not more than sufficient to carry on the work of agriculture when it pleases Providence to send the season. Then every hand and every day must be turned to account on the farms, or the precious moments will be lost. From spring to autumn the farmer’s mind is constantly strained to take advantage of every variation of wind and weather, and the loss of alternate days at this season would be irreparable. 97. (3.) By school attendance for a certain number of hours during the preceding six months. (Printworks Act, 10 & 11 Vict. c. 70. ss. 2, 3, 26.) You will observe by the answers to the circulars of inquiry and the evidence annexed that a plan similar to this is now carried out in the district by the parents themselves, as the best method of obtain- ing for their children the instruction they so highly value. When the potatoes are housed in the autumn the work of the children ceases for that season ; and fortunately in North Northumberland they are not required at home to attend on younger members of the family by the absence of the mother at field work. Therefore, during the winter season they can always attend school, and they-do so as much as is in their power, braving all difficulties of distance and weather. 98. If, then, a modification of the third method appear preferable, what amount of school attendance could be fairly demanded during the winter months? Upon this subject I consulted the schoolmasters of the district, and I think their opinions coincide in some measure with the minute of the Privy Council of the 29th of April 1854:— **To accept in schools under certificated masters an annual attendance of 88 instead of 176 whole days in school as the condition of a capitation grant for boys over 10 years of age.” 99. Mr. King’s views on this subject are returned as follows :— “T think the third method might be adapted to our circumstances,—the year being divided into the two portions, May to Martinmas, and Martinmas to May. In the former portion any attendance at school of children over 10 years old would be difficult, and perhaps undesirable to enforce. During the winter portion most of the children up to 12 years do attend, and Ithink compulsory attendance would be beneficial. I should myself suggest 150 school “ attendances,” as estimated in the Revised Code, as the minimum, and strongly recommend the calculation to be made by “ attendances ” not by days or hours.” 100. The Hexham Board of Guardians say :— “Tt would be quite practicable to enforce a certain amount of school attendance up to the age of 12 or 13, but either half day or alternate day attendance at school is utterly impracticable. “We are prepared to recommend that no boy or girl be allowed to be employed under 12 or 18, without producing a certificate of attendance at school, for a certain number of days, during the preceding six months.” 101. The children generally come back to sehool about the 11th of November, Martinmas term, and remain more or less till the 12th of May; but in calculating the amount of attendance deduction must be made for sickness, for Christmas holidays, and for the very severe weather in winter, which some- times renders it impossible to get to school. Masters all agree in saying that slight causes do not stop them. Probably about six weeks are required to restore children to their position in the school after summer absence; yet the majority of the schoolmasters prefer this method as the only practicable one for ensuring continuity and regularity of attendance. I am aware that their opinions on this subject must be weighed with great care, as they naturally and properly look to the teaching side of the question; but the assistance given by the children to the support of the family is the first consideration, and the pressure particularly falls on large families of young children. 102. I may mention that in Durham the hinds or any class of agricultural children are so very few that I cannot form any estimate of the probable result of the adoption of either of the three methods of enforcing school instruction pointed out by you. 103. “ How far is the school attendance affected by the distance that the children have to go to “ school ?” On this point I beg to refer to a table showing in one of its columns the distance from each township in the Glendale Union to a school, (Appendix E., question 43,) and this may be taken as a specimen of the whole district. On the hills the shepherds are of course at a still greater distance from the schools in the vale; yet these men ask no assistance, but take care to provide education for their children, either by boarding them out in the small towns, or by keeping a master among themselves, usually called the “ Scotch lad.” Mr. Wightman says:— _ “Tt has been customary for shepherds residing in the Cheviot Hills (Grey’s Forest and Selby’s Forest), when they have young families, to hire a young man to teach the children during the winter. They provide him with board and lodging among them. Latterly I have noticed grown up youths from 14 to 18 at lodgings in Wooler during the winter monihs, obtaining a more advanced education than they could at home by the * former plan, which shows that some anxiety exists amongst the parents to do the best they can.” 104. Through the kindness of my friend Mr. Pole Ward T was enabled to visit a school of this description, that of Anthony Dagg, a shepherd on the Cheviot Hills, in the Rothbury Union. His simple history is soon told— “Fe has 11 children, and about 20 years ago he hired a schoolmaster for them, and took the chance of getting other scholars. After a year or two, he took his master and then two other shepherds into partnership. He has lived on both sides of the Border, and thinks if anything that the people on this side are better educated. * .* * He would most decidedly object to religion being excluded from school; that, he is certain, would be the opinion of the working people in this hi ghland of the Cheviots.” 21157. Q B. School attendance, Minute of the Privy Council. Appendix E., questions 23- 26. Appendix E., question 26. q. School atten- * dance affected by distance. Appendix A. N. North- umberland, Evidence, 15. B. Dorthumber- land, Evidence, 2. Appendix A. Appendix E., question 27, Evidence S.N., 4, Evidence S.Niy 6. S.N., No. 8, Evidence. Appendix E., questions 26, 27, Do. Complaints of certificated masters. 62 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 105. The following fact was communicated to me by the Rev. John Young, who has been for 38 years Presbyterian minister at Bellingham. “A few shepherds on the hills keep a schoolmaster among them, and they lately commissioned me to procure for them Virgil, Horace, and Cesar. Of these people one family come nine miles to church on foot; one is 2 woman, the rest are men.” Such are the shepherds of the Cheviot Hills, a class always spoken of with great respect, as themselves highly educated for their station, making great sacrifices for the education of their children, and possessing great knowledge of the Bible. 106. The rest of North Northumberland is well supplied with schools. With regard to them, the Venerable Archdeacon Hamilton says,— “T feel confident you found them sufficient in quantity and generally in quality for the requirements of our people. The advance which has been made in our educational institutions, both in our towns and in our country parishes, during the last 20 years, has been everything that we could desire, and the little which remains to be done will in a few years be accomplished. The demand for education, combining religious training with real and sound primary instruction, is universal, and the supply has kept pace with the demand. * * * Aji that we really require is that our country schools be raised in their educationary power, by some relaxation in the requirements of the Committee of Council on Education, so as to allow schools not having certificated teachers, nor yet accommodation equal to the present requirements of the Revised Code, to obtain two-thirds or even one-half of the Capitation grant on passing their children in the several standards set forth in the Revised Code.” 107. The schools generally appear to be sufficient in number in South Northumberland, but you will note that in some instances they do not satisfy the requirements of the people as to quality. 108. Mr. Dods of Anick Grainge, Hexham Board of Guardians, reports :— ‘‘ There is a dame’s school in the village where some of the very young attend, but it is just about useless.” 109. The Rev. Mr. Fiskin, United Presbyterian minister, Stamfordham— “Tg desirous to raise the standard of teachers in elementary schools in the district, as educated men are always the most competent instructors and better able to ground children in primary education. «They are far below the Scotch schoolmasters. This is of the greatest consequence in the country, as the towns can help themselves, but the country is the feeder of the towns, and the people go there in the grossest ignorance. The people in this district are not so desirous for education as those in the north. They are not so firm or anxious for it as the Presbyterians.” 110. In a scattered population the distance must necessarily be great for some children yet the evidence I have received shows that the wish not to neglect school is so strong, that those children who come from the greatest distances are generally the best and most regular in attendance, though they have to encounter all varieties of weather. 111. Mr. C. Hedlock, master of the Roman Catholic school, Stamfordham, says :— “That the greatest distance any children come to school is three miles. The attendance of those at a distance is best, and they are always first in the morning.” The evidence of Mr. Thomson, Bellingham British school, is that— “The attendance is very little affected by distance ; they come four miles.” Mr. Bainbrigge :— «Tt affects school attendance greatly in the country.” Mr. Rodger of Embleton :— “ Public opinion would send any man earning wages in this parish to the position of a brute, who did not send his child to school. “There are six schools unassisted by government in this parish to meet the difficulty of poor children who have to travel miles through frost and snow to school, and itis a positive disgrace to the Legislature that results should not be paid for unless under a certificated master.” The Hexham Board of Guardians report that— “In some instances and districts of the union it is” (affected by distance) “but not generally.” ‘‘It is fre- quently affected by the parents not liking the teachers, and by their fancying (sometimes justly) that they do not get value for their money.” 112. It will be seen that the children have sometimes as much as three miles to walk to school; and though the elder ones do not appear to be inconvenienced by the distance, it naturally prevents the very young children from attending, and renders impossible any general use of infant schools. In consequence of this the masters complain that the children come to school not knowing their letters. 113. The parents would not be satisfied with any increase in quantity which would lessen the quality of the teaching. They are excellent judges of the relative merits of the several schools, and will gladly discuss with any one visiting their cottages the benefit their children derive from the instruction they receive, as well as the shortcomings they observe. 114. The schools are usually mixed, boys and girls being taught by a master. As a rule there is no enforcement of particular doctrine against the parents’ wishes, and the people willingly avail themselves of the instruction offered for their children. It is a very gratifying feature in this district that the various denominations of Christians are willing and able to mix together in a common school. 115. I found a very strong feeling in the county of Durham among the working people and small farmers against the system of instruction pursued by the certificated masters. It is alleged that class teaching does not teach the individual child, that no school work is given them to take home, and that. too much of the school time is expended in singing and relaxation. Whether there is any foundation for these opinions I am unable to say, but of the existence of the feeling there can be no doubt. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 63 116. I could not ascertain that the school. attendance was materially affected by considerations of expense. The answers to the circulars show that the parents, feeling it a sacred duty to let their children receive all the instruction they can, seldom fail to pay for their “schooling.” In the case of paupers the guardians not only pay fees at any school selected by the parents, but take care through their officers to enforce attendance. 117. The evidence of Mr. Wightman shows that— “In this union the guardians pay about 20/. to 25/. a year in fees. The school fees vary in the district from ld. to 5d. per week.” 118. The probable average would be as per Chatton school list, which I beg to append :— Ist Class, 5d. 2nd do. 4d. 3rd do. 3d. an allowance being usually made in the case of a third child. These fees the people willingly pay. 119. The Hexham Board of Guardians state that school attendance is not’ at all affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents. . “The school fees of the pauper children are all paid by the union, and the wages earned in the district, from 17s. to 20s. in the week, are quite sufficient to enable any working man to pay for the education of his children.” 120. In Durham I always found that the children of the lowest paid labourers, the agricultural, were stated by the schoolmasters to be more constant in their attendance and more exact in their payment of fees than those of the mining or manufacturing labourers, with the bright exception of the lead miners. The London Lead Company’s school is a model one. It has been ably reported upon by Mr. Foster (Education Commission, Report, 1861) but 1 am happy to add my testimony to its merits, and to express my obligations to Mr. Bainbridge, the manager of the works. 121. Some of the schools are self-supporting. In the village school of Milfield the children pay for the master, fire, and books, the building and repairs being kept up for them. 122. In the way of industrial training Glendale union possesses nothing beyond the ordinary sewing classes; but I have reason to believe a noble lady has in contemplation the establishment of a school for training young women for domestic service. 123. Although not in this district, I may mention the Bamburgh Castle school supported by the trustees of that charity. A limited number of girls are here received at nine years of age and upwards, clothed and fed by the trustees till they are 15, and trained for household work. It is not essentially an industrial training school, but is practically so used. 124, Evening schools are not much in favour. Most of the masters, if not all of them, have made efforts to establish them, but unsuccessfully, principally owing to distance and the occupation of the hinds at evening stables. Mr. G. Hughes, of Middleton Hall, Wooler, remarks in his able return that the principal difficulties in the way of maintaining evening schools arise from their— “ Coming in contact with the evening employments of the people, and the unfitness of their mental faculties for exertion and retention after a day’s bodily labour. I find, however, that my people consider that they have derived benefit from the night school, and I hope to get numbers sufficient to form a classs for next winter. Of my night school of last winter, one young man was a member who has since then considerably improved his social position by gaining a situation of trust in Newcastle. I gave two or three prizes, the competitions for which were very creditable. One of them, for an Essay on Cottage Gardens, was taken by the father of a family, who with a few other fathers took an interest in the movement of night school tuition. These night schools would afford an excellent field for assistant school teachers.” 125. In Mr. Langlands’ return I observe,— “The chief difficulty arises from sufficient numbers attending, which is often caused by the regulations for farm houses, especially as regards stables at night.” 126. The Rev. Thomas Knight.— Young peopie in this immediate neighbourhood have generally “ speaking attended the day school well. ‘Those from the farm homesteads farther away seem “ disinclined for the long walk after working all day in the fields. The horses also require looking “ after in the evening.” 127. The Rev. J. R. King, Carham says, in answer to Question 53,— “The first great difficulty is that which most impedes a clergyman’s influence in the district altogether, both in respect of religious and moral teaching and schooling in the narrower sense of the term, viz., the migratory character of the population. It is so common a practice with the hinds to shift their quarters every May day, that in a great number of cases one hardly gets the influence over young persons which would induce them to go to a night school, before they are gone altogether. « A second serious difficulty is the arrangement by which each lad in charge of a pair of horses has to look after them in person at 8 p.m., thereby cutting into the only time during which an evening school could very well be held. . ; “A third difficulty is the distance, which of course tells more heavily after a day’s work than in the case of the younger children. “In the only place, Wark, in this parish, where an evening school could probably gather large numbers, the school is carefully kept out of the clergyman’s control, and there is no evening school.” 128. John Hall, steward to Mr. Langlands, Old Bewick, with whom he has lived 44 years, mentions that his “regular school instruction ended at 133 years of age. He attended the night school for “ six or seven years afterwards.” 129. The following is a list of the evening schools in Glendale Union, with the number of scholars on the register of each :— Q2 B. School atten- dance not affected by money. Glendale, Evidence, 44. Appendix A. Appendiz E., question 28. Industrial Training. Bamburgh Castle school. Evening schools. Glendale, Evidence, 23. N. North- umberland, Lvidence, 26. Glendale, Evidence, 10. Glendale, Evidence, 43. School atten- dance, Effect of teaching. Appendix A. 64 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN EvENING SCHOOLS. On the Register. ———_ Summer. ; Winter. Under 12. Above 12. Under 12. Above 12. Carham - a « 7 = 5 e = 2 ae 14 Old Bewick - is 7 = - < os a ee 15 Middleton Hall, parish of Iderton - . a a = 3 9 North Hazelridge, parish of Chatton - - 3 eet oo es 12 Crookham, parish of Ford - - - : - = oes ] 5 Ford - = - 7 - - oS =e oe 8 Chillingham - - - - = =. — 17 Mindrim - = 2 - = si = =e a i 10 Total - - - - - oes — 4 90 130. From North Northumberland there are returns as to evening schools at Woodhorn, Bothal, and Cornhill, and in South Northumberland at Corbridge and St. John’s Lee. 131. Mr. Oliver, florist and gardener at Eslington Park, mentions that he “ went to work 54 years ago, “ at 10 years old, and never went again to a day school, but attended the night school till he was 22. ““ He kept bees as a boy, and saved all his money to buy books.” 132. Some aim at higher pursuits and a Letter scale of education, as we may learn from the evidence of Mr. Duncan, English Presbyterian schoolmaster at Wooler, who says that— “ At this time there are four boys in his school learning Latin ; one the son of a gamekeeper, another the son of a shepherd, the third the son of a skinner of sheep, and the fourth the son of the widow of a railway porter. Two others learn French and Euclid ; one of these is a shepherd’s son, the other a hind’s, This shows the anxiety of the parents for education.” 133. George Bowmaker, clerk to Mr. Grey, of Milfield Hill, — “Was educated at the Milfield school from 5 to 13 years of age, and then went to farm work, attending winter school to 16, and evening classes till 19; all the school instruction he ever got was at the village school. All the people at Milfield could read and write. It must be a man’s own fault if he has not education.” 134, 1 gladly mention the great assistance I received on all these subjects from the schoolmasters of the district, and without any disparagement to others, I must in justice say, that I could not fail to observe the great order and discipline maintained in the schools of the certificated masters. 135. Owing to the great size of the parishes, and the intermingling of the townships, and also to the habit which prevails of sending children out of the parish to some favourite school, it is difficult to form an accurate correct estimate of the average proportion of the children under instruction to the whole population of the Glendale district. I append a table, however (Appendix E., Ques- tions 42-44), which embodies all the information which I have been able to collect. The Returns from which it is made up are from the schools specified, and may, no doubt, in some cases have included children whose homes are outside Glendale Union. But, with a district so large, it is not probable that any considerable error has been thus introduced ; there is no reason to suppose that the number of children who come to Glendale schools from without is not balanced by the number who go out of Glendale to school. The numbers stated are perhaps in some cases too low, on account of the exclusion of all children but those of agricultural labourers, as was indeed required by the directions in the Form of Inquiry. One school too is omitted, no réturn having been received from it. But despite these circumstances, the table shows that in the summer, 1 in 7°83 of the whole population of Glendale is at school, and in winter as many as 1 in 5*9. The average attendance too 1s high, being 81°5 per cent. of those on the school books in summer, and 82 per cent. of the corre- sponding number in winter. An examination of the table will show further that. the attendance of the younger children is best in summer, and of the older children in winter. The whole number brought under instruction is therefore greater than would be implied by the above figures. 136. ‘The fluctuating nature of the population renders any return, based on the yearly attendance of certain children at particular schools, most fallacious as a basis for estimating the number of years usually given to school instruction. 137. Before quitting this subject I cannot refrain from pointing out that the farmers of this district, so far from being lukewarm in promoting the education of the children of their labourers, or hostile to it (as they are said to be in other parts of the country), give every possible encouragement to the schools; in some cases supporting them altogether, and in others paying the school fees of the children entirely or in part. 138. What is the effect of teaching on the future lives and character of the people? Sir Francis Doyle says, in his report on Northumberland, 1842 :— “What I saw of the Northern peasantry impressed me very strongly in their favour. intelligent, sober, and courteous in their manner. Their courtesy, moreover, is not cringing, but coupled with a manly independence of demeanour: added to this, crime as I was told, and, as indeed from the annals of the Northern Circuit I was previously aware, is all but unknown in agricultural Northumberland.” This I can fully endorse; and I desire to express in the strongest terms, my sense, the courtesy of the working people, but of the interest taken by them in this inquiry. remarkably sober race, rarely touching beer at their work, and they bear a high character Crime of a serious character may be said hardly to exist among them, of the Wooler Petty Sessional Division. They are very not only of They are a { for honesty. as is shown by the statistics IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 65 139. I was directed to discover by personal inquiry and examination the actual state of education among the young found at work, and I was to “regard the question of education, not in the restricted ** sense of the mere ordinary elements of instruction, but in the wider and more important one of the “ trainipg of the future agricultural labourer in habits of industry, honesty, and fidelity to the trust ** reposed in him, and of so opening and informing his mind, as to make him a more skilful and “ efficient farm servant.” 140. Through the kindness of the occupiers of the land, and the readiness of the people themselves to afford information, I had no difficulty in pursuing this most important part of the inquiry. 141. To begin with what are spoken of above as the “ elements of instruction.” In Glendale, I found almost without exception, that the children and young persons could read and write, and do plain figures more or less well, but sufficiently for their position; and though many were unable to answer simple questions in history and geography, still they had the elementary groundwork to build upon for the future. 142. I am confirmed in this opinion by the letter of the Venerable Archdeacon Hamilton already quoted. Indeed the want of education here is looked upon as such a disgrace, that there is little fear of parents’ negligence in this respect. 143. Mr. King, of Wooperton, remarks that— “ The majority do attend school for about half the year, and by working the remaining half year are enabled to pay for their own education and assist in their maintenance. I consider,” he adds, “that the majority of the children of agricultural labourers are sufficiently educated for their rank in life.” 144. As regards the wider and more important question, viz., the training of the future agricultural labourer in such habits as may make him an efficient farm servant, I have already endeavoured to show that this, the main object of a child’s education, is attained ; and that apart from the mere instruction of the mind, the working people are so brought up as to be useful to themselves and others, free from crime, and able to avail themselves of any opening which may offer to benefit their condition. In fact, the stewards on the large farms are almost to a man Northumbrians who have commenced life as hinds. 145. In Glendale, cottages are built upon the farms and held by the tenants with the other buildings necessary for the cultivation of the land. The returns show that about two cottages are required for every 100 acres of tillage. 146. The hinds and other labourers, who are hired by the year, receive cottages in part payment of their wages, and must occupy them for the year with their families, in whatsoever condition they find them. 147. The cottages are generally returned as sufficient in number. In some few instances, when the land is laid down in grass, they may be in excess. Their condition varies very much. There are pro- bably some of the best and some of the worst in England in this district. A rapid change is however taking place, and ere long those that are so miserably defective will have disppeared. 148. Public attention was directed to this subject in the year 1841 by the late Rev. Dr. Gilly, of Norham, in a pamphlet entitled “The Peasantry of the Border,” with a motto, “Give them good “ cottages and help them to educate their children.” Following this came the Northumberland Cottage Improvement Society, formed at a public meeting at Alnwick, Mr. Charles Bosanquet in the chair, and Mr. Ralph Carr, Provisional Secretary ; the first rule of which was— 149. “ Thata society be formed for encouraging and recording the improvement of cottages in the * northern division of Northumberland.”* 150. The old cottages were built of rough stone, having thatched or pantiled roofs, no ceilings, but bare rafters and earthen floors, one room about 18 feet square, with a space opposite the door for acow. ‘This last arrangement is entirely exploded in Glendale, and the cow is banished from the dwelling place to more convenient and suitable quarters. I found, however, one case of this kind in another union in the county. 151. In these miserable tenements all the light comes from one very small window not intended to open. ‘This, with the grate, used to be carried away at a change of tenancy. 152. According to Dr. Gilly “ When the hind comes to take possession he finds it not better than a “ shed. The wet, if it happens to rain, is making a puddle on the earth floor. (This earth floor, “ by the bye, is one of the causes to which Erasmus ascribed the frequent recurrence of epidemic ‘ sickness among the cotters of England more than 300 years ago.) It is not only cold and wet, “ but contains the aggregate filth of years from the time of its first being used. Imagine the trouble, “ the inconvenience, and the expense which the poor fellow and his wife have to encounter before they “ can put this shell of a hut in anything like a habitable form. They have to bring everything with “ them ; partitions, window frames, fixtures of all kinds, grates, and a substitute for ceilings, for they “‘ are as I have already called them, mere sheds. * * * The average size of these sheds is about “ 24 ft. by 16 ft. They are dark and unwholesome. The windows do not open, and many of them are “ not larger than 20 inches by 16 ; and into this space are crowded eight, ten, and even twelve persons.” 153. To this day there are hinds’ cottages, to which this description exactly applies. In cases of illness and death the evil becomes terrible, when there is but one room for the living and the dead. 154. Dr. Walker gives an account of entering one of them during a visitation from typhoid fever. After stating that— — “‘ He had attended many cases of typhus fever, which he attributed to the situation of the cottages, the deficient drainage, the over-crowding of the building, the bad ventilation and want of cleanliness on the part of the inmates,” he proceeds to describe how “in one cottage at his first visit there were dead bodies in the two box beds. The other bed contained two children ill with fever. Five other children were also suffering from it and lying on a shake-down on the floor. The father, mother, and the father’s mother were in the same room, divided only by the box beds.” a * ¥or this information I am indebted to Mr. Carr, who kindly gave mea copy of their report. Q 3 B. State of education. Appendix E. question 26. Cottages. Sufficient in number. Pamphlet of Dr, Gilly. Cottarze Improvement Society. Glendale, Evidence, 1. B. Crowding of cottages. Appendix E., question 37, Record of the Cottage Improvement Society. Glendule, Evidence, 9. Glendale, Evidence, 36. Appendiz E., question 30. N. North- umberland, Evidence, 10. NN. North- umberland, Evidence, 3. N. North- umberland, Evidence, 4. 66 - EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 155. I can testify to the crowding of these cottages, as well as the wretchedness of their state internally and externally; but at the time of my visit there were new ones in the course of erection. 156. Looking at the question simply as a matter of business it will be found that farms, at the expiration of their present leases, will not let without suitable cottage accommodation, which is as essential as suitable stabling for the horses. A good hind in the present day requires extra wages in money or kind to bribe him to occupy what is so miserable for himself and his family; and the farmer must either pay the extra wages or remain content with second class labour. And as these poor homes become more scarce, so will the pressure for good ones become greater. 157. Mr. Charles Rea remarks— “That the cottage accommodation is very defective in this district, and prolific of evils to the morals, health, and comforts of the labourers, one apartment being in many cases the sole accommodation for a large family. With the exception of six cottages on my farm the remaining 10 are old thatched erections, with mud floors, and no ventilation beyond the door and chimney, few having any internal partitions. 158. Since I received Mr. Rea’s return I have seen some excellent plans of cottages proposed to be erected on the farm he mentions. Too many of the old cottages still exist, but the landlords are quite alive to their defects and to the duties they owe to the labouring classes who live on their estates. 159. Through all these difficulties the labourers of the North exhibit the greatest pride in the arrange- ment of their homes, and the interior affords a great contrast to the exterior. They spare no pains to keep it clean; the furniture is good and bright; there are false ceilings of calico to cover the nakedness of the rafters; the partitions are cunning and curious, and the disposition of ornaments, crockery, &c., &c., shows great taste and care. 160. It must be said in justification of landlords that on this subject public opinion has made a rapid change. Some new cottages, mentioned as models by Mr. Lowry in the report of the Cottage Building Society, 1847, would now be considered totally insufficient; none of them have more than one room and a loft for a bed, and many are not provided with any sanitary arrangements. These one- roomed cottages, which 20 years ago were considered perfect, will become one of the great difficulties in the way of improvement. As they have good walls, roofs, ceilings, and floors, it can hardly be expected that the landlords will deliberately pull them down and lay out money in building others on an improved model; a kind of outlay, it must be remembered, which at best is rarely remunerative. The cottages lately erected are of a superior description, being built of stone with slated roofs and floors of Caithness flags, cement, or tiles; sufficient bedrooms, with milk house, pantry, and snitable convenience of piggeries, &c., &c., outside. 161. On the large estates of Earl Grey and Mr. Cresswell Cresswell attention is particularly attracted by the excellence of the cottages. The Dukes of Northumberland have in this county built and improved 931 dwellings for farm and other labourers on their estates during the last 20 years. The work of improvement is rapidly progressing, and I could mention many other estates on which they are all that could be wished, but the list would be too long. 162. The ground floor cottages, commonly called “two ends,” are the most popular. The occupier gives good reasons for this. Mr. Tait, shepherd, of Paston, says :— “ How is the mother to cook the dinner and look after a sick bairn when it is upstairs? She is always on the stairs. Some people would say that the upstairs rooms are more healthy. They would nae say so if they would try them in the cold of the winter.” 163. There is reason in this, because many of the upstairs rooms, even in the new cottages, are in the roof and not ceiled; consequently they are cold in winter and hot in summer. The people prefer very large living rooms, 18 or 20 feet square, as fuel is plentiful and the warmth can be kept up. As the daughters of the family remain at home for field work more space is required for house room than in the south, where they usually go out to service. 164. In this large downstairs room the parents and young children sleep, and one or two additional bedrooms are as much as they can furnish and occupy. 165. Some cottages constructed by Mr. Snowball on Mr. Faweett’s property, at Branton, with two upstairs rooms over a large sitting room, a back kitchen, and dairy are much approved by the occupier Mrs. Henderson, who says, “ There are not better cottages than these in the county ;” and also by Mr. Turnbull, the tenant. He remarks in his return— “That good cottages are essential to the comfort and health of the families, and generally prized by the labouring class. Here they are all that can be wished, having one large kitchen, dairy, and wash-up place on the ground floor, and two bedrooms upstairs.” 166. Mr. Davidson, the relieving officer at Alnwick, while speaking of these cottages, remarks “they “ are as convenient as can be.” 167. A proprietor may, perhaps, feel some mortification when he finds upper rooms of cottages on which he has expended so much capital without any proportionate interest, made into store rooms for corn and lumber, as I have observed in some cases; but every day it will become more apparent to him how truly the people appreciate their improved condition, and he will find that it tends to cure what is considered by many a great evil, viz., the yearly change of service. 168. Dr. Cahill draws attention in his evidence to some common oversights in cottage building. “ The new bedrooms are too small, the front doors are in many instances built to the north instead of the south. Sanitary regulations, as to privies, ashpits, pigsties, and cowsheds, are much neglected. In some instances the position of the house is on the slope of a hill, on a lower level and on the same line as the out- buildings for cattle where the straw is allowed to rot for many months, and the drainage from thence in some cases causes fever and other diseases. Box beds are very objectionable, and propagate fever after it has been originated by other causes.” 169. In the evidence of Mr. Hunt, surgeon, at Belford, we find— “Most of the new cottages are inconveniently constructed ; they are neither suited for health nor sickness “The small upstairs rooms are hot in summer, cold in winter. The most suitable construction is a ound floor ; the mother then being able to look after her children in time of sickness.” sie IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 67 . 170. Mr. Brown, surgeon, Berwick :— : B “The use of box beds is very injurious. They are sort of coffins for the living, and they are especially N. North- bad in disease.” aaa umberland, a ‘ : ; . .., Evidence, 1. 171. These box beds are constructed like berths in a ship. They can be closed in the daytime with sie a sliding panel or curtain, and thus serve as dressing rooms. In the old cottages they were a necessary protection against wet and cold; and as long as unceiled roofs remain box beds are likely to hold their own. 172. Mr. Brown, surgeon, 36 years practising at Wooler :— Glendale, “ Cottages built in this district are for the most part too small. The chief room has not sufficient space, 2rdnee 2 and in eases of fever the people were better off in the old cottages than in the new. The ventilation was better, and consequently recovery was more frequent.” 173. Mr. Watson, relieving officer, Morpeth, says :— N. North- “Tt is very important to look to the staircase (in cottages), as if this goes up from the sitting room it wnberland, acts as a shaft to send vitiated air up, and in one very bad case at Widdrington, two boys, two girls, a Evidence, 9. servant girl and a man, all died of diphtheria, It was attributable to this cause.” 174. The pressure for cottage accommodation is not so great in the south as in the north, owing to Cottages. the comparatively small quantity of tillage land, and in some districts to the greater number of towns °- North- . : : . : umberland. and villages in which labourers can live; but many of the returns point out that the cottages are not yet considered suificient. 175. The Rev. John Bigge, vicar of Stamfordham, informs me that — “ There are 380 farms without any hinds, the farms being worked by the farmer and his own family.” And again, speaking of his own parish with a population of 1,049, he says :— “There are 180 houses with more than one room, and 64 with only one room.” 176. It is satisfactory to think that this deficiency will soon be supplied, as throughout the length and breadth of this large county the earnest attention of the landowners and agents is directed to the subject ; and handsome and substantial cottages, built of the excellent stone which abounds in the country, are now being erected on all sides. 177. Mrs. Colbeck, Walwick Grange, says :— “ My idea is, that the cottage accommodation in this parish is very bad, and the effect must be injurious as Appendix E., regards the morals of the rising generation. The average cottage in this parish consists of one room of perhaps {“estons 30, 12 feet by 15 built of free stone ; a few roofs are thatched, the rest are slated. I do not think the majority of “" windows in the cottages open, but the door generally stands open the greater part of the day. Little or no drainage,” 178. The Hexham Board of Guardians say :— “ During the last 20 years a very great deal has been done towards increasing the cottage accommodation, both in numbers and in convenience, and if the same goes on, as it is likely to do for some years longer, all will be attained that is needed.” Appendix E., question 30. 179. Mr. Charlton, of Hesleyside, chairman of the Bellinghain Board of Guardians, remarks :— “Many of the old cottages iu this union were greatly deficient in accommodation, often consisting of Appendiz E., only one room ; but within the last 15 years many new cottages on improved plans, and containing two or three question 30. large rooms, have been built.” 180. Mr. Thomas Lawson, of Longhirst, says :— “ Cottages do not all possess enough of distinctive accommodation for morality and comfort ; all new erections Appendix E., are an improvement on what prevailed before. * * * Cottages are indispensable to the proper occupation pee 50; of a farm, and up to this point will pay for erection fully up to the wants of an agricultural labourer ; but ~~" beyond this they will rarely yield more than three per cent., and if much increased they become a nuisance by their lowness of rent tempting an indolent occupant or one whose labour is not suited to local wants or pro- fitable local increase of labour.” 181. Mr. King, of Carham, says :— “Of 150 cottages in this parish belonging to 18 farms, 100 in all are modern and afford tolerable and generally Appendiz E., good accommodation. Ten farms containing 81 cottages are thus satisfactory throughout. One with six cottages ston 37. has not a decent habitation on it. Four others have only good cottages for the superior servants, and 39 bad ones out of 47. The cottages form part of the farm buildings, and are, therefore, the property of the landowner included in the lease of the farm to the tenant. Rent is rarely paid, the cottage being included in the bargain made with the hinds at the annual hirings ; when rent is paid it varies from 10. 10s. to 5/., the maximum being rare.” 182. I beg to call your attention to a small detail in cottage building, which adds materially to the comfort of the inmates. In all Mr. Cresswell’s cottages a course of common slate is laid in cement the width of the wall, about three inches above the ground, which effectually prevents the damp from rising. Sir M. W. Ridley, M.P., uses Caithness flagstones for the same purpose. 183. As my instructions are “ To notice and describe any instances you meet with, in which the dis- Instructions to “ tribution of agricultural labour exists in the manner most favourable, both to the adult males and to Assistant Com- “ the young, and to the females of the family,” &c., &c., &c., I must not omit to mention a few of the SNe beautiful villages in this district. Etal, with its pretty garden fronts and picturesque thatched cottages ; Ford, unsurpassed in situation and the dressed appearance of its buildings and walks, testifying to the care and taste of the noble owners; Chatton, with its church, schools, and improved cottages, which tell at once of active pastoral care. These villages in comfort and wellbeing may bear comparison with any part of England ; and even some of the large farms are villages in themselves. 184. At Mr. Langland’s, Old Bewick, the cottages are all that can be desired ; the school, and a small Norman chapel recently restored by the unwearied efforts of the occupier, make a perfect picture of country life. Min ay go Nana Os oe ot eee eh or a ca Q4 B. Question 39, Appendiz E., question 39, Thid. Ibid. Thid. Question 40. Appendix A. Appendix E., question 40. 68 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 185. “Is the Union Chargeability Act, 28°& 29 Vict.c. 79., March 1866, having any effect in causing an increase of cottage accommodation ?’ The majority of answers to this question are in the negative. Mr. George Culley, of Fowberry Tower, says :— “No; as there was no inducement in this neighbourhood to limit accommodation under the old parish chargeability.” The Hexham Board of Guardians reply :— “Tt has had no effect whatever. There were no close parishes in the Union. Did not hinder cottage building.” Mr. J. Angus, Vice-Chairman of the Morpeth Board of Guardians, writes :— “ None ; it is a complete robbery on the agricultural parishes.” Mr. T. Lawson, of Long Hirst Grange, says :— “No. It might decrease its progress, as 100/. on cottages in a town will produce double rents of the same sum on a farm.” 186. Money borrowed under powers of the various Acts of Parliament through the Inclosure Com- missioners has been considerably used for drainage and farm buildings, but not to any great extent for cottages. 187. The reasons alleged for this have been :— 1st. The rule of the Inclosure Commissioners insisting upon three bed rooms and a sitting room.* 2nd. The refusal of the Inclosure Commissioners to allow any walls at present standing to be used for the new building. 3rd. That the borrowed money cannot be used for conversion and improvements, such as turn- ing three cottages into two, &c. &c., adding the necessary outbuildings. 4th. That the bearing power of the timber as required by the Commissioners is excessive. 188. Mr. Cresswell, whose opinion is entitled to great consideration from his experience on this subject in speaking of 10 cottages that he proposed building on one of his large farms, remarks that he had been— ‘“‘Deterred from borrowing money by the very stringent regulations laid down by the loan societies as to the number of sleeping apartments to be provided. Many other gentlemen, I believe, have been prevented in the same way from borrowing money. I have had a good deal of experience in building cottages of various sizes, and find that the one most suitable for the agricultural labourers in this county must contain a living room, 20 feet by 16, where two beds can be placed at the end opposite to the fire, for the father and mother and very young children ; two bedrooms over the larger one with a fire-place for the sons and daughters of the family ; a back entrance, with lobby to wash up, and a good sized pantry, coal-hole, privy, ash-pit, at the back, with a sink and drain to carry off slops. A pigstie is considered indispensable. JI always place it at some little distance from the cottages, with a good drain from it.” 189. The whole matter is treated very fully by Mr. T. Sample and Mr. J. Wilson in the following joint letter :— We have considered “question 40” in the Commissioners’ circular of inquiries, and from the experience we have had in the building of cottages with money borrowed from public companies under the inspection of the Inclosure Commissioners, we are of opinion that very much more money would be used for this purpose were it not for the following reasons. ; First. That the Commissioners require three bed-rooms and one sitting-room to each cottage, except in special cases. The above condition requires a greater amount of accommodation than can be afforded by a reasonable expenditure of money. If the living room were made sufficiently large to accommodate a bed in the corner, aud with two rooms above and scullery behind, we consider the accommodation would be ample. But in order to comply with the present requirements of the Inclosure Commissioners, the three bed-rooms are usually made so small as to be both unhealthy and inconvenient. Secondly. We have a great wish that we might be in a position to apply money under the inspection of the Inclosure Commissioners to the raising and alteration of existing walls,so as to make three cottages into two with additional upper rooms. This would be a great boon to the county of Northumberland, where, as you are aware, there are thousands of single room cottages with excellent walls which could be easily altered into more commodious houses. There are many instances also where a new roof is required upon an old wall which is as sound as new, and which is another case we ought to be in a position to meet. Thirdly. We must not omit to mention that we consider the bearing parts of timber in farm buildings in many cases unnecessarily heavy and clumsy, whilst the required dimensions of scantlings not unfrequently cause timber to be cut very much to waste. We hope the Commissioners may feel disposed to meet our views in this matter. (Signed) Taos. SAMPLE Jacoz WiLson } Land agents. 190. Mr. Bolam, land agent ; Mr. Woodward, architect, Roby Castle ; and Mr. Craster, have stated their views on this subject in letters which I beg to append. 191. The same letters contain also remarks on the third of the reasons above referred to; with regard to which Mr. George Culley, the high sheriff, in his return says :— “Tf loans could be granted for improving old cottages as well as building new, a great impetus would be given to cottage improvement.” 192. Some misconception exists upon the second point, viz., the refusal of the Commissioners to permit the use of existing walls, and possibly upon others. * [Except in some cases where several cottages are built, and then a proportion are allowed without the three sleeping rooms. ] IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. HENLEY’S REPORT. 69 193. This misconception may have arisen from a mistaken reading of a rule of the Inclosure Commis- sioners, No. 2:—“'The whole of the plans must be sent in at the same time by the company to the “ Commissioners, and must show any existing buildings as well as those proposed to be erected; existing “ buildings to be coloured ‘brown,’ new buildings ‘red,’ and any repairs or alterations intended to be * executed by the landowner ‘blue.’” 194, Or the mistake may be connected with that part of the explanation of the Lands Improvement Company which is marked in red ink, as follows :—“ And that the mere repairs of buildings and of other improvement works are not allowed under the Acts.” - 195. Certain it is, that the matter is not clearly understood by persons wishing to borrow money for the improvement of their cottages. 196. It isto be regretted that this should be the case, as the intentions of the Inclosure Commissioners, and the spirit in which they wish to carry out the important duties entrusted to them, are. clearly Scena in the following paragraph of a letter addressed by them in July 1865 to the Secretary of tate :— ae , “ As regards the plans of cottages, the Commissioners have adopted and sanctioned many plans of cottages, both in England and Scotland, as proposed by landowners, and have always been willing to adopt any plan which affords a reasonable amount of accommodation, and provides for the separation of the sexes, and for health and comfort as well as decency; but they have refused to sanction charges upon estates for cottages where they believed that these. requirements were not provided for, and they have been gratified to find that many proprietors both in England and Scotland concur in their views, that where these requirements are not complied with, the cottages should not be charged on the estates.” —- ba ; 197. Again they say,— “Jtis further stated that in new cottages box beds are gradually disappearing ; but the general feeling encourages there being one bed in the kitchen, where the young children can be attended to during the day, and in some cases, where the kitchen was sufficiently large, the Commissioners have sanctioned such a plan.” 198. There is, however, another objection to the building of cottages more difficult to meet than those which I have stated ; it is the loss incurred by a landowner who engages in cottage building. = 199. It must be remembered that the Treasury money is not generally available for this purpose, SO that the Company’s powers have to be sought. et = oe te | 200. The terms of the Lands Improvement Company are fair samples of the rest :— “The company’s commission above alluded to, where a landowner executes his own works and contracts for a, loan from the company, is 5/. per cent., which, as already stated, is added to the gross sum charged upon the inheritance. So that if 2,000/. were outlaid on improvements, about 2,1401, (including all expenses) would be. charged on the lands.” # * * * # * * “ The rate of rentcharge to repay capital and interest in 25 years is, at the present time in England and Wales, 72. 1s. per cent. per annum for loans, &e. under 500/., and 6/. 14s. 1d. per cent. per annum for loans above 5001.” 201. And as the cottages of Northumberland may now be stated to cost from 100J. to 2007. each, and the average rental to be 3/. per annum, the loss of interest to the landowner, putting aside all the expense of repairs, must be considerable. 202. The following extract is from the pen of a gentlemen of very great experience who kindly wrote to me on this question. © “The main discouragement is the payment of 5/. per cent. on the amount of the advance as a profit to the company, for which the landowner receives no consideration. He also grudges the expense of the superinten- dence of the expenditure by the officer of the Inclosure Commissioners, which he regards as a costly ceremony without any corresponding advantage. Dealing honestly himself, he overlooks the necessity of this superin- tendence as a protection against fraud on the part of those who are disposed to deal otherwise than honestly. “T should think the best course is that suggested, of authorizing the Publie Works Loan Commissioners to lend on advantageous terms, for the purpose of labourers’ dwelling houses in the agricultural districts.” 203. The relaxations required are fully explained in the letters I have submitted to you. As regards the obtaining money on easier terms, either by extending the time for the repayment of capital or by the reissuing of a Government loan for the purpose of building cottages, though the subject has been pressed upon me in conversation, I am not able to submit to ‘you any written documents except those already quoted. 204. It may be worthy of a passing remark to mention one case of a harvest gang from Scotland that I found working on one of the large eastern farms, because such a case will come under the Act of last session “to regulate agricultural gangs,” 30 & 31 Vict.c. 130. These people, 14 men and 4 women, came from Peterhead under a ganger who undertook work by contract, paying his gang by the week, he will therefore (if he wishes to employ women), under section 10 of the Act, be compelled to obtain a licence from two or more justices at the petty sessions. This he cannot obtain in Scotland, as the Act is only applicable to England, and I conceive that_as a stranger he would find great difficulty in procuring a licence from the justices in England; but I must say that if the particular gang I met was a fair sample of the system, their absence would be no loss to Northumberland. 9205. My attention was drawn to the subject of hiring fairs for servants (statutes and mops) at a late period of my inquiry by a letter which had been addressed to one of the Assistant Commissioners by a gentleman in another county. I therefore attended several hiring fairs in the counties of Northumber- _Jand and Durham, and consulted many persons of experience on the subject. Hiring fairs in North- umberland and Durham are of two kinds, for hinds and single servants, the former are hired for the year, the latter for six months. The hiring fairs for hinds usually take place about March, the service commencing on the 12th of May. mae ee . 206. Nothing can be more important to a man than hiring himself for a year. He must ascertain the house he will be compelled to occupy with his family, the character of master and steward, and what 21157. R : B. Circular of the Lands Improvement Company. Public gangs. Hiring fairs. B 7 Conclusions. Appendix A. Conclusions. S. N. Evidence, 2. Appendix E., question (0). Circular of inquiry, No. VIL 70 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the wages are to be for himself and family. He is more likely to ascertain this in an open market where he sells his only produce, his labour, than in any other way. The labour of every member of his family must also be taken-into account. No register office would supply the information of an open market. The single servant has not the same responsibility, having only the shorter service of six months and a single risk. It is proposed to establish register offices in lieu of the fairs. This was tried by the Newcastle Farmers’ Club, March 19th, 1859, and again in February 1860 and October 1860, but without result. Many persons, whose opinion is entitled to the greatest consideration, maintain that hiring fairs are productive of great immorality, but it is generally admitted that the railways are, to a great extent, amending this, conveying the young people to the fair in the morning instead of over- night, and it must not be forgotten that the fair is the holiday of the working man, whose long life of labour is too seldom cheered up with a gleam of sunshine. Personal observations at several fairs did not impress me with anything objectionable, but the usual enjoyments of race meetings, flower shows, &c. were making many very happy faces. 207. Mr. Rodger, of Embleton, remarks in a letter to me,— “‘T see nothing the Legislature can do in the matter of hiring except to place, as done under Lord Elcho’s Act, employer and employed on the same footing and to afford every opportunity of cheap and speedy justice to master and man alike. The hirings or statutes are a great nuisance to the farmer, not from the circumstance of people being hired, but from the numbers of persons who make a holiday of it and direct the attention of those seeking places from the serious business of the day. The mere fact of standing in the market place is a matter of mere taste, and so long as farmers prefer to transact their own proper business in a great measure on the street of the market town instead of in the corn exchange, there can be no hardships in their labourers doing the same in fine weather. In wet weather the corn exchange should be thrown open to them, especially to the women and children.” 208. The Morpeth Chamber of Agriculture have considered the subject in the spirit of “ amending rather than destroying.” Many efforts have been made to improve the tone of the fairs, thus at Hexham the public rooms were offered at a very low fee, but the people preferred the open air. In a town in the county of Durham the clergyman and others had kindly provided tea and coffee for the girls, but when I visited the rooms, between one and two o’clock, only some old women and children had availed themselves of it, as the girls refused to enter without their partners for the day, which did not surprise me. On this subject I have been favoured with a letter from Mr. Bosanquet, of Rock, whose name as a philanthropist and farmer will carry great weight. This is printed in the Appendix. 209. The opinion given by Sir Charles H. J. Anderson to the Education Commission in 1861, though referring primarily to Lincolnshire, is so much to the point that I venture to quote it:— “Young men and women are hired at statutes. Much has been said about their standing like slaves to be hired. This is bosh—mere vulgar claptrap. They wouldn't do it if they didn’t like it. Recruits are examined to see if they are able-bodied, a hoat’s crew at school or college are picked men, and so it must be in all cases where physical strength and activity are required. “ These statutes are their only holidays, and they meet each other, spend their money, dance, sometimes get drunk, being encouraged to do so by the drapers and innkeepers. When statutes are done away or given up, they attend in the same way on market days, standing in the streets to be hired. A holiday is valued in proportion to its rarity.. A day’s recreation, judiciously managed, might be made an instrument of great value in a parish. “ Attempts have been and are being made to substitute register offices. These may help some to get places, but as farmers must see the height and strength and health of the men and boys they want, there is no mode so convenient as where they stand in great numbers, and the masters can select those they fancy; but it is a pity written characters are not more common.” ce _ 210. I beg leave now to state shortly the views which I have been led to form on those points which are described in your instructions as “ the principal points of the general question.” 211. Legislation is not required in Northumberland for the purpose of fixing the age below which boys and girls should not be employed in farm labour, as the parents never send their children out to work at an age which is physically and morally injurious. There is a general concurrence of opinion that no child should be employed before 10 years of age. 212. There is no necessity for limiting the hours of work of boys or girls, &c., as in the words of Mr. Fife, the eminent surgeon in Newcastle,— “ The duration of the hours of labour, depending as they do on the season of the year, the condition of the crops, and the state of the weather, must vary; but periods of great activity are usually followed by com- parative rest ; upon this subject any legislative enactment must be vexatious and obstructive.” 213. It is not necessary to secure by legislation proper meal times for the young and females engaged in farm labour; the time allowed is ample. 214. It is not necessary to limit by legislation the distance to which children should be taken to work, as no abuse exists. 215. It is not necessary to provide by legislation that females should be protected from unhealthy or unsuitable employments in agriculture, as the medical testimony is conclusive as to the healthy nature of their employment, and there is no evidence that such employment is morally injurious. On the contrary, it tends to rear a fine race of women, who make the best wives for labourers, and are invaluable in a national point of view as producing and rearing a fine population. 216. Mr. Thomas Lawson, of Longhirst, who attaches great value to the employment of women in field work, in answer to the question whether any restriction should be placed upon it, replies :— “Most certainly not ; I would sooner recommend that every young female should, on physical and national grounds, be obliged to work a certain number of days for a certain number of years at field-work (of all classes).” 217. This is, perhaps, the most convenient place to notice a regulation recommended in your sixth report as applicable to public gangs, and circulated in your inquiry as to private gangs, viz., “That the sexes should be separated,” : IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. HENLitY’s REPORT. val 218. This would be fatal to any employment of women and children in field work, as in nearly all the operations of farming the whole force must be employed together. But even if separation were practi- cable, it would be most undesirable, as the presence of fathers and brothers at work is a great protection to the weaker and younger members of a family, not only during the hours in the fields but while going to and fro. No grievance is alleged, and any gratuitous interference with a system that works so well is greatly to be deprecated. 219, Another question of great importance is raised in the next clause, where it is suggested, “ That “ a certain amount of school attendance should be compulsory on all children from the time of their “ beginning to earn wages by working in a private gang.” 220. In this district no legislative compulsion is required, as the parents themselves M school during the winter months those children who have been at Honk in the sumer Caen 221. If on general grounds it is thought necessary to lay down arule on ‘the subject, it.must be confined (in order to avoid injury to this district) to a provision that each child shall make a certain number of school “ attendances” (say 150) in the winter months. 222, “The actual state of education among the young found at work” may be said to be satisfactory. owing to the desire of all classes to promote it, but principally to the value set upon it by the working people themselves, on the high ground of religious duty to their children. So far as it is defective, the defect is due to the first of the six causes noticed in your “Instructions,” viz., to the want of schools readily accessible to the children, and it is only to a very limited extent that this want exists. 223. It was not my province to inquire into the quality of the school teaching, but I may remark that the Northumbrians are worthy-of good teachers, as they possess, in the words of the Venerable Arch- deacon Hamilton, “ brains of a very superior order.” 224, It was gratifying to find how few instances of total ignorance I met with among the children and young persons at work, They are hardly worth recording, being so exceptional. The standard of instruction was of course unequal, but there was an absence of that gross ignorance which is said to prevail in other less favoured counties. 225. I cannot too often repeat, that in this district the pressure for education comes from the people themselves, though the higher motives which dictate it may have been instilled into them by their spiritual pastors. The population in the north of the county possess this feeling to the greatest degree. 226. There are, no doubt, difficulties here as well as elsewhere as to the scholastic education of the labouring poor, arising chiefly from the reluctance of parents to forego the wages which their chil- dren can earn by working in the fields ; but it is only in the southern part of the county that the difficulty is aggravated by the employment of married women in field work. And it must be borne in mind that the real education of these children is carried on not more in the school than in the field, in which they acquire a practical knowledge of work and habits of obedience, punctuality and observation, and in short, are trained to do their duties in that state of life to which they are called viz., that of farm labourers. 227. No words can express my sense of the ready kindness with which, as your Assistant Commissioner, I was received by the inhabitants of Northumberland and Durham of every class. To the clergymen of all denominations, to the professional gentlemen, to medical practitioners of all grades, clerks of the Board of Guardians, land agents, schoolmasters, relieving officers, &c. &c., who never grudged giving up to me their valuable time, my sincere thanks are due; but I am especially grateful to the occupiers of land throughout the county for the manner in which they weleomed me to their own houses and farms and their labourers’ cottages, thus enabling me to judge for myself in the prosecution of my inquiry. Without their hearty co-operation my endeavours must have been fruitless, or at the best have resulted in nothing but a collection of hearsay evidence. To the working people also, among whom I spent so many happy hours, ever receiving in their homes however humble a courteous answer to my somewhat inquisitive questions, I tender my thanks, with a sincere wish for their welfare. Northumberland may justly be proud of her system of farming, which produces a superior class of occupiers of land, and an intelligent and contented peasantry. : Pe I have, &c. 16, Whitehall Place, (Signed) J.J. HENLEY. 17th July 1868. R2 B. Conclusions. C. The Wolds, 72 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN REPORT.—By the Hon. E. STANHOPE. 7 To Hex Maszsry’s ComMISSIONERS. & GENTLEMEN, : 1, In accordance with your instructions J visited, during the last autumn and winter, the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leicester, and I beg to submit to you the evidence which I have collected in those counties, concerning the employment of women and children in agriculture. 2. Lincolnshire contains almost every variety of soil. ‘No less than eight of the great stratified ‘* formations occur in this county, besides a wide dispersion of different kinds.of drift, and large tracts “ of peat and alluvium of almost every description.” From the variety of cultivation thus produced (and on this youthful and female labour chiefly depends) I found it necessary for the purposes of the inquiry to divide it into five districts, which include the whole county, with the exception of the strong clay parishes in the west. These appeared to me to present the same features as those of the adjoining counties, and to be more conveniently considered with them. In the same way I divided Nottinghani- shire into two districts, while Leicestershire, for reasons which will appear hereafter, I treated as one district only. 3. In each of these districts I chose two or three groups of parishes as types of the rest. These parishes I visited in detail, giving previous notice of my coming, and endeavouring to meet all those who were able to give information on the subject of my inquiry; but this plan did not prevent me from going to any other places to which my attention was especially called. I also took every oppor- tunity of attending market towns on the market days, so as to meet und consult as many employers of labour as possible, In this way I visited 126 parishes in Lincolnshire, 40 in Nottinghamshire, and 30 in Leicestershire; and had detailed conversations with several hundred farmers separately, besides haying the opportunity of seeing many others at the various meetings that I attended. 4, The circulars of inquiry which you instructed me to send out, were distributed to clergymen, landowners, and occupiers, and others within these counties, to the number of 111. To many of these detailed answers were received; and in such cases selections from them will be found set out in the evidence appended to this report. 5, The occupations of women, young persons, and children, in the various districts into which I have divided these three counties will be found more particularly detailed in the tables prefixed to each, but. I propose in this place to give a general summary of the characteristics of each district. .6, The Wold district of Lincolnshire extends from Barton-on-the-Humber to Horncastle and Spilsby. The northern half of it is owned, for the most part, by large proprietors, and is remarkable for the very large sizeof the farms, many of them reaching 800 or 1,000 acres. The villages are numerous and not far apart, but small, and the population sparse, In many cases they are large enough only to afford cottage accommodation for the “ confined” labourers, who are hired by the year, and live upon the farms on which they work. Of this part of the wold Mr. F. D. Longe, in his report to the Children’s Employment Commission in 1866, says, that, “ the proportional population was one person ** to 10 acres, the general population of an agricultural parish being about one person to four acres.” In the deanery of Grimsby (No, 1), the population is even Jess, Of one such parish (Wold Newton) Mr. F, Iles gives an account, which well represents many others, especially such as are the property of Lord Yarborough, who owns a very large part of this district. It has an area of 1,000 acres and is “ divided into two farms of nearly equal extent, The number of cottages is 26: two of the larger “ are occupied by the foremen, who each board and lodge about five farm servants.” (Evid. 17.) This appears to suffice for the ordinary labour of the parish. But at times of pressure other labour is required, Mr, Iles continues, “The greater part of the weeding is done by gangs from Binbrook.” ‘Ihe insufficiency of labour in these small close parishes is made up by the supply of the large open villages, such as Caistor, Ludford, Tealby, Market Rasen, and Tetford. From four of these public gangs go out. ‘From the other large private gangs or companies of women and children go to the surrounding arishes, 7. The deficiency of labour is however less on Lord Yarborough’s estate than on many others, Let us take an instance. The parish of Withcall, occupied (with the exception of the glebe), in one farm, contains an acreage of 2,700, and a population of 121. For this acreage, on the ordinary cal- culation, at least 50 cottages are required, especially as no extra labour is to be procured nearer than Louth, which is four or (from some parts of the farm) nearly five miles distant, The actual-number is 17, and three of these are taken up as lodging houses for the farm lads, A neighbouring estate at Tathwell, is not much better provided, and some of the cottages existing on it are said to be very bad. 8. The effect of this distribution of labour is that the small close parishes, such as Wold Newton, are well looked after, and may be described as “favoured.” Work is plentiful and certain, and the wages high, and the labourers having this are not inclined to leave the place. Their wives are too well off to work, But compare these with what I may call a “neglected” parish, such as Binbrook or Ludford, Here a large part of the population works several miles from home. Almost all the women and girls are employed. Many of the men get irregular and uncertain work. Their employers take little or no interest in them or their families, The men themselves have no feeling for the place IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 73 and are ready to leave it any day; they are always in an unsettled state, living from hand to mouth, and their children must work at the earliest age they can, The clergyman of the parish has little chance of getting at them. 9. It*should, ‘however, be distinctly understood that the bad distribution of cottages in this district, as in most other parts of this county, arises, not from the destruction of cottages by the large landowners to save the rates, but from its being in many respects a new country. Large tracts of land have been brought into cultivation, farm houses and farm buildings have been built for its occupation, and but few cottages. ‘To this, however, there are exceptions. The. late Lord Yarborough and the late Mr. Heneage built on their estates many cottages before the passing of the Union Chargeability Act, the more to their credit, as it would naturally be against the wishes and against the pecuniary interests of many of their tenants: Before that Act at any rate the tenant farmers must be held equally responsible with their landlords for the neglect of cottage building, 10. The southern half of the Wold district presents the same features, but in a much less marked way. The cottages are better distributed, and the occupations are smaller. No public gangs are therefore to be found, and the gangs or companies in which children work on the farms are small and easily controlled. - - 1l. The Cliff district; reaching from the north of the county to Lincoln, is composed of smaller occupations, The villages are better distributed, though in many cases the population is very insufficient, The evils ot the close parish system round Kirton, and again just north of Lincoln, are not yet remedied. Public gangs are therefore found in one case, and private gangs in almost every. ‘parish. With respect to employments, this district presents: much the same features as the Wolds. 12, The Heath district, between Lincoln and Sleaford, comprises a large tract of land recently brought into cultivation, and belonging to a few large landowners, such as Mr. Chaplin, Lord Bristol, and Mr. Nisbet Hamilton. Two lines of villages, from four to seven miles apart, form its eastern and western boundaries, and between them there is not only an absence of villages, but almost of. cottages also. Brauncewell, for instance, comprises 3,470 acres, divided into three farms, all the property of Lord Bristol. For the supply of labour to this parish there are 13 cottages (five of them with one bedroom only), Ashby-de-la-Lund, Bloxholm, and Temple Bruer are not better supplied, while the tract north of these villages is almost entirely without cottages. The main feature therefore of this district is, that the labourers are all congregated into the larger towns. 13. The peculiar characteristic of the three districts which I have thus described is, that the soil is thoroughly suitable for turnips, and one-fourth of the farms are always under this crop. The effect of this is, that a considerable amount of labour is. required in winter, to cut up the turnips for the sheep. Every flock requires a man, and two women and boys. For this reason almost all boys of 12, and some of 9 or 10, are employed in the winter; and if they are not sufficient in number, some of the women also, ‘ 14. For these and for the younger children also, another description of winter work is common throughout this part of the county. It is that of picking stones, and is commonly done by a lot of them together. But this is not a regular employment. Work for young children (that is boys from %to 11, and girls from 7 to 18), consisting of weeding and many other employments, lasts almost through the summer, Yet this varies on almost every farm. In some cases no such labour is wanted for the month just before harvest and on the edge of the clay country the weeds and “twitch” (couch- grass) become less troublesome, and the work is done in a very few weeks. 15. The effect of these employments is to drain the schools during parts of the summer of all children over 8, Many of them do not return when work is suspended, but stay away until all chance of getting it is past. ‘These districts are well supplied with schools, some of the close villages on the Wolds, with a population of 100 or under, being almost the only ones without them ; and in almost all such villages the demand for labour is so great that the children can hardly be spared at all in the summer, and are even taken away a good deal in the winter. 16. The Isle of Axholme, with the Carr district-around it, in the north-eastern corner of the county, is composed of very rich land, especially suited for garden cultivation. It is mainly owned by small freeholders, cultivating their own land with the help of their families, and employing but little hired labour. On the larger occupations many more women are employed than men. At certain seasons (at potato setting and potato harvest), almost all the female and juvenile population is engaged in field work. Schoolmasters have almost ceased to contend against this state of things, and from July to the end of November; the younger children only attend. ao at 17. The Marsh district: along the eastern coast of Lincolnshire is in its northern half mostly laid down in pasture. Very little labour is therefore required, and the villages, though numerous, are small. As we proceed south, the land becomes adapted for the growth of root crops, and the demand for labour is even greater than in the Isle of Axholme, The production of potatoes is restricted only by the supply of labour. The newly-reclaimed marshes in the south-east, though not sufficiently supplied with labour ‘for potatoes to ke grown, afford an instance of a laudable attempt on the part of some landowners (the principal of whom are Mr. Cardwell, M.P., and the Governors of Guy’s Hospital), to provide house accommodation for their labourers. : : "18. The Fen district has obtained a certain notoriety from the existence of public gangs. The effect of this system at Spalding, Deeping St. James, and the other towns where the system has been in full operation is, in my opinion, notat all exaggerated. The population of gang villages is essentially demoralized ; the languagé used by children ‘at Binbrook, in my hearing, surpassed anything of the sort that I could have pes But it is fair . say that out’ of these towns, the ‘condition of the sricultural population’is by no means so unsatisiactory. Pr Page ‘One Br Ge sasealiar” features of the ‘Fens is, the rapidity with which the weeds spring up. Children, therefore, in gangs of some sort, are employed almost throughout the summer, but in the R 3 The Cliff. The Heath, The Isle of Axholme, The Marshes, The Fens, C, Wages in Lincolnshire. The position of the“cottagers.”’ 74 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN winter very few are wanted, except such as are fit to go with horses. Field work, therefore, materially affects the schools much more in summer. than in winter. Of the children under 10 at school in England, the number of boys in average attendance in summer compared with winter was as 39 to 72, and of girls as 20 to 36; even of those over 10, the proportions were as 5 to 23, and as 10 to 23. These results too are in a district where the attendance of young children in winter either from bad weather or the distance they have to go, is much impeded. 20, But the most striking feature of many Fen parishes is, the concentration of the population at one end, close to the old high road, although the parish stretches several miles out into the Fen In some parts even the farmers and their foremen live in the town; but in Deeping Fen, the farmer generally lives upon his farm, although all his labour has to come from the neighbouring town. In the parish of Deeping St. Nicholas, which includes more than half of this Fen, “there are over 14,500 acres, of which 700 are pasture land. On this there are only 108 cottages. On Lord Carington’s estate of 2,400 there are four occupied ones only.” ‘The whole of this enormous tract is therefore supplied with labour from the large towns surrounding it, from a distance, that is, in some cases of five or six miles, One result of this is stated to be irregularity of employment. The winter days are short, and when the distance to be traversed is also to be considered, farmers find it most expedient to dispense with all that can possibly be spared (Evid. 213). 21. In Lincolnshire the wages are uniformly high. Throughout Lindsey and Kesteven the wages of adult labourers are now 15s, a week, and with the exception of “ catchwork” labourers the employ- ment is regular. ‘ Confined” labourers, that is, men hired by the year, and living on the farm, are paid partly in kind, and their wages amount to 402. or 45/. a year. On the Wolds, men in regular employ average nearer 17s, than 15s, a week all the year, including the money made at harvest., But in the southern districts of Holland, close to the borders of Lincolnshire, though some employers give 15s., the average wages cannot be said to exceed 13s. 6d.,and the employment is not always regular in winter. 22. “Catch work” or “running” men, that is, those who work for no fixed employer all the year, are not so well off. When with the threshing machines, they receive as much as 3s, a day; but this work is never for six days in a week, involves very long hours, and they are liable to be thrown out of work by a fall in the price of corn. The Irish, who, besides coming in very large numbers at harvest time, stay during a great part of the year in some places where labour is scarce, receive about two-thirds of the wages paid to the English, and are very ill-lodged. 23, Piece work is much encouraged by most farmers, especially on the Wolds. Many weeks work is done in this way. Harvest is almost always got in by piece-work. Mr. T. H. Vessey, of Welton on the Wolds, carries it so far as to contract with his men for the whole of the work from the culting to the stacking. (Evid. 16.) His harvest is in consequence finished quicker than that of his neighbours, At this work good men will often earn from %s, to 10s, a day, it helped by their wives, and a little child to make the bands. Other sorts of work are done under the same system. such as dropping beans, flax pulling, ketlock pulling, &c. Many farmers encourage also “family” work ; they will let the family of one of their regular Jabourers pick up stones at so much an acre, or pick up potatoes, twitch, and pullketlocks. (Evid. 21.) Peeling osiers is almost always done in this way. 24. The wages of the women vary from 8d, to Is. 6d.a day. The latter wage is often paid during potato harvest, and from 15d. to 1s. 6d. to women who go with threshing machines. At other work the average wages would probably be from 10d. to 1s. I found 8d. rarely paid; and at that price it would scarcely seem to be remunerative to women with children. Boys and girls under 12 or 13 receive from 4d. to 1s. or even a little more in potato harvest. They are often spoken of as “ fourpenny ” boys, or “‘sixpenny ” boys, according to their ages. In some places nothing less than 6d. is paid; after 13 or 14 the girls who go to the fields are generally treated and paid as women; and boys for the most part are hired by the year into farm service, where they are kept and receive about 27, for the first year. The sooner this takes place the better, as the superior food and comfort are of great advantage to the growth and development of the lad. 25. The labour of women and children must always be an assistance to the family unless it be in some way brought into competition with that of men. In the Isle of Axholine, I found that some men were thrown out of regular work by the women being employed. But as a rule they can only get work at times when al! the men have found plenty of employment. The first few years of married life when the children are very young and the wife unable to leave them, is the trying time to the poor ; but in Lincolnshire, as soon as the children begin to go out, the comfort of the family appears to be in pro- portion with its size, because they soon earn more than is required for their individual support, 26. The position of the “cottagers” or small freeholders deserves also some notice. ‘T hey are a class in many cases very little raised above the hired labourer, and more hardly worked and less well fed and housed. ‘They are very numerous in many parts of the Fens, Cowbit is entirely composed of small freeholders, cultivating the land with the help of their children. In the Isle of Axholme there are many hundred, and as a great part of all the land that is sold is being cut up, their number is pro- bably increasing. They are established in these parts owing to the extreme fertility of the soil, which well repays a garden cultivation. 27. Where the amount of land occupied by them is sufficient to employ fully a man’s labour throughout the year, or where it is only 4 or 5 acres, and the owners will consent to hire themselves out whenever their own land does not require their labour, the small freeholders appear to be prosperous, in spite of the heavy incubus of debt, under which they often live. At Billinghay, some are payin 3 and 4 per cent, for borrowed money. (Evid. 266). But the ownership of land seems to beget a on of independence, which is not consistent with hiring themselves out to others. Sometimes they will help each other, either in person or by lending their horse, if they have one, Their children are warked earlier, and have less schooling than those of hired labourers, x IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION: —MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 75 28. Cottages owned by the larger landowners are let throughout this county at a rent averaging Cc. 1s. 6d. a week, or from 3/. 10s. to 41. a year. This generally includes a very small garden. Small owners, however, charge 2s, a week, and in some cases (as at Morton, Pinchbeck, and Metheringham), as mucheas 6/. or 7/1, with or without gardens. Allotments are not yet common in the North, where they are to a great extent objected to by the employers, but south of Lincoln most towns have allot- oe formed in some cases out of a part of the glebe, given up by the clergymen of the parish for this object. 29, Nottinghamshire is naturally divided into two districts by a line drawn from Retford to Notting- Notts. ham. The western side consists of sandy soils, and presents many features of similarity with the Lin- colnshire Wolds. Large tracts of land, especially between Warsop and Retford, have been recently brought into cultivation and are very insufficiently supplied with cottages, the labourers being crowded into the larger towns, The large tract of land, commonly known as “the Dukeries” is mainly occupied by the parks of four large proprietors, and is almost without any cottages at all. Labourers come from the adjoining villages. 30. In this district some women are employed, but the light work is mostly done by troops of children, who are wanted almost all the summer, and even a part of the winter for stone picking. Boys of 16, and sometimes women, get employed on the turnip land in winter, 31. In the eastern or clay district the villages lie nearer together. The “close parish” system has been very much abolished, and few women and children at at any rate go any distance to work, except for pea-pulling, as I shall mention presently. The proportion of women employed is very small, only three or four going out in most parishes to regular work. Girls go out chiefly for bean-dropping in February. The soils being heavy, many boys are wanted for ploughing, and in some parishes go as early as 8 or 9; in others not till 10 or 11. 32. The wages throughout the county may be said to be 15s. for men. In the neighbourhood of the collieries and the large towns they even amount to 16s. or 17s. for first class labour. Children receive from 6d. to 1s, Allotmentsare very common, and are cheaply let, Some are free, but are then not so much sought after. Cottage rents vary from 3/. 10s. to 51. 33. Leicestershire, from various causes, occupied a much smaller portion of my time than the Leicester. other two counties, Throughout a large part of it field work employs a small number of the children compared with other occupations. In the west there are the coal fields; round Leicester, Hinckley, and Lutterworth stocking-making and seaming employ almost all the women and children in the parishes where they exist, In the east, which is free from coal and seaming, almost all the land is laid down in grass. The Vale of Belvoir, which contains more arable land, is an exception. But elsewhere dairy cultivation is universal, and very few hands indeed are needed for the requirements of agriculture. ‘In some cases the population goes down to near extinction.” The cottages are in con- sequence very few as compared with the acreage. The villages, though close together, are small. On this side of the county there are no less than 18 parishes and chapelries with a population of Jess than 100, and 84 with less than 200. As we approach the west the pasture and arable land being about equal in extent causes rather more labour to be required. In the neighbourhood of the manufacturing towns much larger villages are found, but the number employed in agriculture is no greater, 34. Throughout this county the farms are small and seldom exceed 300 acres. In consequence of this, few require even a private gang, and, as boys cannot be trusted to go alone, weeding and other light work is done by women or men; girls are rarely employed, except for a little bean dibbling in the Vale of Belvoir. But the attraction of home-work in seaming makes the attendance of the girls at school far worse then in either of the other two counties. Young boys are but little wanted, except for tenting birds ; but at an age varying from 9 to 12, they are taken permanently on the farm for ploughing. 35. The wages for able-bodied men vary from 11 to 13 shillings a week ; if required to work on Sundays, with the addition of 1s. more. Near the towns they were even higher. At harvest, menearn ! from 20s. to 30s. a week. House rents are in general Jow (from 1s. to Is. 6d. a week), fuel very cheap, : and the position of the labourer cannot be regarded as otherwise than favourable. The chief differ- ence between Lincolnshire and Leicestershire labourers produced by the altered rate of wages is in the diet. In the former county, men often eat meat two or three times a day, and sometimes give it to their families. In Leicestershire meat once a day, and for the father only, is the rule. \ aeaemaconna 36. Women earn from 6d. to 10d. a day, the former only when at piece work and short time. Boys begin at 4d. and at 13 a lad will get from 4s, to 5s. a week. 37. One change which is gradually taking place in these three counties and involves important Farm servants. consequences to the condition of the agricultural population, deserves notice. In former times a farmer used to be regarded as the head of the family, and the young lads or waggoners from 13 to 18 years of age who lodged in his house, clined at the same table, and were regarded as part of his household, This system involved both advantages and disadvantages. ‘The superior food which the lads obtained in this way tended to make them stout and robust men. They were close to their work, and, besides this, the removal of lads of that age from an already overcrowded cottage was of great benefit to the family. On the other hand, the lodging lads in the same house with a number of servant girls, in some cases under no supervision, and in none under circumstances where complete supervision was ossible, led to farm service being the cause of more immorality than any other description of service. (Evid. 38, 62.) 38. Now, bowever, all this is changed. In modern times farmers have become unwilling to receive lads into their houses, partly for the reason just mentioned, and partly from the ideas of the present day requiring greater comfort and luxury in a farmer’s house. In Lincolnshire almost all the larger farmers have abandoned the system, and the lads are now lodged in the house of the foreman. Under R4 Statutes. The work of women. Separate em- ployments. 76 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN; YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN this system they are less cared for and are under less control, The same may be said of most of Not- tinghamshire. (Evid. 291.) But in-Leicestershire and on the small farms in the other two counties there is often no foreman, and in consequence the lads are not lodged and boarded at all, but are only day-boys, and are sent home every night., This is certainly not to their benefit, especially in a ccunty where, from the girls being kept at home to work at the stocking frames instead of being sent out to service, the adult inhabitants of the cottages are already unusually numerous. The change is not, however, consistent with any increasing scarcity of such labour, inasmuch as if there be any very great difficulty in obtaining it, the farmer will make sure of it by hiring the lads for the year, and by. this means binding them to work for himself alone. 39. With respect to the system of hiring by the year, which throughout these counties is only car- ried on at the “Statute ” fairs, a good deal of evidence will be found in the Appendix. Mr. Rowland Winn, whose experience of the system in Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire is very great, states very forcibly the objections to the system. (Hvid. 61.) The evils are in fact admitted ‘through- out these counties, but it is alleged that, even were hirings never done there, these fairs are regarded by the labouring population as their only holiday, and are looked forward to by them as an occasion of meeting. Many efforts have been made in all parts to put an end to them, but hitherto without much success, Women, however, do feel it a degrading position to stand in the street to be hired, and at many statutes very few respectable women are to be found, The characters of the men are very little sifted under this system, and in many cases no inquiries are made on the subject. But labour is scarce and_ must be had, and if a farmer cannot get a man with a character he must have one without, so that in this respect no change can well be anticipated. : _ 40. With these few preliminary remarks I pass on to consider in detail the various points to which my attention was directed by your instructions. bos Sorts or EMPLOYMENT OF WoMEN AND CHILDREN, 41, The employment of women is very general throughout these counties, although it is certainly decreasing. ‘There is a growing disinclination on the part of the women themselves to go out to field work, and where all the families are well off, as, for instance, in some of the close parishes on the Wolds, from the men being certain of constant and well paid employment, and the children being also in great demand, the respectable women have almost ceased to go. Sometimes in two parishes of similar culti- vation close together I found that in one of them no woman went out to the fields, but allowed the work to be done by those from the other. Generally the condition of the’ labourers in the latter parish was much the worst, but in some cases it appears to me to depend only upon a sort of local feeling or fashion. It must also be remembered that in very small parishes there will in some years be no big children, so that the women are almost compelled to go out for a time, : 42. On the part of the Lincolnshire farmers also, the desire to employ children rather than women is increasing. They are cheaper, their wages are less, and children (even many girls) can be got to begin work at six in the morning, whereas women (with few exceptions) will not go before eight. And for light work they are more handy and generally quicker. Those farmers who still employ women by preference for light work justify it on the ground that they are more manageable, and do not require, as the children always do when working together, the presence of an overlooker. On small occupa- tions, therefore, as in Leicestershire, women are stil] preferred. see 43. In the Isle of Axholme and in some of the other alluvial soils, where the land is very rich, and’ the cultivation partakes of a garden character, women often find’ employment throughout: the year. A farmer has a gang of 10 or 12:-women, who weed, single turnips, plant, pick up, and sort potatoes, and do all the regular work of the farm. This is the only part where I found woman’s labour super- seding man’s to any extent. On some such farms few men find regular employment, while women can, being engaged at half the wages, and after a few years’ practice, do as much work. _ Such women have been described to me as “ more than half men,” and indeed in strength and physical development quite equal. ‘They dress especially for field work and wear long leather gaiters or “vanks,” and tuck in their skirts, so that the dress is very like that of a man. In other places, where their work is less regular, they are often dressed only as usual. An ordinary petticoat is certainly a most unfit dress for such work, especially in the winter work on ploughed fields, , : _ 44, There is hardly any work which may be said to be peculiar to women, as distinguished from children, Untying the bands on the stage of a threshing machine is an exception, bat this (from causes which I shall fully describe hereafter) is also on the decrease. So too, dragging the turnips out of the ground and cutting them up for the sheep in winter cannot be done by young children, and is done by big boys or by women, according to the fancy of the farmer or the supply of his parish, All the remaining work which is given to women is done by them in common with, or instead of children, 45, There are, however, two occupations which may be described as “ separate” employments and are common to all parts of these counties, The most universal of these is “ tenting,” by which I mean not only bird-scaring but looking after cows, sheep, pigs, or horses. The scaring of birds would for the most part employ children only for a few weeks in spring or autumn, but other descriptions of “tenting” often employ a boy almost all the summer. On the sand of Notts I found many children employed in this way in the winter also, This employment involves a long day’s work from sunrise ‘to sunset. It is a passive work, for a boy tenting crows has little else to do but ‘to shout.” So little is there to occupy the mind in it that the chief complaint against it is that it encourages vacancy of mind and listless habits, and is of no use in training up a child to work. It involves great exposure to weather and work on Sundays. 46. Boys go to it at seven and eight years old. Some go even at six. Girls go a great deal in some districts, and at the same age as the boys. But with the girls it seldom implies that they have IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR, EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT, 77 left school entirely. I found one girl near Retford tenting in January, who had been at it nearly all the year. 47. Whether “tenting” be necessary or not is a question on which there is great difference of opinion. » Mr. Iles, of Binbrook, a most kind employer, will not allow it on Sundays. Mr. Thos. Willson says of it “I have a small rookery at my place, but I never tent birds. I don’t see that the ‘* rooks do any harm to the crops in autumn; they may possibly do a little in the spring. Tiven the “ firing a gun off is far better than tenting.” (Evid. 327.) Others speak to the same effect, 48. Boys begin to be sent with horses at about 9 or 10 years of age. At harvest time throughout these counties even much younger boys will hold the first horse in a team. In the clay districts, where “ single ploughing ” is necessary, a boy is wanted for the same purpose in the winter. Many boys go to this at eight years of age. A few girls, but (except in the case of the small. freeholders) very rarely, do this work. (Evid. 211, 219, 237.) When boys are once put to it and begin to learn it, they are hardly ever allowed to go to school again; they are too useful. 49. For this and for the work required when sheep are fed upon turnips, boys of 10 or 11 are undoubtedly more wanted in winter than in summer. Statements to this effect will be found through- out the evidence from the north of Lincolnshire. Mr, Cottam, again, a large occupier on the light land of Notts, says “ We employ more boys in winter than in summer.” To the same effect speaks Mr. Paget as to the heavier Jand south of Nottingham. “Here the winter is the season in which their services are most required.” (Evid. 276.) It is hardly necessary to add that in almost all parts of these counties some boys of nine or even eight are found to be employed during the whole year under exceptional circumstances, as where a small farmer who requires only one boy prefers to hire the son of one of his own jabourers and finds him work all the year, or where the work is of a special character, as in some of the potato districts. 50. I proceed next to notice what I shall call work in “ companies,” including in that term lots of women and children working together with or without an overlooker. ‘These may be either the “ public gang,” the “ private gang,” or the “ family.” 51, Public gangs exist in about 22 towns in Lincolnshire, and in three or four in Nottinghamshire, These having been already dealt with by the “ Agricultural Gangs Act, 1867,”* need not be further mentioned, But the effect of the recent legislation on the subject of agricultural gangs has been that some public gangs have become “ private” by the very simple expedient on the part of the farmer of paying the gang himself, and thereby becoming the hirer of the children. The “ ganger,” however, in such cases is often paid by the time which he takes to do the work; his motive, therefore, for hurrying the work continues ; and the gang itself is none the less nomadic, being taken from farm to farm as its services are required. 52. Such, however, is an uncommon case. But companies, or private gangs, are employed in one form or another throughout Lincolnshire and Notts, except in some of the heavy clay districts, where weeds do not grow quickly, or where the occupations are too small to make it worth while to employ a man to superintend the very small gang which would be required. This is for the most part the case in Leicestershire. Sometimes private gangs exist together with public, as at Croyland or Louth. In other cases it appears to depend on local custom, or on the fact of some one being willing to become a professional ganger, whether the gangs are public or private. 53. The simplest form of a gang, if such it can be called, appears to be where a man is employed with three or four children to drop beans or single turnips. The same number is often employed in weeding, or picking twitch, but gangs of this sort will sometimes amount to 30 or 40. ‘This is especially the case in the Fen district. In ordinary cases, when such work is needed, a farmer will employ his own farm lads, if they can be spared, and add to them a few women or children, according as he can getthem. Sometimes they consist wholly of small children, sometimes (and especially in the Isle of Axholme) of women only. On one farm boys and girls work separately, on another they are employed together. In describing such gangs, therefore, I must be distinctly understood not to convey the im- pression that what [ say applies to all. But the question is, “‘ Does the system generally work well, or is it liable to abuse ?” 54, The opinion of the clergy, who have had experience in this sort of work, is so unanimous as to the effect of large mixed groups upon morality, that I need hardly quote any instances. The Rev. H. T. Fletcher, after speaking of the children being prone to “indecent language and immoral “ practices,” says “I can certainly trace the origin of some of these cases to the employment of young girls and boys in the fields.” (Evid. 251.) 55. In Lincolnshire many of the large employers of Jabour concur in this opinion, With an exception, which I shall mention presently, the Chamber of Agriculture adopted this view. So have many of the labouring class, “ The children hear a great deal that they had better not; nobody can « tell half what goes on unless he’s been with them.” (Evid. 30.) “If you'd heard their talk and « seen their ways, you’d say it’s a bad thing for boys and girls to go together.” (Evid. 47.) Again, in a notorious gang near Lincoln, “such bad language, the women fighting, and such like things. “ He has boys and girls, Irish, and gipsies, and all sorts.” (Evid. 85.) So in Nottinghamshire it was said, “Some of our women seem to take a pride in doing the worst they can with their tongues,” (Evid. 321.) ; ’ 56. The largest companies are, however, the “potato gangs.” The old method of taking up potatoes appears to have beeri for a man to hoe them up, followed by his family, or a few other * My attention was particularly called to the absence of any provision in this Act requiring gangmasters to give notice of an intended application for a licence, ‘The application may be made at any time (Act 7.) and any person wishing to oppose it has no means of knowing when to do so, 21157, Ss Work in comapanies, Potuto gangs. Pea-pulling gangs. No cruelty exists. Distinction between dif- ferent sorts of gangs. 78 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN children to gather them after him. ‘They are, however, now grown on such a very large scale that the potato plough is introduced, which cuts under the ridge, and turns up the potatoes on either side. Along the furrow is a line of women and children of all ages, placed at a distance from each other, varying according to their size and strength, and the amount of work which each can perform. The space apportioned to each is often called a “stint,” and ali the potatoes lying in it must be picked up before the plough comes down the next furrow, Behind the line are two or three carts, the men with which empty the baskets of the workers as they are filled. The number of workers is sometimes as many as 60 or 70, who are superintended by a man behind the line, The distance between the “ stints” is not too great for conversation to be general, and if one of the workers has cleared the stint in good time, he or she has time to talk freely. 57. Potatoes, when so gathered, are commonly stored in heaps, and the opening of these heaps affords another opportunity for company work, ‘‘ When the farmer wants to deliver some, he gets a * lot of children, old and young, who kneel down round the ‘pie’ (heap), quite close together, and “ sort them.” (Evid. 128.) That is the method pursued in the Isle of Axholme. In the marsh districts heaps are more commonly opened by women and grown up girls. 58. Of these potatoe districts, it is said, “I believe children are corrupted by what they hear in * the fields when very young.” (Evid.121.) ‘¢There’s nothing good to be learnt there.” (Evid. 123.) ‘«* The girls are very depraved.” (Evid. 127.) ‘ The talk is dreadful there ” (at ‘the pies, Evid. 128.) “ It’s a disagreeable thing to go among a company of women at work.” (vid. 130.) “It’s a bad * thing for girls, there is all sorts of language.” (Evid. 146.) In two cases witnesses describe the boys as bathing in the presence of the girls, (Evid, 261.) So in the marsh district, one witness was stripped naked in the middle of a gang while asleep. (Evid. 169.) “It’s the root of what is bad. “ There’s men that'll boast to hear their children bravado the most.” (Evid. 182.) 59. But, besides this, several other sorts of company work are to be found in these counties, Osier peeling and pea pulling each last a very short time, but occupy an enormous number of girls and women, who work for the most part in separate families, but all close. together, in the same field, and without, in this case, the advantage of the control of a superintendent. Both these especially prevail in the neighbourhood of the Trent, One witness sometimes employs no less than 400 or 500 women and children at once in pea pulling. (Evid. 286.) Of this work, as carried on near Worksop, Mr. Hemming quotes a magistrate as saying, “ ‘I’hat he was astounded at the language he heard from “ the mouths of the children, and their obscene manners unblushingly practised in an open manner in * the fields.” (Evid.291.) Mr. Hett’s account (Evid. 294) of what he calls the “ most demoralized set” of pea pullers can hardly be quoted. ; 60. No cruelty, such as is described in the public gangs, exists in the private. Families are far too independeat to submit to it, and the least chastisement or ill usage is followed by a summons. Only three or four cases, none of which on investigation I was able to confirm, were brought under my notice. “ Last year,” says one witness, “there was a report of a boy having been ill used near “« Spilsby, and on the market day much indignation was expressed.” (Evid. 6.) “It is difficult,” says another, “to get men who have sufficient authority over them. They don’t like to touch them, because ** the parents would complain.” (Evid. 74.) 61. Where large gangs are not superintended by a man it is because the mothers or other grown-up women go with the children, and are responsible for their work, But children cannot be put to the work alone. Asarule they are sent with a “ staged man,” an elderly married man; some farmers prefer a younger man, on the ground that he is better able to manage the children. Some few send girls with a woman, but the occupation is so distasteful that hardly any respectable woman can be found to undertake it. The men are not always well chosen. “They often use very bad language and even “ excite the boys to talk badly before the girls and women.” (Evid. 41 and No, 30-and 82.) In Notts he is sometimes chosen, “not from any regard to his moral character, but because he is an inferior ‘* man at other work,” or ‘can’t do a day’s work.” (Evid. 801.) 62. The true distinction, as it appears to me, to be drawn between different sorts of gangs is between those in which young children only are employed, and those in which old and young are mixed together. 63. With respect to young children working together in lots of a moderate size very little harm is represented as being caused to their morals by the fact of boys and girls working together. The person superintending them is almost always the father or mother of one of the children present, and the only substantial objection urged against them is the fact that the offices of nature cannot be performed with decency where males and females work together; and this of course is an especial evil in the large fields of the Wolds or the hedgeless tracts of the Fens. But the small weeding gangs of Notts composed almost entirely of small children, are therefore but little objected to. : 64, But the gangs in the neighbourhood of large towns, such as Spalding, Louth, or Retford, are in almost all cases the worst, and this is mainly caused by the admixture of women of bad character. They are represented as far worse than the men. To the same effect speak ‘Many witnesses. Mr Leaper, superintendent of police at Spalding, says, “ Iv’s no use separating boys from girls, unless you “ separate the young girls from prostitutes and the elder women who demoralize them.” (Evid. 216,) Again, “Don’t let the bigger girls go; it’s they that corrupt the little ones and no one else.” (Evid. 92.4 “One of them (grown up girls) was worse than any of them in learning of them foul discourse.” (Evid. 47.) “It’s the old men and women that talk bad and corrupt the children,” (Evid, 178.) And even of gleaning, another witness says, “young and old are congregated together in one field and “ the greatest immorality results.” (Evid, 25.) 65. For these reasons it appears to me that the separation of the sexes at field work, if it were practicable, would not much improve the present state of things. But how far could it be carried out at meal times? The children are generally allowed to stray where they like and do what they like a IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EDWARD STANHOPE'S REPORT. 79 so long as they come back at the right moment. (Some strong evidence from Notts as to this may be seen at Nos. 296, 297, 301.) And at the end of the day’s work at any rate all control ceases. Ta the early morning it is often the custom to assemble at some meeting place, and to start thence all together. This is the case at Spalding, and still more at Croyland, and in consequence the superintendent of the gang will often go out with it. But, in coming home, the children are allowed to hurry or delay, and where they have three or four miles to walk home in the dusk the consequences appear to be most demoralizing. (Evid. 308.) 66. It is, moreover, contended that a separation of the sexes would be most inconvenient to the employer, especially in the potato districts, and that it could not be practically carried out there. (Evid, 127, 130, 170.) ‘The difficulties suggested did not seem to me very great, although possibly any interference whatever with labour would reduce the area under root crops; but the real gain to morality from boys working in one field and girls in another, and mixing together at mealtimes, and in returning home, is not likely to be large. A more serious objection is the inconvenience which it would cause to very small farmers, Large farmers gencrally employ the older children; they secure, as it were, the pick of the market, and small farmers have to put up with what they can get. 67. And secondly, it would interfere with family work. Family work, as I have already said, is generally on the increase. Where cottages are built in outlying districts, the farmer prefers to employ the families of his labourers who live in them, rather than to bring others from a distance. Such work too is open to none of the objections commonly urged against the sexes working together, and if girls are to go to the fields at all, it is probably the most harmless way in which they can be employed. Gleaning for instance could hardly be interfered with, nor the help given by families in harvest time. 68. To nieet this difficulty, various definitions of a gang have been suggested. The Lincolnshire Chamber of Agriculture says that six ought to constitute a gang; intending by this expedient to give relief to small farmers, and not to prevent “ family work.” Others would define a gang by fixing some number which one man can thoroughly look after and control. 69, No other definition of a private gang has in fact been attempted than a limit of numbers, and this is one serious objection to extending to these gangs the section of the Agricultural Gangs Act, 1867, which requires gangmasters to take out a licence. Such a provision is not needed to protect children from cruelty or overwork; as a means of checking immorality, it would have no effect on many, which the evidence shows to be the worst from the very fact of their having no superintendent. These difficulties have prevented any very practical suggestions being made for the regulation of company work, which would be universal in their application. And the Rev. H. T. Fletcher, reflecting the opinion of many persons, says: “it would not be possible to place the labour of girls, so different and scattered as it is, under any effective regulation or superintendence, tantamount to that of girls in public gangs.” (Evid. 253.) Tue AGE aT wHicH BoyS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO Work. 70. In the districts where much light labour is required, the common age for boys to begin to. work in the field is eight. Many, however, go at seven, some at six years old. ‘They generally begin with “tenting” birds. On the books of most schools in Lincolnshire, I found boys less than eight years old, who went a little to work. This was especially the case in the potato districts, or where the land is occupied by very small farmers, who require at certain seasons the labour of their own children, In the clay districts, where light labour is jess in demand, few children go to “ tent” birds before nine, or at the youngest eight years of age. But in this and simijar cases, I found that the employers seldom know the age of the boys that they employ. They are hired as soon as they are strong enough, or can shout, and the very young ones are often taken only to oblige a constant labourer, who wishes some addition to his weekly earnings. _ 71. Where the hours are not too long, or the work too hard, few persons think such employment as is given to young boys hurtful to them, The medical testimony is almost unanimous on this point. Several witnesses, on the contrary, speak to the great advantage a boy gains from the better food which his earnings enable his family to give him, (Evid. 260.) But the best evidence on this point is the appearance of the boys themselves. No diseases or deformities appear traceable to this early work ; no such cases were pointed out, and very few were mentioned to me, The boys through- out my district appeared to be healthy and well formed ; where boys in a school were indicated to me as having just come back from field work, they were almost always strong and healthy looking. And in some cases boys of a rather higher class than agricultural labourers are sent to field work to improve their health, . ae ; 72. The early employment of a boy, if not extended over the whole year, also gives him a little money to pay for schooling, and gives him a good training for his future career. Agricultural work may not seem to require much learning, but experience has proved that boys cannot get handy at it, unless they begin early in life. Workhouse boys, that is, boys brought up at the unions, without field work, till 12 or 18 years of age, are universally condemned as useless. And the habits of industry acquired by field work, and the becoming early accustomed to exposure to weather, are in themselves no slight advantage to the future labourer. ae 73, Severe restrictions upon boy labour will also have the effect of driving out into the fields many more women and girls, or of causing the work which they now do to be neglected. And much of the light labour now done by children is of a character which, though essential to first-rate farming, is not * absolutely necessary ; and the neglect of it, though a loss to the farmer, will be felt far more by the poor families whose earnings are thus impaired, 7 74, Whatever, therefore, may be the case with reference to the necessity of requiring some better school attendance from boys, there is: no reason, on the ground of health, for fixing any limit before which they shall not be allowed to work different from that of the Factory Acts. 8 2 80 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Tur AcE at wHicH GIRLS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO WORK. 75. Girls are employed as young as seven years of age, or in potato picking sometimes at six. When they reach nine or ten they are occasionally sent out to tend sheep or pigs, or to scare crows alone. Assuming that the hours of work are reasonable, the objections raised to the employment of girls in field work are shortly these :— 76. First, that it is injurious to their physical health. Upon this point there is much difference of opinion. The cold and expogure inseparable from field work are said to produce rheumatism and consumption. Others say that it is particularly injurious to them just after the age of puberty. In the Fens especially they are exposed to a great deal of wet, by being taken to weed corn or green crops in rainy weather. But Dr. Mackintosh, after 20 years’ experience, says, “Girls employed in the fields «© enjoy more robust health, and a greater immunity from the complaints incident to the age of puberty, « than girls who are employed in in-door service.” (Evid. 25.) They are rarely put to winter work, and the more general opinion as to summer work is, that it is rather favourable to their physical health than otherwise. 7%. Secondly, that their morality is affected by field work. To the evil arising from the mixture of sexes I have already alluded. But many persons think that, whether girls are employed alone or not, the general tendency of field work is to promote roughness. “ They want breaking in again,” says one witness. “It encourages strong passions, rough language, and general ‘loudness.’” Evid. 206.) 78. Thirdly, that field work is a very bad preparation for a woman’s future home duties as a wife, — that it unsexes her, makes her rough and coarse ; too independent of her parents, and interferes seriously with her education,—especially that part of it which may be described as industrial. 79. Fourthly, that it unfits girls for household service. The complaint everywhere was, “ Where are we to get a good female servant?” Indeed many employers, who are not prepared to sacrifice girl labour altogether, recommend its prohibition after the age of 18,so that they may go to service (Evid. 1, 92, 284, 316). “I have found,” says one witness, “that where a mother keeps a daughter “ over 18 at home instead of at service the girl is almost sure to go astray.” (Evid. 63.) “It has “ a great tendency to promote immorality; and what they earn at that age seldom goes to the parent, “ but is spent by themselves.” (Evid. 288.) On the other hand, it is urged that the attraction of field work is not sufficient to keep girls away from service, unless their previous training and habits have accustomed them to like it, For this reason many advocate the exclusion of girls from the fields up to the age of 13, This opinion is maintained in a memorandum addressed to the Commission by 17 influential magistrates of Kesteven. “ This restriction would tend not a little towards the gradual, if “ not entire, abolition of female labour in field work; for if women were not accustomed to it in youth * they would be physically incapacitated for it later in life.” (Evid. 2.) “The worst of it is that when “ they go out to service they don’t care about staying there, because they know they can get field “ work.” (Evid. 92.) “The girls won’t go out to service because they become less independent.” (Evid. 127.) 80. Others, and those especially who have seen the effects of female labour in the Fen district, strongly urge the keeping all young unmarried girls away from the fields. (Evid. 28, 150, 211, 213.) Some argue that it is in reality of very little profit to a family, ftom the wear and tear of clothes, and the greater amount of food consumed. Upon this point, however, the opinion of the poor themselves, in the districts where much girl labour is employed, is almost unanimous. They deprecate such work for their daughters, but admit that the temptation of the earnings is too much for them. In such places they are not sent to field work owing to the low rate of wages, but owing to the high remuneration offered at certain seasons, 81. In other districts, however, poverty is without doubt the main cause of the girls being sent into the fields. Iam of course excluding from consideration corn harvest, during which girls always go into the fields throughout these counties, and which no one in them has ever suggested to me the idea of prohibiting. In some cases girls are sent from the pressure put upon the family by the employer of the father. But generally the parents are glad enough to send them if they can get employment. Upon this subject Miss Boucherett, of Willingham House, whose experience among the labouring classes is very great, and to the whole of whose evidence I would call especial attention, says :— “ Field work is often rough for girls, but it is not necessarily at all immoral * * * What has given it a bad name is, that it is the only means girls who have lost their character have of getting an honest living. Field work is very good for health, except when corn and high turnips are weeded in cold weather. But this is still more unpleasant than unwholesome, and they often leave it. * * * * Itis bad unprofitable work but hunger is worse. They don’t go unless poverty drives them to it. The amount of field work they do in general does no harm to their morals or their training. Where the husband drinks, or the family is very numerous, they must do more or starve ; but even then girls often make good servants who have worked ail their’ childhood in the fields. No restriction should therefore be placed on their employment.” (Evid. 53.) 82. In Leicestershire there is not only very little employment in the fields for girls, but there is a strong inducement to keep them at home, and to employ them in seaming and stocking making. All girls therefore who do not go to the fields or who cannot find employment as domestic servants, are saved from absolute idleness. But this does not apply to Lincolnshire. “ If,” as one witness says “ The exclusion from field work only narrows the range of female occupation, and a class of idle or starving women is produced, the gain to female morals is doubtful enough.” (Evid. 166.) 83. ‘The value of such labour to farmers is much greater than would be supposed. Not to speak of isolated districts where taking any labour away involves bringing other labour from a long distance the exceptional cultivation of potatoes, peas, or flax, requiring an enormous number of hands at certain seasons, though only for a short time, makes the labour of girls most valuable. In potato districts the certain effect of their exclusion from field work would be a diminution of the area under that crop, and IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 81 the loss of wages thereby caused to the poor’ may be estimated from the very employed. (Evid. 165.) 84. Upon the whole, therefore, to interfere by legislation to prevent what is described sometimes as “ the offly means by which girls who have lost their character have of getting an honest living,” and sometimes as “ the alternative of starvation,” can only be justified by the magnitude of thé evils produced by the present system. The evidence certainly appears to show that (putting the question of education on one side) the employment of girls from 8 to 12 or 13 is the most free from objection, if properly regulated. No harm appears to come from such girls following their fathers to dibble beans, as they will often do. Nor again from many sorts of family work, which the better distribution of cottages seems likely to encourage. “ Any restriction had better be left to personal feeling to effect,” says one witness, whose strong expressions as to the evils of female field work I have already quoted. (Evid. 206.) But let field work for girls be “a last and loathed resource. Let everything, from the gentleman’s situation and the shopman’s, down to the lowest farm service, come to be preferred to the field.” (Evid. 167). large number now Tur Hours or Work or WomeEN AND CHILDREN. 85. Throughout these counties women as a rule work from 8 a.m. to 5 or 5°30 p.m. In some parishes it is the custom to begin work at 7; in the Isle of Axholme, they often do not begin till 8:30 or 9. Women, however, that go with threshing machines work men’s hours, that is, from 6 to 6, or from light to dark, and, if finishing a job, sometimes till long after dark. Such women are, however, physically as equal to the labour as the men with whom they work. , 86. No complaint is made of these hours. Miss Boucherett, in saying this, adds: “ Yet I think a “© woman’s day’s work should be legally two hours’ less than a man’s, that she may get the meals ready * and do the household work.” (Hivid. 53.) In practice this is almost always the case. 87. Girls, when working with the women, keep their hours. When working alone at tenting, they go from daylight till dark; and when formed into a private gang with boys, they often .begin work at 6 a.m. and go on till 6 p.m, At Croyland, all the children and young persons meet at the Old Bridge at 6 a.m. (Evid. 237.) On the Heath and in the Fens they sometimes have to be at their work, a mile or two distant, by 6 am. (Evid. 88, 103, &c.) The chief reason for this is that they work with a man, some of whose labour would be lost if the children did not work the same hours. 88. Boys working alone’ are generally employed from 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. in summer, and from light to dark in winter. At tenting these hours are exceeded, but this is a “ passive work,” and the time is only complained of on account of the Jong exposure to bad weather and vacancy of thought. 89. These hours do not appear excessive for boys; 12 hours (inclusive of meal times) may seem a long time for boys of 8 or 9, but in practice it is found that the work done by such children is so light that it can do them no injury, and employers are very reasonable in adjusting the description of work to the strength of the lad. With respect to girls, the case is different. If the reason that women work short hours is to give them. an opportunity of doing the necessary household work, surely the same opportunity ought to be given to girls, in order that they may become acquainted with domestic duties, and fit for their future position in life. But tnis applies only to the parts of the Wold and Fen, where girls get regular work for some months, and would be a hardship in those districts, where girls work only at harvest or for a week or two in the spring. . 90. In one respect, moreover, some interference may be more necessary, viz., where, as I have said, the day’s labour is still further lengthened by the distance that the children go to work. ‘This point will be considered under a separate head. MEALTIMES, 91. The rule throughout these counties is to give an hour for dinner between 12 and 1 to all workers, This is sometimes broken through in winter by the farmers, in consequence of the shortness of the day. In such cases they give only half an hour, and allow the workers to leave half-an-hour sooner at night. It is also broken by the workers themselves in consequence of cold or bad weather, It is often very unpleasant to stand still in the exposed fields, and the workers prefer to keep constantly moving. (Evid. 347.) ; . ; ; 92. Where work begins at 6, a quarter of an hour is often given in North Lincolnshire, for an “andrew” or lunch, and sometimes also another in the afternoon. In other parts this system is not generally recognized, but a man in charge of a lot of boys and girls will let them rest for a few minutes every now and then, and thus give them an opportunity of having something to eat. Women, who most commonly work without an overlooker, can of course stop at any time for such a purpose. In most cases, however, food is brought for one meal only. Tus Distancrs TO WHICH WoMEN AND CHILDREN Go To Work. 98, Children rarely go long distances except in a gang of some sort. They cannot be trusted to go alone, but require superintendence. As we might expect, therefore, the longest distances are tra- versed by the public gangs ; but small companies of women and children are found throughout these counties to work at a considerable distance from home. 94, The want of cottages is of course mainly responsible for this, either in districts recently brought under cultivation, or in those where the close parish system is still in operation. It should, however, be borne in mind that the distances traversed by children does not only depend upon this, but also upon the character of the cultivation. In some special cases the crop has to be gathered up at once or it will be spoilt, and for this purpose the whole population of several surrounding parishes is collected into one or two fields; but the work only lasts a short time, and to prohibit absolutely these distances being traversed would prevent in some cases the growth of these crops, and would in consequence be as great a hardship to the family as to the employer. The potato harvest is an instance of this ; also “ osier- 5 3 Women with threshing machines. 82 : EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN peeling” and “pea-pulling.” This latter occupation, which is especially found in the neighbourhood of the Trent, draws hands from parishes many miles distant. 4 ; 95. On the Wolds we find children going from Louth, five miles to Withcall (Evid. 40); and to several other places three and four miles. In public gangs they go much farther.’ From the other large centres of population the distances are not much less, “ At Caistor,” one witness says, ‘I see “ hundreds of labouring people pass down this hill at night ; some of them go four, five, or even six “ miles.” (Evid. 37.) At Tealby the average distance to their daily work is two miles.” (vid 52,) “From Ludford the extreme distance is two miles.” (Evid. 46.) So again at Kirton, “most of the “ parishes round are close parishes, such as Grayingham, Northorpe, and Redbourn, and many of the “¢ labourers employed in those parishes live here.” (Evid. 66.) So at North Carlton and other parishes north of Lincoln. 96. On the Heath the case is far worse. From all the towns bordering on this great newly reclaimed tract large numbers of women and children go long distances. From Waddington some of them go three miles. (Evid. 103.) From Wellingore boys and girls of nine and 10 “go two, three, and four miles, (Evid. 88-90.) From Navenby “three and four miles.” (Evid. 93.) From Rauceby “two and a half miles.” (Evid. 100.) From Ruskington “ four or even five miles.” (Evid. 106.) Of Dorrington, it is said, “ Some of the labourers here go four miles or more. Some of the “ boys go to Ashby; part of the parish is two miles off in the fen, ‘There is one cottage on it.” (Evid. 109.) From Metheringham and Nocton *‘two miles is not an uncommon distance.” 97. In the neighbourhood of the Trent and in the marsh district of South-east Lincolnshire the gathering of potatoes in October brings hands from villages many miles distant. Carts are, however, employed to take the workers to the greater distances. But at Scotter, Mr. Eminson says, “Part of “ this parish touches the Trent; children go there at nine or ten years, with or without their parents. “ Women go also. It is 34 miles off.” (Evid. 144,) The same is occasionally the case from Long Sutton or Holbeach. edi le 98. But the worst case of all is that of Deeping Fen. From Spalding young girls and children are employed on farms four, five, and six miles distant, but the largest distances from this town are traversed by the public gangs. At Deeping St. James similar instances are to be found. One witness, 1] years old, went six miles, and occasionally nine miles, to work. (Evid. 244.) Others, girls as well as boys, went six miles. (Evid. 245, 249.) The same may be said of the other villages along the line of the fens from Deeping northwards, though the distances in these cases are less. _ 99, In Nottinghamshire, as might be expected from the better distribution of cottages, the distances are not so great. In the sand district, however, children “go as far as three miles from between Retford and Worksop, where there are too few cottages.” (Evid. 284.) At Worksop “ they sometimes “ go four or five miles, I don’t think the exercise hurts them.” (Evid. 285.) So from Cuckney, three miles (Evid. 293), and Warsop. On the clay a few close parishes still remain; but speaking generally, although some men have to walk two or three miles to work, the number of children that are found to traverse such a distance, except at “ pea-pulling” time, is very small indeed. 100. In Leicestershire still fewer are required to go a long distance. There the cottages are better distributed, less light labour is needed, and, excepting pea-pulling and the requirements of a few special districts (such as the neighbourhood of Bottesford and the southern boundary of the county), where **close ” parishes still exist, few children go any considerable distance to work. oe 101. Cases of injury to the children from going these long distances to work appear to be rare. The main sufferer is the farmer himself. Children, unless absolutely forced, will only do a certain amount of labour in the day, and the fatigue produced by going a long distance to work diminishes, if not their actual working hours, at any rate the amount of energy that they put intotheir employment. “I have ““ never observed,” says one witness, “any signs or over-fatigue in children, though many of them walk “ two miles, or rather more, to work.” (Evid. 281.) The case is very different from that of men, who are called upon to exert their utmost strength at work. Young children are rarely put to any em- ployment reqniring the exertion of strength. Nimbleness and quickness of hand are the especial qualities required. With women it is rather different. Dragging turnips out of the ground and some similar employments do involve the use of force, but grown up women with their shorter hours of work are pretty nearly as well able to go long distances as men. , 102. But as to this and many other practices, the best test after all is that of experience. These children do not grow up to be unhealthy or deformed, or unfit for work; but on the contrary they become labourers who can compare in strength and working ability with any in England. And if this is the case, can it be expected that any absolute prohibitions as to distance would be rigidly enforced ? If any regulation should be thought advisable, some simple rule forbidding all children from being taken to work on foot beyond a distance of two miles would appear to be the readiest mode of effecting the object with least interference with the labour of the children. 103. Other persons, however, describe these distances as the cause of great over fatigue and conse- quent injury to children, and strongly urge the absolute prohibition of children being taken to work on foct beyond two miles, or even one mile. Some prefer a scale of distances graduated according to ages. Some, on the contrary, think that the only time when it is a real hardship to children is when their hours of work are not diminished in consequence of the distance they have to go. Such extra labour ought to be done in their master’s time, and not in their own. They would therefore fix a legal limit to a day’s labour, and include in it the going to and from work. UNHEALTHY AND UNSUITABLE EMPLOYMENTS FOR WoMEN AND CHILDREN. 104, Work upon threshing machines is condemned on all sides for women. Many farmers have given it up from a sense of its unfitness. Many labourers will not allow their wives to go. Miss Boucherett, in other respects a great advocate for freedom of labour, condemns it from her experience % IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 83 on the Wolds, The women or woman (for in some parishes it is the custom to have one only), stands upon the stage of the machine, cuts the bands, and'hands the sheaf to the man who is feeding the machine, and who is sitting close to the revolving drum. ‘There is danger,” says one witness, “ of their dresses being caught.in the machinery, as I can bear sad testimony, having had fatal “ accidents on my farm.” (Hvid. 6.) Moreover there'is the possibility of the sheaf striking her as it is put on the machine, and throwing her off her balance. The stage on which she has to stand is often very narrow, sometimes “not more that 24 feet.’ (Evid. 55.) 105. Now it is not pretended that a man would be free from danger in the same position, but the dress of the woman and its liability to be caught by the drum when raised by a puff of wind render it especially dangerous for her. A great many accidents do happen from this cause. Three fatal cases occurred while I was visiting Lincolnshire. It is true that these accidents commonly arise from carelessness; in one case it was from a woman stepping on the drum as she came back to work (Evid. 65), but some at any rate are undoubtedly caused by the dress. The poor them- selves speak of this work with great dislike, although it is the most profitable work that a woman can do. 106. But there is another reason, besides the danger, for the preference of almost any sort of work to this, “In prohibiting,” says Mr. Higgins, of Claxby, “the employment of women whose loose “ dresses are liable to be caught, much good will be done indirectly, because when they go to work “© as described, they are placed in company with 8 or 10 men, and their moral condition is not one “ calculated to be improved under the system. Very few women will do this now.” (Evid. 6.) Others say, “‘it is only a peculiar class that go.” Respectable women never go to them, except under the pressure of real want. 107. Where men are scarce the number of women so employed is very large. The proper comple- ment of a threshing machine is 14, of which two are women; but five or six are often taken with it and go round to the various farms in the neighbourhood. In such a case the additional number would not be employed on the stage, but on the corn or straw stack, This represented as far too laborious for women, a woman on the straw stack sinking into it almost up to her middle. 108. It has been suggested by some persons that some sort of guard could be devised to protect the workers from coming into contact with the revolving drum. Others say that this would be impossible, that it would interfere with putting the sheaves into the machine, and would after all be of little value as a protection against carelessness, which is the principal cause of these accidents. (Evid. 16.) One difficulty in the way of guarding the machine is, the necessity of its being frequently removed, even in the same stackyard. ~ 109. An occupation very common for young boys is that of leading horses in carts. Many boys of even 8 or less will do this in harvest time, but they would then be under the eye of the men, and would not be alone with a horse. At other times of the year boys of 9 and upwards lead the first horse in ploughing, or drive a cart. This is especially the case in the clay districts. In Leicester- shire, I found many boys of 10 regularly driving horses, and employed all the year in this way. 110. This is alleged to be a most dangerous employment, and no doubt a considerable number of accidents have occurred to boys with carts, But the inquiries which I have made lead me to believe that such accidents are not more common to boys of nine or 10 than to boys of 14 and 15, and that, when they do occur, it is more frequently from riding on the shafts, or from carelessness, than from any other cause, ‘The fact is that when a boy begins to work at all regularly on a farm,-he is accustomed to go amongst horses, gets used to their ways, and when under the eye of any one who can prevent careless habits, he is exposed to little danger. 111, ‘That there would be very great difficulty in enforcing any such restrictions, unless they fall in to a certain extent with the public opinion of the country, may be shown by a very strong instance. By the Act 3 Geo. IV. c. 126. sect. 131, no boy under 13 is allowed to drive a cart on a turnpike road. This provision is not only evaded throughout my district, but is absolutely ignored. Very few of the magistrates to whom I spoke of it had ever heard of it, much less had ever enforced it, and it is practically a dead letter. ; ; ; es, 112. On several farms in the Fen district, I found girls employed also to drive carts, (Hvid. 219, 237.) Ina few cases they were the children of small freeholders cultivating their own land. This appears open to much greater objection on the score of danger, from the unsuitable dress of the girls. But this employment is so uncommyn as tobe scarcely worthy of notice. ; 113. Another occupation, which was condemned in the case of public gangs in the Report of 1867, is that of weeding high corn in wet weather. This is peculiar to the Fen districts, where alone the weeds grow so quickly as to necessitate this work being done. In other parts farmers laugh at the idea of sending any one, and especially women and girls, who with their dresses would do much damage, into growing corn. The evidence however, shows that even in the Fens this is felt as an objection by farmers, and the practice, though not absolutely confined to the public, is rarely found in private gangs, and does not appear to me to call for any legislative interference. te Epucation. 114. In my remarks upon this subject I propose to consider first, the number and distribution of schools; secondly, the work done in them, and the causes of its insufficiency ; and, thirdly, the remedies proposed. ; Aas ; ; Bee ee 115, The number of schools in Lincolnshire has increased enormously within the’ last few years. It is not very long since a prejudice which existed as to parts of the country being unhealthy and un- suitable to live in, caused many parishes in the Marsh and Fen districts to be without a resident clergyman ; $4 Young boys with horses. Girls with ie horses. Weeding high wet corn. I. Number and distribu- tion of schools a ened sgn An NO an on a 84 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN and even at the present time there is hardly a single squire resident in the former, and very few in the latter district. Moreover, in the northern part of the Marsh, which consists mainly of grazing land, a large proportion is let to Wold farmers, so that many, if not most of the occupiers of Jand, are non- resident. Even in other parts of Lincolnshire the number of resident owners is very small; the same may be said of Leicestershire, the country houses being to a large extent filled by persons who hire them only for the purpose of hunting in winter. In Nottinghamshire both landowners and farmers are for the most part resident. 116. But in the greater part of those counties, the main support of the school naturally falls upon the clergyman. Squires, when resident, have almost without exception contributed liberally to the support of the school in the parish in which they reside, but they do not always feel the same obliga- tion towards other parishes belonging to them in whole or in part. In the case of one nobleman, his only answer to applications for assistance to the school of a parish where he is sole owner was, that he preferred to leave it to local effort. But it is hardly necessary to say that the self-sacrifice of the clergy, both in providing for the maintenance of the school, and in assisting those wko have scanty means of paying the cost of education for themselves, is beyond all praise. 117. It is a common charge, brought against farmers as a class, that they care little for education and are rather disposed to discourage it. Now in many cases it cannot be denied that education is materially interfering with labour, because the object of the labouring class in seeking it is not to make their children better agricultural labourers, but to enable them to rise to a higher sphere in life. “If « IT could only get him to be a scholar,” said one woman, “he should never be a farm labourer.” “If I were a scholar I shouldn’t be here,’ said a labourer, “and that’s the reason why the farmers “ hold against this ere scholarship.” (Evid. 187.) One cannot therefore be surprised that farmers should wish so to direct education as to prevent its having this effect as far as possible, ‘Their view “ is that more than a little is very much too much; they are afraid that labourers will be spoiled “ for field work.” (Evid. 273). ‘Their object is to keep the school down and not to let it rise beyond a certain level. In consequence of this, their contributions to the school funds often amount to a small sum. It is, however, fair towards them to add that in some cases, at any rate, this is caused by the unwillingness of the clergyman or other manager of the school to receive contributions, He would rather pay all out of his own pocket than give up one particle of his authority over the school. The farmers, on the other hand, feel a great unwillingness to contribute without having some voice in the management, and the almost total alienation of employers from active co-operation or interest in the school attended by those whom they employ, has in these cases destroyed what might have been a most valuable means of promoting good attendance through the medium of the employers. 118. In Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire the number of parishes in which there is no school available within a reasonable distance is certainly small. The demand for education among the labouring class is exceedingly active, and if from any cause a school is closed, a dame’s school springs up almost immediately. “ ‘l'hey wanted a school here, and thought I was the only person who can do “ it,” said one poor illiterate woman in a very small parish. 119, The wages throughout the diocese of Lincoln being high, and the condition of the peasantry good, the difficulties in the way of maintaining schools are said to be “less than ordinary.” In the north of Lincolnshire the prevalence of dissent has had the useful effect of creating a competi- tion for the children, and in the larger towns hardly any escape being connected with some school or another. On parts of the Wolds, the population being very scattered, some children have long distances to go, but the schools are in general good. On the Heath the population is almost altogether collected into large villages, and is therefore easily within reach of. schools. In the Marsh there has been, from the absence of residents, more difficulty in raising and maintaining schools, but the energy of the clergy, and of some tenant farmers, has succeeded in surmounting it, and the district is now well supplied. In the deaneries of Holland, including both Fen and Marsh, the population is: collected for the most part into large villages, but the number of outlying hamlets also makes it difficult to bring a school within reach of all children, This district is unfortunately rich in endowments (Evid. 278), which has had a tendency in many cases to deaden local energy. Very few of these endowed schools are good. One curious result has followed from the fact that school endowments have often been limited to boys. The necessity of providing a good education for girls has in some cases caused an excellent separate girls’ school to be opened, which has far outstripped its more favoured rival. 120. Moreover, throughout the diocese of Lincoln (in no small degree owing to the exertions of its Bishop) really good schools are in most cases within reach of the mass of the population, Of the Fen and Marsh, described by H. M. inspector of schools, as “ not an encouraging field of educational work,” the Rev. W. S. Thomason, after a careful survey, writes “ There is hardly a house in the whole district “ which is not within three miles as the crow flies of one of the Government schools, the deaneries of “ Holland being an exception, as they are very richly endowed.” (Evid, 273.) 121. Few large parishes indeed in this diocese are without a good school. Of the three very large and purely agricultural parishes unsupplied with one, which came under my notice, two were mainly owned by sinall freeholders and contained no large resident proprietor, Billinghay, with a population of 1,642, is shortly about to acquire a school, solely through the activity of its vicar; Billingborough, with 1,149, has the misfortune of an endowment. Belton, in the Isle of Axholme, with 1,871, is a large straggling parish divided into small properties, Moreover, in very large towns it is not enough to have one good school, even though within easy reach of the whole population. Take, for instance, Spalding. Here the mass of the very poor live in the suburbs of Little London, &c., within a mile of two good schools, yet practically very few do make their way to them, and the lowest class of the popu- Jation is not touched by the present system. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :=-MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT, 85 122. But even in parishes where a good parish school exists, one or two dame schools will “often flourish also. As a rule parents know and value a good school ; yet the dame school has the advantage that the parent can get exactly what he pleases for his money. The very hard rule, too, which exists in some parishes of striking off the register of the parish school any childrea who go at all to work causes the parents to prefer the greater independence of the private school. _ 123. Private schools are in two respects especially serving a very useful purpose. First, in the scat- tered parishes of the Fens, The growing tendency to place the Jabourer nearer to his work has increased every day the difficulty of providing schools within a reasonable distance of his home. Combination between such outlying groups of cottages, which are often situated in different parishes, is difficult to organize, and a private adventure school affords the only means of meeting the difficulty. For instance, at the enclosure of the East, West,and Wildmore Fens, allotments were made to parishes situate at considerable distances; on one side a combination has taken place and a good school, though temporarily closed at the time of my visit, has been established at New York. On the other, a private school at Mount Pleasant supplies the only education available to a considerable district. 124. Secondly, they are serving a very useful purpose in providing an education for the younger children in a village, where no separate infant school has been organized, or where some houses are too far distant for the children to be able to attend the principal school while young. Several school- masters spoke to me very highly of the close personal supervision which the children received in them, causing them to be better grounded in elementary knowledge than they would have been in the large parish school, where the younger ones would of necessity be mainly left to monitors, Many, however, of these private schools are very bad, and cannot provide anything like sufficient education. But where supplemented by a good school in an adjoining parish for the older children, they deserve every encouragement. 125, The clay districts of these counties present one common feature, that the villages vary in popu- lation from 100 to 400 or 500, and hardly ever exceed that number. This population unfortunately is that which finds most difficulty in affording a good school; and no one parish is large enough or rich enough to take upon itself the task of providing a good central schcol for the older children of adjoining parishes. In Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire this difficulty has been partly got over by the support of resident landowners, but throughout agricultural Leicestershire the number of good schools is far less, although schools of some sort are seldom wanting. 126, But as we approach the neighbourhood of Nottingham’and Leicester, a far more disturbing element is introduced. Seaming and framework knitting absorb almost the whole population, while the large overgrown villages in the suburbs of these towns, for the welfare of which the owners of the land do not consider themselves responsible, as the inhabitants are not employed by them, are most ill-supplied with schools, ‘The girls especially can begin such work as young as 6 or 7 years old, and many of them never attend school at all. The instances of ignorance in these districts which came _ unde: my notice far surpass anything that I met with even in ganging villages, And what tells worse still for the future of this portion of the population is, that the ignorance is greatest among the girls. But any detailed inquiry into these districts appeared to me to be beyond the scope of my instructions. It should nevertheless be added, that this state of things affects many rural parishes in Leicestershire, even a long way from the manufacturing towns. 127. In very few schools is any sort of industrial training given to girls; it is generally confined to sewing. “In Lincolnshire,” says Mr. Sewell, in his report to the Privy Council in 1866, “ special “ attention has been paid to this subject, which has been fostered by the local prize scheme, and great “ success is attained” (p. 200). his is the case at Louth and Long Sutton. The only other industrial training at all common is when the girls are required to help the schoolmistress in cleaning out the rooms. 128. A few benevolent ladies have established privately the means of teaching girls to cook and do household work. An excellent education of this sort is given by Mrs. Hutton of Gate Burton, Similar schools are carried on by the Duchess of Newcastle and Lady Manvers in Notts. Miss Boucherett of Willingham has established a system, which has done much good, of taking out girls from the work- house and putting them in small places to learn domestic duties. But the only case which came under my notice of a really self-supporting school, where cooking, &c. is taught, is that described by Mr. Parker at Well. (Evid. 9.) : 129. The question of night schools occupied my attention throughout my district. In Lincolnshire not one quarter of the parishes which I visited had one. About the same proportion existed in Not- tinghamshire. Almost all of them had tried it. The usual story was, “ We began very well, but they “ soon began to-drop off, and so we haven’t one this year.” In Leicestershire, where the day schools are inferior to those in the other two counties, many more night schools are in existence. ‘Throughout the clay districts the population lies more in the village, and the scholars have a comparatively short distance to go. Hence something like one half the parishes were provided with a night school, more or less systematically conducted. In Leicestershire there were even more, and , the farmers having for the most part given up the plan of hiring lads into their houses, the latter are more their own masters and better able to attend a night school. : : 130, One difficulty in the way of night schools is the want of teachers, “ Amateurs soon tire of this “« work” (Evid. 6), nor are they in general fit for it. The short time available for instruction, and the greater age of the pupils, requires a more experienced teacher. But in many agricultural villages where is he to be found? Sometimes there is no master; if there is one, he has been teaching in the day school for five hours, and very probably is overtired already. Many farmers come forward to help the clergyman in teaching; but sometimes there are none to do so. Night schools will not answer where “there is not a single person of easy circumstances to jassist the lighting and warming of the * room, or of leisure and qualifications to help in the teaching. (Evid, 200.) 131. This, however, which might perhaps be got over by some such plan as that suggested by several witnesses (Evid. 6, 9), of a perambulating teacher for such schools, is not the only difficulty, Night 21157, T ? Industrial schools, Night schools, TI. School Results, Effect of field work. 86 -», “EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN work, for lads often have their horses to attend to till 8.p.m., keeps away the very class to whom they would be most valuable. Even if the work ends earlier, few have the energy or the constitutional ability to change their clothes, swallow a hasty meal, and go off to a night school after 12 hours’ work, Then the hours of sleep and rest, which “ it is not desirable to abridge ” (Evid. 9), must be sacrificed. 132. Many employers are opposed to such schools, from a dislike to the farm lads being off the premises, and the hiring of such lads takes place now at an earlier age than formerly. This is especially the case if the distance to the school is long, and in many parishes it must be so, In a great parish~ like Holbeach (till recently divided, 17 miles long), with a scattered population, one school, or even half a dozen, would not suffice. “An 8 ft. ditch on each side of the road which is unlighted,” (Evid, 206) is a formidable obstacle; and under the present system of putting the labourer nearer to his place of labour, this is likely to be an increasing difficulty. 133, Then, too, old and young must be separated. Grown up men, who are naturally unwilling to be taught like children, dislike still more to be taught in the presence of children. In some parishes this difficulty is met by having two classes on different nights. If girls are allowed to come, a new perplexity. arises, but very few permit this. In some cases both girls and boys come, and the. school bell is tolled when the girls start home, a quarter of an hour before the boys. _, 184, It is no wonder that one witness, writing from the Marsh district in Lincolnshire, says, “ I “ know of no good night school in rural parishes?” Night schools may certainly fill « very useful part where they are practicable, but they cannot be reckoned upon as an essential part of a national system of education. ; 135, What the work now being done in these schools is, must be judged of by the proportion of the juvenile population receiving instruction and by the amount of their attendance. In Lincolnshire I selected the wapentake of Aveland, as containing a fair proportion of favoured and also of neglected parishes, and visited almost every school in person, From the returns thus obtained it appears that 154 per cent. of the population are on the books of some school. (Evid.274.) This average was affected by the existence of two very good. schools, which drew to themselves scholars from the adjoining parishes. On the other hand (and this shows the fallacy of such returns), in the largest parish, Billinghay, the number of children of school age amounted: to 25 per cent. of the population, but only 15 per cent. were at school. Here the parish school was very bad, but. the willingness of the people to send their children to school is proved by the attendance at the night school, which was taught by a competent master, and where children of all ages were allowed to come. (Evid. 263.) Throughout Lincolnshire the proportion appeared to me to be about the same, exceeding it a little in the north, and falling short of it in the south. In the villages in Nottinghamshire which I visited, the proportion on the books of schools varied from 11 to 134 per cent. of the population, .,,136. It was often said, “ There are several families here attending no day school at all,” but the instances were not numerous, where the fact actually proved to be that none of the children were or had been at any school, although in almost every parish of any size there were some such cases. In the small and purely agricultural villages the proportion of children absolutely ‘untouched by schooling is very small, but in the case of the larger villages, which I might almost describe as towns, I invariably found some families which absolutely neglected any means of education for their children. This seemed to me to be partly due to the greater difference of classes in such places, and to the poorest class being unwilling to send their children to a school which they looked upon as intended for those in a superior position in life, and where, as they thought, too high a description of education was given. 137. The average attendance, however, at these schools shows a very different state of things, In the wapentake of Aveland, to which I have alluded, the proportion of children in average attendance to those on the books was about one-half in summer, and Jess than three-fourths in winter, and this I. found to be the general proportion throughout Lincolnshire. In the clay parishes both in this and the other counties the proportion in average attendance was much higher (Evid. 360), but the families are poorer and cannot keep their children at school to so Jate an age. 138. Nor is the amount of attendance which is expressed by the term ‘ average’ always very high. One schoolmaster says of his school: “ Kighty-three are sons of agricultural labourers, who attend on an “ average less than this” (viz. one-third of the school year, which may be taken to be 70 days). (Evid. 185.) But this is a point difficult to ascertain with accuracy, because the ayerage is much raised by the very regular attendance of the youngest children, ; ., 139, It is hardly necessary to say that the main cause of this irregularity is field work, The greater cultivation of root crops and the large amount of Jand recently brought into cultivation, the very slight increase of population to meet those demands, and the increasing unwillingness of married women to go out to field labour has given rise to a much larger employment of children than formerly in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. They are employed at occasional jobs and are taken into regular service at a younger age. . 140, The first result which follows from this is that their attendance also becomes irregular at an earlier age. ‘¢Even infant schools are affected by the demand for field work.” In one parish the children going to such work included 12 boys and 5 girls of eight and under,—one girl was 6 only. (Evid. 83.). In one village on the Wolds “some few have gone as early as 6, but 8 is above-the «+ usual age.” At Croyland, “in the summer only infants atiend,” (Evid. 233.) At,Dorrington, on the day of my visit, six boys and two girls under 7 were taken from school to work, (Evid. 110.). 14]. The second result is that the age at which children finally leave, school: for work is gradually dropping. This is the case with girls as well as boys. “Twenty years ago,” said one witness, we kept them till 12 or 13, but now it is rare to keep them till 10.” (Evid, 189.) ‘The girls used to be “ older and bigger than the boys; now they are about as young, and. fewer in number.” (Evid. 231.) Out of the 17 last children mentioned in the Kirton register as having finally left school, 8 were 9 years of age, (Evid. 66.) At Morton, “we cannot depend upon. their staying at school at all after 9.” (Evid. 354.) At Warsop (Notts) “a great many boys leave altogether at eight yearsold. At that age IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 87: they will have got to read’a chapter in the Testament them on paper.” (Evid.'299.) ° : _142. The number of boys on the books of any school at 10 years of age being small, the proportion of those who attend with any regularity falls in many cases to nothing. Taking all the inspected schools in his district (which includes most of Lincolnshire and Notts) the Rev. Capel Sewell says that out of 100 children on the books over six, only 37 per cent. have attended over 200 times, of which eight per cent. only were over 10 years of age. And remembering that in such schools especially, a great many farmers’ children attend, probably very few indeed of these, if any, are the children of agricultural labourers. Evenin Mr. Parker’s excellent scheol on the Wolds (Evid. 9) no boys over 10 make an average attendance in summer. At Cranwell no boys over 10 are even on the books of any school; and in summer no girls of that age attend. So at Dorrington. At Deeping St. James, with a population of 1,763, there are only two boys in summer and 12 in winter, At Deeping St. Nicholas (1,180) only one and four respectively, At Billingboro’ (1,149) 0 and 3. . 143. In Leicestershire, however, the demands of field work do not draw: off very young children from school, except for a limited period. But the schools are inferior ; Government schools: are not so much within reach, and in consequence even fewer children remain at school after 10. Girls, too, from the work of seaming which they can do. at home, attend far worse than the boys. In all the clay district the demand for plough-driving lads is so great, that most boys leave school at 9. In two parishes only was there apparently very much difference in respect of attendance in summer or winter. (Evid. 360.) -_ 144. But the little knowledge they have thus gained appears to be very quickly lost. In one village (Stubton), in which the demands for field-work are not very great, the Rev. W. S. Hampson says :— ‘A boy leaves school from 9 to 11 years of age, with a fair amount of knowledge for his age, and abilities. He then goes to farm work, is generally within a few years hired by the year, and lives in a farmer’s house, most commonly in a strange parish. ‘There is no opportunity of keeping up what he knows, and by the time he is 16 he has forgotten nearly all he has learnt. Many of the farm servants might, to judge from what they know, have come from Central Africa,” : To the same effect speaks Mr. Stockdale, of Bole, Nottinghamshire :— - “In this parish all learn to read and write and do a little arithmetic ; but they leave school generally so very early that they soon forget almost all.” (Evid. 309.) 4 , they can write a little on a slate, and some of 145, With respect to the larger villages, the evidence is almost unanimous as to the state of education among the young agricultural population. The Rev. Prebendary Perry, of Waddington, says :— “Taking the lowest standard of a sufficient education for an agricultural labourer, I believe that more than one-half of the population is growing up without it. There are probably very few who grow up without some knowledge of the above subjects.” (vid. 86.) At Langtoft, the Rev. J. S. Warren says of the candidates for confirmation,— “This year, out of 20 boys that came to me averaging 16 years old, seven could not read at all, and 10 could not write at all. With others the power was too small to be of any practical use. The girls were better. Out of 14, three could not read, and eight could not write.” (Evid. 250.) At Long Sutton,— “ Out of a night school averaging 40, only 15 can read thoroughly, write fairly, and work the compound rules.” (Evid. 166.) 146. The result of my own inquiries leads me to the same conclusion. Out of 180 children in Lincoinshire over 10, and actually engaged in field work on the day on which I examined them, 42 could not read or write, 36 could read only, 60 could read and write a little, while only 42 had received a really satisfactory education in these respects; but no less than 31 out of the 42 who were uneducated, came from towns or large open villages. On one farm between Rettord and Worksop, out of 15 lads between 12 and 16, four could neither read nor write (three of them coming from large towns), and two could read only; five were well educated, One employer at Deeping St. James, says:— = “ T have 10 boysonly ; of these four cannot read or write. I asked them to-day, and I was much surprised, because I knew two of those who could not read to have been at school a great deal.” (Evid. 242.) 147, In Leicestershire the state of education is difficult to estimate, from the large admixture of a non- agricultural population. I may, however, safely say that the instances of the gross and utter ignorance of whole families which were brought under my notice in the manufacturing villages far exceed any in agricultural parishes. From the very early age at which both boys and girls leave school, and the deficiency of good schools, the state of education cannot but be placed considerably lower than that in the adjoining counties. | 148, The effect of the pecuniary resources of families upon school attendance involves not only the question of the loss of earnings, but also that of school payments. The payments in my district vary from Id. to 3d., 4d., and even 6d. in private schools; 2d. may be said to be the ordinary charge; and is found in most places to secure a better attendance than free schools or a lower charge. Some indeed maintain that the charge may be raised higher, provided that a reasonable deduction be made in case of several children of one family with a proportionate advantage to the: regularity of attendance. An instance of a good working school where a higher charge is made, and received whether the child attends or not, may be found at Welton. (Evid. 81.) |“ One penny a week for schooling can be * paid by the very poorest, even for five children at once; thé charge here is usually 2d. Most people “ can pay that.” (Evid. 53.) This small payment, however, does affect attendance in this way, that “the parents like to get a week’s schooling for a week’s wage. They won’t pay if there is any chance of their children getting any employment in the fields even for a day.” - (Evid. 148.) T 2 Ce Effect of school payments. Indifference of parents. Effect of distance, II. Sugges- tions for improvement. System at Ruddington, 88 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 149, Few practical teachers have mentioned this to me as the real difficulty. Inthe case of children too young for work, not only does no question of losing their earnings arise, but the parents are willing enough to send them to get them out of the way. Instances of this may be found throughout the evidence. Some families certainly maintain that they cannot send their children because of boots or clothes; but many cases have been mentioned to me where such children were provided with boots or sent free, and yet have failed to take advantage of it. 150. Nor does indifference on the part of the parents appear to be as common as might be supposed, although on this point there is very great difference of opinion. Few poor families do not profess at any rate to see the advantage of education, and the promotion of private adventure schools in the poorest districts, and the eagerness of the poor to avail themselves of any opportunities afforded prove that in many districts they do set a value upon it. They have known cases where some in their own station of life have raised themselves by means of it, and this in itself is a strong inducement to them to seek it for their children. 151. But the standard of education which they set before themselves as sufficient for their children is in most cases very low. The moral duty of providing them witha good education is not much regarded, While they cannot be self-supporting, they are sent to school as the cheapest way of getting rid of them; but the moment that their services become valuable they are withdrawn. And so not only field-work, but nursing at home, seaming, or taking out their father’s dinner, are all admitted as excuses to justify it. At Gedney Drove End I found many girls kept at home to look after lodgers. Such an employ- ment, as giving them some knowledge of home duties, was probably the best of all. 152. In places where there is very much employment for children there is another cause, besides the desire of parents to make their children self-supporting, which operates very strongly in keeping children from school. ‘This is the independence which it is in the nature of field work to engender, and which renders the children very unwilling to submit to dictation from their parents. ‘ The father “ is at work all day, and seldom sees them, and perhaps he does not care. The mother does care “ much more, but the boy is her master.” (Evid, 224.) When a boy begins to earn tenpence a day he becomes practically independent. : 153. Distance from school appears to be one of the least difficulties with which schoolmasters have to contend, except in the depth of winter. Even in the Fen districts children go two or three miles to school, and such pupils are among the most regular attendants, and almost always the most punctual. In one case a little boy of six came over three miles every day to school. (Evid. 243.) Two miles at any rate, is not looked upon as too far, even for young children, and the number of children in these counties who are at that distance from a school is very small. 154. Under your instructions I made inquiries among all classes as to the best means of improving education, and especially as to the practicability of devoting part of the children’s time to school, leaving the rest for work. . 155. The system of requiring children to attend school part of every day on which they work, has not been suggested to me as practicable in agricultural districts by any person with whom I have conversed, or who has made any return to the Commission. In one or two cases it has been attempted by the clergy on their own glebes, but not with any idea that it was generally possible. If every boy worked close to the school it might be feasible, but where some of them work, as must be the case in every parish, a mile away from it, or, as in many parishes, two or three miles, the amount of time absolutely lost is a serious obstacle to its adoption. Besides this the necessity for ‘changing dress, the weariness and sleepiness which must inevitably follow field labour for five or six hours in the morning, and the great inconvenience which it would occasion to farm-work and to adult labour, appears to render its general adoption impossible. 156, The alternate day system has been recommended by two or three personsin my district, but on this poiut the experience of Mr. Paget at Ruddington is so important that I shall first give a short account of his system, as to which further information will be found in the evidence. (Evid. 275-281.) 157. The village of Ruddington has a population of 2,288. It is partly occupied by stockingers, {t is five miles from Nottingham, and the neighbourhood of the large towns raises the price of agricultural Jabour above that of the country districts. Mr. Paget’s farm is one mile nearer. 158. The boys employed on it are divided into two sets; each set is required to attend school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in one week, and on Tuesday and Thursday in the next. On the other days, and on every Saturday, they work on the farm. By this means the school-work jis less interrupted, as the boys go through the regular weekly school course once afortnight. This rule is suspended: in harvest during the school holidays, and at other times whenever there is a press of work to be done, as for instance when mangolds are taken up in October, Mr. Paget has therefore this advantage, that he can at any time double his force without any extra expense beyond the payment for the actual work done. This irregularity has taken place on an average for 19 days in each year, thus reducing the number of days on which the children attend school to an average of 91, ; 159. Boys begin to work upon the farm at 9 years old, and continue sometimes to work upon it till their 14th year. Before entering upon the farm they are required to be able to read tolerably. 160. This system has now been tried for 14 years. The children are said “ never to be weary of * school or work ;” to work with more pleasure and spirit for the occasional rest, and when at ies e of 13 entirely emancipated from school attendance, to have “acquired a knowledge of the business oF “ life,” and to plough and do farm-work as well as any other boys of .the same age, as indeed the should do after 210 days farm-work in each year. I have received letters from several of ae employers of these boys at a later age, who speak highly of their « habits of industry ” and good conduct 161. Besides this, “their progress at school is nearly equal to that of those whose sole business is ‘* attending school.” “Their education is far better on an average,” says Mr. Paget, “than that of « boys who have attended school without work up to 12 years” (Evid. 276). Mr. Spencer, the excellent IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :~-MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 89 master, says “ the half-timers take as good a position in our school as those who come whole time, and “ do not have any great difficulty in keeping up with them, In the case of some boys the change is “ almost necessary.” (Evid. 277.) One of the half-timers says, “ We took our places in our classes with the otber boys as if we had never been away. We were obliged to do work in the evenings to keep “ up.” (Evid, 282.) 162. Letters have been handed to me from no less than 20 half-timers (some of whom left school 10 years ago), written in January last. With hardly an exception, they were as good as could be desired, and were expressed better than the letters of most persons in that position of life. I had also the oppor- tunity of seeing personally no less than 10, all of whom read well, wrote a good hand, and could do the simple and compound rules of arithmetic fairly well. Six who had just left school, (of whom two only were employed on Mr. Paget’s farm, the others being the children of stockingers putting themselves voluntarily under the system,) also answered simple questions in history and geography. On the whole I was thoroughly satisfied that the education they received was even better than would be required of every poor man’s child. 163, The main fact proved by this experiment (and this is unaffected by the advantages under which it has been tried, to which I shall presently allude) appears to me to be, that a sufficiently good educa- tion can be given by a system of mixed work and schooling, involving an attendance at school of only 90 days in the year, while at the same time the training of the boy for his future occupation in life is not impaired ; and this education is of such a character that its effect is not lost when the boy leaves school. But one condition is necessary, and that is the foundation of Mr. Paget’s system, viz., that a boy entering upon it must have received a sound elementary education. 164, This education is easily obtainable in Ruddington. The feeling of the whole place was strongly in favour of it, and no better proof can be afforded. of this than the willingness of almost all the children to submit themselves to a voluntary examination at 9 years of age, an account of which will be found in the Appendix.* Secondly, the educational machinery is excellent. There is a free school for boys, and Mr. Spencer, the excellent and indefatigable master, has an energy which has leavened the whole population in favour of education. Then there is a very good national school under Government inspection. More than one-seventh of the population of Ruddington are on the books of this school alone, and its excellence is shown by the fact that the proportion who have qualified for the Government inspector’s examination by an attendance of 200 times is, when compared with the ordinary average, as 60 to 37, 165. ‘To these advantages we may add the personal support and assistance given by Mr. Paget, constantly and without intermission, to the cause of education; the system of prizes instituted by him, but above all the neighbourhood of a thriving town, which not only quickens up and brightens the population, but shows them practically that an educated boy or girl can get on in the world, and that their own boys and girls are no exception to the rule. 166, The second lesson to be deduced from this experiment appears to me to be, that the alternate day system in its strictness, tried under favourable circumstances, has broken down. On this subject Mr. Paget says :— “Farming employment differs from that in factories, inasmuch as it depends much more on weather and seasons ; if, therefore, any legislation is proposed respecting farm children, it should be marked by considerable elasticity, at the same time securing that the intervals between school attendance should be short.” And having found that it is difficult or impossible to carry it out even on his own farm, Mr. Paget recommends for general adoption a modified system, 167, “ Farm-work depends on weather and the seasons.” But this does not state the whole case against the adoption of a rigid half-time system. At certain times the whole juvenile population of a village is employed. At corn-harvest this is generally the case; so at potato- harvest, flax harvest, or hop-picking in the districts where these occur; and besides this, much of the work is executed by contract, the father engaging to do it with the help of a child. To take away tlfit child is to stop his work. Again, the circumstances of the supply of labour and the demands of cultivation vary not only from county to county, but from village to village, and almost from farm to farm; and this appears to me to be a fatal objection to the adoption of one system in one district and another in the next. It would be found in practice, however small the districts, that some unexpected peculiarity necessitated the adoption of the least rigid system, and this would become the only one in use, 168, The plan suggested by Mr. Paget as calculated to meet the requirements of agriculture in his neighbourhood is, to hold a test examination in reading at 9 years of age, and from that tll 13, to require 90 days schooi attendance in each year. Eight of these days are to be in each of nine months, and the remainder at any time that suits the convenience of the farmer. (Evid. 276.) 169, A somewhat more elastic scheme is suggested by the Rev. J. M. Lakin as applicable to Leices- tershire, namely, that the attendance should be all completed during three summer months and three winter months, leaving the other half-year free. (Evid. 326.) That the attendance should be permitted to be made at any time during the year is proposed by several witnesses. ‘Thus the Rev. J. S. Warren says :— ; “Tdo ne see that any inconvenience would arise from a child being obliged, before employment in labour, to produce a certificate that he has made a certain number of attendances at some school during the 12 months last past. This would enable employers to avail themselves of child labour when most required, and would i iti " i han the way in which the boys = od effects of this competition were everywhere apparent. Nothing struck me more tl y in y fo i tell me about each other, in what class, or of what age they were, and what their mental attainments were as compared with themselves. T 3 90 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN allow parents to select the times of year and the kinds of employment best suited to their children’s health and power.” (Evid. 250.) 170. A scheme proposed by the Rev. E. Willes is somewhat similar, but provides for the emancipation of children from any restrictions if they pass an inspector’s examination in each year, and allows attendance at night-school to be counted. (Evid. 329, and see 2, 136, 251.) 171. That some such system would be sufficiently elastic many employers of labour agree in think- ing, although the age at which it should terminate is more disputed. ‘All under 12 can get their winter at school.” (Evid.15.) ‘Children might go to school all the year till they are 10. “ From 10 to 12 they might go all the winter; after that they might go a quarter of a year.” (Evid. 18.) These two witnesses speak of the Wold district, where boys are much wanted in winter. In the Isle of Axholme, “the children ought to be educated in the winter. Up to 12 or 14 they “ could well be spared.” (Evid, 133, 151.) In the potato districts many speak to the same effect. (Evid. 168, 170, 188.) ye mS 172. So, in Nottinghamshire, one employer says :— as “TI should approve of the children being. half their time at school from 8 to 10 years of age, and from 10 to 12 at the rate of one day a week, or even two days, if the times of year when there is a great press of work, are excluded.” (Evid. 284, 287, 288.) In Leicestershire, owing to the especial requirement of plough-driving lads from 10 to 12 years of age, many fewer employers hold this view. This difficulty, to which I shall refer again presently, is made light of in some cases. (Evid. 335, 340.) 173. Such, however, is not the general opinion of farmers, partly (as I believe) from a mistaken idea as tothe amount of interference which would be caused to the employment of children by an attendance of (say) 100 days in the year. Farmers are almost universally anxious that boys at any rate should be free for field work at 10, if not at 9 years of age. One witness expresses their feeling clearly. «“ After 10 it would not desirable to compel attendance, for when once a boy has commenced farm work “« the employment is pretty constant, and unless his whole time were given to it the feeling would be “ strong that he can never become a good farm servant.” (Evid. 9.)’ When pressed with the objection that this does not meet one of the principal defects in the present system, namely, that boys are leaving school too early, a variety of expedients are suggested. Some propose compulsory attendance at a night school. The Lincolnshire Chamber of Agriculture proposes that a certificate of attendance from 7 to 9 years of age should be required, and that no restrictions should be put upon children after that age. (Evid. 1.) More commonly the simple prohibition from field labour up to 9 or 10 is thought sufficient. (Evid. 325.) “They would then have time to obtain: sufficient instruction to suit their ** circumstances in life.” (Evid. 63, 81.) But one of these witnesses adds, “ Before 10, with nothing “ but memory to rub at, and no reason,” a boy forgets all he learns in a few weeks, (Evid. 81.) 174. In all clay districts, however, as I have already pointed out, some boys of 10 and upwards, and all boys of 12 at any rate, are constantly sent with horses all the year, while the employment for younger boys is very occasional. In this case, therefore, if the result of requiring a certain attendance in every year up to 12 or 13 were to prevent such boys from being employed at all in this kind of regular work, no doubt considerable loss would result to the families. As regards the farmers, however, I do not see that they would have much cause for complaint. At the worst they could return to the old hiring system, and take lads rather older than this into their houses. And-of such lads for regular work there is no complaint of any real deficiency. 175. The district in which exclusion from field work up to 10 or 11 years of age would be. the greatest hardship is that in which potatoes are grown on a large scale. Potato harvest affords light easy and well paid work for very young children, lasting only a few weeks, which often. include their school holiday. Any such exclusion would probably have the effect of diminishing the area under this crop.. 176. But wherever, as in Lincolnshire and great parts of Notts, young children are much in request for agricultural labour, there can be no question whether the total exclusion of such children from field work to the age of 10 or 11, or a requirement of attendance at school during half the school year, would have the greater effect in diminishing their earnings on the whole. Speaking gene- rally, young children do vot get more than three months, or in the Fens, probably six or seven months’ work in the year. And it is only at 1] years of age, as a rule, or more often at 12, that they are required for winter work. ‘Take, for instance, one farm that I visited on the Wolds, one quarter of which is under turnips. Here I found thatno boy between 11 and 13 was employed actually more than 33 weeks in the year, leaving 19 weeks or 95 school days when they were ebsolutely unemployed On the other hand though none of the boys between 9 and 11 worked for any longer, and Hee of them for a less period, their average yearly earnings amounted to 4/. 7s. So that to require 100 days school attendance in each year from 8 to 13 would have been to deprive the families of ver little money, and hardly to interfere for a single day with the requirements of the farmer. The ae roof of this is, that many parents in Lincolnshire voluntarily adopt this system, and the dict ulremeiats of their children, so far as I could test them by personal examination, appeared to me little inferior to those of the more regular attendants of the labouring class. Some’boys under 13 are, no doubt employed all the year in these districts, but, in order that a farmer may be sure of such labour at certain seasons, he will often employ it at other times when not absolutely necessary to him 177. As regards the early training of boys to habits of industry and obedience, and the accustomin them to open air work, it is most important that they should not be kept from field work to too late a age. I is even doubtful whether it is not actually an advantage to their education also. Some school: masters go so far as to advocate irregular schooling. (Evid. 29.) From very-continuous attendance at school, “they get tired of it, and fall into careless habits.” (Evid, 317.) .On the other hand, most of them prefer regularity, as-interfering less with the general work of the school, But supposin, 100 days’ attendance to be required, this would be almost aiways completed in the winter alone (ehiginch for . °o IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EDWARD STANHOPE’S REPORT. 91 certain special cases it would be hard to make th than the present system. 1%8. The effect of such restrictions upon the resources of poor families in these c me to have been over estimated. If carried so far as to exclude the children from labour altogether, it would be very widely felt, but if half a year’s work at any rate is still left open, it would not be a very serious loss, It is not low but high wages that send boys. out early to work. The amount of wark done by them is no test of the necessity of their earnings to their families, 179, A very serious question, however, to both employers and employed is the age at which any restrictions should cease. ‘The age of 12 recommended itself on many gronnds, Throughout these counties boys can get employment almost all the year at that age, and in most cases, not before that age; and in the event of restrictions upon the labour of young boys, would be sure of getting it. It is the age at. which, boys. usually begin to learn how to drive a plough, and other more skilled work. In Leicestershire some begin this sooner, but in a table, which will be found in the evidence (Evid. 328), two-thirds of all the boys under 14 employed were over 12 years of age. 180. The age at which any half-time system should ‘begin would naturally be fixed at the same as that under the Factory Acts, and there is one strong ground for this, The manufacturing and agricultural populations are so intermingled in some counties that to fix a later age for the one would be only to open to the other a means of evading the rule which applied to it. 181. Before, however, any half-time system can be successful, it appears to me that there are two points requiring special attention. Better support must be given to infant schools. “ All children “ should: read at.7 years old,” says one witness. The creation of many such schools in scattered hamlets should be encouraged. They might be occasionally visited and inspected by a certificated teacher, ‘The parents have every disposition to send their children to such schools, because it is to their advantage tobe rid of them. . 2 182. Secondly, boards of guardians should be required to do what by law they are now empowered to do with the consent of parents, viz., to send the children of the poor receiving out-door relief to school. The young children of such families are often forced out to work on every day that they can get it, and no provision whatever is made for their education. is compulsory) and would produce far greater regularity ounties appears to CortaGEs, 183. Although in my introductory remarks I have already touched upon the distribution of cottages throughout these counties, the importance attached to this subject (and especially in Lincolnshire,) in- duces me to return to it. There is no point more keenly discussed by the farmers than the increasing scarcity of labour. In Lincolnshire not only has the amount of work to be done been increased by better cultivation, and by the reclamation of untilled tracts, while the population has remained almost stationary, but, in addition to this, the younger portion of the labourers are being attracted into the towns, leaving only the old or the ignorant behind. — 184. It is from this cause that the question of how to keep their labour at home has become a vital one to employers. Wages have already risen and seem likely to rise, but all seem agreed that. the one great means of doing so is to provide decent homes at a reasonable distance from work, in which the young men may be induced to'settle. ‘ Once put a man into a really good house,” it was often said to me, “ and his wife won’t let him leave it.” . 185. This question, important as it was before the passing of the Union Chargeability Act, has vastly ‘increased in interest since that time. With the passing of that Act almost all motive for preventing the proper distribution of labour was removed. It became a gain, instead of a loss, to a farmer to have his labour in his own parish, and, therefore, indirectly a benefit also to the landlord. Hence the great cry in Lincolnshire has been, and is, for more cottages and better ones. “186. Many landlords have-at once admitted the necessity of the case. The late Lord Yarborough and the late Mr. Heneage were almost the only two who anticipated it by building cottages on their estates. But within the last few years the number of cottages built on many estates has been very large. On some few of the large properties which I visited hardly any improvement has taken place. 187. The effect. of the change, so far as it has at present gone, has been for the most part to replace bad cottages by good ones. The old style of cots in this county was built of “ mud and stud.” ‘They were mostly in two stories, the upper one open to the roof, and sometimes without any window. Two, or more generally one bedroom sufficed. Some instances of this may still be seen in most open villages ;-in the parishes belonging to large landowners they have generally disappeared. The following table, will, however, show the state of one or two such parishes :— ; € Parish No. of Cottages No. of Cottages No. of Cottages Average Inhabitants to each Name of Parish. with 3 Bedrooms. | with 2 Bedrooms. | with 1 Bedroom. One-bedroomed Cottage. -le-Marsh - - 1 7 22 44 Gay ne 2 19 9g 1 {A large proportion of the Alvingham- = <7 99 11 6+ second bedrooms are only Cockerington - - - 0 apologies for rooms. Willoughton - - - 2 or 3 38 a a Silk Willoughby - - 4 24 i ee Scredington - - i ] T = ee North, Ranceby 1 contains 10, 1 contains 9, a = 8 23 27 AL 1 contains 8,2 contain South Rauceby : 7,3 contain 6, &e. These villages are the wovst that came under my notice. A few others, and especially such as are on the property of Lord Dysart, were described to me as almost as bad. T4 C. 92 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 188, Some few of the villages in the east of Notts are still full of bad cots, but “ mud and stud ” has for the most part disappeared, and been replaced by brick houses of a more or less substantial description. Most of these have two bedrooms only, although the more modern ones, such as those built by the Speaker of the House of Commons, have three, and contain every accommodation. 189. In Leicestershire the cottages must be described as generally bad. Their average state is far below those of Lincolnshire. In the villages occupied by stockingers they are almost universally wretched and overcrowded. Perhaps the main cause of this in this county has been the building upon the waste, which has taken place to a very large extent; and great additional crowding is produced in the hunting season by the number of grooms and helpers who have to be lodged in the villages. One peculiarity of these villages is the absence of gardens, so that the cottages are built close up to the side of the road, and a much less pleasant appearance is produced, Allot- ments, however, are almost universal. In spite of this general inferiority some Jandowners have very much improved their cots, All Lord Howe’s villages are most agreeable to the eye, contain excellent cottages, and (what is far more rare) almost enough of them. So with Lord Berners’ estate, 19U. Another cause which has tended very much to crowding in these and the adjoining counties is the existence of the old “ parish” cottages, built for the accommodation of the poor of each parish, and commonly very badly constructed, small, and with one bedroom only. The object for which they were erected having determined, they are now let, at a low rent certainly, but in many cases without any regard to the number of persons who are to occupy them. At Gayton, for instance, there are nine such one-bedroom cottages, containing 36 persons. (Evid. 194.) 191. But after all much of the overcrowding is due to the families themselves. ‘ Families often “ occupy one bedroom in a crowded state, and leave the other unoccupied, except by a chance lodger,” Instances of this will be found throughout the evidence. It must undoubtedly be admitted that the poor have no great horror of crowding, One very remarkable case in Leicestershire was mentioned to me where a grandfather and grandmother, with several growing grandchildren, lived in one bedroom. But they also took in a young married couple, in the same bed with whom one of the children was put to sleep. Unless they are carefully watched they will often fill the house with lodgers, Sometimes a newly married couple are put into a small cottage, and though their family may grow too large for it, they have by that time become so attached to it as to be unwilling to quit it for a better, This is the case under large proprietors, 192. One conclusion, to which the instances of overcrowding which are detailed in the evidence, and which are selected from among many such cases, appears to lead, is that some better system of inspection is necessary. The usual plan now adopted by Boards of Guardians is, to appoint their relieving officers to be also inspectors of nuisances in their respective districts, with a small additional stipend, But these officers have established the idea that it is not for them to move unless called upon, and the inadequacy of the remuneration for any substantial services has uniformly produced the result that no cases are reported to the Board by their inspectors, unless actual complaint is made to them. Hence the very worst and most notorious cases remain unaltered, and it seems to be noboidy’s business to look after them. 193. There is a strong feeling in Lincolnshire that Government should give assistance in providing cottages for the labouring class, and especially on entailed estates. No doubt under the 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114. the Enclosure Commissioners are authorized to charge upon the inheritance any sum to be borrowed for this purpose of landowners, but they have nothing to do with lending the money, By the companies which have been formed for this purpose, the rate of interest charged is so high, and the time within which the sum borrowed is to be repaid is so short, that all those whom I found to have tried the system spoke to me unfavourably of it. It is urged that Government should become themselves the lenders as they have already done under other Acts for similar purposes, and so save the labourer the expense of having to communicate with two separate bodies before he can get an advance, 194. In concluding this Report, I am anxious to express my gratitude to the many persons in these counties, from whom I have received the greatest kindness and hospitality, and, who devoted much time and attention to the furtherance of the objects of the Commission, T have the honour to be, Gentlemen, 10, King’s Bench Walk, Temple, E.C., Your obedient Servant, July 7, 1868, EDWARD STANHOPE, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. EB. B, PORTMAN’S REPORT. 93 P REPORT.—By the Hon. E. B. PORTMAN. TABLE OF CONTENTS. == Page. _— Page, Mode of proceeding - - - -| 93 Half time - 7 - 5 - | 101 Divisions of Cambridgeshire and portions of York- Plan for obtaining continuous education 102 shire visited - - - - -| 94 Certificates = - - - - 5 Wages - - - - - mh yy Printworks Act modifie - - 4 L—P Reading rooms - - - is -—Private GANGS, AND THE NECESSITY FOR General state of school attendance - i EXTENDING THE PRovISIONS OF THE AGRI- Educated and uneducated labour & ca cuLTuraL Ganos Act - bo i =| 3b Agricultural training - - Ses Definition and number of private gang oll 95 Industrial schools as Z ah Health of those employed - - -| 5 Saffron Walden z 3 a oe Effects on the morals - - - ae Escrick - o Z : S28 Appreciation of Gangs Act - - -| 96 z Doncaster . : . . . . a arewood School - = o - | 103 sa reacties baa, nee WOE a ‘ Application of Industrial Schools Act to da Hours of Work - - - =| 35 school o a = . ~ | os Distance to ditto - - - - 3 ae . . . . Effect of women’s field-work on the homes 5 ee cee aes ” Restriction of age in female employment 97 Examples of opinions from Cambridgeshire - | ,, IIl.—Ace at wHicH Boys sHOULD BE EM- : hay , PLOYED, AND THE STATE OF EDUCATION : . Ditto East Riding of Yorkshire - | 104 School attendance - - 5 Gardens and allotments - - - | 105 Certificates - - - - -| os Cause of bad cottages - - + =|) 95 Education in Cambridgeshire - 98 Absenteeism - - - - abe Do. in Yorkshire - - -| » Encumbered estates - - - Srl “5 Want of schools in small rural parishes - 55 Close parishes - = e arth ys Grant for uncertificated masters - -~| 4 Small owners of cottages - - ell Gee Compulsory Education - - -| 99 Rent and dimensions of cottages : Schoolrate - - - - 3 Cambridgeshire — - = = - | 106 Educational census - - - 35 Yorkshire, East Riding - eee Mr. Watkins’ Report - - - 33 Ditto West Riding = - | 107 Understanding between employer and labourer 35 Ditto North Riding - = al as to children’s work -— = - eee Lands Improvement Acts - - sul tase Continuous education - - is Labouring Classes Dwelling Houses Act - | 108 Modes suggested - - -| 5 Barrack for young men - a = er Farm servants - - - - abl! | 35 Number of cottages per 100 acres - Sell bags Statutes - - - - - 35 Coprolite diggings “ ws oly Register offices - - - a Mr. Peel’s school - - 2 Sallie Night schools - - - - - | 100 Slop-work, Haverhill - - - St nay Walton night school - - - - | 101 Market gardens - . - | tay Difficulties in maintaining night schools =) 35 Potato feasts - s = a Sul. Yee Suggestions vice compulsion - - - ail Sey Savings’ banks and Benefit Societies -| oy Grant to night schools - - - 55 Savings of agricultural labourers - - | 109 To Her Magesty’s ComMIssIONERSs. GENTLEMEN, 1. I nave now the honour to lay before you the evidence which I have obtained in the county of Cambridge, and in the three Ridings of Yorkshire, but in consequence of the inquiry in the latter portion of my district being unavoidably prolonged to within a few weeks of the end of the session, it is not in my power to do more in my Report of this year than call your attention to the leading facts as set forth in the evidence, and sketch out as far as I can the present condition of the agricultural labourer in these counties. 2. I have received from all classes connected with the agricultural interests such assistance as might be in their power in forwarding the objects of the inquiry with which I have been entrusted by you under this Commission. And in laying this report before you I wish to express my acknowledgments The numerous questions involved in the inquiry have necessitated considerable closeness of investigation, and it has been dificult to obtain accurate and of their kindness and willingness to aid me. reliable information on some of the points. 3. Lhave usually placed myself in communication by letter with the landowners and the clergy of the various localities, and have distributed 212 copies of your circular of inquiries, of which 116 have been returned to me. 4, I have attended meetings of Boards of Guardians and Chambers of Agriculture, and have at many places, by the aid of some resident, been able to organise meetings of the influential persons of -the neighbourhood, for the purpose of discussing the subject. I have also endeavoured, by personal inquiry, to ascertain the views of the labourers themselves, and have at the schools obtained from the children much information as to their actual employment, the rate of wages, and the age at which they commence work. I have found that the mere issuing of the circular of inquiries was not sufficient to obtain the desired information. Whereas in certain parts of the counties the private gang system was 21157, U Mode of pro- ceeding. Number of children em- ployed not to be accurately obtained. Divisions of Cambridge- shire, Portions of Yorkshire visited. Size of farms, Wages. Cambridge- shire. Wages... Yorkshire. Piecework. Wages for farm servants. Meating. 94 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN not found to exist at all, many people on receiving the circular were disposed to say, “We have no “ system of this kind in our parts,” and consequently they did not go into the other questions con- tained in the circular, unless it was pointed out to them that the object of the Commission was to obtain as far as possible the opinions of practical men, and of those best acquainted with the condition of the agricultural labourer, on the general question of the welfare and education of that class. I therefore found it necessary personally to visit a large number of individuals. : 5. Another difficulty, and more particularly in Yorkshire, was, that the subject was an entirely new one to most persons, that the farmers had never turned their attention to the subject, or had even ‘imagined that an inquiry would be set on foot as to the condition of their labourers. The two counties over which my inquiries have been extended differ so materially in the condition of the agricultural labourer that, without desiring to contrast unfavourably to either the state of things existing in them, it will be necessary at times to set forth the distinguishing features of each. 6. I have endeavoured to obtain in each county evidence from districts which may fairly be con- sidered representative of the county or riding in which they are situated. 7. I have not been able to obtain anything like accurate evidence of the number of children employed. In many parishes the employment is so very occasional that the farmers or the school- masters were unable to afford any information as to the number so employed. Again, the same boys will probably work for more than one farmer.in the parish, and if each farmer had made an accurate return of the number of boys which he has employed, we should then have had a total exceed- ing thé number of children in the parish that go to field work at all. Ihave therefore refrained from drawing up any tabular statement on this head, as I feel sure that no reliance could be placed on such a return. “ 5 8. The county of Cambridge may be divided into Cambridgeshire proper, and the Isle of Ely. ‘The latter is almost entirely a fen district; in the former the-soil differs.. The district extending from Royston to Newmarket is for the most part light land, there is a district of- heavy clay, and there is also a district of fen and skirt land running from St. Ives by Swavesey, Cottenham, and Burwell, nearly to the borders of Suffolk. Throughout the fen districts public gangs are mostly used. In the southern part of the county, and on the light lands, private gangs exist in the spring of the year and at the time of turnip-hoeing. a ‘9. The East Riding of Yorkshire is a purely agricultural district, and may be divided into: (1) Holder- ness, (2) the Wolds, (3) the Vale of York and Howdenshiré. The portion of the West Riding adjoining the East Riding to which I have confined my inquiries excludes all the large manufacturing districts. T have visited. a large portion of the North Riding, including a part of the plain of York, the dales in the neighbourhood of Whitby and Pickering, Cleveland, and the more northern central portions of the Riding, comprising the neighbourhood of Richmond, Bedale, and Thirsk. , 10. The system of farming operations in those districts varies considerably. In the East Riding, on the Wolds the farms are in many cases very large, and the villages far distant from the farmhouses. On the stiffer lands, the farms are smaller and the labourers’ dwellings in closer proximity to their work. -In the North Riding and in part of the West near the moors, there isa class of small farmer, who by himself and his children does the whole work of the farm, and rarely, if ever, employs a labourer or hires a lad by the year? These farms vary in size from 10 to 50 acres. 11. The statutes or hiring fairs exist throughout Yorkshire for the hiring of farm servants, both male and female ; in Cambridgeshire domestic servants only are hired at them. Every farmer, with the.exception of the above-mentioned class, will have, according to the size of his occupation, a number of lads living in his house for the purpose of looking: after the horses, ploughing, and doing all work connected with the cattle; these lads are hired at Martinmas for the year, they are lodged and boarded either in the house of the farmer or in that of a “hind” or foreman on the premises; the greater patt of the work of the farm is done by these lads, but an occasional labourer will be employed throughout the year from the neighbouring villages. 12. The rate of wages for an ordinary day labourer in the Isle of Ely, and the northern part of Cambridgeshire, is 12s. and 13s. a week ; in one instance, at Parsondrove, it was said to be 15s. per week. In that portion of the county adjoining Essex, and in the neighbourhood of the “Camps,” they are 10s. a week; in the light lands south of Cambridge the-average is 11s. a week. Women’s wages throughout the country average 10d. a day. Children have from 4d. to 6d. a day. Se 13. In Yorkshire the average rate of wages is 14s. a week, or moré frequently 2s. 6d.-a day for a man, 1s. a day for a woman, and 10d. or 1s. for a child. 6d. a day extra is paid for machine work. In con- sidering this point, it should be borne in mind that the earnings of a labouring man during the year are far in excess of the weekly average wage. The harvest pay must be taken into account, and much work, such as draining, banking, singling turnips, &c., is taken -by the piece, under which system a man is able to earn more than he would at the ordinary weekly wage. There is “piece-work” for women and children, such as line-pulling,* and pea-picking, children being also much employed in singling turnips. i 14. The payment for farm-servants in Yorkshire hired by the year and living on the premises is, on an average :— Foreman, 30/.a year and board; waggoner, 16/., 20/., a year and board; plough-lads, 10/., to 14. year and board. In cases where the lads are boarded in the house of the “hind,” or foreman, the farmer allows 8s. a week per lad. ; ae 15. According to the evidence of Mr. Deacon, of Ormesby, the calculated cost per annum of a man is 401; of a lad of 16 to 18 years of age, 35/. to 371. ~~ 16. There is a custom in some parts of Yorkshire of paying so much money per week, say 7s. or 8s. and “ meating” the man (as it is called). This is a bad system for the labourer’s family, as there is little ' to take home at the end of the week for the support of the children. I find in Sir F. Doyle’s report on Yorkshire in 1843, that the practice was then in ‘vogue, and’ that’ the women complained as they do now. Several farmers expressed to me their dislike of the system, and it is not, I think, so common as in 1843. a Sates 8 Eee ee “ i * « Line-pulling ” is pulling the flax crop; it is generally considered too hard work: for children, and is for the most part done y women. IN AGRICULTURE, (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. E. B, PORTMAN’S REPORT. 95 17. I propose ta present to you the evidence under the following heads:—:.. ; (1.). pve 508s and the necessity for extending to them the provisions of the Agricultural angs Act. a wy BY abe general employment of women and. children in agriculture, the hours of work, and the wages. Be leh Gand Pepeese ate she a x (8), The age at which boys should be prohibited from work and the means of improving their education (setting forth under this head the general state of education). - (4.) Cottages. 8 The evidence will be arranged in the order in which I visited the counties and ridings. ell pee: 4 , : I—PrivatE Ganes AND THE NECESSITY FOR EXTENDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE ery AGRICULTURAL Ganes Act. ‘ 18. A private gang may be defined to be a company of not less than 10 children or young persons working for the farmer in his own fields under the superintendence of one of his own labourers. The largest number which I found existing in any private gang in Cambridgeshire was 25. On the Wolds of Yorkshire, at certain seasons of the year, and more especially in spring at the “ketlocking” or “ bras- sacking” time, large numbers of children are employed, even sometimes as many as 80 or 100 may be taken from a neighbouring town to one farm ; ‘but these children are under the superintendence of the farmer’s labourers, and’ are paid’ by the employer. ‘There is no approach to the publie gang system in Yorkshire, excepting in three isolated cases, to which I will call your attention in the evidence. This system, however, is rather declining as farming operations tend to ‘improve the land. The private gangs in Cambridgeshire may be said to be universally employed on the light lands; their work usually commences in March, and during’ that month, April, and May they are employed in weeding the crops, in the autumn they are employed in-gathering root crops, and in twitching, often till the middle of November. In the interval between May and harvest the children who compose. these gangs are much employed in singling turnips, when a child usually goes with its father or some relative, and, though many may be at work at the same time and in the same field, they work singly, and are more under supervision during the hours of -rest than when the ganger only is with them. The ganger usually is a trustworthy labourer, in the constant, employ of the occupier ; the wages of the children are paid by the farm bailiff or by a person‘in charge of the gangs at a fixed rate per child, and no profit is allowed to the ganger by a deduction of so much per head from the weekly earnings of the children as in the case of public gangs. In Cambridgeshire the children go out to work as young as 6 years old; many at 7 and 8, but it is admitted that-at so tender an age they are not of much use to the farmer. ‘The reason for their going out so young appears to be in many cases this, that the parents compel the ganger to take the little one as a condition of getting regularly the labour of the bigger child in the same family. ; bays wae 19. There does not appear to be much, if any, ill-usage of the children employed in these private gangs;. neither do I find that their health has suffered from overwork in bad weather, or in wet crops. The private gang is constantly employed by one and the same farmer, and is always at hand for the work. Half. a day’s cessation from any particular job on account of bad weather would not be of much consequence to the employer, because he can ‘with certainty put on the same number of hands on the following day, whereas in the case of a public gang they are taken from farm to farm, and are compelled by the ganger to complete the work at.each place on a specified day, in order that he may proceed to fulfil his contract on another farm.. |, . — , 20. With regard to the application of the provisions of the Agricultural Gangs Act to private gangs, I will refer to a few extracts from the evidence. Mr..Rowbottom, No. 70, gives it as his opinion, that no licensed person is required in private gargs; neither that it is necessary to register the names of the children employed in such gangs. Mr. Carter, No. 83, thinks it desirable that the age of children employed in a private gang should be restricted, that the sexes should be separated, and above all that care should be taken by the employers to select respectable men as gangmasters, but he does not think thet it would be practicable for those placed over ‘private gangs to be licensed. ue 21. I may add, generally, that it was not considered desirable to place a restrictive licence on the private gangmaster, as care is: usually taken. by’ the farmer. that a respectable man should be so employed. I had conversation with some public gangers on the subject of the operation of the Agri- cultural Gangs Act, and it appeared to be their impression that their trade would suffer considerably. Thomas Norman, No. 5, says, that when the gangmasters’ trade comes to an end, the farmer will find it very expensive to send. out a man in charge of five or six children, and that a small farmer would have a difficulty in getting the work done one or two days in the week if there were no public gangs; he adds, “If the farmer paid me to.take charge of a private gang, it would not be so good for me “ in money as the public gangs.” ‘It is pretty generally considered that a limit of age should be fixed, below which no child should be employed in one of these private gangs. Mr. ‘Thurnall, No. 62, thinks that it would be well to restrict private gangs to a maximum of 20, and that the sexes shall not be allowed to work together. 29, There can be no doubt as to the moral effects of field work on the girls. Froman early age they become accustomed to the use of foul language, such sense of decency as they may have when they first go out is entirely broken down, and a roughness of manner and a dislike of restraint are engendered which entirely unfit them for domestic service or for their duties in the future as wives and mothers. This remark applies generaliy to field work, and not solely to the case of gangs, and isfully borne out by the evidence of schoolmasters and mistresses. If the necessity for children’s labour at certain seasons in the year is to be admitted, I do not think that the private gang system, when carefully attended to by the employer, is in itself any great‘evil. I would here call your attention to the opinion of Rev. Mr. Hopkins of Littleport, No.22, 0 ace Cael, ae 23. Mr. Whitting, No. 4, says, in reference to private gangs, the farmer rarely finds any great difficulty in procuring hands for the work ; his difficulty is to determine the best method of employing them con- sistently with their moral and physical interests. For this object I know no more effective or more U2 Definition of “ private gang.” Largest num- bers employed in private gangs. Private gangs. Iil-usage. ~ Health... Agricultural Gangs Act applied to private gangs. Licences for private gang- master. Effects on morals of young females Appreciation of Gang Act. This class of labour cheaper than men’s. Hours of work, Distance. Effect of field work on the homes of the labourers. 96 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN convenient arrangement that can be suggested, than that of placing them under the care and direction of a superintendent, who is himself under the direction and in the private employment of the farmer,—in other words, the system of private gangs. I have no doubt that many farmers could give a favourable report as I have done of children who are working in their private gangs. I know of no supervision by licences, or otherwise, that can much improve the system. 24. In the Isle of Ely, where the public gang system is in thorough operation, I found on discussing at various meetings the provisions of the new act, that it was as a rule most favourably received ; that the farmers themselves are anxious to get rid of the evils now existing under that system, and that they believe if proper attention is paid by those in whom the authority is vested much of the evil would be done away with. At a meeting of the Wisbeach Board of Guardians, No. 33, it was stated that the gang-system would vanish when there is a sufficiency of good cottages on each farm for the number of hands required for the working of the land. = 25. In the East Riding of Yorkshire the children do not go out to work in gangs at so early an age as in Cambridgeshire, which I think may be attributed to the higher rate of wages existing in York- shire ; still they do go out as young as 8 and 9 years. Looking generally at the system of private gangs as at present in operation, I do not think that, if the employment of children under 10 years of age is forbidden by law, there is much need for applying to it any such restrictions as are now placed on public gangs by the Act of last session. ; 26. I may mention here that in two instances at Driffield, one at Market Weighton, and one at Frodingham I found a system very closely approaching to the public gang system. I thought it my duty to bring it under the notice of the chairman of the quarter sessions for the East Riding, who was good enough to refer to it at the quarter sessions in April in his charge to the grand jury. II.—Tuer Generar EmproyMentT oF WoMEN AND CHILDREN IN AGRICULTURE. 27. It may be stated generally that, whenever work is to be done on the farm which women and children are capable of performing, they are employed. The children are but little employed durin the winter months, but from the commencement of weeding time in spring the attendance at the schoo becomes smaller and more irregular. The children are taken away at an early age; they remain away from school till within a month of harvest, and are then absent again in the autumn till the beginning of November. In Yorkshire the women are more employed during the potato times, that is in the spring, in planting, and in the autumn in picking. 28, Throughout the districts of Selby, part of Howdenshire, Goole, and in Marshland women are employed in very large numbers; they are for the most part married, but in some instances the elder girls will also go out to work. Children’s labour is there not so much used, except in picking over the potato heaps in the spring, and for bird tenting. There is in the neighbourhood of Humbledon, Shirburn, and that part of the West Riding, considerable employment of children for pea pulling. The obvious reason for the employment of this class of labour is that the farmer can obtain it at a considerably reduced price as compared with the labour of men. The wages ordinarily given to a woman are 1s. per day. A child will earn 6d. to 9d. The hours of work upon the land vary considerably in different districts,—e.g., in Cambridgeshire, in the parish of Fulbourn, I find girls employed from 8 in the morning till 6 in the evening ; boys of 14, from 6 in the morning till 6 in the evening. In Caxton all children from 7 in the morning till 6 in the evening: girls, from 8 in the morning till 6 in evening; boys, from 6 in morning till 6 in evening. In the fen country all from 7 or 7.30 to 5 p.m. 29. The hours in Yorkshire are shorter, they ordinarily do not begin work till 8 or 8.30 in the morning and continue at work till 5 or 6, except on special emergencies, when there is frequently some extra pay. In all cases one hour is allowed for dinner, and when they go out early there is also half an hour allowed for breakfast. I may say that generally throughout Yorkshire a farmer will not employ a boy under 10 years of age, except for *“ tenting,” or scaring birds. 30. In answer to the question of the advisability of placing some restriction on the distance to which children should go to work according to their age it is said that the question of distance resolves itself into a question of time, that the women and children travel to and from their work in the employer’s time, and that inasmuch as the interests of the employer would lead him to seek his labour in the nearest place and the interests of the head of the labourer’s family would prevent the children being sent a long distance to work at the same rate of wages as if the work were close to the door, legis- lation on this point is not necessary. 31. When the work for which the children are required is at some distance from the village they will often be taken by the farmer in a waggon, though J have met with instances of boys valine as far as five miles to their work. There is a class of work in which the children are much employed, namely, in “singling” turnips; this work is usually taken by the piece. The man who takes the work will then take his own boy or the child of a neighbour with him to assist in pulling out the turnips. The wages on this occasion are paid to the said child by the man who takes the work. There is also occasionally in draining.a similar system, and in this instance I think that the health of the children is injuriously affected (instance, the case in Holderness of a boy who was crippled and cramped by early work at draining). 32. Where women are employed, as in the case of potatoing, they usually go in large numbers together. The effect of this constant field labour is that their cottages are in an untidy state,f that the families are neglected, and where there are small children they are left in charge of an old woman on the payment of so much a day, and this system has often led to a serious evil, as it is a common habit to give the infants an opiate for the purpose of veering them quiet during the day. It has been alleged by persons whom I have met that the cottage of the field woman is not more untidy than the cottage of the woman who remains at home all day; but from personal inspection I have formed the opinion, which is borne out by many clergymen and others, that field labour does lead to a want of care at home, * “ Tenting ” includes looking after pigs on the stubbles and cows in the lanes. ft Mr. Thomas, No. 332, and others. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. E. B, PORTMAN’S REPORT. 97 and consequently to the bad bringing-up of the children and the driving of the husband to the public house when he comes home from work in consequence of the untidiness of his home. As to the physical effect that such field labour may have on the women it has not been easy to obtain any decided opinion. It has been stated that the constant stooping at work has a pernicious effect, and that the high rate of infant mortality which has been ascertained in the district of Howden and Goole is to be attributed in a great measure to this field labour. 33. The letters of those medical men with whom I have communicated on the question of injury done to the health of the young by field work, go to show that such work is by no means injurious, (they are in the evidence, Nos. 45, 46 and 265); but in the case of young married women there is more reason to fear that evil effects do result. 34. The employment of young girls in the fields is almost universally condemned, but there is often tffe cry that their labour is necessary at certain seasons of the year. The opinions as to the restriction of age at which females should be employed are numerous ; some say that they should not be permitted to go to the field before 13 years of age; others that they should not be allowed to remain in the field after 13; others that they should not be thus employed at all; and again, that no women over 16 years of age, unless married, should be allowed to work in a gang. 35. Mr. Hailstone (No. 100, p. 19) says—If we could get our girls to school constantly till 12, 13, or 14 years of age, we do not fear for them; with a strict eye to their moral education, and a constant deprecating of out-door work for young girls, we can get nearly all to go to service and feel the degradation of out-door work and half-male sort of occupation. 36, Under this head of the general employment of children the question of the necessity of the children’s earnings for the maintenance of the family must be considered. Where wages are low it is no doubt of very great importance to the mother that every sixpence that can be earned should be obtained. During the 9 winter, when flour was at a high price and where the wages had not risen in proportion, I found that out of 12s. a-week (the husband’s earnings), the outgoing for flour alone for the support of the said family of six children was 10s. 6d. per week (see No. 28). The woman said she could not live without the children’s earnings. There may be some truth in that statement where wages are low, but in Yorkshire, where the average rate of wages may be said to be above 14s. a week, it is a possible to believe that there is this necessity for sending the children into the fields at a tender age. 37. At present parents solicit employers to take children into service when so young as to be worthless ; and until wages are raised it appears probable that they will continue to doso. “The ““ competition for farms causes an advance in rents, the competition for employment keeps down the “ price of unskilled labour ; landlord and tenant have benefited by improvement in agriculture, but “ the labourer has benefited very little.”—(Letter from Mr. Barugh to Miss Simpson.) 38. The better class of labourers, as a general rule, are now beginning to see the evils resulting to their children from the loss of schooling consequent on field work at so early an age, and will gladly forego, if possible, the weekly earnings derived from their labour, though at the same time there is a very large class of people who are entirely indifferent to the advantages of education, and would sooner receive the money and totally disregard the future prospects of their children, Il].—AcE at wuicu Boys sHoutp BE EMPLOYED AND THE Stave oF Epucarion. 39. It is pretty generally conceded that 10 years would be a fair age to fix as a limit, below which boys should not be employed in the fields for hire. It appears that you would thereby secure at any rate three years’ schooling, during which time they should acquire a fair proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic. I say “for hire,” because not only in Cambridgeshire, but also in the dales and other parts of the North and West Ridings of Yorkshire there exists a class of small occupiers, holding four and five or 10 acres of land which they cultivate by themselves and their children, and rarely if ever employ a labourer. To these men the loss of their children’s aid would be fatal, they are too poor to hire labour, and the assistance rendered by a child of eight or nine years of age is of great value. I think that as a rule these men are desirous of giving their children as much education as they ean, and I may instance the case of “Chop Gate ” school, in Bilsdale, North Riding, to which children come two miles and a half and three miles up and down the dale over a bad road, and where the master said, “ He had had from 40 to 50 children at the school in winter when the snow was lying deep on the “* ground.” fo. I have no reason to suppose that the health is often injuriously affected by the light work of a child under 10 years ; but itis on the ground of securing a better and more regular attendance at school that it appears desirable that a limit of age should be fixed by law. Many parts of Yorkshire would not be affected at all by a restriction to 10 years. mle os : 41. If legislation on this point is brought about, I think it would be advisable that a discretionary power should be vested in the magistrates to give leave for the employment of the children in any special season. Mr. Grimston, of Neswick, has for some years had a rule in his school forbidding boys leaving school under the age of 10 years for field work; but he told me he had been at certain seasons obliged to withdraw that restriction when the demand for such labour was very pressing. The demand for juvenile labour would probably be reduced in proportion to the advance in machinery. _ 42. Having thus far secured that the child shall not go to work before a certain age, it then becomes necessary to consider how far you will obtain the desired attendance at school. ‘There is a class among the poor, and that a very large one, that cares nothing about education, and will take no pains to send their children to school even if the fees are paid for them. On this class I fear that the mere debarring of profit from the child’s work would have but little effect. It is, therefore, necessary to look at a means of meeting this difficulty. : 43. Ihave frequently submitted for the consideration of private individuals, as well as for discussion at public meetings, the question of the desirability of requiring the production of a certificate of a given amount of school attendance during the years previous to hiring, and on many, I may say most, occasions the scheme appeared to he acceptable, but the details appear more difficult of arrangement: on whom, whether employer or parent, should the penalty for non-compliance be placed? what would be the best U3 D. Employment of girls. Restriction of age for females. Better class of labourers anxious for education, Mr. Clare’s, No. 225. Limit for work. School. attend- ance. Certificates. Penalty for non-compli« ance, .D. 98 EMPLOYMENT OF. CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND. WOMEN nieans of enfercing such a system... Something similar has been tried, but. with very limited success at present, in requiring certificates of character previously. to hiring; but the utter disregard, by the employer, of character, as compared with physical strength, has rendered. the scheme generally nugatory. tte ty pages Ailing), -» B-alanten Medea i4, in said, ‘‘If one. man won’t employ them. another will,” and so bad and good are alike hired. Mr. Wells, of Booth Ferry, (No. 329).a man of. great experience, says he has tried for years to induce the farmers to require, a written character from the lads, and.the signing of an agreement, at hiring, and-has endeavoured to introduce various reforms, and with what result? “They won’t stick to it”... He has himself stuck to his point and carried it with his farm-servants. And so it might be with the school certificate, though I fear it would be somewhat difficult to enforce the school certificate without a very well organised. system. of registering and local inspectors. | Ge Effect of certi- "45, What would:be the effect. of the requirement of such a certificate on the labourer himself ?. Is ficate on labourer. Education. Cambridge- shire. Yorkshire. No dearth of schools, Want in small rural parishes. Grant for uneertificated master. Eskdale. thought by some that it would be a spur and an inducement to the parents to take more heed of. the education of their children, but by many others that. nothing short of compulsion will secure the desired amount of school attendance for the young. ' ; a or 7ok . 46. On the general state of education as existing in the counties of. Cambridgeshire-and:York- ire it is necessary ‘to make separate statements.. In Cambridgeshire the state of education among the' labouring’ class is in many instances lamentably deficient ; the old and middle-aged cannot, with rate exceptions, either read or write, and consequently they place no value on learning, but think . it far more important that a child should go out, as soon as-it is able, to.earn its daily bread. In many parishes it is stated that it is’very rare that a couple when they come to be married can sign the register. The practical working of the system of field labour with regard to.education is that now as a rule boys léave day school entirely at 9.years of age, never to return. Those who leave school at Tor 8 years of ‘age generally go to field labour for weeding in the months of March, April, and May, and return for a short time previous to the harvest holidays, they are then absent from school till ‘November when field work for children ceases. ‘The Sunday school is usually well attended, but the benefit of religious ‘instruction on that day.is much decreased by the inability of the children who only attend ond’ a week to follow the reading of the teacher, and that is. the only education which often, from the ‘agé of 8 years, children are able to get. ‘ . : . 47..The, schoolmasters and schoolmistresses throughout the county agree in their testimony that all the children that go to field work are much deteriorated in manner, and unfit for the class in which they were when they went out; and I can from my own personal knowledge and inspection confirm this statement as to the roughness of manner and ignorance of those things which I was assured they fall y comprehended when last in school. . 7 '48..I.do not. find. that there is any want of accessible day schools. In the fens, where there are many ‘out-lying homesteads and cottages at a considerable distance from the villages, there is frequently no doubt a difficulty in bringing the children to the school, owing to the nature of the country in bad ‘weather, more ‘especially in winter when some of the droves are almost’ impassable; but in these districts schools and mission houses are being taken to the population (see No. 33). In Yorkshire, on the other hand, whether in consequence of the higher rate of wages or of the absence of the gang system and the consequent non-employment of children at a tender age, the state of education may be said to be considerably better. a ee : “49. Myr. Jackson, of Waghen, in the East Riding, says :— : ""« Yhave great pleasure in stating that the feeling of parents generally;is that parental duty is not fulfilled if their children’ have no education ; this feeling appears to grow with those parents who have not had that advantage, ‘and in this part of the East Riding of Yorkshire the children generally attend a day school about nine months in the year.” “ : 50. Mr. Angas, on behalf of the agriculturists of Holderness, says :— _ “ With a view to guard against the possible contingency of such evils arising in this district as exist in the ang counties, they would be quite willing to agree to » minimum standard of age in respect to children as field hands, but at the same time would feel strongly opposed to any coercive measure being put in operation, believing not only that the feelings of parents would revolt: from what they would certainly consider. as an arbitrary law, but that, left to the dictates of their own consciences and free will, with the example of those a little ‘higher in the social scale, the education of our young rural population would certainly and steadily progress.” iG ‘51. He. also thinks that the fixing of a limit of age for field work would produce-in parents a natural desire to send the children to school. i 52. Throughout the portions of the West and North Riding which I visited there appeared to be no cam of -available schools, and the state of education is probably better than in many parts of ngland. ves any: 3. There is, however, one want which was equally expressed in Cambridgeshire and in Yorkshire namely, that in small rural parishes further Government aid should be given to the support of schools. ‘The necessary amount of attendances during the year cannot be’ obtained, the grant therefore is not given, and the good certificated schoolmaster, being unable to obtain a living, leaves the parish. It was often suggested that if the number of attendances (necessary for the grant). in small schools were reduced, or if the grant were given for the full number to an uncertificated master, much benefit would be done to education in these parishes. ae 54. More especially in the district of Egton in the North Riding my attention was called to this state of things. It was reported that throughout the whole of Eskdale there were only two schools Need of a good where there was a good master, and it was stated that the pene would not pay the pence to send t master. their children to school where they find the master teaches the children little or nothing. I may refer to the parishes of Bubwith and Millington, in the East Riding, as two flagrant instances of the want of increased facilities for obtaining a good master. In the first, case the master said that he was unable to make a Jiving, and in the second the school was actually shut up for want of. funds to pay the master. © ee 1 is IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. E. B, PORTMAN’S REPORT. “99 _ 55. There is, I think, generally a feeling of dislike to a Scheme of compulsory education on two grounds, viz.:—l. That compulsion would ‘lessen the amount ‘of voluntary aid now given td schools; and 2. From an aversion to any increase in the rates. It is said that the voluntary system is working well, thatethere is an increased. desire for education, and a willingness to subscribe for thé support of schools, and :that, if the law compels attendance at school; voluntary aid will be withdrawn on ‘the ground that the State is bound to provide a sufficient number of. schools and teachers, and then itis feared that the money will be raised either by an increase in the local rate, or by a general ‘ate’ on the land. This prospect is not agreeable to the farming class. I found, however, an instarice of a rate being paid for the support of a certificated master at a school in Farndale on Lord Feversham’s property in Yorkshire. The farmers’ children attend the ‘school, and I was told there was not much opposition to levying it. It must be borne in mind, however, that, as to a compulsory attendance at school in connexion with employment, since the’ passing of the Workshops Regulation Act the only persons exempted from the application of the principles of the Factory Acts are the children,employed im agricultural labour, and children unemployed, or employed for less time than a fortnight continuously. 56,. To obtain anything like an accurate idea of the state of education throughout any one district, I think it would be necessary that a complete educational census should be taken. . The - mere fact,of obtaining from a limited number of schools the numbers in average attendance, and the numbers on. the books between certain ages, is not sufficient to give any fair notion of the relative. proportion, of the educated to the uneducated portions of the population. 57. In the Education Report for 1861 on agricultural districts in Yorkshire, Rev. T. Hedley arrives at the following conclusion :— Children usually commence to attend school at about 5 years of ““ age ; they begin to leave about 9, and few are found above 13.. The average period: of. school . life “is about six years.” | 3/3 ae : os hoe 58. Mr. Watkins, who has been Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools in Yorkshire for 25 ‘years, states in his evidence, volume 2, page 1:49, that the average age at which they leave school is 103. years,: that of children at school 39 per cent. are under 7 years of age, 74 per cent. under 10, and only. 26 per cent. ever 10 years of age. Mr. Surtees says further:— o fg, UO gt Pg oh “ Let there be an educational census to see that a school is provided within reasonable reachi;’ encourage by every means in our power infant and dame schools; up to 12 years of age require a boy. to be at ee, a certain number of days per year, and by that time he will be able to read, write, and cast accounts. More than that you would not accomplish if you aim at it. Well for us if this is done, and done well.” ~~" 59. Referring to that part of our instructions which sets forth the various causes to which the defective state of education may be attributed, I may say that in various parts of my district each of those catises may be found to exist, though poverty can hardly be pleaded in any part of Yorkshire. (I was told on all sides that ‘‘ we have no poor in our parish.”) There is. a decided indisposition on the part of some of the parents to forego the weekly sum that is added to the family earnings by. the child’s Jabour. In too many instances a low moral tone among the parents leads them to neglect their children’s education ; and in a few instances there is, I fear, a tacit understanding between; the employer and the labourer that in consideration of yearly and permanent employment for the father of the family, the labour of the wife and children shall be placed at the employer’s disposal if required at any particular season. It is, of course, somewhat difficult to establish clearly the fact ofthe existence of any understanding, but I can refer to evidence, No. 353, in support of my belief that such an understanding does frequently exist, and is not considered extraordinary. : xy BA a. Ke 60. The great desideratum seems to be a system of continuous education.. What is the best means of securing it? In the first place’a limit of age for work may be fixed. Se teen a 61. Miss Simpson, of Boynton, whose experience among farm lads and the children of the agri- cultural class is as extensive as that of any one in Yorkshire, says:—. ~~ ' eee “ Something of continuous teaching is the more necessary, because when a child was little he could not exercise his mind much on what he learnt, and having no real grasp of it, it ig the sooner lost‘ before ‘he is of an age to know the real meaning of anything. Any knowledge, whether religious or secular, acquired in early childhood, if it is not kept up, farés, in-most cases, ‘like the seed that fell by the wayside’ . If then we cannot hope to add greatly to the small stock of knowledge gained before the age for working begins, let. us at least aim at keeping it together till the mind is capable of retaining and valuing it”)... Y ' 62. The modes which have been suggested for securing this end, are that after the ‘age fixed by law a child should be compelled to attend school for a certain number of days during the year, till-he arrives at-the age at which he is permanently hired, and that a certificate of such school attendance should be required to be produced before hiring. The lads in Yorkshire are hired out to permanent service at the age of 13 or 14.- When they live entirely in the farmer’s house (or in that-of the foreman) they are too often removed from all moral restraint, and never take any pains to keep up their education, or to attend church or school. ae i 2 63. Miss Simpson, Rev. F: D. ieee and others have published papers on the subject of the farm lads, and the best means of securing for them some education. The whole system of their employment from the beginning seems to be a vicious one; in the first place, the hiring fairs or statutes have for many years past led to scenes of dissipation and immorality in the market towns where they are held ; but, I am happy to say,,that of late greater care has been taken, and rooms have been provided where the girls and the lads are hired separately, instead of being as formerly paraded in two lines in the open market-place. The statutes are almost universally held at Martinmas in the short and dark days of ‘November ; the week of statutes is a general holiday for the farm servants, even if they are going to remain at the same place for another year they consider that they havea right to come down to the statutes; many. of them o home at this time to see their relations, and consequently eottagés, which are not sufficiently large ‘to ‘hold those of the family who are at home, are at this time crowded up with lads and girls of ages varying from. 14 to 20, sleeping'together in one room. On most occasions, when I have discussed at meetings and otherwise the question of altering the system of hirings, I have found a great disincli- nation to make any change. At Doncaster and im its neighbourhood, great efforts have been: made. by the.Rev. Dr. Vaughan, and by. others: of the.clergy, to:establish a system of register offices fdr the, farm servants. I believe that this system is to a certain extent on the increase, but it is objected to by the U4 ae D. Compulsory education. Schoo rate. Educational census. Education Report, 1861, Mr. Hedley. Mr. Watkins report. Understanding between em- ployer and labourer as to children and women’s work. Continuous education. Miss Simpson. Modes suggested. Farm servants. Statutes. Register offices; D to be kept by schoolmaster. Rev.C. Thomas. Night schools. 100 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN farmers, really because it is too much trouble to go to an office. There appears to be no reason why a system of register offices should not be universally established; a suggestion made to me by Mr. Hargreaves, the schoolmaster at Monkfryston, appears to be a reasonable one, he says that the school- master in every parish might keep a register office for farm servants, and that under such supervision it may be easily worked; he had himself kept one for a short time. The probability is that the school- master would know the greater part of the younger portion of the population who are employed in farm service, and that even if a servant is engaged at some distant parish he or she would, on coming home for the statute holiday, apply at the register office of his or her own parish for another situation. 64. Rey. C. E. Thomas, of Warmsworth, says:— os “For 20 years I have made it my business to discourage as far as possible parents taking their children to be hired at statutes. I have a list of those males and females who want places. At different tradespeople’s shops in Doncaster I have left lists of boys and girls wanting situations, in this way it has become known that I interest myself in getting servants places, and I am applied to by many farmers and tradespeople for servants; I believe if this were done in each parish we should have an end of statute hiring. The farmers like it, and I have been successful in most cases in finding good servants and comfortable places for them. Even if this were carried out with regard to young women only, the great evil of the statutes would be removed, for the young men when left to themselves behave tolerably steadily.” i 65. The whole system of statute hiring is generally condemned as being the cause of much immor- ality, but it is so deep rooted that it will take many years and much trouble to establish anything in its place. After the servants are hired little or no trouble is taken to keep them in the right way; T regret to say that the farmers as a rule pay little attention to the education of those engaged in their service, there is more thought for the physical than the moral. There are, of course, bright exceptions, such as Mr. Wells, (No. 329), Mr. Wheatley (No. 223), and others, who have taken great pains with those living on their premises. The masters, taken as a whole, seem unaware that they are in duty bound to take some interest in the moral condition of their servants. The separation of the sleeping rooms of the two sexes is very often most incomplete. Mr. Broadley, of Welton, told me that in building some new farmhouses he had made a living-room and a bedroom for the boys entirely separated from the kitchen and sleeping-room of the women, but that the farmer objected to have two separate living- rooms, but preferred having them sitting all together in one kitchen. 66. Some farmers have endeavoured to insist on the lads attending a place of worship on Sunday, but with little success. They say they cannot force them. Miss Simpson, in a paper on the life and training of a farm boy read at the Social Science Association, at York, in 1864, says, in respect of this point,— “In private conference not long ago with a Wesleyan farmer, I was surprised to learn from him that about 25 years ago the Wold farmers generally were in the habit of hiring their lads on an understanding that they were to go tochurch. How came such a good custom to fall into disuse? My informant assured me that it was entirely because the young servants so much resisted it. The farmers, this man told me, had now universally given it up as a lost case, and do not attempt to interfere with the Sunday arrangements, and the lads have it all their own way ; he said there was not the least necessity for what had to be done on Sunday interfering with church time or with boys attending Sunday-school, that is going once to school and once to church ; he even demonstrated this, and said that all farmers would be glad of such an arrangement. When I told him how often foremen said they would be glad of it, but that they could not interfere with established custom, it must be the masters’ doing, he could not deny that there was truth in this, but maintained that if a foreman could not alter what was an established custom neither could an individual farmer do so. * * * * * If magistrates could do nothing to back the authority of masters, can the landlord do nothing ? Is he not, if he rightly recognizes his position and its responsibilities, the natural protector of both farmers and labourers on his property, and especially the guardian of the young.” 67. To meet the loss of knowledge which is certain to result in the case of lads earning wages, many attempts have been made to establish night schools for their benefit, but great difficulty has been found in securing any attendance, inasmuch as the farmers, where their homesteads are at any distance from the village, object to the lads going down to school in the evening, on the ground that it interferes with the hours for doing up the horses and foddering the cattle, and that when they once go off to school, it is quite uncertain at what hour they come back. The almost universal answer throughout the Yorkshire evidence on the subject of night schools is, “that we have had one, but it has failed.” There are a few exceptions where the farms are either actually in the village or within a mile of it. 68. In Cambridgeshire, night schools exist in many parishes during the winter for boys, and in one instance, for girls, this girls’ school being attended by girls from the ages of 14 to 17 and 18, who have been at field work during the day. Itis, however, not considered very desirable to have night schools for girls. ‘There is great difficulty in keeping up these schools, and in finding persons competent to under- take the teaching. Mr. T. Webb (No. 129), gives it as his opinion that it would be very desirable that a system of night schools during the winter should be established, with Government aid, to provide a requisite number of uncertificated extra teachers. That acertain amount of attendance at these schools during the winter months should be made compulsory on all lads earning wages up to 16 years of age and that all children not earning wages should be made to go to a day school. In the night school now at work in his parish the average age of lads attending is 16 years. I submitted this proposal, in many instances, in Cambridgeshire, for the consideration of the clergy and employers of labour, and it met with the approbation of a large number of these persons, inasmuch as it was thought to be accept- able to the farmer, as furthering a system of continuous education without depriving him of the necessary labour of the lads on the farm; but, as I have already stated, it was not received in the same way in Yorkshire. A clergyman of 11 years experience in night-school teaching wrote :— “ One thing I hope Government will do, discourage boys going to the night school at so early an age; if we do not take care, the night school may be easily made an instrument for making our boys greater slaves to work than they are now.” When asked for an explanation he replied :— “ What I mean is this, Lord Shaftesbury, in a bill he proposed last year, would not allow boys to be IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. E, B. PORTMAN’S REPORT, 101 employed in gangs till 8 years of age.* Now, supposing this Bill made law, and also Government grants to be made for boys in our night schools as young as 8, I fear the result will be that in many districts it would come to be taken as a matter of course that a boy should leave the day school at 8 to work in the field, and carry on his education in a night school. What his education would be worth under such a system I think we can prettyewell guess! I have no wish to run down night schools ; but these are yet in their infancy, and they have a greater work to do, I believe, than most men think; I have worked hard at ours for 11 years, but there is great danger, now, of making them supplant, instead of supplement the day schools. Speaking from what I know, I should say that it would most probably prove against the children’s interests for Government to make grants to our night schools for boys under 10 years of age.” 69. There is a most successful night school at Walton, near Tadcaster, under the management of the national schoolmaster. On first commencing this school, he endeavoured to make it “as little like a school as possible,” he allowed the lads to take up such subjects as they chose, without any fixed routine of instruction, and he found that they soon fell into a regular course. It is enough to say that “ the “* farmers have expressed themselves as being most thankful for the benefit done to the lads,” and that the village is in a more quiet and orderly state than it was previous to the establishment of this school. 70. The Rev. W. B. Hopkins, of Littleport (No. 22), states it as his conviction that— “ The only way in which education can be combined with agricultural labour is by means of an evening school.” ‘* That between the ages of 10 and 14 all children employed in the fields should be required to attend evening school four days in every week while so employed, and that when they attend evening school they shall leave work two hours earlier than usual.” “ Exceptions to be made where there is no such school within two miles of the child’s home.” 71. One of the great difficulties in getting lads to attend night school seems to be a feeling of shame at “ beginning again” when the lad is older than some he will meet at the school who are more advanced than himself, because they have not been entirely without instruction for so long a time. 72. I would here call your attention to the suggestion made by Mr. Hopkins for the management of the hours in schools where there is a night school held four times a week (No. 22, para. 13). 78. The want of funds, the want of good teachers, even volunteers, and the gradual falling off in the attendance “ when the novelty has worn off” are all given in evidence as difficulties in the way of maintaining an efficient evening school. The two first of these might easily be obviated by an increased grant from the Committee of Council for uncertificated masters in these schools, but even this would only reach those who are within a certain distance of the village. You will still leave the large class of “ outlying ” cottagers unbenefited. As to the latter it is said— “ That a night school can never supply the deficiencies of the day school while there is neither compulsory rule nor any inducement beyond love of learning. Love of the teacher is almost the only real inducement that tells now. Few boys naturally love learning ; the most untaught have almost invariably the least love for it, consequently the greater the prevailing ignorance the greater the difficulties while there is no sort of compulsion.” (See Evidence, No. 241.) On the other hand if compulsion should be ‘found on inquiry to operate harshly on the farmer, by interfering with the necessary work of the farm, how will you secure continuous education? The following suggestion made by the Rev. Mr. Foxley, of Market Weighton, is, I think, worthy of the consideration of landowners in districts where the population is scattered, such as the fens of Cam- bridgeshire and the Wolds of Yorkshire. He says,— “ It would be very beneficial if the owners of isolated farms would provide a room for service and teaching, where the clergyman could occasionally visit.” It was also suggested that an itinerant schoolmaster might, with the co-operation of the employers, be established in districts such as the Wolds, who would make his visit once or twice in the week to each house within a certain circle where the farms are so far situated from the village as to make it impos- sible for lads to go to night school. There is no doubt that on the Wolds the distance from the farm- stead to the village is a very great drawback to any educational movement. Many of the more influential farmers of that district are extremely anxious that an increased number of cottages should be built on the farms. There can be no question that for the benefit of the farmer and of the labourer this is most desirable, inasmuch as the labourer has now to walk frequently a very long distance every day to his work and therefore is less capable of performing a fair day’s work. Whether it would be equally advantageous for the children of the labourer in regard to attendance at school or church admits of some doubt. ; ; 74. The Rev. J. W. Cockshott, of Burwell, in Cambridgeshire (No. 46), laments that the Committee of Council do not remove some of the restrictions for conferring grants for evening schools. In conducting his own he requires the assistance of a paid teacher, but can get no aid from Government because the man is not certified. ; : 75. Mr. Surtees has expressed strong opinions adverse to night schools. I am sorry to differ with one of so much experience, but it does appear to me that, looking at the early age at which lads go out to regular work, a system of night schools holds out the most reasonable prospect of preventing that lapse into ignorance which is too often the fate of lads who have up to 12 years of age received a fair education at the village school. : 76. The proposal to extend to the agricultural labouring class a system of half day at school and half day at work is almost universally rejected as impracticable. The necessity at certain seasons, such as the weeding time, for alJ hands to be employed continuously is the principal objection that is urged, the distance to and from work, the want of a sufficient supply of hands for either half days or alternate days at work, the desire on the part of the schoolmaster and of the: employer to have the first part of the day, when both body and mind are freshest, are all put forward as obstacles to carrying out any such system. * The “ Agricultural Gangs Act,” with this restriction, is now in force. 21157. x Ww night schpal. Difficulties in maintaining night schools, Suggestions vice “ compul- sion.” Itinerant schoolmasters. Cottages on farms, Benefit to chil- dren doubtful. Grants to night schools, Half time. * k D. Plan for obtain- ing continuous education. Certificates. Printworks Act modified the best scheme. Reading rooms. Ignorance of > employer. General state of school attendance. Educated and uneducated labour, Agricultural training. Industrial schools. 103 ‘EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 77. The most feasible plan for obtaining continuous education appears to be to fix an age below which no child shall go to work for hire, with or without compulsory attendance at school, to require a certain amount of school attendance from that age to 13 or 14 years of age, and perhaps, in addition, the production of a certificate of such school attendance before hiring. Very few objections will be found to this plan, with the exception of the certificate, but I think that when a good system of registering, which might be combined with a register for farm servants, is once established, the supposed difficulties and inconveniences will soon vanish. 78. The evidence I think fairly justifies me in saying that of the three modes of securing school attendance proposed in your circular one founded on the model of the Printworks Act, modified and made “elastic” enough to meet the necessities and vicissitudes of agricultural operations, would be found most practicable and most acceptable to the employer and the employed. 79. That the present state of education among the agricultural labouring class requires improvement by some means there is no doubt. From the time of commencing regular service in Yorkshire the lads rarely get any instruction at all. No books are supplied to them, and but little is done to encourage them to spend their evening profitably. The masters take no heed about it, as was evidenced by the tone of the meeting at Howden, when it was suggested that they might help to stimulate a desire for improvement by reading aloud, &c. Again the lads who live at. home. in the villages too often spend their evenings in the pothouse or idling about the street, except where you find a considerate landlord, an energetic clergyman, or some kind and benevolent people resident in the village, by whose aid a reading-room or a club-room is kept up, where the labourer can spend his evening by a good fire with books and papers, and free from the temptations of the beerhouse. 80. The employer is too often worse educated than his labourer, and is utterly unaware of the responsibility of looking after those in his employ further than to see that they do-their work. 81. The question has on many occasions been raised whether an increased number of cottages on the farms would do away with the necessity for having so many lads living in the farmhouses. Several persons with whom I have conversed on the subject are of opinion that it is much better to employ the married labourer from the village, if near enough to the scene of his work, than to have so large a number of these lads on the premises. The objection that is usually raised to the drawing the supply of labour from the village, is that attention is necessary to the stock and the horses at late hours of the night, and that the day labourer who comes from his own cottage would return home after 6 o’clock. 82. The school returns show that the average attendance of children above 10 years of age is larger in winter than in summer; and it is generally admitted that, as far as the employer’s interests are concerned, no injury would be caused by the requirement of such an amount of school attendance from children over 10 years as could be secured during the winter months. The amount of work that can be done in the winter by children is so small that except in very rare instances the loss of earnings to the parent would be so trifling as not to inflict any real hardship when compared with the ultimate benefit accruing to the child from the education he would receive, and which would fit him for places of trust, and consequently of higher pay than he would otherwise be able to obtain. 83. It has often been said that an uneducated labourer is quite as useful as, or more so, than one that is educated; but on referring to the evidence given by the occupiers on Lord Wenlock’s estate in Yorkshire, you will see that out of 63 farmers, 23 prefer educated men, and only six uneducated, though 21 say that they perceive no difference in the value of the labour. 84. I am far from thinking that it is not necessary to begin early to teach a boy the work on which he has to depend in after life for his subsistence, on the contrary it is most desirable, but at the same time it seems perfectly possible to combine the two classes of education from the age of 10 years, and as the use of machinery for agriculture is daily becoming more common it must surely be an advantage to the farmer to have in his employ men who at any rate are able to read those instructions which are necessary for the management of the various implements with the care of which they may be entrusted. Mr. Joseph Barugh, a large farmer near Bridlington, spoke strongly on the subject at a meeting of the East Ridmg Chamber of Agriculture held at Bridlington, and gave his testimony to the value of educated servants. 85. I visited the Industrial Schools at Saffron Walden, Escrick, and Doncaster. No. 1, that at Saffron Walden, though in the county of Essex, so far affected a portion of Cambridgeshire that I was glad of an opportunity of visiting it. Itis under the management of the Rev. R. Clutton ; the girls are instructed in the ordinary domestic duties of washing, cooking, needlework, &c. They are allowed on occasions to go out to place for a few weeks and to return to the school ; the places are carefully selected, and I believe this supply of occasional servants who know their work is much appreciated in the neighbourhood. Many good servants are sent out from here. (2.) The school at Escrick, East Riding of Yorkshire, is under the management of Lady Wenlock. It contains eight girls, who are lodged and boarded and taught washing, cooking, and other domestic duties, and in the afternoon they learn sewing, &. in the school. The arrangements here are very complete, and I was told that there is always a demand for servants who have been brought up at this school. This school is, I believe, entirely supported by Lady Wenlock, subject to certain payments for each girl and the amount of money received for work. The girls do not go out for occasional work. (3.) Doncaster.—This school is on a larger scale, situated in a town, and more, if I may use the expression, in the nature of a “ working ” school than that at Escrick. The difficulties of maintenance are greater, the class of children taken into it is very different from that of a small village, more rough and uncouth, motherless, or friendless and distressed, probably often without any knowledge at all except such as they have picked up in the streets; these poor children have not only to be trained for domestic service but to receive elementary education. Doncaster girls alone are admitted free, others pay 3s. a week and an entrance fee of 27, There are now 20 girls in the school, lodged and boarded. It is under the care and superintendence of Mrs. Vaughan, of the Vicarage. Schools of this class, and more especially when in large towns, must undoubtedly have a beneficial effect. It is of great value to girls to be trained in domestic duties, with patience and care, before they go out “ to place,” and more than that, it is a means towards making them good wives and IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-—MR.. BE. B. PQRTMAN’S REPORT. 103 mothers in the future, and. so will lead on toa better state of things in the next generation, which education alone, without decency and cleanliness in the homes, can never achieve. . . 86. The school at Harewood, though not purely an industrial one, partakes much of its nature. Attached to the national school is a building containing a kitchen and laundry, and a certain number of girls from the first class are week by. week taken from the school on fixed days to be taught washing and cooking, all having their turn. The money earned by washing goes far towards paying the expenses of this branch.of the schocl; the outlay necessary for board and lodging is avoided, and I have great pleasure in calling your attention to this school as being at the same time an inexpensive and a most useful method of securing for girls a certain amount of industrial training. It is the only instance of the kind that I met with, and it is quite worthy of imitation by those who have the opportunity, with the view of drawing the tastes of girls away from the licence of field labour and fitting them for domestic service and their future duties in life. .. 87. The Provisions of the Industrial Schools Act (24 & 25 Vict. c. 113.) might be so moulded as to apply to the case of those children: who, in towns more especially, are growing up entirely without education, in consequence of the neglect and indifference of their parents. By sec. 10 of that Act, any person may bring before justices any child of the descriptions set forth in s. 9, and the justices are empowered, after full inquiry, to send such child to the industrial school up to the age of 15. By s. 18 they have power to make an order on the parents for a weekly payment of the expenses of the child’s maintenance, not exceeding 5s. If a similar power could be placed in the hands of competent authorities for sending these neglected children to the day school up to a given age, a class would be brought within the benefits of education, which cannot now be reached by any measure short of actual compul- sion. The small weekly payment usually demanded at. the national schools might without difficulty be obtained from the parents. I have been frequently requested to bring this point under the considera- tion of the Commissioners, and I have stated it shortly in order that you may, if you think it desirable, cause further opinions to be taken on the subject during the ensuing year. IV. Corraces. 88. The feeling expressed at meetings of Boards of Guardians and others, both in Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire, on the subject of cottage accommodation, shows that there is great need for improve- ment, and that it is a question to which landlords should without delay turn their attention. The following extracts from the evidence are good examples of the opinions of competent persons :— 89. Mr. Whitting, No. 4, speaking of the necessity for building cottages on estates remotely situated from a village, says :— ane “A relative of mine some few years ago built several cottages for his servants on an estate of this nature, only one of which has found an occupant. If families had to walk three or four miles to places of worship on Sundays, and their children to go daily the same distance to school throughout the winter, they would assuredly lose the advantages of religious, moral, and secular instruction.” 90. At a meeting of the Board of Guardians of Whittlesay (No. 12), it was said that the bad state of the cottages was considered to be the root of demoralization of both sexes, and to demand the attention of the landlords. 91. At the Board of Guardians for North Witchford, the feeling was general that the state of the cottages and the over-crowding of the sleeping rooms was the root of the immorality. The sleeping rooms were not sufficient for decency. It was felt and urged that the attention of the Commissioners should be turned to the cottage question; and the hope was expressed that some scheme for their im- provement might be devised. 92. At a meeting of the Guardians of Wisbeach, the Board was unanimous in its opinion that the over-crowding of the cottages was the root of the evil; it was said that the gang system would vanish when there is a sufficiency of good cottages on the farms and for the working of each farm, that the tenants would gladly pay four per cent. to have cottages and get labour on the land. 93. Captain Catlin, of Fridaybridge (No. 38), says :-— “ There is a miserable deficiency in cottage accommodation ; the whole evil has its origin in overcrowded cottages, labourers as a rule are worse lodged than cattle, and worse cared for. Morals are first corrupted in overcrowded cottages, the tenants would be benefited by better cottage accommodation on their occupations, and could well afford to pay interest on the cost of the same.” The instances given by him as to the number of persons living in one cottage, within his own knowledge, and of the prices at which he has been able to buy some of these wretched hovels are worthy of note, (see No. 39). ; 94, Mr. Bidwell, land agent, Ely, says:— “ Oceupiers of land are very anxious to have good cottages built on the farms, inasmuch as the good labourers will not go any great distance to work, and the outlying farms get the worst men.” 95. Mr. Clear, of Cambridge, suggests that Government should build here and there in parishes a set of cottages for the poor, which scheme would operate beneficially by causing landlords to improve the bad houses or lose their tenants. 96. Mr. H. Thurnall, solicitor (No. 62), says :-— “ T think in cases where the advance was required merely for the building or improvement of cottages within certain limits, the notices required by the 17th Section of’ the 27th & 28th Vic. Chapter 114, and some of the preliminary inquiries might be safely dispensed with, but until the owners and occupiers of landed property begin to see that although the erection of comfortable cottages for their labourers would not pay directly, it would do so indirectly, by promoting the moral and physical improvement of the labourer, I fear that no in- creased facility in borrowing money would have much effect. If any alteration in the Act referred to should be contemplated, I would draw your attention to the 25th Section and ask how this would affect buildings which might not directly increase the yearly value of an estate more than the annual sum to be charged thereon, T have taken some pains in drawing plans for labourers’ cottages and have superintended the building of many on Lord Dacre’s property. In groups of three, each cottage containing two rooms below and three above with -out-buildings, the cost of each cottage has been 80/. I believe that if any philanthropic body of men were to X 2 D. Harewood school, Industrial Schools Act, its application to day schools Cambridge-« shire, Yorkshire— East Riding. 104 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN form a cottage building society, they might get three per cent. for their money, and do more good than they could in almost any other way.” 97. The Rev. H. Carter, (No. 82), says :— : “ I should say, from an experience of 12 years in different parishes in the county of Cambridge, that much of the evil, physical and moral, amongst the poor arises from insufficient cottage accommodation, I have not unfrequently seen 10 or 12 in a family living in a house with only two small bedrooms, the elder children at the time being over 14 years of age. The question of cottages has always appeared to me to be a landlord’s question ; the rent received from the labourer for a good cottage might not be remunerative, but most tenants would be willing to ensure five per cent. interest on any reasonable sum expended for making homes for their labourers near their work; there is very little progress being made towards increasing the cottage accommoda- tion in any part of the cottages with which I am acquainted.” 98. Mr. Samuel Jonas (No. 93) :— : “ In regard to cottage accommodation, great an advocate as I am for the advantages arising from proper cottages, I do not see how Government can interfere. I have lately had several blocks of cottages of three in a block erected by my landlord, and which I let tomy men at 1s. a week rent, or rent free, deducting 1s, a week from their wages ; they have one-eighth of an acre of land attached for gardens to each cottage, and three bed-rooms in each. I lose five per cent. by the interest, I pay the landlords on cost of erection,”—(N. B. these are the cottages spoken of by Mr. Thurnall as being built for 80. a piece.) 99. Mr. Samuel Webb, a farmer, the age of 73, says :— “ That there are not sufficient cottages in the parish of Babraham ; in years past many cottages were pulled down, and the poor driven out, but the present owner of the property talks of building new houses on the different farms. This parish was formerly a close parish in the fullest sense of the word.” 100. Mr. Mayd (No. 119) thinks the want of good cottage accommodation more conducive to immorality among the lower classes than any other cause ; many of the cottages in his parish are built of clay, with a thatched roof, they seem to have been built on the waste ground lying by the side of the road, so that there is not room for the necessary conveniences. He suggested as a point for consideration, that it would be beneficial to obtain legal power for the lord of the manor to buy out cottages built on land originally cribbed from the waste. 101. Mr. Stephenson (No. 153). “ T have two cottages with my farm for labourers; there is with each cottage one and a half acre of land, and one of 20 acres and an allotment field ; in the low land 10 cottagers have two acres a piece.” 102. The Rev. R. Machell (No. 155). “For providing good cottage accommodation, I would suggest that three quarters of the cost should be defrayed by public money, to be repaid in 40 years; one quarter to be paid by the landlord, und no interest paid on it, in consideration of the cottages becoming his property ultimately.” 103. J. Dickenson, Esq. (No. 168). ‘“‘ The system of attaching cottages to the farm ought to be extended, it is not often the case in these parts that there are any attached ; the labourers live in the villages ; there are plots of ground of one acre with the cottages, most of which have two bedrooms. Cottages on an estate should not all be the same size, you should build some with two, some with three bedrooms, to meet the wants of large and small families; in many cases, the third room would not be used, and when people have cottages larger than they want, they are apt to become uncleanly and slovenly. If money could be borrowed on easy terms from the Government for cottage building, people with small sums to invest might take up enough to make up the requisite amount on repayment in 40 years; at present the machinery for borrowing money for this purpose is cumbrous and expensive.” 104. Mr. Francis Jackson (No. 172). “ T think no cottage is proper or comfortable without two low rooms, and two bedrooms well ventilated. Cot- tages contiguous to the farms would be an advantage, but they should be in the hands of the landlord, and not of the tenant.” 105. George Angas (No. 173) suggested that the tenant, when willing, should be allowed to build cottages at his own expense, the cost to be spread over 12 years, and compensation to be given for the unexpired term, if the tenant quits the farm. If the tenants complete the term of 12 years, the cottage to belong to the landlord. In many instances, landlords cannot afford to build or to borrow money for the purpose, and the above arrangement might obviate the difficulty. At the Chamber of Agriculture merane a Beverley (Nos. 189 and 190), the desire for increased cottage accommodation was strongly expressed. 106. Mr. Simmons (No. 194) thinks it desirable that cottages should continue to be massed near the church and school. As regards education, morality, advantages in sickness, etc. labourers living in villages, and not on the farms, are less likely to be hardly used, or to have a pressure put upon them in respect of wages and the labour of their wives and children. 107. The Rev. J. Foxley (No. 220) suggests as a means of improving the cottage accommodation the commutation of manorial fines for known or fixed annual payments redeemable on a plan like that of the tithe commutation. 108. Mr. John Wheatley (No. 223) :— “ There is nothing calling for greater inquiry than the present cottage accommodation generally. A farm of 600 acres should have four double cottages. This parish is well provided. Each farm should have sufii- cient cottages upon it to meet its requirements, and the rent in no instance should exceed 1s. per week, charged to the labourer, whatever the tenant may have to pay. The tenant would have, notwithstanding, received his portion by the interest supplied in the extra labour given by the labourer. Money might be borrowed under Government for the erection.of cottages, and charged to the tenant at seven per cent. to be paid in 22 years, I built some cottages on a former farm; a double cottage with four sleeping rooms cost 1281.” 109. Mr. Tiffin (No. 229) speaking of the Sledmere district in the centre of the Wolds, says, “that ** there is a want of cottages in the district.” 110, At a meeting of farmers at Driffield (No. 232), it was considered that in the matter of cottages there is great room for improvement. A good labourer will not come to a farm unless he can have a IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION !—MR. E. B. PORTMAN’S REPORT. 105 cottage, and some will not walk a distance to their work. If the cottages were placed near to the farm the farmers would pay more attention to their labourers than they do now. It was considered that a Sy of one rood attached to the cottage would be more advantageous to the family than an allotment. 111. (No. 241.) The cottages at Boynton have four good-sized rooms and generally a small scullery. This accommodation is amply sufficient in this part of the country, 'as children are removed from home, being hired into farmhouses at from 12 to 14 years of age. Rent, including garden, about 5/. a year. 112, Mr. Darley (No. 253) says: “ A good cottage cannot be built to pay above three per cent., and unless repairs are done by the landlord it soon becomes dilapidated.” 113. Mr. Coleman (No. 255), agent to Lord Wenlock :— “ Every cottage intended fora family should. have three bedrooms, with a separate approach from the landing. One cottage per 100 acres is considered sufficient for the requirements of the land. ‘The best mode of provid- ing an increase of cottage accommodation would be by requiring a fair payment for the landlord’s outlay from the farmer, who requires the labour and derives a benefit from it.” 114, Mr. Tireman (No. 265), testifies that the state of the cottages in Howden union, generally speaking, is satisfactory, and that overcrowding only occasionally prevails, great improvements having been effected in cottage dwellings during the last twenty years. 115. There is in most parts of Yorkshire much comfort in the cottages, and although there may be reason to wish for improvement in some, an increase in their number, or a change of the situation of others, they are vastly superior to the average of dwellingsin the southern counties. Gardens are almost universally attached to them, or in default of those there are fields close to the village divided into allotments for the labourers ; many, also, have a “ cow-gate,” or a run for a cow in the lanes. 116. It is said that the garden attached is most advantageous to the labourer ; he can spend a half hour in the morning, or in the evening on his return from work, in his garden, where he can, without inconvenience, have the assistance of his wife or children, whereas the allotment field being frequently half a mile or a mile from his home, it becomes an effort to him after a hard day’s work for his employer to walk that distance to commence work for himself. They are, however, admitted to be of great use and are usually sought after eagerly. These allotments should not be too large; one rood is fully enough, but half a rood is more generally considered as much as a regularly employed man can do justice to. Throughout my district the labourers are not in this respect badly off. It is in the dwellings themselves where the improvement is required. 117. What are the causes of the bad state of the cottages ?—One of the principal ones is “absenteeism,” under which I include not merely non-residence of the owner in the county where his estate is situated, but that which is equally bad, viz., non-attention to the outlying portions of that estate. On many occasions when being struck by the poor state of the dwellings I have inquired who is the owner, I have been told he is some one living perhaps in the county, but rarely, if ever, visiting the village, or taking any heed as to the condition of the people. On the estate of Mr. Montague, in Yorkshire, less care is taken of the cottages than on any other large estate that I visited. The contrast between the cottages at Marston belonging to him and those in the adjacent village belonging to Lord Wenlock, was too marked to pass by without notice. In Marston (Evidence, No. 355), it is true, the actual rent paid is very small, but the tenements are wretched, the whole repair has to be done by the cottager, and so, the rent becomes, in fact, very high ; and as one of them toid me, “he” (the landlord) “does not care if they all tumble down.” On other portions of his estate there was a great want of cottages, many having been pulled down and scarcely a new one built. 118. Again, there are of course cases where the landowner’s income is either not sufficient or is so encumbered that it is not in his power to make even the smallest necessary improvement in the cottages, the property being so entailed that he is unable to sell any small portion for the benefit of the rest. 119. The evils of the old “close parishes” are not yet removed, though all must, I believe, admit now how mistaken were those who formerly for the sake of keeping down the rates or making a so-called model village, pulled down cottages and drove the poor to distant villages; and the cry is now universal for more cottages on the farms or near the place where the labour is required. The Union Chargeability Act is doubtless working beneficially, but till you can get rid of some of the other causes that operate against the interests of the cottagers very little good will be done. 120. If my colleagues have found the same strong feeling on this matter existing in their districts as I have in mine, it must surely show that the evil is a great one and much in want of a cure, and that it behoves owners of cottage property to bestir themselves. Even on the borders of a large park in Cambridgeshire, in two sets of cottages which I visited, the people dismissed me with the words, “T “ hope you'll be able to do something for us about the cottages.” They were certainly far too crowded, though good enough to look at outside. If such is the case under the eye of a large owner, how can you expect the outlying districts to be cared for ? 121. At various meetings where the cottage question has been discussed I have repeatedly said that it is a landlords’ question, and I feel it to be so, but it is no less my duty, in giving the result of an inquiry into the general condition of the agricultural labourer, to set forth plainly that which I find to be in want of improvement, and to call your attention to that which is on all sides said to be the principal cause of immorality and degradation among the working class, viz., the crowded and neglected state of the dwellings of the poor. : 122. I refrain from suggesting any remedy or discussing the need or the form of legislation on. the subject till I have completed my share in the inquiry in other parts of England and had opportunities of obtaining further evidence from localities that may differ materially from those which I have already visited. 123. But it is not only under the landowner that the cottages are bad, there is also a vast number owned by small tradesmen and others to whom they are a property that is expected to pay, and here it X 3 D. Cottages. Yorkshire. Gardens and allotments, Cause of bad cottages. Absenteeism, Enecumbered estates, Close parishes. Landlords’ question. Small owners of cottages. Owner’s care necessary. 106 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN. is found that often a rent is demanded in excess of that which a field-labourer can pay; the consequence is that he takes in lodgers, and crowds into as small a space as possible his perhaps numerous family. 124, The construction of the cottages varies as much as the cost. The cheapest good cottages are those mentioned above on Mr. Jonas’ farm, but I think those are quite exceptional. In the evidence there are many returns setting forth dimensions, &c. which may be of much use in further consider- ing the question, and I would particularly call your attention to the opinion of Mr. Dickenson as to the expediency of varying the size of cottages, instead of building all with three bedrooms. 125. Yet it all comes to this in the end, that let the cottage be as good as can be, if the owner will not take some pains to prevent overcrowding the evils arising from want of decency will surely grow. 126. Renvr or Cotracrs.—The following examples are taken from Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire, and represent districts differing in soil. 5 -CAMBRIDGE.—IsLE oF ELy. Whittlesey - - - - Littleport—1 room, ground ldo. above 2 rooms, ground 2 do up - Parson Drove Swavesey (part fenland), 2 Beduoons - - - Willingham—inadequate accommodation - - Royston (light lands)—4 rooms and garden - - Stapleford—many with only 1 room below and 1 above Duxford—2 rooms down - lor2up - - - - Fulbourn—2 rooms downs - 2 bedrooms - Cottenham (part fen)—Cottages good ; 3 ana. or more rooms of 12 to 14 ft. square. Dry Drayton—2 rooms down - - - - 2do. above - Substantial property of Mr. Warren, grocer, Cambridge. Earl of Hardwicke’s, Arrington— 1. Pump Hall Row, let by floors— Ground floor—1 sitting room - 1 bedroom - = and back place - Upper. floor—same size - - Whole cottage (smaller) - - 2. New Wimpole, also let by floors— Ground floor—2 rooms - - - Upper floor—2 rooms - Shudy Camps—Old and bad, and owned by non- residents. Steeple Morden—2 bedrooms - - - lower rooms, 6 ft. high or less _ 81. to 8/. per annum ; average, 73s. Von 10s. 4l. 10s. to 61. 10s., according to size of garden. ~ 61., with land. 32. 10s. Al. to 51, few with gardens. 1s. 3d. to 1s. 6d. a week. 31. to 51, per annum. ves Al, Al, with garden. 5/., with garden or allotment. ban to 61., no garden. hou 12s. a year, with garden. 21. 9s. 31. 3s. 2l. a year and 7s. for garden. 2l. 8s., with garden. 21. to 31, 10s., mostly with a garden. ben 10s. to 5/., often without garden. YORKSHIRE, East Rivne. Holderness : Burstwick—good Roos—2 rooms down 2do. upstairs Elsternwick - - Waghen : 1. 1 room, dairy, &c., eran aoe - 2 bedrooms - - 2. 1 room ground floor and back premises 2 bedrooms - - - - 8. 1 room ground floor - ~ = ldo. upstairs - - - A widow’s cottage. Humberside: Brantingham = - - - - Welton—2 rooms down - - - 2do. upstairs : Wolds: Bishop Burton (Mr. F. Watt), Ground floor, 15 ft. by 13 ft., 10 ft. high, | 2 bedrooms - Dalton (Lord Hotham), “Ground Boo, 2 rooms and 7 2 or 3 bedrooms - Millington—1 sitting room 14 ft square, and scullery and 1 bedroom - Wetwang—Ground, 1 room and lean-to - 2 rooms upstairs - 2 3/1. to 51. per annum. 5l. with garden, 3/. 10s. withuut garden. 41, with rood of land. \ 81., with garden and cow-paddock. Van, with garden. bo 10s. a year, with garden. Al. and 51., with garden or allotment of half a rood. 51, and 61. a year. 21. to 31. 10s., with garden or allotment. New, 61.; old, 21. to 42. mate Van to Tl. a year. © den to 61., some with garden. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. E. B, PORTMAN’S REPORT. 107 Yorxsuire, East Ripinc—cone. -D Vale of York and Howdenshire : Everingham (Lord Herries) — 1, 2 ground floor rooms and dairy, 3 bedrooms, * outhouses and cowhouse, and a rood of garden. Cost 1401. a piece. 2. Row of 7— 2 ground floor rooms, 3 bedrooms, out- 21. a year, with garden ; 12. or 21. additional if houses, &c. Cost under 1001. a piece. with land for cow. 7 Stamford Bridge—2 ground floor - 4l 2 bedrooms - - - \ se haa Escrick (Lord Wenlock)—Ground floor, ] or 2) living rooms and washhouse. he to 1s. 6d. a week, with garden or allotment. 2 and sometimes 3 bedrooms - - Bene gr ee ciaaia : : {au 3s. to 51. 9s., including rates, Barmby eee rooms 12 ft. by 9 ft. i 1s. Gd. a week, with garden. edrooms - - - : Howden - - - - - - 31, a year, without land ; 5.2 year, with 1 rood. YorKSHIRE, West RipINe. Selby : 1 living room, 12 ft. by 12 ft. - - Back kitchen, and 2 bedrooms above = Monk Frystone : 1 room downstairs, 14 ft. by 14 ft. - 1 room and a piece upstairs - - Airmin : Some 2, some 3, some 4 rooms. 1 low room, 12 ft. by 14 ft. - rae One eR Ta TER ye dette Or NO Bes by 1s. and 1s, 6d. a week, with good garden. bau to 54, with garden and outhouses. Yau to 54. A smaller room above” - - - - “Warmsworth : 1 downstairs room - = - - 1 or 2 upstairs, 14 ft. by 15 ft., 7 ft. 6 in, high - su totic nl yone, gardens, Xe, Ulley : 1. llowroom~ - - - - = 2 bedrooms - - - - - on 6d. a week. Small garden. Pitman. 2. 1 low room - - - 2 upstairs rooms = = = Agricultural labourer. bre 6d. a week. No garden. YorkKsuHire, Norte Ripine. Alne: A kitchen 10 ft. square - 7 - A back kitchen - - : - ¥ ano Al. a year. 2 bedrooms - - - = Burniston : : Cottages belonging to Duchy of Lancaster, small - 31. to 42. 10s. a year, with garden. Pickering : Rooms, 15 ft. by 12 ft. - - - - 21. 10s. to 52. a year. Helmsley : ; 2 bedrooms - - - 31. to 31. 10s., with garden, Egton: oiches “* - 5 Sou 10s. to 44. No garden. 1 or 2 bedrooms - - e - - Marten-in-Cleveland : Living room and pantry 2 bedrooms upstairs - - - Gilling: 1 sitting room 12 ft. by 15 ft. - - - see ee ; ; ; ~ 487. to 4., with small garden. edrooms above - - Sometimes 3 - - : rs Z Barton, near Darlington : Some with 1 bedroom and 1 sitting room, the ) r lapels also sometimes used as a bedroom. 3l. to 51., with garden, é&c. ome wi rooms - 5 , Inrare instances 4 rooms - - a Van. 10s. to 51, a year. Catterick : | a Good accommodation = - 2 2 2 12.'10s. to 42. 10s. Hutton Conyers : : | 1. Old and low, without chambers - « ¥ 10s. ‘ala yeu 2. With 3 bedrooms - 3 2 2 9 our circular of inquiries you have invited opinions as to the best mode of providing good Lands Im- re See eee and a the teeny of amending the Lands Improvement Act, in order to gain ent additional facilities for. raising money for that purpose. I have. called the’ attention of several land agents and managers of landed properties to this point, and subjoined are a few of the opinions which I ‘have been able to obtain. Most of them agree in condemning the present. system of raising money as X 4 Labouring Classes Dwell- ing Houses Act, Barrack for young men. No. of cottages per 100 acres. Coprolite diggings, Mr. Peel’s school. Haverhill, Slop-work. Market gardens, Potato feasts. Savings banks and benefit societies. 108 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN cumbrous and expensive. Great objection is taken to the necessity under s. 17. for advertising in the county papers the maximum amount proposed to be charged. I submitted the question to a landowner of great experience in the management of estates, who says,— : “TI think the advertising a great hindrance to loans ; it is a perfectly useless exposure of private affairs. The true course is to require notice to the heirs and trustees of the settlement, and to require their assent after examination of plans and estimates, making such estimate the maximum charge.” 128. With regard to the question of extending to rural districts the provisions contained in s. 4. of the Labouring Classes Dwelling Houses Act (29 Vict. c. 28.), he says,— “Loans to be charged on a settled estate ought to be really guarded against extravagance, and under the present system of careless inspection the heir is not duly protected. I advise you to suggest, that if it is applied to rural districts great additional precautions should be taken.” The Act last referred to is for facilitating and encouraging the erection of dwellings for the labour- ing classes in populous places. And by ss. 5 & 6 40 years are allowed for the repayment of advances, with interest not less than 4 per cent. per annum. The provisions of this Act were not familiar to the agents of country estates, Mr. Bidwell, land agent at Ely, read the Act, and writes,— “Tthink it a very good measure, and if you could get landowners in the rural districts to adopt the Act I think it might be very advantageously applied. * * * Cottages cannot be built with sufficient accommodation for a family, with three bedrooms, besides keeping-room and pantry, to pay 5 per cent. on the rents now paid for cottages in the rural districts which do not exceed 4/. a year ; so that, if money could be borrowed inexpen- sively at 4 per cent., it might answer the purpose of many landowners to take up a loan.” 129. The Rev. A. Mildmay (No. 357) refers to the plan of setting apart a building with dormitories for young men under the superintendence of a master and matron as one likely to meet the evil of over- crowding in any village where cottages are scarce, or too small for the requirements of a growing family. It is said to have been tried with success on Mr. Sotheron Estcourt’s estate. — 130. The number of cottages per hundred acres that is necessary for the requirements of the land depends on the nature of the farm. A farm entirely arable requires more than one partly pasture, partly arable, while a pasture farm requires the minimum quantity. I think, as a rule, two cottages may be taken to be sufficient in any case. MiscreLLANeEous. 131. There is in Cambridgeshire much employment for the young of both sexes of the agricultural labouring class at the coprolite works. These works are increasing in number, the price paid for the right of digging is from 80/. to 1007. an acre, it being agreed that the land shall be restored to the owner levelled and in a state fit for cultivation. The digging work is done by men and grown lads; boys are employed in wheeling barrows, and children of both sexes in sorting the fossils in the mills. Wages are high, boys can earn 8s. and 9s. a week, anda girl of 10 years of age 7s. a week by day work, but more by the piece, the payment for picking over the fossils being usually so much per ton (see evidence Nos. 49 and 50). The state of education among these children is. very low, and testimony is given as to the existence of gross immorality and indecency, no care being taken to separate the sexes at the mills. On inquiring in the neighbourhood of Sandy and Potton, and elsewhere, I could not learn that any steps had been taken by the Inspectors of factories to bring the provisions of the Workshops Act to bear on this industry, but it is probable that ere this the subject has occupied their attention. 132. Mr. Arthur Peel, M.P., of Sandy, has built a shed conveniently situated for a certain number of these works, which is used for dinner, when hot coffee, &c. are provided at a low price, and for evening schoo]. It is under the superintendence of Mr. Coulson, who reads to them at mealtimes, and. gives religious and secular instruction. I attended an evening meeting of these children, when upwards of 80 of both sexes were present, who had been regular attendants at the school and regularly employed at the works, and as far as I could judge from that single opportunity, I feel sure that Mr. Peel and his coadjutor have every reason to be satisfied with the success of their missionary labours among this otherwise neglected population. 133. At Haverhill, on the borders of Cambridgeshire and Essex, there is a manufacture of corduroy and “white work ” (No. 121). Besides employing a considerable number of hands in the town itself, this manufacture gives work to the women and girls in the neighbouring villages at their own homes, the stuff being sent out to be made up for the ready-made clothes dealers. ‘This gives a weekly earning of 2s. 6d. to 3s., or about the saine as could be earned by field work. The clergy.in this neighbourhood, as in the straw-plaiting districts on the borders of Bedfordshire, complain of the demoralising effect of this slop work. 134. In many parts of my district, such as Gamlingay and Potton in Cambridgeshire, and the districts of Yorkshire about Aberford, Cottingham, and the neighbourhood of the large manufacturing towns, there are tracts of market gardens. ‘These gardens are very highly rented; women and chil- dren are much employed in them, and the earnings by day for the latter vary from ls. to ls. 6d., and even 2s.; women and young persons can earn 3s. 6d. to 4s. a day (No. 283). In pea-picking they are paid 1d. per peck; a boy can pull 12 pecks a day, a girl seven pecks, giving an earning of 1s. and 7d, a day respectively. 135. ‘There is occasionally, in the market garden and potato districts, a feast given by the employer at the close of the season to all those who have worked for him; it is said that these feasts are bad things, but I see no reason why, under proper supervision, any harm should come out of them, and it is quite certain that any effort made by an employer for the harmless amusement of his labourers is always appreciated and tends much to cement the two classes together with a bond of good and kindly feeling one towards the other. 136. I have endeavoured to obtain opinions as to the relative merits of savings banks and benefit societies, and the respective working of each system. Mr. Dickinson, of Elsternwick, in Holderness, says there are many benefit societies in his neighbourhood and that they are better managed than formerly, there is less revelling and waste in the management at their public meetings, as well as a better notion of calculating and auditing the accounts, which he attributes to the progress of education, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. E. B, PORTMAN’S REPORT. 109 He does not know of any savings bank nearer than Hull, and does not think “much money is put away, “ as the people are fond of good living.” Mr. G. Angas (No. 173) thinks savings banks better than benefit societies. My. Tiffin, of Sledmere (No. 229), says that the labouring classes gladly avail themselves of benefit s6cieties and clothing clubs in that district. The order of Odd Fellows appears to be the popular one there ; by ‘their rules the payment to the sick and funeral fund is not less than 4d. a week for 10s. per week in sickness for the first six months, 7s. 6d. a week for the next six months, and 3s. 6d. a week so long as the sickness may continue after that time. r Mr. Awburn, of Hunmanby, was good enough to submit the question for discussion and investi- gation, and gives as the result that the opinion of the majority of those whom he consulted is in favour of savings banks, he says (No. 246), “ Benefit societies are compulsory inducements, and if not carried “ out according to the certified rules, members are at once debarred, and all monies paid are forfeited.” “ The savings bank at Hunmanby was established on December 1, 1862, and up to December 31, 1863, “ there were 168 depositors ; in March 1868 there were 257 depositors whose names have been on the “ books, and there are 30 belonging to the labouring class.” The savings bank at Howden was stated to be in a most flourishing condition, and to be largely patronised by the poor of the town and neighbourhood, including many agricultural labourers. At this bank 3 per cent. is paid to depositors, which is a higher rate than that paid at the Post Office. Savings Bank. At Selby there is a benefit society called the “ Free Gifts,” which is working well. There is no fund for sickness, but money is collected, at the rate of 3d. per member, in each case on the doctor’s certificate. The meetings of this society are never held at public-houses, but in a school-room, At Harewood, the savings bank is freely used by agricultural labourers. . It is difficult to arrive at the amount of money annually deposited or subscribed. Even in a village where a savings bank exists persons will frequently go to a distance to deposit their money, that their neighbours may not know how much they are worth, : 137. Rev. S. Surtees, of Sprotburgh, near Doncaster,. says (No. 328), that it is the rule and not the exception for a labourer to leave, at his death, 50/. to 1501, and he quotes a case of one man, who commenced life as a farm servant, and had brought up and started in life a family, who left 3501. Another who died at 35 years of age, an ordinary agricultural labourer, leaving 170/, These are, no doubt, special instances, but considering the high rate of wages in Yorkshire, the almost universal possession by the labourer of a garden or allotment, and in many cases of a cow-gate or other advantages, I see no reason to doubt that a man, commencing life as a farm servant and exercising ordinary prudence, can by the assistance of a savings bank lay up a fair provision for his old age. It has been 6ften stated in defence of a low rate of wages that the labourer in receipt of them has many allowances which give him advantages equivalent to those enjoyed by his brother in the high- waged districts. I feel that one fair test of the truth of this assertion will be to compare the savings of the two classes of labourer, wherever it is possible to obtain reliable information on the point. I have grave doubts as to the possibility of a man in receipt of 9s. or 10s. a week being able to avail himself to any extent of the benefits either of savings’ banks or clubs, but it may be that either from low cottage rents, cheapness of fuel or provisions, or from some real advantage in the allowances made by the employer, the prudent man ina low-waged district is able to show as good results as those quoted by Mr. Surtees; at any rate the inquiry during the present year should throw some light on the subject. ; 138, Having thus, as far as the time at my disposal will permit, gone through the various subjects on which you directed me to make inquiries, and having laid before you shortly the heads of evidence, I will reserve further comment till my final Report. I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient Servant, EDWIN B. PORTMAN, September 13, 1868. Assistant Commissioner. 21157. Y Savings of agricultural labourers, 110 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN REPORT.—By Mr. F. H. NORMAN. SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS OF REPORT. Ma. t Page | Page Mode of investigation - - . - - Hl Education after field work’commences - - - 115 : . Failure of night.schools - - - 7 ne ae I.—Laxzovr. Whether compulsion desirable - - - - 116: Private gangs - i: : * = We Necessity of technical education - - - = 4s ections to public, not applicable to private, , F angs - ree oo . Il.—Corraczs. Empl individually - = . ar : : een Gaines ey, ce : 7 . Condition of cottage accommodation - - = Employment of boys - : - : : e ‘Two classes of cottages - - - - mo 3s Numbers employed - x : . Se aie in close parishes - - - = gy How hired - : . < = ae Those in open parishes - - - = or performed by women and childre - -° 112 Ocuowne eka nee 3 . EB mA Thecane eet 2 S c ° : Deficiency in number of cottages in close parishes a Hours of work - = : S i : _ This deficiency is being remedied - - a gy Meal hours 7 és 7 7 = : Ist. -By building in close parishes - a = 5 Work done on Sundays - . = : ~ 2nd, By the increased use of machinery in towns - ,, Effect of labour on health s . = bie Should cottages be built on the farm or in the village? - ,, Surgical cases - - é s oe Farmers’ view = ee Shae 7 8 Effect on morals - - - - - 113 Labourers’ view - = [ = " o” Of females - Ra 2 . s : - |- Necessity for good cottages - - - = 4 Of boys - . 2 a 2 2 2 ee loi pai between landlord and farmer as to ,, No ill-treatment ~ = - iz 2 = Jetting cottages " 2 - = - oo» Scaring with gun specially injurious = -, - Se Difficult to adopt any fixed rule - Rte. a “NS Restrictions proposed on women’s labour - a? , Porticular planeitor cottages." a). = ee OB on boys’ labour - oe ) Faults usually found in the plans of cottages = - = % 2 " ’ ie Suggestions as to how cottages may be built on self- _,, : | __ supporting terms - aly - - a ‘ ‘ IL—Epucation. _| Number of cottages necessary per 100 acres. - a a Actual state of education - - - sr ay Power to borrow money for building - - Ke Defective - - - - ie - my As to removal of nuisances - - - Se Northamptonshire militia - le er 2 Can usually pass Standard III. when they leave school - Rdncatlan Wapioving* = y 5 eas IV.—ALLOTMENTS, -- Causes of defective education - - 2 5 Distance of allotments from village - - - 119 Indifference - - fie - a sy Amount of land held by each man -. - “oy Unwillingness to forego the children’s earnings - 114 Rent -. Reg - - me Lis Remedies = a - = oa Mode of cultivation, and time devoted to it - ao ay Half-day and alternate day system objectionable - ,, Produce of allotment consumed by family - Various suggestions - - - Br Sas Amount of produce - - - = fn is Examination before going to work, objections to - ,, General opinion on allotments - Sie is - . Up to what age the labour of children could be dis- ,, Opinions as regards the quantity of land to be held - 120 pensed with - - - ay As to distance from cottages me is re - Up to what age can the parents dispense with the ,, As to mode of cultivation - ' a ae : earnings of the children - - - 115 As to growing corn on allotments - - - : Probable increase of wages - ne ar Objections by farmers pres 7 2 ae 1, Ifa restriction imposed - - - cess No apparent effect upon wages - - - oe 2. If education improved -~ - “ ~~» Co-operative stores - - - ‘s 2 12 1 REPORT. To Her Masesty’s Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, ah . 1. I ow have the honour of submitting to you the evidence which, under your authority and in obedience to your instructions, I collected during my recent visit to Northamptonshire. 9. Before submitting to you a summary of the evidence, it is necessary that I should make one or two observations, in explanation of the general features of the county and of the course I pursued in examining it. 3. The character of the various districts of Northamptonshire, considered as affecting the employ- ment of women and children in agriculture, is generally uniform. ‘There are no such peculiarities existing in different portions of the county as to make it necessary for me to enter into an explanation of the mode of cultivation and of the employment of labour in these portions, as distinguished from the mode of cultivation and the employment of labour generally adopted throughout the county. It may therefore be assumed that the observations which I shall have the honour of making are intended to apply to tbe county in general, unless it is stated specifically that they are applicable to particular portions only. IN AGRICULTURE (1867): COMMISSION :—MR, F. H. NORMAN'S REPORT. 111 4. I was occupied in making enquiries in the county during portions of the monthé of Februar March, April, and May of this year, and the plan of itivestigation which I adopted was as follows a On my first arrival I made myself well acquainted with the general system of cultivation and the employment of labour in the centre of the county ; and having thus obtained a general impres- sion on fhese points, I visited in succession all the other portions of the county for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent, and in what particulars, the system pursued in. them. differed from the system pursued in the district I had first investigated. On going into a new district I collected and have recorded a sufficient amount of evidence to explain what, if any, were the peculiar features of that district. I also communicated with all persons, of all classes, who I was advised were able to give me useful suggestions upon any of the points connected with the enquiry ; and I hope and believe that all the opinions held by persons best qualified to form opinions on any of the subjects connected with this enquiry will be found recorded in some portion of the evidence. 7 5. I am desirous of expressing my thanks for the uniform courtesy and readiness to give assistance which I experienced from all persons with whom I felt it my duty to communicate. I will now proceed to lay before you a synopsis of the evidence Ihave collected, and in so doing I shall endeavour to compress it into as short a compass as I can consistently with clearness. I.—Lazour. 6. The system of working by private gangs is almost unknown in the county. In some cases, chiefly in the northern part of the county, a few women, young persons, or children are employed in weeding, picking twitch, or some similar employment ; and if the workers are children, one adult, labourer 1s engaged to superintend the work (Evid. 86). The number of persons so employed rarely exceeds six or eight ; in one case I heard of 15 being employed (Evid.71). The system does not appear to be objected to, either by those who are so employed (Evid. 79, 98, 99) or their parents (Evid. 80) ; the sexes do not generally work together, except in the case of young children (Evid. 80b), and as prac- tised in this county the system is not considered open to any objections other than those which may be urged: against the employment of women, young persons, and children individually (Evid. 19, 80b). Public gangs are objectionable on two grounds; when they work by the piece it is for the interest of the gang-master to overwork those under him, he being paid by the piece and they by the day; and when, they work by the day it is for his interest to engage children as young as the farmer can be persuaded. to take, the gang-master being paid by the farmer for the number of hands employed, and making his profit by the:difference between what he receives from the farmer and what he pays those he employs. Private differ from public gangs on both these points. ‘Che remuneration of superintending labourer does not depend upon the amount of work performed by the gang, therefore it is not for his interest to overwork them; and the profit of the farmer does not depend upon his engaging very young children; therefore he has no inducement to engage them before they are strong enough to perform the labour allotted to them. 7. Judging therefore from my experience in Northamptonshire, I do not think that it is necessary that private gangs should be subjected to legislative regulation. : 8. Although the employment of females in private gangs is rare, some few females are to be found in every village who are in the habit of going out to work in the fields. Those who do so are not so numerous in the southern portion of the county, where the lace trade is carried on, as in the northern. But in no part of the county are females generally employed in field labour. From the figures supplied me in answer to the printed: circulars of questions which I distributed, it appeared that in 19 parishes,* with a total population of 8,975, only 190 are employed in field work (Evid. 5). 9. On the whole it is quite clear that it is the exception rather than the rule for a woman to go to work in the field. Thus one farmer who had occupied a farm of 350 acres for 10 years says, “I have not ““ employed above three women since I have been here” (Evid. 24) ; another who farms largely says that he employs one or two old women in summer “ out of charity” (Evid. 76); and a third says, “I employ ‘‘ one woman pretty constantly ; she is an old friend, and comes for her own sake, not for mine. I employ “ a few women and girls (aged about 10) in haymaking, and sometimes one or two more in spudding “ thistles” (Evid. 155). ‘This is about the usual extent to which females are employed, although occasionally those employed are more numerous (Evid. 51, 71). 10. It may be said generally that all the boys in the agricultural villages are employed in the fields. They begin to work about the age of 8, a few as young as 7; and almost all of them have been to work before they are 10. The work performed by them up to the age of 10 does not generally occupy them all the year round, although it does so occasionally (Evid. 28) ; but after the age of 10 or 11 they are usually employed continuously throughout the whole year. The number employed, according to the return sent in tome, was as follows: in 19 parishest witha population of 8,975, 621 males below the age of 18 were employed in field work (Evid. 5). 11. These boys are usually employed by the farmer who employs their fathers, and when they want work they, or their fathers, usually apply to the farmer for it (Evid. 123, 126). Occasionally the farmers send for them (Evid. 151).. I was. told by some witnesses that undue pressure is used by farmers in order to compel the labourers to let their children come to work (Evid. 92), but I was unable to find a single instance where such pressure had actually been exercised, although I made numerous enquiries among the labourers themselves to ascertain what the truth was. The most important evidence I received on the point was that of Mr. Barton who, speaking of his school-farm at Wicken, says, that although the boys “get 4d. a day with me for four hours work, many go’ to the farmers for 3d. a day “ for 10 hours; which means that the parents dare not refuse the farmers when their children are “ required ” (Evid. 179). = Statute fairs are still held annually in the large towns, but are gradually falling into disuse. * Th arishes are Boughton. Chapel Brampton Church Brampton Cotterstock, Cottingham, Cranford, Deene, Eydon, Hetheringhey, Laiipor,, Oxaiatnns, Marholm, Middleton-Cheney, Ravensthorpe, Sywell, Thorpe-Malsor, Thornby, Watford, Welford. i ef, ’ + These parishes are enumerated in the note to paragraph 8. Y¥ 2 E. Mode of investigation. Private gangs. Objections to public, not ap- plicable to private, gangs. Employment of females individually. Numbers employed. Employment of boys. Numbers employed. How hired. E. Work per- formed by women and children. Wages. Distance from work. Hours of work. Meal hours. Work done on Sundays. Effect of labour on health. Surgical cases. 112 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 12, The work performed by women, young persons, and children in the fields is as follows :— In Spring. Picking weeds, gathering stones, and hoeing. : In Summer. Spudding thistles, haymaking ; in harvest they rake, make bands, and help to tie the corn up, when their husbands or fathers are engaged in reaping; besides gleaning on their own account. In Autumn. After harvest women and young children (under 10) are very little employed; they are occasionally employed in storing root crops. In Winter. Women are sometimes employed in picking stones and cleaning turnips for the stock. Children very seldom employed. 13. In addition to this work the small boys, and occasionally girls, are employed in scaring birds. This occupies them from about the 20th February to the 1st week in May; again for about three weeks in in summer before the corn is ripe, and for about three weeks in Autumn after the wheat is sown. They are also employed in “ dibbling” beans and occasionally wheat in the spring, and in singling turnips in summer. At the age of 10 or 11 boys begin to go with the team, although few farmers think they are useful for this purpose until the age of 12. When old enough to drive horses, one boy is usually employed with the team all the year round, principally in ploughing. When engaged in ploughing the team goes out at about 7 a.m.: they stop work for about half an hour at 9.30 or 10, and then go on working until 2 p.m. or 2.30 p.m. when they return home; the men and boys then have their dinners, and after that are engaged in cleaning the stable, cutting chaff, or doing some similar jobs in the yard. With some farmers it is the practice for teams to come in to be fed at dinner time, and then go out again and remain out until 4 p.m. (Evid. 163), but the former is the more general practice. 14. The usual wages for a common day labourer are 12s. a week; in the south, around Towcester and Brackley, they are only 11s. (Evid. 178); and in the north they are 13s. or 14s. (Evid. 23). A great deal of work is done by the piece ; and Mr. Pell calculates that where wages are at 12s., a good labourer will earn by piece work a sum sufficient to bring his average weekly wages up to 15s. 10d. including all allowances (Evid. 13b). Women usually receive 8d. or 10d. a day, and in the north 1s. (Evid. 23). Boys when they first go to work at the age of 8 or 9 receive 3d. or 4d. a day; in the north 5d. or 6d. ‘These wages are gradually raised as the boys get older. 15. Asa general rule the villages are conveniently situated with respect to the work to be done. From the answers to the printed circulars I distributed, I inferred that in the case of half the villages spoken of the labourers had to walk less than one mile to their work (Evid. 5). Cases where they have to walk as much as three are certainly rare. Where this is the case the time occupied in walking to work is sometimes reckoned as part of the day’s work (Evid. 104). When speaking of cottages hereafter I shall have occasion to give my reasons for thinking that whatever inconvenience may exist in this respect is likely to be remedied; and on the whole it does not appear that legislative interference is called for on this point. 16. The usual hours of work for labourers who work by the day are from 6 to 6 in summer, and and from 7 until dark in winter. There are very few exceptions to these hours ; and the hours allotted to meals are half an hour at 9.30 for breakfast or luncheon, and one hour for dinner in the middle of the day. When the labourers work long hours, as at haymaking, they usually have another half hour’s rest at 4 or 4.30 p.m. 17. No work is done on Sundays except what is considered abolutely necessary, such as feeding horses, bird scaring, the shepherd’s work, and milking (Evid. 22). Iam told that on one farm the man who looks after the horses has to come twice on Sunday for 14 hours each time; the man who feeds the beasts comes twice for about 3 hours each time ; the shepherd’s work in the lambing season must occupy him all day, but another man usually does a portion of it for him (Evid. 43). This nearly corresponds with the information I received in another district (Evid. 65). The boys who are employed in scaring birds usually have to come on Sunday; occasionally they are relieved for a part of the day by another member of the family, so as to have an opportunity of going to church (Evid. 53). 18. It is the almost unanimous opinion of all classes that the labour performed by women and children in the fields is not injurious to them. The evidence of Dr. Paley is peculiarly valuable upon this point. Dr. Paley has been physician to the hospital at Peterboro for 26 years, where nearly 2,000 cases pass through his hands each year, chiefly from the agricultural districts. He gives it as his opinion that the diseases which attack the agricultural population most frequently are rheumatism, inflammation of the air tubes, and asthma (with bronchitis). A record has been kept at the hospital of the ages of all the patients who suffered from these diseases ; and from a reference to the record (Evid. 14) it may be seen that the ages between 5 and 20 (which may be taken as the limits of the ages within which children and young persons are employed in the fields) are particularly healthy. No doubt old men are subject to rheumatism (Evid. 47); but Dr. Paley gives it as his opinion that rheumatism occurring late in life cannot be said to be the result of exposure in early life when the patient has been healthy during the intervening years. 19. As regards surgical cases Dr. Walker (App. 15) says that a certain number of cases of accidents are brought into the hospital at Peterboro’ every year; that horse accidents are not so frequent as accidents arising from machinery, and that the latter usually occur to children about the farmyard carelessly playing with machinery. On the whole he thinks that field labour is rather healthy than otherwise. Dr. Francis, of Northampton, writes to me as follows :— “My. medical experience of the poor has been derived from my connexion with the Northampton Infirmary, to which I have been physician 13 years. Nearly 5,000 patients, derived mostly from within a radius of 20 miles, annually enter the infirmary cither as out or in patients. Of these the majority are women and children, and among them only an insignificant number work in the fields. I cannot call to mind a single instance in which any physical injury could be said to have arisen from such labour. The experience of the senior surgeon of the infirmary, who has held office there upwards of 80 years, and of the house surgeon, who has known it during the last 6 years, is similar to my own on this point.” (See too Evid. 16.) a s IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :~-MR. F. H. NORMAN’S REPORT. 113 . 20. Although field labour is not thought to be injurious to the health of women and children, it 1s considered to have a bad moral effect upon them. The mother of a family must neglect her children and her home duties, and her husband’s comforts cannot be attended to. Upon young women the effect is said to be most demoralizing ; they get into loose and disorderly habits, and are rendered* unfit for domestic servants and badly trained for labourers’ wives (Evid. 19). One woman who had worked in the fields herself, told me that she would not allow her daughters to go to work ; “ they learn what they ought not to learn and it is bad for their constitution ” (Evid. 28). A clergyman tells me “ We never like to take back to a mixed school (boys and girls) a boy who has been out to * work with men” (Evid. 47) ; and a labourer says, “ My boy shall not go to work until he is 14,” - “Tf he does he is sure to have a depraved nature and catch up all that is bad.” - + + + + « “There are three boys at work on the farm, and when they are altogether their “ language is very bad” (Evid. 65). Iam told also that the women who work in the fields are the lowest of the low (Evid. 152), and that when women go to work “ The cottages are invariably dirty, “‘ the children run half wild, and the money which they earn seems to do no good ; in fact, they are ‘© generally the poorest families in the place” (Evid. 168). 21. Ido not think that the children are exposed to ill treatment ; and the only employment in which they are engaged which appears to be attended with special injuries is the practice of sending small boys to scare with fire-arms; accidents occasioning loss of limb and occasionally loss of life not unfrequently occur from this cause (Evid. 15). 22. It was the opinon of some witnesses with whom I communicated that the employment of females in field work should be prohibited by law. No doubt it should be discouraged; but I think that, as respects the County of Northampton, their employment is not sufficiently general or the cause of such decided evils as to call for parliamentary interference (Evid. 18). 23. Restriction upon children’s labour may be advocated upon two grounds, Ist, on the ground of health; and 2ndly, for the purpose of providing the children with education. I think it is clearly proved by the medical evidence | have above referred to, that no restriction is necessary upon the first of these grounds. What may be necessary as regards education may be explained more clearly after the state of education among children and young persons has been considered. I]._—Epvucation. 24. In order to test the sufficiency of the education it was necessary for me to lay down some standard of what amount of education was sufficient. I usually stated that I considered the children of the agricultural poor sufficiently educated if they could read a newspaper with ease and fluency, write a letter, and understand a tradesman’s bill. Judged by this standard, it was the opinion of five out of the six Boards of Guardians which I visited that the state of education was defective (Evid. 1). The only place where the Board of Guardians considered the education sufficient was Oundle; and I regret to say that even in this instance my personal enquiries led me to the conclusion that the opinion of the Board was not well founded. I also examined the roll of the Northampton Militia, and the result of my examination was to show that from the year 1860 to the present time, between 39 and 49 per cent. of the recruits enlisted each year could neither read or write (Evid. 10). I should mention that the recruits were entered as not being able to read and write, if on being enrolled they made a mark instead of signing their names. These recruits are not taken from the agricultural classes alone, but I have no reason to think that the result would have been more favourable to education if they had been. It is the opinion of the school teachers of Northampton that at the age of 9, when boys usually leave school altogether, they can pass Standard III. of the revised code well (Evid. 11). This, however, must not be taken as a test of the state of ‘education of the children and young persons actually engaged in work. As soon as they go to work they begin to forget what they learnt at school, and after having been at work some years they probably know far less than they did when they first began to work. It was my practice to carry a 2nd Standard reading book in my pocket, with which I tested the reading powers of those I found at work in the fields ; I found that very few of them could read it fluently. It is however the general opinion that the state of education is improving (Evid. 17), although it does not appear from the returns of the Northamptonshire ‘Militia that any great improvement has taken place during the last seven years (Evid. 10). 25. The defective state of education is certainly not owing to the want of schools, for- schools are maintained in almost every village,* and the villages are very numerous ; nor is it, except when the parent is out of work, due to inability on the part of the parents to pay the weekly charge for the child’s schooling; but it is mainly due to two causes. 26. Ist. Indifference on the part both of the parents and the employers. As a general rule neither the one or the other is willing to make any sacrifice to obtain an education for the children ; (Evid. 19). No * The following paragraph appeared in the Times of April 10, 1868 :—— Church education in Northamptonshire. Adopting the data of the clergy list, the number of parishes, chapelries, and other legally constituted districts in Northamptonshire, may be taken as 315, and from all these, with the exception of eight only, returns have been received in answer to the statistical enquiry of the National Society, made throughout England and Wales. There are in Northamptonshire 53 parishes and chapelries which have not National or parochial schools situated within their respective bounderies, but only 13 of these are not reported as having provision tor church week-day education; and arranging these according to their populations, it is ascertained that eight have fewer than 100 inhabitants, and five have more than 100 and fewer than 300. There are 16 of the remaining 48 parishes which are supplied with church week-day education by schools in either adjoining or joint parishes for school purposes, and in not one of these parishes does the population exceed 500. There are 24 parishes out of 5B above-named which yet remain to be considered ; these are supplied with cottage or dame’s schools, more or less under clerical superintendence, and classifying these: with reference to their populations, two are found to have fewer than 100 inhabitants, 12 have more than 100 and fewer than 200, and the remaining 10 have more than 200 and fewer than 400. Passing now from the supply and absence of church schools to the numerical state of church education at the present time as compared with what it was 10 years ago, the following figures represent the cases :—1856-7, the number of week-day scholars in the church schools of Northamptonshire was 19,104, or 1 in 11°6 of the entire population of the county at that time ; 1866-7, the number of such scholars had risen to 21,529, or 1 in-11 of the population of the county in December 1866, this population having been estimated by the Registrar General, In © 1856-7 the number of church evening school scholars was only 1,817 ; in 1866-7 the number had risen to 3,558,” Y 3 RAR AR aR Re RO RARAARARARRARAR nea a 8 E. Effect on morals of females, of boys. Noill treatment. Scaring with gun specially injurious. Restrictions proposed on women’s labour ; on children’s labours. Actual state of education. Defective. Northampton- shire Militia. Can usually pass Standard III. when they leave school. Education improving. Causes of defective state of education, Indifference. Unwillingness to forego the children’s earnings, Remedies. Half-day and alternate day system ob- jectionable, Various suggestions. Examination before going to work. Objections to. Up to what age the labour of children could be dispensed with, 114 : EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN doubt when asked whether they value education, almost all labourers will say that they do; but. it is quite clear that they do not attach any such importance to it as to induce them to make a sacrifice to obtain it. This indifference is not universal ; some labourers do really value education ; but some, if not many, are to be found in every parish who may be fairly complained of on account of their demo- ralization and utter absence of affection towards their children (Evid. 147, 169); and even in one parish where, owing to the liberality of the proprietor, the poor certainly possess peculiar advantages, it does not appear that they send their children to school more regularly or keep them there longer than in other parishes. (Evid. 34). It is also said that this indifference on the part of the parents leads to great irregu- larity of attendance; “they come for a fortnight and stay away:for a month on frivolous excuses” (Evid. 44). This complaint was frequently made to me. or 27. 2nd. The second cause of the defective education is the unwillingness of the parents to forego the earnings of their children. This causes the children to leave school before they can possibly have acquired a sufficient education. It is the opinion of the school teachers that boys begin to leave school at about the age of 8, and leave altogéther at 9 (Evid. 11). ort es i The Rey. W. L. Collins writes as follows:— = “ Judging’ from my experience as diocesan inspector I should say that the great majority of children leave the school before they reach the highest class. I have taken the returns of 85 village schools which are under inspection.in this county,'and I find that the average age of the second elass, taking the first as the highest, is 8 years and 9 months.” (Evid. 143.) ——¢ . By going to work at an early age the children get into the habit of attending school irregularly, and will not return to school again although they may be out of work for weeks together (Evid. 78). 28. It would be extremely difficult to apply: either the half-day system or the alternate day system to agricultural labourers. ‘The former would be inconvenient on account of the distances the children would often have to go from work to school, and the time which would be thus lost, in addition to the great inconvenience caused. to farmers by having the children’s labour during half the day only. The alternate day system would be inconvenient, because there are few places where the population is sufficiently numerous to supply two relays of children to work on alternate days; and if this could not be done, and’ work was to be consequently suspended; serious inconvenience might result to farmers at particular seasons of the year. In consequence of the great difficulty in compelling children actually engaged in agricultural labour to devote. any considerable portion of their time to school, it seems that their education can only be effected by devoting a longer period of time to school attendance before field labour commences. For the purpose of meeting thé education difficulty various plans were suggested. f : = “ee , - 29. It was thought by some that no child should be permitted to go work until he or she had passed an easy examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic, or had attended school during a certain period (Evid. 19,21. I desire particularly to call attention to the suggestion of these gentlemen). The objection to this plan appears to me to consist in the difficulty of granting the certificates. If the power of earning wages is to. depend upon the passing an examination, some arrangement should be made by which examinations should be frequently held ; it would, be difficult for Government Inspectors to hold very frequent examinations, and the power of holding the examinations and of grant- ing or withholding the cértificate could not rest with the schoolmaster or the clergyman of the parish without exposing them to great unpopularity (Evid. 45). This plan would also-often have -the effect of placing an intelligent child im a worse position ‘than a stupid child. . An intelligent child might perhaps pass an examinanation at the age of 7 which a stupid child would fail to pass until the age of 10, but it seems hard that. the former should consequently lose the advantage of three years’ schoo ing. It was also pointed out to me that owing to want of intelligence some-children would never be able : to pass the examination, and that at any rate in their case some concession would have to be made. The principle upon which this proposal rests appears to be sound; if the parents are deprived of the child’s wages and the farmer of the child’s labour until some specified amount of education has been obtained, it will be for the interest both of the parents and the farmer to use every means to advance the child’s education. It was also suggested to me that a certain amount of secular education should be given on Sundays (Evid. 45), that the compulsory system, might be adopted at all times, when the child was not actually engaged in some employment with which school attendance would interfere (Evid. 78), or that a system of rewards for regular attendance and proficiency should be adopted, as by conferring some Government appointments upon those who distinguished themselves in the school examinations (Evid. 128). — 30. Upon this point the Rev. W. Clarkson of Market Harborough writes as follows :— $i _ “ There are two objections to the half-time system working as well in agricultural as in manufacturing dis- tricts ; (1). Being in the open air all the morning, they are more likely to be sluggish and sleepy than’ those working under cover. (2). They often work a considerable way frour any town, and would have to walk some miles after working before they got into the school. The plan which found most favour with those t6 whom I spoke on the subject was this’; let the children be kept at school altogether until.a certain age (10 or 11) and for the next three yéars be required to attend school during those months when they would not be ated so much in the fields ; during these months (say six altogether) Jet them work and receive wages.” At present the attendance is only slightly more numerous in winter than in summer. From the returns sent in to me it appeared that 1 in 11°61 of the population were in average attendance in sum- mer, and 1 in 10°84 in winter. But these numbers are in addition to night schools (Evid. 8, 9). 31. It is very important to ascertain up to what age children could be spared from field labour. First, as to the requirements of farmers; it appears that in the 19 parishes (mentioned above), with a population of 8,975, 8 boys under 8, 80 between 8 and 10, and 10 girls between 8 and 10, are employed in field work (Evid. 5). The principal employment of young boys is scaring birds; but it is the opinion of some gentlemen well. acquainted with agriculture, that this operation can be. more economically performed by other agencies, as by a big boy who, if supplied ath a hoe, could always employ himself advantageously, or by a man with a gun (Evid. 20, 21, 37, 71, 177). Weeding can be & * 4 4 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. ¥, H. NORMAN’S REPORT. 115 done more effectively and possibly more economically by men than by children (Evid. 67). Some farmers. think that children might be spared until,the.age of 12 (Evid. Ql and 35) ; ee Tern the majority think they could be spared a to the age of 10; this was the age fixed upon by the Northampton Chamber of Agriculture (Evid. 4); while the ages fixed by the Boards of Guardians were 10, 9, and at Towcester 8 and in winter 9 (Evid. 1). The restriction of labour up to the age of 10 could hardly I think throw any serious additional expenditure on the farmers; as pointed out to me by one farmer “at the worst it would only cost a farmer 6d. a week more to get a boy over 10 to do the ‘* work now done by a boy under 10,” and I don’t think that this additional expenditure can be con- sidered as serious, especially.as it would necessarily purchase more efficient labour. I found great difficulty in getting any precise information from the labourers as to the advantage they derived from the labour of their children. Few labouring men can say exactly how long any one of their children has been at work in any given year, or how much he or she has earned. However I learned from one witness (Evid. 90) that children between the ages of 8 and 10 years are employed from 10 to 12 weeks a year and earn 2s, a week; another says that no child under 9 earns more than 15s. a year (Evid. 25) ; another “that most boys under 10 would never be able to earn more than 40s. a year” (Evid. 162). However this may be, all are agreed that a boy has to be far better fed when at work than when at school; thus, one woman told me that it cost her 20s..a year more to keep a boy when he went to work than when he went to school (Evid. 162); another says that it costs 1s. a week more (Evid. 53); another that she saved 6d. a week out of. her boy’s wages of 2s. a week (Evid. 42). ' Upon this point the Rev. W. Clarkson writes :— ‘. “It is thought by some well competent to judge that the children’s working in the fields’ does not really make a difference of 1s. in their (¢.e., the parents’) week’s expenses, for the reason that though they want and ought to have a shilling’sworth more food, they do not in fact get it ; it is not given them by their parents.” 32. I doubt whether the children are usually insufficiently fed when at work. If this were the case, I think the fact must have been noticed by medical men. Then the additional outlay for clothes must be added. In the estimate of the expenditure of a poor man’s family, the clothes of the father who was an invalid are put at 1/. per annum and those of a boy of 15 who was at work at 4J. (Evid. 12). It is. quite clear therefore that the net gain arising from a boy’s labour up to the age of 10 must be exceedingly small. 33. But when considering how far the earnings of the children could be dispensed with, certain other points must be kept in view. ‘The income and expenditure of the whole family must be considered, and no doubt if children were prevented from: going to work up to a certain age the wages of those just above the age fixed upon would rise; and in all probability if the education were improved the boys when they were allowed to go to work would earn more than they do at present. In addition to this it must be borne in mind that the mere fact of the: employment of the wife and children has a tendency to depress the wages of the husband. The earnings of each family must be sufficient to support the family, or the population would decrease, probably by emigration. If the wife and children do not earn wages, the whole of the amount necessary for the support. of the family must be earned by the father; but if it is customary for the wife and children to contribute to the earnings of the family, the father would pro- bably be willing to accept-a smaller remuneration for his labour than he would accept if he expected no assistance from his wife and children.’ None’ of these points must be lost sight of in considering the effect upon the earnings of the family of a restriction imposed upon the labour of the children. The effect of moderate restriction would probably be that what was lost in wages by the younger children would be made up for by the increased earnings of the father and of the elder ones. 34. These considerations lead me to the conclusion that the labour of children in the fields might. be dispensed with up to the age of 10, without interfering seriously with the present system of cultivation on the one hand, or encroaching too much on the earnings of the family on the other.: If this prohi- bition was enforced the numbers of those now at work in the 19 parishes from which I received, statistics, whose employment would become illegal, would amount to 88 boys and 10 girls out of a population of 8,975. If the labour of children were prohibited up to the age of 10, the parents would be unable to avail themselves of their children’s earnings, and one of the main causes of the present defective state of education would be removed ; and it is the opinion of the school teachers that a child who attended school regularly at least 200 days.a year from the age of .5 to the age of 10, would fairly reach Standard V..of the revised -code (Evid. 11). fe oe fe Ss ae 35. It is very generally thought -that the education of children will be altogether insufficient unless some means are provided by which a portion of their time may.be devoted to school attendance after they go to work, and that this attendance can only be obtained by means of night schools. Night schools have already been established in most parishes; they are usually held during four or five of the winter months only, and for two or three nights per week. The statistics supplied to me show that in 12 parishes,* with a population of 7,302, there are 305 scholars on the register, and 237 in average attendance at their night schools (Evid..9). ade Sie aus ata 36. {Inthe opinion of more than half the clergy the night schools as at present conducted are either unsuccessful (i.e. few attend them) or unsatisfactory (ze. those who do attend are indifferent) 7 The parishes here referred to are Blisworth, Chapel ‘Brampton, Cottingham, Deene, Eydon, Lamport, Marholm, Pytchley, Ravensthorpe, Spratton, Thornby, Watford. "+ The following is an extract from ‘a letter addressed to me by the Rey. T. Hutton of Stilton :—-“ Good men everywhere are “ recommending night schools; but very few persons seem to consider the practical difficulties connected with them ; when you have “, got the school and the teacher how are you to get the lads to attend? If so many attendances at: night or ‘day school during « the preceding six months were required as a condition of employment, this probably would help to fill the night-schools during the «+ winter months ; but how we are to.get masters for night-schools Iam unable to say., Tomy mind the whole subject. is beset. with “ insuperable difficulties, and the more I think of ‘it the more I am inclined. to the opinion that we shall be obliged to look to the “ day school for a solution of them... . : . .-‘On one point my mind is pretty well made up; Ibelieve compulsion in. * some form or.other,to be absolutely necessary. for the education of- the poor:-:. To aceomplish this Lord Shaftesbury’s:suggestion “ of making so.many school attendances during the previous six months a condition of employment seems to me to be best. But as regards the whole subject-I am tw statu pupillari.” The difficulties of carrying on a night school are well pointed out in two letters addressed to the Editor.of the‘ Northampton Herald,” on the 2nd and 16th May last, by“ A Village Parson.” I am authorized to say that Mr. Hutton was the author of these letters. Y4 : Up to what age can the parents dispense with’ the earnings of the children. Probable increase of wages (1) if a re- striction imposed ; (2) if educa-. tion improved, Education after field work commences. Failure of night schools, Whether compulsion desirable ? Necessity of technical education. Condition of cottage ac- commodation, Two classes of cottages. Those in close parishes. Those in open parishes. 116 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN (Evid. 17), Again, it is stated by the school teachers that “night schools, as found in most country “parishes, are deemed of very little use” (Evid. 11). At the same time it is thought that night schools if differently managed might be made useful. Mr. Lightfoot thinks that this might be done if the Privy Council paid for results without requiring certificated teachers. Country parishes as a rule cannot support certificated teachers, but they can provide sufficient teaching power for night schools (Evid. 17). And Mr. Graves states that many of the school teachers think that a child leaving school at 8 or 9, and being able to pass Standard III., might by subsequent attendance, &ec. at night school for three evenings a week for the greater part of the year, be able to reach Standard VI. (Evid. 11). It seems that the amount of school attendance here mentioned might be obtained without interfering with the present system of labour. Mr. Graves also points out the chief difficulties which are at present met with in carrying on night schools, and suggests remedies for them. 37. It is thought by many that it will be impossible to provide a sufficient education for the agricul- tural poor unless the principle of the Factory Act is extended to the agricultural population, ‘and a certain amount of attendance at school is required from those actually employed in farm labour. Thus the Rev. A. J. Empson proposed “that all boys over 8 and up to 13 years of age should be “ compelled to attend an evening school at least 40 nights a year, and produce a certificate of such “ attendance every spring before they are allowed to be employed for the ensuing year” (Evid. 175). On the other hand, the principle of compulsion is objected to by many witnesses whose opinions on matters of education are entitled to the highest respect (Evid. 17, 27, 142, 145, 147,170). These gentlemen think that the object in view might be satisfactorily attained by an extension of the present voluntary system, and it certainly seems to me most imprudent to attempt compulsion in opposition to such opinions as these. 38. It was finally pressed upon me that the education of the future agricultural labourer could not be considered complete, unless a certain amount of education in the particular trade in which the future career was to be passed was also provided (Evid. 20), and that for this purpose it was very necessary that children should be early accustomed to field labour. No doubt this is important, but the necessary dexterity could probably be acquired if the field labour commenced at the age of 10. Between the ages of 8 and 10 great progress can be made in school work ; whereas very little can be done in the field. The only instance in which I have found that any effort had been made to provide boys with instruction in the art of cultivation was in the case of Mr. Barton’s school-farm at Wicken. This, however, appears to have resulted in the boys leaving school earlier than they otherwise would have done on account of their increased dexterity as farm labourers. ‘Their book learning therefore has to a certain extent been sacrificed (Evid. 179). IlI.—Corraczs. 39. The condition of the cottage accommodation varies so much in different parishes that it is almost impossible to frame any description of it which can be taken as generally applicable without entering into details which would be too long and too minute for insertion in this Report. 40. Cottages may, however, be divided into two main classes, Ist, those to be found in close sen ; and 2ndly, those to be found in open parishes. I will describe generally each of these classes of cottages. : 41. 1st. In close parishes a great number of new cottages are being or have recently been built. These are excellent. They are built of stone or brick, roofed with slate or tiles; the living room is about 12 feet by 14; behind this is a kitchen of rather smaller dimensions. None of these cottages have less than two bed-rooms, most of them have three, and a scullery in the house. The water supply and drainage are usually excellent; all have gardens of from 20 to 40 poles adjoining the cottage a pigstye, wood or coalhouse and privy out of the house, and usually an oven in the house or access to an oven adjoining it. Besides these newer and more improved cottages there are a great number of old cottages belonging to the landowners in the close parishes, which, although not so complete in their accommodation, are nevertheless in good repair, wholesome and comfortable. The rent of these cottages is from 1s. to 2s.a week; some of the older. ones are let for as little as 9d. or even 6d. per week. ; 42. 2nd. In open parishes cottages of every descri tion may be found; but rarely, i j accommodation sufficient to provide for the health, oannkark mh morals of the Dita = parish (Cottingham) 1 find that “the cottages are built of stone and thatched ; average size 12 ft. by “14; sometimes divided into two rooms upstairs, sometimes not; a small pantry cut off from this space “ down stairs; ventilation generally obtained by leaving the door open. The drainage is everywhere bad « The number of bed-rooms is generally insufficient; the water supply very good everywhere ; most “ of the cottages have half a rood of garden, and most of them an outhouse or hovel. But very many “ are without privies, and where these exist they are generally badly constructed and almost always “ without drainstothem. . . . . . ~ ~ Inmany cases there is only one privy tofour or five fiotiece “ and in one instance there is only one to seven houses. Many of the proprietors live at a distance : “ rent about 3/. a year.” 3 43. In another parish (Barnack) I am told by the clergyman that “a few co “ landowner, viz., 20 in 100. These are low rented and Ena by the been Gee eat ‘ widows or eldest sons. Many of them are too small and some in bad repair. The rest belong to “ 26 small owners. Some are good enough, rent 4/.; others are indifferent; but some are disgraceful “ out of repair, not weather proof, with no conveniences or even a back door; without staircase and ‘‘ ascended by ladders into the bed-rooms, necessarily unhealthy and a disgrace to civilization I “ cannot get them reformed; the owners being at a distance, poor, or utterly careless.” The rent of cottages in open parishes is often if not generally higher, notwithstanding the deficiency in accommo- dation, than that of cottages in close parishes. It often reaches 4/. or even 5/, a year (Evid. 127). 44. I think that this may be taken as a fair description of the state of things which exists in : : : ; 0 parishes, As a specimen of the mode in which small speculators operate in cottage building, I may alee IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR, F. 11, NORMAN'S REPORT. 117 to the circumstances mentioned to me by one witness, he says, “ Four cottages stood. together in the “ village near a malt kiln. They had gardens; a speculator bought them. He turned the kiln into “ six cottages and built five othets on the ground which had been used for gardens (Evid. 133). 45. In a few villages are also to be found cottages which have been built upon the waste, before the enclosurés took place. These are usually, but not always (Evid. 171), of the worst description (Evid. 145.) The owners are common day labourers; the cottages descend from father to son (Evid. 170), 46. In almost all villages (certainly in all open villages) instances are to be met with of cottages seriously overcrowded, either with members of the family or with lodgers. ‘The worst case I met with was one where a cottage, measuring 16 feet by 18, was inhabited by grandfather aged 84, father, mother, and 11 children, 14 in all ; and at the time when the cottage was visited by my informant the mother of the family was engaged in washing clothes in the only living room. Other instances of overcrowding are to be found in (Hvid. 19, 63, 86, 134, 138). 47, Although the cottages in most of the close parishes are sufficient in point of internal accommodation to meet the requirements of the labourers, it must be observed that in point of numbers they are very frequently, if not generally, quite insufficient. The number of labourers necessary for the cultivation of the land in the parish is far more than the number which can be accommodated in the village, the result of course is that many labourers have to go two or three miles to work (Evid. 134). On the other hand, the superior convenience experienced by the labourers who have only to walk a short, compared with those who have to walk a long distance to work, enables the owners of the close parishes to obtain all the best and most respectable labourers as the tenants of their cottages, the remainder being thrust away into the open parishes. This deficiency, however, in the number of cottages, is now being remedied. ‘The Union Chargeability Act undoubtedly offers an inducement to landlords to place their cottages in the positions which may be considered most convenient with reference to the work to be done ; some of the families are consequently leaving the open parishes. Again, many of the open parishes in the southern part of the county are occupied by a large population of shoemakers. The shoe trade, has recently been to a considerable extent removed from the country villages to the towns, in consequence of the increased use of machinery; some portion of the shoemakers follow the ma- chinery to the large towns. Thus, in consequence of the double action of (1) the increased building in close parishes, and (2) the additional use of machinery in towns, a large proportion of the inhabi- tants are leaving the open parishes, and numbers of the worst cottages in them are left unoccupied (Evid. 128, 156). 48. The question frequently arises as to what is the most desirable position for cottages; on the land to be cultivated or in the village? Farmers almost invariably prefer the former, in order that they may have their men more under their contro], and that no time may be lost in going to and from the work (Evid. 108, 119). It was also pointed out to me that where the cottage is near the farm the farmer can superintend and take an interest in the welfare of the labourer’s family, which it is impossible for him to do when the family resides at a distance (Evid. 86). Farmers are usually willing to pay interest at 4 or 5 per cent. on the outlay necessary for building cottages on their farms (Evid. 19). On the other hand labourers object to occupy a lone cottage (Evid. 23, 140), away from the school, the shops, and the society of the village; although the inconvenience is sometimes obviated to some extent by getting one of the tradesmen to bring the supplies (Evid. 109). The conclusion to be drawn probably is, that with the exception of the horsekeeper and shepherd, who have to be at their work early and late, the inconvenience arising to a labourer from having to walk a short distance (not more than one mile) to his work, is far less than the inconvenience arising to the family from being removed from the village. By some it is thought desirable that the duties which require constant attention should be performed by labourers boarding with the farmer (Ivid. 108). This plan, however, is rarely, if ever, adopted, and is strongly objected to by some farmers on account of the insufficient accommodation contained in most farm houses, and the improprieties of conduct which young labourers are apt to be guilty of. 49, All parties appear to be agreed upon the absolute necessity of supplying tie labourers with good cottages. ‘The healthiness of the labouring population in many vases where the supply of cottages is insufficient is probably due to the large portion of every day which is passed by them in the open air. Few will doubt that in cases of disease crowded cottages have a tendency to propagate infection and to retard recovery (Evid. 40) ; and in the opinion of one witness the labourers save in the doctor’s bill what they spend in additional rent for a good cottage (Evid. 59). Few will be surprised to learn that in the opinion of a guardian of long experience the bastardy returns are most numerous in the parishes where the cottage accommodation is most deficient (Evid. 177). ‘The labourers, too, are themselves willing to pay a large additional rent in order to obtain a good cottage (Evid. 18, 59), and we may so far infer that they appreciate the advantages they thus obtain. 50. As regards the best arrangement to be made between landlord and farmer for the letting of cottages built on the farmer’s land there is some difference of opinion. On the one hand, landlords think it undesirable to let cottages with the farm, because they thereby enable the farmer to control the labourer to an undue extent, or possibly to take the quality of the cottage into consideration when estimating the amount of wages to be paid. On the other hand it is said by farmers that they cannot supply themselves with efficient labourers unless they have some control over the cottages; that in many villages the supply of cottages is barely sufficient, and that they cannot obtain efficient labour unless ‘they have power of discharging an inefficient labourer, and of substituting for him a suitable man, for whom cottage accommodation must be provided. One large landowner js of opinion that the Jandlord should let the cottages direct to the labourers, but that he should let them to the nominees of the farmers (Evid. 18). On the other hand, a large farmer who undoubtedly has the interests of the _ Jabourers sincerely at heart, is inclined to think “that where the occupation exceeds 300 acres, a certain “ number of cottages should be let with the farm at fixed rentals, with a special condition that the “ value of the cottage garden is by no means to enter into the arrangement of wages between master “ and man” (Evid. 21). It appears to me that there would be a difficulty in enforcing this condition. The condition would not be considered as broken except by some overt act; and it would be impossible 21157. Z Cottages built on the waste, Overcrowding. Deficiency in number of cottages in close parishes Th’s deficiency is being ’ remedied, Ist, by building in close parishes; 2nd, by the increased use of machinery in towns, Should cottages be built on the farm or in the village ? }armers’ view. Labourers’ view, Necessity for good ccttages, s Best arrange- ment between landlord and farmer as to letting cottages, KE. Difficult to adopt any fixed rule. Particular plans for cottages. Faults usually found in the plans of cottages, Suggestions as to how cottages may be built on self-supporting terms, Number of cottages necessary per 100 acres. Power to borrow money for building. As to removal of nuisances, 118 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN in each case to say what amount of wages the labourer would demand if he did not know that he was to occupy a good cottage. 51. On the whole it appears to me to be impossible to lay down any definite rule as to what is the best arrangement ; it is just one of these questions on which landlords and farmers will have no difficulty in coming to an arrangement while they remain on good terms, but which nobody can arrange for them if they disagree. ‘ 52. I have given a general description of the plans upon which the best cottages are built. I received a few specific suggestions which I think I should notice. Mr. Albert Pell and Sir C. Isham are in the habit of building cottages in blocks of two, with two bed-rooms in each, and with a third common bed-room, which can be entered from either cottage. The advantage of this is that either cottage can be increased or diminished in size by blocking up one or other of the doors of the third room, without moving the inmates of either house. This is very desirable in order to meet the requirements of increasing or diminishing families. Mr. Pell has also been in the habit of building a large landing to the staircase on which one or two of the children can sleep when the cottage becomes crowded (Evid. 20). One gentleman (Mr. Hughes) thought it desirable that a common barrack or lodging-house should be established in each village, under the regulation of a respectable labourer and his wife, in which the young men could board and lodge. This would tend to overcome the difficulty of overcrowd- ing, and would facilitate the establishment of night schools and reading rooms (Evid. 21). 53. Mr. Hughes also points out the defects usualiy to be found in modern cottages. He says :— * As arule the poor do not like modern cottages. The reason I think is that their notions are not sufficiently consulted ; the circumstances of their limited time and limited means not sufficiently considered. Among their reasonable objections the following are to be found in the majority of modern cottages ; the sitting room too large, back kitchen too small, staircase cramped, and a lack of closets and cupboards above and below. Few poor people can afford two fires, consequently either the principal room should be adapted for cooking, or the kitchen or washhouse sufficiently large to allow of the family getting their meals there occasionally.” 54, It was the opinion of Lord Henley and others that cottages could be built on self-supporting terms if a good sized piece of land, say a quarter to half an acre, immediately adjoining the cottage, were let with the cottage. It was thought that the wife and family of the labourer could be employed on this land, for which a garden instead of a farm rent could be obtained, and that thus the small rent received for the cottage could be increased (Evid. 170, 176). Possibly, too, the attendance of children at school might be prolonged by these means, because a parent might keep his child at school, and get the advantage of his labour in his spare hours; whereas, if a boy goes to work for a farmer the whole of every day has to be devoted to the work (Evid. 169). One obvious objection to it is that it would encourage the labour of women and children in the fields, and according to the experience of Mr. Barton at his school-farm at Wicken, it would probably lead to children leaving school sooner than they now do (Evid. 179). 55. As regards the number of cottages necessary per 100 acres, opinions vary considerably. The number must of course depend upon the proportion of arable land and the nature of the soil. Pro- bably the safest way of calculating is by looking to the sum paid in wages per annum. One witness (Mr. Hughes) says,— ‘‘ Suppose the average wages paid to a family per annum on account of work done to amount to 80/. ; my wages here, on a farm chiefly grass, amount to 20s. per acre, so that here it would appear that a cottage would be required for every 80 acres ; but if we take into account the extra hands of a migratory character employed at certain seasons, and the bachelors lodged at villages, I think that in our village we should be well off with one cottage for every 100/. actually paid in labour, or for every 100 acres” (Evid. 21). This is rather a smaller number of cottages than have been thought necessary by other witnesses ; and the discrepancy may arise from the earnings of a family being reckoned too high (80i.), this sum being more than the estimated annual earnings of two good labourers (Evid. 13b.) Most witnesses on arable farms think three the proper number. 56. I met with few ‘instances in which money had been borrowed in the county, under the powers given by 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114. It was suggested to me that the only objection to that Act was the large expenses necessarily incurred in surveyors’ fees, &c. before the loan could be. granted; and it was thought that if those expenses could be diminished, small proprietors might take advantage of the Act for the purpose of borrowing sums less than 5002 for cottage building (Evid. 59). In one instance ‘fa ee were made of the plans approved, and of the work passed by the surveyor vid. 21). 57. I made it my special object to obtain suggestions if possible as to the mode in which the cottage accommodation could be improved. It was thought by those best able to judge, that the law as it at present stands, more particularly the 29 & 30 Vict. c. 90. ss. 19. & 20., gives ample powers of remedying all nuisances, even the overcrowding of cottages. In one case a gentleman informed me that under the powers conferred upon him by the guardians of the Hardingstone Union, he had visited nearly every cottage in the union; that he had served the requisite notices, and compelled the removal of all the nuisances he had met with. This he had effected without serious difficulty (Evid. 17). 58. At the same time it is clear that the powers conferred by that Act are very little known arid rarely enforced. Perhaps Boards of Guardians, whose duty it is to enforce it, are usually too much interested in cottage property to be likely to enforce it. It was urged upon me that the defects in the cottage accommodation could be remedied at once if the application of that Act was made compulsory instead of optional (Evid. 178). In that opinion Ifully concur. It was also pointed out to me by gentlemen whose opinions are entitled to the highest weight, that that Act only applies a remedy where an evil has been proved to exist; and that some officer should be appointed to see that no cottage was built without certain specified accommodation, and that the officer should have power to order and charge against the owner the expense of supplying the requisite accommodation where it was wanting (App.18 and 19). It was objected to this plan that it was of too arbitrary a character, that it would probably have the effect of diminishing the number of cottages built, by increasing the IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. F, H, NORMAN’S REPORT. 119 expense of each; those. objections appear to me to be well-founded, and I am inclined to think that if it were known that, the Act, of 1866 would be rigidly enforced, the necessity for an inspector armed with such arbitrary powers would be obviated. 59. Itsmay here’ be remarked thatthe cottage difficulty would be solved at once, if labourers were able and willing to pay an amount of rent which would render the building of good cottages a paying investment, and cannot I think be satisfactorily solved in any other way. I learned on the highest authority that a good five-roomed cottage costs in Northamptonshire above 1502. (App. 19).; add 20/. for the value of the land occupied by house and garden, and a sum is reached which would only yield 5/. per cent. if charged with a rent of 8/. 10s. per annum. But this rent which an ordinary labourer neither would nor could pay, would be: nevertheless too low to tempt a speculator. ee: eee Thus as things now stand we must look chiefly to the larger landowners for improved cottage accommodation. They, owing partly to feelings of benevolence, partly to the additional value conferred on their farms by a supply of labourers well-housed and near at hand, have already done a great deal in this way and are likely to do more. IV.—ALLoTMENTS. 60. The practice of letting land in allotments to the occupiers of cottages is very generally adopted throughout the county. The parishes in which no Jand at all is let in that way are few in number, and in many parishes the quantity so let is large; for instance at Clipston with a population of just under 900, the quantity of land let in allotments is 82 acres (Evid..163). At Ravensthorpe, with a population of 701, 47 or 48 acres are let in allotments (Evid. 153). “At Thornby, with a population of 252, 24 acres of land are let in allotments (Evid. 155). In many cases the men who hire these allotments have gardens adjoining their cottages in addition to their allotments. 61. In many cases the allotments are not situated as near to the villages as is undoubtedly desirable when the convenience of those who have to cultivate them is considered, and it happens not unfrequently that several allotment grounds are to be found in different parts of the same parish, and at a considerable distance apart, and that a portion of land in two or more of these allotment grounds are occupied by the same man. For instance, at Easton, where at the time of the enclosure five pieces of land of 20 acres each were set apart for the labourers in five different parts of the parish, each labourer who has an allotment (if so it may be called) has an acre in each place (Evid. 22). 62. The amount of land held by each man varies considerably. It is not often less than 20 poles, and more frequently 30 or 40 poles. Cases of as much as an acre being held by one man are to be met with, but these are not frequent (Evid. 22, 165). 63. The rent paid for these allotments varies considerably ; in parishes where land has been left by some benevolent person to be let in allotments for the benefit of the parishioners (as is the case at Thornby), the land is let at a nominal rent, perhaps 2s. 6d. an acre (Evid. 155). Land let in allot- ‘ments by the landowners is usually let at a rent slightly higher than that obtained for the neighbouring farms, and in these cases the rates and taxes are usually paid by the landlord. Again, the instances are numerous of land let in allotments at rents far beyond the ordinary farming rent ; but so great is the value attached by the labourers themselves to the allotments, that they are always ready to pay these extravagant rents rather than not have the allotments at all. 64. As a general rule it is made a condition that the allotment shall be cultivated by spade labour only ; though many cases are to be met with (most frequently in the southern portions of the county) of a plough being used, and in these cases it is usual for the allotment to be ploughed by the farmer for whom the labourer occupying the allotment works. As a general rule wheat or barley is grown on a portion of the allotment, and the remainder is devoted to garden produce, most frequently potatoes. 65. The greater portion of the labour necessary for the cultivation of the allotment is performed by the labourer before he goes to work or after his return home in the evening. He is also assisted to some extent by his wife and children, and of course the labour of his sons when they arrive at the age of 15 or more is of great value to him. But the labourer almost always finds it necessary to absent himself from his regular work a few days in the spring for sowing, and in the autumn for harvesting his corn, or digging his potatoes ; if the allotment is large, say one acre, he must absent himself a far longer time than this (Evid. 156) ; the time which each labourer is thus able to devote to the cultivation of the aJlotment is frequently insufficient, and in almost every village a few men are to be found who have no regular work, and who do jobs on the allotments by the day ; they are usually paid by the piece for digging, &., at a rate which enables them to earn about 2s. 6d. a day. 66. The produce of the allotment (whatever may have been grown upon it) is almost always consumed by the family. The wheat is sent to the miller to be ground and saves the bread bill for some weeks; barley is consumed by the pig. I made it my object to inquire. of the labourers or their wives of what value the produce of their allotments. was to them; unfortunately I found the utmost, difficulty in obtaining information on which I could rely upon these points. ‘Those who have had occasion to observe ‘the want of method which usually characterises the habits of the labouring population will not be surprised at this. However, from the statements made to me by the best and most intelligent of the ‘Jabouring class whom I consulted, it was evident that they derived a clear and decided pecuniary benefit from their allotments. Thus I was told by one witness that the wheat grown on an allotment of 13 poles was sufficient to feed the family for three weeks when the bread bill was 10s. a week (Evid. 42); and by another that on an allotment of 30 poleshe could grow four bushels of wheat which produced 134 stones of flour and lasted nearly three weeks, while on the rest of the ground he grew seven sacks of potatoes worth 10s. a sack (Evid. 67), and by others that a profit of about 50s. net could be made from a rood of land (Evid. 169). or pac & sg 67. Having now given a general description of the extent to which the allotment system prevails in the county, and of the mode in which the allotments are managed, I will proceed to state the prevailing Z 2 Allotments. Distance of allotments from village. Amount of land held by each man. Rent. Mode of cultivation, and time devoted to it. Produce'of allotmefit con- sumed by the family. Amount of produce. General opinion on allotments, Opinions as regards the quantity of land to be held. As to distance from cottages. Opinions as to mode of cul- tivation, As to growing corn on allot- ments. Objections by farmers, Wo apparent effect upon wages. 120 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN opinions on the subject. It is agreed by all classes, landlords, farmers, and labourers, that it is highly desirable that labourers’ cottages should be provided with gardens, each of about one quarter of an acre in extent. If possible the cottages should stand in a garden. ‘The advantages of a garden are universally recognized. An allotment ground is useful as a substitute for a garden, and its value increases in proportion as it resembles a garden in extent, position, and mode of cultivation. These views are, I think, assented to by all classes. 7 In addition to these advantages allotments may be and often are made use of as an incentive to good behaviour. Labourers under some landlords are liable to lose their allotments if they get drunk or are guilty of some similar misconduct, and it is thought that this condition has the effect of improving their conduct (Evid. 73). 68. On the question of the amount of land which each labourer should have as a garden or allot- ment, the opinions of landowners and farmers appear to coincide. They think that one quarter of an acre should be held by each man; it is thought that he could not cultivate more than this without absenting himself for a considerable time each year from his daily labour ; that he would thus to some extent cease to be a day labourer, aud that the cbange would be disadvantageous to him and the community at large. Many of the labourers themselves would be giad to have a larger quantity of land than this, and would be willing to absent themselves from their daily labour for a sufficient time to cultivate the increased quantity (Evid. 169); but this opinion is not universal among them (Evid. 74). This opens the whole question of small farming, which of course I cannot enter into; and it is sufficient to point out that both employers and labourers think that one qnarter of an acre (if conveniently situated) may be easily cultivated by a man without his ceasing to be a labourer, and that more cannot (Evid. 169). 69. I have already stated that all agree that the allotment should be as near the cottage of the Jabourer as possible. It is impossible to state any definite distance beyond which the allotments cease to be of value, especially when labourers are frequently found who are willing to cultivate them though at a distance of one and a half or two miles; but it may be safely stated that the inconvenience on account of the distance becomes very great if the- allotment is more than half a mile from the cottage. 70. I made constant inquiries for the purpose of ascertaining in what mode an allotment could be cultivated with the greatest advantage to the occupier; unfortunately I received no precise infor- mation upon this point. One witness (Evid. 36) made a calculation at my request, from which it appeared that by growing three quarters potatoes and the rest turnips or mangold a net profit of 62. 4s. might on an average be obtained from one quarter of an acre of good land. - It was thought by one or two gentlemen to whom I showed this calculation that the charge for labour was put too low, and the value of the produce too high. I have every reason to believe that the witness who made the calculations was well acquainted with the subject. 71. The only questions upon which opinions appear to me to be really divided is the question whether or not it is desirable to discourage the growing of corn. On the one hand it is urged that the growing of corn leads to a loss of confidence between employer and labourer, if not to actual dishonesty on the part of the labourer; that the corn is liable to be seriously injured by birds and vermin, from which the labourer has no means of protecting it, and that it is impossible for the labourer to harvest his corn at the proper time, because at that time the master’s corn has also to be harvested, and the labourer cannot get permission to absent himself; and, finally, that even under the most favourable circumstances corn cannot be grown at a profit on small holdings (Evid. 156). Barley is grown to feed a pig, but it is the opinion of many farmers that pigs cannot be fed at a profit even on a large scale, much less on a small, and that the pigs frequently lead to the creation of a nuisance from a want of proper pigstyes attached to cottages (Evid. 68, 72). If the pig is kept for the purpose of making manure, it is stated that it costs the labourer far more to grow barley and keep a Pig than it would cost him to buy manure. On the other hand, it would often no doubt be impossible for a labourer to buy manure for want of a seller, and by keeping a pig a labourer is compelled to save for the purpose of providing for the pig; the pig acts as a savings bank. It is also contended that although possibly the growing of corn may be unprofitable in itself, that nevertheless it is useful as affording a change of crops (Evid. 18), that the quantity grown is very small (Evid. 19), and that it is more advantageous to encourage independence and self-reliance in the labourer by allowing him to manage his allotment as he pleases than by attempting to bind him to definite rules. 72. I was told by many of the farmers that they were often put to great inconvenience for want of labourers when their regular men went to work for themselves. The men never absent themselves without leave; but farmers find it difficult to refuse leave when applied to ; and in point of fact it very rarely is refused (Evid. 163). It was pointed out to me that the time when the labourers want to go to work on their allot- ments is usually the time when the farmers themselves are most busy; and that the labourers never wish to be absent except when the weather appears settled. Probably all will agree that it is quite open to the labourer to retain as much of his time and strength for his own work as he pleases ; at the same time this can only be the case when the fact that he intends to do so is clearly explained to the farmer; the farmer undoubtedly has a fair ground of complaint if, after he has engaged a labourer for all day and every day, he finds him coming to work late and tired in the morning, and asking for and expecting to obtain permission to absent himself from his work at times when he is most wanted by his employer. 73. I endeavoured to ascertain whether the extension of the allotment system had had the effect of preventing wages from rising. I, however, obtained no information which led me to the conclusion that such had been its effect. It certainly seems probable that if a farmer knew that his labourer is in the habit of spending a portion of his strength upon his own land, he will be unwilling to pay him as much as he would if he knew that the whole of his strength is given in return for his wages. Probably, too if a labourer knows he can make something by his allotment he will be willing to accept less from his IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. F. H. NORMAN’S REPORT. 121 employer than he otherwise would. At the same time it cannot be doubted that the development of the allotment system in this county has been accompanied by a very considerabe rise in wages; 30 or 35 years ago wages were 9s. a week (Evid. 163, 169), they are now 12s.; 30 or 35 years ago allotments were raze, in one parish they were established in 1826 (Evid. 178). Since that time they have been enormously extended ; and although possibly wages might have risen rather more if it had not been for allotments, my impression is that the number of labourers who occupy allotments is too few, and the amount of land held by each man too small for the allotments to have had any appreciable effect upon wages. This opinion however is not assented to by all (Evid. 154). 74, You instructed me to inquire whether there was any reason to believe that the allotments were valued by the labourers from a feeling that their status was improved from their becoming occupiers of land; I found no trace of any such feeling (Evid. 169). 75. ‘There is one other matter to which allusion should be made before closing this report, viz. co- operative stores. These stores have been established in. many different parts of the county, and usually with very beneficial results. ‘The most prosperous institution of this kind with which I met was the Self-assistance Industrial Society of Long Buckby. This society was established in 1858 ; the amount of business done the first year was 2,809/. 11s. 8d., the profit on which amounted to 194/. 5s. 3d. Last year the business done reached 8,8+52 0s. 33d., the profit on which amounted to 8562 19s. 64d. At first there were 70 members ; there are now 283 (Evid. 173). These stores are said to have done a great deal to raise the character of the labourer. He is enabled through their aid to supply himself with a better article at a cheaper rate than he could otherwise do. They also offer an inducement to education, both by the necessity of placing them under proper control and also because they occasionally lead to the establishment of night schools and reading rooms. 76. In conclusion, I may sum up shortly the result of my inquiries with special reference to the extension of the Factory Acts. Tn the instructions to the Assistant Commissioners you point out that the leading principles of the Factory Acts are,— 1. The protection of the young and females from excessive labour. 2. The requirement of a certain amount of school attendance for children, between the ages of 8 and 13 earning wages. 77. As regards the first of these principles it does not appear that there is any necessity for legislative interference. The evidence which | have collected leads me to the conclusion that the labour performed by women, young persons, and children in the fields is not physically injurious to them. As a general rule they do not reside at excessive distances from their work, and whatever inconvenience may now exist in this respect is likely to be remedied. The hours of labour are moderate in length, and sufficient intervals are set apart for meals. 78. As regards the second principle, the evidence certainly leads me to infer that the education of the young employed in field labour is decidedly defective, and that the defect can only be remedied by increased school attendance. As to the mode in which the increased attendance is to be obtained opinions differ; but all appear to think that in consequence of the great difficulty experienced in securing the attendance of children at school after they begin to work in the fields, the period which elapses before they begin to work must be chiefly relied on for such attendance. Upon the whole it seems that the labour of children may fairly be dispensed with up to the age of 10 years without interfering too much with the demands of the farmer on the one hand, or with the earnings of the family on the other; and I think it is desirable that the labour of children under 10 years of age should be prohibited by Jaw, except during the regular school holidays. It is also necessary that some provision shouid be made for the education of children after they begin to work; but in consequence of the continued demand upon their time, as farm labour is now arranged, I think that it would be extremely inconvenient for them to devote any portion of the day except the evening to school attendance. Night schools as at present carried on are certainly unsuccessful, but they may probably be made useful if well managed; and I think that an effort should be made to render night schools effective, as being the most feasible plan which has been suggested for carrying on the education after field work commences. I am inclined to think that at present it is undesirable to introduce any system of compulsion either direct or, indirect, although some system analogous to that in use in the case of factories appears to be practicable and may eventually have to be adopted; but in the opinion of many gentlemen of great experience in matters of education the voluntary system might be so carried on as to effect the object in view. I certainly think that the advice given by these gentlemen should be adopted until proved to be erroneous ; and that for the present it is sufficient to remove one of the main hindrances to education by restraining the children from going to work at as ‘ n age as they now do. a a - I am, Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, July 16th, 1868. F. H. NORMAN, Z 3 Co-operative stores. EF Counties of Bedford and Buckingham. Time occupied in collecting evidence. Arrangement of evidence. Mode of con- ducting the in- quiry in Beds. Evidence of boards of guardians ; Of benches of magistrates; In Bucks. 122 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND. WOMEN. REPORT.—By Mr. GEORGE OCULLEY. To Her Maszsty’s ComMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, Younc Persons, AND WomMEN In AGRICULTURE. GENTLEMEN, . 1. Havine been sent by you to the counties of Bedford and Buckingham to inquire into the employ- ment of children, young persons, and women in agriculture, and generally into the condition of the agricultural labouring class, for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent and with what modifications the principles of the Factory Acts can be adopted for the regulation of such employment, especially with a view to the better education of the children, I beg to lay before you the evidence which I have collected on these subjects, and the impression which this evidence, as well as my own personal obser- vation of the condition of persons employed in agriculture and their families in these counties, has made upon me. 2. I was in Bedfordshire for nine weeks, between the 20th of February and beginning of May, and in Buckinghamshire for eight weeks, between the beginning of May and the end of June, and again in Bedfordshire during the early harvest of this year, when I was engaged in arranging the evidence previously obtained from both counties. 8. The evidence from each county is arranged separately, beginning with a summary of the answers to the questions contained in such of your “Circulars of Inquiry” as were returned to me by the persons to whom I had given or sent them. The second part of the evidence in each case contains a description of the cottage accommodation in the parishes for which returns were sent to me, or which were visited by me personally ; evidence as to the rate of wages and earnings of agricultural labourers or their families; evidence given by the labouring class themselves; and such other evidence as ap- peared to me to be peculiar to the parishes from which it was obtained. The third part of the evidence in each case includes answers given to questions proposed by me to benches of magistrates and boards of guardians; evidence given by medical officers of -unions, relieving officers, school teachers, and all classes of persons who did me the honour of corresponding with me on subjects pertinent to this inquiry ; evidence on allotment systems ; returns of plait and lace schools; and such other evidence as applies to areas larger than parishes. Having received your instructions to visit first the county of Bedford, [ endeavoured to obtain an introduction to some gentleman who, from his position and experience, would be able to aid me in obtaining a general view of the mode of employment in agriculture in the South Midland district, and of the subjects bearing on the condition of agricultural labourers and their families. I was fortunate enough to receive such an offer of assistance from Mr. Thomas Bennett, principal agent to the Duke of Bedford, and I cannot too warmly express my thanks to that gentleman for the great assistance which T received from him in conducting the inquiry intrusted to me. It was this offer of assistance from Mr. Bennett which led me to select Woburn Union as my starting point; and as apart from the reason which first induced me to go there, I found that it might very fairly be taken as a representative union of the county, I visited in detail all the parishes in that union. After concluding the inquiry in Woburn I visited as many parishes as the time at my disposal would allow in Bedford, Ampthill, Biggleswade, and Luton Unions, my endeavour being to leave behind me no mode of employment in agriculture, or of agricultural labourers’ children, which I had not seen. Having fixed upon a parish or group of parishes which I intended to visit for the above purpose, I gave notice of my intended visit to the clergyman of the parish or parishes, and such other persons as were likely to give me useful information, in some cases asking the proper authorities to call a parish meeting. And on the day of my visit I inquired into the state of the school or schools, inspected the cottages, and received evidence from all classes of persons. Occasionally, on receiving a special invitation to visit a particular parish, I was obliged to depart from the plan which I had sketched for myself, but this was rarely the case, and my movements, keeping in view the general scope of the inquiry, were entirely guided by a desire to see as much of the labouring class and their employment as the time at my disposal would allow. _As an example of this I visited one or two parishes in Biggleswade Union to inquire into the employment of children and women in market gardening and coprolite works; and being in the parishes to which this object led me I of course inspected the cottages and schools. I am anxious to show by this sketch of the manner in which I conducted the inquiry, that where it becomes my duty to point out serious defects in the want of proper cottage accommodation, or provision of schools, such cases were not sought for by me. 4, Before visiting each union I made an appointment with the board of guardians, asking the board to discuss the ‘subjects of the inquiry, and to allow me to be present at the discussion. On every occasion my proposition was accepted, and the questions which I proposed fairly considered ; with what result will be seen in the evidence. Besides giving very important evidence, as coming from the representatives of the most intelligent employers of labour in each union, these discussions served to introduce the subject of my mission, as well as myself, in a manner which very greatly assisted me in obtaining evidence. 5. In the same manner also I consulted benches of magistrates, the attendance, however, on these occasions being so small as to induce me, after obtaining the necessary introduction, to record the opinions of the magistrates individually rather than as representing the petty sessional bench. 6. In Buckinghamshire I made Aylesbury my starting point, visiting a considerable number of the parishes in that union, and remaining there until I had made appointments with all the boards of guardians in the county, and arranged the groups of parishes I could visit at the time of keeping such appointments. Acting in this manner I was able to visit, more or less satisfactorily, upwards of 50 parishes in Beds and 60 in Bucks, besides receiving evidence through your circulars of inquiry from several other parishes in both counties, some of the circulars from Bucks being unfortunately returned too late to enable me to produce them in evidence, though of great service to me in framing the report which I have now the honour to make. S IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. G. CULLEY’S REPORT. 123 7. Qut of 200 circulars of inquiry distributed pretty equally between the two counties I have had returned to me up to the time at which I write 90 from Bedfordshire and 87 from Bucks, in all 177 circulars, from 130 different parishes ; of these 80 have been returned by clergymen for their parishes, and 97 by owners and occupiers of land or their agents for their respective farms or parishes, most of the occfpiers being also guardians of the poor for the parishes for which their returns are made. The collective force of the summary of answers given in 172 of these circulars, taken in conjunction with the resolutions of 12 out of the 14 boards of guardians acting for the two counties, and the opinions ex- pressed by medical and relieving officers, is the most important evidence which I have to lay befure you relative to the desirability, or otherwise, of placing legislative restrictions, analogous to those of the Factory Acts, on the employment of children, young persons, and women in agriculture. 8. Before entering more minutely into the bearing of the evidence upon the subjects involved in this inquiry it may be well that I should give a slight sketch of the position of the labouring class as affected by the agricultural requirements and customs of the two counties of which I am treating. 9. Bedfordshire is a tolerably compact little county, having, according to the estimate for 1867, 141,909 inhabitants, and containing 295,582 statute acres, of which 45,967 acres are not accounted for in the agricultural returns for 1867; of the remaining 249,615 acres 176,365 are arable, and 73,250 in permanent grass. The surface of the land varies from a stiff clay, covering a large portion of the north part of the county, through the rich loamy soil of the Vales of the Ouse and Ivel to the sand- hills running in a north-westerly direction from Woburn through the centre of the county, and the chalk hills of the south. Farms vary from 100 to 900 acres, 400 being about the average for farms on the Duke of Bedford’s large estates, the tendency being to increase the size of farms by throwing small ones together when the opportunity arises. A four-course rotation is the most common course of husbandry, by which means about one half of the arable land in the county produces in each year a crop of white corn, the proportions being about 50,000 acres of wheat, 30,000 acres of barley, and 10,000 acres of oats of the 90,000 acres accounted for in the agricultural returns. 10. The cost of labour paid in wages, according to the evidence given to me, varies with and is generally about equal to the rent, being highest where crops of all kinds can be best grown, and lowest where a bare fallow is considered the best preparation for a good crop of wheat. The lowest payment per acre for labour, as stated to me, was 24s., and the highest 38s., the latter figure being much higher than in the case of farms most closely resembling it in the north of England, but lower than in several cases of which I received evidence in Bucks. I do not think that the farmers in Bedfordshire, who are an industrious and intelligent class, can afford to add much to the cost of cultivation as far as payment in wages is concerned. On an average, as will be seen from the evidence, where farms consist, as they generally do in Bedfordshire, of three-fourths arable land there would be required for the cultivation of a farm of 400 acres of such land capable of growing all kinds of crops a staff of 14 men and eight lads, and the cost in wages would be nearly as follows :— £ s. de 3 men at 371 14s. each - - - - - 113 2 0 11 men at 35/. 2s. each - - - - - 386 2 0 8 lads, averaging 13/. each - - - - - - 104 0 0 Total cost in wages of regular staff - - - 603 4 0 As nearly as may be 30s. 2d. per acre. Compare this cost of labour with that on a farm of the same size and nature and under the same course of husbandry in North Northumberland, and let us see how the different systems affect the labourers, farmers, and landowners. The corresponding wage account on such a farm in Glendale would be— £ s ad. *8 men at 38/. 12s. each - - - - - - - 308.16 0 8 women at 14/. each - - - - - - - 112 0 0 3 lads at 13/7. each - - « - - - - 39 0 0 Total cost in wages of regular staff - - - 45916 0 As near as may be 23s. per acre. Some part of this reduced cost may be due to management, some part is due to the employment of a class of women almost equal to the ordinary run of Bedfordshire male labourers, and the remainder, which is no very small part, is due to the fact that the northern hind at a slightly higher wage is a much cheaper article. : 11. The difference of the result of these systems to the labourers is, that whereas in one case the tolerably certain income arising from employment in agriculture amounts to 603/. 4s. to be divided amongst 14 families, giving about 432. 1s. 9d. to each, in the other it amounts to 483/. 16s. (adding 241. as the annual value of eight cottages), to be divided amongst eight families, giving 60/. 9s. 6d. to each, the difference of upwards of 17/. having to be made up to the southern family by the far less certain earnings of one grown up daughter in lace making or straw plaiting and the chance of having children employed younger in farm labour than would be the case in the North ; if “plait was good” the Bedfordshire girl of 18 would probably make the 17/., but how much of it would go to the family purse ? and, unhappily, plait is not always good. The difference to the farmer amounts to an ability to pay about 7s. an acre more rent, besides escaping with a much smaller poors rate. To the landowner there is the difference of 7s. an acre greater rent as a compensation for building eight cottages (an obligation he cannot escape from in Northumberland) and Jetting them rent * The labourer (or hind) besides the 381. 12s. which he teceives, in: money or money’s worth from the farmer, has a cottage and small garden rent free worth, say, 3l. a year supplied by the landlord. Z 4 Circulars of inquiry. Farming in Beds. Cost of labour paid in wages ; In Beds ; In Northum- berland. Effect of dis- tribution of jabour on labourer, farmer, and landowner, F, Females in Beds not em- ployed in field work but in lace making and straw plaiting. Hiring and wages in Bedfordshire. Cottages not generally at- tached to farms. Cottage accom- modation bad and reason for it. Remarks on chances of im- provement of cottages. Farming in Bucks, Cost of labour in wages. Number of cot- tages required for cultivation of land, 124 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN free, instead of building, or thinking he ought to build, 14, for which, if built, he would receive a rent amounting to a fair interest on the cost of eight. 12. It is not, however, the custom to employ women in farm labour in Bedfordshire. In the north of the county the females of the labouring class are engaged in lace making, and in the south and more populous part of the county in plaiting straw; straw plait, especially when the trade is good, finding employment also for a good many boys andmen. When plait is “ good” straw plaiters, both male and female, are able, so I was constantly informed, to earn higher wages than persons of the same sex employed in agriculture, but during the time I was in the county plait was very “bad,” and many families were in consequence in great distress. I shall never forget the scene I witnessed when accompanying the relieving officer on one of his usual weekly visits to Toddington (a large “open ” village in the plait district, to which I shall refer afterwards), where, according to evidence which cannot be gainsayed, a large portion of the male population of so-called catch workmen expect the female plaiters to maintain them throughout a great portion of the year. At the time of my visit one- third of the entire population of the parish were receiving relief, and it seemed altogether to puzzle the relieving officer to account for the manner in which one half of the remainder lived. (See Beds Evidence, 14a, 14b, 14c, and 68.) 13. The hiring throughout the county is a weekly hiring, the weekly wage (exclusive of additional payments for piece or extra work and allowances, such as beer) varying from 11s. to 14s. per week, lls. being the lowest weekly wage for a regular able-bodied farm labourer, and 14s. the highest, where the labourer’s duty involves Sunday attendance. In Bedford Union the weekly wage for an ordinary labourer is 12s.; in Woburn Union, and in the plait district generally, the weekly wage is 11s. It will be my business afterwards to endeavour to show how far this nominal wage is increased by piece work, extra wages in hay time and harvest, and other allowances, when referring to the evidence on the earnings of labourers and their families. 14. The labourers’ cottages, except in a few cases where blocks of two, three, or four cottages have been built attached to the steadings on larger farms (a custom which is, however, extending), stand in villages pretty thickly scattered over the county, and in few instances have the labourers to go far to their work. 15. The feature most striking to me in this county, as well as in Bucks, was the want of proper cottage accommodation, especially in the so-called open parishes, arising, as it appears to me, from the fact that so small a proportion of the cottages belong to the landowners. No one, I apprehend, will maintain that a landowner can be expected to provide more cottages than will suffice for the accom- modation of persons employed in the cultivation of his estate, but. such has been the policy or necessity of landowners in these counties in times past, that it would be difficult, I should think impossible, to find any large estate on which these conditions are fulfilled; tne nearest approach to it which I saw was on the estates (speaking of large estates) of the Duke of Bedford and Sir Harry Verney. The proportion of cottages on the Duke of Bedford’s property is about three to 100 acres, falling short of the required number, even if all these cottages were occupied by farm labourers, by 25 per cent. according to the estimate of farmers in answer to circular question ITY. 31, or by about 17 per cent., as I think is more correctly shown by the labour returns. It has never been my good fortune to see any large estate upon which so much has been for many years past and is now being done for the comfort of all persons connected with it as on that of the Duke of Bedford, and I have only cited this instance to show that even with a large purse and willing hand the evil growth of past years has not yet been altogether overcome. : 16. The Union Chargeability Act will no doubt have its effect in increasing the proportion of landowners’ cottages, and the power of borrowing money on entailed estates “for the erection and improvement of labourers’ cottages,” under the authority of the Inclosure Commissioners (especially ifthe process be simplified and cheapened) may aid towards the attainment of the same desirable object ; but where large open villages, in which the cottages belong either to persons who have built on speculation or are the property of the occupiers themselves, now exist, yielding a supply of labour greater than the agricultural demand of the surrounding estates, the cost of buying, pullmg down (to build without pulling down being only to increase the evil), and rebuilding is beyond the means of most landowners. (For instances of this kind see General Evidence Beds, 14, 33, 40, 46 ; Bucks, 13, 22, 23.) 17. What I have here said of the state and dwnership of the cottages in Bedfordshire, applies equally to Bucks, and the general condition of the agricultural labouring class is very much alike in the two counties. 18. Buckingham, a long straggling county, cut across in the centre by the chalk downs of the Chilterns, and reaching from the vale of the Midland Ouse to that of the Thames, has, according to the estimate of 1867, 170,494 inhabitants, and contains 466,932 statute acres, of which 78,826 are not accounted for in the agricultural returns for 1867. Of the remaining 388,106 acres, 207,094 are arable, and 181,012 permanent pasture. ‘The features, in an agricultural point of view, most peculiar to the county are the rich pastures of the vale of Aylesbury, and the farming of the Chilterns. In the north-east of the county the ordinary four-course husbandry prevails; on the Chilterns, the four-course rotation is often lengthened into five by taking a crop of oats instead of fallow after wheat ; in fact, a “ five-course shift ” is fully as common as four-course on the Chilterns; in the vale of Aylesbury and valley of the Thames the course of cropping is more irregular, and often severe, involving a more costly cultivation. 19. In one or two cases in The Vale the cost of labour paid in wages on farms having the larger portion arable was stated to me to be over 40s. an acre, and the lowest estimate on well-cultivated farms was 30s.; in the valley of the Thames, in one instance, the cost was stated to me to be 40s. per acre ; and in another, where the labour books are well kept, and almost all work is done by the piece, it appeared to be 45s. As a result of sometimes taking two white crops in succession, about 5} per cent. more acres of arable land than would be the case under the four-course system are yearly in white corn, and a larger proportion of oats are grown than in Bedfordshire. 20. The average requirement of cottages for the use of farms having the same proportion of tillage is, judging from the answers to circular question III. 31, pretty much the same in Bucks as in Bedford- shire, slightly diminished towards the Oxfordshire side, where some adult women are employed, and IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. G. CULLEY’S REPORT, 125 prevented by the same cause from being considerably increased in the valley of the Thames, where cottages are very dear, as they are also in all the towns throughout Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. 21. A yearly hiring for important servants, as shepherds and carters, as well as for lads and single men, still exists, at least in the Wycombe Union, where the hiring is from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, and the éustom of hiring single men to lodge in the farmer’s house is still practised in the valley of the Thames, owing to the difficulty of securing cottages at a rent which farm labourers can afford to pay; the common hiring, however, throughout the county isa weekly hiring, and the custom of having young labourers lodging in the farmer’s house is fast disappearing. 22. Females, except in haytime or harvest, when families work together, are only employed in agri- culture on the banks of the Thames and on the borders of Oxfordshire. Straw plaiting, lace, chair and paper making find employment for most of the females of the labouring class. 23. Farm labourers’ wages in Bucks vary from 11s. to 15s., ordinary labourers receiving from 11s. to 13s., and Sunday men, i¢., shepherds, cattlemen, and carters from 13s. to 15s. exclusive of piece work and other allowances; wages being highest in the vale of Aylesbury and the valley of the Thames, and lowest towards the head quarters of straw plait. I have said that the tendency to in- crease the size of holdings is brought about in Bedfordshire by the landowners throwing small farms together; in Bucks the result is arrived at in a less convenient and less economical manner, many farmers occupying farms in different parishes and under different landowners. 24. 1 confess that I was agreeably surprised to find the supply of schools in both Bedfordshire and Bucks better than I expected, although, as will be seen from the evidence, I found parishes of consider- able importance in both counties altogether without such provision; great progress has been made in this respect during the last few years, and many of the schools have been very recently opened, in some cases through the liberality of the landowners, in many through the exertions of the clergymen, upon whom falls a much larger share of the expense of maintaining schools than they ought to be expected to bear. In some parishes, where two schools exist, Church and Dissenting, it would be well if they could unite their funds, and so increase their teaching power. To visit on the same day a parish where there is no school, and then one in which there are two and ought only to be one, makes one inclined to cry out for a national scheme which can level such inequalities. 25. I_ now beg to call your attention to the evidence which I have the honour of laying before you ; taking first, the labour returns, the school returns, and the opinions expressed by the different witnesses as to the desirability, or otherwise, of applying to agricultural labour legislative restrictions similar to those of the Factory Acts. . 26. It will be seen from the evidence that employment in private gangs exists only to a very limited extent in either Bedfordshire or Bucks, and is usually confined to the employment of from 10 to 20 boys between 8 and 13 years of age under a steady labourer or foreman; in only one instance was a return made to me of such a gang where both girls and boys are employed, and in that case it consisted of five boys and five girls, all under 18 years of age, occasionally employed in twitching, weeding, &c. (See evidence of Mr. T. T. Hine, of Knotting, in Summary of Circular Questions.) In only one case is a gang such as I have described employed throughout the whole year, viz., the Woburn Park gang, consisting of 16 boys between 10 and 13 years of-age employed under a skilled workman in such light work as is suited to their age; their hours of labour are 11 hours in summer and nine hours in winter, including 13 hours for meals, and there is a rule that every boy must be able to read and write before entering the gang. (See Mr. Stephenson’s evidence in Summary of Circular Questions.) I had several opportunities of seeing these boys during my stay at. Woburn, and I think that if children are to be continuously employed in farm labour between 10 and 13 years of age they could not be employed in a manner better calculated to make them efficient labourers without overtaxing their strength than that in which the boys composing the Woburn gang are employed. The Melchbourne Park gang consists of 10 boys between 8 and 10 years of age employed in light work during spring, summer, and autumn. The Aston Clinton gang is composed of 15 boys whose average age is 103, and of these the Rev. C. W. W. Eyton says, “there is nothing injurious to the health of these boys arising “ from the nature of their employment, nor are they ill treated in any way.” The same remark would, I think, apply to all the boy gangs in these two counties, and, putting aside the educational part of the subject, it appears to me that children are better employed in such gangs or parties than when mixed up with adult Jabourers or draggling after their parents in piece work.* 27. There is one return under the head of employment in private gangs which, though referring to what is not strictly employment in agriculture, should, I think, be noticed here ; it is a return of women and children employed for from eight to 12 weeks during each year in peeling onions for the market gar- deners in the neighbourhood of Biggleswade; it will be seen from the evidence that 339 females are so employed in the parish of Sandy, of these 93 are married women, 108 young women and girls over 13 years of age, and 138 girls under 13 years of age; in the return from Sandy no mention is made of boys so employed, but from the Beds general evidence, 47 (d, e, f, g, h) it appears that boys up to 12 years of age assist their mothers in onion peeling; the work is done in sheds on the gardens under a foreman whose business is to measure the onions, peeling being done by the piece. Women working from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m., with an hour’s rest, can earn from 1s. to 1s. 6d. per day, and children of 12 about 6d. per day. I heard of no complaint concerning this mode of employment except that it prevented the mothers from attending properly to their household duties, and helped to make the children’s attendance at school very irregular after 7 years of age. * J cannot help here quoting what is said by the Rev. J. W. Hayward, of Grandborough, Winslow, in a circular which reached me after I had written the last sentence, too late, I am sorry to say, to be inserted in my evidence for Bucks. Mr. Hayward says, “Twish to express a decided opinion in favour of field work for the occasional employment of the young of both sexes; I have “ never known any injury to arise from it to health or morals; upon small farms, under the superintendence of the farmer “ or some trustworthy man, the employment of young children with others of the same age is to be preferred to the common “ gustom of the father of a family performing a piece of work which he has taken by the united labour of his family, inasmuch ‘tag the younger children are sure to be strained to keep up with the elder.” 21187, Aa F, Hiring by year and week in Bucks, : Females not much employed in field work. Wages, Progress in providing schcols and inequalities in such provision. Employment in private gangs. Not injurious as practised in these counties. “ Onion peel- ing.” Rev. J. W. Hayward on field work for children. F. Labour returns, showing ave- rage number of persons em- ployed on 1,000 acres in Beds and Bucks, Children under 10 very little employed in farm labour. Plough boys. Hours of work of boys. 126. . EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 28, The labour returns and summary of, answers to circular questions II., 22, a, b, c, e, g, give a very fair general view of the comparative number and ages of all persons employed in agriculture in the two counties. The tables in the Beds summary marked C, D, EK, F, and in the Bucks summary D, E, represent as accurately as possible the average number of persons of the ages given who are employed upon the acreage as it is there given, the tables marked E in each case giving the number of adult males as well as children, young persons, and women. ‘The other tables are collected from the answers given in circulars where the acreage is not stated, or where the return is for a whole parish of which the proportion under cultivation is not known. Comparing first the tables which give the number of adult males as well as children, we find that in 2,725 acres, of which 695, or not much more than one-fourth, are pasture, included in 10 farms in the parishes of Cople and Willington, in the Vale of Bedford, in four-course husbandry, the usual staff per 1,000 acres is, as nearly as may be,— 35 men over 18 years. 10 lads between 13 and 18 years. 7 boys 45 10 and 13 ,, aos, 5 8and10 ,, and that in 8,442 acres of which 4,031, or nearly one half, are pasture included in farms in six of the unions in Bucks the usual staff is for 1,000 acres,— 35 males over 18 years. 5 females ,, 53 8 lads between 13 and 18 years. Bboys , 10and13 ,, 1k, - S8and10 ,, Showing that although in one case nearly three-fourths of the land is arable, and in the other not much more than one-half, the number of adult males employed is the same, and the total number of persons employed nearly the same. Where females are not employed the ordinary staff per 1,000 acres would be increased by as many lads between 10 and 18 as would represent five women. Take again total males under 18, and females of all ages employed on 16,100 acres, of which 11,417 are arable included in 42 farms in four of the unions of Bedfordshire, we have an average staff of, — ; 8 lads between 13 and and 18 9 boys 45 10 and 1b approximately per 1,000 acres. 35 vo 8and10 (omitting 11 little girls occasionally employed in twitching). On 13,459 acres, of which about one-half are arable included in farms for which accurate returns were made in Bucks, the average staff is approximateiy per 1,000 acres,— 74 lads between 13 and 18. 4i boys 5, 10 and 13. 1 boy 35 8 and 13. 4 adult women. The gross returns from answers to circulars of inquiry under this head (see Table A. in each case) are,— ; Males, Females. = Total Over 18, Between | Between | Between Between | Between | Between Under 8. | § and 10. |10 and 13,18 and 18.| Males, | Under. | gona 10, |10 and 18. |i8 and 18. " Sl eae Married. married. Bedfordshire} = 1 55 204 241 | 501 _ ul 10 |. 4 6 5 36 Buckingham 4 86 297 373 760 = _ 7 8 91 39 145 29. From a comparison of this table with the results given above from farms covering a large area in both counties it is evident, as is often stated in other parts of the evidence, that children under 10 years of age are very little employed in farm labour, except in occasional jobs, such as field keeping, twitching, stone picking and the like, that they are so employed rather more in Bedfordshire than in Bucks, probably owing to the larger proportion of arable land in the former county, and that from the same cause the proportion of boys between 10 and 13 years of age as compared with the whole number of persons so employed is also greater in the same county, boys from 10 years of age becoming per- manently attached to the staff of farms as plough or team boys and helpers of shepherds or cattle men. 30. The services of the ploughboy being required throughout the whole year, he becomes the chief difficulty as far as these counties are concerned, of applying to boys employed in farm labour regulations for school attendance somewhat similar to these under the Printworks Act. It may be that as economy in the management of horses becomes better understood the system of “driving” teams will disappear and the driver be set free to attend school during the winter months, as nearly all other boys under 13 years employed in farm labour could do; at present, however on most of the arable farms in both counties the ploughboy is expected to crack his whip in November and December as frequently as in March or April, and the only way of catching him would be to insist upon his stopping work when the horses do, at 2 p.m., so as to give him time to rest and prepare himself for an evening school. 31. The usual hours of work for boys employed in farm labour, except in some parts of Bucks, where they are employed with and have the same hours as women, are the same as for men, in Bedfordshire from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer, and from light to dark in winter with one and a half or two hours allowed for meals ; in Bucks from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., with one and a half hours allowed for meals, except in the north-east of the county where the hours of labour are the same as in Bedfordshire. 32, Of 122 answers from both counties to the question—“ Does the demand on their physical powers. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION !-—MR, G:: CULLEY’S REPORT. 127 “injuriously affect their health?” (answers which apply also to’the employment of females) '114 witnesses say “ No,” seven say that “ farm work improves their health,” and one, speaking I presume of female em- ployment, says not till after 50 years of age. The medical evidence (Beds, general evidence, 63 to 67) generally confirms the same view; the only objections to the nature of the employment of boys which would occur to me after conversing on the subject with several medical gentlemen in both counties, besides those whose evidence I have above referred to, are, the effect produced or supposed to be produced on the feet and limbs of plough boys and field keepers by travelling over the tenacious clay soil which covers a considerable area in the north of both counties, and the practice of leaving boys when too young in charge of horses and carts; upon the whole, however, the evidence I have above quoted must be held to justify the very strong opinion expressed by almost every witness I examined, that as far as protecting the children from physical injury arising from the nature of their employment in agriculture is concerned, no legislative interference is necessary. ; eo ee 33. Except in hay time and harvest, the employment of females in agriculture is hardly known in Bedfordshire. The answers of Mr. Charles Howard of Biddenham, and the Rev. B. Trapp of Thurleigh, to circular questions II. 22, k and ], may be taken to represent the whole county. Mr. Howard says, “ There are no females employed except in hay time and harvest, in my opinion, “ more might be beneficially employed to the advantage of all parties at these seasons.” Mr. Trapp says:—“ The employment of females is so rare that no inconvenience would be felt “ if it were prohibited altogether, except in hay and corn harvest.” It is, however, curious to observe how many witnesses as it were seize the opportunity offered by questions II. 22. j., k., 1., to point out the evils arising from straw plait and lace making. ‘he same remarks which I have made avith respect to Bedfordshire, as to the absence of female labour in the fields, applies to a great part of Bucks. It is only towards the borders of Oxfordshire and in the valley of the Thames, that women are at all regularly employed on farms; in both cases most of the women are married, and [J received no return from Thame or Eton Unions of females under 18 as engaged in farm labour; the hours of work, in Thame Union, are usually from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and in Eton Union from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; besides the usual work in haytime and harvest, these women are generally employed in hoeing and cleaning corn -and root crops, in winter their work is confined to assisting in thrashing corn and preparing roots for cattle and sheep, in fact, they are employed in very much the same manner as unmarried women are employed in the northern counties, and their wages, taking into account the shorter hours, are as high. 34. The answers to questions II. 22, j, k, 1, from Aylesbury, Thame, Winslow, Buckingham, and Wycombe Unions, are chiefly interesting from the fact that the witnesses are to a certain extent able to compare the effects of the more usual employment of females in straw plait and lace making with the effect of their employment in farm labour. Of 51 answers from the county, most of which come from the unions I have named, to the question, “ Do any special employments injuriously affect females, or the “ young generally ?” 33 say “ No,” nine say straw plaiting, and nine say lace, no reference being made to farm labour, to, which the question is intended especially to refer. It will be observed that in the answers to questions II. 22, k and 1, the employment of females in farm labour, as affecting their morality, is never compared unfavourably with their employment in straw plaiting or lace making, and that the restrictions recommended for female field labour are not such as to affect at all the manner of employment in the district from which the recommendation comes. 35. The tables of school returns (Beds, summary A, B, C, D, E, and Bucks, Summary A, B, C,) will sufficiently illustrate the answers given to circular question iv. 43, which asks for a return of the approximate number of children of the agricultural labouring class in attendance at elementary schools. In some cases the returns given include all the children in attendance at the school for which the return is made. In most it is confined to the children of the class intended, and in one instance (Woburn) it is confined to the children of agricultural labourers ; as a whole, however, the returns may be fairly taken to represent the school attendance of the agricultural labouring class, being most accurate in the case of rural parishes where the population consists almost exclusively of that class. 36. Table A, Beds summary, contains returns from all the elementary schools in Woburn Union, and the account amounts to this, that in a union containing 29,603 acres, and, according to the census of F, Effect of em- ployment on health. Legislative restrictions not required on this account. Employment of females in agri- culture. Effect of em- ployment in field work, straw plait, and lace making on females. School returns Woburn Union 1861, 11,682 inhabitants, most of whom belong to the class in question, there are im average attend- - ance at elementary schools— Insummer - - = - - = + + 899 boys under 10 years of age. 74,4, between 10 and 13. 289 girls under 10 years of age. - 774, between 10 and 13. Total number of children under 13 in average attendance 839 Total number of such children on the registers of schools 1,100 Supposing that 80 per cent. of the population belong to the class (labouring class) for which the returns are made, it would appear that there is one child under 13 years of age on the register of some elementary school for every 84 persons, and one in average attendance for every 11 persons nearly. Of the children under 10 years of age there are about 25 per cent. more boys than girls in - average attendance, whereas of the children between 10 and 13 there are 4 per cent. fewer boys than girls, It will be remembered that these figures relate to a union where straw plait or lace making, but chiefly straw plait, are the only occupations of females of the labouring class. 37. Taking the returns from seven parishes in Ampthill Union, four parishes in Biggleswade Union, and one parish in Luton Union (see Beds summary of school returns C, D, FE, excluding Biggleswade, there being no return from the large boys’ British School there), in all of which parishes, except Cranfield, straw plait is the usual occupation of females. We have again (allowing the same pro- portion of inhabitants not to belong to the class for which the returns are made), one child under 13 in average attendance at school for every 11 persons. Here, however, the boys under 10 years are only 12 per cent. in excess of the girls under 10, and the boys between 10 and 13 exceed the girls by about 20 per cent., (the attendance of girls between 10 and 13 being very small in the parish of Sandy, where there is the attraction of onion peeling as well as straw plaiting. Aa2 Ampthill, Biggleswade, and Luton Unions. F, Bedford Union. Comparative attendance in summer and winter in Beds. Deductions from evidence of school returns. Kempston parish. School returns, Bucks. 128 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 88. In 18 parishes in Bedford Union, where the occupation of females is lace making (see Beds summary, school return B, excluding Kempston, where two schools for elder children, open two days a week each, are included in the return), containing 44,376 acres, and . 10,310 inhabitants, there are in average attendance— Insummer - = -— - - - - - 870 boys under 10. 32 ,, between 10 and 13. 310 girls under 10. 93 ,, between 10 and 13. Total children under 13 years in average attendance- - 805 Giving, after deducting the same per-centage for persons not of the labouring class, an average attendance of one child under 13 years for every 10 persons nearly, and showing that the boys under 10 exceed the girls by 20 per cent., and that of the children between 10 and 13 there are three times as many girls as boys in average attendance. : 39. ‘To show the difference of average attendance in summer and winter, take the aggregate attend- ance of the 46 parishes just mentioned, and the account stands thus :— Boys Girls ” Under 10 Between Between Years of Age. 10 and 13, Under tg: 10 and 13, Summer - - 1,178 200 957 247 Winter - - 1,212 225 870 282 While, therefore, there is an increase in winter of about 3 per cent. for boys under 10, about 12 per cent. for boys between 10 and 13, and about 16 per cent. for girls between 10 and 13, there is a decrease of 11 per cent. for girls under 10. The tables also show that the number of children at school under 10 years of age is 44 times as great as the number between 10 and 13. 40. The increase of 12 per cent. in the number of boys between 10 and 13 attending school in winter shows that a certain number of boys over !0 years of age, though prevented by farm work from attending school in summer, are not so prevented in winter, and would not, as far as their earnings are concerned, be affected by legislative interference demanding school attendance during the winter months. The very slight winter increase in the number of boys under 10 appears to me (considering that there is little or no farm work for them in winter) to show that their school attendance is not so greatly affected as is generally supposed by the demand for their services in farm labour. That the attendance of hoys, taking the year throughout, exceeds that of girls for children under 10 years of age, shows that up to that age straw plait and lace making are more serious opponents of school attendance than farm labour. After 10, however, the tables are turned, and we find that girls so employed find more time for school attendance than boys even in winter. 41. In Kempston parish, where two schools (besides the ordinary day schools) are open in different parts = the parish for two days a week each, the comparative attendance of boys and girls between 10 and 13 is— In Summer - - - Boys, 32. In Winter - - Boys, 32. Girls, 80. Girls, 83. Showing an attendance of about twice as many girls as is the case where the ordinary day school only is available.* 42. Table B of the Bucks school returns will show the difficulty of tabulating the returns as given in the answers to circular questions iv. 43. The average attendance in summer in 32 parishes in Bucks (adding retarns from Chilton, Gran- borough, and Stoke Goldington to table C) is— Boys under 10 - - = % x - 897 5, between l0and13 - - . “ - 101 Girls under 10 - - 7 7 - 758 » between 10 and 13 - fs es - 151 Showing for children under 10 an attendance of 18 per cent. more boys than girls, a difference which is diminished by the greater attendance of girls in three parishes which are out of the plait and lace district. The same remark which I made for Bedfordshire would therefore apply here as to the com- parative effects of these occupations for girls, and the demand for boy labour on farms, on the school attendance of children under 10 years of age. Of children between 10 and 13 there are 50 per cent. more girls than boys at school, farm labour here, as in Beds, telling against the boys. As between summer and winter there is an increase for boys under 10 of 2 per cent., for boys between 10 and 13, of 25 per cent.; of girls under 10 of less than 1 per cent., and of girls between 10 and 13 of 6 per cent. Showing, I think, for Bucks as well as for Beds, that farm labour does not affect the school attendance of boys under 10 so much as is supposed, and that there are a considerable number of boys over 10 years of age whose employment in farm labour is confined to the summer months. As between children over and under 10 years of age there are more than six times as many children under 10 at * A letter addressed to the Rev. James Fraser by Mr. Charles Howard (see Beds general evidence, 23, a, b, ¢) called forth some correspondence about Kempston parish, which a reference to the school returns will, I think, settle in favour of the parish. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR, G. CULLEY’S REPORT. 129 school as children over 10; as far as boys alone are concerned thereare eight times as many. A reference to the tables for Bucks will show that in 12 rural parishes for which returns are given there 1s no attendance of boys over 10 years of age, and in the same manner in Bedfordshire 13 rural parishes for which I have returns show no attendance of boys over 10 years of age. 43. The following parishes which I visited, having a population over 200, had no school. In Bedfordshire : Harlington = - - Population 529 Acreage 1,815 Tilsworth “ - 43 348 » 1,510 Barton-le-clay - - 55 956 25225 In Buckinghamshire: Cublington - - 5 288 % 1,212 Long Crendon - - 55 1,570 » 0120 Saunderton - - 55 232 m 1,590 The parish of Swineshead, in the county of Huntingdon, though surrounded on all sides by Bedfordshire, is without either school or resident clergyman (see evidence for Beds, 32). 44, From the answers to circular question IV. 44, it will be seen that owing to the prevalence of straw plait and lace making, comparatively few children are neither at school nor at work. 45. A reference to the answers to circular question IV. 46, asking for the “ approximate number of young persons of the agricultural labouring class growing up with insufficient education,” will I think show that the answer of the Rev. W. B. Russel for Turvey, would apply generally to both counties ; Mr. Russell says, ‘‘ From the eariy age at which both boys and girls are taken from school, the education “ of the great mass is insufficient.” 46. Eight of the 16 parishes in Woburn Union have evening schools, with a total average attendance of 165 scholars, from a population of 11,682, or about 1 in 54 of the labouring population, the number on the register of such schools is about 1 in 45 of the labouring population, making the same deduction from the whole population as I did in the case of day schools. Out of 50 parishes in the county of Bedford, for which returns were made, having an aggregate population of 44,378, 29 have evening schools, with a total average attendance of 546 scholars, and 952 names on the register, giving an average attendance for the labouring class (supposing that all these scholars belong to that class) of rather more than 1 in 65 persons, and of names on the register of schools, of about 1 in 37 persons. 47. Of 52 parishes in Bucks, containing a labouring population of 33,713 (deducting 20 per cent. from the entire population), 39 have evening schools, with an average attendance, as given in circular returns, of 914 scholars, or 1 for every 37 persons, showing, after making allowance for a certain amount of looseness for returns made in summer of winter evening schools, that evening schools are much more appreciated in Bucks than in Bedfordshire. : 48. Most of these schools are open for 20 weeks during the winter months, and of the 68 for which I have returns, 26 are open for three nights per week, and the same number for two nights, the usual time per night being from one and a half to two hours, In all evening schools, reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught, and in very few anything further is attempted. 49. The answer of the Rev. T. J. Williams, of Waddesden, to the question, “ Do you consider that “ the evening school adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school?” May be taken as expressing the opinion of the majority of witnesses who answer this question. Mr. Williams says, “ Not “ adequately certainly ; but it is a great help to those who use it regularly.” The principal difficulties in the way of evening schools, appear from the evidence to be “ want of teaching power,” and “ weari- “ ness and indifference of the young;” these two causes of difficulty being dwelt upon about equally frequently. 50. Bearing in mind the force of the educational returns which I have just referred to, adding thereto the evidence gained from an examination of the young found at work, and other evidence on the state of education (see Beds, general evidence, 3b, 5b, lle, 11d, 12c, 14g, 14h, 23h, 231, 24b, 26c, 33e, 35d, 45f, 471, 54, 58, 59, 61. Bucks, general evidence, 1b, 3d, 21c, 21d, 30e, 30h, 36d, 36e, 41c, 41d, 43e, 43f, 56a, Sle, S81f, 106, 120). I think there can be no reasonable doubt that there are a great many young people of the agricultural labouring class growing up without sufficient education, meaning by sufficient education, the power of reading, and writing, and using for ordinary purposes the first four rules of arithmetic, and that not a few are growing up without any education whatever in both of the counties to which these returns apply. 51. Whether the application of principles analogous to those of the Factory Acts, z.e., the fixing of a limit under which children should not be permitted to be employed in farm labour, and the exaction of a certain amount of school attendance, up to a certain age, from children earning wages, is the most desirable remedy for this defective state of education, and if so, what are the limits of age which it would be most desirable to fix, are the most important questions on which I had to elicit opinions. It will be seen from the answers to circular questions, J].,"22m., and III., 23, 24, 26, that opinions are very much divided upon this subject ; of those who give direct answers, 28 say that such legislative interference is not desirable, and 22 say that it is; in most of the circulars returned to me no answer is given. To the evidence on this subject, contained in resolutions of board of guardians, I attach great importance, the opinions expressed in such resolutions being those of the majority of guardians present, when the question of the application of the principles of the Factory Acts to agricultural labour was fully discussed’ by a body of men who ought thoroughly to understand the effect of such legislation on the supply of labour necessary for the cultivation of the land, and the capability of the labouring class to bear such pressure as is implied by restricting the age at which their children should be employed. In Bedfordshire (see general evidence, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, and 61), the Bedford, Ampthill, and Luton Boards decided in favour of such legislative interference; the Woburn Board, while deprecating any compulsory scheme of education, expressed an opinion that no boy should be employed in farm labour under 10 years of age; the Biggleswade Board objected altogether to legislative interference. In Bucks (see general evi- dence, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93), the Thame and Newport Pagnell Boards decided in favour of legislative restric- tion for boys up to 10 years of age, the Amersham Board expressed an opinion, that if the principles of the Factory Acts are to be applied, there should be an absolute prehibition up to 10 years of age, and that Aas iT Parishes wit out schools, Few children neither at school nor at work. Education generally in- sufficient. Evening schools in Beds. In Bucks. Subjects of instruction. Success and failure of evening schoo! Evidence shov insufficient state of educa tion, Opinions as t: the applicatio of Factory Ac principle very much divided 130 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN after that, legislative interference should cease. The Aylesbury, Buckingham, Eton, and * Wycombe Boards decided against the desirability of any legislative interference. It will be seen, therefore, that the boards of guardians which ‘I -consulted, though: universally . opposed to legislative interference for the protection of the young or females from supposed’ physical Local edaca- tional tax. Opinions on extent of in- terference necessary. Archdeacon Bickersteth. Woburn Bench. Bedford Bench. Luton Bench. Woburn Board of Guardians. Bedford Board, Ampthill Board. Biggleswade Board. Luton Board. Thame Board, Newport Pag- nell Board. injury arising from the nature of their employment in farm labour, were pretty evenly divided in opinion as to the desirability of such interference for educational purposes. On the one side. there are the weaknesses and inequalities of the voluntary system, and the duty of the State for its own sake as well as for theirs to help those who cannot help themselves. And on the other, a certain amount of inter- ference with the liberty of the subject, the chances of an educational tax which may or may not be levied as a poor rate, some doubt as to the ability of the parents to bear the necessary pressure, and some fear of what is called over-educating. : 52. One argument I have often heard urged against a local tax for educational purposes, is that the object of the improved education is to put the children in a position to be able to carry their labour to the dearest market, and so deprive of their services the parish or district which has paid for their education. 53. If, however, there is 4 great diversity of opinion as to the expediency of applying to employ- ment in agriculture legislative restrictions resembling those of the Factory Acts, there is a great similarity of opinion as to which of the modes under those Acts of providing for the education of the young is most applicable to such employment. The half day and alternate day systems are condemned by a great majority of witnesses as utterly inapplicable to the case of children employed in farm labour. Most of the occupiers who approve of legislative interference think that it would be sufficient to prohibit children’ from being employed under 10 years of age, and leave the maintenance of the education then arrived at in the hands of the parents. as 54. Archdeacon Bickersteth, in his answer to Question III. 26, expresses the view of most of the clergy, where he says: 2 a “J doubt much whether either of the plans 1 or 2 (the half day and alternate day modes) would answer in agricultural districts. The principle of the Printworks Act (plan 3) might T think be applied with advantage with some modifications such as the substitution of 12 months for six ;” i. é, that as he had in answer to an earlier question recommended a total prohibition up to 10 years, he thinks that for children between 10 and 13 it would be most convenient to demand a certain number of hours attendance at school during the preceding 12 months, thus allowing the parents to choose the time of year when work is slack, probably the winter months, in which to send their children who are between 10 and 13 years of age to school. i 55. The Woburn Bench of Magistrates say : 8 “Tf the Factory Acts’ principles are to be applied to children employed in farm labour, we think that school attendance for four winter months would be much better suited to such employment than either a half day or alternate day system.” (See Beds evidence, 53.) 56. The Bedford Bench of Magistrates, after recommending 9 as the age under which children should not be permitted to be employed for educational purposes, say : 4 “Of the Fuctory Acts’ modes of interference with children actually at work we think the 3rd, or Print- works Act plan, of demanding a certain number of hours of school attendance during the preceding six months, most applicable to farm labour, substituting 12 for 6 months.” (See Beds evidence, 54.) ; 57. The Luton bench, after recommending 10 as the age under which children should not be employed, express an opinion similar to that of the Bedford bench in favour of the Printworks Act mode of interference, substituting 12 for 6 months, provided that any interference after 10 years of age is deemed necessary. (See Beds evidence, 55.) . : ' 58. The Woburn Board of Guardians say : s “We do not want any compulsory scheme of education, but we think no boy should be employed below 10 years of age. We think the half day and alternate day systems wholly unsuited to employment in farm labour, and we object to the Printworks Act provision as interfering unnecessarily with our employment of boys between 10 and 13 years of age, and with the ability of the parents to support a family where the elder chil- dren are between 10 and 13.” (See Beds evidence, 56.) “4 59. The Bedford Board of Guardians, after recommending 9 as the age under which boys should not be permitted to be employed in farm labour, resolved : ot “ That, if the Factory Acts principles be applied to labour in agriculture, attendance at night schools should be deemed sufficient after 10 years of age.” (See Beds evidence, 58.) : 60. The Ampthill Board of Guardians, after fixing 10 as the age under which boys should. not be employed in farm labour, resolved: “ That this Board desires that the Government should take measures for the encouragement of Sree night schools for boys above 10 years of age, and if that should be done they think no further legislation would be necessary with respect to such boys. (See Beds evidence, 59.) 61. The Biggleswade Board of Guardians, after deprecating any legislative interference, say, that if such interference is deemed necessary it should be confined to children under 10 years of age, and that Government aid ought to be extended to night schools. (Beds evidence, 60.) 62. The Luton Board of Guardians resolved, that for the sake of education children should not be employed under 8, that between 8 and 10 they should only be employed six months in the year, and that after 10 legislative interference should cease. (Beds evidence, 61.) ; 63. Turning now to Bucks: “The Thame Board of Guardians resolved that children of both sexes should be kept at school until 10 years of age ; that no legislative interference after that age is desirable.” (See Bucks evidence, 90.) 64. The Newport Pagnell Board of Guardians, after fixing 10 years, as the age under which boys should not be employed, passed a resolution in favour of extending Government aid to night schools for t * The resolution of the Wycombe Board has been accidentally omitted from the evidence. _ IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR. G. CULLEY’S REPORT, 131 boys over 10 years of age, whether such schools are superintended by certificated or uncertificated teachers. (See Bucks evidence, 92.) 65. The Amersham Board of Guardians passed a resolution to the effect that, if the principles of the Factory Acts are to be applied to farm labour there should be an absolute prohibition to 10 after which all interference should cease. (Bucks evidence, 93.) ? Bore ner 66. Boards of Guardians, therefore, if they differ in opinon as to the necessity for legislative inter- ference, agree in recommending that all such interference should cease at 10 years of age, asserting that night schools, if somewhat more liberally assisted by Government, would be quite sutlicient after that age to maintain such an education as is necessary for the agricultural labouring class. It will be seen also that their opinion is very much shared by the magistrates and clergymen whom I consulted and rests upon the belief that if a regular attendance at school could be secured up to 10 years of age. very little would be required afterwards to secure to the children the use of the elementary education (reading, writing, and ciphering) arrived at at that age, and so the great difficulty of mixi school attendance and farm work might be avoided. : ss pis eames 67. As soon as I found that there was a general willingness on the part of employers of labour to do without the work of boys under 10 years of age, and that, as I think will be shown by the labour returns, no. very serious loss would be sustained by the parents from the want of the earnings of children under that age, I consulted as many school teachers as I found opportunity to do as to what in their opinion would be the average state of education, supposing a regular attendance up to 10 years of age, and what school attendance would be necessary between 10 and 13 to secure for ordinary purposes the power of reading, writing, and ciphering. It will be seen from the evidence that I consulted on this subject 16 school teachers in Bedfordshire, and 11 in Bucks, and that the following may be taken as the answer of all of them to the first part of the question: Granted a regular school attendance from 5 (some say 6) years of age up to 10, a child of ordinary ability would be able to read and write and use the first four rules of arithmetic with facility. : As to the second part of the question, the attendance necessary between 10 and 13 to keep up this elementary education, there is considerable difference of opinion, some witnesses asserting that attendance at Sunday and night schools would be sufficient (see Beds evidence, 75, 78, 80, Bucks evidence, 106, 109, 110); others that a half time system would be necessary (see Beds evidence, 73, 82, 83, 84, 85, Bucks evidence, 111, 115); others again would be content with 4 winter months or one day per week throughout the year. 68. From all the evidence that I have received in these two counties on the subject of education and the difficulties in the way of legislative interference on that account, it appears to me that without interfering with the labour required for the cultivation of the land, or putting any very serious pressure on the parents, boys might be prevented from being employed in farm labour up to 10 years of age, and that supposing they attended school regularly up to that age, so little is required to keep up such an elementary education as I have described that by an elastic rule, which did not altogether ignore evening schools, even the ploughboy might crack his whip throughout the year and still fulfil the necessary condition of school attendance. I confess that if it was not for the ploughboy I would not second an application for Government aid to evening schools, although it cannot be denied that under the present system many young persons are indebted to them for all the education they have. 69. Before leaving the subject of education it is only right that I should call your attention to the evidence of Mr. Harvey, chairman of quarter sessions for Bedfordshire, Sir Harry Verney, Bart., M.P., and the Rev. W. R. Fremantle (see Beds evidence, 132, Bucks evidence, 117 and 118), in which the advantages of an educational instead of an age test are very clearly stated. 70. The answers to circular question III., 37, giving a general description of the cottages, will be found in the general evidence for Bedfordshire, Nos. 1 to 52, and in the general evidence for Bucks, Nos. 1 to 87. In the summary of answers to circular questions for Bedfordshire I have thus summa- rized the descriptions given:—In about half of 55 parishes the cottages are described as good, fairly good, or generally good ; in all of these, except one, the cottage property belongs either altogether or in part to the chief landowners ; in the remaining half of these parishes the cottages are described as either mixed, bad and good, or generally bad, and in these cases the ownership is usually described as < yarious” or “chiefly small proprietors,” or it is said that many cottages are built on the waste and belong to the occupiers, in which last case they are always described as bad. Except where they belong to chief landowners, and in some cases even then, the cottages are generally described as lacking accommodation necessary for a family. Where cottages belong to chief Jandowners sufficient outhouses are generally, but not always, provided. The cottages built on specu- lation are very deficient in outhouses. : In only two cases I found that the occupiers of cottages were supposed to have to deal with the owners who are tradesmen. The rooms in the old cottages are very small and low, ventilation gene- rally stopped. by the occupiers; artificial drainage very unusual. Rents vary from 1s. to 2s. 6d. a week, being highest in such towns as Biggleswade, and lowest in proportion to the accommodation where the cottages belong to the chief landowners. The water supply is described as bad in four arishes. F In 30 of 79 parishes in Bucks for which the cottages are described they are said to belong altogether or chiefly to the principal landowners, and of these 30 cases 14 may be said to have the cottages described as generally good, 11 as fairly good, 4 as mixed good and bad, and 1 as generally bad. ~ In 42 cases the ownership is described as various ; in 6 of these cases the cottages may be said to be described as fairly good, in 28 cases they are described as mixed good and bad, and in 8 cases as generally bad. : In 7 parishes a considerable number of the cottages are built on the waste and belong to the occupiers, in all of which cases the accommodation is bad. In 7 villages the water supply is described as bad. In two villages the occupiers of certain cottages are expected to deal with the tradesmen to whom they belong. _ Rents in the north of the county vary from 1s. to 2s. 6d., and in the valley of the Thames from 2s. to 3% 6d, per week. seed a F. Amersham Board, Interference after 10 years of age gene- rally depre- cated. Evidence of school teachers. Result of evidence on subject of education. Evidence on state of cottag accommoda- tion in 134 parishes. BE. Number of cottages gene- rally sufficient. Misfortune that more cottages do not belong to landowners. Villages with good cottages, 21 villages in which cottages are bad. Advantage of cottages at- tached to farm steading. 132 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 71. In 22 out of 102 parishes for which answers are given in both counties there are said not to be sufficient cottages for the accommodation of persons employed on the land, the deficiency being in close parishes, where the cottages belong to the chief landowners. In several parishes there are said to be too many cottages. 72. The above evidence will, I think, justify an opinion which I hold very strongly, that it is a great misfortune for the agricultural Jabourers in these counties that so small a proportion of their cottages belong to the chief landowners ; when they do there is somebody to care for the manner in which the poor are housed, somebody to be ashamed of a bad state of things, somebody upon whom the pressure of public opinion may be brought to bear ; when they do not, the labourer has either to rickle up a miserable hut for himself or pay an exorbitant rent for a house in which the ordinary decencies of life become a dead letter. 73. Of the villages which I visited in Bedfordshire those in which the cottages are best and the poor most cared for are Husborne Crawley, Tingrith, Biddenham, Cardington, Cople, Melchbourne, Oakley, Turvey, Silsoe, and Southill; in Bucks they are Aston, Clinton, Halton, Chilton, Botolph and Middle Claydon, Shalstone, Great Brickhill, and Chenies, all of them villages in which the cottages belong to the landowners, and all of them, except three, lying, as it were at the door of the owner. 74, Of the villages which I visited in Bedfordshire I saw the worst specimens of cottages in Salford, Sheeplane (Potsgrove), Tilsworth, Toddington, Sharnbrook, Swineshead, Thurleigh, and Biggleswade ; in Bucks, in Cublington, Oving, Ickford, Long Crendon, Oakley, Shabbington, Stewkley, Winslow, Maids Moreton, Ivinghoe, Great Missenden, Burnham, and Hitcham. There are cottages in these 21 villages, in some of them many, quite unfit for human beings to live in; in five of them, viz, Salford (where the cottages belong to All Souls College, Oxford), Tilsworth, Sharnbrook, Swineshead, and Maids Moreton, as bad specimens as any to be found belong to the landowners; in five of, them most of the bad cottages are built on the waste; and in the remaining 11 they belong to small free- holders and speculators (see Beds evidence, 7, 12, 14, 30, 32, 33, 47, and Bucks evidence, 7, 13, 20, 21,. 22, 23, 30, 32, 41, 63, 81, 84). In some of these 21 villages the cottage evil has reached such a position that I confess it appears out of the power of the landowners to remedy it; in others I think their duty is pretty evident ; in Toddington, for instance, about half a dozen of the many cottages belong to the chief landowner, but as there are already many more cottages than are required for the cultivation of land to build without buying and pulling down would appear to be only to add to the evil, and the process of buying to pull down and rebuild is beyond the power of most landowners, especially on such a scale as would be required before the chief estate in this parish could be said to be fairly represented by labourers’ cottages belonging to it. I beg to call your attention to the evidence on this village and the condition of its inhabitants as given in the general evidence from Beds 14b, 14c, and 14d. In Thur- leigh out of 110 cottages, 52 are built on the waste and belong to the occupiers, the proprietors of two estates, containing nearly 1,400 acres between them, being represented by four cottages. Here, again, occurs the difficulty of buying up these wretched waste cottages and rebuilding ; the occupiers prefer their poor cottage, rent free, to a good cottage even at a moderate rent, and would not sell their mud and thatch dwelling except at an exorbitant price. A description of the cottages in the town of Biggleswade is given in the report of Mr. Edwin Blunden to the Board of Guardians (see Beds evidence, 47b), and exhibits a deplorable state of things. In Cublington parish the chief landowner has one cottage, five miserable cottages on the road side belonging to the parish might no doubt change hands at a moderate price. In Oving, a large proportion of the cottages stand on the waste and either do now or have belonged to the occupiers ; the chairman of the Aylesbury Board of Guardians informed me that this parish (Oving) was given up to the labourers at a time when under the old poor law the rates had reached 25s. per acre. In Ickford was the only very clear case which I came across of a tradesman as owner of cottages compelling his tenants to deal with him. In Shabbington nearly all the cottages belong to the occupiers, and are badly constructed. In Stewkley the cottages belong generally to small tradesmen, and are very bad with one very small bedroom (see Buck’s evidence, 30, d, e, f, g, h); in one such cottage I found a man and his wife and 10 children. Of Maids Moreton the Rev. M. W. Davies (see Bucks evidence, 41) says :— , “The cottages are badly constructed, many of them with but one room below and one above, and these of course crowded ; the drainage is imperfect ; the water supply deficient; gardens are scarce; privy accom- modation extremely bad ; rents low, though high enough for what the cottages are ; ownership chiefly vested in Jandowners.” This is one of the few instances I saw in which any very serious complaint can be made of the state of cottages where the chief landowners are also the chief cottage owners, and I can fully attest the correctness of Mr. Davies’ description. I have attempted to describe the rag pit village at Tvinghoe in Bucks evidence, 63c. It is, I think, the most extraordinary collection of dwellings I ever saw, but here too, as at Toddington and Stewkley, the increase of the straw plait trade has brought into the parish a much larger population than can find employment in farm labour or than any proprietor could be expected to find houses for. A description of the Burnham “Barracks” will be found in Bucks evidence, 81c. In the valley of the Thames cottages are very dear and very difficult to get. What Mr. Richard Webster says of Hitcham would apply to many parishes near it:—“ Cottages are very dear, “ the better ones are occupied gentlemen’s servants and persons better off than agricultural “ labourers, and these have often to content themselves with a poor cottage at 2s. 6d. a week.” 75. I cannot help thinking that in the neighbourhood of Slough farmers would be willing to pay an additional rent equal to a fair percentage on the outlay if landowners would build a few cottaces attached to the farm steadings and let them with the farms. (See evidence 82a, 84a, and 87a.) . 76. The custom of building a few cottages attached to the farm buildings, especially where farms are large and farm offices good, is considerably extending, and as these cottages are landowners’ cottages and are not built under the idea of receiving a fair interest for the cost in the shape of rent paid by the cottager, it is to be hoped that other landowners will follow the example shown in this respect by the Duke of Bedford, Lady, Cowper, Sir Harry Verney, and others. It is almost necessary to the safety of farm offices and the valuable live stock which they contain that such- responsible servants as foremen, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—MR. G. CULLEY’S REPO?T. 133 carters, and cattle men should live near the objects of their care. Cottages so situated have other advantages, which have been so often quoted in arguments in favour of building cottages attached te the farm offices instead of in villages that it is unnecessary for me to dwell on them here. 7% On the Duke of Bedford’s estate the occupants of the cottages I am now speaking of hold direct from the landowner, who gives a power of nomination to the farmer. On Lady Cowper’s and Sir Harry Verney’s estates thése cottages are let with the farms, the farmer having entire control over them and their occupants. Mr. Trethewy, agent to Lady Cowper, in speaking to me of this arrangement, said that he considers this supply of cottages necessary as a substitute for the old plan of having a certain number of single men living in the farmer’s house ; that the horsekeeper, cowkeeper, and shepherd on a farm are or ought to be in the same position as a groom or domestic servant; and that he has never known any evil result to the labourer from his being brought more under control of the farmer. Sir Harry Verney says (see Bucks evidence, 117) :— “ What I desire for my outlying farms is to have a couple of cottages for each on the hard road supplying a dry walk to the village ; and I would let those with my farm so that the farmer would have entire control over his labourers: living in them; this power might occasionally be abused, but it would be to the interest of both farmer and labourer to do fairly by each other.” 78. All the evidence which I have received from farmers themselves goes to show that they at least accept it as a fact that if cottages were built contiguous to their farm offices and let to them with their farms they would not only have more efficient servants, but that the cost of labour to them and number of cottages required for the cultivation of the land would be diminished, a fact which I think points to a, strong inducement to landowners to follow the example of those I have already quoted. ‘The probability of a habitable house, near his work, out of the way of the beershop, with a good garden attached to it, outweighs, in my mind, as far as the labourer’s interest is concerned, the possibility of oppression from bad masters. , 79. The few answers given to Circular Question III. 41, show that the persons most interested are not yet aware of any mode by which good cottage accommodation can be secured on self-supporting terms, meaning by that, at a cost which would make the rent that a farm labourer can pay a fair return in the shape of interest. A good cottage, as far as any ordinary mode of construction is concerned, can only be considered self-supporting in the same sense that good stables and good cattle sheds are self-supporting, and it is evident that until some happy man can confer the great blessing upon his country of explaining how house building can be conducted at half its present cost, the only hope that the labourer can have of being properly housed is that the landowners should accept the position that good cottages conveniently placed pay in the same sense that good farm offices so placed pay. That, however, many landowners are not in a position to act upon this belief, even if they accept it, is beyond a doubt ; and if the Legislature thinks proper to extend to them such aid as is intended by the Act 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114, July 1864, it is most desirable that the manner of using the powers of that Act should be as simple as possible, and that as little as possible of the money advanced by the State, or through the agency of public companies, should be diverted from the use for which such loans are sanctioned. 80. In obedience to your instructions, I obtained as much evidence as I could on the subject of allotments and their value to the labourer. Examples of the systems adopted on the Duke of Bedford’s, Lady Cowper’s, Lord St. John’s, Lord Dynevor’s, and Mr. Whitbread’s estates, are given in Beds evidence, Nos. 88 to 92; and on Mr. Henley’s and the Dorton estates in Bucks, evidence 128 and 129; in Beds evidence, No. 89, will be found extracts from avery able paper on this subject, read by Mr. Trethewy, agent to Lady Cowper, at a meeting of the Central Farmers Club, in which the advantages of an allotment of a moderate size to a farm labourer are very clearly stated; what this moderate size should be is still a moot point; on the Duke of Bedford’s estates, in these two counties, nearly 1,400 allotments of about 20 poles each, are provided at rents varying from 2d. to 4d. per pole, 20 poles being considered sufficient for the spade husbandry of a farm labourer in his leisure hours. On Lady Cowper’s, Lord St. John’s, Lord Dynevor’s, and Mr. Whitbread’s estates, the common allowance is 40 poles, and as in all these cases, the sole object in granting the allotment is to confer a benefit on the labourer, it would appear that the experience of the owners of these estates where the allotment system has been long established (since 1829) is that an allotment, to be of real benefit to the ordinary farm labourer, should not exceed 40 poles, and it is a question whether even that is not too much ; I had the pleasure of hearing this question discussed by Messrs. Trethewy and Bennett, who have under their eare the largest systems of allotments in these counties, and accepting the’ position that the allotment is intended to take the place of a garden, and is injurious to the farm labourer in regular employment as soon as it induces him to neglect his legitimate work, or to grow crops which can be produced by the farmer at a much cheaper rate, I am inclined to think that the best quantity to allow, if the quantity must be invariable, lies nearer 20 than 40 poles, that 20 poles is a perfectly safe allowance to make is I think shown by the fact, that many farmers themselves allow that quantity to their labourers in cases where there is no such provision by the landowner; that the poor themselves fully appreciate the advan- tages of having a “ bit of land,” is too well known to require any reference to evidence on the subject, the desire is so great that landowners and their agents have taken advantage of it to overcome the lawless habits of the inhabitants of such villages as are found in the west of Buckinghamshire, by a rule that a conviction before a bench of magistrates carries with it a forfeiture of the allotment. On this subject, Mr. Golding, agent for the Dynevor estate in Bedfordshire, says, “ the men would suffer “ anything rather than forfeit their allotment ” (see evidence, 91). The man who showed me the allot- ments in Oakley and Shabbington parishes summed up his account of them by saying, “ You see, Sir, “ Oakley were a wild blackguard, place, and Mr. Henley have done it to cure the place.” It is evident that an allotment system, which should be confined to, say, 30 poles in a parish, where the labour market is only fairly supplied with hands, might be for the sake of “ curing the place,” considerably extended where there are many more labourers than the cultivation of the land in farms can find work for, but I am afraid that such a cure can only produce temporary relief, and that the disease which sleeps for a time may break out in a form more difficult to grapple with, when the allotment-bred children grow 21157. Bb = Manner of letting them on three large estates. Inducement to landowners to build such cottages. a Cottages on self-supporting terms. Allotment systems. F. Value of an allotment pecuniarily and morally. System in Woburn Union. Garden versus allotment. Benefit socie- ties. Lace making aad straw plaiting. Lace schools. Earnings. Plait schools, 134 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN ap to think that it is the business of their life to grow wheat crops by spade husbandry, as their fathers id. 81. The actual value of an allotment, such as 20 poles, to a farm labourer does not altogether depend on the money value of the produce, and the labourers themselves find it difficult to estimate the value, taking, however, the money value of the produce of good land, cultivated as an allotment should be, to be Is. 6d. per pole, and the rent (including rates and taxes) 6d. per pole, there would be a payment in return for labour of 1s. for every pole he could so cultivate ; 6d. per pole should secure the best land for spade ‘cultivation, and 1s. 6d. would about represent the money value of the produce. If then 20 poles is all that a.farm labourer can cultivate by spade husbandry, without interfering with his regular employment, the allotment is worth to him, as an addition to his earnings, 20s. a year ; if, however, without injuring him as a hired servant he could be: intrusted with 30 poles, as I am not prepared to deny that he could, the increase to his earnings would rise to 30s. a year, and that paying a rent which would be sufficient to induce most landowners to adopt an allotment system, putting aside all the moral and physical benefits which arise from the possession of a “bit of land” which provides him with a wholesome and educating employment for his leisure hours, keeps him out of the beershop, and opens his eyes to the advantage of keeping in his pocket the shilling which he would have spent there on Saturday night if he had not been too busy on that “bit of land.” : 82. The tabular statement of the allotment system in Woburn Union (see Beds evidence, 87), shows that there are about 800 allotments such as I have described provided for 29,603 acres, or say 27,000 acres of cultivated land, employing about 945 adult labourers, and that there are (even if all the allotments were held by men employed on farms, which is not the case) 18 per cent. of the labourers for whom no such 'provision is made. ; 83. A garden of 20 poles attached to a cottage would of course be a better arrangement than an allotment of the same size even only 100 yards from it ; but such an arrangement is impossible where cottages are already built in villages with no more ground attached to them than is occupied by the cottage itself and its offices, or the cottage without offices. 84. I would now call your attention to the evidence which I received, acting under your instruc- tions, on the subject of benefit clubs, more especially such as are held at public-houses. It will be seen from Beds evidence, 120, that Mr. Charles Howard, who read an interesting paper upon this subject at.the Central Farmers’ Club in November 1867, then estimated the number of public-house benefit clubs in Bedfordshire to be 260, or nearly two to every parish ; the number is now no doubt somewhat smaller, as the old public-house club is yearly dying out, and the inclination of young’ men is to join larger societies, such as the “Odd Fellows,” “ Foresters,” or local societies, such as the “ South Bucks Friendly Society,” conducted on a much larger scale and safer basis than the old beerhouse club. The desire to make some provision for sickness and old age is a most laudable, and happily common one, and we cannot wonder that labouring men, finding it necessary to meet at a public-house for the pur- pose of forming a society, under rules which they thought wouid insure such a provision, should commit the grave.error of combining business of so serious a nature with the pleasure of drinking beer. To the publican such a society was a little fortune, if only he could insure the adoption of such rules as those of the King’s Arms, Hockliffe, Friendly Society, (see Beds evidence, 123). And accordingly the publican became the ruling spirit of the club. At first, when all the members were young, the annual Whitsuntide feast was what an old member of the Duncombe Arms Club called an “ all joble;” but as time went on the original members became old, young members would not join, preferring to hold their “all joble” together, and the club funds were exhausted at the very time when most of the members were in need of their assistance. I have spoken in a past tense, but the process of exhaustion is going on now, and all the hardships that accompany it. ‘That the public-house club should have its place taken by such societies as the “South Bucks Friendly Society,’ which I have already quoted, is a step in the right direction, and all praise to the promoters and honorary members. But I hope the day will come when the labouring man will have with his reach the power of investing his savings in such a manner that he will be certain in sickness or old age to reap the benefit of his thrift without the aid of honorary members. 85. A report on the condition of the agricultural labourers and their families in the counties of Bedford and Buckingham would be very incomplete if some account were not given of the manner in which their children are employed in making lace or plaiting straw. Speaking generally, in North Beds and North Bucks all the females are engaged in making lace, in south Beds and the centre of Bucks all the females, and not a few boys and men, are engaged in plaiting straw. In the lace district a farm labourer treats it as a matter of course that his daughters all be sent to a lace school at 4 or 5 years of age, and that from the time of their leaving the school to the time when they leave his house for good, it is his wife’s business to see that they stick to their lace pillow, and work at least as many hours as he does himself. Lace making, from the fact that it entails sitting in a stooping position with the hands out in front of the body, and must generally be performed in the cottage room, causes fully as much physical injury to the frame of the worker as straw plaiting, though there are not such loud complaints of its effect on morals. Lace schools, in their arrangements, and the extent to which they injure children by close confinement in badly ventilated rooms and interfere with their education, so much resemble plait schools that the description of the latter, which will be given presently, may be held to apply equally to them (see Beds evidence, 115, 116, 117, 119). The earnings of girls engaged in lace making are very difficult to get at, but according to the evidence of the lace makers themselves and those who know them best, the earnings at the time I was in Bedfordshire, when the trade was very much depressed, as it has been for some time, were about as follows :—Working 11 or 12 hours a day girls of from 10 to 12 years of age could earn about 1s. per week, and girls of from 16 years and upwards from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per week. (See Beds evidence, 16f, 23k, 26c; Bucks evidence, 8b, 43d). 86. As farm labourers in the lace district send their daughters to the lace school, so farm labourers in the plait district send their children, both male and female, to plait schools, where for a payment of from 2d. to 3d. (more commonly 2d.) per week, a master or mistress (generally a mistress) teaches IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—MR, G, CULLEY’S REPORT. 135 them to plait, and sees that they execute the task set them by their parents, the plait so made being the property of the parents, who buy the straws and sell the plait when made. _44 return of the number of children attending such schools in the central and south-eastern divisions of Bucks was kindly given to me by the chief constable, from which it appears (see Bucks evidence, 141), that there were 1,457 children, of whom 658 wore under 8 years of age, in attendance at 102 plait schools in those districts, and there can be no doubt that if the straw plaiting trade had not been in an unusually depressed state at the time the return was made, a very much larger number of children, especially of the younger ones, would have been found in attendance. I visited several plait schools about the time this return was being collected, and in three of these where I asked the question the teachers confessed to having from 30 to 40 per cent. more children when “ plait was good.” (See Beds evidence, 109, 110, and Bucks evidence, 142). From these returns it will be seen that the hours of work most common in schools at the time the returns were made were six or seven hours, which, however, are lengthened to nine or ten when “plait is good,” or the extra three or four hours considered necessary to make out a fair day’s plaiting are worked out at home. Some of the schools I visited, even with the reduced number of learners, were very close and offensive, and the accounts I received of their state in times when plait “went well” were enough to justify the very strong feeling existing in the plait district that some legislative interference is necessary, if only to protect the children from the physical injury sustained by working in close heated rooms. Warmth appears to be So necessary to insure sufficient suppleness of the fingers, that in cold weather every breath of air is carefully excluded from the little cottage kitchen where 30 or 40 children are packed together as closely as they can sit. Although there is a general pretence of teaching the children to read, the teachers themselves are often unable to do that which they profess to teach the children to do, and the reading is reduced to the repetition of a few verses of the Bible which they all know by heart. In some plait schools there is not even this pretence, and the result is that a great many children (girls especially) are growing up without any education. 87. In some parish schools, in order to secure the attendance of children, it has been found necessary to allow plaiting in school, under a sort of half-time system, and the result has been a great increase in the attendance at these schools. The same result, it will be remembered, was arrived at in Kempston parish, where the girls are lace makers, by having schools open for educational purposes two days in the week. 88. Soon after arriving in Bedfordshire I wrote to call your attention to the difficulties which the employment of boys at so early an age (beginning from 4 or 5 years) in straw plaiting put in the way of legislative restrictions for children engaged in agriculture, unless such restrictions were also placed on their employment in plaiting as to prevent the probability of their being sent to plaiting schools up to the time when they would by law be permitted to engage in field work. You were kind enough, in answer to my letter, to send me a copy of the Workshops Regulation Act (1867), which I believe was intended to include under its regulations plaiting schools. I had some doubt as to whether the Act would apply to these schools, and very great doubt that, if it did apply, it would do so in a manner calculated to interfere unnecessarily with the means at a parent’s disposal of teaching a child, sufficiently early, the trade by which it will in ail probability have to earn its livelihood. That there was some ground for the doubt as to the applicability of the Act will be shown by a letter from the Hon. A. F. O. Liddell to the Rev. P. T. Ouvry, J.P., by whom a case against a plait school teacher, taken by the chief constable of Bucks, was heard and referred to the Secretary of State. I am sorry that the case came on too late to allow me to put this letter in evidence, but as you will see by a copy of it which I enclose, the opinion of the. law officers of the Crown seems to be against the application of the Act.* If it be true, as plait and lace school teachers assert and parents believe, that children to become good workers must learn these handicrafts as early as 5 or 6 years of age, it appears to me that these trades, affecting so large a number of the inhabitants of the South Midland district, are entitled to regulations peculiarly suited to them. 89. Straw plaiting is accused by some witnesses of doing physical injuries to those who practise it under any circumstances (see Beds evidence, 98), and by very many of being in the highest degree injurious to morals (see Beds evidence, 14b, 14¢, 99 to 105, and Answers to Circular Question II. 29), 22k for Beds and Bucks). The great want of chastity amongst the plait girls probably arises from the early age at which, when plait is good, the girls become independent of their parents, and often leave their homes, and from the fact that male and female plaiters go about the lanes together in summer engaged in work which has not even the wholesome corrective of more or less physical exhaustion. 90. One of the worst features in the plait trade as affecting the plaiters is the great variation in the money value of the article they produce. At the time I was in the plait district the trade was, as I have said before, unusually depressed, and the earnings of plaiters of the ordinary stamp were reduced for girls over 16 years to about 2s. 6d. a week, for 10 or 11 hours’ work per day ; and for girls of 12 years to from ls. to 1s. 6d, children under 8 years of age being unable to pay for the straw (then very dear) and school fee. (See Beds evidence, 14c, 15c, 45d, 71a, 110, 111; Bucks, 7d, 143.) * Copy of Letter from the Hon. A. F, O. Liddell to Rev. P. T. Ouvry, JP. “ Sir, _ “© Whitehall, 31st July 1868. “T am directed by Mr. Secretary Hardy to inform you, with reference to the question submitted in your letter of the 7th inst., as to whether plaiting schools or workshops come under the operation of the Workshops Regulation Act, 1867, that the Attorney and Solicitor General have reported that it is mainly a question of fact whether the children referred to are employed in workshops within the meaning of the Act. That if the bond fide object be simply to have the child instructed in the art of straw plaiting they think that the child would not be ‘ employed,’ that is, occupied in the handicraft, ‘within Sec. 4 of the said Act, as handicraft’ is ‘manual labour exercised by way of trade or for purposes of gain in or incidental to the making of any article, &c.,’ and they . think that a child bond fide in the course of education or instruction in plaiting would not fall within the above words, though the straw plait made in the course of that education was a saleable article and was sold by the parents ; neither do they think that a room in which instruction is afforded as above is a workshop in which a ‘ handicraft is carried on’ by a child within the meaning of the Act. ; ; : “ Rev. P. T. Ouvry, J.P., “Tam, Sir, your obedient Servant, “ Wing Vicarage, Leighton Buzzard.” “A. F, 0. LIDDELL, Bb 2 Plaiting in day schools. Application of Workshops Regulation Act to plait schools. Plaiting injurious to morals, Earnings at plait. s * F, Plaiters ignorant of domestic duties, Earnings of labourers and their families. Harnings in Beds, Earnings in Bucks. Eton Union. Vale of Ayles- bury. 136: EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I was informed on very good,evidence that when plait was good, as it may be again if. ladies take to wearing straw bonnets, plaiters from. 16 years of age could earn from 6s. to 10s. per week. 91. Women, as a rule, in the lace and plait districts are utterly ignorant of such common things as keeping their houses clean, mending their own or their children’s clothes, and cooking their husbands’ dinners, and domestic service is at a great discount among them. Such an institution as the Cardington Industrial Day School for girls (the only industrial school I saw in either county), maint&ined by the daughters of Mr. Whitbread, cannot be too highly spoken of; I wads very much struck with the com- pleteness and simplicity of its arrangements, but as the cost of instructing 30 girls amounts to 702 a year I am afraid the example of these kind-hearted ladies will not be very often followed. (The report of this school will be found in Beds evidence, 19d.) 92. Before concluding this report I must trespass a little longer on your patience, whilst I state as accurately as I can the result of a mass of evidence on the earnings of farm labourers and their families, as affecting their ability to bear such pressure as might be inflicted upon them by placing legislative restrictions on the employment of their children. In Bedfordshire the ordinary day-labourers wage varies from 11 to 12 shillmgs a week, being about 1s. per week higher in Bedford than in Woburn Union ; the wages of men who have Sunday work, such as horsekeepers, shepherds, &c., vary from 12s. to 14s. a week, or more generally from 13s. to 14s a week. : In Bucks the ordinary labourer’s wage varies from lls. to 13s. being highest in the Vale of Aylesbury and valley of the Thames; the wages of Sunday men (carters, cattle men, and shepherds) vary from 13s. to 15s. a week. The difficulty is to ascertain to what extent this nominal wage is aug- mented by piece work or allowances of any kind. 93. After a considerable discussion at the Woburn Board of Guardians, the increase under these heads was thus stated :— Average increase by piece work - - - - | = 59s, for the year. 5 35 by extra wages or piece work in hay time and harvest 52s. a 55 _ by value of beer allowance - - - - 40s. “ Total increase for the year - - 134s, Making the nominal wage of 11s. a week up to 13s. 94d. Ireceived this evidence soon after I went to Bedfordshire, and from what I have since learnt I am inclined to think that the increase by piece work is put a little too high, and the cost of the beer allowance about as much too low; I think the beer allowance costs the farmer (as was often stated to me) nearly 52s. per year, or ls. per week, and that it would be safer to put the addition by piece work at 40s.; taking then the addition by piece work as 40s. a year, and leaving the other additions at the estimate of the Woburn Board, we have the average wage for the year as calculated by the board reduced to 13s. 64d. a week, and I think it may- be fairly said that an efficient farm labourer may in Bedfordshire command an average wage, taking the year throughout, of 13s. 6d. a week, and that many of them earn 15s. Where piece work is much given the earnings of industrious men are increased without adding to the actual cost of work done, and in some cases of which I received reliable evidence I was surprised to find how much men earned in this way. On Woburn Park farm, where the nominal weekly wage was 12s., and where the beer allowance is paid in money (an example which I think might be followed with advantage) 22 men earned on an average 15s. 6d. a week throughout the year 1867 (see evidence, 15f, Beds. The =e paid by market gardeners round Biggleswade are to ordinary labourers 12s. a week with two pints of beer per day in summer and one pint per day in winter, to men who have charge of horses they pay 14s. a week with the same beer allowance. 94. The wages of farm labourers, as will be seen by the evidence, vary more in Bucks ‘than in Bedfordshire. Putting the unions in order of the value of wages, beginning with the highest, they would stand thus,— y Eton. Thame. Aylesbury. Buckingham. Newport Pagnell. Winslow. Wycombe. Leighton. Amersham. 95. In Eton Union ordinary labourers have 13s. a week, carters 14s. (I am of course speaking of the wage for the years 1867 to 1868) (see evidence for Bucks, 81b, 82b, 84a). Examples of the earnings of men in different kinds of piece work are given in the evidence of Mr. C. S. Cantrell, of Riding Court Farm, Datchett, see Bucks evidence, 82b, by whom the system of piece work is thoroughly worked out, and it will be seen that the earnings of four ordinary labourers employed in this way were never under 2s. 6d. a day, and sometimes reached 3s. 6d., and that it may be safely said that an ordinarily efficient farm labourer has it in his power to earn an average wage (including allowances) for the year of 15s. a week. 96. In the Vale of Aylesbury (leaving the outlying parishes of the union to be dealt with as part of the adjoining unions) the wages of ordinary labourers vary from 12s. to 18s, a week, horsekeepers, cowkeepers, and shepherds have from 13s. to 15s. a week. From the evidence of Mr. Ambrose Taylor (Bucks, 2c), who was kind enough to show me his labour book, it will be seen that the lowest class of labourers employed by him for Sir Anthony de Rothschild, received 13s. a week, and a better class 14s., all of the men receiving 13s. being in the habit of absenting themselves when better wages, as in hay time and harvest, could be earned elsewhere ; their earnings, however, for the year would naturally be somewhat less than the better class who absent themselves only for harvest, and of whom I took the actual earnings as examples, the result is that the better class earn on an average 14s. 94d. a week for the year, and that the lower class may be, safely taken to earn 14s. Mr. Bell of Bierton, an occupier from whom I received important evidence on this subject, said after referring to his labour book,— “Tn 1867, when the nominal wage was 12s. a week (now 18s.), my men averaged 14s. a week throughout the year in money only, and they had beer besides all the summer months (see Bucks evidence, 4b)” IN AGRICULTURE (1867). COMMISSION :—MR, G. CULLEY’S REPORT, 137 Other evidence for, the Vale of Aylesbury will be found in Bucks evidence, 5a, 9d, 14c, 15b, 16¢ (the last refreence is to the evidence of Mr. Morris, of Bedgrove Farm, from which it appears that his shepherd’s earnings are worth 16s. 8d. a week for the year). An ordinary farm labourer has therefore at his command in the Vale of Aylesbury an average wage of about 14s. 6d. a week, including beer allowance, or say in money, 13s. 9d. a week. 97. In Newport Pagnell Union the ordinary labourer’s wage is 12s. a week, and his whole earnings for the year, including beer, cannot -be taken to be less than 13s. 9d. a week. 98. In Wycombe union shepherds (where they are hired by the year) have about 16s. 4d. a week for the year, and carters (hired in the same manner) 15s. and the ordinary labourer’s earnings, at a nominal wage of 12s., cannot be taken at less than 13s. 9d. a week fr the year. 99. For Amersham Union important evidence on this subject wiJl be found on Bucks evidence 64c, 64d, 68a. 22 of the lowest class of farm labourers employed by Mr. Drake of Shardlues (see Bucks evidence, 64b), earn 13s. a week for the year, including hay time and harvest, and exclusive of beer allow- ance or any ordinary piece work; six labourers employed by Mr. Crouch, occupier in and guardian for Amersham parish earned an average of over 15s. a week, between Lady-day 1867 and Lady-day 1868. Mr. Metcalfe, steward to Lord Chesham, puts the average wage, taking the year round, at 14s. (see evidence, 68a.) It cannot therefore be said, I think, that an ordinarily industrious labourer has less than an average earning of 13s, 9d. a week at his command in Amersham Union. 100. In Thame, Buckingham, and Winslow Unions (see evidence, 19a, 25b, 30b, 32c, 39a, 43b, 44a), the ordinary labourer’s wage varies from 11s. to 12s., and in Leighton Union, to which some parishes in Bucks belong, the wage and earnings are about the same as in the adjoining union of Woburn in Beds ; in none of these last four unions the able-bodied labourer ought to earn less than at the rate of 13s. 6d. a week, all allowances included; that some of them do not is in part caused by a larger system of allotments existing in those unions; on this head Mr. R. King, relieving officer, Tingewick, says :— x The men if planting beans make it a rule to plant a bushel and then go and work on their allotments, some few work out the day and earn 2s. 6d. a‘day at it.” (See Bucks evidence, 97.) I think, too, that the allotment systems have had something to do with shortening the hours of labour, from 10 hours as they are in Bedfordshire to 9 hours as in the greater part of Bucks, 5 p.m., instead of 6, being the end of the work-day. 101. To the earnings of the labourer, if measuring the means at his disposal for the maintenance of his family, must be added the value of his allotment (an addition to their income enjoyed by probably 80 per cent. of the heads of families). ‘The account would then stand thus for the different unions as near as I can make it. The average income per week (including value of beer allowance) at the command of any able-bodied farm labourer in the following districts is :— et For those who have | For those who have an allotment. not an allotment. s. d. s. d. In Beds North Beds. - - 14 6 14 0 South Beds - - 14 0 13 6 | Valley of Thames - 15 6 15 0 In Bucks { vat of Aylesbury - 15 0 14 6 | | Rest of county - - 14 0 138 6 | 102. If howeyer it is difficult to estimate the value of the earnings of an adult labourer, it is still more difficult to give an intelligible account of the earnings of families. As I said in speaking of the lace and straw plait makers, the earnings in these trades not only vary with the age of the worker, but un- fortunately also with the market value of the article they produce. It will be sufficient perhaps for the main object of this inquiry to take the case of families where all the children are young, say, first, where they are all under 10 years of age, and second, where they are all under 13 years of age; the employ- ment and earnings of children under 10 years of age in farm labour varies very much in different parts of the counties of which I am speaking, but in the district-where few children under 10 years of age are employed in agriculture, the earnings of that class are generally made up by straw plaiting. In agricultural labour, even where the demand is greatest, the employment of boys between 8 and 10 years of age is limited to about six months in the year at about 2s. a week, and where such boys are plaiters, they cannot earn much more than 1s. a week, so that the most a labourer can expect to receive from the earnings of such of his children as are between 8 and 10 years of age would be 1s. per week for the year, and which would, therefore, measure his loss if boys under 10 were prevented from bein employed in farm labour; there are few cases in which a labourer has more than one child which would be affected by such a restriction at the same time. Boys of from 10 to 13 earn from 2s. 6d. to 4s. a week, and their work, at any rate towards 11 years of age, becomes more constant. A legislative restriction enforcing a school attendance of, say, four months in the year for such boys would at the most (taking two children as available between these ages) rob a family of about 2s. a week for the year,,and when all the other children (supposing the case of a large family) were under 10 years of age, the same family might be suffering the loss of 1s. a week for a boy between 8 and 10. This extreme case would require a man to have three sons between 8 and 13 years of age, all capable of earning the maximum agricultural wage paid to boys of their age. Such cases may exist, but for one such there are 10 where the number of children is as great and the earning power, under no restriction, is Jess than it would be in the case I have supposed under an application of the Factory Act principle, which would prevent children’s labour up to 10 years of age, and exact four months school attendance between that age and 13. ‘That there are cases where such legislation as I bave hinted at would oblige parents of young families to apply for aid in some shape cannot, I think, be denied, and the question in my mind appears to be, whether the evil effect on the parents by, as it were, forcing them in a few cases Bb Newport Pagnell. Wycombe. Amersham. Thame, Buck- ingham, and Winslow Unions. Table of earnings. Earnings as affected by restrictions on children’s labour. Examples of what labourers can do. Points of difference in position of northern and southern labourer, 138 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, &C. to obey the law, through the aid of charity in one form or another, would be greater than the good to be arrived at by educating the children. The great lessons which the labourers of these counties require to be taught are independence and providence. Education will 1 doubt not greatly aid in this teaching, and any legislative interference which will secure to every child such an elementary education as will sufice to put his career in his own hands, will command the approval of all classes of the community if it can only avoid such pressure as might tend to reduce still lower the feeling of self’ reliance now existing amongst the labourers of whom I am speaking. 103. What a labourer can or cannot do towards the education of his children will, I think, best be arrived at by examining what is done in certain cases, such as are given in Beds evidence, 4b, 10e, 24b, 26d, and in Bucks evidence, 13e, 14b, 30e, 30f, 32d, 43c, 69c, and 76e, in not one of which a rule preventing the employment of children under 10 years of age in farm labour would change the position of the family ; the one of these instances most to the point is that of Mrs. Bunyan, Sheeplane, in Woburn Union, who says: “‘T have four children” (one was an infant), “ three are at school, the eldest 10; they are not fit to go to work till they are 12. I find it very difficult to keep my children at school, but I think it my duty to keep them out of the plait school. My husband has 11s. a week regularly, now he is draining, and may get 13s. by the piece.” This woman’s house was much the cleanest and best kept of those which I visited in the hamlet of Sheeplane, where, to say the truth, the cottages are not such as to hold out any encouragement to the occupiers to keep them clean. 104. The whole question of how by education or otherwise to improve the condition of the agricul- tural labourer depends so much on the removal of the causes which have tended to degrade him, causes whose comparative effect can only be understood by examining the effect produced by their presence or absence in the case of others of his own class, that { cannot lose the opportunity of pointing out some of the points in which the position of the northern labourer, where I know him best, differs from that of his southern brother. His earnings are very little higher than those of any fairly industrious man in Bedfordshire or Bucks, and yet heis mentally and physically a superior animal, treating his family in a manner which three or four times the difference in wage would not account for. What then are the causes operating in his favour? I take them to be chiefly the following: He has no need of a club, his hiring is a yearly hiring and his wages are paid when he is sick as punctually as when he is at work. His own earnings and those of his family all go to the family purse, and suffer very little variation. And last, but not least, it is not his habit to drink beer; except at the annual hiring, he hardly knows what a beershop means, and his children suck at the milk bowl instead of himself at the beer jug. Of all the temptations to improvidence which beset the south Midland labourer there is none to compare to the beershop, and I may conclude this report as the wife of a farm labourer in Kempston wound up her address to me, “Sir, them alehouses is our curse.” It now only remains for me to thank as best I can all classes of persons with whom the prose- cution of the inquiry entrusted to me brought me in contact, in the counties of Bedford and Buckingham, for the great kindness and hospitality with which I was everywhere received, and for the prompt assistance which was given to me by every person who saw that he could in any way help me. I have the honour to remain, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, _ GEO. CULLEY. Fowberry Tower, Sept. 23, 1868. a? a * The following evidence on the comparative merits of the northern and southern labourer is extracted from a letter just received by me from G. A. Grey, Esq., of Milfield, Northumberland, a gentleman of very large experience in the employment of men in drainage works at piece-work wages :— “ In 1855 some letters appeared in “ The Times ” throwing blame on landowners for not giving employment at fair wages to labourers, and stating the wages that an able-bodied man had to support his family on as 8s. or 9s. a week. I ventured to reply to these by saying that it was unfair to expect proprietors to give more than the market price for labour, or to find work that they did not think necessary or remunerative ; and unreasonable to require work to be found at the doors of the labourers when there was actually a greater demand for labour in other districts than men could be found to supply it. I went on to say that I had at that time about 2,000 men employed in drainage works, at which they were averaging from 20s. to 25s. a week by piece work, and that I engaged to employ any number that might be sent to the same works, at the same piece-work wages. Iwas shortly inundated with letters from all parts of the south of England, Bedfordshire, Essex, Herts, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, &c., and about 200 men were sent to me who were stated to be good workmen and well accustomed to the use of the spade and pickaxe. I apportioned these men in parties of 10 to 20 to different places in Northumberland where draining was going on. It was soon found that where the cutting was hard and strong they could do nothing, and many left without finishing any work. Some went on for a few weeks or months, but none made more than 12s. a week, or from one-third to one-half less than .the Northumbrians were making in the same fields. Before the year was out all had left except 10 out of 20 men who were allotted to Chevington, where the soil is clay, without stone, and is easily cut. These 10 men remained for several years and got to be tolerably expert workmen, but owing to want of strength and energy they never got beyond 15s, a week, indeed there was not a man among the whole importation that had legs or shoulders to compare with our lads of 17 years of age.” It will be remembered that the earnings spoken of in this letter very much exceed the average value of the farm labourer or “‘hind’s” wage, and that at the time Mr. Grey speaks of there was an unusual demand for drainers, and let it not be forgotten that in this case the better education is on the side of the better labourer. 139 (Referred to in §§ 215-7 of the Report.) EXTRACT FROM JOURNAL OF THE LONDON CENTRAL Farmers’ Crus, 39, New Brivcr Srneer, BLACKFRIARS.—NOVEMBER 1858. THE ALLOTMENT SYSTEM. The first monthly meeting of the club, after the usual autumnal recess, took place on Mcnday evening, November 1, at the club house, Blackfriars. The subject for discussion, introduced by Mr. H. Tre- thewy, of Silsoe, Ampthill, was, “The Allotment “ System, its Uses and Abuses.” Amongst those present were Thomas Owen, Esq., of Clapton, in the chair, supported by Messrs. B. P. Shearer, W. Ben- nett, H. Trethewy, J. J. Mechi, S. Skelton, E. Little, W. Gray, John Thomas, C. J. Brickwell, E. Purser, R. T. Howell, J. B. Spearing, J. G. King, J. Tyler, T. Stagg, J. A. Williams, M. Reynolds, T. Congreve, F. Dybail, R. Marsh, Dr. Ellis, R. F. Jennings, J. Halkett, S. Sidney, W. Eve, E. B. Acton, R. B. Hammond, B. E. Waite, J. Russell, &c. &e. * * * * * * Mr. Trethewy.—-It may be said that the subject which I have the pleasure to introduce to you this evening is one more calculated for the consideration of landowners and those concerned in the management of estates than for discussion at a farmers’ club. A little reflection, however, will show us that it is one involving, if possible, even more the comfort and pros- perity of the occupier than of the owner of the soil ; for it cannot be denied that much of the success of the farmer depends upon the class of labourers he may have about him, whether steady, industrious, and skilful, or otherwise. No matter what skill and capi- tal the agriculturist can command, unless the strong arm and ready will of the labourer are at hand to carry his designs into execution. Any system, there- fore, having a tendency to elevate the moral character of the labourer and to improve his condition must be worthy of encouragement ; and therefore I think the committee have exercised a proper discretion in select- ing this subject for an evening’s discussion, for it is ove upon which much prejudice exists, and not with- out some reason, as I shall presently show. Like many other useful schemes, the allotment system has suffered from the injudicious zeal of its advocates, some of whom have taught people to expect too much from it, and who themselves have regarded it almost asa panacea. Hence it has in some instances been carried to such an extent as totally to alter its cha- racter, and therefore the prejudice which I have just alluded to has arisen against it. A desire for the occupation of land is inherent in the human mind. From the nobleman and large landed proprietor, who cultivate their own broad acres, to the dwellers in our cities and towns, this feeling is continually manifesting itself. Almost every man, whatever may be his pur- suit in life, attaches himself more or less to the soil. He feels that he possesses in his garden or paddock at least one spot which he can call his own, and where he can indulge his own peculiar taste. No wonder then that the labourer, whose very existence is iden- tified with vegetable life, should participate in this feeling. No wonder that while the greatest portion of his time is devoted to the cultivation of the crops of his employer he should aspire to the occupation of a small area for himself, independently of its value and convenience to him. And when we consider how influential this feeling often is in diverting his atten- tion from places and objects having a tendency to MISCELLANEOUS. demoralization, surely it is the duty of every one inte- rested in his well-being, so far as is consistent, to pro- mote his wishes. How many hours, which might otherwise be passed in the alehouse, may thus be spent in profitable occupation! But here it is possible I may be met by an objection which I have sometimes heard made, that if the labourer does his duty to his employer during the day he can have little desire to work afterwards. Jn other words, that he employs that strength and exertion on his own land which of right belong to the farmer who pays him for his day’s work. To this I would reply that if the day’s work is done (and I apprehend no employer would keep on a man who habitually failed in doing it), to restrain him from devoting his leisure hours to his own pur- suits would be to reduce a labourer to the lowest degree of serfdom. Upon this principle the cottage garden must go uncultivated, and all recreation would have to be given up. I do not, however, for one moment anticipate such an objection at the Central Farmers’ Club in the nineteenth century, and it is therefore scarcely necessary to advert to it. To trace the history of the system as it is now developed is not my intention, but rather I would seek to offer a few practical remarks upon its working, that those who are favourable to a trial may benefit by the experience of those who have already introduced it. I may, how- ever, remark that so long ago as 1796 the state of the labourer attracted the attention of several influential persons, by whom a society was formed for “ bettering “ the condition and improving the comforts of the * poor,” of which King George III. was patron. This society published reports from time to time till 1814, from which it appears that one of the principal elements of success they considered the “ allotments “ of land to the labouring population.” Other attempts, having the same object in view, were shortly after- wards made; but about the year 1830 a number of noblemen and gentlemen, “to meet the pressing exi- “ gencies of the times,” formed a society called the “ Labourers’ Friend Society,” having more especially for its object the obtaining a small portion of land for the labourer “at a moderate rent in addition to the “ fair price of his labour.” They published a very interesting report in the year 1835, which I should be glad to extract largely from would time and space permit. One cannot but feel thankful, after perusing some of their reports, and comparing the state of the labouring population of those days with that of the present generation of labourers, for the great improve- ments which have taken place, both in a social and moral point of view. But it would be attributing too much to the system they advocated to give it credit for all this improvement. Various causes have ope- rated to accomplish this end: education, improved dwellings, and, although last, not least, an alteration in the poor laws. In Bedfordshire allotments were laid out on the estates of the Duke of Bedford and Earl de Grey in the year 1829. In that year it ap- pears that on the former estate, in the parish of Maulden, 18 acres were divided into parcels of from 20 to 40 poles each; while on the latter estate in the same year 30 acres were set out in parcels of from one rood to two roods each. Other proprietors soon after- wards followed these examples until garden allotments became very general. I would, however, here observe, and I beg particular attention to the remark, that itis not my opinion that allotments are suited to all dis- tricts, and that it does not follow that because they answer well in one locality that they will sueceed in another. It would be a task far beyond my power to point out and describe such districts, residents being Bb 4 140 by far the best judges in the matter. I would merely observe that where labourers live in villages, as in the midland counties, the system would be more practica- ble than in those districts where they more generally reside on the farms they work upon. In selecting ground for allotments, the principal points to be at- tended to are situation and soil. It is of the utmost importance that they should be within an easy dis- tance of the dwellings of the poor ; and should the village be a long and straggling one, a central position would be the best, unless it were expedient to have ground at each extremity. The nature more than the quality of the soil has to be considered; for it is astonishing how much poor thin land is improved by spade husbandry, while strong heavy clays are wholly unfit for the purpose of allotments, no matter how well they may be drained. Of course the rent would be in proportion to the quality. As in every other instance, good land would be preferable to bad ; -still, its adap- tation to the purpose, as being easily worked, is the main point. And now as regards the quantity for each occupier. My experience convinces me that a rood is sufficient under almost any circumstances ; and the greatest error that has been committed has been the allotting of too much land to one individual. To dwell upon the evils arising from such a proceeding is scarcely necessary, as it must be obvious that without sufficient capital the occupation of land cannot be at- tended with profitable results. Some instances in confirmation of this view have come under my own observation, and I can confidently assert that instead of the position of such men having improved, it has retrograded. . Occupied nearly the whole of their time upon their own land, they can no longer be classed under the head of labourers, and they actually injure regular workmen by throwing their labour into the market at seasous of the year when the demand for it is unusually depressed. If it be argued that the re- striction of the system would have the effect of pre- venting a labourer from improving his condition, and effectually debar him from rising in the world by his own industry, . would answer that I am not now discussing the relative advantages of large and small farms, but am confining myself to the agricultural labourer in the broad acceptation of the term. Every employer knows, and every man of common sense must feel, that it is as important to the farmer to have his regular men at work at all times as it is to the manufacturer or tradesman, and that the business of the farm could not be carried on without such regu- larity. I regard it, then, as a fatal error for the labourer to follow any pursuit that would at all inter- fere with the claim of his employer upon him; for be it remembered, that it is upon Aired labour that the working man must chiefly depend for his subsistence, and any scheme that has a tendency to interfere with this, his chief capital, must very shortly end in disap- pointment and distress; but any plan that can be devised which will improve his condition, without interfering with his free labour, must be hailed as a great boon. Such I believe the allotment system properly managed to be. That there always have been, and that there always will be, men to raise them- selves by their own industry above their original position, no one can deny; nor would any man of common justice and generous feeling attempt to pre- vent such an occurrence ; but such men have always. risen gradually, and not at once jumped from the one state to the other. Wherever a man shows him- self superior to his fellows in intelligence, skill, or application, he will be sure to push himself, and by obtaining higher wages, the natural result of his superiority, gradually improve his position. And it often happens that such men, after saving a little money, are assisted by their former employers, or by others who have watched their career, in accomplish- ing the object of their desire, whether a small occupa- tion or otherwise. By the sweat of his brow man must ever live, and so long as society exists there must be rich and poor. : * * * * * % EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I will now say a few words upon rents and manage- ments. As regards the first, I can only state that it must be an open question, as in the cases of farms and other occupations. There is no reason, that I am aware of, why the labourer should have land at a lower price than others would give for it ; nor do I see upon what principle he should be asked to pay more. After all, it is not a question of rent, so muchas to have the allotment ground on a convenient spot. If situated near a village, as it should be, the land may assume the value of accommodation land, and should of course be paid for accordingly. On the estate of the Right Hon. the Earl de Grey, in Bedfordshire, with which I am connected as agent, the rents vary from 32s, to 72s. per acre (or from 8s. to 18s. per rood), including all rates and ‘taxes, and the gates, fences, ditches, and watercourses are kept and main- tained for them, so that they have nothing to pay but the rent. Of course, many of those rents are higher than are paid by the farmers; but, as I before ob- served, they are many of them accommodation lands, and would readily let at the same prices to others. It is to me a matter of peculiar gratification to be able to testify to the punctuality with which those rents ‘are paid. Including a few market gardeners, there are on his lordship’s rent roll, in Bedfordshire, some 750 tenants. The collection occupies five days, and it rarely happens that there are any arrears. Now and then a little time is asked for, but very seldom, and then not given unless some sufficient reason,. such as illness or some other visitation is pleaded.. Below is a tabular statement, showing the acreage and the number of allotment tenants in a few of the parishes where the principal portion of the Wrest estates are situate. Popula-| Aye | Number Acreage’ Parish tion per of of of Allot« . “| Census Parishes Allot- ment - of 1851. *; ments. | Land. Acres. Acres. Silsoe - - - 755 2,067 78 24 Clophill - -| 1,186 2,317 | 180 55 Flitton - -| 656 | 1,020°| 163 140 Pulloxhill - - 688 1,584 131 51 Upper Gravenhurst - 357 895 66 24 Lower Gravenhurst - 58 757 * * * * * * % Many of those, especially in the parishes of Clophill, Pulloxhill, and Flitton, which are what are termed “open parishes,” 7.¢., parishes where the cottages belong to several proprietors, have no ground what- ever belonging to their dwellings. Hence it may be easily conceived what an advantage an allotment must be to them. Indeed, so anxious are they for it, that whenever a vacancy occurs numerous applications are sure to pour in. No restriction as to cultivation is imposed, except such as are common to the farmers. Some people have an objection to cottagers being allowed to grow wheat, but I cannot say that I Have ever found any inconvenience to have arisen from it. I see no reason whatever why such a restriction should be imposed ; for a crop of wheat is as much a change to the soil as any other crop, and at times no doubt as profitable ; while the straw comes for litter for the pig, and returns to the ground in the shape of manure. It is not found that the privilege is abused by excess of cropping, and therefore the practice has not been prohibited. In every parish on Lord de Grey’s estate, where there are allotments, a barn is provided for the use of these tenants alone for the purpose of thrashing, &c., and they generally agree pretty well among themselves, so that it is seldom necessary to interfere with their arrangements as to its use. The early promoters of the system seem to have been very much prompted to it by a pressure of the poor rates. It was a very general impression for ‘a few years before the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act, in 1834, and indeed for some time subsequently, that great relief would be given to the IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ratepayers by the introduction of allotments; but I have not been able to learn that such was, or has been, the case to a very great extent. That it may have, and has had, a favourable effect in that direction I fitmly believe, but I would not overrate it. I would here notice a curious circumstance in connexion with this part of the subject, which occurred in a parish with which I am acquainted. It contains about 650 inhabitants, nearly all of whom would be engaged in the cultivation of the soil; and in consequence of so many labourers being out of employ, the poor rates at one time amounted to nearly 16s. in the pound. In this fearful state of things the largest occupier gave up his farm, saying he could manage to pay his rent, but that the rates would ruin him. A considerable portion of his occupation was then let out to the labourers in parcels varying from one to five and ten acreseach. In afew years the rates were considerably reduced ; but whether this improved state of things was to be traced to the division of the land as de- scribed or to the operation of the new poor law, is a point which is yet open to speculation; for both causes, as well as one or two others of a local nature, were in operation at the same time. My own con- viction is that to the legislative enactment the credit principally belongs. ‘The original allottees were allowed to remain in possession of their land till they were removed by death or became incapable of managing it; but it was not considered good policy to continue this system ; but rather, when one of the little holdings became vacant, to divide it into allot- ments of a rood each, thus affording land upon a sounder principle, and providing for the necessities of greater numbers. The rates are now about the same as in the adjoining parishes similarly situated. There may be a difference of opinion as to whether it be more desirable that each man should have a garden of sufficient size for his wants, or whether a piece of ground should be set apart for the whole village, in the shape of an allotment. Now we know, in many parishes, the utter impossibility of getting garden ground attached to every cottage ; and therefore, as a rule, that pian could not be relied upon; and even if it could be, the latter scheme offers advantages pecu- liarly its own. They are, first, that a spirit of emula- tion is excited when all are brought into a kind of friendly competition, as 1s the case in an allotment field. Labourers are quick to discern successful cul- tivation, and to trace its causes. If one man succeeds beyond the rest in raising any particular crop, it will be sure to be noticed, and the reason of it inquired into, and his system most probably adopted. Every man has the advantage of the experience of the whole field, and in general benefits by it; whereas in a garden there are not those opportunities. How fre- quently does one sees a garden overrun with weeds, overgrown with trees, bushes, and fences, absolutely excluding sun and air, and producing next to nothing to the cultivator ! In an open field allotment, the sun and air are freely admitted ; the land is more easily kept clean, and the state of cultivation patent to all the neighbourhood. I believe example has a strong influence in promoting good and clean cultivation among all classes of occupiers. With a view to encourage it amongst the allotment tenants of the district, a society, called the “ Silsoe and Ampthill Labourer’s Friend Society,” was established about seventeen years ago. It offers several prizes annually for competition, and great interest is excited among the exhibitors. This society is under the patronage of Earl de Grey, and has Lord Wensleydale as president, while the stewards consist entirely of tenant farmers, who thus evince their sense of its usefulness. The subscribers comprise the clergy and gentry of the neighbourhood, and the exhibition is invariably fully attended, In fact, all classes unite to promote the object it has in view ; and the result is an exhibition of fruits, vegetables, &c., that would surprise any one who had never before witnessed it. I believe this to be a most useful institution, and where allotments 21157. 141 prevail to any extent I would strongly recommend the establishment of similar associations. Some per- sons have an objection to prizes being offered for length of service; but I cannot conceive that any opposition can be offered to the encouragement of good cultivation, whether on a small scale or on a large one. We all know it is the practice of some large proprietors to offer premiums to be competed for by the tenants on their estates—in some counties such premiums are given by the agricultural societies, In either instance the same effect is produced—honour- able competition among the larger occupiers. Why, then, should not the smaller ones have similar induce- ments held out to them ? Upon the latter part of my subject I have little to say. The chief abuse of the system (to use the word on the card) consists in giving the labourer more land than he can manage con- sistently with his usual occupation. Every scheme must be kept within due bounds—every system must havea limit. To extend the allotment system beyond its legitimate bounds would have the effect of com- pletely changing its character, and turning that which was intended to be an auxiliary into a leading pursuit. Mr. Bennett (of Cambridge) said he would not shrink from taking his part on a subject in which he had for many years of his life felt a very lively interest. First of all, he must beg permission to tender his best thanks to Mr. Trethewy for having called attention to a subject of great importance to the labouring classes, and more or less so to the com- munity at large. He felt the obligation the greater to that gentleman, because he very properly directed attention to the abuses as well as the usefulness of the cottage allotment system. (Cheers.) For him- self he thought he could more usefully follow in the discussion by giving somewhat greater prominence to what may be regarded as some of the leading abuses of this otherwise very beneficial practice. First and foremost of its evils was the allotting un- suitable land, and often at a very inconvenient dis- tance from the dwellings of the labourers. (Cheers.) To allot from a rood to half an acre of poor clay land to a labourer, and that sometimes from half a mile to a mile from his cotiage, so far from benefiting him, they did him a great disservice. In such cases they added much to the toil of the poor body, and har- assed his mind without the remotest chance of doing him good. I am aware (continued Mr. B.) that good strong land will often yield a greater crop than a lighter soil; but in that case it must first be well drained and, most of all, as contiguous to his home as possible, otherwise the result can only be great improvement to the land, and increased poverty and discomfiture to the labourer. (Cheers.) The rent the labourer pays must not be left out of considera- tion. He had known land let out to labourers at such prices as precluded all hope of the occupier deriving the least profit—poor wretched glehe land, for instance, let at double its value, and irrespective of its distance from the dwellings of the labourers. In such cases there was no wonder that the result should be anything than beneficial. The quantity of land granted was also sometimes more than could be well managed, offering a temptation to the labourer to apply himself at his allotment when he should be rendering service to his master. Those were some among the many abuses of the allotment system ; and he thought Mr. Trethewy would agree with him (cries of hear, hear, from that gentleman). In the teeth of all those abuses, which in many cases had ‘been but too manifest, he (Mr. Bennett) was fully of opinion that the good results to the labourers, where skilfully managed, far more than counterbalanced all the evils incident thereto. In some parts of the kingdom they were justly regarded as a great boon to the labourer, making a nice addition to his wages, and greatly adding to his comfort; and perhaps no- where more so than on the estate of the Right Hon. Earl de Grey, so skilfully watched over as it was by Ce 142 the gentleman who had so ably brought this subject before the attention of the club. (Cheers.) That there had been great improvement in the condition of the British labourer within the last quarter of a century must be evident to every observant agricul- turist. That the establishment of cottage allotments, however, must not have the entire credit of this improvement he was free to admit. The improved poor laws had done even more. On the old system (which offered a sort of bounty on improvidence) they could do nothing effectively in that way. ‘They regarded the overseer as their national parent, and flew him on every emergency, and often from one year’s end to the other. But recently the law had taught a man that his first dependence must be on his own exertions, and on the overseer only when all other means fail. Good cottage allotments were now properly prized and sought after, and had already very materially aided the honest and industrious labourer ; and if wisely and prudently managed were destined to be of far higher service to the entire rural population ; for it was a fact patent to all, that if a man possessed but the smallest portion of property, so that he had something he could call his own, they gave him a sort of stake, and attached him more or less to the common weal of his country. He (Mr. Bennett) thought, therefore, that every true patriot should lend his willing aid to carry out in the most efficient manner this highly beneficial system (cheers). Mr. Alderman Mechi entirely concurred in the admiration expressed by Mr. Bennett of the manner in which Mr. Trethewy had introduced the subject, He, for one, went very much with that gentleman in his conclusions ; but there were some points on which he differed from him. He thought that every farm should, if possible, have a sufficient number of cot- tages for the labourers employed upon it. (Hear, hear.) He was also of opinion that the cottages should invariably have attached to them such a por- tion of land as the labourer could conveniently culti- vate. (Hear, hear.) He agreed with Mr. Trethewy that an eighth of an acre, or a little more, was gene- rally quite enough. He did not concur with him, however, that a cottage garden so situated would not possess the same advantages of comparison as an allotment, because there would be other cottages and other cottage gardens on the same property, or in the neighbourhood. They all knew that labourers mixed together, and they might just as easily observe the difference between good fencing and trimming: and bad fencing and trimming in their gardens as the farmers could make such comparisons on their farms ; that might be done just as well from cottage to cottage, and from garden to garden, as from one allotment to another. The aggregation of cottages without gardens was a disgrace 10 a past manage- ment, The horrid system of getting rid of labourers by driving them to another parish had placed such persons to a very great extent at the mercy of ‘itine- rant builders, who raise dwellings for them as close together as possible, and took care that there was very little land attached to them. (Hear, hear.) He hoped that a better feeling was now abroad among both landlords and tenants in reference to this question; he hoped they had now begun to feel that is was as necessary to have labourers near their work as it was to have horses near their work. (Hear, hear.) In his own neighbourhood, he might remark in passing, a practical farmer was now build- ing three cottages near his farm for the occupation of some of his labourers. If a labouring man had to walk two or three miles in the morning before he could begin his work, and two or three miles on his way home when the work was over, his labour must be proportionately less valuable to his employer. It was clear that you could only have a certain amount of physical power out of a man, as out of a horse, and that was a truth which should always be borne in mind in reference to the situation of the dwellings of agricultural labourers. (Hear, hear.) He did not EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN agree with Mr. Bennett as to clay land being so dis- advantageous to those who choose to cultivate it. (Laughter.) On the contrary, he had great faith in an honest clay (laughter); nor did he see how the use of clay soils was to be avoided in purely clay districts. Such land should indeed be well drained previously to being let to the cottager. Was that generally done? He knew it was hardly ever done. (Hear, hear.) When once clay lands had been effec- tually drained, and when once the system of burning, which was very profitable, had been carried out, the svil was often found to be more useful and enduring than soils of a different description. He hoped there would ere long be some alteration of the poor law, which would tend to stimulate the building of cot- tages in the immediate vicinity of farms. He knew that was not a question which they were met to discuss that evening, but he could not refrain from remarking incidentally, that he trusted there would not much longer be any inducement to the farmer and the landlord to get rid of labourers by pushing them, as it were, into adjoining parishes. (Hear, hear.) Mr. B. P. Shearer (Bishop’s Waltham) wished to ask Mr. Trethewy whether it were customary on the estates to which he had alluded to give allotments to all persons who asked for them. Mr. H. Trethewy said he had a list of applicants in which every application was entered ; and when- ever a vacancy occurred he selected the person whom he considered most suitable. Mr, Mechi supposed that even if applicants were small tradesmen their application was not rejected on account of their calling. Mr. Trethewy : No. Mr. J. A. Williams (Baydon, Hungerford) said there could be no doubt that the new poor law had done much towards placing the agricultural labourer in the improved and improving position he now occupied ; and he hoped that in ten years the labourer would be ina better position than he was at present. The circumstance that he was now thrown more on his own resources than he was before the alteration of the poor law made it the more incumbent on their part to aid and assist him in his endeavours to im- prove his own position, and to make himself compa- ratively independent; and by letting him have tlie raw material to produce some of the necessaries of life, in addition to what he obtained in his master’s service, they placed him on a footing which enabled him to rear his children honestly and respectably, and made both him and them better members of society than such persons generally were 20 or 30 years ago. (Hear, hear.) The subject on the card had, in his opinion, a very close connexion with the welfare of the agricultural labourer. He agreed with Mr. Trethewy that a rood of land was the very outside quantity that either landowners or occupiers should ever think of allowing labourers to cultivate. A rood would require all the spare time beyond what the labourer ought to give to the service of his master in return for the wages he received. (Hear, hear.) Masters, of course, ex- pected an honest day’s labour for a day’s pay ; and if the allotment in any way interfered with the day’s labour for the master it must be classed under the latter part of Mr. Trethewy’s subject—“the abuses “ of the system.” (Hear, hear.) He believed, how- ever, that a rood was not more than a labourer could properly and conveniently cultivate ; that quantity would occupy his time usefully. During the long evenings of autumn he would be engaged in breaking up the soil and securing his produce ; in the spring he would be occupied in cultivation; and in the summer in cleaning his land, And allthis would tend to keep him from the public house; while, by this opportunity thus afforded to him of the working up the raw material, he might make a great addition to the comforts of his -household, and secure for it many IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :--EVIDENCE. comforts which could not otherwise be obtained. (Hear, hear.) He knew that many persons had objected to the production of wheat’ on the ground, that it might be injurious to the farmer ; it should, however, be remembered that there were many in- stances in which the labourer could not employ a rood of land profitably unless he was permitted to cultivate a portion of it with cereal crops (Hear, hear). To say that he should produce nothing but potatoes on a rood of land was to say, in effect, that he should follow the rotten system which prevailed in Ireland untilafew years ago. If he were allowed to cultivate one-third with cereal crops, with good spade cultiva- tion and the refuse of the pigsty as manure, he would be enabled to manage that proportion profitably, and, with the aid of gleaning, would secure comforts to the poor man’s family which they themselves, perhaps, could hardly conceive. It was of course possible that the labourer might, by the production of such an article as wheat, be tempted to turn rogue, and to increase his stock by robbing his employer ; but he did not think they ought to stand in the way of the agricultural labourer by supposing that he must of necessity be a rogue (hear, hear). If they took a fair and practical view of the question, the objection that the growth of cereal crops must be injurious to the employer would vanish. One thing that would add greatly to the comforts of the poor man’s family was the possession of a fat pig. He felt quite certain that aman of industry and economy might, with a rood of land, fat two pigs. Every time the pot was boiled there was something that would aid in the subsistence of the pig. It was possible, therefore, for him to fat two pigs, and the sale of one would more than pay his rent, while he might keep the other for the con- sumption of his own family, This was a practical wa of viewing the question. any years ago he himself allotted seven acres of a farm which he occupied among labourers; that land laboured under two disadvantages, which had been condemned by Mr. Bennett and Mr, Mechi. In the first place it was strong clay soil, and undrained ; and in the second place, some of it, instead of being close to the village where the labourers resided, was about halfamile from it. That the distance, how- ever, in this case was no obstacle in the eyes of the poor man was evident from the fact that there was as great a demand for the allotments half a mile from the village as for those which were close to it. Of course, la- bourers generally would give the preference to land which was near their dwellings; but it should be remembered that there must be reciprocity, in all such matters; the party who lets an allotment must let it partly for his own benefit as well as for the benefit of the occupier, and in all cases the allotment system must be self-supporting if it was to continue to exist. Whenever there was an allotment vacant half a mile from the village there were plenty of applicants for it, and that appeared to him to show conclusively that the distance was not material. At all events, it was better that the labourer should have land half a mile or even a mile distant from his dwelling, than that he should have none at all (hear, hear), and he was convinced that if the allotment system were well carried out it would do much to improve the condi- tion and elevate the character of the labouring popu- lation. He had only one more observation. to make. He recollected hearing Mr. Baker, whose absence on that occasion he much regretted, speak some years ago of one of the abuses of the allotment, system—namely, that in some cases the poor employed the Sabbath in working on their land... That was indeed one of, the greatest abuses. that he could conceive, and he thought that wherever it existed the owner of the soil should put his veto on such a practice, and compel the labourers to abstain from cultivation on the Sabbath. . : Mr. Mechi thought Mr. Williams was mistaken in supposing. that labourers having a rood of land would be able to fat two pigs with their own produce... In his (Mr. Mechi’s) part of the country they generally 143 bought two or three sacks of barley-meal for each pig. Mr, Williams said he was of course aware that labourers could not fatten a pig on nothing; but he meant to say that when a man had forty poles of land in his occupation, they.must take into account the produce of his land, and consider how far the refuse of his cottage might, in his improved circumstances, be made use of in-the cultivation of his land. He did not mean to say that it was always advantageous to grow, wheat. After cropping his land for two or three years with wheat, the labourer might have re- course to barley, and he believed that was done with advantage on his own allotments. Dr. Ellis (Sudbrook Park, Richmond) thought that there was nothing more graceful to be found in the history of agriculture than the assembling of a number of owners and occupiers of the soil to consider how they might improve the condition of labourers. Half a century ago it was supposed that all farmers cared about, as regarded those whom they employed, was to get as much out of themas possible. This could no longer be imagined when owners and occupiers met together and devoted their time and thoughts to the promotion of the interests of agricultural labourers. Such discussions as this must tend to make labourers feel an additional interest in those who were so anxious about their welfare (hear, hear). He had watched. the allotment system ever since it came into operation with great interest, and he was convinced that it was attended with very good results on the whole, and with very little evil. He had seen it carried out on land which had not been considered worth enclosing ; he had seen that land brought into a state of improve- ment far superior to that which it could have attained under a broader system of cultivation, and he had seen people thus raised from a condition of degra- ‘dation, rags, and misery to one of sobriety, comfort, and morality. This improvement was owing, he thought, in a great degree, to the mere fact of their being employed ; for it was an universal truth, which they had probably all learnt in their childhood, that “ Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.” Ifthey wanted to keep a labouring man out of mischief, they must endeavour to keep him constantly employed (hear, hear). Indeed, whatever grade of society they examined, it would generally be found that the best and most useful members of society were persons who were nearly always occupied in a profit- able manner. It was a mistake to suppose that the strength which a labouring man gave to his ordinary day’s labour for hire was all that he could employ for his own advantage. There were great fundamental errors with respect to physical strength. Strength was to be obtained from rest and repose, not by filling the body with stimulants. When the labouring man had returned from his day’s labour for his employer, if he took a wholesome. meal, provided he were in good health, he would in about half an hour renovate his strength and be fit for work again, although he had been occupied all day ; he was now speaking of course of the fair working day. The man might go to work for an hour and a half, or two hours, accord- ing to the time of year, and if he produced more in his garden than was required for the wants of the household, his wife might take the surplus to market, and thus procure the means of buying barley-meal, and saving part of the wages for the benefit of the family. There were, it must be admitted, two or three very serious evils connected with the allotment system. One evil was, that some proprietors charged too much rent for land let out in allotments. He had really felt quite ashamed sometimes, on asking labour- ing people how much they paid, when he heard their reply. He had not, indeed, told them it was too much, not wishing to do anything to create bad feel- ings in the community; but he made the inquiry because he felt deeply interested in what so much concerned the welfare of the labouring classes. He had heard of 18d. a pole being charged for what was Cc2 144 in fact nothing scarcely but common white sand ; it formed part of land which had never been enclosed, Mr. Mechi, That is 122, an acre. Dr. Ellis said he could mention a place where that rent had been charged. He hoped, for the sake of decency and justice, that it was not done generally. Whether, however, it were done only in a few in- stances or in many, they must all feel that it was a very serious matter to charge too high arent for land cultivated by the labourer (hear, hear). Attempts on the part of clergymen or laymen to get an enor- mous rent for land was an enormous evil. Another evil was the allowing persons to have too much land. He had seen instances in which shoemakers, tailors, &c. had neglected their regular work in consequence of having to cultivate a large garden ; and the result was that they suffered both ways—they lost their customers, and they were unable to pay their rent. Another and a most grievous evil was, that in many parishes—he believed in all the parishes in his own district-—a considerable number of persons cultivated their allotments on Sunday. He had been exceed- ingly pained at witnessing this desecration. Whoever was found spending any portion of that day in working on his land should forfeit his allotment. * * * * * * Mr. W. Gray (Courteen Hall, Northampton) said he had witnessed the satisfactory working of the allotment system in a parish in Huntingdonshire, where he had lived for some years. In referring to that parish, it was necessary for him to go back for a few years. No doubt many in that room well recol- lected the agricultural disturbances, as they were called, of 1830. Atthat period the burning of machines and cornstacks was the order of the day ; and after the law of the land had quelled the disorder, it was considered necessary to do something to prevent a recurrence of it. vened, and it was there suggested that the allotment system might do something towards correcting what was wrong. The parish was at that time rather notorious for badly-conducted labourers, and it was proverbially said in Huntingdonshire of any bad district, ‘It is as bad as the parish of Alconbury.” The late Bishop of Durham, Dr. Maltby, happening to have some land contiguous to the parish, he offered it to the churchwardens, to be let out in allotments, and it was offered at the rate of 35s. per acre free from parochial charges. The applications were very numerous, and there was some difficulty in making a selection. The system soon got into working order ; the men seemed pleased with their occupations, and it was delightful to observe what industry the system seemed to bring into the parish. He had heard strangers ask, ‘“ What are all those children doing “ with their wheelbarrows ?” There you would see twenty little children picking up manure, and it was not merely the value of the manure that was to be considered in such a case—the children were acquiring industrious habits. (Hear, hear). Well, the thing worked well, and there was a great improvement among the labouring population. He did not mean to say that that was the only means of regenerating the parish ; the poor law of 1834 gave the finishing stroke. He himself left the parish, he believed, in 1835 ; but he kept up a connexion with it, and in visiting the parish he was very much pleased to witness the im- provement which had taken place amongst the agri- cultural labourers. His having 20 poles of land set apart for his cultivation had taught the labourer that there was some one who cared for him; it had raised him in the scale of ambition, and it had given him ideas which he never had before. There you saw the man and his wife well dressed, and attending church with their children. Moreover, the children were sent to school to a far greater extent than was the case previously. There was hardly anything, indeed, which had more struck him through life than this—that when once you had improved the condition of the labouring man you found him desirous of Accordingly a meeting was con-, EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN having his children educated. (Hear, hear). Now, what was the result of all this? Why, he had no hesitation in saying that at present the parish of Ai- conbury, the population of which was from 1,200 to 1,400, would bear comparison with most other parishes of the same kind. The men went round the district sweeping away the prizes for hedge-cutting, draining, and so. on; and there could be no better proof of their usefulness as labourers. He would now come a little nearer home. The parish in which he resided at present all belonged to one proprietor. There the allotment system had been carried out also. The labourers paid 6d. a pole for land which was honestly worth the money (they paid no rates), and which was all fenced in drained. Collecting the rents, as he did, once a year, he had never had 6d. left unpaid. At Michaelmas he went round the allot- ments, and he saw one pig at least—in some cases there were two—in every sty. It was, he might remark, very soon discovered that if you gave a man an allotment you must also give him a pigsty, and hence pigsties were attached to all the allotments. He did not consider it essential that there should be white crops on allotments. In his own parish, indeed, labourers had no conveniences for growing such crops. The practice was to take one-third potatoes, one-third mangel wurzel, and one-third beans. ‘The beans and the mangel fed the pig, and the potatoes the labourer and his family ate with the pig. He had always been an advocate for the allotment system ; and from what he had seen of its working, he was convinced they could do nothing more likely to improve the agricul- tural labourer than the giving him a small quantity of land to cultivate. He thought 20 poles were sufficient. He had always been on his guard against letting the labourer have too much land. If they did that, they turned a good labourer into a bad farmer. When the labouring man had one or two acres of land he became powerless. He would mention a case which would serve to illustrate this. A noble duke, who was a very charitable man, was told by some labourers on his estate that, if he would let them each have an acre of land they could live upon it. The duke yielded to their request, but what was the result? Why, entire failure. One day he (Mr. Gray) went te one of the men on his allotment, and said to him, what was the fact, “Why, my man, you seem to have your land in “ very poor condition.” “Yes,” was his reply, “I’m “ beat sir—I can’t do it” (hear, hear). They all know how much profit an acre of land will yield, and if a man were entirely dependent on it, the result could not be satisfactory. Mr, R. T. Howell (Ulanelly, Carmarthenshire) wished to bear testimony to the benefit which had been conferred on the labouring population of the district in which he resided by that which had been this evening termed the allotment system. He lived in a district which was partly agricultural, but mainly manufacturing ; and he believed that nothing tended so much to the improvement of the condition and comfort of the working people there as'the system of alloting small portions of land for cultivation. In that neighbourhood it was customary to let land on long leases for cottage building, but the quantity of garden ground attached was usually very small; and, not satisfied with this, the labourers obtained from agriculturalists and landowners in the neighbourhood an additional quantity—generally about 15 or 20 perches—which they cultivated in the manner which had been so ably described this evening by Mr. Trethewy. There were few only who grew wheat, barley, or other cereal crops, the general practice being to use the land for growing potatoes and vegetables. He knew of nothing which contributed so much to the happiness, comfort, and prosperity of the labouring community as garden cultivation. As regarded rent, his own experience was, that labourers looked not so much to the price of the land as to fixity of tenure. It was a common practice with farmers in his district to let out land in small allotments for a year, and to IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. resume the occupation of it after it had been benefited by the manure which had been carted at the expense of the labourer, who would thus derive only one crop. He felt sure that men would rather pay 4l., or even 6/.,eper-acre with some certainty of longer tenure, than 20s., or even 10s. with the prospect of the farmer resuming the occupation of the land after it had been improved by cultivation. * a * * % Mr. T. Stagg (of Grafton, Wilts) said, some allusion having been made to the price of land let out in allot- ments in the West of England, he wished to say a few words on that subject. He had happened to be a tenant of one of the largest landed proprietors in that part of the country, the Marquis of Aylesbury, and he knew that in his own parish land was let to labourers at less, rather than more, than he himself paid. Some of the best land on the marquis’s estate was let at 10s. a rood. Mr. Williams had spoken of the fatting of two pigs on a quarter of an acre of land. He should like to know how that was done. (Hear, hear). Mr. J. A. Williams wished to say one or two words in explanation. First, as regarded price, he would observe that he himself charged 15s. for a rood of land, taking the whole of the liabilities upon himself. He occasionally met with a defaulter. * * * 2 * * As to the fatting of two pigs, he did not mean to say that that was the rule, but, as their friend Mr. Mechi had made one of the best farms in Essex out of one of the worst, so the labourer might, partly from his own resources, and partly from other resources, be enabled to keep two pigs instead of one. Of this he was quite certain that the labourer who used his best endeavours to fat two pigs instead of one would be better able to fat two than others. The system of high farming, might, he believed, be carried out effectually on a small occupation, as it had been by Mr. Mechi, through the expenditure of a large sum on his farm. Mr. Howell wished to make one additional obser- vation. In his district labourers’ houses had been built too much in rows and blocks. He advocated the building of detached houses, giving to each man his own separate allotment immediately contiguous to his house, especially in rural villages. Mr. E. Little (Chippenham) said there were near 700 allotments on the estates with which he was con- nected, and in no instance did the rent exceed 2/. an acre. The system worked well in his part of the country wherever it had been adopted. One valuable rule which was carried out in reference to these allot- ments was, that the doing of any labour on Sunday excluded the occupier from further occupation (hear, hear). That was one of the conditions on which the land was held, and it was never violated (hear, hear). Mr. Mechi. The 21. included all charges ? Mr, Little. Yes. The Chairman said he listened very attentively to the able paper read by Mr. Trethewy, a paper com- prising almost everything that could be said in favour of thé allotment system (hear, hear). He thought the carrying out of the allotment system depended in a very great degree upon landlords. Where cottages were situated on farms the labourer generally had an opportunity of increasing the quantity of garden ground if it were not sufficient, and the farmer of course took care not to let it be augmented beyond what was required for the necessities of the family. But where the labourers’ cottages were situated in a village some distance from the farm, it rested solely with the proprietor of the soil to provide land for the convenience of those who had not a sufficient quantity attached to their dwellings. He happened to receive rent from about 70 labouring tenants; the rent charged had never exceeded 6d. a pole, the land being close to the village, some of the best land in the district, and being exempt from poor rates and all other charges. The rents were paid regularly and 145 cheerfully; he did not remember a single defaulter. Speaking generally, he might say that the object of all present was, he presumed, to make the cottage home a scene of happiness, comfort, and contentment, and to give labourers an interest in their abodes ; and he believed the labourer felt as much pleasure in, walking up and down his allotment as they felt in walking round their farms (cheers). Mr. Trethewy having briefly replied, on the motion of Mr. Little, seconded by Mr. Bennett, thanks were voted to him for the able manner in which he introduced the subject. (Referred to in § 221 of Report.) Communication from the Right Honourable J. SotHERon Estcourt to the Commissioners, in answer to questions numbered 1 to 7. 1. About the year 1795 the livelihood gained of old in the neighbourhood of Tetbury by women and children in carding wool died out. My grandfather, the principal landowner, having occasion to stub up overgrown gorse cover, hit upon a notion of letting it out to his neighbours; and after each had finished his quantum of the cover he was allowed to rent it as an occupation for himself, his wife, and children at odd hours. The field so let to the inhabitants of Newnton continues to be their ground still, and is in as good cultivation as any field in the village. 2. The quantity held by one individual does not exceed a quarter of an acre, except in some few exceptional cases. 3. I do not think our allotments have had any effect on wages. Almost all the labourers in the parish have an allotment. Many single women living alone have an allotment ; all, indeed, except those who become disqualified by the receipt of parochial relief, which is, and always has been, a forfeiture of land. I do not think the farmers have ever used the allot- ment system asa means of getting work done more cheaply ; they have no voice in the matter, nor ever have tried to interfere. The letting of an allotment rests entirely between the labourer and the land- lord. 4, I never heard any complaints by farmers of the labourers expending their strength on their allot- ments ; on the contrary our farmers see the moral good effects and approve the system. It might be otherwise if our allotments on an average exceeded a quarter of an acre. 5. There is no restriction as to growing corn. Most of our people grow corn in alternate years. There is no complaint about its encouraging pilfering. 6. The labourers value their allotments greatly. They are held to be equivalent in value to the rent of their cottage. They struggle hard to avoid giving them up, and are often helped by the farmers and others in that struggle. There never is a single case of nonpayment of rent, except where the man is about to give up his land altogether from poverty. 7. The moral effect is great. It encourages industry. It occupies time which might otherwise be given up to the alehouse. It excites emulation in point of cultivation, which is increased by a horticultural society and prizes. It helps a man to keep a pig. It makes him a man of visible substance, something above the bare level of servitude. It draws a visible line between those who are in receipt of relief, and those who are independent. It occupies children, and is altogether a family concern. I have now answered briefly the questions. just add a remark or two. 1. The merit of the system depends on two things : One, that the amount of land shall not be enough to convert a man from a labourer to a little farmer. I will Cec 8 146 The. other, that the rule’ shall: be at once and: inevitably .enforcéd which forfeits the land the moment relief (except medical aid) is applied for. 2. The transaction of letting, with the choice of persons who shall have land, must be in the same independent hands as the land let to farmers, namely, the hands, and absolute discretion of the landlord. A committee, or a society, or a vestry would be fatal, for the letting would then be jobbed, or supposed to be jobbed. e a J. SotHeron Estcourt. April 10, 1868. Letter to the Commissioners from CaptaIN Scosett; R.N., referred to in § 221 of Report. Field gardens, or allotments, are as flourishing and healthy as in their youth, and remain one of my chief remaining objects in life. From 1831 to the present day. I have constantly carried out this blessed link between classes, at afjust rent, and under simple regulations. I have around me my usual number of about 60 or 70 of these tenants, besides a smaller number in two more distinct parishes with which I am connected by property. They.continue to occupy the exact same fields, which, from manure, show no symptom of being tired of the cultivation. This is gratifying, as it was the only point I had originally some doubt upon. The whole families, the wives and children, take part in this. scene of industry. The first occupiers are, from age, mostly past away, but the vacancies are eagerly sought for as they arise by their succes- sors, and the plan proceeds with a regularity and success unfailing. For many of the early years of the system, public meetings were held annually in Bath and other places, and: the example was productive of plenty of imitators in surrounding ‘parishes. ‘There is scarcely a county in the kingdom from which I did not, for, many successive: years,receive urgent applications for information, and in, many of. which the field garden plan I drew got a footing. By circulars:to the clergy- men I ascertained, at that time, that in this county alone it was established in above 200 parishes. I have not unfrequently found, however, a tendency to charge a higher rent than should be, which is sure to disturb. its beneficial effects on the minds of the tenants:: Let me now follow this outline of the physical working of the system by some remarks on its moral effects. - ; During the 37 years, in this parish of High Little- ton not more than seven or eight of the tenants have been convicted of any crime at the assizes or quarter sessions, nor in the same period failed to pay their rent. Their general demeanour has been improved, and their frank civility strengthened. They feel, as it were, a new interest in the sun and air and the genial shower, and that they have now in their holdings something tangible and continuous to lose. Their estimation of them does not at all diminish. I believe if anything was to occur to terminate their occupations, it would thrill through the whole popu- lation, and be grieved over as a vast misfortune. I would here observe that we have here no com- mittee of management, and that the whole proceedings have been under my own eye, assisted only by one of the trusty tenants. My rent has always been just that which the farmer pays for grass land for his cattle to feed on. This amounts usually from 3d. to 4d. per pole. G. T. Scopett, Feb. 12, 1868. Kingwell, near Bath. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Letters ‘by the Rev. E. Moors to Mr. Stannore ae on ALLOTMENTS. The Parsonage, Spalding, Dear Mr. Stannore, 26th Jan. 1868. , * * * J wave let land in allotments of one rood each to labourers for the last 31 years in the villages near Spalding as well as in Spalding. * e 0 «# * * I can only now tell you we have about 21 acres in Spalding let in roods generally, but none in half-acres, to the poor at about 16s. a rood, and that it is very much prized by the poor. In Weston St. Mary I let five acres in roods to labourers at 12. a rood, and I pay’ rates, tithes, and taxes, and it is eagerly sought after. In Whatlode Drove, another living I held for 30 years, I used to let’ during that time six acres in roods at 17s. a rood, which paid rates, tithes, and taxes, leaving the net rent about 15s. arood. One of the tenants told me he cleared 7/. one year on one rood of this land by growing cabbage plants for sale. Yours very truly, Hon. E. Stanhope. Epwo. Moore. The Parsonage, Spalding, My pear Sr, 28th Jan. 1868. _ In Spalding there are 254. 32. 36P. let ‘to 91 poor men. for averaging lds. a rood each, seven of them occupy half an acre. It so happens that I am one of the trustees in each case where land is let to the poor. They are most thankful for it. If we had as much more land to let in the same way it would be gladly taken by the poor. The advantages to the poor are that they can grow their own vegetables and feed a pig. It employs their leisure hours—keeps them. out of idle company. and beer-shops. Gives them an interest in their Sunday walk, makes them thoughtful in the cultiva- tion of their gardens, and ‘is ‘profitable to them, They teach their children too to work on the land. I do not allow my tenants to work on their allot- ments on Sundays, except to gather vegetables before 9 o’clock a.m., nor on Good Friday, Ascension Day, nor Christmas Day, nor when they can obtain work elsewhere ; nor do I allow the children to work on the allotments during school hours. I require the rent to be paid punctually the first Monday in August for the current year, ending 6th April following; and the crop is not to be removed before the rent is paid.. These rules appear stringent, but I have found them work well for the last 30 years, during which time, in addition to this land, I have let more than five acres in Whatlode Drove, and and five acres in Weston St. Mary, two parishes of which I was incumbent, on similar terms and rent rather higher. | Iam, Yours very truly, Hon. E. Stanhope. Epwp. Moore. Communication to the Commissioners from F. G: Hentey, Esq., on the ALLorments at Cumnor, BERKSHIRE, : Two fields are let out in allotments in this parish ; the one belonging to a charity, the other to the vicar. The allotments belonging to the charity are all in 20 pole pieces, and held both by tradesmen and labourers (the tradesmen here being very little better off than labourers). The rent is 7s. each lot = 2/. 16s. the acre. There has been no difficulty in collecting it since the trustees made the rule of giving ‘notice to leave the land if the rent was not paid to the day. There is no rule as to the course of crops, it being supposed, that, as the tenants hold generally for life IN AGRICULTURE: (1867), COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. they will do the best they can for the land; the usual course of. cropping is either all potatoes (which some tenants grow year after year) or more often half corn and half potatoes. This will be the course of crops when there is a good garden attached to the cottage ; when there is no garden, or only a small one, the land is cropped as a garden. The allotments are not held with the cottages ; they are distant from the village about a quarter of a mile ; but some of the tenants are one and two miles distant from their land. The vicar’s allotments are let out in lots from 20 poles to an acre. The acre lots are only let to tradesmen, gardeners, and men who have given up farmer’s work. The farmers’ men generally hold 20 or 30 pole pieces ; the piece-work men a rood or half an acre, The acre and half acre lots are allowed to be ploughed. but generally the acre lots alone are so. The course of cropping, distance from houses, &c. is the same as in the charity allotments. I believe the value of allotments to the poor to be very great if too much land is not given to them. In this village nearly every family has one, but the families that have not are certainly not so well off. To the young unmarried man the allotment is of great use, as it gives him employment in the evening, and so keeps him from mischief, and also leads him to be careful of his money. As to the size of allotments, I think that a piece-work man (one who never works, by the day for any regular master) can do half an acre well or even more. A farmer’s man, 30 poles or a rood, certainly not more. Jam supposing in both cases that they have good gardens attached to their cottages. The farmers generally do not wish their men to have more than: 20 poles. They think, if they have more, they will tire them- selves, and so not work well in the day time, and also that they will be tempted to steal corn. F. G. Hentey. Lerrer To THE ComMISSIONERS FROM SiR P. GREY EGERTON ON THE Hatr-Time System, 283.,. Albemarle Street, July 9th, 1868. In reply to your communication received this morning with reference to the conversation I had with Mr. Tufnell, the subject of the half-time system. I beg to say that I have tried it on a very small scale, but have found it answer admirably. Finding the boys leaving my school as soon as they could get em- ployment with the farmers, viz., at about 12 years of age, I arranged to take six of them op to the farm and garden for half days at sixpence each, this being about the equivalent of what they would earn from a farmer for the whole day. They are divided into two ‘gangs. One goes to school in the morning and to work .after dinner, the other goes to work in the morning and to school in the evening. This arrange- ment continues for one week, and the next week they change places. I find the system very popular and the result is what I chiefly. desired, namely, having the control over them till they are 14 years of age. They thus get a certain amount of schooling, and are also learning the trade they will follow in after life. The work they do is I think equivalent to the wages I pay them, and if they go into service they get higher wages than if they were ignorant of field work. Iam about to take one boy into the stables on the same plan, and probably one into the house. I have now had three or four years’ experience of the system, aiid find the results so satisfactory that I should be glad to see it tried on a larger scale; The difficulty of course would be to find .persons willing, to employ boys for the half days, but I think some of the well- disposed farmers might be willing to help in some districts. My school is too small to supply more boys Sir, 147 than I now employ myself. I am not.sure that I can give you any further information but ane be happy to answer any queries you may like to put to me. | Tam, Si, Your obedient servant, (Signed) P. Grey Eaerton. 1 Oe Lerrer rrom Mr. Cu. P. Tessurr on rae Hatr- TIME SYSTEM, ADDRESSED TO Mr. Cuartes J. Borie, Assistant ComMISsIONER. Bluntisham, St. Ives, Huntingdonshire, My pear Sir, November 26, 1867. THE question of the education of the children of agricultural labourers is no doubt a difficult one, and any measure for promoting it would require great care lest its restrictions should prove very injurious, but I don’t think the difficulty is insuperable. Care- ful examination of the question and consideration of its practical bearings have convinced me that the half-day, or as it is sometimes called half-time, system is the true principle upon which to found any measure. By this I mean not the alternate plan, or one day work and one day school, nor half the whole year, but the half of each day to be work and the remaining half school. : es There are three important points to be kept con- stantly in mind in considering this question, and although they are not of equal importance a good measure should in the main conform to the three following conditions : 1. It should cause as small a loss as possible of the present earnings of the children sought to be educated. This is very important, and I may add that many of the restrictions as to age, &c. which have been pro- posed would to my knowledge cause a loss in some cases of from one-fifth to one-fourth of the income of the family. Itis of course a common thing to find families consisting of the father, mother, and five or six children, the two eldest children being girls under the age of twelve years. In this case in this neigh- bourhood the man’s earnings will be from twelve to fifteen shillings a week and the two girls will probably add from four to five shillings a week on an average. To destroy this source of income is a most serious step to take, and would probably produce in such families not only physical suffering, but. also social degradation. 2. It should interfere as little as possible with the interest of the farmers and employers of labour. This is a point of smaller importance, but still deserves careful consideration, especially as it would be difficult to carry out any measure which caused great and per- haps needless loss in this respect. ‘ 3. It should secure a reasonable and continuous course of teaching for the young with the smallest exercise of compulsion in relation to the parent con- sistent with securing the end proposed. The plan that would in my view most fully solve the problem presented with these conditions would be the following : © , ee To provide that no person shall be allowed to employ in labour any child under the above age beyond one o’clock in the day, except during two months in the year, when all restriction as to labour shall cease. It will be seen that J make no provision for res- training entirely labour up to a given age. This provision I believe would not be required under a half-day system, and in any case it is a most clumsy and uncertain way of dealing with the matter. Some children at the age of ten years are physically as capable for labour as others at twelve, and broadly I venture to state that no limit would be needed if only half the day is allowed for work. With this restric- tion, the matter may I think be safely left to be settled by the interests of the parent and the em- ployer... ., > é se Ce4 148 As to the first condition laid down above, I believe the half-day system would cause the least possible loss of earnings. Some loss must be in any case incurred, but the first half of the day is by far the most valuable for children’s labour to the employer, and the extra demand for labour which must arise, and the superior power of work in children not wearied out by a full day’s labour would reduce the loss to a minimum. As to the second condition, I think the employer would lose less by this plan than any other. As already stated much more than half a day’s work would be done before one o’clock, and in this neighbourhood the work for which boys are specially required in morning and not afternoon work. I once introduced this matter at the St. Ives’ board of guardians, when Mr. Bowyer, the inspector of schools, was present, and several large and intelligent farmers present joined me in stating that the afternoon labour of young children, especially boys, is not of great value, except during haytime and harvest, which would be of course provided for by the exemption of two months in the year from all restriction which forms part of my proposal. Of course some inconvenience would arise, and no doubt many farmers would state this if asked; but here again I think the minimum of loss would be attained. As to the third and most important condition stated, I believe that the half-day plan is aBsoLUTELY the best possible plan for the training of the children of agricultural labourers, and far better even than total stoppage of work, and school all day. The time al- lowed for school would be sufficient for a fair and, above all, continuous course of education, while the work done, without being too long continued and wearisome, would be, as it must be remembered it is now, a most valuable industrial training for children that have to get their living by the use of their hands and the sweat of their brow. I may add that almost all the difficulties of the gang system, private or public, would disappear under the operation of the half-day system. It would then not pay to take children far from home, and they would only be employed, as they only ought to be, in reasonable proximity with their dwellings. The moral evils of the gang would almost vanish if children were brought home in the middle of the day, and not allowed, as now, a “mixed multitude,” oftentimes in the darkness of an early winter’s evening, and the habit of cleaning and preparing for school each day would undoubtedly have a tendency to create and maintain those habits of decency and propriety which it is so important to spread and preserve among the children of all classes in the community. Iam quite prepared for many objections, and have often met them in discussing this plan, but I am con- vinced of its soundness, and twenty years’ experience as a farmer has given me confidence in my view as to its practical bearing. Of course with the above plan, completely unsec- tarian schools, or schools with a carefully drawn con- science clause must be presumed to exist. This part of the matter however 1 do not wish to discuss in any -detail. Yours faithfully, Ch. J. Boyle, Esq. Cuas. P. Trppurt, Letter from Mr. CoHartes PaGeEt to the Hon. E. STANHOPE. Ruddington Grange, Dear Mr. STanHoPy, March 6, 1868. You ask if I have any observations to make in addition to my previous statements, respecting the “half-time system of education in Rural Districts.” In reply, I would say that in 1858 I took into my employment two boys who could not read, and I found that they made no satisfactory progress at school; I therefore dismissed them, this being the only case of my doing so; and I find no difficulty in carrying out EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the rule to admit none to the benefit of the system who cannot read tolerably. At that time only 50 per cent. of the children in the village could read to any good purpose at 9 years, but the attention which has been called to their deficiencies has raised the per- centage to 80 without any increase of educational machinery, and I look for progressive improvement in this respect. I also wish to say emphatically that the system costs me nothing; that on the other hand, I believe I gain by it as a farmer, for, on any day when I want more boys to drive carts, I inform the schoolmaster and retain them on the farm, and I only pay them for the time they are at work, and at no higher rate than other employers in the village. I have ascertained that the average attendance at school of my boys is 90.7 days in the year, so that, taking 110 days as the half of the usual 220, I keep them from school (on days fixed for school) an average of 19 days in the year for the pur- poses of the farm. I have never any difficulty in replacing the boys when there is a vacancy. Their general success in life is perhaps one reason why parents are anxious to make their children half-timers. Not one has gone wrong, and the parents express themselves much more than satisfied with the plan when they compare those of their children who have enjoyed it with the others who have not. This result does not arise from any exertion of my influence ; when applied to I have given a just character, and have done no more. What you have yourself seen, together with the inclosed letters recently written by the boys, will, I trust, satisfy you of the value of the education, and I am quite convinced that on no other plan can they contribute so much to the labour of the country and to their own support, while they secure for themselves a fair education. The boys begin to work with me when they enter their 10th year. In that year their labours are very light, but they accustom themselves to horses and out- of-doors employment. They continue to advance in usefulness, and in their twelfth and thirteenth they are worth much more than boys of the same age who have just left school. Examinations which I have made enable me to say that the education of my boys at 13 years of age is far better on an average than that of boys who have attended school without work up to 12 years, and at 13 my boys have worked for me 840 days, while those leaving school at 12 will only have worked 200. Assuming that an adequate education is essential, it will be secured by alternate attendance on the school and the farm with short intervals, at the least cost to the parent and the least inconvenience to the farmer, and experience shows me that the boy is well pre- pared in this way for the battle of life. I would suggest :— 1st, that, previous to a boy’s being permitted to work for a farmer, he should receive a certificate that he can read tolerably, by which I understand that he should read ordinary words of two syllables without hesitation. 2nd, that boys of nine years old and less than 13 should be required to attend 90 days in each year at school. 8rd, that eight days’ attendance should be in each of nine months, and that the remaining 18 days should be in any month when the school is open which the farmer may find convenient. If the time were absolutely fixed by law it would press very hardly upon many districts ; for the times at which the work of boys is required vary much in different countries. In the South I hear they think that the boys might go to school in the winter alone, but here the winter is the season in which their services are most required. Yours truly, Cuar.es Pager, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Note by Mr. Epwarp Stannope (Assistant Com- missioner).—Ruddington, Jan. 1868. Mr. Paget’s farm is one mile from Ruddington and foux from Nottingham ; labour cannot be obtained from .the latter, but is rather attracted there by the high rates of wages. There are six boys employed; each set of three attends school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in one week, and on Tuesday and Thursday in the next, so that they all go through the usual weekly school course once a fortnight. This system is suspended during harvest and at other very busy times. Mr. Barker, a farmer at Ruddington, has adopted the system and approves it; and as a proof that the labouring class see its advantages, some of the stockingers’ families have adopted it, though in a much more irregular way. In these cases the children attend school when they can, but their total atten- dance is about the same as that of Mr. Paget’s boys, viz., 90 days in the year. As to the amount of education acquired by these children, it appears to me to be amply sufficient ; and the work of the half-timers compares very fairly with that of the whole-timers. BENEFIT SOCIETIES. EXTRACTS FROM THE “ JOURNAL OF THE FARMERS’ Crus.” Meeting of November 4th 1867. The Chairman, Mr. E. Little, said,— = * * “Tn former days the more far-seeing of the labouring classes, looking forward with dread to the evening of life, when they would have to rely on the workhouse, or, in other words, public charity, led them to make provision for the necessities of old age; hence the origin of benefit societies. It is highly creditable to the working classes to find, from a recent return, that one out of every nine of the population is a member of such a society.” * * * “ But the poor man’s sheet anchor, maintenance during illness, coupled with a sum at death, is not yet permitted to secure him in the storms of this life by its hold on the Post Office. Such permission might, and it will not be difficult to show ought, if beneficial legislation is persisted in, to be given. Farm la- _bourers should have the opportunity atforded them of investing their club payments in securing suns during sickness, payable weekly for a term of months, of about three-fourths of their ordinary wages when they are able to work. We may safely leave it to his own option to insure as much as he likes in the way of burial money and annuity, both these last classes being already offered to the public, and not I fear meeting with the attention they deserve, by means of the Post Office. Now every country post- master knows the common run of farm labourers’ earnings in his neighbourhood, and would thus assist the authorities to fix the maximum sickness provision given at his office. To this I add that from know- ledge of agency management in a large friendly society the ordinary village postmaster will soon make a most efficient and trustworthy agent. The advan- tages of' such a system of friendly societies throughout the country it would seem difficult to overrate. Every able-bodied farm labourer would slowly but surely discover that, if he pleased, he might go to the nearest post office instead of the nearest public house,. and a¢ a somewhat less cost in money obtain a better pro- vision than the combined resources of the sharing- out club and the poor rates put together can give him.” * ee Mr. J. Sydney, Islington. “It was plain to him, and he thought it must be clear to all present that no reform of agricultural labourers’ friendly societies would ever come from the agricultural labourers themselves ; that until the farmers, who 21157. 149 were the employers of the labourers, and the re- sident gentry of the district in which these societies existed thought it worth their while to take an earnest, active interest in them, there was not the least likelihood that uneducated men would change from the agreeable and ruinous principle which was commonly adopted at present to the sounder and more useful, though duller, system on which some of the newer friendly societies were founded. What he wished to impress upon the club in his humble way was, that those who stood on the outside took a very different view from those whv stood on the inside ; that those who were not farmers, and not employers of labour, and not representatives of those who knew labourers in old times, could not see things quite in the same light as those who seemed to con- sider it quite natural that the labourer should work as long as he had sufficient strength, and should become a pauper towards the end of his life.” * * * Mr. Howard had told them, too, that by far the larger number of societies were so conducted that when the agricultural labourer came to want assist- ance he was put for a short time on what was called whole pay, then on half pay, then on quarter pay, and that he afterwards became a parish pauper. Now he (Mr. Sydney) wanted to know whether that was a wholesome or healthy state of things. He did not wish to blame any one for it, but it was a notorious fact that the most that could happen at present to the great body of agricultural labourers who belonged to friendly societies was that when they needed help they would get a dole of 5s. or 6s. a week, to be reduced after a time to 2s. 6d. If they got such an allowance they thought themselves remarkably well off, and if they did not get it they went to the parish. This was so natural a course of things, that it was made a charge against the board of guardians that they did not assist those who were members of friendly societies.” Mr. C,. Howard observed that only a single instance had been mentioned. Mr. J. Sydney. Well if it were only a single instance, it appeared that, as a general rule, guardians gave relief to those who had subscribed to these ‘societies ; and if that were so it proved his case, which was that those who subscribed ultimately went to the parish. (Hear, hear.) Surely it was a most unsatisfactory state of things that one of the most numerous classes of labourers in this kingdom should have to go to the workhouse at the close of their lives. They must all admit that anything which would tend to put an end to such a state of things was well worthy of attention. He was not one of those who imagined that that state of things could be altered by Act of Parliament; but Mr. Charles Howard had sketched good friendly societies in such a way as to afford good reasons for believing that if societies generally held tucir meetings at schoolrooms instead of public houses, and were supported by different classes of society con- nected with agriculture, the labourer, instead of getting hardly enough to keep body and soul together, would be entitled at the end of his days to such a sum as would be sufficient to support him comfortably. (Hear, hear.) He knew that he might place himself in an unpleasant position by suggesting that some- thing more might be done for the agvicultural labourer than had been done. (Laughter.) He did not indeed expect the evil to be remedied this year or next year; but of this he felt certain, that if the employers of labour would interest themselves in efforts to put friendly societies on a better footing they could be put on a better footing ; and he would add that if they were not placed on a better footing it might be an exceedingly dangerous thing that men who had learnt to read and write should read that they had nothing to look forward to in old age but the work- house. It was the interest of every man who had a shilling invested, that they labourers generally should be raised to a position in which they would be enabled to help themselves; for without that, they might Dd i 150 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, depend upon it, labourers would prove very dangerous to society.” (Hear, hear.) Mr. John Everitt (Kingswood Lodge, Norwood), said, * * “ He thought a declaration should go forth from that club that agricultural labourers were en- titled to the countenance, assistance, and co-operation of the farmers and landowners for their protection and benefit in reference to those matters. They must all be delighted if something effectual could be done for the poorer homes of their beloved land. Although he had been chairman of a board of guardians for many years, and felt deeply interested in the con- dition of the labourers around him, yet he must confess that up to that evening he had no idea of the amount of good which might be done by means of properly managed benefit societies. His mind had never before been so much stirred up on this subject. The facts laid before them were, however, undeniable, and he thought they would all incur a deep respon- sibility if they did not endeavour to turn them to good account in their respective localities. He thought, indeed, it would be well to pass a resolution, short, pithy, and to the point, impressing upon farmers and landowners generally the desirableness of their ener- getically endeavouring to bring about, by means of benefit societies a state of things which would tend to make labourers and their families happy and com- fortable, and to secure what all must desire to see, an improved state of things for the labourer in old age. Mr, J. A. Williams (Baydon Hungerford) said that, * * * «Tn the Wilts county society the mem- bers, by paying a certain sum monthly, could secure the object in view. If they came into that county they would find Mr. Sotheron Estcourt, who could never be sufficiently praised for the good which he had conferred, filling the capacity of father of the club. It had taken years to establish that club, but it now extended throughout the county; and he thought he might safely say that with a fund of 26,0002. in hand, and proper management, there was that to which every member might look, to be secured against want to the end of his days. There was no pauperism attached to that society. It was the bring- ing everything under proper management, and the getting the farmers and gentry to unite with the la- bourers, which had made the society so successful, Tent meetings were held in the several parishes throughout the summer; there were branch parochial societies throughout the county, and the greatest benefit was conferred at the least possible expense. The clergy, the gentry, the farmers, and the labour- ers met one day in the year, and after a good dinner of roast beef and plum pudding all went forth for the evening to enjoy themselves. That society united all classes together, and there was no danger of the labourer being pauperised by it (hear, hear), as the fund was sufficient to meet every demand. But the farmers had to beat down against the prejudices of the labourers. Many labourers liked to spend the threepence, and they did not mind spending sixpence (laughter), and Mr. Howard very justly described them as drinking till they did not know what they were doing.” The Chairman said that he . : * %* * held in his hand the report of the society for the last year. It was entitled the ‘ Report of the ‘ Wiltshire Friendly Society for the year 1866,’ and the society was stated to have been established. in -1828 ‘ for the purpose of relieving and maintaining * such of its members as may: be disabled from work ‘ by sickness, accident or old age ; for providing a ‘ sum to be paid on the death of a member, and en- ‘ dowing or apprenticing young persons.’ The society was instituted and presided over by that excellent man Mr. Sotheron Estcourt, who was obliged to re- retire from its management, as well as the representa- tion of North Wiltshire in Parliament, in-consequence of ill health. Thenumber of members at the time the YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN report, was issued was 6,394, and the amount of capital invested 27,7261. 19s..3d.. There were. ninety-six branches scattered over the county, and they were supported by the clergy, gentry, and agriculturists of their respective districts. Oncea year, as Mr. Williams had intimated, there was a day spent in a happy gather- ing of the respective branches, and of all who were interested in the object, under the auspices of the president, or in his unavoidable absence of some gentlemen of influence in the locality, who represented him. He would not enter into any details now, but he must add that. the contributions of the benefit members for the last year amounted to 4,050/. 13s., and the subscriptions of honorary members to 3401. Thus, it would be seen something like 15 per cent. of the total income was paid by honorary members, a fact which showed the great interest taken the society by farmers, the clergy, and the gentry. There was no benefit society in the country so well managed. It had its auditors and its local committees throughout the county ; the meetings were not held, like those of the old societies, in‘public houses ; and he hoped that ere long no meetings of socities of that kind would be held in public houses.” (Hear, hear.) LABOURERS’ COTTAGES. On Mr. NIcoLi’s MoDE OF CONSTRUCTING COTTAGES ; see § 336 of Report. Mr. Samuel Sharp. (Examined by Mr. Tremenheere, May 11— August 8, 1868.) 1. I am an architect. I have had considerable ex- perience in building cottages for the labouring poor. The great difficulty hitherto in supplying adequate cottage accommodation for the poor has béen the expense. Cottages having the amount of accommo- dation desirable for all the purposes of health and convenience can scarcely ever be built at a cost which will allow of a proper interest for the outlay from the ordinary cottage rents. In rare cases, where materials and labour are very cheap, and where there are other exceptional circumstances, such as where gentlemen make their own bricks and use up their own timber in their own carpenter’s yard, it may be done; but in those latter cases the builder’s profit is not charged at all, and the real cost is often not strictly ‘ealculated ; carriage of materials, for instance, is apt to be left out of the account. The cottages erectéd by speculative builders near towns or villages are not usually designed for single families’ of agricultural labourers ; two families generally occupy them ‘in order to afford the return on the outlay that the speculative builder requires, namely, 15° to 25 per cent., and they are often built of the worst materials and: in the worst manner of construction, ie.,' with very cramped and ‘insufficient accommodation, and no attempt at satisfying sanitary ‘requirements. I have long ‘desired to meet with some method’ of construction which would enable cottages to be built on the best known sanitary principles, and to pay to the proprietor a full and fair interest on his outlay from the ordinary cottage rents: cee: 2. With a view to this, I was led to study buildings constructed of concrete. By concreté I mean, wheré- ever I use the term, gravel, broken store, burnt clay, or any other hard ‘material, mixed in due proportion with the best Portland cement. It’ is necessary to ‘keep in mind the fact that the concrete I speak of is made solely with Portland cement, which is by far the strongest of all cements, and’ incomparably stronger than any lime, with which alone concrete used formerly to be made. I found that walls made of concrete formed with the best Portland cement could be built in every part of the country, especially in the great-agricul- tural districts, for one-half the cost of brick or. stone, and that the advantages. in favour of this concrete IN AGRICULTURE (1867): COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ‘were, | much - greater str ‘ength,’ greater’ resistance to damp, and very great facilities for carrying out sanitary measures, z.¢., ventilation and the carrying off of water; and that with regard to the floors and the roofs formed of iron joists and concrete slabs, they were. made for two-thirds the cost of the ordinary floors and roofs of timber and tiles or slate. Such buildings had the further advantage of being more slow con- ductors of heat and cold, and also of being fireproof. 3. I prepared some plans of building on this system about two years ago. ‘ These plans were laid before the meeting of the Social Science Association at Manchester in 1867. 4. The saving of cost resulting from that mode of construction is exhibited by the following examples. In the neighbourhood of London and other large towns the ordinary cost of cottages is 54d. per cubic foot of contents of building ; the ‘cost of this mode of construction is 8d. At the Paris Exhibition ‘several plans of modes of construction were exhibited. I went to Paris at Mr. Chadwick’s request to examine those plans and modes of construction, and I ascer- tained that the cost of the plan for labourer’s dwel- lings which got the first prize was 54d. The next one for Paris was 4d. The third for artisans in Mulhouse was 3d. per foot of cubical contents, but this latter was formed of chalk and ‘lime, and was very porous. The particulars of ‘these plans were given in the report of Mr. Chadwick’ on iabourers’ dwellings, made by him as juror to the English Commissioners.’ * 5. In the course of my‘inquiries as to modes of con- struction by concrete I heard, about two years ago, of the invention of Mr. Benjamin Nicoll. On inves- tigating this method of construction I found in it principles which were of the’ utmost ‘importance in reference especially to cottages for agricultural la- bourers, but it is equally applicable to many other kinds of building ; 3 and since that period I have been greatly engaged, ‘in conjunction with Mr. Nicoll, in perfecting his plans, which have been for some months fully complete, and which have been acted upon with the greatest success. There is no doubt that by Mr. ‘Nicoll’s mode of building, cottages for the agricultural labourer, and many other species of buildings required for agricultural and other purposes in the country, can be erected in the strongest and most durable manner, at a very reduced cost as sine with the ordinary modes of building. The principle of Mr. Nicoll’s invention is this :— ‘A layer of straw, 8 to 10 feet long by 3 to 4 feet wide and 3 inches thick, is placed upon a long move able table, attached to’ a large sewing machine ; the table when set in motion brings the straw under pres- sure, which reduces its thickness to an inch and a half. 7. As the straw comes through the pressing ap- paratas it is firmly sewn together by the needles of the sewing machine, with stitches about 2 inches apart. 8. The ragged edges of the straw are then cut off, to bring it to correspond with the dimensions of the one- inch angle-iron frame in which it is to be placed,— say to 9 feet by 3 feet. 9. Iron Date 8 of an inch thick by }an inch broad, are inserted into the cut edge of one of the sides and passed through, at from. 8 to’ 12 inches apart, and the whole is then laid in the angle-iron frame, which is perforated with holes to receive the ends of the iron bars. These are then cold-welded, by a few blows of a hammer, into the frame. : 10. The one-inch’ angle-iron frame, strengthened at every 8 or 12 inches by the iron bars, and comprising the fabric ‘of compressed. straw an ‘inch and a half thick, is then laid in a trough containing a mixture to render the straw fireproof, and with which the straw is saturated in the curse of a few minutes. Several 6f the frames ‘thus treated are laid upon one another until they make a pile of 10 to 20.’ Hydraulic or other pressure is then brught to bear upon them, and they are each compressed into the, thickness of one inch, being that of the angle-iron. 151 11. The frames are then dried, and this, if done swith hot air, would take from 10 to 15 minutes. "18. Bach frame is then placed again in a shallow trough, and a boiling mixture, consisting of small gravel or crushed stone and just enough asphalte to hold it together, with a little chalk to destroy the inflam- mability of the asphalte, is poured upon it,—on one ‘side first and then on the other,—and evenly spread by a small hand machine, adding about a quarter of an inch of thickness to each side. The asphalte we use is either Seyssel or other natural bitumen, the property of which, when mixed as we mix it with gravel, is that it becomes totally unaffected by alter- nations in temperature. [This is the description given in a report upon it which appeared in the “ Building News” of June 12th, 1868, p. 391.] 13. It thus becomes a solid slab about an inch and a half in thickness, composed of the interior layer of straw compressed to one inch (the thickness of the angle iron) and of half an inch of asphalte concrete ; and in this state is ready to go to the builder. 14. The process of building is as follows:—The foun- dation of, say, a cottage, having been dug out, and a wall of cement-concrete raised 6 or 12 inches, or more if required, above the ground line, an iron skeleton frame of the cottage to be built, made of inch and a half to three inch angle iron, according to the size of the intended building, is then laid upon ‘and firmly imbedded in the concrete foundation. This skeleton iron frame consists of uprights at the angles and all the meeting portion of the division walls embedded firmly as just described in the foundation of concrete ; of crossties ; and of the joists for the upper floors, and the purlins for the roof. 15. The slabs as above described are then placed between the up-rights, on a shoe of concrete resting upon the foundation, and are then screwed to the uprights and to each other. As they are only three feet wide each, there is thus formed a double thick- ness of angle-iron at every three feet of wall space, giving, with the slab that it encloses, immense strength and firmness. The top portion of the shoe of con- erete is lined with a layer of asphalte, so as effec- tually to prevent any damp rising into the slab. 16. All the frames to compose the building, in- cluding the roof, are thus consecutively screwed to- gether. 17. The slabs for the roof are of an uniform size, 8 feet by 2 feet, and the iron bars are inserted across at every 8 inches. The purlins for the support of the slabs of the roof are of rolled angle-iron like the frames, and are only 4 feet apart. The roof is there- fore very strong. : 18. The next process is to cover the external walls and the roof with a layer of concrete formed of small gravel or crushed stone (of the size of peas or beans), or of burnt clay, whichever may be most conveniently obtained on the spot, and the best Portland cement, in the proportion of one of cement to six of the hard material. The thickness of this external layer is not required for ordinary cottage buildings to be more than one inch for the walls and half an inch for the roof. The heat of the sun does uot affect it. We have submitted one of these slabs to a strong fire, resting it on a support of brickwork a foot high, and igniting a quantity of wood placed under it. We placed at the same time a square of bricks in a similar position. The heat very soon penetrated it, and the upper sur- face became too hot to touch, while the upper surface of the slab was only warm. The slabs are equally unaffected by frost. From the extreme strength of the material, when properly made and mixed, whatever contraction or expansion may take place does not injure it. The proof is seen everywhere in London where thin coatings of Portland cement and sand are used for eternal surfaces and orna- mental work. Builders expose them with per- fect confidence both to cold and heat. The small gravel or broken stone which we use for external work with only the proper proportion, of the best Portland cement to hold it together presents a still Dd2 152 greater power of resistance to heat or cold. One inch for the walls and half an inch for the roof of this external layer of concrete is sufficient, but it may be increased if desired. When this is dry, which in fine weather it will be in 24 hours, it is washed over with a coat consisting of a magnesian pre- paration and powdered flint, which gives extreme hardness to the surface, in addition to the well-known hardness and durability of concrete formed of good Portland cement well mixed. Any colouring matter, with the exception of blue which the preparation of magnesium destroys, can be mixed with the wash, to give a tint to both walls and roof. 19. The interior surfaces of the external walls andthe partition walls are then covered with a layer either of Portland cement concreie half an inch thick, or, what is cheaper, with “ Scott’s” cement (which is a prepara- tion of lime) and chalk, where chalk is to be had. This interior surface is also brushed over with the mixture of magnesium and flint above described, and is thus rendered washable—a very material point in reference to the doing away with infection ; and also, being capable of being tinted as already stated, it saves the expense of occasional whitewashing or colouring. 20. The floors are formed thus: squares of wood, 6 inches by 6, and 4 inch thick, are laid side by side in a frame, composing together a block two feet square ; upon this is poured a boiling mixture of asphalte and stone of the same kind as above-mentioned for the slabs (§ 12); they are then squeezed together by screw-bolts passing through the frame, and left to cool, when they are found to adhere perfectly and to form one block. These blocks even when laid, with the asphalte downwards, immediately upon the soil, form a solid and complete floor, as they are entirely damp-proof; but if preferred they can be laid on gravel or a slight layer of cement concrete. The wood used is thoroughly dried or seasoned, so as not to yield to moisture or heat. 21. The squares of wood previously to being used, are placed in a solution of soda, with which the wood becomes saturated in about 12 hours, and is then so nearly fireproof that it will only char. 22. Altogether, therefore, a cottage built in this- _manner becomes practically fireproof. 23. Of the durability of a building so constructed there can be no doubt. 24, First, with regard to the preservation of the iron and the straw. 25. The iron is effectually protected by a prepara~ tion with which every piece is first washed over and which prevents rust. Next all the iron in the slabs and in the skeleton frame is imbedded in the asphalte and concrete so that it is entirely excluded from the damp and wet. Further, felt saturated with the best Stockholm tar is interposed between each piece of angle-iron where they are screwed together. The few portions of the iron which are visible are the lower portions of the rolled iron rafters that support the floors and roof; these are painted, and can be always looked to and cared for like iron-work in any other building. 26. The straw is equally well protected, first, by the solution of lime and silicate of soda, which makes it uninflammable ; next by the great compression to which it is subject; and then by its being entirely covered with the coatings of asphalte and concrete, and thus effectually excluded from the external air. 27. Then, as to the durability of the concrete. The concrete used by Mr. Nicoll is formed either of burnt clay, or gravel, or crushed stone, or any other hard material, and of the best Portland cement, in pro- portions of six of the former to one of the latter. The qualities of Portland cement are well known ; it is composed of burnt clay and well calcined lime. Its history and composition are well described by Colonel Scott, of the South Kensington Museum, in two essays, published among the Professional Papers of the Royal Engineers (Vol. XIJ., 1862), and by Mr. John Grant, in a paper read by him at the EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Institution of Civil Engineers, in 1866. There are no higher authorities on the subject of Portland cement than those two gentlemen. Both give the results of interesting and careful experiments on the strength of Portland cement, which are very remark- able. The tables in which its powers of resistance to transverse strain, and to tearing and crushing force, are shown, as compared with other cements and with various kinds of stone, exhibit very clearly it im- mense superiority. The thinness, therefore, of Mr. Nicoll’s concrete slabs forms no objection to them in regard to their strength and durability. For cottages and houses two or three stories high the three-inch slabs are amply sufficient. The strength of the thinnest that has yet been erected, namely, that of a small policeman’s lodge at the entrance into the grounds of the South Kensington Museum in Prince’s Gate, close to the new buildings which are now being erected with an exterior of brick and terra-cotta fac- ings, was shown by the following accident which occurred to it soon after it was erected about two years ago. Itis only an inch and a half thick. Just after it was finished a waggon was coming in with a load of iron joists. In taking a turn it drove the iron centre clasp of the folding door of the gate against the wall of the cottage with great force. One of the superintendents who saw it, said that if the lodge had been built of nine-inch brick wall the blow would have brought it all down; as it was it simply indented the slab. The portion displaced was forced back again by the workmen, and the concrete surface was restored, so that the injury was repaired in a few minutes, and at a merely nominal cost. The angle- iron, the cross-iron bars of the frame, and the cement together, form a construction of such solidity that one-inch angle-iron is quite sufficient for all ordinary purposes, especially as, when the frames are screwed together, the inch angle-iron becomes double. The frames are also held together by the uprights at every angle, and by the cross-ties at the foot of the roof. The whole plan of the construction becomes similar to that of an iron ship ; the theory: of the construction is perfectly the same. 28. The policeman’s lodge above mentioned is only referred to as a proof of the structural strength of the slabs. The material of the external and internal surfaces there is sand and cement, which is much inferior to the gravel and cement which we use now; and it was put up by labourers new to the work, and consequently shows several marks of imperfect work- manship in exfoliations and cracks. 29. In regard to the durability of the external surface of the slabs as we now make them, not only is that manifest from the nature and qualities of the Portland cement, but it is further assisted by our giving it a wash of the magnesian preparation: and flint already mentioned, which we have adopted mainly for the sake of applying agreeable tints and to make the surface washable, and not with especial reference to increasing the durability. This, how- ever, it does by its power of resisting frost and heat, which we have tested by experiments ; and it throws off wet like glass. The first account of this solution was given in a paper read to the Académie des Sciences by M. Sore] during the Exhibition at Paris last autumn. A washable internal surface can also be produced at a reasonable cost, and quite durable, by a mixture of three parts of chalk, well dried in a kiln, with two parts of “ Scott’s” cement, very recently suggested by Colonel Scott, as the result of experiments made several years ago. Such a mixture, although washable, is not open to the objection that it would precipitate moisture. The wallis never cold enough to cause condensation, the layer of straw keeping it at an even temperature ; also our mode of supplying warm air to the rooms — would in itself prevent the walls ever getting cold enough to precipitate moisture. 30. In using concrete it is a matter of the first im- portance that the Portland cement and the burnt ciay, or other material used should be properly mixed toge- IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, ther. The neglect of this has often led to objections to the use of concrete. It is indispensable to the proper formation of conerete that every particle of the hard material used should be brought into contact with and coated by the cement. The ordinary mode of mixing it is by hand. The proportions required are usually given to the labourers under the superin- tendence of a trustworthy person; but notwith- standing all ordinary care, the exact mixture of six to one, or eight or more to one, as the case may be, can hardly ever be thoroughly obtained. Since many bushels are mixed together at once by turning the mass over with a shovel, some portions are very apt to have more than their due share of the cement and others less ; thence inequality in the strength, and liability to crumbling or crushing. The only security for producing cement-concrete that can be depended on for our purposes is that the mixing should be done by machinery. Mr. Nicoll has perfected ma- chinery by which the hard materials are crushed to the desired size; from the crusher it passes into a lower box, and the cement is at the same time effectu- ally mixed with it in the required proportion; also the necessary quantity of water is added and no more, which is a matter of considerable importance. The machinery can be adjusted to crush to any size re- quired,—the larger sizes being for the external coats, and the finer for the internal. The machinery is easily transportable, the whole, together with the moulds for fire-places, flues, &c., which are made of concrete, not more than filling a conveyance capable of being drawn by one horse. For the moving power of the machinery one man is required, and another is wanted to attend upon the boxes in which the materials are laced in their right proportions. 31, Although the slabs are only three inches thick, it is remarkable that a building made of them is both warmer in winter and cooler in summer to a very great extent than ordinary brick buildings This arises from the slow conduction of heat by the layer of compressed straw. These points have been fully proved at the lodge at South Kensington, and also at the houses erected on Mr. Nicoll’s plan at New Hampton and Twickenham. 32. The great object in the construction of cottages being to reduce the expense consistently with all due regard to health and comfort, Mr. Nicoll and I have turned our attention to several of the minor details in the fitting up of a cottage. 33. First, in regard to the doors and windows. In the interior fittings generally we have sought to avoid as much as possible the necessity of carpentering and joinering. The little woodwork which will be required in Mr. Nicoll’s houses will be completed in his own factory, and sent down at the same time with the slabs and the machinery to the locality where houses or cottages on his plan are ordered, unless the Jand- owner wishes to use his own wood or to employ his own men, or doors and windows can be bought cheaper. 34. The doors are constructed of a frame of angle- iron, the panels being formed of small slabs of wood set diagonally and bolted to the angle-iron. This produces a door both light and strong and of pleasing appearance, the bolt heads affording a species of ornament round the door. The casing to the door is also of angle-iron. This construction does away with all mortice and tenon work and dovetailing, effecting a saving in the cost of each door. 35. The window casings are made of angle-iron, similarly to the door frames. The interior portion of the frame of the window, to hold the glass, is made also of angle-iron ; the exterior portion will be of zinc. A thin layer of felt is interposed between the outer portion of the frame and the glass ; these are at- tached to the inner frame by screws. The felt allows for any expansion or. contraction of the glass or iron, and does away with all necessity for the use of putty. We shall also have little need for any glazier’s work. It is proposed that the glass should be manufactured in sizes—panes of about 153 a foot square ; so that if 4 pane should be broken it can be unscrewed, and the occupant can replace it with a new pane. It is proposed also that tbe glass should be at least a quarter of an inch thick. Such glass would be difficult to break, and being of such thickness would greatly lessen the radiation of warmth from within and obstruct the entrance of cold from without. It will probably cost about 6d. a foot square. We propose also that the upper panes should be tinted or ground. We have reason to be- lieve that we shall be able to obtain this glass, when manufactured on a large scale, at a very reasonable rate; and taking into account the diminution of breakage, and the smaller cost of replacing any broken pane, the result would be in favour of the thick glass, even if its first cost was somewhat more. 86. The mode of hanging which we adopt is either by the open casemate on the French plan, or by sliding sashes, so that we get rid of the sash cords (which are a frequent cause of expense and trouble), and produce a very great saving of carpenters’ and joiners’ work in the construction of the windows. 87. There is also another important reason why we use iron a’ much as possible instead of wood. When wood is in juxtaposition with cement it is apt, unless unusually well seasoned, to crack the cement by expanding with wet or damp, as is seen in the concrete lodges on the south side of the South Kensington Museum. If we used wood at all in our doors or windows we interpose a strip of metal between it and the cement. 38. The fire-places or flues are constructed of con- crete. We do not build them of concrete blocks, as is the common way, but we prepare a wooden frame into which the concrete is poured. When it is set the framework is taken out, and the main work is done. It is a rapid and effectual way of making both the fire-places and the chimney flues. The exposed sur- faces of the fire-places are then covered with a thin coating of finer concrete to give it a face, which, like the walls, can be coloured to any tint with our magnesian preparation. The chimney pieces are also of concrete. 39. Our mode of constructing the flues gives us a great facility for adopting the fire-grate and double flue invented by Mr. Douglas Galton, C.B., for warming and ventilating purposes, and improved upon by General Morin, of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, Paris, and which not only causes the most satisfactory ventilation of a room, but effects a great economy of fuel. 40. It is described by Mr. Galton in a paper pub- lished in the “Journal of the Society of Arts,” May 8th, 1868. 41. “It was designed in 1859-60 to meet the con- “ ditions laid down by the Barrack and Hospital Im- “ provement Committee, presided over by the late Lord “ Herbert of Lea.” The grate “is manufactured for “ the War Department by Messrs. Kennard, of Upper “ Thames Street, but is not patented.” The fire- place has a lining of fire lumps in five places, so moulded and arranged, with the cast-iron fire grating at the bottom, that “ whilst the draft is checked, and “ the consumption of fuel reduced,” a sufficient sup- ply of air for combustion is admittted at the bottom to secure a cheerful fire. “A small space is left “ between the back lump and the iron back to re- “ ceive a supply of air through the ash-pit under “ the grate. This air passes through a slit in the “ fire lump immediately above the fire. In passing through the heated fire lump it is raised to a high “ temperature, and in that state is brought into con- “ tact with the heated coal, A piece of the fire lump “ which projects over the fire at the back of the grate “ forces the air into contact with the gases from the “ coal, and thus a more perfect combustion is effected “ than with an ordinary grate; in fact, with care, “ almost perfect combustion of the fuel and conse- “ quent utilization of the heat can be obtained.” 42, Air taken directly from the outer air is admitted into an air chamber behind the grate, and being a n a , Dds 154 made to impinge on the large heating surface of the smoke flue, which, by an improvement suggested by General Morin, is carried up inside the air flue, subtracts as much heat as possible out of the pro- ducts of combustion in their passage up the chimney. Numerous experiments both in this country and in France have proved that the giving-off surface behind the grate and in the smoke flue is so great as to preclude the possibility of the fire in the grate ever rendering the back so hot as to burn the air (as was the case with a stove on a somewhat similar con- struction described in Vol. 17 of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, p. 494) ; and it is shown that the air is admitted into the room at a temperature of from 20° to 30° above that of the outer air. 43. The careful experiments of General Morin, the results of which were published in the “ Annales des “ Conservatoires” for the year 1864-5, describe the mode of introducing the air through a louvred open- ing above the chimney near the ceiling, the direction it takes and its effect in changing the air of the room. 44, The general results prove that “ whilst with an “ ordinary fire-place the heat which is utilized in a “ room is only one-eighth of the heat given off by the coal,” in General Morin’s experiments the heat utilized in the room was one-third of that given off by the coal, and therefore “to produce the same “ degree of warmth'in a room this grate requires “ but little more than one-third the quantity of coal “ required by an ordinary grate. The ‘ventilation is ‘ effected by passing a volume of air through the “ room in one hour equal to five times the - cubic “ contents of the room.” - 45. Mr. Galton states (p. 461 of his paper) that the principle of these grates has been adopted for barracks in the case of grates for married soldiers which have a small oven attached, and are suitable to cottages. “ It was designed for the purpose of combining a “ power of cooking for a cottage with great compul- “ sory economy of fuel.” . 46, The general merits of this combined invention of Mr. Galton’s fire-place and General Morin’s air flue surrounding and enveloping the smoke flue are thus summarily described by Mr. Galton :— _ “© 41, That it ventilates the room. “92, That it maintains an equable temperature in all parts of the room, and prevents all draughts. £3 og : - That the heat from radiation. is thrown into the room better than from other grates, That the fire-brick lining prevents the‘fire from going out, even when left untouched for a long time, and prevents the rapid changes of tem- perature which oceur.in rooms in cold weather from that cause. 7 That it economizes fuel by making use of the spare heat, which otherwise would all pass up the chimney, and partly by ensuring by its con- struction a more complete combustion, and thereby diminishing smoke. That it prevents smoky chimneys, by the ample supply of warmed air to the room, and by the draught created in the neck of the chimney.” 47, Our use of concrete in forming these flues enables us, with very great ease, to. form a hot-air cupboard in each room, which would be of great value to an agricultural labourer’s family in giving him a ready mode of effectually drying wet clothes, &c. 48. The heat of. the fire would not affect pure Portland cement. In the discussion which followed the reading of Mr. Grant’s paper on Concrete at the Institu- tion of Civil Engineers, in December 1865, Mr. Joseph Jennings, C.E., said (p. 67), “ As far as his own expe- « rience went, he thought Portland cement would “ stand in furnace work better than Roman cement.” But inasmuch as our concrete is formed of five-sixths of stone or other hard material, we’should place fire- clay bricks or lumps between it and any ironwork in the grates. “3. se A. cc 5. “cc 6. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 49. It is also a matter of great satisfaction that the cost of the stoves and flues is so moderate as not to add in any material degree to the total cost of a cottage. 50. Ihave said above that cottages on Mr. Nicoll’s mode of construction can be erected at avery reduced cost as compared with the ordinary modes’ of build- ing. a 51. The plans which I now lay before you have been drawn in accordance with the suggestions made in your letter, addressed in January last to the Central Cottage Improvement Society (37, Arundel Street), of which Mr. Nicoll is a member, and a copy of which letter he placed in my hands. Bp 52. The cost of the Cottage, Plan No. 1, with living- room and three bedrooms, all of ample dimensions ; living-room, 12 x 12, bedrooms, 12 x 8,9 x 9, and 9 x 8, and all averaging 10 feet high; external and internal porch, scullery, pantry, court, dry earth closet, and ash-pit, the whole complete in every respect for occupation, would be 85/.. anywhere within 50 miles of London. An addition must be made for the cost of transport of the slabs by railway beyond that dis- tance, but it would not amount to much, as the whole weight of the slabs and the few other materials for such a cottage would not exceed afew tons. ‘The or- dinary cost of heavy goods by train may’ be put at about 2d. per ton per mile. i 53. Arent of 1s. 6d. a week would yield 78s. a year ; 78s.would pay an interest of 5/. per cent. upon an outlay of 782. ; a fraction therefore beyond:a rent of 1s. 6d. a week would pay 5 per cent. on an outlay of 851. But 5/. per cent. on an outlay for a cottage on Mr. Nicoll’s mode of construction would be’'a more than ample return, as the cost of repairs ‘may be said to ‘be inappreciable. There is nothing capable of being in- jured by ordinary wear and tear, except the flooring, which will last for many years, and can be replaced at 8d. pér square foot.’ A common wood floor on sleeper joists cannot be laid down’ under 9d. pér square foot. If any portion of the concrete should by accident sustain damage, or should any crack appear on the external walls by reason of any accidental im- perfection of workmanship, which we do not’ antici- pate will happen, it can be remedied by anyone by running in a little Portland cement, which any builder now knows how to use. No insurance is’ needed, as the construction is fireproof ; it is also’ vermin proof’; and the whole of the surfaces within and without’ can at any time be thoroughly cleansed with a wet mop. '- §4, It is often said that no cottages ought to be built with less than three bedrooms. I beg leave to differ from that opinion. A certain proportion of cottages on every estate may well havé only one bedroom (all the conveniences being as described in the Plan No. 1, for the three-bedroomed cottage). Cottages ‘with one bedroom only are wanted for old couples, and for the newly married, and for couples that have no chil- dren. A certain proportion also on every estate niay well have only two bedrooms. It is not every‘ family that wants more. And if you oblige a labouring man to live in a cottage larger than he wants, and larger than he can afford furniture for, you put him under the temptation to take in a lodger, and though he may be under agreement or under strict orders not to do so, it is often very difficult, without very stringent supervision, to prevent it. I have therefore brought you two series of plans (Nos.‘2, 3, and 4), showing both a one-bedroomed cottage and a pair of such, which Mr. Nicoll can construct at 50/. each, upon which a rent of 1s. a week will give'a full per-centage, and a two-bedroomed cottage and a pair of such, which we can can construct for 650. each, upon which a rent of 1s. 3d. a week gives a similar return of 51. per cent. A row of such cottages, in the proportion suggested by Dr. Hunter in his report to the Medical Officer of Health to the Privy Council, laid before Parliament in 1865, namely, one with three bed- rooms, one with one bedroom, and four with two bed- rooms, can be constructed by Mr. Nicoll,’ of the dimensions and with all the conveniences shown in the above plans, for an average of 65/. each. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. » 66.-Cottages for. the: agricultural classes could be manufactured in London and could be sent in a nearly finished .:form,—if arrangements could be made with railway companies to convey them at a lower rate tham is now charged. If this could not be done the building slabs can be sent in a less finished form, reducing the weight about one-half. =. 56. The position of our future principal factory is proposed to be at the side of rail, water, and road (and shortly another factory in the most central part of England), so that the railway trucks may be loaded on the'spot, and unloaded on reaching their destination by our own workpeople. Straw and gravel will some- times be required to be brought back by the return trucks. ; -57, All finishing materials would be forwarded from the parts where they were made, direct to the various building spots. 58. ‘The plan proposed is to have a class of workmen for erecting these portable buildings with suitable port- able machinery, so that they can move about from one spot to the other, and I fully believe I can undertake to start a class of workers to any part of the United Kingdom, provided gentlemen who give us an order for cottages aid in making our method of building known, and so lead to others wishing to have build- ings.erected in the same part of the country. 59. We propose to keep the slabs in stock for certain descriptions of approved buildings; the slabs will be in the state described in s. 13, namely, without the external or internal coatings of concrete. ' These,’.as mentioned in s. 18, will be applied on the spot when the slabs are placed in position in the building; and the total cost of the cottage will be slightly in- fluenced by whether or not gravel, or clay for burn- ing, can be obtained on the building spot, and whether persons desirous of having cottages erected can render assistance in conveying the materials of our buildings from railways. 60. The application of the invention is so simple that it admits of a number of unskilled persons working in classes at piece work, under the superintendence of, , a practical foreman, who will have an interest in the undertaking by receiving a per-centage on all build- ings done to time. The members of these classes will be allowed to. take on boys to assist them, on their undertaking to pay them a certain fixed amount. per week. Memoranpum compiled by Mr. TREMENHEERE on Concrete made with Porttanp Cement, in reference to the above evidence relating to Mr. B. Nicox1’s mode of constructing cottages. 1. The following are some of the leading facts relating to the different kinds of. concrete, and more especialiy to the strongest description of it, namely, that made with Portland cement. The facts are compiled from two elaborate papers -by Colonel, Scott, Royal Engi- neers (attached to the South Kensington Museum), in Vol. XI. of the “ Professional Papers of the Corps of “ Royal Engineers” (A.D. 1862), the first (p. 15) “ On the Properties of Lime and Cement,” the second (p. 220) “ On Concrete as a Substitute for Brick and “ Stone Masonry ;” and also from a pamphlet by Mr. John Grant, Civil Engineer (in charge of the southern portion of the main drainage of the Metro- polis), On the Strength of Cement, published in 1866. " 4 2. The concrete now in use is of two kinds :— Ist. That which is composed of gravel, crushed stone, ballast (burnt clay), or other hard material mixed with lime and water, and turned over together with a shovel or other- e wise. . Qnd.: That in which a cement is used instead of the lime. - 3. The lime used with the first kind of. concrete is either pure lime (such as the lime made from chalk 155 or from pure limestones,).or hydraulic lime, #.e., lime made from limestones containing a portion of clay. _ 4. The property of pure limes when slaked and mixed with sand is that their power of resisiance to a tear- ing or crushing force is very weak as compared with that of the hydraulic limes. a 5. Their comparative strength is shown by the following table, founded on one given by Colonel Scott, from. Vicat (p. 27) :— é : Comparative Description of Limes and Stone. Me co the) Tesistanco limestone, | POF Square inch. Bad mortars - - - -| Oto 6 10°67 Rich limes -|. Oto 6 42° 7 Hydraulic limes of medium quality & to 12 99°64 Ordinafy hydraulic limes = - 15 to 18 142° 34 The eminently hydraulic limes - | 20 to 25 170: 8 Limit of' greatest resistance of: emi- nently hydraulic limes 20 to 25 263° 7 Soft stone used. at Paris: - — 142°34 Limestone’ ~ _ 284° 7 Basalt of Auvergne - - _ 1096° 6. Lime-concrete, in the form both of rough concrete and artificial blocks, was largely employed in ancient times by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Where- ever they had the opportunity of using the proper kind of lime, namely, an hydraulic lime, they composed a material of great strength, suitable to the largest constructions, “ which are remarkable to this day for “their astonishing solidity.” They used it also for aqueducts, and for the water-tight linings of tanks, which still endure (p. 221-227). 7. The Romans brought this mode of building to England, and the Saxons and Normans followed the examples they found, and constructed buildings “which “ still appear to defy time.” ; ; 8. The numerous examples of ancient concrete in France, Spain, and Germany led to the revival of its use in those countries, at a recent date. Concretes made with lime and gravel have been employed for some year's in those countries, and it is chiefly the want of the proper kinds of ,lime, which has prevented the general employment of. concrete in the north of Europe (p. 227). Li 9. About 30 years ago the sea-wall at Brighton was constructed of concrete, and although it was “composed “ of a weak water-lime ” it is still “in a good state of “ preservation.” About, the same time Mr. Ranger introduced his mode of; mixing the concrete with hot water. Many large public buildings were in the following years constructed by this process ; but it was found that frost had an effect upon his work. 10. The large experience of the use of. concrete for public works in France has established : the fact that where failure has occurred. it was from the use of im- proper lime, and that if the lime is of the proper sort there is scarcely any description of work that.may not be economically and solidly executed with it, “even “ air and water-tight tanks and granaries.” — 11. Accordingly the increased attention given to this species of concrete, namely, lime-concrete, in this country has led to its very extensive use for founda- tions, and to a greater degree of confidence in it in the form of artificials blocks, or of rough concrete poured into a frame, for walls and_other portions of build- ings. 12. But although lime-concretes formed of good hy- drauliclimes possess considerable strength, as exhibited in the table above, they are inferior to the second description of concrete adverted to in par. 2, namely, to the cement-concretes made of the modern cements. These cements, and especially the Portland cement (discoveries made within the last 20 years), have introduced a new and very important building material into common use. ‘ 13. In order to appreciate this fact it is necessary to bear in mind the difference between the chemical properties of the concrete made by the aid of common Dd4 156 lime and of the concrete made with hydraulic limes, or with the modern cements. 14. The process of making pure lime and its mode of action are as follows :-— Pure limestone or carbonate of lime, when heated to redness, is reduced to the condition of lime by the expulsion of its carbonic acid. The lime when moistened with water slakes with great violence. By a fresh addition of water a paste is formed. This paste dries by exposure to the air and hardens. 15. “Its hardening is due to the small proportion of “ carbonic acid gas which the atmosphere contains, “ and which restores the lime to its original condition “ of a carbonate. So far as the gas can penetrate, “* the pure lime, if used without foreign admixture, will “* harden, and no farther ” (p. 16) ; and many proofs are given by Colonel Scott that the depth to which the carbonic acid can penetrate is but slight, not exceeding an average of ?ths of an inch; so that all below that depth has been discovered,-in damp situations, to to have remained moist for many years, and con- sequently without any binding power (p. 17). 16, But by the use of impure limestones, which con- tain a certain proportion of clay and other substances, or by the use of chalk and clay, cements are produced which have the property of solidifying without the assistance of the atmosphere. ‘These impure lime- stones “contain a proportion of clay (silicate of iron “ and alumina) intimately mingled with the carbonate “ of lime.” By burning the carbonic acid gas is expelled, as in the pure lime, and a further action takes place. “The silicic acid of the clay and the “ lime, at the high temperature of the kiln, react “ upon one another, and either form a silicate of lime “ or approximate to its formation so far that on the “ addition of water the silicate of lime is formed with “‘ more or less rapidity ” (p. 19). EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 17, These silicates of lime, according to the compo- nent parts of the limestone and the temperature to which it is subjected, become, on being moistened with water, either ordinary hydraulic cement, or Portland cement. 18. In ordinary hydraulic cements the affinity of the lime for the silicic acid modifies its affinity for water, so that when moistened with water it passes into a hydrate “in a gradual and quiet manner, without any “of that tumultuous action which is so remarkable “ in the combination of pure lime with water ” (p. 19) ; and the hydrated silicate which results “is not after- ‘“ wards appreciably affected by water ; and so much “ of the lime as the silicic acid can take up passes “ from a soluble to an insoluble condition, thus “ forming a cementing material suitable for hydraulic “ purposes” (ébid.). 19. The greater degree of burning given to Port- land cement causes the lime and the silicic acid to enter into more perfect chemical combination than when subjected to a lower temperature, and the compounds so formed, on being moistened with water, pass very gradually into hydrates. The temperature to which the clay and the chalk is subjected is indeed only short of what is necessary to produce vitrifica- tion; and it is this high degree of calcination which gives to Portland cement such wonderful strength. 20. The great power of Portland cement began to attract general attention about 20 years ago; and about the year 1859 Colonel (then Captain) Scott pro- duced his cement, which approximates to it in power, and is far lower in price. 21. The following table copied from Colonel Scott’s paper (p. 232) shows, from experiments made in 1866, the comparative resistance to transverse strain afforded by prisms of concrete formed of certain proportions of ballast with one of the different kinds of modern cement. No. of « Age in Proportion ‘ ; Age in of Ballast Fracturin; Bios = Experiments! yfonths, | Days when oot, | Weleht in Ths, Reuiarks. 1 |Chalk Lime - -]oy 6 lto15 [Not immersed] 4 to 5 79°5 From Table VI., Pasley on I de cements. 2 Do. Ae 8 15to 15°5| 18 to 33 4to5 61°38 Do. 3 | Halling lime - 7) 4 8to15 |Notimmersed| 4 to 5 140.4 Do. 4 Do. - 4 15 18 to 33 4to 5 142°7 Do. , 5 | Lias lime - - 6 — = 42 to 6 186°3 From Table 6 and7, Pasley 8 on cements, 6 Do. - - & 20 13 17 3 184 Chatham experiments by a Capt. Schaw and others. 7 | Pasley’s hydraulic lime ra 1 14 Not immersed 4 97 From Table 6, Pasley on 3 cements. 8 Do. do. 2 1 14 18 ‘ 4 83 Do. 9 |Sheppy and Harwich | 1 13 Not immersed) 4 102 Do. mixed. 10 | Pasley’s artificial ce- 2 15 Do. 4 51°5 Do. , ment. J 11 | Medina =) 3 13 17 4 335 Chatham experiments by i ‘ Capt. Schaw and others. 12 | Scott's B. quality - | 21 13 17 5 409 Do. 13 Do. - + 4 3 13 Not immersed 5 740 the Do., one block not broken & lowest result | with 1,330 lbs. 14 |Portlandcement - | ° 6 13 17 4 862 Do. 15 Do. -J 6 13 Not immersed 4. 914 the Do., four of the six blocks lowest result.| first tried not broken with 1,330 lbs., of which 330 Ibs. was allowed to fall from a height of a foot. 16 | Inferior brick - = 3 - = _ 329 From Table VIIL, Pasley on cement, 17. | Well burned brick - - 9 — _ _— 752 Do. 18 | Bathstone - - 3 - = _ 666 Do. 22. From this table it appears that the weight re- quired to fracture the prisms made with the Portland cement was 914 lbs., and for those made with the Scott cement 740 lbs.; the fracturing weight for those made with the chalk, Halling, and lias lime ranging from only 61 Ibs. to 142 lbs., and for those made with the Sheppey and Harwich and Pasley cements from 51 lbs. to 102 lbs. 23. On this table Colonel Scott remarks that Sir Charles Pasley, “who had doubts as to the position “‘ which concrete should hold as a mode of building,” was only acquainted with the quick-setting Sheppy IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. and Harwich cements, and with that of his own manu- facture, which was similar in character ; and it is evi- dent from the results he obtained that he had no oppor- tunity of judging of the results of which concrete is capable. The wonderful strength of that which has been prepared with cement introduced since his time has indeed quite changed its position as a building material. Instead of merely equalling, or somewhat exceeding the strength of brickwork in mass, it may be now so made as to rival or even surpass that of the individual selected bricks of a structure (p. 233). 24, This is shown by the facts given in the above table, namely, that whereas inferior brick broke with a weight of 329 lbs., well burnt brick with a weight of 752 lbs., and Bath stone with a weight of 666 lbs., the weakest portion of Portland cement out of six trials (column 3 of table), broke at 914 lbs., while the four strongest did not break with a weight of 1,330 Ibs. (Remarks, last column of table.) 25. The resistance also of the best cements to tearing force is shown by Colonel Scott in another table (p. 40), to be relatively as conspicuous as their resist- ance to crushing force. And at p. 233 Colonel Scott, referring summarily to the respective strengths of conerete and brickwork, states that “so far as he can “ judge from Sir Charles Pasley’s experiments and “ conclusions,” lime concrete “has ten times the “ strength of brickwork ” made with the same lime ; but lime concrete “ has only one-seventh or one-eighth “of the strength of concrete made of the best “* cements” in its resistance to a tearing force. 26. The relative powers of lime and cement in resist- ing blows with a hammer and scratching with sharp tools are also shown by Colonel Scott in a table (p. 62). 27. It has been mentioned above (s. 9) that lime concrete is subject to be affected by frost, unless care is taken to use the proper kind of lime. Concrete made with the best cements is not liable to be injured by frost. 28. Colonel Scott states (p. 184) that it had been estimated from careful experiments that ‘“‘ the quantity “ of water free to evaporate from a cubic yard of “ green 14-inch of well-built brick-work varies be- “ tween 36 and 48 gallons according to the nature of “ the lime and brick employed.” . 29. “To bring cement, sand, and gravel into a suffi- “ ciently wet condition for use it is not necessary to “ add to the mixture more than 28 gallons of water per cubic yard, the proportions being one of cement to six of ballast, and of this quantity between seven and eight gallons will enter into chemical com- “ bination with the cement, leaving 12 or 18 gallons, “ or little more than one-third of the water contained “ in the brickwork, to be got rid of.” It therefore soon dries and hardens ; and when hardened, Colonel Scott asks (p. 235), “will it keep the water out?” To this he answers that the great mass of experience upon the subject shows conclusively that it will. It is not therefore capable of being affected by frost. Indeed its great powers of resistance to tearing force of itself places it beyond the power of any frost to affect it. At p. 225 Colonel Scott mentions that the hut workshop at South Kensington composed of the ordinary gravel of the district (containing about one- third sand) and the cement known us Scott’s cement in the proportion of ten of gravel to one of cement, “although tried by a hard frost during its construc- “ tion,” and having been exposed “ to the still more « gevere frost” of the winter of 1865, did not suffer in the least. And he permits me to add that it has not been injured by frost since that period. 30. The paper of Mr. John Grant above referred to (s. 1), read before the Institution of Civil Engineers in December 1865, entirely confirms the conclusions of Colonel Scott, and gives many interesting par- ticulars relating the introduction of Portland cement into general use in this country, its manufacture, and the tests applied to prove its excellence, and their results, 21147, non nos aOR a 157 31. Mr. Grant, who superintends under the Metro- politan Board of Works the southern portion of the main drainage of the metropolis, says (p. 1) that previous to 1859 Roman cement was with few excep- tions the only cement used for the inverts of the London sewers; Portland cement had scarcely ever been tried. In the country generally it had chiefly been confined to ordinary building operations, such as external plastering, lining of water tanks, and to some harbonr works, where it had been mostly used in the form of concrete blocks. In France it had already been largely employed, the cement being made in England, and the tests to which it had been subjected “had no doubt prepared the principal “ manufacturers of the country for the production of “acement suitable for works like those then con- “ templated for the drainage of London.” 32. The result was “the insertion of the following “ clause in the specification for the southern high “ level sewer (1859), being the first contract on the “ south side of the River Thames” :— “The whole of the cement to be used in these works, and referred to in this specification, is to be Portland cement of the very best quality ground extremely fine, weighing not less than 110 lbs. to the striked bushel, and capable of maintaining a breaking weight of 400 Ibs. on an area 1} inch square, equal to 2} square inches, seven days after being made in an iron mould of the form and dimensions shown on drawing No. 1 (plate 1) and immersed six of these days in water.” 33. Mechanical modes of applying the test with ac- curacy were devised, which have since “been adopted “ by the manufacterers in their own works.” 34. Mr. Grant adds that, “ after using during the last “ six years more than 70,000 tons of Portland cement, “ which has been submitted to about 15,000 tests, it ** can be confidently asserted that none of an inferior * or dangerous character has been employed in any “ part of the works in question.” “Although up to “ that time the use of Portland cement had been com- “ paratively limited, the extensive adoption of this “ material in the construction of ee ees “ sewers drew the attention of engi-ers and con- “ tractors to its value and importance; and it ma “ be safely assumed that during the progress of these “ works double the quantity of this cement has been “‘ used in London which was ever employed in any “* equal period since its first introduction or discovery.” 35. With respect to its manufacture, Mr. Grant says (p. 5), “The manufacture of Portland cement is not “ one of complex character, although it requires the “ exercise of extreme care in the admixture of its two “ simple and well-known ingredients, clay and chalk.” This cement is largely manufactured on the rivers Thames and Medway, and the clay is obtained from the creeks and bays between Sheerness and Chatham. It is also manufactured in the Isle of Wight, at Hull, and at several other places in the kingdom. ‘Much “ care,” Mr. Grant says, “is required in the selection “ of the clay so that it shall be as free from sand as * possible ; and the proportion in which it is used “* depends altogether on the quality of the chalk with “ which it is to be incorporated.” And Colonel Scott says of it that when properly manufactured it is “the “ strongest building calcareous material known” . 51). Oe Its manufacture has much improved of late years, as is conclusively shown by the results obtained and by the tests to which the material has been subjected. One of the principal tests is that of its comparative weight per bushel. The high temperature necessary for perfect burning causes great shrinkage in the raw material. A given volume of the material properly burnt should, therefore, give a certain number of pounds weight. The first specification for the London drainage works above quoted required the weight to be 110 Ibs. to the imperial bushel. As perfectly burned Portland cement is as hard as vitrified brick (Colonel Scott, p. 76), the manufacturers at first were reluctant, in consequence of the increased wear and Ee 158 tear of their machinery to burn it to a greater weight than 110]bs. per bushel; but the average weight, Mr. Grant states (p. 14 of his pamphlet), actually supplied to him by the manufacturers during the six years that the south drainage works had been going on was 114:15 lbs., “being 4:15 per cent. above the specified ‘ standard.” _ 87. But in addition to the test of weight, a common and simple one is by watching its action while setting. Colonel Scott says on this point (p. 76), “If Portland “* cement sets very quickly it is to be distrusted, the “ quickness in setting depending very much on the “ quantity of unburned materials present.” Mr. Sharp mentions in his evidence (No. 30) that he is in the habit of applying this test. Mr. Grant also says that experience in the use of Portland cement comes much in aid in discovering its quality. “ Experience,” he says (p. 6), “in the daily use of Portland cement “ has enabled the clerks of the works and others “ generally to judge by colour and by weight of the qualities of the cements ; andmany ofthe bricklayers “ who were employed on the works, and who had “ previously a very imperfect acquaintance with this “ cement, or with its peculiar properties, have now “ acquired confidence and experience in using it “ which will be valuable hereafter on other works ““ upon which they may be engaged. It is not to be “ expected that in ordinary small building operations the necessary testing (by mechanical power), though simple and inexpensive (in relation to works on a large scale), will be maintained. In such cases the “ precaution must be taken of employing respectable “ manufacturers who have the means of thoroughly “ testing the cement made by them and who can “ confidently guarantee its quality,” 7 38. The quality of Portland cement when it first came into use was doubtless, as described by Mr. Grant, apt to be “precarious and irregular,” sufficiently accounting for the numerous examples which can be referred to of defective constructions where Portland cement was used at those periods. But Mr. Grant’s experiments and tests, as recorded in his pamphlet (pp. 14-15), show that, “ while the earlier experiments “ made six years ago gave a breaking weight varying “ from 75 lbs. to 719 Ibs on an area of 21 square “ inches,” during the last six years the average strength of 1,369,210 bushels has been 606°8 lbs., being 52 per cent. above the standard first specified, and 21 per cent. above that subsequently adopted, the mini- mum test,which was at first 400 lbs. having been afterwards raised to 500 lbs. 39. Another series of experiments by Mr. Grant is also of great value’ as showing the vastly increased strength which Portland cement acquires by age. The result of 960 experiments made with Portland cement, “ gauged neat,” showed that the cement bore after one week 445 lbs., after one month 679 lbs., after six months 978 lbs., after 12 months 1,075 lbs. “ Thus “ in three months the cement bore about double the “ strain it did at the end of a week, and at the end of “© 12 months 241-70 per cent., or nearly twice and a “ half the strain that it bore at the end of a week.” 40. Mr. Grant is engaged in experiments, intended to extend over 10 years, with a view of ascertaining, if possible, the age at which Portland cement attains its greatest strength. The results of two years are given (p. 12), from which it appears that cement (burnt to 123 Ibs. per bushel) which at the end of one week broke at 817 lbs., at the end of nine months broke at 1,219 lbs., and at the end of two years at 1,324 Ibs. a « a a x x ‘ n @ a f a Description of the Requirements for Hearn, Dr- cency, and Comrorr for an AGRICULTURAL Lasourer’s Corrace. Referred to in § 341 of Report. (a.) That the living room should not be less than 12x12x9, or containing not less than 1,296 cubic feet. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, .YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN (6.) That no bedroom should contain less than 650 cubic feet. (e.) That there should be a scullery with a fire- place in it, in order to prevent the necessity of having a fire in the living room in warm weather. (d.) That the dry earth closet should be beyond the scullery, with covered midden attached on the outside. (e.) That there should be a porch with light on one side, a seat under the light, and pegs for wet coats, &c. on the other side; the door should be divided, the dwarf door below fitting with the larger half above. (f:) That means of ventilation should be provided in every room. (g.) That at least one bedroom should have a fire- place, and where there are three bedrooms that two should have fire-places. (h.) That the windows should be of sufficient size to be light and cheerful, and should be capable of admitting air at their highest point. (z.) That there should be an oven, and that the cooking range should be of a construction to econo- mize fuel, and to render available the waste heat for the purpose of warming the different rooms. (j.) That the drainage should be effectually pro- vided for. (k.) That the water should be collected from the roof, and conveyed into a cistern attached to each cottage. (2.) That the floors should be of wood. (m.) That the elevation should be pleasing to the eye. ReEcEIrrts AND EXPENDITURE OF LABOURERS, In a communication addressed to us in July last (and referred to in § 269 of Report,) Mr. Norman staes— “ My attention having been called to the cireum- stance that a Scotch labourer in the employ of Mr. James T. Blackburn, North Camp Farm, Aldershot, was in the receipt of higher wages than were usual in that neighbourhood, I begged permission of Mr. Black- burn to obtain some information upon the subject. Mr. Blackburn is an English gentleman who has farmed largely in Scotland, and has now brought into cultivation a considerable tract of the sandy soil at Aldershot by the application of the sewage of the North Camp. He obligingly gave me the opportunity of examining the Scotch labourer, who however, did not desire that his name should appear in print ; but I have submitted his evidence to Mr. Blackburn, who permits me to state that it is correct. By way of contrast I have taken an English labourer in Mr. Blackburn’s employment in the same position as to buying and selling as the Scotchman. “Mr. Blackburn says that many if not most Scotch- men are as good labourers and as steady men as this Scotchman is ; but he considers that the Englishman (Kicher) is unusually steady. “ Kicher is now a widower and has a daughter living with him. This would have rendered the comparison between his and J. D.’s expenses and income im- possible, as I could not separate the daughter’s expenses from her father’s. I have therefore made these accounts have reference to. Kicher’s expenses when he had nobody but himself to provide for; but the prices are the prices of the present time, so that the expenditure may be correctly compared with J.D.’s present expenditure. oe “ Although Kicher says that he saved at one period of his life, he has nothing left now.”—_F. H. N. © J. D., aged 26.—My father is a gardener ; I have two brothers and six sisters; I am fourth in the family. J am a native of Kincardineshire, and always lived there until I came here, ‘which I did two years ago last Michaelmas. I went to school when I was six or seven, and remained there until I was 10; I then went to work for three years ; at the end of two years I had saved enough to put myself to school for the summer ; I remained at school all the six summer months with the exception of harvest, when I went IN AGRICULTURE (1867) GOMMISSION:—EVIDENCH, 159 to work for one month, and then went to school again for one month; I went. to school after that during two other summers. In harvest. I earned 5/. in a month. When I went to school -I lived with my father, and paid him 3/. for. keeping me during the five months I was at school. My father earned 15s. a week without any allowances;-the ordinary wages for a day labourer in the district were 12s. 6d.a week ; T always supported myself after I first went to work at the age of 10, and only lived with my father while I was at school. When I left school at the age of 10 I could read and write easily; I used to practise reading and writing to keep up what I knew. It was chiefly.to learn arithmetic that I went to school after I had begun to work. My mother earned nothing, and my father had to support the whole family. I paid 10s. for my schooling during each summer I went to school, I never went to school after I was 15. I practice the three R.’s now, and I think I know as much as I did when I left school; I take in a weekly newspaper, I have always worked as a farm labourer since I left school. I was in Kincardineshire until I came here.. I have worked horses ever since I was 16; I have now the charge of a pair of farm horses. ; shire since I left school were 212. a year, with 63 “bolls” of oatmeal [=to about 2 lbs. of oatmeal per day—F. H. N.], and 14 quarts of milk per day, a room to live in, and firing allowed. The total value of the allowances may have been about 15/. 10s. per annum. The milk and oatmeal were more than sufficient to keep aman without anything else; I used to sell a little oatmeal and buy bread with the money I received. If I used nothing but the oatmeal, there would be about 1} bolls over at the end of the year. The highest wages I received up to the time I came to England were 25/. a year, the other allowances remaining the same as above. ; : - I have been here three years. My wages and ex- penditure are as follows :— Weekly Wages. . De Money - - - - Allowances :-— House - - _ Firing = - Lights - - Milk (1 quart a day 1 KHOre 9 9 Total weekly wages and allowances - Weekly Expenditure. Oatmeal, 5 bolls a year at 23s. = 115s. = per week about - - - - Bread, 14 loaves (4 Ibs.) at 4d. - Clothes :— : Working suit, lasts six months and costs, trousers 14s., waistcoat 13s., boots 15s., two shirts 7s., two pairs stockings 5s., total, 21. 14s. = per week about =—- Sunday suit, costs 3/. 6s., lasts two years, = per week about - - - Sunday boots, cost 21s., lasts two years, = per week about - - - Tobacco - - - - - Tea and sugar - - - oco cc w& ~t tol- maT bd eo Total weekly expenditure - - 6 8 d, Total receipts in money = - 2 if » in allowances - Total receipts - - Se Total expenditure in money - 6 Allowances - - . owns _ o o | © © Total savings per week The lowest wages I received in Kincardine-. I have bought a good lever watch, I gave 6i. 10s. for it, Ican save more here than I could do in Scot. land, because I am alone here, and can do as I like ; in Scotland I should be living with three or four other men and should be led into expense. I send my money down to my brother in Scotland, he puts it into the bank, and the banker allows me a little inte- rest upon it. I have nobody dependent upon me, all my brothers are doing as well as I do. I should like to take a farm if I had money enough, it is quite com- mon for men in my position in Scotland to save money. If I had 5002. or 6002. I would not fear to start a two. horsed farm of about 50 acres in Scotland. [At his present rate of saving (2651. per annum), invested at compound interest at 4 per cent., he will have saved 500/. in 15 years. Thus if he began to save at this rate when he came to work at Aldershot at the age of 24 he will have saved this sum before he is 40. Iam told however on good authority that men of his class when they have saved 300/. or 4002. can -usually © borrow whatever additional sum may be necessary to enable them to take a small farm, and in this manner, if a man began to save at the age of 18 he would pro- bably be able to take a small farm before he was 30 years of age.—F, H. N.] I could not make quite as much as a labourer in Scotland as I can here; I expect to get a little more for coming away from home. Henry Kicher, labourer, aged 52.—I ama widower, and have six children. I work for Mr. Blackburn, at Aldershot. Two of my children are now depen- dent upon me; one a girlaged 13, and the other a boy aged 9. The boy lives at Frimley with his aunt, and costs me 2s. a week; the girl lives with me. I have lived at Aldershot all my life. My father was a labourer. I never went to school, except to a night school during two winters, when I got big enough to pay for it myself. I went because I thought that if I learnt a bit it would have been of service to- me. I cannot write now, and read with difficulty. T had seven brothers and sisters. I was No. 4 in the family. Iwas 12 or 13 years old when I began to work. I never went out to work at all before that age. My father earned about 12s. a week, and used to support the whole family. I earned about 2s. or 3s. a week when I first went to work. I have been working as a labourer all my life. The highest wages Lever received were 17s. 6d. a week for four years. I then had the charge of a small farm. I left that place in 1863. I have been a labourer since that time, earning on an average 2s, 6d.aday. For 12 years I lived in lodgings, and had nobody to support but my- self, During those years my income and expenses were as follows :— Income. $) 26 weeks at the day wages of 12s, - - 312 6 ,, harvest at 30s. - - - 180 20 ,, at piece work at 18s. - - 860 Total annual wages - -~ 852 = In money about 16s. 10d. per week. In vegetables 17s. 10d. ms My Expenses were as follows ; Per week. a} Rent for lodging (including supply of vege- tables) - - - = - 26 Food :— 2 loaves (at 8d.) - - - - 14 Flour, 4 gal. at 1s. dd. - - - 0 8h Meat, 3 Ibs. at 8d. - - = - 20 2 oz. tea, 6d. ; 14.]bs. sugar, 9d. - - 18 1 lb. cheese - = 7 - 0 8 2 quarts beer - - ° - 0 8 Tobacco, 2 oz. at 34d. - - - 07 Firing (3 bush. coke at 5d.) - - = ob. 8 Candles - - - - - 04 Carried forward - - 11 3b Ee 2 160 s. ad Brought forward - -ll 323 Clothes for working days for 6 months :— Trousers, 10s. ; waistcoat, 3s. ; jacket (costs 10s. and lasts one year), 5s. ; boots (3 pairs at 12s. last two years), 8s. 6d.; 1 shirt, 2s.; 2 pairs stockings, ls. 2d.; hat, 1s. ; slop, 4s.; and nevkcloth, 1s. ; 35s. 8d. for 6 months - - per week (about) 1 43 Sunday clothes :— Coat 20s.; trousers, 12s.; waistcoat, 8s. ; boots, 12s.; hat, 5s.=2l. 17s., lasts two years - - per week (about) O 64 Club 1s. 8d. per month - . is 0 3} Total weekly expenses - - 13 6 Total weekly income - - 17 10 is » expenses - - 18 6 Excess of income per week - - 4 4 Ifa man pays 2s. a week for a cottage and garden he can keep a pig and make a considerable sum (probably enough to pay his cottage rent) by his pig; if he is industrious he might make much more. When I lived alone I always earned more than I spent. Wages are paid on Saturday, and men sometimes have ls. or 2s. left on Monday morning, and sometimes not; if they have not, when they want victuals they must go to the shop and pay for it on Saturday night. I think I was always a very careful man. I have never been able to save when I have been working at 12s.a week ; I have never saved money except when I was working at piece work. I never spent much in beer ; those who do must go without victuals. I don’t think I could have lived more economically than I did. When I was only earning 12s. a week I found I could not live upon my wages, and got into debt, but my debts were all paid off when I worked by the task and at harvest. [The general result of the different modes of living of these two witnesses is better shown by the following analysis and arrangement, in which the similar items of expenditure are placed opposite to each other.— F. H.N.] J.D. Receipts. s. d. s. d. In money per week - - 16 0 In allowances, viz. :— s. d. House - - - 10 Firing - - - 1 0 Lights - - - 0 7 Milk - - a ey og — 3 9 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN, &e. Expenditure per Week. Ordinary food and luxuries :— Ss. d. s. d. s. d. Oatmeal - 2 23 Milk - - 1 2 Bread - - 0 6 3 103 Tea and sugar - - 01 Tobacco - - 07 4 7 House rent, fire, and lights - 27 Clothes - - - - 210 Total expenditure per week - - 10 0 Savings per week - - - 9 9 19 9 A. K. Receipts. In money per week - - - - 1610 In allowances, viz. :— , Vegetables - - - - 1 0 17 10 Expenditure per Week. Ordinary food and luxuries :— Two loavesat 8d. 1 4 Flour, half gall. at ls. 5d. - O 8d Meat, 3lbs. at 8d. 2 O Cheese - - 0 8 Vegetables - 10 5 84 Tea and sugar - - 1 38 Tobacco - - 0 7 Beer - - - 0 8 —— 8 24 House rent, fire, and lights - 8 1 Clothes - - - - iil Club - - - - O 38 Total expenditure per week - - 13 6 Savings per week - - - 44 i 17 10 Mr. Blackburn stated in a letter to Mr. Norman, dated 28rd July last, as the result of his experience of both English and Scotch farm labourers, that “'T'wo “ Scotchmen will at any description of work equal “ three English labourers, owing partly to their. su- “‘ perior physique, and partly to the higher order of “ intelligence they bring to bear on their work.” He adds, that he has had several labourers through his hands, but has retained those now on the farm as the best and steadiest. His men and horses work ten hours a day so long as daylight permits. He attri- butes the extra two hours’ work gained, beyond that common in tie south, to “an acquired habit” sustained by “the amount of wages being sufficient, when pro- “perly spent, to restore the waste of the system.” a 161 DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONERS, INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, Younc PERSONS, AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE (1867) TO THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS. 2, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., July 8th, 1867. GENTLEMEN, Tue terms of the Commission which it has pleased Her Majesty to issue to us are, that we should “1n- “ quire into and report on the employment of children, young persons, and women in agriculture, for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent and with what modifications the principles of the Factory Acts can be adopted for the regulation of such employment, and especially with a view to the “ better education of such children.” The leading principles of the Factory Acts as appli- cable to this inquiry are— The protection of the young and of females from excessive labour. The requirement of a certain amount of school attendance for children between the ages of 8 and 13, earning wages ; no one under 8 years of age being allowed to be employed. “cc These principles were kept prominently in view in the course of the recent inquiry into the system of organized labour known by the name of agricultural gangs, and existing exclusively in a few of the eastern counties. You have received a copy of our report to Her Majesty on that subject, which was presented to Parliament on the 5th March of this year. You will have learnt that there are in those Eastern Counties between 6,000 and 7,000 children, young persons, and women employed in the “ public” gangs which were, under our instructions, the objects of that inquiry. The recommendations which we saw fit to make, as affording, in our opinion, the basis on which legisla- tion might be founded, had necessary reference only to public gangs. But our inquiry brought to light the fact that a much larger number of children, young persons, and women are employed in those counties in what are there denominated “ private” gangs; and that they are employed under such circumstances as to afford a strong presumption that in the interests of the children, young persons, and women there is as much need of legislative regulation for the “ private” as for the “ public ” gangs. Tt became obvious also that if legislation should be shown to be required for the protection of children, young persons, and women employed in varying numbers together in what might be denominated a “ private” gang, it would be impossible to leave out of view the children, young persons, and women who are employed, not in those counties only but through- out the whole kingdom, individually or with a few others, in all the various processes of agricultural labour. The entire question was therefore raised as to what legislation, if. any, was required and practicable for the protection of juvenile or female labour in agri- culture, and for the promotion of the education of the young throughout the agricultural districts. Her Majesty’s Commission directs us to endeavour by our inquiries to solve this question. Public attention has been already so much directed to this subject in the Eastern Counties by the inquiry into the “public” gangs, that your investigations with a view to afford us the materials on which to form our judgment will be greatly facilitated by your going first over the same ground, and communicating with the gentlemen who gave their valuable testimony to the Assistant Commissioners under that inquiry. You will be provided with “circulars of inquiry,” which you will ask the most competent persons you can meet with to do us the favour to fill up ; and you will make use of the “circulars to magistrates” and others to announce your being in readiness to wait upon them, and to ask their assistance in promoting the objects of the inquiry. You will obtain the best evidence in your power upon all the points demanding investigation from the landed proprietors, clergy, farmers, farm labourers, medical practitioners, officers of health, relieving officers, and other public functionaries or private individuals who are conversant with agricultural life under its various conditions. You will doubtless find many persons thoroughly qualified to give you the results of their experience and observation on the leading points of the inquiry, and of stating to you how far, in their opinion, legislation may be requisite or practicable. You will carefully test the value of varieties of opinion. In receiving the state- ments of the labouring class you will, as far as pos- sible, record them in their own language ; and in case of doubt submit them to their employers, teachers, or others, for explanation or correction. In drawing up the reports which you will be required to make to us from time to time, bringing into one view the results of the evidence you will have obtained, it will be convenient that the subjects should be arranged as far as possible under separate heads. You will not, however, feel yourselves pre- cluded from adding observations on any other subjects to which you may deem it of importance to direct our attention and that of the public. The heads of inquiries relating to the “private ” gangs are sufficiently specified in the circular of inqui- ries with which you will be furnished for distribu- tion. The principal points of the general question are as follows :— 1. Is legislation required for the purpose of fixing the age below which boys should not be allowed to be employed in farm labour ? 2, If it is, what is the age below which it would be desirable to enact that no boy should be em- ployed in farm labour? 3. Is legislation required for the purpose of fixing the age below which girls should not be allowed to be employed in farm labour ? 4, If it is, what is the age below which it is de- sirable to enact that no girl should be employed in farm labour ? Ee 3 162 os Is there good ground for limiting the hours of work of boys? If there is, what are the limitations proposed ? Is there good ground for limiting the hours of work for girls ? : If there is, what are the limitations proposed ? Is there any need that the proper meal times should be secured by legislation to the young and to females engaged in farm labour ? 10. Is it necessary to secure by legislation that there should be limitations in proportion to age, of the distance to which it should be law- ful to take children, or young persons, or women to work ? 11. Is it necessary to provide by legislation that females should be protected from unhealthy or unsuitable employment in agriculture ? CP AS 12. The most difficult portion of the inquiry will be that which relates to the education of the young. | The various aspects under which the problem pre- sents itself under the very different circumstances of different parts of the country, and the several possible means of adjusting the periods for education which those different circumstances suggest, are referred to in paragraphs 64 to 84 of our Report on Agricultural angs. You will be supplied with copies of that Report, as the readiest means of directing the attention of any gentlemen who may be disposed to enter into the question with you to the points for consideration, and of inviting their opinions as to the best mode of dealing with them. The facts which it will be important to illustrate by personal inquiry and examination are— 1. The actual state of education among the young found at work. 2. In cases where the education of the young found at work is discovered to be defective, to what is its defective state attributable ? (a.) To the want of schools readily acces- sible to the children ? (5.) To the inefficient mode of instruction in such schools as exist? (c.) To the poverty of the parents ? (d.) To the indisposition of the parents to forego the weekly sum that may be added to the family earnings by the child’s labour? (e.) To the low moral tone of the parents which leads them to be indifferent to the education of their children ? oe (f-) To the pressure put upon the parents by the employers to induce the parents to allow their children to go to work at too early an age ? : If it should appear that the defective state of edu- cation arises from a deficiency of schools, you will invite opinions as to the best mode of supplying that deficiency. The actual amount of earnings by agricultural employment in various parts of the country, and the EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, &C. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION: relative ability of the labouring poor to pay for their children’s schooling, will engage your attention. On the other hand, if the neglect of their children’s education is attributable to the low moral tone of the parents, you will endeavour to ascertain if any distinct causes can be assigned for such low moral condition, and whether those causes are capable of being re- moved, In particular you will seek for opportunities of inquiring and judging for yourselves how far the overcrowding of cottages may have contributed to such a result. If the evidence tends to show that deficient cottage accommodation is among the prominent causes of a low state of morals, you will endeavour to ascertain whether any and what progress is being made towards providing better cottage accommodation for the labour- ing poor; whether there are any and what obstacles in the state of the law to a quicker progress towards supplying such a want; and whether means might be suggested for diminishing such obstacles. You will find in those portions of the Eastern Counties where agricultural gangs exist, that that system arose from the absence of proper cottage accom- modation upon or near the land where the labour is required. The children, young persons, and women therefore have been obliged to go long distances daily to their work. On the other hand, when the distances are not so long as to be oppressive to the young and to females, there are advantages to both those classes in being in or near the village or the town where the'schools are usually found and whence the supplies of the family are drawn. You will notice and describe any instances you meet with in which the distribution of agricultural labour exists in the manner most favourable both to the adult males, and to the young, and to the females of the family, and where the cottage accommodation is such as to facilitate and promote all the decencies of life, as well as the proper education and moral training of the young. And you will regard the question of education, not in the restricted sense of the mere ordinary elements of instruction, but in the wider and more important one of the training of the future agricultural labourer in habits of industry, honesty, and fidelity to the trust reposed in him, and of so opening and informing his mind as to make him a more skilful and efficient farm servant, Any instances, therefore, that may fall under your notice of efforts having been made to promote the attainment of these higher results, or in any other manner to raise the physical, mental, or moral condition of the children of. the agricultural labourers, and thus ultimately to benefit the whole agricultural population, will doubtless be welcomed by you and recorded in full detail. We are, &c., Hues Seymour TREMENHEERE. Epwarp CaRLETON TUFNELL. DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONERS. . 163 Royal CoMMISsSION ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YounG PuRsons, AND WoMEN IN AGRICULTURE (1867). 2, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W> July 8, 1867. 7 Her Majesty’s Commissioners beg the favour of answers to the questions contained in the following circular. It may be returned, without payment of postage, to the address printed on the last page. CIRCULAR OF INQUIRIES AS TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN,* YOUNG PERSONS,t AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE. 1, Parish of in the county of post town. 2. Name of the person filling up this Return, Date, . Address, 3. Population of parish according to census of 1861. Acreage 4. Cultivation ; whether chiefly arable, chiefly pastoral, or mixed. The cultivation is t I. As to EmeLtoyment in “Private Ganges.” 6. Does any system exist in your parish of employing persons in agriculture in “ private gangs ? ” [A “ private gang” is a group of children, young persons, and women in a farmer’s own employ, and superintended by one of his own labourers. A “ public gang” is under the superintendence of an independent person. No further information is required concerning ““ public gangs.” N.B.—None of the following questions relate to employment in hay or corn harvesting. ] in your parish 7. If private gangs exist { on your farm state the number of persons so employed. — , Males. Females. Total. In spring - - In summer - - - In autumn - - In winter - -| 8. Give, as nearly as you can, the following particulars:—Number and age of persons employed in your parish on your farm hi in private gangs. Number Males. Females. of ro Under | Between | Between | Between | Over | Total | Under| Between| Between | Between oe Total anss-.| g.~ -| Sand 10.10 and 18./13and18.| 18. |Males.) 8. [8 and 10.10and 13/13. and 18) 47, 304 | Unmarried | emales- No. 1. * Add slip if more space required. 9. In what kinds of work are they employed cee the different seasons of the year ? In Spring, in In Summer, in In Autumn, in In Winter, in i * Children are those under 13 years of age. + Young persons are those between 13 and 18 years of age. Ee 4 164 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, &C. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION. 10. To what distances from their homes do they go to their daily work ? 11, What are their usual hours of work upon the land? 12. What are their hours, reckoning from the time of leaving home to go to work in the morning to the time when they come back from work ? (1.) Of those who live near the farm on which they work ? (2.) Of those who live at a distance ? 13. What are the times allowed for meals ? 14, Do the sexes work together or apart ? 15. If together, have you any observations to make as to the effect of such employment upon morals ? 16. Does the demand upon their physical powers injuriously affect their health or constitution ? 17. Are the young or the females, whether young or grown up, subject to any ill-treatment ? 18, Do any special employments injuriously affect females, or the young generally ? 19, What is the state of education among the young of both sexes employed in private gangs ? Among the labourers, male and female, of adult age employed in private gangs ? 20. Have you any observations to make as to its being desirable or practicable to subject “ private gangs ” to legislative regulations, together with “public gangs,” in accordance with the following recommenda- tions, or otherwise ? [ The recommendations for legislation on the subject of the “ public ” agricultural gangs, contained in the Sixth Report of the Children’s Employment Commission (1862), sections 43 to 72, were to the following effect :— 1.) That the gangmaster should be licensed. a1.) That the age of children employed in a “ public ” gang should be restricted, (11.) That females below a certain age should be excluded from working in a “ public” gang. (1v.) That the distances to which children and young persons should be allowed to go to work in a “ public ” gang should be restricted according to age. (v.) That the hours of work of children and young persons should be restricted, (v1.) That the sexes.should be separated. (vu1.) That where females are employed in a “ public” gang there should be a licensed female superintendent, (vu1.) That restraint should be placed on the practice of employing females in weeding high wet corn. (1x.) That the names of children employed in “ public” gangs should be registered. (x.) That a certain amount of school attendance should be compulsory on all children from the time of their beginning to earn wages, by working in a “ public” gang.] 21. If it should be your opinion that the moral evils and the hardships that have been shown to accompany the employment of children, young persons, and women in “ public ” gangs exists also to a considerable extent in the “private” gangs, and that “private” gangs ought therefore to be included in any legislative enactment concerning “ public ” gangs, will you be so good as to state what you think would be a satisfactory definition of a “ private ” gang in respect of the numbers, age, and sex of the persons composing it ? Ti, As to THe EmpLoyMent or CuILpReN, Youne PERsons, AND WoMEN NOT IN GANGS, EITHER “ Puptic” or ‘‘ PRIVATE,” BUT INDIVIDUALLY OR IN COMPANY WITH A FEW OTHER Persons, 22. Inasmuch as on every farm there will probably be children, young persons, and women both permanently and occasionally employed, not in gangs either “public” or “private,” but individually or with a few other persons ; and as these could not be omitted from any protective legislation which might be thought desirable and practicable on behalf of those employed in “ public” or “ private” gangs, if the circumstances of their employment should be found to require it, be kind enough to answer, as fully as you are able, the following questions :— (a.) What is the number of children, young persons, and women employed in agricultural labour singly or with a few others* . , In your parish ? On your farm ? (d.) Give as nearly as you can the following particulars as to the number and age of such persons so employed. Males. Females. Under 8. Between| Between | Between | Total Under 8. Between} Between | Between Over 18, Total 8and10.|} 10 and 13.| 13 and 18.| Males. | * If there is no return under the head of Private Gangs (P. 2), please to include in this pla in th i children, young persous, and women employed. , in this place and in the following table, all the 8 and 10.| 10 and 13. | 13 and 18. Married. {Unmarried,| Pe™ales. DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONERS, 165 (c.) In what kinds of work are they employed during the different seasons of the year ? In Spring, in . In Summer, in In Autumn, in In Winter, in (d.) Do they live on or near the farms on which they work ? If not, how far have they to come from their homes to their daily work ? (e.) What are their usual hours of work upon the land ? (f.) What are their hours, reckoning from the time of leaving home to go to work in the morning to the time when they come back from work ? (1.) Of those who live near the farm in which they work ? (2.) Of those who live at a distance (g.) What are the times allowed for meals ? (h.) Does the demand upon their physical powers injuriously affect their health and constitution ? (¢.) Are the young or the females, whether young or grown up, subject to any ill-treatment ? (j.) Do any special employments injuriously affect females or the young generally ? (k.) Have you any observations to make as to the effect of the employment of females in agriculture on morals and on their proper training for domestic duties ? (l.) Taking into consideration the demand for labour in your parish and neighbourhood, and the pecuniary resources of the agricultural labourers, are you prepared to recommend that any restriction should be placed on the employment of females in field work ? If so, would you limit the restriction to females of a defined age, or would you prohibit female labour in the fields altogether, excepting at hay and corn harvest ? (m.) Taking into consideration the demand for labour in your parish and neighbourhood, and the pecuniary resources of the agricultural labourers, are you prepared to recommend that any restriction should be placed upon the age at which boys should be permitted to be employed in farm labour ? If so, please to state the age below which you would recommend that boys should not be so employed. (x.) Do you see reason for recommending that the distance to which children and young persons should be allowed to go to work in farm labour should be restricted according to age ? If you should think some restriction of distance in reference to age desirable, do you approve of the following, which assumes that boys under eight years of age would not be allowed to be employed at all ? No boy of 8 years of age and under - 10 p No girl under the age of - - 18 i 1 mile. 10 years of age and under 11 To be taken No boy of {1 53 $3 12 to work hs miles. 12 5 i 13 beyond a 13 5 55 14]. distance from . No young fu a 15 his or her \ 3 miles. person of < 15 6 Pa 16 home of | 18 ” ” 17 i miles, 17 ” ” 18 Have you any modification to propose in the above table ? (0.) Do you see reason for recommending that any restriction should be placed upon the hours of work of children and young persons employed in agriculture; and if so, what amount of restriction would you propose ? III. As TO REQUIRING somE Amount oF ScHooL ATTENDANCE IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN EARNING Waces By EmpioyMent In Farm Lagour, 23. The Commissioners being instructed to inquire to what extent, and with what modifications the principles of the Factory Acts can be adopted in reference to children employed in agriculture, “especially with a view to the better education of such children,” your opinion is invited on the following points: 21157. Ff 166 24, 25. 26. 27. 28, 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34, 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. al. EMPLOYMENT ,OF CHILDREN, &C, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION : The three modes by -which the -prescribéd . atnount of -scliool attendance of children employed in trades and manufactures is obtained are— , By the Factory Act (7 Vict. c. 15. ss. 31-9). 1. By half day at school and half day at work. 2. By alternate whole days at school and whole days at work.. By the Print Works Act (10 & 11 Vict. c. 70. ss. 2, 3,26). © 3. By school attendance for a certain number of hours during the preceding six months. Accompaning this circular you will find brief extracts from the above Acts, together with some remarks from the Sixth Report‘ofi the Children’s Employment Commission (1862), ss. 65 to 74, and ss. 80 to 83, referring to the difficulties tobe encountered, and the possible modes of meeting them. You are requested to state which of such modes of enforcing some amount of school attendance would seem most applicable to the circumstances of your parish and neighbourhood ; or whether a combination of one or more of them would better meet those circumstances; or whether any other mode that you might wish to suggest appears to you preferable. How far is the school attendance affected by the distance that the children have to go to school ? How far is the school attendance affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents ? Ave any efforts being made for the industrial training’ of girls, in connexion with elementary education, with especial reference to preparing them for their domestic duties ? Have you’ any rémarks to make“on the subject of cottage accommodation, in regard to its effect on morality or education ; or on the health and comfort of the labouring poor ? How many cottages per hundred acres are considered sufficient for the accommodation of the persons employed on the land in your parish ? . Is there that proportion of cottages in the parish ? Tf not, what is the proportion ? Are the cottages conveniently situated with respect to (i.e. not more than a mile from) the farms on which the work is to be done ? Ts there a sufficient number of cottages with two bedrooms, or three bedrooms, and a sitting room, for the larger families ? Sap, san dey a tin gte oe Are the cottages crowded, either with members of the family, or with lodgers? Give a general description of the cottages in your parish in respect of,—1. Construction (including size of rooms, ventilation, and drainage). 2. Accommodation (including number of rooms in proportion to the family, water supply, garden, outhouses, &c.) 3. Ownership ; z,e., whether by landowner, or by trades- men with whom the tenants are obliged to deal, or by other.person or persons. 4, Rent. If there is deficient cottage accommodation, is any progress being made towards increasing it ? Is the Union Chargeability Act (28 & 29 Vict. c. 79. March 1866) having any effect in causing an increase of cottage accommodation ? , By the Act 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114., July 1864) the Enclosure Commissioners are authorized to advance public money for the improvement of land, including, by s. 9, “The erection of labourers’ cottages, « * #* and the improvement of and addition to labourers’ cottages.” Have you any remarks to make upon this Act in regard to any additional facilities, or any reduction of cost, that might cause greater progress to be made in supplying the want of good cottages ? Can you suggest any mode by which good cottage accommodation could be provided on self-supporting terms, and involving no disadvantage to the tenant ? IV. As ro tHe Numpers oF CHILDREN AT SCHOOL AND THE NUMBERS EMPLOYED IN Farm Lazsovur. 42, 43. It would be of great assistance towards forming a correct judgment upon the question of requiring some amount of school attendance in the case of children earning wages by employment in farm labour if you could furnish the Commissioners with precise information, or with an approximate estimate, relating to the points embodied in the following tables. Approximate Number of Children of the Agricultural Labouring Class in attendance at Elementary Schools* in the parish of . : In Summer. On the Register of some School. a In average Attendance. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls, Under 10 Between Between Between if Bet Years of Age. 10 and 13, cer BY: 10 and 13. Under 10. 10 and 13. Under 10, 10 cad \

Coling edroonv | Grind Li Living ROOM BEDROOM BEDROOM LivinG Room 2 0 2O-9¢ 120*30 2-0 * 12 0* 12-0 Pu-cH PLAN eee a as Eedroom Leung Rein. samc deplle SECTION Samuel Sharp. Architect. davyS pemumgy OA F 950) SQOIS PART SON YPM Ayre WoOUdaa JNO HLIM F0VL109 a1anod v yod by NV1d z 3} HOWOY B] nouog > g L oR — 1 | ; o'Ol x O'F! O-ol x O'F | WOOY ONIAIT WOOYy NIA] | L. Leg Sur} Pel S82ig | o’6xo'oI 0o°6 x O'O! ey xol woouaag woouaag Bee eNO i Auaminos apni ? 1409 | duno Cian SNIGUVO om|O NOILWAS 19 LNOU4 “GOT OG FP ‘SQVIS POINT ST “ype Foy JOVLLOOD GAWOOUGEE ATONIS W YO4d exages JN WY HOYOd g | F y 5 nd y ool x OF ‘ WOOY ONIAIT - pag Ssaly & YOY isl =) 93901) 06 x00 a'e xol eee ve Wooudag | © Lunog Cal oi Naquv9d Lab oy 4ooIg N COMMISSION ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE (1867). APPENDIX PART IL. TO FIRST REPORT. EVIDENCE. FROM THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS. Presented to both WMouses of Parliament by Command of Wer Majesty. LONDON: . PRINTED BY GEORGE EDWARD EYRE AND WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, PRINTERS TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE. —_— 21187. 1868. J a ‘ CONTENTS. EvIDENCE ACCOMPANYING THE REPORT OF— The Rev. James Fraser, M.A., on the Countian of. Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, Glou- cester, and parts of Suffolk (a.) - Se - - - - Joseph J. Henley, Esq., M.A., on the Counties of Northumberland and Durham (b.) The Hon. Edward Stanhope, M.A., on the Counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leicester (c.) - - - - - - - - The Hon. Edwin B. Portman, M.A., on Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire (d.) - Frederick H. Norman, Esq., M.A., on Northamptonshire (e.) - - - George Culley, -Esq., M.A., on the Counties of Bedford and eos (f.). - Extract rrom Returns or Mr. C. J. Borie - - e. eh Es = Page 219 277 335 421 Fi 462. 549 EVIDENCE ACCOMPANYING THE REPORTS OF THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS. EVIDENCE ACCOMPANYING THE REV. J. REPORT. FRASER’S CONTENTS. APPEN- ‘DICES. ; é Page aeer Page A.—Table showing number and ages of children, young D.—Minutes of parochial meetings—continued. persons, and women employed in agricultural 20. Salhouse 36 labour (not in gangs) in 93 parishes in the counties : of Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, and Gloucester 3 21. ee ae iene ‘aa 37 22. Dickleburgh, Burston, Rushall, Shimpling -__,, — f childr id. B OG ae eae as deena a eee 23. Scole, Thorpe Parva, Frenze, Thelveton 38 schools of 139 parishes in the same counties - 6 24. tas ae ee Brockdish 39 y 7 25. Starston, Redenhall, Needham 40 PE aan a. agaaies &e.: 1 26. ae eee A Magdalene, and Pulham, e . . Ma e Virgin = (2.) Of the Cirencester Farmers’ Club - 15 27. Gissing = sa a2 (3.) Of the Gloucester Chamber = 16 28. Stratton, St. Mary and St. Michael, Waeton, (4.) Of the Central Chamber - 18 Tasburgh, Tharston 3 (5.) Report of the opinions of the clergy of the 29. Morningthorpe, Fritton, Hardwick, Shatter. 43 ea et of penal in the cee a 30. Tivetshall, St. Mary and St. Margaret 44 31. Tibenham, Moulton 45 (6.) sa aay one of ane Chichester 32. Forneett, St. Mary and St. Peter, Aslacton- _,, (7.) Paper read at the Newbury (Berks) ee 7 peta Meursaypg sess amen 46 Club on agricultural labour 3% 34, Fundenhall, Tacolneston, Ashwellthorpe, (8.) Paper read at the Hungerford (Berks) Far- papian. . : oa mers’ Club on “The education of labourers 35. Hempnall = 48 in agricultural districts ” : - 24 36. Ingoldisthorpe, Dersingham, Shaiibamae S59 D.—Minutes of 96 parochial meetings attended by the 37. Hunstanton, Heacham, Ringstead - ~ 49 Assistant Commissioner: 38. Snettisham, Sedgeford 50 1. Attlebridge - . S S - 27 39. a and West Rudham, Houghton, By 2. Morton-on-the-Hill - ‘ 2 ‘ erston - 51 §, Great Witeliingbain 7 k = “ae eae ee Magna, Newton, “Tofts, Barmer, é agthorpe - 52 4. Sprowston ~ - - » 41, Burnham Westgate, Deepdale, Sutton, Overy, 5. Ringland - - - 29 Ulph, and Thorpe 54 6. Weston-Longville - - - - » 42, Thornham, Holme-by-the-Sea, Titchwell, 7. Honingham - - 30 d Braneaster = 85 8. Felthorpe - - az a 23 43. Docking, Fring, Anmer, Stanhoe - - 56 9. Taverham - - 31 44, North and South Creake, Waterden- - - 57 10. Drayton - = ot, Ge 45. Ashill, Saham Toney, North and South 11. Horsford - 7 32 Pickenham, Hipiag Hale, ; Hougntan, a 12, Spixworth : : = si Torexton, - ae - is at a : : : S 46, res ws Little Creating Hillborough, ps 14, Hainford = = 7» 47. Igburgh, Langford, Didlington, Poon, 15. Haverland - - - - 384 Buckenham Tofts, Stanford . os - pales = ” 48, peor cee Palgrave, East and West 17. Swannington ° = - 35 radenham 61 18. Rackheath - - = 55 49. Oxburgh, Foulden, Gonderstone, (hisiias 63 19. Wroxham - - - - 86 50. Beechamwell, Shingham, Cockley Cley 64 2. a 2 2 APPEN- DICE. D.—Minutes 51. 52. 53. 54, 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64, 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74, 75. 76. 77, 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94, 95. ' 96. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, of Parochial Meetings—continued. Narborough, Narford, Southacre, Newton - Swaffham - - - Halstead, Pebmarsh, Gosfield Sd Castle and Sible Hedingham, and Greate ae Little Maplestead - Great and Little Yeldham, Tilbury, Ridge- well, Stambourne, Toppesfield - Earl’s Colne, White Colne, Colne Engaine - Witham, Great and Little Braxted, Fairstead, Faulkbourn, Terling, Rivenhall - Wickham Bishop’s, Ulting, Hatfield Peverel Coggeshall and Markshall - - Kelvedon, Feering, Inworth, Messing - Slinfold, Warnham, Itchingfield Tfield, Rusper West Grinstead and Shipley Horsham, Southwater, Nuthurst, Beeding - Warbleton, Heathfield Hooe, Ninfield, Wartling Hailsham, Arlington, Laughton, Herstmon- ceux, Hellingly, Chiddingly Yapton, Barnham, Middleton, Felpham Walberton, Madehurst, Binsted, Eastergate Singleton, East Dean, Graffham, Up Wak tham, Binderton Sidlesham, Selsey, Earnley - Birdham, East and West Wittering, West Itchenor North Mundham, Donnington, New Fish- bourn, Pagham, Hunston, Appledram Boxgrove, Eartham, Slindon, East and Mid Lavant, West Stoke, Westhampnett Oving, Aldingbourne, aegis Rumbolds- wyke, Merston Elkstone, Colesbourne, Syde, beapeen, Winston North Cerney, Rendcombe, Badgington, Duntisbourne Rouse, Daglingworth Sapperton, Coates, Rodmarton, EOE Duntisbourne Abbotts Fairford, Kempsford, Guennington, Hiatharop Somerford Keynes, Kemble, Poole Keynes, South Cerney, Sharncote - Amney Crucis, Amney St. Mary and ca Peter, Barnsley Siddington, Preston, Stratton, Banhton, Driffield, Harnhill - Down Amney, Marston Meysey, Megeey Hampton, Poulton Olveston, Elberton, Aust, Northwick, Redwick Alveston, Almondsbury, Tytherington Thornbury, Oldbury, Littleton-on-Severn Cromhall, Charfield, Rengarenty, Tort- worth Falfield, Hill, Rackbanintor, Stone - Berkeley - Redmarley, Bromesberrow, Staunton Tibberton, Taynton, Rudford, Highleadon Corse, Hartpury, Upleadon - Dymock, Kempley, Preston - Linton, Aston Ingham Newent, Oxenhall, Pauntley - Newent (meeting of working men) Lower - - E.—ANSWERS TO THE ComMISSIONERS’ CIRCULAR OF INQUIRIES : 1, 2. On the employment of private gangs - On the effect of the employment of females in agriculture, and the possibility or de- sirableness of restraining it - 3. Whether any restriction should be placed on the age at which boys should be permitted to be employed in farm labour, or on the number of their hours of work; and to what extent and with what modifications it is considered that the principles of the Factory Acts can be adopted in reference to children employed in agriculture, espe- cially with a view to the better education of such children - - Page 65 ” 66 68 70 7 72 74 75 76 77 78 79 81 82 83 85 86 87 88 90 91 93 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108 110 112 113 115 117 119 121 122. 124 126 127 129 131 132 133 134 135 140 YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN APPEN- DICES. Answers to the Commissioners’ Questions—continued. 4, On the subject of evening schools - - 5. On cottage accommodation - = F.—MIsceLtannous EVIpENCcE : 1. The Earl of Leicester - - 2. Rev. W. Bates, D.D., rector of Burnham Westgate - - 8. Mr. Robert L. Cobb, of Sproweton - - 4. T, Lombe Taylor, Esq., of Starston 5. Thomas Barton, Esq., J.P., of Threxton = - 6. Mr. Freezer, bailiff to Lord Leicester - 7. Edmund Oldfield, 'sq., Chairman of, Swaff- ham Board of Guardians 8. Rev. John Fountaine, of Southacre - - 9. Mr. Thomas Wigg, book-hawker -. ‘10. C. S. Read, Esq., M.P. (extracts from an address) 11. J. O. Howard Taylor, Esq., solicitor, Nor- wich - - - 12, Rev. W. T. Beckett, rector of Ingoldis- thorpe - - 13, Rev. Edgar Montagu, rector of Kettlestone - 14. Rev. Arthur Hanbury, vicar of Bures, Bu folk 15. G. Kersey Cooper, Esq., agent to we Dake of Grafton 16. Herman Biddell, Esq., Playford, Tpawieh - 17. Allen Ransome, Eqs Orwell Works, Ips-: wich Mr. W. L. B. Freuer, agent to the Marquis of Cholmondeley sa Sir E. C. Herrison, Bart. . = » Rev. H. Landon Maud, vicar of Assington - Report of meeting at Halstead, Essex - Rev. J. M. Cripps, rector of Great Yeldham Charles Page Wood, Esq., of Kelvedon Lord Rayleigh, of Terling Place, Essex 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24, Miss Bramston, of Witham - 25. Mr. W. Sparks, shopkeeper, of Wickham Bishops 26. Mr. Kaye, bailiff to W. E. eElubhara, Eaa., is Horsham 27. The Relieving Officers of Westhampnett Union = 28. Rev. F. A. Bowles, rector of Singleton, Sussex = Pe 29. Rev. C. B. Wollaston, rector of Felpham 30. Captain Valentine, agent to the Duke of Richmond John Bayton, Esq., J.P., Sussex - Mr. Webb, bailiff to T. H.B. Balch, Eads Gloucestershire Rev. W. Douglas, of Hardwicke, Gloucester. shire . 34. T. H. B. Baker, Esq., of Hanivicke 35. Frederick Knight, Esq., M.P. 36. Mr. John Williams, parish glen of AL mondsbury Rev. F. W. Rice, vicar of Fairford - Rev. Thomas Maurice, J.P., Chairman of Cirencester Board of Guardians G.—EvIvence oF THE LaBpourine Crass - S H.—Norzs on ScHoots VISITED, and opinions of school- managers and teachers - . - 31. 32. 33. 37. 38. I.—ScHEME FOR PROVIDING FOR THE SurrorTt oF -Scoors from the combined sources of, (1), Go- vernment grant; (2), voluntary subscriptions ; ; (3), children’s payments ; (4), local rate-in-aid - K,.—Mepicat anp Sanitary EvipEnce : 1. W. H. Vipan, Esq., M.R.C.S. - - 2. W. H. Borham, Esq., M.D., of Halstead - 3. W. Batley, Esq,, surgeon to Sussex Militia - 4, — Cattle, Esq., M.R.C.S., of Newent - 5. Mr. oe Clarke, sanitary mapestor, Mar: wie! 6. aye Dennis, Esq., M.R. C. s. Euroa, Nor- olk L.—Summary RErurN or THE NUMBER AND Sais oF CoTTAGES IN EVERY PsRisH IN THE UNION oF SwarrHam, NoRFOLK - Page 147 151 165 166 ” ” ” 167 168 169 172 174 181 182 183 185 188 2 189 ” 191 192" 210 214 216 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— EVIDENCE. 3 Norfolk, &. Rey. J. Fraser. _ ae EVIDENCE. Taste showing Numprr and Aers of Cutpren, Younc Persons, and Womun employed in AgricunruraL Lazour in the under-mentioned Parishes in Norrotx, Essex, Sussex, aud GLOUCESTER. Males. F County Popa: Females. and Parish. lati Over 18 Union. ation. Unger Between |Between |Between | Total | Under |Between |Between |Between eee Total . |S and 10. [10 and 18/13 and 18.) Males. 8 |8and10. {10 and 13.13 and 18, Married.| Single. Females, -| Alderford cum At- 122 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 2 1 ie 0 10 tlebridge. Booton - 246 0 0 3 21 24 0 0 2 4 7 3 16 f.|| Crostwick 144 0 2 5 2 9 0 0 0 1 4 1 6 S Drayton - - 451 2 2 4 4 12 0 0 0 0 8 0 8 || Felthorpe - - 514 0 1 5 15 Q1 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 f || Frettenham - - 221 0 3 14 14 31 0 0 0 3 17 5 25 a Haynford = - - 643 0 2 17 11 30 0 0 1 1 21 2 25 «, \| Honingham - 328 0 1 6 17 24 0 0 0 3 25 5 33 3 Horsford - - 665 0 6 8 15 29 0 1 4 6 17 1 29 & || Horsham andNew- | 1,150 0 4 8 20 32 0 0 0 0 12 Ll 18 ie ton St. Faith’s. ‘ = || Morton -| 19] 0 1 4 5 | 10 0 0 2 0 7 2 9 Rackheath - 271 1 1 7 6 15 0 0 0 2 19 2 23 Sprowston - - | 1,407 0 1 8 5 14 0 0 2 3 13 0 18 Gt. Witchingham - 642 1 6 7 17 31 0 1 0 5 12 7 25 Wroxham - - 409 0 9 2 8 10 0 0 0 0 7 1 8 Bunwell - “ 907 0 3 7 20 30 0 0 0 0 20 6 26 d Denton - 518 0 1 8 8 17 0 0 0 2 10 3 15 3 Morningthorpe 140 2 3 3 9 17 0 0 0 0 9 0 9 “415 |] Moulton - 442 | Ages not given. 4 | Ages not given 8 le}! Rushall = - 242 | 0 0 12 4 | 16 0 0 0 0 14 8 22 S/S\| Starston - -| 481] 0 2 6 7 | 15 0 0 0 2 8 1 11 2 12.\| Stratton = - 743 | 0 ) 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 9 1 10 = JA || Thorpe Abbott's 256 0 0 6 10 16 0 5 0 1 4 3 13 5 Tibenham “ 729 0 6 19 22 47 0 0 1 1 32 8 42 5 Wacton 243 0 2 8 4 14 0 0 1 5 8 1 15 o l Bircham, Great 489 0 0 6 14 20 0 0 0 0 16 4 20 : Brancaster . - 999 0 9 18 10 37 0 0 20 10 10 5 45 & || Burnham Thorpe - 437 6 2 5 14 27 0 0 o | 6 7 8 25 A || Docking - - | 1,625 0 8 22 36 66 | No return; but only “a few” said to be employed, i Holme - - 305 0 1 4 13 18 0 1 1 3 5 2 12 4 Ingoldisthorpe - 372 2 8 7 14 31 0 0 0 1 3 0 4 3 Ringstead- 522 0 9 12 16 37 0 0 0 0 12 to 20 0 {12 to 20 8 Shernborne - 142 0 0 4 8 12 0 0 3 4 8 2 17 Syderstone = 528 0 0 0 11 11 0 0 0 0 12 6 18 Titchwell - - 146 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 Waterden - - 40 0 0 4 6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 gd ;| Ashill - - - 696 0 2 12 24 88 0 0 0 6 84 4 44 hg Bradenham, W. - 417 0 0 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 > || Gooderstone - 570 7 18 17 29 66 R} 6 5 4 7 15 40 Holme-Hale - 464 0 12 14 7 383 0 0 9 8 22 6 40 a Oxburgh - - |. 225 0 0 4 7 11 0 0 Q 1 5 1 9 I Saham Toney - | 1,286 0 0 15 380 45 0 0 0 10 30 20 60 = Stanford - - 200 0 4 9 14 a7 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 || Threxton - - 80 0 0 4 9 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals - - {21,606 | 21 116 889 513 | 993 8 14 55 89 482 139 790 Colne, Earl’s 1,540 0 2 84 81 67 0 0 0 0 12 2 4 4 3 .|| Colne, Engaine - 627 2 4 13 12 81 0 0 0 0 4 2 6 2|38/| Colne, White - 400 0 7 9 12 28 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fi /as\| Ridgewell - -| 795; 4 8 14 32 | 58 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S/H | *Tilbury = - - 236 0 2 4 5 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Yeldham, Little - 807 0 5 5° 10 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Bé Braxted, Little -| 111} 0 1 4 2 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 o ES Feering - 804 0 4 12 30 | 46 0 0 4 6 16.) 2 28 Totals - - | 4,820 6 33 95 134 268 0 0 4 6 34 6 50 | | ‘ ' * Tt is stated that in Tilbury about 45 females are employed in the summer, weeding, for not more than from five to ten days in all, 2. A IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— #VIDENCE, Or TABLE showing Numper of CarnpREN and Youne Persons under Instruction in Day and Evenine ScHoots Norfolk, &e. of 189 Parishes. Country or Norro.x. Rev. J. Fraser e a On ster of s ; i ca cits coe aut aaa Average ioeeerton: a Night School. Popu- Attendance. | Population of 7 Parish, Boys. Girls, lation. Finn Average er mrols fs 0. 0 2 7 Spent, mae eee Boys. | Girls. | ment. ae holars. Remarks, Sr. Farry’s Union. : a J Alderford = - - 29]; — eas — = saa a a8 ele = somes Attlebridge - - 93 2 0 2 3 2 5 5:7 _ 30 Difficulty of classification. Booton - - -| 246 4 0 12 7 4 17 9°3 85 — No evening school. Catton 7 - 646 | 33 33 20 20 10°3 6°5 _ No return. Crostwick - -} 144} 14 0 10 7 11 14 | 21:5 | 17°3 _ No evening school. Drayton - 451 | 37 5 23 as) 30 28 17°7 12°8 30 Indifference ; difficulty of dis- - cipline. St. Faith - /1,191 | 56 2 40 ) 38 30 85 57 25 Indifference. Felthorpe - -| 514] 39 7 35 15 34 41 | 15°7 | 12°6 — No evening school. Frettenham 221 15 1 24 10 15 28 | 221 19°4 _ Do. Hainford - 643 30 0 18 7 18 14 8:5 5:1 _— Do. Haverland - -| 131 30 30 23 19 | 45°8 | 32°0 _ Do. Hellesdon 496 | 20 5 24 16 18 30 | 12°9 9°6 — Do. Honingham - 328 | 14 4 17 0 18 17 | 10°6 | 10°6 40 No difficulties found. Horsford = - -| 665] 34 3 39 18 30 41 | 14*1] 10°6 53 Want of teachers. ~Horstead - - | 608] 22 0 22 14 19 30. ] 9°5 8:0 —_ No evening school. Morton - -| 149 4 2 2 5 6 7 8-7 _— _— 0. Rackheath 271 | 18 5 12 6 12 13 | 13-2 9°2 16 Distance and late employment. . ~Ringland - - | 360 14 14 11 ah 77 5°0 - No evening school. Sprowston - - |1,407 | 30 20 35 25 oes — 7:7 — — Do. Swannington - 385 14 1 21 10 7 19 11°93 6°7 36 _—_— Weston - - 471 40 40 30 30 16"9 12°7 _— No return. Witchingham 7 675 20 17 29 9 30 30 11-1 8°8 16 — Wroxham - - 409 30 -- 8 28 12 29 29 19°0 14:1 36 — Union or DEPWADE. Aslacton - -\| 656} 19 1 22 38 ll 14 | 11°38 7°0 18 Want of teachers. Bunwell Ee 907 65 i 45 60 35 12°0 10°4 25 Do. Denton Ss - 518 41 10 38 24 38 46 21°3 16°2 16 Do. Dickleburgh - - 895 46 20 28 20 45 35 12°0 8°9 25 No difficulty. Hempnall - - |1,094 | 30 19 28 7 30 26 8°5 571 _— No volunteer teachers. Morningthorpe - 140 4 0 8 4 4 ll 11°4 10°7 6 —_— Moulton -: -| 442) 18 3 18 16 — — | 11°38 — — No night school. Needham - - | 880 | Neither day or night school in this parish. Pulham Magd. 1,056 | 55 15 25 10 | 50 26 9°9 7°32 20 Want of interest in the scholars. Rushall - 242 6+ 1 7 | 3 6 9 7:0 6"2 — No night school. Shimpling - 219 | No school; children attend in other parishes. Starston - -| 481 | 23 4 20 | 8 23 24 | 114 9°7 10 Want of teachers ; distance. Stratton, Long 748 | 15 | 2 15 10 14 20 5°6 4°5 21 Want of teachers. Tharston - - | 351 | No return of day school —_— —_ — — 7 Want of funds ; indisposition. . Thorpe Abbotts -| 256] 12 | 9 9 10 14 | 12-1 9°38 16 bier of funds, and so of tea- cher. Tibenham - -| 729 | 34 6 29 5.) 82 25 | 10°1 7°8 30 Sufficient voluntary help, but ; expense falls on clergyman. Wacton - -| 248] 16 2 16 6 14 16 | 1674} 1293 19 Want of funds. . Union or Dockine. Bircham, Great -| 489] 68 10 49 25 70 — | 31:0 — 43 Successful. Brancaster_ - -| 999| 98 9 64 45 82 76 | 21:0 | 15°8 29 Want of funds. Burnham Thorpe 437 27 15 24 16 81 29 18°7 13:7 re] Results not altogether satisfac- tory. Docking - 1,625 | 60 30 70 36 _— — | 12°0 — 52 Want of volunteer teachers. Heacham - -| 990] 41 0 39 10 35 42 9-0 7°7 21 Superintended by clergyman. Holme-by-Sea -| 805] 14 2 17 2 ll 13 | 11-4 7°8 _ No return. Hunstanton - - | 485 | 45 9 40 26 40 48 | 24°7] 18°] 25 Want of teachers. “Ingoldisthorpe, -| 372] 11 3 9 13] 12 | 17 | 97] 77 16 Do. Ringstead = - ~| 522) 33 8 50 10 = — | 19°3 — 17 Do. Sedgeford - -| 742] 38 3 38 9 82 385 | 11°8 9°0 |No night Do. enter te school. Shernbourne - 142 4 5 6 8 3 138 | 16°2 | 11°2 10 Indifference of scholars. Syderstone 528 | No return of numbers. — — _ — _ 12 Irregular attendance. Thornham ' - -| 728 {| 60— 3 51 16 42 55 | 17°8 | 13°3 22 Want of interest. Union oF SwaFrnam. a Ashill - -| 696 40 10 89 22 33 42 15°9 10°8 30 Insufficient influence of parents. Bodney - 117 | A school, but no return, — — _ _ — a Rae : : _ Bradenham, East - | 399] 22 5 22 6 13 17 | 18°7 75 19 Want ? desire of self-improve- Be ment. Bradenham, West -| 417 | 20 0 30 15 20 | 11°9 8°38 12 Only the Vicar to teach. Cressingham, Great - | 531) 38 4 50 9 382 48 | 19°0} 15°0 15 Indifference of parents and : children. Cressingham, Little - | 243 | 22 7 19 8 17 16 | 23°0| 18°6 | No oe Indifference of scholars. school. ne - =| 570 | 22 17 16 18 29 23 | 12°8 9°1 16 No interest taken by farmers. , c ene : -| 366! 27 4 21 10 ey — | 16:9 —_ 18 Want of proficiency. Holme Hale - ~| 464) 27 5 35 7 27 82 | 15°9 | 12:7 |Noreturn Unwillingness to attend. “Oxburgh 225 | 29 3 47 16 26 47 | 42:2) 32°4 18 Difficulty in finding fit teachers. Saham Toney - {1,286 | 40 | 40 43 22 60 50 | 11°2 85 30 Distance; fatigue; want of “4 interest. Sporle -| 806; — Je — _ _ 32 47 — | 98 25 Want of funds. Stanford -| 180] 11 | 0 12 1 9 9 | 13:3] 10°0 ll Weariness and dislike of control. A 2 6 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Norfolk, &c. ‘TaBLu showing Number of Children and Young Persons under Instruction in Day and Evening Schools of 139 Parishes—continued. Rev. J. Fraser. County or Essex. a. On Register of some School. i i a ee i Average Bean Night School, Popn- Attendance. Population of Parish. fait Boys. Girls. ation. Average Enrol- .| No. of iy < enn ae ponte Boys. | Girls. | ment. Attend Scholars. Remarks. Union or HatstEap. *Colne, Earl’s - |1,540 | 57 9 68 7 53 60 9°1 6°0 25 School open 24 weeks. Colne, Engaine -| 627 | 27 8 29 11 21 26 | 11°9 7°5 20 —_— Colne, White -}| 400] 81 0 20 2 _— — | 182 _— 30 Want of teachers. Maplestead, Great 462 | 24 0 23 6 23 18 | 11:4 8°8 20 To be thoroughly efficient should be open for a longer period. Ridgewell - -| 715 | 42 3 47 9 27 38 | 14°1 9°0 21 Unwillingness to attend after work, : {Stambourne - -| 587 7 5 15 15 10 20 7°8 55 20 Indifference, poverty, and igno- rance of parents, Tilbury 232 15 2 ll 8 10 17 15°5 12°0 18 _ Yeldham, Little -| 807} 12 2 20 6 12 23 | 18°0 |] 11°4 10 Open all the year, Braxted, Little 111) 16 0 13 4 14 15 | 29°7 | 26:1 0 Can’t provide for supervision. Fairstead - “ 351 24 0 30 10 15 25 18°2 11°11 13 Distance and fatigue. Feering - 804 | 34 2 34 11 24 30 | 10°0 6°7 34 The expense. County oF SUSSEX. Union or Horsuam. Beeding, Lower - {1,149 | 78 19 63 39 76 72 | 17°83 12°7 54 Scattered character of population. Tfield - - - |1,307 | 68 35 | 102 55 74 | 100 | 19°8 |) 13:3 _— No evening school. Itchingfield - 377 20 5 10 10 22 16 Tg 10°0 —_— Do. Ttusper . 590 ; 20 10 35 10 22 380 | 12°7 8°8 _ Do. ; want of teacher. Slinfold -| 755} 382 3 27 5 23 22 8°8 59 — Want of efficient teachers, Southwater - ~ | 600 | 27 6 26 18 21 31 12°8 8°6 27 Distance. Unton or Harrsyam. Bodle Street Green 800 | 47 8 5] 4 31 40 | 13°1 88 — No evening school. Chiddingly - -| 992} 41 2 30 1 _ _— 7°4 — 20 Distance. Hooe - 496 | No return. _— _ _ — _ _ 11 — Hurstmonceux 1,180 | 53 1 69 4 34 46 | 10°7 6°7 16 Want of funds. Laughton - 742 | 29 2 29 2 20 20 8°3 5°3 —_— Given up. Ninfield - 587 31 4 30 15 25 35 13°6 10°2 — Do. Warbleton - 958 | 40 8 37 7 30 30 9°6 6°2 25 Unwillingness to attend, Wartling -| 733 | 27 9 33 11 26 30 | 10°9 7°6 18 Want of teachers. Union or WESTHAMPNETT. «Aldingbourne 772 | 28 6 26 9 23 27 82 6°4 _ Appledram - | 129 3 0 4 0 _ — 54 —_ _— No evening school ; no accom- modation. Birdham - 436 | 25 5 27 6 23 19 | 14-4 9°6 _— No evening school. Boxgrove - -| 666 | 31 12 76 29 35 82 | 22°2 |) 1792 25 — Donnington - 183 | 16 1 23 10 13 82 | 27°38 | 24°5 — No evening schoal, Fishbourne, New 341 9 0 10 2 6 10 6°1 4°6 6 — Lavant, East and Mid. 678 39 5 45 13 37 47 15°0 12°3 25 — Mundham, North 426 | 35 5 43 17 24 25 | 25°4 |) 11°5 — No evening school. Oving - 949 51 15 56 15 61 66 14:4 12°3 —_— Do. Singleton 556 | 40 15 380 20 52 48 | 18°8 | 17°8 15 Want of teachers. Tangmere 201 | 13 0 13 2 11 13° | 13°9 | 11°9 _— No evening school. Walberton - - 588 62 4 88 5 50 72 26°7 20°7 _ Do. ~ Wittering, East - | 223 | 25 0 15 10 _ — | 22°4 _ _ Do. Yapton - 589 33 15 29 7 42 29 14°2 12:0 _— Do. County or GLOUCESTER. Union OF CIRENCESTER. Amney Crucis 648 | 29 4 33 8 - — | 1174 _ ~- No evening school. Barnsley 327 | 17 0 8 6 —_ — ; 10°0 -_ 20 —. Baunton 123 13 0 15 2 8 11 24°5 15°5 % Want of funds. Brimpsfield - 392; 27 0 27 0 10 10 | 13°7 5:1 _ No evening school. Cerney, North 692 | 28 7 45 10 24 89 | 13°0 9-1 — Given up. Cerney, South - | 1,006 | 50 12 | 35 30 | 47 | 49 |12°6| 96] 41 | Want of interest, Coates 417 30 10 33 13 38 39 | 20°6| 16-0 _ None this year. Colesbourne - 261 8 5 19 4 10 20 | 13°7) 11°1 9 esta Kemble - -| 466 | 22 2 23 6 15 19 | 11°3 772 20 A straggling village. Meysey Hampton 352 | 27 2 24 6 _— — | 16°3 — 21 ae Pooie Keynes 180; 15 2 13 2 14 10 | 17°7 13°3 14 Want of appreciation. Rendcombe 241 8 a ll 2 7 9 8°7 6°6 —_— No evening school. Somerford Keynes - | 386! 33 4 27 1l 27 23, 19°41! 12°9 — Do. Stratton - 596 29 6 28 15 29 24 13°0 8°8 11 Winston - 230 10 i 17 6 10 | 11°7 6°9 _— No evening school. t * This return is strictly of those who are children of agricultural labourers. ‘The total numbers on the registers of the several schools for the poor are: boys, 120; girls, 144. About half of these are children of small tradesmen and of persons working at an iron foundr: { There are two plaiting schools at Stambourne not included in this return, at which some little elementary instruction in readin a repeating hymns is said to be given, at each of which 40 children, or more, may be in training. 8 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Tasix showing Number of Children and Young Persons under Instruction in Day and Kvening Schools of } l Norfolk, &c 189 Parishes—continued. ; Rev. J. Fras County of Gloucester—continued. ae = a. On Register of some School. Centesimal A Average Proportion to Night School. Popu- Attendance. Population of Parish, ‘ Boys. Girls. ation, Avorage | Enrol- - | No. of ae re perm een Und and 1, Boys. | Girls. | ment. stent Scholars. Remarks. Union or THORNBURY. | Aust - - ; 180 17 10 1a) 10 17 10 26°6 15°90 —_ Given up. Crowhall - - 681 32 0 24 16 20 36 10°2 82 14 — Hill - - 216 8 4 12 6 7 16 | 13-8} 10°6 _— No evening school. Olveston 1,699 92 32 90 18 80 81 13°6 9°1 46 Sis ts Rockhampton 248 9 2 15 6 8 12 | 12°9 8:0 —_ — Thornbury - - |2,544 | 108 49 | 106 31 | 110 90 | 1l'l 7°8 18 No interest taken. Union or Newent. Aston Ingham -; 568) 22 7 24 6 _— — | 10°3 —_ 25 Want of money. Corse - 700 | No return. — _ 14 14 — 4:0 ae No evening school. Preston - 78 5 0 3 0 — — | 10°2 —_ _ Do. Taynton - 689 og 5 28 15 18 22 li+l 5°83 —_— Do. In estimating the state of education exhibited in the above table, the following considerations must be borne in mind. It is usual to take the Prussian standard as that at which we ought to endeavour to aim, That standard, at the date of the report of the Duke of Neweastle’s Commission, was 1 in 6:27 of the population, at school (vol. i. p.573). That is the same thing asa centesimal proportion of 15:9. But before making comparison, two things, very import- ant in their bearing, have to be remembered ; viz. (1) that the Prussian school age is from 5 to 14; and (2) that, owing to education being compulsory, the number of children in average attendance approaches the num- ber of children enrolled much more closely than it does with us, where the former number is rarely more than 75 per cent. of the latter. Again, the difference between 1 in 6-27 of the population at school between the ages of 5 and 14, and the same proportion at school between the ages of 3 and 12, would have a very important influence on the educational results of the two systems. Speaking roundly, it may be said that in those parishes where the average attendance is not below 12 per cent. of the population, the school attendance may be deemed satisfactory. ‘Turning the eye back to the tables, it will be observed how very few schools there are that reach this proportion ; and when it is attained it would often be found, upon further inquiry, that the proportion is rather apparent than real, and that the school (as at Haverland), perhaps draws its supply of children from an area containing a considerably larger population than the parish in which it stands, and to which it is supposed to belong. Conclusions, however, must not be pressed too hard either way, partly in consequence of no returns having been received from fully half the parishes in the district, and partly from the loose, untrustworthy way in which the registers of uninspected schools are too commonly kept, so that the return, particularly of average attendance, is some- times nothing better than an estimate or guess. RESOLUTION or THE NorFoLK CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. Ata meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Agri- culture held on the 12th October 1867, Clare Sewell Read, Esq., M.P., in the chair. It was unanimously agreed,— That the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture having heard the nature of this inquiry fully and ably explained by the Assistant Commissioner, record in the following statement the conclusions at which they have arrived. They would preface these observations by saying that they have entirely excluded from their consideration the gang system as practised in some parts of Nor- folk ; they cordially approve of the Agricultural Gangs Act of last session, and believe that it will be found sufficient to cure what is certainly an exceptional but still a great and perhaps the chief evil in the employ- ment of women and children in agriculture. Farm work, on which women and children are usually employed, is certainly healthy, and is by no means excessive or laborious. With the exception of hay and corn harvests, and in the case of small boys keep- ing birds or herding stock, the time women and young children are employed on a farm does not exceed eight hours a day. This Chamber, therefore, considers any restriction of the hours of labour quite unnecessary, and that there is not the slightest cause for limiting the agricultural operations on which women and children should be employed. The amount and quality of education in the rural districts of Norfolk have greatly increased during the last twenty years. There is now, for the most part, a school in every parish, in which the children of the agricultural labourers can be educated at the trifling cost of one penny a week. But still there are many small parishes without schools, and in the sparsely populated part of the county there is and must ever be the difficulty of placing school-houses within a reasonable distance of many cottages. Nor- folk, however, has good cause to complain of the small encouragement and support her schools receive from Government, as only 147 out of the 757 parishes re- ceive any portion of the educational grant. Notwithstanding, however, the great increase of schools, the moral and social improvement of the labouring population has not been such as the friends of education hoped, and had a right to expect. No doubt children, especially boys, are taken from school much too young, but the lack of sufficient cottage accommodation and the absence of parental authority in the homes of the labourers have done much to destroy any good effects of such improved education. This Chamber would offer no objection to an Act prohibiting the employment of any child in agriculture under 9 years of age, but if such a restriction is im- posed means must be taken that the child should attend school and not be kept at home in idleness. It hag been stated that children are but of little use upon a farm till they are 11 or 12 years old. It is certainly during the summer months that the labour of women and children in any numbers is chiefly needed, and without such labour it would be difficult, if not im- possible, for the Norfolk farmer to cultivate his land in a neat and husbandlike manner. It is during this busy portion of the year that the rural schools are uow shut up and the teachers take their holidays, As the successful performance of almost all farm work depends on the seasons and the weather, it is A 38 Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 8 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN expedient, in a national point of view, that every facility should be given to the farmer to employ all the labour at his commend during the busy season of the year; therefore, if any legislation is attempted, certain dis- -pensing powers should be granted during the summer and autumn months. Should attendance at school be insisted upon after the boy has commenced. labour, school on alternate days or weeks would render the boy almost useless to the farmer. He had much better attend the school for a certain number of consecutive days during the leisure part of the year. As restrictions on the employment of juvenile labour will fall heavily upon the parents, and in the case of large young families with crushing severity, it will be more than ever necessary that good schools should be provided. Compulsory education in the mildest form will most probably lead to an education rate, and this Chamber protests most earnestly against such a rate being levied exclusively upon the real property of the kingdom. In conclusion this Chamber would express its opinion that any further restriction on the employment of women and children in agriculture, and any regulations respecting the education of the children of the labour- ing classes, are not required, and should they be attempted must utterly fail to produce any good result until reasonable and sufficient cottage accommodation is provided. CuarLes N. Gitman, Secretary of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture. The subject of this inquiry was very fully discussed by the Chamber at two meetings attended by several leading landowners, and many of the largest and most. intelligent tenant-farmers in Norfolk. At the first meeting held on September 28, I attended, at the invitation of the committee, and made a general statement of the nature and scope of the Commission, and of the principles that it was sought to apply to the regulation of the employment of women and children in agriculture. At the conclusion of my address, the chairman called upon various influential gentlemen present to express their sentiments; and after a discussion of upwards of two hours, the meeting was adjourned for a fortnight, during which interval the committee pre- pared the resolution which was proposed and adopted at the second meeting. As many of the speeches delivered at both meetings not only indicate remark- able liberality of sentiment in those who uttered them, but also throw considerable light on more than one branch of this inquiry, the more important ones are here transferred (with the simple omission of a few irrelevancies) from the columns of the Norwich Mercury. Mr, Oldfield, at the request of the president, first addressed the chamber. He hoped there would be an improvement made in the present cottage system, for that such an improvement was needed in Norfolk was shown by the return he had handed to Mr. Fraser. It was his intention to have a return made of the number of cottages in each parish in his Union, and the number of living or sleeping rooms in each cottage for the in- formation of the. Commissioners, and he hoped the chair- men of other Boards of Guardians would have similar documents prepared, as they would be worth having in the board rooms, and would enable the board to call the attention of owners of property to the necessity nd oe proper cottage accommodation. (Hear, ear. Mr. Jas. Everitt said he had for many years taken an interest in the education of the poorer class, and he was sure the farmers would not be discharging their duty in the station in which they had been placed by Providence, if they neglected to cultivate the minds of the children of the labouring population. Would they, as fathers of sons and daughters, think they had performed their duty to their children if they neglected to give them such training, or to improve their minds so as to place them far above the brute creation ? Mr. Everitt mentioned the case of a highly respectable labourer in his employ, unfortunately neglected in his education when young, whom he recommended to a gentleman for a certain situation, but who did not succeed in obtaining it, as it was indispensable that he should read and write. It was his firm belief, there- fore, that they would not be exercising their proper duty if they did not contribute towards the advance- ment of the education of the labourer. Mr. Everitt quoted a passage from a publication, arguing that there was as much need for the cultivation of the mind to make it bright or to bear fruit, as to polish a diamond or to prune our trees, and went on to say that when our future historians shall record in the brighter pages of England’s career the advancement made in this century in the sciences and arts, there will be one dark spot 10 stain those pages; the fact that tens of thousands of the sons and daughters of toil were brought up in entire ignorance, and could neither read nor write. (Hear, hear.) Dr. Dalrymple.—Might I put a question to Mr. Fraser upon what appears to be an important point with regard to the education of the labouring classes ? I have listened with very great pleasure and much instruction to what has fallen from him; but I want to know, as a piece of information from a mind that has thought so much, what his views are? How he proposes to keep up a certain amount of that educa- tion, which he proposes to give up to the age of ten? because, so far as my experience of the working classes has gone—I am speaking now of the boys between the ages of ten and fifteen or sixteen, when they come to appreciate the real value of education— I have seen nearly the whole of the advantages which they have received up to that period almost, if not entirely, obliterated from their minds. (Hear, hear.) I have seen that those who were fair and reasonable scholars in elementary knowledge, at all events by the time they are fifteen or sixteen, have lost the art of putting their letters together, have lost very much the art of writing, and I fear still more the desire to read. It is not sufficient to say that there are many instances to the contrary, because in all classes we have bright examples of those who have en- deavoured, through the greatest difficulties, to raise themselves, and keep up their education to the level - of those around them, They are to be found every- where, and they are not wanting amongst the labour- © ing class. The great object appears to me to keep those you have once educated in a tolerable state of polish. I do not think it possible boys can keep up their writing and arithmetic as accurately as when they left school ; but they should be able to keep up a useful modicum of it. The other point is upon the question of what Mr. Fraser calls either direct or in- direct compulsion in sending children to school. In one or two of the States of America, Massachusetts more especially, the compulsory principle has entirely failed. The law which existed there was, I believe, that every parent should send his child to school, that school being provided upon the easiest possible terms—what is termed the common school—and if children were found running loose in the streets, becoming an annoyance in villages or towns, the police had power to put them somewhere until’ the school hours had elapsed, and then take them back to their parents, saying, “Why was not this child sent to school?” That system has entirely broken down, but, curiously enough, that portion which now exists is that of apprehending the unfortunate little ones in the street. I should, therefore, be glad to learn a little more of what the indirect compulsion might be. I can understand, if I followed Mr. Fraser correctly, that he would not allow any child to be admitted to labour at a certain age without he brought . a certificate of having the required education ; but how about getting them to school if the parents wil] not send them ? My own experience in this county has been, when several years ago I was associated IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION : —EVIDENCE. 9 with a deceased beneficent gentleman, the late Mr. Geary, for the purpose of getting the lower classes—the scum of the gutters, literally—to go to schapl, that it was found absolutely impossible to get parents to send their children where they might get a common education, and where they would be comfortable and kindly treated. At that time, and up to this moment, you have no means of reaching those who are so far steeped in their own ignorant condition that they will not recognize the advantage of education. How we are to reach those at present I do not see, and it is that I hope something has occurred to Mr. Fraser which has induced me to put these few questions. The Rev. J. Fraser.—With regard to the idea that ig in my own mind of how we are to keep up the learning—the littte stock of learning—the child may have acquired up to the age of ten years, and which, in too many cases, is found to be obliterated at pre- sent, I would only remark that the real school age at present is so different from the nominal school age, and I do not like to draw any very general conclu- sions from present experience. I have been furnished with statistics from several schools, showing that children who had been nominally at one school for four or five years, have really attended school for less than half that period of time, and in the diminished period at such intermittent intervals that it is quite impossible that anything like systematic education could have been communicated to them. I hope, if we could secure the regular daily attendance for five years of our children at a fairly efficient school, we should put into them, so solidly and so perma- nently that they would not be likely to lose it, what I have ventured to call the “keys of knowledge.” If it could in any way be managed that they should be kept at school to a higher age than ten, I, for one, should be glad to see it, for I do not wish to restrict the school age to any certain limit. I confess that, in rural districts, my great hope lies in night schools—or partly in night schools, and partly in that increased desire that is growing up in parents on all hands to see their children educated. I believe we must not judge the generation of the fature from the generation of the past, or even the generation of the present. I hope, and I see signs for hoping, that the class of thoughtless parents who do not value the education of their children because they have none themselves is fast passing away, and that in their places there is growing up a class more edu- cated, who see the value of education, and will be glad to avail themselves of any opportunity for edu- cating their children that may be placed in their way. A woman, to whom J was speaking last night, gave me this as her opinion: She said she had no schooling herself, that she knows the want of learning, and that is what makes her so anxious her children should have a good education. If we had in every parish, as a part of the regular organization of that parish, a night school for the four or five winter months, I think we should have in that the instrument which would supply the place of those provisions of the Factory Acts which require a certain period of educa- tion for the child between eight and thirteen. I am not at all ignorant of the difficulties surrounding the establishment of night schools. ‘They in most cases succeed when the clergyman himself takes the manage- ment of them. The village schoolmaster ‘is rarely found competent to conduct a night school. He brings into it his notion of day school discipline— ‘discipline that may act very well with little imps of children between the age of five and ten, but would be unsuitable to. young men of 18, 19, 20, or 25, Therefore, I quite feel the difficulty surrounding the organization of anything like a system of night schools, but I also feel that without them the educational condition of our labourers will never be as satisfactory as it should be. With regard to the operation of any compulsory enactment, I am quite aware that the compulsory enactments of Massachusetis have failed, I was sent, in 1865, to report upon the common school system in that country, and I found it admitted generally throughout America, that the compulsory system of education, as it has been hitherto applied, has failed. In that country it is not wanted. There is, speaking generally, such a desire on the part of the people to be educated that they really do not want compulsion, and it is the rarest thing possible in America to find an American born citizen unable to read and write. Compulsion also took a form in America that was singularly disagreeable to the republican mind. It took the form of a fine—the parent who did not send his child to school was liable to a fine which might amount to 20 dollars. Public sentiment did not support the law, and, consequently, if became utterly inoperative. As Dr. Dalrymple has said, there are truant officers, yet it is not a satisfactory arrangement. The Ameri- cans do not like their children being brought up before the magistrates, in company, perhaps, with the lowest criminal; therefore the truant officer can- not be made to do his work, because public senti- ment is against him. Last night I read an article in the Nation newspaper, a leader of public opinion in America, upon this very subject of public education, and there it was said most distinctly they must have a compulsory system, and the statement was based upon this ground :—“ That if the State compels me “ to pay for the education of my neighbour’s child, I “have a right to require from the State that that “ neighbour’s child should be receiving the benefits “ of the system to which I am contributing.” (Hear, hear.) And the last paragraph of this article of the Nation was, “That every State must see to it that “ it brings into effective operation a compulsory sys- “tem of education.” My own indirect system of compulsion is simply based upon this idea: that I believe the parents, even the most thoughtless ones, are getting to be more alive to the advantages of education, and that the thoughtless ones will feel that if the law says, “You shall not send your child to “labour, or get anything from his earnings until he “can pass this elementary examination,” that alone will act as a most direct encouragement to them to send them to school. (Applause.) Mr, R. England thought the standard of education Mr. Fraser had raised for the agricultural labourer was certainly not too high. It was his opinion, and he thought his brother farmers would agree with him; that the labouring child under ten years of age was of slight advantage to the farmer. (Hear, hear.) But he confessed to having an objection to anything like compulsion in the matter of education. (Hear, hear.) As with the Americans, he thought they would find the system would fail, He believed the agricultural labourer had already a very keen perception of the advantage of education; that he was anxiously striving to have his children educated ; and that he took every opportunity of doing so, The day for legislative interference, he thought, was passing away. He was very glad to find the night school system was generally approved. In his parish the system had worked wonders. He could produce children under thirteen years of age, working on his farm, who could read and write, who were earning their families 4s. or 5s. a week, and who kept up what slight amount of learning they acquired in their early days by attending the night school, which was principally under the supervision, of the clergyman and one or two other residents, and was generally conducted by the village schoolmaster, whose salary was regulated by his attendance thereat. Again entering his pro- test against compulsory education, he said Govern- ment had no more right to dictate to the labouring man how he should dispose of his child’s time than it had to dictate to him or any other member of society, (Hear, hear.) , Mr. C. C. Hardy was pleased to see the friendly manner in which Mr. Fraser's remarks had been received by the chamber. After stating that he concurred with the recommendations of. Mr. Fraser, Mr. Hardy confessed that he did not believe that, as AA Norfolk Rev. J. Fr: a. . Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 10 a rule, the ignorance of the children arose so much in consequence of their employment by the farmers as from the indifference of the parents upon the sub- ject of education. Mr. Fraser had fixed the limit below which children should not be employed on the land at ten, but he would gladly go further and say twelve. (Cries of “No, no.”) He did not think it wou. cause the slightest inconvenience to agriculture if boys under twelve were prohibited being employed. In his parish (Letheringsett) of 800 inhabitants, he did not believe there were four children who were employed by the farmers under twelve years of age. Hence, he did not think that by making that penal there would be the slightest inconvenience to agri- culture in that district. With regard to the half-time system, he failed to see that it could be applied to the agricultural labourer, and the same with regard to sending the children to school ten hours per week. The main cause of the bad state of education he be- lieved arose from irregular attendance at school, and as the ten hours a week system would amount to bad attendance, he thought it would be better to stipulate that the child should not be sent to work for a certain age, provided that up to a certain age he should be taught. He did not think the farmers as a class were so friendly to education. Boards of Guardians, too, were more anxious as to the expenses of the Union than for the education of the children, else why was not Denison’s Act carried into force in more Unions? hat Act enabled guardians to pay for the education of the out-door pauper children, but he believed it was almost a dead letter. After the last discussion in the Chamber upon this subject he took the trouble to inquire how many out-door pauper children in the Erpingham Union between three and twelve were sent to school by the guardians ; and he found there were 200 children, for whom no national provision for their education was made. Why the edu- cation of the children of the out-door pauper should be neglected he could not see; he thought those children ought to receive instruction as well as those of the in-door poor. (Hear, hear.) As to what Dr. Dal- rymple had said about children forgetting what they had learnt, the fact was there were three-quarters of a million of children in this country who attended school only 100 days in the year, and who, conse- quently were most imperfectly educated. In the next place, half a million children belonging to the working classes attended private schools, many of which were worthless, and were kept by persons who had failed in almost every other profession. These private schools were often nurseries of laziness, idle- ness, and immorality; and hence the children sent to those schools got on so slowly that the parents became perfectly disgusted with the name of education. By carrying out the recommendation of Mr. Fraser, that children under ten should not be sent to work, the result would be that children would be sent to school at an early age. Statistics proved that children at- tending a good infant school, at the age of ten, would know far more, would be able to read _ better, than a child who did not go to school before he was six, and kept there until he was twelve. The early training was most important for the agricultural population. The objection as regarded the cottages was put forward, partially to check education ; whereas there was no reason why the one should be antagonistic to the other. Much was due to the Norfolk press for effecting improvements in cottages in this county. Landlords were urged to build cot- tages upon an estate, for the benefit of the labourer ; but that was open to grave objection, for there was generally the stipulation that the tenants of those cottages should be weekly tenants, liable to be turned out at a week’s notice. (Cries of “No, no.”) That, ‘very frequently, was the case; indeed, but few land- lords would like to build cottages for the benefit of the tenant farmers unless they could exercise that power. It might be necessary for the landlord to have that power, but it was against all feeling that the labourer should be turned out at a week’s notice. EMPLOYMENT OF CIHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN It was bad enough to be sent adrift at a day’s notice from one farm to another, but it was worse to be driven away from home, and all the social advantages of a house, at a week’s notice. No doubt the night schools, where the children could be induced to at- tend, were good ; but they ought not to be made the excuse for the absence of good day schools, The fact was, when lads had been at work all day, they came home hungry and rather sleepy. He was of opinion that it would be best to take steps to educate the children when young in the day school, then they could attend the night schools if they pleased, whilst they would also have the opportunity of obtaining a certain amount of instruction at the Sunday schools now established in all parts of the country. The Rev. P. Gurdon thought it only due to the Guardians of the Union in which he had acted for a term of 16 years to state that he never found any disinclination amongst the gentlemen composing the board to allow a certain portion of the relief- money given to the ont-door poor to go towards defraying the cost of the education of their children, provided that the money was paid to the school- master by the relieving officer. (Hear, hear.) With regard to education gencrally, the rev. gentleman said, when he attended his churches on the Sabbath he was sorry to see that, out of some 60 labourers sitting before him,.only about three or four had prayer-books in their hands. He knew that the remainder were very good scholars at the parish schools up to the age of 10, and perhaps 11, but they had subsequently en- tirely lost what they had acquired, in consequence of there being no means of carrying it on after they had left the school. He agreed with what had fallen from Mr. Hardy in reference to the boys attending night schools. When lads came home at night, tired and hungry, to a good supper, nature told them to lie down and sleep. The education of girls, though it needed to be considered, was not in such an unfor- tunate condition as that of boys. When girls went out to service they improved their education through the instrumentality of their master or mistress, who placed books, &c. in their hands. If girls went into the fields—he cared not whether in gangs—after they left school, then they contracted a species of immo- rality, of looseness of language and conduct, very rarely to be overcome. To that evil he attributed the unfortunate circumstance that this county had so many bastard children, At a meeting held in one Union there was a very general opinion that single young women should not work in the fields; and certain observations had been made in Parliament to the effect that they should not go to work until they reached the age of 16—the very age when the danger began. If he were a parent of such children he should keep them at home to do needlework, or send them to service; for so long as girls were ‘sent to work in the fields, so long would there be a want of good domestic servants. (Hear, hear.) ‘There was a sort of liberty felt by girls working in the fields, so that they would not settle down to be servants in com- fortable houses, where their education and well-being would both be considered. (Hear.) Mr. Pell, Chairman of the Central Chamber of Agriculture, addressed the meeting at the request of the president, He said it was with great pleasure he had attended that meeting and heard the state- ments made, because they had been so much in oppo- sition to what he had understood to be the general feeling of the farmers and those interested in land in this county. He would add nothing to what Mr. Fraser had said as regarded the principles of the question before them. But there were one or two facts which Mr. Fraser had brought forward, upon which he might be able to assist in giving some information, especially with regard to the education of bailiffs and upper servants. He believed it to be very generally the case, if England were canvassed and the state of education examined, that many of the best bailiffs employed in this country were really uneducated, He was sure it was so in his own case, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE,. and he could call to mind two men in his employ —one had been with him almost from a child—whose instruction had been very imperfect. Yet that had not prevented those men acquiring what he had not yet heard one word about—namely, information. Now a very strong distinction must be drawn between edu- cation and instruction which he would class together, and information. Education and instruction were a means by which information was to be obtained. There was no doubt that in the calling in which he was very much engaged, and in which almost every one in that room was concerned, a vast amount of information—more so than in any branch of business carried on in this kingdom—almost all that was essential, if not all that was essential—might be acquired without reading or without writing. That he ventured to assert as a practical man, but that did not for one moment remove the imputation he should be under, as an employer of labour, if he withheld instruction, and so restricted the children growing up into young persons to the humble employment of agriculture. ‘There was such a yearning for instruc- tion that they would not succeed in that effort if they attempted to make it; and, therefore, what they had to do was to direct it, to limit it, to show how far they would give it their hearty support, by putting it upon a footing suitable to the child of the agricultural labourer. He would not do too much at once, so as to complicate the question when compulsory education came to be considered. Ten was not too early an age to say that up to that period all children, rich and poor, should stand alike, as far as they had hours and time at their disposal, for receiving instruction. Then came the question, “Are those children not to be “ permitted to work unless they bring a certificate that “ they have spent a portion of their time in obtaining “ some regular instruction?” He should be very glad if we could come to such a state of things, but he thought even that was surrounded with difficulties. It would be observed if it were insisted that the child should not work when it was 10, unless it had passed an examination satisfactorily to some inspector, that there was at once laid down the necessily of schools and teachers. If the law were to say to parents, “Your children shall not work until they can « produce some evidence that at 10 years of age “ they have been at the school,” the answer would be, “ Where are the schools or teachers from « whom our children are to obtain this pass?” Mr. Fraser would admit that the number of certificated teachers was diminishing ; that at the present moment there was a want of trained teachers fitted to give the sort of education the Government of the country con- sidered indispensable. Therefore he should not be in too great a hurry to proceed to the second part, into which the subject of discussion had been divided. One word with regard to the cottages. There, again, they must be a little careful how they attempted to introduce the system of inspecting the buildings. The cottages at present were no doubt in a de- plorable state; but he thought the principle that had been carried out in the metropolis to a great extent, with considerable success, might be extended to the country. It might be fairly said that no man should put up a building professing to be a home or residence of human beings, unless it complied with certain conditions, which should be laid down by sta- tutory enactments,—that it should be ‘well drained, or put in such a position that it could be well drained; that it should be of a certain material ; the walls of a certain thickness; and the rooms con- tain a certain number of cubical feet. With regard to the employment of girls in the fields, he would only give his opinion that he should be sorry to see that employment totally forbidden. (Hear, hear.) After remarking that there were no gangs in the county in which he resided, he said there was work that could be done by females in the field, such as feeding poultry and cattle, and “spudding,” which work was positively good for them, provided they had their instructions and were kept separate. As to 2. 11 immorality, as much of that would be found inside as outside the walls of houses. (Hear, hear.) Mr, Oldfield.—Would you consider your yardman to be a better man if he could read ? Mr, Pell—All other qualities being equal, I should. vr. Oldfield—I was away from home about turnip sowing time, when a good man of mine made a mistake because he could neither read nor write, he sowed me green round turnips instead of swedes. (Laughter. ) At the adjourned meeting, on October 12th, the president, C. S. Read, Esq., M.P., re-opened the discussion by stating that a fortnight previous the Chamber had the advantage of hearing a long and able statement from the Rev. J. Fraser, the Assistant Commissioner appointed to inquire into the employ: ment of women, young persons, and children in agricul- ture, who, he believed, took in the whole of East Anglia, and though they were desirous of coming to some resolution in answer to his able address, yet it was found to be impossible in two or three small resolu- tions to embrace all the topics to which they par- ticularly wished to reply, therefore the Council had drawn up a report, which he would request the secretary to read. Mr, Gilman then read the report. (See above, p. 5.) The President, in moving its adoption, said he was sure that all those who had the advantage of hearing or reading the statements made by Mr. Fraser at the different Union meetings must have felt that more reasonable and more truly Christian addresses were hardly ever delivered by any person. (Hear.) Mr. Fraser first of all told them that agriculturists could not long expect to be exempt from legislative inter- ference ; that all industries, with the exception of farming, had now come under the control of an Act of Parliament ; and that even agriculture had the thin end of the wedge introduced into it last year by the passing of the Agricultural Gangs Act. He also told them the nature of those Acts, and explained to them some of the principles on which they were passed. He told them the main principles of the Factory Acts’ Extension Act and the Workshops’ Act. That the Acts involved three principles—first of all the physical principle ; secondly, the moral principle ; and thirdly, the educational principle. As far as regarded the physical principle, as applied to agriculture, they had said this, and he thought they had said it very justly, “the employment in which “ women and children are engaged is certainly light, “and the hours in which they are employed are ‘“‘ short.” Therefore they at once dismissed that part of the question. The second principle was the moral. Here, if they excluded the gangs—and that had been purposely done—he did not think there was quite so much in it as the majority of people in towns—and especially in London—seemed to think. It was, he thought, very right that if agricultural gangs were allowed to continue, the sexes should be separated. (Hear, hear.) As to the total separation of the sexes in all farming, there, he thought, the chamber would join with him in saying that it was impossible. They could not have the men carting barley in one field and the women raking it in another; nor could they have the men reaping hay in one piece and the women cocking it in another. (Hear, hear.) His opinion was that it was rather during play than work that any evil arose. (Hear, hear.) Supposing farmers could keep the sexes separate upon their farms, how could they stop the young people from assembling together at the dinner hour—how could they prevent them mixing as they went home from their work? It was a well- known fact that, if one went into a village street at nine or ten o’clock at night, he would see great boys and girls there, and, in all probability—for it was quite possible, as many knew—some of those great boys and girls slept in the very same room. Consequently, the idea of decency entertained by those whom he addressed could not by any possibility have the same effect upon people thus herded together as upon B Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser, a Norfolk. Rev. ‘J. Fraser. a. 12 themselves. He must say, as to the employment of women in agriculture, that there had been a great deal of what he might term—and he would not say it disrespectfully —sentimental twaddle on the subject. (Hear, hear.) It had been said, “It is repugnant to “ the refinement and delicacy of females to be em- “ ployed in agriculture.” They knew very well that the “refinement and delicacy” of their dairy maids would not allow them to milk—(hear and laughter)— and he supposed that in a few years they would tell them that trussing a fowl or dressing a hare was so ex- tremely disgusting that they must have a man or some other person to superintend that operation. (Laughter.) Then women employed in agriculture were sometimes the objects of pity and sometimes of reprobation. Their dress even did not pass without comment. A lady the other day was asked what she thought of the dress of the female agricultural labourer as common in the west of Norfolk, and she replied in the fashion- able and vigorous language of the present day, “It’s “ awfully disgusting.” Now what was it? A woman wore a strong pair of laced highlows, good woollen gaiters, and skirts that, instead of being 18 inches on the ground, were 18 inches off the ground. He did not mean to say that was an elegani or by any means a becoming dress, but he was sure it was a useful one, and he believed if they met the same woman on Sunday, they would. find that she had her parasol, her veil, her bugles, her crinoline, and all those other adornments which he supposed were the true index to the refinement of the English females (Hear and laughter.) Now he thought that field labour had been unduly blamed. It was not the field labour that did the harm, but the persons who were employed in it. Though gentlemen got up in that room and said, “ When a poor girl goes to work “ then she is contaminated, then she is spoiled ;” yet, he contended, that, in all probability, she was spoiled and contaminated before she went. It was not the nature of the work that was the cause of evil, for they might as» |! say that gaols made people bad or work- houses made them poor. He contended that if there was a girl more troublesome than the rest, more inde- pendent, or more thoroughly good for nothing, she was the girl who went to farm work. He did not think the observation was at all applicable to the case of older women. If a woman had ever so small a family, and that family was young, she was very much better at home; but as there was a great number of women who had very little employment in their homes, field labour to them was both healthy and by no means objectionable. (Hear, hear.) He might give an instance. There happened to be two women living in a double cottage on his farm. One of them had formerly been a dairy servant, and accustomed to a great deal of hard work. Ske could not find a suffi- cient quantity of in-door employment, consequently she got fat and out of health. The other woman had only one child, and since its death she had been of a melancholy turn of mind. Those women asked him what they should do, and he told them they had better by half go out to field labour. They did so, and had continued to labour in the field ever since, and were now pefectly well. Those women were most respectable people, and he was sure the 4s. per week they each brought home was a very pleasant addition to their husband’s twelve. As to the age that girls ought to be sent to work, he had always found that the girl of 11 or 12 years old was almost as strong as the boy of the same age, yet it was proposed that no girl should go to work until she was 15 or 16, just the time, as it was truly said, when her morals and health required the greatest protection. He contended there was no good neat farming without the assistance of this juvenile and female labour. (Hear.) He had lived in Wales, travelled in different counties in England, and been in Scotland, and he could say that he never saw a well-cultivated farm in his life but some women and children were employed upon it. If they went to ‘Scotland they would be perfectly astonished to find EMPLOYMENT OF. CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN in that forward and advanced country; where agri- culture had always been considered in its greatest perfection, that the women were there employed in very much larger numbers than in Norfolk, perform~ ing almost the whole of the field work upon the farm. He maintained there were certain fiddling operations of husbandry, as he might call them, such as picking couch grass, singling turnips, weeding in the drills of corn after the horse hoe had gone through, that could not be said to be very laborious, to which the nimble hands and lithesome fingers of the children, with their short backs, were particularly adapted, and in which they could-hardly expect men to be engaged. (Hear, hear.) Then they came to the last subject— the educational principle. They had said that they should have no objection whatever to limiting the age of children to be employed in agriculture’ at nine years. Some people might differ from them and say ten; some people might go so far as to say 12; but he was sure of this, that unless a. boy went to work- young, in nine cases out of ten he would not make a good labourer. (Hear, hear.) ‘The Assistant Commissioner remarked that surely a boy’s muscles at twelve were not so rigid as to be incapable of adapting themselves to their work. Be that as it might, he had always found—and he had. no doubt they could bear him out—that if a boy did not go to work until he was 11 or 12 years old, in all probability he would be so stupid and, so utterly unused to the labour set before him, he would be so disgusted to find smaller and younger boys better men than himself, that, unless he was a superior lad, he would get into a shuffling sort of way, which he would never get out of. Ifthe employment of children in agriculture were continuous, then it -might be that they might put the age at a higher limit. There were certain seasons of the year when women and children were employed, and must be employed in a farm, and there were some months in the year when they could readily dispense with a very great portion of them. It must be remembered. that those restrictions, if imposed, would fall very heavily on the parents of the children. As farmers, they would hardly feel them at all, although, perhaps, it might be a certain amount of trouble to see that the child had the certificate, or was of the prescribed age.: They might even get into trouble if a man hoeing turnips had his son picking after him, for the policeman might summon them for having a child they knew nothing about upon the farm. In vindication of the farmers, he must say they were not opposed to education. (Hear, hear.) They wished their labourers to be educated ; and he would say this without fear of contradiction ; if they had two men, one educated and the other un- educated, all things else being equal, the educated man would certainly be the best. (Hear, hear.) Nor did he think the charge brought against the Guardians of Norfolk was altogether right, as to their not encourag- ing education. What was the charge for education ? The charge of a penny a week was really so trifling that it did not often enter into the calculation of the Guardians, but as he was acquainted with two or three different Unions, he could say that in all of them the Guardians, to a great extent, encouraged the education of the children of the out-door poor, for it was frequently the case, as was said at the last meeting by the Rev. P. Gurdon, that the school bill was brought in by the relieving officer, and of course, allowed by the Board ; whilst in other Unions, where that was not the practice, the invariable rule: was, “Is the child properly brought up? does it go to “school ? If it goes to school, and is properly brought “up, we will allow you the fullest relief we can.” With regard to that unfortunate bailiff who could not read and write, he thought the observation made rela- tively to him must be taken in a sort of general sense, They knew very well what were the sort of bailiffs a@ man got now-a-days. He got some fine young gentleman who would not work, or some broken-down farmer who could not manage his own business 5-80 that, in all probability, those wanting working farm IN: AGRICULTURE: (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENCE; “ bailiffs would rather. have those who could not read or write, because: they thought they would work, With regard to the schooling after the child went to work, Mr. Read contended that the system of sending the chifdren to school on alternate days, or for alter- nate weeks, would be utterly useless to the farmer— (hear, hear)—it had better be something like so many hours in the year—and they must still look to the night: and Sunday schools for perfecting and keeping up the education: of our young rustics. He was sure this country owed a deep debt of gratitude to all those clergymen and gentlemen who undertook the manage- ment of those schools. But with regard to night schools, he thought a different class of teachers was required, for a man who might be useful in a good national school, would not, perhaps, have sufficient moral superiority to keep a lot of great boys and young men in order; therefore: it was necessary the school- master should be relieved from those duties, and that some other person should step in his place. (Hear, hear.) He considered that night schools had done a great amount of good, and that they ought to receive more encouragement and support from the Govern- ment. (Hear, hear.) He, for one, thought com- pulsory education was not needed. (Hear, hear.) He quite agreed with Mr. England, that the great evil of lack of education was in a great measure curing itself. (Hear, hear.) If they had compulsory education they wnust very soon have an educational rate, and then, as a matter of course, they would undo all the work that had already been done. But he would say this, as the country as well as the towns paid taxes to the Imperial revenue, so it was the duty of the Government not to allow educational votes to go only to our towns and large villages, but that those in the country should receive their fair and just proportion. (Hear, hear.) These were his views upon the subject. He did not mean to say that was all he wished to say, or all he could say upon the subject, but he thought he had answered some of the chief statements which had been made, and he hoped, although the report could not be passed unanimously as to every paragraph in it, that the majority of the Chatiber would give it their support. ‘Mr, Bond seconded the adoption of the report. ~ Mr: Leamon spoke in support of the report, which he thought expressed what was the general feeling of the county. He was of opinion that some gentleman residing in the Western division should have moved and seconded the adoption of the report, inasmuch as it was to that division they were indebted even to the ‘very fact of requiring it. (Hear, and laughter.) The Eastern division, being in the hands of a larger number of occupiers, was in a very different position to the Western, but he hoped the efforts of the former would, when occasion offered, not be lost upon the latter. On comparing the number of ‘cottages in the Western division with those in the Eastern it would be seen—he would not furnish a report like that presented to the Assistant Commis- sioner by Mr. Oldfield, for such a one was never furnished before—that in the Eastern much greater care was taken of the people than in the Western. (A laugh.) Mr. Leamon said during the last few years comments had been made upon the cottage ques- tion so as to elicit the opinions of large proprietors, as at Docking the other day ; consequently the friends of the poor had only to bestir themselves, and the proprietors would be compelled to do what they had not hitherto done, for he attributed it to them, and them ‘only, that the agriculturalists were indebted for the ‘Commission that had just been sent down, As land- lords had not done what they knew and admitted to ‘be necessary, it was useless educating the people, and asking them to be moral without giving them the things to make them moral. (Hear, hear.) By taking “Mr. Oldfield’s figures, and calculating how many per- sons would. be allotted to each cottage, there would at once be seen what was the requirement in West Norfolk. He agreed with Mr. Read as to education. No compulsory “education was wanted, for then 13 all voluntary efforts would die away. In his own parish there had been ‘spent, including the Govern- ment grant, collections, and children’s pence, the sum of 1602, in a population of 1,300 upon edu- cation, and yet some of the parents were not content with what was done by Government, but had estab- lished a school of their own. This fact showed that the people desired and would have education. (Hear, hear.) Still the efforts hitherto made for them, as well as the schools provided, were amply sufficient to afford all the education the people required. To strengthen this statement, he would remark that the tradesmen in the villages actually sent their children to the parish schools, agreeing to pay an additional sum, because their children would receive a better education there than they would under the tuition of some broken-down schoolmaster. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, if that class thought it right to send their children to the parish school to get an education, surely the same school afforded ample means to the labourer of educating his family if he thought fit. Some families were so large that it was, no doubt, incumbent upon the parents to put their children to work ata much earlier age than they would otherwise have done; whilst,in other cases, where families were small, parents were desirous of keeping their children at school as long as possible, and he had no doubt that this would be the case with the parents of larger families if they could spare the little pittance the child brought home. Anything that would curb or restrict the farmer in the production of the article he has to produce, or in the cultivation of the soil, would in this free trade country he hoped be so opposed by the body of the middle class as never to be attempted by any legislature. All might rest assured that in the next session no member would move anything of the sort, because it would be looked upon as their “last “ dying speech and confession ;” and as they were, in the year 1869, to have an extension of the franchise, and consequently an election, he hoped to see the House of Commons different from what it is, and from what it had been, and that the landed interest would be far better represented than heretofore. (Hear, hear.) When that was the case then he was certain the agri- culturalists would not be put down and looked upon as an uneducated, careless, and wanton class of people, ignorant and idle, without respect for those who lived under them. Asa middle class they had to bear the burdens of all. They had to cultivate the land, to find the rent for the landlord, to provide for the labourer and his children, and in fact, to pay the taxes of the nation. Therefore they ought and must send such members to Parliament as would secure to them that share of patronage and support they were so well en- titled to and so richly deserved. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of Kimberley next addressed the Cham- ber. He said he was not about to speak directly against the report, because it contained much with which he entirely concurred. Still, at the same time, there were several points in it with which he could not agree. He listened with great attention—and with deserved attention—to the speech which his hon. friend in the chair had made—a speech that was characterized with great good sense in treating such an exceedingly difficult question—though he thought in one respect his hon. friend rather answered himself, because after telling the Chamber that he did not see any evils arising from the employment of female labour in the field, he said yet, after all, they were the most good-for-nothing women who found their way to the fields. That seemed to him (the noble lord) to imply that the agricultural labourer would not send his girls into the fields if he could help it ; and he was confident, as was stated by his hon, friend, that it was the worst kind of women who found their. way to the fields. He was sorry he could not agree with his hon. friend in his eulogy upon the employment of female labour in the fields, though he quite concurred with him in his practical conclusion that it would be out of’ the question to prohibit female labour in a county like this, because there were too many people dependent B 2 Norfolk, Rev. J. Fraser, a, Norfolk, Rev, J. Fraser. — a, 14 upon it, and the habits of the people had been so long used to it that such a measure would be quite out of the question. Nor could he agree with his hon. friend in regard to field labour being a desirable occupation for women, or an occupation which they must all look upon as one that must necessarily continue. He believed that labour in the fields was, on the whole, not suitable to women, and that it was not desirable for them to be so employed. He quite agreed that any such restrictions as would entirely prevent the employment of women in the fields in this or other counties would be altogether impracticable, and not such as that Chamber would recommend. With respect to gang labour, he concurred in the recom- mendation contained in a paragraph of the report. During the last session he ventured to take some part in the question in strongly recommending that some legislation should take place upon the subject, and he had a, great deal of communication with his noble friend the Earl of Shaftesbury, who proposed the measure respecting it. The noble lord was entirely of opinion, and be agreed with him, that it was not desirable to go too far in preparing the first measure, and he thought that the Government, and those who supported it, had acted wisely in being satisfied with the measure that had been passed. Probably that measure might be found sufficient to effect all that was desirable; if not, it would be time to propose something further, though he hoped the measure would be found sufficient for the purpose. Another very important question, in which, as far as his knowledge enabled him to express an opinion, he concurred with the report, was as to the age at which labour in the fields should be prohibited—at least so far as concerned boys; as regarded girls he was doubtful. He was of opinion that nine was a reason- able age to fix as the limit for the employment of boys. Speaking rather from what he had heard from those who had practical knowledge than from his own special knowledge, he quite agreed with what his hon. friend the chairman had said as to the desirability of boys commencing agricultural employment at an early age. It was not desirable boys should work under the age of nine, because their years were too tender, and because some boys might be employed who were not physically able to bear the hardship and exposure to the weather. Still he thought nine was a reasonable age for boys to commence learning their work, because the boy who went into the fields and became acquainted with the occupation in which he was to be engaged in after life was far more likely to be a contented and efficient labourer than the boy who was kept at home and went into the field at a later age. With regard to girls, he must confess that the subject was difficult, and in their case he should prefer a higher limit. The matter was one of great difficulty, because, if girls went into the fields at all, even if they went at a later age, they were exposed to greater temptations; on the other hand, if they went at an early age they were exposed to hardship to which is was not desirable to expose young girls. Therefore, he must confess that he should like a higher limit than nine years for girls. Before leaving the question of labour he must say that there was one point in which he did not entirely concur with the report. As he understood the report, it said the Chamber were not of opinion that any restriction of length of time during which children should be employed would be necessary. The report stated, and he believed truly, that it was the habit and custom in this county that children should not be employed for a greater time than eight hours a day, and then it went on to say that no legislative restriction was therefore necessary. He somewhat doubted that. He thought, on the contrary, it was possible that in individual cases there might be a worse habit, so that too long hours might be imposed on children of tender yerrs, and that it would be better to sanction by legislation the good habit, namely, that under a certain age no child could be employed more than eight hours a day. In passing, he would make one or two observations EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN upon the remarks Mr. Leamon addressed to the Chamber. He really thought Mr. Leamon hardly could have remembered what had been the whole course of legislation in this country when he spoke so strongly of the impropriety of England, a free ‘trade country, interfering with the labour and the full dis- cretion of the employers. Mr. Leamon must have forgotten that there were a variety of Acts, known as the Factory Acts, which did interfere in the most stringent manner between employers and employed ; that for many years Parliament had been legislating in that direction ; that that legislation had met with great success, and the general approval of the nation; and that there was not the slightest doubt that legis- lation would be extended further by the reformed Parliament to which Mr. Leamon looked with so much hope. He (the noble lord) sincerely hoped it would be so. He saw no reason why the agricul- tural labourer should in that respect be an excep- tion. It must, however, be dealt with with careful reference to the particular condition of the labourers. Much of the legislation that would be applicable to other labour might not be applicable to agricultural labour ; but, in principle,he saw no distinction whatever between the two cases. Gentlemen who remembered a portion of the discussion which took place in Par- liament with respect to the Factory Act would be aware that the most vigorous opposition was offered by the employers of factory artisans to that legis- lation ; but the landed interest, at that time seeing the evils so plainly, and not feeling the pinch of the in- terference, were most strong and ardent advocates for imposing those restrictions upon the manufacturers. (Hear, hear.) Now, he begegd to be allowed to state, the tables were turned. The landed interest had most wisely imposed legislative restrictions on factory labour, in which there were far greater and more crying evils than ever existed in agricultural labour —(hear, hear)—and having imposed those restrictions upon factory labour, having passed Acts which had been signally successful, and having introduced the principle into our legislation of interference between employer and labourer, they could scarcely be sur- prised to find that that good principle would be ap- plied to the labour that they themselves employed, and that, within certain limits, there should be a desire on the part of those who were not employers of agricultural labour to see the same principle intro- duced with regard to it as with regard to the artisans under the Factory Acts. He would now say a word or two with respect to the very difficult question of the education of the agricultural labourer, and in any- thing he might say, though he might dissent partly from his hon. friend in the chair, or from other gen- tlemen, he wished to be understood as speaking with the greatest caution and hesitation on the subject, because, being so difficult, it would task a very wise man to deal with it properly. In the first place he perfectly agreed with his hon. friend in the chair when he said, “If you have compulsory education, * you must have a compulsory rate for education” —the two things clearly hang together. He wished to take this opportunity of saying—and he did not suppose he should meet with much support in that room—that he was unquestionably in favour of an educational rate. (Hear, hear.) He by no means dissented from the observation made in the last para- graph of the report, that it would not be just for an educational rate to fall exclusively upon the real property of the country. He saw no reason why it should, because clearly if there was one subject in which the whole nation and property of all kinds was more concerned than another, it was in the education of the people. (Hear.) Therefore he thought that the chamber, representing as it did persons specially interested in real property, were fully justified in saying that they hoped, if such a system were intro- duced, it would be made to fall fairly upon the general wealth of the nation, (Hear, hear.) He certainly looked forward with hope to the establishment some day of such a rate and without going further into IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :——EVIDENCE. the subject, which would be much too large to deal. with incidentally upon this occasion, his feeling was that, good as the voluntary principle might be, it could not, and never would, reach all parts of the country, *because there always would be exceptions where such a system prevailed. He did not think it fair that real property alone should bear the burden of such an educational rate if it should be imposed; neither did he think it fair that the burden of sup- porting schools should fall principally upon the clergy and those people alone who possessed feelings of bene- volence, but that it should be borne equally and fairly by all interested in having the general population of the country educated. He did not wish to be under- stood as valuing education too highly. He thought that very often advocates of education laid themselves open to a very telling reply, by putting too high the advantages of such education as could be given by us. His hon. friend the chairman said truly that, other things being the same, the educated labourer . was better than the uneducated one. There could not be a doubt that many an uneducated man was better than an educated one. Many people might point to examples in which education had failed in great results; but great results could not be expected from the elementary education given to the agricul- tural population. ‘Those who knew the condition of the agricultural labourer in countries where they had been better educated—in Prussia and the United States, for instance,—would say that the condition of the labourer was improved by education. But they should not expect immediate results from any educa- cational system. Gentlemen saw education improved and established, and could not observe any immediate change in the condition of the population, nor had they the slightest right to expect it. No considerable change could be expected in the habits of the popu- lation under a generation—it was impossible. The influence of those who had been brought up under the better system must be brought to bear, as parents and persons interested, upon the whole population before that effect could be produced. It was just the same with cottage accommodation. He had often heard gentlemen say, “ I am very much disappointed. “ JT have built better cottages, and yet I do not find “ the labourers improved in their general appearance.” He thought they expected the improvement too soon. People said, “ We have given a very good cottage “ to the labourer, and we find he does not appreciate “ it at all, He puts his apples into one room, “ does not inhabit another, and would put his pig “ into another if we would let him.” (Hear, and laughter.) The fact was when a man, unaccustomed to good accommodation, had been brought up to dirty habits, he could not change those habits, though his children underwent an improvement in that direc- tion. He could not help mentioning a remark once made to him by an old woman, whose cottage he hap- pened to enter. He said to her, “This is a very “ small cottage, and it must be uncomfortable.” The old lady replied, “ Well, I brought up 12 children in “it; it did very well forme. Lawk-a-mercy, now- “ a-days it won't suit ’em. They won't have a cottage “ like this ; it must be something better.” Thus, the people have been brought up to require something better, and where they had been taught to feel that education and good cottages were necessary, it would be found that the whole population would take a lift upwards. (Hear, hear.) But that would not take place in a moment. With regard to education in principle, he hoped to see the new Parliament deal with the question largely. With regard to the special ques- tions alluded to in the report, he thought there was one point upon which his hon. friénd would himself admit that some amendment might be made. At the commencement of the report it was said if they had ’ the prohibition which the chamber recommended of employing children under nine years of age, there must be some guarantee that they would be educated. The President.—We do not recommend anything ; we simply say we should not object. 15 The Earl of Kimberley said, still, if there was a restriction, to which they would not object, against the employment of children under the age of nine years, the report said that some guarantee must be taken for their education, Now, that same guarantee must involve some kind of interference, compelling the children to be educated ; and, for his own part, he could not help thinking that, up to a certain age, it would be found practicable, as his hon. friend indi- cated, to require that children should pass their time in schools for a certain number of hours during the year. He was sure the alternate day system was wholly out of the question, and that it would not be found possible to work so many hours per week. He, however, thought it might he possible that a certain number of hours in the six months should be required for children under a certain age, which he should be inclined to fix at 12 or 18. He would make one other remark as to the suggestion of Mr. Fraser in the admirable speech he made there on the last occasion— he had not the opportunity of hearing the speech, but he carefully read the report, which he had no doubt was accurate—namely, that no child should be em- ployed until he had passed through a certain exami- nation. He (the noble lord) thought it was rating the necessity of education too high, because he did not see why a boy might not be a very stupid boy and yet a very tolerable agricultural labourer. Such a system as that would press very hard indeed upon the population, to say that in every case children must pass through an examination to the satisfaction of anexaminer. Mr. Fraser was himself sensible of the difficulty, and he met it in a certain way, though not satisfactorily, because he said if the child was a dunce he was to have a certificate that he was a dunce.* (A laugh.) Would it be fair to put a fool’s cap upon a child’s head, and send him out amongst his fellows, and say to him “ You are allowed to work ; you could “ not pass this examination ; but we have given you a “ certificate which will liberate you from the necessity “ of passing it?” He did not think that would be practicable ; in point of fact, it would result in every- body taking a dunce’s certificate, so that the thing would soon cease to be of any value asa stigma. He really thought the only way of meeting the difficulty, if it were to be met at all, was to require a certain attendance at school; if a certain attendance at school were required, schools must be provided ; if schools were provided, it must be by some compulsory rate ; and if there were an education rate—and he was free to admit it would open one of the greatest questions that could be opened in this country—it would task the wisdom of any Government to deal with it. The report was then adopted, and the Chamber adjourned. RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE CIRENCESTER FARMERS’ Crus. Ar a meeting of the Cirencester Farmers’ Club, held at the Ram Hotel, Cirencester, on the 9th day of December 1867, to discuss the subject of ‘the “education of children employed in agriculture,” (President, the Rev. Thomas Maurice ; subject introduced by Sir Michael E. Hicks Beach, Bart, M.P.,) the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :— 1. That in the opinion of this meeting the State aid afforded to education is not, under the present * Lord Kimberley met my suggestion humorously ; but, taken seriously, its significance was this :—I was asked to meet the case of the ‘“ hopeless dunce,” a supposed boy, so stupid by nature as never to be likely to pass any examination, with what- ever amount of school attendance. In reply, I stated that I believed such cases in practice would be very rare; but if one should occur here and there, it might be met by a certificate that such child had at any rate fulfilled the condition of school attendance, which would at least guarantee that the parents had tried to do their part in giving him the opportunity of education, B38 Norfolk. — Rey. J. Fraser. —_—— a. Gloucester. Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a. tél conditions of such aid, fairly distributed between the schools of the town districts and of agricultural dis- tricts, and that the advancement of education in rural districts is thereby retarded. 2. That this meeting, whilst it is of opinion that the extent of education in the agricultural districts compares favourably with that in town districts, is still of opinion that much remains to be done to'render the system of education of the children of the agri- cultural poor efficient, particularly with respect to the attendance at school of young children ; it being the opinion of this meeting that children should not be generally employed in farm labour under the age of 10 years, but that the half-time system is not applicable’ to farm labour. . On behalf of the Club, T. Mavricr, President at such meeting. The following is a summary of the opinions ex- pressed and the arguments used in the course of the discussion which preceded the passing of the above resolutions. Sir Michael Hicks Beach, in introducing the sub- ject, states that there are 8,761 parishes with a popula- tion under 500, of which only 981 receive annual grants for the support of their schools. Advocates the principle of payment for results independently of the possession of a certificate by the teacher. Desires to see night schools encouraged in every way. Suggests an itinerating teacher, who might possibly suffice -for three parishes, taking the night school in each twice a week. Is opposed to both Mr. Bruce’s and Mr. Faweett’s plans for supporting schools by local rates. . Thinks it unfair to throw the whole cost on real property. Admits that children attend school too irregularly and leave too early. Only seven children out of: every hundred attend school five years. But parents want the money, farmers want the labour, and the children must begin betimes to learn their business. Does not think that the half-day system could be in any way applied to agriculture; nor the alternate whole day. Thinks children may be sent to school for a certain number of hours in the winter up to the age 13. Believes that education will im- prove the value of the labourer. Does not think that girls should be employed in agriculture at all. The secular education of an agricultural school should be mainly confined to reading, writing, and ciphering, and should not exceed that which would be required by the position in which they are likely to be placed. Recognizes the duty of all classes to co-operate in the work of education, and particularly the duty of the landowners to supply better cottages. Thinks that employers also may contribute to the desired result more than they now do by adapting the hours of labour more cheerfully to the requirements of the school. Mr. W. Smith, of Bibury, farmer, would give a plain education up to 10. If children are kept away from work much later than 10, they will never be of much use to the farmer. Thinks that very few children in agricultural districts are not receiving some education. There are many good schools in the country besides the Government schools. Things are going on very well, if people would only let well alone. A flourishing night school in the parish in which he lived, in which both himself and several other farmers took an interest, was knocked on the head by the clergyman’s claiming the exclusive management of it. Children should be admitted to school at 5, and kept there till 10; and after that he would advise their attending a night school. They would thus obtain as much education as they needed without depriving either their parents of their earn- ings or the farmer of his labour supply. Mr. R. A. Iles. of Kempsford, vice-chairman of the Cirencester Board of Guardians, was not afraid of education raising an agricultural labourer above his station. Education hitherto has not produced the satisfactory results that were expected from it, v EMPLOYMENT’ OF- CHILDREN; YOUNG! PERSONS, ‘AND’ WOMEN because it has been too partial: It'wants to be more generally diffused, and then every one would find his proper level. The age for the day sehool-should be from 5 to 10; after ten is the proper place for the night school. This plan would not only be the’ most practicable, but would involve least loss both to the employer and the parent. He would, however, rather adopt a standard of proficiency than a limit of age, and would allow a boy to go to work, irrespective of age, when he could produce a certificate of having passed a certain examination. He would not often be able to do this before 10; nor would his labour be of much value either to his parents or to the farmer before that age. ‘The half-time system, whether by half days or alternate whole days, could not’be worked by the farmer ; his circumstances are so different from those of the manufacturer. Would be: sorry to resort to compulsion, if education can be attained without it. It is the parent’s duty to educate his child ; but if he cannot do it, some means must be devised to assist him. Differs from Sir M. Beach as regards the absolute probibition of girls from field labour; under proper supervision can see no harm, but rather the reverse, in it. He would rather have a servant who had been so employed than one who had been left at home to look after the children and run about at' her will and pleasure, Mr. Henry Ruck, of Eisey, one of the largest farmers on the Cotswolds, thought that machinery was now improving so rapidly, and coming into use so extensively, that an educated labourer would become a necessity to the farmer ; and this same fact would also operate as an incentive to the labouring class to get the best education within their reach. The intro- duction of steam will very much diminish the need for the labour of boys. Mr. Anderson, agent to Earl Bathust, thought it impossible to over-estimate the advantages of educa- tion, though he would wish to see it somewhat more practical than it often is. He would not, however, wish to see the agricultural boy kept at school after the age of 10, unless it were at a night school, for he did not see how his parents could support him. ‘The sooner the boy is educated in field work the better labourer he will make. The object of school educa- tion should be to make children think, not merely to store their memory with facts. Make a boy think and you make him intelligent. : Mr, Edmund Ruck, another of the largest occupiers in the neighbourhood, thought ‘that education has a money value now, enabling the educated man to obtain the more remunerative employments, that it will not have when it is more generally diffused.’ It was strange that with all the advantages which educa- tion was said to bring with it, parents were not more interested in securing it for their children. Children may fairly be restrained from work up ‘to 10; but to continue the restraint beyond that age would in many cases inflict great hardship upon the parents. He would be glad to be informed whether in counties like Northumberland and Yorkshire, where a higher wage rate was stated to prevail, parents were found to keep their children for a longer period or more regularly at school. , ‘ RESOLUTION OF THE GLOUCESTER CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. Resolution passed at a meeting of the Gloucestershire Chamber of Agriculture, held at the Spread Eagle Hotel, Gloucester, on Saturday the 18th eae 1868; Ed. ‘Holland, Esq., M.P., in the chair. Proposed by Sir George Jenkinson, Bart., and seconded by Mr. D. Long. “That preferring voluntary action to compulsory legislation on the subject of the employment of chil- dren in agriculture (always excepting the gang system), as such legislation would be regarded by them as an undue interference between parents and children »/ IN AGRICULTURH (1867). COMMISSION ;--EVIDENOE, _ and between. farmers and their.agricultural labourers, this Chamber expresses a strong opinion that children should not be employed generally in agricultural labour before 10 years old, or unless they can read and write efficiently, which should be certified by a certifi- cate from the clergyman of the parish where the child lives ; and this Chamber pledges itself to use its influence in all legitimate ways to secure this rule being adopted and acted upon.”... Carried unanimously. (Signed). A.C. WHEELER, - Hon. See. . In the discussion which preceded the adoption of this resolution, the following is a summary of the most noteworthy sentiments and opinions that were expressed. , Ed. Holland, Esq.,M.P.,Chairman of the Chamber, believed low wages resulted from the fact that the agricultural labourer is too much “adscriptus gleba.” He cannot transport his labour to the market so freely as the artisan. Improvement in the homes of the people is also a first step in the elevation of their character, and would probably indirectly affect wages. The steam plough may be expected to produce great results, not material only but moral and intel- lectual. His own large employment of machinery had largely developed intelligence ; when he began eight years ago he had hardly a man with whom he could do anything. The average wages of the chief men he employs about his steam plough are 16s. a week. It is thoroughly false economy to employ a child of very tender age. . More labour and more intelligent labour will eventually be obtained out of children by keeping them for a proper time at school; the more education you give the boy the more labour you get out of the man, , At the same time he believed that the half- time system is inapplicable to widely-spread sparse populations, such as generally prevail in agricultural districts. Capt. de Winton, magistrate and landowner, did not require the labour of a boy betcre 1], and would-be quite willing before employing one at all to obtain a certificate from the clergyman or school- master that he could read intelligently and write suffi- ciently. Could do without a bird-keeping boy ; would very often sooner see the crows picking up his wheat than see a poor lad wet and shivering under a hedge such a day as this. Quite felt the difficulty of raising the funds necessary to maintain an efficient school. If the voluntary system can’t or won’t do what is re- quired of it we must come to an education rate ; but he would try the voluntary system first. If a boy under instruction from 8 till 11 could not then read and write. sufficiently well, there must be something wrong about the school. Would wish to see the night school part of the educational organization of each parish, and if a little instruction in practical mechanics and the best way of performing agricultural opera- tions and. handling agricultural tools could be intro- duced into. the day school, he should consider it valuable training. Labourers tell him they can’t afford to send their children to school, and no doubt the agricultural labourer’s low rate of wages is the great difficulty in attempting to solve this problem. The cottage question is another that must be dealt with ere long ; go into the majority of cottages throughout the country, and say: if they are fit habitations for any labourers. Would like to see the man who didn’t put up two decent cottages for every 100 acres of land he owns taxed for the omission. There is no oceasion to interfere with the employment of women on the land; if they are demoralized by it, it is their own fault. Capt. de Winton concluded by proposing a reso- lution, which was seconded by the Earl of Ducie, that, “in the opinion of this meeting no child should “ ‘be employed: in agriculture at an earlier age “ than 11.” oo Se Mr.: D. Long said-that if this resolution were 17 pressed he should move an.amendment to the effect that interference by the legislature between parents and children, either’ with regard to their education or to their employment on the land, is contrary to the freedom of Englishmen, and in the highest degree un- desirable and improper. The effect of such legisla- tion would be to. put parishes under the power of the schoolmaster. He had known parishes governed by the gamekeeper, and, of the two, he would rather be governed by the gamekeeper than by the village schoolmaster. The agricultural boy isn’t overworked, and there is therefore no need to restrict his labour., The state of things that called for the Factory Acts was different altogether. Mr, E. VW. Halliwell, magistrate, regarded re- straint. as likely to produce improved intellectual, moral, and social results, and therefore could not con- sider it either as undesirable or improper. At the same-time he felt the difficulty of interfering legis- tively between the parent and child, Mr, T. Cadle, farmer, did not see the good of passing such a resolution as Capt. de Winton’s, which pro- fessed to remedy.an evil which did not exist. The first great difficulty would be found to arise with the parents, The. experience of farmers certainly was that, of their younger labourers, the best educated were the best workmen. . It was not so, however, with the old labourers. He was satisfied that if they did not improve education voluntarily they would have to subwit to a rate. a? Mr. 7. L. C. B. Baker, magistrate and. landowner, could not see that such a restriction as had been. pro- posed involved, as had been alleged, a principle un- known to the British constitution. One-half of our population has been interfered with in this way by the Factory Acts for the last 20 years. Perhaps the same good results which had certainly followed. the introduction of these measures into the manufacturing districts might follow the introduction of similar principles, modified so as to suit the circumstances of the case, into agricultural employment. os Sir George Jenkinson, Baré., wished the resolu- tion come to by the meeting that day to be unani- mous, he had therefore drawn up one rather less trenchant and peremptory in its terms than that proposed by Capt.-de Winton. Feared himself that an absolute prohibition of labour under the age of 11 would rear a generation of mischievous idlers.. The desired result will be arrived at more surely and more pleasantly by moral suasion than by compulsory enactments. Would wish to see all classes subscribe more liberally to the schools, and use all their in- fluence to induce the children to attend them. Govern- ment ought to withdraw the protection they now give to certificated masters, and pay simply for results. It would be a gross hardship to levy an education rate solely on real property, on people who are too heavily taxed already. Did not think there was any need to place restrictions on the number of hours of labour in the case of children. In the Vale of Berkeley children are not employed for more than 12 hours a day, and out of that they have two hours for meals, with an extra half-hour for rest and: re- freshment when the work, as in harvest time, extends beyond six o’clock. Mr. Barwick Baker remarked that general usage did not disprove the necessity of a compulsory enact- ment, for though nineteen-twentieths of the farmers might not overwork their boys, here and there you would find out one who did.* Sir George Jenkinson (continuing) fully agreed with all that had been said respecting the need of improvement in cottages. But it was an improvement surrounded with difficulties. The worst cottages are those which people have erected on little strips of waste, and which they consider as their own free- * This remark of Mz. Baker’s is illustrated by the statement of Mr. Douglas (Miscell. Evid. No. 33) showing.a number of cases in which Sir George Jenkinson’s extreme limit of 12 hours ' is exceeded in Mr. Baker’s own parish of Hardwicke, B 4 Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser, a Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Middlesex. 18 holds. If you built a palace and furnished it to match, you would scarcely induce them to leave these places, into which you would hardly put a pig to live. He had many such holdings round him, and he bought them, often at ten times their value, when their owners would sell them. He had also at that moment cottages unoccupied through the refusal of labourers to leave their own hovels. In conclusion, Sir George Jenkinson proposed the resolution which, after a few verbal alterations, was finally adopted by the Chamber, Captain de Winton consenting to withdraw his own. The discussion lasted upwards of three hours. RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE CENTRAL CHAMBER or AGRICULTURE. At a meeting held in London, on Tuesday, March 3, 1868, the chair was taken by the President, Jasper R. More, Esq., M.P., and there was a large attendance of representatives from local Chambers empowered to express the opinions of their constituents. The Rev. James Fraser, Assistant Commissioner, attended the meeting, by invitation of the Council, and stated the general objects and scope of the Commission, and the results of his inquiries, under it, in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Sussex, and Gloucester. The chairman said he hoped the meeting would come to some decisive resolutions upon the subject of the employment of women and children in agricultural pursuits. The provincial Chambers had fully dis- cussed the question, and the resolutions which they had passed had rebutted the charge that farmers were indifferent to the education of their labouring people, had expressed satisfaction at the suggestion to make a grant for districts where the population was scanty, and had pointed out the desirableness of eliciting notions as to the age below which farmers ought not to employ labourers’ children. One of the most important questions was whether it would be an act of injustice to the labourer to limit the age at which his children should be employed, and he hoped the Central Chamber would express a decided opinion on this subject. He requested the Assistant Com- missioner who was present to open the discussion. Upon the conclusion of the Assistant Commis- sioner’s address,— Mr, Albert Pell said he came prepared to move a resolution on the subject, and it was the one which had been adopted by the Leicester Chamber of Agri- culture. He admitted, however, that he did not entirely concur with it himself, because he would have carried it a little further than it went. Still, it had received the full and general acceptance of the chamber at a meeting which comprised men of all classes interested in agriculture, large landowners, considerable employers of labour, a fair sprinkling of the clergy, and of others interested in the abstract question of education. In Leicestershire, then, de- ferring other considerations for the present, they had arrived at this point, as expressed in the resolution. and it was very much the same as had been enacted by the Norfolk Chamber, and he presumed that it would be pretty generally endorsed by the agricul- tural community generally: “That it is expedient “ that children under the age of nine years be re- “ strieted from employment in agriculture.” But he would have gone further and said, that above that age the employment of young persons be wholly unre- siricted by legislation. (Hear, hear.) He thought there were certain reasons which went against their accepting or consenting to any legislation in respect to the employment in agriculture of young persons above nine years of age, because the circumstances of those children were not identical with those of children employed in manufactures. If a longer period of life were devoted to the education of a child engaged in agriculture than to that of a child employed in manu- factures, where the limit was eight years of age, the last year—namely, the year between eight and nine, EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG. PERSONS, AND WOMEN which would be the most valuable year—would very nearly, if not quite, make up for the deficiences and disadvantages which might arise from the child having no intermittent or periodic education after he left school. Of course, he was excepting all those parts of the year when education would be entirely sus- pended ; and it was understood by the Chamber that during the harvest months and other busy seasons education would be suspended entirely. If, then, they consented to children being prohibited from working until they were nine years of age, they would have made a grand step in the direction of education for the poor, and perhaps the most feasible one that could be entertained at that meeting; whilst it would only create embarrassment to proceed to legislate respect- ing the years which followed the ninth year of age. (Hear, hear.) But here occurred this difficulty—the Factory Acts stopped at eight years of age ; and let them take the case of a parish where the children were partly employed in manufactures and partly employed in agriculture, of which numerous instances were to be found in Leicestershire ; what would the child do if there were one system in operation which stopped him working until he was eight years of age and another which stopped him at nine? (Hear, hear.) In such cases he supposed it must be left to the parent or others interested in the child to make election whether the future life of the child be devoted to manufactures or to the more simple operations of husbandry ; and he could not say that the child would suffer if the latter were chosen. To anything like compulsory educa- tion, and to anything in the nature of a rate for education he (Mr. Pell) was directly opposed (cheers). In conclusion, Mr. Pell moved—* That it is expedient “ that children under the age of nine years be re- “ stricted from employment in agriculture.” Mr. Wilson (Leicestershire) seconded the motion. Mr. Duckham (Herefordshire) proposed, as an amendment to the motion of Mr. Pell,—“ That in the * opinion of this chamber, no child should be em- “ ployed in agricultural pursuits who is below the age of ten years; and that beyond that no necessity exists for legislative interference with women and children employed in agriculture.” In doing so, Mr. Duckham said he felt that the age of ten years was certainly quite early enough to exact labour from young children; and the only difficulty was how the labourer was to support a large family up to that age. Mr. Fraser had gone at considerable length into that; but there were one or two points on which he dwelt respecting which he (Mr. Duckham) would like to say a few words. One of these was, that in Mr. Fraser’s opinion boys had no need to be kept to scare crows. Now, in his (Mr. Duckham’s) part of the country they were eaten up with crows, and in many districts did not know what to do with them ; nevertheless he could point out game farms where the tenant dared not fire off a gun, and where nothing must be laid to destroy the crows. Unless, therefore, small children were employed to frighten away the birds on such estates, a very serious national loss might ensue. When Mr. Fraser spoke of children being so occupied for 14 to even 16 hours a day, he (Mr. Duckham) ventured to say, “No;” and he was prepared to maintain that the statement was an exaggeration, and obviously so, because in the months of March and April, when the necessity for thus employing children was greatest, the sun did not rise so early or set so late as to admit of their seeing the birds for so many hours. He was pleased at hearing Mr. Fraser dwell so strongly upon the need which existed for better cottage accommodation, With regard to the question of a rate in aid, the education of the people was not a local but a national question, and ought to be so treated. He was ata loss to understand therefore why one portion of the wealth of the country should contribute to it, and the rest be left comparatively free. The occupiers of the soil and their landlords in the mansions all paid to the Consolidated Fund ; why not not use that fund then as the means of providing for such a great “ “< “ce IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REVIDENCE, national need? (Hear, hear.) As a farmer himself he did not hesitate to say that it was a disgrace to the country that any portion of the community should stand up in the face of God and be unable to read his word.,(Hear, hear.) Still, he contended that the whole wealth of the nation, and not one-half, should be available for relieving us from that reproach. The rate in aid was a half-and-half affair. He was confident it would not work well; and he recom- mended that the charge should be met from one source only. It was suggested by Mr. Fraser that the rate should be raised os a union rate; but how would that operate in his (Mr. Duckham’s) Union, where there were many persons who employed labour upon a much larger scale than he did, aud were consequently more deeply interested in the mental cultivation of that labour than himself, the labour he employed being of a simpler character than that engaged in manufactures ; yet these people were rated at one-tenth of his assessment. Feeling that ten years of age was early enough for the tender limbs of young children to be called upon to earn wages, and that before that time a child had better be employed in learning to read and write and ac- quiring the first four rules of arithmetic, he begged to submit his amendment. Mr, Hodsell (Maidstone) seconded the amendment of Mr. Duckham, and spoke briefly against the adoption of any system of compulsory education as repugnant to the feelings alike of the ratepayers and the labouring classes. He also denounced an educa- tion rate, and argued in favour of the view enunciated by Sir G. Jenkinson on that point. Mr, Brandram (Hertfordshire) did not believe that the merely nominal attendance of the agricul- tural children at school referred to by Mr. Fraser was the result of their labour being absorbed by the farmer. Mr. Fraser. Not wholly, but partially. Mr, Brandram said he lived in a hamlet where there were a good many poor people, and which was excellently provided with schools. Yet he knew there were families amongst them who kept their children away from school without any excuse what- ever. Instead of going to school, the children were all day long on the village green, where they were an intolerable nuisance. He granted that they would be of little use to the farmer under ten years of age; but nothing short of compulsion would make them attend school, and such a measure as that he was not prepared to support. The wages of the labourer in his neighbourhood were now about 13s. a week in the great majority of instances. Carters were paid 14s. This was supplemented heavily in kind at the hay and corn harvests. And, taking the year round, he did not believe the agricultural labourer was one whit worse off than the mechanic in the same dis- trict. Payment in kind he would do away with altogether, and for it substitute a single money pay- ment; for there was nothing like a man knowing what were his real earnings. He could not concede that farmers as a rule were responsible for the dis- tances which the boys in their employment might have to travel. His boys lived close to his yard gates, but it was no business of his if they lived further off, and if they had to walk two or three miles every day to their work, that was rather the fault of the landlord in not providing suitable cottage accom- modation. (Hear, hear.) Lieut.- Col. Brise observed that the opinion of the Essex Chamber, which he represented, was very similar to that of the Gloucestershire Chamber already mentioned. He understood Mr. Pell to be opposed to compulsory education. (“ Hear, hear,” from Mr. Pell.) What, then, was the use of declaring by resolution that it was inexpedient that a child should be employed in agriculture while under nine years of age? Was the child to remain idle, or be kept from school up to that age? (Mr. Pell, “No, “ no.”) He took it for granted that the adoption of such a resolution as Mr. Pell’s would have some 2. i9 effect upon legislation. Personally he agreed with those who thought that it was inexpedient that children should be employed in agriculture under ten ; but the objection to prohibition was that 1s. 6d. or 2s, a week earned by a boy in many cases made all the difference between happiness and misery in a labourer’s cottage. (Hear hear.) It would be a great satisfaction to their minds if all boys up to the age of eight had the benefit of the education and disci- pline of school; and he thought that should be supplemented by attendance at evening schools in after years, and that certificates should be required of attendance for the number of hours suggested by Mr. Fraser during the winter months. The great difficulty in the agricultural districts was to get children to attend school at all. As regarded the employment of young boys in agriculture, he thought Mr. Fraser had rather overdrawn the picture. It was no doubt true that boys were employed at a very early age in scaring rooks and crows, and other occu- pations of a light nature; but if the matter were looked into, it would no doubt be found that the little boys described as ill-fed and ill-clad, and as watching for so many hours in bad weather, were often to be seen sheltered comfortably under a hedge during rainy weather, or eating their bread and cheese in some snug and secure position. In conclusion, the gallant colonel deprecated the disturbance of the present system by amalgamating it with a system of rating, and referred to the progress of education during the last 30 years as showing that voluntary action worked satisfactorily. Mr, Whitaker (Worcestershire Chamber) said there could be no doubt that the farmers throughout the kingdom desired the improvement of the education of the labouring classes, the only question being whether a compulsory system should be adopted. Capt. Horsell, of the Swindon Chamber, said that chamber had adopted a resolution similar to the amendment of Mr. Duckham. That view was very strongly expressed by many of the members. It was strengthened by the statement of Mr. John Williams, of Baydon, Hungerford, that he left school at 12; it being felt that if prior to 1820 Mr. Williams, who was an eminent mechanician as well as agriculturist, could obtain sufficient education by the age of 12, boys in these days of improved masters could surely get enough to fit them for their calling. In the picture he drew of the protracted labours of boys, Mr. Fraser forgot to take into account the interven- ing time used for recreation. Mr. Neild supposed that if either nine or ten years were adopted as the period for labour to commence, it would be assumed that no Government supervision would be necessary after. Mr, H. J. Little (Northamptonshire Chamber) had no doubt that that the farmer could dispense with the labour of boys up to the age of ten, but it was quite another question whether the labourer could spare the earnings of his children. The Earl of Lichfield addressed the chamber, and said that he found himself in the position of being called upon to vote for a resolution which declared that children should not be employed in agricultural labour until they were nine years old, or for an amendment that they should not be so employed until they were ten years old. He candidly confessed that he was unable to make up his mind to vote for either of these propositions, unless he was made distinctly to understand at what age all restrictions whatever upon the employment of children were to cease. If he were told that they were to cease at the age of either nine or ten, then he would say that he should attach very little value indeed to the education that was given before that age. It appeared to him then that some of the speeches to which he had listened went against all education for the children of agri- cnltural labourers. He considered, however, that a greai fallacy lay at the root of the objection raised, that if children got something above the ordina amount of education they were immediately unfitted C Middlesex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Middlesex. —_— Rey. J. Fraser. a. 20 for agricultural labour. Why was that? He main- tained that it was simply because it was an exception to the rule that such children obtained an education that fitted them for anything else. The demand for a rather better education than was received by the ordinary class of children turned out of our national’ schools had of late years been too great for the supply, and the consequence was that wherever a child was somewhat above the common level of in- telligence or was better educated than his fellows he would probably be taken away from the parish in which he had been bred and educated, and thus be lost as an agricultural labourer. He maintained, therefore, that there would be a totally different state of things, and one the value of which it was almost impossible to estimate, if an adequate education were given generally to all children employed in any labour whatever. The question before the chamber was really whether there should be legislative inter- ference and restrictions in any shape with the children of the agricultural labourer, rather than what should be the exact age at which restrictions should cease. Once agreed that legislative restrictions were desirable or necessary, the next point to be considered was up to what age these ought to be continued. For himself he could scarcely believe that it was now a question whether legislative interference with the children of the agricultural labourer should or should not be adopted ; because the principle had been applied to every other, or nearly every other, description of labour, in the country. One speaker, who-made some. rather perti- nent remarks on the subject, so far as they went, had put one side of the question and forgotten the other, He observed that if no child were allowed to be employed in agricultural labour under the age of ten, the manufacturers in the towns would have’ the advantage of his labour between the age at which he might be employed by the manufacturer and the age of ten, when he might be employed in agricul- ture. Now, supposing the agé were restricted to ten, as proposed by the amendment, and beyond that there was no further legislative interference, how was the case to be put then as between the agriculturist and the manufacturers, for the period between the age of 8 and 18; because up to the age of 13 legislative restrictions were applied to almost all other descrip- tions of labour than agriculture. He merely wished to point out his difficulty as to both resolution and amendment. He could vote for neither, and could not make up his mind on the subject, until he knew whether this was all the agricultural community were prepared to support in the way of legislative inter- ference with the children of their labourers. . Mr. Pell explained that if the original motion were agreed to, he had another resolution to propose with regard to the employment of children’s labour after the ninth year of their age. - : The question was then put, and, on a show of hands, Mr. Duckham’s amendment in favour of ten years of. age was negatived by 17 to 9; and the original motion for nine years of age was carried. by 19 to 14, ae: Mr. Darke (Newbury) moved that the Chamber deprecated any measure which countenanced an education rate; and the proposal was seconded by Mr. Chandler. ea To this, Mr. Whitaker proposed, as an amendment, * That, in the opinion of the Chamber, the voluntary * system had effected great good, and if supported by “a Government grant on a more liberal scale, it “* would be sufficient, and that compulsory education * should be opposed.” ee oe -Mr. Smythin naving seconded this amendment, it was put to the meeting, and lost by a large majority. Mr.. Darke’s motion was then declared carried. __ -, Sir G. Jenkinson moved, and Mr. Long,{Glouces- tershire) seconded the following resolution :—«....:...., “That this Central Chamber of Agriculture depre- cates any compulsory legislation on the subject of “ the employment of women and children in agricul- “ tural labour, preferring voluntary action, which is an “ee EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ likely to follow the discussion of this subject, and ‘believing that any compulsory legislation would * defeat the object desired, because it would be an “ undue interference between parent and child, and “ also because if it involves the penalties of fine “ and imprisonment on parents who decline to send “ a child to school, it would be practically impossible “ to carry out such legislation. That as to the question “ of the means to be provided for the education of “ children, it is the opinion of this chamber that, as “ such education is highly desirable, Government aid “ should be granted to existing schools more liberal “ in amount and less restricted as to conditions than “ under the present system. That such aid should be “ given from the Consolidated Fund, and should not “ be raised by an additional local rate.” Mr, Pell moved, as an amendment to Sir G. Jenkinson’s motion, “That no child be employed “ in agriculture unless it be shown that educa- “ tional provisions analogous to those which are em- “ bodied in the Factory Acts have been satisfied “« during the first nine years of his life.” Mr: Brandram having seconded the amendment, a short discussion ensued as to the nature of the educa- tional provisions in the Factory Acts, in the course of which Mr. Read, M.P., pointed out, as an objection to the proposal, that those Acts permitted a child to go to work from eight to thirteen years of age for.a certain number of hours daily, provided it ‘had. re- ceived an éducation., : " Mr. Pell accepted this objection as fatal to his resolution in its then form, .and ‘consented to strike out the. words “provisions analogous to those in the “ Factory Acts,” which he admitted would not apply to the case of the agricultural child. Me Some ‘further conversation followed, and ultimately. Mr. Pell withdrew his amendment altogether. Col. Brise next moved as an amendment, and Mr. Carrington Smith seconded it: “That, in the “ opinion of the Chamber, the education for the agri- “ cultural population would be best carried out by “ the present voluntary system, provided the puplic¢ “ grants were ‘more liberally administered, and that “ in’ cases where the voluntary system had failéd, or “ was likely to fail, if was the duty of the State to “ provide education for the people.” : _ This amendment was also put and rejected bya decided majority, and, the Chamber subsequently adopted the resolution of Sir George Jenkinson almost unanimously, ' The result, therefore, of the day’s proceedings is represented by the three following resolutions :— _ 1, “That it is expedient that children under the “| age of nine years should be restricted from employ- “ ment in agriculture.” 2. “That this meeting deprecates any measure which countenances an education rate.” >, 3. “That this Central Chamber of Agriculture ‘deprecates any’ compulsory legislation on the em- ployment of women and children in agriculture, preferring the voluntary action which is likely to follow the discussion of this subject, and believing that any compulsory legislation would defeat the object desired, and this because it would be an un- “due interference between parent and child,. and _because it would be practically impossible to carry out such legislation if it involved the penalties of fine or imprisonment on parents declining to send “* their children to school. That as to the means to “ be provided for education, it is the opinion of this chamber that to existing schools Government aid ‘should be granted more liberal in amount and less restricted as to conditions than; under the. present system. That such aid should be given from the “ Consolidated Fund, and should-not be raised by an additional local rate.” : The discussion occupied upwards of four hours. non a a RY IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Report oF Procerpines or RuRi-DECANAL MuETING AT Starston, Norroux. On Tuesday, 18th September 1866, a ruri-decanal meeting of*the clergy of the rural deanery of Reden- hall, in the diocese of Norwich, was held at Starston Rectory, to discuss the following subject appointed by the bishop, viz. :— _ ¥ 1. In what way and to what extent is it prac- ticable to regulate the early and associated, . employment.of children in agricultural labour? .2. How may our schools be adapted to:meet the _ difficulties arising from such early employment __, of children ? : ae The rural dean reported to the bishop the opinion of the assembled clergy in the following terms :— 1. If the first question, as it appears to some, in- cludes two distinct points: Ist, that of the early employment of children infield labour; and, 2dly, that of their association in gangs ; then with refer- ence to the former we beg to say that, however much we may regret the early withdrawal. of children from our schools, yet we cannot regard. their employment in’ field labour suitable to their age as an evil un- mixed with good. The boy especially has his task to learn in the field as well as in the school; he must be exercised betimes in muscle, hand, and wit to fit him for the work, of his after life. The farmer also, we consider, especially in the present ‘want of hands, has a fair claim upon.the services of his own labourers’ children for what is fairly children’s work, We do not think that any general rule can be- laid down, much less that any legislative enactment ought to be made, by which the ordinary employment of children on a farm, or the age at which they are put to work, shall be regulated. An appeal’ must be made. to the. good sense and good. feeling of the employer. . . But if the question, as it appears to others, is only one, applying to the enlistment of children at an early age in the gang of the labour. contractor, our answer must be of a. different cast. In view of the wretched evils, both moral. and physical, attendant upon the gang system, happily almost unknown in this deanery, we are of opinion, if the system itself cannot be abrogated, that for the protection of: the young children employed—yes, and for that of those older, too—the interference of .the legislature is absolutely called for. We would fain see an enact- ment passed containing provisions of. this nature: Ist, that in all gang work the sexes shall be kept separate, under separate conductors, male and female ; Qdly, that no one shall be. permitted to act as con- ductor without having a license, analogous to that of a publican, to be granted on certificate of good cha- racter, and to be forfeited with penalties on mis- conduct; 3rdly, that a limit shall be imposed as to the age of children employed. 3 2.:In answer to the second question, it was sug- gested by some that the half-time or part-time system now in use in the mining and manufacturing districts might and ought to be applied to our own agricul- tural labour-field. The majority of us, however, feel that such a system is inapplicable to the circum- stances and requirements of farming operations. The times and. conditions. of mining and manufacturing Isbour are for the most part fixed and constant ; those of: agricultural work, on the other hand, are always variable, depending as they do on the season, the weather, and other incidents. Again, the factory school.is.on the spot, built for the purpose ; here the boys. would have to walk long distances from the field to school, and few: of our schools have either separate class rooms in which they may be received, or separate teachers by which they may be instructed. We are.of opinion that our parochial schools can- not be adapted.to meet either the introduction of the half-timers or the casual attendance ‘of occasional pupils. without .deranging their whole system, and doing injury to the regular scholars. The only remedy that we can suggest is to make the school a 21 good one, so that during the few years in which the children remain in it they may be well taught ; and then to supplement their education by the Sunday school, and in the case of boys by the evening school as well; for girls in rural parishes we consider the evening school to be very objectionable, not so of necessity in towns. ; (Signed) A. M. Hopper, Rural Dean, —————— CurcHestrer Crmricat Assocration. Conclusions arrived at ata meeting of the Clerical Association, held at Chichester, February 4th, 1868. [N.B.—This meeting was held after I had left the county of Sussex ; but the Rev. C. B. Wollaston, a diocesan inspector of schools, requested me to furnish him with a statement of the precise objects of this inquiry, that it might be laid before the meeting as a guide to discussion. JI did so, and in return he sent me the following letter, containing an account of what passed. ] “My par Sir, : I attended the meeting at Chichester yester- day, a large one, of our Clerical Association, and we discussed the subject of the “ Employment of Women and Children in Agriculture” for more than two hours. We eannot by our rules come to any resolu- tion, but I can give you shortly the result of our deliberations. ‘1, We were unanimously of opinion that the lowest age’at which boys should be allowed to work should be 10 years ; and that women and girls should only be allowed to work at hay and corn harvest. ' «2, That the half day work for boys, or alternate days’ school and work is not practicable. _ tet? “3, We did not think that evening schools “ ade- quately supply the deficiencies of the day school,” but help towards this ; and we thought that they should be supported, as day schools are, by Government aid. “4, We all thought that it was the help that chil- dren at work bring to their parents which induces them to forego the benefits of education at the parish schools; not indifference, nor pressure of employers. — “The meeting was a very satisfactory one, very strongly expressing an opinion adverse to the employ- ment of females in the fields on the ground of morality. ’ “T have thus given you the results of our meeting. 2 “Believe me, yours sincerely, “ (Signed) C. B. Wotxaston. “ Felpham Rectory, Bognor, : “ 5th February 1868.” PAPER READ AT THE Newspury Farmers’ Crus. _ [The two papers from which I print the following extracts, were not read at meetings in my district, but were addressed to two farmers’ clubs in the county in which I reside. They throw light upon several im- portant points in this inquiry, and also, indicate the temper in which the more liberal-minded and intelli- gent farmers are prepared to approach the subject. My extracts are taken from the report in the Berk- shire Chronicle of April 11th, 1868,] Me “ Newsury Farmers’ CLus. - & At the last monthly meeting of this club the fol- lowing paper, on the subject of “ Agricultural Labour,” was read by Mr. H. Frampton, of Watership Farm. “ Mr. Frampton rose and said: . .. . am quite sure and convinced that farmers are not averse to paying higher wages provided they can wake those wages remunerative. I think-there-is not a right-minded employer of labour but would quite as soon pay his men 20s. per week as 10s., provided they can make themselves worth it. It would be better,“as C2 N orfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. s Sussex, — Berks. Berks. Rev. J. Fraser. 22 the master would not require so many labourers, con- sequently would have fewer to look after and to find work for in wet and bad weather, when you can make scarcely any return for their labour . . From a most careful calculation I made last year I found that my men’s earnings amounted to about 13s. or 14s. per week, rain or shine.* . . . . We will now consider the prac- tical relations between employer and employed. We shall, I think, find many errors in each of our systems, accompanied, as a rule, with faults on the part of both master and man. We all, I conclude, acknowledge that there is but one grand rule by which we should be guided if we desire a successful issue to our under- takings, viz., that one golden rule given to us by the Master of us all, which I have before quoted, “To do as we would be done unto,” and by which our actions with each other should be entirely guided. If it were more deeply implanted in the heart of every master and servant there would then arise a greater reciprocity of feeling, and that mutual interest for the welfare of each which is so absolutely necessary to make all things go pleasantly and beneficially, and which is, indeed, the first and foremost thing required in order for both parties to reap the reward; this accomplished, we have a good foundation to build upon. If educa- tion can do it by teaching those in ignorance, what are the duties required of them towards both their heavenly and earthly master, then “Welcome educa- tion.” For my own part J am not at all adverse to education, provided it is befitting their station, and founded upon religious teaching ; for without that I believe any education they may receive will prove dis- advantageous to themselves and the country at large. If they are not taught their duty to God, how can we expect them to do their duty toman? If no morality is instilled into them there will be no real moral principle to guide and counteract those evil tendencies of the flesh which make a man who lacks this great principle feel that it is no matter what unjust advantage he takes of others. We all know the effect upon children if no moral religious principle is instilled into them ; and what will be the result if the whole country is abandoned in this way? I must, though rather out of place, solemnly protest against the wholesale attempt now being made to secularize everything in this country and bring old Christian England down almost to the level of a heathen land. In bidding adieu to education, I would merely add I should like to see all ow labourers able to read, write, and sufficiently taught in arithmetic tobe able to calculate the money due to them for any work they may have done. In the two former they will find something to fill up spare time, which might be less profitably.employed; and a knowledge of the latter will enable them to know how to get their due, and remove all ill-grounded feel- ing of being cheated from their minds, which at present men are very apt to entertain. I trust also education will make them feel a greater respect and regard, not only for their superiors, but also for them- selves and their own character, a greater feeling of decency and morality in their every day life, in which we often find them sadly lacking. In this district we have three principal systems, namely, day work, piece work, and the hiring system. Day work, so called from the men heing paid by the day of from nine to ten hours (less in winter) is the system most carried out with us, because it is available in the generality of cases, but it is one fraught with evils, the greatest in my opinion being that we pay men by the day instead of according to their worth. I call it a degrading system, calculated to reduce the best men to the level of the worst, and to bring these again lower, having a continually degrading effect. For instance we have three men, A., B., C. A. is an able-bodied, industrious, trusty, persevering man with a good head upon his shoulders, able and willing to turn his hand to any- thing, not given to eye service (by which I mean * 18s. a week on the average all the year round was the sum at which Mr. Gerard Day, an occupier of 700 acres, estimated the Norfolk labourer's earnings, See Horsford Meeting, No. 11. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN working hard when the master is in sight, but very different when absent), in short he is a man that tries to do his duty. We pay him, say, 2s. perday. B. is aman of equal powers and ability with A., but with an unwilling mind; can do anything, but would as soon not ; rather given to eye service, and does not see it necessary to doa fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay» We pay him also 2s, per day. C. is aman with very little ability, in fact requires educating all over and all day long ; one that it matters but little to him how he goes through his day, and what he does, whether it is right or wrong. We pay him also 2s. per day.. Now is this justice ? and what are its effects ? Naturally to bring down the best gradually to the level of the worst; and what can it be buta degrading system. If A. does not care to see it, B. and C. will soon prove to him that they get as well paid as he does; and if A. at first conscientiously objects, yet the natural bias of his human nature, combined with the taunts of his fellow workmen, will gradually bring him down. This I consider a system the very reverse of the one we want to instil, and one that must have a great tendency to keep down the price of labour, because rendering it of so little worth. We want a system that will cause emulation, a striving each one to do his best, with a knowledge that his efforts will be rewarded. But how is this to be attained? Some, the uninitiated, may say “Turn off B. and C., that is the bad men, and get some more A.’s.” But where are they to be found? Are you sure of getting any A.’s. And will the demand for labour allow it? I confess I know not the remedy. Individually, I believe nothing can be done except in exceptional cases, and collectively it must be a great undertaking. Could any kind of class system be intro- duced? J am fully aware that the opposition to any great change would be great, but I most sincerely wish some system better than the present might be found. Some, perhaps, will say, meet it with piece or task work. But this you cannot entirely do. You may in many cases, but not wholly. There is a good deal of work to which you cannot conveniently apply it, particularly during the winter half of the year, but on the whole I consider it a more equitable and advantageous system than the former. It has the advantage of enabling the master to apply his labour most profitably to himself, and of giving his men the chance to carn what they can, thereby paying them according to their worth, and rewarding the best. It requires no special restriction and surveillance of the hours of labour ;-each one can work as long as he pleases. It also enables the master to push and get over much more work in the same time and with the same number of hands ; but it has the disadvantage of enabling the idle, shirking man oftentimes to skip over his work, both at the expense of the master and the honest, industrious man; and in many cases, par- ticularly thrashing, requires greater and more general attention on the part of the former, and is oftentimes a cause of more trouble to him, sometimes also interfering with the distribution of his labour; but, taken on the whole, when available, I consider it far preferable to the day system. We come now to the hiring system, yearly and monthly. In our own immediate district, where we lack cottages, the former is the only system we can with any safety rely upon, as far as regards carters, shepherds, boys, and all having charge of stock, because without it, when summer comes, we should often be left in the lurch, as we coustantly prove ; but it is full of evils, one of them being con- tinual change, an almost complete revolution year after year, which would seldom be thought of were it not for Michaelmas. No sooner do the master and servant get into the knowledge of each other's ways, and the latter to understand the master’s methods and his land, than Michaelmas comes and unsettles all again, and generally the same thing occurs year after year. But where we lack cottages there is also the greater evil consequent upon lodging six to eight or ten boys and young fellows together, free from all restraint from their parents, and as the law now is IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. almost all from their master. You may get the greater proportion of these steady and well intentioned, but the chances are you will get at least one bad one, and as we kgow that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” so we may easily imagine that one bad un- principled servant among them will have the conse- quent ill effect upon the others, and this I conceive to to be one reason why the relations between the em- ployer and his hired servants are so often unsatisfac- tory. Were it practicable with us, and could we feel assured of being treated fairly, I should prefer the monthly hiring system—month’s wages, month’s warn- ing; but this will not do, the generality who have tried it will find the servant generally does it with the intention of taking an unfair advantage when summer comes. Last Michaelmas I-hired a carter on those terms, and as he came from a distance and feared he might not like the country, he came a month on trial, and I placed confidence enough in him to agree to continue on the same terms, there being of course a stipulation with regard to his Michaelmas money. He stayed till the days got out, made some frivolous ex- cuse, and gave me notice. I said “ What, throw “ yourself out of place, and me out of a servant.” “Qh, he said, I have a better place and more money.” “ Once bitten, twice shy,” is my proverb now. Another evil attendant upon the hiring system is, I consider, the way in which we hire; it is a perfect lottery. You go into a fair, and in the course of two or three hours hire several servants of whom you had not the slightest previous knowledge, or they of you. How can the generality of cases be expected to turn out well? Certainly you make an application for cha- racter, but how vastly you get deceived even in that. And coming to characters, I wish it were made in- cumbent upon all masters to give all their hired ser- vants, whether good or bad, upon leaving a just and written character which they must produce upon seeking another situation. We should then have them more mindful of that inestimable thing, a “good character,” and should be enabled to choose those likely to suit, added to which those of bad character would be the sufferers. Some, perhaps, will raise the objection that these would not produce their written characters ; if not, we could speedily guess the mean- ing of it. As it is at present their character matters little, seeing the indifference many masters show as to giving and receiving one. Having entered thus far into this question of labour and its faults, let us consider what are likely to be the remedies. First and-foremost on the part of the landlords I think it is absolutely necessary that they should provide a suffi- cient number of good cottages, on or in close proximity to each farm, for the labourers working on it, to be let with the farm. This must, I believe, be the first step. The men would then be near their work in- stead of having to walk a mile or two every night and morning (one of mine formerly walked seven miles every day to and from his work), and would also feel a greater interest in that farm, being on the spot. The master must endeavour to do justly (kindly and fairly, yet firmly) to all, showing no unjust favour, willing to pay his men their full value, ever remem- bering “the labourer is worthy of his hire ;” be punctual in the hours of labour (as a failure in this respect is not only unjust to his men but also to his neighbours), and take that interest in the welfare and prosperity of his men which is his duty ; by so doing he will do his part in endeavouring to establish that good feeling and understanding which is so necessary for the welfare of each. ‘Till this is accomplished things will not be as they ought. The men must also on their part endeavour to do their duty, and make it worth their master’s while to pay them well, showing 23 appears also to be an entire lack of forethought or any provident spirit in them. Could we only get a better state of things accomplished in this respect, we should then remove one of the greatest drawbacks and blights to farming in the present day. On resuming his seat Mr. Frampton was much ap- plauded. Mr. C. P. Darke thought the subject of the paper very important in many ways. 7 . . The classification of labour, and the suggestion made ou the subject by Mr. Frampton, was a very practical one ; if they could have three distinct sets of prices for la- bourers, and place them in three distinct classes, much good might result from it. Piece work, of all others, was most desirable, where it could be carried out (hear, hear). In parts of Norfolk, in one item, that of “dung filling,” they would find men did far more work than in this county; they were paid 1}d. a load, and earned 2s. up to three o’clock in the after- noon, at which time they went to their houses. In respect to the present hiring system, he thought it had a tendency to cheapen labour. If they could by any means introduce a system which would enable them to employ a staff of labourers the whole year round, the farmers’ difficulty in regard to hiring would be at once met. That must be done by introducing more capital into the farm, in order to employ a com- plete staff of labourers during the winter months. He thought the interference which was taking place now with the public, who were touching upon a subject which they did not understand, would have the result of driving capital away from the soil (hear, hear). Those who entered into agricultural pursuits deter- mined to do their duty as far as they possibly could ; when they saw those difficulties continually being raised by others, capital would be driven away from the soil (hear, hear). Mr. F. Everett . . + was averse to the hiring system, and he thought it was in their power to abolish the hiring fair in the town. Of course it was a question for themselves, and they would have to consider the matter seriously, whether it was pos- sible or not to do away with the hiring fair. Many parties were concerned, but he had always thought that it was in the power of the agricultural body in the neighbourhood to say that the hiring fair should not be; inasmuch as Mr. Frampton opened out to them that it was not necessary for them to have a fair in order to supply their labour, he thought the main difficulty was removed. Fair days, although they might be in some measure convenient, especially to holders of large farms, were certainly to all and each ot them a disgrace, if nothing more. As to the labour question and classification, Mr. Frampton, when he spoke of the different qualities and abilities of their labouring people, said that it was on the whole a question which he thought, in some measure, might be arranged between themselves and their labourers, just in the same manner that the other question, when he spoke of landlords, was one in which it was possible to arrange as between landlord and tenant. As to the hiring—perhaps he might be more advan- tageously situated than others—but still, on a whole, he could say he never hired a servant, nor had he dis- charged one when winter was coming on. He had never regularly hired servants under any circum- stances, but with very slight exceptions, which would not at all‘militate against bis rule. He had been for- tunate in his labour, and had employed the system which Mr. Frampton had alluded to in a very graphic manner. It was possible to carry it out by ‘dis- charging the B.’s and C.’s, and endeavouring to retain the Avs. He did it with great sacrifice to himself, but still it was possible to do it when they got hold of the a desire to do their best on all occasions, feeling il; A.’s, although he knew they were few and far between their duty to consider their master’s interest and wel- fare in all things—their general indifference to the. interests of their masters and distrust of them being,’ I believe, one of their greatest faults. They must also remember that.it is written in Scripture, “If a man will not work neither shall he eat.” There: "( applause). He was extremely obliged to the lecturer “for his very practical paper, and he was sure very many practical remarks would follow (hear, hear). _ Lhe Chairman made a few remarks, with reference ‘to the hiring referred to by the last speaker. In his Yown neighbourhood it more particularly applied to a C8 Berks. Rev. J. Fraser. ee a Berks, Rev. J. “Fraser. a. 24 class: of young men engaged as under-carters, and hoys.. Mr. Frampton seemed to, think that the, sys- tem of changing servants at Michaelmas might be done away. with in some measure, but he thought that the system acted well for many reasons. Their ser- vants,..as it were, often grew out of. their places. Many behaved very well; and he certainly thought that.a change to them was beneficial and required. At’ the same time he did not think it was necessary they should hire them in the town at a fair (hear, hear). With regard to the remarks of Mr, Everett, they. must remember he resided not very far from the town, and therefore did not experience the same diffi- culty to get boys and under-carters as some of his friends on the Hampshire hills (hear, hear). For himself; he had not much difficulty, because he resided in a village; but-he was certain difficulties did arise where ‘employers resided at long distances from any village or town. He remembered that at one time he was one of a pai'ty who tried to do away with those fairs, but still there was very much to be said for them in reference to their benefit to the poor people them- selves (hear, -hear):- They might meet at Newbury after perhaps an absence of two or three years, and it was but natural they liked to meet and greet each other with a kindly shake of the hand. There was no reason why the thing should be done away with because: it was abused ; for-if it came to that they might-look higher (hear, hear). No one could pre- tend-for a single moment: to say that the scenes at'a horse race were not quite as. bad as at their hiring fairs, and before they did away with the fairs, the vices of the racecourse and some of those places should be looked to (hear, hear). sf ye Mr. Samuel Wentworth considered that the subject was worthy the attention of every farmer in the neighbourhood. . ‘ . If farmers would unite among themselves, but the worst of it was they would: not, the hiring system might be-done away with, and régistry offices take their place (hear, hear) ; and by establishing such offices they would be able to gota character with their servants (hear, hear). If they! took the men by the month it would be .possible to regulate their wages, because they could afford to give them more in the summer time. Instead of the unions proposed: to be formed, if farmers’ labourers could'be taught to invest their savings in some friendly society, so that they might be able to: fall back on ‘that society when they were old, instéad of coming’ back upon the parishes, farmers would be able to pay 2s. a week in advance of the present scale, taking into consideration the lessening of the poor rates that would ensue. As to unions, they would be the greatest curse that could possibly happen to the agricultural labourer (hear, hear). Let Manchester and Sheffield, and other large towns, tell the work- ing of these unions; the late exposures were a blot upon England. He did not fear that the system would be introduced into agricultural districts. In classifying ‘labour they must remember that there would be some difficulty in doing it, more than in the minufacturing department of labour, by reason that the-work of farm labourers was so often changed. The mechanic generally was at one work all the year round, but with the other his work was scarcely two days alike, with the exccption of mowing and harvest work. If their work was continuous in one capacity they might pay them on the piece, and that was the bést way, there was no doubt about it. Mr. Darke had said that the raising of agriculturists’ wages would have the result of driving capital from the land. He agreed with him, and if people who were trying to make the labourers dissatisfied with their lives would take the matter in hand themselves, they would find that they were paid now more than they earned. The raising of wages would have the effect of laying more land down to grass, keeping less stock, and growing less corn, and when that was done it would be a bad day for England (hear, hear). EES ct got ate ; 1 4 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND: WOMEN PapER READ AT HUNGERFORD Farmers’ CLUB, HuneGerrorp Farmers’ Cios. The following members were present at the meeting on Wednesday afternoon :—Mr. Hewitt (Chairman), Messrs. Patter, Freeguard, A. Neate, Frampton, Pinni- ger, L. Cundell, Godwin, Platt, Chandler, H. A. Cun- dell, Gibbons, Hellard, Hissey, Joseph Cundell, Mackrell, Bryant, Booker, Kimber, Brown, Taylor, Dredge, Hodson, &c. The following paper was read on “ The Education of Labourers in Agricultural “ Districts,” by. Mr, Spearing, of Kennet. . Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,—When a month sinee, your chairman invited,me to introduce this subject to your notice, Iwas fully conscious of my inability to do justice to it, therefore I must beg your. indulgence for the many shortcomings which will be apparent in bringing it before you. There have been so many discussions, and so many different views taken of the question, that one naturally feels greater difficulty. at arriving at a conclusion. I dare’ say. there are some here who heard the subject discussed on Monday ‘in another place, and I trust we may hear the views that were there expressed. The way in which almost every Chamber of agriculture ‘and farmers’ club have manifested their interest in it is, I consider;a conclusive proof that those who assert that landed proprietors, and tenant farmers especially, are averse to any improvement in the education of the labouring classes are stating’ that which certainly has little. foundation in: fact. It nevertheless cannot be denied that amongst tenant farmers there are many. who are opposed to any extended system of education. They affirm, and perhaps with some truth, that edu- cation has tended to make farm labour more expen- sive, and that it is frequently not so well performed. That there have been many excellent servants who could neither read nor write I am not prepared to deny, but I have invariably found, where such has been the case, the men and women themselves have been the first to regret the disadvantages they have been subjected to in consequence, I think we must take a higher view of the matter than looking at a man as the mere performer of labour, and if from what may be termed the. mere accident of his birth he does not occupy the same position in society as ourselves, it is not less a duty to make that position as little irksome and unpleasant as lies in our power. If I wanted-a reason for a more extended system of education, or that education should be brought within the reach of every one, I would not omit to notice the very diffe- rent state of British agriculture from what it was not many years since. Steam thrashing has superseded the flail, steam ploughing is a powerful auxiliary to horse and ox labour, and other branches have ad- vanced in proportion. ‘The difference in the particular kind of labour the labouring classes have to perform requires a greater amount of head knowledge than they formerly possessed. And it is not ‘merely as regards the work they have to perform ; every legis- lative change is ‘gradually placing a vast deal more power -in their hands; so much greater then the necessity of endeavouring to educate them rightly for these changes. I do not believe that the mere edu- cation of a man will make him good, but crime has generally lessened as education has advanced. Let us not then be drags on the wheels of progress, but let us, by our discussion this evening, lend our aid in endeavouring to arrive at the right solution of this one of the most difficult problems of the day. I would not have it inferred that any amount of mere book-learning is going to make our agricultural la- bourers better servants or better men, unless they have good home training and instruction. A childs education for weal or woe begins with his growth and strengthens with his strength, and from the impres- sions received in his own home the man’s character is often moulded, and the real love of his home, with no higher motive, has in many instances kept him a faithful and devoted servant and-an honest and useful member of the community. : IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENE®!? Previous to noticing the plans proposed for an ex- ‘tension of education, it will I have no doubt be stated that farm labourers will be more scarce, and labour consequently dearer. That alterations will be re- quired and difficulties arise I do not doubt, but whether there is a more extended education or not, difficulties will be sure to exist. The state of the labour market is such that with the great means of communication, what may be, or are termed low-priced labour dis- tricts, must (when trade again revives) expect a con- siderable rise in the price of labour, and I am one of those who think that many gentlemen who profess to take an interest in this subject, and generally show that interest by—if not abusing—at least}by depre- ciating everything which is done by a tenant farmer for his labourers’ benefit, forget that they theméelves belong to the school who were always preaching up labour as a marketable commodity, to be bought in the cheapest market. Not content to ignore the doc- trine they formerly held, they are fond of quoting the minimum amount of payment made for labour, ignoring the much higher rate in the summer months, and also forgetting that a farm labourer loses, I may say, less time than any other class, his employer frequently paying him when his services are of little value, and forgetting also that an agricultural labourer moves ‘less than any other persons in the same position, the cause of which may have been the system of parochial settlements. JI am far from considering an advance in the price of labour would be a disadvantage to farmers, because I believe it will be attendéd with a great improvement in the performance of labour. Our present race of labourers in many districts, although horiest and well conducted, it cannot be denied, never- theless, that there is a slowness in their movements and a seeniing indifference in the performance of their work which you do not meet with in other classes ; and this is not to be wondered at when you consider that boys of from eight to nine years, drive plough during ‘the winter months seven to niné miles per day, through wet and dirt ; the almost natural consequence of such a system of training is that they acquire habits which many hardly ever lose. I am convinced that altera- tions may be made in this respect without loss, although with inconvenience to ourselves. I should not dwell on this, but in any change or improvement that may be required, we must look well at the difficulties that lie in our way, and I think also, as a body, we very fre- quently let prejudice prevent our following plans which may be both useful and beneficial. One effect of an ex- tended system of elementary education will necessarily be, in my opinion, a shortening of the hours of labour, and I believe eventually. this will not merely apply to boys, more éspecially in the. winter months. And now, if I may be allowed to make a remark to my young brother farmers, it would be to impress upon them the necessity of thoroughly making themselves acquainted with what is a fair ,day’s work ; for fre- quently their ‘so-called. education for their business has little fitted them for knowing the amount of work ‘to be done by others ; and if I appear here to digress a little from my subject, it is because I believe we shall haye to educate ourselves, from the advance in the education of the labouring classes which is sure to ensue. I think it cannot be denied that in ‘every parish of any size there should be a school, These have been built in most parishes by local enterprise and Government. “Where this plan has failed ‘in arishes from failure of subscriptions, I certainly think that the owners of property should be compelled to build schools, the Government assisting by a grant. I am of opinion that for the. school the owners of real property ought to pay, as tenants or owners of personal property may not have 80 permanent an interest. in the building, but I would allow the money to be taken up and payed off in ‘so many years, the amount to bé calculated on the income tax assessment. ' Having provided schools, we come to management, and aa every parish with a population of 400 inhabitants will have its school, I gonsider that it should have, for the purpose of obtaining ‘funds, and also of having an and to follow in almost everyt re rationalism, instead of the fundamental truths.of God’s 25 interest in them, its education committee, consisting of the clergyman for the time being and two lay members, either elected from the ratepayers or’ one by the owners of property and one'by ratepayers. In parishes under 400 inhabitants they should be joined to others. This plan, with regard to local committees, may have its disadvantages. ' No doubt some would invest a power in the board of guardians or some other body, but I believe it would stimulate local effort, and where prejudice exists, frequently by giving persons a real interest in the matter, you help to dis- arm it. These boards will have, of course, the asgist- ance of «’ Govertiment inspector. With regard to masters, the appointment should be with the com- mittee, sanctioned by the inspector ; whether he should be certified or not should be left to their discretion, provided he can pass a regular examination ; and with regard to his payment, I would adhere as much ‘as ‘possible to the present system of school pence with Government aid and other auxiliaries. The payment of pence gives every well-intentioned parent a per- sonal interest in his child’s progress, and instils a certain amount of independence which I believe it is well to foster. I would leave it to the board to pay thé amount from 3d. per head to 1s. pet head per week ; the scale of charges’ to be printed, and not altered to suit individual cases: And now in some parishes I fear we may have a deficiency of income} nevertheless I'am of opinion that when the Goyern- ment aid and local effort have failed to supply the deficiency, it shall. be legal for the local board, after say one month’s notice, to call a meeting, and with the consent of the ratepayers, tolevy a rate on the in- come tax assessment at so much in the pound. I would only apply this as a last resort; but notwithstanding it may be much opposed, I believe the State is bound to place education within the réach of all; therefore the owners of personal property should be called‘ on to contribute to the support. of a system ‘in whicli every member’ of the State is so deeply interested. Should a majority of the ratepayers, in casé of a de- ficit, objéct to a rate, I would propose that it ‘should be lawful for the committee, with the consent of the inspector, to order a rate to be made to supply the deficit. Iam of opinion that the Government grant should be extended to a much greater extent than at present, and even to all schools complying with ¢con- ditions which should not be so strictly imposed as at present. With regard to teaching, I consider that to give every child the opportunity of learning to read and writé, with a knowledge of arithmetic, is all that can be expected ; but your teaching should not bepurel secular, it should be combined with religious teaching, having in view the conscientious opinions of dissenters. T cannot consider it necessary that the Church cate- chism should be taught in the week. Doctrinal teaching may be pretty well limited to those points on whic the majority of churchmen and dissenters are agreed. I should consider it a great misfortune for Govern ment aid to be given to a purely secular schoal, although we cannot dispute the fact that the tendency of the present day is rather to ee religious teaching, ‘ing reason or German revealed word. The clause proposed to be inserted by the Duke of Marlborough, and acted upon with regard to religious teaching, allows plenty of liberty, and I should say would disarm opposition, I now come to the question of children’s attendance at school, and although I believe it will be generally admitted that a great deal of good would follow from a child being sent to school, I cannot bring myself to believe we should be dealing fairly in making attend- ance compulsory ; if such a system were adopted it would be repugnant to our feelings as Englishmen, and in many instances create a dislike and distrust it would be well to avoid. Instead of compulsory’ aé- tendance, therefore, I would propose that a child should be able to-read tolerably well and write before he works at all. I know of no better system than calling upon them'to undergo an examination and obtain a C4 Berks. Rey. J. Frase a. Berks. Rev. J. Fraser. a 26 certificate from the master or Government inspector or his assistant ; but when a child has once entered a school, I would not allow his withdrawal, except from illness or removal from the parish, until he has attended school for 40 weeks, or the number of weeks the school is opened for the year, Where a man has a large family, some of the elder members or he himself may be able to instruct the younger members, and enable them to get their certificate without a com- pulsory attendance at school, and here I see no reason why we should adopt a different plan with the labouring class than is done in many instances with the class im- mediately above them, the elder members of which very frequently teach the younger equally as well as if they had received a school education. I believe the early age at which many children are sent to work is of little ad- vantage either to a master or the head of a family. If you take some little boy to keep off rooks or some other light employment, he is probably paid 2s. or 2s. 6d. per week, and when you come to consider the extra food or clothing required, there is a very small advan- tage to the father of a family. I would propose, therefore, that no child should work for wages before the age of 94 years supposing him to commence work at Lady day, or before 10 years supposing him to commence work at Michaelmas, the difference in the period of the year more than compensating, in my opinion, for the difference in the age; and in the winter half-year every boy up to the age of 12 years should be allowed to leave his work at four o’clock. I have no doubt we may have differences of opinion, but I do not value boys’ labour in the winter half- year at much after that time, and I cannot but regret that at stablework boys are frequently made to do what under-carters or older servants ought to do. The management of a stable is generally left pretty much to the carter, and masters are not frequently alive to the way in which boys are managed. With regard to girls, I think a rule as to age may be made. The principle of the Colliery Act would apply to boys; it is this: “ That no boy of ten years of age- “ shall be allowed to work in a coal pit, unless “ he brings a certificate from a duly qualified master “ that he can read and write, before he can work at “ all.” Content with this end, it takes no notice of the question whether they have attended school or not. I come now to the system which I consider a most powerful auxiliary in promoting education, I mean the system of night schools, and provided every boy, before the age of 12 years, leaves his work for the winter half-year at four o’clock, I believe that for the first year he goes to work he should attend school four hours per week for the first winter half-year, and five hours per week for the other half-years, until he attains the age before mentioned. The time will, in consequence of his leaving work earlier, be his em- ployer’s time. Having some years since taken a great interest in this subject, I can bear testimony tothe advantages attendant upon it. Some few years since, when the late Bishop of Rochester (Wigram) was Archdeacon of Winchester, he used all his influence to extend the system in that county, and I believe with the most beneficial results. I would impress upon the middle classes generally, and employers of labour in particular, the necessity of doing their utmost to foster and encourage well regulated night schools; they keep boys from falling into mischief, and at the same time improve them in every way, and I believe it tends to create a spirit of respect which cannot be too much encouraged. If we let a boy leave school at nine or ten years of age, and do not give him any further instruction, I believe we are doing little to any solid advancement in education ; if we come to apply the same test to others in an advanced station in life we should be the first to notice its shortcomings and defects. It may be stated that in going so far as I propose we shall be raising others too near the standard of education we ourselves have reached. I would beg to suggest it is more incumbent on us to move out of their way, and I believe this improvement in the education of our own particular class in many o EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN districts will not be one of the least advantages in an extended education of others. : ot ‘ With regard to the bill of Mr. Bruce, which was laid before the House of Commons not long since, there ure some very good clauses as to the arrangement of school pence, and also respecting religious instruction, and likewise the appointment of a Minister of Educa- tion. I believe the part of the bill which encourages local. responsibility to be also a step in the right direction. The Government plan consists ina greater development of the present system, and rectifies in some instances some of its faults, such as not granting aid to several schools where at present it is much needed. Although it does not go so far as many may wish, still I do not doubt when we have a responsible minister appointed we shall be able to see where it is principally deficient, and this is a question where a certain amount of caution is requisite, lest in endea- vouring to do too much, and in an excess of zeal, we should hinder instead of advance the cause we wish to promote. We must consult not merely our own feelings, but those of the bulk of the labouring popu- lation, and endeavour to overcome that spirit of in- difference to the cause of education upon the part of parents which will for some time at least operate as a drawback to its advancement. Gentlemen, I have now placed before you my views on this subject, and I am convinced it is a question in which progress is necessary. The competition into which every trade and business hag to enter calls upon us to use every effort, not merely to advance ourselves,but to endeavour as far as possible to promote the education of those with whom we are more immediately placed in contact. Class interests in years gone by may have induced many employers of labour to believe that education was inimical to their interests. Civilization fortu- nately has progressed, and if there are those who still entertain those opinions, I would tell them I cannot bring myself to believe that an allwise Creator ever endowed men with faculties capable of development, and yet intends they should be kept in ignorance. Many of our greatest men have sprung from the working classes, and I know of no effort that will more repay the making than that of placing within the reach of every man the means of raising himself in the social scale ; and in doing this we shall be fulfilling the sacred injunction of “ Doing unto others “ as we would they should do unto us.” I would ask you, then, to discuss the subject, not merely as it affects ourselves as employers of labour, but as those who are deeply interested in the welfare, prosperity, and happiness of our common country. 4 The Chairman, Mr. Chandler senior, Mr. Godwin, and Mr, Cundell spoke very briefly on the subject, chiefly corroborating the views of the lecturer. Mr. Spearing moved the following resolution, and Mr. Hewitt seconded it; it was then put to the meeting and carried unanimously: “ That this “ club, fully recognizing the advantage of educating the agricultural labourer, is of opinion that every “ child should be able to read and write before com- “ mencing work, and that it should also have the “ opportunity afterwards of attending night school.” Votes of thanks to the lecturer and the chairman closed the meeting. Rs [I think these papers are sufficient to show that, whatever may be the supposed attitude and temper of the farmers as a body, Berkshire and Wiltshire farmers, at any rate, are not incapable of appreciating the difficulties that surround the question of the education and employment of the agricultural labourer, nor indisposed to attempt the solution of them in a candid and progressive spirit. If such tempers generally prevailed, and I believe they are spreading more widely year by year, judicious legislation would give the farmers what Mr. Wentworth says they cannot give themselves, a common ground of union, on which they could fight successfully against narrow prejudices, bad customs, and antiquated methods, and carry out those plans of improvement which an enlightened experience shows, promote at the same time the “cs IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, highest and truest interest. of the employer and the employed. ] ° MINUTES OF PAROCHIAL MEETINGS. Country or Norrorx: St. Farra’s Union. —_—, No. 1. Monday, July 15, 1867. Meeting at Attlebridge, for Attlebridge - Pop., 93 - Acr., 1,206. - R.V., 1,0002.* and Alderford - Pop., 29 - Acr., 432.-R.V., 7082. Present at Meeting : Mr. Samuel Pumfrey, occupier of 300 acres, Mr. Richard Reyner, occupier of 180 acres. Mr. Robert Rix, occupier of 450 acres. The land in these parishes belongs to three pro- prietors. The parishes are ecclesiactically united, though distinct for poor law purposes. The supply of labour is not equal to the demand. Mr. Pumfrey could employ on his single farm all the labourers resident in the parish. Labour is imported from Ringland, Swanington, and Felthorpe. The resident labourers are close to their work. The non-resident come from one to two miles, The weekly wage now is 12s. Task work is grass mowing, at from 3s. to 4s. 6d. per acre ; turnip hoeing, at 3s. an acre (an acre being a fair day’s work); corn harvest (about a month), from 6/. to 71. for the job till the crop is housed. There are some excellent new cottages built by Mr. Micklethwayt; and the cottages generally are tenantable. There are only two cottages with a single bedroom each. But more cottages are required. The ordinary rent varies from 2. to 3/7. 10s., depend- ing on size of house and garden. There are three employers in Attlebridge, and one in Alderford. The soil is light sand ; the cultivation is arable and pasture, the pasture being about one-eighth of the farm, The owners of the land at Attlebridge are resident ; the owner of Alderford lives about 12 miles off. The residence of the landowners is not perceived to affect the condition of the poor. Rent is about 20s. an acre; tithe, 5s. Game is highly preserved. Mr. Pumfrey is leaving his farm in consequence of its being overrun. Females, almost exclusively married women, are employed in turnip singling, corn weeding, hay and corn harvest. A woman’s day is reckoned at eight hours, and her wage is 8d. a day. The three gentlemen present employ no boy under 13. ’ There is no day school at either Attlebridge or Alderford. The children go to Weston, about 14 mile away. There would be no hardship, and it would be de- sirable to enact that no child should be employed under eight years of age ; and the meeting would de- sire to see young unmarried girls employed in domestic service, and not in field labour. Great difficulty is felt by farmers in getting servants. It is to be wished that every child should be able to read, and to write well enough to send a letter to his friends, and to cast up an account ; and the legislature ought to see to this. There is no slack time in the year during which attendance at school could be made compulsory with- * The figures following the name of cach parish in these Minutes represent its population, acreage, and rateable value, respectively. 2, 27 out hardship both to the parents and the employers, In the winter boys would be wanted to look after bullocks and sheep, &c. The moral condition of the people in these parishes is improving rather than deteriorating. There are only two illegitimate children in the parish, born to young women in service. The labourers are generally found honest and trust- worthy. Ricwarp James Reyner. SamvreL Pumrrey. Rosert Rix. No. 2. Monday, July 15, 1867. Meeting at Morton-on-the-Hill, for Morton - Pop. 149 - Pop., 375 - Acr., 1,684 - R.V., 2,8662. garet’s Present at Meeting : g Miss Elizabeth Shipley Dix, occupier, owner, and overseer. Mr. Frederic Spelman, occupier and guardian. Mr. John Aldous, owner, occupier, guardian, and churchwarden. ' Mr. Wm. Tillett, occupier and churchwarden. Both the Tivetshalls are open parishes. The largest landowner, who owns 800 or 900 acres, is non-resident. The supply of labour this year is about sufficient ; last year it was short. Mr. Spelman has had more harvest men offer this year than for the last six years. His and Mr. Aldous’ idea is that the financial distress in London has: caused many men to return to their homes. Several of the men migrated into Yorkshire ; they send word to their friends that they are getting on pretty well, but don’t know whether they might not have done as well for themselves if they had stayed at home. Mr. Spelman apprehends that the revival, ot speculation will again drain agricultural districts of their labour supply. Some ofthe cottages are pretty fair, others middling ; some are now standing empty. Mr. Spelman would like to see it made compulsory upon every cottage to have three chambers. The rent ranges from 3/. to 51. Wages are now 12s.; have been raised 1s. this week. Mr. Spelman has contracted with his men, for the harvest month, at 62. 10s. ; Mr. Aldous, for the job, at 62. 15s. Miss Dix thinks that when you can put out work by the piece, it is the best plan both for employer and labourer ; but small occupiers can’t do that, as theirs is more jobbing work. At turnip singling a girl of 12 years of age helping her father, ought to earn, and frequently does earn, for the family 9d. a day. No machine could do this work. Miss Dix does not see any harm in a girl of that age going out to work under her mother’s eye; in fact, she considers it a healthful and useful occupation, while the earnings are of great importance to large families. They are under the restraint of their mothers, and at 13 or 14 are ready to go to service, when they generally do much better than those who have been allowed to remain idle and unrestrained at home. Mr. Spelman mentioned the case of four girls from two families, who worked constantly for him from ean 10 to 14, who are now all in service and doing well, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE., ' The alternate day system is quite impracticable. There would be great difficulty in giving orders to two sets.of boys, and there are not boys enough: in the country to work the system. Boys are so rarely employed under eight, that it seems unnecessary to legislate. prohibitively on the sub- ject. Speaking generally, boys are hardly of any use under 10, and had better be at school. But it was thought that this ought to be left to the discretion of the parent, and that great hardship would occasionally arise under a compulsory enactment. A wish was decidedly expressed that every labour- ing man should .be able to read, write, and cast an account. Mr, Spelman thinks that education would be better promoted by more freedom than. by com- pulsion. Mr. Spelman thinks there ought to be a school in every parish, open to all, without distinc- tion of religion. Miss Dix would like to see the education given a little more practical and stripped of some of its finery.. At. present there is practically no school in Tivets- hall within reach of the labouring poor, in conse- quence of a difference between the rector of the parish and the owner of the land on which the building stands. — Enizrp. 8. Drx. Frep. SPELMAN. Joun ALDOUS. Witiiam TILLETT, No. 31. Tuesday, August 6, 1867. Collective Meeting at Tibenham, for ae Tibenham -Pop., 729 - Acr., 3,253 - R.V., 5,1821. Moulton Pop., 442 - Acr., 1,346 - R.V., 2,380. Present at Meeting : From Tibenham— Rev. T. W. Thompson, vicar. From Moulton— Mr. Thomas Robertson, occupier. Mr. Riches Neave, owner and occupier. In Tibenham Sir R. J. Buxton is the great land- owner, who is non-resident ; there are several smaller owners. There is no deficiency of labour at present, nor of cottages, but a considerable number of the cottages, perhaps 20, are in very bad condition, and three or four are untenanted at this moment in consequence. Most of them are built of clay stud. or clay lump. . The vicar cannot call to mind any cottage with three bedrooms, though.the majority have two ; but in many cases these two are very imperfectly separated, so that decent privacy eannot be secured. The rent ranges from 31. to 4d. . There is a school in the parish, in connexion with Government, under a certificated mistress, with 82 children’s names on the register, and about 60 in average attendance, fairly supported by. voluntary contributions ; the whole annual cost amounting to -between 60/. and 702. The school has very much revived in the last two or three years, and is now in ivery fair order. sae 3 There has been a night school for the last two winters, taight by ladies of the parish under the superintendence of the vicar. It was attended by about 20 or 25..scholars last winter, of whom three- fourths at the end of the season could read tolerably and write their names. No charge was made to the zscholars. - In Moulton there are several owners; the largest - estate does not exceed 800 acres. There are enough people in the parish to work the land, but none too many. ‘There is no surplus of: cottages. Most of the cottages belong to small proprietors; some are in ‘fair, some in moderate, and some in indifferent con- dition. : ; Mr. Robertson is strongly of opinion that the con- dition of many of the homes of the agricultural ‘poor is shameful ;'and that the absence of all sufficient provisions for decency lays the foundation of that im- - about 60 owners. 45 morality that is commonly set down as the result of females working in the fields. There is a parish school, of which the main expense is borne by the clergyman. The gentlemen present could not report anything exactly as to its condition. There has been. no night school for the last few winters. oa Mr. Robertson and Mr. Neave have sometimes found children under 8 of use, indeed Mr. Robertson likes to get hold of them as soon as he can, and both these gentlemen would be sorry to see any penal legislation by reason of the difficulties it would throw in the way of the maintenance of large families. They think that by the help of the Sunday and night school much more may be done than at present to improve the condition of the education of: the labour- ing poor. During the three winter months a boy of 10 years of age is not of much use in field work ; and he could then be sent to school ; but it would be quite out of the questionito attempt to keep boys ata day school to the age of 13. The alternate day system is also considered quite impracticable. There are not enough boys, and no farmer would take. the trouble to teach two sets. o a It would be impossible to do without women’s work in the fields ; but Mr. Robertson. likes to see men and women, boys and girls, working separately. - He has no objection to a gang if it is properly organized, and under the control of a respectable man. He has never had a gang yet, but if there was one near him he should employ it. oe ot Mr. Thompson is not in favour of compulsion in education, nor does he see how present efforts can be made more effective by legislation, except. it be in the way of encouraging night schools. He fully admits the disadvantage to education of the early withdrawal of children from school; but he fails to see how the principles of the Factory Acts can in any shapé be successfully applied to the case of agriculture. If applied without modification they. would be nearly equally mischievous to the employer, the parent, and the child. J. W. THomeson. Ricnzes Nrave. Tuos. Mansy ROBERTSON. No. 32. Wednesday, August 7, 1867. Collective Meeting at Forncett St. Peter, for, ere Bh \ Pop., 299 - Act, 728 - B.V., 1,8062. eae Pop. 655 - Acr., 1,828 - R.V., 3,4901. Aslacton - Pop., 356 - Acr., 1,164- R.V., 1,8847. Present at Meeting : - From Forncett, St. Peter—_ Rev. W..G. Wilson, rector. . ; Mr. W. Ellis, occupier, and churchwarden, Mr. Thomas Dix, occupier. Mr. Robert Hewitt, occupier and guardian. Mr. Walter Brewster, occupier. From Forncett St. Mary— Rev. J. Cooper, rector. F. Boileau, Esq., owner and magistrate. Mr, John Gardiner, occupier and guardian. Mr. John Self, occupier and churchwarden. Mr. George Blanchflower, occupier and overseer. From Aslacton— . Rev. R. de Jersey, perpetual curate, Mr. John Grimes, occupier arid churchwarden. Forncett St. Peter is an open parish; there are The supply of ‘labour is somewhat in excess of the demand. There are times in the year when there are ten or a dozen able-bodied men out of employ. The cottage accommodation is sufficient ; there are a few vacant houses at this moment.’ The cottages are mostly let independently of the land. A hundred acre farm requires four cottages ; a 200 acre farm, 7; F2 Norfolk. ——— Rev. J. Fraser. —« a Norfolk. rev. J. Fraser. a. 46 a 800 acre farm, 10. arable farms. The cottages generally are in a satisfactory con- dition ; but not many of them have three chambers. There are one or two cases of overcrowding. The rent would range from 3. to 4d. 10s. There are two schools, one of them for the younger children of a distant hamlet. The principal school is held in an excellent room; in connexion with Government, under a certified mistress; 52 children on register, and 33 in average attendance. The hamlet school is attended by 45 children. There is a small endowment, and the schools are sufficiently supported. In Forncett St. Mary the land belongs to several landowners, not less than 25. There is an excess of labour, and more cottages than are wanted; two or three are now unoccupied. Some of the cottages, belonging to small proprietors, are in bad condition ; but the greater part are in fair order. Some of them are not worth repairing; “it would be a charity to take a match and set fire to them.” There are very few with three chambers. The average rent would be three guineas. There is a school with abundant accommodation in connexion with Government, under a certificated master. Forncett boys are found to want a master to keep them in order, and there being few schools in the neighbourhood under a master, there is a class of biggish boys, mostly above the labouring rank, who come from adjacent parishes. Two or three come from Stratton, which is three miles off. There are 50 names on the register, with an average attendance of about 85. The whole annual cost of maintenance is about 80/., of which 8/. arises from endowment, about 162. from school fees, and about 40/. from voluntary subscriptions. In each of the Forncetts there is an evening school, the results of which are considered to have been beneficial. There were 16 attendants at Forncett St. Peter, and 14 at Forncett St. Mary, last winter. Aslacton is an open parish ; the land belongs to 25 or 80 owners. There is just about an adequate supply of labour, and rather more cottages than are required. The cottages generally are in good con- dition, but there are a few exceptions. Not move than two or three have three chambers. Rent the same as at Forncett. There is a school held in a good room built about 10 years ago, under a moderately efficient mistress, not in connexion with Government, with about 45 children on the register, and an average attendance of 25. There is much irregular attend- ance, in consequence of the demand for children’s labour in the fields.) Mr. de Jersey does not think there is one labouring man’s son at school at present who is 10 yearsof age. The annual cost is about 34. There is no endowment ; the pence amount io between 4l. and 5l. About 82. is subscribed, 52. of which is from Betton’s charity ; the incumbent makes up the deficiency. There has been an evening school, attended last winter by about 14, of which advantage was gladly taken, and which produced satisfactory results. Many who had never attended church before became regular in their attendance there. On the general subject of education there was a unanimous opinion that every labouring man’s child ought to be able to read intelligently, to write a letter, and to cast a simple account ; and as far as the schools are concerned, there is. abundant opportunity in these parishes for the attainment of this amount of educa- tion, the only hindrance being the early age at which the children, particularly the boys, are removed. A boy is of very little use in farm work under the age of 10 unless he works under proper supervision. It would be quite an exceptional case to find a child employed under 8; but a majority of seven to four (one employer remaining neutral) objected to any legislative interference which should make it penal to employ a child under that age. The minority con- sisted of one employer and the three clergymen present. This proportion applies to EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Neither the half-day nor the alternate day system of schooling is applicable to agriculture, and in these parishes more boys are employed in the winter than in the summer, but a boy continually employed would rarely be under 12 years of age; for younger boys there would be a slack time during the winter of which advantage might be taken for education if the parents were so disposed. It is found that the schools are fullest between Christmas and Easter. No women are employed continuously throughout the year. There is an increasing number of women who refuse to go out to work in the fields at all. The gang system is not generally used in these parishes, but Mr. Gardiner has occasionally imported a gang from a neighbouring parish. He has been satisfied with their work, and thinks a large farm cannot be properly cultivated without some such system of organized labour. Francis G. M. Borrzau. Tuomas Drx. W. G. Witson. Water BREWSTER. Rosert Hewitt. P. Rivers DE JERSEY. JoHNn SELF. JoHn GARDINER. WitiiaM Evtis. Gro. BLANCHFLOWER. JoHN GRIMES. No. 33. Wednesday, August 7, 1867. Collective Meeting at Bunwell, for Bunwell - Pop., 907 - Acr., 2,455 - R.V., 38,9802. Carleton Rode - Pop., 905 - Acr., 2,572» R.V., 4,6152, Present at Meeting : From Bunwell— Rey. F. G. Gill, curate in charge. Mr. Wm. Burton, landowner, occupier, guardian, and churchwarden. Mr. Wm. Betts, occupier, guardian, and church- warden. Mr. Nelson Lanham, occupier. Mr. Samuel Kemp, occupier. From Carleton Rode— Rey. J. Cholmeley, rector. Mr. Elisha Bateman, occupier and churchwarden. Mr. George Gunns, occupier. Mr. Robert Smith, owner, occupier and miller. The land in Bunwell belongs to several owners, of whom Sir Robert Buxton is the largest. The supply of labour at present is equal to the demand. There are enough cottages ; a few are vacant. Some of the cottages are bad enough ; but the majority are in fair tenantable condition. They mostly belong to small proprietors. The rent ranges from 22. 10s. io 44. The lower rented cottages have very little garden ground. There are not more than two or three that have three chambers. Mr. Burton thinks it “ won’t admit of argument that every cottage occupied by a family ought to have three chambers.” There is a school in the parish, held in a room that was part of the old workhouse. ‘The parish is six miles long, and consequently in the winter there is a difficulty in getting the distant children to school. There are two or three private adventure schools. In the parochial school there are about 60 children on the register, with an average attendance of 45 in the summer, and 25 in the winter. There has been an evening school for the last 12 years, éonducted by the curate without assistance, held in his own house, attended by about 40 scholars. Jt was discontinned last winter in consequence of Mr. Gill's not feeling himself equal to it, and there was no one else to carry iton. He is not satisfied with the results. It has made the young men betier scholars, but not more moral, There is a good deal of drunkenness in Bun- well, partly attributable to the roving habits of a part of the population, who are drovers, dealers, &c. The mistress of the day school receives about 251 a year. The total cost of the school is about 321. a year. ‘The pence amount to about 7/; the subscrip- tions from landowners amount to 4d. The rector, who is non-resident, allows the curate 302. for the good of the parish, of which he applies as muchas is necessary for the support of the school. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Carleton Rode is an open parish, with about 50 landowners. One landowner has about 800 acres ; no one else has more than 150, Carleton, as well as Bunwell, is full of “dealers”? There are between 80 and 90 oécupiers who pay tithe. At present there is enough labour, a sufficient supply of cottages, and some to spare. Some of them are in abominable condition, but the generality are in fair order, though with deficient chamber accom- modation ; the rent ranges from 2/, 10s. to 4. Most have gardens, and some orchards. Both in Bunwell and in Carleton there are many weavers. In the winter time there are perhaps 100 looms at work in each parish ; working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., 2 woman earns about 1s. a day. There is a parish school in Carleton, and a private adventure school kept by the wife of a publican in her own house. She has perhaps 30 children. In the parish school, which is in connexion with Govern- ment, there is an enrolment of about 60 children, with an average attendance of 40. The total annual cost is 50/., of which the rectcr has to spend nearly 402. out of his own pocket. The schoolroom was built in 1821, and is capacious and lofty. Mr. Cholmeley had a night school for four years, but has discontinued it for the last two winters in consequence of complaints arising about the noise made by the lads on their return home. He means, however, to try it again. No farmer would employ a boy under 8 years old if he could possibly get an older boy ; and it would not therefore embarrass him in any of his operations if it were made penal to employ him under that age. Boys at 8 or 9 may be useful for casual employment; but for continuous employment throughout the year a boy, to be useful, ought not to be less than 10 years of age. A handy boy from 10 to 12 years of age would earn from 2s. to 3s. a week. It would be a very rare thing to find a boy of 12 years of age who is unemployed during any portion of the year ; but for boys under 12 there are slack months in the winter, during which the children might be sent to school, and they “had better be there.” No one present seemed to think that the half-day or alternate day system could be applied to the education of farm boys; at any rate not to boys in this part of the country, where the stock are exclusively stall-fed, and the boys are constantly employed in cleaning and cutting up roots, feeding the cattle, &c, and there is no excess of boy labour. Women’s labour cannot be dispensed with; but fewer women are willing to work in the fields now than formerly. A woman can hardly ever be got to milk a cow. In Carleton there are many young unmarried women employed in the fields, and a few in Bunwell. They are generally employed exclusively with their own sex (except in harvest time). It would be very much better for them if’ they went out to service, but they prefer the liberty of their evenings at home. There are no gangs employed in either parish ; many people would not know what the system means. Mr. Gill thinks that the majority of young men in Bunwell between 16 and 25 can read and write their names, and attributes it to the influence of the evening school. Mr. Cholmeley has formed a less hopeful estimate of the educational condition of Carleton. It is no more education than every labouring man ought to possess to be able to read intelligently, to write a letter, and to cast an account. No employer present on engaging a labourer would ever think of inquiring whether he could read or write; he would be content to know that he was honest and sober arid a good workman. JoHN CHOLMELFY. Frep. G. GILL. Witi1am Burron. Wm. Betts. Nextson Lanwam. SamvuEL Kemp. Rogserr Smrrz. Exvisoa Bateman, GEORGE GUNNS, 47 No. 34. Thursday, August 8, 1867. Collective Meeting at Fundenhall, for Fundenhall Pop., 1,348- Acr., 684 - R.V., 2,3582. Hapton - Pop. 196 - Acr., 684 - R.V., 1,1562. Ashwellthorpe Pop., 409 - Acr., 979 - R.V., 1,7191. Tacolnestone - Pop., 451 - Acr., 1,557 - R.V., 2,7601. Present at Meeting : From Fundenhall— G. Barton, Esq., owner, occupier, churchwarden, and guardian. Mr. W. W. Reeve, occupier. Mr. F. Tye, occupier. Mr. Watson, bailiff. Mr. George Harvey, farmer and publican. Mr. Wm. Howes, owner and occupier. From Hapton— Mr. D. Rattee, veterinary surgeon and farmer. From Ashwellthorpe — Sir H. Tyrwhitt, Bart., landowner. Mr. C. W. Harvey, occupier. Mr. W. Dewing, occupier and owner. From Tacolnestone— F. G. Boilean, Esq., occupier and owner, Rev. F. Corbould, rector. Mr. E. Phillippo, occupier. Mr. J. Bassingthwaighte, occupier and church- warden. Mr. T. Kirk, occupier. Mr. James Bassingthwaighte, jun., occupier. Mr. John Ludkin, occupier. Mr. R. Newman, occupier. Mr. H. Huggins, occupier, Mr. Geo. Self, occupier. Mr. R. Barnard, bailiff, In Fundenhall the Jand belongs to several owners. There is rather an excess of labour, and of cottages. A few are unoccupied. They are in fair condition ; perhaps a fourth have three chambers, very few have only one chamber. They are mostly built of clay Jump or clay stud. The rent ranges from 2/. 12s. to 51., depending chiefly on the size of the ‘garden. There is a school, held in a good room, attended by 30 girls and 14 boys; average attendance from 18 to 24. Only one boy over 10. The school is adequately supported. A night school has been held for the two last winters by Mr. Barton, attended by 15 or 16 lads and young men. ‘There is no resident clergyman. In Hapton there are two principal owners and several small proprietors. There is a sufficiency of labour and of cottages. The cottages are fair ; the rent the same as at Fundenhall. There is a parish school, supported by voluntary subscriptions. It is an efficient school, well attended, not in connexion with Government, superintended by the incumbent. In the winter months there is 2 night school. The means of education are quite sufficient in Hapton. In Ashwellthorpe the land belongs to several owners. There is plenty of labour and of cottages. Two or three cottages belonging to a widow woman who can’t afford to repair them are in bad condition, but the generality are in fair order. There are one or two cases of overcrowding, chiefly from the people’s own fault, keeping big girls at home, who ought to be out. There is a day school in connexion with Govern- ment, under a certificated mistress, with from 60 to 70 children on the register. There has been no night school since the last curate left, two years ago. In Tacolnesione the land is the property of three principal and alarge number of small owners. There is enough labour, and a sufficient supply of cottages. They are mostly in fair order; but there is not a sufficient number with three chambers. ‘The rent varies from 20. 10s. to 42. 10s.; the average would be about 3/. There is a school under a mistress, entirely supported by Mr. Boileau, with about 40 children on the register, In the winter of 1865-6 there was a night school, under the management of a Scripture reader, attended F3 Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 48 by about 20 scholars, which was fairly successful. But the Scripture reader left, and last winter it was discontinued. © 7 y . It is the unanimous opinion of this meeting that no child ought to be employed in agricultural labour under 8 years of age, and it would be no hardship to make it penal to employ them. It is considered impracticable to apply the half- day or the alternate day principle to boys employed in agriculture; but the meeting thinks that there are three or four months in the winter, during which there is very little employment for boys under 11 or 12, when they might with great advantage be sent to school. For boys above the agé of 12 it is thought that the night school is the only efficient instrument foi carrying’on their education, and it is much to be wished that there were a good night school in every parish. ; It is-the opinion of this meeting that, as every child under 12 years of age is certain to lose at least 30 days’ labour in the year, it would be desirable, and there would be no hardship, to enact that no child under that age should be employed in agricultural la- bour without producing a certificate of having attended- school for that number of days in the course of the preceding twelvemonth. : > eae It is considered desirable that when labourers of different sexes are employed in the fields they should, as far as possible, be kept separate; and it is felt that the present cottage accommodation of the agricultural poor is in too many cases very unsatisfactory, and that this question really lies at the root of the physical and moral condition of this portion of the population. GERARD Barron. Wittram Howes. Water WILLIAM REEVE. F. Tye. Dant. E. Ratree. W. Watson. Geo. Harvey. Henry Tyrwaitt. C. W. Harvey. W. DEwine. Francis G. M. Borreav. T. CoRBouLp. E. Paitiirro. JOHN BASSINGTHWAIGHTE. Henry Hueeins. Tuomas Kirx. Aurrep G. SELF. Joon LupKIn. Rosert Newman. James BAssINGTHWAIGHTE. No. 385. Thursday, August 8, 1867. Meeting at Hempnall, for Hempnall - Pop., 1,094 - Aecr., 3,572 - R.V., 5,7352. Present at Meeting : Rev. G. T. Hall, vicar. Mr. Samuel Hipperson, owner and occupier of 125 acres. Mr. Roger Roberts, innkeeper. Mr. Wm. Rackham, shoemaker. Mr. James Nory, baker. Mr. Wm. Arnold, occupier of 120 acres. The land in Hempnall belongs to a considerable number of owners, of whom the two principal ones are J. T. Mott, Esq. (who is also lay impropriator), and F. W. Irby, Esq. The population has decreased by nearly 200 in the last 20 years. A great many of the labourers work out of the parish. There are more cottages than are required ; there are 16 or 20 now standing empty. No man need walk much more than a mile to get to his work. The cottages are not really good, and are deficient in chamber accommodation. The rent is generally high, and many cottages have very small, if any, gardens. They mostly belong to small proprietors. v EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND: WOMEN : There:is one National school .and several. private adventure schools, The National school is held in a. good building, in a low. damp situation, erected in 1847, with 82 children on the register, and about 56 - in ordinary attendance. Twelve years ago it was much more flourishing than it is now ;. there were then boys in attendance of from 14 to 17 years of age ; and the subscriptions have fallen off from 321. to 104. Many parents are found. to prefer private ‘schools as more genteel ; one. of the .private schools, in’ the parish has upwards of 40 scholars. Among many of. ~ the parents there is a positive indifference on the subject of the education of their children. The school. received a building: grant. from Government, but has not been inspected for eight or nine, years, and no. annual grant is received, ‘The whole annual cost of the school is about 50/., of which 20/. is provided out a parish charity, about 15/. from’ school pence, and, 102. from voluntary subscriptions. The master and. mistress receive 25/, a year in addition to the school pence. an * Every labouring man’s child should be able to read, intelligently, to write a letter, and to cipher, and .the, schools that are offered to, them ought to secure this: amount of education. It would make no difference in this part of the country if it were made penal to em- ploy a child in agricultural labour under eight years, of age. In general a boy is of very little use upon a farm before he has reached the age of 10 or 12. A. biggish active boy would earn from 3s. to 3s. 6d. a week, There is a slack time in the winter for small boys, if parents were disposed to send them to school. But. many children are growing up without proper disci- pline and education, and the school in its present condition is not such as to attract them. Some years ago efforts were made to carry on an evening school, but they did not succeed, and latterly they. have not been repeated. , Not so many women are employed in Hempnall, after the acreage, as in some other parishes; but many young girls seem to prefer work in the fields to domestic service, on account of the greater liberty they enjoy. Farmers were never so much put to for dairymaids as they are nowe Young girls will not go where there are cows to milk or a child or two to nurse. It is considered very much better that they. should go out to service than work in the fields. There is no gang in this parish, the farmers present prefer to have their own complement of regular labourers. When women are employed, they are generally put to work by themselves, except in haysell and harvest. Roger Roserts, James Nory.,, . Wiiiram Rackyam. SamurEL Hiprerson. Wirii1am ARNOLD, [The Rev. G. T. Hall was obliged to leave before the meeting was concluded. ] County or Norrotx: Unton or Dockine. No. 36. Thursday, September 12, 1867. | Collective Meeting at Ingoldisthorpe, for Parishes of Ingoldisthorpe - Pop., 372 - Acr., 1,100- R.V., 2,191. Dersingham Pop., 822 - Acr., 2,700 - R.V., 4,1122. Shernbourne - Pop., 144 - Acr., 1,800 - R.V., 1,2151. Present at Meeting : From Ingoldisthorpe— . . Rev. W. J. Beckett, rector and diocesan-inspec- tor of schools. - Re ae. Mr. T. Williamson, churchwarden, ' guardian, and occupier. fo ay Mr. R. Farrin, overseer and occupier. Mr. R. Lewis, occupier. IN AGRICULTURE (1867): COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ‘From Dersingham— © « » Mr. Stanton, occupier. Mr. R. Stanton, occupier. ‘From Shernbourne— ~ Rev. W. Leech, vicar. Mr. John Williamson, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier. Ingoldisthorpe is an open parish, containing about 45 cottages, 30 of which belong to two proprietors holding only small quantities of land; the rest belong to the landed proprietors. The supply of labour is in excess of the demand, and the supply of cottages is fully adequate to the agricultural wants of the parish. The cottages belonging to the landed proprietors are good; those belonging to the small proprietors are very bad. The rent ranges from 3/. 10s. to 51, de- pending upon the size of the house and garden. There are six cottages without gardens. The cottages are built either of brick or of “ carr stone,” the latter a sandstone which hardens by exposure to the aimo- sphere, and forms an excellent material. There is ample school accommodation. The school at Christ- mas will be in connexion with Government, and is ordinarily attended by about 50 children. The annual cost is about 601. a year. The school pence amount to 61. or 71, a year. The rest of the expense has hitherto been borne by the rector, but one landed proprietor has recently promised an annual subscrip- tion of 10 guineas. , In Dersingham the land belongs to at least 20 pro- prietors, the principal of whom are His Royal High- ness the Prince of Wales, Marquis Cholmondeley, and Mr. Bellamy. .There is a sufficient supply of iabour ; many of the labourers resident in Dersingham work out of the parish. There are enough cottages for the actual wants of the parish, but many of the cottages are overcrowded. Their condition varies ; some are very pad, others, recently built, are good. Very few have three bedrooms. .The rent the same as Ingoldisthorpe. Most have gardens. There are also 40 or 50 allotments, belonging to the parish under the Inclosure Act, assigned to the labouring poor according to the judg- ment of the trustees. There is an elementary school attended by about 50 children, supported by voluntary subscriptions, but with the chief expense falling upon Mr. Freeman. There a few small dames’ schools, but the provision for education is not adequate to the wants of this large parish. anaes hs In Shernbourne there are three landed proprietors, two farms, and about 25. cottages. The supply of labour is about equal to the demand. The cottages have been recently repaired, and some new ones built, and ‘they are generally in fair condition. There are two or three with three bedrooms, and all have gar- dens. The rent is cheap, ranging from 2/ to 31, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, owns 500 acres in the parish, and has only six cottages. There is a school, attended by about 20 children, chiefly supported by one of the landowners; the annual cost is about 25/. The mistress is an elderly woman, and has kept an evening school on her own account for four or five winters. 3 Upon the general questions submitted to the meet- ing, it was considered that there is no advantage to the employer in the labour of a boy under 10, _ When young girls are employed in field labour they should work under the eye of their fathers or mothers ; the employment of the two sexes in mixed gangs is considered to be highly undesirable. It is the unanimous feeling of the employers of labour present that young girls should go out to service instead of working in the fields, but female labour could hardly be dispensed with altogether. There are some kinds of work (such as turnip singling, parley gathering, wheat tying) which women can do better than men; other work (picking twitch) that men would not do, and women’s labour is cheaper our. Be ee would.be from three to four months’ slack time in the winter, of which advantage might be taken to carry on the interrupted education of boys between 10 and 12 years of age, but the school managers present fear that the introduction of such boys into the day school would bring in an element of insubor- dination which would materially interfere with the well-doing of the school. They would also be difficult to manage and to teach in a night school. The object to be aimed at is to secure a more regular attendance at school between the ages of 6 and 10. No gentleman present has any objection to bring against the system or kind of education given in the existing elementary schools, on the ground of its being unsuitable to the condition of the children, All think that the labouring man ought to be able to read, to write, and to cast a common account. W. T. Becxerr. Tuos. J. E. WitLIAMson. Roser Farrin. Ricuarp Lewis. Witiiam Lreca. JouN WILLIAMSON. Rogpert STantTon. RICHARD STANTON. No. 37. Friday, August 13, 1867. Collective Meeting at Hunstanton, for Hunstanton - Pop.,490- Acr., 1,800 - R.V., 3,398/. Heacham~ - Pop,,990 - Acr., 3,465 - R.V., 5,9251, Ringstead -, Pop., 522 - Acr., 3,600:- R.V., 83,2512. Present at Meeting : | . From Hunstanton— Rev. W. M. Church, rector. Mr. Dodman, churchwarden and occupier. Mr. Hunn, guardian and occupier. From Heacham— : C. N. Rolfe, Esq., landowner and magistrate. Mr. Lewis, churchwarden and occupier. Rev. E. Oakley, curate. Mr. Burcham, occupier. From Ringstead— Mr. Kitton, churchwarden, guardian, and occu- pier. Mr. Wharton, occupier. -Mr. Wells, occupier. Rev. W. L. Hussey, rector, and Mr. Freeman, of Dersingham. In Hunstanton all the land, except about a couple: of acres, belongs to Mr. L’Estrange. There is abun- dance of labour, and a sufficient supply of cottages. The cottages belong to the landowner, and are mostly in good condition, but there are a few cases of over- crowding. Mr. Church can only remember four that have three bedrooms. There are five cottages occu- pied by widows at 10s. rent per annum ; the rents ordinarily range from 21. to 41. There is a school for boys, and another for girls. The former is free for 16 boys; the endowment is 331, and a house. The girls’ school is supported by the lord of the manor, who contributes 50/. Neither is in connexion with the Government, but both are cousidered by the diocesan inspector to be in a con- dition of thorough efficiency. Boys are retained in this school to a higher age than usual, in consequence of the improvement in the condition of the parents, owing to various local circumstances, the rise of the watering place of New Hunstanton, &c. — There is a night school, with an attendance of about 26 scholars. The schoolmaster is paid 5/. a year for teaching in it, and he is assisted by the curate and one or two gentlemen resident in the village. | In Heacham the land belongs to Mr. L’Estrange and Mr. Rolfe, and to Caius College, Cambridge; there are also several small proprietors. There is a sufficiency of labour and of cottages. The majority of the cottages belong to small proprietors; about half are thoroughly good, and the rest are very bad F 4 49 Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a ae Norfolk. —— Rev. J. Fraser. a. 50 and highly rented. The agricultural labourers are generally well lodged. The rent ranges from 2/. to 5l. 10s. The high rent does not always imply a better cottage. Some of the cottages, built in rows, are very inadequately supplied with accommodations necessary for health and decency. There is a school in the parish, not in connexion with Government, under an excellent uncertificated master, with about 120 names on the register, and an average attendance of 90. The annual cost is about 802. or 901.; Mr. Rolfe subscribes 50/., Mr. L’Estrange 102., Caius College 5/. For the last eight or nine years there has been a night school, conducted by the curate and some volunteers, at first attended by about 40 scholars, last winter by about 20. The sense of its value seems to ‘have lessened. ‘the land in Ringstead belongs chiefly to Mr. L’Estrange, and there are six or seven small pro- prietors, owning from 5 to 40 acres of land. The The quantity of labour is about sufficient, and there are enough cottages for the wants of the parish. About half the cottages belong to the landowner, the rest are owned by small proprietors, and are treated as investments. The rent asked by the small pro- prietors is considerably in excess of that taken by the landowner, while the cottages generally are in worse condition. Some very fair cottages are deficient in gardens and out-door accommodation. There is a parish school, in connexion with Govern- ment, under a certificated master, with about 90 names on the register and an average attendance of 60 or 70. The total annual cost is about 90/., and it has gene- rally cgst the rector 50/. a year. The landowner subscribes 10/., and there are other subscriptions of 21., 14, 10s., 7s.6d., and 5s. There has been a night school every winter for the last 10 years, taught by the master of the day school, with an average attendance of 15 last winter. The rector used to teach it, but he was informed from the Privy Council Office that if he continued to do so he would forfeit his grant, and the school will be deprived of the benefit of his aid for the future. The difficulty arose from the fact that under the trust deed the rector is the sole manager. The rate of wages in the district at present is 12s. a week, yardmen and teamsmen get 14s. a week. The harvest money this year has been 6/. 10s. to 61. 15s., and, owing to the favourable season, it was earned in less than a month. A first-class labourer at day and piece work at present prices earns at least 40J. a year. It is the opinion of this meeting that the home of the labourer ought to he placed within reasonable distance of his work, and that any man who has to travel more than a mile to his work suffers thereby a loss of physical power which lessens his value as a labourer. The meeting consider that the labour of a boy under 10 years of age is of no practical value to the farmer, and that it would cause no embarrassment to him if it were made penal to employ boys under that age, the season of harvest excepted. It is felt, however, that an absolute prohibition of this kind might inflict hardship upon large families. At the same time, it is not seen how such prohi- bition would promote the education of such children, unless it were accompanied by some provision to secure their attendance at school. All the gentlemen present are of opinion that the half-day system and the alternate whole-day system are impracticable in agriculture ; the principle of the Printworks Act might be more applicable, provided that hours spent in a night school were allowed to count, but difficulties are perceived in the way of working the principle, and the opinion of the meeting is that the great thing to be aimed at is to secure the more constant attendance at school of agricultural children between the ages of 6 and 10. It is thought that the night school, though it can only be regarded as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, the EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDKEN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN day school, should form a regular part of the educa- tional organization of every rural parish, It is the unanimous opinion of the meeting that, if it could be dispensed with, the employment of women in field labour is most undesirable ; the younger women would be better in service, the married women in their homes. But the question is largely affected by the different circumstances of different farms. Mr. Lewis and Mr. Wharton, one occupying 1,000, the other 700 acres, cultivate their land without the employment of women at all; and Mr. Freeman, occupying 1,200 acres, employs as few women as he possibly can, and would rather do without them altogether if it were possible. Other gentlemen thought that they could not cultivate their land satisfactorily without female labour in the spring time and during harvest. : The gentlemen present have no objection to bring against the present system of elementary education, which they consider to be suitable to the wants and future condition of the children, and they would wish to see every labouring man able to read intelli- gently, to write legibly, and to cast up a common account, The meeting feels that the moral condition of the agricultural poor depends more than upon anything else upon the condition of their homes; that the con- dition of these homes at present is in the highest degree unsatisfactory, and that some regulation analo- gous to the provisions of the Lodging House Act, should be applied to remedy some of the more crying evils of overcrowding and defective sanitary arrange- ments. The meeting sees with regret the increase in the number of beerhouses, and considers that the trans- ference of the licensing power from the magistrates to the Excise has operated prejudicially upon the condition of rural parishes. Cuar.es Nevittr Roire. W. M. H. Cuurca. JosHUA FREEMAN. Martin Dopman, Tuos. B. Kirron. Epwin OAxKLEY. Tuos. WHARTON. Wm. Law Hussey. Wm. Lewis. Joun W. Hunn. J. G. BurcHamM. 38. Saturday, Sept. 14, 1867. Collective Meeting at Snettisham, for Snettisham - Pop., 1,173 - Acr., 5,579 - R.V., 7,884. Sedgeford - Pop., 742 - Acr., 4,121 - R.V., 4,787. Present at Meeting : From Snettisham— Rev. H. Bridgewater, curate. Mr. H. Barnard, occupier. Mr. Chas. Beck, guardian and occupier. Mr. Stephen Margetts, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier, Mr. Gowing, assistant overseer, sanitary inspector, and chemist. Mr. Lambert Lewis, guardian and occupier. Mr. Lambert, occupier and shopkeeper. Mr. Lawson, assessor and saddler, From Sedgeford— Rey. J. A. Ogle, vicar and rural dean. Mr. J. Spinks, churchwarden and occupier. Mr. J. W. Howlett, guardian and occupier. Mr. W. Rix, churchwarden and occupier. The land in Snettisham belongs to five principal owners. There is a sufficient supply of labour on most of the farms; but there is one farm of 800 acres, belonging to the corporation of Lynn, which has only two cottages, and is three miles distant from the heart of the parish. There are 182 cottages in the parish, of which three-fourths have been built for IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, 51 speculative investment, and not for the accommodation of particular farms. ‘The condition of the cottages generally is unsatisfactory. They are frequently overcrowded, and the chambers are too small. There are perhaps 60 with only one bedroom, and there are certainly not six cottages with three bedrooms. The rent ranges from 17. (for the smallest cottages, with very little garden—mere hovels in fact) to 51. The provision for education in the parish consists of—- (1.) A free grammar school for 20 boys, endowed with land, producing about 120/. a year, and a house. Most of the free boys are children of labourers ; there are also about 15 paying day boys, and 25 boarders. The latter are the sons of farmers and tradesmen in the neighbourhood. The school is not under any inspection, but is administered by 12 trus- tees, who admit the boys by examination. (2.) A parochal school, in connexion with Govern- ment, supported by voluntary contributions, held in a fair room, with 100 children on the register and an average attendance of about 75; taught by a pro- visionally certificated mistress. The diocesan inspector reports it as a very good school. There are also three or four private schools in the parish, attended by children of the labouring class. In Sedgeford the land belongs chiefly to five pro- prietors, upwards of 2,000 acres belong to the dean and chapter of Norwich (now to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners), and on this extent of land there does not exist a:single cottage. Another owner has over 1,000 acres, with about 30 good cottages; another over 500 acres, with no cottage ; another upwards of 190 acres, with one cottage ; another over 50 acres, with two or three cottages. There are 119 cottages in the parish, of which between 80 and 90 are in the hands of small owners. The general condition of the cottages in the parish is very unsatisfactory. Some terrible cases of overcrowding exist. In one instance a man and his wife and seven children, ranging from 2to 21 years of age, of both sexes, and one female lodger with an illegitimate child occupy one sleeping room. In another, a man and his wife with nine children of both sexes, ranging in age from infancy to 15 years, have but one bedchamber. In another, a man and his wife and eight children of both sexes, from infancy to 18 years of age, are no better off for sleeping accommodation. The cottages are fairly distributed over the area of the parish, and no labourer has to travel any unrea- sonable distance to his work. The supply of labour is in excess of the demand, and several cottages are now standing empty. The rent of the cottages varies from 31. to 41. 10s. Most of them have good gardens, but a considerable number are in a bad state of repair. Many are with- out proper privy accommodation, and the attention of the sanitary inspector has been called to the fact, but without leading to any improvement. There is an excellent school in connexion with Government, chiefly supported by one of the land- owners, who contributes 507. a year, besides having built the room and teacher’s house. There are 53 names on the register (which is below the usual number), and an average attendance of 39. There is a private school in the parish, kept by a dame, attended by about 30 children, whose parents are chiefly Nonconformists. Neither in Snettisham nor in Sedgeford is there a night school at present. If it could be proved to be an advantage to the child, and no hardship to the parent, there would be no embarrassment caused to the farmer by making it penal to employ a child under the age of 10. But it is the opinion of the meeting that unless some com- pulsion were exercised on thriftless parents, or some security were taken to secure the regular attendance of such children at school, such prohibition would only aggravate present evils, and the children who were prevented from being employed would, in many cases, only be getting into mischief and become a public nuisance. Norfolk, It was thought that if the regular attendance of Rev. J. Fraser. such children could be secured they would be turned out into life at the age of 10 with a fairly sufficient amount of knowledge for their station in life, It would be the wish of the gentlemen present that every labouring man should be able to read his Bible and write a letter, and it was felt that this amount of knowledge is not generally possessed by agricultural labourers now. The difficulties surrounding the maintenance of a night school were fully recognized, but so also was its value as the adjunct of a day school, and it was thought to be an instrument of education which ought to be encouraged as much as possible. It was the opinion of the meeting that the employ- ment of young girls over 14 in field labour is highly undesirable ; indeed, that the employment of young girls of any age could easily be dispensed with, and if the girls can get out into domestic service, by all means they should be encouraged to go. A prohibi- tion to employ them in the fields would act as such an encouragement. A case was mentioned by one gentle- man present of three women whom he used to em- ploy habitually, who were very handy workers in the fields, but now make, the worst possible wives. The condition of the homes of the labouring class was thought, in many cases, to be incompatible with the bringing up of a tamily in habits of decency and morality, and it was the unanimous opinion of the meeting that legislation ought to be immediately brought to bear upon this subject, so as to remove some of the many evils that are felt to result from things as they are. The distance that some labourers have to travel to their work was also mentioned as a feature, in the present distribution of cottages, which operates very prejudicially both on the employers and the employed. It is the decided opinion of the meeting that there are too many beerhouses in the country, and that the facilities recently afforded for procuring a licence to open a house for the sale of beer are likely to produce, and are producing, mischievous effects. H. H. Brivewater, Curate of Snettisham. Henry BarNarp, Snettisham. J. W. How ett, Sedgeford. STEPHEN Marcetts, Snettisham. T. N. Sprvg, Sedgeford. Wim Rix, Sedgeford. J. Gowine, Snettisham. G. Lawson, Snettisham. J. A. Oaix, Vicar of Sedgeford, rural dean. 39. Monday, Sept. 15, 1867. Collective Meeting at Kast Rudham, for East Rudham - Pop., 956 - Acr., 3,904 - R.V., 4,5872. West Rudham- Pop., 487 - Acr., 2.800 - R.V., 3,475/. Houghton - Pop., 2380 - Acr., 1,521 - R.V., 1,8482. Syderstone - Pop., 528 - Acr., 2,450- R.V., 2,593/. Present at Meeting : From East and West Rudham— Rev. F. P. Willington, vicar. Mr. H. C. Bonner, churchwarden, occupier of 2,000 acres. Mr. E. Sheringham, churchwarden, occupier of 800 acres. Mr. J. B. Stedman, guardian and occupier of 450 acres, Mr. E. Tingey, churchwarden and occupier of 850 acres. Mr. J. Baker, guardian and occupier of 3800 acres. - Mr. E. Savory, overseer and occupier of 1,400 acres. Mr. Manby, medical officer. Mr. J. Drage, merchant. a, 52 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Norfolk. From Houghton— Upon the further question of penal prohibition and Mr. W. Stanton, churchwarden and occupier of compulsion there was a difference of opinion ; but a Rev. J. Fraser. 500 acres and sub-agent for Marquis Chol- resolution proposed by Mr. Bonner was carried by a = mondeley. majority of:11 to 3 that—(1) it would be no hardship a, Mr. F. Goulder, guardian and occupier of 700 to the farmer if it were made penal to employ a boy acres. under 10 years of age (the season of haysell and har- Rev. J. H. Broome, vicar. From Syderstone— Rev. W. H. Tudor, rector. Rev. T. Carpenter, curate. Mr, W. Tayton, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier of 1,100 acres. In East and West Rudham the principal owners are the Marquis Cholmondeley and Marquis Townshend ; there are a few small proprietors. ‘The supply of labour at present is about adequate to the demand. If landowners built cottages in neighbouring close parishes, there would be an ample supply both of labour and cottages. The cottages are not in good condition, but improving, and they are not well distri- buted, too much clustered, a result which has been brought about by the Inclosure Act. The majority of them belong to small proprietors. The rent ranges from 27. 10s. to 61. In many cases the cheapest cottages are the best, and belong to the landowners. Wages at present are 12s. a week. There is a parochial school, built by subscription and Government aid; an excellent room. ‘The school is under a certificated master and an infant mistress, with an average attendance of about 100 ; supported by subscription, aided by the Government capitation. The school pence amount to from 3800. to 35/. The subscriptions were 322. last year, of which 15/. or 162. were subscribed by the farmers. There has generally been a night school, but it was discontinued last winter in consequence of the vicar’s not being able to get any help. In Houghton the Marquis Cholmondeley is the sole owner. The supply of resident labour is sufficient for the acreage of the parish, and there are enough cottages. The cottages are in a good condition of repair, but more chamber accommodation would be of advantage. The rent ranges from 1/.10s. to 20. 10s. ; the latter sum including the rent of an allotment of a quarter of an acre. Mr. Stanton, Lord Cholmondeley’s agent, thinks that the allotment is too large, and that an eighth of an acre is as much as a labouring man can find time to cultivate, and that with proper culti- vation he might get as much off the smaller quantity as he now gets off the larger. There is a school in Houghton, entirely supported by Lord Cholmondeley, held in an excellent room, under a master and mistress, attended by between 40 and 50 children, some of whom come from an adjoin- ing parish. There has also-been a night school, which in the opinion of the vicar has worked satisfactorily. There is also an infant school, In Syderstone the chief ‘owner is the Marquis Cholmondeley. There is not always a sufficiency of resident labour. The landowners’ cottages are in good repair, but those belonging to small proprietors, of which there is a considerable number, are in much worse order, and the rents in some cases rise as high as 61.; in fact, the dearest cottages are the worst. There is a school, under Government, mixed, under a certificated mistress, supported by subscriptions, which amount to about 331. a year. It is attended, on the average, by about 50 children. There is also a small dame’s school, attended chiefly by children of Nonconformists. There is no compulsion on the day scholars either to attend Sunday school or to come to church. There has been a night school, but it has not worked effectively, as the young people were reluctant to come, and there was a difficulty in keeping awake those that did come. The master also, a labouring man in the village, was not a very efficient teacher, though an intelligent man. It is the unanimous opinion of this meeting that the labour of a boy under 10 years of age is of no practical value to the farmer. vest excepted); but (2) that such prohibition would produce no benefit, but rather the reverse, unless it were accompanied by some provision which would oblige the parenis of such children to send them to school. It is thought that on farms of the character prevail- ing in this neighbourhood, where the land has a ten- dency “to grow everything that ought not to grow,” women’s labour is indispensable. On Mr. Bonner’s occupation of 2,000 acres about 20 women are em- ployed nearly throughout the year, but the meeting sees with regret young unmarried girls at work in the fields, and would much prefer that they should go out to service. It would be even desirable to prohibit their employ- ment in farm. labour under the age of 16, by which time they would be fitted for service, but as some girls are never likely to make domestic servants, it would not be right to raise the restriction to a higher age. The condition of the cottages which are the homes of the labouring class is considered to be most unsatis- factory ; no cottage occupied by a labouring man with a mixed family can be called decent which has not three properly partitioned chambers. At present not five out of every 100 cottages are so provided. It is the opinion of the meeting that every farm ought to have its proportionate number of cottages, and a double cottage on every 100 acres in the case of large farms would be a proper proportion, and the right way for a landowner to regard his cottages is to look upon them, not as a remunerative investment, but as part and parcel of his farm in the same sense as the homestead and the barns. It is the opinion of the meeting that the present, mode of licensing beerhouses is open to many objec- tions, and produces very mischievous effects, and they would wish to see no difference in the way of granting a licence made in favour of the beerhouse as compared’ with the house that can sell wines and spirits. ; The meeting is strongly in favour of night schools, and would wish every labouring man to be able to read and write, even though he should not thereby be made a better labourer. F. P. Witiineron, Vicar of East and West Rudham. i Henry C. Bonner. Epwp. SHERINGHAM. Epmonp Savory. Epwarp Tinéry. Joun DraGe. Wm. H. Tupor, Rector of Syderstone. Tuo. Carpenter, M.A., Curate of Syderstone. Wma. Tayton. / J. H. Broome, Vicar of Houghton, Wm. Stanton. F. C. Gourprr. 40. Monday, Sept. 16, 1867. Collective Meeting at Great Bircham, for the parishes of ; Great Bircham Pop., 489 - Acr., 3,400- R.V., 2,6192. Bircham Newton Pop., 118 - Acr., 1,065 - R.V., 1,0602, and Bircham Tofts Pop., 169 - Acr., 1,485-R.V., 8601. Bagthorpe - Pop. 69-Acr., 750-R.V., 7804, Barmer © - Pop. 62 - Acr., 1,000-R.V., 1, 1647, Present at Meeting : From Bircham Magna— Rey. J. B, Winckworth, curate in charge. Mr. Edward Kitton, occupier of 800 acres, Mr. W. Hopking, occupier of 260 acres. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Mr, J. Layland, schoolmaster. Miss Mary Kitton. Miss Rebecca Kitton. Mr. John Cutter, occupying 940 acres. Mr. F. Goulder, occupier. From Bircham Newton and Tofts— Rev. J. Mayo, curate. Mr. John Jarrett, guardian, churchwarden, over- seer, and occupier of 500 acres. Mr. Jas. Leftley, steward of Miss Lancaster, oc- cupying 570 acres. From Barmer— Mr. J. Martin, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier of 900 acres. From Bagthorpe— No representative. The whole of the land in Great Bircham belongs to the Marquis Cholmondeley. There would be a sufficiency of labour if all the labourers residing in the parish worked in the parish. As it is, several men work in Fring, and travel three miles to their work. / Mr. Goulder occupies 250 acres in Bircham Magna, and has not a single cottage in the parish belonging to his farm, nor a single person living in the parish working for him; nor cen he have, as he cannot procure lodgings for them. He has to go 15 miles off, to Lynn and the neighbourhood, for harvest men. He ‘could. permanently employ three or four men more than he does if he had cottages to put them into. What he complains of is, that the cottages are not properly appropriated to the farms. There is overcrowding in the cottages, and in some ‘eases double families under one roof. They are mostly in good repair, and are being largely and generally improved. : All but two belong to Lord Cholmondeley. When the improvements are completed there will be a considerable number with three bedrooms. The rent ranges from 11. 10s. to 32.10s. The higher rent is for the better cottages, and includes a quarter of an ‘acre of allotment. ‘There is a parochial school, supported entirely by ‘Lady Cholmondeley, for the three Birchams, not in connexion with Government, under a trained master and his wife, with 156 names on the register, and about 140 in average attendance. . For 12 years there has been a night school in the winter months, taught by the two clergymen and the schoolmaster, attended by 40 scholars (all males). The land in Bircham Newton and Bircham Tofts ‘also belongs wholly to Marquis Cholmondeley. There is a short supply both of labourers and. of cottages. There are only 16 cottages in Bircham Newton and 22 in Bircham Tofts. In Bircham Newton the per- manent demand for labour would be for about 28 men. Labour has to be imported from Docking (23 miles off) and from Great Bircham. In Bircham Newton the cottages are in fair repair. In Bircham Tofts many are very bad, but eight new cottages are in course of erection. When these are -finished the worst of the old ones will be pulled down. At the last audit the marquis’s agent stated that in the course of the next three years there are to be built on the estate 30 new cottages, and 15 old ones to be thoroughly repaired. The area of the estate is about 17,000 acres, and extends into 10 different parishes. The average rent of cottages in Bircham Newton and . Bircham Tofts is 2d. 10s. The school at Great Bircham serves for all the Birchams, and also draws nine children from Bagthorpe and three from Anmer. : In Barmer all the land belongs T. Kearslake, Esq., who resides in the parish. There is only one re- sident occupier. ‘There are nine cottages in Barmer, recently built and very good, and eight-others belong- ‘ing to the same landlord in the adjoining parish of Syderstone, the tenants of which are. considered to belong tothe Barmer estate. The landlord subscribes ‘to Syderstone school, and the Barmer children attend 53 there. mile. In Bagthorpe the land belongs to Rev. S. R. Cattley. There is only one occupier (who was prevented at- tending the meeting by illness). There is a short supply of labour and of cottages. There are only 10 cottages occupied by labourers ; the population is only 69, and there is no school; children attend at Bircham Magna. The meeting regard the Act recently passed for the regulation of agricultural gangs with great satisfac- tion, as they are entirely opposed to the employment of mixed gangs, and they consider that the requirement of a licence for the gangmaster will result in placing men of better character in that position, and rescue what might be a valuable organization of labour from the mischievous results which have hitherto attended it. The meeting think that the labourer would be better with more education than he at present possesses ; that that education should be suitable to his probable position in life, and that it should qualify him to read with intelligence, to write a legible hand, and to cast a common shop account. To secure this result, which it is felt is not attained at present, it is thought that the half-day or the alternate whole day system is impracticable in agri- culture ; and if any restriction is to be placed upon the employment of boy labour, the gentlemen present were unanimous in thinking that it would be far better, in the interests both of the cultivation of the land and of the education of the child, to secure the regular attendance of boys at school (say) up to the age of 10 years, than to require by any enactment analogous to those in the Factory and Workshop Acts a periodic attendance at school concurrently with employment in the field. There would be no serious embarrassment to the farmer if (the harvest season excepted) it were made penal to employ boys in the field under the age of 10. The farmers present were unanimous in saying that they do not desire to see young girls under 16 employed in the fields; they do not want them; and there would be no hardship to them if they were prohibited from employing them. It is the opinion of the meeting that the physical, moral, and social condition of the labouring class pri- marily depends upon the condition of their homes, and that the state of some of the cottages inhabited by the agricultural labourer in many parishes is such as im- peratively to demand such interference as shall compel their owners to provide them with proper accommoda- tion and to keep them in proper repair, and the powers at present possessed by the sanitary inspector are not considered sufficient to secure the ends for which that officer is appointed. The meeting would desire to see an efficient night school as an auxiliary to the day school established in every parish, There is only one public house (closed on Sundays under covenant with the landlord) in the parishes of Great Bircham, Bircham Newton, Bircham Tofts, Houghton, Barmer, Bagthorpe, Fring, and Anmer, and both the clergymen and the farmers present think they can trace a decided improvement in the habits of the people in consequence. J. R. Winckwortu, Curate. E. W. Kirton. Joun LAYLAND. Witiiam C. Horxive. ALFRED JouHN CUTTER. F. C. Goutprr. Jas. Mayo, Curate (since Aug. 1866) of Bircham Newton and Tofts. JNo. JARRETT, Churchwarden. James LErrTLey. Jno. Martin, The distance to the school would be about a Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. ae Rev. J. Fraser. 54 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN No. 41. Yuesday, September.17, 1867. Collective Meeting at Burnham Westgate, for age } Pop. 1,094 - Acr., 3,048 - R.V., 5,474. » Deepdale - Pop. 81 - Acr., 1,000- R.V., 1,386/. » Norton Acr., 1,100 - R.V., 1,6682. », Overy Pop. 1,202 Acr., 2,298 - R.V., 38,3370, » Ulph } Acr., 1,400-R.V., 2,004. + Sutton » Thorpe - Pop. 427 - Acr., 2,321 -R.V., 3,109. Present at Meeting : From Burnham Westgate— Rey. Dr. Bates, rector. ; Hi. E. Blyth, Esq., landowner and occupier, magistrate, and churchwarden. Mr. R. Evitts, churchwarden and baker. From Burnham Norton— Mr. George Wiseman, occupier of 1,000 acres and overseer. From Burnham Deepdale— Rev. E. G. Blyth, rector. Mr. R. Cooke, guardian, overseer, churchwarden, and occupier of 800 acres. From Burnham Overy— Rev. J. S. Ellis curate. Mr. R. Dewing, guardian, overseer, warden, and merchant. Mr. F. Jickling, churchwarden and occupier of 200 acres. Mr. H. Freeman, overseer and occupier of 500 acres. From Burnham Thorpe— Rev. E. B. Everard, rector. Mr. Thomas Mack, guardian and occupier of 600 acres. From Burnham Sutton-cum-Ulph— Rev. G. G. Hayter, rector. Mr. John Overman, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 900 acres. Mr. John Bower, proprietor of a classical and commercial school. Rev. E. Stallybrass, Independent minister. Mr. Martin Rix, innkeeper. Mr. John Saintry, manufacturer of agricultural implements. Rev. A. Napier, vicar of Holkham. church- Burnham Westgate is an open parish. There are three principal and several small proprietors. There is plenty of labour. Many cottages are now vacant, The condition of the cottages differs widely ; some are very good, some very bad. Those belonging to resident owners are in much better order than those belonging to absentees. The rent ranges from 21. 10s. to 52. Many in the street have no garden, and yet will let at a higher rent than those out of the town with gardens. In the opinion of the rector the parish is amply supplied with the means of education. ‘The National schools are intended to serve the parishes of Burnham Westgate, Sutton-cum-Ulph, Norton, and Overy. The extreme distance that any child would have to travel would be two miles. ‘There are dames’ schools in some of the outlying districts. There are 150 names on the register, and an average attendance of 95; and the total annual cost is about 130/., which is made up by about 55/. Government grant, between 401. and 501. school pence, a small endowment of 61., 51. from Betton’s charity, and the remainder by volun- tary subscriptions, which (including collections in church) amount to about 35/. There are two night schools, which have been attended by about 30 scho- lars. There is an infant school attached to the Independent meeting house, attended by about 25 children. In Burnham Deepdale the whole of the land be- longs to one proprietor. ‘There is sufficient labour, and enough cottages. The cottages altogether are ir good condition ; rent from 2l. 10s. to 51., accord- ing to the size of the garden. There is a parish school, with 30 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 20, under an untrained mistress, maintained by the rector with the help of a subscription of 22. The school fees amount to about 4/., and the total cost to about 172. There has been a night school for several years, attended last winter by about seven scholars. In Burnham Norton there is one principal land- owner. There is enough labour and enough cottages. The cottages belong partly to the landowner and partly to small proprietors. None are absolutely bad, and they are mostly in pretty good condition. There is a good dame’s school in the parish, regularly visited by the rector, and partly supported by subscriptions. There are about 30 children in attendance. In Burnham Overy there are two principal and several small landowners. There is a sufficiency of labour and cottages. The condition of the cottages is generally good, though there are some indifferent ones. Out of the 600 or 700 inhabitants, 50 or 60 are seafaring men, The rents run from 2é. 10s. to 5f. The larger proportion of the cottages have gardens, about an eighth of an acre in size. There are two or three dames’ schools, well at- tended, of the ordinary type. In Burnham Thorpe there is one principal owner (the Earl of Orford). There is no deficiency of labour or of cottages. Almost all the cottages are owned by small proprietors, many of whom are non- resident. There are four or five excellent cottages built by Lord Orford with three bedrooms each, which may be called model cottages. They now belong to a shepherd, who purchased them at Lord Orford’s death. The condition of the cottages in Burnham Thorpe formed the subject of a special report by the medical officer to the board of guardians; but the rector thinks the worst was made of the case, as a descrip- tion of the state of the cottages as a whole, though there was no exaggeration of the condition of the 12 cottages that formed the special subject of the inquiry. The rent ranges from 3/. to 51, and is considered to be high. With the exception of one block, most cottages have good gardens, and every cottager has an allotment of about a third of an acre from Lord Orford. There is an endowed school, with an endowment of 441., and a house and three-quarters of an acre of land. There are 58 children on the books, and an average attendance of 45. The rector adds 5d. to the master’s salary. The school is entirely free. There is also an infant school, maintained by Lord Orford, attended by about 80 children, for children between three and six. There is also a night school, taught by the rector, assisted by the schoolmaster, attended on the average by 17 scholars last winter. In Burnham Sutton-cum-Ulph the land belongs chiefly to Lords Leicester and Orford. There are also several small proprietors. There is enough labour. The cottages are sufficient, and are generally in fair condition ; they have been considerably improved of late years ; the rent runs from 8/. to 41. 15s. Education is provided for by the National school, which is situated in. Burnham Westgate. There is a dame’s school attended by about 20 children. It was the opinion of the principal employers of labour at this meeting that the labour of a boy under 10 years of age is of practical value to the farmer. Seven out of eight thought that a boy who begins work in the fields at eight is likely to make a better labourer than one who begins at 10 ; but, in virtue of higher considerations they would be willing to dispense with the services of boys upon their farms till they had passed an examination and could pro- duce a certificate of. ability to read and write with fair intelligence. It was the all but unanimous opinion of the meet- ing (only one clergyman present declining to vote) IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. that the half-day system and the alternate whole day system are impracticable in agriculture, and (with two dissentients) it was considered to be very inexpedient to intrgduce into the empioyment of agricultural labour the penal restrictions of the Factory Acts. The meeting considered that the habitual employ- ment of young unmarried girls in the fields is in the highest degree undesirable. One gentleman present has cultivated 1,200 acres for the last 30 years with- out employing any such girls, except during the season of harvest, though he admits at some additional cost ; but the meeting was not prepared to recom- mend that it should be restrained by penalties. It was the opinion of the meeting that every ’cot- tage occupied by an agricultural labourer with a mixed family should have three sleeping rooms. It was admitted that the accommodation at present falls far below this standard; but improvement is going on, and it was hoped that under the combined in- fluence of public opinion and the change in the law of settlement the higher standard may be ultimately attained, and a most fruitful cause of the low moral condition of a large portion of the agricultural class removed. With one exception, that of a clergyman who de- clined to vote, it was the unanimous opinion of the meeting that the tenure of a labourer’s cottage ought to be for a year, terminable on either side by three months’ notice at any quarter day. Wittiam Bares, D.D., Rector of Burnham Westgate. Grorece G. Hayter, Rector of Burnham Sutton. Rp. Dewine. Rosins Cook. F. A. Jickiine. Henry C, Freeman. E. B. Everarp. Tuos. T. Mack. ALEX. NAPIER. J. S. Exxis. H. E. Bryrs. Guo, WISEMAN. JoHN OVERMAN. s No. 42. Wednesday, September 18, 1867. Collective Meeting at Thornham, for Thornham - Pop., 728 - Aer., 2,154 R.V., 3,772. Titchwell - Pop., 146 - Acr., 1,521 - R.V., 11,9612. Brancaster- Pop., 1,002 - Acr., 2,969 - R.V., 4,145/. Holme by : the sz } Pop. 305 Aecr., 1,100 - R.V., 2,5901. Present at the Meeting : From Thornham and Holme— Rev. N. Raven, vicar. Mr. James Sudbury, churchwarden and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. Harrison, schoolmaster. From Brancaster— Rev. O. Sadler, rector. From Titchwell— Rev. E. 8. Stocker, rector. In Thornham and Holme the land belongs chiefly to three propriétors. There is a sufficient supply of labour and of cottages. There are about 70 in Holme and 170 in Thornham ; about three-fourths in Thorn- ham and nearly all in Holme belong to the land- owners. They are reported to be generally in only a moderate condition, and defective in conveniences and bedroom accommodation. The property in Thorn- ham is in Chancery, which may account for some deficiencies. The rent ranges from 32. to dl. 10s. Most have gardens in Holme; not so many in Thorn- ham; but in both parishes there are allotments of a quarter of an acre each, for which a rent is charged of 11s. in Holme and 15s. in Thornham. — There is a parish school in Thornham in an excel- 55 lent building erected at the cost of the landowner (it is said to have cost nearly 2,000/.), in connexion with Government, under a certificated master, an assistant mistress, a pupil-teacher, and paid monitors, There are 138 names on the register, and about 100 in average attendance. The total anrual cost is about 1601.,-0f which 602. comes from Government grant, rather over 20/. from school fees, and the balance is made up by the landowner. Mr. Harrison, the schoolmaster, has been in charge for five years, In that period the average age of boys has decreased ; during the whole five years the average age at which boys have been taken away from school to work in the fields has been 93 years. It is a difficulty to keep them up toll. A boy leav- ing school at 94 years of age, who has been fairly re- gular in his attendance, would perhaps have advanced to the third standard of the Government examina- tions, and be able to read an easy reading book, but would be scarcely able to write a letter. From his experience of a night school, Mr. Harrison thinks that this amount of knowledge would not be fixed in the boy’s mind; and that probably in a twelvemonth after he has left school he would not be able to do more than read in the second standard. This low standard of attainment is to be attributed to the irregular attendance of the boy, the real at- tendance seldom amounting to more than two-thirds of the nominal, and Mr. Harrison thinks he could guarantee that a boy who has completed his tenth year, having attended school regularly for the pre- vious four years, should be able to pass in the fourth standard. He would also wish that there should be a prohibition against any child going to work till he has passed in that standard. There has been a night school in Thornham for the last two winters, conducted by the schoolmaster, a paid assistant, and two voluntary teachers. The attendance was something under 20. The scholars ranged in age from 12 to 19 or 20. Mr. Harrison did not find that it was much appreciated. The elder boys seemed to set most value on it; but the lads who had been taken away from the day school at a very early age, and had forgotten what they had learnt, gave a good deal of trouble, were difficult even to keep awake, and made but little progress. In Holme there is a school, under a young un- trained mistress, not in connexion with Government, attended on the average by about 30 children. The total annual cost is 30/., of which 52. arise from school fees, and the rest is paid by the vicar. For young children the vicar considers it a fairly efficient school. There is no night school. There is no private adventure school either in Holme or Thornham. ; In Brancaster there is one chief landowner and five or six owning from 100 to 200 acres each. A small proportion of the population at Brancaster (and at Thornham) are seafaring men. There is a suffi- ciency of labour and of cottages. The cottages belong chiefly to small proprietors, and, though gene- rally in a tolerable state of repair, in many cases are defective in bedroom accommodation. There are instances, though not a great many, of overcrowding. The rent is much the same as at Thornham. Many haye no gardens, and there is only an acre of allot- ment ground in the parish. There is a boys’ and a girls’ school in two separate buildings. The boys’ school has an endowment of 40/. and a house and garden, for which 25 boys are to be educated free. There are 85 on the books, and the average attendance is about 30. It is under non- resident trustees; the rector visits the school, but does not know what his exact position under the trust deed is in relation to it. The boys not on the foundation pay from 2d. to 6d. a week; the sum charged being left to the discretion of the master. The school at present, in the opinion of the diocesan inspector, is not in a condition of efficiency, which the master laments, but accounts for by his not G 3 Norfoltc, Rev. J. Fraser a. Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 56 being in. possession of any power to enforce the regular attendance of the children. e | The girls’ school is in connexion with Government, under a certificated ;mistress, with about 60 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 40. The total annual cost is about 60/.; the Government grant is about 251. ; schooi fees about 8/.; voluntary subscriptions about 20/ The rector holds himself responsible for any deficiency. The last report of the Government inspector of the condition of the school on the whole was favourable. There has been a night school for four or five winters, attended by from 20 to 30 scholars, under a paid teacher and one or two volunteers. The rector thinks it has been fairly successful. There are two private adventure schools in the parish, chiefly attended by very young children; one of them is at the Staith, a distant hamlet and sort of port in the parish. In Titchwell the bulk of the land belongs to Mag- dalene College, Oxford, who are lords of the manor ; another proprietor owns about 300 acres, another about 80, and there are two or three still smaller owners. There is not nearly enough labour; it has to be imported from: Brancaster and .Thornham. ‘There are 82 cottages; more than half have only one bed- room ; not one has three bedrooms ; all have gardens, but there is no allotment ground. The rent varies from 21. 15s. to 4. 10s. About a third are in fair condition, the rest are in very poor order. There is no school building, but about eight little children are taught by a dame in her cottage. The children pay her 2d. a week ; the rector supplies her with books and school necessaries; Magdalene Col- ‘lege subscribes 1d. a year. The old dame cannot make more than 5/. a year.» When asked by the rector why she kept school, she said “she hadn’t head for anything else.” a There is no night school nor regular Sunday. school in Titchwell. From some cause that was not explained there was only one employer of labour present, and he did not wish to constitute himself a representative of the opinions of the agriculturalists in these four parishes. The clergy also who were present felt that many of the questions asked were farmers’ questions rather than clergymen’s, but all united in thinking that the education of the labouring class at present is in an unsatisfactory condition, and would gladly co-operate ‘with any measures that would contribute to its im- ‘provement; but it was their hope that no measures would be adopted which would seriously interfere with the cultivation of the land, which it was thought any excessive restriction upon the employment of children, and particularly of boys, would have a tendency to do. It was considered that the employment of young unmarried girls in field labour is highly undesirable, and might be prohibited below the age of 16 without any serious inconvenience to the farmer. It was also thought that the condition of the homes of the labouring class is a primary cause of much of the ‘misery and profligacy that exists, and that it would be highly desirable, both on moral and on sanitary grounds, that there should be some effective inspec- tion of cottages, limiting the number of their inmates in proportion to the accommodation and securing conveniences for health and decency. N. J. Raven. O. SADLER. Jas. SUDBURY. THos. Harrison. [The Rev. E. S. Stocker was obliged to leave before the conclusion of the meeting. | No. 43. Tuesday, September 19, 1868. Collective Meeting at Docking, for Docking - Pop., 1,625 - Acr., 6,332 - R.V., 8,3162. Fring - Pop. 173 - Acr., 1,689 - R.V., 1,9920. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND’ WOMEN Stanhoe -- Pop., 468 - Acr., 1,400 - R.V., 2,1482. Anmer - Pop..142 - Acr., 1,420 - R.V., 1,314/. Present at Meeting: From Docking— Major Hare, magistrate, landowner, and chairman of board of guardians. Rev. Hugh Hare, curate in charge. Mr. Edward Burgis, churchwarden and occupier of 600 acres. ‘Mr. Samuel Sharpe, occupier of 700 acres, guar- dian, and churchwarden. Mr. Thomas Pickerel, guardian and occupier of 800 acres. Mr. Jobn Freeman, occupier of 1,000 acres and overseer. Mr. William Crookham, schoolmaster. Mr. Charles Goodwin, parish clerk and carpenter. Mr. Isaac Livock, registrar of births and deaths and sanitary inspector. No one appeared from Fring, Stanhoe, or Anmer. Docking is a parish of 6,000 or 7,000 acres, belong- ing chiefly to two landowners. The population is 1,625, the number of houses 333, of cottages about 300. Being an open parish, it is filled with resident labourers who work in the neighbouring parishes of Bircham, Barmer, Barwick, Choseley, &c., which are all “close.” The evil of this is very strongly felt, as all the disorderly characters from the surrounding parishes have been poured into it. About 180 able- bodied men, and from 80 or 90 boys would suffice for the cultivation of the land in Docking. Many of the cottages are very indifferent; have neither garden nor any convenience; have no land belonging to them but what the four walls stand upon. Major Hare thinks.the parish would be consumed by fever, if the Sanitary Act were not most vigilantly carried out. There is an efficient and sufficient parish school, under Government, taught by a certificated master, with 129 names on the:.register, and an average at- tendance of 71. There also.‘four or five private adventure dames’ schools, educating perhaps 80 children. For many past winters there has been a night school, Last winter there were 53 scholars on the register, and an average attendance of 35. The total annual cost of the day school is about 1701., of which the Government grant this year is 421, the school pence about 25/., and the balance is made up by voluntary subscriptions. The annual sub- cription list is about 762. , [There was no one present, to give information of the state of things in Anmer, Fring, or Stanhoe. | Upon the question of the age below which it should be made penal to employ a boy in field labour, there was a difference of opinion in the meeting ; one employer of labour thought it might be 10; three, nine; and two, eight. Of the two latter gentlemen, one was entirely guided to his conclusion by considerations of the difficulty that a higher age would throw in the way of the parent’s maintaining his family; the other further thought that the boy who begins work at eight is likely to make the most efficient agricultural labourer. It was the opinion of the meeting that the half-day and the alternate whole, day systems are impracticable in agriculture, and it was thought that the only instrument that can be practically worked for carrying on the education of boys who have been removed from school at an early age is the night school; and the meeting desired to call the attention of the Government to the im- portance of encouraging these schools. It was the opinion of the employers of labour present that the work to which boys are put upon the farm is not beyond their strength, and. does not injuriously - affect their health or growth. ; The meeting felt that it is a most undesirable thing to employ young unmarried girls on the land; indeed they would even wish that such employment were prohibited in the case of girls under 16, if the pro- hibition could be accompanied with some dispensing IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, power which should prevent its acting as a hardship upon large families. Major Hare was strongly of opinion that none but adult women ought to be employed in work which require® such a physical strain as turnip and mangold drawing. Mr. Burgis never employs a young girl on his farm except in harvest time to tie the wheat. Indeed, Major Hare does not believe that there is any injurious employment of girl labour in Docking, but there is—and of Docking girls—in neighbourin parishes, and he has seen its demoralizing and health- ruining effects. One of the worst. results perceived to arise from the employment of young girls is their thereby emancipation from parental control, and the independent wilfal spirit generated. The state of the cottages is allowed to be very unsatisfactory ; ; but the question of their improve- ment is surrounded by difficulties. It was thought, however, that some regulations analogous to those which govern lodging houses might be laid down for cottages generally,: limiting the number of their in- mates to their capacity of accommodation, and pro- viding for the proper distribution, according to sex, of those inmates. The inspector appointed to dis- charge this duty ought to be. an independent officer, so as to be unaffected by local influences. It was the opinion of the meeting that generally through the country there are more houses for the sale of beer than are required ; that these houses are a fertile source of demoralization; and that instead of additional facilities being. given for the issue of licences a much stricter system is to be desired. H. J. Hare. Epmunp Bureis.. SaMvEL SHARPE. Tuomas PICKEREL. Huexu J. Hare. Joun I. Lrvock. Wittiam Crooxnam. [Mr. Freeman was obliged to leave before ih meeting was concluded. ] No. 44. Friday, September 20, 1866. Collective Meeting at North Creake, for North Creake - Pop., 708 - Acr., 3,640-R.V., 4,874. South Creake - Pop., 1,058 - Acr., 3 300 - B.V., 5, 5341. Waterden -Pop., ‘44- ‘Acr., .. 800-R.V,, I, 0032. Present at Meeting +. From North Creake— Earl Spencer, landowner. ‘ Archdeacon Hankinson, rector. Mr. James Everett, owner. Mr, Thomas Everett, occupier of. 1,200 acres. Mr. T. D. Dewing, occupier of: 250 acres. | Rev. T. Davy, curate. Mr. George Cooke, occupier of 196 : acres. Mr. Isaac Wasey, occupier of 50 acres. Mr. James Young, tailor. Mr, Archbould, occupier of 600 acres. Mr. Hudson, Mr. Potor Hudson, \ of Quarles farm. From South Creake— Rev. G. Ridsdale, vicar. Mr. T. J. Seppings, occupier of 1,100 acres. Mr. James Griggs, occupier of 620 acres. Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart., landowner and magistrate. From Waterden— Rev. C. Stephenson, curate. Mr. Miles Hamond, occupier of 800 acres. Rev. Alexander Napier, rector. Thomas Kerslake, Esg., of Barmer, landowner. H. Blyth, Esq., of Sussex. farm, Burnham. Rev: James Lee Warner, of Thorpe. Henry Lee Warner, Esq., of Walsingham Abbey,. 57 » , Hart Spencer.in the.chair. Resolutions. Proposed by Mr. Seppings and seconded by Mr. Lee Warner : That the earliest age at which 4 boy should be allowed to go to labour should be 10 years. Carried unanimously. a. Proposed by Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart:, and seconded by. Mr. James Everett: That it is desirable that the education of children before coming to labour should be tested by an examination and authenticated by a certificate. Carried unanimously. Proposed by Sir Willoughby. Jones and seconded by Rev. A. Napier: | ‘That it is undesirable that education throughout the country should be enforced by compulsory enact- ment. Carried, with one dissentient. Proposed by Archdeacon Hankinson ‘and seconded. by Mr. James Everett : That it is very undesirable to employ young girls in field labour, unless it be under such superinten- dence as shall be sufficient to protect them from exposure and temptation. Carried unanimously. “It was the unanimous feeling of the meeting that “ it is advantageous that overcrowding in cottages “ and other nuisances connected with cottage pro- “ perty should be brought under legal inspection ; “ and that it is desirable that the present powers for “ doing this should be increased.” The meeting feels that the present regulations regarding beershops require revision; and_, thinks that all houses - allowed to sell beer or spirits should be licensed by the magistrates. Seencer, Chairman. The subjoined expressions of individual sentiments and opinions were delivered in the course of the dis- cussions upon the foregoing resolutions, which they will help to illustrate. Mr, James Everett, thought that the labour of children under 10 could be dispensed with. Confirms and agrees with Mr. Vipan’s medical opinion (which was read to the meeting). Mistrusts the adequacy of voluntary effort for the suport of schools; thinks Government not liberal enough; feels it his duty, as an employer, to help to educate the young. [I was informed by Archdeacon Hankinson that Mr. Everett for many years subscribed 100. a year to the school at North Creake. Subsequently, regretted that, owing to some change in circumstances, he was obliged to reduce his subscription to 5/.; and now that he has handed his farm over to his son, and ceased to be a resident, he still subscribes two guineas, and hopes to continue to do so. ] Lord Spencer would like to see every man possess the power of raising himself in the social scale, and he cannot do that without a proper amount of education. Mr. T. J. Seppings (who has been in the habit of conducting the night school at North Creake, and to whose opinion Lord Leicester told me that he at- tached much weight,) considered that the value of a boy under 10 to the farmer is mil; nor are his small earnings really beneficial to the family, even when large. Has taken great interest in educating his own poor. Mentioned the case of a labourer with a family of eight children, not one of whom were earning anything, but were allowed, to run wild. He spoke to the mother and advised her to send four of them to school. She pleaded inability to pay the school fee ; but upon his offering to pay for two, if the parents would pay for the other two,, she consented to send them, and,told him afterwards that she found the profit of the advice, and bad saved. money by following it. ‘In his youth labour in this neighbourhood was. excessive, pauperism common,, and the rates high, Now the supply of labour is about. adequate to the demand ;.,there are fewer, paupers and lower rates. : G4 Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Norfolk. Rev J. Fraser. a. 58 A certain amount of emigration from rural parishes is necessary to prevent their being over-run with labour. But a man must stop at home, can’t push his way in the world, without education ; so that by oppos- ing education you produce a superabundant popula- tion, and that leads necessarily to an increase of pauperism. Mr. Lee Warner, of Walsingham Abbey, a con- siderable landowner, lives in an open parish with a superabundance of labour, and consequently a reduced rate of wages. This has been brought about by the large charities of the place, amounting to several hundreds a year, attracting the poor into it. Every owner of a small plot of ground builds cottages on it, and gets them occupied immediately. He has him- self twice purchased some ground, once at 400/., the other time at 700J. an acre, simply to prevent its being converted into building ground and covered with cottages. Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart., agreed most cordially with the first resolution, but considered that farmers cannot dispense entirely with the labour of young persons. Believes that a child of 10 properly taught will be able to read, write, and cipher. Thinks com- pulsory education in England simply impossible. Is in favour of requiring a certificate of attainment, no matter how or where produced, before a child should be allowed to become a bread-earner. ‘Thinks the present school system not the best that could be devised ; the daily school hours are too long, three or four hoursa day are sufficient. Considers that there is not more than three months’ work in the year for young children. Recognizes the responsi- bility of the employer to maintain proper discipline and efficient superintendence over the children whom he employs. Considers eight hours a day not exhaust- ing labour. Archdeacon Hankinson thought that with the present imperfect supply of schools the requirement of a certificate of attainment wouid be impracticable. Mr. Hamond thinks it enough to provide schools, and let them attract children by their own merits ; would not attach penalties, would leave the agricultural labourer free. On the subject of the employment of female labour, and especially of the employment of young girls, Sir W. Jones stated that fully three-fourths of the affiliation orders he had issued as a magistrate have been in the case of domestic servants, and not of agricultural labourers. Thinks it would do much mischief if it were prohibited to employ girls under 16 in the fields. Many are unfit for domestic service, and if not allowed to work on the farm would be driven into the single woman’s ward in the union workhouse, the very worst possible place, he supposed, to which they could go. Archdeacon Hankinson, among the causes of rural immorality, mentioned the mischief of the annual statute hirings. Mr. Hamond thought that the field labour of young girls is most undesirable. Can himself do without women’s work, except in harvest. If farmers get full man’s work, they can do without either women or boys. By discouraging young girls’ work in the fields, which has always been his practice, he finds that they go out to service ; they won’t stay at home doing nothing. Mr. H. E. Blyth feels that more responsibility rests upon employers than they are generally willing to recognize. They do not inquire closely enough into the character of those whom they employ. Mr. Seppings for 20 years has never employed a girl under 16, though he employs from 15 to 20 women throughout the year. Sir W. Jones thought that a better classification of inmates is imperatively required in workhouses. The best plan for a cottage is to have two chambers above and one sleeping room below. The attempt to get all the sleeping rooms above curtails too much the dimensions of each. Is afraid that many of the beer- houses are little better than brothels. So strong is EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the competition that many houses keep a loose girl as an extra attraction. Would wish to place these houses under stricter police supervision, io restrain the licensing power wholly to the magistrates, and to make all fines personal, and not attach to the house, and in all cases to levy the full amount. County or Norrotx : UNIon oF SWAFFHAM. No. 45. Tuesday, September 24, 1867. Collective Meeting at Ashill, for Ashill - Pop., 696- Acr., 21,990 - R.V., 4,8022. Sah Teney f° Pop., 1,286- Acr., 3,946 - R.V., 6,6257, North Picken- >- Pop., 287- Aw., 1,610 - R.V., 1,8592. ham Houghton - Pop. 49-Acr, 601 - R.V., 9832, South Picken- > - Pop. 159 - Acr., 1,767 - R.V., 1,6892. ham Threxton - Pop., 80 - Acr., 1,059 -R.V., 8801. Holme ae \ - Pop, 464 Acr., 2,598 - R.V., 4,4571. Present at Meeting: From Ashill— Rev. B. Edwards, rector. Mr. Oldfield, owner and occupier of 600 acres. Mr. Hart, guardian and churchwarden, occupier of 450 acres. Mr. Seed, occupier of 180 acres. Mr. Allcock, schoolmaster. From Saham 'Toney— Rev. W. H. Parker, rector. Mr. Clark, churchwarden, guardian, owner, and occupier of 350 acres. From North Pickenham and Houghton— Rev. W. Ewing, rector. From Holme Hale— Rey. A. Milne, rector. Mr. Geo. Andrews, occupier of 200 acres. From South Pickenham— E, A. Applewhaite, Esq., landowner and magistrate and churchwarden. Rev. J. U. Campbell, rector. From Threxton : Mr. T. Barton, owner, churchwarden, and occupier of 700 acres, Rev. B. Epwarps in the chair. Ashill is an open parish ; the principal ownerg are Lord Leicester, Lord Ashburton, E. A, Applewhaite, Esq. There is a sufficient supply of labour and of cottages; some are standing empty at this time. The condition of the cottages varies; some are very good, some the contrary. None have large gardens; some have only small gardens; a few have none. Most of the cottagers who have no gardens attached to their houses have allotments. The rent varies trom 3/. to 4/. 10s. A very small proportion of the cottages belong to the large landowners. In the opinion of the rector, there is a sufficient and efficient school, not in connexion with Government, with 112 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 80. The schoolmaster finds the children taken away from school at an earlier age than they used to be, and certainly before he has done with them what he could wish to do. There are two public gangs in the parish, which are the chief causes of the early with- drawal. When they return, if they ever do return, he finds that much they had acquired is lost, they are not so well-mannered nor so attentive. There has been a night school for the last seven or eight winters ; it has been fairly successful, attended by about 30 scholars, varying in age from 10 to 20. The schoolmaster does not consider that the night school at all adequately compensates for the early withdrawal from the day school, WN AGRIOULTURE (1807) CAMMIAsION 1—eYIDRNOR, The total annual cost of the dey school iq about 704, The school pence amount to 12/.; the deficiency is made up by the rector. ; ; In Saham Toney the land belongs to several pro- prietors, nene of whom owns as large an estate as 1,000 acres ; most of them are resident. There is a surplus of labour, parishes six or seven miles round draw their supplies from Saham. There are enough cottages, some of which are very good, others as bad as they are anywhere. The rent varies from 2/. 10s. to 5/7. Mr. Hart thinks some of the rents are too high, and that no labourer can afford to pay more than 4/. for his cottage. There is a poor allotment (under the Inclosure Act), the rent of which produces from 150 to 180 tons of coal a year. It is administered upon the rule (laid down in the Act of Parliament) that no coal is given either to paupers or to persons occupying a cottage at a higher rent than 4/. It is distributed according to the size of the family, and runs about a ton a year to a large family. This fund is found to operate in the way of making people cling to the parish, — be The school accommodation is ample for all the wants of the parish. There is an endowed boys’ school ; the endowment is about 55/., and there is a house and premises. It is free for all boys resident in the parish, six boys from Watton, one or two from Threxton, of which parish the founder was a native. There are at present about 85 names on the register, and from 60 to 65 in average attendance. The rector considers it to be a fairly efficient school. , There aré also a girls’ school and an infant school, supported almost entirely by the rector, The parish being scattered, there are two or three small dames’ schools, which take in younger children ; they just learn to read in them, but nothing more. There has been a night school for the last four or five years, conducted by the curate. There have been about 30 scholars, admitted free. There are three or four public gangs in the parish, constantly employed throughout year. They some- times go six or seven miles to their work. In North Pickenham and Houghton the land is in the hands of five principal owners. There is sufficient labour in North Pickenham, but not enough in Hough- ton. . There are some cottages in North Pickenham standing empty ; too many have only one bed room ; most of them belong to small proprietors. There is a mixed school in North Pickenham, which serves for Houghton, and draws a few children from South Pickenham, with 75 names on the register, and an average attendance of 60. It is not connected with Government, the rector has never liked the Government system. It is taught by a mistress, and the diocesan inspector reports favourably of its con- dition. There has been a night school for seven winters, taught by the curate, attended last winter by 17 scholars, aged from 10 to 17. The rector finds that little progress is made; from the length of the in- terval, the scholars come the second winter knowing little more than they knew at the beginning of the first. The total annual cost of the day school is about 501, of which about 102. is produced by school pence. The subscriptions amount to 7/., the deficiency is made up by the rector. There is no gang, public or private, in North Pickenham. In South Pickenham Mr. Applewhaite is the sole landowner. The resident labour is not sufficent, what more is required is imported from Ashill, Great Cres- singham, ‘and North Pickenham. There are 27 cottages in the parish, all belonging to the landowner, let at rents varying from 2/. 10s. to 34. All have gardens, some quite large gardens ; almost all the cottagers have allotments besides, about an eighth of an acre in extent, for which a rent is charged of 4s. 6d. a year. There is no day school in South Pickenham, the children attend at North Pickenham ; the rector hopes to have a night school this winter if he can secure a room. _ Holme Hale is an open parish, with two principal 2, ae and seversl smaller owners, ‘There js enough labouy and a sufficient supply of cottages. The cottagas belong principally to small proprietors; are not gene- rally in good condition, All have gardens, and all legally settled resident poor have a claim to an allot~ ment of 20 rods, for which they pay 2s, 6d. a year. There is a coal fund in the parish, similar to that described in Saham. There is a mixed school, under an untrained master, not in connexion with Government, with 72 names on the books and 50 in ordinary attendance. The total annual cost is 562, of which 80/. is provided by endowment, 10/. by school pence, the balance by voluntary subscriptions. There was a night school for.several winters, with an attendance of 14 or 15, of wlom two or three made considerable progress ; the rest did not do themselves much good. It was discontinued last winter, in con- sequence of no very strong desire being expressed for its continuance, but the rector hopes to revive it this winter. At Threxton the land belongs to two owners. There is not enough resident labour. The farmers draw supplies from Saham, Watton, and Cressingham. Gang labour (from Saham) is occasionally employed. There are 12 cottages, all of which are good, with good gardens; the rent is about 4. Mr. Barton lets his on a peculiar system, but it does not make any important variation.in the amount of the rent. There is no school in Threxton, the children attend at Little Cressingham or Watton. There has never been a night school, nor a Sunday school. It is the unanimous opinion of the meeting that the provisions of the Act lately passed for the regulation of agricultural gangs are not more stringent than the circumstances of the case imperatively required, and the majority are of opinion that the same restric- tions, at least as far as the separation of the sexes is concerned, which are laid upon the employment of public gangs should be also laid upon the employment of private gangs. This meeting is also unanimously of opinion that the labour of a boy under LO years of age is of no value to the farmer, and that it might be prohibited without inconveniencing him in the cultivation of the land, but such prohibition ought not to extend to the seasons of haysell and harvest, and, unless accompanied with a dispensing power, might frequently operate as a hardship in the case of large families. The employment of young girls in field labour is admitted to be highly undesirable, but it is not thought that it could be absolutely prohibited, as girls who may not be fitted for domestic service should not be prevented from gaining a livelihood in any other honest way. Women’s labour is generally dear labour, in con- sequence of the women who go out into the fields seldom being the best class of women, and their re- quiring so much superintendence. But it cannot be entirely dispensed with, as there are several agricul- tural operations which men would not be found willing to do. : The home of the agricultural labourer is allowed in too many cases to be such that a mixed family cannot be brought up consistently with decency, but great diffi- culties seem to lie in the way of applying a remedy, and the new cottages which are being built are gene- rally provided with sufficient accommodation. Im- provement is taking place, though slowly. It is found that people do not like isolated cottages, and prefer living in the village street, on account of the addi- tional convenience and cheerfulness. The meeting would wish to see greater strictness exercised in issuing the licences to houses for the sale of beer; they consider such houses to be a very fertile source of evil, but they wouid feel no objection to the sale of beer at any licensed shop, provided it were not allowed to be consumed on the premises. Signed on behalf of the meeting, B. Epwarps, Chairman. H Horfalk, Toney Rev. J. Frasey, a, Rev, J. Fraser. 60 No. 46. Wednesday, September 25, 1867. Collective Meeting at Great Cressingham, for Creningham } Pop. 530 - Acr., 2,396 - R.V., 2,8241, aoeee Pop. 248 - Acr, 1,826 - R.V., 2,0481. Hillborough - Pop., 365 - Acr., 3,101 - R.V., 2,981. Bodney —- Pop., 117 - Acr., 2,614 - R.V., 1,216. - Present at Meeting : is From Great Cressingham— ‘Rev. Chas. Taylor, rector. * Rev. Edwin Tearle, curate. Mr. Goulder, churchwarden and occupier of 900 acres. Mr. Brunton, overseer, occupier of 47 acres. Mr. Eastick, deputy overseer, baker, and occu- pier of 24 acres. Mr. Reuben Conyers, baker and occupier of five _ acres. '- Mr. Christopher Sutton, gangmaster. From Little Cressingham— J. T. ‘Mills, Esq., , landowner, magistrate, and _ oceupier of 500 acres. From Hillborough— Rev. Chas. Hardy, rector. Rev. A. W. Cottee, curate. Mr. E. Bunting, of Didliigton, guardian, church- warden, overseer, and occupier of 850 acres. t Great Cressingham is an open parish ; the land chiefiy belongs to two proprietors, besides whom there are seven or eight owners of cottage property. There are about 85 cottages in the parish ; the generality are reported to be in a bad condition, both in respect of repair and of accommodation. There are several cases of overcrowding, but fewer than there were 10 years ago, when the population was 50 in excess of its present amount. There is quite enough labour in the parish, indeed it supplies labour to several surrounding close parishes. There is a mixed parish school, under a master and two mistresses, not in connexion with Government. There are 100 names on the register, and an average attendance of from 75 to 80. A night school. has been tried for several winters, but it has never been found possible to carry it.on beyond Christmas, owing to the reluctance of the pupils to attend. It has therefore not produced any marked educational re- sults. : «In. Little Cressingham the land (except the glebe) wholly belongs to Mr. Mills. The supply of Jabour is about adequate. to the demand. All the cottages belong to the landowner. The rent runs from 41. to 41. 10s. There are no allotments, but almost-all the cottages have gardens. ~ There is a school attended by about 35 childven, but no night school. The total annual cost of the lay school i is about 401. » In Hillborough all. the land (except the glebe). be- longs to Mr. Mills. There is a fair sufficiency of labour, and about 50 cottages over an area of 3,100 acres. The rent the same as at Little Cressingham. There is a mixed day school, under a master and mis- tress (man and wife), not in connexion with Govern- ment. There are 60 children on the register, and an average attendance of 35. The total annual cost is about 501., of which about 62. arises from school pence, the rest’ ’ from voluntary subscriptions. There has been a ‘night school for several years, open from October till May ; the attendance begins with about 17, and drops before the close of the season to six or seven. There is no private adventure school. In Bodney the whole of the land belongs, to Lord “Ashburton. The population is only 117 to. upwards of: 2,600 acres, and only 18:cottages; perhaps, how- ever, 500 acres are uncultivated land. There is a day school, attended by 25 children, tanght-in a cottage by a middle-aged woman, who receives 7/. a year in addition to the school pence and her house. The cottages in Bodney are all new and excellent, EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN all are said to. have three bedrooms ; they have large gardens, and are let at two guineas a year rent. Sutton’s gang is the only one in this group of parishes, and though farmers employ women (on Mr. Goulder’s farm they are mostly young unmarried women, in age from 18 to 24) and boys, they do not organize them into private gangs, ‘Sutton’s gang now consists of 20 persons, only one boy of:18 years of age (his own son), only one woman over 18, the rest young girls. Sutton would rather not. have any boy or girl under 10, they are more trouble than they are worth. . It is the.opinion of the meeting that the cultivation of the land could not be properly carried on without the labour of women and children, but that the pro- visions of the Act recently passed for the regulation of agricultur al gangs are proper. and desirable, and are not likely to interfere with agricultural operations. .. It is the unanimous opinion of the meeting that, if the legislature : interferes with the education of the agricultural child at the same time that it. prohibits his; employment under a, certain age by the farmer, it.qught to enforce upon the parent the duty of send- ing the child to school. It is the opinion of the meeting ie 2 in making pro- vision for the better education of such children, it would be better to fix'a higher age than that prescribed by the Factory. Acts, below- which their employment should be prohibited, and when that age was reached to have them free, than to adopt a similar rule to that enforced. under the Print Works Act, which, it is thought, would interfere with their profitable em- ployment. . In virtue; of this consideration fliers would be no hardship, as far as the farmer is concerned, in. fixing the -penal age at 10; but there are cases in which young children are. often taken out with their parents for short jobs, in which their labour is very useful, where such restriction, if made absolute, might operate as a hardship on the parents. It is admitted that if a young girl once goes into,a fields; to’ work, she becomes unfitted and disinclined for domestic: service ; and.(with one dissentient, who objected to. prohibition on the ground that he did not see how such girls could be maintained,) it was the opinion of the meeting that the field labour of girls under 16 might be prohibited. _It is strongly felt .by the meeting that the condition of the homes of agricultural labourers lies at the root . of most of the gocial.and moral evils of their position, and that every farm ought to have attached: to it a sufficient number of cottages to house the labourers who are required to cultivate it. ‘CHARLES Taytor, Rector of ish Cressingham. : J. Trurman Mitzs, . Rosrerr GouLpsr, Churchwarden. oe ‘) +. Marraew Bronton.. - a aes ! Epwin Bontine: ico +. of OnaRtes Harpy, Reetor of Hill- -borough.. Wm. A. Corre. Epwin TEsr.e. “No. 47. Thursday, September 26, 1867. ‘Colleative Meeting at Igbur ch, for the parishes of Igburgh - Pop., 192 - Acr., 1,599 - R.V., 866. Langford - Pop., 62 - ‘Acr., 1 ,806 - R. V., 7270, Didlington Pop., 80 - Acr., i, 854 - RB, v., 1,178, Colveston - Pop., 59 - Acr., 861 - R.V., "4171, Bucken- P ham Tofts - OP.’ 60 - er : 654 : R.V., 8002. Stanford > Pop., 200 - “Acr., 2,607 - RV., 1,0821. Present at Meeting : __ Capt. Caldwell: of Langford, agent for Lord Ash- aia and occupier of 900 acres. “Revd . Wise, vicar of Stanford. ~ IN. AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE.. and occupier at Didlington. Ei. Oldfield, Esq., chairman, of board of guardians My. E.’ Bunting, occupier of 850 acres at Didling- ton. ; : La odie Cha Mr. W.ord, resident at Didlington, and Steward _ for W.'H. T. Amherst, Esq., of Didlington, — Mr. James Rollinson, of Igburgh, occupier of 800 acres. a Bis 3 fe 4 . ; Mr. John Matthews, of Stanford, occupier of 1,000 acres, : Igburgh and Langford form a consolidated parish. The lands belong to Lord Ashburton and Mr. Am- herst. The labourers resident in the two parishes are sufficient for the cultivation of the land, except in harvest and hoeing time. At Buckenham Tofts, the whole of which belongs to Lord Ashburton, there are only two resident labourers.upon 654 acres, The cottages in the three, parishes are in excellent. order, all of them have at least tivo, bedrooms, and the majority. have three. Capt. Caldwell states that ‘the. cost of a double cottage, built of flint ‘stone, with brick coins, and the timber foreign deal, with two rooms and a pantry on the ground floor, and three bedrooms, is 2007. The rent is only two guineas... There is an excellent schoolroom at Igburgh, which serves for Igburgh, Langford, and Buckenhan, entirely supported by Lord Ashburton ; there are 49 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 40. | _ There are 18 boys in the school, of whom only two are above 10. One of these, aged 14, is the son‘of a shepherd, who wishes his son to have a good education. There are three other boys between 8 and 10; boys frequently leave at 8 to go to work in the fields. The experience of the schoolmistress is that the present unsuccessful results of education are due to the ir- regular attendance of. the children and the early age at which they are removed from school. - She thinks that if she could keep the boys till 10, and they at- tended regularly, she could turn them out with an amount of knowledge that they might be likely to re- tain; she would not be satisfied with their remaining at school only to the age. of 9. - e + There has been a successful night school in the winter, attended by 15 scholars. It was conducted by the curate, assisted by the schoolmistress. |... Didlington and Colveston are consolidated parishes. All the land (but 12 acres) belongs to Mr. Amherst, who resides on his estate. The proprietor cultivates about 900 acres; the rest of the land is occupied by two tenants. There is not enough resident, labour. In Didlington there are only-two cottages occupied by agricultural labourers ; in Colveston there are eight cottages (on 860 acres) occupied by Tabourers. Mr. Bunting, who farms 600 acres in Didlington, has only two resident labourers, and can only command three cottages ; he would wish to have the command of seven or eight cottages, and if he could have so many under his control would be willing to pay a per-centage on. the -outlay.. The cottages that exist are in good order, with sufficient accommodation 3 the rent varies from 2J. to 31.-10s., in all cases including a good-sized garden. pach ise These is-a good school at Didlington; which also serves for Colveston, attended ordinarily by 25 chil- dren (32 names on the register), entirely supported by Mr. Amherst. There has never been a night school in the parish; but the population is under 140. The schoolmistress’s salary is 407. a year, with house and coal, At Stanford the land belongs chiefly to Lord Wal- singham 's Lord Ashburton owns about 160 acres. With the exception of harvest, there is a sufficiency of labour; there are 26 cottages to about 1,800 acres of cultivated land. aes The cottages are generally.in fair order ; seven or eight. have ‘three bedrooms. The. rent varies from 21. 6s. to 51, They all belong to.the.landowners. .. . There is a.school, held in a large room in a cottage, under a mistress, with an ordinary attendance of. 20. "There are no subscriptions;. it is maintained:by the; 61 school pence and the offertory. The total annual cost is‘about 152-0” at oe a The vicar has had a night school in his own house, attended by from 12 te-15 scholars. It has worked well with the younger boys, but it is found that the older boys won't stick to their work, _ Upon the general questions proposed to the meet- ing,— syed It was the opinion of the gentlemen present (with one dissentient, who wished all labour to be left free and unfettered, and thought all the labourer wanted was a good cottage and power to take his labour: where he pleases,) that if any restriction is placed upon the employment of children in the fields, it would be better that it should take the form of prohibiting that em- ployment below a certain age, and then leave the child free, than to fix the penal age, as in the. Factory Acts, at eight, and then take securities for the continued education of the children to as late an age as 13. It was thought also that any such restriction should be accompanied with a dispensing power, which should prevent its operating as a hardship on large families. A case was mentioned of a man with. six children (five girls and a boy) under 10, in which the boy went to work at 8; and his employer. thinks that it was the poverty of the parents that compelled them to send the child to work. ~~ 4 : The same gentlemen finds that, except under the pressure of poverty, the people will. not. send their children ‘to work ; for the last three years he has not been able to: get either a woman or a young girl to work on his land. It was the opinion of the meeting that the employ- ment of young girls in the fields is-in the highest degree undesirable, but there was a difference of opinion as to whether it should be prohibited by law to as high an age as 16; those who objected to the prohibition grounding their objection on the possible difficulty that would arise in the case of girls who could not get a place or might be unfit for domestic service; «| Ne a eee: . There is perceived to be a growing indisposition on the part of women to work in the fields. Mr. Rol- linson has not been able to get.a woman to work for him for the last three years ; Mr. Matthews does not employ women at all, and thinks it an expensive and troublesome kind of labour. In the present condition of the labour market, in the point of supply and de- mand, it is thought that women are quite able to pro- protect themselves from unsuitable. and exhaustive work, : ; 2 Upon the question of the best tenure of cottages, whether they. should be held direct from the landlord or be let with the farms and placed under the control of the tenant, there was a strong difference of opinion, some thinking that in the interest of the labourer, to enable him to retain his proper independence, the first is the best tenure; others thinking. that the second arrangement is the one most likely to give its proper value to the farm. -It.was the general opinion of the meeting that a cottage ought not to be held on a shorter term than a year; and that the more consideration and sympathy that is shown to the labourer, the better labourer he becomes in. the interests of his employer. It was the opinion of the majority of the meeting (of four to two) that the rent of a cottage built by a landowner for the use of his estate ought not to ex- ceed a shilling a week. BIE, fe Signed on behalf of the meeting, . F, E. Canpwe.1, Chairman, No. 48. Friday, September 27, 1867. Collective Meeting at Necton, for Necton -. - Pop., 948 - Acr., 3,799 - R.V., 5,754i. ee \ Pop., 399 - Acr., 2,329" R.V., 8,864. a Pe tee = as : yk PEM Coe H 2 Norfolk. Rev. ——we J. Fraser. a. Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. Sporle a 62 ee as \ Pop., 387 - Acr., 1,682 - R.V., 2,8710. and mar - B.V., 6,1861. ee «| Pop, 806 - Acr., 4,180- B.V., 6, Present at Meeting : From Necton— Rev. W. H. Walker, rector. ; Col. G. Blomefield, landowner and magistrate. Mr. W. Blomfield, oceupier of 500 acres. Mr. John Whistler, occupier of 400 acres. Mr. Barlow Giles, guardian and occupier of 150 acres. Mr. W. Fowler, bailiff to Col. Blomefield. Mr. Rawling Rayner, guardian and occupier of 100 acres. Mr. Dewick, schoolmaster. Mr. Jesse Larwood, occupier of 40 acres and assistant overseer. Mr. Thomas Dunger, occupier of 300 acres. From East Bradenham— Rev. G. R. Winter, rector. Mr. Stebbings, occupier of 250 acres. Capt. Adlington, landowner and magistrate. From West Bradenham— Gen. Carthew, C.B., tenant of the Hall, From Sporle— Mr. C. Palmer, vice-chairman of the board of guardians, occupier of 1,300 acres. Mr. Thomas Wells, churchwarden and occupier of 700 acres. George Copeman, Esq., of Little Dunham, land- owner. Mr. John Whistler, senr., of Fransham, occupier of 200 acres. Mr. Frederick John Thomas, medical officer of thg district. The chair was taken by Cot. BLoMEFIELD. In Necton, of the 3,800 acres of land, upwards of 3,000 belong to Col. Blomefield, the remainder belongs to several small owners. The labour is sufficient for the cultivation of the land; there are about 170 cot- tages ; the medical officer considers many of them to be in bad condition and to be quite inadequate in point of accommodation for the families that occupy them, but they are improving. About 60 belong to the chief landowner ; the remainder to small proprietors. The rent varies from 2/. to 5/.; there are only two ovr three cottages at this higher rate. Most of the cottages have gardens varying in extent from 10 to 20 rods; all Col. Blomefield’s tenants have allotments too. There is ample school accommodation—an excel- lent building was built in 1866, costing 1,500/., at the sole expense of a resident lady in the parish,—with 190 names on the books, and an average attendance of 120. It is not in connexion with Government. There is an endowment of about 1001. a year, which, with the children’s pence, is more than sufficient for the ordinary expenditure. For several past years there has been a night school, conducted by the schoolmaster. Last winter there was an attendance of 20. It was not very successful ; the young men did not seem to appreciate it. In East Bradenham there are three principal owners, two of whom are now resident. There is a sufficiency of labour, and of cottages. The majority of the cot- tages do not belong to the principal landowners. There are 60 cottages, and, with one or two excep- tions, there is not much overcrowding. The rent varies from 21, 10s. to 52, and would average 3/. 10s. Most have good gardens (about 20 rods), and there is a parish allotment. There is a mixed day school under a mistress, not in connexion with Government (the managers 'pre- ferring to be independent), which the rector considers quite sufficient for its purpose. There are between - EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 50 and 60 on the books, and an average attendance of about 45, The total annual cost is between 30/. and 40/.; the school pence amount to 102; the balance is made up by voluntary subscriptions. There has been a night school conducted by the rector for six or seven years. The rector can obtain no assistance in carrying it on. There was an average: attendance of 12 last winter; the elder scholars made some progress; the younger ones showed little interest. In West Bradenham there are two large pro- prietors, who are non-resident. There is a sufficiency of labour for the wants of the parish, and of cottages. Some cottages are now vocant. They belong chiefly to small proprietors, and with some exceptions are in fair condition, The rent is much the same as at East Bradenham. There is a good school in the parish, in a com- modious building recently erected with help from Government, under a mistress, with 51 names on the books, and 35 in average attendance. The vicar had a night school at his own house last winter, attended by a few young men. In Sporle the land belongs to three principal owners, of whom only one is resident. St. Katherine’s Hos- pital in London owns three farms, or in the whole about 2,100 acres. At busy times there is not a sufficiency of labour in the parish; it is imported from Necton and Swaffham. There are about 160 cottages; more thah a dozen are now empty. Mr. Thomas (the medical officer) reports them to be in good repair, but with insufficient accommodation for families. A large proportion of them have only one bedroom. They let at rents varying from 2J. 10s. to 41. 4s. The higher rent is determined chiefly by the size of the garden. The cottages are partly clustered into a street and partly scattered over the whole area of the parish. There is a day school, held in a moderate building erected about 20 years ago, under a mistress, not in connexion with Government. The mistress is paid 401. a year. There is an endowment of 10 acres of very good land, which lets for about 30/.a year. The voluntary subscriptions amount to about 10/. The vicar has conducted a night school; it is reported, with fair success. It was the unanimous feeling of the meeting that it would be better, in the interests of the employers of labour, to fix an age below which it should be prohibited to employ child labour, and then to leave it free, than to take a lower age at which the child might go to labour, such labour to be interrupted by requirements to attend school up to a higher age. With regard to the age that it would be desirable to fix, 11 were in favour of nine years, and four in favour of 10. The opinion of the majority was de- termined by consideration of the hardships that the higher age might inflict upon large families, where the maintenance of the children is a matter of diffi- culty, rather than by any opinion that a sufficient education can be given to a child by that age. Several gentlemen also thought that there was a scarcity of labour at present in the district, and that undue restriction upon child labour would interfere with the cultivation of the land. They would prefer, therefore, that the experiment should start at nine years; and that if found to work successfully, the age might perhaps be raised to 10. ee It is the unanimous opinion of the meeting’ that female labour on the land cannot be wholly dispensed with ; but it was also thought that the employment of young unmarried girls is in the highest degree undesirable and ought in every way to be discouraged; but the meeting was not prepared to reconimend any restriction upon such employment in respect of age, by reason of the difficulties that such restriction would placé, in many cases, upon the maintenance of such girls. They might be unfit for service, yet they could not be allowed to starve ; and worse results than uccompany their employment might follow from their remaining unemployed at home, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, It was the opinion of the meeting that the clause in the Nuisances Removal Act providing against the overcrowding of cottages, which is felt to be a great and pressing source of physical, moral, and social evil, needs to be made more distinct and imperative— at present the interpretation which the Swaffham board of guardians are advised to put upon the clause, and upon which they are acting, is, that it only applies to overcrowding in cottages which are used as lodging houses ; and it is highly desirable that the systematic inspection of cottages should be part of the functions of some authorized officer, and that the number of their inmates should be limited in a certain ratio to the amount of their accommodation. G. Biromerte.p, J. P., &e. &e. Chairman. No. 49. Monday, September 30, 1867. Collective Meeting at Oxburgh, for Oxburgh - Pop., 225 - Acr., 2,519 - R.V., 2,903/. Foulden - Pop., 517 - Acr., 3,394 - R.V., 3,208/. Gooderstone - Pop., 570 - Acr., 2,785 - R.V., 3,188/. Caldecote - Pop. 39-Acr., 673-R.V., 3362. Present at Meeting : From Oxburgh— Rev. Alex. Thurtell, rector. Mr. Ambrose Pryer, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 500 acres. Mr. Pryer Bennett, churchwarden, overseer, and occupier of 400 acres. Mr. Andrew Palmer, schoolmaster. Mr. Thomas Curties, occupier of 400 acres. Mr. Jacob Boyce, occupier of 50 acres and overseer. From Foulden— E. Oldfield, Esq., chairman of board of guardians. Rev. Henry Laing curate. Mr. John Baker, occupier of 20 acres. From Gooderstone— Mr. Charles Brooks, churchwarden, owner and occupier of 700 acres. Mr. James Brooks, churchwarden, owner and occupier of 260 acres. Mr. Edward Hodgkinson, surveyor and occupier of 230 acres. Mr. Wm. Ford, guardian, owner and occupier of 220 acres. Mr. William Carter, occupier of 240 acres. Mr. Walter Oldfield, overseer and occupier of 800 acres. From Caldecote— Mr. Henry Oldfield, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier of 1,300 acres. Rey. S. Churchill, rector of Boughton and guar- dian (Downham union). The chair was taken by Rev. Avex. THURTELL. In Oxburgh, except the glebe, all the land belongs to Sir Henry Bedingfield, who is resident. The sup- ply of labour is hardly equal to the demand. There is a deficiency of cottages ; many have been pulled down. When the rector came here 19 years ago there were about 50 cottages ; there are now only 38. It is thought that 50 cottages are required for housing the people who cultivate the land, which extends over 2,500 acres. The cottages have been con- siderably improved of late, and some new ones have been recently built, roomy, with three bedrooms. The rent ranges from 2/. 10s. to 32. 10s. They have gardens of about 20 rods. There is a good day school, under a fairly efficient master, with 54 names on the register, and an ordi- nary attendance of 37. The school is adequately supported by an endowment arising from land. The whole cost is about 50/. per annum. The school is free, but the schoolmaster does not perceive that that makes any difference in the attendance of the children. 63 There is also a Roman Catholic day school, On the register, 50 ; in average attendance, 40. There has been a night school for 15 years, con- ducted by the schoolmaster. It was attended last winter by 18 scholars, but has hardly been as successful for the last two or three years as it used to be. The master’s experience is that the night school does not carry on the scholars to a point beyond that at which they left the day school, but it helps to prevent their knowledge from evaporating. The night school is perfectly free. In Foulden the land belongs to three chief pro- prietors. There is an ample supply of labour and cottages. The condition of the cottages generally is satisfactory, but there are some not fit to live in, which it is hoped may be condemned. The rent of the cottages ranges from ls. to 1s. 6d. a week, or a little over. There is a national school, under a mistress, with 82 names on the books, and an ordinary attendance of between 50 and 60. There is an endowment of 51. (to educate 12 children free); the school pence amount to 15/. ; the annual cost is about 55/, There has been a night school for the last six winters, taught by the curate, the clerk, and a village carpenter. It was attended by 18 scholars last winter ; the elder ones made fair progress, but the younger ones were troublesome. It is considered to have been a useful instrument in the parish. Gooderstone is an open parish. There are three or four principal and several small owners. The cot- tages belong chiefly to small owners, The greater part are reported to be in good condition, but there are also several bad ones. ‘There are some standing empty. If everybody living in Gooderstone worked in Gooderstone there would be.a considerable surplus of labour. There are men living in Gooderstone who walk five miles a day to their work. There is a National school, held in a good room, built in 1845, supported by school pence and volun- tary subscriptions. The funds are low ; the mistress’s salary cannot exceed 20/7. The ordinary attendance is about 40. Some Roman Catholic children attend the school at Oxburgh. The night school was discontinued last winter, partly owing to a deficiency of funds, and partly to a change of mistress. It is hoped that it will be revived this winter. Mr. Ford has promised to pay for the schooling of any of the workpeople whom he employs. , At Caldecote there is no church, and the children attend school at Oxburgh. There is not a sufficiency either of resident labour or of cottages. The land belongs to Sir Henry Bedingfield, and the whole parish is only part of a single farm. The effect of the change of the law of settlement has been in this parish that Mr. Henry Oldfield under the old system paid 12, a quarter in rates, and now he pays 91. a quarter. The poor rate for the union last year was 2s. in the pound. On the light lands in this part of the union two cottages to the hundred acres would be an ample supply. On a farm of 800 acres in the parish of Gooderstone, occupied by Mr. Walter Oldfield, there is only one double cottage, and the labourers come 24 miles to their work ; and the consequence is that Mr. Oldfield gets an inferior class of labourers. At Gooderstone there is a public gang, varying. in number according to the season from 12 to 30, but there is no private gang employed in the four parishes. It. was the unanimous feeling of the meeting that, as farmers, they could do without the labour of ‘boys under 10 years of age, but cases were mentioned which sufticiently showed that an absolute prohibition of such labour would operate as an exceeding hardship upon large families. Mr. James Brook instanced a labourer of his own, earning 13s. a week, with six children, the eldest (a boy) a month over 10, the next a boy of eight. These two boys. earn nearly 10/. in the year, and the man says that if this labour were H 3 Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser, = a, Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a 8§ prohibited.he, could not maintain, his; family, gine Rev. Henry-Laing, of Foulden, found upon inquiry that similar feelings. prevailed among the large families in his parish. It was the hope, therefore, of the meeting that if any restrictive legislation takes place on this subject, it would be accompanied -by some dispensing power ,which; would provide for .such cases, which would otherwise become cases of hardship. It was the opinion, however,-of the employers of labour pre- sent that the evil.was being gradually corrected by moral and natural influences; that the employment ofyoung children is growing more rare ; that kindlier feelings, are prevailing between employers and em- ployed; that parents are beginning to set a higher value, on, education,; that the schools generally are adequate. to the work they have to do, though not always adequately, supported ; that the present gene- ration possess much more learning than, ., their fathers; and they therefore question. the desirable- negs of legislative interference at all =. . The labour of girls is not required before they. are 12 years of age, and the employment of young un- narried :girls is unanimously, allowed: to be most undesirable, and is a thing which ,all the employers of labour present wish to discourage ; but they are not prepared to recommend its absolute prohibition, inasmuch as..girls. who could not get situations in domestic service must be allowed to maintain them- selves. ews ae ‘ . There is observed to be a diminution in the number of women employed in farm work, and those who undertake it are found to be generally able to protect themselves. It was: the unanimous opinion of. the ewployers that women should not be employed with thrashing machines; but there is no other kind of work upon which they are employed which is con- sidered unsuitable for them. The cottage of every labouring man with a family ought not-to. contain less than three sleeping rooms ; the-rent, ought, not to exceed 42. ; the cottages ought to. go'with the farms, and in number to be in pro- portion to the acreage of the farm. An efficient inspeetion, which would prevent the evil of over- crowding, would be very desirable, if practicable. aive ts | ALEXANDER THURTELL, Chairman. gat hays (On behalf of the meeting.) Hie: "No. 50. Wednesday, October 2, 1867. ..,,Collective Meeting at Beechamwell, for Beechamwell - Pop., 356 - Acr., 2,995 - R.V., 2,3391. Shingham -- Pop. 62-Acr., 975-R.V., 3991. Cockley Cley. - Pop., 263 - Acr., 4,012 - R.V., 1,8672. Present at Meeting : From Beechamwell— Rev. John Holley, curate in charge. Rev. H. Dugmore, tenant of the Hall. : Mr. Jas. Chambers, churchwarden and occupier of 1,400 acres. Mr. John Chambers. Mr. Wm. Smith, occupier of 60 acres, -From Shingham— ' “Mr. John Newman, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier of 900 acres. From Cockley Cley— Rev. S.'C. Campbell, rector. T. R. Buckworth, Esq., landowner and magis- trate. Rev. S. G. Read, rector of Barton St.:Mary’s, Mr. George Read, occupier of 900 acres in Barton. : ‘Rev. W. Blyth, rural dean, rector of Fincham. Rev, C. W. Sidney, rector of Gooderstone. The chair was taken by Mr. Buck worra. The land in Bechamwell belongs to one proprietor, who is non-resident. There is about a sufficient supply of resident labour and of cottages ;’ at least 20 EMPLOYMENT, OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS,.4ND, WOMEN cottages. have been built within the last 10 years, and there has been;.an increase of 50 in the population since 1851. This is in consequence of the cultivation of a rabbit warren of some 2,200 acres. The cottages, especially the new ones, are in good order; the new ones have three bedrooms; the rent varies from 20. 10s. to 3i. All have good gardens; some are held:from the tenants, but the greater number from the landlord. -There is .a school which serves for Beechamwell and Shingham, not in connexion with Government (owing to the scantiness of funds), with about 46 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance’ of 35. .The mistress’s salary is. 30/., the annual, sub- scriptions amount to 21J, Fa seks Ae The land in Shingham (except the glebe) belongs to the same proprietor as Beechamwell. There is only one farm in the parish, which contains about 1,100 acres.. The land is chiefly sand, with chalk lying very near the surface, It is a capital sheepwalk. There is u deficiency of cottages; a good double cot- tage is now in process of erection, cach. tenement to have three bedrooms. .The older cottages are ofa bad description, dilapidated, and many of them. over- crowded. , They:are built of. clay lump. . The rent. is the same as.at Beechamwell, though the cottages and gardens are both inferior. There was a-night school for Beechamwell and Shingham last winter, with 25 scholars, , It was not very successful, and some of the pupils were disor- derly, It was managed’ by Mr. and Mrs. Holley, assisted by two or three volunteers, - : In Cockley Cley the greater part of the land belongs to Mr. Buckworth; Sir H. Bedingfield, Bart., owns 800 acres. There is quite enough labour, and a suffi- ciency of cottages.’ The rent varies from. 20. to 8i. They are held. on a fortnightly tenure from the landlord. . There is a school in Cockley Cley, with. 50 names on the books, and an average attendance of 40. - It is under a mistress, who is paid 35/., with a house. The pence amount to about 8/,; the remaining ‘expenses are made up by the landowner. a eae The rector has hada few boys and youths (from 10 to 14) at his house in the evening during the winter months ; with some of the pupils he has had a satisfactory measure of success. ay It is the opinion of the meeting that it would not interfere prejudicially with the cultivation of the land if it were prohibited, to employ a child under 10 years of age, but it was thought that this prohibition would not operate with. due effect in favour of education, unless security were at the same time taken that such children were sent to school. One gentleman present considered that if this security took the form of re- quiring a certificate of having passed an examination, a boy who succeeded in passing the examination at an earlier age than 10, ought to be allowed to-go to work and add to the earnings of the family. It is further the opinion of the meeting that the employment of women, and especially of young girls, in the fields is not desirable, though in the present state of the labour supply it cannot always be’ dis- pensed with. But there is perceived to be a growing disinclination in some parishes on the part of women to work in the fields. Mr. Buckworth farms 1,500 acres in Cockley Cley without employing a single woman or girl, even in harvest, though he occasionally has a gang from Swaffham to do his weeding and single mangolds. The meeting, however, is not prepared to recom- mend that any prohibition should be placed by law upon the employment of females in the fields, though they would desire that such employment should be so far regulated as to bring it under proper supervision, and to prévent the intermixture of the sexes. All the new cottages that are built by the landowners in this neighbourhood are improvements upon the old cottages, and the. operation:of the change in the law of settlement is certain to operate in a favourable direc- tion, both as regards:the improvement of the cottages and their distribution. The meeting would desire salie U IN ( AgnictiroRE “(18675 COMMISSION :——EVIDENGE hat no ‘cottage onlpial, oF. a mixed family should contain less than three bedrooms. __ Signed in behalf of the meeting, __ eee T. R. Buckworts, ‘Chairman, No, 51. Thursday, October 3, 1867. Meeting at Narborough, for Narborough .- - Pop., 887 - Acr., 3,376 - R.V., 3,3201. Narford - Pop., 123 - Acr., "2, ‘377 « R.V., 1,3752. Newton - Pop., 84 - ‘Acr., 1,062 - R.V., 1,4851. Southacre - Pop. 92 - Acr,, 2,292 - R.V.,.2,365/, Present, at the Meeting “From Narborough— ~ Rev. W, E. -Allfree, vicar. : Mr. James Fuller, oceupier-of 320 acres. , ~ Mr. Joseph Cross, occupier of 85 acres. Mr. Wm. Petch, clerk to Meéssrs,. Marriott, mer- chants. Mr. George Heyhoe, ra of 170 acres. ~ From Narford— | “a Mr. Jacob Finch, occupier of 4, ,500 acres. , Mr. Richard Sorby, occupier of 300 acr es. From Southacre— — Mr. W. B. Clark, Sucmeliwardion are said occupier of 1,080 acres. “The chair was taken by the Rey. W.E. Aixensms, vicar of Narborough. “The land in Narborough belongs to four principal and several small proprietors. The employers present consider that there is not a sufficient, supply of labour resident in the parish to work the land. There are a bone mill, a-flour mill, several malthouses, and a large coalyard in. the parish, which employ a considerable number of hands. There are about 60 cottages in the parish, ‘pelonging chiefly to the landowners. The, condition of the majority is reported to be good, very superior to most _parishes, but there are six or.seven inferior ones. The cottages, are not well distributed -in relation to the farms, nor are the farms adequately supplied with cottages. One farm of 800 acres has only two cot- tages; another of 320 acres has only two also, and in one of these, which has no upper story, and only two rooms on the ground floor, each only 7 ft..by 10 ft. in size, there were 18 people lodging during the ate harvest. . There is a parochial day. school, not in connexion with Government, hitherto under a mistress, buf.on the point of being placed under a master, with..70 names on the register and an ordinary attendance of 55... ot. serves for the united- paxishes of Narborough and Narford. Some of the children have to travel two miles to school. The total annual cost hitherto has been about’ 30/., but it'is likely to be ‘doubled under the new organization. The school pence have amounted. to: 182. or 201. ;-there is. an endowment of about 3/., the rest is made up by annual subscriptions. There has bedt night school, attended by about 20, conducted by? the vicar and: churchwarden. It was fairly successful, and the young men were found desirous to avail themselves. of the opportunity... All the land in Narford, except about 30 acres, belongs to Andrew Fountaine, Esq.; who is resident. There is a deficiency of labour and-ef cottages..: About -a:dezen labourers are constantly imported from neigh- bouring parishes. The cottages all belong to the landowner, and are in good order; they are regularly inspected by his agent, and there is seldom a case of overcrowding... The rent is: $1, including a.quarter of an acre of land..... With the. exception of three, which go with Mr. Finch’s- farm, they are. -all held--direct “from.the landlord, bus... ove oe In Southacre all the land belongs to Mr. Ronriaine There is at present a deficiency of resident. Jabour and of cottages. There are. about..2;0001 acres: of culti- vated land, and: only - 13.,cattages, . 12: of-»which are occupied by agricultural labourers. The deficiency of -. Mr. Finch, occupier and re APP asi 2 EEUU eo real ULE labour is Hele up. fcom the ‘asta of ed an open parish about three-quarters , of a mile distant. The rent of. the cottages is about , -two- guinea, in- cluding good gardens. The day school at: Cupilenure admits children from Southacre and Newton. . - Mr. Fountaine jis also the chief proprietor 3 in New- ton; Lord Leicester and Mr. Martin also,. own. land there, Newton, like Southacre, has ‘partly: ‘to depend for its supply. of, labour upon Castleacre. The. con- dition of the cottages in respect of accommodation is reported: by the. relieving -officer to be bad: «:Theré are several cases of overcrowding. Public gangs. are employed in these. parishes, and Mr. Finch has, on. his occupation about eight:or ten women and girls who do their work under the superin- tendence of an elderly labourer. In ithe opinion of the meeting ‘there would . be. no hardship, as far as the farmer is concerned, in pro- hibiting the employment of a: child in field labour under the age of 10 (except in the seasons of haysell and harvest). It is thought that such prohibition would: sufficiently allow for. the education of ‘such boys, and would operate far, more successfully. than requirements of attendance at school concurrently with employment.in work... It would :be the business of the legislature to see that such restriction, ifen- forced, should be.so regulated as to prevent its bearing too hardly upon large families, Such, prohibition also ought: to be accompanied with provisions which should have the effect of securing.the attendance. of such children at school. It is the opinion of the meeting that the. employ- ment of: young girls and women in the fields . ought: to be placed under proper supervision ; but the employers present stated distinctly as. the result of their ‘ex; perience that the. best superintendence of a gang. of women is exercised by a respectable elderly man. -A woman can neither direct their labour nor. contrel their tongues. SW ES BK It is very strongly felt by this meeting: that tthe condition of the home of the agricultural; labourer lies at the root of the influences affecting his: social condition. There are not enough cottages in many parishes, and most cottages are deficient in’accommo- dation. .No cottage occupied by.a mixed family ought to have less than three bedrooms. The insufficiency of cottages also affects their tenure. If a farmer has only two or. three cottages at’ his command, a tenant on yearly tenure might: occasion him very considerable inconvenience ;, otherwise the ordinary weekly tenure does not give sufficient. protection to . the: labourer. It: is. the..general custom in this. part.of: Norfolk to hire the yardman, the team man, the shepherd, and. the bailiff by the year ; other.labourers are hired: by. the day, but the statute hirings. are dying out, and..are little more now than pleasure. fairs. -It:is the decided opinion of the.-meeting that houses licensed to sell beer should be closed on Sundays, oe in the case of bond: fide. travellers. i, ‘Bienes on behalf of the. meeting, . : 4 ae: Epw. EERE Chairman, No. 52. Friday, October 4, +1867. Mecting at Swaffham, for the parish of 4 Swaffham - Pop., 3,558 - Acr., 7, 550 = RY; 14, 6391. Present at the sora Rev. Salisbury Everard, viean.:. Rev. John Howard, curate.. ae Rev. C. V. Summer, resident magistrate. .o.8 ro, ‘uRev: B. Houchen, chaplain to the Swafiham ‘etion house and gaol. = Mr. C. Palmer, vice- daira of. ford of. guardians Mr. E. ‘Reeve, surgeon. . ey Mr. Jas. Balling _ occupier of 300 arse H 4 Norfolk. Rey. J. Fraser, a. Norfolk, Rev, J. Fraser. 44 Mr, George Clarke, occupier of 600 acres, Mr, Thos. Lindsey, grocer and draper, and pro- prietor of 180 acres. Mr. Wm. Pheasant, national schoolmaster. Mr. T. Withers, occupier of 800 acres. Mr. Durrant Dutchman, occupier of 600 acres. Rev. T. H. Blome, vicar of Castleacre. Mr. B. Marriott, medical officer of the union. Mr. Wm. Gould, bookseller. Mr. C. Southall, bank manager. Mr. James Fuller, occupier of 120 acres. The chair was taken by Rev. Sanispury EvErarp, vicar of the parish. Swaffham is a market town, containing about 3,800 inhabitants. There are three large proprietors (Mr. Hamond, Mr. Fountaine, Mr. Wayland), and several smaller owners. It is purely an agricultural town; the area of the parish is about 7,500 acres. The popula- tion is clustered chiefly into the town ; there are not above 25 outlying cottages out of a whole number of 500. The supply of labour is adequate to the ordinary demand, but some of the employers present find a deficiency in harvest time. The bulk of the cottages belong to small proprietors; the medical officer reports that many of them are deficient in proper bed- room accommodation. The rent varies from 2l. 10s. to 6l.; the tenure differs, some are held by the week, others by the quarter, others (and these the majority) by the year. There is a general deficiency in the gardens. There are about 40 allotments of 20 rods each. The people are very cager to possess them. The rent is 4s. 6d. There are National boys’ and girls’ schools, and a large infant school, wholly supported by pence and subscriptions. The total annual cost of the boys’ and and girls’ schools is about 1602; of the infant school, about 602. The school pence of the boys’ and girls’ schools amounted last year to 38/., subscriptions and collection after sermon to 60/. There are several private adventure dames’ schools. The rule of the National boys’ and girls’ school (not of the infant school) is that the children who attend it are also required to attend school and church on Sundays. There has been a night school for several winters, conducted by the schoolmaster assisted by volunteers. Last winter there were 70 names on the books; the greatest number present any one night was 53; the ordinary attendance, 26. With the regular attendants it was as successful as could be expected. ‘The older scholars profited most by the opportunity. One scholar of 24 years of age who came knowing nothing of reading, writing, or ciphering, in the course of a single winter had advanced sufficiently to pass the Government examination in Standard I. in writing and ciphering, though he failed in reading. There are 114 boys and 90 girls on the register of the day school, with an average attendance of 72 boys and 50 girls. The attendance of boys is half as good again in the winter as in the summer, in con- sequence of boys who had been withdrawn for summer work returning to school. It is very rare that a labourer’s son stays atschool till 10 ; they mostly leave at 8. The latter often come back for three months’ schooling in the winter. It is a very uncommon case for a boy of 11 to so return. The greater number leave before they reach the first class; in consequence of irregular attendance, they can rarely be pre- sented for examination higher than the second standard. The schoolmaster thinks that in the interest of education he would rather have a boy constantly at school for four years, from 6 to 10, and believes he could do more for him, than if he were taken away at eight, and only returned for three or four months’ schooling during the winter, even to the age of 13. Mr. Everard fears that by neither method would any permanent results be secured. The general failure of education is considered to lie in the want of proper control and discipline exer- cised over children by their parents, © BMPLOYMENT OF OBILDREN, YQUNG PERSONS, ANP WOMBPH The meeting feel that it is desirable, both in the interests of education and on other grounds, to limit the age below which children should go to field work, The Factory Acts place this limit at 8 ; the meeting would be content to see it raised to 10, and then leave the employment of such children free, as they con- sider that both the half-day and the alternate whole day systems are impracticable in agriculture, and in the case of large families the maintenance of children beyond the age of 10 would be a matter of consider- able difficulty. Indeed, in some cases great difficulty would be experienced by parents in sending their children to school even to the age of 10, and in legisla- ting on,this subject the circumstances of such parents ought not to be lost sight of. itis further the opinion of the meeting that nothing would be gained, but, on the contrary, much would be lost, by merely prohibiting children from labour unless at the same time security were taken that they should attend school. ‘Thriftless improvident parents are so numerous that they require some strong motive to induce them to send their children to school. It is the unanimous feeling of the meeting that the employment of young girls in the fields is in the highest degree objectionable. The meeting would even desire to see it prohibited under the age of 16, when the parent ceases to be liable for her maintenance, were it not that in some parishes, where, owing to a deficiency of cottages, there is an inadequate supply of labour, the cultivation of the land would often be seriously interfered with but for the employment of female labour. Where girls are unable to get into domestic service, or unfitted for it, a licence might be granted enabling such girls to gain their livelihood by working in the fields. The condition of the cottages is considered to be one of the most important influences affecting the social condition of the agricultural poor. ‘The bed- room accommodation is too often insufficient, and the freedom with which the tenant admits lodgers aggra- vates the evil. Something in the nature of a systematic inspection qf cottages, limiting the number of their inmates to their power of accommodation, is thought to be the only adequate remedy for the evil. The meeting would desire to see the power of licensing houses for the sale of beer reserved to the magistrates ; such licence only to be granted upon a certificate of good character, and to be withdrawn if the house becomes disorderly. The number of beer- houses in Swaffham is far in excess of the legitimate requirements of the place. The gentlemen present would also desire to see houses for the sale of beer closed on the Sunday, except in the case of bond fide travellers. Signed in behalf of the meeting, Sa.ispury Everarp, Chairman. County or Essex: Harsteap UNION. No. 538. Monday, October 14, 1867. Collective Meeting at Halstead, for Halstead - Pop., 6,917 - Acr., 5,039 - R.V., 20,4022. Gosfield - Pop., 620 - Acr., 3,000- R.V., 4,8972. Pebmarsh - Pop., 658 - Acr., 2,024-R.V., 3,379. Present at Meeting : From Halstead— Sam. Courtauld, Esq., landowner and manu- facturer. John R. Vaizey, Esq., magistrate, lord of the manor, landowner, and occupier of 300 acres. E. Hornor, Esq., magistrate, owner, and occupier. J. T. Adams, Esq., resident gentlemen. — Cardinal, Esq., solicitor and guardian. R. E. Greenwood, Esq., landowner and occupier of 160 acres. Mr. John Blomfield, occupier of 280 acres and member of board of health. Dr. Borham, medical practitioner. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Rev. E. N. Stott, curate in charge of St, An- drew’s. : Rev. J. Gleaves, assistant curate. Rev. D. Fraser, incumbent of Holy Trinity Ghurch and rural dean, Rev. W. H. Gough, curate. Rev. J. Kew, curate of St. James, Greenstead Green. Mr. John Bunn, relieving officer. Mr. Thomas Ray, miller and occupier of 140 acres. Mr. Joseph Everitt, baker. Mr. R. C. Hughes, postmaster. Duncan Sinclair, Esq., practising surgeon, and medical officer of the union. Mr. Haideh, occupier of 200 acres. Mr. John Sudbury, owner of houses and occupier of 150 acres. Mr. G. D. Green, occupier of 250 acres and butcher. Mr. Henry Candler, baker and member of Board of Health. From Gosfield— Mr. A. Ferguson, steward to S. Courtauld, Esq. Mr. John Savill, occupier of 470 acres. Mr. Walter Whitlock, occupier of 300 acres. Rev. S. W. Dowell, vicar. From Pebmarsh— Hon. and Rev. E. H. Grimston, rector. Samvet Courtautp, Esq. was invited to take the chair. Halstead is an open parish; the principal pro- prictors are J. R. Vaizey, Esq., B. Sparrow, Esq., and Mrs. Honywood. The population is about 7,000 ; the acreage rather over 5,000. There is a sufficient supply 6f agricultural labour in the parish; in the town itself the poor are crying out for more cottages, A large proportion of the population are employed in manufactures. The condition of the cottages varies ; some are very good, others very bad. There are some very bad cases of overcrowding. The rent ranges from 1s. to 2s.a week. All the outlying cottages have gar- dens, but the greater proportion of those in the town have only little strips. There are about 50 acres of allotment, divided into lots of from 20 to 40 rods a-piece, letting at from 6d. to 9d. and 1s. a rod. There are three sets of National schools attached to the three churches, a large British school, and a mixed school in one of the suburbs supported by Mr. Hornor. There are three night schools for males connected with the three churches, and a mixed night school attached to Mr. Courtauld’s factory. My. Fraser has also a female night school. Altogether the parish is abundantly supplied with the means of education. In Gosfield the land chiefly belongs to Mr. Court- auld and Mr. Sparrow ; there are also about half a dozen small proprietors of land or cottages. There is scarcely enough resident labour, and an insufiicient supply of cottages. Many of the labourers reside in Halstead, and some in Hedingham, and some of them have to come three miles to their work. The cottages belonging to Mr. Courtauld are, many of them, newly erected and in good condition, and have three bed- rooms with separate entrances, and two of the three with fire-places. Other cottages are indifferent, and some miserably bad, “not fit for human habitation,” and in the opinion of Dr. Borham, who is acquainted with them, a prolific source of rheumatism, followed in many cases by consumption. The rent of the new cottages is from Is. Ad. to 1s. 9d., with from 16 to 25 rods of garden. There are allotments of from 25 to 30 rods, which let at from 4d. to 6d. per rod, accord- ing to the quality of the land. There are two day schools in the parish, one con- nected with the church, the other, supported by Mr, Courtauld, non-denominational in its character. The ordinary attendance at the former is 35, at the latter. 80. The church school is fairly supported at an annnal cost of about 40/. ; the vicar, however, feels it 2. 67 somewhat a heavy burden. The yearly cost of Mr. Courtauld’s is upwards of 1002. Neither school is in connexion with Government. Mr. Courtauld also supports a night school for males and females, attended by from 25 to 80 scholars. Gosfield, therefore, is amply provided with the means of education. The land in Pebmarsh belongs to three or four principal owners. There are about 2,800 acres. There is a sufficiency of resident labour, and and ade- quate supply of cottages. There is generally sufficient chamber accommodation, and Mr. Grimston thinks that most of them have three chambers. ‘The rent isabout 1s. 6d. a week ; those that have not gardens have allotments, for which they pay 6d. a rod. There is a day school, connected with the church, but not with the Government, under the rector’s management, taught by a mistress, -with 50 names on the register, and an attendance of about 40. The total annual cost is about 45/., of which the children’s pence produce 7/, There is an endowment of'7J. 14s.; the rest is made up by voluntary subscriptions con- tributed by the lady of the manor, the rector, and the farmers. The rector considers the school as efficient as he would wish it to be. There has been a night school for several past winters, attended by about 20, mostly young men. It has been conducted entirely by the schoolmistress, a married woman of 35, with the assistance of another female. They have had no difficulty in maintaining order. The chief attraction that draws the young men to the school is the desire to write. The farming of this part of Essex is chiefly arable; the soil is variable, but principally a stiff loam ; some very poor, some very good. The poor land lets at from 15s. to 25s., the better at from 25s. to 22. The smaller occupations are the higher rented. Female labour is scarcely known in the district, not even in haymaking or harvest; but they occasionally do a little stone picking, and also drop wheat at sow- ing time ; they also pick the hops grown in the dis- trict and the peas that are grown for the early spring London market. Women mostly employ themselves in their homes in straw plaiting and slop work. When the trade is good a good hand would earn from As. to 5s. a week clear profit ; at the present moment there is an utter deadness in the straw-plait trade, and no profits are to be made. In consequence for the last few weeks women in several parishes, both married and single, have sought work in the fields, where they would earn from 8d. to 1s. a day. But female labour is not required here in the fields, and it is dis- couraged. Male labour is considered cheaper and better. Boy labour is largely used in the district; but the relieving officer does not know of a case of a boy being employed under 8. On Mr. Courtauld’s occu- pation of 700 acres there are employed only one boy under 11, one between 12 and 13, and three between 13 and 14. Their work in spring would be to tend sheep and prepare food for cattle, always under super- intendence ; in summer and autumn, tending stock, and leading horses in haymaking and harvest ; and in winter still tending stock. There would be no slack time in the year of which advantage could be taken to send such boys to school. But in this part of Essex they are not wanted on the land very young. Mr. Savill, who farms 470 acres, employs no women (except at a rare job of stone picking, and then for the surveyor of the roads), and has only three boys under 16, aged 11, 18, and 15 respectively. The present rate of wages round Halstead is 11s. a week for the ordinary labourer, and 12s. to 138s. for the horsemen and shepherds. A twelvemonth ago, the ordinary wage was 10s., and a year before that 9s. Mr. Blomfield remembers the time when it was only 7s. The harvest is paid for sometimes at per acre (this year at 18s. per acre), sometimes for the job. ‘The man would earn either way from 64. 15s. to 71. for the month, The task work is chiefly hoeing turnips end I Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 68 wheat, turning manure, thrashing by the flail (when done). It is the opinion of the employers present that an able-bodied man working regularly and’ not hindered by weather, including his task work, earns at the rate of 12s. a week, plus his harvest ; and therefore under such circumstances his total earnings would be from 352. to 36/. The steady able-bodied labourer is hardly ever out of work, but of course there are a number of unsteady or unhandy men who only get occasional employment and whose earnings therefore must be considerably below this mark. A boy of 10 would earn about 6d. a day; of 12, 8d. ; of 14, 9d. or 1s., according to his qualifications. The cottages in the district are constructed either of brick, or of lath and plaster ; some of clay dau®. Each mode of construction produces a good cottage ; the lath and plaster cottages are warm and more com- fortable than those with thin 9-inch brick walls. An institution which used to prevail in the district. and still exists, though dying out, is the braiding school, kept by a dame as a private adventure, to which the children bring their straw and are taught to plait it, diversifying their work with a reading lesson two or three times a day. The charge is from 1}d. to 2d. a week. . a ce) It is the unanimous opinion of this meeting that the present educational condition of the agricultural labourer in this district is unsatisfactory. But in order to improve it, it-was not considered that the principles of the. Factory Acts could be applied to agricultural labour, with which they would seriously interfere. The. meeting would wish to see an age fixed below which a boy should not be employed in field labour at all; but when gone to work, to allow him:to work freely throughout the year. A majority of nine were in favour of fixing this age at 10; a minority of four would have preferred raising it to 11. {At this period of the meeting Mr. Courtauld was compelled by an engagement to leave the chair, which was taken by Mr. Hornor.] It is, however, the opinion of the meeting that but little advantage would be gained to education by merely fixing a limit of age below which children should be prohibited from working, unless security were at the same time taken for the regular attend- ance of such children at school. But the meeting would wish to leave it to the wisdom of Parliament to devise that form of compulsion, whether direct or indirect, which should best secure the end in view. The meeting consider that the employment of women, and particularly of young unmarried girls, in the fields is highly undesirable, and in this district it is neither required nor known. It is unanimously felt that some independent sur- veillance of cottages is absolutely required to prevent the numerous instances of overcrowding which now exist ; and it was suggested that an annual return of all the cottages of their district might be prepared by the overseers of each parish and regularly sent to an officer independent of local influences appointed to receive it, and empowered, in case of need, to take action upon it. , The meeting would also desire to see a much stricter supervision exercised over houses licensed to sell beer, which at present are felt to be fruitful sources of poverty and crime, and to be one of the most demoralizing influences that affect the condition of the working man. Signed on behalf of the meeting by Epwarp Hornor, Chairman. No. 54. Tuesday, October 15, 1867. Collective Meeting at Castle Hedingham, for ee Pop., 1,203 - Aer., 2,500-R.V.,5,4590. Bible: Hedig: i Pop.,2,123- Acr., 5,289-R.V.,9,6552. ham - ~ EMPLOYMENT OF | CHILDREN ) YOUNG PERSONS, AND. WOMEN Great Maple- | Seidl ~f Pop. - 462-Acr., 1,940-R.V;, 83,2921. ee \ Pop. 325-Acr.;1,000-R.V,, 1, 7010. Present at Meeting : From Castle Hedingham— Rev. H. Wilkinson, incumbent. Rev. 8. Steer, congregationalist minister. Mr. John Stubbing, guardian, surveyor, and occupier of 200 acres. ; Lewis Majendie, Esq., magistrate and landowner. From Sible Hedingham— Rev. Thomas Naish, curate. Mr. Thomas Ely, churchwarden, occupier of 100 acres, corn mills, and malthouses. Mr. ‘Timothy Maver, overseer and resident gentleman. | Mr. Thomas Rayner, occupier of 500 acres. Mr. George Goodchild, guardian, owner and _ joint occupier of 1,200 acres, resident at Great Yeldham. _ : Mr. G. Goodchild, jun, From Great Maplestead— *” Rev. E..S. Corrie, vicar. a) Mr. Henry Myhill, churchwarden, guardian, and overseer and occupier of 250 acres.. The chair was taken by Mr. MasEnpie. In Castle Hedingham threé-fourths of ‘the land belong to Lewis Ashurst Majendie, Esq., the re- mainder to five or six other proprietors. The acreage is about 2,400 acres. There is’ just about enough resident labour; there is employment for able-bodied men throughout the year. There are enough cottages, but they have not.sufficient accom- modation for their inmates, and there are many in- stances of overcrowding.. A reason alleged for better cottages not being built is that much of the land is copyhold,.and speculators have not been inclined to build on that tenure, while the, late land- owner, just deceased, was more inclined to pull down than to build. Some old buildings have been con- verted into cottages, but no new cottage. on a fresh site has been built within the memory of any genile- man present. Many of the existing. cottages are in bad condition, both as regards repairs and accom- modation ; in fact, there are very few with accom- modation sufficient for the families that inhabit them. About half belong to small proprietors. The rent varies from 2/. 12s, to 4d. ; most are held on a yearly tenure, with six months’ notice. Generally speaking, the cottages are not let with the farm, but are held direct from the owner. Mr. Stubbing, who rents under Mr. Majendie, has one cottage at his command; but he believes that. that is the only cottage on that estate let with the farms. ‘There are about 10 acres of allotments. _ There is a parochial school, the building vested in the lord of the manor (who is also lay rector), the incumbent, and churchwardens; not in connexion with Government; under an untrained mistress; about 110 names on the books, and an average at- tendance of 80 ; supported at a total annual cost of 601., of which 25/. comes from school pence, 2U, 10s. from Betton’s Charity, and the remainder from voluntary subscriptions. The incumbent considers that the school is sufficient for the wants of the parish. There is also a private adventure, school attended by from 20 to 25 girls ; and another under a certificated master, attended by about 20 boys—a kind of lower middle school. Ba A night school has been held for five winters, taught by this certificated master, assisted by the incumbent aud other occasional volunteers. Last winter it was attended on the average by 36 scholars, mostly lads of from 10to 17 years of age ; the attend- ance was not very regular, to which fact the in- cumbent attributes the only partial success of the school. In Sible Hedingham, there are over 5,000 acres of *. "IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE.” land ; the largest proprietor owns about 800; there is a great number of small proprietors; almost every occupation has a different owner. Many of the occu- pations gre very small. There is sufficient resident labour, but none to spare; all the able-bodied men that are worth anything can get employment through- out the year. Many of the labourers leave the parish in‘ the summer to work in the eastern hundreds of the county, where labourers are scarce and wages are higher. The cottage accommodation generally is very un- satisfactory ; “Some of them are deplorable , ‘the « only wonder is how they stand.” There are about 350 cottages, of which not more than 20 can be called good. Thére are a great many large families in the parish, and consequently a great many cases of over- crowding. The cottages belong to a great number of small proprietors, who do not seem to think, anything about improving them ; substantial repairs are seldom attempted. The rent ranges from 21. 12s. to 4. ‘There are a good many cottages in the street which have no gardens. There is abundance of water in the parish; but many cottages have neither pump nor ‘well, and the people have long distances to go to get their supply.. There are 102 allotments. in the parish, L* ; 2 os There is a National school, unconnected with Government, under an untrained master-and two mis- tresses, with 113 names on the register and an average attendance of 75. The total annual cost is about 1007. It is becoming more efficient than it was, but still is not what it should be. It is built in a bad situation, three ‘miles from’ some parts of \the parish,’ conse- quently there are many children in outlying ‘parts of the parish who do not attend school at all. One side of the parish, containing about 400 people, is entirely destitute of the means of education. tea Ae, cane ‘The Sunday school is very effective, and there has been a night school, but speaking from the ex- perience of three winters, the clergyman considers it to have been a failure. Last winter’ there were only six scholars. ‘The distance the scholars had to come was the chief cause of the failure. There is a good private adventure school, attended by 165 or 16 children ; and there are five or six plait- ing schools. Not more than three of the five teach reading, and then only for about an hour a day, and that often with great irregularity. There are not believed to be 150 children in the parish under efficient education. : aon In Great Maplestead the land is chiefly arable, and belongs to three principal and three smaller pro- prietors. The population is 440, the acreage 2,000. There is enough labour, but more cottages are wanted. The landlords have pulled down cottages without building others in their room. Young people who want to marry can’t find homes. ‘There are a few very bad cottages ; but, speaking generally, there is _ not much cause for complaint. Rent from 21. 10s. to 4/. At present there is a deficiency of allotment ground, and some of the cottages have no garden. There is a National school in an admirable building, erected five years ago by a benevolent lady, and pre- sented to the parish. It is connected with Govern- ment and taught by a certificated mistress, who re- ceives 45. and a house. There are 58 children on the register, and an average attendance of 365. ‘The attendance is most irregular, the parish being very scattered. The school is thoroughly adequate to the wants of the parish, if it were more regularly at- tended. : = ao Ale “There has been a night school for several winters, taught by the clergyman and a paid assistant. Last ear there were 14 scholars regularly attending ; the year before the attendance was 20. Mr. Corrie con- siders that it has had a good effect, and is satisfied - with its-results on the whole. Wages in these parishes are 10s. a week at present. They generally fall 1s. a week in the winter. There ig, however, a good deal. of piece. work done by the best men. | 69 The meeting felt that the condition of the agricul- tural labourer in respect of education is not what they would desire it should be. There was, however, a great difference of opinion as to the best mode of improving it. Six gentlemen present were in favour ‘of leaving things just as they are, as far as compulsion is con- cerned, which they considered, if applied, would inflict hardship on large families, though they would wish to see good schools placed within the reach of every family, of which parents could avail themselves for their children at their pleasure. ' Six other gentlemen considered that an age should be fixed below which . ha should be prohibited from working in the elds. [At this point of the meeting Mr. Majendie was called away by an engagement, and the chair was taken by Mr. Wilkinson. | Se id On the supposition that restrictive legislation takes ‘place, there was a further difference of opinion ; some gentlemen would prefer that the prohibited age. were fixed at eight (as in the Factory Acts); and security taken for further education during a portion, of the year up to the age of 12; others thought. the better plan would be to fix the age below which children should not be allowed, to work at 10, (two gentlemen would wish to see it raised’to 11), and to leave their further education to the will and power of their parents. Two gentlemen declined expressing an opinion on the point, anid consideréd that she settlement of it had better be left to the wisdom of the legislature. rb The meeting, however, felt that nothing would be gained to education by merely fixing a limit of age below which children should not be allowed to work, unless security were taken that during the prohibited period such children attended school. Oe ee. os It is a rare thing in this district to employ women in the fields, even in harvest ; there is a sufficiency’of adult male labour without them. Most of the women and girls are employed in straw plaiting, which is an idle, gossiping form of work, and in the case of girls is’ found to have a very demoralizing effect ‘upon family order, and really to make the parents subject to their children. | : < But the root of the evils that atfect the condition of the agricultural labourer lies in the state of his home; and it is thought that little will be dove for the permanent improvement, either physically or morally, of that condition, till the possibility of the overcrowding which now exists to so lamentable an extent is removed. The periodical inspection of cottages by an officer independent of local influences, if practicable, would be very desirable, — _ The opinion of the meeting was very strongly ex- pressed on the subject of beerhouses. Two inspectors of the county police who were present testified to the evils arising from this source, particularly from the permission now so freely granted to open a house for the sale of beer not consumed on the premises ; and the meeting generally felt that the beerhouses are “the curse of the country,” and a powerful agent in demoralizing and pauperizing the labouring man. In Sible Hedingham, with a population of 2,100, there are 17 houses for the sale of beer; in Castle Hedingham, with 1,200 inhabitants, there are 13. The meeting hope that the attention of the legislature will ‘be directed to the lessening of this great and growing evil. Signed in behalf of the meeting, 2 / a os Henry WILEINson, ’ Chairman. _ [N.B.—There was no one present to. represent Little Maplestead, a parish with a population of 325, and without a school. The police inspectors, one of whom had been in the force 25 years, testified to a decrease in drunkenness, though they thought there is still a good deal of drinking ; so that there is an improvement in the manners, if not in the morals, of rural society in this neighbourhood. | ee T2 Essex, Rev. J. Fraser. a. Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 70 No. 55. Wednesday, October 16, 1867. Collective Meeting at Great Yeldham, for Great Yeldham Pop., 696, Acr., 1,550 R.V., 38,2871. Little Yeldham Pop., 307 Acr., 850 R.V., 1,397. Ridgwell- - Pop., 715 Acr., 1,600 R.V., 3,090/. Tilbury ~ = Pop, 232 Aer, 850 R.V., 1,474 Stambourne - Pop., 537 Acr., 1,500 R.V., 2,8012, Toppesfield - Pop., 1,045 Acr., 2,800 R.V., 5,0571. Present at Meeting : From Great Yeldham— Mr. F. Whitlock, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 800 acres. / Mr. James Scotcher, churchwarden, woolstapler, and occupier of 20 acres. Mr. Samuel Ray, occupier of 270 acres. ; Mr. Wm. Playle, surveyor and assessor, occupier of 84 acres. Mr. Thomas Goodchild, representative of an occu- pier of 300 acres. Mr. Daniel Bartrup, labourer and parish clerk. Mr. Edward Fentiman, master of the endowed school, Mr. John Sefton, overseer and occupier of 30 acres. Mr. Edmund Hardy, bricklayer. Miss M. Hopkins, schoolmistress. Mr. W. Ince, surveyor. From Little Yeldham— Rev. John Gaselee, rector and rural dean. Mr. Alfred Smith, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 320 acres. Mr. John Angel, bailiff on a farm of 96 acres. From Ridgwell— Rev. F. T. Hurst, vicar. From Tilbury— : Lewis John Way, Esq., magistrate, landowner, and occupier of 270 acres. Rev. C. J. Fisher, rector. From Stambourne— Rev. J. Forster, rector. Mr. Wm. Ruffle, landowner and occupier of 130 acres. From Toppesfield— Mr. Robert Hutton, guardian and owner and occu- pier of 1,000 acres. Mr. Charles Golding, surveyor, owner and occu- pier of 140 acres. The chair was taken by the Rev. Jonn GAsELEE. The land in Great Yeldham belongs to several owners. There is a sufficient supply of resident labour. There is a fair supply of cottages, about 100 in number, two or three are vacant. They are scattered over the parish and lie conveniently to the farms. They have been improved of late years, but there is still a want of sufficient bedroom accommoda- tion. The older cottages are of clay daub; the new ones chiefly of brick. Mr. Whitlock has recently built two single cottages of brick, the one thatched, the other tiled, with a keeping room, kitchen, and pantry on the ground floor, and three chambers above, at a cost of 70/7. and 852. respectively. He lets them, with 20 rods of garden ground on weekly tenure at a rent of ls. 6d. a week in the summer and ls. 8d. a week in the winter. In the summer the tenant has his garden produce to help him to pay his rent, and likes a variable rent better than a fixed one. The gardens generally attached to the cottages are not very large, varying from 10 to 20 rods. Some have no gardens. ‘There are a few allotments let at from 4d. to 6d. per rod. The rent of the cottages varies from 2/. 5s. to 4d. 10s. A few where there is a good garden, rise as high as 51. There is an endowed free school for 10 free boys nominated by trustees at their option. The master is allowed to take other boys on his own account. The annual value of the endowment is about 702. a _ year. Kitty years ago it was the only school in the EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN neighbourhood, and when Mr. Whitlock was a scholar there it had upwards of 70 boys. The master believes that the number of free boys is at the discretion of the trustees. ‘The free boys at present are the sons of tradesmen, &c., and the school is treated as a middle school, and for the benefit of the district. There is also a parochial school, supported by voluftary subscriptions, held in a building the pro- perty of the rector, under a mistress, an ex-pupil teacher, with 55 names on the register and an ordi- nary attendance of 40. There are one or two straw plaiting schools in tho parish, and the parents are found to prefer them, on the ground that the children can earn something. The children are allowed to bring their own plait to the parochial school three afternoons in the week, but there isno one to give them instruction in the art. There has been a night school twice a week in the winter, conducted by the rector with the assistance of two volunteers. It was not very successful, and it was not held last winter. In Little Yeldham the land belongs to various owners. There is enough resident labour. The cottages are in fair repair, but very few, if any, have three bedrooms, and many have only one. They mostly belong to the owners of the land. The rent 21. 10s. to 42. They have small gardens, but there are no allotments. There is a parochial school built with Government assistance, but not receiving annual grants, under a mistress, an ex-pupil teacher, with 45 children on the books, and an ordinary attendance of 35. The rector considers it fully adequate to the wants of the parish, but there is a difficulty in keeping the children. sufficiently long in attendance. The straw plait interferes with education more than field labour. There is a plaiting school in which the children are taught to read as well as to plait. Plaiting is allowed in the parochial school in the afternoons. The rector has had a night school, conducted by members of his own family and the schoolmistress. The attendance has been about 10, and the scholars have made fair progress. In Tilbury there are three or four landowners, and five farms. There is enough labour. There are about 30 cottages, generally in fair order, but only a few with three bedrooms. Reat from 2J. and 31. to 4l. Most have no gardens ; but there are allotments let separately. The cottages are collected into two chief clusters. There is a parochial school, receiving annual aid from Government, under a mistress, attended by 30 or 85 children in the summer, and not more than 12 or 15 in the winter. There has been a night school for the last six winters, conducted by the rector and his curate, attended by about eight scholars on the average. The total annual cost of the day school in 351. In Ridgwell the land is in the hands of several proprietors ; St. John’s College, Cambridge, being the principal, owning 350 acres out of 1,720. There is a large population in proportion to the acreage. Years ago the men used to plait as well as the women, but now they are wholly employed on the land. Some of them migrate in the summer in search of work ; and others are employed in the adjoining parishes. The cottages vary in condition, the older ones are in bad order; the recently erected ones are fair. The latter have more bedroom accommodation, and some have three chambers. The rent is from 3/. 10s. to 52. The older ones have not good gardens. They chiefly belong, not to the large landowners, but to independent proprietors owning small parcels of land. They are let mostly on yearly tenure ; but in several cases there has been a change to weekly tenure, owing to the greater certainty of obtaining the rent, and the vicar thinks that the weekly tenure is likely to predominate. There is a school, receiving annual aid, under a IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. certificated mistress, supported at an annual cost of about 45/7, There are 75 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 65. The cottages are clustered yound a green, and are favourably placed in relation to the school. There has been a night school for several winters, conducted by the vicar and his pupils (when he has had them). Attended by about 15, mostly biggish lads. The vicar thinks it has been fairly successful. Those who attended did so regularly, and took great ains. 7 The prevalence of straw plaiting is considered to be the greatest interference with education in this parish. In Stambourne, there are a great many owners, chiefly small, not many of them occupying their own land. The acreage is about 1,800 acres. There is a sufficiency of labour, and a sufficiency of employ- ment. The cottages want more bedrooms, but are generally in tolerable repair. The rent is 40s., 60s. and 80s., varying according to size of cottage and of garden. There are a few allotments, let at 4d. per rod. There is a day school, not in connexion with Government, under an untrained mistress, with 30 children on the books, and an ordinary attendance of 22 to 25. Poverty, want of clothing, aud straw- plaiting operate unfavourably on the school attendance. ‘The parish is sequestered, and the cottages lie far away from the school, and the parents do not take an interest in the education of their children. The plaiting schools are full. The rector offered to intro- duce plaiting into the school, and went round to every cottage to announce his intention, but there was no addition to the number of scholars in con- sequence. Mr. Ruffle and Mr. Hutton believe that many of the parents also object to their children being taught in achurch school. Dissent has been long seated in Stambourne, and there is an endowed meeting house. The rector has had a night school for four winters out of the last five. He began with 40 scholars and dwindled to 10. The school was free, but scholars could not be induced to attend. The rector had no assistance in teaching. A night school is maintained in connexion with the meeting house, two or three nights a week, both winter and summer, but no one present could give particulars respecting it. In Toppesfield the land is divided among several owners, of whom Messrs. H. Sperling and S. Sampson are the principal. There are about 3,500 acres of land. There is a sufficiency of resident labour ; there used to be a surplus. In the winter there may be a few unemployed, who mostly emigrate elsewhere during the summer. There have been several new cottages recently erected, very good, but many of them in outlying parts of the parish are inferior, though not worse than in other parishes. The rent ranges from 2. 10s. to 51. There are about eight acres of allotment let in parcels of 40 rods at 4d.arod. The property is a bequest to the church, and the rent is spent on the repairs of the fabric. There is no church rate in consequence. There is a day school both for boys and girls, con- nected with Government, attended in the summer by about 100 children. No one could give accurate information about it. Straw plaiting is not allowed in this school, which has the effect of diminishing the attendance. . There is a night school every winter conducted by the master of the day school, attended on the average by 20 or 30 scholars. ; The ordinary wage at present of the able-bodied. day labourer in_ this district is 10s. Horsemen, stockmen, and shepherds would receive 12s, The harvest is got in at per acre. ‘This year the price was 12s. per acre, including everything, which would average to the man about 5s. aday. — ; There is very little employment of women in this district, nor of girls either; though when the plaiting 71 trade is bad, a few women are glad io take field labour. There is a considerable employment of boys; and there is said to be always a job for them if they like to come after it. Mr. Whitlock would take them at as early an age as five, and he considers that a boy taken to work at five would be worth twice as much when he is 12 as a boy not taken to work before 10. It was carried by a majority of 11 votes to seven that it is not desirable to limit by restrictive legisla- tion the age at which children should be allowed to go to work on the land. Ifa restriction is placed upon age, ten. gentlemen were in favour of the limit being placed at 10, under the idea that the child is afterwards to be free. One gentleman would wish the limit to be fixed at eight, the remainder of the meeting declined voting. The employment of young children in the plaiting schools is considered by the meeting to be very mis- chievous physically as well as educationally. There are sometimes 40 to 50 children collected in a small cottage-room, crowded as thickly as they can sit; and they would be working in this close atmosphere for from six to eight hours a day. On physical grounds there ought to be some legislative interference to pre- vent overcrowding in schools of this kind. The meeting is unanimous in thinking that the source of greatest evil, as regards the condition of country villages is the multiplication of houses for the sale of beer. The number of them is felt to be far in excess of the legitimate wants of the community, and the number of respectable houses is decreasing in con- nee of the competition with houses of a lower class. The straw plait is also found to have a very mis- chievous effect upon the condition of the women employed in it. It indisposes them for domestic service ; they acquire no housewifely knowledge, and rapidly become independent of parental control. Signed on behalf of the meeting, JOHN GASELEE, Chairman. 56. Thursday, Oct. 17, 1867. Collective Meeting at Earl’s Colne, for Earl’s Colne - Pop., 1,540- Acr., 2,996 -R.V. 5,9002. Colne Engaine- Pop., 627-Acr., 2,400 -R.V. 4,2627. White Colne - Pop. 400-Acr., 1,350- R.V. 2.4591. Present at Meeting : From Earl’s Colne, Rev. J. B. Carwardine, lord of the manor and landowner. Rev. S. Blackall, vicar. ‘Mr. O. Barnard, churchwarden, occupier of 2,300 acres. Mr. W. Matthews, landowner and occupier of 200 acres. Mr. W. Woodward, occupier of 160 acres and landowner. Mr. John Taylor, medical officer. Mr. Harris Hills, occupier of 180 acres and land- owner. | Mr. N. Stutter, guardian, owner, and occupier of 830 acres. Mr. R. B. Pudney, occupier of 45 acres. Mr. James A. Tawell, tradesman. Rey. H. Hall, curaie. ; Mr. Joseph Monk, assistant overseer and. parish clerk. Mr. Mantle, schoolmaster. From Colne Engaine— Rev. W. Webster, rector. R. Hills, Esq., magistrate and landowner. Mr. E. J. Mayhew, owner and occupier of 250 acres. Mr. John Firmin, churchwarden, owner and occupier of 360 acres. Mr. Francis Sewell, owner and occupier of 120 acres. 13 Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Essex. -Rey. J. Fraser. a. 72 G. D. Vaizey, Esq., magistrate, owner and occupier of 700 acres. From White Colne— Rev. Geo. Taylor, incumbent. Rev. Arthur Hanbury, rector of Bures, Suffolk. It was voted that the Rev. Samuel Blackall should take the chair. [To consult the convenience of several gentlemen present at the meeting, the general questions were proposed first, and the particular facts of each parish gathered afterwards. | In this district women and girls are scarcely ever employed on the land, except in the season of hay- making. They occupy themselves either in straw plait or net embroidery. This non-employment of girls and women leads to a somewhat larger employ- ment of boys, who do what in other counties would be women’s work. ” sae GA Though the labour of boys under nine is frequently of use in many agricultural operations, the employers present would be prepared, in virtue of higher con- siderations, to dispense with boys’ labour up to that age, but they would object to the restriction being raised to 10; and the restriction even to the age of 9, it was feared, if made absolute, would operate with great hardship upon parents with large families. If the legislature should think proper to take the same age as is fixed in the Factory Acts, viz. 8, below which children are to be prohibited from field labour, and should desire to make provision for the education of such children beyond that age, of the various modes applied under the different Acts directed to this object, the meeting would prefer that which would require a certain amount of school attendance during the pre- vious year as a condition of such employment, the period of that attendance to be left to the option of the parent and to be capable of adaptation to the agricultural necessities of the district. Or instead of a period of school attendance, a certificate of a certain amount of proficiency, tested by examination, might be taken as attaining the desired end, which would allow of the education being given either at a night school or in the parents’ own home. But though the meeting suggest this plan, they cannot disguise their fear that in working, it would be found to. be surrounded by. very serious practical difficulties. It was the opinion of a large majority of the meeting that inasmuch as any restrictions of this kind pre- suppose the existence of an efficient school in every parish, some relaxation of the present rules governing the distribution of the Government grant is certainly required in order to bring that grant more within the reach of rural parishes, and they would wish the merits of each school to be tested by, and rewarded for, simply its results. The condition of cottages generally is felt to be highly unsatisfactory both on moral and on sanitary grounds, and the meeting would be glad to see the introduction of more effective inspection than exists at present, in order to prevent the evil of over- crowding and to secure proper sanitary arrangements. There was a unanimous feeling that the greatest pest in a rural parish is the beer-house ; that these houses abound far in excess of the actual wants of the neighbourhood ; that they are under no sufficient restriction or inspection, and that the licences for opening such houses are granted with far too great facility. “The three Colnes are all of them open parishes. There is a sufficient supply of resident labour. Very few men are out of employ, even in the winter. A few years ago there was a deficiency of labour, but several men who then emigrated have since returned. The women are almost exclusively employed in’ straw- plait and tambour-work. There is a sufficient supply of cottages, but very few have more than two bedrooms. The rent ranges from between ls. to 2s.a week. The tenure is gene- rally by the year, with three months’ notice. Most of the cottages have gardens, and there are allotments EMPLOYMENT ‘OF CHILDREN, YOUNG 'PERSONS, AND WOMEN in Earl’s Colne and White Colne. In Colne Engaie, where there are no allotments, the gardens are pro- portionately larger. The daily wage is raised this week to 12s. The harvest would bring a man in from 61. to 71. The gentlemen present paid for this last harvest 10s. 6d. an acre, allowing 10 acres toa aie with three bushels of malt and three lbs. of ops, : There are schools in all the parishes; in Earl’s Colne, in'particular, there are five schools, one of them an endowed grammar school, and great interest has been taken in the education of the people. In White Colne there is a British school; with an average attendance of 65, which is supplied with scholars from several surrounding parishes. Signed in behalf of the meeting by. ar SamvEL Bracwaty, Vicar of Earl’s Colne. | County or Essex : WitHam Union. No. 57. Tuesday, October 22, 1867. Collective meeting at Witham for Witham —_- Pop. 3,455 - Acr., 3,633 R.V., 13,8401. Great Braxted Pop. 384- Acr., 2,631-R.V., 83,7882. Little Braxted Pop. lll-Acr, 568-R.V., 8781. Fairstead - Pop. 3651 - Acr., 1,853-R.V., 2,7090. Faulkbourn - Pop. 148- Acr., 1,115 -R.V., 2,Q601. Terling | - Pop. 902-Acr., 3,206-R.V., 5,244/, Rivenhall -Pop. 445-Acr., 3,557 - R.V., 6,343/. Present at Meeting : From Witham— Lieut.-Col. Shakespear, R.A., magistrate. é Captain ‘Savill, resident gentleman. Rev. H. Litchworth, curate. a A. G. Proctor, Esq., medical officer of the district. Mr. T. Beadel, chairman of board of guardians. Rev. J. Dewsnap, Congregationalist minister. - Mr, Carrington Wilson, ironmonger. Mr. R. 8. Cheek, librarian, : Mr. Joseph Foster, of Blunt’s Hall, occupier of 500 acres. Mr. William Butler, grocer and occupier of 40 acres. Rev. John Bramston, vicar, magistrate, and rural dean. Rev. J. Finch Smith, curate. J. Howell Blood, Esq., solicitor and clerk to. the board of guardians. ; From Great Braxsted— Rev H. Calthrop, rector. From Little Braxsted— Rev. B. 8. Clarke, rector. From Fairstead— Rev. R. Marsh White, rector. Mr. R. Balls, guardian, churchwarden, owner and occupier of 300 acres. From Faulkbourn— Rev. F. Spurrell, rector. From Terling— No representative. From Rivenhall— , Rev. J. Barton, curate. The chair was taken by CoLonrEL SHAKESPEAR. The land in Witham (about 3,600 acres) belongs to about half-a-dozen chief proprietors. Till within the last two years there has been a sufficiency of labour, but now there is scarcely an adequate supply. For some few years past there has been an emigration chiefly of the young men in search of more remunera- tive employment in London and elsewhere. In the cottages, where the families are large, the medical officer considers the accommodation to be insufficient. The rent of cottages outside the town is about 4/. a year ; inside, or nearer to, the town, it rises as high as 5/., the rates being paid by the owner. There are IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. . . at least 20 acres of allotments in the parish, which are let at from 6d. to 1s. per rod. Wages of the able- bodied labourers are raised this week from 12s. to 13s., with an unlimited supply of small beer (a bushel of malt to,a hogshead of water). The men would prefer the beer allowance to an extra ls. a week. A man this year made from 6/. 10s. to 7/. (exclusive of his allowance of beer) by his harvest. It was set at 13s. 6d. per acre. When the beer was compounded for, it was either reckoned at three bushels of malt and three lbs. of hops, or at 4s.in the 12. on the earnings. It is a rare thing to find young unmarried girls employed in the agriculture of this district ; they either go out to service or find employment at home, and the farmers do not encourage them to work on the land. In fact, there is very little employ- ment of female labour in the neighbourhood, and in the parish of Witham there is hardly any such em- ployment at all. Within the last 10 years peas have been largely grown in this district for the London market, and during the four weeks that the season lasts women and children are employed to pick them. The payment is 1s. a bag of 24 bushels, and a woman with a couple of active children would earn 4s. to 5s. a day. The work is very exhausting in many cases. The pickers will occasionally travel five or six miles to their work, starting at 4 o’clock in the morning and not returning till 8 or 9 at night. In some cases. they do not even return at night, but sleep in a barn contiguous to their field of labour. They are not employed by the farmer, but by the man who buys the eas, The straw-plait has nearly died out in this district, and though a little slop-making remains, even that is getting superseded by the sewing-machine. A woman when employed in field labour . works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., including an hour for dinner, and would be paid 9d. or 10d. a day. 4d. a day would be the lowest rate of wage for a boy between 10 and 12 years of age. Boys under 10 are rarely employed, and are not considered to be of much value for general purposes. At the board of guardians the chairman never knew an objection taken to a boy, in the case of’ a family receiving out-door relief, stopping at home till the age of 10. - _ This general description of the agricultural con- dition of the district applies without much variation to all the parishes represented at the meeting. The variations are, that in some of them rather more female labour is employed in spring and summer, and that more when wages are low than when they are high. The rent also in some of the parishes is lower. In Great Braxted the cottages belonging to Mr, Du Cane are let at 1s. a week; at Fairstead the average rent is 3/. 10s. or 3/. lds., with a good garden. : In Great Braxted the land chiefly belongs to C. Du Cane, Esq., M.P. There is scarcely enough resident labour, nor sufficient cottages. The cottages are in fair condition, though rarely with more than two bedrooms. There is a good school in connexion with Government ; the only voluntary subscribers are the squire and the rector; the total yearly cost is about 452., and it is attended by about 40 children. In Little Braxted the land belongs to one principal owner. There is hardly enough resident labour. The cottages are not in good condition. There is a school under diocesan inspection, but not connected with Government, attended by about 28 children. There is an endowment of 5/., and the voluntary sub- scriptions amount to about 20. In both the Braxteds the night school is at present in abeyance, owing,to the difficulty of finding a competent teacher. . (At. this point Colonel Shakespear was obliged to leave, and the chair was taken by Rev. H. Calthrop. ] “In Fairstead Lord Rayleigh is the largest pro- prietor. Generally there is a sufficiency of labour. The éottages are in pretty good condition, but. the rector and the medical officer doubt if there is one with three bedrooms. There is both a day and night 73 school in Fairstead, not in connexion with Govern- ment, held in a large room in a cottage, attended by from 40 to 50. children ; taught by a mistress ata total annual cost of about 30/. The night school is taught by the rector, with the aid of the school- mistress. In Faulkbourn the two chief proprietors are Mr. Bullock and Mr. Du Cane. There is not enough labour, and more cottages are required. The existing cottages are hardly in good condition, though some have three bedrooms. There is a day school ina separate building erected for the purpose, not connected with the Government, owing to the smallness of the population. The resi- dent landowner, the rector, and the farmers all subscribe to the school, which costs about 28/. in the year. The rector tried a night school for one year, but. gave it up for several reasons ; he could get no teaching help ; it was a mile distant from his house, and the results were not sufficiently encouraging. In Terling the land chiefly belongs to Lord Ray- leigh. There is a sufficient supply of labour except in the summer months. The cottages are not “very “ grand.”’* There is a good school, but not in con- nexion with the Government. It is entirely supported by Lord Rayleigh, and is taught by an excellent schoolmaster. The diocesan inspector considers it to be a thoroughly efficient school. There is also a night school, / eo Jt is the unanimous opinion of the meeting that the labour of a boy under 10 upon the land is of no value to the farmer. “As far as the employer is concerned, therefore, there would be no hardship in prohibiting the employment of such children, if only a dispensing power could be provided to accompany the prohibition, and to prevent its inflicting hardship upon large families. Tf legislation is to take place with a view to the improvement of the education of the child of the agricultural labourer, the meeting would desire to see an age fixed beyond which the labour of the child should not be interfered with, rather than apply to his case what are deemed, in the case of agriculture, to be the unsuitable regulations of the Factory, or the Printworks’, or the Workshops’ Regulation Acts. Upon the further question how best to secure the attendance at school of children during the prohibited age, there was a considerable: difference of opinion. Some gentlemen would prefer the motive of reward ; others objected to the idea of rewarding parents for doing no more than their duty. Another suggestion was that children should not be allowed to go to labour even when they had reached the permitted age, unless they could produce a certificate of attainment, pro- vided that the restriction from labour was not ex- tended beyond two more years. Other gentlemen thought that the mere prohibition to labour would act as a sufficient motive on the parents to send their children to school, and would be sorry to introduce the principle either of reward or punishment, or of compulsion, whether direct or indirect, into the system at all. It has been already stated that women are not largely employed in the agriculture of this district, but the meeting would not desire to see such labour prohibited, and consider that the women generally are fully able to protect themselves. It, is believed that field labour, for a moderate number of hours and in suitable kinds of work, is rather healthful than mischievous to the female constitution. It is the unanimous desire of the meeting to see the employ- ment of young unmarried girls in the fields dis- couraged in every possible way. _ The meeting quite feel the importance, both in a physical and a moral point of view, of providing the * Nors.—The condition of Terling; in respect of sanitary arrangements, has received a painful illustration since the date of this meeting, in the terrible outbreak of typhoid fever, originating, it is believed, in the poisonous matter which had been allowed to penetrate from the cesspools into the walls, ‘which attacked upwards of 250, and carried off in a few weeks about 35, persons, out of a population of 900, 14 Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 74 farm labourer with a proper home; they feel also that the present state of things in this respect is not satisfactory, but they believe that both the difficulty of getting tenants where there is an insufficient supply of labour, and of getting labourers when they cannot be provided with decent homes, will induce land- owners, without the necessity of further legislation, to build cottages of a proper size in proportion to the extent of their estates. As the law stands, the existence of houses licensed to sell beer, whether to be drunk on or off the pre- mises, is a source of great demoralization to the agricultural poor, as well as a great nuisance to the neighbourhood in which they are situated, but the meeting were divided in opinion as to the best mode of remedying the evil, and contented themselves with expressing the hope that this very important question would receive the serious consideration of the legis- lature. Signed in behalf of the meeting, Henry Catturop, Chairman. No. 58. Wednesday, October 23, 1867. Collective Meeting at Wickham, for eee -Pop., 616 - Acr., 1,534 - B.V., 3,0591. Hatfield ee \ - Pop. 1,311 - Acr., 4,929 - B.V.,11,0941. Ulting -Pop., 169 -Acr., 1,141 - R.V., 2,1421. Present at Meeting : From Wickham Bishops— Rev. C. Burney, rector. Mr. Herbert Leigh, churchwarden, overseer and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. Joseph J. Smith, guardian and occupier of 500 acres. Mr. R. W. Dixon, owner and miller. From Ulting— Mr. Thos. Aldham, guardian, churchwarden and occupier of 480 acres. From Hatfield Peverel— No representative. Mr. Harvey Foster, of Great Totham, owner and occupier. Rev. John Bramston, vicar of Witham. It was voted that the Rev. C. Burney should take the chair. The land in Wickham Sishops belongs to several owners, the largest owns a Jeasehold for three lives (of about 400 acres), held under the Ecclesias- tical Commission, being part of the property of the see of London, There is a sufficient but not a redun- dant supply of labour. The cottages are reported to be in a fair condition ; the older ones seldom have more than two bedrooms, the more recently erected ones have three. The rent ranges from 31. to 5. Many of them are copyhold ; very few belong to the land, and go with the farms. They are generally held on yearly tenure, with a quarter’s notice. There are no allotments, and not many of the gardens would reach 20 rods. There is a parochial school, on the point of being connected with Government, in two departments, under a mistress and female assistant. Boys are not kept after 10, the mistress disliking to manage older boys. If there are any such, they are recom- mended to go to the schools at Witham or Maldon, which are from two to three miles distant. The total annual cost is about 80/., the salary of the head mis- tress is 527. There is no endowment, and the school pence are at the rate of ld. a week. The balance comes out of the pockets of the rector, there are at present no other subscribers. It was thought that subscriptions might be obtained if they were applied for. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN There has been no night school, in consequence of the difficulty of getting teachers. In Ulting there are four owners, one of whom is resident. There is not half enough resident labour, owing to the deficient supply of cottages. There are 24 cottages, and at the rate of 34 cottages to the 100 acres, there ought to be 40. Labourers have to be imported from the neighbouring parish of Hatfield, and have to travel from 13 to 2 miles to their work. The cottages that exist are not in first-rate order, and are deficient in sleeping accommodation. There is not believed to be one in the parish with three bedrooms. The rent ranges from 81. 10s. to 4/. 10s. All of them have fair gardens ; and there is about 14 acres of allotment, but it is inconveniently situated and is not all taken up. It is let at 6d. per rod. There is a parish school, not under Government, opened in 1866, taught by a mistress, attended by 35 children (on the books), not all of them belonging to the parish. The annual cost is about $5/., 202. of which comes from a single subscription, the widow of the late vicar. The same lady maintains and teaches a night school, which was attended last winter by from 12 to 14 scholars, principally young men. In Hatfield Peverel there are several proprietors, four or five of whom are resident. There is an ample supply of resident labour. Some of the cottages are very bad, and the drainage of the parish is deficient, owing to natural difficulties. The parish is frequently visited by fever, and when fever settles there it is apt to stay. There are considerable charities in the parish, and there are almshouses largely endowed, where the allowance to an old couple is 18s. a week. The trustees would be glad to diminish the amount of the allowance and increase the number of the alms- people ; but hitherto have been unable to effect the change. _ - There is a school, under a master, liberally sup- ported, and the schoolmaster has kept a night-school on his own. account. The cultivation in these parishes is chiefly arable; the soil mixed, the larger proportion a light loam; 500 acres would be considered a large occupation. The best land lets at 2/., the poorest at 20s. an acre. The rate of wage at present is 12s. a week and beer which may be reckoned as worth another 1s. About half the labour on the farm is done by piece work. About 44 men is the proportion of labour for 100 acres ; 85 years ago 3} was considered amply suffi- cient, and that at a time when hardly any machinery was employed. To cultivate a farm in the best way the labour would cost from 30s. to 35s. per acre in the year at the present rates. Generally speaking the difference in value between the labour of two men, one more skilled than the other, can only be rewarded by piece work. It would not be possible to show the employer’s sense of that difference in the payment of daily wages. Mr. Foster had a man of remarkable ability as a labourer, who earned last year, single-handed, 501. Work is found for able-bodied steady labourers throughout the year. They are only the shifty men who are out of work in the winter time. Female labour is not encouraged, and the land can be kept clean without it. Mr. Foster farming 500 acres did not employ one woman last year. The women generally are indisposed themselves to go out to field labour, and the young girls go out to service. Twitch is got rid of by the plough and harrow, and by men forking it. On sandy soil, such as that in Norfolk, this would perhaps not be sufficient for its extirpation. In this district, there would be a boy employed to about every 70 acres. The exception is to find boys going to work at as early an age as 10, and then chiefly in the case of large families. The more usual age for boys going to work is 11 or 12. The meeting are not prepared to say that the labour of a boy under 10 is of no value to the farmer, but they think that in virtue of higher considerations the farmer should dispense with it. They would not object to alaw which should prohibit the employ- IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—REVIDENCE. ment of child labour under the age of 10, but if such prohibition were established there would be no gain, but rather a loss to the social condition of the neighbourhood, unless such children attended school, The meeting, however, are not disposed to recom- mend or to approve of any direct system of com- pulsion; and they consider that the compulsion enforced under the Factory Act stands upon an entirely different footing, where the children by the hypothesis are earning wages, from that on which it would stand if applied to children who, also by the hypothesis, are prohibited from labour. The meeting believe that the operation of the ordinary moral and social influences, which are gradually pro- ducing a stronger sense of the need of education, will suffice without having resort to compulsion. The condition of agriculture in this diztrict is such as regards the employment of women, that any restriction upon that employment is wholly un- necessary. With regard to the Government mode of assisting education, the meeting would desire to see the requirement of a certificate in the teacher abolished, and that all schools should be judged and rewarded simply according to the results they can produce. In conclusion, the meeting desire to express the very strong feeling they entertain, with regard to the facilities that are given for obtaining a licence to sell beer, particularly in the cases where such beer is not to be drunk on the premises. Signed on behalf of the meeting. CHarLes Burney, Chairman. No. 59. Thursday, October 24, 1867. Meeting at Coggeshall, for Coggeshall - Pop., 4,108 - Acr., 8598 - R.V., 11,0107. Markshall -Pop., 42 -Acr, 834 -R.V., 1,115/. Present at Meeting : Rev. W. J. Dampier, vicar. Rev. Chas. Raymond, curate. Mr. Wm. Whitehead, member of the school com- mittee, house occupier. Capt. W. Howorth, R.N., resident gentleman, school manager. F. A. Pattison, Esq., magistrate, landowner, and occupier of 800 acres. ; Mr. W. Appleford, miller, landowner and occupier. Mr. Francis Aldous, parish clerk. From Markshall. Rev. W. J. Bennett, rector. Christopher Dampier, Esq., landowner in Canter- bury Settlement, New Zealand. Coggeshall is consolidated as a benefice, but is divided into two districts for poor law purposes. Great Coggeshall contains 3,690 people and 2,596 acres of land. Little Coggeshall, 418 people and 1,002 acres of land. In Great Coggeshall there are about a dozen owners of land, in Little Coggeshall, the land is in six or seven hands. In Great Coggeshall there are 30 or 40 occupiers, many of whom are seed growers. The seeds grown are flower seeds and agricultural seeds ; perhaps 100 acres are occupied for this purpose. This mode of cultivating the land requires more labour than ordinary farming, and younger labour. If six “hands” are required per 100 acres on a farm, at least 25 would be required for the same quantity of land on which seeds are grown. There is a sufficient supply of resident agricultural labour, indeed Coggeshall supplies labour to several surrounding parishes. There are other branches of industry which employ a third of the male population and a majority of the female; straw plait, tambour lace making, velvet weaving, gelatine making, malt- ing, brewing, tanning, &c. The consequence of this is that women, whether married or ‘unmarried, are seldom employed on the land, and their place is more or less supplied by boys. 2. 75 The cottages, as compared with many other parishes, are roomy and good. Many of the employments of the people require room, and the presence of a loom or a frame in a cottage prevents overcrowding ; but the cottages occupied by the agricultural labourer generally present a greater appearance of cleanliness and comfort than those occupied by the manufacturing population, On the whole, the agricultural labourer is thought to be equally well off with the weaver, while he is more provident in his habits, There is an abundant supply of good water ; the drainage of the town is fairly good ; and the general health of the population is satisfactory, This is attributed to the general roominess of the cottages, The average rent of the cottages is 2s. a week. Those in the town, in many cases, have very small, if any, garden ; and there are no allotments, The town is sufficiently supplied with the means of education. There is an endowed Church of England boys’ school, educating 30 boys free. ‘There is a national school in two departments with about 200 names on the register, and an average attendance of 150. There is also a British school for boys, not in con- nection with Government, attended by 80 ; an infant school under the same management, with about the same number of children, and in connection with it is an evening school attended by 50 scholars. There was a church night school last winter, with 60 nanies on its register, but a very irregular attend- ance. The winter before it was much more success- ful; and the comparative failure of last year is attributed to the deficiency of teachers. It was taught entirely by volunteers. Both the National and British schools are maintained by a considerable effort, and the managers of the former are not satisfied with the amount of support that it receives. There was a threat of the reduction of the Government grant, unless the condition of the school improved. The voluntary subscriptions amount to about 501. a year. ‘The subscriptions and collections for the support of the British school amount to about 75l. The Government grant earned by the national school varies from 70/. to 802. ; about 30l. is derived from church collections. In Markshall all the land belongs to one proprietor, who is resident. There are four farms. The labour supply has to be imported from Coggeshall, and many of the men have to travel three miles. ‘There are only five cottages to the 880 acres, of which three only are occupied by agricultural labourers. Several cottages were pulled down 30 or 40 years ago, and there is no known intention of replacing them, ‘The farmers complain of their labourers having to come so far to their work. Of course, there is no school ; and the few children who reside in the parish attend either at Coggeshall or Earl’s Colne, a distance in each case of three miles. In the parish of Coggeshall, the distant labourers do their walk to their work in their master’s time, and leave off work at a proportionally earlier hour.* With regard to the points involved in this inquiry —It was the opinion of the meeting that the educa- tion of the agricultural labourer’s child could be best improved by (1) prohibiting the employment of any child in field labour under the age of 10; and (2) by requiring a certificate of a certain amount of elementary attainment, the power to read with facility and intelligence being the most important thing to secure, as a condition of being so employed. The ‘meeting considered that provisions of this kind would effect the desired object more successfully than the methods embodied in the Factory and other similar acts, which seemed to them inapplicable to the case of agriculture. * This remarkable and exceptional statement was made by two or three gentlemen present ; was strictly scrutinized; and was adhered to. : K Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Essex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 76 ‘As female labour is scarcely, if at all, used in this district, the meeting were not prepared to make any recommendations with regard to it. It is found that the farms can be satisfactorily cultivated without such labour, and in this district, the women themselves are indisposed to work on the land. In behalf of the Meeting. W. J. Damprer, Chairman. 60. Friday, October 25, 1867. Collective Meeting at Kelvedon, for sselvedon Pop., 1,741 - Acr., 3,167 R.V., 9,1382. Inworth. Pop., 202 - Acr., 1,555 R.V., 2,5201. Feering Pop., 804 - Acr., 3,232 - R.V., 6,885/. Messing Pop., 725 - Acr., 2,698 - R.V., 4,1291. Present at Meeting : From Kelvedon— Rev. H. C. Lory, officiating minister. Mr. John Fuller, churchwarden and grocer. ' Mr. William Siggers, churchwarden, maltster, brick- maker, occupier of 30 acres. Mr. George Dockwra, miller and occupier of 200 acres. Mr. Thomas Butler, occupier of 200 acres. Mr. John Nicholls, occupier of 170 acres and agent for Sir Thomas Western. Mr. George Dockwra, jun., occupier with his father of 200 acres. Mr. Samuel Bennett, occupier of 150 acres. Mr. H. Isaac Sadler, cabinetmaker. Mr. W. Braddy, carpenter and joiner. Mr. Jabez Braddy, cabinet maker. Mr. William Peck, resident gentleman. Mr, Joseph Polley, painter. Mr. Charles Bateman, innkeeper. Mr. Joseph Humphrey, cooper. Mr. John Aust, British schoolmaster. Mr. A. Constable, resident gentleman. Mr. Charles Noble, national schoolmaster. From Messing— Rev. E. Musselwhite, curate. Mr. John Moss, jun., occupier of 240 acres. From Feering— Rev. A. Snell, vicar. Mr. Edward Catchpool, occupier of 900 acres. Mr. J. C. Raven, occupier of 120 acres. Mr. Elijah Quilter, occupier of 270 acres. Mr. C. Everett, churchwarden and occupier of 40 acres, miller. The meeting voted that Rev. H. C. Lory should : take the chair. The meeting unanimously admit that at present the education of the agricultural labourer’s child is con- tinued for too short a period, and is too irregular even during its nominal continuance to allow of satisfactory results being attained. The main difficulties which any attempt to improve the existing state of things in this respect would have to encounter are, (1) the poverty of the parents, making in many cases every penny that either they or their children can earn a matter almost of necessity to them, though in too many cases this poverty is inerely the result of improvidence; (2) the scattered houses of the agricultural population in many places, rendering the direct application of the principles of | the Factory Acts to their circumstances almost im- practicable; (3) the fitful character of agricultural operations, depending so much as they do on the lateness or forwardness of the season and the state of the weather, making a half-day or an alternate whole- day system of schooling impossible; (4) the thriftless character of many parents seeming almost to necessi- tate a system of compulsory education, and yet the difficulty of carrying out any such system generally or absolutely without inflicting hardships. Bearing these difficulties in mind, the meeting are prepared to recommend, as the best solution of the problem, the EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG. PERSONS, AND WOMEN fixing of an age below which children should not be permitted to engage in field+work. sae It was carried (with two dissentients, Mr. Catchpool and Mr. J. C. Raven, who would have preferred 9) that the best age to fix would be 10, and that after that age the education, if carried on, should be carried on through the agency of the night school. The meeting desire to press upon the Government the duty of encouraging night schools by every effort in their power. In the event: of children being prohibited from going ‘to labour under the age of 10, the meeting feel that there would be no gain to the cause of education unless during some portion of the prohibited period such children were required to-attend school, and they would suggest that such. school attendance should be required from all children between the ages of 6 and 10. os In these parishes the employment of young un- married girls on the land is very rare, with the exception of hay-time, pea-picking, and harvest. With regard to the desirableness or otherwise of such employment the opinion of the meeting were divided ; 12 gentlemen present considering ‘it undesirable, while seven others could see no more harm or danger in it than in many other employments into which such women would be driven if debarred from labouring on the land; but the meeting unanimously desire to leave this question to the moral sense of employers and parents, and would. be sorry to see the employ- ment of such girls prohibited by law. Farmers are beginning generally to entertain the opinion that the nearer the labourer lives to his work the better, and it is believed that if landlords would supply their farmers with the cottage accommodation that they require, the tenants would be glad to remu- nerate them at a-fair per-centage for their outlay. The preponderating opinion of the meeting was that cottages on farms should be at the disposal of the tenant of the farm, and not be held direct from the landlord. The meeting desire to express their opinion that the sleeping accommodation in many cottages is much below the requirements in regard of decency of the families occupying them, and they think that a cottage occupied by a mixed family ought not to contain less than three bedchambers. The questions were raised whether there should be a national system of education secular and non-denomina- tional, or whether the present denominational system should be maintained ; .whether also schools should be supported, as at present, by voluntary effort or by rate ; whether, in event of a rate being levied, it should be raised out of the general taxation of the country or on the real property of each locality ; but the opinions of the meeting being nearly equally divided on the several points raised, no definite result was reached. The discussion on these previous points having occupied upwards of four hours, the meeting could not be longer detained, and no detailed information respecting the condition of the several parishes repre- sented at the meeting was collected, but it was stated generally that there were no special circumstances of difference between this district and the neighbouring ones in respect of labour supply, wages, or employment of women and children, except that in Kelvedon and Feering it was believed that the cottage accommoda- tion is superior to what it is in many other districts: : Henry Lory, «= “Officiating minister, and chaplain, R.N., 7 Chairman, on behalf of the meeting. County or Sussex: Horsaam Union. 61. Saturday, November 2, 1867. Collective Meeting at Slinfold, for _ -Slinfold = Pop. 755 --Acr., 4,857 - B.V., 3,9701. Itchingfield Pop., 377 - Acr., 2,470 - R.V., 21701. Warnham - Pop., 1,006 - Acr.,'4,832 - R.V., 4,901. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—nVIDENCE. . Present at Meeting : From Slinfold— Captain Bunny,’ landowner, churchwarden. Rev. Charles A. Rosser, curate, Mr. Thomas Child, landowner and occupier of 580 acres. Mr. Charles Child, churchwarden, timber mer- chant, and occupier of 30 acres. Mr. James Puttock, overseer, and ‘See piae of 3800 acres. Mr. Alfred Knight, occupier of 100 acres. Mr. James Grinstead, road surveyor and owner and occupier of 12 acres. Mr. Robert Mills, guardian, owner and occupier of 250 acres. Mr. Philip Puttock, occupier of 300 acres. From Itchingfield— Rev. J. H. Milne, rector, and-occupier of 70 acres of glebe. Mr. Nathaniel Knight, churchwarden, and oc- cupier of 250 acres. Mr. Robert Knight; guardian and ioe occupier with his father. Mr. Matthew Birdfield, Seewran, ant oc- cupier of 100 acrege ys: From Warnham— Rev. James Wood, vicar. Mr. William Churchman, guardian, and occupier of 330 acres. Mr. William Wood, guardian, ‘and occupier’ of 254 acres, Mr. Edward Chuichmaw; of: Rudgewick, aeampet of 180 acres. It was proposed and. seconded that Capram Buwny should take the chair. In Slinfold the land ‘belongs to several: pr sprighuna: Two of the chief landowners (Captain Bunny, and N. P. Simes, Esq.) are resident. The acreage is upwards of 4,000 acres, and there are about 25 farmers. There are about 100 cottages. There is just about an adequate supply of labour; very little extra labour is hired in the summer, and none but shifty men are unemployed in the winter. The cottages generally are-in a creditable state of repair ; many of. them are converted farm-houses, in conse- quence of -the consolidation of .small occupations. They have generally sufficient chamber accommoda- tion, and as there are very few large families: in the parish there are scarcely any instances of over- crowding. Many have three chambers, and most have two. About 30 years:ago eight cottages were built on some land given for the purpose by subscrip- tion inorder to provide homes for widows and dis- abled. poor. Some of their occupiers live rent-free, and the highest rent charged in-any case is ls, a week. Most of these cottages have a. sufficient amount of garden; in this stiff clay soil 20 rods is considered to be as much as a man can profitably cultivate. The rent of a good cottage with garden would be 51. There is an annual cottage garden show (flowers and vegetables), at which prizes are awarded for the best cultivated garden. Those-that have a moderate- sized garden are generally found to carry off the prize. Prizes are also given. to encourage botanical tastes in the. school children. . There is a mixed parochial school, at present noe in connexion with Government, under an uncertificated mistress. It is sufficient for the wants of the agricultural labourers’ children, but there. are. reported to be about.a dozen children of small farmers and tradesman who now travel four miles a day to a school, who, in the opinion .of one gentleman. present, would be sent to thia school if it were under a master. .. he .imistress’s’ salary is. 352, and. the sot. annual cue is about 502. There are 57 names on the. register, and the average attendance is 44. An infant school is about being started by Captain Bunny in an. out- lying portion of. the ‘parish. There has been a night magistrate, and. ee school for several past wiriters, which has just been resumed ; it is taught by the. curate and such volun- teers as he can procure. - At Ttchingfield there are 8 or 10 owners of the land. There is enough labour ; no one has been out of work even in the winter for several past years. Thirty years ago there was a great redundancy of labour. Men now do not work for so many hours a day as they used to do, and “ it takes three educated “ men to do two ignorant men’s work.” There is a sufficient supply of cottages, but some of. them are. out of repair. They nearly all belong tothe owners of the land. Several have three chambers, and there is only one cottage with a single chamber. Rents range as at Slinfold. There is a mixed school, not in, con-. nexion with Government, under an untrained mistress, with 48 names on the register, and an average atten- dance of 36. There is an endowment of about 141. a year ; the voluntary subscriptions are 12/.; the school pence 82. ; the annual cost is eee 451. There is no night school. : In Warnham there are three large and a few small proprietors. There is a sufficiency of labour. The cottages are generally good; the majority of them belong to small proprietors; they are chiefly. clus- tered in a village street.. The generality of them have not more than two chambers, and those not very. large ; a few only have three bedrooms, and there are a few with a single chamber. All the cottages have more or less garden, from five rods to 20. Rents average 41, 10s. There is a mixed school, under a certificated mis- tress, receiving Government aid. There: are 80 chil- dren. on the books, with an average attendance of 60 The annual cost is about 80/.; the mistress’s-salariy:is 552., with a house rent-free ; the school pence amount to 201., and the Government grant to about 307. ‘There is no night school. The experiment has been tried in previous winters, but: owing to the indifference of the people it was not successful... A competent mastér was ‘hired from Horsham, but he could not make it succeed. The land in this district is a stiff, wet clay, requir- ing thorough draining. It will grow good wheat and oats, but is too strong for barley. The four-course husbandry is pursued. About 20 per cent. is per- manent pasture; there are very’ extensive woodlands, To cultivate 100 acres requires the constant employ- ment of four able-bodied men, a lad_of 16 or 17; and a boy to drive plough from: 12 to 14. The cost of labour in the year would be about 30s. an acre, not less. About 24 cottages to the 100 acres is considered to be a sufficient supply. The custom still remains, though it is dying out, of taking young single men to lodge in the farmhouse. ‘They are hired for the half- year, and are found in board and lodging. A young man of 20 would be paid 10/. to 120. in the year ;- 64, to 82. for the summer half, and 4J. for the winter. It is thought to be a dear kind of labour. They sleep in the farmhouse, and the young fellows are found to dislike the restraint, and hence the custom is dying out. The present rate of standing wages for day labour is 18s. a week, but the farmers prefer putting out all the labour they can by the piece. An able-bodied man’s earnings in the year amount to from 451. to 471. In the spring the men are allowed to go felling and stripping timber, (“ flawing,” it is called), which lasts about a month, during which they will earn perhaps 5/., with a perquisite of broken wood worth another 10. Women are occasionally employed: to weed, &c. in the spring, and they work with their husbands in harvest, but there is not one-tenth part of the employ- ment of female labour in the fields now that there was 20 years:ago; the women are indisposed to work in the field; their husbands can keep ‘them without. Their place has been taken to some extent by machi- nery. It would be quite an exception to find a young unmarried girl at work in the fields; the farmers present don’t wish to see it encouraged. The young K 2 Sussex, Rev. J. Fraser. Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 78 girls who do get out to work on the land are fit for nothing else. The labour of a boy under 10 is of no value to the farmer, but at about that age he ought to be getting out upon the land along with his father, if he is ever to make an efficient agricultural labourer. Boys in this district, with its stiff soil, are absolutely required to drive plough. The plough is ordinarily drawn by three horses in line. Attempts have been made to work the land with two horses abreast, but they have universally failed. ; The rates in the district are heavy. In Itching- field last year the poor and county rate exceeded 30s. a head of the population ; and the rate for the district for the year was 4s. 4d. in the 1/. on the rateable value. It is the unanimous feeling of the meeting that if the Legislature attempts to deal with the employment of agricultural labour in the way of restriction and for educational purposes, the mode of approaching the question that would be most satisfactory would be to fix an age below which children should not be allowed to work upon the land, taking secuvity at the same time that the children attended school, and then to leave the labour free, and not to fix originally upon a lower age, say 8, and then restrict or interfere with the employment of children, say to the age of 13, by any of the modes adopted in the Factory Acts, which are considered to be inapplicable to agriculture. The meeting are prepared to recommend that the age at which such restrictions should cease should be 10. The meeting would desire to see every labouring man possess the power to read and write; and they hope that regular attendance for five years up to the age of 10 in a fairly efficient school would produce such resulis. The meeting do not desire to see free schools. They believe that the poor value education for their children at a higher rate from the very fact that they in part contribute to its cost. They do not see that a rate-supported system of schools would remedy the chief evil of the present system, which is, not that the schools are inefficient, but that there is no ma- chinery for securing the regular attendance of the children. If children are prohibited from being sent to work, the meeting would desire to see a mild form of compulsion adopted, which should not inflict unnecessary or intolerable hardship upon large families, yet which should have the effect of bringing them to the school. In this district it is neither necessary, nor desirable, nor usual to employ young girls on the land; and therefore no legislative restriction is required. The employment of married women also is so rare and so occasional, that the meeting, speaking only for their own neighbourhood, do not consider it necessary or desirable to interfere with it by law. The tenure upon which cottages are held varies very much in the district ; some are held by the week, some by the month, some by the quarter, some by the half year, and a few by the year. Each form of tenure has its advantages; but most labourers are found to prefer the balf-yearly tenure. Some cottages are held directly from the landlord; others are let with the farms, and the tenants pay their rent to the occupier. The evil of overcrowding is not sensibly felt in this district ; and the cottages are not very defective in a sanitary point of view. The meeting deplore the prevalence of drunkenness among the labouring class ; und they believe that the most effective measure that could be adopted to diminish it would be to give every man the power of brewing his own beer, which at the present price of malt is practically impossible. Signed in behalf of the meeting, Epw. J. Bunny, Chairmau. Nov. 2, 1867. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN No. 62. Monday, November 4, 1867. Meeting at field, for Ifield - Pop, 1,307 - Acr., 3,200 - R.V., 5,704. Rusper - Pop, 590 - Acr., 3,036 - R.V., 2,1600. Present at Meeting : From Ifield— Rey. R. N. Blaker, vicar. Mr. W. Wood, churchwarden and occupier of 500 acres. Mr. M. Muggeridge, churchwarden and occupier of 187 acres. Mr. M. King, blacksmith. Mr. Thomas Voice, publican, and owner of 8 acres. Mr. Edward Penfold, parish clerk, assistant overseer, and surveyor. From Rusper— Rev. H. J. Gore, rector. Mr. G. C. Knight, guardian, owner, and occupier of 120 acres. Mr. G. T. Coleman, owner and occupier of 15 acres. The chair was taken by Rev. H. J. Goru, rector of Rusper. Of the land in Ifield about 1,700 acres belong to one proprietor (the Rodney estate); there are eight or nine other land owners. The population is increasing rapidly at the end of the parish in proximity to the railway, and is believed now to amount to nearly 1,500. There has been, however, a decrease in the number of agricultural labourers, but there is still a sufficiency for the cultivation of the land. The supply of cottages is rather short; an empty cottage is almost unknown. There are some cases of overcrowding ; but generally the cottages have a fair amount of accommodation. Several have three bed- rooms, and the vicar cannot remember more than half a dozen with only one chamber. The overseer thinks there are about 120 cottages in the parish letting under 2s. 6d. a week. Few of the gardens would exceed 10 rods ; there are 2 acres of allotment, let in parcels of 10 rods each, at 3d. a rod. The cottage rents run from 1s. 6d, a week to 2s.6d. When the cottage is on the farm the ordinary rent to a labourer working on the farm is 1s. 6d.; the higher rents are paid for detached cottages. The proportion of cottages to the hundred acres is less in this district than it otherwise would be, in consequence of the custom, now dying out, of the farmer taking young single men, who were hired by the half year, to live in his house. It is considered that to cultivate the land in a proper way, there ought to be three men and a boy to 100 acres of land. The greater part of the cottages in Ifield are owned by small proprietors. The size of occupations in Ifield varies widely. There are about 20 farms above 30 acres. There are three or four farms varying from 300 to 500 acres ; 10 or 12 between 100 and 3800; and the remainder below 100 acres. The land is varied ; some being a useful loam, and the other a very stiff clay. The rent would range from 10s. to 80s. an acre. An average crop of wheat produces six to seven sacks per acre ; in Rusper it would not average more than four or five in consequence of the inferior style of farming. There are four schools in Ifield ;—a National school, in the more thickly peopled part of the parish, with about 170 names on the register, and an average attendance of 120. It is a school in two departments, under untrained teachers ; not in connection with Government, the managers preferring to be inde- pendent. In the centre of the parish there is an infant school, with 60 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 45. The total annual cost of these two schools is about 135/., of which about 55/. comes from school pence, and the rest is raised by voluntary subscriptions. The schools are not in debt, and no difficulty is experienced in maintaining them. Near the National school is a British school, believed IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. to be attended by not more than 40 children. There is also a small Roman Catholic school of 20 or 25 children, in connection with a Franciscan monastery established about seven years ago. The schoo? fee at the National school is 2d. a week, which includes the use of all school materials. There has not been a night school for some years. The difficulty felt has been the want of competent and adequate teaching power. In Rusper there are 8 or 10 landowners, of whom the principal are Mr. Broadwood, Mr. Hurst, and the Duke of Norfolk. There is a large range, perhaps 500 acres, of woodland. There is a short supply of agricultural labour. There is a sufficient supply of cottages for the resident population. The farms are small, not averaging more than 100 acres a-piece ; there are only three farms exceeding 200 acres. In consequence of the smallness of the holdings, a large number of the labourers, mostly the single men, emigrate in search of work during the hay season, turnip-hoeing, and harvest, leaving a short supply at home. They return after harvest, and generally find plenty of employment in the woods during the winter and spring. The soil is too stiff for growing roots ; and so the men go away to get a job of hoeing, and then are induced to stay through the hay season and harvest, The cottages are mostly old, built of brick and timber ; not in a good state of repair. Many of them belong to small owners, who can hardly afford to put them into better order. They are pretty roomy, and have mostly a fair piece of garden-ground. ‘The rent ranges from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. a week. The principal landowners do not reside in the parish, but two of them live in the neighbourhood. The school at present is not ina satisfactory con- dition. The teacher is an untrained elderly woman. About 40 children attend out of 70 on the register. The difficulty is to raise the necessary funds. One large landowner is anxious to raise an endowment. The school is at present supported by him and the rector. The total cost is about 25/., of which half arises from school pence. There is a private dame’s school, with about a dozen children, mostly of a superior class, who pay 6d. a week. There is no night school. ‘The population is scattered, and there would be difficulty in procuring superintendence and teachers. It is the opinion of the meeting that a boy is of very little use to the farmer under 10 or 11 years of age ; he could not stand a day’s ploughing, which, with a furrow 12 inches broad, is 8} miles’ walking. There is not a sufficient supply of boys in the district to allow of the half day or the alternate whole day system being applied to agriculture. It is also thought that it might be a hardship upon parents to require them in all cases to keep their children at school during the winter period of the year to as high an age as 13. The meeting would desire to see the age of 10 fixed upon as that below which children should not be allowed to work in the field, in the hope that in the five preceding years, with regular attendance at school, they will receive a sufficient education for their station in life. It is quite an exceptional case in this neighbour- hood to find av unmarried girl working in the fields ; they mostly go to service. Women are employed, chiefly in weeding, and in the hay season and harvest. Their wages are ls. a day. But they are less disposed than they used to be to undertake fieldwork, though this year, in consequence of the high price of pro- visions, more of them than usual were induced to go out. It is not thought that the work required of them is such as to demand any legislative interference ; “they will take care that they don’t hurt themselves.” * “female labour, except in hay-making, is considered to be dear labour. ; - The meeting would desire to see every cottage occupied by a mixed family, provided with three bed- rooms ; but in raany cases nothing would be gained in 79 the interests of decency by the addition of a third chamber, unless the landlord exercises sufficient super- intendence over the inmates to see that they are properly distributed, and to prevent the intrusion of lodgers. In conclusion, the meeting, recognizing drunken- ness as the fruitful parent of poverty and wretched- ness, and regarding the beer-houses as the greatest curse of the country, and considering that the system has failed as a protection to the public against mono- poly, most of the beer-houses having passed into the hands of the large brewers, would desire to see the present facilities for obtaining a licence largely -restrained, either by removing the licensing power from the excise to the magistrates, or by requiring the signatures of ratepayers of at least 80/. a year before a licence is granted, or by prohibiting, in such houses, the consumption of beer on the premises. The meeting feel that the question is surrounded by difficulties, and, as may be seen, were not unanimous in their suggestions of a remedy; but they are decidedly of opinion that the present state of things is mischievous in the extreme. — Signed on behalf of the meeting, H. J. Gor, Chairman. Nov, 4, 1867. No. 63. Tuesday, November 5, 1867. Collective Meeting at West Grinstead, for West eee \ - Pop., 1,403 - Acr., 6,483 - R.V., 6,900/. Shipley - Pop., 1,091 - Acr., 7,549 - R.V., 6,2501. Present at Meeting : From West Grinstead— Rev. T. W. Langshaw, rector. Mr. Henry Sayers, churchwarden, owner, and occupier of 450 acres. Mr. Edward Luckin, guardian, waywarden, and occupier of 180 acres. Mr. H. Mitchell, parish schoolmaster. From Shipley— Rev. H. L. Cooper, incumbent. Mr. James Vincent, churchwarden and occupier of 140 acres. Mr. Henry Nailand churchwarden and occupier of 470 acres. Mr. M. H. Bristow, guardian, owner, and occu- pier of 240 acres. It was proposed and seconded that the Rev. T. W. Lancsuaw should take the chair. In West Grinstead there are several landowners, of whom the principal are Sir Percy Burrell, Bart., M.P., and the Rev. John Goring. The farms generally range from one to two hundred acres ; 400 acres would be quite a large occupation in this district. The rent is very various; from 7s. 6d. to 40s. per acre ; the depth as well as the staple of the soil varies proportionably. The bulk of the land is of inferior quality. The best land will produce from eight to nine sacks of wheat per acre; the worst not more than three or four. The population when the census was taken in 1861 was temporarily increased by the presence of a con- siderable body of railway labourers; it is believed at the present date to be under 1,300 and not to be increasing. For the ordinary wants of the parish there is a sufficient supply of resident labourers ; the extra demand in the summer is met by chance men travelling through the country. There is a fairly adequate supply of cottages, the greater part of which belong to the landowners, and are generally let with the farms. They are mostly occupied on a six months’ tenure, at varying rents, 1s. 3d., 1s. Gd., 1s. 9d., and 2s. a week ; 20 rods is considered to be an adequate size foragarden. There are no allotments now ; there were some, but the people gave them up of their own accord. In the neighbourhood of Partridge Green Station there has K 3 Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. Be Sussex, Rev. J. Fraser. 80 recently sprung up a group of new cottages, built by small proprietors, with two bedchambers each, which are considered by the people themselves superior to the old cottages in other parts of the parish, many of which are ruinous, inconvenient, and ill-provided with sleeping accommodation. The water supply is deficient in many parts of the parish, and the people have chiefly to depend on ponds. In some places spring water can be reached at a depth of 15 or 20 feet ; at others not before you reach 60 or 70. There is a parochial school, not in connection with Government, under the management of the rector, taught by a master and mistress, mixed, with about 90 names on the register, und an ordinary attendance of from 60 to 70. The schoolmaster finds that he can keep a boy occasionally up to 10 or 11; but most boys leave before they reach 10 years of age; those that stay longer are generally the children of the better-off families. Even girls are taken away at an equally early age to help their mothers at home. The parents in many cases do not set a high value on education, and the school attendance is very irregular in. consequence. ‘The total annual cost is about 501., of which. about 9/. or 102. come from school pence. Only one landowner in the parish contributes towards the cost of the school, and his subscription is 27. It costs the rector upwards of 301. a year. There are three private adventure dame’s schools in the parish attended in the aggregate by 50 or 60 children, and there is a small Roman Catholic school with less than'a dozen scholars. ,At present there is no night school. The experi- ment has been tried, but when the novelty wore off, it did not succeed,. ‘The scattered condition of the population and the state of_the roads and paths in the winter are very unfayourable to the maintenance of a night school. HG Te Bae ee ne In Shipley the two principal: landowners are Sir Percy.Burrell and the Hon. Mrs. Vernon Harcourt ; this lady is also lay impropriatrix. There are also several other owners of farms varying in size from 100 to 400 acres. a There are in the parish 250 houses, of which 200 are cottages. Except in harvest, there is a sufficient supply of labour. ‘There are several empty cottages at this moment. Some of the cottages are in a very bad state of repair, and deficient in bedroom accommoda- tion. Five very good double cottages, housing about 50 people, with three bedrooms each, have been recently. erected. by Mrs. Harcourt; they go with the farms, but by special agreement with the tenants, are let at ls. a week. The cost of such a double cottage would be about 4007. The ordinary rent of cottages in Shipley is much the same as at West Grinstead. The greater number of the cottages belong to the landowners. Most of the cottages have good gardens, from 20 to 30 rods in size. There are two public schools, one a boys’ school endowed with 40/. a year, of which the trust is vested in the churchwardens and overseers. It is for the free education of “such poor children of the «parish of Shipley as the trustees consider to be “ proper objects of charity.” In practice the school is restricted to boys. The endowment is of about 40 years standing. The incumbent has no right of visiting, though he has permission to do so. ‘Ihe school is under a middle-aged man, and is attended by from 20 to 30 scholars. There is another school, under a mistress not con- nected with Government, ostensibly for girls but including boys from six to eight years of age. There are 75 names on the register, and an average attend- ance of 45. The total annual cost is 551, of which 182. comes from school payments; the voluntary subscriptions amount to about 30/.; and the incum- bent makes himself responsible for deficiencies. The payments vary according to the station of the parents, from ld. to 1s. a week. The difference of payment makes no difference in the quality of the instruction. Several farmers’ and tradesmen’s children attend this EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN school, which the incumbent’ thinks to be thoroughly efficient. There is no night school in Shipley. It has been tried, but it failed “ from dirt and distance.” There is also a small private school, attended by about 20 children. - The present rate of wages in these two parishes is 13s. a week; a good deal of work is done by the piece. The harvest is generally taken at so much per acre to cut, and is carted at per day. The ordinary rate of cutting wheat per acre would be 10s. to 14s., and the day work in harvest would be paid at about 1s. per day in excess of ordinary day work. Turnip hoeing, when the land is goné over twice, is paid at the rate of 10s. to 14s. per acre. Thrashing, when done with the flail, is also piece work ; paid in the case of wheat, at 4s, or 5s.' a quarter ; for peas or beans 2s. ; oats at about ls. 6d. or 2s. Hedging and ditching is paid at the rate of 6d. per rod, and faggots are tied at from 3s. to 8s. 6d. per hundred. The men are often allowed to earn money at “flawing” in the spring of the year. They are then employed not by the farmer but by the timber mer- chant.. The job lasts about a month; it is piece- work ; they fell the timber, strip it, and set up the bark, the whole of which operations are included in the local term “flawing.” Faggoting the lop, and scraping and “hatching ” the bark, are distinet jobs. The scraping is done chiefly by women and children. A man will earn at flawing from 2s. 6d. to 6s. a day. They are paid by the timber merchant at the rate of 30. 15s. to 40. per load of bark (45 ewt.) ° Besides the employment of women in barking, they are employed to some extent in weeding in the spring, in haymaking, and (at their own pleasure) helping their husbands to reap in harvest. On 240 acres of land (of which 52 are pasture) out of a total sum ‘paid for labour from 29 Sept. 1866 to'29 Sept. 1867 of 3392. 15s. only 242. 11s. 5d.' was paid to boys and women. On this occupation, there are constantly employed six ordinary labourers,’ two carters, and three boys, aged’ respectively 10, 12, and 15—(Mr. Bristow’s farm). , _ Young girls are scarcely ever employed except: in dropping peas or beans after a dibbler. The hole is dibbled by a man, who takes a job of so much land at per acre, and engages the service of as many children as he thinks necessary. The ordinary number 2 man requires to follow him dibbling, is five or six. They are either boys or girls, not working separately, and: ranging in age from 7 to 10. The job generally lasts about a month, in February and March. It was unanimously considered by the meeting that any restriction’ upon the employment of child labour on the land to as high an age as 18, the age contemplated in the Factory Acts, would seriously interfere with the cultivation of this district, where boy labour is absolutely necessary, and is by no means redundant. But the labour of a boy is of no use here till he is old and strong enough to drive a plough, and that rarely would be before he has reached the age of 10 or 11. It is believed that the best mode of improving the education of children in an agricultural district would be to secure their regular attendance at school up to this age. It is found that boys who leave school at an early age to work, and then return for occasional short periods, introduce a very unmanageable element into the school. Managers also would not like to be compelled to receive such boys, independently of all consideration of their behaviour and character, The amount of education which the meeting would desire to see every agricultural labourer possess is the power to read and to write and to work a sum in the first four rules. of arithmetic. It is believed that the vacancy of mind produced by inability to read is one of the chief inducements that‘lead men to the public house. In both these parishes there is a large circulation of cheap newspapers and periodicals, IN AGRICULTURD (1867) COMMISSION :——EVIDENCE.. and they are. found to be generally taken in by the soberest men. In Shipley Mr. Cooper states that there is a fortnightly issue of some 40 volumes from the lending library chiefly to families of the steadiest labourers. * There is also a considerable circulation of books of the same kind in West Grinstead. _ -It is not thought that there is any necessity to interfere by legislation with the employment of females in this district. Under the present system of cultivation it cannot entirely be dispensed with; while the women themselves are sufficiently in- dependent to refuse to undertake any work which is unwelcome or unsuitable to them. A woman has never been seen by any gentleman present. engaged where corn. is being thrashed out by steam. — The meeting unanimously think that a main element in any attempt to improve the condition of, the agri- cultural labourer is to provide him with a decent home; and they consider that too many of the cot- tages in which the labourer lives are deficient in such accommodation as will enable him to bring up his family in habits of decency and morality. . They also think that a change in the law which should enable the poor man to brew his own beer at a reasonable cost at home, would materially dim- inish the amount of drunkenness and the number of beerhouses. They are thankful for the recent enactment which prohibits credit being given for beer sold by retail. © Signed on behalf of the meeting. T. W. LanesHaw, Chairman. Nov. 5, 1867. No. 64. Thursday, November 7, 1867. _ Collective Meeting at Horsham for Horsham —_ Pop., 6,747 - Acr., 10,707 - R.V., 26,1401. Nuthurst - Pop., 767 -Acr., 3,187-R.V., 2,990/. Lower 7 n ae \ Pop, 1,149 - Acr., 10,707-R.V., 5,1401. ' ‘Present at Meeting : From Horsham— Rev. J. F. Hodgson, vicar. Mr. William Lintott, churchwarden. My. R. Botting, churchwarden. Rev. F. G. Mount, minister of St. Mark’s. Rev. J. A. Scott, curate of Horsham. tev. G. G. Maclean, curate of Horsham. Thomas Sanctuary, Esq.. magistrate and occu- 1er. aor J. Aldridge, magistrate. Lieut.-Colonel Sir George Pocock, Bart. Mr. Henry Figg, guardian. Mr. John Stanford, landowner and guardian. Mr. Alfred Agate, occupier of 400 acres. Mr. H. Michell, brewer, landowner, and occupier of 800 acres. a Mr. Thomas Gull, chemist. Mr. Richard Gates, assistant overseer. Mr. John Brown, owner of cottage property. Mr. R. Cragg, usher of free grammar school. Rev. A. H. S. Barwell, incumbent of the district ' of Southwater. aes From Nuthurst— ee "Rey. J. O. M‘Carogher, rector and guardian. Mr. John Leppard, occupier of 100 acres. Mr. James Pronger, churchwarden and occupier of 900 acres. From Lower Beeding— _ Rev. J. H. Masters, vicar. John Vans Agnew, Esq., landowner. Rev. E. W. Parsons, curate. Mr. John Kay, agent to W. E. Hubbard, Esq. — Mr. John Nelson, agent to J. Vans Agnew, Esq. Rev. J. O. W. Haweis, landowner. Edward Bigg, Esq., magistrate and landowner. The chair was taken by Epwarp Bree, Esq. - The land in Horsham is in several hands. Most of the landowners are resident. There is probably a 8 3] sufficient supply of agricultural labour, but it might be better distributed. In some parts of the parish:a larger supply of cottages is required to bring. the iabourers nearer to their work. ‘here are men living in Horsham who travel three. or four miles to their work. There is no particular effort being made at present to supply the distant parts of the parish with cottages. The condition of the cottages. naturally varies considerably. The rent of cottages in the -town is high ; from 3s. to 4s. a week; in the rural districts it is 2s. to 2s. 6d. The cottages are often very much crowded with lodgers. In the’ country parts of the parish the cottages belong chiefly to the landowners; in the town they are principally owned by small proprietors. . igor There is sufficient school accommodation, it is believed, for the parish. Besides the schools in the town, there are five outlying schools, which are con- sidered to bring the means of education sufficiently within reach of all children. Cases were mentioned of children who have to travel two miles to their school, but. the regularity of their attendance is not found to be affected by that circumstance. Two such children have recently received : prizes:at South- water school for regular attendance. i 4 One of the schools mentioned was thought not to be adequately supported by the landowners of the district, but, speaking generally of the parish, no diffi- culty has been experienced in supporting them on the voluntary system, and the vicar believes that any appeal made on their behalf would be liberally responded to. There is a British school in the town, attended by 80 or 100 scholars, and a small Roman Catholic school, with about 20, There are several private adventure schools, At present the only ‘school in the parish under. inspection and drawing aid from the Government grant is the National boys’ school. There is a grammar school, founded in the time of Henry VIIJ., of which the Mercers’ Company are trustees, specially, by the founder’s instructions, “ for “ three score poor boys whose parents could not “ afford to pay for their education” ‘(though no Horsham boy was to be excluded), the endowment of which is about 500/, a year, which is now educatin 80 scholars free (20 having been added in 1857), some of whom are children of tradesmen and farmers, and some of labouring men. There are three night schools in the parish, well attended. In one of them there are 140 boys and between 30 and 40 adults. There is also a girls’ night school, Some of the teachers are paid, and.some are volunteers. There are four principal landowners in Nuthurst, of whom only one is resident in the parish. There is not sufficient resident labour, and there is a deficient supply of cottages. The cottages belong: mostly to the landowners ; they vary in condition. Most have sufficient. gardens. The rent ranges from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. ‘There are not believed to be any special instances of overcrowding. : fe There is a parochial school, connected with Govern- ment, under a certificated master, assisted by a sewing mistress, with 60 names on the register, and an average attendance of 40. Some of the children have to come a long distance, and the state of the roads and paths is unfavourable to regular attendance. The total cost is 901., of which 30/. come from Government grant, 101. from school pence, and the remainder from voluntary contributions, There has been a consider- able debt on the school, which was cleared off by spécial effort last year. : There is a night school for the five winter months; at present there are 12 scholars. There is an infant school, supported by Mrs. Dickins, on the outskirts of the parish, which is attended by the younger children in that. neighbour- hood. esas eats, ae ne In Lower Beeding there are three principal land- owners. It is a wide, seattered parish of 10,000 acres, sparsely peopled, with 4,000 acres of uncultivated and wood land. The length of the parish is about nine K 4 Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. ay, 82 miles from N.W. to S.E. There are three churches in the parish, and two Government schools, besides Mrs. Dickins’s school already referred to. The Government schools are both under certificated masters. There are about 200 children under educa- tion, and the schools are liberally supported by the landowners. There are two night schools, attended by about 50 scholars. Within the last six years much has been done to civilize and educate the people in this wild district, which once, by a singular arrangement, formed part of a parish 15 miles away. It was sepa- rated and made a distinct district in 1837. The condition of the cottages at the south end of the parish is fair, and there is not much overcrowding, but at the north end there is a great scarcity ; their condition is bad, and they are often too crowded. In 1801, 8,000 acres of St. Leonard’s Forest, in the centre of the parish, (which was then a rabbit warren), was let on 100 years’ lease, and several cottages, turf huts, were allowed to be run up by the lessee, of a very inferior condition, which were let with an acre of land at 1. a year. About a dozen of these cottages still remain in their original condition, about half of which are occupied by Irish families. It is the opinion of the meeting that the best mode of securing an education for the child of the agricultural labourer would be to limit the age at which a child should be allowed to work, at 10, and to secure the regular attendance of suchchild at school up to that age. Considering, however, the various difficulties with which the question is surrounded, the majority of the meeting would regret to see the labour of such chil- dren restrictively interfered with after that age, though 11 gentlemen present would be glad to see security taken that children taken to work at 10 should be required to attend school for a certain period, either consecutive or at defined intervals, for the following two years, in order to prevent the loss of the learning they had previously obtained. Women’s wages in this district at the present time are 1s. and ls. 4d, a day; they are employed for eight hours in the day. The employment is not believed to be such on any ground as to make the Jegislative restriction of it desirable. The women are found able to protect themselves. With regard to the employment of young girls on the land, the meeting would desire to see it prohibited in the case of girls between 13 and 18, except when working under the supervision of their mother or natural guardian. The meeting are of opinion that the operation of the clause in the Nuisances’ Removal Act, enabling boards of guardians to deal with the case of over- crowding in cottages, is highly unsatisfactory, and that some effective prevention of this great evil is abso- lutely required. The meeting are decidedly and unanimously of opinion that the facilities now placed in the way of obtaining a licence to sell beer are mischievous in the extreme. A case was mentioned in which a beer- house had recently been opened in the district of Southwater against the wishes of those in the imme- diate neighbourhood by a man who had no difficulty in obtaining the requisite number of ratepayers to sign his petition in Horsham. The meeting would wish to see that, previously to issuing any licence to sell beer, sufficient inquiry should be made into the character of the man pro- posing to open a beer-house ; that opportunity should be given to residents in the neighbourhood of the pro- posed beer-shop to express their wishes in respect to it; and that the system should be brought under more effective police control, and be subject to the jurisdic- tion of the magistrates. On behalf of the meeting at Horsham, 7 Nov. 1867. FE. M. Situ Brac, Chairman. EMPLOYMEN'T OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN County or Sussex : Union or Hartsuam, No. 65. Tuesday, November 12, 1867, Collective Meeting at Warbleton, for Warbleton - Pop., 1,400 - Acr., 5,763 - R.V., 48597. Heathfield - Pop., 1,892 - Aer., 7,970 - R.V., 6,3812, Present at Meeting : From Warbleton— Rev. G. E. Haviland, rector. George Darby, Esq., landowner and magistrate, one of the Inclosure Commissioners of Eng- land. Mr. R. W. Pitcher, chairman of board of guar- dians, churchwarden, and occupier of 400 acres. Mr. R. Message, road surveyor and occupier ot 100 acres. Rev. J. Darby, curate. Mr. T. J. Hopkinson, occupier of 80 acres, Mr. J. Daughtry, schoolmaster. Rev. W. A. Dearsley, rector of Bodle Street Green. Mr. G. Calder, medical officer. Z From Heathfield— Rev. W. Jackson, vicar. Mr. W. Deadman, certificated schoolmaster. The chair was taken by G. Danrsy, Esq. The land in Warbleton belongs to several owners, The manor and about 1,000 acres belong to Smith’s charity. Four of the landowners are resident. There is hardly a sufficient supply of resident labour, and there is said to be a deficiency of boys. Upwards of 200 acres are under hop cultivation. The purveying of poultry for the London market employs a consider- able number of the people. The cottages are sufficient for the accommodation of the people ; they are both clustered into groups and dispersed over the area of the parish. It is not the general habit in the parish to attach them to the farms. There are not many instances of overcrowding. The old cottages are roomy. Many of them are in the hands of small pro- prietors. The worst cottages are those which were built about 40 years ago. They are either of brick, or of weather tile, or weather boarding, plastered inside. The rent ranges from 1s. 6d. to 2s. a week. Most of the cottages, except about a score, built 40 years ago, have gardens; 20 rods is considered to be a sufficient size for a garden. There are nine acres of allotment, divided into parcels of from 20 1o 40 rods apiece, let at 11. an acre, tithe and rate free. The people are found anxious to have them, and the lots are very well cultivated. There is a parochial school, in two departments, under a master and mistress, not in connexion with Government, with 90 names on the register, and an average attendance of 70. The attendance of the boys is very irregular, in consequence of the frequent demands upon their labour either at home or on the farms. Boys and girls are of use in hop-pole shaving at as early an age as 7, and they are often taken to work on the farms at 8 or 9. In consequence of this state of things, the schoolmaster camnot produce results that are satisfactory to him. There has been a night school in the winter months twice a week for the last 16 years, taught by the rector and the schoolmaster. It is felt to be very valuable, but still not fully to repair the deficiencies of the day school. There are two private adventure dames’ schools in the parish, with about a dozen children in each, which, as infant schools, are found to be useful. There is also a National school, under a certificated master and uncertificated mistress, receiving Govern- ment aid, at Bodle Street Green. There are 104 names on the register, and an average attendance of 68. It is said to be an excellent school, but there is generally a deficiency of from 201. to 252. in the accounts, which is made up by the incumbent. There is no night school in this district. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, The people generally are found to be anxious to avail themselves of the opportunity of education for their children, and in the last three years, upon a nearly equal number of names on the register, the average gttendance has improved from 52 to 68. In Heathfield there are four principal and a great many small proprietors. There is a sufficiency of labour, but not a surplus. Nine years ago Mr. Jack- son remembers that there were many cases of men unemployed in the winter; such a thing is nearly unknown now. About 100 acres are under hop culti- vation, and both in Warbleton and Heathfield there is an increase in the acreage thus cultivated. The description given of the Warbleton cottages will nearly apply to Heathfield, except that they are more scattered. About 1,900 acres of the parish are wood- land, on which there would not stand more than a dozen cottages. There are no allotments, most of the cottages having fair gardens. The school is under Government inspection ; mixed, under a certificated master and uncertificated mistress. ‘There are 115 names on the register, and the average attendance last year was 75. The total annual cost is about 100/.; the voluntary subscriptions are 35/., and there is usually a deficiency of 10/., which is made up by the vicar. The boys are taken away at a very early age, and the attendance, even while they are nominally at school, is very irregular. There is not believed to be more than a third of the population within a radius of a mile, and the two largest hamlets, each containing about 300, are 24 miles distant. An additional school is being erected in one of these hamlets. There are three or four dames’ schools, and one considerable private adventure school, attended by between 50 and 60 children ; the fee is 4d. and 6d. a week. The rate at the parish school is 2d. There has been a night school, but it is not being attempted this winter. Owing to the scattered cha- racter of the population, it is very difficult to secure regular attendance. The soil in this district is very various ; some is a stiff clay, other a light sand. The rent varies from 5s. an acre to 20s. The best land would produce eight sacks of wheat to the acre; the inferior about four. A good deal of the land is not suitable to the cultiva- tion of wheat. It is not generally very prolific of weeds, though, if left to itself, it will grow a good crop of thistles. The large farms would have perhaps four acres out of every 100 under hops. The farms range in size from 500 acres (which would be a very large occupation) down to 20, and even smaller hold- ings. In Heathfield 15 acres is a very common holding. About three men and a boy is considered a sufficient supply of labour per 100 acres on the larger occupations ; on the smaller farms the proportion of boy labour is larger. The smaller holdings are worked entirely within the family, and this is found to be a great difficulty in the way of school attendance. ‘Almost all the small occupiers are chicken-fatters, and this again employs the children. On a farm, with the usual proportion of hops and arable land, the annual cost of labour would be about 30s. an acre, including harvest, hop-tying, and picking. Wages for day labour are now 13s, 6d. a week, but hop-digging, hop tying and picking, pole-pulling, hop- drying, hedging and ditching, wood-cutting, mowing and reaping are done by piece-work, so that it is estimated that a skilled able-bodied agricultural la- bourer in constant employ would earn on the average 16s. a week. Boys are required to go with the teams, to drive the plough, and to lead the horse in hoeing the hop- ardens. Much of the heavy land requires to be ploughed with four horses in line. Ordinarily such a boy would be of 11 years of age, but sometimes the carter has a son of his own, whom he brings on at an earlier age. Such boys begin at 2s. 6d. or 38. a week. Hop-pole shaving employs both boys and girls at a 2. 83 very early age in the winter. They earn 5d. or 6d. a day, but are paid by the 100 poles, Hop-tying is done entirely by females, and occupies them at inter- vals from six to eight weeks in the year. It is done by piece-work, and the women earn at it about 1s. a day. This is the usual day wage of a woman. On the largest farm in this district (500 acres) female labour is only employed in the hop garden ; the hay is got in without any women’s help. A woman’s day is from 8 am. to 5 p.m., with an hour for dinner. Women are less disposed to work on the land than they used to be, and young unmarried women are seldom employed on the land at all. _No foreigners are introduced into these parishes to pick hops, but many of the people go into other districts for this purpose, generally the more thriftless families, and the moral consequences are not satis- factory. The whole family migrates for the job ; the house is locked up, and often girls in delicate health are obliged to accompany their parents, and being ex- posed to all sorts of lodging during their absence from home have been known to return with the foundations laid of not unfrequently fatal disease. The meeting feel that the question proposed to them, as regards the best mode of improving the edu- cation of the agricultural labourer’s child, is surrounded with difficulties, rendering the application of any of the principles of the Factory Act to the case a matter requiring the greatest possible caution. The value of the child’s labour to the parent in the case of large families is too great to be easily dispensed with. The work to which children are put is not exhaustive, or otherwise physically injurious. There is a consider- able improvement in the schools, and a growing desire on the part of the people to avail themselves of the means of education. Mere restriction of age, without any accompanying requirement to attend school, would lead tc no good results. A compulsory system of education, besides the hardships that would occur under it, would be contrary to the sentiments of the people, and would be likely to be so extensively evaded as to be practically inoperative ; so that, taking all these circumstances into consideration, the meeting feel themselves unable to come to any definite resolu- tions. Noy. 12, 1867. G. Darsy, Chairman. No. 66. Thursday, Nov. 14, 1867. Collective Meeting at Hooe, for Hooe - Pop. 496 - Acr., 2,448 - R.V., 2,8247. Wartling - Pop.,1,000 - Acr., 4,690 R.V., 5,1962. Ninfield - Pop., 587 - Acr., 2,491 - R.V., 2,2261. Present at Meeting : From Hooe— Rev. N. Maning, vicar. Mr. E. Goldsmith, churchwarden, and occupier of 200 acres. Mr. Joseph Cuthbert, overseer, and occupier of 160 acres. Mr. Francis Dodson, collector of taxes. Mr, Joshua Lemmon, occupier of 72 acres. Mr. Frederick Hewlett, certificated schoolmaster. Mr. Wm. Pettett, overseer. From Wartling— Rev. E. C. Graham, vicar. Mr. Wm. Tickner, guardian and occupier of 600 acres. Mr. Wm. Hickes, overseer and occupier of 300 acres. From Ninfield— Rev. Geo. Rainier, vicar. The Chair was taken by the Rev. N. Maning, vicar of Hooe. In Hooe there are four or five large landowners, none of whom are resident in the parish, and six or seven small proprietors. L Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser, ——— a. Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 84. There is hardly enough resident labour in the parish ; and the deficiency was particularly felt this summer in consequence of some extensive building and other operations going on in the neighbourhood which drained away the hands. There is scarcely ever an able-bodied man out of employ, even in the winter. The majority of the cottages belong to the land- owners, and in most cases are let with the farms. They are generally occupied on weekly tenure, at. rents ranging from ls. 4d. to 2s. a week. Many of them are reported to be not in good repair, in- differently provided with offices, and deficient in bed- room accommodation, and there is no move on the part of the landowners in the direction of improve- ment. Most of the cottages have gardens averaging 20 rods in size, but there are no allotments. There is a mixed parochial school managed under a trust deed by the minister and churchwardens receiving aid from Government, under a certificated master, assisted by a sewing mistress. There are 68 names on the register, with an average attendance of 35. The total annual cost is 70/.; the annual sub- scriptions are 102. or 12/., the school pence 15/., the Government grant last year was 367. The vicar does not consider that the school is adequately supported : One large landowner subscribes nothing. The vicar considers himself responsible for deficiencies. The school fee is 2d. a week per child, and 3d. a week for children in the first class. It is not believed that these terms are too high for the means of the parents. Thereis a dame’s school attended by 20 or 80 younger children. There has been a night school for seven years. For the last five years it has been in connexion with Government. It has varied in its results ; last year, when it was most successful it was attended by 40 scholars. This year there are at present only 11. It is taught by the schoolmaster alone ; the charge is 3d. a week ; the age of the scholars varies from 14 to 26. They are anxious to learn, and about half the number can read fairly well; and six out of the 11 could probably write a letter. The schoolmaster con- siders that these young men are above the average of the young men in the parish in point of attainments. The two largest owners in Wartling are the Earl of Ashburnham and Mr, Curteis, who own three-fourths of the land. There are perhaps at least 20 small pro- prietors. There are about 400 acres of woodland. There is barely a sufficient supply of labourers resident in the parish for the proper cultivation of the land. There are from 80 to 100 acres of hop garden, which require ten times the amount of labour that arable land requires. The cost of cultivating a hop garden would be from 20/. to 301. per acre, arable land would cost from 25s. to 40s. The cottages in Wartling are “good, bad, and in- different.” They principally belong to the large land- owners and are often let with the farms. There are not many instances of overcrowding. The rent is much the same as at Hooe. There are no allotments, but nearly all the cottages have gardens. There is a national school managed by the vicar and churchwardens, receiving Government aid, under a certificated master assisted by a mistress. ‘There are 60 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 45, The cost last year was 80/.; one large land- owner subscribes liberally, another refuses to subscribe or to do anything in support of the school. Most of the farmers subscribe. The total amount of annual subscriptions is 302. The vicar makes himself re- ponsible for deficiencies. The population is widely scattered, and the church and school are at one corner of the parish. This produces irregularity of attend- ance. Many children of the parish, however, attend the school at Bodle Street Green. There is no private adventure school. There has been a night school in previous winters, but it is not at work at present. The vicar hopes to re-establish it. The scattered character of the population is unfavourable to a night school. EMPLOYMENT OF -CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN . The two cliief land-owners in Ninfield are Lord Ashburnham and Mr. Brassey. Ordinarily there is a. sufficient supply of labour, but at present a large number of hands are employed in the erection of a mansion for Mr. Brassey in the parish. There are 700 acres of woodland and 12 acres of hop garden. The majority of the cottages belong to small pro- prietors. Their condition is much the same as at Wartling ; some are very bad, deficient both in sleeping and other accommodation. The rent mostly is 2s. a week, and almost all have gardens. There are no allotments. There is a national school, mixed, not in connexion with Government as regards annual grants, though built with Government aid. It is held in a capital room and is taught by a trained mistress who is reported. to be admirably qualified. There are 90 children on the register and an ordinary attendance of at least 60. The total cost is 542. per annum. It is not adequately supported by the landowners, one of. whom does not subscribe at all. The school pence amounted to 162. (at 2d. a scholar, a second child from the same family paying 1d.), The annual subscriptions, some farmers contributing, are 26/. The vicar, besides subscribing 5/., makes good deficiencies. There is a private adventure school attended by about a dozen children, mostly of a superior class. . . " The vicar used to maintain a night school, but’ has not done so for the last: two or three years in con- sequence of difficulty in getting a teacher. The desire felt for one also was not such as to encourage him.. Boys at Ninfield can be rarely kept at school after 9. At Hooe, at present, there are only four boys above 10. At Wartling it is thought that they often stay till 10. Girls stay at school till 12 or 18. The land of the district is very variable, letting at from 5s. to 30s. per acre. There is marsh land used for feeding stock which lets as high as 3. an acre. The land in occupation is about equally divided between arable and pasture. Standing day wages at present are 13s. 6d, a week ; shepherds and team-men get 14s. anda cottage rent free, Including “great work ” and harvest, an able-bodied man would average 16s. a week throughout the year. Women are employed in hay-making, harvest and hop-picking, and also to weed in the spring. The rate of employment would be one woman to 100 acres, but they are not very willing to work on the land. It would be an exception to find single young girls (except during hay-making, hop-picking and harvest) at work on the land. The hop-picking in these parishes is entirely done by resident labourers. Boys are required to drive ploughs and go with the team- men, and do other light work on the farm ; ordinarily a boy is of not much use under 11 or 12. Those are considered the best boys who are the strongest and most intelligent. Intelligence in this district is regarded as a valuable quality in a labourer. A good deal of machinery is used in this district ; corn is mostly thrashed by steam ; grass mowers are used. There is here and there a reaper, and there has been one steam-plough. It was the unanimous feeling of the meeting that, if legislation is attempted on this subject, the best mode of improving the education of the children of the agricultural labourer, would be not to introduce any of the systems which regulate labour under the Factory and similar Acts, which it is thought would cause much embarrassment to all parties: but to take a reasonable limit of age, say 10 years, below which children should be prohibited from working on the land, to make provision for their regular attendance at school up to that limit, but when they have reached that age not to shackle them with any further restric- tions in respect of school attendance. In fixing the required amount of school attendance for each year, the meeting would not desire so high a rate to be taken as would entirely preclude — the occasional employment of children under 10 years of age. If any mode of compulsion is employed to secure school attendance, the metting consider that the best IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—BVIDENCK. form of such compulsion would be to require a certifi- cate of ability to: read, as a condition precedent to being allowed to work. In viey of the circumstances of this district it is not considered that any legislative restriction is required on the employment of female labour on the land. The women are found quite able and disposed to restrict themselves. Attention was called to the fact that in this neigh- bourhood beer and spirituous liquors are frequently sold in unlicensed houses ; and the existence of such houses in a parish is felt to he most mischievous. Signed in behalf of meeting. N. Manine, Vicar of Hooe, Nov. 14, 1867. Chairman, No. 67. Friday, November 15, 1867, Collective Meeting at Hailsham, for Hailsham - Pop., 2,098 - Acr., 5,283 - R.V., 10,4142, Arlington Pop., 427 - Acr.,4,989-R.V. 4,9311. Honst= \. Pop., 1,180 - Acr., 5,039 - R.V., 6,1192. monceux, Chiddingly - Pop., 992 - Acr., 4,394 - R.V., 3,8091. Hellingly - Pop., 1,804 ~ Acr., 6,016 - R.V., 5,4701. Laughton - Pop., 742 - Acr., 4,993 - R.V., 4,613. Present at Meeting : From Hailsham— Rev. George Love, curate. Mr. Thomas Burfield, twine manufacturer, and owner of house property. Mr. Breton, Vice-chairman of Board of Guardians, and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. Samuel Wenham, twine maker. Mr. James Parkes, twine maker. Mr. John Burfield. Mr. C. H. Crutch, certificated schoolmaster. From Hurstmonceux— Mr. Edwin Smith, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 500 acres, Thomas Arkcoll, Esq., magistrate and land- owner. From Chiddingly— ~ Rev. James H. Vidal, vicar. .From Arlington and Laughton— No representatives. From Hellingly— Rev. H. Geldart, vicar. Mr. Edwin Akers, churchwarden and occupier of 430 acres. Mr. Henry Holman, one of the medical officers of the union. ; It was moved that Thomas Arkcoll, Esq., should take the chair. [In consequence of the number of parishes repre- sented at the meeting, only a summary account of the condition of the district in respect of the supply and employment of labour, the ownership of the land and cottages, and the supply of and demand for education was attempted to be taken. | All these parishes are open parishes. A few pro- prietors, such as the Earl of Chichester and H. N. ‘Curteis, Esq.. own upwards of 2,000 acres of land; but the bulk of the land is owned in parcels of less than 1,000 acres. The majority of the landowners are non-resident. In some of the parishes the non- residence of the proprietors is not found to operate disadvantageously, either as respects the condition of the cottages or the support of the school; in others (as at Hellingly) the case is different. The land in the district is very variable in quality, and the rent ranges from 10s. to 40s. an acre. There is some valuable marsh land in Hailsham and Arlington, which lets at from 40s. to 60s. an acre. For the style of farming in the district there is believed to be a sufficient supply of resident labour. The occasional deficiency at harvest is made up by stragglers, who, having’ finished the earlier harvest 85 on the downs, pass through ‘this district on their way to the hop-gardens in East ‘Sussex and Kent. ‘The hops in the district are picked by resident labourers and their wives and children, , Women are not much employed in the district, and ae are found to be generally indisposed to field- work. Hops are almost entirely tied by women, at so much peracre. A difficulty is experienced in getting women, which has raised the price in the course of the last seven years from about 7s. to 12s. per acre. A quick woman, assisted by a girl, would earn perhaps 2s. 6d. a day at this job. iy : The residences of the labourers are clustered into small groups, and are situated m most cases in con- venient proximity to the farms. It is reported that within the last 10 years there has been a considerable improvement in the condition of the cottages, and many new ones have been erected; but. still, in many cases the cottages are out of repair, and are deficient in sleeping accommodation. In Hellingly, where the cottages chiefly belong to small proprietors, this is particularly the case; but in Hurstmonceux some of the worst cottages belong to owners who could afford to improve them. It is not believed that any money has been borrowed under the Land Improvement Act, by landowners in this district for building cottages, and only in very few cases for draining land. The conditions under which the money is lent, and the peremptory require- ments of the Commissioners as regards depth of drains, & , which are applied to‘all qualities of land alike, are believed to operate disadvantageously in the way of applying the Act, To avail himself ‘of this opportunity the landowner is often put to a needless and excessive expense. , na The earliest work to which boys are put is to tend birds in spring and autumn, and to shave hop-poles in the winter. For these purposes they are often re- moved from school at as early an age as 7.or 8. They are also required to help their parents in corn-harvest and hop-picking ; and this second harvest (hops) coming after the first, occasionally obliges the summer holidays to be prolonged to nine.weeks. But for the ordinary operations of the farmer, such as driving plough, &c., a boy is not of much use before 10 or 12. There is a scarcity of boys to-work on the land in the neighbourhood of Hailsham, in consequence of the number employed in the twine manufacture; and boys who can drive plough are worth from 6d. to 10d. a day, according to their age. There is a distinct preference shown now in hiring labourers to take a man who has two or three boys. coming on. The custom of taking lads and young men to live in the farmer’s house has almost expired in this district. bo ek The district is fairly supplied. with schools ; but ‘owing to the scattered character of the population, in many cases the children have to travel from two to three miles to their school. It is-not believed that any particular strain or difficulty is experienced in maintaining the schools; though the schools in receipt of Government aid find that aid very much diminished ‘in amount by the prevalent irregularity of attendance. The night schools in the district have not been generally successful; and the meeting feels that it is a point worthy of all consideration how to make the night school a permanent feature of the educational organization of a rural parish. In Hailsham, Mr. Burfield has had for 20 years two night: schools for the five winter months for the benefit of the boys employed in his twine manufactory. These schools are now attended by 85 scholars. As far as the cultivation of the land is concerned, it would cause no embarrassment to the farmer if the law were to prohibit the employment of a child under 10 years of age; but as there are many employments in this district in which children below that age may be very useful to their parents in contributing to the amount of earnings of the family, any absolute re- striction of child-labour up to that age would, in some L2 Sussex. Rev. J; Fraser. a Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 86 cases, be productive of much hardship ; in particular where there was a large young family. . In order to remedy this possible hardship, the meeting would desire to see children exempted from such restriction as soon as they could produce a certi- ficate, granted by some competent examiner, of ability to read. It was thought that in many cases such ability might be attained by children at as early an age as 9; and the remission of the restriction thus obtainable would operate as an additional motive on the parents to send their children regulazly to school. There is no employment of girls on the land, except in harvest or the hop-picking season. The watering-places on the coast create a demand for household service, which is as much as the district ean do to supply ; and though women occasionally engage in work which seems unsuitable to them, the circumstances of the district are not considered to require any restrictions being laid upon them. ; With regard to cottages, the feeling of the meeting was against their being built in large blocks ; single or double cottages, with 20 or 30 rods of garden ground attached, was considered to be the most suitable arrangement. Most cottages in this district are let on weekly tenure. Those belonging to the landowners are generally let with the farms. Signed on behalf of the meeting, Tuos. ARKCOLL, Chairman. Noy. 15, 1867. County or Sussex : West Hampnett UNION. _ No. 68. Tuesday, November 19, 1867. Meeting at Yapton, for Yapton - Pop., 589. - Acr., 1,699 - R.V., 4,140/. Barnham ~- Pop., 125. - Acr., 730 - R.V., 1,790/. Middleton - Pop. 80. - Acr, 859 - R.V., 6304. Felpham - Pop,, 592. - Acr., 2,254 - Present at the Meeting: From Yapton— Rev. T. S. L. Vogan, vicar. Mr. Wm. Cronch, churchwarden and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. George Baker, churchwarden and occupier of 220 acres. Mr. James Suter, guardian and occupier of 150 acres. Mr. Frank Luker, overseer and occupier of 340 acres. Mr. Henry Bateman, assessor and tradesman: Mr. Thos. Davis, national schoolmaster. From Barnham— Mr. R. Ellis, relieving officer. From Middleton— Mr, R. Redford, owner in Middleton, and owner and occupier of 200 acres in Yapton. From Felpham— No representative. The chair was taken by the Rev. T. S. L. Vogan. In Yapton there are four or five principal land- owners, of whom only one (owning 170 acres) is resi- dent. ‘There are several small proprietors. There is abundance of resident labour, indeed Yapton sends labour into the adjacent parishes of Binstead, Climping, Ford, Barnham, and Middleton. A con- siderable number of hands, varying from 20 to 40, find constant employment in connexion with thrashing machines, of which six (in addition to drills and other implements) are kept and let for hire by one machinist residing in the village. There would be a redundancy of cottages and of people in Yapton were it not that it supplies labour to so many adjacent parishes. It is a popular parish for lodgers, and consequently many of the cottages are overcrowded. Many of the cottages belong to the landowners and are let with the farms, the tenant of the farm having R.V., 4,0202. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the nomination to them; but the majority be- long to small proprietors, The rent varies from 1s. to 2s. 6d. a week ; the average would be 1s. 9d. They have all got gardens ; and about three acres of the glebe are let in 18 or 20 allotments. The gardens would average 10 rods; of land of this quality 20 rods is considered as much as a man can properly cultivate as a garden. It does not answer to a labouring man to hire labour. There is a national school, not receiving Govern- ment aid, under an untrained master and mistress, mixed, with 62 names on the register and an average attendance of 50. The total annual cost is about 581, of which 222 comes from a charity ; 20/7. from school pence, and the remainder from voluntary sub- scriptions. Only two landowners subscribe; but there is no debt on the school, and ity expenditure is met without difficulty. In fact the vicar does not know what he should do with more money if he had it. He considers the school perfectly efficient, and sufficient for the circumstances of the parish, Two or three small adjacent parishes have no school ; and the elder children attend here. There are children from a coastguard station (aged respectively 11, 12, and 14) who come along three miles to school, and these are amongst the most regular attendants, There is one small private adventure dame’s school, attended by six or eight children. The schoolmaster carried on a night school for three winters. but has not attempted it this year in consequence of his health not being equal to this addi- tional strain. When going, it was attended by about 20 scholars, the majority of whom were regular in attendance and anxious to learn. No volunteers offered to teach. The charge was 6d. a week, and it was held in the schoolmaster’s house. In Barnham, the principal owner (of about 500 acres) is resident, and occupies his own land. The Duke of Richmond owns about 200 acres. There are two owners of about 25 acres each. There are about 25 cottages. A railway station has been recently formed ata corner of the parish, which has led to the erection of several new cottages, and a considerable increase of the population, which is now estimated at 160. The relieving officer considers that the condition of the cottages in Barnham is above the average; and he does not know of any case of overcrowding. The rent varies. One landowner lets his at ls. to the men whom he employs; another proprietor lets his at 2s. 6d. Some of the cottages are short of garden, Barnham draws some of its labour from Yapton. There is no school in Barnham; but the school in the neighbouring parish of Eastergate (now tem- porarily closed on account of the master’s death), serves the purpose of both parishes. In Middleton, there are two landowners, who are not resident. ‘There is a short supply of labour ; and there are only seven cottages for labourers. Out of the the seven, three are in very indifferent condition. There is a group of eight cottages occupied by the coastguard. There is no school, and the children attend either at Yapton or Felpham. There was no one present at the meeting to repre- sent Felpham, but the following facts were furnished by the relieving officer. There are seven or eight owners of from 50 to 400 acres of land. None of them are resident. There is a sutficient supply of labour, and there are believed to be enough cottages, but many are in poor condition. They mostly belong to small pro- prietors. They are chiefly built of pebbles, got trom the beach, and thatched. Some of them have very good gardens. There are no allotments. There is a parochial school, under a mistress. It- used to be taught by a master, but about two years ago it was put under a mistress. The vicar, in a letter, reports that “the employment of very young * boys in the place of men, principally as horse-boys, “ is having a most damaging effect upon the parish IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, “ schools,” and states “that the average age in the “ first-class in the national schools” (in his inspection district) “has fallen 11 months in the last 10 years, “ mainly owing to the demand of boy-labour.” The bull® of the land in these four parishes is a rich hazel loam; it is not very wet land, but two- thirds of it has been very much benefited by draining. The best land is worth 22. an acre; and there would hardly be any let under 30s. It is too strong for barley ; but it will grow wheat, oats, and peas. Its root crops are good. On an average of seven years it will produce eight sacks of wheat to the acre, and about 16 sacks of oats, The ploughs are generally drawn by two horses abreast, without a driver, except for a winter fallow, when a third horse is put on, and a driver required, Nine-tenths of the corn is thrashed by steam; but not more than one-third is sown by the drill. It suits all sorts of weather best to sow broadcast; the men understand the mode better; and if the ground is clean, it is thought to result in quite as good a crop as would be procured by the drill. The standing rate of weekly wages at present for an ordinary labourer is 18s. ; carters get 15s. or 14s, and their house rent-free ; shepherds 15s. and cottage. The farmers in this district only fatten sheep, and do not breed largely. The proportion of sheep kept would be about one to an acre. A man is paid 51. 10s. (without beer) or 52. (with beer) for his harvest month ; but many men do their harvest work by the piece, and in this way would probably earn 6/. or more. The assistance of the wife would probably add 2/. to this amount. The custom of gleaning in these parishes is only to allow the family of the labourers employed on the farm to go over the land first; afterwards, anyone is allowed to pick up what is left. A family will often glean upwards of a sack. A good deal of the harvest work is done by foreigners. They come for 10 days or a fortnight, do the reaping, but rarely stay to carry. They do not displace any of the home labour, but only supple- ment its deficiency. , The earliest work to which boys are put is to scare birds and tend sheep. ‘They are sometimes taken as early as seven; but for ordinary farm work they are of little use before 10. But parents with large families are anxious to get their children employed at the earliest moment. Young girls under 18 are hardly ever seen at work on the land ; and there is a difficulty of getting even married women to undertake field labour. Their chief employment is to clean the land, weed corn, and help in haymaking. The farmers do not consider women’s labour absolutely indispensable, indeed they believe they could get on without it; but it is very useful. A woman’s day is from eight to five, with an hour allowed for dinner; and the wage is 10d. ; ls. in haymaking. ‘A boy of 10 would earn from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. a week. The custom has almost entirely expired of boys and young men living in the farmhouse. The meeting is unanimous in desiring that every labouring man should be able to read and write intelligently. The meeting feel very distinctly the difficulties that surrouud any system of compulsory education, as applied to the case of agricultural labour. They would prefer seeing an attempt made to produce better results than exist at present, by the use of some motive of encouragement. They do not believe that there is any necessity for legislation to abridge or limit the hours of labour, which in this district are not excessive or exhausting. They feel that any restriction laid upon the age at which children should be allowed to go to work, would have to face and deal with the difficulty of the hardship that would thereby in many cases be inflicted on large families. Te recognizing these various difficulties, and unable 87 to see their way clearly through them, but by no means desiring to express themselves as though they were content or satisfied with things as they are, the meeting are not prepared to make any recom- mendations upon the question submitted to them, and only hope that, if dealt with legislatively it will be dealt with in a wise and practical spirit, Signed on behalf of the meeting. Tuomas S. L, Vogan, Chairman. Nov. 19, 1867. No. 69. Thursday, November 21, 1867. Collective Meeting at Walberton, for Walberton - Pop., 588 - Acr., 1,722 - R.V., 3,3501. Madehurst - Pop., 208 Acr., 912 - R.V., 1,1901. Birsted - Pop., 110 - Acr., 1,086 - R.V., 1,080/. Eastergate - Pop., 162 - Acr., 1,908 - R.V., 1,9201, Present at Meeting : From Walberton— Rev. T. S. L. Vogan, vicar. Mr. J. D. Hide, churchwarden, and occupier of 500 acres in Walberton, Yapton, Middleton, and Felpham. Mr. Wm. Barton, guardian and occupier of 230 acres in Yapton and Walberton. Mr. Henry Farnden, baker, and occupier of 4 acres. Mr. Mark Luxford, parochial schoolmaster. From Madehurst— Rey. C. R. Scholfield, vicar. From Binsted— Rev. H. C. Bones, rector. From Eastergate— Mr. Thomas White, overseer, and occupier of 250 acres. The chair was taken by Rev. T. S. L. Vogan. In Walberton there are two principal, and five or six small proprietors. ‘The principal proprietors are resident. There is about a sufficient supply of labour in the parish for the cultivation of the land. A good many of the men are employed by a bricklayer and stone- mason ; others work in the woods. In consequence of the opportunity of this employment, there are men who will not work on the land unless they can earn 2s, 6d. or 38s. aday. The supply of cottages is deficient. Mr. Barton requires three cottages on his farm and hasn’t one. There are about 100 cottages in the parish. It is considered that 44 men, and three cottages is the proper proportion to 100 acres. The cottages at present are not in good condition. About 55 belong to one of the landowners, and he is now engaged in putting them into an improved state. There is a great deficiency of bedroom accommoda- tion, several having only a single chamber. The rent ranges from ls. 6d. to 2s.6d. a week. The land- owner’s cottages above referred to are let on a monthly tenure, at 6s. 8d. a month. There are no allotments, but most have gardens varying in size from 10 to 15 rods. The parish school is endowed with 122. a year. The school pence amount to from 8l. to 104, The extra expenditure, which has amounted to from 40%. to 50d. a year, is provided by one of the landowners (Mr. Prime). There are at present 59 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 45. There is also a mixed infants’ and girls’ school, supported entirely by a benevolent lady, non-resident, but connected with the parish, with 68 names on the register, and an average attendance of 50. There is also a private adventure dame’s school attended by 32 children, paying 8d.a week, which the vicar considers to be a very useful school. All these schools are attended by children from neighbouring parishes ;"but the vicar believes that at least 100 Walberton children are under education. There is no night school. The vicar’s health is unequal to undertake it; and the schoolmaster is at L3 Sussex. Rev, J. Fraser. a. Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a 88 present inexperienced, and shrinks from the responsi- bility. ie Madehurst, the land (with the exception of 23 acres of glebe), all belongs to one proprietor (J. C. Fletcher, Esq.), who is resident. There is a con- siderable quantity of woodland and down in the parish. These woods employ a good deal of labour, and the labour supply of the parish is short. La- bourers are imported from Slindon and Walberton. There are only three farms in the parish. There are 27 cottages reported to be in good condition generally, and improvement is going on. Only a few have three bedrooms. They are let at ls. a week, with a good garden. The water supply is almost entirely from the rain fall, which is caught in ponds and tanks. This water is fowid to be perfectly wholesome. The vicar never uses anything else himself, though he has a well. The wells are obliged to be sunk very deep, perhaps 100 yards, and it takes two minutes to draw a bucket of water. There is a parochial school, entirely supported and managed by the squire. It is taught by a master and sewing mistress, and has about 45 children on the register; regularity of attendance is strictly en- forced. The vicar considers it the best rural school that he has ever had anything to do with. One of the squire’s daughters has had a night school at the hall for four or five winters, which has been attended by eight or ten scholars, who are em- ployed by day upon the land. It has been very useful. It is found that the larger proportion of the chil- dren, when their education is finished, do not remain in the parish or work upon the land. They either are taken into service at the hall, or migrate else- where. Boys ordinarily stay .at this school till 12, and girls till 14. This is the rule of the school, and though there is no particular mode of enforcing it, it is generally complied with. The pre- sent standing rate of weekly wage in Madehurst is 12s., and with the exception of a rather lower rent and a better garden, the parents enjoy no advantages beyond those in other parishes. Yet they make no difficulty about keeping their children at school. There are five or six landowners at Binsted, of whom none are resident. There is a deficiency of labour, which is imported from the adjoining parishes. There are two farms and 18 cottages, which is an inadequate supply. The cottages, generally, are in fair condition; rent 1s. 6d. to 2s. a week; very good gardens. A good water supply from wells, the water being about 25 feet below the surface. Bedroom accommodation is defi- cient, and in three cottages there is considerable over- crowding. In one case, a grandfather and grand- mother, a father and mother, and three young children sleep in one room. These three cottages belong to one considerable landowner. There is no day school, Binsted being within half a mile of Walberton, and the children attending there. There is no night school; the rector believes that most of the young men can read and write. In Eastergate there are two large and one or two small landowners. There is a sufficient supply of labour, and enough cottages. Many of the cottages are newly built, and others have been put into a thorough state of repair. It is believed that most have three bedrooms. Generally, they have good gardens, perhaps 20 rods in size. The rent is 1s. 6d. to 2s.a week. The cottages chiefly belong to the landowners, who are non-resident. About 400 actes belong to the dean and chapter of Chichester. There is a school which has been temporarily sus- pended for the last three months, in consequence of the illness and subsequent death of the master. Some difficulty is experienced in raising the requisite amount of funds. There has occasionally been a night school, but it is not maintained this winter. The quality of the land in this district varies much. It lets at rents varying from 10s. to 40s, and EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND- WOMEN even 60s. per acre. Wages, at present, are about 13s. a week; carters and shepherds receiving 1s. to 2s. a week more. It is found a difficult thing to get carters, the young lads not taking to the stables. Indeed, “it is hard to replace any good labourer, if “you lose one.” Young girls are not at all employed in these parishes on the land, and, except in haymaking and harvest, married women can hardly be procured. There is a difficulty to get women to come out from home to do a day’s work at charing or washing, even at ls. a day wages, with victuals. Boys are rarely employed before 10, though occasionally a younger boy is put to scare birds or tend sheep. The half-day system is considered inapplicable to the agricultural operations of this district. The alternate day system requires a relay of boys, and as there is no redundancy of boy labour this also would be imprac- ticable. When boys commence: regular work (which they rarely do before 10), they are generally kept on throughout the year, and there would be a difficulty in securing any sufficient amount of slack time during which they could be sent to school. Under these circumstances the meeting think that the best way to improve the education of children in an agricultural district would be to prohibit their going’ to labour under a certain'age, say 10 years; to make provisions for securing their regular attendance under that age ; but when that age is reached, to shackle them with no further restrictions in respect of attendance at school. To fix a higher age than 10 would not only inconve- nience the farmer, but would often inflict hardship on large families. The condition of female labour in this district is not such as, in the opinion of this meeting, to require legislative interference. The fact was mentioned with regret that early and imprudent marriages are very prevalent in this dis- trict, and that many of ‘the women who marry are quite incompetent to discharge their duty as wives and mothers, and instead of adding to his comfort, pring poverty and wretchedness into their husband's ome. The meeting regret the facilities that are placed in the way of obtaining a license to sell beer. They would wish either that the licensing power should be placed in the hands of the magistrates, or that the petition for the licence should be signed by a higher class of ratepayers. Signed on behalf of the meeting, Tuomas 8. L. Voean, Chairman. Nov. 21, 1867. No. 70. Friday, November 22. Collective Meeting at Singleton, for Singleton - Pop., 556 - Acr., 5,010 - R.V., 3,6401. Graffham Pop., 416 - Acr., 1,650 - R.V., 1,0602. East Dean - Pop., 348 - Acr., 4,647 - R.V., 1,4707. Upwaltham - Pop., 71 - Acr., 1,245 - R.V., 5101. Binderton - Pop., 90 - Acr., 1,790 - R.V., 9801. Present at Meeting : From Singleton— Rey. F. A. Bowles, rector. Mr. Ephraim Adams, churchwarden and relieving officer. Mr. John Dearling, oceupier of 300 acres and churchwarden, Mr. Charles Farley, overseer and churn-maker, Mr. James Challen, guardian and occupier of 160 acres, Mr. John Ewens, occupier of 1,200 acreg (in- cluding down.) Mr. George Scammell, publican. Mr. Edwin Curtis, grocer and draper. Mr. N. B. Turner, medical officer. Mr. Henry Hipkins, occupier of 500 acres. Mr. Geo. Busby, national schoolmaster, IN AGRICULTURE (1867 ), COMMISSION :~EVIDENCE, From, Graffham— Rev. R. W. Randall, rector. From East Dean— Rev. H. Cogan, vicar. go Mr. Charles Stride, churchwarden and occupier ; ‘of 2,000 acres in East Dean and Upwaltham of which latter parish he is guardian. Mr. Thomas: Fogden, waywarden, and occupier of 800 acres (including down), From Up Waltham— Mr. Stride is an occupier here. From Binderton— Mr. Walter Woods, guardian and occupier of 600 acres. Mr. S. C. Heming, steward to Hon. Mrs. Vernon Harcourt. » The Chair was taken by the Rev. F. A. Bowles. The three chief landowners in Singleton are the Duke of Richmond, Lord Leconfield, and the Hon. Mrs. Vernon Harcourt. None of them is resident in the parish. _ For the ordinary cultivation of the land there is a sufficient supply of labour ; but in turnip-hoeing, hay- making and harvest, there is a deficiency which is supplied by men from the hop districts. In the winter many of the men find employment in the woods. The cottages are generally in fair condition, but are much: crowded in Goodwood race week, when their lower apartments (in the case of 16 cottages) are turned into boxes for race-horses. All the recently erected cottages have three bed-rooms, and others have had their sleeping accommodation much im- proved. Some of the cottages belong to small proprietors, but the majority belong to the landowners and are let at low rents, 1s. and 1s. 2d. a week, with about 20 rods of garden-ground. Where the garden is small, an allotment is attached to the cottage which is included in the rent. r There is a school: in two departments for boys and girls, under a master and a mistress, the whole expense of which (over and above the school fees) is borne by Lord Leconfield. A very large proportion of the population are under instruction ; there are 50 names on the boys’ school register. and 70 girls and infants in the other department; and this out of a population of less than 600. Not a single child comes from other parishes. There has generally been a night school, but last winter it was scantily attended and has not been attempted this winter. “In East Dean all the land except the glebe belongs to the Duke of Richmond, who resides -in the adjoin- ing parish of Boxgrove. About three-fourths of the area is down, coppice, and timber land. There is a sufficient supply of resident labour throughout the year, and there are enough cottages. The cottages generally are in very good condition and there is not much to complain of in, the way of overcrowding. There are about 70 cottages, of which 55 belong to the Duke of Richmond, one to the vicar, nine to another proprietor, and four to another. The general rent is 3/. a year, the rent being taken monthly. Each farm has four or five cottages attached to it at the disposal of the tenant, which are let at 1s. a week. All the cottages have good gardens. There is a mixed school not in connexion with Government, under a mistress, kept in a building pelonging to the Duke of Richmond, supported by voluntary subscriptions amounting to about 30/., with 50 names on the register, and an average attendance of 45. ; The governess conducts a private night school, attended by eight or 10 scholars, varying in age from 8 to 13. She has no difficulty in managing it. Upwaltham is three miles from East Dean, and is a distinct parish, though at present both are served by the same incumbent. The land belongs in about equal proportions to Lord Leconfield and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. | There is rather a scarcity of labour in the summer 89 time... Of the 1,245 acres in the parish not more than 500 are cultivated land. The cottages (14 or 15 in number) are in good repair, several with three bedrooms, let at about 31. a year, with good gardens. The whole parish, with the exception of 50 acres, is in one occupation. The five cottages belonging to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners are attached to the farm. Lord Leconfield’s are kept in the proprietor’s hands. , ; There is a small school attended by from 15 to 20 children, kept in a room adjoining a cottage by an elderly woman, who is competent to teach reading, writing, and plain needlework. She receives 171. a year (the produce of voluntary subscriptions) in addi- tion to the school pence which come to about ls. 3d. a week. < There is no night school. All the land in Binderton belongs to Hon, Mrs. Harcourt, who has a mansion in the adjoining parish of West Dean. About 800 acres is the extent under cultivation. In the busy times of the year, out-parishioners are employed ; but at other seasons there is a sufficiency of resident labour. There are about a dozen cottages all belonging to Mrs. Harcourt, let with the farms. Most of them have three bedrooms, and the rent is generally 1s. a week. They have all gardens. There is no school at Binderton, the children ‘attend the school at West.Dean, which is about two miles distant, along a good road. There is no night school either, but there is one at West Dean, though it is not believed that any scholars attend from Binderton. In Graffham the principal landowner is the Bishop of Oxford, who is also the chief owner of cottage pro- perty. There are five farmers in the parish, and not more than 800 acres of cultivated land. There is an excess of labour for the actual wants of the parish, and some of the people are badly off in the winter. Before the change in the Poor Law, the poor rate in Graftham has been known to be 22s. in the, pound, and the population was then in excess of what it is now. Of late years the rate has averaged 3s. 6d. in the 12. Many of the people work out of the parish, chiefly in the Duke of Richmond’s woods. The condition of the cottages is not good. Many of them are out of repair and some are sadly over- crowded. Those belonging to the Bishop of Oxford are in the best condition, and six that he has recently erected are excellent. He has lately bought several cottages, which are at present in bad condition, but which it is believed he intends to improve. There is an excellent school which the rector is “ thankful to say,” is not in connexion with Govern- ment ; held in an admirable building erected by the rector, mixed, under a master and mistress, with about 70 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 50. There is also a separate infant school attended by about 30 children. The schools are perfectly free, and the total annual cost, the schools being maintained on a scale of great liberality, is fully 13802. a year. The Bishop of Oxford subscribes 30/. a year, and the rest of the cost is defrayed by the rector. This school serves also for the parish of Woollaving- ton, which contains 150 people. : The rector finds he cannot keep children to as high an age as he used to do. He can rarely keep a labourer’s son beyond 11, and not many to as high an -age as that. ' There is a night school, fairly flourishing, managed . by some ladies resident in the parish, and attended by about 15 scholars. Except in Graffham, where the soil is very variable, the whole of these parishes is onthe chalk. The land is hilly and requires a good deal of horse-power, but it works kindly, and except when old ground is broken up, it is easily ploughed by two horses abreast. The L4 Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 90 rent varies from 10s. to 80s. per acre for cultivated land; the greater part of the down would not fetch 2s. 6d., there being hundreds of acres which are scarcely of value as a sheep walk. The annual cost of labour is about 30s. or rather over per acre of cultivated land. Turnip-hoeing, in this strong soil, is rather a costly process. There is no steam-plough at work in any of these parishes, but most of the thrashing is done by steam or horse-power. Three cottages, four men and a couple of boys would be an average supply for 100 acres. The women have mostly got above going to work on the land, though they help in hay-making, and work with their husbands in harvest. Mr. Stride and Mr. Hipkins don’t employ women at all on the ordinary work of the farm, and the amount of work done by women in the district is very insignificant ; much less than it used be. Young girls are not at all employed in field work. The standing weekly wage at present is 13s. At Graftham, which is in rather a different district, on the northern side of the downs, wages are 1s. or 2s. a week lower. Including harvest and piece-work an able-bodied man’s total annual earnings this year will amount to something above 407. Wheat is cut by the acre at from 10s. to 15s. carted by the day at double wages. When grass is mown by the scythe it is paid at from 3s. to 5s. an acre; and aman is supposed to cut about 14 or 14 acres a day. But mowing machines have been largely introduced into the district of late years. Boys are generally taken to work on the land at about 10. Boy-labour is considered to be dear labour to the farmer till the boy gets to be 13 or 14 years of age; but it would not do to keep him at school to that age, or he would never make a handy labourer, nor could the parents afford to maintain him un- employed so long. The circumstances of this district with regard to the employment of women and girls are not such as in the opinion of the meeting require any legislative inter- ference. The youngest boys who are employed in this district are those who accompany their fathers during the winter months into the coppices, and those who are employed at a saw mill at Singleton. Such boys are sometimes taken from school at as early an age as 7 or 8. It is considered that any legistative restriction on the age at which boys should be allowed to work on the land will affect the pecuniary interests of the parent more seriously than those of the farmer. The farmer would not be hurt if the law were to prohibit the employment of children under 10 ; but any such absolute prohibition might inflict hardship upon large families. If any legislation takes place on the subject the meeting would prefer to see an age tixed, below which children should be prohibited from work, and then leave their labour free, trusting to such influences as the night school to carry the work of education on, to any attempt, which they think would fail, to combine school attendance with employment when the boy is once gone to work. The meeting was unanimous in their opposition to any system of compulsion in the matter ; and in this district the school attendance in proportion to the population is such as to indicate that where favourable influences exist, compulsion is unnecessary. Upon the question of an educational rate, the majority of the meeting were unfavourable to that mode of supporting schools; but five gentlemen pre- sent would have no objection to a rate, locally levied, on the understanding that both the rate was ad- ministered and the school inspected under the directions of the county magistracy, and was altogether released from Government interference and control. Signed on behalf of the meeting, Nov, 22, 1867. J. N. Bowxzs, Chairman. It is EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN No. 71. Saturday, November 23, 1867. Collective Meeting at Sidlesham, for Sidlesham Pop., 960 - Acr., 4,109: - R.V., 6,9901. Selsey Pop., 900 - Acr., 4,314 - R.V., 4,4102, Earnley Pop., 116 - Acr., 1,182 - R.V., 1,8602, Present at Meeting : From Sidlesham— Rev. W. Bruton, vicar. Mr. Thomas Hobgen, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 800 acres. Mr. Joseph Boorn, churchwarden and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. W. E. Arnell, occupier of 50 acres. Mr, Frederick Shrubb, occupier of 80 acres. Mr. Thomas Hunt, occupier of 180 acres in Sidlesham and North Mundham. Mr. William Fogden, waywarden and occupier of 150 acres. From Selsey— Rev. H. Foster, rector. Mr. Hugh Penfold, churchwarden and occupier of 500 acres in Selsey and Sidlesham. Mr. Lambert Stubington, churchwarden and joint occupier of 400 acres. Mr. William C. Woodman, "guardian, overseer, owner and occupier of 400 acres. Mr. R. Chase, overseer, owner and occupier of 80 acres. Mr. Hugh Penfold, junior, From Earnley— Mr. Henry Duke, guardian, churchwarden, owner and occupier of 1,000 acres in Earnley, Sidles- ham, and East Witting. Mr. Robert Wakeford, overseer, owner and occu- pier of 250 acres. Mr. William Dawtrey, relieving officer. The chair was taken by Mr. Henry Duke. The land in Sidlesham belongs to several owners, of whom the dean and chapter of Chichester, Joseph Godman, Esq., Hon. Mr. Fitzpatrick, Thomas Oliver, Esq. are the principal. None of these owners is resident. There is a fairly adequate supply of labour for the ordinary cultivation of the land, but in the months of July and August an extra supply is required and imported. No able-bodied man is out of work in the winter. Three of the farms are of 500 acres and upwards, and there are five or six between 200 and 500. There are about 15 occupations below 200 acres. It is considered that about 3} men and three cottages is the proper proportion to 100 acres of land. Not more than half the cottages are the property of the landowners, and consequently there is sometimes a difficulty found by an agricultural labourer in getting a home. The condition of the cottages, though not worse in the opinion of the relieving officer than in many other villages, is reported to need improvement both as to their state of repair and as to the extent of their sleeping accommodation. Improvement, however, is going on, and several new ones have been recently erected. ‘The worst cottages are those not connected with the farms. The rent ranges from 21, 12s. to 51.; they are let by the week, the month, and the year. The labourers appear to prefer a yearly tenure, the farmers a monthly. The cottages have gardens varying in size from 10 rods to 30, but there are no allotments. It is con- sidered that 30 rods of planting ground is quite as much as a labouring man can cultivate properly or profitably, There is no public school in the parish, but about 50 of the elder children attend a school called the “Manhood” school (from the name of the hundred), which supplies, or is supposed to supply, the educa- tional wants of Birdham, Earnley, East Wittering, and Sidlesham ; Sidlesham children would have to travel from one to three miles to get to it. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, There are three private adventure schools, attended by about 70 children in the aggregate ; one of them is kept by a pensioner, formerly schoolmaster of his . regiment, but who is not a pattern of sobriety. The payment itt these schools is 2d., 3d., and 4d. 2 week. The same man keeps a night school, attended by about 10 scholars. A statement was made by Mr. Arnell that between 1818 and 1836 there were three private schools in the parish, with 25, 40, and 30 scholars respectively, and he considers that the parish has retrograded in respect of the means of education. In Selsey the principal landowner is the Hon. Mrs. Vernon Harcourt, who owns about 1,000 acres, but has no residence in the parish. There are about 150 acres of reclaimed land belonging to the Crown. There are 15 or 20 small proprietors. There is plenty of labour, except perhaps in harvest time. For the last 15 years no able-bodied man has been out of employ. | — There is a considerable number of fishermen in the _parish, and there are four coast-guard stations, with from 80 to 100 residents. Mrs. Harcourt is building cottages of an excellent description, and is always willing to listen to sugges- tions of improvement, but she has inherited a property inadequately provided with cottages, and there is one farm of 600 acres which at present only has two cottages belonging to it. The cottages generally are in good repair ; indeed, the condition of the cottages in Selsey is believed to be superior to those in most parishes. The rent is about the same as at Sidlesham. There is a national school, receiving Government aid, under a certificated mistress, with 72 names on the register, and an average attendance of 52. The total annual cost is about 63/., of which about 201. comes from voluntary subscriptions. The children pay 2d. a week, and their pence amount to about 204. a year. There are four private adventure schools, attended by about 65 children ; one of them is taught by a clergyman’s daughter, and is of a superior class ; another is taught by an intelligent man, who is a cripple, who teaches about 20 boys, and charges 6d. a week. The other two are ordinary dames’ schools, in both of which the children are taught fairly well to read; so that there are about 140 children under education in the parish. The night school is kept by a tradesman, who is a large manufacturer of mousetraps, and who frequently employs about 20 boys from 10 to 11 years of age. For the benefit of these boys he has opened a night school for the last three winters, taught by his fore- man and such occasional help as he can procure, which is open to such other boys as choose to attend. The two principal landowners in Earnley are the Earl of Winterton and Mr. Fitzpatrick, neither of whom is resident. There is not a sufficient supply of resident labour. There are about 20 cottages, all of which, except four old cottages, are in a fair state of repair. They have a sufficient supply of garden ground, and the rent ranges from ls. to Is. 6d. a week. Many of the cottagers who work on the farms pay no rent for their cottages. It is not thought that 10/. a year is paid as cottage rent in the parish. There is no school in Earnley ; the children attend the Manhood school, and many have to travel from one to two miles. There is no night school. The district is flat, and the land is a rich loam resting on a subsoil of brick earth, though there are varieties in that part of the district which abuts upon the sea. Perhaps 1,000 acres are reclaimed land, which is laid down in pasture. The cultivation of the rest of the district is almost entirely arable. The best farms let at about 30s. an acre; 500 acres would be considered a large occupation. The _land is decidedly well cultivated, and is free from weeds, The annual cost of labour on arable land that is well cultivated is reckoned at from 40s. to 45s. per acre. There is much less female labour than there used to be ; the women are not disposed to work on the land, except in haymaking and harvest. The 2. 91 farmers, for ordinary work, would nearly as soon be without them as with them. A woman’s daily pay would be 9d., 1s. in haymaking. Young girls are not at all employed on the land; they mostly go to service, the proximity of Brighton constituting a great attraction, Boys are not required before the age of 10. There is very little bird-scaring done or needed; there is only one rookery in the neighbourhood. As boys are chiefly employed about horses, it is not considered safe to employ boys younger than 10. A boy of 10 would earn 6d. a day, which would be his wage up to 12 or 13, when he would expect to be raised to 8d. The standing weekly wage of an able-bodied man at present is 13s., but with harvest and piecework his earnings throughout the year would average 16s. a week. Besides harvest and haymaking, turnips are hoed, dung is carted, hay and straw are trussed, and draining is done by the piece. Piece-work is con- sidered much more economical to the farmer than labour paid by the day, and consequently all the work that can be done by the piece is put out in that way. The employment of female labour is so rare and: exceptional in this district that the meeting do not consider that any legislative restriction is required to regulate it. . The meeting would be glad to see a restriction laid upon the employment of boys under the age of 10, if such restriction could be accompanied with such exemptions as would mitigate the hardship that might otherwise be inflicted upon large families. A boy under 10 is of no use to the farmer, and if employed, it is generally ai the solicitation of the parents, After the age of 10, however, it would be a serious interference with the cultivation of the land if the farmer were required to spare the boy either for half the day or on alternate days, or for any other period of time, for the purpose of attending school. Here and there would be found a family (though not very frequently) where starvation would be the consequence of an absolute prohibition of boy-labour under the age of 10. The meeting would desire to call the attention of the Legislature to the extent to which the sale of beer is carried on in unlicensed houses. Far more mischief is believed to be produced by this practice than by the licensed houses. The meeting would wish to see greater facilities placed in the way of every labouring man for brewing his own beer. The meeting would also welcome any effective system that could be devised to prevent the evil of overcrowding in cottages. They think that every cottage occupied by a mixed family ought to have three sleeping-rooms. In Selsey, the worst cases of overcrowding and defective sanitary arrangements are to be found in the buildings belonging to the Admi- ralty, and occupied by the coast-guard. Signed by the chairman in behalf of the meeting. Noy. 23, 1867. Henry Duke. No. 72. Monday, November 25, 1867, Collective Meeting at Birdham, for Birdham - Pop., 486 - Aer., 1,948 - R.V., 3,2602. East Wittering Pop., 223 - Acr.,1,505 - R.V., 2,0901. West Wittering Pop., 616 - Acr., 3,615 - R.V., 3,8501, West Itchenor Pop. 167 Acr., 782-R.V., 8700. Present at Meeting : From Birdham— Rev. J. W. Miller, rector. Mr. Matthew Cobby, churchwarden, and occupier of 150 acres. Mr. Charles Farne, churchwarden, guardian, occupier of 120 acres, and manager of 140 acres. Mr. William Farne, overseer and miller, Mr. James Vine, owner and occupier of 80 acres. Mr. Thomas Peachey, overseer, guardian, and occupier of 300 acres, M Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser, — a. Sussex. ——— Rev. J. Fraser. a. 92, Mr. Edward Kerwood, occupier of 120 acres. Mr. William Lawrence, schoolmaster. From East Wittering— : Rev. John Rusbridger, churchwarden, owner, and occupier of 250 acres. Rev. J. Cooke, rector. From West Wittering— Rev. W. D. Underwood, vicar. Mr. James Gorham, churchwarden, owner and occupier of 400 acres. Mr. Thomas Harris, guardian, owner and occu- pier of 300 acres. From West Itchenor— Rev. A. Fuller, rector. Mr. John Halsted, churchwarden and guardian, ~ and occupier of 400 acres. The chair was taken by Rev. J. W. Miller, rector of Birdham. The land in Birdham (about 1,800 acres cultivated) belongs to several owners, The largest is the Duke of Richmond, who owns about 200 acres. Most of the owners are non-resident. The size of the farms varies from 20 acres to 300. There is about a suffi- cient supply of resident labourers. People are rarely out-of employ, even in the winter, though they used to be. ‘The change is attributable partly to a diminu- tion in the population and partly to improved methods of cultivation requiring more labour. / - The cottages are sufficient in number, and there is no great amount of dilapidation ; but very few have three bedrooms. They are constructed chiefly of brick and stone, or boulders from the shore, and tiled or thatched. Most have good gardens of from 12 to, 20 rods. . There are no allotments. The rent ranges from 27. 10s. to. (in a few cases) 51. The majority of the cottages belong to the landowners, and are. let with the farms. There has not been much recent cottage building in Birdham. . The school in Birdham (called the Manhood school, from the name of the hundred) was built in 1817 by subscription, at a cost of 350/., and was intended for the six parishes of East and West Wittering, West Itchenor, Earnley, Sidlesham, and Birdham. West Wittering and West Itchenor have now schools of their own, but the Manhood school still supplies the wants of the rest of the district. There are at present on its register from— — Boys. Girls. Total. Birdham - - 26 20 46 Sidlesham = - - 24 25 49 Earnley - - 5 6 11 East Wittering 10 6 16 West Wittering - 7 1 8 , da 9. 58 130 and the ordinary attendance is between 80 and 90. The school is under an untrained master, who has been in charge 31 years, assisted by a sewing mistress, and is maintained by voluntary subscriptions, which amount to about 40/.; the children’s pence are about 162. There is no other source of income. The school is considered adequate to the wants of the parish. There is a private adventure dame’s school, attended by a few young children. There is no night school. The schoolmaster has made several attempts, but they did not succeed, owing to the apathy of the people. The Duke of Richmond is the largest owner of land (about 230 acres) in East Wittering. There are a great many small proprietors. There is a sufficiency of labour, except perhaps in harvest time. The cottages generally are reported to be in good con- dition, but some are decidedly deficient in sleéping EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN accommodation. All are believed to have gardens. The rent much the same as at Birdham, 4/. 10s. being the maximum ; they chiefly belong to the landowners, and there have been no recent improvements in their condition. The Manhood school serves the purposes of East Wittering. There are two private dames’ schools, attended by about 30 children, who pay 3d. a week. There is no night school. The land in West Wittering belongs to several landowners (none owning more than 300 acres), most of whom are resident. The Great Tithes (said to be worth 800/. a year) and a farm of about 250 acres form part of the endowment of the Blue Coat school (Oliver Whitby’s charity) in Chichester. ‘The trus- tees built the school in West Wittering, keep it in repair, and subscribe 201. a year to its maintenance. The supply of labour is hardly equal at times to the wants of the farmers, but there is no great deficiency. There is, however, a short supply of cottages, in con- sequence of the number occupied by the coast-guard, of whom there are 26 resident families, The Admi- ralty only provide houses for 18 of these families. The consequence is that the rent in East Wittering ranges high, from 27, 12s. to 62. 10s., the latter being an amount beyond the means of the agricultural labourer. Most of the cottages have two bedrooms, but several have only one, and very few have three. There is a school, built about 14 years ago by the Whitby trustees, not receiving Government aid, under a trained mistress, with 55 or 60 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance between 40 and 50. There is a considerable fluctuation in the num- bers, in consequence of changes in the coast-guard. The total cost of the school is about 45/. a year, the mistress’s salary being 40. © There are two private schools, in which about 20 children are taught. One of these claims to be a somewhat superior school, The vicar conducted a night school for three or four winters, but has given it up, as most of his scholars went to sea or removed, and no recruits have appeared to take their place. He could get no assist- ance in conducting it. There are three landowners in West Itchenor, none of whom is resident. The land is let in three prin- cipal farms. There is hardly enough resident labour for cultivating the land, as many of the people follow: the sea. What more is required is imported from West Wittering and Birdham, but the men have no excessive distance to come to their work. There are upwards of 30 cottages, mostly clustered into a street. Many of them are wooden structures, put up for a temporary purpose while some ship- building was going on. They have since been con- verted into cottages, but are not properly habitable by a. family ; many of them have only one bedroom, and families are huddled together in a way which makes decency impossible. The cottages that go with the farms are very decent, and mostly have three bedrooms. , : The condition of the timber cottages has been reported upon by the sanitary inspector, but no im- provement has taken place in their condition. Rent ranges from 21. 10s. to 6l. 10s. The higher rented cottages are not occupied by agricultural labourers. There is a school, built on the glebe, and belong- ing to the rector. It has been maintained about 18 years. The teacher is an elderly woman, who receives the school pence, all materials being supplied by the tector.. The school fee is 3d. for one child, 14d. for a second, and Id. for any other per week. There are about 35 children in attendance, most of whom are infants. A man conducts a private school in the parish, which is attended by from a dozen to 20 older chil- dren, not all belonging to West Itchenor parish, The children pay 6d. a week. There is no night school. London clay forms the bed of this district, the cul- tivated soil being a loam of good quality. The rent IN: AGRICULTURE '(1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE: ranges from 30s. to 40s. an acre. weekly wage at present is 13s. after horses and sheep get 15s. Female labour is not much employed. The women generally "are not disposed to work on the land, except in harvest or an occasional job of piece-work. There is very little grass land that is mown, most of the pasture being marsh. When a woman does work, she gets 8d., 10d., or Is. a day. Young girls are searcely, if ever, employed in field-work in these parishes ; they generally get out to service. © The meeting were unanimously of opinion that the half-time system (whether half-day or ‘alternate whole day) is entirely inapplicable to agricultural employ- ments. Boys are rarely taken to work in this dis- trict under 9 or 10. In large ‘families the earnings of the children are so important to the parents that they are often removed from school to work when the parents would have wished their education to be con- tinued for a longer period. , The meeting, therefore, are of opinion that if any legislation takes place on the subject, and children are prohibited from going to work on the land under a certain age, that age should not exceed 10. Five gentlemen would prefer 9, and that any such prohi- bition should be accompanied by a dispensing power which should prevent its operating as a hardship in the case of large families. 7 oe It is the unanimous wish of. the meeting that every labouring man should at least be able to read and write. The limited extent to which female labour is em- ployed in this district is not such as, in the opinion of the meeting, to call for any legislative interference. Nov. 25, 1867. J. W. Mituer, Chairman. Th. standing The men who look No. 73. Tuesday, November 26, 1867. Collective Meeting at North Mundham, for plerth \. Pop., 426 - Acr., 1,882 - R.V., 3,6207. Mundham Donnington - Pop., 183 - Acr., 1,029 - R.V., 1,890. New A . _RY ol. ee aa Pop. 841 - Aer, 610 - R.V., 2,08 Pagham - Pop., 988 - Acr., 4,376 - R.V., 7,230/. Hunston - Pop., 176 - Acr., 1,003 - R.V., 1,640/. Appledram - Pop., 129 - Acr., 1,197 - R.V., 1,600/. Present at Meeting : From North Mundham— Rev. C. D. Holland, vicar. Mr. Sidney Smith, schoolmaster. ; Mr. George Donner, waywarden and occupier of 270 acres. Mr. F. Heath, relieving officer. Mr, Charles Chitty, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 300 acres. . Mr. W. Hollingdale, landowner and occupier of 150 acres. From New Fishbourn— No representative. From Donnington— No representative. From Pagham— Rev. R.-Barker, vicar. John Bayton, Esq., magistrate, landowner, and occupier of 370 acres. Mr. Henry Upton, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 1,000 acres. ; Mr. Edwin Herington, guardian and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. Robert Penny, schoolmaster. From Hunston-— ; Mr. Alfred Cosens, churchwarden and occupier of 400 acres. From Appledram— ; Rev. R.A. L. Nunns, incumbent. Mr. E. Fogden, guardian, churchwarden, and occupier of 200 acres. The chair was taken-by John Bayton, Esq.” . 93 In North Mundham the land belongs to six or seven proprietors of whom four own upwards of 200 acres. Only one of the chief landowners is resident. There is barely sufficient labour available for the cultivation of the land. The parish being only two miles from Chichester, several of the men work there. The cottages in number. are about adequate to the population. They are in tolerable repair, and nearly all of them have two bed-chambers; a few have three. The vicar is not aware of any cases of over- crowding. They all have gardens; but there are no allotments. The gardens range in size from 15 to 40 rods. The rent of most cottages is 2s, a week ; but a considerable number are let at 1s. 6d. The majority of them belong to small proprietors. They are mostly clustered into hamlets, of which there are five in the parish. They are not generally let with the farms, but are held direct on weekly tenure from the owners. There is a parochial school, under the management of the vicar, not in receipt of Government aid, taught by an untrained master, who has been in charge of it for 14 years, assisted by a sewing mistress. It serves for the two parishes of North Mundham and Hunston, which, though separately maintaining their poor, are ecclesiastically united. There are 94 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of from 60 to 70. The attendance yesterday was 68. The school takes in .a few children from an outlying hamlet of Pagham, The annual cost of maintaining the school is about 557. The school fee is ld. a week; and the amount derived from this source last year was 141. The difference is made up by voluntary subscriptions ; and no difficulty is experienced in maintaining the school, which the vicar considers quite adequate to the wants of the parish. There is no night school. It was attempted for one winter, but did not succeed. . The failure is attributed to the young men fancying that they already possessed sufficient education; most of them could read and write. The land in Pagham belongs to several owners, of whom the largest are non-resident. The farms vary in size from 100 to 1,000 acres ; 400 acres is con- sidered, on the average, a large farm. There used to be a sprinkling of fishermen in the parish, but they have disappeared, and all the people at present are employed on the land. The supply of labour is barely sufficient; such a thing as a good labourer out of work, except for his own fault, is never seen. Some of the cottages are very old, and not in the best state of repair. There are about 130 in the parish. Not many have three bed-rooms, but most have two. When they are attached to the farms they are generally let at ls. a week; otherwise the rent ranges from 1s. 6d. to 2s. Some are even let as high as 2s. 6d.; but these are rarely occupied by agri- cultural labourers. ! oe There is a National school, nominally managed by a committee, but really under the direction of the vicar. Not in connexion with Government ; taught by a trained master, assisted by his wife and son. There are 94 names on the register, and an average daily attendance of 68. The teachers’ stipends amount to 60/., and the extra expenditure would be 102. or 154. The school pence (the fee varying from ld. to 4d. a week, according to the means of the parents and the number of children out of a single family,) have averaged 30/.a year. The voluntary subscriptions range from 302 to 40/., and are raised without difficulty. , The school building is central ; but the area of the parish is large, parts of it being distant at least three miles from the school. The quality of the instruction is quite sufficient for the needs of the parish. There are two private dames’ schools attended by about.30 children, which supply the place of an infant school and are considered to be useful. wey ‘ 'There.is a night. school conducted by the master, M 2 Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a Sussex. Rey. J. Fraser. a 94 attended by about 10 lads who ure very regular in attendance and take interest in their work. In Appledram there are four landowners, none of whom is resident. There are three resident occupiers. There is generally a sufficient supply of labour, some of it coming from Chichester and New Fishbourn. The population at present is only 100, but out of the 24 houses (including farms) four are now vacant, These vacant cottages are in a dilapidated condition and require repair, which is likely to be done, to make them habitable. The cottages generally are fair, though two or three are very small. The incumbent does not remember any case of overcrowding. Most of the cottages are in the hands of the farmers and are let at ls. a week. There are no allotments, but all the cottages (except three) have a garden, generally a good one. There is only a Sunday school at Appledram, held in the clerk’s house. The children attend, the younger ones at Donnington distant three-quarters of a mile, the older at Chichester which is from one to two mites off. There was no gentleman present resident in Don- nington, but the following information was gathered from Mr. Fogden and the relieving officer. Nearly all the land belongs to Charles Crosbie, Esq., who is non-resident, but takes a great interest in the condition of the parish. He is a large restorer of coitages and he built the school-house. The relieving officer does not believe there is a bad cottage in the parish. Those belonging to Mr. Crosbie are let at 1s. a week. A few others also in very good condition are let at 2s. There is a fairly sufficient supply of labour. The school is supported by voluntary subscriptions ; is kept in a good room, taught by a mistress, not assisted by Government, managed by the curate, and attended by about 40 children. There is not believed to be a night school. There was no one present to represent New Fish- bourn, which is a parish of small area adjoining Chichester. The principal landowner is Francis Smith, Esq., of Salt Hill. He maintains a school, which though situated in Bosham parish is close to New Fishbourn and is intended for the accommoda- tion of its children. The relieving officer considers the cottages on the whole to be very good, many of them have three bed- rooms. The rent varies from 1s. 6d. to 2s. and 2s. 6d. a week; but a large proportion of the population are not of the agricultural labourer class. The soil in these parishes is mostly a rich loam, resting on the London clay ; some of it rests on gravel, some on sand, and some on chalk. It is good, rich land, growing good grain and root crops, and letting at from 30s. to 40s. per statute acre. A crop of wheat would average eight sacks to the acre. The standing weekly wage at present is 13s., carters receiving 13s. and house rent free ; shepherds 14s. with a house, besides their perquisites at lambing. It is estimated that an efficient labourer of 30 years of age earns at least 40J. in the course of the year. The practice of the district is to pay day labourers their wages all the same whether the weather is wet or dry ; but of course piece-work is affected by weather. There is always employment for married women on the land who care to work ; since wages have risen they are found less disposed than they used to be to work in the fields. Except in haymaking and harvest it would not interfere very seriously with the cultivation of the land if none were employed. Young girls are hardly ever employed in the fields; and the employment of them is considered highly un- desirable, and is much discouraged by the board of guardians. Only the most thriftless mothers would allow their girls to work in the fields. Boys are rarely taken to work regularly on a farm before 9 or 10. At 10 the farmers are glad to get them, as there is a scarcity of boy-labour in consequence of the number who go to sea. They are occasionally taken to scare birds or tend sheep at as early an age EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN as eight. A rook-scaring boy would earn 4d. a day ; a carter’s boy (each carter who has the care of four horses requiring the help of such a boy), earns 6d., 8d., and 10d. a day, according to age and strength. The summer ploughing is done with two horses; the autumn ploughing by three (two abreast and a leader) and then a boy is required to drive them; and if there are two or three pair-horse ploughs at work in a field a boy is required between them. Boys, in this district, being exclusively employed about animals which require daily attention, and there being no redundancy of boy labour, any attempt to apply the half-time system of the Factory Acts to the regulation of such employment with a view to the better education of such children, must either be im- practicable, or could only be enforced to the utter derangement of agricultural operations. Again, the teams are at work throughout the year, so that there is no slack time of which advantage could be taken for the purpose of enabling the boys em- ployed about them to attend school, It is the opinion of the meeting also, that in this district owing to the scattered character of the popula- tion, the night school can never be made an efficient instrument of carrying on or completing an interrupted education. At the same time the meeting unanimously and strongly desire that every labouring man in the king- dom should be able to read and write. To secure these results, they are prepared to recommend that security should be taken, by legislation, that all children in an agricultural district should attend school for at least five years up to the age of 10; that the main stress of the teaching should be thrown on the reading and writing, more especially on the reading ; but that if any prohibition is placed upon their employ- ment, that prohibition should not extend beyond the age of 10. -Pop., 480- Acr.,1,157 - R.V., 2,9541. Redwick Present at Meeting : From Olveston— Rev. Robert Hiles, curate. Mr. Danvers Ward, landowner. Mr. Edward Meredith, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier of 390 acres. Mr. Benjamin Pool, waywarden and occupier of 800 acres. 7 Mr. Henry Williams, guardian and occupier of 180 acres. Mr. Joseph Gifford, waywarden and occupier of 120 acres. Mr. James King, occupier of 300 acres. Mr. John Churchill, landowner and occupier of 5 acres. O04 Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser, a. Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 114 Mr. Wm. Olive, carpenter. Mr. Wm. Wilkes, certificated schoolmaster. From Elberton— Rev. J. K. Charleton, vicar and landowner in Olverston. Mr. John Alpass, churchwarden, guardian, and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. George Wintle, churchwarden and occupier of 190 acres. From Aust, Northwick, and Redwick— Rev. R. W. Vigors, curate and lecturer. Mr. W. Bennett, guardian, landowner, and occupier of 240 acres. Mr. W. Parrott, churchwarden and occupier of 15 acres (resident gentleman). The chair was taken by Rev. J. K. Caarirron, Vicar of Elberton. In Olveston the land is in many hands, the chief proprietors being A. G. Fullerton, Esq., R. C. Lippin- cott, Esq., H. T. Salmon, Esq., Rev. C. Cleaver Peach, and T. J. Ward, Esq., of whom only Mr. Ward is resident. There is a sufficient supply of labour for the culti- vation of the land, and generally there is sufficient work for all the able-bodied labourers in the parish. Labour has to be imported in the summer for hay- making. From the Wiltshire corn districts, when their own clover and rye-grass crops have been got in, men come here for a second turn of haymaking, going back for their own corn harvest. Some labourers also come from the districts of Iron Acton and Framp- ton Cotterell who are ordinarily employed in the quarries. Many Olveston men cross the Severn to take harvest work in Monmouthshire, which is about a fortnight earlier than the harvest here. There are from 200 to 250 cottages in the parish, of which the majority were lifeholds, which have been falling into the hands of the lord of the manor; but itis estimated that there are still about 50 cottagers held by this tenure. They are reported generally to be in fair condition. A considerable number, perhaps 30, have been erected within the last 10 years, most of which have been built upon specuiation with borrowed money. Three or four of the principal landowners have also erected some substantial cottages. The majority of the cottages, but not all, have gardens ranging in size from 10 to 40 perches; 15 to 20 perches would be the ordinary size. There is a con- siderable number of allotments in the parish, varying very much in size. About 20 acres are let in parcels of 40 perches each, at about 3d.a perch. There are also from 40 to 50 allotments of from two to four acres a-piece, held by those rather above the class of labourers, who mostly keep a horse and cart and grow wheat, potatoes, and vegetables. ‘The land is generally let at a considerably higher rate than the adjoining farms,—at from 3/. to 4/. an acre, and even more,—and is said to have deteriorated under this mode of cultiva- tion. But the plan, though not improving the con- dition of the land, is thought to improve the condition of the people who occupy it. Cottage rents are high in Olveston ; they are seldom under 51,, and frequently rise as high as G/. or 71. There is a mixed National school, in an excellent room, in connexion with Government, under a certifi- cated master and mistress, with 140 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 85 to 90. Its total annual cost is about 170/., inclusive of the Government grant, which last year amounted to 421. The voluntary subscriptions amount to 70/.; the school pence to 40/.; when there is a deficiency it is made up by a collection in church, The school is thoroughly efficient. There is also an infant school, attended by 115 or 120 children, which has been just placed in connexion with Government, and is taught by a certificated mistress. The annual cost of this school is about 80/. Both these schools serve for the combined parishes EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN of Olveston and Elberton, the latter parish being about a mile distant. There are also two private adventure dame’s schools, attended by upwards of 30 children, mostly of younger e. ave is a night school taught by the curate and a volunteer friend, and regularly attended by 18 scholars, varying in age from 15 to 25. Last winter the school was conducted by the certificated master assisted by two or three volunteers, It was opened for six months, and about 40 scholafs entered their names. But the attendance was very irregular, especially after Christ- mas, and dwindled at last to eight or nine. The schoolmaster does not consider it to have been success- ful, owing to the want of interest evinced by the pupils. All of the scholars could read and write ; and about one-third of them could read and write well. [This parish enjoys unusual educational advantages in having for its vicar the Rev. H. Moseley, Canon of Bristol, and late one of Her Majesty’s inspectors of schools, who was prevented by illness from being present at the meeting. ] Tn Elberton the chief proprietor is R. C. Lippincott, Esq. ; another landowner has about 230 acres, and there are two or three other smaller proprietors, None of the landowners are resident in the parish. There is a deficiency of resident labourers, in con- sequence partly of the inadequate supply of cottages, and partly of the large allotment system described in Olveston, which also prevails in Elberton, and which furnishes the people with another way of gaining their livelihood. There are only 22 cottages in the parish, and of these only 13 are occupied by labourers working for wages on the land. Representations have been made to the landowners that the labour supply is deficient but no steps have yet been taken to build, nor any promise made of building, additional cottages. The cottages all belong to one landowner, who keeps them entirely in his own hand, Not a single cottage is attached to the farms, and on one estate of 230 acres there is not a single cottage. The farmers con- sequently cannot command a house for their carters or stockmen, and feel the disadvantage of the arrange- ment. Mr. Wintle’s carter lives 2$ miles from his stable. The cottages are generally in very good con- dition, and a fair proportion of them have three cham- bers. Elberton suffers now from having been treated as a close parish under the old system. Ten addi: tional cottages would be no redundant supply. The average rent of cottages in Elberton is 5/. The allot- ments are half an acre, one acre, and two acres in size, Four fields of 80 acres are let in parcels of three, four, and five acres each. This parcel of ground is sublet. The Elberton children attend Olveston school ; about 20 children so attend. There are only 31 labourers’ children, of all ages under 11, in the parish. Aust, Northwick, and Redwick are three tithings of the large parish of Henbury (which itself is in the Clifton union). About half the land in Aust belongs to Mr. Lippincott, the rest in the three tithings is divided among several proprietors. There is a redundancy of labour, the land being chiefly in grass. There are no unemployed men, however, those who don’t get work in their own parish finding employment in the neighbourhood. In Northwick there are only five cottages to about 500 acres of land; in Aust there is a sufficient supply, but there is a deficiency of accommodation ; in Redwick there isa redundancy. About 20 new cottages, of a very superior class to the old ones (which are mise- rable), have been recently erected or are in course of erection. The railway, which runs through the parish and has a station in it, called “ The New Passage,” is believed to have led to the erection of these new cottages, A row of nine has been built by the com- pany for the use of their own servants. Rents are high, ranging from 4. to 52. Most have a fair supply of garden ground. There is one school for the three tithings, and two infant schools, The central school is an endowed free IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. school, with 70 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 60. The endowment is 721. a year, arising from land. It is under a very competent trained master, assisted by his sister to teach sewing. Theréare 40 children free, The vacancies are filled up by examination (in reading only) of the junior children, As soon as they are admitted on the foun- dation the attendance of the children is observed to become more irregular. Children can rarely be retained beyond the age of 10. Children not on the foundation pay ld. to 3d. a week, according to the means of their parents. The school is held in a good buildng, to which a teacher’s residence is attached. The infant schools are kept by two dames in their cottages. They are attended by about 40 children. More would come if there were room for them. The dames take the school pence, at the rate of 1d. a week, and out of the endowment the trustees pay to the mistress at Aust 15/. a year, and to the Redwick dame 5/. The endowment of all three schools comes from land at Henbury, and is administered by three trustees, who transfer the management of the school to the curate. There was a night school in 1864 and 1865, but it did not answer, in consequence of want of interest, irregular attendance, and the distance the scholars had to travel. It was given up in 1866, and has not been resumed since. The district composing these parishes is mainly one of dairy farms, The low lands adjacent to the Severn are almost entirely in grass. The occupations vary very much in size; the farms range from 30 to 400 acres, but the ordinary size of most farms would be from 80 to 100 acres. The land is very variable also ; the low lands are alluvial and of a good quality, letting at about 45s. an acre, and producing from 25 to 80 ewt. of hay per acre. The stock kept is about a cow to every three acres. On the slopes and hills a larger proportion of the land is under tillage, and if well farmed will pro- duce seven, eight, and nine sacks of wheat to the acre. The betier land is farmed principally on a three-course system, wheat, followed by potatoes, swedes, or mangolds, and that succeeded by beans or peas ; on the lighter lands a four-course system is pursued; on the large allotments two courses only, wheat and potatoes, are the usual cultivation. The extent to which women are employed in this district on the farms is very inconsiderable. They are not found to be inclined to go, and it is not the custom of the country to employ them, but of course the dairy employs women in farmhouses. The milking is done by men, women, and boys, mixed. In haymaking, when the grass is let to mow and make, a-woman will assist her husband, but in the corn harvest all they do is at glean. Young girls are searcely ever seen at work on the land, except it be upon their parents’ allotment. The standing weekly wage of an able-bodied labourer at the present time is 12s. a week, in some cases with cider, valued at 1s. a week, in addition. A carter’s wages are 13s. a week and cider, and this may be taken as representing the maximum earnings of an able-bodied farm labourer in constant employ. The corn harvest is generally taken at per acre to cut, tie, and stick up. The price this year was from 7s. to 10s. per acre, with cider. The recognized allowance of cider is three gallons per acre. Boys are not of much value before 10 or 11, and they generally begin their experience in work under the eye of their father or elder brother. A boy would earn 2s. a week at first, when employed to scare birds, and 3s. as soon as he was old and strong enough to drive plough. If ie ievislatare were to say that no boy under 12 should work for more than 10 hours a day, with an allowance of 14 hours for meals, such restriction (ex- cept in the seasons of haymaking and harvest) would not produce any inconvenience to the employer, and the opinion of the meeting is that this amount of labour 2. 115 is as much as should be demanded from a boy of that age. The employment of women in this district is not such as to require, in the opinion of this meeting, any legislative restrictions or interference. The meeting consider that the half-day system of the Factory Acts would be inapplicable to agriculture, on the ground of the distance at which in many cases the boys’ work would lie from the school ; and neither this nor the alternate whole-day system could be worked in any district where there was not a sufficient supply of boys to work them in relays. A considerable number of boys in Olveston school go to work in the summer and return to school for two, three, or four months in the winter, but the schoolmaster’s experience is that they make no pro- gress, and that many of them cannot even be kept to the level which they had reached when they left school. The intervening period of work appears to have dulled the sharpness of their intellects, and to indis- pose them to learn. The bent of their mind is turned in another direction. Mr. Wilkes considers that he could produce by far better educational results by keeping boys regularly at school till 10 or 11, than by letting them go at an earlier age and having them return at intermittent periods. He thinks that a boy kept regularly at school till 11 years of sage would be able to pass av examination in the Government fifth standard, and that being able to pass in that standard he would have acquired a power of reading which he would not afterwards readily lose. Instead, therefore, of adopting any of the principles of the Factory Acts to a condition of things to which in the judgment of this meeting they are inapplicable, the gentlemen present would desire to see an age fixed below which labour should be prohibited, and up to which attendance at school should be required. As far as the employment of the boys is concerned, and their value to the farmer, there would be no serious embarrassment caused if this age were fixed at 11 ; but the meeting consider that an absolute restric- tion to this effect (without any exemption) would in many cases inflict a very serious hardship upon large families. The meeting desire to press upon the attention of landowners the duty of supplyiug their estates with an adequate number of cottages for the proper culti- vation of the land, and upon the owners of cottage property generally the duty of seeing that the cottages for which they receive rent should be sufficiently provided with chamber accommodation to allow of the families who inhabit them to be brought up in habits of decency, which in the present condition of things is often impossible. J. K. Cuarieton, Chairman. Olveston, Jan. 6th, 1868. No. 85. Tuesday, January 7, 1868. Collective Meeting at Alveston, for Alveston - Pop., 841 - Acr., 2,518 . V.R., 4,425/, ee ee 1,864 - Acr., 6,926 - R.V., 12,7201. Tyther- bop, 442 - Acr., 2,258 - R.V., 4,1951. ington Present at Meeting : From Alveston— Rev. John Rawes, perpetual curate. W. H. Honnywill, Esq., guardian, landowner, and occupier of 11 acres. Major Charlewood, magistrate and landowner. Mr. W. H. Brown, solicitor. Mr. Wm. Jones, overseer and occupier of 250 acres. Mr. Henry Young, churchwarden and occupier of 220 acres. From Almondsbury— Rev. T. Murray Browne, vicar. Rey. Frederick Harrison, curate. Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a Gloucester. Rev. a . Eraser. ——_—_ £ a 116 Mr. John Gayner, guardian and occupier of 230 acres. Mr. Jacob Thomas, occupier of 200 acres. Mr. James Thomas, waywarden and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. Wm. Young, occupier of 280 acres. Mr. Henry Carter, occupier of 350 acres. Mr. Charles Gunter, occupier of 180 acres. From Tytherington— Mr. John Hewett, occupier of 250 acres. Mr. Thomas Smith, overseer and occupier of 100 acres. Mr. John Tyler, guardian and occupier of 320 acres, Mr. Samuel Cox Pullen, churchwarden and oc- cupier of 120 acres. Mr. James Smith, occupier of 60 acres. The chair was taken by Mayor CHARLEWOOD. In Alveston the principal landowners are A. G. Ful- lerton, Esq. (about 400 acres) ; the representatives of Sir John Willoughby; Mr. F. Granger ; Mr. Thomas Bush. There are also several smaller proprietors. The landowners generally are non-resident. The larger farms range in size from 200 to 250 acres; the smaller occupations range from 30 to 100 acres. With the exception of from 40 to 50 families, com- posed of shopkeepers, tradesmen, and artisans, the population (which is at a standstill) is exclusively agricultural and employed in the cultivation of the land. There is no redundant supply of labourers willing to work constantly on the land. Mr. Rawes wants to find a constant labourer at this moment, but cannot do so. He has spoken to two men, who seem to prefer the chance of earning higher wages during the summer to being tied to constant work all the year round. The cottages are mostly built of stone, with stone floors, and tiled. Many of them belong to the people themselves --ho occupy them, and are believed to be somewhat deeply mortgaged. The generality of the cottages have two bedrooms. Most have gardens, varying in size from 20 to 80 perches. It is the habit of many of the farmers to let a certain quantity of land, perhaps half an acre or even more, which they plough and manure for their labourers to grow potatoes, usually charging at the rate of 40. to 52. an acre. The men sell the potatoes, and in this way utilize their spare hours in a profitable industry. The ordinary rent of the cottages is from 41. to 51. They are mostly let on a yearly tenure, and the owners retain the control of them in their own hands. Only a small proportion of them belong to the owners of the land. Some renting farmers, though only holding their land on yearly tenure, without the security of a lease, have bought cottages for the convenience of having a place in which to house their labourers. There is a mixed school, conveniently situated for the bulk of the population (which is distributed into two or three hamlets), in connexion with Government, under a certificated master assisted by a sewing mis- tress, with 94 names on the register and an ordinary attendance of 47. The annual cost is about 672; the subscriptions are about 29/.; the school fee 131. 10s. ; the Government grant 19/.12s. The school fee is 2d. for the first child of a family, and 1d. each for the rest. The are two or three private adventure dames’ schools, attended in the aggregate by about 45 chil- dren, chiefly those who would find it difficult to travel to the parish school. The schoolmaster attempted a night school (single handed) this winter. Twelve scholars entered their names. The school was to be opened from 7 to 9, three nights a week, at a charge of 8d. The attend- ance was pretty regular for a fortnight, then dwindled, and the school has been closed. Only one of the 12 could read fairly well, In Almondsbury there are’ four large’ proprietors, Col. Master, R. C. Lippincott, Esq.; A. G. Fullerton, EMPLOYMENT OF ‘CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Esq.,'and John Bengough, Esq. There are probably. 40 or 50 small owners of properties, varying in size from 100 acres to five. Col. Master is the only resident landowner. : The parish runs into very narrow corners, and the houses in which the labouring population live are not distributed in the way most convenient to the farms ; hence in some parts of the parish there is felt to be a deficiency of labour. In the tithing of Gaunt’s Earthcott, which contains 700 acres, there is only.a population of 41. The population of the parish is believed to be increasing to a slight extent. | ‘ About 60 people (10 men, 20 women, and 30 boys) are employed in a large brickyard. These 60 people represent 14 families ; there are further two tailors, five butchers, five shoemakers, eight carpenters, four blacksmiths, nine publicans, 10 hauliers; the rest of the people are agricultural labourers. There is a short supply of labourers willing to work constantly on the land; Mr. Thomas has to import labourers from Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne. This deficiency of labour is chiefly felt in the outlying parts of the parish ; in other parts of the parish (Compton and the Marsh district), mainly in grass land, and somewhat thickly populated, there is some surplus of labour. The parish is stated to be nine miles in length and 25 miles in circuit. 5 The condition of the cottages varies considerably. The generality have only two bedrooms ; a very few, if any, have three. There are also very few cases of cottages occupied by a family with only one bed- chamber. On the estates of Col. Master and Mr, Lip- pincott there is an adequate proportion of cottages to the land, but the estates of Mr. Bengough and Mr. Fullerton are insufficiently supplied; on 700 acres belonging to Mr. Bengough there are only resi- dences for eight families. The rent ranges from 32. to 51, according to size of the cottage and garden. xe Where the cottages belong to small proprietors th rent often rises to 5/. and 7/. In many parts of the parish there is a bad supply of water, owing to the geological character of the. soil. Last summer in many places both the springs and ponds were dry, and people had to fetch their water from a distance of three miles. This state of things prevails more or less in the district generally. aid The drainage also, in parts of the parish, is de- fective. There are about 40 acres of allotments, let in par- cels of a quarter and half an acre. The farmers also allow their labourers potato grounds on the farm. Mr. Carter’s plan is to plough and manure the land, while the labourer finds the seed, plants, works,:and gets the crop, which is then shared equally between the two. ‘ There are three parochial schools. One in Almonds- bury village, receiving annual aid from Government, under a certificated master and mistress, mixed, with 1 a names on the register and an ordinary attendance of 90. There is a second school at Patchway, under a cer- tificated mistress; 60 children on the books and an average attendance of 40. In the tithing of Over there is a mixed school, under two untrained mistresses, entirely supported by Mr. and Mrs. Lippincott. It has 60 names on the register, with an attendance of 35. There are also two subsidized dames’ schools in outlying hamlets, with about 34 children on the books, and an attendance of 20. The annual cost of the Almondsbury School is about 130/., of that at Patch- way about 601 About 35/. is annually subscribed towards the support of the schools; the feoffees of some church land contribute 45/. out of the funds at their disposal to the same object. The vicar makes up any deficiency. . Thereisa night school conducted by the schoolmaster, _ assisted by the curate.’ It opened this winter with 30 scholars, but the number has been reduced since Christmas to 15. All of them can read and write, IN, AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, It. is kept. for, five. nights, in. the week, and works successfully. — The land in Tytherington belongs to several owners. The principal, are the trustees of the late Thomas Hardwicke, Esq., and, Mr. Honnywill. They are not resident in the parish, though Mr, Honnywill resides in the next parish. There is a sufficient supply of labour and of cot- tages. The cottages are mostly in good condition, though it is not believed that there is more than one with three bedrooms. Two-thirds of them belong to the Hardwicke estate. They are let with gardens, at rents varying from 2/. 12s. to 52. 10s., depending on the size of house and garden. In Tytherington there is a good supply of water, and the drainage is good. There is.at present no school in Tytherington, and there never has been anything more than a private adventure dame’s school, which was discontinued last March in consequence of the death of the dame. The children that go to school attend either at Thornbury or Cromhall, each of which places is about two miles distant. ; There is no night school, and the only educa- tional agencies in the parish are the Sunday schools attached to the church and Baptist chapel respec- tively. A carter’s wages in this district are 13s. a week with a cottage rent-free, and perhaps half an acre of land. He would have a gratuity of 20s. at har- vest, and this would be equal to the maximum wages of au agricultural labourer earned in the district. A woman’s wages are 10d. or 1s. a day, A boy begining to drive plough is worth 6d. a day. It was the opinion of the majority of the meeting that a boy is not fit to begin to drive plough before he is 10 years of age ; one gentleman present thought it not safe to begin before 11. It is the unanimous opinion of the meeting that any attempt to apply the principles of the Factory Acts to the case of employment of children in agri- culture, in the sense of requiring them to attend school in any of the ways specified in those Acts, to as high an age as 13, would inflict serious hardship upon the parents, would embarrass the farmer in the cultivation of the land, and would even be likely to lessen the future . efficiency of the child as a labourer. In the interests of education, therefore, in the widest sense, the meeting would prefer to see an age fixed upon below which it should be unlawful to employ a child on the land, taking security at the same time that the child attended school. “The age at which the restriction upon. labour should cease, it was considered, should be 10. Jt was the opinion of the employers of labour present that if vexatious restrictions were placed on the em- ‘ployment of boys it would lead to the disuse of such ‘boys in farm labour, and possibly to the substitution of women for them; and it was thought generally that any such substitution would act very unfavourably upon the moral and social condition of the people. - The meeting are fully alive to the importance of providing the labourer with a decent home. They consider that every estate ought to be supplied with an adequate number of cottages to accommodate the ‘labourers employed on that estate ; and that every cottage ought to be so far superintended that the number of its inmates should be proportioned to its ‘capacity for accommodating them with decency. Signed in behalf of the meeting, J. CHARLEWOOD, Chairman. January 7, 1868. No. 86, Friday, January 10, 1868, Collective Meeting at Thornbury, for “Thornbury - Pop., 2,544 Acr., 8,300-R.V., 20, 500 if ‘Oldbury © - Pop., 1,000 ; Littleton - Pop. 195>Acr, 911-R.V., 1,6381. 117 b Present at Meeting : From Thornbury— Rev. M. F. Townsend, vicar and magistrate. Mr. Charles Cullimore, vice-chairman of board of guardians, landowner, and occupier of. 300 acres. ; Mr. Joseph Young Sturge, churchwarden, and land surveyor. Mr, William Till, churchwarden, guardian, land- owner, and occupier of 300 acres. i Mr. Thomas Till, landowner and occupier of 300 acres. Mr. Thomas Fill, certificated schoolmaster. Mr. Thomas Bailey, certificated schoolmaster. Mr. John Thurston, mayor of Thornbury. Mr. Joseph Weeks, collector of taxes and occu- pier of 110 acres. Mr. Charles Anstey, occupier of 150 acres. Mr. O. E. Thurston, solicitor. From Oldbury— Rey. J. Field, rector. From Littleton— No representative. The chair was taken by Rev. M. F. Townsenn. The chief landowners in Thornbury are Henry Howard, Esq. (about 1,000 acres), who is lord of the manor; Sir George Jenkinson, Bart. (under 400 acres); W. O. Maclaine, Esq. (500 acres); John Hatcher, Esq. (under 300 acres) ; Earl Ducie (under 200 acres). There may be also 50 owners of estates ranging trom 100 acres downwards, There is a sufficient supply of labour for the culti- vation of the land ; in fact, Thornbury supplies some of the adjoining parishes (such as Elberton, Hill, and Tortworth) with a portion of their labour. At the present moment there are several men out of work ; but they are mostly of the shifty or idle class. A large number of the cottages occupied by agricul- tural labourers were built, from 50 to 100 years ago, on strips of waste land, and are the property of their occu- piers, in some cases giving them a vote for the county. They are frequently mortgaged, but are not repre-~ sented as being in a bad state of repair, A very small proportion of the cottages belongs to the large landowners ; those that are not owned by the occu- piers are the property in most cases of small landlords, many of them tradesmen in the town. ‘The rent is high, ranging from 4/. to 5, a year. In the case of the higher rent there is probably a garden of 20 perches. The average size of the gardens would be 15 perches. There are many cottages that have searcely any garden worth speaking of. A few may have only one bedroom, but the majority have two. Not more than one in 20 are believed to have three bedrooms. There are in Thornbury three schools of the ele- mentary class :— (1.) A national school, mixed, under a certificated master, assisted by his wife (who has been trained) and two pupil-teachers. There are 161 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 104. The total annual cost is about 150/., of which 601. arises from Government grant, 30/. from school pence, and 60/. from annual subscriptions, including 104. col- lected at church. The chief landowners (with the exception of Mr. Howard) are not considered to support the school with with any great amount of liberality. The school is considered to be by the managers in a very. fair state of efficiency. (2.) A British school, not in connexion with Govern- ment, under an untrained master and mistress, held in a good building lately erected. There are about 140 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 100. It is attended by a considerable number of tradesmen’s children ; it is conveniently placed for the district of the town in which it lies; and of course it has its own attractions for nonconformists. (8.) A free school endowed with a house and garden and an estate now producing about 40. a year for P 2 Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser, a | I | Gloucester. Rev: J. Fraser. ee re a. 118 the free education of 12 girls and 24 boys. It is managed by trustees, who nominate the children to the foundation. The master is also allowed to take children as private scholars. The master is an aged man, and the school at present is not efficient. There are not believed to be more than a dozen scholars, and the school is rarely visited by the trustees. There are, perhaps, half a dozen or more private adventure dames’ schools for children of the labour- ing class, chiefly attended vy infants, many of them merely seni to be kept out of harm’s way. There is a night school, held at the national school, and taught by the schoolmaster without assistance, There are 18 scholars in attendance this winter. When the school was first started five years ago it was attended by 90 boys and girls, but it has been difficult to keep the interest alive. The average attendance this winter has already dwindled to six. The school is held three nights a week, and the fee is 1d. a night. The chief Jandowners in Oldbury are R. 8. Hol- ford, Esq., M.P. (about 500 acres); E. A. Sanders. Esq. (about 600 acres) ; Henry Howard, Esq. (about 150 acres) ; Mr. L. Curnock (about 400 acres). There is a considerable number of small proprietors. There is a sufficient supply of labour for the ordi- nary cultivation of the land; brickmaking, fishing, and boating furnish employment to a certain number of the people. The description of the cottages at Thornbury will apply almost verbatim to those at Oldbury, which bas been recently separated from Thornbury, and been made an independent ecclesiastical district. There is a national school, which is reported by Her Majesty’s inspector to be one of the best in his district. It is a mixed school under a certificated master, assisted by a sewing mistress and two paid monitors. The total annual cost is about 90/. There is a night school, conducted by the master, with 20 scholars enrolled, and about 10 in average attendance. There is also a very small dame’s school, attended by three or four children. No representative was present from Littleton ; but the results of a meeting held there on the previous day were communicated in a letter from the incum- bent to the assistant commissioner. Two-thirds or more of all the land in these parishes is in pasture, and the bulk of the farms are dairy farms, very few farms exceed 300 acres, aud a great number of the occupations are below 100 acres. The rent ranges from 30s. to 50s. an acre. Much of the land in Thornbury is of a light quality and can be ploughed with two horses abreast, but that in Oldbury and Littleton is stiffer, and requires three horses in line. It is considered that two and a half men and one boy would be about the adequate supply of labour for the cultivation of 100 acres (exclusive of harvest and haymaking). Women are not regularly employed, and there is a difficulty in getting them when they are required. Boys, and occasionally girls, are employed in potato planting and potato and apple picking, but they generally work at these jobs with their parents. The standing weekly wage of the district at present is lls. a week with two or three quarts of cider a day. Mr. Field recently offered a labouring man 12s, a week regularly through the year in all weathers, but without cider, and he refused, saying he could do better. A crow-keeping boy would begin at 2s. a week, with dinner on Sundays; a boy beginning to drive plough earns 6d. a day. A boy (except for an occasional job of bird-scaring or work with his parents) is rarely employed on a farm under 12 years of age; nor do they become of much real value before 14. It was the unanimous opinion of the meeting that either form of the half-time system, whether that of the half-day or of the alternate day, is quite inap- plicable to agriculture. Many of the farmers present EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN said they would rather do without boys altogether than employ them on such terms. Considering the age at which boys are usually employed in regular work on the farms of this dis- trict, the meeting think that there is abundance of time for their obtaining a good elementary education before the age at which their labour is required, if only their parents would avail themselves of the opportunities that are now so generally within their reach, and which in the parishes represented at this meeting are abundantly supplied. The meeting would rejoice if it were possible, without inflicting hardship upon the parents, to secure the regular attendance of all children at school up to the age of 12; and they feel that the great hindrance to successful education is the irregularity of the children who are supposed to be receiving it. The school managers and schoolmasters present were unanimously in favour of continuous as opposed to intermittent instruction, as most likely to produce a satisfactory and permanent result. Signed in behalf of the meeting, M. F. J. Townsenp, Chairman. January 10, 1868. The subjoined letter from the rector of Littleton states the results of a meeting held in that parish. « Littleton-on-Severn, “ Dear Sir, January 8, 1868. “ As Jam unable to attend the meeting proposed to be held at Thornbury on Friday next, I take this opportunity of sending youa report of the proceedings of our parochial meeting held in accordance with your wish, as expressed in your letter to me, dated January 2nd. “‘ My parish, which is very small—the population about 200—consists almost exclusively of persons in the farming and labouring classes of life ; and nearly ail the land in it (as, indeed, is the case in this part of the county) is allotted to pasturage. “ At the meeting yesterday the only question which seemed to be considered of any importance by the employers present was this: Can the services of children under 10 years of age be dispensed with in agricultural districts? I think the feeling was in favour of affirming the possibility of such a step. Many farmers, however, I know in this neighbour- hood employ children at a very early age, and would consider themselves much aggrieved and put to in- convenience if deprived of such services. Let us then suppose this point to be settled, and that a re- striction shall have been placed by law upon the em- ployment of children under 10 years of age or any other definite period ; still Ido not see that you will have advanced one step towards the attainment of the object contemplated by this Commission. No doubt in towns and densely populated places the Factory Acts may afford young persons an opportunity of attending schools already established for this pur- pose, but in widely extended and thinly inhabited agricultural districts the non-employment of children is no security for their better education—quite the contrary. The impossibility of sending young per- sous of tender age to schools at a distance (as must be the case) is the great difficulty to be grappled with in rural parishes. My opinion is that what is wanted is more aid to strengthen the hands of the clergy, who are struggling to do the work efficiently and conscientiously ; and of this one thing I am sure, that any attempt to substitute mere secular instruc- tion for religious education will meet with no favour in this neighbourhood. ‘ “The night-school system, which does not interfere | with the day’s labour, has been found very successful in my parish. “T am, dear Sir, “Your faithful servant, “ArtHor Rainy Lupiow.” [Mr. Ludlow appears to have thought that my wish was to have opinions collected at separate paro- chial meetings instead of at a collective central IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, inecting, where I could be present and explain the precise objects of the inquiry. ] No. 87. Monday, January 18, 1868. Collective Meeting at Cromhall, for Cromhall - Pop., 681 - Acr., 2,579 - R.V., 4,188/. Tortworth - Pop., 235 - Acr., 1,471 - R.V., 2,6331. Charfield - Pop., 629 - Acr., 1,348 - R.V., 4,7632. Rangeworthy Pop., 250- Acr., 889 - R.V., 1,605/. Present at Meeting : From Cromhall— Rev. W. J. Copleston, rector. Major T. Gaisford, landowner and occupier of 150 acres. Mr. John Taylor Lea, guardian and occupier of 160 acres. Mr. John Cobban, agent to Earl Ducie. Mr. John Smith, occupier of 14 acres. Mr. John Phillimore, owner of two acres and a cottage. Mr. Benjamin Tanner, parish clerk and assistant overseer. Rev. Robert Reveley, curate. Mr. John Watts, bailiff to Earl Ducie. Mr. John Phillimore, jun., churchwarden and occupier of 40 acres, and owner. From Tortworth— Ear! of Ducie, lord lieutenant of the county and landowner. Rev. Robert Tilbury, curate. Mr. H. G. Clevely, certificated schoolmaster. From Rangeworthy— Rev. E. J. Penny, incumbent. Mr. John Smith, churchwarden and occupier of 230 acres. From Charfield— Rev. Arthur Hill, rector. Mr. John Manning, churchwarden and occupier of 200 acres. Mr. George Limbrick, guardian and occupier of 170 acres. The chair was taken by the Eart or Duct. The principal landowner in Cromhall is the Earl of Ducie, who resides in the adjacent parish of Tort- worth. There are about 35 small landowners, none of whose estates exceed 200 acres. » There is a sufficient supply, but no surplus, of resi- dent labour. There are about 150 cottages, upwards of 30 of which belong to the Earl of Ducie. There are’per- haps 20 occupied by their owners, who have a county vote upon this qualification. They are generally in a pretty fair condition, but not many have three bedrooms. Nearly all those belonging to the Earl of Ducie have that amount of accommodation. The water supply and drainage of the parish are each fairly satisfactory. There is no inspector of nuisances in this division of the union. In too many cases the pigsty is too contiguous to the houses. Most of the cottages have gardens, ranging in size from 20 to 40 perches ; and there are 87 acres of field allotments, 17 belonging to Lord Ducie, and 20 to a parish charity, the rent of which is employed in the purchase of fuel to be distributed among the poor. All Lord Ducie’s allotments are a third of an acre, and are let at 32. an acre, inclusive of rates, tithes, and taxes. The parish allotments are let in parcels varying in size from a quarter of an acre to an acre, at 11. 6s. 8d. an acre, the land being of inferior quality. It is considered that the value of an allot- ment to a labourer (not reckoning the worth of his. lab ent upon it) is at least three timeg the . é . ee ae ) ‘ school for the purpose of encouraging the habit of rent. The rent of cottages in Cromhall varies from 21. 10s. to 51. There is a national school in Cromhall, under the management of the rector, in connexion with Govern- ment, under a certificated mistress, with 63 names lly on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 45. The total annual cost is 60/., of which 24/. arises from Government grant, about 81. from school pence, and the remainder from voluntary subscriptions. The rector considers it an efficient school, adequate to the wants of the population. Being conducted by a mistress, boys when they reach the age of nine or ten are frequently transferred to Tortworth, for the advan- tage of being under a master. ‘The school fee is 1d. a week for a labourer’s child, 2d. for an artisan’s. The school is centrally situated in relation to the popu- lation. There is a dame’s school (private adventure) in the hamlet of Heath End, which is attended by about half a dozen little girls. The weekly charge is 2d. and 3d. There has been a night school for the last five winters, conducted by the rector and his curate. There are 14 on the register this winter, and an average attendance of 11. It is held twice a week, without fee. The rector considers it to have been fairly successful, chiefly as a means of preventing lads who have left the day school from forgetting what they had acquired. There are in Cromhall four public houses and two houses licensed to sell beer. In Tortworth the whole of the land, except the glebe (56 acres), belongs to the Earl of Ducie, who is resident. There is not a sufficient supply of labour, which has to be drawn from neighbouring parishes. There are about 80 cottages, all belonging to Lord Ducie, who is adding to their number at the rate of two or three ayear. About half of the cottages are occupied by farm labourers ; they are in good condition, and, with the exception of one or two, have three bedrooms. They are let at rents varying from 2/. 12s. to 44. All have gardens of considerable size ; and there are 12 acres of allotments, a quantity which is in excess of present requirements. The water supply, as is generally the case in this district when off the coal beds, is excellent, and the facility with which it is everywhere obtained is probably one of the reasons which have led to the scattered distribution of the population. There is a mixed school, Church of England in its denomination, but under British inspection, taught by a certificated master, assisted by a sewing mistress and a male pupil teacher. There are 132 names on the register, and an ordinary attendance of 112. The ‘school receives annual aid amounting to about 45/.; the school fees are 321. (at 1d., 2d. and 3d. per week, according to the means of the parents), and the balance is made up by Lord Ducie. The total annual cost is about 1507. The school draws its supply of scholars from adjoining parishes. Only 385 are Tortworth children, and only 17 reside within a distance of one mile of the school Fully 30 chil- dren come from a distance of two miles; 14 of the scholars are children of farmers. ‘The schoolmaster states that these children are less regular in their attendance even than the labourers’ children, and in many cases do not reach the same level of attain- ments.* There is an evening school, conducted by the schoolmaster. It has been carried on for six or more winters, ‘There are 17 enrolled scholars, and an average attendance of 10. It is held for four nights in the week, at a charge of 2d. The scholars this winter are mostly adults and boys very backward ; they are boys who never attended school regularly. There were four of the 17 scholars at the commence ment of the season who could not read at all ; three more who could read only words of one syllable ; and only five who could read intelligently and with facility. There is a savings’ bank connected with the day * The farmers at the Berkeley meeting probably state the cause of this fact, viz., that they are obliged to employ their own ~‘ children in the scarcity of boy labour. P 3 Gloucester., —— Rev. J. Fraser. a. Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a, 120. thrift in the-.children. ..There are 35, . depositors, whose deposits vary.in, amount from 1s, to 44. The interest on the deposits is paid.by Lord Ducie. The deposits are generally withdrawn when the children make their start in life, and the interest ceases when they leave school. It is thought to have had a very beneficial influence. There is also a co-operative store in Tortworth, established in March 1867. There are 58 share- holders at 12. a share, some of the shareholders hold- ing several shares. The business done is now at the rate of 30/. a week, and is steadily increasing... The shareholders have received five per cent, dividend on their paid up capital and a drawback of 3s. in the pound on the amount of their purchases. Non-share- holding purchasers have received back a bonus of halfthis amount. The people thoroughly appreciate the value of the institution. In. Charfield Lord Ducie is the principal land- owner, but. there are several yeomen proprietors, occupying in some cases their own land. There are 16 farms in Charfield, some of them very small. The. high . rateable value of the parish may be accounted for by the fact that the Midland Railway runs for two miles through the, parish, and is rated at 1,424/., and there are three clothing mills in the parish, employing upwards of 100:hands.._. oh There is a sufficient supply of labour, except it be in the haymaking season, when ten or a dozen, hands are imported from the Cotswolds. The cottages in Charfield belong to a great number of owners. ‘They are from 60 to 70 in number. A considerable number of them are recently erected and well constructed. A few of them are indifferent, and from 10 to 15 have only very small gardens, There are about 25. acres of field allotments, which are very much yalued by the people, They are let in lots of from a quarter to half an acre in size, at 21..10s. or 21, 2s, an acre. L The cottage rents are rather high, ‘almost any “ little place will fetch 5/.,” but a considerable num- ber of them are of a superior class. The opening of the railway and the establishment of the cloth mills have improved the condition as well as increased the number of the population. 3 There are three different day schools in Charfield :— (1.) A Church of England school, not in connexion with Government, under an untrained master and mistress. It is in two departments, and has on its register about 40 names, with an ordinary atten- dance of about 25. The attendance is very irregular. There is an endowment of 60/. a year in the 3 per cents., the fruit of a bequest made 13 years ago on .the express condition that the children should be instructed according to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, and should attend church on Sunday. The management of the school is in the sole hands of the rector. (2.) There is also a large mixed school, chiefly at- tendeded by infants, in connexion with the Indepen- dent chapel. It is not under Government inspection. It is taught by a mistress, and is attended by about 40 children. The mistress receives 15/. a year in addition to the children’s pence, which amount to 84. or 102. She has to find her own residence. ; (3.) A private adventure school, kept by a respect- able female, and attended by children above the class of farm labourers. ; There is no night school at Charfield. The experi- ment has been tried, and did not succeed. The rector considers that there is a large number of children, owing to the apathy of the parents, who are not availing themselves of the advantages of edu- cation which are within their reach. A certain num- ber of children, however, attend school at Wotton- under-Edge and Tortworth, both of which places are about two miles distant. The motive is believed to be the desire of obtaining a superior education ; they are mostly children of a somewhat better-to-do class. Of the 890 acres in Rangeworthy, 700 belong to W. J. Phelps, Esq., who resides at Dursley, a dis- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG, PHRSONS, AND WOMEN tance of 12 miles; of the remainder, 100.acres helong to two charities (one in Wotton, the other in Range- worthy), and the rest to half a dozen proprietors. The population would be more than sufficient for the cultivation of the land if all were employed in that way, but the vicinity of iron and coal mines attracts a dozen or 15 of the men. As it is, it is about adequate. _ e There are about 40 cottages belonging to various proprietors, at least 20 in number. They are reported to be very far from being in a satisfactory condition, specially as regards bedroom accommodation. There are several cases of overcrowding. The majority have sufficient gardens. There are 200 acres, a com- mon enclosed 40 years ago, which are let in allot- ments varying in size from one to 10 acres. ‘These are mostly occupied by men keeping a horse and cart, many of them residing in the adjoining parishes of Yate and Iron Acton, who do not work for the far- mers. The rent of cottages varies from 2J.-10s. to 7l, depending on the quantity of land attached to them ; the average rent would be 47. ~ There is a school, Church of England in its cha- racter, and under the management of the clergyman, which may be described as a superior dame’s’ school. There ‘are 35 names on the register, and the ordinary attendance is 25.. The school is efficient of its class, but is not as good as the clergyman would desire, or as he considers the population to demand. 61. “ The great difficulty in the way of the night “school is the scattered character of the parish.”— Rev. “J. H. Masters, Lower Beeding. ° T2 Norfolk. _—_—— Rev. J. Fraser. Essex, Ae Sussex. Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a Gloucester. 150 62. No evening school in Ifield, Itchingfield, or Rusper. In the last-named the cause is said to be “Want of a proper teacher.” 63. “ Not adequately, but toa certain extent. The difficulty is in procuring efficient assistants. If the scholars are not kept closely to their work the whole time, they get noisy.”—Rev. C. A. Rosser, Slinfold. 64. “No. It is a great help to older boys; I doubt of its being equally advantageous for younger ones. I have never found any difficulty in securing the regular attendance of most boys within a fair distance (14 miles or 2 miles) for the months of November, December, and January. They fall off as the days lengthen. No charge is made, but I require regular and punctual attendance and perfect order. I am always present myself, and I believe that to be the best means of keeping up the attendance of the boys. I would never leave the night school in the hands of the schoolmaster. My chief difficulty is to obtain teachers; those I have are unpaid ; their help is entirely voluntary.” — Rev. A. H. S. Barwell, Southwater. Union of Hailsham. 65. “I think in the case of the evening school, though not in that of the day school, distance does operate prejudicially, as the lads have not time in the remoter parts of the parish to reach school after their day’s work. The evening school, therefore, hardly adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school.” —Rev. J. H. Vidal, Chiddingly. 66. “ A good evening school would. The diffi- culties are want of funds to pay a master ; and to be of much use it ought to be open at least five nights a week during the winter."— Thomas Arkcoll, Esq., Landowner and Magistrate, Hurstmonceuz. 67. “ The scattered nature of tke population is the great difficulty here, many of them residing some miles from the village.”"—Mr. William Mannington, Occupier, Laughton, 68. “ There was a night school for two or three years. It was closed owing to the unwillingness of the young people to attend, and the want of an effi- cient male teacher and of funds.”— Rev. G. Rainier, Ninfield. 69. “ Our main difficulty is want of teachers.”— Rev. E. C. Graham, Wartling. 70. “ Not quite adequately, but considerably. The chief difficulty arises from the unwillingness of the lads to attend in sufficient numbers.”—Rev. G. E. Haviland, Warbleton. Union of Westhampnett. 71. “ We have no evening school. It has been tried at three different times and has failed. My difficulties have been these :—(1) Want of master. The master’s health will not now enable him to open an evening school, over and above his ordinary school labour. He has been once paralysed and needs rest. There is no one else in the parish who can do the work of police or instruction, nor anyone but myself to find the funds; (2), want of means ; (8), indiffe- rence of employers; (4), lack of encouragement at home. I tried the experiment myself”—Rev. J. W. Miller, Birdham. 72. “Certainly not. There are no difficulties beyond the disinclination of some to avail themselves of the privilege.’—Rev. W. Burnett, Rural Dean, Boxgrove. 73. “Our difficulty is in getting attendance.”— Rev. H. Cogan, East Dean. 74. “ We have no night school. I have tried it, but the parish is too small (population 180) to enable a sufficient number to be got together to make the thing cohesive.”—Rev. EL. Stansfield, Donnington. 75. “The clergyman must teach it himself or it will come to nothing.”—Rev. M. Parrington, New Fishbourne. 76. “I see no deficiencies in the day school, with the exception that, us far as education is concerned, they leave school at too early an age. This is in EMPLOYMENT OY CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN great measure counteracted by the night school. I find no difficulty in maintaining it.”—Rev. E. Legge, East Lavant. [The night school here is conducted by the mistress of the day school on her own account. | 77. “ We have no evening school. The master of the day school is worn out by the day work. Ladies and gentlemen soon tire of leaving home for the schoolroom. The pupils cease to attend regularly after the novelty is past, being fatigued with their day’s work, or careless of the advantages offered. In country places, the being out after dark does harm, great harm, to morality.”—Rev. A. P. Birrell, Oving. 78. ‘We have generally had an evening school, but not this year. Most certainly it does not ade- quately supply the deficiencies of the day school. Our difficulties have been the want of teacher—the master being employed all day finds the evening school too great a tax—and the expense of lighting and firing.” —Rev. F. A. Bowles, Singleton. 79, “ There is no evening school. The principal difficulty is that an evening school is too great an~ addition to the labours of the master in the day school, and the want of any one able and willing to super- intend and conduct it.” —Rev. T. S. L. Vogan, Wal- Lerton. 80. “ We have no evening school. The difficulties are (1) a want of teachers, where there is no school- master ; and (2) a disinclination on the part of the lads to place themselves under instruction without some substantial inducement, such as a supper or two during the season.”—Rev. William J. Underwood, West Wittering. County or GLOUCESTER. Union of Cirencester. 81. “ We have no evening school this winter. It was during the last two winters very indifferently attended. Ido not consider it adequately to supply the deficiencies of the day school. The difficulties in maintaining it arise partly from the undervaluing its advantages by parents and scholars; partly from the young people being tired after their day’s work.”— Rev. E. J. Brewster, Amney Crucis. 82. “ Not fully, but the older boys would know nothing without it. The chief difficulty in its way is the impossibility of maintaining it throughout the year.”—Messrs. Charles Turk and George Radway, Churchwardens, Barnsley. 83. “ Not altogether. Our chief difficulty is want of funds.”—Rev. George F. Master, Baunton. 84, “ We have no night school. The principal difficulty would be to find a proper master and funds to pay him.”—Mr. R. W. Winning, Churchwarden, Brimpsfield. 85. “* We had a night school, but it has been given up. The difficulties were, want of interest, the distance many of the scholars had to travel to the school, youths of 18 not liking to mix with children of 12. Sometimes it will happen that a father and one or two boys come home wet, and have to dry their clothes, ready for the morning, by a slow fire, and so the boys cannot attend the night school.”— Mr. Charles Newman, Churchwarden, North Cerney. 86. “It is at best a very inadequate supplement, but it is of undoubted advantage educationally and morally. By far the greatest hindrance is the want of interest and kindly persuasion on the part of the farmers, by many of whom the boys and lads are kept so late at work that they do not get home in time enough to come. Added to this hindrance there is often the apathy, or want of authority, of the parents.” —Rev. W. W. Liddell, South Cerney. 87. “ We have no night school this year. The schoolmaster is preparing for examination, and con- sequently wants his evenings. The difficulties are : (1), many do not like exposing their ignorance ; (2), the schoolmaster complains of being tired after his day’s work ; (3), want of voluntary lay support. The night school does not adequately supply the defi- ciency of the day school.”—Rev. T. C. Gibbs, Coates. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 88. “ Being willing to give the required time (twice a week) myself, and having the assistance of the mistress of the day school, I find no difficulty in main- taining gn efficient evening school.”—Rev. Thomas Athinson, Colesbourne. 89. “ This is a straggling village, and boys don’t like to come to school and go home without com- panions.”—Rev. Richard Taylor, Kemble. 90. “I cannot say it does fully. Its hindrances are, a want of appreciation of the benefits of education in the lads themselves, and their difficulty in resisting the temptation to a little play and fun after a day’s work.”—fev. B. Mallam, Poole Keynes. 91. “ We have no night school, owing to the want of sufficient pupils."—Rev. C. Fawcett, Somerford Keynes. 92. “ The difficulties in the way of maintaining an efficient night school ore, the expenses inevitable in providing fire, light, cleaning, &c., and above all in paying and securing a suitable teacher. When I was appointed to this parish there was no school. I have opened a Sunday school, and all the children under 18 attend, as well as some from an adjacent hamlet. I am preparing apparatus for a day and evening school, and, so far as I can see at present, I shall be obliged to teach both myself. It would promote education very much, in parishes like this, if assistanee from Government could be secured without employing a certificated teacher. Almost all the young persons in my parish can read more or less; but I do not think there is one who can write so as to be understood.”— Rev. Thomas Wolstencroft, Syde. 93. “ We have no night school. The principal difficulty is want of sympathy and want of means, in the whole range of parish duties, where funds are needed.”—Rev. F. W. Hohler, Winstone. Union of Thornbury. 94. “ The night school is an inadequate supplement to the day school. Its difficulties are, distance; night- weariness and sleepiness after an honest day’s field labour ; difficulty and false:shame of learning after manhood. Our night school has been held five days a week for the last two years, by the scholars’ own request.”—Rev. T. Murray Browne, Almondsbury. 95.. “ Our night school was discontinued on account of the bad attendance, caused chiefly by the distance the young men had to come.”—Kev. Richard VW. Vigors, Aust and Redwick. 96. “ Not cntirely, but it helps a great deal. In this parish there would be no one competent to manage the night school but the clergyman, and he must do so with considerable self-sacrifice. The diffi- culty is how to combine a degree of easy freedom with real instruction. Our lads would not come here to be schooled stiffly; they would stay at home.”—Rev. W. J. Copleston, Cromhall. 97. ‘*Our night school is open twice a week for six months, from October 1st to April Ist. I consider that it adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school. funds, as the school is wholly dependent on the clergy- man and one or two members of his family, not only for instruction and personal supervision, but for books, slates, and all other articles required. This state of matters is very precarious, and cannot last long. If the night school could be efficiently maintained, I believe none in the labouring class would willingly be devoid of such an amount of education as is practicable or possible, consistently with the circumstances of an agricultural district."— Rev. A. R. Ludlow, Littleton- on- Severn. 98. “ There is an evening school with 18 scholars, varying in age from 14 to 26, taught in two classes by the curate of the parish and a friend. The school is held in a cottage, and the scholars attend regularly. It does not, however, adequately supply the defi- ciencies of the day school. The difficulties are (1), irregularity of attendance, in some cases unavoidable, but not soin most ; (2), indisposition of younger boys to profit by the opportunity of learning, when they The difficulties are, want of teachers and of L51 attend, being tired after their day’s work.”—fev. Hobert Hiles, Olveston. 99. “ We have an evening school, attended by 18 scholars. It does not adequately supply the defi- ciencies of the day school. The clergy take no interest in it, and no effort is made to induce attend- ance. We had at one time an evening school of 90 young people.”——Mr. J. Y. Sturge, Churchwarden, Thornbury. Union of Newent. 109. “ We have an evening school; but I should not say that it adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day schoo]. The difficulty is,the stumbling block of life—the sinews of war—money.”—Rev. H. L. Whatley, Aston Ingham. 101, “ We have no evening school. When there was one I did not find that it adequately supplied the deficiencies of the day school. The difficulties were, distance, fatigue, the late hours at which several pupils were kept at work. Most of our boys are employed in the farm stables, which are not closed till between 7 and 8 o’clock.”—Rev. R. Hill, Broms- berrow. 102. “ We have a night school, open for about 10 weeks in winter. It keeps up the little the young men have hitherto learnt. The difficulties are, want of funds and teachers.” —Rev. E. H. Niblett, Redmarley. OPINIONS expressed aud facts stated in the ANSWERS to the Questions contained in the CoMMISSIONERS’ CIRCULAR. C. On the subject of Cottage Accommodation. (1.) As regards its effect on morality, education, and health ; (2.) As regards its sufficiency (a) in proportion to the area of the land; (6) in proportion to the population ; (3). As regards the condition of the cottages them- selves, in respect of (c) construction ; (d) accommodation ; (¢) ownership ; (f) rent. County or Norroik. Union of St. Faith. 1. “ [have been continually making representations to the chief landowner of the parish that there should be better cottage accommodation ; and, to a certain extent, he has listened to my requests, and I think he is anxious to do as much as he can by degrees. [ cannot, however, trace in my parish any immediate effect on the morals or general health of the poor, assignable especially to bad cottage accommodation. “ There is only one cottage to the 100 acres. They are conveniently placed in relation to the farms. Three new cottages lately built in Attlebridge are almost models; they contain two sitting and three bedrooms, well ventilated and drained ; they have convenient outhouses, but are badly off for water. The others are detestable, and must sooner or later be pulled down ; some of them, with large families, have but one sleeping room. The reut is paid to the land- lord’s agent, and is not unreasonable. The whole of the cottages are in the hands of the landlord, and nothing can be done without his wishes being con- sulted.”—Rev. C. Wodehouse, Alder ford-cum-Attle- bridge. 2. “Our cottage accommodation has been fully attended to. We have more than three cottages to the 100 acres. No cottage is more than a mile from the farms. They are built of brick, well ventilated and drained ; generally have four rooms, garden, and outhouse. Most belong to the landowner; a few are owned by tradesmen, but there is no obligation to deal. The rent varies from 50s. to 51.”—Jrancis Parmeter, Esq., Booton. 3. “Our cottage accommodation is very good, The cottages belong to the landowner. The rent ranges from 32. 10s. to 54. 10s."—Mr, H. Howlett Crostwick, T 3 Gloucester. Rev. J. Frase a. Norfolk. Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. aN 152 . 4..“In several instances since Ihave been rector of this parish, I have had to complain of overcrowding, but at present there is only one instance, but that of the grossest kind, inasmuch as the wages are abun- dant to supply good accommodation. Drayton is an open parish, and a large number of the cottages have been built by small owners, who. have looked simply to-the question of profit; and hence questions of ventilation and draining never enter into, their calculations. The size of rooms varies to an extent impossible to mention without filling a sheet; but, as a. rule, the rooms. are fairly large enough, The sleeping. accommodation is the great want—many having only one room, and none three. Wells, in common for alot of cottages belonging to one. person, is the rule of water supply, but you will frequently find the..muck-hole close to it. Tenants are not obliged to deal with owner. Rent from 3/. 10s. to 5/.” —Rev. Hinds Howell, Vice-Chairman of Board of Guardians, Drayton. 0 . 5. “Cottage accommodation is very good.through- out this parish. The majority. of rooms are about 14.feet square ; window ventilation. Most of the cottages are built with four rooms. The supply of water from wells is good. There are gardens to nearly all, and in a few instances outhouses, such as sheds -for fuel, They are owned chiefly by small landowners,..at.rents from 2/, to 4d.-per annum.”— Major James J. Bouchier, Felthorpe. _ 6. “We are pretty well off in cottage accommoda- tion; but over-crowding is most demoralizing. We have 40 cottages to 1,580 acres. All have two bed- rooms, some three; but the larger families do not always. occupy the larger. cottages, the rent being higher. Lodgers are not permitted. All have a sitting-room and back kitchen, sitting-room varying in size, but the average about 12 feet square ; venti- lation good, as far as windows ; drainage, none what- ever; 4 porous, sandy soil, and a dead flat, All but 280 acres belong to Lord Suffield. Rent from 3/. to 41. 10s..° Many have ‘half an acre of land; all have gardens. At present the tenant-farmers on Lord Suffield’s estate have nothing: to do with the cot- tages.” —Rev. Jas. Shirley, Frettenham. 7. “All the ‘cottages are very good in every respect ; and all of them belong to Edward Fellowes, Esq., M.P.”—Mr. Charles. R. Cocks, Haverland.— [There are, however, only 21 cottages in this. parish to 2,050 acres.] / . 8. “The cottages are not generally crowded, are sufficient in number, and conveniently situated. Most are built of brick and tiled. Some, not many, are thatched; rooms generally 12 feet square; ventila- ‘tion and drainage fair. The accommodation generally is sufficient, with supply of water, and small garden. Ownership various, some by landowners, many by builders ; I know of none by tradesmen with whom tenants. are obliged to deal. Rent from 32. 10s. to 41, 10s.”—Rev. W. A. W. Keppel, Haynford. _ . 9. “In Hellesdon there are 82 cottages with one bedroom, 31 with two, only 3 with three. The older cottages are, to a certain extent, in bad condi- tion. A great drawback to many cottages in Upper Hellesdon is want of sufficient garden ground. The cottages at Lower Hellesdon, and ten at Upper Hellesdon, belong to the various farms ; rent ls. and ls. 6d. weekly. The cottages at Upper Hellesdon are owned (partly) by persons about or a little above the rank of agricultural lebourers. These are generally in rows, and bear the name of the owner. Rent 2s. and 2s. 6d. weekly. On the whole, the water supply is good, but I do not consider the number of privies, or apologies for such, sufficient. Ido not think any labourer would object to pay a slightly higher rent for better bedroom accommodation ; viz., three bed- rooms. Many of the cottages in Upper Hellesdon are occupied by market-gardeners ; these are not included in the enumeration.” —Rev. W. E. Best, Hellesdon. 10. “The cottages are in good order, with ample means for.the separation of the sexes. About five cottages for 200 acres is a proper proportion; we EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN require about one-fourth more than we have. The whole of the land and cottages is in the hands of Lady Bayning, The cottages have every necessary convenience, outhouses, water supply, &c., with good sized gardens. Rents are very reasonable, none ex- ceeding 3/. 10s.”—Rev. T. L. Fellowes, Honingham. 11. “The number of cottages with only one bed- room is great ; and where there are families, this is a great evil, injurious to health, and still more so to morality. There are 65 cottages with only one bed- room, and 69 with two bedrooms. Some of those with one bedroom are occupied, in one case by the parents and nine children; in another by parents and eight children; in another, by parents and seven children ; in another, by parents and two grown up daughters and one grown up son, and an infant, &e., &c. There are also six cottages with only one room for all purposes, at, present occupied by single persons. There is no special. arrangement for drainage ; the water supply is. good ; most cottages have gardens ; some outhouses (closets) have been lately put up where there were none. Eight new good cottages have been recently built with two bedrooms, and are all occupied’; some of. the old cottages are empty. The cottagers do not like to turn out of the, crowded cottages, even where the landlord advises them. What seems to be most needed here is a prohibition to land- lords to allow families.to occupy a-cottage with only one bedroom.”— Rev. J. D. Ballance, Vicar, Hors- ford. _ 12. “ With few exceptions, the cottage accommoda- tion is good. They are built of- brick, tiled, with rooms from 10 to 12 feet square. The water supply, in many cases, is defective. The cottages are mostly supplied with gardens and outhouses. They are owned mostly by landowner, Rent from 3/. to 5/. per annum.” —Rev. J. G. Tipper, Incumbent, Horsham and Newton St. Faith's. 18..“In this parish we have always been well off for cottages. They are brick and tile; some few thatched ; rooms about 12 feet square. Ventilation and drainage very fair; soil light. Water supply good, better than in most places. Gardens almost general. Ownership partly by Jandowners, partly by tradesmen and others. No tenants restricted in their dealings.” —Mr. J. Minns, Churchwarden, Hor- stead. ne So bop 14, “Well constructed; rooms average 14 feet square ; well ventilated and drained. Good gardens and accommodation. All the cottages belong to one resident landowner. Rents are high, from 31. to 51. each.” —Rev. N. Manley, Rector, and Mr, Thomas W. Gaze, Guardian, Morton. | 15. “A decent orderly home is, in respect of health, education and morality, of more importance than anything whatever else. “We have about 22 cottages to the 100 acres. Plenty have two bedrooms, but not one has three ; two or three of the latter: would he an advantage, as, though there is not generally over- crowding, there are two or three houses which are too full. There are 20 cottages built within the last 30 years, all on the same model. They consist of four rooms each ; two above and two below. The front room is 13 feet by 11, the back room 13 feet by 7. They mostly stand by twos, under the same roof, and in clusters of two or three double dwellings at crossways, from three-quarters of a mile to a mile apart. There is no village or village street. They are placed so as to suit the farms, but inconveniently in regard to the school. These are all brick and tile.. The rest are of different forms ; mostly. brick and tile, but a few are thatched. The accommodation on the whole is good. The cases alluded to above, as too full, are such as where an aged father, and an unmarried brother, are added toa tolerably numerous, but young, family. The gardens are excellent, and average about one-third of an acre. -There isa well for each clump of houses, four or six as the case may be. The landowner owns the whole parish except a few acres. Rent of the best cottages is 31. 18s..; of the worst, 2/. The parish is evidently preferred by the poor to some of the neigh- IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. bouring ones, and we have 2 ‘sufficient: supply of labour.”—Rev. Thomas Harrison, Rector, Rackheath. 16. “ We have plenty of cottagd’ accommodation. Some are yery good, and some not so good: Mr.*Kaye, Bailiff to W. E. Hubbard, Esqre., of Lower Beeding, Sussex (Horsham Union), estimates the cost of a block of three cottages, weather-board outside, lath and. plaster within, walls seveninches thick, on ground-floor two rooms, pantry, and wash-house, with oven(stone floors), and two chambers above, with separate wood-houses, pigstyes and privies (the latter fitted with Moule’s patent earth closets), tiled, at 2001. The ordinary rent of each cottage would be 2s. a week with garden. 27. The following evidence of the condition of the agricultural population in.the Union of West Hamp- nett (containing 388 parishes round the City of Chichest.1), County of Sussex, was taken from the five relievir., officers of the Union, Messrs. W. Dawtrey, F. Hea.h, E. Adames, R. Ellis, and T. Humphreys, at the Union-house, Nov. 18, 1867. The occupations in this union vary considerably in size, ranging from 300 to 1,000 and more acres. The land below the downs is rich arable land, a nut-brown loam ; can grow 40 bushels of wheat to the acre. The standing weekly wages since last winter has been 13s. for ordinary labourers. Very little work, except grass- mowing and harvest, is done by the piece. The people, where there is good management in the home, live in tolerable comfort ; and are better off than many a me- chanic in the town; particularly than those, such as bricklayers &c., who depend upon weather. There is very little time lost by agricultural labourers in this dis- trict. There is hardly any real destitution. Many of the cottages.are not what they ought to be, having only one bed=chamber, and there are frequently cases of over- crowding. On the Goodwood estate the cottages are much improved. ‘Every new cottage the Duke of Richmond builds has five rooms, two on the ground-floor witha pantry, and threeabove. Lodgers are not allowed to be taken. Most of the cottages are of brick, or brick and flint, the roof either thatched or tiled. Speaking generally it is a good district for water. Most of the cottages belong to the landowners. There is not quite adequate cottage accommodation in the district. Rents vary from 1s. 6d. to 2s. a week. But the Duke of Richmond and some other landowners let their cottages mostly at ls. The allotment system does not prevail in the district, but most of the cottages have good gardens. Drinking and smoking are prevalent habits with the people ; the former is considered to be the primary cause of nearly all the poverty which exists. The habit of profane swearing also prevails to a lament- able extent. Married women and widows are largely employed on the land, but young unmarried girls rarely, The chief employments of women are weeding, stone- picking, trimming turnips, &c. They earn 9d., 10d., and 1s, a day. In some of the parishes where there are large woods, girls are kept away from school to go into the coppices and pick wood. This is considered to be a mischievous occupation, generating idle habits and indisposing them afterwards for domestic service. There is not, however, very much illegitimacy in the district. In some places, boys are taken to tend sheep or scare birds nearly as soon as they can crawl; a boy of eight will earn 2s. a week. In the ailministration of out door relief, though there is no absolute rule laid down by the Board, no objection would be made to a pauper’s child remaining at school till 12 years of age. The school fee, however, is in no case paid by the guardians, nor, is the attendance of the children made ‘a condition of out-door relief. The estowance is 1s. a week per child, and this would not be diminished, in respect of the other children, by the fact that one of them might be earniug wages at work, so long.as this did not exceed 3s. a week.. There is a decided im- provement, of late years, in the educational condition of the district, but there are still a great many people who cannot’read or write. On the whole, parents seem anxious to give their children an education ; but if it became a question between the school and a job of COMMISSION :---EVIDENCE. 193 work, the-school would give away. There isa con- siderable amount of dissent in some of the parishes ; but the officers have never heard the objection taken by the parents that they don’t like their children to-go to the Church school or to be taught the Church Catechism. They consider that in most cases ‘the schools would fall to the ground, but for the support they receive from the clergy. There is no other class who really concern themselves about their management. The poor and county rate in this Union is about 2s, in the 1/. per annum.’ There is no highway district. © 28. The Rev, F. A, Bowles, Rector of Singleton, in this Union, informed me that during the Goodwood race week many of his cottages, or at least the ground floors of them, are turned into loose boxes for race- horses. Some, I believe, have even been constructed with this view. He has not observed that any par- ticular demoralization has followed the practice, and he can only trace the birth of one illegitimate child to this cause; but it makes the people very covetous. They let half a bed for 20s. for the week. so that two rooms will produce’4/. The family meanwhile sleep where and how they can. Happily the races are in the month of June. Mr. Bowles encourages the people to brew at home; keeps a set of utensils, which he lends out for the purpose; thinks the habit con- duces to sobriety. eis 29. Letter from Rev. C. B. Wollaston, Rector of Felpham, Sussex. Dear Sir, I am very sorry that I am quite unable to attend the meeting which you have called at Yapton on Tuesday next. I have asked my churchwardens if possible to represent me there*. The subject you have to bring before us is one of great interest to me. I have already, as a school-inspector, reported to our Bishop to the effect that the employment of very young boys in the place of’ men, principally as hor'se-boys, is having a most damaging effect upon our parish schools. The average age of the first class in our national schools has fallen 11 months in the last 10 years, mainly owing to the demand for boy labour, One remedy is to make attractive evening schools helped by Government. I wish I could be present to give you my experience on this subject. I remain, &c. (Signed) C, B. Worzaston. Felpham Rectory, Bognor, 17 November 1867. 30. Captain Valentine, the Duke of Richmond’s agent, mentioned the case of a woman from Mid Lavant now removed to Boxgrove. In her former parish she had a wretched cottage and was an utter slattern; she is now well housed, and there is not a tidier woman in the parish. The Rev. H. Foster, of Selsey, told me of a similar case in his parish of improvement in the habits and conduct of a whole family in consequence of being put in one of Mrs. Vernon Harcourt’s new cottages. A similar happy effect in the tone and manners of the people, I was informed by one of the relieving officers of the district (Mr. Heath), had followed Mr. Crosbie’s improvement of the cottayes in the parish of Donnington; it had “made all the women tidy.” Good cottages, however, are sometimes badly planned. Miss Foster pointed out to me a new cottage of Mrs. Harcourt’s at Selsey, admirably built and picturesque in outline, but with four doors opening into the sitting room, filling it with draughts and making it miserable. 31, John Bayton, Esq., a magistrate residing in the district, informed me that 15 or 20 years ago women were extensively employed on the Goodwood estate and home farm, even to:do such work. as driving dungcarts. In that day the parish of Box- _ ** No one, however, was present at my meeting as a representa- tive from Felpham. Aa4d Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser, a. Sussex. Rev, J. Fraser. al. Gloucester. 194 grove, in which Goodwood House is situated, was one of the most demoralized in the neighbourhood. The practice has been abandoned. The character of the arish has proportionately improved. [I heard the same story from other sources also. ] 32. Mr. Webb, bailiff to T. B. L. Baker, Esq., of Hardwicke, near Gloucester, thinks that either the half day or the alternate whole day system is inap- plicable to agriculture. It would be better to fix an age—l0 or 11—and keep children regularly at school till that was reached. Does not think it would be any hardship upon the parents to prohibit boy-labour in the fields under 10. Would trust something to local benevolence to relieve cases of hardship if any occurred. Women are a good deal employed on the farms in the Vale of Gloucester at the rate of about two to the hundred acres. They are mostly married women. The young girls generally get out to service, though some of them prefer employment on the land. Boys are rarely, if ever, employed under 10. Farmers themselves are becoming more intelligent, and appre- ciate more fully than they once did the value of an educated labourer. It is also found necessary by employers, if they would retain the services of a good labourer, to treat him with consideration. _ Lerrer from Rev. W. Douglas, Curate of Hardwicke. Hardwicke, Gloucester, My pear Sir, January 23, 1868. CaiLpRen’s labour does not, I think, work so prejudicial in this parish as it may perhaps do in some others. The farmers are generally a kindly set of people, and not disposed to be hard taskmasters. Want of method or regularity in the work is, I believe, what tells hardest on those employed. The bad fruits are, too long hours for those constantly employed at farm labour, and desultory attendance at school on the part of those who are only occasionally employed, either as crowkeepers or otherwise temporarily. We have very few boys indeed employed constantly at farm work under the age of 13, though, as you will see by list appended (I have thought better to omit names), there are several others just over 13. The hours of work for them are as a rule much too long, often entailing an absence from home, or employment of time to the amount of 14 hours out of 24, and this for wages varying from 1s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per week. : _I cannot speak positively on the subject of crow- keepers, as we call them here, or of those who are employed in full working time: this is unfortunately the wrong time of year for gathering such statistics, being full school time, not full work time. The schoolmaster’s great difficulty in full working time is with children of large families and of farm labourers. Parents in the former case want to gain 6d. when they can ; in the latter often do not like to refuse a boy to an employer if he wants him. Hence irregu- larity in school attendance, and poor scholars in the long run. A. B., age 12, wages 3s. a week, goes to work at 6 a.m., returns 8 p.m. ; one of a large family. C. D., nearly 13, wages 8s. 6d. a week, goes to work half-past 6 winter; spring and summer, 6; returns home from 7 p.m. to 9 or 10 p.m., according to what is doing; one of a large family. E. F., age 14, works half-past 6 am. to 7 p.m. ; wages, 3s. 6d. _G. H., age 9 years ; has been at work the last 10 weeks, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but is to go to school next week. May have to go to constant work as plough- boy in spring ; hours then will be 6 a.m.to 8 p.m. ; wages so far ls. 6d. weekly. _J.K., age 14; works half-past 6 a.m. to half-past 6 p.m.; wages, 3s. 6d. L. M., age 11 next March; begins work 6 a.m., finishes about 8 p.m. ; wages, 3s. a week. Works on Sundays. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN N. 0., age 18 last December ; begins work 6 a.m., finishes 8 or 9 p.m., and works on Sundays. The two last live opposite their work, and come home for their meals ; in every case the parents find the focd. All this information (with the exception of J. K.) is gathered by myself from parents. I believe the farmer will, when appealed to, let them off in time for night school, proving, I think, the possibility of a limitation of hours. I cannot myself see how a half-time system is to work in these districts, either half day, alternate day, or even four months at school out of 12, though this latter is perhaps the most practicable. If it were possible to limit the age at which boys were allowed to engage in constant farm work to 104 or 11, I think a half-time system for crowkeepers and irregular workers might perhaps be enforced. But it will be most necessary to limit the hours of farm labour at least in winter.. I do not see how boys can grow into fairly able-bodied men without such provision, or how their early schooling can be kept up. Some system of regular hours would, I believe, also be highly beneficial to the farmers them- selves, and it would tend to raise the tone of the labourers if they felt the law prohibited them from being worked over time by their employers without extra remuneration. I think the labourer wants such protection in these districts now, and that he is too much in the power of his employer. Please forgive a hurried statement. I find myself pressed for time in writing, but the information has been gathered with care, and the suggestions thought over. I remain, dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, Witiiam Dove.as. The Rev. James Fraser. ‘ 34. 7. B. L. Baker, Esq., of Hardwicke, believes that it is a mistaken charity to let cottages at an un- remunerative rent. It is one of the influences that go to pauperize the labourer, and keep down his wages. Is himself endeavouring to raise the rent of his’ cot- tages to what will bring him in a fair return for the money laid out upon them. Any other principle is economically vicious, and really aggravates the evil that it attempts to remedy. Apparently relieving the poor man’s pocket, it really depresses his whole social condition. Speaking generally, the moral and social condition of the poor who live in cottages for which they pay perhaps merely a small quit-rent—miserablé hovels, to which however they cling because the rent is low--is the most degraded of all. If rents were higher there would soon be a supply of better cottages, and with them a general elevation of the condition of the labouring class. 35. Frederick Knight, Esq. M.P., formerly Secretary of the Poor Law Board, considers that the attachment of the cottages to the farm’ (beyond the number required for the shepherd, carter, and stock- man), and the placing them at the disposal of the tenant, is a bad arrangement for the labourer ; it makes him too dependent upon his employer. Is ready to admit that the condition of many, too many, of the labourers’ cottages in England is not good ; but wishes it to be remembered that the English farm labourer, on the whole, is better housed than the cor- responding class in any other country in the world. The Scotch peasantry are notoriously worse off in this respect than ours, 36. Mr. John Williams, parish clerk and assistant overseer of Almondsbury, Gloucestershire (Thornbury Union). Is well acquainted with the parish and with the habits and feelings of the people. Considers the. people in Almondsbury better off than in many other places. The average rate of wages now is 12s. a week, There is a large fund, upwards of 2001. a year, arising from some 200 acres of land in the parish, which is in the hand of trustees for parochial purposes. The first charge on this fund is for the repair of the church, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. the remainder is applied at the discretion of the trus- tees. They allot a certain sum to the support of the school, distribute sometimes as much as 20J. in coal ; give 10s. 6d. to every lying-in woman, &c. Women are not fhuch employed on the land, they mostly occupy themselves in washing and charing. Children, boys chiefly, are largely employed both in planting and getting potatoes, and in picking fruit. Boys are not much used to drive plough till they are 11 or 12. People are anxious to keep their children at school as long as they can. A man’s worst time is when he has five or six young children. Thinks in such cases it would be a hardship to compel him to dispense with a boy’s earnings and keep him at home till he is 11 years ofage. Many families get fresh meat once a week, generally on Sunday, but this would not be the case with all, and many labouring men might even go through the week without tasting even a bit of bacon. Their staple food is bread and cheese. All the dis- tress he knows of in the parish arises either from the husband being given to drink, or the wife being a bad manager. Does not remember a case of real distress where the man is sober, and his wife thrifty and con- triving. Thinks there is more labour in the parish than the farmers can employ all through the year. There are some able-bodied men out of work now, and to some extent the employment of boys with horses displaces adult labour.* Most of the farmers have a young man or two living in their house ; they are hired by the year or half-year, generally at the “mop” ; sometimes they come fora month on trial. A considerable number of the people are probably in debt, though the amount would not often be as high as 5/, Finds the generality of the people honestly disposed, though of course there are rogues amongst them who will run into debt without any intention of paying. Some of the farmers find work for their men whether wet or dry, but others do not, and this is what pulls the men down. There are a good many of the young working men who can neither read nor write. They often ask him to read a bit of something for them, or to write some lines, and express a regret that they are not as good scholars as he is, Yet for all this they have not resolution or steadiness enough to attend the night school; they seem to prefer spend- ing their evenings elsewhere. The spirit of the people in one respect is high; they would rather do almost anything than come upon the parish for relief. Even if a pauper dies his friends will endeavour to bury him without asking for parish aid.f At the same time there prevails rather a mendicant spirit, and some of the people complain that there are not so many gifts in Almondsbury as elsewhere. 37. Letrer from Rev. F. W. Rice, Vicar of Fairford, Gloucestershire. Fairford Vicarage, December 6, 1867. Dear Sir, I am sorry to be prevented coming to the meeting to-day bya cold. We have only a few un- married women and boys under 10 employed in field labour. The supply of labour, except in the harvest, is abundant in this parish. In the neighbouring villages, where the population is small in proportion to the extent of land, the children are taken earlier from school. We find the employment of young women in the fields very injurious to their moral character. The most respectable among the poor will not allow their daughters to go out to work. Yours faithfully, (Signed) ¥. W. Rice. * I saw an instance of this in this very parish. A farmer. on whom I called in company with the vicar, mentioned that he could not get a boy to drive plough and had been obliged to put on a big lad of 17 or 18. If he could have got a boy, he would probably have saved 8s,a week in wages, but then the “ big lad” would in all likelihood have been out of work. . + Miss Mosely of Olveston informed me that the same inde- pendent spirit exists there. It is considered “ quite a disgrace to be buried by the parish.” The “mendicant spirit” stated to coexist with this independent feeling in Almondsbury. may perhaps be generated by the large eleemosynary endowment. 2, 195 88. Lurrer from Rev. Thomas Maurice, Magistrate and Chairman of the Cirencester Board of Guardians. Harnhill, December 19, 1867. Dear Mr. Frassr, I nave this morning gone through the amount of my farm labour for the present year, and I have calculated the amount paid to one ordinary labourer, who has worked on my farm throughout the year. I find that he will have been paid by the end of the year for day work and piece-work, 32/. 5s. Od. This being something over an average of 12s. a week confirms the estimate arrived at in your meeting at Siddington. You will recollect that Mr. Lewis suggested a difficulty in the way of those who dispense with boys by driving plough with reins, in the want of such boys when at cart work. I met his difficulty by saying we put on women to drive, which certainly was not mending the matter. I refer to this point because it would not be an accurate description of the general mode of working on farms where horses are driven with reins, Ordinarily the ploughmen, stout lads of perhaps 18, would be put to drive their own horses when at cart work. Nevertheless, on my farm, in order that the lads may help to fill the carts, a woman is sometimes put to drive; but this need not be, I am, yours very truly, (Signed) T. Maurice. EVIDENCE OF LABOURING PEOPLE. 1. Curson, Fanny, of Great Witchingham, aged 17, works in a gang belonging to Reepham; the gang- master’s name is Henry Cole. Has been working four years in the same gang. ‘There are about 24 in the gang, girls and boys about equal in number; no girl or boy under 9. Boys and girls work together. There is work all the year through, except harvest. If not hindered by weather, earns 4s. a week. A great many in the gang can read very little ; the biggest part can’t write. She herself reads nicely [1 tried her], but can’t write. Has never found her work too hard. The master is civil ; rarely gives an ill word, except the children are very wrongful. The young children are more unmanageable than the older. Has no complaint to make of gang work, but would like service better ; only, being one of a large family, has no things to go out in. Has three brothers, aged 16, 13, 10. The two eldest can read a little and write their names, but could not write a letter. The youngest can neither read nor write, owing to irregular attendance at school. [The Rev. W. Howard, Vicar of Great Witching- ham, who procured this witness for me, informed me that Cole, the gang-master, did not bear a good character, and that statements like this young woman’s cannot always be depended on. The girl’s elder sister, who also works in the gang, the Miss Howards had tried to teach to be a servant, but without success. An aunt also had failed to make anything of this very girl. She was nice-mannered, and nice-spoken, and bore a good character. Her mother industrious ; her father a drunkard. ] 2. Pratt, Jeremiah, \abourer, of Sprowston, aged 27, never had any schooling ; can’t read or write ; wishes he could ; has tried to learn himself; if there were anight school, would be glad to gotoit. There are three men besides him working on Mr. Barnes’ farm ; none of them can read or write. Was better off with wages at 10s., and flour cheap, than now when he has 12s. with flour dear. Pratt’s wife goes to work; wants the money ; though doubts when there is a young family whether there is any real gain. If a woman can stay at home and cook a bit of warm victuals, there would be more stay in it for a man than in cold bread. Does not work in the winter. Has four young children. Would rather stay at home and send the children to school, Can Bh Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a, Norfolk. Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. ——_—— —~O. 196 read and-write a letter ; got her learning at Sprows- ton school. . ; [In the row of six cottages, in which Pratt lives (called Barrack Yard), there is not one child, out of 13, who attends school ; but the children are mostly young, and the school is perhaps a mile away, and the elder girls are kept at home to look after the younger, while the mothers go to worl _- 8. Reynolds, Elizabeth, of Sprowston, widow, aged 45, works on Mr. Hardy’s farm; is now singling turnips ; earns 8d. a day for eight hours’ work ; finds the work hard ; stooping so long, on insufficient food. Wheat tyingis the hardest work for women ; the day would ‘then be about 10 hours. Has one boy, — 11; earns 1s. 6d. a week; is now keeping cows. e can read and write a little, Has no other source of income, so that she has only 5s. a week to support herself and boy. The parish makes her no allowance; her rent is 1s. 2d. a week. I thought this woman’s lot bard enough, and remarked so to Pratt, in whose house she was sitting during her dinner-hour. Pratt’s answer implied that even out of this miserable weekly pittance she managed to find money enough to drink more beer than did her good. , ; As Trae, Amelia of Ringland, husband a small market gardener; has brought up nine children, all to’‘hard work, and that never hurt no one. It’s a pity that children should be taken from school to work on the land, they do themselves no good and hinder their learting ; doesn’t think young women should go out to work in the field ; had best go to service. There’s much bad language used in the fields. But poor people with-large‘-families: must make their children earn something, Cottage rents are high in Ringland, 44. to,51., nothing lower, unless it be some mucky place, not fit for a creature to live in. 4 5. Gowan, Elizabeth of Crostwick, lives in one of Col.. Clithero’s cottages [one of a row of six, with kitchen, back place, two chambers, and about 16 rods of garden; rent 4/.] Husband earns 12s. a week, with piece-work. Doesn’t herself go out to work now; where there’s a family a woman is better at home. Children are generally taken away from schvol too soon ; but parents can’t afford to keep them longer. Neither of her boys (22 and 20) have any learning ; can neither read nor write. They went to school, but didn’t take to books. The school wasn’t so‘good then as now. There was an evening school when Mr. Bell was clergyman here; quite old men went, ‘Thinks them. good things; a boy’s iearning might come back to him again, oe 6. Holmes, Susan, lives.in same row ; husband a yardman (i.e. looks. after. stock) ; takes 12s. a week. Has four children, 8, 6, 4, 2 years of age, three are atschool. . Finds the times hard ; has paid 18s. 8d. for flour (eight stone) the last three weeks. Her children are hearty. Is a little in debt, about 3/. With. her family it wouldn’t answer to go to work in the fields, Her rent is 4/. Doesn’t think it out of the way. Can read and write ; not so very grand but @ little. Husband has no learning. That’s why she keeps her children at school; knows a little learning -is useful; may help them to a good place some day, Finds her children getting on nicely at school. Manages to get along, but has no money. over at the end of the year. Husband is a steady man, aged 30; herself 28, Thinks there are a good: many men of her husband’s age, who can read and, waite, and a good many who can’t. Boys are taken away from school too. soon, she knows that ; and the money they earn don’t.keep them. 7. Tubby, Levi, works .for Mr. Cookes, of Haver- land, earns 2s. 6d, a week; will be 12 come ‘harvest-; has been at work three years ; never went to school but a year, his mother wouldn’t let him ; can’t say why ; there, were seven of them at home ; thought he could write his name [tried and. produced a remarkable. signature }5-could read alittle [tried him in a very. easy passage and found he could not get on at all; said “ would” spelt “how ”]. ata EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN [A remarkably frank and naturally intelligent boy, but who simply had never had the chance of an educa- tion. a See William, of Cawston, works for Mr. Fuller, aged 14, earns 6s. 6d. a week. Went to Haverland school for a year, left school at six to go crow-keeping ; was in agang a little while, liked it ; it was at Cawston, Can neither read nor write ; hasn’t been to Sunday school for four years ; goes to church on Sunday, but can’t understand much. 9. Blogg, Walter, of Brandistone, aged 15, went to a private school at Cawston for six months, has been at work six,.years, earns 6s.a week ; has left Sunday school two years; hasn’t time to go now; hasn’t time to read at home. [This boy was evidently intelligent. He could read fairly, and could write his name legibly, but without any freedom. It would be a great labour to him to write a letter, if he could do it at all.] 10. Case, George, of Brandistone, thinks he is 18 ; learnt to write at Reepham school ; could write his name fairly, read moderately. 11. Turner, Benjamin, Scripture reader for parishes of Felthorpe, Heveningham, Haverland, Brandistone, and Booton, containing 1,500 people. Thinks ‘the labouring class have not sufficient education. The majority of men between 16 and 25:can’t read 3: tw6- thirds: can’t write in such a way as to be of any service to them. - Perceives, decidedly, a growing desire among‘ the people for education. But the great diffi- culty is-early employment. Thinks the night school the only remedy. : 12. Lubback, Robert, of Swannington, aged 22, married; works at Haverland ; went northwards last year in search of better wages, but returned ; 13 years since he left school; could write his name and read fairly. Wife can read and write a little too. 13.. Woodcock, William, of Salhouse, going 13; woiks for Mr. Hayles, earns 3s. 6d.; is, now bird- keeping, Went to Rackheath school; has left three years ; doesn’t go to Sunday school; can’t read with- out: spelling ; sometimes reads a little book at home. Could write his name. 14. Woodcock, George, elder brother of . former, going for 15 ; earns 6s.; can’t read or write ; never had much ‘schooling. tees [This boy worked on the same farm as his brother, and had come during his noon hour to.amuse himself with his brother’s gun. I was afterwards told they belonged to a very thriftless family.] | ,, 15. Gubbald, Ebenezer, .of Wroxham; 12 next birthday ; earns 2s. a week; works for Mr.-Cham- berlain ; went to Wroxham school for several years ; has left school more than three years ; does not go to Sunday school; never reads at home; can’t write; tried to read a very easy passage ; had to spell “ not” and “know ;” could not make out “could ;” has been at work three years for the same master; has been sheepkeeping for three weeks ; before that, tended bullocks ; before that, scared rooks—that was the first thing he did after leaving school; sometimes went to night school last -winter, perhaps eight or nine nights; did not get home till late; is fond of a book when he can get one. * 16. Educational and moral condition of five young women engaged in the laundry at Pulham Union- house: ae A. Aged 40 ; could just read simple words ; could not write ; has two illegitimate children. B. Aged 35; a field worker ; could read very fairly and write her name ; got her learning in the house ; has: one bastard child living, and had two others who are dead; said-to be very violent tempered and trouble- some; only to be managed by kindness. ; C. Aged 24; went to, school at Long Stratton ; went into the fields for afew, weeks ; then to service ; eould write her name distinctly, and read nicely ; has two illegitimate children. = | bey |. D. Aged 22; went to school at Morningthorpe ; could, read.and write very well; has never worked in ze ie i fields : : always heen gat. in service ; s, “has ‘two ille- giti mate. children, annot read. or write ; aged. Tr ‘velongs to Pulham; worked in the fields parents | ‘refuse to keep hers and so obliged to come into. the house. [This last girl belongs to a family whose character may be estimated from the following note which was shown me in the medical officer’s book. She is. one of the daughters :— “T visited Noah H ——’s boy according to order, and.found: that he could be removed to the Union- house without, danger. The family happened ‘to.be having their dinner at the. time; a well-supplied table, new potatoes, ample meat pudding, and rhubarb pudding ; and the following Monday, the woman as smartly dressed as the rest of the people, took an excursion ticket for Yarmouth, H. and his wife are great humbugs, and ought not to be encouraged.” “(Si gned) J. D’Eames.] ile Edge, Charles, of Starston, aged 12;. has left school nearly. two years, but still goes to Sunday school ; could write his name very legibly,.and read fairly, . ‘and could explain such phrases as “pay. his score,” “ staggered in his gait.” He earns 2 a week ; keeps rooks off wheat, potatoes, and bar fairs 73 goes to. work at 6 a.m., and leaves off at 6 p.m.;. goes home just. to get | his dinner ; when at other work has from 12,to 2 for dinner. Went to night school to a neighbour for three. months last winter... Three other boys went ;, paid ld. a week for. three nights, from 7.0 to 8.80 p.m. 18. White Henry, of - Starston ; 3. ‘a sober: Jabourer ; lives in a cottage belonging to the rector, with, three bedrooms, and-more than a quarter of an acre of gar- den ; rent 6/.; has an allotment of 60 rods, for which he pays. 18s. a year, rate and tithe free. Has had 12 children: there are now five at home, two boys and three girls; the two boys go out to work,; the three girls go to school. He earns 12s: a week ; his eldest. hoy,. aged 16, earns 5s.; the second, 14, As. They consume five.stone of flour (70 lbs.) a ‘week, at 2g, 8d. a stone. - Thinks,a man worst-off when he has four or five young: children, none of them.able to earn anything. Would rather. be wrapped up with a lot of girls than a lot of boys; there is more trouble in getting them out into the world. Does. not like his girls to go out into the fields; where there is a lot of boys, together he always knows there is some badness in the talk. Is sure there is no. profit in a boy’s earning 1s. 6d. a week, it does not pay for the clothes he tears ; 3 but when a man’s hung up for a sixpence the» sight: of the money coming in on a Friday night is pleasant. Was better off with his family when wages were lower and flour was cheaper. _ 19. Pearce, Ann Maria, of .Earsham; wife of a shepherd ; husband earns 10s. a week, and has his house .rent free. It is.a very, middling house, with only one large bedroom. Has four children, aged eigut, seven, four, and one and a quarter ; the boy of seven goes to school at. Denton; the girl of. eight goes in winter, but is. wanted at home in summer while her mother goes. out to work. Husband .is 30 years of age; can neither read nor write. She is 29; cannot write, and reads imperfectly. Uses 2} stone of flour a week ; it is now 2s. 10d. a stone. 20, Butcher William, aged, 11; keeping sheep in Redenhall churchyard.. Went to school at Denton for. one year ; never went anywhere else ; left. school about a year, ago, when he had his last “frolic” (after last school-feast) ; could never write his name; has forgotten nearly all his reading. “Tried. him with an‘easy passage ; he had to take the letters in “one,” and:then could not say what they spelt. Harns Qs. a week.'- Father has four boys'and two girls. -Father can read a-little ; mother can read; but neither can write. The other, brother, who. is 13, cannot read any better.than he can, and cannot write... Thinks .a sovereign is: five shillings ;. (afterwards changed it to 10,shillingss: Asked how many pence there. are in a shilling, .said.o“ tens” .but. questioned again, replied “twelve pennies more likely.” Cannot go to Sunday o IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. S497 school. Never went, to" a night school : did not get ‘home soon enough, 21. By way of contrast, less than 100 yards before I got to Wm. Butcher, I met a lad coming home from Harleston school, to which the more promising boys are sent from Wortwell. He was 11 years of age, the only son of a thatcher. (I afterwards heard, what surprised me, that his father was a drinking man). He read remarkably well, with excellent emphasis and expression. He ‘said “he could write nearly as well as he could read, and-work sums in simple pro- portion. He hoped his father would keep. him to school two years longer. He had to walk. upwards of two miles every day to school. 22. Mann, Mr. G. B., relieving officer of Depwade union, and registrar, finds a great deficiency of educa- tion ; but thinks he sees some improvement, and more ‘young ‘people between 14 and 20 can read and write than between 36 and 30. 23. Smith, , of Gissing, shoemaker, considers the village has been wonderfully neglected. There would not have been a bit of a charity school in ‘the place, if if.had’ not been for the Wesleyans. “Never saw a parish in so bad a. plight in his life. 24. Websdale, Harriet, of Gissing, aged 33 ; hus- band.a labourer, aged 36 ; husband and wife can ‘both read (I heard the woman read nicely), but neither can write. Has seven children, all at home,’ ages 11, 9,8, 6, 5, 3, 2; the three eldest and the youngest are boys. The two eldest boys go to. work ; earn 2s. 6d. and Is, 6d. a week. Husband earns 11s,°a week, and hasn’t earned thatlong. Does not know why the men get less wages at Gissing than in neighbour- ing parishes; thinks it must be. because they are fools. Rent of her cottage, with a nicé piece of gar- den, 41. 10s. There is only one chamber. and a low lean-to ; her-three biggest’ boys sleep in the lean-to. Whatever the children know, they got at the Wes- leyan Sunday school ; she and her ‘husband both got their learning there. If there were a school in the parish, would try and send her children, but could not afford to'_pay much for them. The parish | as long as she can recollect has been in the same state as now, neither better nor worse. In her neighbour’s cottage isa family of six children, all at home (as wild brood as I ever saw) ;, the. only learning any: of them can get is at the Wesleyan Sunday school. [The rector of this parish informed me that when he first came to Gissing, 50 years ago, he hada school kept in the church, twice on Sunday and once besides on an afternoon in "the week. But the Bishop having required two Sunday services, the school had tobe discontinued. He has not attempted to build a schoolroom since, because he did not think that. edu- cation did much good, and besides was afraid of Government interference, and that his school when he had built it might perhaps be taken out of his hand. } 26. Watling, Sarah, of 'Tivetshall St. Margaret’s, labourer’s. wife. Husband works for Mr. Spelman ; has eight children alive ; three at home, a girl of 114, a girl of eight, and a boy of five. Her daughter o 114 accompanies her to work in the field. Lives in a cottage with three chambers; thinks that, with a family, you must have that number of chambers to live respectably. Her five eldest children can read, and can write a letter home. They had .a little schooling at a private school, and then improved themselves at home. As soon as they could earn, was glad to take them into the fields; could not have brought up her family: without. Wouldn’t like to take a girl into the fields before 10 or 11,. Has one girl now in service, who worked with her for ¢ two or three years in the fields ; couldn’t have got her clothes to go out in unless she had. Wouldn’t have one. of her girls join a gang. If.a girl works in the fields, she should work under her mother’s eye. Thinks that a girl of 17 or 18 is best in service. Has hada sober husband, and so been able to keep « out of debt; has never svanted for clothing or victuals. in a. decent way. Has two children at school, for whom she pays Bb 2 " Norfolk. ama Rev. J. Fraser. “a Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. 198 4d. a week. Would like her children to be able to read a book, or a note from master, and to return one. Has heen obliged to take her children away from school at seven or eight. If the law had said she must keep them at school longer she would have suffered by the means, but still must have took it as it was ; we didn’t ought to rebel against the law. Her daughter, Martha Watling, 114, could not read without spelling; could write her name fairly well. Went to school a little last winter, and a little the year before. Has never been at school right through a year. Hasn’t had more than six months’ teaching in writing. 26. Hubbard, Sarah Ann, of the same place, aged 46, labourer’s wife ; husband works for Mr. Spelman. Has six children living ; three at home, a girl of 13, a boy of 11, and a girl of seven. Her eldest girl had but little schooling ; went to service at 11, had assist- ance from her mistress, and has made herself a fair scholar; can write a letter home. The next girl, now 17, is also in service, and can read and write ; went to school at Tivetshall, but not very regularly ; obliged to be kept at home to look after younger children ; she also has improved herself since she went to service. The next is a boy, upon his 16, in service at a farmhouse; never went but to Sunday school, but her husband taught him at home, and he can read and write pretty well. The next girl is 13, come Michaelmas; has been at school, off and on, for a twelvemonth ; she can’t read yet, but her father is doing what he can to improve her. Her husband is a fairly sober man, a pretty good scholar ; wishes his children to have learning ; thinks it much pleasanter, when the children are away from home, to be able to get a letter from them. This is the first summer that her girl of 13 has been out in the fields; has always been with her mother or with some other woman on the farm. Works herself in the fields about half the year ; could not have brought up her family without going out to work. When paid by the week, earns 4s. At wheat tying, which however doesn’t last above four or five days, can earn 3s. a day, her girl making the bonds. Lives in a cottage with a large chamber, a small one, and an attic, pays 4/. 10s. rent ; has a nice-sized garden. Has managed to get along as well as the generality of poor folk ; has kept out of debt. When her family was large she had to live according to her money; generally contrived to keep her children tidy ; never can recollect the day but what she has had three meals. Gets a bit of fresh meat at chance times, but chiefly relies on bacon. 27. Fox, , of Tacolnestone. Was a weaver and bird fancier, is now an agricultural labourer ; finds he does better. Had to weave 16 hours a day to earn as much as he earns now. Earns 12s. a week ; has two boys, aged 10 and 12, who earn 4s. a week in a private gang. They begin work at eight, and go on till 12, then have an hour and a half for dinner, and work on till six. Fox is 43; never had a day’s schooling; there was no school in Tacolnestone when he was a boy. His wife is teaching him to read and write. He terribly wants to be a scholar. Has five children, all at home. Neither of the two boys, who are at work, could read without spelling, and though they attempted to do it, could not be said to succeed in writing their name. 28, Cole, Mary, of Ingoldisthorpe. Uusband a shepherd, earns 12s. a week. Has brought up 14 children, eight girls and six boys. Never let a girl of hers go into the fields ; has got them all out into service. Turned them out into the world pretty early, at 14 years of age or so. They began to go into little places, just for their victuals. They are now all in good places, and are the greatest comforts that chil- dren can be to parents. Her husband can read and write, but she can’t. Not having any learning herself she knew the value of it, so she determined her girls at any rate should have as much as she could give them. There was no school at Ingoldisthorpe then, so she sent them to Snettisham. She had four of them, EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN all girls, at school at one time, and paid 10d. a week for them. They stayed till they were about 13. She was often blamed by her neighbours for not sending her girls into the fields, but her heart was high, and she wouldn’t. She said to herself, “ We'll see how it’ll * turn out.” It’s the ruination of the country, girls going into the fields; they will make neither good wives nor good mothers; and what do they know of needlework ? They get bold and wild, and inde- pendent of their parents. Why, there’s three of them joined together and took a house by themselves at Sedgeford, to be their own masters, All her girls can read and write. When she was bringing up this family her husband only earned 10s. a week, besides what he got at lambing time; her house rent was three guineas, and she had not a mite of garden. She had to work herself very hard, took in washing, but never went out into the fields. She issure her family would have suffered for it if she had, Her boys haven’t had as much schooling as her girls, they had to go out to work so young. Three of them went out at six, and took ls. a week. Her husband’s master (this was a good many years ago) would have paid him off if he hadn’t let them go to work, Her eldest son is now in Truman’s brewery in London; he has improved himself, and can write pretty well now. He wrote home to his parents to beg that his younger brothers might be kept at school, as he had found the good of a bit of learning. She has another son living in Herefordshire, he can neither read nor write, because he has been at work ever since he was six years old. The other two boys who are alive are poor scholars; they’ve been to night school for two or three winters, but are too tired with their day’s work when they get there to learn much. Her husband is a very sober man, brings home every threepence he earns, never drinks, and the quietest creature as ever was on the face of the earth, A good school is the greatest blessing as can be in a parish. Only wanted her children to read and write and do plain needle work ; didn’t care about nonsensical learning. Never knew anything non- sensical taught at Ingoldisthorpe school. Sees many of her neighbours take no thought about their children’s learning ; thinks it a great pity. Sup- poses they could afford to send their children to school as well as she could, if they had a mind, Never grumbled about what she had to pay. They were her happy days when she used to hear their innocent prattle when they used to come home from school. Remembers the time when flour was 3s. 6d. a stone, and she had nine children at home, and nothing coming in but her husband’s wages, which were then “ heined” (raised) to 12s. a week. They were hard times, surely, but by the blessing of God she struggled through, and never had a penny from the parish. 29. Sadler, William, of Ingoldisthorpe,— a boy casually met on the road. Doesn’t know his age (seemed to be 15 or 16). Wasn’t more than six months at school in his life. Doesn’t know how old he was when he went to work. Has been at night school for two winters ; could not read an easy pas- sage with which I tried him. Wrote his name; always spells his Christian name “ Willam.” 30. Townsend, John, aged 51, parish clerk and post-office keeper at Ingoldistorpe, and secretary of the Ingoldisthorpe benefit society, a farm labourer. ‘Thinks many men are so bad off because they don’t earn sufficient money to maintain them and bring their family up. Finds that the farmers are taking to give daywork to their men instead of piece-work. - Hasn’t himself had a day of turnip hoeing by the piece this year. Would much prefer doing any sort of work by the piece to doing it by the day. When he’s paid what he thiaks his work is worth, works with a better heart, and doesn’t care how hard the work is. A man may work well for nine or nine and a half hours 2day. Sometimes the work is so put as to try a man very hard. For instance, at muck drawing a man begins his day at half-past six, and goes on without IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. being allowed any time for meals till half-past three, then his day’s over; but it’s too long a time for any man to go without food. Doesn’t like to see women, who have got children at home, working in the fields ; never allpwed his wife to go. Considers any farmer can do without women on his farm, but he gets them cheaper than men.’ There’s plenty of work that women do that they just take out of the hands ofa man. Two women can hoe as much, or more than as much, wheat as any one man, and would be 8d. a day cheaper. Doesn’t know, however, what widows could do to support themselves unless they went out to farm-work. If boys are once taken from school to work there’s not one in 10 who would ever care to come back to his books. Thinks it quite soon enough for a lad to go out to work at 13 or 14, if his parents can maintain him. Went to school himself till he was 13, and there’s no sort of labouring work that he can’t turn his hand to. Has had seven children, and they have all had a learning, and they all feel the value of it now. There are some parents who don’t seem to see it. There’s Tom Richardson’s family, the girls all running about with their highlows all undone, and their things flying about this way and that; they’d be a deal better at school. Their mother was a field worker, and never looked after them. | The worst thing that. ever come up was girls going to work in the fields ; they get their heads so that you can’t persuade them to go to service, and they get linked so with other wild girls and young chaps that they fall into bad ways. It’s quite as bad, or even worse, for them to go into the fields at 13 or 14 as if they went at 16 or 18; the older ones learn the little ones all sorts of bad things. Would like to see the law prevent girls under 20 from going into the fields at all; it wouldn’t hurt the farmer and it would be much better for the girls. A mother perhaps might look after a young girl, and some mothers do, but a girl of 16 gets her head so that she don’t care for her mother, or give heed to what she says. Doesn’t think that a working man wants more learning than to read, write, and cast an account. Doesn’t see that there’s anything taught in the school that there’s no need for ‘a labouring man to learn; nothing more than what children ought to know. When he was a young man his day’s work never took such an effect upon him that he couldn’t have gone to a night school. Thinks a night school a very handy thing for those boys that are gone out to work, if they could only make up their mind to learn. Most of the drinking in the public-houses begins after 10 o’clock. A man goes into a public-house perhaps at 8 o’clock and sits there a couple of hours, and drinks his two or three pints, and then he feels as though he wanted ever so much more ; there are some men who would drink a gallon of beer in a night. What draws most men to public-houses is the company ; some, no doubt, are drove there by discomfort at home. [Another person told me “A man would rather pay “ for his beer in the public-house than have it given “ ¢> him if he was bound to drink it at home.’’] Thinks that not half the young men get drunk now that used to do when he was young. ‘They take more delight in other things; more pride in their dress ; 19 out of 20 young men now-a-days have « good suit of black clothes, which have cost 50s. or 31. They also put into clubs more, and are more saving. There is also less swearing and less blackguarding than there used to be. The cottages are not half as good as they ought to be ; three-fourths of those in Ingoldisthorpe are very undecent. Brought up his own family in one chamber. There should have been three chambers to make it decent. No labouring man ought to pay more than 31. for his cottage, but he ought to be willing to pay extra for a good piece of garden-ground ; wouldn't mind himself to pay 10s. a year for a quarter of an re, 81. Webb, Robert, of Ingoldisthorpe, farm labourer, aged 55, married, has had nine children, six still alive (two boys and four girls). Only the youngest 199 boy, who is now at home, aged 15, can read or write. There was no school in the parish when the others were young. Those that can’t read and write find out the disadvantage of it; his girl, who is at service, often calls out because she has to get others to write her letters home. A boy who has got some learning ought to be the better workman for it. Kept bis youngest boy at school till he was 13, he now works on the farm; he is not a very bright boy, but is thoroughly steady ; doesn’t take delight in learning, and so, seldom reads or writes at home. A boy who leaves school with only a little learning is pretty sure to lose it; he ought ought to stay at school till 9 or 10, but a poor man with a large family is often put to it, and is obliged to send out his boys to earn something as soon as he can; but, if it could be managed, it would be much better if the boys stayed at school longer, and girls never worked in the fields at all. But it’s no use of him speaking against boys working in the fields or girls either, unless it can be contrived somehow or other that they shall be fed. His wife once wanted one of his girls to go to work, where she would have earned 4s, a week; but he had seen the goings on, and so stood out against it. This made a rumpus betwixt him and his wife, and she beat him, and the girl was sent to work, and there she got ruined and had an illegitimate child. As far as making a good labourer goes it’s quite time enough for a boy to go to work at 12, but perhaps 10 is a better age; if they get too far on they think themselves men and won’t be told. Cottages generally havn’t got sleeping-rooms enough ; they ought to have three. A bit of garden is a great help toa poor man. If you do away with the gangs and working in the fields for children and girls you ought to put a piece of laud to every poor family.. An acre or two of land would employ the man’s family, and they could be sent to school all the same. : Would like to see public-houses done away with. Had a drunken father himself and knows the evil of of it, and therefore has resolved that his children shall never have the same thing to say of him. In the publichouses the drinking begins before 10, but the rowing generally begins after 10. Would like to see the public-houses closed, at any rate, on the Sabbath day. Thinks the whole question of the employment of boys and girls in the fields must be determined by the oe of the family and the father’s ability to maintain them. 32. Godby, , 387 years of age, ostler and fly- driver at the “ Rose and Crown,” Snettisham, married, and has six children; lives in a poor cottage with hardly any garden ground, and only one chamber, for which he pays 42. rent. Thinks if any .restriction were placed on the number of inmates allowed to live in a cottage it would raise rents. Has an allotment, but hasn’t time to work it himself; paid 1/. last year for its cultivation ; finds it very useful. His father was a shepherd, and had 11 children ; when he was a lad helped his father to look after the sheep. He started from home when he was 15 to take a shep- herd’s place, and got one in Cambridgeshire, where he took 9s. a week, but gave up the life, as he. thought he shouldn’t like it. It is a hard life, with a good deal of exposure; ’tis hard in all weathers for a boy of 10 or 12. Can remember many a time when he was a little tot, just strong cuough to carry a hurdle, falling down under the weight of one in the snow. Knows that education is a valuable thing; kept his boy at school till he was 13; he is now a good scholar ; helps him in the yard, and, though he has only been at it since the summer, can take a horse out or put him in, or dress him down nearly as well as he can himself. Thinks it would work hard on the poer man with a large family, if he were prohibited from sending his boys to work before 10. Doesn't know how the labouring man pays his way; his harvest. money is pretty nearly all he has to look: to, to pay: his rent and shoemaker’s bill: His own rent’ and--shoemaker’s bill Bb 3 Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Norfolk. pe ey. we Rev. J. Fraser. Essex, 200 last, y r came to 11J. He would be quite content if het Te a.week wages and a cottage rent free. Is sure that field work is often too hard and too long for young children. Knows how he feels the cold him- self; is often half frozen and can’t get himself warm again -without taking something. How, then, must they. little things feel, out all day in winter, crow- keeping.. Though not an old man seems to fancy himself wearing out, and he can’t do as much as he ought to do according to his age; attributes this to the early age. at, which he went to work in the Golda. os. sy 83. -Fash, MaryAnn, of Necton ; husband a la- bourer; has brought up nine children, eight girls and a boy. Six of her girls are now in service, the other three are at home. Never went out into the fields herself, except. one year to do a little harvesting. Neyer allowed her girls.to go into the field,.except one .or, two years when: three of them went with their, father, he to dibble and they to: drop ..wheat. Has always,got her children out by the time they. werg 13... The girl she has at home now is nearly 14; she’s handy to her'in the house, and she means to try and. give her, another year’s schooling ; she can’t..read or -write -herself, and this girl writes all her letters. All ‘her girls can read and write. Had to work, hard herself to keep her girls at school ; took in needlework. Hadn’t. much difficulty in getting her. girls out into places; Has.;often. had it put to her,;when she went. about a.place,..“ Has your girl ever worked in a gang ?”” Let the woman stop at: home and manage for the family, it.would be a deal better than her going out to work. . If there were fewer women in the fields there’d be,more:‘work.for the men. Expects there'll be a good many men wanting work this winter. It would be.a good.:thing.if children under 10 weren’t suffered to work.’ She cares more about her children’s learning than she might have done, ‘because she knows the want of it. Her husband earns 12s., and she makes perhaps, one ‘week: with another, 2s. 6d. or. 8s. Is sure she’s better-off with this than if she went into the fields and eamned 4s..and 5s.; When she goes out for the day to a. gentleman’s-house as a ueedlewoman, doesn’t find much; gain in it; finds a difference at home; the children aren’t so sparing in bread and butter. Her husband has done his part as much as she has tried to do hers in keeping the girls out. There can’t-be better girls in the world than hers are to her. Has three bedrooms.in-her house and agood garden. The rent has been dropped from 5/. to 3/. 10s. No cottage, where there’s a family; ought’to have less than three chambers. qi 34. Green, Sarah, of Necton ; husband a labourer; has had 13 children, seven girls and six boys. Never sent ‘a girl into the fields in her life; doesn’t like it, ‘thére’s so much swearing and bad talk ; never went into the fiélds herself ; used to go out charing. Thinks girls should’ go to service ; never knew but what they could ‘get places. Has a boy of 14 who left the day’school at eight ; has attended evening school since, and can read and write. , _ It would be better that boys should be kept at school till 10, if parents could maintain them ; but: there’s much hardship, and some people are driven to send their ‘children to work in the fields. Has a boy.going going to be married who is only just 21.. Young people marry very young. If their parents talk against, it they say the Queen marries her daughters very young, and so they are sure there can be no law _ against it. 85. Green, Elizabeth, of Necton—Husband works in the Hall gardens; gets 13s.a week. Has had 12 children (five boys and seven girls) ; has buried one of her girls, one is married, one in service, and three go to school. Never brought up any of her girls to field work ; doesn’t like it, whether out of a gang or in it;; would rather do. with less money, Got on as well as she could without it, and-she thinks as well as some of her neighbours with it: She didn’t. perlaps have so much money, but that isn’t all. Has kept EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN OR EE he gst her boys at. school till they were 10, 11, and 12., Her husband was as much set against: the gang as herself. Once -when the times were hard she thought she would send out a girl or two ; but her husband said, “ Bet, if you knew as much of the gang as I do, you’d “ never send them,” so she never did. Her boys can read and write well, all except one, and he would never learn ; he can just read and write, but she don’t reckon him a scholar. Is sure a boy ought not to leave school till 10, if he is, ever to become ascholar, If they once go they must go (i.e., they are not likely to come back again.) Thinks the evening school a very good thing. She has got. along, but can hardly, tell how she did; but she could always get trust, and hopes she always shall. Children that go to work wear. out more shoes and clothes, and they eat a lot more food ; and there isn’t-much gain in their earnings. 36. Acres, Martin,..gangmaster, of Gooderstone ; has.a gang: sometimes.20.strong or more; found him at-work with a party of half a dozen, four girls: and three: boys. One of the boys was between. 7 and 8 Knows that after January ‘1 he mustn’t employ a child under 8.. He shouldn’t, mind the prohibition, if they were .sent to school and taught properly. If he had irls of his own, he would not let them go into the. fields ; but them three girls there (pointing to three sisters then working under him, all under 12), what. are they to.do?- There are eight.of them. in: family, and the father only’ earns .13s., and there’s no boy dld: enough to earn anything. It.costs them 15s. a week. for flour (at the rate of half a.stone a head). 37. Notes of a walk from Halstead (Essex), out and’ home, through the villages of Little and Great Maple- stead, illustrating some of the phenomena of English rustic life (Saturday, October 12, 1867). a A mile and a half from Halstead came to a hand-, some double cottage, brick-built, occupied. by, the coachman and horseman of Mr. Vaizey, a landowner and magistrate, farming a considerable quantity of his own land. The’, horseman’s name was, Frederick Mayes ; he has.11s. a week. and his house rent free. He had at first 30 rods. of garden, but having, no family and not requiring: that quantity, he, gave up. some of it to oblige his landlord,, If he had to pay rent, such a cottage would fetch perhaps 5/. That would be too much for a labouring man to pay; he, could not well afford more than 4/. Thirty, rods of garden is as much as a man can cultivate properly . without hiring labour; and then a garden don’t pay. A labouring man’s first want is a good wife, his second, a good house, and his third a good school for his chil-, dren. He married his.wife and changed to his present home on the same day, and he has never seen reason to repent of either step. Doesn’t think a boy is of. any real use on the land till he is 12, provided the parents can maintain him, “Why, it’s only the other, day our bailiff told one of our men named Howard,' that his son, who must be at least 12, was more bother. to him than all the other men on the farm, for, he didn’t know what to set him to. Would I walk in and see what his house was like, and talk to his “missus?” I did so,.and found an excellent hduse full of furniture, and excellent preparations making for Sunday’s dinner ; two rooms and a large pantry below (the man brewing his own beer, and doing but “little “ business ” as he said, “ with the public-house,’’) and three chambers up stairs ; altogether as many. signs of comfort as you would wish to find. On leaving, I said to the wife, “Well, Mrs. Mayes, if all labouring men “ had as good a house and as comfortable a home as “you and your husband have, England would be a “ different country from what it is.” ‘ Well,” replied the woman, “every labouring man ovght to have as “ good a cottage, and then, maybe, he’d work with “ better spirit and respect his master more ;” a senti- ment with which I fully agreed. A mile further on, in Little Maplestead, I. en- countered'a man turning manure, having previously. seen two men and three biggish boys spreading another lot in the fields. “How do you manage to cultivate .. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) “ 6 ce (T7 “cc .the land. hereabouts and keep it clean without women?” J asked.’ “Because there’s men enough to do the work,” was the reply. “There’s often four _or five out of work as it is; and I have heard tell of the tinfe, years ago, when 30° or 40 used to gather “' together up at the cross roads there out of employ.” The man’s name was William Coe, a fine young fellow of 23, married, with two children, His wife, like most of the women hereabouts, takes in straw-plait at home. He pays 3/. 10s. for his house, with only two chambers, and a very small garden. Once, when he was in Kent, he saw women working in gangs in the fields, and doing pretty. nigh as much as the men ; but then there’s no straw-plaiting down there, Another time, when he was near London he got higher wages, but paid 3s. week for his house ; so he was no better off than now. He can neither read nor write ; supposes it was because he was never sent to school. Wishes he could, and he’d be better off than he is. There’s no school in Little Maplestead now, but a “ braiding “ school,” kept by an old man, where the children are taught to plait straw, and read two or three times a day, paying 1}d. or 2d.a week. Their parents find the straw, and séet them their task, and the children will earn 3d.'and 4d. to 1s. a week, which ihe parents take. The straw comes out of Buckinghamshire. ‘There used to be a school at Little Maplestead, kept in a cottage, but the parson broke it up, he didn’t know why. He didn’t know that there was any night school for him to.go to. I afterwards heard from other people that the parson broke up the school, because no children came, and one man said he had heard many parents declare they would not send theit chil- dren there.* This last man, Sammons by name, also accounting for no field-work in the district being done by. women, said there were “men about there, enow “ and to spare, and the place would be all the better “if 100 of them were to emigrate.” ' At Great Maplestead, a widow woman living with two daughters (who act as assistant-overseers of the parish !), most respectable looking persons, farming about 30 acres of land, said the women would not go out to work in the fields ; they did better with the straw-plait in their own homes, though the money was not much ; they wore out less clothes and shoes, and ate less victuals. Boys go to work on the land at 6 or 7, scaring birds and tending cows and sheep. There was a man from Lincolnshire came and took a farm here, and said he’d have the women, but he tried and could not manage it ; so he was obliged to fall into the fashion of the country. Wages here are 11s. a week, and at Sible Hedingham, only 10s. ; anid she wouldn’t be surprised if at some places farther west, they were only Qs. ; Half a mile ‘further’ on I met, a very intelligent, brown-eyed boy, driving home a couple of cows from the meadow. They belonged, I found, to my friend the widow. The boy was going 10, was employed. all the year through at this work’; could write 4-letter, but couldn’t read. His father taught him to write. Wrote a letter last week to his sister at Brighton. “ But could she read it?” “Well, she did send word “* back that she had had some work to put it together.” Earns Is. 6d. a week; thinks ‘he is worth more. rs “* Throughout this neighbourhood, from sordid, selfish motives, as enabling them to turn their children’s labour to ac- count at the earliest moment, the straw-plaiting, or as it is other- wise called, the “ braiding,” school, is preferred by the parents to the public school. ‘The clergyman of'Little Maplestead sub- sequently explained to me the difficulties about a school in his ‘parish. ~ There is a difficulty about a site ; 300 acres of laid im- mediately round the church, ‘the. most’ eligible spot for such a purpose, ‘belong to a religious corimunity in London, called ‘« Sabbatarians,”. and are not available.~, Av large landowner will only offer 5/:4 year towards keeping a school in a cottage. - The living is only:75l.a year. - Theré has ‘been. no: resident. clergy- man until the present, for 50 years, and consequently the people have-had very little done for them spiritually: or educationally, The church is interesting as one of the four ““round , churches in England. eens Moy tube Couns COMMISSION +—EVIDENCE., & There's a boy no bigger than he gets 6d, a day ; knows he do, for he asked him. Does. not go with’ the cows on Sundays, they are kept up then ; but. on week days looks after them in the meadows, ‘What,’ “aren’t the fences good ?” « Oh, yes, the ferices are “good enough, but there’s some gates which open. ** into the road which the cows would gét through if I “ weren’t theré to look after them,” “But why not. “ shut the gates?” “QO, there’s no gates, only like’ ss that,”— pointing to a pair of posts, minus a gate,, leading into an opposite field. So here was as bright intelligent a lad as I would wish to see, kept from school and puid 1s. 6d. a week all the year_round, to’ look after cows, because some was ' poor to have a gate hung on its The lad told me there were only two others besides himself at home, so that I am afraid, in spite of his father having taught him to write, that his parents. did not set much value on education, - nee Drawing nearer home [ came to a large field. of allotments, belonging to Mr. Hornor, aresident squire, let to the poor in lots of 20 rods apiece (some, how-. ever, occupying two lots), at 6d. a: rod. |“ Why, that’s rather a high rent, 4d, an acre,” said.I, to a man. who was forking up his potatoes... « Well;.we callsi ‘em cheap. There’s some on t’other side. of the towa: lets at 9¢.; but I believe at Little Hedingham they: pay 4d.” The man was a young fellow.of 26, with’ a wife and two children, himself working in a tan- yard. He only gets lls. a week, with no harvest, and so is not so well off as a field labourer.’ Heis a good scholar, can read and write well ; . got his learning at the British school in Halstead, and at ‘the night, school in Parson’s Lane. He pays 1s. 4d.-a week for his house, which hasn’t a rod of garden. His wifé does straw plait, and often sits up till the middle of the night atit. Has to work 12 hours. a day to earn 3s. a-week. If he could happen on a good place of any sort, he’d be off to it to-morrow. - © we posts in the field, I found the people in this district civil, touching their hats or dropping acurtsey, as I met them; well- mannered, ready at apprehending a question and answering it to the point, with no signs of deep or oppressive poverty. The cottages are built. either of brick, or of lath and plaister walls, with stout timber framework. The people didn’t know which was best, and both sorts looked fairly comfortable. The rent seemed to vary from.3/. to 42. 10s... er ae In Great Maplestead are a beautifully restored chureh, a newly erected school and parsonage, and a home for fallen women, under the management of a sisterhood, on the point of completion. I fancied I could trace the difference produced by a closed or open sehool in the different appearance and manners of the children whom I saw or accosted in the two Maplesteads, Altogether such a walk would give any one who’ has eyes to see, a lively insight into the actual phenomena of English rural life. In the case of.an élderly:man at Little Maplestead, just come home from his work, I saw something of its coarseness also ; but I forbear repeating more than one of his remarks, that, * Cer- tainly the beerhouse had the trick of emptying the money out of a poor man’s pocket.” He was not an edifying specimen of the British labourer, a mere coarse-minded, coarse-tongued boor, of whom the neighbours said “ they never knew such a character ;” -but they listened: to him as though he were the acknow- ledged wit or humourist of the village; seemed: to enjoy rather than be disgusted by his grossness ; and no doubt. got, in a measure, corrupted by it. i 38. Wednesday October 16.—Returning from. my meeting at Great Yeldham, on my way to the. station, met seven plaiting girls. Four could not read; three thought they could, but on being tried with a very ‘simple passage, could not get on without spelling. Their ages ranged from 7 to 15. One of them told me she could plait three yards of braid in an hour, and gét,4d. for 20 yards. A finer sort is paid 11d. for 20. yards, Bb4 a1 Essex, —_— Rev. J too careless’ or too, ” J. Fraser, ay, Eysex. Rey. J. Fraser. a. 202 and the girl said she could do three yards in an hour.* They were all coming from a plaiting school, in which there were 40 children. It is kept in a room in a cottage, which gets very hot. The school hours are from nine to five, and they go home to dinner. They read twice in the course of the day. The girls were walking home from school in a party, gossiping and plaiting as they went. 39. Thomas Riches, » man whom I met in my walk this same evening, returning from his work. Lives in Little Maplestead, works for Mr. Vaizey ; earns 11s. a week ; his boy there is 16 ; he can’t read but very little, and can’t write at all; was took away from school so early. Is no scholar himself. A little learning certainly is a very useful thing ; a man can’t do much for himself without it.t A boy isof no use on the land until he is 10. Couldn’t understand what farmers could mean by telling me to-day that if a boy is ever to grow to make a man, he must get on the land by 6 or 7.{ Why it must hurt ’em, and it do. He’d like to see boys kept at school till they were 12 or 14 if parents could maintain them, but it comes terribly hard on a family where there’s 4 or 5 young children, and only 11s. a week coming in. Has known boys go out to work at 2d. a day, and is sure there is no real gain to the family out of such earnings after all. There’s no night school in this parish, but his boy there tries to improve himself by reading o’ nights at home. 40. Albert Merritt, of Almondsbury (Thornbury Union), aged 10 the 21st of last June. Has been working for farmer Carter; earned 3s. a week; drove plough ; liked school better ; found himself tired with his day’s work; got so much walking. Would leave home at 5 or 5.30 a.m. ; go to farm, help to clean out his stable and get the horses ready. Then got his breakfast, which he had brought with him, bread and cheese, and half a pint of cider, allowed by his master. Went with with the horses on the land, at work till noon ; then got a quarter of an hour for dinner, bread and cheese and cider, Kept on ploughing till three, then took the horses home, that would perhaps occupy half an hour. When they got home to farm, the ploughman went in to get his dinner in the house while he looked after the horses, fed them ; helped to cut the chaff. Did not get home till 7 o’clock ; had his supper, potatoes and bacon, with nothing to drink. Goes to bed at 8 o’clock. 41. Wednesday, Jan, 15.—Returning from my meeting at Berkeley, saw two men, at the entrance of the village of Stone, spreading stones on the road ; one was 25, the other 38 years of age. Were earning 1s. 6d. a day. Neither could read or write. The elder was one of a large family, and schooling cost 3d. or 4d. a week when he was young. The farm-work hereabouts is not constant ; there is always a lot of men out of work in winter in Berkeley and round here. If fewer boys were employed, there would be more work for men. Many boys are hired at the *T can’t reconcile these figures with the man’s statement at Halstead (No. 37, supra), that his wife had to work 12 hours a day to earn 3s.a week. Either these girls exaggerated their earnings or their rate of work, which I think very likely, or the two statements refer to two different conditions of the trade, which is very fluctuating. I found but one opinion prevalent as to the social results of straw plaiting in the case of young girls; that it is even more demoralizing, and helps to produce a more unsatisfactory character in every way than work in the fields. It is fair to add that this is the opinion of persons belonging to the classes above the straw plaiters, but it is their unanimous opinion. t A labourer in another part of Essex, bailiff to the Rev. C. Burney of Wickham Bishop’s, amused me by his quaint way of putting the same idea, “A pen,” he said, “earns an easy loaf.” I thought of my Aristotle, and remembered the observation, “ol dypoiko: pdAtora yyaporima eicl, Kal padlws dmopatvoyra.” Rhet. ii., 21. 9. $I had told him that this opinion had been expressed by more «than one farmer at my meeting held in the morning at Great Yeldham. It was said that boys of even younger years are very useful to their fathers, to lay the turves after them, in gur- face draining. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “mop” to do work which a man would otherwise do. But if a man has a large family, of course he must send out the boys to carn something. Know many married men out of work now ; they are living, cer- tainly, and yet not living, breathing like. Just before I met these men, I came across a woman spreading cow droppings in a field. She was paid at the rate of 2d. an acre, and it would be hard work, she said, to earn 8d. a day. When the droppings are thick, the payment would be raised to 23d. Soon after parting with the men, I met two boys, one of 14, the other of 8, the eldest of whom gave this account of himself: His name was Joseph Brown of Swanley. He went to Tortworth school, under Mr. Smith. Did not know for how long. Left four years ago. Could not read when he did leave. Has not been to school since. Cannot read or write. Has been earning 7s. a week as abricklayer’s labourer. Is out of work now. ‘There are eight of them at home ; only father’s earnings coming in. He is keeper to Lord Fitzhardinge. Father can write a little and read, and mother can do both pretty well. Of the six children, there is only one, Edith, who goes to Berkeley school and is going 12, that can read and write. 42. William Stephens, of Bromsberrow (Union of Newent), aged 14 last birthday.—Has left school three and a half years. Went to Mr. Ricardo’s school at the Berrow. Was in first class when he left.. Was five years at school. Never went out to any job of work, when at school; was kept constant. Father is a labourer ; earns 9s. a week. There is father and mother, four boys and a girl at home ; three (all boys) go to work, and one to school. Has never been to night school—his house is very out of the way, and he has notime. Has kept his learning up at nights. Father cannot read, but mother can. All his brothers that go to work can read ; can read and write himself.* Earns 3s. a week ; drives plough. Leaves home at 5 o’clock. Sometimes breakfasts first, sometimes takes his break- fast with him—bread and butter, and bread and cheese. Has first to go to the Hawthorns to get the day’s allowance of cider (five quarts) for the carter and him- self. Of this, he would have three pints. From the Hawthorns he goes to the stable, which makes his walk two miles altogether. Has to be at the stable at half-past 6 o’clock. Sometimes has to wait a quarter of an hour or more for the cider. Helps the carter to clean the stables, and feed and harness the horses. Starts from the stable at 7; begins to plough about half-past 7. Keeps on till 11, and then has a bait— bread and cheese which he has brought with him, and a draught of cider. The horses get nothing, except perhaps some water in hot weather. The bait lasts half hour, goes on ploughing with perhaps a rest of quarter of an hour, for a drop of drink, till 4 o’clock. Then goes home with the horses, perhaps riding one of them, unless his feet are cold, when he prefers walking. Ploughs about three-quarters of an acre of land in the day. When arrived at stable, has his dinner, bread and cheese or bacon, which he has brought with him. This takes half an hour. Dinner finished, goes to the stable, and helps the carter to unharness and dress his horses ; makes their beds. He and his carter have to look after six horses 3 the chaff cut by a special man. Has done work by 7 o’clock, and gets there about half-past 7. Has his supper, garden stuff, and bread and meat. Gets meat (bacon) twice most days. Goes to bed about half-past 8, and sleeps pretty firm. Father wakes him in the morning. They have two bed-chambers to their cottage; he and two brothers sleep in one, and father and mother and * The boy could write very well, and I tried his reading powers on a somewhat difficult and perfectly strange passage, which he made out very intelligently. He could also read the directions on a packet of physic which he was taking from the parsonage to his mother, and could even make out the bad writing of my manuscript pencil notes. The boy’s satisfactory condition, as regards education, illustrated the results that we might hope to produce, if only uninterrupted attendance could be secured for five years in an efficient school. « IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Samuel (7) and Sarah (5) sleep in the other. Mother never goes out to work on the land, except in harvest ; does a bit of gloving at home sometimes. Dislikes road-work most; it makes him so tired. Some- times gots with a team to Gloucester (12 miles), and Tewkesbury (10). Nojourney money allowed either to the carter or himself. Often starts at 5, and does not return till 6, When he first went to work as plough- boy, three years ago, used to feel much more tired with his day’s work than he does now.* ~ 43. Mary Peart, of Kilcote, a hamlet in the parish of Newent; husband aged 47; works for Mr. Hooper ; earns 9s. or 10s. a week. Has five children at home, aged respectively 12, 10, 7, 44, and 1} years ; none of them earn anything, but she is trying to get the eldest (a girl) out to service. Requires 34 pecks of flour a week for the consumption of the family ; flour is now selling at 11s. 6d. a bushel. Has no yege- tables, not so much as a potato left, Has had nothing but “stark-naked bread” this month past ; no butter, cheese, or bacon. Has had no cheese since harvest. Sometimes even the bread runs very short ; has been two or three days without knowing where to turn for a bit. The rent of her cottage, which contains two rooms on the ground floor, and two small bedcham- bers, with a garden about 30 perches, is 5/., besides rates, which come to about 15s. more. It is a good comfortable house ; but the rent is too high for a labouring man to pay. Her husband is a steady man, and brings his money home. [The Rev. Morris Burland, who was present. when I took this evidence, informed me that in his district, containing about 400 houses, there must be at least 50 families as badly off as this, I certainly hardly ever saw a district with more marks of poverty about it; many of the cottages ruinous, and unfit for human habitation ; a low wage-rate, and a corre- spondingly low social and intellectual condition of the people ; a great number of apparently truant children ; a great aversion on the part of some of the worst-housed old people to take refuge in the workhouse, though they would be infinitely more com- fortable there. The most wretched dens that I saw inhabited were such as had been erected by squatters on the waste; but there were others (such as those occupied by Ellen Carpenter and Ann Bodenham), not many degrees better in condition, for which rent, in the case of Ellen Carpenter’s, as high as 3/. 11s., is paid. (January 28, 1868.) ] / 44. By way of contrast to the picture just painted, I will record a case, inadvertently omitted in its proper place, noted in Norfolk : Mrs. Wicks, wife of James Wicks, yardman to Mr. Rollison, of Ickburgh (Swaffham Union). Oceupies an excellent cottage of Lord Ashburton’s, with three rooms below and three above, full of fur- niture—a sofa, chairs, tables, even ornaments such as china, prints, &c.; and all the very picture of order and cleanliness. Rent, 1s. a week. She has brought up six children, and there are six in family now—three boys, a girl, her husband, and herself. Her husband earns 12s. a week; two sons, aged 22 and 17,.pay her 5s. a week out of their earnings for maintenance ; and the third boy, who is 14, gets As. 6d. a week. Altogether, has 26s. Gd. a week coming iu. Can get on comfortably, and is thank- ful. Never worked in the fields herself; thought herself more in her place at home. Would not let her girls go into the fields ; thinks it is a bad place * The evidence of Wm. Stephens should be compared with that of Albert Merritt (No. 40) taken in quite a different part of the country... In both cases the questions were asked and the answers given in the presence of the clergymen of the re- pective parishes, who had no doubt that the boys spoke the simple truth. That they did so is almost proved by the inde- pendent agreement of their stones.’ And yet at the meeting of the Central Chamber of Agriculture, the case of Wm. Stephens which I mentioned to show that an excessive number of hours’ work is not unfrequently exacted, was treated by more than one speaker as an entirely exceptional, if not a.highly exaggerated one; 1 believe it to be quite a common case. 2. 203 for girls ; they hear coarse talk, and get unfitted for service. Thinks there would be no hardship if the law prohibited young girls under 16 from going to work in the fields, Boys ought to be kept to school till 10; knows there is no gain in their earning 1s. 6d. or 2s. 2 week; it is a loss; their shoes cost more, and so do their victuals. Her husband is a steady man, and brings his money home; and she was herself described to me by Capt. Caldwell, Lord Ashburton’s agent, who took me to see the cottage, and was present while I collected the above evidence, as amodel wife. (Sept. 26, 1867.) NOTES ON SCHOOLS VISITED, AND OPIN- IONS OF SCHOOL MANAGERS AND TEACHERS. 1. Drayton School, Norfolk (St. Faith's Union}.— Under a mistress, an ex-pupil teacher ; 80 children on the books, present 52 (pop. 451). Found a good deal of intelligence among them. The rector (Rev. Ginds Howell) teaches them one hour and a half daily. His children stood highest on the list in the diocesan prize-scheme examination. The school is not under Government. Mr. Howell’s two schools at Hellesdon and Drayton cost in the aggregate about 100/. a year, 50/. of which comes out of his own pocket. In Drayton reside many workers at the mill at Taverham, where a large part of the paper used by the London “Times” is made. The habits and language of the young women working there are said to be infinitely coarser than those of the girls employed in agriculture. The clergyman here takes great interest in his school and his children, and I fancied I could trace the results of this in the generally prepossessing appearance of the children that I saw. I found in the school an example of the physical ill results that sometimes are produced by early employment. Asking a question of a little boy, I could not hear his answer ; upon enquiring, I was informed that this boy had been sent to “ keep “birds”? when he was only six years old, and lost his voice by shouting at them. He is now nine years of age, and it is considered questionable if he will ever recover it. 2. Sprowston School, Norfolk (St. Faith’s Union). —Population 1,500, not more than 200 of whom are employed in agriculture. Parish extensive, about 34 miles long by 34 miles wide. ‘The school lies at one end, just outside the outskirts of Norwich. It is attended by about 100 children, and is under the charge of three mistresses, the eldest only 23 years of age, at a salary of 20/.; the second, about the same age, at. 161.; the youngest, merely a monitor, at 4/. The whole annual cost of the school is about 452, towards which about 20/. are produced by the chil- dren’s pence. Col. Clitheroe subscribes 10/., Mrs. Arkwright 5/., the Dean and Chapter of Norwich 381., the incumbent 4/.; there are, besides, about half a dozen subscribers of a sovereign each. One non- resident proprietor of 1,000 acres, and another of 450, subscribe nothing. This school is manifestly inadequate, both in respect of the number of children attending, the teaching power, and the voluntary sup- port it receives, to the exigencies of this large and important parish. 3. Catton School, near Norwich (population 646). There are 66 names on the register and an average attendance of 40. The schoolroom is about 80 ft. by 14. The school fee is ld. a week. ‘The mistress’s salary is 202. and the school pence, which amount to 82. She was pupil teacher in one of the Norwich schools, but has not been trained. She has been keeping school nine years and a half, and her experience is that the boys do not remain long enough at school to be suffi- ciently educated. Of the 24 boys present, only three were sons of agricultural labourers, only four were over 11, three were between 10 and 11, four were between 9 and 10, Their reading was indifferent, ‘but they seemed fairly intelligent. There are two private elementary schools in the parish, one attended Ce Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a, Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. 204 by about five, the other by about 10 scholars, so that the whole school enrolment in the parish is at the rate of about one in eight of the population, the average attend- ance probably not more than one in 12 or 18. There were 32 children, 24 boys and eight girls, present on the afternoon of my visit (July 16, 1867). ‘The con- dition of the school was not commensurate with the apparent wealth and populousness of the parish. 4. Ringland School (St. Faith’s Union, Norfolk), population 860. An endowed school for 28 children, 14 boys and 14 girls. The endowment arises from land in the neighbouring parish of Weston. The present teachers, man and wife both elderly and looking respectable, but I should doubt if very competent, have been in charge eight years and a half. They are allowed to take paying scholars in addition to the 28 foundationers, who get their education free. At this time there are two such scholars. There were present, at my visit, 11 boys and five girls; all but the two paying scholars are children of labouring people. The instruction does not go beyond reading, writing, and ciphering. It is a Church school, and the children are required to attend church on Sunday. It is a rare thing to keep a boy till he is 11. Looking at the number of children at school in proportion to the population, and to the kind and quality of the instruction, the means of education must be pronounced deficient in this parish, which labours further under the disadvantage of having neither a resident land- owner nor a resident clergyman. The value of the benefice is only 60/. The condition of the beautiful church is one among other tokens of the state into which a parish, subject to these unfavourable in- fluences, is liable to fall. I heard a strange tale of what had become of the richly-carved poppyheads of the old open seats. 5. Weston School (St. Faith’s Union Norfolk). population 470. Entirely supported and managed by Col, and Mrs. Custance, the resident landowners, who take great interest in it. It is taught by a mistress, and is not in connexion with Government. There are 80 names on the books and an average attendance of 60. Boys stay till 11 or 12, girls till 12 or 13. With a few exceptions the schoolmistress finds the parents anxious to have their children educated. At my meeting in this parish it was stated by the farmers that very few children are employed by them under 12. The school seemed in good order, and the mis- tress active and capable. The writing in copybooks was very fair, and much attention is paid to needle- work. The school fee is 2d. for one child, 3d. for two, 4d. for three, 5d. for four, per week. All out- parishioners, of whom there are a considerable number, the school drawing its supplies from the adjoining parishes of Morton, Attlebridge, and Ringland, pay 2d. This school is happy in attracting to itself the interest of the squire, but I believe it does not reap much advantage from the residence of the clergyman, who is both infirm and aged. 6. Felthorpe School (St. Faith’s Union, Norfolk). —Entirely maintained by Edward Fellowes, Esq., M.P., the principal landowner, though not resident in the parish. Population, 514. On the books 90, average attendance 70. Under a mistress trained at Norwich, but not receiving annual aid from Government. Excellent room. 40 ft. by 18 ft. Mistress energetic and competent. Some children are taken away to work at as early an age as seven, few boys stay till 10. They are removed before their learning can be fixed, though possibly the reading may be kept up at home. There has been an evening school, kept by a man in the parish on his own account; apparently it did not answer, as the man has given it up. 7. Taverham School (St. Faith’s Union, Norfolk). —Population, 212. On the books 45, in average attendance 35. The mistress, an ex-pupil teacher, said to be excellent, and everything about the school seemed in the best order. It is not under Govern- ment, but it is carefully and effectively superintended by the clergyman. Thoroughly adequate to the wants of the parish. The rector, Mr. Burton, who is a EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN zealous educationist, thus communicates to me his views by letter upon several points embraced in this Inquiry :— “In this parish there are no children under 10 or 11 years old employed on the Jand—no girls—and séldom any females. I am glad of it, for though I do not see how female labour can be restricted by law, I am fully convinced of its demoralizing effects, and of the physical injuries it inflicts upon those who are subjected to it. It would be desirable to restrict the age, and also the distance to work, both of boys and girls. But this can only be done by pains and penal- ties—either on the parent or employer, or both. In either case, who is to enforce the law? The parson ! ! No one else will, and he ought not. The same remark applies to compulsory education, to which I am alto- gether opposed. It can only be enforced by the same means, and no surer mode of sowing dissension in a family, or in a parish, can be devised than that of dragging a father before a magistrate, at the instance of the clergyman, and fining him for neglecting the edu- cation of his child, or in default sending him to prison for seven or 10 days! I would not be a party to such a course. J would leave the parent to fulfil his own responsibilities ; he has been placed by the Almighty in that position, and the consequence of his neglect must fall upon himself. I do not believe that there is any insuperable reluctance on the part of the labouring classes to educate their children. I believe that, as a rule, they desire it. I am sure that the one way to make education more difficult than it now is, is to make it compulsory. The cottages in this parish are fairly good, some of them particularly so. They would be sufficient for the agricultural population if the whole were so occupied. But the mill people occupy nearly half, and of the rest the best are tenanted by the gamekeepers and gardeners employed at the Hall. Mr. Micklethwait intends to build some for the best labourers on his farm, and I have no doubt that gradually he will rebuild the village. Cottage property is unremunerative, unless considered socially and morally; it then pays better than any other invest- ment. As I stated at our meeting, there is no real grievance in the fact that the agricultural labour of the parish is carried on by non-residents. The lack of labour of which Mr. Munford complained, but which I do not admit, is caused by the competition of the mill, It may make the labourer more inde- pendent, which I for one do not regret, but it is not disadvantageous to the community generally. The respective duties of master and servant will be better fulfilled when one or other has it not all his own way.” August 20, 1867. 8. Horsford School (Norfolk, St. Faith’s Union). —-Population, 665; on register, 90 ; average attendance, 61, for last year. An excellent new room, 53 ft. b 22 ft., and proportionably lofty. Cost 800/., not 1004. of which was subscribed in the parish. The incumbent gave 640/. and the ground. It is under a certificated mistress, and receives annual aid. The total annual cost is 66/., the voluntary subscriptions are 35/.; two farmers subscribe 12, 10s. The mistress cannot ordi- narily get a boy into the first class by the time that he is 9; but she can do so with the girls, owing to their more regular attendance. Boys are sometimes, though not often, taken away to “keep” birds at 7. The vicar is not satisfied with the educational condition of the young people growing up in his parish. 9. Crostwick School (Norfolk, St. Faith’s Union). —Population 144. Kept in a tidy room, on a common, near the church. Under an untrained mistress, who has been here 14 years. Hier salary is 172 8s. a year, without a house. There are 33 names on the register, 17 boys and 16 girls, The school is supported by two landowners and the clergyman ; no farmer subscribes. George Thickstone, a boy aged 8, was said to “read well,” but trying him, f found he could not read an easy passage, which he had never seen, without spell- ing such words as “earnest,” “cottage,” “tasted.” If taken away from school now such reading-power would be all lost ina year. A little girl, nearly 10, could IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :~-EVIDENCE, write very nicely. The children are taught a little geography, and in arithmetic advance as high as com- pound sums in weights and measures. Many of the boys gosto work before they have learntanything. A , boy, Edward Holmes, was mentioned who had just gone to work, and who did not know his letters, The mistress notices that the children have been very irregular during the last three weeks ; accounts for it by the fact that there has been no clergyman in resi- dence to look them up. The school would be suffi- cient for the parish if only regular attendance could be secured, As it is the fruit is nipped in the bud. There were present to-day (July 22, 1867) 22, and this has been about the average of the last fortnight. All the big children were girls. There is no night school in the parish. 10. Frettenham School (Norfolk, St. Faith's Union).—Entirely maintained by the rector, and over- looked by him and his family. The mistress is sister of one of the farmers. A boy can rarely be kept at school after 9; hence the education they have received soon evaporates. They come back sadly ignorant, to be prepared for confirmation. There is only one boy in the school at present over 9; he willbe 10 in November ; he is the son of unusually steady parents. ll. Haverland School (Norfolk, St. Faith’s Union). — Entirely supported by Edward Fellowes, Esq., M.P., who has a residence in the parish. Popula- tion 181. There are 60 names on the register, of whom about 45 belong to the parish. The rest come - from Brandistone and Cawston. There were present this morning (July 23) 42, of whom 23 were boys. Only three girls and three boys present were over 10. The mistress finds she cannot keep the boys long enough to fix their learning in them. It all depends upon what the parents are. Three girls present had been out to work ; one, just turned 12, at crow-keep- ing; another, over 10, was absent six weeks on a similar job ; the third, aged 12, was employed for five or six weeks, pulling up “red weed ” (poppies). 12. At Brandistone (Norfolk, St. Faith's Union), population 181, there is a good school house which has been closed for upwards of 10 years upon some point at issue between the clergyman (whom I did not see) and his people, as to how to deal with the dissent that exists in the parish. Half-a-dozen women whom I accosted on the green expressed a wish that there was aschool. “It’s not only keeping them out of harm, “ but there’s the education,” said one of them, “ which no one can take away.” There was a party of children rolling about on the grass before me in every stage of dirt and disorder. The ten or a dozen children who attend school at all go to Haverland ; but they have to travel a distance of two miles. 13. Wortwell School (Norfolk, Depwade Union), under a certificated mistress, and receiving Govern- ment aid. The mistress is assisted by three paid monitors. There are 90 names on the register, the average attendance of last quarter was 59. Only one boy on the books above 10 ; two boys between 9 and 10 ; two between 8 and 9. There are eight girls on the register over 10. The mistress fears that a boy leav- ing school below 10 would rapidly lose the greater part of what he had learnt. Of the children present when 1 visited the school, eight came from homes with three bed chambers ; 18 from cottages with two chambers, and two from cottages with only one cham- ber. The cottages at Wortwell struck me, as I drove through the street, as some of the worst I had seen in any Norfolk village. “ 14.° Seole School (Norfolk, Depwade Union), population 677. The master untrained, but certifi- cated. School under Government ; on the register 78; in average attendance 60. Only two boys over 10 ; one between 9 and 10; five between 8 and 9; that is only eight boys over 8, nine girlsover 11. The whole income of the school, including Government grant, is about 654. There are many dissenters in Scole, but the school is Church of England in its de- nomination; attendance at school and church on Sun- day is not made compulsory. The voluntary subscrip- 205 tions amount to 82/. There was a night school in the parish last winter attended by 40 scholars. In the neighbouring parish of Thelveton there is no school. There was a very general and liberal desire mani-, fested by the gentlemen who met me at Scole, most of whom were tenant farmers, to see the education of the agricultural labourer improved. After some re- marks to that effect, one of them (Mr. Lines) said, almost pensively, “ Not that the educated man can dig a ditch any the better.” “Nor any the worse,” said another (Mr. Pettett). ‘ Well, that’s true,” was the frank admission in reply. (July°31, 1867.) 15. Pulham, St. Mary Magdalene, population | 1,279 (Norfolk, Depwade Union).—The cost of the school is about 70/. a year. The master’s salary is 551. There is a charity in the parish, arising from land, and producing an income of about 100/. a year, of - which 80/. are applied to the church, and of the re- mainder, half to the relief of the poor, and half to the support of the school. There are no large land- owner's in the parish, the largest holding is 200 acres. There are no resident gentry, which the rector feels to be agreat drawback, and there has only been a resi- dent clergyman for the last eight years. Very few of the adult population can read, and still fewer can write. There is a very large number of children growing up without education; their parents have no sense of its value. ; 16. Long Stratton School (Norfolk, Depwade Union), population 748. mistress, not under Government, with 66 names on the register, and an average attendance of 50. The mis- tress says that the children cannot read fluently. The writing in copy books, which I saw, was very moderate. Most of the boys in the first class can do sums in compound addition. 17. Fundenhall School (Norfolk, Depwade Union), population 334, Held in a good room, and taught by a mistress. On the register are the names of 80 girls and 14 boys, with an ordinary attendance. of from 18 to 24. There is only one boy, but there are six girls, over 10. The mistress has been 12 years in charge of this school. There is no resident clergy- man, but a large occupier of land in the parish takes a warm interest in the school, and under his fostering care it prospers. 18. At the meeting held at Snettisham (Norfolk, Docking Union), Mr. Howlett, an occupier of land at Sedgeford, mentioned that when he farmed at Bircham Tofts, he had some boys working for him, who when they first came to him could read decently, but never keeping it up, lost the faculty, and at last could not even distinguish the initials on his sacks, but only knew his from one of his neighbour’s because one set of letters were painted red and the other black. 19. Rev. Herbert Jones, rector of Sculthorpe (Nor- folk), states that the beerhouses in his parish have effectually neutralized all the efforts that have been made to improve, through the school, the condition of the. people. The heart of the previous rector was broken by the disappointment. The Rev, W. H. Parker, of Saham Toney, who has made large sacrifices of money and labour in that parish in the same cause, and confesses himself dis- appointed at the results, attributes his ill success to the influence of the gang system. It would not be an easy thing to decide which is the more noxious influence of the two. There is this difference, that the contamination of the gang system, as hitherto conducted, began earlier. . 20. The Rev. Mr. Tearle, curate of Great Cressing- ham and Bodney, informed me that the schoolmistress at Bodney told him that she has applications for at least 10 girls every year to go out into domestic service on the condition that they never have been out to field work. There are now in the school several girls of 13 or 14, and one of 16, waiting for a particular place. The earnings of the parents are not above the level of the neighbourhood. The girls have all been brought up in good cottages. A Cressingham girl, on the con- trary, applying for a situation, is viewed with sus- Ce 2 A school, taught by a. Norfolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a Suffolk. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Sussex, Suffolk, 206 picion, because the probability is that she has worked in a gang. 21. Mr. Howe, certiticated master of Hoxne School (Suffolk), as things are, would rather keep boys regularly at school till 10, than let them go to work at 8, and have them back at catch times till 13. If they all came back together, the case might be different. In this school, with 90 names on the register, and an average attendance of 70, there are only seven boys above 10 years of age and of these seven only two are sons of agricultural labourers. 22. In Lower Beeding school (Sussex), out of 129 children on the books, with an average attendance of 95, there were only three boys, sons of agricultural labourers, above 10 years of age. Many children are kept away from school in this woodland district by “acorning.” At this date (Oct. 31), some boys are only just returning to school after harvest. Two brothers are said to have picked up this year 20 bushels of acorns, selling at 1s. 3d. a bushel. 23. In many of the parishes in Hailsham union (Sussex), children are largely employed in the winter at hop-pole shaving, working generally with their fathers. It is easy work, which a boy of eight or nine can do. The payment is at per 100 poles: 4d. a hundred for 10-feet poles, and 6d. for 12 feet or 14 feet poles. A boy can shave 100 or 150 in a day, and two lads would earn 5s. a week. Thomas Ark- coll, Esq., of Hnrstmonceux, a magistrate and land- owner, thinks it would be a serious interference with the labour of this woodland district if boy labour were prohibited up to 10 years of age. George Darby, Esq., formerly M.P. for Sussex, and now one of the Enclosure Commissioners of England, recom- mends that children should be allowed to go to work as soon as they can read with fair fluency, and thinks that this is the only practical solution of the problem. Mr. Arkcoll further mentioned his surprise at finding so many young lads in his district unable to write. He had tested their ability in the case of the boys who had been sent to him, as a magistrate, for licenses to remove cattle under the cattle plague restrictions, In one case which he was led to inquire into, he dis- covered that out of a nominal school life of five years the boy had actually attended school less than one. 24, In the three adjoining parishes of Hooe, Ninfield, and Wartling (Sussex), I was informed that a noble- man, a considerable owner of land in each, though applied to, persistently refuses to subscribe to the support of any one of the schools, which are only maintained with difficulty. Again, in West Grin- stead, in the same county (Horsham union), with 1,800 people, and 7,000 acres of land, I was informed by the rector that only one landowner subscribes to the school, and his contribution is only 22. a year. In a district adjacent to this last parish, South- water, the incumbent.finds great difficulty in getting support for the school from the landowners, who, though resident, in some instances in the immediate neighbourhood, yet because not living actually within the district, do not appear very vividly to recognize the claim, These are the cases that illustrate the weak point in the voluntary system, and indicate the necessity of a compulsory rate in some shape or other as the only effective remedy. 25. Brome School, Suffolk, under a certificated master, serving for the two parishes of Brome and Oakley, population 700. On the register 80, average attendance 60. There are only three boys over JO years of age, of whom two are sons of farm labourers. The following paper bearing on the at- tendance of the children was given me by the school- master :— “1867, July 11th. “Nine boys absent at field work; one aged 11; four aged 10; one aged 9 ; three aged 8. During the year the following absences have been specially noticed :— J.G., aged 11; absent nine weeks at field work, His mother a widow, with other children. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN G. F., aged 10; at work 22 weeks. C. F., aged eight (brother of the last); at work six weeks. Parents have two younger children besides these. W. G., aged 10; at work 28 weeks, child at home. G. B., aged 10; at work 21 weeks. i. B., aged seven (brother of the last); at work Ll weeks. Parents have one other child. H. W., aged nine ; at constant work for his father, who is a thatcher. One younger W.S., aged nine; at work 23 weeks. No other child to provide for. W.S., aged nine; at work 11 weeks. No other child younger, but two others older, both at work. W. K., aged eight ; absent 25 weeks at work. Two elder brothers at work, and two younger at home. The causes of the numerous absences seem to be, first, the great call for boy labour in the district; and, secondly, the poverty of the parents, who if they send their boys to school regularly, z.e., without inter- mission, for the whole year, do so at a sacrifice of 3s. or 4s. weekly for a great part of the school year; and, besides this, a certain amount of pressure is put by the farmers upon the labourers in their employ, who have children at all useful in farm labour. The girls are more regular than the boys, their absence scarcely ever being for any length of time. They are kept at home at odd times to help in house work, or to mind house while the mother goes to work.” (Signed) Wm. T. Gavt, Schoolmaster. 26. The Rev. Mr. Bowles, rector of Singleton, Sussex, gave me a list extracted from a book which he has kept for 20 years, showing the age at which each boy had left the school in that parish. The total number of boys was 86; of whom six left at 14, six at 13, 22 at 12, 11 at 11, 18 at 10, 13 at 9, 5 at 8, 3 at 7, and 2 at 6. Another fact that the list illustrates is, that boys leave school at an earlier age now than formerly. Of the 33 first boys on the list, representing a period 12 years back, only three left school under 10; of the 53 last boys, representing the condition of things in the last 12 years, 19 left under that age. The school is very carefully watched over, and every effort made to keep children in attendance. The Rev. Mr. Wollaston, rector of Felpham, in the same district, and a diocesan school inspector, in- formed me that the average age of' the first class in the schools which he visits had fallen 11 months in the last 10 years, 27. Mr. Robert Penny, schoolmaster of Pagham, Sussex, gave the following list, exhibiting a similar state of things in his school :— “ Of 184 boys who have left in the last 17 years 37 had been only one year at school, 26 only two years; 25 had attended three years, 27 four years, 16 five years, and three six years. “ Of the same 134 boys, one left at 15 years of age, five at 14, 10 at 13, 17 at 12, 19 at 11, 33 at 10 30 at 9, 13 at 8, 2 at 7, and 4 at 6.” : 28. The following statement was placed in my hands by the mistress of Slinfold school ( Sussex) :-— “ Number on the books 57; average attendance 44, Average age of boys at present in the school, 6 years 9 months. The age of all the scholars varies from 4 to 10 years. Five boys have left the school be- tween May and November to go to work, whose ages are from 9 to 12 years. Of these, three at least are very deficient in reading, writing, and arithmetic. There are 13 boys, from 7 to 10 years of age, who frequently stay away from school to work. Many girls are also kept away to scrape bark, pick up acorns, and the like. One boy attends school on the condition that he may work to earn money in the afternoon, and have lessons in the mornings only. He is paid for by the rector’s lady. 29, At my meeting at Walberton (Sussex), Mr. G, D. Hide, churchwarden and occupier of 500 acres of land, expressed himself in favour of an educational IN” AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— EVIDENCE, rate, levied upon personal as well as real property, or paid out of the general taxation of the country. He thought that if education were made compuisury, the condition ef schools and the support of schools must be equalized. On a similar principle, Archdeacon Hankinson, in Norfolk, objected to compulsory educa- tion in the present unequal distribution and efficiency of schools. 80. I attended (November 21) a meeting of working men at. Chichester, called by five clergymen of the city, presided over by the mayor, and attended by perhaps 150 persons, mostly of the working class. The clergy who issued the circular inviting the meet- ing, stated that they wished to be possessed of the working men’s mind on four points: (1.) the advan- tage of co-operative societies ; (2.) the value of State assistance in elementary education ; (3.) compulsory education ; (4.) an industrial exhibition in Chichester. The men’s interest evidently centred most on the first question, which was freely discussed, though without arriving at any definite practical conclusions. Upon the two educational questions, there was great difficulty in getting any expression of opinion, and many of the men present said that they “did not “ know anything about the subject. The programme was certainly too large for a single discussion ; but it was plain from the way in which the different subjects were received, that their ma- terial interests held the first place in these working men’s minds. 81. Capt. Valentine, tue Duke of Richmond’s agent in Sussex, mentioned to me, as illustrating the capacity of the agricultural labourer, somewhat slow but sure, that when he was in the Sussex Militia, at tie time of the Crimean war, he noticed that recruits from Brighton and the towns would pick up their drill in six weeks, while the agricultural recruit took three months ; but that the latter retained his knowledge better, and was more to be depended upon in the execution of an order. 382. The Rev. W. Burnett, vicar of Boxgrove (Sussex), tells me that he has noticed the markedly hebetating influence on boys’ minds of such employ- ments as sheep-tending and bird-scaring, carried on week days and Sundays ; wearying from their very sameness; requiring no thought or quickness ; giving the lad no occasion even to know that he has a mind. 83. At the Cirencester board of guardians, the Chairman, Rev. T. Maurice, a magistrate and practical farmer, ventured to think that a half-time system of school and work, might be practicable in agriculture. The majority of the meeting, however, which was a large one, dissented from the chairman’s view, and preferred the prohibition of labour up to a fixed age, and were prepared to fix that age at 10. The labour of boys it was thought could be dispensed with, on the Cotswolds, till they are big enough to drive plough, and that would not be till they are at least 10 years of age. ” 34. Mr. Walker Wakeley, certificated schoolmaster, of Amney Crucis (Gloucestershire), who has had 21 years’ experience, decidedly would prefer to keep his boys regularly at school up to the age of 10, than to part with them for work at 8, and have them return intermittently up to 13. Out of 45 boys on his register, has not a single labourer’s son of the age of 13, the few boys that have attained or are above that age are tradesmen’s sons. The same opinion was expressed by the schoolmaster at Siddington, and by Mr. Sparks, the schoolmaster, of Down Amney—two other parishes in the Cirencester Union. 35. The Rev. W. F. Powell, vicar of Cirencester, tells me how he works his Blue and Yellow Schools’ endowment. It clothes boys and girls for three years. Thirty years ago, when he came into the parish, children were admitted to the benefit of the charity at the age 8. He admits none before 10, and thus retains them at school till 13. It appears to me that many of our present useless or mischievous local en- dowmenis might be used as exhibitions at elementary 207 schools, and have a powerful influence to keep a con- siderable number of children at school to a later age. Such a conversion of the funds to a very legitimate object would in fact help us to get over that difficulty, which was everywhere pressed so sharply upon me ; the hardship at the present low rate of wages, of cutting off from the parent the advantage, at the earliest possible moment, of the earnings of his child. 36. — Cartwright, Esq., Governor of Gloucester County Gaol, thinks that the crass ignorance of a large proportion of our agricultural population cannot be overestimated. Attributes it principally to neglect of opportunities within their reach, and that neglect to the apathy or cupidity of the parents. Believes that compulsory education is the only effective remedy, but the country is not prepared to accept that yet. There might be a system of indirect compulsion, re- quiring employers to see that the children whom they employ possess a certain amount of education, which would work well. The children of ignorant parents seem to him to be more ignorant even than their parents; there is a kind of accumulation of stolidity. There is no self-regenerating element in such a class. The professionally criminal class are not uneducated. Nine-tenths of the crime in a rural district is to be traced, directly or indirectly, to drink. Regrets the facility placed in the way of obtaining a licence to sell beer, and that publichouses are open on Sunday. Believes that there is a distinct diminution in the amount of crime, 87. As the earliest purpose for which boys are regularly required on a farm in Gloucester is to drive plough, it became a matter of importance to ascertain how far the substitution of two horses abreast instead of three or four horses in line to draw the plough would diminish the amount of such employment. Three magistrates, each of them a practical farmer, gave me the following opinions on the subject. The Rev. Thomas Maurice, of Driffield, believes the two-horses-abreast system to be quite practicable, and does all his ploughing in that way. But I believe Mr. Maurice’s farm lies on the flat, and he has not to contend with the formidable difficulty that the hills present in other parts of the Cotswold country. Mr. York, of Forthhampton, does not want a boy to drive, and does his ploughing with two horses abreast quite as effectively as his neighbours with four. Has tried, but unsuccessfully, to introduce the two-horse plough among his neighbours. The difference lies between using two strong and four weak horses. But he admits that in wet weather the “land” horse does poach the ground. Capt. De Winton, occupies 400 acres of land, close to Gloucester. It is a stiff retentive clay on a blue lias subsoil. He has tried and found it impossible to plough with two horses. I was universally assured that two horses could not possibly move a plough through the stiff, wet clay, and up the steep hills, of the Weald of Sussex. 38. The schoolmaster at Olveston (Gloucester- shire), informed me that children sometimes leave school in July for hay making ; that is followed by the corn harvest, and that by fruit picking, potato digging, and acorn gathering; so that they do not get to their books again till Christmas. Mr. Powell, certificated schoolmaster in the next parish of Almondsbury, stated the same thing, and pointed out that his school has almost to be worked on the periodic system now, so large are the gaps in regular attendance caused by the constantly recurring demands for labour. Boys are frequently absent for three months, bird-scaring and potato planting in the spring, and for three months again, gleaning, potato and apple picking in the autumn. Mr, Powell would be satisfied if he could keep his boys regularly at school up to the age of 11. The same opinion was ex- pressed by Mr. Phill, certificated schoolmaster of Thornbury, and Mr. Cheveley, certificated schoolmaster of Tortworth. 39. The Rev. Frederic Wood, vicar, and the Rev. Morris Burland, curate, of Newent, both thought that Ce3 Sussex. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Gloucester., Gloucester. Rev. J. Fraser. a. Norfolk, 208 there were enough boys round Newent to work the alternate whole day system, though they admitted that the system could not be adopted without causing con- siderable inconvenience to the farmer. 40. State of Education in the parish of Oxburgh, Union of Swaffham, county of Norfolk, as ascer- tained by the Rev. Alexander Thurtell, rector, late one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools. N.B.—The return only relates to the Protestant part of the population. There is a considerable number of Roman Catholics in the parish. Total No. | Ignorant. | Read fairly. estes of Age, ) Women 22 14 3 5 Under 80, si but not at a 20 a 8 4 School, ) Women 5 0 1 4 Totals - 60 33 9 18 41. Statement of the present condition of educa- tion of the labourers in the parish of Foulden, Union of Swaffham, county of Norfolk (population 517), made, after enquiry, by the Rev. Henry Layng, curate. “Over 40 years of age there are 46 that can neither read nor write ; 36 that can only read, and 21 that can both read and write. “ Between 20 and 40 years of age, there are three that can neither read nor write; eight that can only read, and 39 that can both read and write. “Under 20 years of age there are nine that can neither read nor write ; seven that can only read, and 23 that can both read and write. “ Attending school, between the ages of 8 and 12 there are 23 ; not attending there are nine. “ Attending school, between the ages of 6 and 8, there are 19 ; not attending there are three. “On the school books theee are 82 children; 34 boys and 48 girls. In the Sunday school are 56, 18 boys and 88 girls. The average attendance at the evening school is 18.” The following table exhibits the above results :— Age. | Number. Salvreaa and Read only. | Neither. Over 40 - 103 Between 20 50 39 8 3 d40 - an Under 20 - 28 9 21 36 46 39 42. State of education of the seven labouring families forming the population of the Tithing of Caldecote, union of Swaffham, county of Norfolk, (population 39, acreage 673.) Communicated by Mr. Henry Oldfield. 1. Robert Springfield, man, wife, and five children, one married, two in service, two (boys) at home. Can all read and write, except the wife. The man never went to school, but was taught to read by his mother at home. She always made her children read to her twice a day. This family live about 14 miles from the nearest school, and have the opportunity of going to evening school in winter. the handwriting of the man (aged 54), and of his two boys, aged respectively 15 and 14, are appended. 2. Coker , man, wife, and eight children. One son and two daughters are in service. One girl cannot read or write; the others all can. The man and wife cannot read or write; never went to school ; there was no school except they were able to pay more than they do now. Live about 14 miles from school, and can attend evening school in winter. Appended are excellent specimens of the handwriting of William Coker (aged 17); Ellen Coker (15); Eliza Coker (18) ; Matilda Coker (10) ; and Edward Coker (8). 3. John Greef, aged 24. Man and wife and three young children, the eldest three years. The man went to school, but says “ it did him no good ;” went to evening school afterwards, and has learnt to read and write. The wife went to school until she went Creditable specimens of- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN out to service; had only one situation, and then mar- ried. .The sample appended of the man’s handwriting is very legible ; of the wife’s excellent. 4. (.. Starling. Number in family, man and wife and seven children. Eldest son married, can read and write. Two daughters at service, both can read and write. One son at home, named George, aged 14, can neither read nor write ; has been‘to school, but did no good. The boy thinks he can learn now, which he may do by attending evening school. They have about two and a half miles to go to school. The man himself never went to school, there was no school when he was a boy. Appended are creditable speci- mens of the handwriting of the wife, Mary Starling (aged 48), Robert Starling (17), Emma Starling (12), and Frederick Starling (8). 5. Henry Greef. Number in family, man, wife, two boys, and two girls. The man, wife, and two boys can neither read nor write. The two girls can, one is at service. The youngest boy went to evening school for some time, the man says he paid 8s. for sending him, but he did not learn anything, he “ might as well have thrown his money away.” Ap- pended is a specimen of the daughter ‘“‘ Emmer (sic) “ Greef’s” handwriting, aged 13 years, fairly bold and legible. , 6. Benjamin Bird. Number in family, man, wife, and four children. The man can read but not write. The wife and eldest girl can both read and write. A younger one goes to school with the little girl, They live about a mile and a half from the school. Ap- pended are fair specimens of the handwriting of the wife, Mary Bird, aged 40, the daughter, Maria Bird, aged nine, and of John Rowlerson, a nephew living with them, aged 15. 7. John Boddy. Number in family, man, wife, and five children. The man and wife can neither read nor write ; there was no school when they were young. They wish they were scholars. Mean to’ send all their children to school. They live’ at about: a mile’s distance. The two eldest children can read and write. Appended is a tolerable specimen of the handwriting of Ann Mary Boddy, aged 18 years. The specimens of handwriting referred to consist in each case of the signature, residence, age, and date. The words are in most instances correctly spelt. 43. The following returns I extracted myself from the enrolment books of the Royal North Gloucester- shire Militia (69th), which are kept at the head quar- ters at Cirencester. They indicate a very marked educational improvement in the course of 15 years. It is to be observed, however, that no record is kept of ability to read, and the record of ability to write only extends to the power to sign the name. Mr. Gorman, however, the officer who assisted me in my search, thinks that a considerable number who say they cannot write really can, but from nervousness or impatience, or some other reason, decline to attempt it. In the year 1866 there were admitted as recruits or re-enrolled 229 men, of whom 84 came from country parishes, and 145 from towns (the majority from Cheltenham and Stroud). Of the former 58 could write their names, and 26 could not; of the latter 104 could write, and 41 could not. In 1856, ten years previously, there were enrolled 198 men, 110 from towns, 88 from rural parishes. Of the former 53 could not write, of the latter 54. In 1852, the year of the formation of the regiment, of the first 187 names examined (I stopped the scrutiny there), 53 came from towns, and 134 from country parishes. Of the former 29, and of the latter 91 could not sign their names, Hence the following comparative table :— No. of Cases . Could not |Per-centage un- Year. | “cxamined. | Could write, write. able to ie Town 24 29 54°7 1852 187 G jountry 43 1 8 % 9 ‘own 3 . 1856 198 Country 34 54 61°3 1866 229 (iow. a a Country 58 26 IN ‘AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENOE. So that, in the case of men coming from country districts, the proportion of those unable to write to those who can has been nearly inverted, in favour of « higher condition of education, in the course of 15 years. In 1852 it was as 67 per cent. to 23 ; in 1866 it was as 80 per cent. to 70, As I think it is somewhat an English tendency to depreciate the value of our institutions, and first to magnify and then to expose to the world our defi- ciencies, I extract, by way of counterpoise to any unfavourable conclusions that may be drawn from the statement in the text, the following passage from Mr. Pattison’s report on Prussian schools :— “ Complaints are made of the comparatively im- perfect results attained in writing in the North Ger- man schools. This is a part of schooling which admits of being unmistakably tested. In the autumn of 1855 this test, applicd to the year’s levy of the Landwehr, gave the astounding result that only 12 per cent. of the recruits were able to write well. Such returns are now very generally made in the various states, and though I have not been able to procure them, I believe I shall be under the mark if I state the average of recruits unable to write at 50 per cent. of the whole.”—Report. of Education Commission (1861), Vol. IV. p. 234. I venture also to print a paragraph which appeared in the Times of May 15, 1868 :— Progress of Elementary Education. The report which the Registrar-General of’ iugland has recently issued shows that in the year 1866 21:6 per cent. of the men who married in England, and 30 per cent. of the women, signed the marriage register by making their mark, and did not write their names. In the preceding year the numbers of the illiterate were larger—viz., 22°5 per cent. of the men and 81°2 per cent. of the women. If we trace the returns back ‘for a quarter of a century, we find no less than one- third of the men and half the women having to make their marks. The return for 1866 is the best that had ever yet been made. Judged by the test of sig- nature of marriage register, the women in most of the agricultural districts appear to have had a better elementary education than the men; but the reverse is the case in the manufacturing and mining districts, and in South Wales only half the women who married in 1866 signed their names upon the register. In Laneashire and Staffordshire only 54°7 and 55°5 per cent. of the women wrote their names. In Scotland in 1865 nearly 89 per cent. of the men, and nearly 78 per cent. of the women, wrote their names on the marriage register, but the proportions were almost ex- actly the same 10 years ago, so that little or no further progress is shown. In Ireland in 1866 nearly half the persons married signed by making their mark— 42°4 in every 100 men, and 52°4 in every 100 women. In France in the same year the registers show, without distinction of sex, that 33:42 in every 100 persons married failed to sign their names on the register ; in England 25°8 per cent., in Ireland 47-4 per cent., in Scotland (in 1865) 16°8 per cent., the respective populations being about 21,210,000 in England, and 3,136,000 in Scotland, 5,582,600 in Ireland. The difference between the several departments in France was very great; 20 departments had a lower rate than 15 per cent. signing with marks, 13 between 15 and 30 per cent., 18 between 30 and 40, 17 between 40 and 50, 21 with a rate of 50 per cent. and upwards not writing their names. There is progress therefore, not indeed sufficient to bid us stop, but sufficient to encourage us to go on. 44, The following letter from W. Batley, Esq,, surgeon to the Sussex Militia, relates to a similar inquiry :— “ My DEAR SIR, “ Tam afraid that what I have been able to learn as to the amount of education in the ranks of the 209 Sussex Militia can be of very little service to you. Here it is, however, guantum valeat. Last training (April and May 1867) 712 men were on the rolls of the regiment. Of these 239 cannot, and 478 can, write; but the only evidence of this is that they can write their names to the attestation paper, and in the majority of cases I should think that their writing did not go much farther than that. I cannot give you any information about the reading power of the rank: and file of the regiment. It is somewhat singular, and has often puzzled me, that men will reply to me, ‘I can write, sir, but I can’t read.” This is very common indeed. Believe me, &c. (Signed) “W. Batiey.” 45. The subjoined tables show the state of education of the men, women, lads, and boys employed on the farm of Mr. Howell, of Driffield (Union of Cirencester, county of Gloucester), who occupies upwards of 1,000 acres. Mr. Howell had kindly taken the trouble to draw out the tables for my information, and presented them to me at my meeting at Siddington (No. 82), which he attended. A noticeable fact in the tables is the early age at which many of the boys commenced work ; out of a list of 13 three as early as six, four at eight, and three at nine. The three who began at six can neither read nor write ; of the four who began to work at eight only one can write; of the three who began at nine only one again can write. Of the whole 13 only three can write. It is further noticeable that only one of these 13 boys appears to have attended night school, whereas, of the 24 men, 16 have been evening scholars, which possibly accounts for the higher amount of education the men seem to possess, as compared with the boys. Fourteen out of the 24 men can write, and all but three can read. Men. Amount of Attended| Attended 5 : Attended S Names. @ | Education: Sunday Night | _In the carrying out of these suggested additions, alterations, and repairs, it is only necessary to add that the surveyor or architect of the landowner would not have entirely the power of certifying as to the substantiality of an old building, but that the Inclosure Commissioners’ surveyor would also have the power to object to any building which really appeared to him insufficient to advise them to grant a loan for the completion of an important alteration or addition. In conclusion I may state that these remarks might be extended to greater length, but I consider them sufficient to show that the subject is worthy of being taken into consideration by the Inclosure Commis- sioners, and I beg to submit that they are cases, on account of the saving of expense where money may be advantageously advanced by the Lands Improvement. Company with the sanction of the Inclosure Commis- sioners as well as to the advantage of the landowner requiring their assistance. 5; 5 “J. Watson, Architect. Neweastle-on-Tyne, January 1868. — Howick Grange, Bilton, Northumberland, Nov. 16,1867. Business of various kinds has prevented me from stating to you before this my opinion as to how the requirements of the Inclosure Commissioners in the building of cottages under advances by the various Lands Companies prevented owners of property from availing themselves of the ‘companies’ powers in’ con- sequence of the expense of the plans and specifications required by the Commissioners. ‘This was one of the points you asked for information upon at the meeting of the board of guardians at Alnwick at which you were present, — The Commissioners insist on “three bedrooms in “ each cottage, but where many cottages are to be “ )uilt, some with two bedrooms for labourers without “ families will be allowed.” Such cottages cannot be built under 160/. each, and as we have, in some cases, as many as 12 or 14 cottages upon one farm, you will see what asum would be sunk supposing that new ones were required and these conditions complied with. As regards the requirements of the farm servants themselves, it is very rare indeed that the three bed- rooms would be occupied. Few have the furniture to make so many rooms comfortable, and the expense of firing would be much increased. What a labourer without a family can do with two bedrooms, except let them out to lodgers, I cannot imagine. Some years ago I endeavoured to build some cottages on the Commissioners’ plans; having after some hesitation agreed to the numerous bedrooms, I was then told that a supply of water must be brought to such houses, as this was an impossibility I was obliged to build them on my own plans. : Cottages ought to be built to meet the wants of the occupiers and no more, and I don’t think I am going too far in saying that, in fully one-half. the cases of farm servants in this county one bed ‘room would be all that would be required, for, as I daresay you saw for yourself when you were here, that the parents almost invariably use the kitchen and will continue to do so no matter how many bedrooms you provide them. Sometimes a mother and son or a newly married couple may be engaged fora year. No allowance is made for such cases by the Commissioners. You must have their number of bedrooms and they would’remain unoccupied. J am sure if these points were not in- sisted upon in all cases so stringently as they appear to me to be many more cottages would have been built. under the Lands Companies powers than have been, and many land agents have told me the same Sir, thing. In my own case it certainly would have been so. Iam, &c. J. J. Henley, Esq. J. CRAsTER. Ee 2 APP. A. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. APP, A. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 222 Eglingham Vicarage, Alnwick, My prar Mr. HENLEY, December 16, 1867. Ir gives me sincere pleasure to comply with your request, to write to you upon some of the subjects of our conversations which we had during your inquiry about the “employment and education of children” in North Northumberland. With regard to our schools, I feel confident that you found them sufficient in guwantity, and generally in quality also for the requirements of our people. The advance which has been made in our educational institutions, both in our towns and in our country parishes, during the last 20 years has been everything that we could desire, and the little which remains to be done will in a few years be accomplished. The demand for education combining religious training with real and sound primary instruction is universal, and the supply has kept pace with the demand. In our towns of Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon- Tweed, and Wooler, you will have found ample school accommodation already provided, and in each parish in this archdeaconry, with scarcely an exception, laborious efforts have been made, and are well sustained, to bring within the reach of every family of our scattered population a good education. You will have had better opportunity than I possess of accurately ascertaining how far the demand for the early employment of young persons interferes with their education, but Iam led to conclude that the parents being all most anxious to have their children educated, make self-denying efforts to accomplish this object, and that whenever they are able they send their children to school. You will also have observed in some of our country parishes that great lads and girls have returned to the day school for the few weeks in the year when they are not required for agricultural labour. This system of availing themselves of our schools, whenever they are able, does not, however, fall in with the rules for attendance set forth in the Revised Code, and our country schools lose their capitation grant for some of these elder children. It might be well for the Committee of Council on education to modify their rules so as to encourage school managers to receive these elder lads and girls, that they may complete their education at our day schools at the season when their freedom from employment in farm work will allow them to attend. You must have observed that the whole population of North Northumberland are a very intelligent, thoughtful, and calculating race, and know well what is really for their own and their children’s advantage, and when compared with the agricultural labourers of some of the southern counties, the Northumbrians possess brains of a very superior order; we see this in their homes, in our schools, and everywhere around us. All that we really require is, that our country schools be raised in their educating power by some relaxation in the requirements of the Committee of Council on Education, so as to allow schools not having certificated teachers, nor yet accommodation equal to the present requirements of the Revised Code, to obtain two-thirds or even one-half of the capitation grant on passing their children in the several standards set forth in the Revised Code. This would at once give all the schools in the country the advantages of Government inspection and aid, and school managers would gradually be led to adopt the suggestions of the inspectors with regard to better organization, and as vacancies occurred would appoint certificated teachers, and then their schools would become entitled to the whole grant. J think it right to add, that the whole population of this archdeaconry are determined to have religious teaching for their children, and that during the 12 years I was Vicar of Berwick-upon-Tweed I had not one single objection made to me as to the teaching of the church in the National schools of that parish, wherein 600 children received their education. There EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN is, as you know, a large Presbyterian element in our population, and while I lived in Berwick I annually visited the parents of the children of our National schools, with the special object of talking with them about the education of their children, and yet never has one objection to our Church teaching reached me. The same feeling animates the people of this parish, which is 45 miles in its boundaries, and contains 2,000 inhabitants. We are now building National schools, and at a meeting of the working men they declared that it was their earnest wish that these schools should be so founded that they might always remain under the guidance and teaching of the clergyman of the parish, and upwards of 100 of the heads of families of the working classes subscribed, some one and some two days’ wages, towards the building fund of these Eglingham National schools. Although you found our agricultural population comfortable, intelligent, and domestic, yet you have not failed to observe our sad failure in one most important matter of morals. I need hardly state that I refer to the number of illegitimate children ; some years ago I obtained a tabular statement of the per- centage of illegitimate children in each county in England, and I found that the evil was greatest in Cumberland, and that North Northumberland came second. The cause was not at first apparent, but I have since ascertained that Cumberland presented the greatest length of “border” and north Northumber- land the next greatest, and that secular marriages would be contracted without any previous notice at any time of the day or night along the whole Scottish border, I trace therefore the high rate of illegitimate children to the complete breaking down of the religious sanction of marriage in the mind of the people from generation to generation. Happily the English population cannot avail themselves of the Scotch law of marriage since the passing of the 19th and 20th of Victoria, c. 96., which requires one of the parties about to be married to have resided in Scotland the 21 days immediately preceding the marriage. But I am afraid that the legislative sanction of a secular marriage at the register office may cause a somewhat similar deterioration of moral feeling throughout the country. : If there is any other point upon which you think that I can give you any information of value, pray let me have the pleasure of receiving a note from ou. : Believe me, &e. (Signed) Gro. Hans Hamizron. J.J. Henley, Esq. Glendale Union, Wooler, Dear Sir, November 26, 1867. As it is creditable, and partly of a redeeming character to set against the prevalence of illegitimacy amongst our labouring population, I think it only fair to tell you that several of the mothers are afterwards married to the fathers of their children; for instance, Mr. Carr, from recollection, marked 10 in his list enclosed who were so married after the birth of the child, and there might be others that had escaped his memory. I think fully one-fifth of the whole would be afterwards married. I have made the returns about the schools as perfect as is possible. Iam, &c. J.J. Henley, Esq. (Signed) Wa. Wienrwan. Kirknewton Vicarage, Wooler, Dear Mr. Henry, January 21, 1868. I nave replied to the questions respecting the employment of children, young persons, and women in agriculture to the best of my ability as far as my very extensive parish is concerned. I wish, however, to add a few remarks upon some points, which con- trast very unfavourably with the systems and customs of other parts ot’ England, the system here being so totally different. First, with regard to the employ- IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ment.of females, it would be very desirable if their work could be limited, and not be constant throughout the year, so as to allow them more time for fitting themselves for domestic duties ; but as long as the present system of letting the farms by competition for a term of years prevails, combined with the increased rate of wages, so long will the farmer provide himself with as much female labour as he can obtain, the wages for women, though good, being so much less than those for men.. That most objectionable system called the bondage system (by which the hind was compelled to hire and keep a woman worker) has been nominally given up, but it virtually prevails, and will | probably do so as long as the custom of hiring labour by the year continues, Another most objectionable point is to be found in the existence of what used to be termed bondage houses, which are inhabited by single women who work on the farm; this is a great cause of immorality. II. The schools throughout this district are generally well attended; one good point is that those elder lads who find employment during the summer months mostly attend school during the winter. In the school immediately under my superintendence we have reduced the charges from 5d., 4d., and 3d. to 8d. and 2d. per week. During last summer the attendance was doubled. I am not prepared to say that such would be the invariable result in other districts. The chief drawback to the progress of the children arises from the annual migrations of the people, so that many schools apparently make no improvement. This remark applies more especially to rural districts, where the population is widely scattered. It is disheartening work both to the clergyman and the teacher. III. With regard to the cottages provided for the labouring class, the accommodation is sadly deficient ; it is necessarily prejudicial to morality, and fosters in a sad degree that want of self-respect and of con- sciousness of responsibility which too generally prevails, and without which true morality cannot exist. The badness of the cottages is a frequent cause of change, the inhabitants removing merely for the sake of ob- taining better accommodation, and increases to a great extent that evil custom of annual removal which seems now to be the rule of this district. The hinds are engaged by the year on certain days in the spring at the principal towns where the annual hirings are held, and are engaged too without any character from previous employers. A very serious evil connected with the insufficient accommodation exists when contagious or infectious diseases or fevers break out; few, if any, of the inhabi- tants escaping. The illness frequently extends to the neighbouring families, from the fact that there is no separate room where the sick person might be placed, and the discomfort, not. to say danger, in cases of fever, &c., when a death occurs, may be easily imagined. It has been objected against increasing the accom- modation by providing chambers upstairs, that in those few houses where upper rooms exist the inhabitants will not use them; but it must be remembered that to effect any change among the lower orders is necessarily a work of time, and such objection in no way removes the landlord’s responsibility for allowing the existing evil state of things to continue; besides, it must be remembered (and this is an argument urged by the working classes themselves) that they are obliged to adapt their furniture to the class of cottage that prevails, and to have as little as they can do with on account of the annual flittings to which they are sub- jected, cither from their own wish for change or at the caprice of their employers. ‘This necessarily prevents their taking any interest in the places they inhabit, and is a great check to any improvement in a moral or even a social point of view. I am convinced of this, that the tendency of the present state of things is to a worse condition, and that no improvement can be looked for till the system 223 of free labour is established, a suitable class of house built, provided with out-houses, gardens, proper water supply, drainage, and such like necessaries and comforts, to give the labouring man an interest in his place of residence, ‘and to make him feel that he is a responsible being, a fact which under the existing state of things he does not, nay, cannot realize. All these things strike me forcibly from having lived in other parts of England previous to my coming to the north, while others who have always lived in this district do not seem to be aware of these serious evils. There are other points, however, which the present inquiry does not embrace, though to a. certain extent connected with it; questions for the landed proprietors to consider, such as the letting farms by competition, leading to what has been aptly termed “commercial farming,” &c., but perliaps this may be considered to be beyond my province. With regard to the present inquiry, however, I shall be very glad if I can be of any further service. Trusting the inquiries of the Commission may be productive of good results, Believe me, &e. (Signed) P.G. McDovatt. Dear Sir, Morpeth, December 5, 1867. I cannot ascertain your address, and conse- quently Iam obliged to send the resolution passed at a recent meeting of the above board, and which is copied on the other side, to you at the office of the Commis- sioners. The resolution was passed at a tolerably large meeting of the guardians, and was, I think, unani- mous. Believe me, &c. J.J. Henley, Esq., (Signed) Gro. BRUMELL. Assistant Commissioner. (ENCLOSURE. ) Resolutions of Morpeth Board of Guardians. December 5, 1867. “That in the opinion of this meeting no legisla- tive interference is required in this union for the better regulation of agricultural labourers, for asa rule, with rare exceptions, women are only employed in the summer months from 7 in the morning till 6 in the evening, and in winter from 8 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, with ample allowance of time for rest and meals during the day ; and that in this union the age at which children are to be employed may safely be left to the discretion of their parents.” Ford Rectory, Coldstream, My prar Sir, January 23, 1868. I am sorry I have been so long in replying to your letter. The following information I have from Lady Waterford’s bailiff. The cottagersin Ford, with one or two exceptions day labourers, have from one to two acres of land each at 2/. an acre (formerly 50s.), free of poor rate, not bound to any particular rota- tion, crop as they like, mostly corn and green crops, potatoes and turnips, for they all have the privilege of a cow’s grass on Ford Common. Cultivated by plough hired at 8s. per day. Spade work would not pay, as they have 14s. a week wages. The cottagers at Crookham (on Ford estate), about 10 of them, have plots of half an acre to an acre at 2l. 10s. (formerly at 31.) cropped and worked in same way, free of poor rate, better land for potatoes and turnips ; the latter ate on the land by sheep. These have no cows. I suppose they as well as the Ford men must find it pay. The women do all the hoeing and summer light work on the land. I hope the above will be of some use to you. Tn haste, Yours very truly, T. Kyieur. Ee 3 APP, A, Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. Sears b. APP. A. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley, b. 224° ALLOTMENT System at Ewart Park, Northumberland. The allotment system has been carried on success- fully for the last 14 years. Each allotment consists of one-fourth of an acre, and is to let for the sum of 26s. yearly. For the first three years after the introduction. of the system each allotment was cropped with wheat, the average crop being 12 bushels. For the last 11 years, however, they have been: cropped with potatoes, the crop when raised averaging three tons. The abundant crops thus raised is a strong argument in favour of spade husbandry, which: in the cultivation of the aforesaid allotments is strictly enforced. The workmen on the estate, we may here add, have the privilege of attending to their portions every Saturday, which the respected and kind hearted landlord, Sir Horace St. Paul, Bart., has kindly given as a half-holiday these last 14 years. Neither has he confined the occupancy of the allotments to people residing on his estate, so that many tradesmen in the: neighbourhood eagerly avail themselves of the boon, The rental may to some appear high, but it may at the same time be stated that the adjoining meadows are frequently let from 5 to 6 guineas per acre annually. Jno. Bruce, Gardener. Ewart Park, February 9, 1868. CORRESPONDENCE as to Hiring Fairs. DEAR August 24, 1867. I onty got home last night after a week’s absence or would have replied to your letter sooner. I don’t think I told you of any one in Yorkshire who has collected statistics about statutes, but I know of a man who takes some interest in the matter, and if I can learn anything of value I will write you word. In our part of the West Riding there is very little of it, but in the East and I think some part of the North Riding it is in full force. Iam confident that the immorality caused by it is far greater than by the gang system as practised about here. A large proportion of the illegitimate children date from the statutes. The objections to it as at present practised are I think amongst others : 1. That the system of men and women standing in the street to be hired isa degrading one. They are judged of by their points like horses, and character is seldom, if ever, taken into account or even inquired about. 9S ss GO ete Gee 2. That it creates a kind of vagrant population, who lose all home ties. and as a general rule never remain more than one year in the same place. _ 8. That it increases very much the difficulty of education, as after they come to a fresh place it. is some weeks probably before the clergyman or school authority can get hold of them (ifindeed they are ever able to do so), and they never can have the same influence they have with ordinary parishioners. 4. That it is a decided discouragement to land- owners in building (as I contend they ought to do) sufficient homes to contain the population necessary to the ordinary work of each parish, as if hired ser- vants can be got from large villages and small towns, fewer cottages are necessary. | I should like to see statutes abolished, and in place of them, — (a.) Register offices to be established (perhaps licensed) as is now commonly done for house- hold servants. (6.) Hirings to be legal, made at any time of. year, and on any day. mite (c.) No hiring to be legal or enforced by justices except it be made-in writing and in some form to be established by law. (d.) Such form to be accompanied by a certificate of character from preceding master or masters. UO RE TAS at ERS SES oe SN gee 8 ; EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN (e.) None to be able to hire themselves out who could not read and write, or who could not produce a certificate to show they had attended regularly at school for a time to be fixed. I think the effect of some such regulations as these would be in the long run that men would not have the same temptation to change ; that they would con-. tinue where they were if they had no real cause of complaint, and that farmers would hire only when a servant left them, and not change their whole establish- ments regularly on a particular day in the year. > I would let them hire for six, nine, or 12 months, or perhaps even longer if thought desirable, but the service to continue for a month after the hired term unless a previous month’s notice was given ; and after the term to go on from month to month until notice was given. I think the effect of this, would be that men who had nothing just to complain of would remain on indefinitely. , Believe me, &e. — —_ Embleton, Chat Hill, Drag Sir, oo Sept. 29, 1867. I ENCLOsE your letter and beg to offer a few remarks on Mr. ’s suggestions, I think them impracticable, and, although doubtless well meant, they are harsh and arbitrary towards the labourer : following the letters of the paragraphs, I would say :— . (a.) That register offices in Alnwick have not con- duced to long periods of domestic service, as the high fees charged by the persons who keep these offices make it their interest to persuade each servant to get her fellow servants entered on the books, and the same result would probably follow in the case of register offices for farm labourers. The fees charged on each hiring at the Alnwick registers are 1s. on taking the name, and 2s. 6d. on the hiring, being 7s. in all, as both mistress and maid pay alike. (.) Every hiring is at present legal for any period and at any time, if made in writing and signed by master and servant. (c.) I am not aware that any hiring can be en- forced for more than a fortnight, or for the period of harvest, unless in writing, and even that I think doubtful. (d.) Unless landlords and farmers are also com- pelled to produce certificates of character this is one- sided legislation, and totally unnecessary, as no em- ployer is obliged to hire any one unless he thinks his character unobjectionable. (e.) This I think the most objectionable of all Mr. ’s propositions, it appears to me very cruel and heartless to refuse employment to a hungry ill- clad boy or girl merely because they cannot read or write. General Remarks.—Whether hired in the market or otherwise, farm labourers will and must be judged as to their physical powers to fulfil their engagement before any reasonable man would engage them for a year’s work, and this holds good in every case, be it a lady engaging a housemaid, a gentleman a groom, a aron a gamekeeper, or a farmer a labourer. I see nothing the legislature can do in the matter of hiring except to place, as done under Lord Elcho’s ..Act, employer and employed, on the same footing, and to afford every opportunity of cheap and speedy justice to master and man alike. The hiring or statutes are a great nuisance to the farmer, not from the circum- stance of people being hired, but from the numbers of persons who make a holiday of it, and direct the attention of those seeking places from the serious business of the day. The mere fact of standing in the market place is a matter of mere taste, and so long as farmers prefer to transact their own proper busi- ness in a great measure on the street of the market town, instead of in the Corn Exchange, there can be no hardships in their labourers doing the same in ne a IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, : gan oe d Lege ay weather, in wet weather the Corn Exchange should be thrown open to them, especially to the women and children. * , fie Ee I remain, ae . Yours very truly, J. J. Henley, Esq. ‘Tuomas Roperr. Old Bewick, Alnwick, My Dear Mr. HENLEY, September 25, 1867. “* T agree to a certain extent with Mr; *s remarks. I think he assumes more “ immorality ” as the result of the statute hirings than they deserve, though there can be no doubt that they in common with all promiscuous gatherings afford temptation and facili- ties to the viciously inclined. No. 1. The evil here is, I think, exaggerated, and perhaps in a great measure fanciful. No. 2. I think the tendency of the annual hiring system is to keep alive a fancy for changes, which might never arise, in many men, if that fashion did not exist. No. 3. The effect is certainly such as Mr. ——— describes, but the cause is the moving about system itself. No. 4. This aotion does not apply here. (a@.) I doubt the practicability of this plan. (0.), (¢.), (@.) might be made useful if they can be enforced. (e.) Difficult to enforce, and if done, rather harsh, Practically, I think, that if we could induce our men to continue their engagements until either of the parties gave a notice (say three months’) of his desire to void it and so get rid of the annual palaver at the end of February, many of them would never think of changing, and this would virtually put an end to the hiring meetings to which many go, merely for the purpose of seeing their friends. Believe me, | Yours most truly, J. C. LANGLANDS. — Cawsey Park, Dear Sir, Oct. 11, 1867. You are wishful to know my opinion of the ‘influence of: public hirings upon the character of the agricultural labourers in this part of the county. Ido not think there is any greater liberty given to them for immorality of conduct by attending such places, as allowing them a holiday to go to flower shows, races, or any such amusements, neither can I attribute it to be the cause of the constant changes of .families from one- master to adother. . I have upwards of 80 families employed upon my several farms, and .many of whom have now been- with me nearly 30 years, viz.. G. S. 18 years, W. J. 22, J. D. 14, R. B. 10, G. C. 8, and so on. ' < I remain, ; Dear sir, truly, Joun Hoee. Rock, Alnwick, Dear Mr. HENzey, October 4, 1867, I am only acquainted with the system of statute hirings as it is: practised in Northumberland, and several of the remarks in Mr. ’s letter can hardly be considered applicable to our country. The .system is not faultless, no doubt ; great numbers of young people of both sexes cannot probably be brought together even for a day. without risk of mischief ; and in this, as in so many other cases, young people (and their parents, who are as much interested -in _their well doing as themselves) must depend for their safety on their own good principles. . But I had better take Mr. ’s (Ist) observations on the present system, and (2ndly) suggestions for alteration in the system, seriatim. ' Obs. 1. “The system of standing about in the “ streets to be hired is a degrading one,” &. , To outsiders and persons, who are not engaged in the business -of the day it appears, no doubt, very much 30, but very little so to those really concerned ; if 225 people have to find each other out they must meet, and, if they are really intent upon making what is a very important arrangement indeed for both parties for'a year to come, they are not likely to be thinking of ‘degradation ; the farmers or hirers are upon’ the street as well as the labourers. N evertheless, if such a placé as the Corn Exchange in Alnwick could be got and would hold them all, it might be a pleasanter arrangement, especially in wet weather, but I don’t suppose they would ever stay there. As to the ques- tion of taking or omitting to take “characters,” I will answer it under suggestion (d.). Obs. 2. “That it creates a kind of vagrant popu- “ lation.” I hardly know what this means, The movement of a household from one part of a district to another (they can rarely move further than the farmers’ carts can conveniently flit them and their goods in a day) can surely never lead to anything that can justly be called “a vagrant population.” Home goes with them, their household gods are all most carefully conveyed along with them. ‘The power of limiting their agreement strictly to a year, and of the changing if they please without any reason assigned, is at the foundation of the independence and respectability of our north country peasantry. — Obs. 3. “ That it increases very much the difficulty “ of education,” &c. This points to a state of things with which we are but partially acquainted here, in which parents are presumed to be careless about the education of their children, or unwilling to take advantage of opportunities offered for it. But as a matter of fact, the facilities for the education of the children commonly enter into the choice of a situation in the case of a hind or engaged labourer in this country, and though they will often send their chil- dren great distances to school, they will not as a general rule submit to their growing up in ignorance. It is only in exceptional cases that the clergyman has to interfere, and generally where he himself has brought the school into a state satisfactory to himself -but not so satisfactory to the parents. Obs. 4. “That it is a decided discouragement to “ landowners in building houses,” &¢. I am really and truly unable to understand what is meant here. Tt must allude to a kind of hiring with which I am not acquainted. When we go to hire labourers-we can hire no more than we have cottages to house. The cottages must be standing ready for the man and his family when he comes to enter upon his engagement. Is it possible that in any part of Yorkshire there is such a thing as hiring by the day like the labourers in the parable ? And that they can hire them in the town and get the labourer to come out daily into the country and agree to do su for a year together? At all events, I don’t see how the publicity of the hiring can have anything to do with it. ‘Then as to the suggestions. Suggestion (a.) “ Register offices to be established,” &c. It would be rash, in speaking of an arrange- ment so entirely new as applied to farm servants, to venture to say positively how it might act. But it strikes me that practically the register office would afford nothing more than a list of the names of those who wished to be hired, and the addresses of their present masters. ‘The inquiry into character would then have to commence, as it does in the case of domestic servants,.and before the character to be obtained would be of any value it would be necessary to ascertain the character of the master who is to give it ; we all know how unreliable are a great proportion of the characters given, even by people of position and general good conduct in the world, and it would be impossible, in the case supposed, to allow the mere wording of a character to go for anything without a good knowledge of the person who wrote it. You would have to sift the history of the individual to be engaged from his own lips just as you have at present. Suggestion (6.) “Hirings to be legal, made at -any’ time,” &e.'. Speaking of Northumberland, the reason that agreements.must be made with hinds and Ee 4 APP. A, Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. APP. A. Northumber- land. — Mr. Henley. —— b. 226 other yearly servants from May day to May day, or (if agreeable to both parties) from May day to November, is that the occupation of a house usually forms part of the agreement, and it is the general custom to quit houses only at May day and November. It would be exceedingly inconvenient to have flittings going on at all times or at any time in the year. Once a year is generally thought quite enough. But if a man chooses to hire himself to a master to work for him for any number of weeks or months, independently of any question of housing, it will be quite a lawful agreement and can be enforced by the magistrates, provided the man engages to give his whole time to the master, and so really becomes his servant for the time. (This will not apply to piece work.) (c.) A great proportion of the yearly agreements in Northumberland are made with the assistance of printed forms, which are quite accurate enough for all practicable purposes ; and they very much assist in the adjudication of disputed cases, though the magistrates do not insist upon their production, when the evidence is satisfactory without them. I don’t see that anything would be gained by having the form settled by law, and it would probably lead to much inconvenience, the agreements being so various. (d.) The certificate of character obtained for such a purpose would be of so little value that it would be hardly worth while to require it. Referring back to the first objection, that under the present system “character is seldom, if ever, taken into account,” my own steward, who is a man considerably above the average both of principle and intelligence, tells me, and is quite confident, that he can ascertain more of the truth by questioning and examining the members of a family to be engaged, than by simply taking the character of a master. We certainly have, in the course of years got together an uncommonly steady and diligent set of men, and the steward scarcely ever makes a mistake in choosing and hiring people. (e.) I can hardly suppose that Mr. is serious in proposing that a man who might be so unfortunate as not to be able to read and write should be thereby disqualified from earning his living by agricultural industry or the better position in it. What else is he likely to be able to do? Mr. —— appears to think that all the engaged labourers change every year. But that is not the case, they have a right to go at the year’s end without assigning any reason if they like to do so; and we, on our side, have a right to give them their liberty as we call it, inthe same way. But I have two or three families that have been with me 20 years. I parted with one family last May day which had been with me 23 years. Still the agreement has been renewed in all these cases every year, with consideration of their interests and mine, and the alteration of prices and circumstances, so that we kept together because it has been our mutual interest to do so; but families of course grow up and go off, and in the course of time there come to be no workers left. People can hire for six months now if both parties are agreeable, even with a cottage. They would flit in November. Nine months would bring them to a bad time for changing, viz. Christmas. I cannot think there could be anything gained by that. Twelve months is the usual time now. I don’t sec what would be gained by the other suggestions, viz., that of going on from month to month until notice is given. Surely a house could never be supplied to them on such un- certain terms as those. People can stay in their places as long as they can agree, if the places suit. The power of changing on both sides is the greatest possible safeguard against rough or unfair behaviour on either side. Believe me, &c. (Signed) R. W. BosanqueEt. J.J. Henley, Esq. Commission on the Employment of Children, &e. = EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Summary of Sucerestions as to the Amount of Winter ScHoot ATTENDANCE that might be required of Children working out in Summer. Days, The Schoolmaster of Crookham - suggests 81 ” Old Bewicke - e 80 3 Mindrim - - 35 96 ay Lilburn - - 5 76 1 Wooler - - sy 75 45 Doddington - a 115 Weeks, 9 Milfield - - _ 18 5 Chatton - - 35 17 School Attendances, The Rev. Mr. King, of Carham, suggests - 150 Summary and ParticuLars from Minute Boox of all Orrences and Casgs disposed of by Her Majesty’s Justices of the Peace acting for the Petty Sessional Division of Glendale Ward in the County of Northumberland, from the Ist day of January to 31st December 1866. Cases Nature of Convic- | dismissed] Commit- : Offence. tions. | or com- tals, Observations, &c. promised. Bastardy applica- | 25 orders| 4 orders | - -|None of the orders tions, made. | refused made were for more and 3 com- than 2s. per week, ‘ plaints and this amount has i aban- only been allowed doned. since January 1866, 1s. 6d. per week hi- therto for many A pes only allowed. Bastardy monies, | 21 war- | No com- | < -|!The woman fre. nonpaymentof.| rants | mittal. quently has to take issued. out four warrants at the end of 18 weeks against the same man, when the mo- nies are paid gene- rally on apprehen- sion. Drunk and inde- |12convie-| 2 dis- 1com- | Summonses taken out cent conductin; tions. missed. | mittal. by superintendent public. of police, and penal- ties inflicted rang- ing from 2U, to 18, 4 = and costs. : Common assaults | 5 convic-| 8dis- | Nocom-| The penalties were tions. | missed, | mittal. | ‘all below 10s, and 2 with- costs. drawn, Game trespass -|1convic-| 2 with- | - | 21. penalty, : tion. drawn, Setting snares or | 5 convic-| 4 with- | - | 22. penalty to 5s. TAPS, tions. | drawn. Using dog andj - -| 4with- = - - ass IN - : drawn, Uspec’ person | 1 convic- | - -|e - 182. commi - found on high-| tion. Skeet ay Tegal fishing in | $ convi shing in | 3 convic-| « “f° =| 7 private water. tions. Bp rece lap Red Ae Wrongful driving | 5 convic- | - -|- - | Ditto. on turnpike. tions. Owner of cattle |}10 convic-| 2 sum- - - suffering same | tions. monses to stray on high- with- Cattle pl Leonvio: | Fain” attle plague, | 1 convic- lis- | + - 152, A driving without| tion. missed. pe penalty permit, . 2 Cruelty to ani-| 2 convic- | - s[- - | One penalty 52. ; other mal, tions. 1s. and costs. agie fetes appa - “le - | Penalty 12. in each ed employ ions. inlaw fully. ee Paupers _refrac- | 7 convic- | - - | Commit- _ tory, tearing | tions, tals 7, for up clothes, &c. various terms. Wilful and mali-|2convic-| 4 dis- 1 com- _ Ge edly tions. | missed. | mittal. se keeper | 1 convic- - - Bermnitthig how, Penalty 27, and costs, drunkenness, Servants in hus- | - -| 2Qdis- - _ bandry mishe- missed. having. Nonpayment of | 2 orders _ ~ on highway dues. made. Non-repair of | 2 orders _ - ~ highway. made Criminal Justice | 1 convic-| 1 dis- _ ~ Act. tion, missed, Misdemeanor - | 1 convic- _- sek _~ tion. Weights and measures are inspected only once in four years. The Justice meetings held at i sae gs are held at Wooler on the first Tuesday in Joun Tuompson, Clerk to Justices, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Return by Wiiu1am Dickson, Esq., Clerk of the Peace for the County of Northumberland, of all Caszs of Cuitp MurpER and ConcEALMENT of Biggs tried in that County during the Five Years 1863 to 1867 inclusive. : €.|3 aa|3 ae Name. g z = Verdict. Sentence, B3| a o 15 Webs | 1. Haj 1 Not guilt Heb. -|I.H.jun, - — | Not gu _ se -| TH. -| 1 J—- ‘Do, : _ is - | I. H. sen. -| LJ— Do. - _ Jy 2 -| I. R -| 1 |—| Guilty - | 9 cal. mos, h. 1, 35 -|/ AO. -| —| 1] Notguilty - _— sie -| ALR. (town) -| 1 | —| Guilty - | 12 cal. mos. h.1. Feb. 28 - | J.P. -| 1 |-} Do. - | 4cal. mos. h. 1. 3 -| E. B. =| lJ Do. - | 4cal. mos. h. 1. July 15 -| M.I. (town) -| 1 | — Do. - | 3 cal. mos. h. 1. i -| EM. “|; li-— Do. - |; 8 cal. mos. h. 1. 55 I.8. -| 1 | —| Notguilty - — 33 -| 1.0. H. -| 1 | —| Guilty - | 2 cal. mos. h. 1. 1866. Juy14 -| B.D. -| 1 |---| Not guilty - = . 2 -| M.G. -| 1 | —} Guilty y - | 8 cal. mos, h. 1. Feb.22° - | EL. -| 1 |—|_ Do. 2 cal. mos. h. 1. si A.R, -| 1 | —| Not guilty - — July 18 J.M. -| lf- Do. - _ Total for 5years - | 16 1] 9 guilty. 8 not guilty. All agricultural but the two marked “ town.” Wm. Dickson, Clerk of the Peace for Alnwick, Dec. 24, 1867. Northumberland. Paper showing the Cuarces, &c., at CHATTON SCHOOLS. CHatton Scuoots.—Commencing the first week in July 1865. The Charges for Scholars at these Schools will be henceforth as follows :— Masters’ School. Subjects taught. (Scripture, Reading. Writing. Dictation on Paper. Arithmetic—Compound and higher Rules. Mensuration, Land Surveying, and Geometry. . ; ( (Geography, Grammar, and Music). (Scripture, Reading. Writing, Dictation on Slates. ene Clase Arithmetic—Simple Rules and Com- 4d, per — Ist Class. 5d. per week. pound Tables. (Music). (Scripture, Reading. Writing. Arithmetic — Addition, and Sub- traction and Multiplication Tables. | (Music). 3rd Class. d 3d. per week. Mistresses’ School. ( Scripture, Reading—Monosyllables. Writing on Slate. Arithmetic — Addition traction as far as 10. ist Class. d Sub- 2d, per week. 1 a c (Music). Scripture. 2nd Class. Letters, Little Words. (INFANTS ) First steps in Writing and Counting. 1d. per week. (Music). N.B.—The third child in a family will be free. Matr. Burret, Vicar, — 227 Glendale Union, 9th Week of Michaelmas Quarter. Resident Non- resident Paupers. Paupers. “se : moun’ Officers. 3 ald ald 3 of Out- 3 acl g .|2 5 & | Relief ales S \alge/z|sisigialz A |elflo/8lslelsl/als £ sd. Alexander Craig | Ford - | 42/180] 84) 206) 13} 43) 43) 99] 805) 27 14 0 Thomas Carr - | Wooler | 42]122| 62/ 216) 18] 62} 30; 100] 816) 2614 6 Totals aaa 86, 422 31| 95] 73] 199| 621| 54 8 6 Wm. Wicurmay, Clerk. August 24, 1867. Statement by Mr. Grorer Laine, Cornhill, North- umberland, Nov. 5, 1867. In this district ploughmen’s wages are generally as under for a year :— 42 bushels of oats ; 24 4 barley ; 12 94 beans or peas ; 3 3 wheat; 51, cash. ; 1,200 yards potato drill ; cow’s grass and a quarter of an acre of turnips ; cottage and garden rent free ; coals carted from the colliery free. Should he have one or more sons, ploughmen, living with him, their wages are 30/. and 1,200 yards of potato drill, or 342. each. His daughters are engaged at 1s. per day when employed; except in harvest, when their wage is 3s. per day. The men’s wages are upheld all the year round, whether they are ill or well. Almost all the married men have a cow. they have not we allow them 8/. for her keep. When STATEMENT as to Hinds’ conditions, Rock, Alnwick, 1867, House and garden free; coals carted free; 500 yards of potatoe ground prepared in the field ; money 6/. 10s. ; cow on pasture in summer, 14 tons of hay, with straw for winter ; Wheat, 12 bushels ; Beans or peas, 8 bushels ; Barley, 33 bushels ; Oats, 33 bushels ; Women’s wage ls. per day all the year, except harvest, one month or 24 days, at 2s. per day. Cory of Agreement, Castleheaton. A.B. agrees to serve C.D. from 12th May 1866 to 12th May 1867, as (so-and-so), on the following con- ditions ; to receive, 6 bolls of oats ; 4 ,, barley; 2 ,, beans and peas ; 1,4, wheat; Cash 61. ; Cow grazed in summer and keep in winter ; 1,200 yards potatoes. 1s. per day for field-worker, summer and winter, and 8s. per day during harvest; coals carted free to house. Note.—If in money entirely, 14s. per week for ploughmen, 15s. extra men, with house and perquisites the same. Cow considered equal to 102. Potatoes equal to 40. Cottage and coals carted equal to 4/. 10s. Ff APP. A. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. APP. A. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. APP. B, 228 Alnwick, 1856. I MLR. hereby agree to serve A.B. as servant in husbandry from 13th May 1856 to 18th May 1857, on the following conditions: _ House rent free., Coals led. Cow on pasture in summer. Straw, and one ton of hay for winter. Cow to be kept in between 12th November and 12th May. To be allowed to keep a pig shut up. Wheat, 6 new bolls. Barley, 4 old bolls. Oats, 6 old bolls. Peas and beans, 2 old bolls. 4l., stint money. 1,000 yards of potato ground prepared for me in the field. I am to find a sufficient woman worker at 10d. per day in summer aud 8d. per day in winter ; 1s. 6d. per day during harvest, 20 days. EMPLOYMENT OF_ CHILDREN, YOUNG: PERSONS, AND .WOMEN . House free, } These, two were the conditions for~ Coals led, f{. ® worker. Women workers to have 1s. in summer and 10d. in winter. 3s. for 20 days in harvest. Note.—The old boll is six bushels. [The new boll is two bushels.] _ A stone of wool is 24 pounds, Statement by Mr. Dons, of Anick Grainge, Chairman of Hexham Board of Guardians. Hinds’ payments 16s. a week, House with garden free. Coals led. 6 bushels of wheat. 4 bushels light corn, barley. 80 stone potatoes, and a 10th of an acre planted; to find a woman worker. oi Statement by Mr. Gowans, draper and postmaster, Wooler, as to value of corn wages. a? Hinps’ conditions of hiring (Mr. George Rea, Cow - ss -8 00 Middleton). House - - 800 I A.B. agree to serve C.D. in the capacity of a hind Coals - - 15 0 from 12th May 1866 to 12th May 1867 on the follow- Potatoes - - 4 0 0 ing conditions: _ Oats = - 6 0 0 6 bolls of oats. Barley - 416 0 44 bolls of barley. Peas - - 8 00 1 bolls of pease. Wheat = - - 200 __. 1 boll of wheat. Stint money - 5 0 0 One cow kept, getting 4 cwt. of oil cake in winter. 51. in money ; 1,000 yards of potatoes ; half a stone of 87 1 0 cast wool, APPENDIX B,—EVIDENCE. GuenpDALE Union.—NorTHUMBERLAND. List oF WITNESSES. 8. Nos. Dr. R. Walker, Medical Officer, Wooler. 24. Mr. J. Rutherford, Steward to Mr. Henderson, . Mr. Brown, Surgeon, Wooler. Dr. W. Robertson, Glanton. Dr. M. T. Turnbull, Glendale Unions. : Mr. T. Carr, Relieving Officer, Wooler. Mr. P. Baker, Overseer to the Poor, Lowick. Mr, A. Craig, Relieving Officer and Registrar of the Ford District. . Lowick National School. Mr. Horace St. Paul Armstrong, Master of the Church of England School, Wooler. 10. Mr. Duncan, English Presbyterian Schoolmaster, Wooler. 1L. Mr.J. Cairns, National Schoolmaster, Doddington. 12. Mr. W. L. Read, Church of England School- master, Mindrim. 18. Mr. Huey, Schoolmaster, Milfield, 14, Ford School. 15. Mr. G. Douglas, Old Bewick, Church of England Schoolmaster. 16. Wark School. 17. Crookham School, a Presbyterian Master. 18. Mr. Frazer, Crookham, National Schoolmaster. 19. Branxton National School. teonrd and Berwick SOs STG 20. Mr. T. Runciman, Steward to Mr. Borthwick, . Kilham. 21. Mr. G. Lumsden, Steward to Mr. C. Rea, Dod- dington. . Mr. J. Grey, Steward to Mr. Chartres, Glendale. 23. Mr. J. Hall, Steward to Mr. Langlands, Old Bewick. Lowick. 25. Mr. Hardy, Innkeeper and Farmer, Wooler. 26. Mr. C. Rea, Farmer, Doddington. 27, Mr. J. Wilson, Joiner, Chatton. 28. Mr. R. Duncombe, Shepherd, Yeavering. 29. Mr. T. Tait, Shepherd, Paston. 30. Emma Bell, Mindrim. $1. Anne Mills, Wife of a Hind, Carham. 32. Mrs. Gibson, Wife of a Hind, Chatton. 33. Isabella Young, Wife a Hind, Humbleton. 34. Mary Johnson, Wife of Mr. Morrison’s Steward, New Bewick. 35. Mrs. Nesbit, Wife of Mr. Hall’s Shepherd, New Town, Chillingham. 36. Mrs. Henderson, Branton. 37. Mrs. Anderson, Ilderton. 38. Mrs. Maclean, Wife of a Shepherd, Lanton. 39. Mrs. Ewart, Wife of a Hind, Lanton. 40. Mrs. Telfer, Lanton. 41. M. M., Larton. 42. Mrs. Whitelow, Lanton. 43, Mr. George Bowmaker, Clerk to Mr. Grey, Mil- field Hill. 44. Mr. W. Wightman, Clerk to the Board of Guar- dians, Manager of the Wooler Bank, and Superintendent Registrar. 45. Anne Younger, Wife of a Spademan, Brandon. — 46. Mrs. Buck, Wife of an Agricultural Blacksmith. 47. Mr. Gowans,, Shopkeeper and Postmaster, Wooler. 48. Mr. McNatty, Shoemaker, Wooler. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. GLENDALE UNION, 1867. 1. Dr. R. Watker, of Wooler, one of the medical officers of the Glendale Union.—Has resided at Wooler for threg years and a half ; does not consider that the field work of children in this district is injurious to their health. He thinks also that with regard to the women working in the fields it does not in any way affect their health or constitution, but considers that the absence of the mother of a family from her home is predjudicial to the comfort and happiness of that family. This only occurs in certain cases. The cottages are deficient in this district in respect of space, ventilation, and sanitary arrangements. He has attended many cases of typhoid fever which he attributes to the situation of the cottages, the deficient drainage, the overcrowding of the building, the bad ventilation, and want of cleanliness on the part of the inmates. In one cottage at his first visit, there were dead bodies in the two box beds. The other bed contained two children ill with fever ; five other children were also suffering from fever, and lying on a shake down on the floor. The father, mother, and the father’s mother were in the same room, divided only by the box beds. Dr. Walker considers that, on the whole, the women and children engaged in agriculture are as healthy a class as he meets with. The great consumption of coffee and tea by the women, to the exclusion of porridge, &c., he believes to be injurious to them. 2. Mr. Brown, surgeon, Wooler.—Has lived and practised in Wooler for 36 years. The women working in the fields in this district are very healthy, and not so subject to the usual female complaints as house- hold servants. He does not consider that the hours of work affect them. He has never known children to be injured by field work, on the contrary their health is improved by it. They seldom go to work for regular hiring before the age of 14 or 15; in this neighbourhood there is no necessity for limiting the hours of work. The children sometimes go out for light work in summer as early as 10 years of age. Mr. Brown does not consider that a law limiting the commencement of work to 10 years of age would press hardly on the means of families in this district, as the children’s labour before that is not - of much worth. He thinks that women should not be allowed to go with horses drawing carts or harrows, as he has known of accidents happening from this cause. He cannot say the dust of barn work injuri- ously affects the health of women. He has had no medical cases with regard to them, but some instances withmen. There is great desire amongst the poor in this district to educate their children, and they are not ‘deterred by their want of means. The cottages built in this district are for the most part too small. The chief room has not sufficient space, and in cases of fever, the people were better off in the old cottages than in the new; the ventilation was better and consequently recovery was more frequent. The food of the working class in this neighbourhood from the variety of their diet is very wholesome ; it consists principally of milk, different kinds of vegetables, cheese, butter, bacon, very rarely butchers’ meat, oatmeal and wheat whole meal. They invari- ably provide a hot meal for dinner. Looking back to the time he came into the neighbourhood, the labouring classes appear to him in about the same state physically and morally. 3. Dr. W. Robertson, Glanton, a medical officer of the Glendale and Alnwick Unions.—Has known the district for 20 years. No work to which the women are put is injurious to their health ; but the employment of driving carts in the fields and on the roads is not suitable for them. Dr. Robertson considers the hours of work to be rather long and perhaps too great a demand upon their physical powers. The work of the children is not so hard as to be injurious to their health, but for the sake, of their education he would gladly delay the commence- ment of labour. He does not consider that there is any call for interference as to hours or description of 229 labour, and believes this may be left to the sense of the people themselves. There is an improvement in the cottages though some still remain in'a bad state, overcrowded, with too few apartments, which is de- cidedly prejudicial to the health of thé inmates. On entering the cottages in the morning, they are most offensive. The sanitary arrangements very defective, drainage bad, ventilation unprovided, privy accom- modation often wanting, and the latter as well as the pigsties in many cases too near the house. Looking at the district, the agricultural classes are the most healthy. With regard to food, the giving up of milk aud meal, and substituting coffee, is bad for the stamina of labourers. There is more dyspepsia than there should be. Diseases attributable to intemperance are very rare among the agricultural labouring class. Education is still defective, far from what it ought to be, but there is some progress towards improvement. 4. Dr. M. T. Turnbull, a medical officer of the Glendale and Berwick-on-Tweed Unions, re: sides at Coldstream, but has practised in this union, besides that of Berwick-on-Tweed, since 1845. The condition of the working classes on both sides of the Tweed is very good, there is no difference between them ; the women are not put to any work which is injurious, nor are the children. Driving carts he considers dangerous. The education is superior in Scotland to England ; the masters are better. The school attendance south of the Tweed, is not affected by distance or want of means. The cottages newly built are sufficient. The change of diet is injurious, substituting weak tea for oatmeal and milk. Girls working in the fields are more immoral than those in service ; the bad conversation there tends much to this result. 5. Mr. Thomas Carr, of Wooler, has been reliev~ ing officer of the Wooler district of the Glendale Union for 20 years, and has lived in Wooler all his life. The boys and girls go out to field work in summer at about 13 years of age, weeding and cleaning the land and hoeing the turnips. ‘They work from 6 to 6 ; have 24 minutes rest at 10 o’clock, 2 hours at mid-day, and 20 minutes at 4 o’clock.; they also help at harvest by tying the bands and putting the corn together. They earn about 6d. to 8d. a day for weeding and hoeing, and from 1s. to 2s. a day at harvest work. He has never known any work prejudicial tu their health. The hours of the women’s work are the same as those of the children ; they clean the land, gather stones, hoe turnips, shear, spread, dung, root and shawe the turnips, and work with the threshing machine. | Mr. Carr does not believe that working in the field is injurious to them in any way, either with regard to health or morals. The bondage system still exists in the district, but is unpopular with the hinds; the presence of a stranger in the house, if they have to hire the bondager, is much disliked. The result of this is, that Irish women are more frequently hired as bondagers than formerly, in consequence of the diffi- culty of getting the English to serve, and hinds with large families are much sought after by the farmers. He does not find there is more immorality among the bondagers than among women employed in domestic service. The wages at this time are as good as 18s. a week ; the labouring class use much more groceries than formerly, and usually have coffee sent out to them for breakfast. There are sufficient cottages as to numbers in this district ; the people mostly live on the ground floors, (though they have upstairs rooms,) as they find it warmer, but.they divide the ground- floor room by partitions. A good deal bas been done of late years in building and repairing cottages. The Union Chargeability Act has at present had no effect in this neighbourhood. He-does not know of any instance in this district where the children of a family have not been sent to school. Sometimes in cases. of distress school fees are paid by the Board of Guardians; children are then sent to the nearest school. The women prefer field work, and on the whole make more economical wives than those who have been in service. Fi2 APP. B. Northumber- land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley: be APP. B. Northumber- land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley. b. 230 Looking back for 30 or 40 years, Mr. Carr considers the labourers better off and better informed than formerly, but no change as to their labour. No restric- tion is required in this district for limiting the hours in the work of women or children; they never go further than a mile to their work and their health is not affected by it, neither does the education of the children suffer, as they go to school in winter. 6. Mr. Patrick Baker is overseer to the poor of the parish of Lowick, and has known it all his life.— The cottages are very bad, generally with one room and mostly bad thatch, very few necessaries. The women and children who work in the fields are in good health and not injured by work ; there is some employ- ment not suitable for women, such as leading horses and carts. Hinds are paid mostly in corn wages ; he considers that money would be better, but it would take some time to accustom them to it. ‘The present system obliges them to have six months credit, and they are at the mercy of people who go about with carts and barter things with them for their corn ; they part with corn for coffee and other things which do them no good. The hinds generally are an honest and sober people, but he considers that women’s work in the fields degrades them, except the harvest and perhaps the turnip work. He thinks the people are not so well educated as formerly because they go to work earlier, and seldom remain after 14 or 15 at school. They used to be at winter school till 20 years of age and went to farm work after that. He refers to day schools though there were evening schools. School attendance is not affected by distance as much as by means. The education afforded at the schools is good enough. 7. Mr, Andrew Craig, relieving officer and regis- trar of the Ford district, Glendale Union. — Has known this country all his life, and was school- master at Milfield for 103 years before he held his present office. The women have been employed in the same sort of work ever since he has known the district. The only change has been in the condition of service, the bondage system being now done away with. That was considered to be given up in the interest of the hind, not of the bondager. He does not think that any work to which the women and children are put is physically injurious to them ; nor are their hours too long comparing them with town women and children ; they are far superior in strength and health. The children usually go to work in summer at 12 or 13 years of age. There may be some few exceptions, and younger children may go, but rarely; a great many return to school in the winter up to 17 and 18 years of age. He does not think that many parents are prevented from sending their children to school either from inability to pay school fees or the want of proper clothes. As a general rule denominational teaching does not inter- fere with school attendance in this part of the country. The district is pretty well supplied with schools, both as to situation and teaching ; very few children exceed three miles in distance from school, of that they do not complain, and keep up their attendance in winter, except in very coarse weather. Of the three modes pointed out by the Factory Acts in the Commissioners’ circular, the latter mode, No. 3 (10 & 11 Vict. c. 70, ss. 2, 8, 26.), that is, the winter attendance would best suit an agricuitural population. Mr. Craig is positive that the other modes would not answer ; either the half or alternate days would make children restless and inattentive. They lose of course a great deal of instruction in the summer by their absence, but they soon “come at it” again in the winter, and evening schools are not sufficiently appreciated in this neighbourhood. “When I had “© a day school of 1601 could hardly raise 14 for “an evening school.” A limit to 10 years of age for the commencement of children’s work would materially affect those characters who could least bear it, as the very poorest with large families push out the eldest child to help the younger. It is an advantage to the family that the girls should remain EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN at home at field work, as the parents receive the money to keep them, and if they go out to service nothing comes home. 8. Lowick National School_—Fees 2d. a week; no extras ; under Government inspection. An annual subscription of 35/7, The catechism not enforced ; the majority of the children Presbyterians. The master considers that the summer work puts the children back quite six weeks. Most of the children come to school without knowing their letters, and they lose half a year by it. 9. Mr. Horace St. Paul Armstrong is master of the Church of England school at Wooler.—This school is principally supported by Sir Horace St. Paul, Bart., in addition to the school fees which are 2d. a head per week, and a few at 38d. The average num- bers are returned in the Commissioners’ circular. No objection is ever made to denominational teaching ; the great proportion are the children of dissenters, Some attend the Church of England’ Sunday school, but they are quite at liberty to attend their own. The boys on an average leave the school to work in the summer at 10 years of age ; they usually return in the winter from November to about the Ist of April, and remain at school till 12 or 13. The average attendance at school in the winter of those who work in the summer is about 75 days. The girls begin work at the same ages as the boys, but their attendance during the winter is not so good, owing to the weather and employment in household work. They, of course, lose a great deal of instruc- tion in the working season, and their conduct on their return is much rougher. The regular hinds send their children more to school in the winter than parents who live in the town ; they are more anxious about their children’s education. School attendance is not materially affected by distance; the greatest is three miles. Some are kept away by the difficulty of paying the necessary fees when the parents are not employed, and some from want of proper clothing. Mr. Armstrong considers that the winter attendance at school would best suit this district. The parishes are so intermixed that an exact estimate of the pro- portion of school attendance to the population cannot be formed. ‘The cottages in this parish are very bad, very much overcrowded, and, in many instances, unfit for habitation ; and in this town (Wooler) there is very great want of good cottage accommodation for the working classes, which, in many cases, compels overcrowding, whole families living and sleeping in the same room. In connection with the Church of England school there is no evening class. Hiring fairs are the cause of great evil to women. 10. Mr. Duncan, English Presbyterian school- master, Wooler.—His school is self-supporting, and the average attendance 105. There are some shop- keepers’ children, but the rest are agricultural. The highest fees are 9s. a quarter for Latin, but if the condition of the parents is poor the children are taught Latin and French without extra charge ; the highest English fee is from 2s. to 4s. a quarter. The children remain at school till they are at least 10 years of age, and some as long as 14. They then go out for summer work, returning to school in the winter. Their attendance is not affected by their poverty, nor is it by the distance from the school, or by the weather more than those children living in the town; at three miles’ distance they attend as punctually as town children. At this time there are four boys in his school learning Latin ; one the son of a gamekeeper, another the son of a shepherd, the third the son of a skinner of sheep, and the fourth the son of the widow of a railway porter. Two others learn French and Euclid; one of these is a shepherd’s son, the other a hind’s. This shows the anxiety of the parents for education. The third method pointed out by the Factory Acts in the Com- missioners’ circular, 7. e., school attendance during the winter months, is the only one applicable to an agricultural district. The children are thrown back about six weeks when they return to school in winter IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. from the summer work. As regards evening schoois the work with the horses between 6 and 8 in the winter prevents their attendance. ll. Mr. Cairns, master of the Doddington Nationa School.—Has been schoolmaster since 1852. The attendance in summer is about 80, and in winter 100. ‘The girls go out to work about 12 years old during the summer half year, that is for seven months ; rather more than half this number come back to school in the winter. When they return they have of course lost much of their instruction, though in the summer they attend the Sunday school very well. Boys leave school on an average at 11 years of age; they remain out like the girls, and two- thirds come back to the school in the winter. He considers, as a schoolmaster, that under the Factory Acts the winter attendance would be the best. The children pay 3d., 4d., and 5d. fees. The want of means does not detain the children from school, nor does denominational teaching. About seven-eighths of this school are Presbyterians ; they all learn the Church catechism, and a large proportion go to his Sunday school. He has tried night schools, but the people did not avail themselves of them; a penny a night was paid for the school. As arule the people of this district are eager to take advantage of the instruction offered to them. Parts of the parish are so distant and nearer to other schools that it is difficult to make up a return of the attendance. The children remain at the school till 14 years of age. oFphe average attendance of children, upwards of 13, who attend school in winter and work in fields in the summer is 16 for 115 days.—-J. Cairns. ] 12. Mr. William L. Read, master of the Church of England school, Mindrim, Carham.—This school is sup- ported by subscriptions and Government grant. The average attendance, 50 in summer and 96 in winter. The children who attend in summer are from 6 to 9 years of age ; those in winter up to 15. The poverty of parents often compels them to take their children from school and send them to the fields. The fees are 2s. 6d., 3s. 6d., and 4s. 6d. a quarter, not paid in advance, and there is no trouble in collecting them. Ninety-six days would be about a fair winter attend- ance for boys working in the summer; a good many come to school without knowing their letters, some as old as 10 years of age; on an average they go from school to work at 10}. All the children but the master’s own are Presbyterians ; he teaches no catechism ; no Scripture class book, only the Bible. There have never been any objections to this school on the score of religious teaching. The children come here three and four miles; the attendance is not much affected by distance, exceptin very severe weather. The clergy- man of the parish attends the school. The third methods pointed out by the extracts from the Factory Act would be the only practicable one in the district ; it is the one they partly carry out for themselves. Mr. Read does not consider a limit of 10 years old for work would be too hard on the poor. The girls are taught sewing in school time. The evening school is badly attended and hardly pays; it could not be maintained but for the Government grants. When the children return to school after the summer work, they are no worse as regards conduct, but of course have lost a good deal of instruction. 18. Mr. Huey, master of Milfield school—The children read the Bible and questions are asked, but any particular doctrine is avoided. Asa general rule they learn the shorter catechism; they are taught the kind of catechism that their parents wish for, and we judge this by the books they bring with them , 99 out of 100 are Presbyterians. The school fees are 3d.,-4d., 5d., and 6d., according to attainments ; no difference is made from the position of the parents, The children will usually reach an average of dd. at 12 years old. The fees are usually paid half yearly, not in advance; when there are three pupils in one family they get a privilege in the payment. Not many are kept away on account of want of means. The 231 school is self-supporting as far as the payment of the master is concerned. Pupils pay for the fires in winter and their books ; but lights 2nd repairs of the school- house are paid by private means. Some children come as far as three miles and a half to school ; three miles is not too great a distance to walk to school, in fact the children are the better for it. ‘The children lose quite six months if they come to school without knowing their letters ; this is the chief thing want- ing. Of the three modes pointed out by the Factory Acts, the latter one (see 10 & 11 Vict. c. 70. 8. 2, 3, 26) of a winter attendance would be the best, in fact it is the only one that could work in this agricultural district. The conduct of the children is not affected by working in the fields; but they lose about six weeks’ instruction by their summer absence, having forgotten so much of what they have learnt. The following statements are correct so far as can be ascertained. Thirty-five was the number of children who worked in the fields last summer and attended school during the winter. Of this number 22 were boys (8 below and 14 above 12 years of age), and 13 girls (3 below and 10 above 12 years). The subjoined gives the average weekly attendance of these respective divisions during the winter :— Boys. Girls. I Under 12. Above 12. Under 12. Above 12. Weeks, Weeks, Weeks. Weeks. 18°4 18°5 15°3 16°2 This year 20 have left school to work in the fields for the first time. Of this number 11 are boys (7 below 12 years of age and 4 above it), and 9 are girls (5 below and 4 above 12 years of age). Below are the averages of last winter’s attendance. Boys. Girls. Below 12. Above 12. Below 12. Above 12. Weeks. Weeks. Weeks. Weeks. 24°7 25°25 21°8 22°5 14. Ford School is under Government inspection. It is called a “Church of England” and ‘“ Presby- terian School ;” built by Lady Waterford, and sup- ported by her beyond the fees and Government grant. The Church catechism is taught and enforced; only one child left on account of this ; about three-fourths are Presbyterians. There is no other school within two miles. The fees are ld. under 7 years of age, and 3d. after. 15. Mr. George Douglas, master of Old Bewicke Church of England school Teaches the Church catechism, and to this no objection is made ; nearly all the parents are dissenters ; the children come to the Sunday school. Denominational teaching does not in any way interfere with attendance. Three miles is the outside distance that children come ; they do not mind that, and want of means does not affect their attendance. The children usually go to work at 11 or 12, and come back in the winter till they are 14, The average attendance of those who work in the summer and come to school in winter would be about 80 days; from about Martinmas to Christmas they return to school. The third mode pointed out in the Factory Acts (10 & 11 Vict. ¢. 70. s. 2, 8, 26) is the only one parents would submit to. The children lose quite six weeks by the summer work ; it requires this time to put them into the seme places they had before going out to work. The children pay a trifle for coals, which are led for them. Ffe APP. B. Northumber- land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley. b, APP. B. "Northumber- land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley. CS memaamt b. 232 16. Wark School. —In this school the children read the Bible and learn the shorter catechism. When there is a Roman Catholic he is taught the shorter catechism and reads the Bible. The Church of England children who attend only learn portions of Scripture. The reason of this was not their objecting to learn the shorter catechism, but because they brought no catechism book. The fees are 2s. 6d., reading ; 3s. 6d., reading and writing; 4s., reading, writing, and arithmetic; 5s., grammar ; 6s. 6d., mathematics ; 10s., Latin. Children some- times go to work at 10, but usually about 11 years of age. They come again in winter till they are 14. They come three or four miles to school. The attendance here is affected by want of means. There was an evening school but it was not successful. 17. Crookham School.— A Presbyterian school under Government inspection. The fees are 4d., 3d., and 2d. a week. A Roman Catholic came to the school and read the Bible, but did not learn the shorter catechism by the wish of his father. This school adjoins the National school. 18. Crookham National School.—Mv. Frazer, the master, says that a Roman Catholic child is in the school, and learns the Church catechism. This child left in consequence, but returned again. The majority in the school are Presbyterians. No other objection has been ever made to religious teaching. The fees are 2d, and 3d. a week. 19. Branxton Parish National School.—There are about 45 children in this school. The master does not press the Church catechism if parents object. Nearly all the children are dissenters. Perhaps half a dozen may have objected to the Church catechism. The fees are 3s., 3s. 6d., and 4s. a quarter. 20. Mr. Thomas Runciman, Kilham, is steward to Mr. Borthwick.—As a general rule no children go out to work before 12 or 13 years of age. This applies to boys and girls. Their time of work is nine and half hours in the fields ; 10 hours out, 6 in. He has never seen any work hard upon women or children, no particular labour presses on them. Women very rarely go with the horses. Want of proper clothes or money has never to his knowledge detained children from school. There are great complaints of this school. Jt is not under any sort of clergyman; believes it self-supporting. The cottages in this place are comfortable. No boy or girl in his opinion should be employed in field work before 13 years of age. In some cases it might press hard on the parents, but before that age it is injurious to the children. For their condition in life the children in this district are sufficiently educated. 21. Mr. George Lumsden, steward to Mr. Charles Rea, Doddington.—The youngest boy now working on this farm is 9 years of age. He is weeding potatoes. The next three are about 2 years older. They are hoeing and working amongst the hay; the youngest girl is about 11. Children work with the women and a man looks after them, as far as possible good order is kept. They leave the village to go to work at quarter before 6 in the morning, having breakfasted before they start. They generally carry something out with them, and they have about 15 minutes at 9 o’clock, working on till quarter past 11, when they break off for two hours and a quarter ; then continue to work till6. In the harvest time they have 20 minutes in the forenoon, and 15 minutes in the afternoon. Boys begin with quickening, herding, hoeing, raking at harvest, and when about 15 years of age, lead horses in the turnip-gathering season. Girls work the same as boys, except going with horses. Women work at quickening, spreading manure, sowing artificial manure, hoeing, hay making, helping at harvest, working with thrashing machine, rooting and shawing turnips, helping to fill turnip and manure carts in the winter. After harvest the children will be done with. He has never known any injury to be done to either women or children by field work. 22. Mr. Jeremiah Grey, steward to Mr. Chartres, Glendale.—Says that the work inthis country is not EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN too hard for either women or children. The children seldom go out to work in the fieldsin summer before 12 or 18 years of age. To prevent their working before 10 years of age would not generally affect the poor ; in some cases it might do so when there is a large family of young children. The elder one is sent out to very light work to help the younger ones to school. He never knew poverty prevent children being’ sent to school. No one keeps their children away on account of anything taught in religion. There are plenty of cottages in this neighbourhood. 23. Mr. John Hall is steward to Mr. Langlands, Old Bewicke, and has been so for 30 years, and lived with him for 44 years.—Boys first begin to work picking quickens and doing other light work. They then go on to driving the carts as turnip dickeys. He began in that way 44 years ago. The work is the same now for women and children as it was then ; easier if any- thing, as the machine helps a good deal in the harvest. He has never known any one injured by field work. A limit to 10 years of age as the commencement of children’s work would hurt noone here. Women very rarely go with horses, and he would not force them to do it on any account. Those who can do it like it best, as it is easier than other work. Field work does not make women immoral at all. The constant moving of the families of hinds is a bad thing, as he. has often read,— “ An oft removed family, And an oft removed tree, Never thrive so well as Those that settled be.” “ That’s true.” If any women did what. was wrong they would not stay here long ; things have got much cheaper for working people. He remembers the time when they could not afford to buy salt for curing their bacon, it was so dear. John Hall’s regular. school instruction ended at 134 years of age. He attended night school for 6 or 7 years afterwards. 24. Mr. John Rutherford is steward to Mr. Hender- : son, Lowick, and has been so since the 26th May 1867. —He came from the north of the county, where he had been 11 years as steward. He has had as many as 16 women employed under him ; about two women go toa pair of horses. When first he began as steward women had 10d. a day for the winter quarter, and 1s. for the other three quarters. They always had 38s, a day for harvest. They have now 14d. a day-all the year, and 3/. as an allowance for harvest ; and during that time they have porridge and milk in the morning, and bread and beer at dinner time, given to them. In this present place women’s wages are smaller than where he came from. They are ls. the year round, and 3s. at harvest ; no extra food given. Women work nine hours a day at hoeing turnips, weeding corn, picking stones, rooting and shawing turnips, turning manure heaps, loading dung carts, spreading dung and lime, sowing artificials, forking corn and hay, barn work, cutting turnips, and wheeling and carting them out for the sheep. Mr. Rutherford does not consider any of this work unsuitable for women provided the overseer use them as they ought tobe used. The children do the light work according as they are able. Corn wages are the most valuable on the best and earliest land. There would be a difference of 4s, or 5s. a boll between this and Tweedside. On a bad year you cannot estimate the difference, as the harvest there is earlier, and you have a better chance of a season. He prefers money wages, as making the labourer more independent of the season. Hinds do not go much to the butcher’s shop, they cannot afford it. Mr. Rutherford was educated in Scotland, but as one of a large family was taken away at nine years old. He put himself back to school at 21, having saved money to keep himself for 12 months. He went to a day school and an evening school every day. The teachers in this part of the country are good enough if parents look to their children, : 25. Mr. Hardy, innkeeper and farmer, Wooler.— Occupies iand in Wooler parish; employs women, young persons, and children on his farm. The children + IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. usually commence work: in the summer at 10 years of age, in rare instances at 9. Their first work is keep- ing birds off the corn and weeding; after this, turnip hoeing. , They pick stones off the grass in the spring, but the weaker ones are not employed in this work. They generally like working in the fields, and he has never known any. injury arise from this. kind of labour. The hours of work are from 6 to 6; 15 minutes for breakfast in the field; two hours for dinner, and 10 minutes at 4 o’clock. They are always under the orders of a steward, by whom good disci- pline is kept. The women work the same hours as the children ; their work is picking stones, pulling quickens (couch grass), spreading the dung in the drills, hoeing turnips, shearing at harvest, helping at the threshing machines, rooting and shawing turnips. They earn about ls. a day, and 3s. a day at harvest time. Field work is not injurious to women, in fact some of them come out for a change. Nine out of 10 women prefer field work to domestic service; and as regards their morals, they are as good as any other women. Cottages are much improving in this district. Hinds’ earnings at this time are about 862. a year. Mr. Hardy pays most of his labourers in money. They have which they prefer, and all take money but one. He thinks they are better off with corn payments ; no doubt they suffer in bad harvests and during the potato disease, but then the master must come to some agreement with them. Residing near Wooler, he draws all the labour on his farm from it. A Laisr of Young Persons and Children employed on Mr. Hardy’s Farm, showing the Ages and Earnings, —— Ages. | Earnings. Mary Gordon - - 16 lod. a day. Elsie Gordon - - 14 lod. ,, Sarah Rutherford - 14 lod. ,, Jane Machaughty - 13 8d. ,, Anne Machaughty - 12 6d. ,, Alice Inglis - 14 8d. yy John Inglis - - - 9 6d. ,, James Inglis = - - - 12 10d. Thomas Bruton ie, 12 od. 26. Mr. Charles Rea, Doddington. — Occupies a large farm, and considers the want of proper cot- tages a very great evil; also the hiring fairs, which lead to great immorality. The women who work together in large numbers on this farm are kept in order by an overseer, and no bad language is per- mitted as far as it can be checked. The most trying work for the women is that of the barn, on account of the dust. Families do not shift much here, as nine or 10 have been in his employment since he came here 13 or 14 years ago. He would be inclined to say that 10 years of age is early enough for a boy to begin work. Mr. Rae considers that the change in the labourers’ diet is very injurious, coffee and tea having been brought into constant use instead of porridge.: The working classes are, in his opinion, in this district a very honest race. 27. Mr. John Wilson, joiner, of Chatton parish.— Believes: that children seldom go out to work in this parish before.10 years old. Does not think the work injurious, beyond keeping them from school. He ought to know this, as he drove a pair of horses ‘before he was 10 years of age. It is 45 years ago now. “ He was a deal more the better for the night & school.” If he could begin again, he would rather remain at school till he was 17 or 18. There is no reason to complain of schools or education in this place,..but in the district there is a good deal of ignorance ; it is greatly lessened of late years. The allotment system in this parish is good, so far as to keep the people who have them contented and settled. There are about four acres to each allotment, and supposed, to keep a cow. The women work at filling manure, driving manure carts, harrowing (though not commonly), hoeing turnips, tying up in harvest, 233 working in hayfield, forking hay, and corn pitching, rooting and shawing turnips, and helping to load the carts. The expense of school, both as regards fees and clothes, presses on the poor. The Scotch system would be better as regards schools, as all the gentle- inen of the county employ Scotch agents from their education. He has a very decided objection to the bondage, as it is too hard on the hinds when they have to hire. 28. Mr. Robert Duncombe, shepherd, Yeavering.— Saysthat very few children in the district go out before 10 years of age. He does not think that preventing them from going to work before that age would press upon the poor. The field work here is not too long for women or children. In some places the attendance at the schools is affected by the distance. The children have to go 34 miles to school, which is too far. Few parents are prevented by want of means from sending their children to school, and religious teaching does not interfere. 29. Mr. Thomas Tait, shepherd, Paston.—Is now over 70 years of age; has known the district and lived in it all his life. Working in the fields is very healthy for women. He has known many of them leave the towns for the country work, to recover their health. They work in the fields here from 9 to 10 hours, that is, from 6 to6; 20 minutes for breakfast and 2} hours for dinner. This counts from when they “knock off” work to when they come back again. Women are employed both summer and winter. They begin in January top dressing turnips, barn work, stone ga- thering, preparing land for turnips by picking quickens and weeds, loading manure carts, sowing artificials of all kinds of stuffs, hoeing and singling turnips, work- ing at the hay, shearing but never tying up, raking at harvest, and assisting at filling turnip carts. The women here do not work to hurt them; in some places they do. They ought not to go with horses. Children only do light summer work. “ Some people “ keep their bairns from school because they cannot pay. School in winter, work in summer, is what “ ought to be. Boys and girls should go out to work at 10 years of age. The latter end of April to the fore part of May is the time that children come out “ to work upon the land. They do not go back to « school till the potatees are taken up. Them as “ as can afford keep their bairns at school till May to “ finish their quarter. Most people wish to make “ their bairns as good scholars as they can afford ; “ any way it is a duty.” “The ground floor cottages are the most convenient. “¢ Howis the mother to cook the dinner and look after a sick bairn when it is upstairs; she is always on the stairs. Some people would say that the upstairs rooms are more healthy. They would nae say so if “ they would try them here in the cold of the winter.” 30. Emma Bell, of Mindrim.—Has seven children; they went out to work at 10 years old. The eldest was a boy, and he went to school again in the winter till he was 12; that is for two winters, and he went again for a quarter. He goes to night school. “What “ would the poor do if they had seven or eight children “ and could not send the eldest to work to help the “ youngers, to pay for school and shoes; they could “ nae do.” They should not be allowed to work before 10 years of age ; they are not fit for it. Some may have been stopped from sending their children to school from want of money, but more from careless- ness. She thinks the night school does a deal of good. 31. Anne Mills, wife of a hind, Downham farm, Carham parish.—Has 10 children. No child should leave school for work before going on to 12 ; most of her children were educated in the Presbyterian school. She is sure they learnt double what they do in them English schools, where they teach no questions, Some catechisms should be taught; you cannot tie them down to the book without some questions to teach them. Schooling is worth nothing without religion. She is herself a Presbyterian, but would prefer the English catechism sooner than none. Work in the summer makes a wee bit gain to keep Ff 4 APP. B. Northumber- land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley be! APP. B. Wanthianbet land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley. — b. 234 them at school in the winter. Has lost three cows running, cannot afford to buy another, the house feels very dry without one. Does not object to any kind of field work for women and children. 32. Mrs. Gibson, wife of John Gibson, hind, Amerside Law, Chatton parish.—‘‘ The women are too ‘* sair wrought when they have not enough of people “ to work on the farm.” Working in the wet is what hurts women, many are hurt by it. My daughter sitting here has never been well since; some women cannot stand it. The most who work out are healthy. Her boy went to school at 5, and when he was 11 he did not like school any longer. He wanted to go to work, so let him go to cure him ; he soon tired of it and went to school again. He was 15 before he gave up winter school. Mrs. Gibson has had nine children, but never found any difficulty in paying for school. No child should work out before 12; and then to school again in winter till 14 or 15. She likes the catechism taught ; she does not care which if it is a scriptural one, and would not like a school where they did not teach any religion. She once sent her boy to a school where they taught no cate- chism, and did not like that at all; in consequence she had to teach him herself. How could he go to the minister if he did not know his questions ? Mrs. Gibson is paid in corn and money ; that is best, a family without potatoes is in a bad way. She has never been pinched for food or clothes in her life. The work is hard but her family is well off. She has known two families next door earning the same money ; the one saved enough to buy the cottage, the other could not live. ‘It was all drink, so there is the “ difference.” 38. Isabella Young, Humbleton, wife of a hind.— Has two children at school and one girl at work The latter is 10, nearly 11; next month is her birthday (August). She has been at work two months or more. The work does not hurt her. She went out to work because they could not afford to keep her at school any longer. Isabella Young has five children, so sends the eldest to work in order that the younger may attend school. The youngest comes off best for “schooling” in a family, as the “ sair * fight is before any go to work.” Her girl will go to school again in the autumn and winter. Many keep their children from school for want of money for school fees and clothes. No child should be allowed to work before 10 years of age. She believes you will not find any working people who will say that children should go out before that age. She has to go to work herself in order to send her children to school, but would rather pay for a good school than send them to a bad one for nothing. Mrs. Young says that payment in meal is much the best ; she has tried money and piece-work and all ways, but the meal is the best. 34. Mary Johnson, wife of Mr. Morrison’s steward, New Bewicke.—Has lived for 49 years in this place, and had a family of 11 children. Does not think children should go to work before 10 years of age. Her children went to summer work at 10 years old, and returned to school in the winter till 13. “ Most “ any body with a family has asair fight and are glad “ to get one out as soon as folk can. No very many “ go out before 10 years old.” She has never known any work injure either women or children. 35. Mrs. Nesbit, wife of the shepherd to Mr. Hall, New Town, Chillingham.—Says that this house looks new and good, but it is very damp and uncomfortable. There is only this room in which everything must be done; this is very confusing. She has two hired ser- vants to keep, one a lad, another a girl. The former sleeps at the back of the box beds; the latter in the same room with the family. Her husband and the lad usually rise before the family, but at night the girl must undress with her husband in the room, and at times it is most distressing to be so crowded; during her illness it was dreadful. She thinks the women are sometimes ‘‘sair wrought.” The shep- herd’s girl has to work at the turnip cutter, no matter EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN what the weather is, for seven days a week; “that is a “ disgrace to a Christian country.” She has no water near her cottage, and it ishard work to carry it so far on her head. 36. Mrs. Henderson, Branton.— Her husband works “at his own hand.” Her son is hind, and has the cottage. She has worked for many years before and after marriage. The work of women is sorer than it used to be,—longer hours and harder work. They now go out at 5.380 and return at 12.30. They have to go out again, when they are far from home, at 1.30, and sometimes not back again till 6.30. She kept her youngest children at school as long as she could. They were 12 years old before they went to work. They were seven years at school. The elder ones had to go out earlier, one as early as 9, but went again to school in the winter till he was 14 “TJ’ll warrant.” She thinks 10 a fair age to send children out to work. Her son the hind is on corn wages and keeps a cow. There are not better cottages than these in the county. 37. Mrs. Anderson, Ilderton.— Has seven children; her husband and four of them at work. She thinks at times women are too hardly worked in the barn and at harvest. That is the only work that oppresses women; it sorely tries them. They’ve too great spirit to give in. It does not so much hurt children. They have not the spirit to press themselves, and their work is easier. She came from the Tweed, and has had half her children taught in the Scotch school, but thinks the English the best. They are cheaper, too, That's not the only way they’re better. [The Scotch school was 4s, a quarter, and the English 2d. a week.] The new sort of English masters are better. She has seen many of the poor who could not send their children to school, both from want of proper clothes and money to pay the fees. “ Children ought to be at school till 12. Mine went “ to work at 10. Necessity drives them out. We've “ no bondagers now. I’ve slaved at harvest to earn “ the bondager’s money, and left the children without “ clothes.” 38. Mrs. Maclean, wife of a shepherd, Lanton.— Came here from the Morpeth district. The hours of work are longer here. At Widdrington the women need not be out before 7. She has to keep a bondager at 81. for half a year. She will earn Is. a day, and 2s. 6d. at harvest for 20 days. “We have only two rooms “ for five children, maid servant, my husband, and “ myself. The hired girl sleeps in the room we “ occupy.” 39. Mrs. Ewart is wife of a hind, Lanton.—She has seven living children, and two of them at work. Ucr mother lives with them. They are 10 in family. Some of her children began work at 9 years old in summer, and went to school in winter. Nine is early enough to begin work, ‘but ye ken when ye have “not the means ye maun send them awa’ to work.” Corn and money is better than money alone as wages for a family. She keeps a cow, and “that is a grand “ thing.” There is nothing but one room ; the coals lie at the door. There are no out-door necessaries, but there is a pigsty and a place for the cow. 40. Mrs. Telfer has four children.—Her husband works “at his own hand ” because he does not like the bondage, as he would then have a stranger to lodge in the house. He has 2s. 6d. a day summer and winter, but no work no pay; and he will have 1J. from his present master “if he bides over harvest.” She rents her house of the farmer, and pays 31. a year for it. It is a very poor place, only one room ; no convenience of any kind. 41, M. M., Lanton, has a sister, mother, and two brothers.—Her sister works out ; the usual work turn- ing dung heaps, and filling dung carts, with other farm work ; forking corn is the exception. Women fight to drive the carts, but she never liked it herself. She has sown guano and spread lime which is not nice work. The barn work is the hardest for women. Her brother blows a horn at 4.80 every morning for IN AGRICULTUR (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. stables, and all start away, women, men, horses, and all at 5.30. 42. Mrs. Whitelow, Lanton, says that the schools in Scotlawd are far better and cheaper. She came from Scotland six years ago, but women work far harder in Scotland than they do here. Children begin work about the same age as in Scotland, between 10 and 11; thatis to say, as soon as they can go into the fields to work. 43. Mr. George Bowmaker, clerk to Mr. Grey, of Milfield Hill.—His father was steward to Mr Grey. He was educated at the Milfield school from 5 to 13 years of age, and then went to farm work, attending winter school till 16, and evening classes till 19. All the school instruction he ever got was at the village school ; all the people at Milfield could read and write. It must be a man’s own fault if he has not education. People consider the fees very reasonable. The third way, i.e, winter attendance, is the only practicable way ; in the winter season wages are lower. A limit of 10 years would not press on the means of any families; any restriction of work which may be considered unsuitable to women would press hardly upon them. 44. Mr. William Wightman, clerk to the Board of Guardians, manager of the Wooler bank, and Superintendent Registrar.—Has been connected with the union ever since its formation in 1836, first, as relieving officer, and for the last 20 years as clerk. Women are largely employed in the fields, and their work has been much the same during this period, with the exception of turning dung heaps, driving carts, and forking corn ; that was introduced about 15 years ago, and he does not consider such work suitable for women, but has never heard of any physical evil from it, as the women are a most healthy class. Children’s work is not too hard, neither are they employed too young. They are never taken off the relief list till they are 12 years of age. The Board of Guardians pay school fees in cases of widows with children, and ina few instances where a man has been injured or in bad health. The parents select the school. The guardians merely look to attendance. The latter pay about 20/1. to 25/. a year infees. The average attendance of children is about four and a half days in the week. The school fees vary very much in the district, from ld. to 5d. The schools are quite sufficient for the class of education required, and speaking generally, the district is pretty well supplied. Parents value education very much, and religious differences do not interfere with it. Any restriction upon the labour of women would be injurious to the district. Public opinion will cure any objectionable work, and as the children go back to school in winter, no interference is required as to their field work. Parents, as a rule, are able to send their children to school and submit to the burden cheerfully. Mr. Wightman considers that the working people hardly do enough for their parents in their old age, the latter not having had much opportunity of saving. Looking back for a number of years the people are better off both as to food and clothes, and their general conduct is as good as formerly. The cottages are much im- proved ; a great deal remains to be done, requiring much judgment. The crowding has had a bad effect, and must break down the barriers of modesty. 235 45. Anne Younger, wife of a spademan to Mr. Atkinson, Brandon.—Thinks 10 “young enough” to go out to field work for children. The youngest child sent by her towork was 11. Her boy was kept seven years at school; that was from five to 12. His father has since schooled him at night with some of the other neighbours’ children. She is inclined herself to work in the fields, and is never so healthy as when she is out. She was never put to any work that was unfit fora woman. The school is very near, but the water prevents the children attending in the winter. [There is no bridge.—J. J. H.] Sometimes the fees are heavy enough ; at other times she can manage. She has seven children, two out, and her husband. Thinks corn wages best ; anyway they suit her. Could not do without a cow. 46. Mrs. Buck, wife of an agricultural black- smith.— Has had 14 children, twice twins, once three. She never sent a child to work before 11 years of age. Has now nine children. The triplets are at school. She does not think the limit of 10 would hurt anyone. No child ought to work out before that age. Mrs. Buck has brought up all her children without any help. [Excepting Her Majesty’s bounty for the third—J. J. H.] Her husband is always employed on Mr. George Rea’s farm. | 47. Mr. Gowans, shopkeeper and postmaster, Wooler.— Not more than six purely agricultural labourers have availed themselves of the Post Office Savings Bank since he has had the office, and not one has made use of the insurance. He finds, as a shop- keeper, that the hinds who are paid by corn conditions are more regular in their payments at his shop than those who receive money wages. He considers it would be for the advantage of tradesmen if the farmers would settle with their labourers quarterly instead of half-yearly. At the Wooler hiring fairs perhaps 200 families are engaged. It would not be possible by register offices to carry on the hirings, as the whole family must be brought together, and it is a matter of bargain between master and servant. No fixed sum could be named, as so much depends on the wages to be agreed upon by the different members of the hinds’ families, both boys and girls, and the employer must see them to judge of their value. They would have to make probably several journeys to the register office, whereas it is now done in one week of fairs in the neighbourhood, and as for any excess of immorality they, are not worse than any racecourse or other public meetings where the highest and lowest meet together. Nearly all the people hereabouts can write, but he has great difficulty as a postmaster in making out some of the directions of the letters; but it is improving. The younger write better than the older. 48, Mr. McNatty, shoemaker, Wooler.—Has had two girls working out this summer about 12 and 13 years of age. Has taken them now away from work, as the barn work is too hard for them. The pay is small and would not pay for their extra food and wear of clothes. It is better tokeep them at home and give them less food. Has now 10 children ; is himself very poor; worse off than a farm labourer ; but no child of his should do any work before 10; they have no strength before that age. He was one of 14 children in Ireland, so had to do without education. Has never felt the want of it so much as lately, and will have his children educated. APP. B. Northumber- land. (Glendale.) Mr. Henley, 5 —a b. APP. C. North Northoumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 236 EMPLOYMENT. QF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN ‘ APPENDIX C.—EVIDENCE. Norta NorrauMpBer.anp (exclusive of Glendale Union). List or WITNESSES. Nos. ' Nos. ae 1, Mr. Brown, Surgeon, Medical Officer, Berwick- | 20. Mr. George Strong, Steward to Mr. Hogg, Causey upon-Tweed Union. Park. : 2. Mr. John Paxton, Surgeon, Medical Officer, | 21, Mr. James Brack, Steward to Mr. Atkinson, An- Berwick Union. gerton. 3. Dr. F. Cahill, Berwick. ; Aitch tee te 4. Mr. Hunt, Surgeon, Medical Officer, Belford. ae oy mies a i : saa ae ee d 5. Dr. Dodd, Medical Officer, Rothbury. 23. Mr. George ae porte Shandon ‘Woo 6. Dr. Vardy, Rothbury. House Farm, ae gnat, : 7. Dr. Paton, Acting Medical Officer, Morpeth | 24. Mr. Robert Stephenson, Steward to Mr. Riddell, Union. Felton. 8. Dr. Brummel, Morpeth. 25. Mr. Corry and Mr. Marshall, Owners and Occu- 9. Mr. John Watson, Relieving Officer, Morpeth. piers at Bedlington. 10. Mr. George Davidson, Relieving Officer, Aln- wick. 11. Mr. Robert Downey, Relieving Officer, Alnwick. 12. Mr. Crosbie, Relieving Officer, Berwick. 13. Mr. Robert Graham, Relieving Officer and Regis- trar of the Rothbury Union. i4. Mr. Frank Dodds, Schoolmaster, Linbriggs. . Mr. Anthony Dagg, Shepherd, Linbriggs. 16. Mr. John F. Pugh, Second Master of the Endowed School at Rothbury. 17. Mr. Thomas Davison, Master of the Endowed Church of England School for Causey. 18. Mr. James Pringle, Steward to Mr. Cookson, Meldon, Morpeth. 19. Mr. Thomas Dunn, Steward to Mr. Davison, Trit- lington. . Mr. Oliver, Gardener, Eslington Park, Alnwick. . Mr. Dickson, Blacksmith, Stamford. , . Mr. John Wilson, Woodman to Mr. Lawson, Longhurst. a . Mrs. Strong, Wife of William Strong, Stamford. . Jane Aitcheson, Wife of a Hind at Mr. Bolaim’s, Felton. 31. Mrs. Shepherd, Wife of a Hind at Causey Park. 32. Mary Smith, Hired Bondager to Thomas Glass Rock. Mr. John Short, Felton. , A. B. Bamburgh. Statement of one of the Women of a Public Gang working on a Farm. Rev. Mr. Lowe, Roman Catholic Priest, Morpeth. 33. 34, 35. 36. 1. Mr. Brown, surgeon, medical officer to the Berwick-on-Tweed Union.—Is a farmer’s son, bred on a farm, and thus well acquainted with all the conditions of people engaged on the land. He believes field work to be the most healthy employment to which women can be put. These are by far the finest women physically. Those who are engaged in domestic service, dressmaking, &c. &c., do not grow up so robust, and there is a great difference in the breadth of the chest. Driving carts is the only work which might be considered unbecoming to women, but no labour is injurious to them. The children usually go out to sum- mer work at about 11 or 12 years of age. This is not too hard for them, and there is no restriction required to protect them or the women, but there is a class of women who go out from this town to work in the fields very different in character from the agricultural population. These are loose women and girls, who almost all smoke. Two miles is the outside of the distance they go from the towns. No young children are employed with them. There is one growing evil; the giving up cows of their own and taking so much to tea and coffee. Mr. Brown considers that anything tending to prevent field work among the women would be a national evil, as preventing the production and growth of a very fine race of people. The cottages are not so good as they ought to be; crowding tends to indelicacy. The use of box beds is very injurious. These are a sort of coffins for the living, and they are especially bad in disease. Looking at the town and country population, the latter are better housed, more healthy and infinitely superior in condition of life. They also pay their doctor’s bills better than the town’s people. 2. Mr. John Paxton, surgeon, one of medical officers of the Berwick Union, resides at Norham, where he has practised 30 years.—The women go out to work in the fields very extensively in this district and are a very healthy class. This work is very beneficial to them, though the barn work in the winter may at times subject them to colds. Driving carts, lifting heavy weights, carrying heavy loads is not suitable work for women and girls. The women are peculiarly free from the com-, plaints usual to females from debility. Field work unfits them for domestic duties as wives and mothers. They are inferior in this respect to those who have been in domestic services, and the young women who are in the hinds’ houses and away from their own families are not under proper supervision. Children are not sent out to work at too early an age, as far as their health is concerned. Looking at the resources of the people, they keep their children at school as long as they possibly can. The cottages have been much improved, but many bad ones remain; some are much crowded. The sanitary arrangements are fairly good, the board of guardians in this union having taken much trouble about them. With regard to this neighbourhood, Mr. Paxton does not consider any restriction upon the labour of women, young per- sons, or children at all necessary. The district is well supplied with schools, the teachers are good, generally certificated, and the parents are sufficiently aware of the value of education. The change of food of the working people ‘is deteriorating their physical health and strength. The use of coffee, not free from adul- teration, instead of oatmeal and barley bread is the chief cause. This alteration has taken place since groceries, such as coffee, tea, and sugar have become lower in’ price, and more attainable to the working classes. Beer is seldom used except at harvest, and butcher’s meat very rarely. Corn wages are not so useful as formerly, as they are not consumed by the family. The want of proper supervision by the field steward over the language used is the great moral evil of field work. The condition of the people on both sides of the Tweed is much the same in every respect. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ‘ “3. Dr. F. Cahill, has practised 21 years at Berwick-upon-Tweed, in both country and town, in Scotland and in England.—He does not consider that any wgrk to which the women and children are put in the fields is physically injurious to to them. From his’ knowledge of the town and country population the women of the latter are far more healthy than the women of the former, and tenfold less affected by female complaints. He considers that their field work fits them to be good bearers of children, and that the strength of the population is kept up by them ; that the surplus of the agricultural popula- tion who enter the large towns maintain the standard of health and strength by marriage with the inhabi- tants of towns. Open air exercise, the smell of fresh air, flowers, &c. conduce greatly to health, and keep up the stamina of women. ‘There is a marked difference in the races north and south of the Tweed ; the latter have the advantage, having more energy of character. The cottages are much improved, though in some places still very bad. The new bedrooms are too small; the front doors in many instances are built to the north instead of the south; the sanitary regulations as to privies, ashpits, pigsties, cow- sheds, are much neglected ; and, in some instances, the position of the house is on a slope of a hill, on a lower level and on the same line as the outbuildings for cattle, where the straw is allowed to rot for many months, and the drainage from thence in some cases causes fever and other diseases. Box beds are very objectionable, and propagate fever after it has been originated by other causes. The food of the country people is of a healthy description, but the use of tea and coffee becoming more general is injurious. In conclusion, he has no hesitation in saying, after along experience in this district, that the agricultural labourers are a most honest industrious class, with deep feelings of religion, and a high moral tone and bearing after they have arrived at the age of maturity. 4. Mr. Hunt, surgeon, medical officer of the Belford Union, has practised in ‘the Belford district for 33 years.—He does not consider that field labour is in any one way injurious to women and children, but on the contrary rather conduces to health; their general health is above the average. The hours of work are long, and though it does not physically injure them, it must interfere with the comfort of the family. He does not think that women who “work out” are more immoral than any other class, but they do not become such tidy wives as those employed in domestic service. The great evil of the present day is the excessive smoking of the men, which must deteriorate the popula- tion, and tends to increase the desire for drinking. Corn payments in his opinion are the best for peasantry. Those who are on such conditions are most able to meet their engagements. He finds it so in his payments. The old cottages are bad and most of the new ones are inconveniently constructed. They are neither suited for health nor sickness. The small upstairs rooms are hot in summer and cold in winter. The most suitable construction is a ground floor, the mother then being able to look after her children in time of sickness, as well as carrying on her household duties. The overcrowded state of the old cottages is very great. On one farm he knows an instance of two unmarried women, who occupy a bondage house and havehad several children. The labouring poor are as a body quite sufficiently educated. They can read the Bible, which is the guide post to heaven. 5. Dr. Dodd, medical officer of Rothbury Work- house and Union.—-Has known the district 20 years. The women work here from 6 to 6, with two hours for dinner, and a rest at 10 and 4. He cannot say that work is injurious to them. ‘They are a strong, healthy class; but fillmg manure carts is unsuitable work. Children go to work pretty young, say at 9 or 10 years of age, butit has no bad physical effect upon them. In some parts of the district the cottages are very much crowded ; only one room, all sexes and sometimes a stranger in them ; cannot 237 expect’ decency. The sanitary arrangements are good; they are well looked after by the inspector. There has been a great change in the last 20 years in the food of the people, with an increase of drinking. They have taken to tea and coffee three or four times a day, giving up porridge and milk, cheese, &c. There is an increase of dropsy. 6. Dr. Vardy, Rothbury.—There is no work too hard for women or children in this district, and the hours are not too long. They are a very healthy class, superior in physical strength to the town people. The sanitary arrangements of the cottages are well attended to; there is plenty of water. _There has been no typhoid fever in the district for four years, and then it began in a house on the moors, and came to the village by relatives. 7. Dr. Paton, acting medical officer of the Mor- peth Union.—Is of opinion that children do not go to work at too young an age for health; that neither they nov women are in any way injured by field work ; that the women and children are more healthy than the town population. That the women are less subject to female complaints. He would not restrict any kind of work or the hours. The cottages in this district are as a rule sufficient where they have been recently erected. The sanitary arrange- ments are in some defective; the dung kept too near the house. The agricultural population is very sober. He does not believe there is much spirit drinking. The change from so much good oatmeal and milk to washy tea is an evil. He has a district of 16,000 acres. The bondage system prevails to a certain extent, but he cannot say that in his opinion it leads to immorality. Has never seen or experienced any evil from very young girls working out. The people are best off as a rule with money wages. _ 8. Dr. Brummel, 27 years in practice in Morpeth. —Would allow no child to be employed under 10 years of age. He thinks thai filling dung carts is unsuitable, and in some instances physically injurious to women, especially those who are married ; has such cases of married women being injured by ‘straining (prolapsus uteri) from field work, but there are fewer ailments among the country population than even in a small town like this among the town people. Hours of work are not too long; eight hours of work are enough for women and children. Cottages still im- prove, but something remains to be done; as a general rule the sanitary arrangements are attended to. Does not think that there have been more illegitimate children out of cottages as bondagers than out of farm houses as hired servants to the farmer. It is undoubtedly bad when the hired bondager sleeps in the same room as the man who hires her. The con- dition of the people has much changed ; they now live much better. The butchers’ and the grocers’ carts are constantly met upon the road. 9. Mr. John Watson, relieving officer, Morpeth Union.—Has been a relieving officer four years, and has lived all his life in Morpeth. His district is the town of Morpeth and the parishes north-west. They are purely agricultural, no mines or coals. The women and children in the country district are not put to any work unfitting or injurious to them. He is registrar of the district, and also registrar of marriage for the whole district. The agricultural population do not avail themselves of the office, but the mining population do so. He thinks that signing the marriage registrar is a fact in education that may be spoken from. They always induce them to sign. Children do not go out to work till they are 10 or 12 yearsof age. The schools in the district are ample and well attended, and well supported by the gentry. The cottages are good’; the sanitary arrangements in the course of completion at the present time. He considers hinds’ wages to be about 18s. a week, including everything. The cottages are not overcrowded in this district. It is very important to look to the staircase in cot- tages, as if this goes up from the sitting room it acts as a shaft to send vitiated air up; and in one very bad case of illness at Widdrington two boys, two Gg 2 APP. C. North Northumber- land. —_— Mr. Henley. b: APP. C, North Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 238 girls, a servant girl, and a man all died of diptheria. It was attributable to this cause. 10. Mr. George Davidson, relieving officer, Alnwick. -——Was formerly master of the Presbyterian school at Branton, and has had experience as occupier of a small farm. ‘The conditien of farm service is much the same in this district as at Branton, both as to hours and kind of work. Turning manure heaps may be considered unsuitable to women. They are put to it from the desire to employ them, otherwise they must remain idle. As a general rule it is question- able whether women should be permitted to drive earts on the country roads. The work of children is light at the commencement, but the hours are fully long. He began work before he was 9, as he was the second of nine children, but he got schooling in the winter, and got evening schooling for one season. It was a point of necessity to his parents to send him out so early to work. He worked two summers before he was 10. No boy or girl should work before 9. The children sent to school at a very early age did not generally gain advantage over those who were perhaps sent two years later, from the dislike often taken to their books. Children readily go two miles to school. Where there is management there ought to be no difficulty in paying fees. The cottages in this district are not sufficient, but some of those at Branton are as convenient as can be; one large kitchen, and a back kitchen and two bedrooms over. The bondage system is partly done away with but large families have the preference. Over- crowding prevails to a great extent in town and country. 11. Mr. Robert Downey has been relieving officer in Embleton district, Alnwick Union, for six months, and before that he was schoolmaster to the Church of England school at Rimington for 23 years. Women and children have been employed in the same manner ever since he knew the dis- trict, both as to hours and kind of labour; but wages are higher. Children usually go to work in summer from 10 to 12 years of age, and go again to school in winter up to 13 or 14. The children came long distances, full three miles, but now have a school nearer; the average distance would be one and a half mile. Fees, 3s., 4s,, 5s. a quarter. Attendance not affected by want of means. Catechism not enforced ; about one-third were dissenters. The school was supported by private charity with fees. Women work in the fields at hoeing, spreading dung, barn work, driving carts. Stooking corn is the excep- fion, but is sometimes done. Hours are long enough, decidedly too long. Filling dung and driving carts are unsuitable occupations for women. The wages of aman are about 15s. or 16s. a week. Women’s wages are about ls. a day, and 2s. 6d. in harvest. Cottages are pretty good, and enough of them, but in some cases badly planned for a large family. The sanitary condition is good, as the guardians have looked to it. Hinds do not move much in this im- mediate district, but do soin the union. Two bed- rooms, a large kitchen, and milk house, &c. would be sufficient for hinds’ cottages. They are generally paid in corn, and mostly keep cows. In case of paupers he pays the school fees, and the parent selects the school. Is registrar of the district, and finds that many women when he takes their signature for registration of births often make their mark when asked to sign, consequent on the weakness and nervousness of their state of health. 12. Mr. Crosbie, relieving officer of the Berwick district, Berwick Union. Has been in this position for four years and a half, and known the district all his life. The labour to which the women are put in the fields does not hurt them beyond driving dung carts, which he does not think suitable to them. In very few instances women load dung carts or turn dung heaps. They cut turnips for the shepherds in the winter, which is hard work. Children seldom work before 12 years of age. This is for summer work, and then in the autumn they go back to school for the winter, and EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN frequently for a second winter. Their work is not too hard nor their days too long. Mr. Crosbie is relieving officer for Berwick-on-Tweed, Tweedmouth, and the country parishes, and as between the two populations the country is by far the best off. They are much healthier and enjoy life more. The poor in the towns are in a miserable state as to houses and condition. The cottage accommodation in the’ country is im- proving, most of them have the necessary sanitary arrangements. The hinds are paid in kind and keep a cow, this is far better than money ; when potatoes are bad, the farmers in general make the loss up to them. Hinds’ wages, counting everything, are worth about 13s. or 14s. a week, but they are free from rises and falls and the shops. Women are getting 1s. aday and 2s, 8d. to 3s. for harvest. The bondage system is entirely done away with. The people shift as much as ever ; a fancy for a horse, harness, or any trifle will set them moving. School education here is excellent, and the attendance is not affected by want of means. The teaching is rather superior on the north side of the Tweed; they have on the whole a rather advanced class of teacher. The fees are fully as high. 13. Mr. Robert Graham, relieving officer and regis- trar of the Rothbury Union.—Farmers in the district look more to the work of women than of men. The bondage system prevails. In several houses the bondager is in the same room with the family. Women work nine hours a day. 14, Mr. Frank Dodds, schoolmaster of Linbriggs, Rothbury Union.—This school is maintained by four people, one farmer and three shepherds. He is paid a salary by them, and the schoolroom belongs to Mr. Dagg the shepherd, Thirty-one children are attending at this time ; some of the children come more than four miles, They pay for their own books. The children go to work atabout 12 yearsofage. This applies to both boys and girls ; the eldest worker now being about 13 or 14. Children come as early as 6 or 7 years of age to school ; some know their letters. It takes about a month to teach them their letters. The school, if possible, is kept open all the winter. There is not a person, to my knowledge, in the district who can- notread and write. There are no fees. The school- ing is paid by salary. The schoolmaster moves from house to house among the four people ; 14 days for each scholar ; getting board and lodging. 15. Mr. Anthony Dagg, shepherd of Linbriggs.—Has 11 children. About 20 years ago he hired a schoolmas- ter, and took his chance of getting other scholars. After a year or two he took his master and then two other shepherds into partnership in the school. He has lived on both sides of the border, and thinks, if anything, that the people on this side are better educated. He does not believe that any. person in the district is not educated. He has never had a hired servant who could not write and read. He would most de- cidedly object to religion being excluded from school; that, he is certain, would be the opinion of the working people in this Highland of the Cheviots. , 16. Mr. John F. Pugh, second master of the endowed school at Rothbury.—Came here from Shrewsbury grammar school nine years ago. He hadan opportunity of forming a good opinion of the state of education among the labouring agricultural classes in Shrop- shire, and looking at them in comparison with the same class, the Shropshire people are the best edu- cated. About a third of this school are agricultural, and the boys go to work about 11 and come back in winter till about 15 years of age. The boys would make about 130 days attendance during the winter six months; the boys on their return retain their know- ledge fairly. The system of alternate days would be the best for their instruction, but he fears would not be applicable to an agricultural district. Some of the children come as far as three miles. It does not affect their attendance. They come in all weathers; sometimes through three feet of snow. 17. Mr. Thomas Davison, Causey Park Church of England School, Morpeth Union.—Has been IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. master eight years. It is an endowed school for Causey ; 3d. and 6d. are the fees. Children come from 6 years of age, then go to work about 11; girls and boys abgut the same. They return in winter till they are 14. Not prevented from want of money. Those that go free attend the school as well as those that pay fees. He teaches the Church Catechism. Has no Presbyterian in the school. Does not enforce the Catechism, but teaches the shorter catechism if required. Cannot recollect any person up to 20 years of age who cannot read and write. The school is under no inspection. He has received no especial training for a schoolmaster. 18. Mr. James Pringle, steward to Mr. Cookson, Meldon Park, Morpeth Union.-The women do what is called the small work in this farm, and that is the case in this district generally, except where the farmers have come from the north. Thehours are from home at 7 to 6 at night; a quarter of an hour at 10 and 4; one hour and a half at midday; go home in their hour, and return in the masters’. The children go to work in summer about 10, aud generally go back to school in winter till perhaps 16 or 17. They do the same work as the women. He does not believe that any person on this farm is uneducated. One man did not sign his agreement, but that was because he preferred to make amark. He is the only one since Mr. Pringle has been steward to Mr. Cookson who has not signed his name. He has been in the county all his life, and cannot of late years call to mind any person who has been prevented rising to a higher grade by want of education, The people hereabout are mostly on money wages. It would be, including everything, about 18s. a week. He has known many women complain of the work in the north, and be injured by earts, &c. &e. 19. Mr. Thomas Dunn, steward to Mr. Davison, at Tritlington, Morpeth Union.— Began life as a farm groom. Educated at a village school. Never has known any friends of his who have failed to get on from want of education. They always had a chance if they chose to use it. Children go to work from 10 to 12, then go back to winter school till 14 or so. Women’s hours are from 6.15 a.m. to 6 pm. Children work with women. Two hours for dinner, 15 minutes at 10 and at 4. They go and return in masters’ hours. Women do all kinds of work that they can be set to. 20. Mr. George Strong, steward to Mr. Hogg, Causey Park, Morpeth Union.—He began working for Mr. Hogg 30 years ago at 9 years of age. Wrought out at first with the women, and went to school in the winter. His father was a hind. Then got on to driving carts. Went to regular work at 10, but picked up education at evening schools and at his own time. Became steward seven years since. If he began life again, would like two years more at school, now that he knows the need of it. Last year he was on money wages, and never till then knew the price of bread; but then had a difficulty in sending his boy to school. He has never found any difficulty about the distance from school. Hours of working, women from 6 to 12; two hours rest at 12, 15 minutes at 8, and the same at 4. The kinds of work are cleaning land, spreading manure, sowing artificial, hoeing turnips, haymaking, helping at harvest, rooting and strawing, thrashing. They do not work with horses. Children usually go out at 12 for summer work, and for regular work at 14. Boys ought to begin to work between 9 and 10; girls between 10 and 11; but then they ought to go to school in the winter till 12 years old, and then they learn twice as fast. 21. Mr. James Brack, steward to Mr. Atkinson, of Angerton, Morpeth Union.—Has lived in North- umberland all his life. Does not call to mind any of his friends who failed to rise in life from want of education. Me began as a farm servant, and was so for 14 years. Does not believe that any family in this part has not received educa- tion. ‘The people hereabouts are very well off; as 239 well fed as the farmers. Their wages are from 16s. to ll. a week. They eat a “ vast of meat,” but have changed their old habits; given up the meal and the cow, and taken to white meal and bread. The hinds’ wives did not manage the cow when she was put on. Then they flew at the masters, so at last the cow was given up. ‘he men here have 18s. every week, paid every fortnight. They pay for their houses 3/., with leave to work out in hay and corn harvest. The men are better fed and better tailored than when he was young. The women work in this part from 7 to 6, with 20 minutes at 10, an hour and a half at midday, an’ 20 minutes at 4 o’clock. 1s. a day, about 2s. 6d. at harvest. They only do the small work here. In the north some of the work is not fit for women. Cleaning quicks, filling manure, forking hay, is not women’s work. The children go to work at about 12 or 13; go again to school in winter, very often till May Day, till small work begins again. A limit of 10 would affect no one here. It would not do to put religious teaching out of the school. He does not remember to have hired any man who could not sign his agreement. All the men they now have can write as well as he can. 22. Mr. James Aitcheson, steward to Mr. Bosan- quet, Alnwick Union.—Has lived all his life in Northumberland. His father was a steward before him, and he does not consider that many, if any, have been hindered from getting on in life from want of education. He could not mention one. All the stewards of his acquaintance but one, a Scotchman, are Northumberland men. None of the people on this farm under 40 but can read or write, and it iss very rare at the hiring to find people who cannot read and write, though 20 years ago you might perhaps have done so. Looking at the circumstances of the parents, the amount of instruction required, and the learning of the boy and his business in after life, he thinks about 12 would be a fair age for summer work. They should go back to school for fully two years in the winter. There is a great striving here among the people to give their children a good education. Some children here go free, but that does not make parents slack in sending to school. Women’s wages are ls.a day, and 2s. in harvest time. The woman’s retaining fee as bondager would be coals led, half the house, half the potatoes, and about 10 loads of coal. 23. Mr. George Turnbull, steward, Shandon Wood House Farm, Whittingham, Alnwick Union.— Women are employed in labour,. weeding and spreading dung, and, though very seldom, filling dung carts. They do not fork corn at harvest, they occa- sionally drive harvest carts; they are not forced to do so. The youngest child now at work is about 14. He thinks children ought not to work before 12; his wife concurs. Those who have large families are forced to send their children out to pay for younger ones. Their wages are paid in corn and money. All work the bondage, but hinds’ wages are increased. 24, Mr. Robert Stephenson, steward to Mr. Riddell, Felton, Alnwick Union.—Has lived with him since 1826. The hours of work in this district for women are from 7 in the morning to 6 at night ; 15 minutes at 10, an hour for dinner at 12, and a short rest at 4. The long hours begin north of Alnwick; children work the same hours and kinds of work as women. Their regular work is cleaning land, spreading dung, sowing artificial manure, haymaking, turnip hoeing, shear- ing, rooting and strawing, barn work. It is not common to see women turning dung heaps, forking corn and hay, or driving carts. This comes from the north. Hinds are hired by the year, from 12th of May; single men are hired for 12 months or six months from the 12th of May. Hiring fairs are commonly held near the term. Women or children are not put to unreasonable work ; the hours are reasonable ; children are sent out to work in summer about 8 or 9 years of age, and go back to school at the back end of the year; they are not regularly employed, only Gg 3 APP. C. North Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. APP. C. North Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 240 by chance. In some cases, but not many, a limit of 10 would press on the poor. The difference between corn payments on good or bad land would be at least as great as below; aud the keep of the cow must be added, as the profit would be greater to the hind on the good land :— £ os. d. Oats - 018 0 Barley = - - 012 0 Wheat - - 012 0 Total £2 2 O extra. 25. Mr. Corry and Mr. Marshall, owners and occupiers of land at Bridlington, Morpeth Union, employ women from 8 in the morning to 6 p.m, with 14 hour for dinner. They go home and return to work in their own hour. They consider that turning dung heaps and filling dung carts, as well as driving them, is unsuitable work for women and should not be allowed. 26. Mr. Oliver.—Has been gardener for 41 years at Hslington Park, Alnwick Union, to Lord Ravens- worth, and in daily communication with hinds and farmers. The women are put to too hard work, such as filling carts and forking corn, it is too heavy for them, and their hours are too early, 6 is too soon to go out. Children’s work is not too hard, neither do they go out at too young an age, as they go back to school in winter, because then there is no work for them ; his boys went to work at 11, and all children ought to begin work at 10. He can always tell one who has been sent to work early as soon as he takes his tool in his hand. There are enough of schools in the district. The teaching is very good, all done by masters; the attendance is not affected by want of means, distance, or any religious teaching. They are taught all catechisms, the Church of England, the shorter, and the Roman Catholic. The cottages are improving, and he remembers when the hinds had to bring their windows and grates with them. The condition of the labourers is greatly improved ; they have more corn and money, and their clothes and other things are cheaper. Plenty of hinds save money enough to take farms for themselves or for their children, they are also better educated, and as good workers as they ever were. The Presbyterians pay their own ministers and their seats are 1s. 6d. a head each quarter. The corn wages are most suitable for the working people; in bad harvests they have the best, and as to potatoes, if there is a blight the master allows them 44. instead of 1,000 yards. The binds’ cows have fallen off very much lately. He thinks hiring fairs and dancing the chief causes of immorality, not the crowd- ing of cottages. Mr. Oliver went to work 54 years ago at 10 years old and never went again to a day school, but attended the night,school till he was 22. He kept bees as a boy and saved all his money to buy books. He considers the winter school attendance the only suitable mode for education in an agricultural district after children have begun work. 27. Mr. Dickson, blacksmith, Stamford, Alnwick Union.—Would for his part like to see children kept at school till 18. He does not remember any man kept down from want of education. He would prevent women working with carts, though his wife drives his cart to market every week, and is an excellent coach- man. If the children are kept tov long at school the mother of the family has to go into the fields. The fees are too heavy; 5s. or 6s. are too much. Working people have not much time in the week to teach their children religion. They are in bed often when work is over. So much cannot and will not be expected from them as from the rich. He would not like his children to go to a school where no religion was taught. 28. Mr. John Wilson, woodman to Mr. Lawson, Longhirst.—Has been working in this district for 40 years; has felt himself the want of education. The people now are much better educated than formerly. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN He would like to go to school for longer if he were to begin again. He went out to work at 9. Children should stay at school till they are 15, they can learn farm work after that. 29. Mrs. Strong, wife of William Strong, Stamford Farm, Embleton.—She, her husband, her son and his wife, a daughter working out, and two small girls live in this one room. The cow has been here till last May, but her husband made a byre. They have been here two years. The school fees are 4s., 5s., and 6s. at Embleton. There is a good schoolmaster. 30. Jane Aitcheson, wife of ahind at Mr. Bolaim’s, Felton, Alnwick Union.—They have a cow kept, house free, coals led, potatoes planted, the seed being found by the master, also 11s. a week ; women go out to work at 7, they must be on the ground at that time ; they do all kinds of field work, including forking corn, filling dung carts, hoeing, &c. No work is too heavy, nor are they put to anything unreasonable. The hours of work are from 7 to 12, then one hour and a half for dinner, from work to work ; 15 minutes for breakfast ; 15 minutes at 4 0’clock. They go out at 6 in harvest time. 31. Mrs. Shepherd, wife of a hind at Causey Park.—Has had 12 children and had to send one of her children out to work at 9. To keep them quarter about at school and to work the bondage herself at that time. Awhile has felt the school fees heavily, has had four or five at school at a time and sore pinched for the fees. Many a time has said she would work her eyes off and on her knees, rather than the bairns should not go to school. It is all the poor can do for them. She likes corn wages best. 82. Mary Smith, aged 16, hired bondager to Thomas Glass, Rock South Farm.—[This girl cannot be classed as an agricultural labourer.—J. J. H.J— Was lately hired to take the place of a girl who was married.. Her father is a driver at a coal pit. She went to work last year and to school before that. Does not go to Sunday school and does not know the name of the Saviour or who he is. Does not know who Adam was; does not know the name of Jesus Christ or who he was; never heard of the flood or the deluge ; could not say what the Bible is; never heard of it. God made the world. 33. Mr. John Short, Felton, on a farm of Mr. Bid- dell’s.—One sister and one cousin (two women) in his house, and for harvest his brother ; all in one room. 34. A. B. Bamburgh, a bondage girl. — Found filling sea weed into a cart on the beach, and driving it home. She works from 6 to 6, with an hour and 4 half at 12 from work to work, 10 minutes at 10, and also at 4,in turnip hoeing. Considers shearing the hardest work. 35. One of the women of a public gang working on a farm.—A gang of 14 men and four women came from Peterhead, in Scotland, to Little Mill Station, under a contractor called Ingram. They agreed upon the price to be paid before leaving Scotland. The women were to be paid 1/. a week, and the men 1/.10s., 10. 7s., or 1/. 3s., as agreed, but the contractor kept back 6s. 6d. each week for men and women’s board overhead. They all slept in one loft. There. was no division ; men and women all together. They wouldna be allowed to do such things in Scotland. They would look very sair upon them when they came back if they knew all about it. Another contractor, called Donkin, brought a gang at the same time. They separated from hers at the Christon Bank Station. She does not know how some of them will get back to Scotland as the men have drunk all the money away. 36. Rev. Mr. Lowe, Roman Catholic priest, Mor- peth.—After 30 years’ experience in Morpeth does not remember a single instance of any of the Irish girls who are so largely hired out as bondagers and farm servants having an illegitimate child. He thinks there should be some general supervision of all schools. * IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 241 APPENDIX D.—EVIDENCE. . ve SouTH NortTHuMBERLAND. List or WITNESSES. 2 & The Rev. Robert Powell, Rector of Bellingham. The Rev. John Young, Presbyterian Minister, Bellingham. . . The Rev. J. G. Flint, Roman Catholic Priest, Bellingham. The Rev. Mr. Fiskin, United Presbyterian Minister, Stamfordham. The Rev. John Fox, Master of the Endowed School, Stamfordham. Mr. Charles Hedlock, Master of the Roman -Catholie School, Stamfordham. | Mr. John Paxton, Master of the National School, Bellingham. . Mr. Thomson, Master of the Bellingham British School. _9. Mr. Joseph Bainbridge Fife, Surgeon, Newcastle. 10. Mr. Elliot, Surgeon, Bellingham. 11. Mr, M,Cabe, Surgeon, Matfen. 12. Mr. James Spraggon, Relieving Officer, Ponteland. a o oN D Nos. 13. Mr. John Robson, Relieving Officer, Stamford- ham District. | Mr, William Helnsley, Relieving Officer at Chol- lerton. Mr. G. Dickenson, Relieving Officer, Allendale District. Messrs. Thomas and James Aynsley, Relieving Officers, Bellingham. Mr. John Hogg, Steward to Mr. Andrew Ridley, Lincoln Hill. ” Mr. John Moore, Steward to Mr. Wilson, Shotley Bridge. . Mrs. Colbeck, Occupier of Wallwick Grange. . Mr. Robb, Draper at Hexham. . William Riddle, Kirk Harle. - Mr. John Thornton, Castleward. ; . John Thornton, Castleward. . Mr. Lumsden, Farmer, Shotton Cramlington. 14, 15. 16. 17. 1. The Rev. Robert Powell, rector of Bellingham, finds that the parents are very careless about their children’s needle work. The payment of fees ina school gives a better tone to the parents and children; they think themselves superior to those who do not pay. Evening schools do not answer. He dis- couraged the master having them, finding his health failed, teaching night and day. The children remain at school till 14 or 15, and the attendance is fair. Some of the best attenders come three or four miles. That applies also to church attendance. 2. The Rev. John Young, Presbyterian minister, Bellingham, has lived 38 years in this place. The custom of putting the land down to grass has made many of the cottages useless, and they are going to decay. Women work from 8 o’clock to6. The agricul- tural women make as good wives, and perhaps better, than any other class. They have learnt to put their hands to all sorts of work, both indoor and out. A few shepherds keep a schoolmaster on the hills among them; and they lately commissioned Mr. Young to procure for them Virgil, Horace, and Cesar, to study Latin. Of these people, one family come 9 miles to church on foot; one is a woman, the rest are men. There is very little employment for boys, and they do not go out young. People in the district value education very much, and many old people who could themselves not read nor write have told Mr. Young that they have felt the loss, and to his knowledge have educated their children. Broken school time is of little value. In the winter the children come miles to school. Mr. Young is convinced that the inhabitants of this district would be most averse to dispense with Bible teaching. School attendance is not materially affected by the pecuniary resourcés of the parents. There is not much sewing taught. The cottages in the agri- cultural districts are not crowded so as to interfere with morality and decency. The hiring fairs have a great tendency to immorality ; but he does not see his way to any remedy. ~. 3. The Rev. J. G. Flint, Roman Catholic priest, Bellingham, insists upon the children returning to school on the wet days, when they cannot work. -They are charged nothing for it, and by that means make a considerable number of attendances during the working season. The children go at a very early age to pick ironstone. They go by special train every “morning... .. heh as 4. The Rev. Mr. Fiskin, United Presbyterian minister, Stamfordham (Castleward Union), is desirous to raise the standard of teachers in elementary schools in this district, as educated men are always the most competent instructors, and better able to ground chil- dren in primary education. They are far below the Scotch schoolmasters. This is of the greatest conse- quence in the country, as the towns can help themselves; but the country is the feeder of the towns, and the people go there in the grossest ignorance. The people of this district are not so desirous for education as those in the north. They are not so firm or anxious for it as the Presbyterians. It would be, in Mr. Fiskin’s opinion, a tremendous blunder for the State to exclude the Bible from the schools. It should be used as a text book, but not the only one, and the children be made to understand it ; but no particular doctrine need be taught. There ought to be no difficulty in that respect. The hiring fairs are an abominable nuisance. 5. The Rev. John Fox, master of the endowed school, Stamfordham (Castleward Union), clergyman of the Church of England, has been master of the endowed school for 30 years. Advocates a National system of education, with as much religion as you can get ; but if the religious difficulty is insuperable, then secular education. Well educated children are the best assistants to the monitor. He does not object to hiring fairs; in this locality they do not lead to much mischief. 6. Mr. Chas. Hedlock, master of the Roman Ca- tholic school, Stamfordham (Castleward Union). — About three parts of the children are Roman Catholics. Neither Protestant nor Roman Catholic children are taught religion; nor are the Roman Catholic children taught any religion, except on Sunday. The fees are paid weekly ; 2d. the labouring classes and 4d. the farmers. The fees are too low. The number in attendance are 40 to 50 in summer, 60 to 70 in winter. They come to school between 5 and 6 years of age; very rarely know their letters when they come. They lose three weeks on an average by not knowing their letters. It would take three months to put the children in the same position they were in when they went out to work in the summer on their ‘return in winter.: He should, as a schoolmaster, prefer the third mode mentioned in Commissioners’ circu- lars ;* the present one adopted in this district for * 10 & 11 Viet. ¢, 70. ss. 2, 3, 26. : Ge 4 APP. D. —_—_ South Northumber. land. Mr. Henley. b. APP. D. — South Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. —. b. 6 242 school attendance. The age at which the children usually go to summer work is about 18 ; they generally _ return in the winter up to 14 and 15. His is a mixed school, The girls are taught needle-work. The greatest distance any children come to:school is three miles, The attendance of those at a distance is the best, and they are always first in the morning. The school is under Government inspection. 7. Mr. John Paxton, master of the National School at Bellingham.—The fees are 3d. over 12 years of age, and 2d. under that age, paid weekly in advance. The Catechism taught, but not enforced. Attendance is affected by distance, in winter especially, and, to a certain extent, by the pecuniary resources of parents. Children of the agricultural labourers remain at school till they are about 15, that is for summer and winter, merely going away for harvest. As far as he knows the ehildren do not learn their letters before coming to school. It would take about six weeks to teach them letters. 8. Mr. Thomson, master of the Bellingham British School, teaches no Catechism or doctrine. All sorts come; Church of England, Roman Catho- lies, and Dissenters. He reads the Bible and ques- tions upon it, thinking the people would object to this being omitted. The fees are 4s. to 5s. 6d. a quarter, not in advance. The school is entirely self-supporting, and principally contains agricultural children. The attendance is very little affected by distance. They come four miles, and very little trouble about fees. The building is supported by trustees; the children pay for fuel, lighting, and books. The numbers were 112 last winter; some- times as far as 130. Mixed school. He has not undertaken evening schools, though he has been asked -to do it, but he considers it is enough to teach in the daytime. He teaches practical land surveying to children in the summer at meal times, and in the evening principally to farmers’ sons. 9. Mr. Joseph Bainbridge Fife (Newcastle), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, surgeon to the Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye and Ear, and to the Hospital for Sick Children, formerly lecturer on ana- tomy and operative surgery at the Newcastle School of Medicine and Surgery, &c. &c., was admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1842; since that period has been constantly and actively engaged in the practice of his profession. During the Crimean war had entire medical charge of the 26th and other regiments quartered at Newcastle. At that time examined all the men recruited in the district. Has examined some hundreds ; on one occasion forty in a day. Finds that there are no malformations or diseases amongst men recruited from agricultural districts which can in any way be attributed to the nature of their employment. Has not found that knock-knees, lateral curvature of the spine, flat feet, varicose veins, and rheumatism are prevalent in the men recruited from agricultural districts. Knock- knees and lateral curvature of the spine indicate a great want of constitutional vigour, which may be pro- duced and is increased by insufficient food and un- healthy lodging, but not by field labour. Flat feet are not more common amongst -agricultural labourers than any other class. The awkward gait so frequently observed is the result, in a great measure, of the habit of wearing unnecessarily heavy and badly made boots. Varicose veins have their origin in many dif- ferent conditions that tend to impede venous circu- lation ; the most common is a tight garter or string tied below the knee. There is nothing in farm work calculated to develope the disease Rheumatism exists more or less all over the United Kingdom, and affects most those who dwell in damp situations. The existence of the disease, in an excessive degree, is the result of locality and not occupation. The agricul- tural labourer is employed actively in the open air, and requires good food, lodging, and clothing to enable him to resist the frequent changes of tempera- ture, daily exposure, and demand upon his muscular energy ; but his vocation is undeniably healthy, and EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the men of this district are sound and vigorous. The women employed in field labour are not exposed to excessive toil or tempestuous weather. In stormy weather out-door farming operations are suspended. Diseases peculiar to women are not more common amongst the country people than’those of a similar class who live in towns. The health of a country woman is better and her life happier than that of a woman occupying the same social position and follow- ing any of the various employments open to her in manufacturing towns. Has never seen an instance in which girls and ‘boys have suffered from being em- ployed in farm work, and does not remember to have ever known a case in which disease or malformation has been the result of severe labour at an early age. Does not think it necessary that any difference should be made in the age at which boys and girls should be employed. Boys and girls at an early age are equal in strength ; believes, if there is a difference, that boys are the strongest. The result of his experience is that of all laborious employments agricultural are the healthiest. ‘The labourer’s physival condition can be much improved by greater attention to his domestic arrangements, It is difficult to lay down any rule for the quantity and quality of food, as that must depend upon the demand for labour, the price and opportunity of obtaining provisions, and the number to be provided for incapable of work in a family. The landed proprietors have shown astrong disposition in this neighbourhood to improve the dwellings of the labouring classes ; but there are still many cottages occupied, which are not only unfavourably situated, but in every other respect bad. The ventilation of a labourer’s dwelling is almost entirely overlooked by the occupant, particularly at night ; during the day the door is generally open. ‘There is so great a desire to shut out the cold, that the ingress of pure, and the egress of foul, air are equally obstructed. The peasant does not recognize the fact that pure air and a clean skin are as necessary for himself as for his horse, or his ox. The ground upon which cottages are erected is frequently badly drained. This is productive of vations disorders, and in many instances might be remedied by a very few hours of industry. The duration of the hours of labour, depending as they do on the season of the year, the condition of the crops, and the state of the weather, must vary; but periods of great activity are usually followed by comparative rest. Upon this subject any legislative enactment must be vexatious and obstructive. Has formed the opinions which he has expressed from ‘his knowledge of the condition of the agricultural labourer in the northern counties, 10. Mr. Elliot, surgeon, Bellinghani. — Considers some children go out to work too soon, say 12 years old. They should not work till 14, both for the sake of health and education. Finds the women who live and work in the fields most healthy, more so than those in towns or domestic service. The new cottages attached to the ironworks are very much crowded; the sanitary arrangements are fearful. The privies are the greatest nuisances. The cottages are principally inhabited by Irish and others, but the children work in the fields. The agricultural cottages are in a good state and not crowded. He had some time ago to step over 14 beds in the ironwork cottages in one room to relieve a patient, and has been shocked frequently at the presence of men sleeping in the open apartment above, during the time of a woman’s confinement. He has persuaded the people as far as possible to change their diet, as they had taken principally to tea and coffee and bread instead of meat, porridge, and meal, which would improve their health greatly. 11. Mr. McCabe, surgeon, Matfen (Castleward Union).—Has been a union medical officer in York- shire and Lincolnshire ; has also been in business in America, U.S., and has been living in Northumber- land for a year and a half. Has never found work- ing agricultural labourers so well off in any place, including America; in fact, there are no poor people at all here. No children go to work here till they _ IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. are in their teens. They went to work much younger in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The women who work out are the most healthy class, more free from the usual women’s complaints, both now and in their old age. He would not allow any child to go out before 14. They ought not to be put in any charge before that age. The work of women is not in any way unsuitable, nor are their hours too long. The cottages are not too crowded, and the sanitary arrangements fair. The labourers here are better educated than in Yorkshire or Lincolnshire, but not so well as in the United States. Bastardy here is more prevalent. 12. Mr. James Spraggon, relieving officer, Pon- teland (Castleward Union).— Has been 15 years relieving officer ; formerly a farmer. ‘The women hired as bondagers go out at 7 o’clock. Those who are not confined (i.e. hired) go out from 8 till 6. They have an hour and a half at dinner, going home and returning to work in their own hours ; 15 minutes at 10 and the same at 4. Women do small work only here ; hoeing, weeding, picking stones, haymaking work at harvest. It is not the custom here and would not be tolerated to fill dung carts, turn dung heaps, or drive carts ; only those who come from the North do it. He does not consider it is women’s work. Children go out to summer work as a rule about 12; some may go as an exception at 9 or 10, but that is only the pressure of a large family. A boy should go to work at 10. He ought to be able to get what education he wants by that time, finishing up in the winter. The children work the same hours as the women and with them at hoeing. Few men ever hoe with them, except an odd one. Children who go out early are pressed out not ‘by the farmers but by the want of the parents. There are no gangs come out of Neweastle, but about 40 years ago he used to go in as a young fellow to hire women on a Sunday to come out to work on the Monday. There was then a regular hiring place (at Sandgate), and fine fun it was. ‘The district is well off for schools ; the children attend well. The guardians pay for pauper children and take care that they attend and make progress. He cannot call to mind any children that are growing up without education. The labouring people are well off; nearly or quite 1/. a week, in- chiding all. The cottages are much improved and plenty of them. The sanitary arrangements have been well attended to by the Guardians. Labourers live near their work, none go a mile. The utmost distance children have to gois three miles. The fees paid by the guardians are about 5s. or 6s. a quarter. The greatest number of the schools are self-supporting ; all the schools teach sewing ; nothing done in the evening schools. It is now common in this district, and was so when he farmed, to engage the yearly hinds with the understanding “no work no pay,” so that they come on the rates when sick. Except in the new cottages, the whole family and the hired servant occupy one room, and sometimes a double hinding, é.e., a son married and his family. 18. Mr. John Robson, relieving officer, Stamford- ham district (Castleward Union).—Has only been relieving officer for six months, but has lived in the district all his life. Finds that many in the colliery district cannot sign their names; very few if any cannot do so in the agricultural districts ; most of the cottages in this district have two rooms, some three, but two is the prevailing thing. Considers about eight hours enough for women’s work. The schools in this district are pretty good, and the distance about two miles at the outside. The fees vary from 2d. to 9d. a week ; the average would be perhaps 3d. In any case where parents have relief the board of guardians put the children to school. The women only do the small work, not the hard work of the North ; ls. a day, and extra at harvest, perhaps 2s. 6d. Men about 16s. to 17s. a week ; house free; coals led. Children go out about 10 years old, and perhaps get 6d. to 8d. or 10d. a day. Go back to school in winter till 13 or 14, 2, ‘the parents are anxious for education. 243 14. Mr. William Helnsley, relieving officer at Chollerton (Hexham Union).—Has been relieving officer since 1836, since the commencement of the union. Children hardly go out to work in the summer till 12 or 14 years of age; in some eases they may go back again to school. Women work from 8 to 6, with an hour or an hour and a half in mid-day; a break at 10 and 4. They do the small work ; and forking corn, filling dung carts, &c. is quite an exception, tho’ he has seen it. Does not consider any work the women do in this district is injurious to them. Their hours are not too long. They ought not to go out before 8 in the morning, either mar- ried or single. Most of the hinds’ houses in this district are single, é.e., one room, though there is an improvement lately in the new houses. Not many of the hinds have a hired servant; their own family usually work the bondage. There is no want of schools in this district. The outside distance for children to come to school would be three miles ; two would be an average. The attendance is not affected by want of money to pay school fees. ‘The Guardians pay school fees in all cases where the paupers request them todoso. The parents select the school; the average fees would be 4s. 6d. or 5s. a quarter. ‘The corn conditions are greatly done away with. The wages now would be about 16s. a week; coals led, house free, and potatoes planted. Women ls. a day and 3s. at harvest. Sanitary arrangements in the cottages not good or as they ought to be; as much from the fault of the occupiers as from the owners. Bastardy cases have increased of late years ; he knows that as registrar. People are better off in every way now than formerly. Cannot recall any person who has failed to advance in life in this district from want of education. People have a good chance now, 15. Dh. G. Dickenson, relieving officer, Allen- dale district (Hexham Union).—Has been relieving officer upwards of 30 years. One half of the district is a mining population ; the hinds’ wives in that part usually work the bondage. The women work from 8 to 6, the children the same. ‘The average age for ‘children to start would be 10 or 11; then go back usually to school in the winter. Their work is reasonable, both as to hours and kinds of work. The schools are good, both as to numbers and quality, There are cases where the children are not sent to school. It is the exception, but in some cases when the Guardians pay they have difficulty in getting the children to school; as a rule, however, The cottages are very good; they have nearly all two rooms and some conveniences. The great fault, in his opinion, is the ground-floor bedroom which is damp. Cottages are held by the farmers. Hinds are paid the bulk in money. It is altogether worth about a pound aweek. Wages have much advanced of late years. 16. Messrs. Thomas and James Aynsley, reliev- ing officers, Bellingham Union.—The hours of work of women in summer are from 7 to 6, with an hour for dinner. Children go out at 11 or 12 years of age for summer work. They work the same hours as women, and come back again in winter to school, if they are not hired. Every family they know in the district sends their children to school ; they are determined to do so. The Guardians pay the fees for people who are chargeable. ‘The parents select the schools. They have a return of attendance quarterly, with reasons for «absence. There are grand schools in this union. A few people, but not many, now sign by marks; they are mostly people from 45 years old and upwards. A village in this district has a pit where they sign much more by mark. The cottages are wonderfully improved. A most mighty change. The Dukes of Northumber- land have done great things, and many other gentle- men have done equally in proportion. They cannot recall any cottage where the people are very crowded. Mr. James Aynsley has lived in the south of England as a bailiff, and there is a mighty difference in the Hh APP. DN. —— South ~“Northumber- land. *Mr. Henley. b. APP. D. South Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. ———_— b. 244 education of the people ; much superior in the north. Single ploughmen live in the farm houses ; they get 231. to 3802. a year ; all found.. Hinds’ wages are difficult to calculate, from different advantages. Women ls., some ls. 2d. or 1s. 3d.; at harvest 2s. or better. Hiring single servants causes a great deal of bastardy. 17. Mr. John Hogg, steward to Mr. Andrew Ridley, Lincoin Hill (Hexham).—Women start in summer to work at 6, break off at 11, leave home again at 1.30 to be at work at 1.45, with 15 minutes at 4, At harvest time they have 15 minutes at 9 and 4, and two hours at mid-day. Children work the same hours as the women. The latter do all sorts of work except ploughing, harrowing, mowing, and such like. They once spread lime, but he never put them to it again: The children do not go out before 11 years old. Some may go out at 10, but he has never had any. Their work is easy. The women sack the corn for the machine, and make the sacks as heavy as they please. They have to carry the corn to be consumed on the farm up the stairs to the granary. The women have ls. a day, and 10s. at harvest a week; and those hired without hinds have three loads of potatoes,.and coals led. The hinds get 16s. a week, half a ton of potatoes, and house free, coals led, and find a woman worker. The womens’ work would average 20 days a month. He came from Scotland and lived also in the north of this county. The people here have far better encouragement, but they are not so strong as in the north. The women destroy themselves with tea, and spend too much money on butchers’ meat. All the people on the farm can read and write, but they are nothing like so well educated as in Berwick- shire. As much the fault of the parents as of the schools. The schoolmaster ought to be helped by the parents in the evening. In general, the people are not so well educated here as in the north of the county. The school fees here are also heavier than in Scotlend, bt they teach here three children for two, which they do not do in Scotland. 18. Mr. John Moore, Steward to Mr. Wilson, Shotley Bridge, Hexham.—Women go out to work at 8, goon till 12 (with 10 minutes at 10), com- mence at 1 o’clock, and continue till 6. Children’s hours the same as the women’s. Women only do small work, weeding, &c. Children usually go out at 12 or 14 years of age; there may be a chance one sooner. Those of our own estate and in this parish can read and write, but those who come from over the water in Durham cannot. Of Irish labourers not one out of every dozen can write. The women’s wages are ls. a day, and 2s. at harvest. The average rate of labourers’ wages would be 2s. 9d.; no privileges. There are no hired women to the hinds in this part of the country. Hinds have 16s., free house and garden, coals led, three loads of potatoes, and six bushels of wheat. 19. Mrs. Colbeck, occupier of Wallwick Grange (Hexham Union).—Women work on her farm from 8 to 6; one and a half hours at mid-day, 15 minutes at 10 and 4. Does not approve of women doing the hard work as they do in the north ; always shocked to see them filling manure carts. The women who work out here are the hinds’ wives. They are hired to go out; that is, they must find a worker. 20. Mr. Robb, a draper at Hexham.—Thinks that single servants’ hiring fairs are undoubtedly a great evil, but he cannot see his way to any remedy ; register offices would not do. Last year those who came to be hired were offered the new town hall for the small pay- ment of a penny; but they would not avail themselves of it, they preferred standing in the street. The school in the town is managed by a mixed committee of dissenters and churchmen. The parish clergyman is the present chairman, but not necessarily so ; no catechism is taught to any child, and so far the system works smoothly, but has great difficulty in getting the children of the townspeople into the school. He “white bread and butcher’s meat. ‘that it takes three men now to do the work of’ two. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, :AND .WOMEN ascertained the other day, after careful enquiry in the town, that from 150 to 200 more children ought. to have been at the school. He cannot suggest: any way of getting them there, but sooner than leave the people in the present state of ignorance he would come to secular education, though he is himself a religious man and a preacher.’ Mr. Robb set up 25 years ago a Sunday school upon purely Bible teaching, and has now an attendance of 150 to 200 children, of the very lowest class swept off the streets. They learn to read by coming to the Sunday school. He started evening schools, but was met by the usual difficulty that the young men could not read or write. The people from the country districts are more generally educated than those in this town. Sie n 21. William Riddle, Kirk Harle (Bellingham Union), 11 years old.—Has never been to school, but has been instructed at home. Was at work this summer, but does not know at what, or if at any wages at all. Knows his letters, but does not know the name of God, or who made him or the world; the name of Jesus Christ, or heaven or hell. Does not know who will punish him if he tells a lie, but knows it is wrong, and would not do it. Has been to church, but cannot remember anything he ever heard there. Has been living with his grand- parents. ; ; i [Could not on trial point out his letters.—J. J. H.] 22. Mr. John Thornton (Castleward Union).— Works at his own hand ; wife and four children at home; none at school; one at turnips, 12 years of age, and been at work allsummer. Second, boy of 9, neither at school or work. His third, a girl of 7, has been at school a bit. Neither boy or girl at home can read or write. : 23, John Thornton (Castleward Union), a boy of 12, found at work.—Does not know the name of Jesus Christ, Noah, Eve, or the name of the county he lives in ; “thinks it is the west of England.” Reads very imperfectly ; at Ingoe school formerly. : 24, Wr. Lumsden, farmer, Shotton Cramlington (Castleward Union).—Began life in the Bamburgh country at 9 years of age for 3d. a day. Never went back to school, so got very little education ; has found the want of it, so has taken care to give his sons a good, education. People’s wages at that time (he is now 52) were 9s. a week for hire ; women 8d. a day, 1s. for harvest. They all now stop at 9 o’clock for breakfast—that is a new custom—and again at 4. Some women get 10d., and some 1s. Does not think that turning dung heaps and filling dung carts is suitable for women ; they should not fork the corn or load. Spreading lime is not injurious to them. Children should not go to work before 12 years old; that age would not press upon the parents. They should continue at school later if the parents could af- ford it; they will have time enough after that to become good labourers. He worked 10 years with horses, and has drained 21 years for Sir Mathew White Ridley, M.P. He has now been two years a farmer; saved his money; had not a shilling come in from any other source. The women go out here at 6, 7, or 8 o’clock, according to masters. In most instances the children work with the women. The women only do the small work, unless the masters come from the north. The dinner hour is from 12 to 1.80. The schools are better now, and the people are far more able to pay than formerly. Has been a very large employer of labour, and does not know any young men hereabouts who cannot read and write. He would not like religion put out of the schools; many of the schoolmasters teach them far too little. Never has heard of any hindrance in this part from any religious teaching. He does not believe the labouring class hereabouts are so strong as formerly ; they have entirely changed their food ; given up meal, milk, &c., and taken‘ to He quite believes The employment of young girls is not injurious ;’ they are far better than marching about idle. + INTAGRIOULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ‘ 245 ; APPENDIX E. SuMMARY OF THE RETURNS SENT IN ANSWER TO THE CoMMISSIONERS CircuLar oF Inqurry, wo -3: Mr. me OO - ne Do. bP: he bo ~ Mr. . Mr. . Mr. . Mr, . Mr. . Mr. . Mr. Matthew Laidler, occupier, . Mr: William B. Boyd, occupier, List or PERSONS WHO HAVE ANSWERED CIRCULARS. | In Glendale. . Mr. George Culley, Landowner, J.P. and High ’ Sheriff, Fowberry Tower, Chatton. . Mr.'M.: T. Culley, Landowner, Chairman: of the Board’ of -Guardians, Coupland Castle, Wooler. Charles Selby, Landowner, .J.P., Yearle, Doddington. Mr. William Nicholson, occupier, N. Hazel- ridge, Chatton. Mr, John Cayle, Hazelridge School, Belford. Mr. Robertson, occupier, Hazelridge. Mr. Robert T. Maddison, occupier, Wandon, - Chatton. . Mr. John Borthwick, occupier, Kilham. Mr. James Ramsey, occupier, Lilburn Grange, Eglingham. . Mr. Black, occupier, Lanton. . Mr. James B. Boyd, occupier, Doddington. _ . Mr. James Hall; occupier, Newtown, Chilling ham. . Miss Margaret Dodds, occupier, Haugh Head, Eglingham. Thomas Stawart, occupier, Roddam. Andrew Thompson, occupier, Paston. John Turnbull, occupier, Branton, James Grey, occupier, Kimmerston, Ford. Richard Huntley King, occupier, Wooperton. Thomas Laidler, occupier, Fenton, Wooler. Fenton Hill, ‘Wooler. . Mr.. William Henderson, occupier, Fowberry Mains, Chatton: . Mr. Charles Borthwick, occupier, Mindrim. . Mr. Thomas Chartres, Turvelaws, occupier, Wooler. . Mr. Joseph Atkinson, occupier, Brandon. . Mr. Peter. W. Purves, occupier, Lilburn. . Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon. . Mr. J. Marshall, occupier, Chatton Park, Bel- ford. . Mr. Charles Rea, occupier, Doddington. . Mr. John Duncan Ogilvie, ‘eceupier, Mardon, .Ford and Branxton. . Mr. J. C. Langlands, occupier. Old Bewick. i Mr. George Rea, occupier, Middleton House, : Ilderton. Hetton Hall, : Chatton. . Rev. Matthew Burrell, Vicar of Chatton. . Rev. Thomas Knight, Rector of Ford. . Rev. John 8S..Green, Vicar of Wooler. . Rev. Henry Parker, Rector of Iderton. . Rev. John Richard King, Vicar of Carham. . Rev, James Allgood, Ingram Parish. js Rev. Joseph Hudson, Chillingham Parish. . Rev. William Procter, Doddington Parish. 40. Mr. George Young, Schoolmaster, Lilburn. 41, Mv. William Robson, Teacher, Crookham. -: 42. Mr, Robert Frizell, National Schoolmaster, Crookham. —_- een 43. Rev. ‘John | hecen ' Presbyterian _ Minister, ' Lowick. Ld 44. 45. 46. 47, 48. 49, 50. —_— i) be Hoo sh on se ao WW 10. il. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. WO WT An pO NY Rev. Peter Whyte, Presbyterian Minister, Wooler, Milfield School. Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Middle- ton Hall, Ilderton. Mr. Joseph Scott, National Schoolmaster, Lo- wick. Mr. Anthony Barber, occupier, West Weetwood, Chatton. a F. P. Lynn, . occupier,, Mindrim Mill, Car- am. Rey. P. G. M*Douall, Kirknewton Vicarage. In North Northumberland. . Rev. William Clark King, Vicar of Norham. . Rev. James Blythe, Presbyterian Minister, Aln- wick. . Mr. James Aitchison, Farm Steward, Embleton. Mr. Thomas Allan, occupier and Chairman of’ Union, Snitter, Rothbury. Mr. George Drysdale, occupier, Great Ryle, Whittingham. Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, {imbletou. _ . Mr. John Bolam, occupier, Glarorum, . Mr. R. §. Bainbridge, occupier, Woodhorn Grange. . Mr. James. Laing, occupier, Bamburgh. . Mr. John Angus, occupier, Whitefield, Bothal. - Mr. John Davison, owner and occupier, Tritling- ton Hall, Hebron, . Mr, Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Long- hirst Grange, Bothal, . Mr. George Laing, occupier, Cornhill. In South Northumberland. . Rey. John F. Bigge, Vicar of Stamfordham. . Rev. J. Elphinstone Elliot, Whalton Parish, Chairman of Board of Guardians. . Rev. John Fox, Stamfordham Parish. ~ Mr. L. Wilson Atkinson, J.P., Newbiggin, Hex- ham. . Board of Guardians, Hexham. Mr. R. Pickering, Clerk to Board of Guardians, Haltwistle. . Mr. William Henry Charlton, Landowner, Hes- - leyside, Bellingham. A is Joseph Lee, occupier, Dilston, Corbridge. . Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, Chairman of the Hexham Board of Guardiens, Anick Grange, Hexham. Mr. John Fewster Newlands, occupier, Ebches- fae Gateshead. ” Mr. G. N. D. Waddilove, J.P., occupier, Brun- ton,, Wall. Mr. Edward Coulson, occupier, Bridgeford, Bel- lingham. Mr. Henry T. es occupier, Barrasford, Chollerton.. Mr. Samuel Pattison, occupier, Old Ridley, Bywell St: Peter. ~~ : ies Johnson, occupier, Old Town, Allen- ale. ‘Mr, Andrew Ridley, occupier, Chesiers, Hex- ham.. Hh 2 APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley, b. APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 246 17. Mrs. Isabella Colbeck, occupier, Walwick Grange, Warden. 18. Mr. Thomas Sample, Land Agent, Matfen, Stamfordham. 2 19. Mr. Thomas Wilson, occupier, Shotley. * 20. Mr. W. B. Wilson, occupier, Blagdon, Staining- ton. ANALYSIS OF THE ForEcorne Lists. In Glendale. 3 Landowners. 31 Occupiers. 9 Clergymen. 2 Presbyterian Ministers. 5 Schoolmasters. I. As to Employment In Private GANGS. _The system of employing persons in agriculture in private gangs does not existin Northumberland. The labourers live usually on the farms or within a very short distance of them. Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, Glendale union, states that the children, young persons, and women, live “Some half a mile, others about a mile, scarcely any more than two miles ” from their work. Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, Glendale union, says the persons employed are “For the greater part composed of the members of families living upon the farm with a character to maintain.” Mr. Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Long- hirst Grange, Bothal, North Northumberland, says they are EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN In North Northumberland. 1 Vicar. 1 Presbyterian Minister. 1 Chairman of Board of Guardians. 9 Occupiers. 1 Farm Steward. In South Northumberland. 1 Chairman of Board of Guardians. 1 Clerk of Boatrd of Guardians. 1 Justice of the Peace. 3 Clergymen. PAGS 1 Landowner. . 12 Occupiers. = 1 Land Agent. > “ ‘The young members of the agricultural labourers families, often working in the presence of their parents; and always in close proximity to them, and generally under the superintendence of the most skilled local labourer.” ; Rev. John F. Bigge, Stamfordham, South North- umberland, says that “ Two miles is the extreme limit” of the distance of their homes from their work, Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, occupier, and chairman of the Hexham board of guardians, St. John Lee, South Northumberland, says, “ Ata busy time, such as in harvest or turnip pulling, I have a few extra hands from the village close by, and from Hexham, a mile and a half from the homestead, but nearer to part of my farm than the homestead is.” 2 Questions IT. 22 (a) and (6).—Numsers and Aczs of Cuipren returned as working in the Fields. GLENDALE UNION. “Males. Females. Ss a a Ss a a o Name of Informant. Place. 3 5 s Se 33 _# 5 8 o By 5 Over 18. FH of 3 Z § £3 £3 £4 3 £4 Bs £ a Mar- |Unmar- 24 5| 8° | 8% | a8 | 8" | 5] ae | B= | SF | vied | nied | BF Mr. King - -~-1|Carham - -|/—| — | 25 | 40 | 6 |} —| — | 25 | 55 7 | 45 | 182 »» Thompson - | Paston - -|-|— 4 40 8 SS 3 7 _ 18 28 » Allgood - Ingram - -{/—]; — 3 z 10 —| — _ 7 4 10 a1 » James Hall Chillingham - -|-|— _ 4 4 ||—| — _ 1 —_ 14 15 », James Ogilvie - | Ford and Branxton - | — | — 2 4 6 —-|;— 4 4 2 ll 21 » N. Henderson - | Lowick - - -|— 4 4 3 ll — 2 2 10 _— _ 14 »» Nicholson - | Chatton - - rf ae _ 5 5 —-| — —_ 3 = 7 10 » John Borthwick | Kilham - - -j— J _ 2 3 —-!|-— 2 8 2 10 22 » C. Rea - Doddington - -|—- 1 2 1 4 -|-— 1 6 _ 13 20 » Grey - | Kimmerston, Ford |— | — 4 2 6 —_—| — 2 3 s 9 16 Parish. », James Boyd Doddington - -|—|[— _ 5 5 il—} — _ 4 _ 11 15 », King - - | Wooperton —-|—- 3 2 5 —_—|—- 1 4 1 8 14 ., C. Atkinson - | Rosedon - -|—| — 2 4 6 —-|— — 3 —_ 9 12 », Marshall Chatton Park, Chat- | —| — 1 8 4 —|— —_ 8 _— 8 ll ton. » G. P. Hughes - | Middleton Hall, Il- | --| — 2 1 8 a 2 3 —_ 5 10 derton. » Black - Lanton - -|—-—]— 2 8 5 —| — 1 1 1 5 8 » Langlands - | Old Bewick - - _ _ 1 1 -—-};— _ 2 _ 10 12 » Ramsey - Lilburn Grange, Eg- | — | — _ 1 1 —-|—- _ 1 —_ 5 6 lingham. » Stawart - Roddam - - -|—|/ — _ 2 2 amis) _ 1 1 8 10 » J. Turnbull - | Branton - - -{-—| —- _ 2 2 —-|-— _ 2 _ 5 7 »» P. Purves - | Lilburn, South Steads,|} — | — _ 2 2 —-|—- —_ 3 1 —— 4 Eglingham. » G. Culley - - | FowberryTower,Chat-| — | — 1 _ ry—|] — _ —_ = 3 3 ton Parish. ! » J. Atkinson - | Brandon, Parish of | — | — 1 3 45—/ — 1 5 1 5 12 Eglingham. | » W. Boyd - - | Hetton Hall, Chatton | — | — = 1 Py—~—]| — _ 2 —_ 10 12 » W. Henderson - | Chatton - - -|-|—- as 3 3 /—| — _ 1 — 6 7 5» R. Maddison - | Wandon, Chatton -|—| — 1 3 4 }/—-|— 1 3 2 14 20 », Robertson - | Hazelridge, Chatton | — | — 1 7 8 | —|-—- _— 6 1 9 16 » Chartres - Turvelaws, Wooler - | — | — 4 _ 4,2) — _— 3 1 8 12 » C. Borthwick - | Kirk-Newton - -|— |] — 1 | = To Peo es 2 7 i = 6 15 » G. Rea - - | Middleton House, Il- | —| — 6 12 1 f|—| — 8 10 _ 27 45 derton. » Lynn - - | Mindrim, Carham - | — 2 4 6 — a 4 = 8 12 » M‘Douall - Kirk Newton - -|— 1 9 39 49 — _ 16 52 3 87 158 Total of the above | ~- 7 80 | 170 | 257 — 2 71 =| 224 29 | 394 720 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. | NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 247° ! Males Females, s ; efegd | ge 4 ae | 2S | 38 ' Name of Informant. 4 Place. } i | “ge aS 2 é ‘ gn 3s 8 : Over 18. £ j : -- [gL Ga-}28 | Ba | ge pg} £8 | 28 | ES (aoe fonmarl 2 5|a° | a= | a2 | 82 | S| ge | BF | BF | rica | ried | BF : ae Pe ry Mr. James Aitchison | Rock, Embleton -|—/| — af 8 gs r—| — —_ 6 _— 20 26 » G. Drysdale’ - | Great Ryle~ - ey eters ieee '@ 1- 3 —| — 1 1 1 “6 9 » T. Rodger - Embleton, South Side | — | — 15 14.| 29 —-|— 10 _— 18 |. 50 78 »» R. Bainbridge - | Woodhorn Grange, |—.) — 3 2s, ae | Gea iors = 1 3 4 Morpeth. : » J. Laing -- -| Bamburgh . - -|oie _ 4. 4 7/—| = — 5 — | 16 21 » J. Angus- -| Bothal, Morpeth -- | —| — = 1 Tlie) ee neat 5+ 9 22 36 » J. Davison ~ | Tritlington, Morpeth | — | — _— Die 2;—| — — 1 Se UT 12 » I. Lawson - | Longhirst, Morpeth —_!| — 2 —_ 2 —|— _ 2 — — 2 » G. Laing - - | Cornhill, Coldstream | —| — 3 2 5 —-| — 1 3 a2 7 21. Total of the above | — | — 25 34 59 ||} —}| — ‘12 23 29 =| 145 209 SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. Mr. R. Pickering Haltwistle - -|—|— ~ 3 3 —|—-— _ 3 _— _ 3 » W.H. Charlton | Hesleyside - -|—-| —- 16 | 36 52 —-| — 8 88 72 64 232 » Joseph Lee - | Dilston - - -|—| — 2 _ 2 —-| — 1 4 4 3 12 » Thomas P.Dods | AnickGrainge,Hex- | — | — 1 3 4 )—| — _ -- 5 1 6 ham. >», Waddilove Wall, Hexham -;/—|/| — 6 8 14 —_ 14 7 18 15 49 », B. Coulson - | Bridgeford = - -|—| — 4 9 13 —-| — 2 22 18 16 58 » Henry T.Thomp- | Middle Farm, Chol- | —| — -- 10 10 -|- —_ 9 11 20 40 son. Jerton. ; » 8S. Pattison - | Old Ridley = - -|—| —- 3 2 5 —-|— _ 2 _ 5 7 » J. Johnson - | Old Town, Allendale} —j| — | — | — | — J}—]| — | — | — |] — 2 2 » A. Ridley - | Chesters, Hexham —-|- 2 1 3 —-| 3 —_ 3 4 10 Mrs. Isabella Colbeck | Walwick Grange -|— | -- 5 -- 5 ya} 5 —_ 13 6 24 Mr. T. Wilson - | Shotley Hull - -|— -— 15 13 28 —_ —_— 1 15 17 38 71 Total of the above | — | — 54 85 | 189 —-|-— 34 | 150 | 156 | 174 514 (d.) Do they live on or near the farms on which they work ? GienpaLe Unton.—Of the 50 witnesses who have returned forms, 11 leave this question unanswered ; 30 reply that all live on the farm on which they work ; three, that they mostly live on the farm ; two, that those who are not on the farm are within half a mile of it. Mr Joseph Scott, national schoolmaster, Lowich, says that some go one mile to their work, others more. Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, “Generally on the farms, one or two go about three miles, but the cases are quite exceptional.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, says that some “Go half a mile, others about a mile, scarcely any more than two miles.” Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, says, «Jn Northumberland the labourer very rarely travels more than two miles to his work.” Norta NortHUMBERLAND.—Of the 13 witnesses who have returned forms, one leaves this question un- answered ; seven reply that all live on the farm ; one says that they mostly live on the farm; and three that those who are not on the farm live within a quarter or half a mile of it. Mr. R. S. Bainbridge, occupier, Woodhorn, says all live on the farm “ Except one family.” SoutH NorTHUMBERLAND.—Of the 20 witnesses who have returned forms, one leaves this question un- answered ; 10 reply that all live on the farm; four say that they mostly live on the farm ; two that they live on or near the farm ; one that they are on an average within one mile of the farm ; one that all are within one mile, and one that all are within one and a half miles of their work. (e.) What are their usual hours of work upon the land ? : The following summary shows the nature of the answers received to this question :— Number of Forms in which each particular Statement is made. Times. In Glendale In North In South Union. Northumberland.|Northumberland 5.80 a.m. to 6.30 P.M. - - - - 1 is ES 6 » 6 ” ° = - = 4 1 —_ 6 to 10.80 a.m. and 1.80 to 6 P.M. - es a 1 peas 6 ,, 11 ” ] 9» 6 45 - 2 _— 1 6 ,, 11.80, 2 » 6 5 = - 1 1 — 6 ” 12 ” 2 ” 6 ” ~ 4 1 1 6 ,, 12 i 1.80 ,,6 ,, - - a l cs 7am. to6 P.M. - - - ” z oss fens 1 | 7 or 8 a.m. to 6 P.M. - 2 < aan a 1 Sam. to6P.M. - - - 2 - = = 4 7t012 am. and 1,30to6P.mM. - - e — 2 = | 8 ,, 12 se 1 »6 5 - : - _ _ 2 | ; 8 5, 12 ” 1.30 ,, 6 » 2 = = ae = 2 4 Hh 38 APP. 5. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 248. EMPLOYMENT, OF-CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND: WOMEN q Abe fa Gs Rd Sghes 7 _Number of Forms in which each particular Gee pias "~~" """" Statement is made. Times, In Glendale: In North In South United. Northumberland.|Northumberland, ; ‘ . l a cee le - _ —_— | 1 8 hours - - - Qe ay oo - ee . _ 9 2 3 OL, - | - - os-e 7 - — - — 1 ol. “ - - - e |. 260 3 1 10, = - - = - = 10 _ 1 84 ,, for as a L . z l 10 x males ‘No return coe = - ? 8 1 | 1 : Thesé times are in some cases stated to be those for the summer ; probably, they are so in all cases. time of leaving home to go to work in the _ morning to the time when they come back from work ? (1.) Of those who live near the farm in which they work? , (2.) Of those at a distance? < The answers to this question (under the peculiar circumstances of Northumberland) are not important. The state of things is sufficiently explained by the answers to questions (d.) and (e.). Accordingly, 41 of the witnesses return no answer, and 11 repeat the times given in answer to question (e.). A majority of the remainder add a short time (generally half an hour or an hour) to the period there stated.’ Rev. John Richard King, Carham, Glendale union, _ says ta ” a, be - 3 : A Ea = The same, with the addition of the time for going to and fro. In one extreme case, a girl 12 years old, 5am..to 8 p.m.” a i ee Rev. William Clark King, Norham, North North- umberland, says, ee: Depending on the distance. Perhaps 14 hours on the average.” : Mr. John Angus, occupier, Bothal, North North- umberland, says, the hours of those who live at'a distance are fee ht ee « An hour short of our own cottagers. In summer they do not commence work till 8 am.” ° : ( St) What are their hours, reckoning from the Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, occupier, St. John’s Lee, South Northumberland, says, “Tt is only during harvest or other busy time that I employ female workers not resident on the farm, and then they come from a village close by-or from Hex- ham, a mile off, and are from half an hour to an hour shorter than my own people.” ‘(g-) What are the times allowed for meals? In Northumberland a certain time is allowed in the middle.of the day for dinner, and often other shorter periods in the morning and afternoon. Two witnesses (in South Northumberland) refer to these as the periods for “lunch” and “ afternoon coffee.” _ The following is a summary of such of the answers received as are sufficiently definite to admit of tabula- tion. When only one period is mentioned in the second column it is probably allowed in the morning for breakfast (“ second breakfast” as it is styled by one witness). The time quoted in the first column no doubt includes, in some cases, the shorter intervals allowed in the morning and afternoon.’ It is. probable, too, that in other. cases the short periods allowed for “rest” and refreshment have been ‘altogether omitted. ne ot To simplify the statement 20 minutes, 10, minutes, and (in one instance) “ a short time” have been counted as a quarter of an hour. Number of Forms in which each particular ‘ Statement is made. — In Glendale Union. In North In South Northumberland.|Northumberland. For Dinner, or in Total. In addition. hour - - - - |r ey - 3 - - -.| 4 hour + } hour - = - 1 ,, (for breakfast) as ge = -|4., + hour 6% - « = 2. s = iL a. = = a } » 7 < 13, = * -4-4- 5) ob } hour 2 m7 e . < + ut . re 2» = = 5 mig Satter Te. a oh ” - FL e ; 2 a . = = 4 ” ae 4 hour 23 oT " - ate 3 ”» 7 7 7 = 2 ,, males Y ., : 14 ,, females ! F (h.) Does the demand upon their physical powers injuriously affect their health and constitution ? e In Grenpare.—Of the 50 witnesses who return forms, 9 leave this question_unanswered and 39 reply in the negative. oi w<, + te : = = — 1 = ‘ — = ne = 2 aad "a = < _ 1 ples = 5 1 1 3 - - rs 2 38 = - 10 2 1 - 11 os ne : 4 1 oe - 6 ] —_ : 3 1 at - . Ser — J : - 2. 1 eee 2 3 =— _— I A Mr. John Turnbull, occupier, Branton, says, “No, for those invalided from ‘in-door work frequently come out for change.” ‘ - ca Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, I Iderton, Bays, “In no_ respect. The farm labourer of North Northumberland is. proverbially robust.” .). IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENOK, ©) In Nort Norrnumpertanp.—Of the 13 wit- nesses, 1 omits to answer this question and 10 reply in the negative. Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Embleton, replies, “Five of my workwomen to my certain knowledge are obliged to seek for health in out of doors work. I annex the actual height of 16 of my workwomen, the Commissioners can form their own conclusion.” Summary of the enclosed list. 5 feet'8 inches . - - | 5 ” 7h ” * 3 5 ” 7 ” 7 - 1 5 65 ” 7 - 2 Seth ae | ie eee 5 yy 43 ” 7 - 1 5 ” 4 ” J - 2 5 ” 2. ” ms - 1 B yy Be 5 1] Under 18 years B gy kk usy - - 2f .of age. Mr, John Angus, occupier, Bothal, replies, “IT see no women so robust as those employed in agriculture, except women employed in fishing.” In Soutn NorraumBerLanp. — Of the 20 wit- nesses, 2 omit to answer this question and 16 reply in the negative. The Hexham Board of Guardians say, “Decidedly not. They are a strong healthy race, and the work they are employed in is decidedly healthful.” ~ Mr, William Henry Charlton, landowner, Hesley- side, says, “The females employed in agriculture are almost always more healthy than others in the district.” (i.) Are the young, or the females, whether young or grown up, subject to any ill treatment ? In GuenpaLe.—Of the 50 witnesses, 7 make no answer, and 42 reply in the negative. | Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, says, “To none whatever. The means of redress are within everyone’s power, and the northern labourers are too independent in their spirit to allow oppression.” In Norra NortHumMpBerianp. — Of the 13 wit- nesses, 1 omits to answer, and 8 reply in the negative. Rev. William Clark King, Norham, says, “J have not in 10 years heard more than one complaint.” Mr. Thomas Allan, oceupier, and chairman of union, Rothbury, says, “None whatever. If a labourer met with ill treat- ment in one situation he would quickly change his place, as there is a constant and ready demand for the services of agricultural labourers.” Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Embleton, says, “Nore, to my knowledge: instant dismissal would follow such ill treatment.” Mr. John Davison, occupier, Hebron, says, “ None, so independent are they all, that if this were the case, would leave work at once.” Ix Sours NorrHUMBERLAND.—Of the 20 witnesses, 1 makes no answer, and 19 reply in the negative. (j.) Do any special employments injuriously affect females or the young generally ? In GtenpaLe.—Of the 50 witnesses, 12 leave this question unanswered, and 81 reply in the negative. Mr. Joseph Atkinson, occupier, Brandon, says, “ We never employ them on wet days except under cover, that is the barn or granaries.” Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says, “They are not asked to work on wet days, and all their employment is quite healthy.” Mr. Charles Rea, occupier, Doddington, says, “The only work injurious is in threshing corn, that ig dusty in spring time.” ke 249 Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, : » “T have never heard any complaints, though in position. to hear them if there was any general abuse of the kind. I have heard some of the people say that women’s work on the fields is harder now than it was, say 25. years ago, that they are set to do many things that men used to do.” Rev. William Procter, Doddington, says, “Gathering turnips out of snow after working in the barn the same day, does injuriously affect females. Working in barns with improved threshing ma- chines is often an excessive demand upon the physical powers of young women ; and filling dung carts.” Mr, George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, says, “Tn wet or stormy weather the farmer seldom find the out-door employment of women and children profitable to himself, and has often indoor work for them.” eee - Rev. John S. Green, Wooler, says, “ The employment of driving horses, turning manure heaps, and carrying héavy weights is my opinion in- jurious physically and morally. mds ek In Nortu NortHuMBeRLAnp.—Of the 13 witnesses, one leaves this question unanswered and 11 reply in the negative. re “2 Rev. William Clark King, Norham, says, “T think that turning rotten and compact manuré is injurious to young females.” , i In SourH NorTHuMBERLAND.—Of 20 witnesses, one omits to answer this question and 19 reply in the negative. =i. (k.) Have you any observauens to make as to the effect of the employment of females in agriculture on morals and on their proper training for domestic duties ? In Guenpatz.— Mr. Matthew Tewart Culley, landowner, and chairman of the Wooler board of guardians, says, « Tt is possible that the indiscriminate employment of both sexes in field labour from an early age. may in some measure affect their morality, and the hard labour required from females certainly unfits them for domestic service ; at the same time it in no way interferes with the performance of their domestic duties as wives and mothers in after life, and serious offences are most uncommon among them.” Mr. Charles Selby, J.P., landowner, Yearle, Dod- dington, says, “ All or nearly all of the female servants who have been in my service have been employed in agriculture, and I think it had no detrimental effect either on their morals or on their efficiency as house servants.” Mr. William Nicholson, occupier, Hazelridge, says, “ A great proportion of the domestic servants here have been brought up to field labour in their youth, and when they marry they make good wives generally.” Mr. John Turnbull, oveupier, Branton, says, «“ They might be better fitted for domestic duties.” Mr. Richard Huntley King, occupier, Wooperton, says, * T do not consider that the employment of females in agriculture has any evil effect on morals or domestic training. As to the morals of the females employed in this district I am aware that much is said against them. There is no doubt that a considerable amount of bastardy is extant, very large in comparison with many large towns, and in fact with most towns, but at the same time it is to be remarked that prostitution does not exist. I do not think that this laxness of morals is due to the fact of the females being employed in field work. No doubt the attendance at fairs and hiring markets has very much to do with it. I know, however, of very inany instances where the country has to bear the’ imputation of immorality properly belonging to the town, as there is a growing popu- larity among our females for situations in towns,. and it is there that many not only lose their own character, Hh4 APP, E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. —_—_— b. APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. 250 but also contract habits and ideas which are sufficient, on their return to the country, to hide the results of their fall, to poison a whole community. It is no doubt much to be regretted that there is a want of sense of shame among the females of the district as to bastardy, and more unfortunate that this want extends also to the males, as I believe that one great cause of the continuance of the evil is that it isin no way an impediment to matrimony. I cannot see, however, that it can be attributed to the fact of being employed in field labour, that the amount of this particular evil exists in the district.” Mr. Charles Borthwick, occupier, Mindrim, says, “Yes; Ithink it is against their morals, and in part unfits them for domestic duties.” Mr. Thomas Chartres, occupier, Turvelaws, uses almost the same words as Mr. Borthwick. Mr. Joseph Atkinson, occupier, Brandon, says, “Employment such as we provide for them is cer- tainly not prejudicial to their morals, and very likely by teaching them to be industrious to prepare them for all other domestic duties.” Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says, “JT do not consider the women employed in the fields in my district more immoral than any other working people, and they have always a respectable steward with them to check any improper language or conduct if they were so inclined, which they are not.” Mr, Charles Rea, occupier, Doddington, says, It does not unfit them for domestic purposes, only making them a little rougher in their manner.” Mr. George Rea, occupier, Ilderton, says, “Those who wish for house work as servants have no difficulty in procuring situations.” Mr. J.C. Langlands, occupier, Old Bewick, says, “In general they are good domestics.” Rev. Thomas Knight, Ford, says, “ There can be little doubt that the employment of females in agriculture is one of the causes of the low state of morality in this district. In large gangs of from 12 to 20 there are too often some who are given to indulge in improper conversation, by which the minds of the young are corrupted. Hence the objection of many mothers to field work, and their anxiety to find places for their daughters in respectable families. Yet in justice it ought to be mentioned that though the tone of morality be unfortunately low in this district, the crimes of infanticide and adultery are unknown. The women who have once fallen never become utterly depraved, but generally marry and turn out good wives.” ‘“ The rough manner females acquire in field work certainly unfits them for service in respectable families aud for domestic duties in their own, aud when tried in the former, finding the confine- ment and restriction placed upon them irksome, they seldom remain long in the same situation.” Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, “ The bondage system, I think, did a great deal to injure the morality of the women, both as conducing directly to the seduction of the young women hired into strange families, and as destroying the idea of domestic privacy and modesty. It is now dying a natural death, but its effects will be felt for some time, and perhaps throw undeserved discredit on the em- ployment of women in field labour under better regu- lations. I believe too that the public ‘hirings’ do great harm, bringing young men and women together in great numbers without control.” Rev. William Procter, Doddington, says, “Tam not of opinion that any moral evils and hardships accompany the employment of children, young persons, and women in agriculture here which would not be increased by legislative enactments.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, says, * Most of the females while labouring in the field learn from their mothers at home how to manage a house. I am sorry to learn, however, that on the -field the general talk is occasionally not very seemly. This of course could be restrained, if not altogether corrected, by the overseer who may be with them.” 1 EMPLOYMENT OF. CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Rev. Peter Whyte, Wooler, says, “Have reason to believe that the effect of such employment in many cases is injurious to morals and unfavourable to the proper training of females for domestic duties.” Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, Says, oP My superintendent has strict orders to prevent levity between the sexes, and an immoral worker would not be allowed to mix with the others unless he or she showed an orderly disposition.” “TI believe when females are strictly superintended their morals may be kept correct though their domestic qualities do not-improve by employments out of doors.” Mr. F. P. Lynn, occupier, Mindrim, says, “Many of the females go to be house servants after they are 18 or 20 years old.” Rev. P. G. McDouall, Kirknewton, says, “The constant employment of females in this dis- trict is, [ think, prejudicial to morality, and is decidedly so to their proper training for domestic duties.” Five other witnesses state that no ill effect is produced. The remainder make no reply to this question. In Nort Norravmsertanp. — Rev. William Clark King, Norham, says, “‘ I think that in cases where females live in their own families there is no ill effect. Where they are servants to farm labourers there is great laxity of morals,” Rev. James Blythe, Alnwich, says, “The employment of females in agriculture is on the whole in my opinion not conducive to a high state of morals, neither do I consider young women who have been always engaged in out door labour well fitted for the discharge of domestic duties.” Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Embleton, says, “They are neither better nor worse than the average of females otherwise employed in purely agricultural districts. They are all well and warmly clad, and if they do make a little show on Sundays they only follow the example of their superiors in position who make the same show on Sunday and Saturday alike.” * Mr. R. 8S. Bainbridge, occupier, Woodhorn, says, “‘ There is nothing in the nature of their employ- ment to damage their morals, and in respect to do- mestic duties, neither the length of the hours nor the hardness of their work need hinder domestic duties being attended to, both before and after work hours, and the open air employment is conducive to a healthy body.” Mr. John Davison, owner and occupier, Hebron, says, “ Work on the farm” is not “injurious to their morals but rather otherwise, as keeping them out of idleness. If employed on farm work any length of time it is much against young females becoming good domestic servants, but still when they have an active industrious mother they can learn much.” Mr. Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Bothal, says, “ The employment of females in agriculture does not necessarily exercise any improper influence on their morals, but the ordinary work allotted to them improves their strength and enables them to attain a practical knowledge of much that aids them in the proper fulfil- ment of their domestic duties as wife and mother.” Mr. George Laing, occupier, Cornhill, says, “The females that have been employed in agricul- ture make as good wives and mothers as those that have been employed in any other way in this neigh- bourhood. Two other witnesses state that no ill effect is pro- duced. The remainder do not reply to this question, In Sours NortaumpBertanp. — Rev. J. Elphin- stone Elliot, Whalton, says, “They are on the whole as well behaved as any other class; better, I think, than the women in the * IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. pit villages, and generally speaking their houses when they marry are kept clean and tidy.” The Board of Guardians, Hexham, say, “ We do not think it has necessarily any bad effect on their morals. Wherever young people of either sex are congregated together without proper super- vision evil is likely to arise. As to their training for domestic duties, were they constantly in the field they could not have such training, but this is not the case; and the constant demand from towns for country servants shows that both in morals and domestic duties they are in advance of those of a like standing in towns.” Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, chairman of the Hex- ham Board, replies in the same terms. Mr. R. Pickering, clerk to the Haltwistle Board of Guardians, says, “ Tt does not fit them for domestic duties.” Mr. Edward Coulson, occupier, Bridgeford, says, “To the extent females are employed in this parish it can have zo evil effect on their morals, and I do think a good effect on their proper training for domestic duties among agriculturists.” Mr. Samuel Pattison, occupier, Bywell St. Peter, says, There is nothing in connexion with their labour to injuriously affect their morals, and they have a good deal of time in hand morning and evening to attend to domestic duties.” Mr. John Johnson, occupier, Allendale, says, “Tt is very important that young females should have a knowledge of labour, which may be of great benefit in after life.” Mr. Andrew Ridley, occupier, Chesters, Hexham, says i "The effect of field labour is good if under proper direction for their future lives.” Mrs. Isabella Colbeck, occupier, Warden, says, “ My experience leads me to believe that girls brought up to farm labour make the best wives and household servants.” Mr. W. B. Wilson, occupier, Blagdon, says, “I do not think any evil can arise in the employ- ment of females in field work as practised here, but on the contrary I consider it conducive to health and robustness of constitution.” Three other witnesses state that no ill effect is produced, and the remainder leave this question unanswered, (1.) Taking into consideration the demand for labour in your parish and neighbourhood, and the pecuniary resources of the agri- cultural labourers, are you prepared to recommend that any restriction should be placed on the employment of females in field work ? If so, would you limit the restriction to females of a defined age, or would you prohibit female labour in the fields altogether, excepting at hay and corn harvest ? In GienpaLe.—Of the 50 witnesses who return forms, nine leave this question unanswered, and 24 reply in the negative. Mr. George Culley, landowner, Chatton, says, “ Women should not be put in charge of horses and carts, which I think dangerous, nor employed in heavy work, such as filling dung, as on many farms in this district.” With these exceptions “I would put no restriction on female labour where the age of the woman exceeds 18 years. Turnip singling, for instance, is lighter work, and as important here as harvest work.” Mr. Matthew Tewart Culley, landowner, and Chairman of the Wooler Board of Guardians, says, “No. The agricultural population is so scanty that every available labourer is required at the busy periods of the year, viz, turnip dressing, &c., and hay and corn harvest, and there are in North North- umberland very few towns and villages whence an 2 251 extra supply of labour can be at any time obtained. Women are, I believe, never required to work beyond the regular hours, except at harvest and on rare oc- casions in hocing turnips, and then the wages are raised proportionably. But without female labour the work of our farms could not under present cir- cumstances be carried on.” Mr. William Nicholson, occupier, Hazelridge, says, “To prevent women working in the fields would be a great injury to them, it would drive them to the large towns and factories and be a most serious injury to the agriculture of this district.” Mr. Thomas Stawart, occupier, Roddam, says, “'They ought not to be in the field under 18 or 14 years of age.” Mr. Richard Huntley King, occupier, Wooperton, says, Xe No, unless such as would come under the head of education.” Mr. Charles Borthwick, occupier, Mindrim, says, “Tn my parish and neighbourhood, generally speak- ing the demand is great, and is increasing, and I cannot see how the work could be done without them. Any restriction as to age is not required: it would be very much against both the employer and the employed to prohibit female labour. We cannot get males to work: females work here as they do in the South.” Mr. Thomas Chartres, occupier, Turvelaws, replies to the same effect and in almost the same words as Mr. Borthwick. Mr. Joseph Atkinson, occupier, Brandon, says, “No, I should consider any restrictions would be disadvantageous both to employers and labourers, and the latter would suffer most.” Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, says, “ No interference whatever is required in this dis- trict, as the labour of the women is not hard, and they can always take a day’s rest when they wish. The women themselves must work for a livelihood, and the youths have every facility for going to school, which we encourage as much as possible by not em- ploying them in winter.” Mr. Charles Rea, occupier, Doddington, says, “T should restrict girls below 12 years working in the fields.” Rev. Matthew Burrell, Chatton, says, “They should not be employed with horses or in doing heavy dirty work, such as filling dung-carts, &e.” Rev. Thomas Knight, Ford, says, “Since the employment of females in agriculture cannot be altogether dispensed with in this part of the country, I am not prepared to say what particular restriction should be placed upon it, except that they ought to be exempt from such labour as no female should be employed in, namely, tle filling and driving of dung carts and the turning of dung hills.” Rev. John S. Green, Wooler, says, “Tt would be desirable to fix the time for going out in the morning to 8 o’clock.” Rev. Henry Parker, Ilderton, says, * Should not drive carts as done here.” Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, “Not when they are living with their parents or other natural protectors : except so far as attendance at school may be a condition. In this answer I take into consideration the fact that in this neighbourhood children do not generally work out under 10,” Rev. John Fraser, Lowick, says, “No, excepting that some are sent to out work when too young.” Rev. P. G. McDouall, Kirknewton, says, “Some restriction should be placed on the employ- ment of females in driving carts and work of an similar character for which they are not suited.” Rosedon, In Nortu Nortuumpertanp.—Of the 13 wit- nesses who return forms, 2 leave this question un- answered, and 3 reply in the negative, Ti APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. be APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 252 Rev. James Blythe, Alnwick, says, “JT am not prepared to recommend any restriction, but there are some kinds of work which I consider unfit for females, such as driving dung carts, turning dung heaps, and driving horses in harrows. Some young women object, but most of them are quite will- ing to do these things for the sake of earning money. I would not limit the restriction either as respects age or employment ; cleaning the land and hoeing turnips are as easy and as healthy operations as hay and corn harvest.” Mr. George Drysdale, occupier, Great Ryle, says, “Certainly not. Female labour in field work is much required, and now well paid for.” Mr, James Aitchison, farm steward, Embleton, says, ty do not see why any restriction should be put upon female labour. Our females are quite as healthy as those employed in a gentleman’s house, and as well behaved.” Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Embleton, says, “The earnings of the females employed in this parish alone amount to about 1,500/. per annum ; with- draw this sum and starvation and misery will in many cases follow. The turnip crop is of more value than the corn crop on this farm, and I can more readily get my corn secured than the turnips thinned. The hay crop is of secondary importance in the border counties.” ‘ Mr. John Angus, oceupier, Bothal, says, “If the Legislature interferes it will do harm. I would not prohibit free labour for females. If you do, you inflict a great hardship on many industrious females, especially widows and aged spinsters.” Mr. John Davison, owner and occupier, Hebron, says, “Could not do without females in turnip season.” Mr. Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Bothal, says - Most certainly not. I would sooner recommend that every young female should, on physical and national grounds, be obliged to work a certain number ‘of days for a certain number of years at field work.” Mr. R. S. Bainbridge, occupier, Woodhorn, says, “The only restriction” . . . . not “under 12 years of age.” In Sours Norruumeertanp.—Of the 20 wit- nesses who return forms, 1 gives no answer to this question, and 13 reply in the negative. The Hexham Board of Guardians say, “We are not, except as noticed in answer to ques- tion 26. Few, if any, of the farmers in this union employ either boys or girls under 12 or 18, and they would prefer not to have either till they are 14 or 15, but they must learn to work, and their parents press to have them employed that they be taught.” “To pro- hibit female labour in this district would simply be to prohibit farming.” Mr.Thomas Palliser Dods, Chairman of the Hexham Board, replies in the same words as above, and adds, “ A good female worker here commands nearly as much wage as a man in some of the southern counties and to our men we are paying more than double a Dorsetshire wage.” Mr. John Fewster Newlands, occupier, Ebchester, says, . No, or farmers might give up their farms.” Mr, Henry T. Thompson, occupier, Chollerton, says, a No restriction is required. To prohibit female labour would be to cause the arable land to be laid to pasture.” Mr. Samuel Pattison, occupier, Bywell St. Peter, says, Xe No restrictions whatever. We could not farm if female labour was prohibited. Moreover, the women themselves find it both profitable and healthy, and I am certain would not like to be prevented working.” Mr. Joseph Lee, occupier, Dilston, says, “ Restrict females under 10 years of age.” EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN (m.) Taking into consideration the demand for labour in your parish and neighbourhood, and the pecuniary resources of the agri- cultural labourers, are you prepared to recommend that any restriction should be placed upon the age at which boys should be permitted to be employed in farm labour ? In GrenpaLe.—Of the 50 witnesses who return forms, 22 leave this question unanswered, 12 reply in the negative, 4 say that no boys under 10 should be employed, 1 that no boy should be employed till he is between 11 and 13, and 6 that no boy under 12 should be employed. : Mr. Matthew Tewart Culley, landowner, and chair- man of the Wooler Board of Guardians, says, “No, and for the same reasons which apply to the employment of women. There is much easy work done by young children for which older workers could not be spared, but yet such as no very young child could be employed in.” Mr. John Turnbull, occupier, Branton, says, “No, for boys seldom work under 18 or 14.” Mr, Richard Huntley King, occupier, Wooperton, says, “Not under 10 at any time or under 18 in winter.” Mr. Joseph Atkinson, occupier, Brandon, says, “No. We do not consider the labour of boys under say 12 years of age remunerative to the employer, but often necessary to their parents.” Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says, * No boy should work till he is above 10, and only during summer for the purpose of learning.” In Nort NorraumBertanp.—Three of the wit- nesses omit to answer this question, 4 answer it in the negative, 4 say that no boy under 10 should be em- ee and 2 that no boy should be employed under 12. In Sours NorrHumBertanp.—Three of the wit-« nesses omit to answer this question, 5 answer it in the negative, 1 says that no boy under 9 should be em- ployed, 2 that none should be employed under 10, and 2 that none under 12. The Hexham Board of Guardians say, “We do not. Boys are not employed till they are 12 or 18, and as the desire for education increases they will be kept longer at school, without the inter- ference of the Legislature.” The Chairman replies in the same words. Mr, William Henry Charlton, landowner, chairman of the Bellingham Board of Guardians, says, “Children of either sex under 12 years of age are of little use to the farm, and ought to be at school.” Mr. Joseph Lee, occupier, Dilston, says, “Boys should be 9 years old before they are em- ployed, and girls 10. They should be’sent to school during winter.” Mr. Henry T. Thompson, occupier, Chollerton, says, “Not earlier than 13 years. Few are employed earlier.” : Mr. Samuel Pattison, occupier, Bywell St. Peter, says, “ No restrictions are necessary ; as a rule we never wish to employ children.” Mr. John Johnson, occupier, Allendale, says, “Either boys or girls might be engaged in field labour at from 9 or 10 years of age to the advantage of their parents.” (v.) Do you see any reason for recommending that the distance to which children and young persons should be allowed to go to work in farm labour should be restricted according to age ? If you should think some restriction of distance in reference to age desirable, do you ap- ' “TN AGRICULTURE (1867) prove of the following, which assumes that boys under eight years of age would not be allowed to be employed at all ? Wo boy of 8 years of age and under 10 - - 1 mile. No girl under the age of 13) to be 10 years of age and) taken Bb 4 Sa, under - 11 | to work ‘ 3 e111 35 % 12 (beyond a 2 miles, 4 12 4 4 18J-distance 13 - 3s 14 | from his ; a's 4, 55 15 {or her {3 niles, 8.3< 15 % 5 16) home of S & 116 5 35 17 {4 miles. Pe gw AB In GuenpaLs.—In 35 instances this question is unanswered. Eleven witnesses (two of whom express an approval of the table) say that the rule would not be applicable to this district, or reply in the negative. Mr. William Nicholson, occupier, Hazelridge, says, ‘Children should only be employed on the farm on which they live, or where their homes are nigh at hand. The distances in this table are, I think, too far for children to travel.” Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says, “Two miles is quite far enough for youths to go and do a day’s work afterwards.” Mr. George Rea, occupier, Ilderton, says, “It is the exception if any boys or girls are employed at all under the age of 11 at least, and more frequently 12; if so, they are put to the lightest work possible, such as keeping crows.” Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, “T should prefer a minimum limit of 14 miles, and certainly a maximum limit of 3 miles for all under 17. Above that no prohibition. In respect to the first point, in this parish there is only one village, Wark, where there is any independent population, and it is more than a mile from any other farm, so that the limit of one mile would amount to absolute prohibition of the only children in the parish who are likely to want work away from home accepting it at all.” In Norta NortHumBerLanp.— In four cases no answer is returned to this question, and in four others the reply is in the negative. Rev. William Clark King, Norham, says, “ Certainly I think that when the distance exceeds two miles time should be allowed off their work sufli- cient for them to walk the extra distance beyond two miles.” Mr. James Aitchison, farm steward, Embleton, says, “None ought to go beyond 1 mile. If ours have to go beyond 1 mile, we send carts with them.” Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Emébleton, says, “No young person to be taken to work beyond a distance of 2 miles from his or her home.” Mr, John Davison, owner and occupier, Hebron, suys Ne No boy or girl ought to work under 10 years of age.” ote Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Bothal, says ey do not think walking any of the above distances injurious to any of the ages; but walking to and from should be deemed work and should not be quick.” In Sovuta NorTHuMBERLAND—JIn 10 cases no answer is returned to this question. Four witnesses reply in the negative or state that the rule is not applicable to the district, and one of these approves of the table. Rev. John F. Bigge, Stamfordham, says, “ Not in this parish. I consider these distances too far.” Mr. William Henry Charlton, landowner, Hesley- side, says, . “ Not more than 2 miles.” ; Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, occupier, Anick Grainge, says, “ This is not applicable to this district, as all the workers, male and female, old and young, are, with COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, rare exceptions, on the farm, and the farmers here would give very little for either boy or girl who had to come a couple of miles to their work.”. Mr. Edward Coulson, occupier, Bridgeford, says, “J think no child should be employed in the field below 12 years of age (but kept at school till that age), and am of opinion that none should travel more than three miles to work, of whatever age.” : Mr, Andrew Ridley, occupier, Chesters Hexham, says, of T think to have a good working man he should live on the farm or within one mile. Four miles is too much for any man.” Mrs. Isabella Colbeck, occupier, Warden, says, “When two miles distant my people are taken to and from work in carts.” (0.) Do you see any reason for recommending : that any restriction should be placed upon the hours of work of children and young persons employed in agriculture ; and, if so, what amount of restriction would you propose ? In GuLenpaLe.—In 25 cases this question has been left unanswered. In 20 cases the answer is in the negative. Mr. George Culley, landowner, Chatton, says, “Say not more than 8 hours up to 15 years of age. But of course very light work for 10 hours would do less harm than heavy work for 8 hours. The nature of the work can hardly be a subject for legislation.” Mr. Matthew Tewart Culley, landowner, Coupland Castle, says, “T think it impossible to make any such restriction as to be available in this neighbourhood, as farm work is often slack and then for a period of a few weeks at a time the demand for labour is greater than the supply, and were any such restriction made, the farm- work conld not be properly done, and the women and children would be unduly restricted in their earnings.” Mr. Richard Huntley King, oecupier, Wooperton, says, wy have no reason to suggest any restriction, as I am convinced from careful observation that the children and young persons employed are never over fatigued at the end of their day’s work, in proof of which I may state that whenever I have cause to wish it they are always willing and able to work over- time.” ; Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says, “T think no person should be asked to work more than 10 hours a day in summer. In winter the time at farm work will not average above 7 hours a day.” en John Fraser, Lowick, says, “Hight hours a day quite long enough.” In Norto NortTHuMBERLAND.—In six cases this - question is left unanswered. In five cases the answer is in the negative. Mr, R. 8. Bainbridge, occupier, Woodhorn, says, “The nature of the field work in this county is such that all the females and children must work the same hours, which is never more than 94 hours in busy times.” Mr. Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Bothal, says, wey do not think any restriction necessary, because I do not know of any excess. Ten hours including travelling I think as a» maximum’ may be sustained daily without injury or annoyance even by children, It is very desirable that workers of this description all begin and conclude together.” In Sourn NorRTHUMBERLAND.—In seven cases this question is unanswered. In 11 cases the answer is in the negative. Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, occupier, Anick Grainge, says, “None, so far as this district is concerned. “They Ti2 253° APP. E. Northumber- land, | Mr. Henley. bt APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b, 254 are not now kept at work unreasonable hours. In the summer evenings neither boys nor girls are too tired for play after their work.” Mr. W. B. Wilson, occupier, Blagdon, says, “ Not exceeding 10 hours a day.” III. As to requiring some amount of school attendance in the case of children earning wages by employment in farm labour. 23. The Commissioners being instructed to inquire to what extent and with what mo- difications the principle of the Factory Acts can be adopted in reference to chil- dren employed in agriculture, “ especially “with a view to the better education of “such children” your opinion is invited on the following points. 24, The three modes by which the prescribed amount of school attendance of children employed in trades and manufactures is obtained are,— By the Factory Act (7 Vict. c. 15. ss. 31-9). 1. By half time at school, and half day at work, 2. By alternate whole days at school and whole days at work. By the Print Works Act (10 & 11 Vict. c. 70. ss. 2, 3, 26). 3. By school attendance for a certain num- ber of hours during the preceding six months, 25. Accompanying this circular you will find brief extracts from the above Acts, toge- ther with some remarks from the Sixth Report of the Children’s Employment Commission (1862), ss, 65 to 74, and ss. 80 to 83, referring to the difficulties to be encountered, and the possible modes of meeting them. 26. You are requested to state which of such modes of enforcing some amount of school attendance would seem most applicable to the circumstances of your parish and neigh- bourhood ; or whether a combination of one or more of them would better meet those circumstances ; or whether any other mode that you might wish to suggest ap- pears to you preferable. In GLenpaLr.—Nineteen of the witnesses return no answer to this inquiry. Seven express a preference for the third mode. Mr. George Culley, landowner, Chatton, says, “Regular attendance for the winter months for children from 12 years of age to say 15 years of age. Half day at school and half day at work would not answer, nor would alternate days. In this district children could attend school from November lst to March Ist.” Mr. Matthew Tewart Culley, landowner, Coupland Castle, says, “Tt would be impossible in this neighbourhood for the children to attend school when any of the busy periods of farm labour come on. Every available worker is then required and one who came on alternate days would be almost useless, while the time occupied in going to and from school would make it impossible for a child to attend school and work on part of the same day. These busy periods do not last long and are chiefly during summer. In winter work is not abundant, and the children generally attend school from November to March or April, and very regularly.” Mr, William Nicholson, occupier, Hazelridge, says, “Tt would suit country children best to go to school in the winter, and work in summer to help their parents.” Mr. Robertson, occupier, Hazelridge, says, ‘Boys and girls under 13 years of age go to work during the summer, and attend school in winter.” EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Mr. John Turnbull, oceupier, Branton, says, “The system now existing is by far the most suit- able, that is, to attend school in winter and to work in summer, as the weather is favourable for them being out and their labour then only necessary.” Mr. Richard Huntley King, occupier, Wooperton, says, “ As to enforcing school attendance, I believe that any legislation on this subject is in the district perfectly unnecessary. J do not think thatthe system of half a day at work and half a day at school could answer, as no farmer could so apportion his work as to employ the labour of children under such a system, and the same would apply to the plan of alternate days. As regards the third system of enforcing attendance for a certain number of days during the preceding six months, I do not consider it objection- able, but unnecessary as regards the children in this district as (except in rare cases) the majority do attend school for about half the year, and by working the remaining half year are enabled to pay for their own education and assist in their maintenance. I consider that the majority of the children of agri- cultural labourers are sufficiently educated for their rank in life.” Mr. Joseph Atkinson, oceupier, Brandon, says, “The system usual here, the best ... to go to school during the winter months.” Mr. Peter W. Purves, occupier, Lilburn, says, “, ,.mnot necessary to enforce any amount of school attendance. They attend pretty regularly when young, to 10 or 12, often for the winter half year after this age.” Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says, “T think the best way is to send the children to school during the autumn and winter months and allow them to work for a few months during summer. This is the plan we adopt here, and I consider it much better than having them alternately working and going to school.” Mr. Charles Rea, occupier, Doddington, says, “ Attendance during four months in winter is best. The alternate mode of school attendance could not be carried out with advantage either to themselves or their master.” Mr, John Duncan Ogilvie, occupier, Mardon, says, “The parents in this neighbourhood seem quite alive to their duty of educating their children and I think any compulsion unnecessary.” Mr. J. C. Langlands, occupier, Old Bewich, says, “Regulations 1 and 2 would not work. No en- forced mode is needed. The parents are all disposed to have their children educated.” Mr, George Rea, occupier, Ilderton, says, “There is the greatest and most praiseworthy anxiety in the parents to send all their children to school so soon as they can possibly learn and walk a distance of say two miles to school. This is mostly from the age of 5 or 6 to the time they go to work at 1] or 12 years old. After that age their work is not continuous, there being little employment from harvest to April, so that they have the opportunity of attending school even till they are 14 years old for that part of the year, and in almost every instance they avail themselves of it.” Mr, William B. Boyd, occupier, Chatton, says, ‘Would not approve of any of the above modes ; would suggest asa good plan that carried out toa certain extent at present, viz. : attending school during the winter half-year and working in the summer half,” Rev. Matthew Burrell, Chatton, says, ‘Children working out during the summer months and attending school in the winter seems the mode best adapted to this neighbourhood.” Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, “T think the third method might be adapted to our circumstances, the year being divided into the two portions of May to Martinmas and Martinmas to May. In the former portion any attendance at school of children over 10 years old would be difficult and IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. perhaps undesirable to enforce. During the winter portion most of the children up to 12 years old do attend, and I think compulsory attendance would be beneficial. I should myself suggest 150 school ‘ atten- ‘ dances * as estimated by the Revised Cade as the minimum and strongly recommend the calculation to be made by ‘ attendances’ not by days or hours.” Rev. James Allgood, Ingram, says, “TI consider methods 1 and 2 when practicable would be most advantageous to the education of the children, and No. 8 most convenient to the employer. I doubt however if No. 1 would be found practicable when the dwellings are situated at any distance from the school.” Rev. Joseph Hudson, Chillingham, says, “By alternate days at school and whole days at work.” Rev. William Procter, Doddington, says, “Modes 1 and 2 are not applicable to an agricultu- ral parish, where labour must be pushed on in the right season. Mode 3 might possibly be adopted with advantage, and secure better school attendance in winter.” Mr. Robert Frizell, national schoolmaster, Ford, says, if The children who work in the fields come back to school in November and December and continue until April or beginning of May, and make an average of 81 days ; 6 hours per day, or 486 hours. Average age of the children is 11 years 10 months. Average attendance is low for the aumber of months counted at school, but many of the older children have-work days during this time.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, says, “What I consider best would be for the children to be left at school till they acquire what may be called a respectable education. If teaching is to be mixed with the work perhaps work and school on alternate whole days is the most likely for good.” In the return for Milfield school it is observed, “Mode 8 is the most applicable and is the one in operation though not compulsory ; but the attendance scarcely reaches the full half year owing to out-door work in the spring commencing. Lither of modes 1 and 2 would be quite impracticable in this neigh- bourhood.” i Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, says e Where the distance to school is considerable (is miles), as in my case the third alternative would be most convenient. There is much to be said in favour of the second alternative so far as the children are concerned. Rev. G. P. MeDouall, Kirknewton, says, “The Factory Act would be inapplicable in this agricultural district. The Print Works Act might be serviceable ; but at the same time scarcely needed in this district, as the bigger lads who are employed during the summer months in farm labour, attend the schools well during the winter months. In Nort NorruumpBerLranp.—In three cases this question is left unanswered. One witness replies that the third mode is the only one which could be em- ployed with advantage, and one that the children should go to school in winter. Rev. William Clark King, Norham, says, “J prefer the second plan. I would allow no child to work under 10 years, and require that then they should .produce a certificate of attendance at school for 100 days during each of the last three years.” Rev, James Blythe, Greenville, Alnwick, says, “In this locality the third mode is the only prac- ticable one. Farmers would not and could not engage children either for half a day or on alternate days, neither do I think such asystem would be beneficial to the children. Jn the winter months when the demand for labour is not so great as in the summer, there might be and there generally is a good attendance of boys and girls at the several schools.”. 255 Mr. Thomas Allan, chairman of the Rothbury Union, says, “This would be best met by requiring so much school attendance during the preceding twelve months. The children of agricultural labourers ought to work in the fields in summer and go to school in winter. No sane person at all acquainted with this subject could ever think of requiring either half days or alternate days’ attendance at school.” Mr. George Drysdale, occupier, Great Ryle, says, “No boys or girls being employed in winter half year, they then have an opportunity of attending school, and generally do so.” Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Embleton, says, “Children above 10 years of age are better em- ployed in light work in summer than any other way. From 10 to 12 years of age they almost invari- ably go to school in this parish in winter, indeed I know of no instance of their doing otherwise when well. Public opinion would send any man earning wages in this parish to the position of a brute who did not send his child to school.” Mr, John Angus, occupier, Bothal, says, “Children under 13 should go to school in winter, and if their parents cannot want their earnings let them work in summer.” Against 1 and 2 he notes, “ Nonsense, impracticable in agriculture.” Mr. John Davison, owner and occupier, Hebron, says, “ Any child under 12 years of age” should “ at- tend school in winter.” ‘ No compulsion is necessary, as nearly all the parents are wishful to send their children to school.” Mr. Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Bothal, says under 1, “ Such an arrangement is not compatible with the ordinary work of agricultural children. The third mode only is practicable and might be modified to four months. Mr. Robertson, occupier, Chatton says, “No, but they are in course of erection.” Mr. Thomas Stawart, occupier, Roddam, says, “Comfortable cottages for the families that are in them.” Mr. John Turnbull, occupier, Branton, says, “They have generally three rooms.” Rev. Matthew Burrell, Chatton, says, ‘Not on the generality of farms.” Mr. Anthony Barber, occupier, West Weetwood, says, op Scarcely, but they are much improved.” In Norta Norraumsertanp.—In five cases this question is unanswered. Four witnesses reply in the negative and two in the affirmative. Rev. James Blythe, Alnwick, says, “Very few indeed have two or three bedrooms and a sitting room apart from the kitchen. I do notknow any in this locality.” Mr. John Davison, owner and occupier, Hebron, “Plenty of cottages with two rooms and some with three.” In Sours NortHuMBERLAND.—In five cases this question is unanswered. In five cases the reply is in the negative, and in two in the affirmative. One witness states that “some have two rooms ;” one answers “‘mostly,” and one states that there are very many.” Rev. J. Elphinstone Elliot, Whalton, says, “There are not many cottages with more than the single room, though they are gradually being built” with “increased accommodation.” The Hexham Board of Guardians say, “They are now generally of two rooms, some of three and four.” : Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, Chairman of the Board, replies to the same effect. Mr. Edward Coulson, occupier, Bridgeford, says, “The improved cottages in this parish consist of one bedroom, and one room for all purposes, with a bed in it generally. The rooms are of good size.” Mr. Thomas Wilson, occupier, Shotley, says, “Yes, the cottages are generally good, with ample accommodation.” 261 ~36. Are the cottages crowded, either with members of the family or with lodgers ? In GuEnDALE.—This question is unanswered in 16 cases. Three witnesses reply in the affirmative, one replies “both,” three say “very frequently,” one “ very much.” Six witnesses answer in the negative, two say that there are no lodgers, and two that there are few lodgers. Four state that some of the cottages are crowded, and 10 that they are crowded, but not with lodgers. One witness states that there will shortly be plenty of room, and one that the state of the cot- tages depends upon the number on the farm. In Norta NorravumBerLanp.—lIn four cases this question is unanswered. One witness says the cot-- tages are not often crowded, and two that they are crowded, but not with lodgers. One states that no lodgers are allowed, and four reply in the negative. One witness remarks that the people are too much inclined to crowd with lodgers. In Soutn NorruumBertanp.—In three cases this question is unanswered. Two witnesses reply that some cottages are crowded, three that they are crowded but not with lodgers, one that they are crowded in both ways, one that they are not often crowded. One witness replies in the affirmative, nine answer in the negative. 37. Give a general description of the cottages in your parish in respect of,— 1, Construction (including size of rooms, ventilation, and drainage). 2. Accommodation (including number of rooms in proportion to the family, water supply, garden, out-houses, &c. ). 3. Ownership ; 2¢., whether by land- owner, or by tradesmen with whom the tenants are obliged to deal, or by other person or persons. 4. Rent. Ii appears from the answers to this question that the ownership of the cottages is almost invariably with the landlord, that they are usually situated on the farm, and that they are assigned to the labourer by his employer as a part of his remuneration. The following summary will show the nature of the answers to the other parts of the question. In Cottages. Name of Witness. Parish or Place. No. of Rooms. Size of Rooms. Outhouses and other particulars. In GLENDALE. Ft. Ft. Mr. George Culley - | Chatton = 2 20 x 16 Well built of stone and slated, have wash-house, milk and closet, garden, and pig-house. 16 x 14 Mr. M. T. Culley Coupland and —_ — In many villages there are no cottages with more than Akeld. two rooms. The tenant’s regular labourers occupy cottages free of rent. Such as are not occupied by his regular workers the tenant lets to other labourers who work for him occasionally: the rent is usually : 21. 10s, or 3. The new cottages have outhouses. ‘Mr. James Ramsey Eglingham 1 15 Little ventilation, no drainage, good supply of water, and garden. - | Doddington - - 1 _ Drainage very bad. a : aoe Dail - Chillingham S 1l- _— Little ventilation, no drainage, bad supply of water. Mr. Thomas Stawart - | Roddam _— _— All comfortable cottages, with gardens. Mr. J. Turnbull ~ | Eglingham 3 a x20 Wash-up place 9 x 8, dairy 7 x 8. . ¥ 8 x 10 84 x 10 : Mr. R. H. King - | Wooperton - - 2 - Good size Well ventilated. Garden ground sufficient ; outhouses , none. Kk 2 APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley, b. APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. b. 262 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Name of Witness. Parish or Place. In Cottages. No. of Raouis: Size of Rooms. | Outhouses and other particulars. Mr. C. Borthwick Mr. 'T. Chartres Mr. P. W. Purves Mr. C. Atkinson Mr. J. Marshall Mr. Charles Rea Mr. J. D. Ogilvie Mr. J. C. Langlands Mr. W. B. Boyd Rev. M. Burrell Rev. J. Rt. King Rev. J. Allgood Mr. J. Hudson - Rev. W. Procter Rev. J. Fraser - Kirknewton - Wooler - Eglingham Rosedon = - Chatton - Doddington - Ford and Branxton Old Bewick - - Chatton - Chatton - - Carham - Ingram Chillingham - Doddington - Lowick In GLENDALE—cont. Ft. Ft. 2 15x15 12x 12 2 15x 15 12x 12 1 15 to 20 lor2 2or3 18x14 ‘®: —_ 3 173 x 15h 15 x 154 7x 154 2 134 x 16 144 x 93 2 to 4 1 24x 16 “ fair” 1 “large” 1 15x10 Water supply good, garden large, outhouses fair. The kitchen is “fitted up with two large ‘ box beds,’ which “‘ form small bedrooms, as the occupant dresses there “ in the morning.” Mr. Chartres replies in the same terms as Mr. Borth- wick. Drainage often neglected, water supply not good. Generally a garden, but no privy. When there is“ only one large apartment the end is ‘‘ partitioned off for some of the family to sleep in.” One half of the cottages very deficient. Coal-house, store-room, &c. attached. Water supply frequently deficient. All have gardens and byres for the cows. Some old cottages have only one room, and are badly ventilated. These are rapidly disappearing. “With the exception of six cottages on my farm the “ remaining 10 are old thatched erections, with mud “ floor, and no ventilation beyond the door and “ chimney; few having any internal partition to ‘* separate the family, which is thus huddled together “ without regard to the proper division of the sexes. * L look upon this and upon the holding of markets “ for hiring farm servants as the principal cause of “« the immorality existing.” Milkhouse and scullery ; good gardens ; water close at hand. Outhouses and garden. Ventilation, drainage, and water supply good. Milkhouse and wash-up. The old cottages are of the same size but all in one room, Nothing but windows with hinges for venti- lation ; drainage, none, except a drain round the house to keep the walls dry. Water supply good. “ Although bad cottages prevail to a great extent “ throughout the parish, those erected within the last “ few years on the Duke of Northumberland’s estate “are exceedingly good, being composed of two, “ three, or four rooms, according to circumstances, “ and varying in size; well drained, with convenient “ outhouses, &c. The water supply in Chatton “ village is very deficient, but there is a prospect of “ its being improved.” Some cottages have lately been built at Hazelrigg, “ composed of kitchen and three bedrooms, the “ latter 10 feet by 8 feet (in one of which four grown “ lads are sleeping), and the arrangement is such “ that were an adult to die in one of these, by no “« means could the coffin be got downstairs except in “ an upright position, nor could it be taken out at “ the window without removing the stone mullion “ and taking out the window frames. I understand that 45,000/. and upwards is being expended upon “ the Haggerston estate in building cottages upon *¢ this plan.” Of 150 cottages in this parish belonging to 18 farms, “100 in all are modern and afford tolerable and “ generally good accommodation ; 11 farms containing “ 81 cottages are thus satisfactory throughout. One “ with six cottages has not a decent habitation on it ; “« four others haveonly good cottages for the superior “ servants, and 39 bad ones out of 47.” The one room “when occupied is divided into two “« apartments by two box beds being placed across “ the room, leaving space for a doorway in the “ centre. This allows in some measure of the sepa- “ ration of males and females. A small pantry is “* attached to some of them. The drainage is often “ bad. Some new cottages are built upon a much better “ principle and have better accommodation.” Accommodation insufficient in some cases.” Ventila- tion often imperfect ; damp. A small croft or cabbage yard. “The cottages vary “much in size and construction. Little attention “ is paid to ventilation or drainage. Most of them “ consist of one large room divided into two com- “ partments by close beds.” They are too small; some about 15 ft, x 10 ft. and “ about 7 ft. high. Several families with only one * apartment. Water supply pretty good.” Gardens. “ The houses generally belong to the landowner. “« There are a few, however, taken from the landlord “by a kind of middlemen, and the poor tenants ‘« under these are oppressively rented. The rents in “ general are too high here, one room being rented “ as high as 3/. per annum,” 3 « « a aR IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 263 In Cottages. Name of Witness. Parish or Place. No. of es Outhouses and other particulars. ‘é Rooms. Size of Rooms. Mr. G. P. Hughes Mr. J. Scott Mr. A. Barber - Rev. P. G. MeDouall Rev. W. C. King Rev. J. Blythe - . J. Aitchison Mr. T. Allan Mr. T. Rodger - .J.Bolam - Mr. R. S. Bainbridge Mr. J. Laing . J. Angus Mr. J. Davison - Mr. J. Lawson Mr. G. Laing - Iiderton - Lowick - Chatton - Kirk Newton Norham Alnwick Embleton - Rothbury - Embleton Bamburgh Woodhorn -~ Bamburgh Bothal - Hebron Bothal - Cornhill ~ In GLenpaLE—cont. 1 or 2 In Norto Nortuume. 2 or3 2 or 3 lto3 Ft. Ft. 12x12 12x 12 18x 12 16 x 16 15 x 18 to 14x 12 (as living rooms) 15 x 18 to 8x8 (as bedrooms). 19x15 “ The usual construction is an oblong ground floor “ divided into kitchen and sleeping room, of 12 ft. “ square each, by frame partition beds. The ventila- tion is often neglected by the inmates, but the drainage is usually sufficient to keep the houses dry, though the sewers are often inadequate. Ina few cases, there are upstairs rooms. Water is abundant, and the gardens and outhouses are equal to the necessities of the farm servant. In many cases there is no provision in the shape of water closets, entailing much inconvenience to the people, and affecting in no small degree their sense of ‘© decency and cleanliness.” Garden to all the houses. fair supply of water. ** Small hovel, thatched roof; one window generally ; “ one room; some with three, and there are cases “« where there are four beds.” “ Dairy and wash-house, plenty of water, and good “ drainage.” 7 Seldom supplied with outhouses. Many are badly “ ventilated, badly lighted, and the drainage very “ insufficient; frequently no drains. Dependent “ for water supply mainly on mountain streams, “ frequently at considerable distance from their “ dwellings and insufficient in dry seasons; gardens “ generally too small and insufficient.” ‘« “ AOR ROR « eS ag « aR Drainage bad. Pretty \ ERLAND. “ Most old cottages miserably deficient in ventilation “ and drainage. Even the new, faulty in the latter “ point. They now build with sufficient accommoda- “ tion and outhouses ; they allow fair garden ground, “* but water supply is still deficient.” The drainage and ventilation of the cottages have “ been greatly improved of late years. Generally “ each cottage has a small garden with good water ‘‘ supply; outhouses are now much more common “ than formerly.” Living room; pantry 16 feet by 8. “The loft above “ is over all. In some cases the loft is divided into “ two bedrooms, one for boys, other for girls. “* Garden and outhouses.” The cottages vary very much.” “Many of the most « miserable ones have recently been swept off, and “ excellent ones erected in their stead.” “ The new and improved cottages on this farm have “ all three rooms, milk house, pantry, and scullery, “ with privy, ashpit, coalhouse, and pighouse, all spouted and properly drained. A stream runs within 50 yards, and there is a drinking spring at the same distance from them.” They cost 140/. All have a good garden attached, and any amount “ of manure or guano the men wish for supplied by “me. Such cottages with their privileges would let « in Embleton for 7/. per annum.” *« Only two apartments, and one generally in use.” Rooms “ lofty, well ventilated and drained. A garden, “ privy, coalhouse, and pigsty. Allotted for no “ rent, but as part of hind’s wage, which is 15s. “ per week at least in addition, and also his coals “ led by farmer free of charge.” Garden and outhouses. Ventilation and water supply ‘ood. s Filet four cottages, mostly to men employed in piece “ work, such as draining, &c., for which I charge “ from 30s. to 40s. a year, the cottager finding me a “ woman to work in the fields, for which 1 pay her “ 1s. a day, and 2s. in harvest. They have a garden “ and 450 yards of drill planted with potatoes. I “cart them all their coals.” On ground floor, fire-place in each room. “I have 10 “hinds, who have each cow kept by their employer, “ pig, &c.” Ladd Drainage always good; ventilation not specially “ provided for, but is not perceptibly injurious. “ The small bedrooms” (8 x 8) are generally “high, “ viz., from 9 ft. to 11 ft. high.” Cottages are held by freeholders, by direct holding “ from owners, and by holding from occupiers of “ farms, and in no case is any restriction as to “ their trading with any person. Rents vary from “ 90s. to 60s. Gardens are often included, and in “ such cases rents are only estimated separately. “ The district is well watered. Outside conve- “ niences are not plentiful at all cottages.” All have good gardens ; few have outhouses. Kk 3 a “ « 6 aR APP, E. Northumber- land. od Mr. Henley. b. APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr. Henley. — b, 264 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN In Cottages. Name of Witness. Parish or Place. No. of Rooms. Size of Rooms. Outhouses and other particulars. In SoutH NorTHUMBERLAND. Mr. L. W. Atkinson - | Hexhamshire Low Quarter. Mr. R. Pickering Mr. J. Lee Corbridge 2 Mr. T. P. Dods - - | St. John Lee - 4 Mr. J. F. Newlands - | Whittonstall - _— Mr. G. N. D. Waddilove Mr. E. Coulson- - | Bellingham-~— - 2 Mr. H. T. Thompson Mr. J. Johnson - - | Allendale - Mrs. I. Colbeck - - | Warden - - 1 Mr. T. Sample - Stamfordham to Mr. Thomas Wilson Mr. W.B. Wilson - | Stainington - Ft. Ft. 1 or 2 — Haltwhistle - ~ a = 15x15 13x 14 7x8 16x11 16x 11 16 x 16 : (kitchen). St. John Lee = = 18 x 16 Chollerton _ _ ‘ 2to 4 — 12x15 18 x 16 14x 16 Shotley - _ _ 2or3 _ Ventilation and drainage good. “ Convenient and healthy.” Ventilation and drainage good, with water supply, garden, and outhouses. Seullery (in addition) 7x 8. ‘ Each with good sized “ windows, all made to open.” “ Spouted and drained.” “Water brought in pipes to back of cottages.” “ Each “ a good sized garden, a privy, ashpit, coalhouse, and “ pighouse.” Worse cottages, with only two rooms and garden, in “ the village close by, are let for 4/. and 4/. 10s, per “ annum.” Generally about 16 x 16 in kitchen, with back apart- “ ments and rooms above.” <“ Water at the wells.” Ventilation and drainage tolerably fair; water supply good; generality have a garden attached. a x “* Stone walls and slate roofs generally, about 18 x 16, “ with sleeping room rather less, or above the room. “On the ground sometimes a milkhouse or pantry ‘“‘ attached; also a garden. The ventilation and “ drainage without much fault. Water supply ce good.” The old cottages are small, wanting ventilation and “ drainage. In new cottages these matters are, I “ think, fully remedied.” “ For the most part built on elevated land. Always a “ good supply of water.” Pig-house, &c. One cottage has three rooms. Cottages built of’ free- stone ; a few roofs thatched, the rest slated. Ido not think the majority of windows in cottages “open, but the door generally stands open the “ greater part of the day. Little or no drainage ; “* good supply of water.” “ Hach of my labourers has ‘‘a garden attached to his cottage. I have six “ cottages, for which I charge 1/. per annum rent, “ let to women who work in the fields for me.” Scullery, pantry, &c. Generally a good garden. Water supply abundant. Stone, and slate roofs. generally. Ventilation and drainage generally good. Each has a garden ; and all well supplied with water. a Water supply good. Gardens 38. If there is deficient cottage accommo- dation, is any progress being made towards increasing it ? (The answers to this question have been shown, in part, under question 31, ante.) Ix GLEnDALE.—Eleven witnesses answer in the affirmative, and four in the negative. Rev. J. R. King, Carham, says, “The quality of the cottages is being considerably improved, the landlords taking an interest in it, and tenants making such improvements a condition on taking new leases.” In Norra NorraumBerianp. — Six witnesses reply in the affirmative, and one in the negative. In Souta NortHuMBertand. — Hight witnesses reply in the affirmative and one in the negative. 39. Is the Union Chargeability Act (28 & 29 Vict. c. 79., March 1866) having any effect in increasing cottage accommo- dation ? In GLENDALE. — Fifteen witnesses reply in the negative. Mr. George Culley, landowner, Chatton, says, “No, as there was no inclination in this neighbour- hood to limit accommodation under the old parish chargeability.” Rev. John S. Green, Wooler, says, “T think it will have.” Rev. J. R. King, Carham, says, “No, it does not affect our agricultural population.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, says, “Tts tendency will be of course in that direction ; as yet no very decided examples can be referred to.” In Norte NorroumMsBerLAND. — Seven witnesses reply in the negative. Mr. John Angus, Bothal, says, “None, it is 4 complete robbery on the agricultural parishes.” Mr. Thomas Lawson, Bothal, says, “No. It might decrease its progress, as 1002. on cottages in a town will produce double rent of same sum on a farm.” In Souta NorruumBertanp.—Fourteen witnesses reply in the negative. The Hexham Board of Guardians say, “Tt has had no effect whatever. There were no close parishes in the Union, and the previous law of chargeability did not hinder cottage building.” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, Mr. John Fewster Newlands, Ebchester, says, “Less, the rates being doubled, and some cases more than three times the former amount in our parish and in local places generally.” 40. By the Act 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114, July 1864, the Inclosure Commissioners are authorized to advance public money for the improvement of land, including by s. 9. “ The erection of labourers’ cottages * * and the improvement of and addition to labourers’ cottages.” Have you any remarks to make upon this Act in regard to any additional facilities, or any reduction of cost, that might cause greater progress to be made in supplying the want of good cottages ? — In Guenpate. — Mr. George Culley, landowner, Chatton, says, . “Tf loans could be granted; for improving old cot- tages, as well as for building new, a great impetus would be given to cottage improvement. I have, for instance, 20 cottages, which I would gladly im- prove at a cost of, say 1,000/., but I would be very unwilling to contract a loan under the powers of the Inclosure Commissioners for 1,000/. to build half of these new, according to their plans, which are not altogether desirable, leaving me the other half to do at my own expense as I might think proper.” Mr. Matthew Tewart Culley, landowner, Coupland Castle, says, “The requirements of the Commissioners as to the number of rooms, &c. in cottages interfere much with the facilities for cottage building that the Act would otherwise afford to landowners. At least such is my opinion.” Mr. Thomas Stawart, occupier, Roddam, says, «“ Where walls are good; unroof and raise the walls another story, which would be cheaper than building new ones, and would answer quite as good a purpose.” Mr. J. C. Langlands, occupier, Old Bewick, says, “ Grants might be allowed for the permanent im- provement of cottages already erected.” In Norte Nortuumpertann.— Rev. William Clark King, Norham, says, “ The cottages are certainly on too expensive a scale.” Mr. R. S. Bainbridge, Woodhorn, says, “TI believe the Inclosure Commissioners will not allow old cottages to be raised, but all buildings to be rebuilt from the ground. Now some old cottages in this county have good or better walls than would be put up new, and by allowing cottages with such good walls to be raised a great saving of cost would be-effected; and I would also suggest that the rule be relaxed as to three sleeping rooms being required for each cottage, two in most cases being amply sufficient.” In Souta NorraumBeRLanp. — Rev. J. Elphin- stone Elliot, Whalton, says, “ There is little or no money borrowed for this purpose under the Act.” Mr. Thomas Palliser Dods, occupier, Anick Grainge, says, “A modification of rules as to advances for the 265 enlarging of existing cottages. Many cottages only require to be raised a story to make them all that is needed, but this is an improvement not sanctioned by Commissioners.” Mr. G. N. D. Waddilove, J.P, occupier, Brunton, Wall, says, “ A modification of the rule is required.” 41. Can you suggest any mode by which good cottage accommodation could be provided on self-supporting terms, and involving no. disadvantage to the tenant ? In GLenDALe.— Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occu- pier, Rosedon, says, “When new cottages are built the tenants have invariably to perform the carriages free of charge. I see no other way of building cottages, except the landlord doing it with his own money, or availing himself of the Inclosure Commission Act. The tenant often bargains to. pay 5 per cent. of the interest, and the landlord pays the balance.” Rev. John Richard King, Carham, says, “No. The return for building new cottages will mostly come indirectly. Good accommodation enables the farmer to get better labourers, and makes them worth more, and more likely to stay on the farm; and so a farm with good cottages will be held in higher estimation when it comes to be let than one with inferior buildings.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowick, says, “Tf parties could get ground to build upon at a reasonable rate more erections would be completed; but the absurd restrictions of landowners put a great obstacle in the way of buildings that are much needed. If freehold ground could be got or ground for feu duty of a reasonable kind, as in Scotland, various parties would make an effort to build. But at present private parties have little encouragement, as generally after a short period the buildings become the property of the landowner.” In Nortu NortraumMBerLanp.—Mr. James Aitehe- son, land steward, Embleton, says, “Land owners ought to erect the cottages.” Mr. Thomas Rodger, occupier, Embleton, says, “ Farmhouse, cottages, stables, byres, cattle sheds, and barns are all part and parcel of the farm; all ought to be built on the farm solely for the use of the farmer, labourers, horses, and cattle employed thereon, and included in the rent of the farm.” Mr, Thomas Lawson, owner and occupier, Bothal, says, “ Cottages are indispensable to the proper occupation of a farm, and up to this point they will pay for erec- tion fully up to the wants of an agricultural labourer, but beyond this they will rarely yield more than 3 per cent., and if much increased they become a nuisance, by their lowness of rent tempting an indo- lent occupant, or one whose labour is not suited to local wants or profitable local increase of labour.” In Sours Norraumpertanp. — The Hexham Board of Guardians say, “The agricultural cottages being in this union always let with the farms, the landlord does not look for pay in rent direct from the cottages, but in the increased rent of his farms, for without sufficient cottages to accommodate the families necessary to work the farm, he will get neither so good a rent nor so good a tenant.” Kk 4 APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr, Henley. b. 266 ; EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN APP. E. Seer EpucaTIonat Sratistics. Mr. Henley. (Questions 42-44.) db. TABLE showing the Scnoors, EpucationaL Faciitizs, and ScHoot ATTENDANCE in GLENDALE UNIon, ‘ County of NorTHUMBERLAND. [The List of Schools and the Table of Distances were furnished by Mr. Wightman. ] School Attendance. District provided for. Summer. Winter. On Register. Average Attendance. On Register. Average Attendance. g 3 Name of School. - oO “ > Need 4 gq Boys. | Girls Boys. Girls. Boys. | Girls. Boys. Girls. pat RM ‘ . he Name. g|8 SlelaielSlai=\etelesielelets ls lees ey) Be ee | ec ee ee eto | | g | 2/3 gieigi2#l3)/2)3/2igisijgle}gie)/e]e2 4|£|8 Plejpis|/e}]e;elisis;ajp/s}je;e;sa]e Carham Parish - — - | 10,382 | 1,274 | - a (Carham) | 80 | 15 | 26/10} 28 10 20 8 | 30 | 24} 25 | 20] 25 22, 20 18 Paston Township -| 2,886] 189/1 |) Mindrum (Do.) 3|]20/ 2/80] 2| 18 | 2 | a7 | 2 | 35/12) 24]14] so | 10 | 20 | 115 Branxton Parish - - | 1,487) 255|- | Branxton- - -/ 8/10/10] 5 7 9 9 56 |10]17)12] 8] 9 bj) Howtell Township -| 1,145] 141 | - : ; 18 Kilham Township -| 2,855 | 209 | 1 Howtel - -|17| 3/18) 4) 17 3 18 4 |26/ 8/28] 7] 96 8 23 7 Coldsmouth Township | 1,415 30) 3 : Kirknewton Township. | 2,217 79 | - Grr Forest Town- | 6,615 39 | 3 ship. i a see oe | see gee | ee | Heathndsl Township -| 1037| 21\2 | rXirknewton - - | 88 | 89/86] 32) 37 | 84 | 34 | 29 Yeavering Township - 883 51 | 2 W. Newton Township- | 1,063] 95 | 03 Milfield Township = - | 1471 | 225 | - Crookhouse Township 467 24 | 2 . Lanton Township) = - 983 74 | 1% | -Milfield - - -{12} 3] 4) 4] 114 3 2G] 381/15) 7| 8] 7] 145] 65] 63] 53 Coupland Township - | 1,428] 109 | 2 Ewart Township - -| 1512] 183 | 2 (Crookham Nat. Sch.} 84 | 18 | 22 | 17 | 22°1 | 7°6 | 12°6 | 8°6 | 26 | 29 | 19 | 27 | 18°38 | 21°5 | 12'7 | 18 Ford Parish- - - |11,464 |2,072 | - eas aaa Presb. } 15] 5/16] 6| 18 4 18 5 |18] 9|15/12] 18 7 11 9 ig - - - | 84 | 26 | 28) 22 | 27 18 22 15 | 41} 82} 27 871] 30 22, 20 27 Lowick Nat. Sch. - | 23 |'21 | 10 | 13 | 20°3 | 18°2 | 7°6 | 12 | 81] 28)11]15] 30 22 | 10°5 | 14°2 Lavice Rom.Cath.| 9|11]14) 5 9 6 10 4 6/11} 9/18 5 10 8°] 18 i ‘ ch. Lowick Parish - — - |12,526 |1,946 | - | Lowick Presb. Sch. | 14|16| 20/18] 10 | 14 | 15 | 16 “ Average nearly 90.” Lowick ditto. 80} 16 | 80} 18] 26 14 26 16 | 26 | 24) 28, 21; 20 20 22, 18 , agp i ‘3 $68 Bowsden - -}18]15)18/14; 18 12 8 15 9] 31] 10 | 32 8 29 9 30 Doddington Township | 4,79: 881) - : 7 _ | as i Nesbit ‘Township _ 776 611 } Doddington 5} 10] 28) 7) 380 8 25 7 | 82) 20/85]10] 30 20 28 12 lerton Towns! Rosedon ‘Township 3,640 |) “gg | 7 {ronan - -j17| 1] 9} 2] 7 1 9 2 |16} 8/11} 6| 4 8 7 5 Wooperton Township - 923 67 | 04 Wooler Parish - -/| 4,852 |1,697 | - Akeld Township - - | 2,208 | 162 | 24 Selby’s Forest Town- | 11,853 55 | 5 Wooler Nat Sch. - | 80; 12 | 82] 16] 22 9 21 14 | 85 | 23 | 27] 27] 27 19 21 19 ship. ‘Wooler Infant Sch. | 50 | — | 48 | —] 31 _ 29 — |50}—]48)/—] 381 = 29 _ Fiambbton Township 784) 152/1 Wooler Presb. Sch. | 44 | 24] 36]16] 40 18 30 14 | 40 | 36 | 34] 80] 33 35 81 25 Earl Township - - | 1,240 67 | 1 Wooler Rom. Cath.|}18| 5/16} 6] 14 4 13 5 25|15|)15)}10] 20 11 11 8 ch, gar asi Hall Town- |} 1,101] 73/1 j : ship. P ae - | 27 7 . ae ne a ee ae 2 7 a - ane 20°9 | 12°4 e azelridge - -| 15 1 14 14 Chatton Parish - = - | 17,090 |1,651 | - jFgte New|]16/ 8/11 /az{ase!| 7 | 10 | 9 | 15/12] 9] 12] 43-7 | 20°83] 8-2] 41 all. Chillingham Town- 147 | - ship. ili x. oS Hepburn Township 4,929 ‘2 1 femagtan 20}10/18}12] 17 8 15 10 | 20] 80} 14) 20] 17 28 12 14 Newtown Townshi 104} 1 Rr aeaance: sidan 7 ae 245 3 «Middleton Township | 2,102} 118 . 2 ie ‘i o a : §. Middleton Township | 1,609 5 | 3 fw Lilburn 82/11; 20} 9] 26°5| 82! 16 6°4 | 32] 11 | 22] 18 | 28°65 9 |16°4] 10 E. Lilburn Township - 868 85 | 1 Old Bewick Township | 5,487 | 204 | - : aie Bewick Town-| 1,125| 78 | 0} fou Bewick - -/15| 7} 9] 2] 14 6 4 2 |12/17| 6} 10} 10 | 16 4 6 ip. Branton Township -/| 1,147 | 106 | - Brandon, Township - — 184 | 03 | ¢ Branton - -/15]26; 9/15] 13 25 8 |18°5|12)13] 9] 7 | 11°5 | 10°5 8 6 deri ge fora | | gram, &c. Township ‘ 72 | - = os Sil ses, ANN 2 BBs] bt Reavely Township -| 2,340 66 | 04 } Ingram 4) 4) 8) 1 8} 7) 1) 4 Totals of the above |635 |336 |567 |282 |581°6 |262°4 | 439 1286°1 |612 \470 |493 |399 |498°9 |400°5 | 884 |820°4 Nore.—From the above it appears that (exclusive of Etal School, from which no return has been received) there are in summer 1,820 children on the books of some school, of whom Grains allowance for the imperfect return from Engram) 1,488, or 81°5 per cent. are in average attendance. In winter it will appear (after a proportional allowance is made for three defective returns) that 2,252 children are on school registers, of whom the average atten- dance is 1,863, or 82 per cent. In summer, therefore, 1 in 7°3 of the population attends school, and in winter 1in 5°9. As might be anticipated the younger children attend best in summer and the older ones in winter. In 1838, according to the Report of the Educational Commissioners, of the whole population of England 1 in 77 was at school, while in two specimen agricultural districts the attendance was 1 in 7°46 and 1 in 7°39 respectively. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, 267 Summary of Srarements as to Scuoor Arrenpance of AcRicutTuRAL CartpreNn in certain Townships APP. E. and Places in GLENDALE. , Northumber- [Returns from Schools are included in the previous Table. ] Jand. * ——w Mr. Henley. School Attendance. : ; d. Summer. Winter. 0 . Statements as to On Register. | Average Attendance. ae eee Average Attendance. Place. ; Number of Children neither Boys. | Girls. ‘Boys. Girls. Boys. | Girls. Boys. Girls. |: at School nor Work. s s .| sc is s sil iis Ss ee ? s el2@lelSlel2] eS lelaigisl ai) 4184 gi/sig 2 £ 3 2 yz/S/ s/s] zg £ 2 8 B\2|S\e/8|2)8]elslelsls/8 /2!8 |e rs al Si ele a ae = aston Township) - = - 9 a eee | eal: ee tees Se ea 2s al Smee es == » eae | Cae Branton Township - - 16 12 = = = S| ae | ee = a = — Kimmerston (Ford) -| 6 —-| 8 — 6 _ 3 - 6| 4) 4] 2 6 4 4 2 —_— Wooperton Township -| 2|/—j| 5/— 2 _ 5 - 2) 2) 5; 1 2 3 5 1 2 ——! Mindrim (Kirknewton) -| 4] 1) 6|]— 4 1 6 _- 4/1) 6/— 4; 1 6 — | None, either in winter or sum- mer. Turvelaws (Wooler) -| 8|—]|] 6] 2 3 _ 6 2 8{—| 6] 2 8 - 6 2 Ditto. Iiderton (Township) -|15)17) 16,15) — = = Se | eS Sah es = = = _— In addition to the statements tabulated above, the schedules contain the following information as to “the number of children of ‘* the agricultural iabouring class neither at school nor at work :” — Mr. Peter W. Purves, occupier, Eglingham, says—“ Very few when old enough.” Mr. Joseph Hudson, occupier, Chillingham, says—“ There are few or none, either boys or girls.” Rev. William Procter, Doddington, says— Very few above seven years of age.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, says— Scarcely any in this district.” Mr. George Pringle Hughes, Iiderton, says—“‘In my township four boys are at school this summer, the others are working. ge Pringle Hug ton, say: y y ire working “ In winter the entire population between seven and 14 are at school, and there is a Sunday school in my little village “* summer and winter.” Summary of StaTemMENTs as to ScHoon ATTENDANCE of AGRICULTURAL CHILDREN in certain Places in the County of NorTHUMBERLAND (exclusive of Glendale Union).. | School Attendance. Summer. Winter. Statements as to On Register of . On Register of ‘ ‘some Scliool. Average Attendance. some School. Average Attendance. Number of Children neither Place, at School nor Work. Boys Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. | Girls. Boys. Girls, e [Also remarks on return.) Ss sé .| 6 ‘ S s| .Js eh eS 2 s - Biel eiel es | ALS} S ele telSl ae rey ets e(S/2/2/2)2/2]2 |B1f/8/2)2)2)2] 2 Pi,SsiPpyal ep a | Pp S|PIRIPIS| 5S =a | P = N. NoRTIMUMBERLAND. oY ck - «| 85 | 86 | 53 | 25 | 22°6 | 20°83 | 41°3 | 18 | 29 | 42 | 38 | 25 | 23°1 | 81°8 | 81°8 | 21 | [These figures refer only to Bachem schools under Meet of vicar.| “Ihave made care- ful inquiry, and am glad to tepory only 3.” (Rev. W.C. ing. Embleton - iS. - - | 90 | 20} 80 | 20| 90 20 80 20 | 90 | 54/80 | 53 | 90 54 80 53 | “None, unless ill.” [This és Se cae é 7 os Fc pte a Pagar return. 3 Woodhorn- + + -| 10111 6' 7 coo = one on this farm. Hebron - + - + 25 85 : ; - “l-t—f—lr-}- bom} mb om ley eprom ot om ] nm | om | “None in this locality” (tr. Bothal Lawson.) ae Combi! - - - -|2| 4/26] 3] 18 | 35] 2 | 2 Ja9ja7|a1jis] 18 | 18 | a7 | we = S. NoRTHUMBERLAND. flo fo| }15 5 {lis x0 19] 5 eu 0 -|—-— | — | —4| to SE Ae ifs ee Same — . iseet 10 3 is 3 o 3) 11) 3 Hexhamshire LowQuarter -/|-|-j- —~|—|-—[-|, rake i ish - -|67| 54/58/29] 56 | 51 | 53 | 22 | 74] 65/61] 84} 66 | 62 | 54 | 25 There are not many.” (Mr. Bellingham Paris Charlton.) “ About 1in5in summer, and 1 in 9 in winter, absent from school.” (Mr, Coulson.) [The return is Sor the school; “about half the children are of the agri- 4 0 20 9] 84) 23] 75 23 70 18 eweal alae] i 7 - - ~ {77 | 22) 68 | 25] 7 2 50 20 | 84 | 2 —_ Corbridgs vo > fils} a] 2] 3] 3] 2] 2| 3 | 3] 4|2| 3] 3 | 4 | “2 | 8 | Two boys between 8 and 10; 7 one girl between 10 and 13 “kept at home to let mother ‘ work (winter and summer) [Lhe return probably refers. wiz! 6] 6 | 8 | s lili) ie}is] 10 | a2) 8 | a2 | “Number vor! sman” ‘ ip) -| 8 | 10 : umber very small, Ditto (Wall Townsiyil si} ai ala; s| 2] 211) 8| 2) 2/2]/ 8) 2] 2 | 2 | None ween. ee etme poetry om} co eco ol om fl ot oo | om | “Alleither at school or work.” 7 a at | ee ae a fae Vagal te | ee) 8) Sek a et eee 7 dha ~|]14| 6 | 22 L school return. oem a a bed —!|—|—!| 36 14 26 10 j—-j—}|-—-|-| - _ _- — |10 boys and 6 girls in summer. APP. E. Northumber- land. Mr, Henley. APT. F. Durham. Mr. Henley. 268 45. Approximate of young persons. (i.e. be- “tween 13 and 18 years of age) of the agri-.. cultural labouring class growing up with | insufficient education. a er ae Hazelridge, says, “ I find that in general they can read and write, but in a very insufficient way.” Mr, Thomas Stawart, occupier, Roddam, says, “Very few indeed but receive a plain useful educa- tien.” . Mr. James Grey, occupier, Kimmerston, says, “They are all taught to-read.” = Mr, Richard Huntley King, occupier, Wooperton, states that there are two females. ; Mr. Charles Borthwick, occupier, Mindrim, states that there are none. -— 5 oie Mr. Christopher Atkinson, occupier, Rosedon, says “It would be scarcely possible to find a youth who does not receive a plain education.- As a class they are well educated, much more ‘so than they were formerly.” he Be ei Mr. J.C. Langlands, occupier, Old Bewich, states that there are none. eee te Te: -—-Mr. George Rea, occupier, Iiderton, says, = “ All can read, write, and for the most part know arithmetic fairly.” Rev. John Fraser, Lowich, says, . “ All get some education, but in the case of. most it is by far too scanty. Only about four or five in the -huridred* get’ a satisfactory education, and even these few'might bé trained more if they could be kept at school for a longer time.” Mr. George Pringle Hughes, occupier, Ilderton, ‘states that ‘one-third of the population of males and half of the females are’ growing up with insufficient -education.. He adds, “I have done much to encourage ~ William Nicholson, occupier, ie EMPLOYMENT OF: CHILDREN, “YOUNG ‘PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ the taste for mental improvement among my work- “ people by procuring a teacher, giving lectures, and “ prizes i ” _© prizes for proficiency. be _ In Norte _Norruumpertann. — Rev. William Clark King, Norham, states that there are threc females, ‘ Mr. John Bolam, occupier, Glarorum, says, “ All except very young children can read and write well.” Mr. R. S. Bawmbridge, occupier, Woodhorn, says, “Number not great.” --In Souta NortHuMBERLAND.—Mr. William Henri Charlton, landowner, Hesleyside, says, Not many.” Mr. Joseph Lee, oceupier, Corbridge, says, “Very small number.” ~~ we ‘Mr. John. Fewster Newlands, occupier, Ebcheste,. says, “e Most get able to read, write, and cast accounts,” -Mr. Edward Coulson; Bridgeford, says, ““ Very few. not able to read, and at least threc- fourths able-to read, write, and do arithmetic.” “Mr, Henry T. Thompson, occupier, Chollerton, says. “Jt is quite “the exception to find a labourer brought up inthis parish, not more than’ 20 years of' age, that is’ not able to read and write, either male or female.” : ‘Mrs. Isabella Colbeck, occupier, Warden, says, «“ None.” a Sa ws . - ‘Mr. Thoinas Wilson, occupier, Shotley, says, ’ «The whole of the children in this parish with onc exception can read and write, and those above 10 years of age have a.tolerable knowledge of arithmetic.” ., Bi. W. B: Wilson, occupier, Blagdon, states that thete are eight male and eight female young persdiis growing up with insufficient education. wep Fest oO Ain t Whe BOIL pS a APPENDIX F. Asstract or RETURNS TO THE Commissioners’ C1RcULAR oF Inquiry AS TO THE CouNTY 2 oF DurHam. 1. Mr. Thomas H. Bates, Wolsingham, chairman of the Weardale Board, of Guardians.—There are no “private gangs” in the union. Only a limited num- - ber of ehildren,-young persons, or women are em- ~ ployed. They are occupied in “ordinary field labour,” and live either.on the faim or at no preat distance. Theif tisual hours of work are from 8 to6. A suffi- cient time is allowed for meals. Their work is not injurious to them and they are not subject 1o ill-treat- ment. The employment of females in agriculture is ‘not ordinarily supposed to be injurious to their morals ~. or to their proper training for domestic duties. No legislative restriction seems necessary.” Attendance ~ at school in this union is obtained without any statu- tory requirement, it is very little affected by the distance the children have to travel, and not much by the pecuniary resources of the parents, as the defi- ciencies are supplied by parochial -aid.- Some efforts are being made for the industrial training of girls. Cottages are not ‘territorially apportioned, but there is no particular deficiency of accommodation. The ‘eottages are not distant from the farms nor crowded to excess. ““The cottage accommodation is not inferior to what it is in other parts of' the North of England. The facilities for education in this union are con- siderable. Lane /2.:The Guardians of the Poor of the Durham Union.—There are no private gangs. Children, young persons, and women are employed in spring in gather- is not injurious to them and they are subject to.no ill-treatment. No effect, injurious to the morals of th: ‘women. or fo their domestic training springs out o! their employment in agriculture. Boys ate rarely it ever employed under the age of 18 years. No legisla- tive restrictions are recommended. “It would serve the interests of the employers and children if the latter worked six months continuously and were educated during the remaining six months, , The schools are easily reached and the school attendance: is not’ affected by the pecuniary resources of ‘tho parents. Schooling is cheap. Girls are trained: in sewing, knitting, and cutting out their own clothe:. Farms here are mostly small and the servants’ gene- rally live with their masters in the farm houses. ‘On the large farms there is generally adequate and proper cottage accommodation. Cottages attached to th: farm are rent free. There is no obligation on ‘the part of tenants to the owners. ‘Cottages attached tu farms have been greatly improved of late. 3. Mr. Hislop, chairman of the Chester-le-Streei. Board of Guardians.—Children, young persons, and women are employed in spring in weeding and clear- ing the land; in summer in hoeing turnips,and hay- making; in autumn in assisting in securing the crop ; in winter in barn work. They live on or near the farms. They usually work for eight hours. Thev have for meals, one hour for dinner,:} of an hour forc- noon and ‘afternoon, Their work is not injurious to ing weeds. and setting potatoes; in summer in weeding - them and they are subject to no ‘ill-treatment.’ The the growing crops, hoeing. potatoes and turnips, win- ning, gathering and stacking hay; -in autumn in har-~ _ vest work; and in winter in pulling turnips-and in work -~work-under-10, ~-Either-thr connected with the thrashing ofcorn. They live on or near the farms and work from 8 to 12 and from 1 to 5, For meals one hour is allowed at noon. Their work women who work out are generally. more industrious and maké better housewives, ~ No boy should go’ to ee or four miles distanci- ..t9,g0 to work is far too great; in no case ought it to exceed two miles. Except in this respect would not recommend any legislative restrictions. & vo ENY AGRICULTUBW (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENOEy «:7 >; 4, Mr. Rowland: Burdon, occupier, Castle Eden,— There are no “ private, gangs” in this parish. Chil-. dren,. young persons, and women are employed in spring iy barking, wood,. planting potatoes, and pick- ing weeds ; in'summer in hoeing turnips, weeding, and haymaking ; in autumn in. harvest work, pulling turnips, raising potatoes; in winter, in pulling tur- nips, feeding cattle, and working in the barns. They live on and near the ‘farms, and their usual hours of work are 8 or 9. They are allowed :for meals, one hour for dinner and half an hour in two periods, at. 10am. and 4pm, Their work is not injurious to them, and they are not subject to any ill-treatment, The female servants in farmhouses are more gene- rally immeral than those who go out to daily field work, owing to the ‘habits of .farmers and their men servants. No restrictions are necessary in this parish. Neither half-day nor alternate day school attendance will suit either children or farmers. Farmers must be sure of: getting their work done.; half work and. half school will not suit either party.. School attendance tor six months seems the best possible plan. School attendance is not affected by: distance, and the wages ate such.as to enable parents, if they choose, to pay for their children’s schooling without difficulty. Girls are taught plain work, but not cooking, cleaning, washing,: or milking. Two cottages per 100 acres are considered sufficient, and there are more than this. They are conveniently situated, but, some .of them are scarcely large enough. Some are crowded both with mem- bers of ‘the family and with lodgers. They have generally three rooms, some four, some only two, 12 ft. by 14 ft. or 15 ft, The ventilation and drainage are good. Most have gardens and: outhouses ; water supply good. All belong to one landlord, but some few are let with farms. Most pay no rent. When let, the rent is from-50s. to 60s. The cottages are being gradually: improved. The cost: of erecting proper cottages for labourers is such that their rent could not pay ordinary interest on the expenditure. The only mode of meeting the difficulty would be by Government advancing money at a low rate of interest, if the object is. considered of sufficient national im- portance. Sort ne u 5. Mr. Robert Graham, occupier, Staindrop.—Not more than from six to. twelve persons, old and young, are employed on each farm together.: Children, young persons, and women are employed in spring and sum- mer in cleaning. tillage, hoeing turnips, hay; in autumn and winter in harvest, pulling turnips, and the barn. They live on the farms, or within one mile, and work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. - One hour is allowed for meals (12 to 1 o’clock). Their work’ is not inju- rious, and they are subject to no ill-treatment’; no harm to morals ; teaches them industry and to be able ‘to do: farm labour when they marry farm ‘labourers, whose helpmates they have to be. The female la- bourer is willing to do her share in assisting to main- tain her family. Girls assist their mothers at work ; the younger they begin to learn the cleverer they always turn out. There’should be no legislative restrictions. As to education, the provisions of the Print Works Act might be adopted to a certain extent. ‘Parents as a rule are wishful to have schooling for their children, and get them some, but no rule can be laid down, as it is well known agricultural pursuits depend upon the -syeather, and can only be done when that is suitable. School attendance is not at all affected by distance, and little or not at all by them eans of the parents ; ‘2d. or 3d. per week is the payment, and assistance, if wanted; is generally rendered. Cottages in many instances want improving as to more rooms. There should’ be one cottage per 100 acres in this parish ; being mixed, there is that quantity. Cottages are conveniently situated. There is in nearly every case a sufficient number of cottages with two or three bed- rooms. There are no lodgers ; the cottages are not crowded. ‘They belong to the landlord, and are well constructed: water, garden, and plenty of accommo- dation, as arule. The rent is paid by tenant with ‘his farm, none charged to the labourer, nor any: rates: or taxes. Besides, cach man has from I4s.°to 16s. per 268 week.regular wage, as many potatoes. as she canicon- sume, 2, to.4 bushels of wheat at Christmas, coals: led., His wife has 10d. a day, except at harvest, when. she has 2s. per day, and takes the turnips to hoe;-and. alsoito pull, earning on an average 2s. per daye:i:).+ 6. Mr. William W. Hawdon, occupier, Staindrop. —Children, young -persons, and women are employed. in spring in cleaning and preparing land ; in summer: in putting in turnips, hay, and hoeing -turnips.; in autumn in harvesting ; in winter in storing turnips, barn work, waiting on cattle. They all live on the farm. Men work 10 hours ;. women, 8' hours, One hour is allowed for dinner. ‘The work of women and children is not injurious to them, and. they are subject to no ill-treatment. A female. slightly: out of health generally wishes: to’ get work in fields, for the. summer months. Children. generally .ga° to: school until, 13 years of age. It is not necessary for the legislature to interfere with the agricultural labourer in this district. : 5 aie’ sic The school is:two miles off. Children cannot-walk. so far till they are about 6 years old. Without some endowment. to the school, so. that: the weekly: pence: does not exceed 2d. each, a man cannot educate a large family. Cottages with: more than four children are crowded. Cottages have one sitting-room,: one bed-room, pantry, wash-up place, no lodgers ; 16 ft..by 14 ft; pump, garden, and potato ground, Tandlord lets thém to tenant with farm; tenant keeps them in repair, There is no evening school,. owing to. the want of teachers ; one is much wanted in the winter months. Hi plat ae 7. Mr. Simpson Walker, occupier, Cockfield.— Children, young persons, and women. are occasionally. employed in spring in cleaning meadow and pasture land; in summer in hay, &c. They live néar the farm, and work for 74 hours daily. One; hour .is allowed for meals. Their work is not injurious to them, and they are subject to no ill-treatment. : sy 8. Mr. John Feetham, occupier, Houghton-le- Skerne.—There are no private gangs here. Children, young persons, and women are employed in spring in weeding, &c, ; in summer, in hoeing turnips, haymak- ing, &c. ; in autumn, in harvest. work and taking up potatoes ; in winter, in pulling turnips and barn work. All live near the farm. They. usually work -from 8 a.m. to noon, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. One hour is allowed for meals. Their work is not injurious to them, and they are subject to no ill-treatment. There _is nothing in the employment of females in this neigh- bourhood detrimental either to their morals or proper training. No young children are put to labour in this township. There is nothing here ‘requiring any restriction. New schools have recently been, erected in the parish, and the labourers show every disposi- tion to avail themselves of the improved advantages offered thereby. Nearly all the children in this town- ship are sent to school at an early age, the distance is three-quarters of a mile. Efforts are being made for the industrial training of girls. Oneand half cottage per 100 acres is sufficient here, and that proportion exists. The cottages are conveniently situated ; there is a sufficient number with two or three bedrooms; they are not crowded. They are principally occupied by hinds, who live rent free and receive 14s. 6d. per week wage, ten bushels of good potatoes, a boll of corn at ‘Christmas ;'‘and, in the case of Mr. Feetham, are supplied with cor for the use of themselves and their families at 18s. per boll (2 bushels), which is now about 6s. per boll less than the market price. “I know of no “ children here growing up with insufficient educd- “ tion, except two children of parents who have come “ here temporarily to supply the place of a hind who * left during his year of service, and these are people “ of improvident habits, who will never settle long “anywhere.” a 9. Mr. W. Steward, occupier, Bourne Moor.—No boys are employed and no females under 13. Wo- men are employed in spring in weeding, gathering ‘stones, &c.;' in summer, in haymaking, hoeing turnips, ‘&c. 3 in autumn, in harvesting, pulling turnips, &ec. ; in winter, in pulling turnips and in the barn when the L12 a APP..F, Durham, Mr. Henley. —— APP. F. Durham. Mr. Henley. b. 270 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, threshing machine is at work. Their homes are all upon the farm; they usually work eight hours daily. One hour is allowed for dinner. Their work is not injurious to them, and they are subject to no ill- treatment. All the young and most of the adult labourers can read and write. Restrictions are not required in this neighbourhood ; population is great and sufficient female labour is to be had in the immediate vicinity of the farms, and they always return to their own homes after work. Children should not go out to work before the age of 10, and afterwards should be educated during the winter at night schools. The children are all within one mile of the different schools. Sewing is taught to the girls. The cottages are generally good, several have been built recently and others enlarged. The accommodation in the new cottages now being built is as under, viz., front kitchen in which a bed is generally placed, back kitchen (with fireplace) and pantry on the ground floor ; two bed- rooms above. Two cottages per 100 acres is suffi- cient, and there are that number. They are conve- niently situated and not crowded. Rent free and coals free. No children who are of age to attend are absent from school, except those at work. There is an evening school, open from October to March for two and a half hours per night, on five nights a week. It has 21 scholars. The subjects of instruction are reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography, &c. 10. Rev. W. Featherstonhaugh, Edmundbyers.— There are no private gangs. Very few children, &c. are employed, except in harvest time. None under 13 are at work. They are not employed in spring; in summer they are employed in the hay harvest ; in autumn, in the corn harvest, and in winter, in manur- ing and ploughing. They live on or near the farms, Their usual work hours are from 6 to 6 with two and a half hours allowed for meals. Their work is not injurious to them, and they are subject to no ill-treat- ment. No restrictions are necessary. As to school at- tendance, plan No. 3 would seem most applicable. A continuous attendance is better than intermitted. Young children cannot travel any distance, especially in winter. School attendance is not at present affected by the means of the parents, as the rector assists and the Board of Guardians puts pauper children to school. Want of decent clothing sometimes hinders attendance. The effect of the cottage accommodation is not satisfactory as to morality. The cottages have generally two rooms, no drainage. Nearly all the children attend school. The statute fairs are a great evil, but the remedy is difficult to arrive at. In this parish the farmers’ children all attend school; when growing up, the boys generally take up farm work with their father, the girls often learn dress making, or remain at home, saving a servaut. 11. Rev. James W. Hick, Byers Green.—The farmers hire girls and women by the day. No boys are em- ployed and no girls under 10. The females are em- ployed in spring in cleaning the ploughed land ; in summer in weeding corn and hoeing turnips; in autumn, in harvest ; in winter, in pulling turnips. They go from half a mile to two miles to work, not more, and are usually employed from 8 to 6, One hour is allowed for meals. The demand on their physical powers does them good ; they are not subject to any ill-treatment; they would not put up with it for a moment. The worst employment is the brick works. Pulling turnips in the winter (in bad weather) is also injurious. The state of education among them is very low indeed. The women working out in the fields are generally the oldest daughters of a family who, from having had to nurse their rapidly increasing family of brothers and sisters, have never been at school. This is the usual thing with the oldest girls in a family, whether agri- cultural or pit people. It is doubtful whether any re- gulations could be carried out as to education amongst private gangs; unless it were that no girls under 14 or 15 years should be employed, and then not unless they could read and write. This age might allow them to get a couple of years of schooling after the younger children were old enough to do without the girls’ as the mining: YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN nursing : but it would be very difficult to carry out. It would be well that no girl (boys seldom work out) under 14 should work in private gangs or as private labourers for farmers unless she had a cer- tificate from the clergyman or schoolmaster of the parish that she could read and write. Out-door work (with young men), and even with many to- gether of women, is prejudicial to morals. Of course it is so much time taken away from domestic duties. The class of girls that go out are sometimes, indeed often, of a low standing. Most could attend school during the winter months. You could not make a general rule, but there might be some arrangement with the schoolmaster that these children should attend a certain number of days in the year, say year 1867, or not be allowed to work in the year 1868. School at- tendance is not much affected by distance or by the pecuniary resources of the parents. The cottage ac- commodation in this parish (and indeed in all pit parishes) is very bad: great crowding and mixing of the sexes. What is worse almost no privies are pro- vided. In this parish, and it is much the same all round, there are not above a dozen privies, though there are 500 houses. The cottages are most of them within a mile from the farms. The pit cottage generally is one sitting-room and one bedroom ; often 15 people in these. Sitting-room about 14 feet square and nine feet high, bad ventilation. Very little drainage, bad water supply; few gardens, no outhouses. Built by speculators and let to the pit owners; rent about 5/. per annum. In pit districts (from which agricultural labourers come also) a government inspector (as Mr. Tremenheere) should have the plans of all houses passed by him, else no improvement will be made in the sort of houses. 12. Mr. Henry Chaytor, Witton Castle, Darlington. —Children, young persons, and women are employed during spring in gathering stones off grass seeds and meadow, hoeing thistles in corn; in summer, in hoeing turnips; in autumn, in harvest; in winter, very casually indeed. They generally live within a mile of the farm and work from 8 or 9 a.m. till dark, or 5 p.m., not later. One hour is allowed for dinner. Their work is not in- jurious, and they are subject to no ill-treatment. In the county of Durham and North Yorks, the employment of females is in no way injurious to morals. The field work in Durham and North Yorks of women and girls is on the whole so little and casual that it is not pos- sible to restrict it.’ It is much less than it was, owing to altered systems of husbandry, and since reaping machines children are seldom seen in the fields. It is very rare to see girls under 15 or 16 ; if there be any they are the children of small farmers on their own farm; no one would hire them. No restrictions are necessary. There are no difficulties as to time for school. Children are rarely employed, and women and girls are not em- ployed on an average of the year two days in the week, sometimes not for months together. Children will go two miles to school, but it does not answer. Schools are pretty general and good, and well attended, but there are some parishes without efficient schools. The charges seldom exceed 2d. per week, and this is no bar to attendance. Cottage accommodation is generally pretty good and cottages clean, very superior io the south generally in these respects. Pitmen’s cottages, two rooms and pantry, sometimes three and four rooms, houses seldom crowded together, plenty of ventilation, water supply pretty good, but at times, in places, defi- cient. Cottages owned by everybody; occupiers inde- pendent: gardens. Iron-workers more in towns or dense villages. The wives and daughters of both classes supply agricultural labouvers when you can get them to work. Wages Is. per day, was $d. 20 years since. Cottages are always being built on speculation. Mr. Chaytor appends the following statement as to education. “In the richer parishes, schools are pro- moted by large employers of labour, and they are well attended. In the poorer parishes having no mining or manufacture, the schools can scarcely be kept alive for want of funds, and probably get no grant from Government. There are many rural parishes in this position, and the question is how to relieve them from this state of things, : IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, “The present ‘system of grants is very unfair, for these poor parishes while they get no grant and can hardly support a school actually by it, contribute to the teaching of wealthy places. Hence it may be supposed that grants should either be universal accord- ing to payment to the State or entirely discontinued. “The better way perhaps may be entirely to relieve the Imperial Treasury, and empower magistrates in petty sessions to order an education rate to be paid out of the poor rate, according to the wants -of cach parish, the Government still finding inspection of the schools. Such rate not to be compulsory, but at discretion, on application by any sufficient number of parties interested, on a proper notice published, and after duly hearing all parties both promoters and opponents. 271 “ A rate however should be only in aid, 2d. and in rare cases 3d. should be the maximum, for it is not desirable to kill charity or relieve the parents from all payment. Funds too amply afforded would lead to quarrelling, jobbing, and dissatisfaction. “Tt may perhaps be fairly expected that a system of this kind would lead many persons to feel a more direct interest in the school and in the proper applica- tion of the funds, than they now evince in educational matters. This would be greatly productive of good, and while 2d. or 3d. in the pound would not prove an onerous impost, it is probably enough to ensure success in almost every parish in the kingdom. This perhaps requires to be tested by experience ; it is usually easier to increase than to diminish expenditure, and no two parishes are alike in their wants.” Summary of the ANSWERS as to the Numbers and Aggrs of CaILpREN working in the Frexps in the County of DurHam. { | Males. Females. g Over 18 Name of Informa . Place. 6 lagls 3 | ad g 3 las ae g @ : g | s be/PE/EEl a | S| Bs BE | EE) 2 = /S8\S2|S2| S| S |S8 [$3 [22 |marica) Ur) SE i P |RolAB/as| & |b |Mo |ma las ; “ype Mr. Rowland Burdon - | Castle Eden ~|—]—] 5! 2] 7)/—/]—] 38] 6 16 19 44 Mr. R. Graham - Staindrop . —|—|]—| 4; 4/—};|—]—] 6 20 8 34 Mr. Hawdon Waketield, Standrop -|—j}—j, 2/ 2} 4/—|;—|{—]| 2 6 1 9 Mr. Walker - Cockfield - —j;—-}]—J—l}—} -—} le 2 _— 2 Mr. J. Feetham - | Great Burdon, Darlington | — | —|—] 5] 5/—]—|—]|— 7 3 10 Mr. W. Steward - - | Lambton Office = - —!—/}—}—}—}— | — |; — |] 10 3 9 22 Rev. W. Featherstonehaugh - | Edmundbyers R. —;—-;—}] 4) 4/—|/—|}—)} 8 _ _ 8 Total of the above - Pigs | tees | tlizjaa;/—]—! 3]s2| 54 40 | 129 \ | ! APPENDIX G.—EVIDENCE. Duruam. List or WITNESSES. Nos. 1. Mr. John Mitchell, Medical Officer, Teesdale Union. . Mr. Sheriton, Medical Officer, Sedgefield Union. . Mr. W. Boyd, Medical Officer, Durham Union. Mr. Anston, Surgeon, Stanhope. Mr. William Lowes, Relieving Officer, Sedgefield Union. Mr. William Wastell, Relieving Officer, Darlington Union. . Mr. Butterfield, Relieving Officer, Castle Barnard. . Mr. William Banks, Relieving Officer, Middles- borough District, Stockton Union. 9. Mr. Richard Langley Pearson, Relieving Officer, Stockton District. . Mr. John Gregson, Relieving Officer, Durham. . Mr. John Benson, Relieving Officer, Stanhope. . Mr. John Thompson, Relieving. Officer, Bishop Auckland. . Messrs. Hodgson and Dickinson, Officers, Chester-le-Street. Mr. Parrington, Agent to Lord Boyne. Mr. Flavel, Auctioneer and Farmer, Sedgefield. Messrs. Bamlett, Parkin, and Noddings, Occupiers of Land, Stockton Union. Mr. Charlton, Occupier, Sedgefield. Mr. Isaac Allanson, Farmer, Bishop Auckland. Mr. James Taite, Agent to Mr. Burdon, Castle Eden. A. B., Farmer, Bishop Auckland. Messrs. Stobbs, Gill, and Hutchinson, Guardians, Bishop Auckland. Church of England School, Sedgefield. The Master, Hartwell School, Stanhope. , ot D moon Relieving 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Nos. 24. Mr. W. C. Robinson, Master of the Hatfield Colliery School. Mr. Grey, Master of the New Harrington Church School. Miss Margaret Unwin, National Schoolmistress, Castle Eden. Brancepeth Girls’ School. Brancepeth School. Mr. John B. Johnstone, Master of the Esk Na- tional Schools. William D., Schoolboy, Esk. Mr. Mathew Fawel, Master of a Roman Catholic School, Esk. Mr. Foster, Master of Castle Eden National School. A. B., Ploughman, Aycliffe. Mr. Nixon, Hind, Aycliffe. Mrs. Thomas Forester, wife of a Hind, Hil] Farm. Wife of a Hind, Aycliffe. : Mrs. James Lawson, wife of a Hind, Bishop Auckland. : 25, 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31, 32. 33. 34, 35. 36. 37. 38. Mrs. Edger, wife of Steward, Castle Eden. 39. Mrs. MacMurdo, wife of a Scotch Hind, Castle Eden. 40. Mrs. Francis Waller, wife of a Hind, Bishop Auckland. 41-48, Schoolboys, Wingate School and Castle Eden School. 49. C. D., hired Boy. 50. Joseph Elliott, son of a Byreman. 51. E. F., a hired Girl. 52. Anna Angus, daughter of a Hind, Brancepeth. Report of the Guardians of the Auckland Union, Statement as to the remuneration of Hinds, &e. 1. Mr. John Mitchell, Barnard Castle, medical officer of the Teesdale Union.— Women who . work out in the fields are of two kinds, The wives of hinds who live on the farms and women from this town, mostly Irish, who go out occasionally. As a rule they are very healthy, though occasionally the work is L13 APP. F. Durham. Mr. Henley. bp. APP. G. Durham. Mr. Henley. 272 prejudicial to women who are nursing. The. work of children in the fields is. quite, exceptional, but very young girls are hired into cottages to nurse the chil- dren so as to set the hind’s wife at liberty for field work. They go to do this as young as 10. Of course this prevents them from going to school. At 11 years the girls are physically as strong as the boys. Among the adult agricultural class there is a great want of education, They are not ‘nearly so far advanced as the same class in Scotland. The children attend the schools fairly when they are not required by their mothers at home to attend on younger child- ren. The cottages in the district are usually good. The sanitary arrangements fair. They have in general two rooms and a kitchen. There is no separation of the sexes, but the children leave for service at an early age, 2. Mr. Sheriton, surgeon and medical officer to Sedgefield Union.—Has been in practice about niné_ years. The women do not work long hours, they: have only from 8 am. fo 5 p.m., with an hour for — dinner. “Their work is not hard. The only’ work that can be considered injurious to their health is pulling turnips in the winter season, at which they sometimes get wet, but they are a far more, healthy class than townswomen. The greater number. who work are married women, and they take the- eldest- girl sometimes from school to look after the house and family. Children of the labouring class never go out to work before 12 or-13,.at that age they are sometimes hired to go into the farm houses as servants, both the boys and the girls. The children whogo to work at the earliest age are the children of ‘small farmers. They are kept at home to do small_jobs of -work, carrying dinners at 1, but that is only during the summer, They return to school in winter. The people mostly live in the villages. There are very few hinds’ houses, The hinds’ houses are the most crowded. Those in the villages can shift, when the space becomes insufficient for their accommodation. The sanitary arrangements are defective, want of drainage, pig-sties too near, ash-heaps crowded in, but the ventilation is not bad, and they have privies. — Water supply good. Wages here are high, but the people make little or no provision for old age. 3. Mr. W. Boyd, medical officer of the Durham Union:—Has known the district all his life. The chil- dren in this neighbourhood do not go to farm-work at an early age; say 13. If there is an exception it would be that of the small farmers who employ their children in the summer. It does not interfere with their health. The youngest boys are employed as “milk barrel boys,” but they are about 14 when they do that. -He considers the children attend school pretty well.. The women do not work long hours or do hard work, from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with one hour for dinner. The Irishmen now take very much the place of women _in unskilled labour. Most of the women are married. They are not at all injured by field work. The con- struction of the cottages in the villages is poor; there are few on the farms. The servant lives in the farm- house. The cottages are not crowded. The drainage nil; other sanitary arrangements defective, but not injurious to health in his opinion. The people live with open doors which makes them healthy. The hiring fairs are much amended since the railway days, which compel the people to leave early, and in this town dancing in public houses is discontinued. Mr. Boyd, as certificated surgeon under the Factory Acts, finds that the parents are not unwilling to have their chil- dren prevented from working. It is the child as a rule who rather‘ prefers and presses to go to work. The most of these parents are settled Irish. : 4, Mr. Arnston, surgeon, Stanhope—~—Does not consider the work of women and children prejudicial to them. ‘They are a most healthy class. Children are seldom employed before 14 years old, very few children are hired into the houses under 16 or 17. He has never heard any complaints of hours, or kinds of work that women and children are put to. Children are but little employed, as they can get higher wages at other kinds of work. Very few girls work out before 14 or 15. The cottages are not crowded. EMPLOYMENT OF. CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 5. Mr. William ,Lowes, relieving , officer, Sedge- field Union.—The women in this district go out-to work at 8 a.m. in summer and work till 5, with an hour for dinner. They gather weeds and hoe turnips, occa- sionally assist.in thrashing. They very rarely do any hard work, such as filling manure carts, pitching corn, &e. Both married and single women work in the fields, but perhaps the bulk are married. The single go to service. He does not consider that.any work to which women are put in the fields is unsuitable or injurious in any respect. The women who go te charing in houses have a harder time. The children go out to work at about 12 years of age. They go to drive milk carts, herd cows, keep stock, &c. :&e. They work the same hours as women when they: are doing the same sort of work. Nothing they do is too hard for them. The farm servants altogether do not work nearly sd hard as they used to'do. There are sufficient schools in the district, though in some very small villages they have some way to go. In the agri- cultural villages the children attend at school very well. He cannot say as much for the collieries and iron- works. The guardians pay the- school fees for out relief. He does not belicve that any children are kept from school from the poverty of parents. The day- tale men-here.get about 15s. to 18s. a week. The cot- tage rents would be at 3/. or 4l.a year, The women generally earn about ls. a day and 2s. at. harvest. Cottages are usually in villages and not on the farms. Some men may have to go three miles to their work, but that very rarely, about two miles is the average. The men prefer the village cottages to the detached ones; they feel more independent. They are pretty good-houses, and generally have two or three rooms, &c. The sanitary arrangements are not bad; they mostly have privies. He does not think there is any want of cottages in the district. 6. Mr. William Wastell, relieving officer, Dar- _lington Union.—Has been in this position three years ; before this was a farmer. Children as a rule go to work at 12 or 13 years old, but in exceptional cases they may go out as “early'as tO; This only refers to boys. Girls never go before 12 or 13 ; generally 14. Women work from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m., with an hour for dinner; in winter shorter time. Boys who drive ploughs go from 7 till 5, with an hour for dinner. The others work with the women. / A. great number of boys and girls hire into the farm houses. They never hire before 13 years of age, and girls about 15. There is very little trouble taken with them about education after they begin to work on the farm. Women only do the light work, nothing unsuitable to them. Almost all the women who work on the farm are married, with the exception: of the girls hired into the houses. ‘ Hinds’ wages about 13s. 6d. in money ; coals led ; house free ; potatoes, about 15 bushels ; corn ata fixed price, about 12s. a boll, z.e., two bushels. Daytale men have 15s. a week.. Cottages are of two kinds, on some estates very-good, on some very bad. ‘The best cot- tages as a rule have two rooms with conveniences ; bad ones single rooms on the ground floor, many without conveniences ; about a third in this state; as to num- ber, they are sufficient. Labourers prefer living in the villages to the cottages built on land, for the sake of the shopping, the schools, and to avoid the lone- liness. There is only one place in this district where he is aware of any deficiency in schools. The masters are good, and the people avail themselves of them, but complain of the certificated masters giving the children too much singing and play. The children are uot pre- vented attending from want of funds, and the guardians pay for pauper children, The sanitary arrangements are pretty good; most of the bad cottages ‘belong to small people who have bought them on speculation and let them go to ruin. ‘The rent of the bad ones from 80s. to 2/.; the good ones 4/1. There are some cases of: agricultural labourers who cannot read or write ; about a third, and these are the old people; very few young people but can read and write.’ He cannot call to mind any family who have not sent their children to school. Parents are anxious to edu- IN. AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, cate their children, and have the'opportunity. Some children go as far as three miles to’ school, though not many: They do not mind that distance. Farms run from J00 to 400 acres... A man of 25 years of age in a farm house will get 251. a year and all found,’ 7. Mr. Butterfield, relieving officer, Castle Bar- nard.—There were many cottages in this ‘district pulled down after the passing of the new Poor Law. Some men have now to walk three or four miles: to their work, They prefer living in villages, but: this distance is too great, The cottages are not much crowded in the country, but they are in the towns. Farm labour- ers seldom come to the relieving officers’; they all belong to benefit societies. Of education they all have a smattering, but as registrar he finds that many women cannot write. They say they once could do so, but have forgotten it. 8. Mr. William Banks, Middlesborough District, Stockton: Union.—Has been relieving officer 22 years in March. The district is mixed ; ironwork and agii- culture. From his experience the children of the agricultural class are better educated than those in the iron works. In the town of Middlesborough hundreds of children are running about bare legged, ‘without any education ; they are mostly Irish and Welsh. Thirty-six years ago the bor ough was only one house, now there are about-33,000 inhabitants of all nations, and a great mix- ture. The schools in the agricultural district are suffi- cient in number and instruction,'and the people avail themselves of them. The farms are about 150 to 200 acres, The farmers and their families do not work on the land. : The work of women is not too hard ; the only hard work he has ever seen them do is forking corn. He never saw them forking dung -in’ his: life. They mostly live in villages; they never go beyond two miles to work’; the average would be a mile and 2 half, The rent in the villages for a ‘two or three roomed house would be about 50s. ayear, with a small garden. Some few live upon the farms, but he thinks there will be a change from Villiers’ Act in this respect. The bastardy returns in the towns are kept down by the people living together as man and wife, though un- married. Most farmers hire one or two servants into their houses. ; A 9. Mr. Richard Langley Pearse, relieving’ ‘officer, Stockton District—Has been in this position for two years, but was deputy in this union for 14 years pre- viously. He relieves’ both’ in the. agricultural and manufacturing district. The cottages in the manufac- turing district are of a‘better class, but neither in.one or the other are they overcrowded ’s theré are many empty in both districts. The women work very little out in the fields ; they are mostly married. The girls who live in the house and are-hired only work out in hay time and harvest. Boys g6‘out to work about 12. Girls do not work out ; they go to service. As far as he knows most children go to- ‘school.’ ‘Parents who apply for relief do not receive it ‘unless their children go to school. There are some excellent schools. He does not know of any children who have ‘to go more than a mile to school. The guardians at ‘present are not paying any fees.; they only do so in cases of desti- tution. The agricultural population as a rule avail themselves-of the school. Day labour men get about lds. a.week ; hinds get: abont 10s. in money, a cow kept, ‘house free, coals led, and some potatoes found. The women, ls. a day ; they « do- no. work which is unsuitable to them, nor are the hours too long. Men only work from 7 a.m, till 5'p.m., winter and summer. They breakfast before- they go = “out. Hinds. mostly live on the farms; the others in villages. The outside distance they. go to their work ‘is two miles. It is very rare that any of the settled poor come for relief. They avail themselves to some extent of sick clubs, more so than formerly.‘ ’ Theré are several: instances of labourers in this neighbourhood 1 who ‘have ‘raised themselves by’ their’ industry” to” ‘the Position: of farmers. -- ' pete 10.. Mri John Gregson, relieving officer, Doha, —Has relieved-for: five -years, and has known, the-dis- trict for 30 years. Children ‘do’ not" go* out to work 373 for wages before 12° years of age’; generally they go to school: up to’ that: time. Their work is weeding, &e. &e,. A limit by law of:10 years as the commence- ment would have no effect in this district. Girls go out earliest, Boys seldom go out till they’are hired ; about 12 or 14 ;. they go to school up to that time. The district is well supplied with labourers. The schoolmasters are mostly certificated. ° The guardians do not:pay direct school fees, but allow for them in the relief. Women work from 8 to 5; an hour for dinner. They are mostly married, and only do light work. The school fees would be from 2d. to 4d. A good many hinds are kept in the district ; they mostly live in cottages on the farms. Some in the villages go as far as two miles to their work; that is the outside. Cottages vary very much ; most of them have not less than two rooms ; ; many have three rooms, including a kitchen. They are noi crowded; as a general rule the sanitary condition is pretty good. Few men get less than 3s. a day. The rent of cottages is from 3/. to 44, ‘Women are paid 10d. and 1s. a day. Mr. Gregson, as registrar (and he is confirmed by Mr. Gowland, the other registrar), has observed that not one in six of the mixed population can sign his name, but among the agricultural population nearly all can. It is quite an exception when one cannot do so. 11. Mr. John: Benson, relieving officer at Stan- hope.—Has known ' the district all his life ; he is now nearly 70. Children usually go out to work at about 15 or 16 years of age. Women’s wages are 10d. or 1s. As: registrar, he finds that delicacy prevents women signing their names especially at’ marriages, more’ so than at births and deaths. Marriages at the office are on thé increase. He cannot ‘say that in this particu- lar there is any difference between agricultural and miners in the matter of signing their names. He does not think that any children of agricultural parents in this district do not go to school. The guardians pay the’ school fees in all cases of paupers when applied for. The women who work out are mostly single. He never remembers an instance’ of women filling dung carts since he was a boy, when a woman used to boast that she could drive a draught at harrow, but she was very stoutly built. 12. Mr. John ‘Thompson, relieving officer of the Hamsterly district, , Bishop Auckland.—Has been re- lieving’ officer for ‘six years. There are very few hinds’ houses in the district. The farms are generally very small, and are worked by the farmers and their families. He does not know any. farmers’ children kept froma school and made to work. ‘13. Messrs. Hodgson and Dickinson, relieving officers, Chester-le-Streét Union.—Boys in this dis- trict seldom work ‘in the fields, but they go direct to the pit banks at about 9 or 10 years old. Girls go out to work for farmers at about 13 years of age, or even sooner in the summer. The hours of work for women and children are from: 8 a.m. to 5 pm. They consider driving carts an unsuitable employment for women: The hinds send their childreh- far more tégularly to school than‘ the colliery ‘people, a¥ the latter are very careless about it, The guardians ‘do not pay direct: school fees, but’ cone it ip the relief, but they (the relieving officers) have’ to ascertain the school attendance of the children. Mr, Dickinson was formerly a National schoolmaster, and started an evening school He got 50’ or 60 scholars the first winter from: the pit villages. - They could mostly read and write, but the long’ “hours of work were) ‘against them, and'they could not keep awake. 14, “Mr. Parrington, agent to Lord Boyne, county Durhani.—Does not consider that’ any legislation is required for the prohibition of either women or chil- dren from unsuitable farm Jabour;'or from too long hours of work ; in fact children rarely, if ever, work in the fields, except occasionally the children’ of the very small farmers during the summer'months. Boys and‘girls are seldom hired into farm-houses before 15 years of age, and the women only work from 8 to 5 in summer, with an hour for dinner, and are so in- ‘different’ about working at all that’ they*would not L1 4 APP. G. Durham. Mr. Henley. b. APP. G. —_— Durham. Mr. Henley. b. 274 stand any injurious work or go far to it. The farm labourers are mostly supplied from the villages. They have not long distances to go to their work. The wages of women are generally 1s. ; none under 10d. The men, as hinds, have as good as 1. a week. Day labourers 15s. to 18s. There are sufficient schools in all the districts with which he is acquainted. The teachers are sufficient, and the people avail them- selves fairly of the means offered. The farm labourers are not so well instructed tor wovk as formerly, by not being so much hired into the houses of the larger farmers, who not only had them taught the whole work of the farm, but also looked after them at other times. Men consider their hours from 7 to 5 in summer. They rarely commence work before 7.30, The men are very willing to work extra hours in busy seasons, and rarely touch beer at work. ‘Ihere was an old benefit society in this place, but it was found necessary to wind it up in consequence of the disincli- nation of the young men to join it, principally from the refusal of all out-door relief to those who are in the club. 15. Mr. Flavel, auctioneer and farmer, Sedgefield. —Considers that the labourers prefer living in the villages to the detached cottages or a farm. He has himself a cottage on a farm to let, in good order, which is still empty. He cannot get a tenant. The rent would be very moderate. Four rooms on the ground floor, with garden and out-houses. He would take 31. for it. Thinks that the pleasures of the village keep people away. Men do not object to walk two miles to their work. Children are not employed be- fore they are 12 or 14. Women do only the light work of the farm, and work from 8 o’clock a.m. to 5 p.m. The great majority are married. Children do not do any weeding or herding, They merely go out at hay time. The children of the small farmers are as a class the worst educated, as they have to assist on the farm when they are young. The cottages in this district are mostly two-roomed. The new ones are of ‘a better construction. It is the custom of the country to hire by the year enough servants to go with the horses and do the cattle. They either live in the house or farm or in the hinds’ cottages, though not usually in the latter. The other work of the farm is done by daytale men (that is, day labourers), who live in the village and walk perhaps a mile or so to their work. His present hind left his last place because he wanted to live in the village for the sake of his children at- fending the school. A great many of the farmers in this neighbourhood began life as working men. 16. Messrs. Thomas Bamlett, William T. Parkin, and Robert Noddings, occupiers of land (Stockton Union).—Women work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They breakfast before they come, and have one hour at 12, They have 1s. a day; 2s. at harvest. They only do the light work of the farm. The bulk of women em- ployed are married. The distance to their work is not more than a quarter of a mile. Children on an average remain at school till 12. Then the boys go out to drive the plough, The girls do not work in the fields. The majority of the labourers on their farms can read and write, and all the hinds can sign their agreements. It is not necessary to limit in any way the work or hours of women or children. The larger occupiers do the farm work by hinds, hired by the year. Their wives work out, but there is no com- pulsion, though it is customary to do so. The cottages are sufficient in number. There ought to be between two and three cottages for 100 acres of tillage. The cottages have three bed-rooms and a sitting-room. The young members of a hind’s family do not remain at home after 16. They go out to place and service. The hiring fairs in some respects might be amended. The young people want better accommodation. The railway has done away with much immorality by taking the young people home earlier. Hinds’ wages in this district are about 16s. a week, house free, coals led, two bushels of wheat, and 12 bushels of pota- toes, with their meat at hay time and harvest. The schools are plentiful and the masters good, In general EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN the attendance is not affected by the means of the parents. Sewing classes are established for the girls. The labourers altogether are far better dressed than 20 years ago. The hinds’ wages are worth 19s, a week to them, 17. Mr. Charlton, cf Sedgefield, occupier of land. —No children go out to work before 10 years old. Most of the agricultural class go to school. Many of the small farmers’ children go to work at an early age in the summer, returning in the winter to school. The women leave home for their work at-8, and get back by 5. One hour is allowed for dinner. Labour is very scarce here on account of its being a mining district. Women’s wages in winter 10d.; in summer 10d. to 1s.; hay and harvest 1s. 6d. Not much beer given except on leading days, but itis notcommon. The women only do the easy work of a farm. The great bulk of those who work are married women, There is no occasion to limit the age of children in work ; they do not go out too young. There are sufficient schools in the district. Some children go two and a half miles. The children are never prevented from attending school by parents’ means. The wages here would be about 18s. a week for daytale men. The hinds are hired for the year. Free house, coals led, potatoes from 10 to 15 bushels, and two bushels of wheat, 15s. a week of wages, and no bondage. Single servants, male and female, are hired for the six months. Cows are rarely kept by the hinds here- abouts, There was a benefit club here, but they broke up by consent, and divided 172, each. There are Odd Fellows. The cottages are sufficient in numbers; indeed many are not occupied. 18. Mr. Isaac Allanson, farmer, Bishop Auck~ land.— Keeps a hind, to whom he pays wages as below : House rent free, a small garden, two bushels of corn, 16 bushels of potatoes, coals led, and 16s. a week, Women are paid Is. a day from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daytale men work from 7 till 5. Breakfast before commencing. Their wages are from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. a day. He has a hired boy and gir] in the house. Does not know if they can read and write. He went to work himself at 8 years old, and got little educa- tion after that, but what he picked up himself at odd times, and not much of that. 19. Mr. James Taite, Castle Eden, (from Dum- friesshire,) agent to Mr. Burdon.—Has a large farm in hand. He has engaged some hinds in Scotland. © ‘The wages here are much higher than in Scotland. There they would have 12s. a week, a house free, coals led, and potatoes. Here 16s. and the same privileges. Some men have come here from Cumberland. They are very hard workers, but very careléss of their chil- dren’s education and religious teaching, though they are close to the Border. Women go out to work at 7 or 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. Those who go out earliest’ get an extra 2d., that is, 1s. instead of 10d. Children work with the women, and seldom go out before 10 years of age; then only for a few months in the summer. He does not know any farm labourer who cannot read and write. He may say with a considerable degree of confidence that they all can do so. The cottages are included in the men’s wages, and not crowded. 20. A.B., farmer, Bishop Auckland.—Keeps no servants or labourers. Works the farm with his own family. His children have to go out very young to work aye before eight years old, but many times they can do a bit of work before going to school and after it too, 21. Messrs. Hale Stobbs, Thomas Gill, John Hut- chinson, guardians at Bishop Auckland. Women go out from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but they are seldom out before 8.80. Their wages are 10d. a day, and 2s. at harvest. These women are generally drawn from colliery villages, and are chiefly single. Children seldom work out, and never before 13 years of age. Boys are hired into the houses about 14, girls hired between 12 and 14 years old. Men’s wages are from 3s.aday. They work from 7 a.m. till 5 p.m., having breakfast before they come, and resting an hour for dinner. Agricultural labourers, as a rule, educate their children far better than the colliers. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, 22. Church of England School for boys, Sedgefield Union, under Government inspection.—The fees are 6d., 4d., and 3d., paid weekly, infants, 2d., girls, 4d. and Thomas Brailsford, master, has been a schoolmaster in Sunderland and in Lancashire in an agricultural district. On the whole, the children are better educated in Lancashire than here. The boys usually go out to summer work about 10 years old. They come back again in the winter. If they are away three months it would take as much time to put them back into the same state as when they went out. The small farmers’ children are taken away the most from school. As far as the school is concerned, looking at the question of school attendance as a schoolmaster, the half time would be the best, but not practicable in an agricultural district. The only method would be the third one mentioned in the Commissioners’ circu- lar, that is, attendance during the winter, about 88 days would be a fair attendance for the winter. The attendance is not much affected by distance, but children sometimes come to the infant school as late as 7 or 8 years of age not knowing their letters. They always remain big boys in a low class. The attend- ance is in some degree affected by the earnings of the children being wanted by the parents. He took great trouble to set up a night school, but though in the first year he got 25 it dwindled down the second to 10, and the third to six. He wrote and called on each young man individually within two miles. The night school certainly does not supply the deficiency of the day school. Of the 25 who came the first year five might be called good, five fair, and the other 15 deficient scholars. In the evening of holidays Mr. Brailsford takes some pupils out to teach them land measuring. 23. The Master of Hartwell School, Stanhope.— Some farmers’ children go to work from this school as early as 9 or 10 years of age. Their after attendance at the school is uncertain and irregular. The small farmers as a class are most careless of their children’s education. They are usually very poor men. The fees in the school are 8s., 4s., and 5s. quarterly. The attendance or quarterly payment is the best, but for the certainty of getting the fees weekly payment is preferable. 24. Mr. W. C. Robinson, master of the Hatfield colliery school not under inspection——The fees are 6d., 4d., 3d., and 2d., paid fortnightly. There are very few agricultural children. The third child is free. 25. Mr. Grey, master of New Harrington Church school.—A colliery village. The fees are 3d. a week, and 2d. for infants. ‘Two hinds’ sons are now in the school, 18 years old. Agricultural labourers’ children attend better and pay better than any other class The agriculturalists are far more anxious for their children’s education than the colliers. 26. Miss Margaret Unwin, certificated mistress of the girls’ National school, Castle Eden.—Came from North Tyne. The Catechism is not enforced in this school. Fees are 2s. 6d. a quarter. Girls do not leave so soon to work here as in Northumberland. Only two children have been working out this sum- mer, who are now at school ; both are the daughters of farmers. They make a bad attendance compared with other children. 27. Brancepeth Girls’ School—Few girls go out to work before 13 years of age, but they are kept much away from school for nursing. About 10 would be an average age for this employment, but some much younger. 28. Brancepeth School.—Ages of boys who have worked out :—William Fletcher, 14, began work at 11 years old, still at school except in hay-time. Thomas Franks, 12, son of a painter, worked one summer. James Palmer, 10, son of a groom, worked three months this summer in a nursery (garden). Thomas Fletcher, 10, son of a farmer, worked at hay-time. 29. Mr. John B. Johnstone, master of the ‘Esk National school—Says that the fees are 2d. a week. The farmers’ sons are the worst educated. Their school attendance is miserable. They cannot be edu- 2. cated as they will not attend. Eleven would be the average age for farmers’ children leaving school. Hinds’ children remain longer. Mr. Johnstone finds that evening schools do not answer. The population is too scattered. The aver- age attendance at his day school is 380 or 40, 30. William D., a boy in the above school, son of a farmer.—Is 12 years of age. Has worked out three summers. He cannot read an easy passage or write his name. ‘Jesus Christ made the world.” He does not know who Jesus Christ was. He cannot say who Adam, Eve, Moses, or St. Paul were. [This boy had only attended school for five weeks im the past year.—J. J. H.] 31. Mr. Mathew Fawel, master of a Roman Ca- tholic school, Esk.—The fees are 3s. and 4s. a quarter. Some children go out as soon as they can handle a tool; as early as 8 or 9 they go out for weeding. They return in the winter for a quarter. 32, Mr. Foster, master of the Uastle Eden National school.—The fees are 3s. or 4s. a quarter, and two children ot one family come for 2s.6d. Some children come two miles. ‘Their attendance is as good as others. There is no difficulty about fees. The average age for first work would be about 10 and that only for a short time. Children leave the school finally at 12 years of age. Most of the children know their letters when they come to school ; there is no evening school ; it was tried but failed. The population is too limited. There are no houses in the parish of less than two rooms, 33. A.B., Aycliffe—About 20 years of age. Has been hired since 10 years old ; first into a gentleman’s house, since that into farmers’ as ploughman. “ Can read poorly ;” write a little, and thinks he could keep a book. 34. Mr. Mixon, a hind living close to the Had- field Colliery school.—Has five children ; a child of 13 at school, a girl of 9 and a boy of 6 are at home. He cannot afford to send them to school. The fees are too heavy. 35. Mrs. Thomas Forester, Lambton Farm, a hind’s wife on the Hill Farm near Houghton-le-Spring. —Has two children at school, pays 44d. each for them at the Presbyterian school. She has one boy working out aged 13; he began work at 12. She took her boys away from the National school, though it was cheaper and nearer, because she did not like the way the boys were taught. The master never teaches each child, and they learned nothing, it is all in classes; and no school work to bring home. She comes from Northumberland and her husband from Cumberland. It was not because of her being a Presbyterian that she took her children from school, as she learnt the English Catechism herself and liked it. 86. Wife of a Hind at Aycliffe, Darlington. Her husband came from Yorkshire and she from Northum- berland. He has 14s. a week, a house free, coals led, 60 stones of potatoes, and two bushels of corn. She hired a girl of 12 to nurse when she worked out. “ It did not pay.” 87. Mrs. James Lawson, wife of a hind in the service of Mr. Allanson, near Bishop Auckland.—Has now got nine children, eight of whom are at home ; three of them are now at work ; their ages are 16, 14, and 12, She hopes to send the girl of 14 and the boy of 12 to school as soon as turnip pulling is over, “ that “ is if she can afford it, but times are bad just now.” The boy of 12 went to work at nine, and a little girl has been at home keeping the house all the summer. Mrs. Lawson works out herself, and has never missed a harvest for the 20 years of her married life, though one year she only got 14 days’ harvest work from having a child born, but that is now as much as they can make from the machine. The little girl of 9 cannot read an easy passage, write, or answer any question in figures or Bible. 88. Mrs. Edger, wife of a steward at Castle Eden farm.—Has eight children, three at school, of the ages of 10, 8, and 6, She pays 6d, a week for the Mm 275.. APP. G. Durham. Mr. Henley. b. APP. G. Durham. Mr. Henley. 276 : three. She has two at work, one -13 the other 15; agirl is at home as nurse; she is 11 and has not been at school for two years, as she was kept at home to look after the house while the mother was out at field work or engaged at home. [This girl cannot read and cannot write, is quite ignorant of religion and_has never been six months inaschool. This family came from Cumberland.—J. J. H.] 39. Mrs. MacMurdo, wife of a Scotch hind at Castle Eden,—Has eight children, three at school. The fees are 3d. a week, no reduction for the third child. The children learn very badly at this school and she quite grudges the fees. They bring home no school work as they do in Scotland. : _ James MacMurdo, 12 years of age, at school at Wingate (son of the above) worked out when he was 11. 40. Mrs. Francis Waller, wife of a hind, Wads- worth, Bishop Auckland.—She has four children, two out and two at school. Those at school are a girl of 13 and a boy of 10. The girl was at school till June, and then worked on the farm till October. The boy was away from school in the summer for odd, jobs, helping to single turnips and mind the, geese. Her elder children went to school till they were 14 or 15, She never got any schooling herself, as she had to be nurse at home, but after she went out to service she taught herself. Her boy goes to a Government school, but she does not like it, as the master never teaches the younger children himself, and her boy says that on many days he is not heard his lesson, and they did not even teach him how to hold his pen properly. 41. William Grey, 12, Wingate school, son of a farmer.—Has worked out for four years. Reads pretty fairly. His copy good: he answers simple Bible questions, 42. Charles Grey, brother of the above, went to work at 8. ; 43. Robert Smith, 12 years of age, Castle Eden school, the son of a widow.—Went to work at 9, carrying bark for about a month in the spring. He went to school in the summer till the next spring, when he went to work again at the bark. He has made 85 days at school the summer half year. 44. Thomas Smith, Castle Eden school, the son of a roper, 1] years of age.—Worked at the bark last spring. He had beer and 10d. a day. Worked at hay time, again at harvest, at 10d. for both. Boys carry the bark. The women and girls help to strip it. He was again out at potatoe time. Boys go out as young as 9 carrying bark. 45, Ralph Todd, 10 years of age, Castle Eden school.— Worked at the bark. His father works in a brewery. 46. George Inglis, 13 years of age, Castle Eden school.—Has worked for two years only, making bands. His father is railway station master. 47. George Graham, 11 years of age, Castle Eden school.—Has worked out this summer. His father is absent. He has been 63 days at school in the suinmer half year. 48. Mathew Miles, 13 years of age, Castle Eden school.—His father is an engine driver. Went out to work when he was 12, at the bark. His work was weeding a little about the hay and hoeing turnips. Was 78 days at school in the summer half year. 49. C.D., hired boy in Mr. Allanson’s farm- house.—Was one of 1] children. His father was a shepherd in Yorkshire. He went to work at 7 years EMPLQYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN of age. Only at school four months. He “can “read ‘nont’ not to call read.” Can only write so that his mother can understand. Can’t tell his age ; may be 20. 50. Joseph Elliott, son of the byreman, Lambton farm.—Is now 11 years of age. He left school at 9 ; but has attended night school. He has not been there this winter (December 10, 1867).. His mother has six children; three of them at school. Fees. are 8d. each ; the third child goes for 1d. The mother says she would have liked to have kept her boy. longer at school but could not afford it. The younger ones will be able to remain longer there. 51. £. F., a hired girl in Mr. Allanson’s farm+. house.—Will be 17 in February. She is the daughter of an engine driver toa mine. She went to Stanhope school for a year, but her father taught her. sometimes. Has been at service two years. She can read but poorly and cannot write; but can knit and sew as well as anyone. She went to the Sunday school, but has forgotten all about it now. She does not go to church or chapel, having no time. . 62, Anna Angus, daughter of a hind near Brancepeth, Durham, is 17 years of age. Got a bad education because she was taken away from school to. nurse. Her father came from Wolsingham, but has lived here 11 years come May. Her mother is dead and left 11 children. Her brother who is at school meats the house, coming home at 11.30 and going back in time for afternoon school, so she is able to work out in the summer and fine weather. Auckland Union, Feb. 13, 1868. The employment: of children, young persons, and women in agriculture (1867).—Report of the Guardians of the Auckland Union. 1. There are no “ gangs,” either public or private, in this union. ‘ 2. Generally in agriculture no children are employed under 13 years of age. 8. There are numerous schools in this union, and wages are much higher than in some southern counties, being from 16s. to 20s. per week in agricul- ture. The children have every opportunity of at- tending school, and very generally this is done. The Guardians of Auckland Union are of opinion that no compulsory legislative enactment is necessary for this union, either as regards the education or the employment of children in agricultural pursuits. (Signed) W. Epvear, Bishop Auckland, Presiding Chairman. Feb. 1868. STATEMENT AS TO THE REMUNERATION OF Hinpbs. Robert with Sussex Millbank, Esq.—Has 8s. a week in cash ; two bolls wheat ; 10 bushels potatoes ; rent and rates free; coals for leading, will save about 3/. 5s. yearly ; offal of pigs, and sheep killed for his family’s use; and has all his own food found him, say 8s. per week. Estimated total, 53. 17s. Thomas Lenneard with Mr. Powell, West Layton. —15s. weekly in cash; rent free; coals for leading ; boll wheat ; one cow kept; also pigs, geese, and hens kept for him. Estimated yearly value, 712. I have not been able to procure a copy of the club rules, but nearly all the labourers are in clubs; they pay from 8d. to 5d. weekly into the club, and receive in sickness from 7s. to 10s. weekly. Gero. BUTTERFIELD, R. O., Teesdale Union. ) \ IN AGRICULTURE '(1867) COMMISSION :—EVIMENCE." “~ 277 EVIDENCE ACCOMPANYING MR. STANHOPE’S REPORT. TABLE OF CONTENTS, Linconnsurre, General evidence, Nos. 1, 2. arn The Wolds District, Nos, 3-59.. ‘The Cliff and Heath Districts, Nos. 60-118. The Isle of Axholme, Nos. 119-163. The Marsh District; Nos. 164-209. 5 The Fen District, Nos. 210-272... a Miscellaneous, Nos. 273, 274.” ‘Norrincuamsuire, The half-time system at Ruddington, Nose 275-282. e me .The Sand District, Nos. 283-304, ie The Clay District, Nos. 305-323. LericesTersuire, Nos. 324-358. ' Miscellaneous, Nos. 359, 360. LINCOLNSHIRE. 1. LincoLnsHirg CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. Art the adjourned meeting of the Council held at the Corn Exchange, on Friday the 6th day of December 1867, at 11.0’clock in the forenoon (Lieut.-Col. Amcotts in the chair), to further consider ‘the em- ployment of women and children in agriculture, the education of children so employed, and the proposed - legislation thereupon. The questions submitted by the Honourable Edward Stanhope, Assistant Commissioner, at last meeting having been considered, the following resolutions were agreed to :— 7 7 1st. That as it does not appear to this meeting that the present hours of work of women and children employed in agriculture are excessive or injurious to the physical condition of either,.this meeting is of opinion that no limitation by legislation. should be placed on their present hours of work. 2nd. That no restrictions should be placed on the distances to which it should be lawful for them to go to work, inasmuch as the supply and demand of labour must regulate this ;. and also, should the erec- tion of cottages become general, such restrictions would be totally unnecessary. : 8rd. That the Government be requested to assist in the building of cottages in agricultural districts by a loan of public: money upon terms similar to those in the “Labouring Classes Dwellinghouses Act, 1866,” or by a loan of money to be repaid at the rate of 51. per cent for 35 years for three-fourths of the expense of the cottages. 4th. That no boy or girl should be employed at agricultural labour under the age of 9 years, except during harvest time, and that after that age no legis- lative restrictions: should be imposed on any boy or girl producing a certificate that he or she has attended a sufficient number of days at school (as mentioned in the Act) during the two preceding years, and that no unmarried woman shall be employed between the ages of 14 and 20 in field labour. 5th. That boys and girls be not allowed to work together at field labour, except under proper super- vision of both sexes where more than six are employed. Ex 6th. That instead of the provisions of the Factory Acts being applied to agricultural districts, Govern- ment be called upon to grant aid, either by capitation fees or otherwise, to the schools of country parishes, although not under a certificated master, and to make the examination applicable to the class attending those schools. It was ordered that a copy of the foregoing resolu- tions be forwarded to the Assistant Commissioner. ‘9. Memoranpum addressed to the Commission by 17 Magistrates for.the parts of Kesteven. We, the undersigned, justices of the peace for the parts of Kesteven, in the county of Lincoln, having considered thé questions circulated by the Royal Commissioners on the above-named’ subject, are of opinion,— Na 2 Ao ‘ That but little legislative interference with the employment of adult women in field work is necessary or desirable. In their case the question of education is not involved ; their employment is not of very frequent occurrence ; they are not subjected either to compulsion or ill-usage ; and it would be hard to deprive them of the chance of~thus adding to their earnings: With ~regard to children the case is altogether different: Their education is of paramount importance, and we think a Bill somewhat similar in-its provisions to the “Agricultural Employment Bil” (House of Lords, 147) of Lord Portman, in the last Session of Parliament, might advantageously be ‘passed into law. We would therefore suggest,— . Ist. That no child under the age of 8 years ‘be employed in agriculture for hire. SS 2nd. That no girl be thus employed under the age of 13 (except byhe special permission of justices. in petty sessions, in cases where the labour seems essential to the proper cultivation of the soil, and then only under careful female supervision), ‘This restriction would tend not a little towards the gradual entire abolition of female labour in field work ; for if women were not accustomed to it in youth they would be physically incapacitated for it later in life. =~ - 8rd. ‘That no unmarried woman under the age of 21 be employed in any mixed gang. Rade, wt 4th. That all children between the ages of 8 and 18 be obliged, as a condition of their employment in agriculture, to attend school for not less than 400 hours during each year. , eae We believe that this rule might be enforced without the inconveniences inseparable from either the half- day or the alternate day system; but if thought too oppressive, some relaxation might be permitted in favour of boys whe could produce a certificate from a specified authority (e.g., clergyman or schoolmaster) of having attained a given degree of proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic, &c. It should not, however, be forgotten that in agri- culture children can be extensively employed during ‘one-half only of the year, instead of as in many manufactures during the whole, by which they are effectually precluded from availing themselves of the benefits of a day school. In Lincolnshire, moreover, schools are numerous, wages high, and the cost of education low. There is, therefore, no excuse for its being neglected, and we believe that if such an amount of education as we have suggested were rendered compulsory, it would not entail any injustice on em- ployers, parents, or children ; and, supplemented as it would be by Sundays and night-schools, would in a very few years infallibly raise the standard of the agricultural labourer generally. _ With regard to the other points of the inquiry, restrictions as to distance appear to apply more to public than to private gangs ; and as to hours of work, it seems scarcely necessary to interfere ; but if they are to be prescribed by Act of Parliament perhaps a limit of eight hours for boys under 11 and girls under 13, and of 10 hours for boys from 11 to 14 inclusive ; in all cases an interval of one hour for dinner might be desirable. [Signed by Sir John Trollope, Bart., M.P. for South Lincolnshire (now Lord Kesteven); Sir Mon- tague Cholmeley, Bart., M.P. for North Lincolnshire ; W.. E. Welby, Esq., M.P. for Grantham; Colonel Packe, M.P. for SouthLincolnshire; Ven. Archdeacon Trollope; Christopher Turnor, Esq., late M.P. for South Lincolnshire, and other magistrates. ] Mm 2 Lincolnshire. Mr. Stanhope. Cc. Lincolnshire. Mr. Stanhope. Cc. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN THE WOLDS DISTRICT. (From Barton to Horncastie anp Spiissy). 3. TasLe showing the EmpLoyment of WomEN and CHILDREN at different seasons. 278 January - - - - - February - - . > & March - - a : 7 April - - - - - - May - - - - - June - - 7 3 s July - - - - - « August - - 2 a = September - - a = Si October - - - = = November” - - : : £ - December - - - - - - Boys of from 10 to 13 top and tail turnips. Sometimes girls, women, and big boys drag them out of the ground. Women and children pick stones. Knock- ing manure. “Tenting ” birds for boys and girls of 7 and upwards ; a few go at 6 years old. Weeding and twitching (pulling up twitch or couch grass) for women and boys and girls over 8 ; pub- lic and private gangs formed. [Planting potatoes. ] Same, with turnip-hoeing and singling. . Harvest, gleaning. Tenting. (Signed) ._Txos, B. T. Hrzpyarp, Chairman. 309. Extracts from return sent in by the Rev. H. Stockdale, vicar of Bole. . ‘It is-impossible, I think, to give answers: that ‘can be relied upon to the various questions asked, espe- cially as districts vary so much, according to the nature of the soil and manner of cultivation. | The return in adjoining parishes would be quite different, where one parish consists of clay and another of sand or loam; where in one the farming was of a high standard,-in the other of a low.;.-where the land was drained or undrained ; where the landlord looks after his: estates or not; where the land is under one ownership or several, — eae in this parish all learn to read and write, and doa little: arithmetic, but they leave school generally so very early that they soon forget almost all. Of course there are exceptions. I would recommend a certificate of a certain amount of education at 10 years old. The -cottages in this parish have been for years in a most terrible state ; but the owner, Lord Middleton, is now making extensive improvements.. We provide labour for the two adjoining parishes, where there are no cottages. All have gardens attached. CAUNTON. Population, 596. 310, Rev. S. R. Hole, vicar and landowner.—Most of the land here belongs to the Ecclesiastical Commis- sioners. The cottages are kept in fair order. There are seven poorhouses, which are very small, but none crowded.. Rents go up to 4/. for a good cottage. _ * [At the moment of my visit an impression prevailed among the farmers that the Gangs Act, 1867, applied to their system.of bean-dropping, in which a man contracts to do the work, and hires two or four children to drop after him. Rather than be at the trouble of getting licences for their men, the farmers were all drilling their beans, and the earnings were lost to-the - parents.—E,. 8.] 325 There is a good supply. of boys here, yMany,go:to. work at 8, even with horses. Girls don’t;work mugh,. except at rod-peeling, which is done by a-very large number of women and children. together; working, however, in families. ney 4 Children do not .get sufficient education ; . they: ought to stop at school two years longer, or,. still better, to come at any rate a part-of their time, 311. Mr. W. J. Taylor, occupies 200. acres.—All the boys here under 12 are day-boys. at about 8d. a day.. I,employ none before that, except.on very rare occasions; and we have plenty of labour.. I don’t, therefore, see why they shoulduw’t go to work: up..to that. age. .I employ women for weeding: corn, fot children ; and’ at the latter end of the year, if .we have! a few turnips to take up, we let them by the acre to men or women, who bring. what help they like.. Horsemen-and’ shepherds get 17s. a week. here 5 day labourers -2s, 6d. a day ;, but several men here are, out of employment now (January). , . 812. Mr. H. Morris, agent.to Mr. Hole.—A garden society was formed here to encourage cottage gardens, and offers liberal premiums for the best vegetables, &c. Anyone can exhibit by making a weekly pay- ment. The society; however, has not done the good it ought, as ¢ higher class exhibits than that for which it was intended. The allotments here are about-half a rood. each, and let at ls. a year; the. church- wardens allot them. There are 62 acres to let. Ploughing is allowed, but it is strong poor land, and they only grow potatoes. The land is let too cheap, and the labourers don’t seem to value it. 813,. William Ancliffe, labourer.—My_ boy. of 23 can’t’ read or write ; he wasn’t ever fond of it. -I sent him to school ; all my other children are there, My wife lost her foot in this stackyard with a thresh- ing machine, three years ago. It wasn’t with my wish that she went. Women oughtn’t to-go at all:. - 314. Henry Barker, \abourer.—My boy is 13. He’s been here at work two years regular; before that he went half a year. Went to school before that: He can read a bit, not write. Began to write last year at night school. ryyte C8 se '. [Parish school under diocesan inspection. 24+ ehil- dren come free. Average attendance in summer, 19 boys and 31 girls ; in winter, 36 boys and 31 girls. No night school. } BEES ge a NORWELL. . '* Population, 736. 315. Mr. J. Curtis occupies 600 acres.—Few children go to work before 10 or 11, except at bean-dropping, pea-pulling, and osier-peeling. We weed with four or five boys and girls under a man. I never saw one work so young as 8. We tried a sort of half-time here, because of what Mr. Denison told us about it; but we found. the labourers didn’t like it. One of my men wouldn’t let his boy leave school at all for work, because he was on the free list, and at certain times we’ve only a bare sufficiency. There are two or three families here who let none of their children go to school, even though they could get them put on the free list ; but thisisnotcommon, = _ Women and boys and girls’ go to osier-peeling, The school holiday is then in April; it lasts about five. weeks. eg ' An acre of osiers would take about 10 women and children. There are 23 acres of them in this parish, therefore some of those who peel them come from Caunton. They are paid by the “bunch.” The men cut the rods, and take them to the yards to be peeled. _ In winter we have no turnips to speak of, and only want boys of 10 and upwards to drive a plough, ‘ Labourers now don’t do as much, nearly as much, work as they used to do. To employ men instead of boys with horses at ploughing, if I could get them, would make a difference of 150/. a year to me. _ OSSINGTON. Population, 231. 316. Mr. Camm, bailiff to the Speaker.—I won't say Ihaven’t seen a boy or a girl of 8 at work hereabouts, e Soe 2 Nottingham- shire. Mr. Stanhope. ——— C.. Nottingham- shire. Mr. Stanhope. ec. 326 but it’s very rare. At corn-weeding a farmer will get 12 or 14 boys and girls, and put them under some one to look after them. The girls go from 8 to 6 every day, the boys generally begin at 6. I don’t think the separation of sexes at work would do any good, because they are sure to mix going home; but I think it would be a good thing to prevent girls from going out after 14 years of age, so as to get them to go to service. So long as we can be sure of getting all the children for certain times of year, when there is a press of work, I think a mixed system of school and work would be the best for this neighbourhood. There are 70 allotment gardens at Sutton belonging to the Speaker. There is always a list of names of those who want an allotment, and the demand has increased. They pay from 4s. to 1ls., and generally very regularly. The size is from six perches to two roods. If a man grows potatoes on his rood, he will get 15 sacks in a fair year, worth about 6/. to him. 317. Mr. Thomas Lester, schoolmaster. — Boys leave school here for work, such as leading horses with the plough, as early as 8 years old. A little work is good for them ; I see no harm in their being away for a week or two at a time, because I find with most boys that when they come to schood they get on very fast at first, and then seem to get tired of it, and fall into careless habits. The change of occasional work prevents this. WESTON. Population, 380. 318. Rev. J. B. Cane, rector—In March, April, and May there is bean-dropping and twitching, and after that osier-peeling. These are the only times when there is really much work. Boys go out at 10 years of age to follow the plough, and on this clay land it’s very hard work. To these works girls go also, besides a little hop-picking with their mothers. The girls go out 9 and upwards. My housemaid, who came from Shel- ford, had followed the plough and led horses. All the mothers go out to work here, and the girls have to stay at home and mind the house, even if they are not at work ; there is, however, nothing for them to do in the winter. I don’t think this interferes with the girls learning household work, because I doubt if a girl can learn much of it so young that is any good to her. At the Clumber school such things were taught, but the girls did not get places any better than the untrained ones; field-work is nevertheless immoral to girls, because of the farm lads working with them, and a married woman ought always to be with them. The overlookers are often very bad characters too. This parish belongs chiefly to Lord Manvers. Some of the cottages here are bad, but hardly any of the small ones contain a family ; but where there are three bedrooms I often find that the third one is very little used. 319. Mr. William Hunt, farmer, occupies 300 acres.—I like boys of 14 to go with horses, or at any rate not much younger than 12; but boys of 8 or so can go tenting, and sometimes a girl or two. Girls go bean-dropping and singling turnips; women mostly used ; girls pick up twitch. ‘ They go in lots ; I never saw more than eight in a lot. They go at 8 and leave off at 6, and have an hour and a half for meals ; the overlooker is responsible for their conduct. There is no stipulation about it. We are very short of plough-driving boys. 320. Mrs. Wood, labourer’s wife.—One girl (11 years) has been two seasons bean-dropping ; when she goes it’s with Mr. Turner or one of the men; each would take four boys or girls. They mostly reckon the girls the best at such light work ; they’re quicker at it. She gets 8d.aday. There would be two or three sets in a field; they go at 7 in the morning and stay till 5.30. In summer at singling EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN turnips she goes from 6 to 6. It’s very back-aching. They have one hour for dinner and a bit of lunch. I always go pea-pulling on the sand in June. We go out at 6.30 or 7 ; mostly women and big girls. I get 14d. a day. Little girls don’t go to this work. [Husband made 15s. a week regularly. A large family. ] 321. Mrs. Hill, labourer’s wife-—We're obliged to let the girls go, and when people’s forced to do it they are forced. I don’t know that it’s bad or good for them. Some of our Weston women take a pride in doing the worst they can with their tongues. My girl—she’s grown up now—“wed” a good bit with me, but she often went without me; nothing seemed to hurt her. Mr. Redgate sends Sarah Lees to look after the girls, but they mostly sends a man. Women do much less work here than they did. I reckon to go out in she spring and summer. My girl can read and write so that I can under- stand her ; she’s not a scholar. I’ve lived in this house 22 years; we pay 25s. a year, and have to keep it in repair. We've two chambers, but one’s only in the roof. [A married son lived in the same house with them. | EGMANTON. Population, 386. 322. Mr. George Spencer, small farmer.—There are only a few boys here of an age to go to work. They go with horses, and it’s then that they are most wanted ; sometimes a girl goes too. Girls go a little to hoptying and picking, and twitching. There are 10 acres of hops here, which give a little employment for the children. These is no school here. The old clerk keeps a sort of private school, but the children are his masters ; but it’s not very far for them to go to good schools at Tuxford (14 miles), and Laxton (13 miles), © 323. [In this district I visited 16 purely agricultural parishes, with the following results as to schools :-—~ Under Government inspection - - 8 Under diocesan only - - - 5 716 Under none - - - 3 {In one parish only, Egmanton (population, 386), was there nothing like a fit school ; in two others the teachers were very inefficient. ] Payments: in 14, 2d. ; for the poorer class in one, 3d. 52 children were sent free. The following table shows the average attendance in summer and in winter in the 12 parishes from which the returns were received, of which the agegre- gate population is 6,788. In Summer. ‘ On the Average Register. Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - 273 212 Between 10 and 13 - 97 53 Girls : Under 10 - - 307 246 Between 10 and 13 - 82 54 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 299 255 Between 10 and 13 - 131 104 Girls : Under 10 - - 815 271 Between 10 and 13 - 101 88 Per-centage of population on the books of any school in summer was 11; in average attendance, nearly 9. In winter, 124 and 103 respectively. Night schools existed in three parishes out of 16, and in winter only.] IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 327 LEICESTERSHIRE. . EVIDENCE. 324. Tasiz showing the EMpLoyments of Women and CHILDREN at different seasons. January. February, boys and girls of 8 and upwards drop beans in the north-east of the county. March - - - - - ~ - April - > = - - : - \ Occasional work in singling turnips or weeding May - - - - - : - (for women and boys ; tenting for boys over 9. June - - - - - - - July, hay harvest. August - - - - - - - ; September - . e ¥ ‘ ‘ S } Harvest gleaning. October, tenting for boys over 9. November. December. Few women work; girls only occasionally. Boys of 10, or even sometimes 9, get regular employment with horses, in many districts; very few attend school after that age. LEICESTERSHIRE CHAMBER OF AGRI- CULTURE. 325. At two meetings of the Leicestershire Chamber of Agriculture, held at the Three Acorns Hotel, Leicester, on Saturday, February 29th, and Saturday, March 28th, Thomas Wright, Esq., chair- man, in the chair, and the Honourable E. Stanhope, Assistant-Commissioner, being present, and having explained the nature of the inquiry, Tt was resolved,— (1.) That it is expedient that children under the age of 9 be restricted from employment in agriculture. (2.) That this meeting is of opinion that any scheme of education will be unsatisfactory which proposes to exclude all religious instruction from elementary schools. (3.) That the attempt by legislation to secure com- pulsory attendance at school is not desirable, nor is the present state of things feasible. 326. Exrracts from Return sent in by the Rev. J. M. Laxin, rector of Gilmorton, and rural dean. In answering the inquiries I have been assisted by some of the principal employers of labour in the parish, of which the population is 856. About 35 children and young persous are employ 2d in field labour, and no women; 11 of the boys are between 10 and 13. ; I think that no boys should be permitted to work before 10, and that afterwards they should attend school during the months of November, December, January, May, June, and July, as being the months when their services are least required by their em- ployers in this parish, A good school has existed here for 17 years, and most of the young persons have been there, and it may therefore be concluded that few are growing up quite insufficiently educated. ; There is a considerable number of cottages in this parish in which the accommodation is so limited as to be injurious to the morals and physical well-being of the inhabitants. They generally consist of one room downstairs of about 12 feet square, and either one bed- room or two small sleeping places'formed by the divi- sion of the one chamber by a slight partition. They are, for the most part, the property of small proprietors, and their rents vary from 2d, 10s. to 41. I may also mention, as an instance of the evil re- sults of over-crowding in cottages, that, while this parish has for the last 10 years enjoyed a singular exemption from immorality, as evidenced by the births of illegitimate children, in one house in which no less than 13 persons at one time occupied one chamber, two illegitimate births have occurred, and in one other cottage almost equally over-crowded, one such birth has taken place; these are the only two cases for several years. 327. Mr. Thomas Willson, Knaptoft Hall, Rugby, Secretary to the Leicester Chamber of Agriculture, large owner, and occupier of 500 acres.—I agree with Mr, Lakin’s view as to the means of improving the education of the children, except that I don’t see why children should be prevented from going to work before 10 years of age, so long as they go to school six months in the year preceding. It would be hard to deprive them of the little earnings they can get by dibbling beans, &c. There is hardly a village in our neighbourhood without a school. I have a small rookery, but I never tent birds. I don’t see that the rooks do any harm to the crop in wutumn, although the early crops in the spring may possibly be hurt by them ; even then, firing off a gun is better than tenting. 328. TaBE, constructed by the Rev. J. M. Laxin, showing the Ages of the Boys employed in the under- mentioned parishes :— Number — Popu- Total Boys | under 12 lation. employed. | Years of Age. Gilmorton - 856 36 8 Bitteswell - - 428 12 2 Ashby Magna - 315 9 3 Dunston Bassett = - 524 18 10 Peatling Parva - 168 3 2 Misterton - 554 41 4 Ashby Parva - 3 160 9 3 Kimcote - 501 60 24 Total - - | 3,506 188 56 329. ProposaL for carrying out the Education of Children employed in Agriculture, by the Rev. Epmunp Witters, vicar of Ashby Magna, and Secretary to Diocesan Board of Education. I. No child shall be employed in agricultural labour till he reach the age of 9 years. II. No child shall be employed in such labour between the ages of 9 and 13 unless he, a, have a certificate of having passed Her Ma- jesty’s inspector in the fourth standard at least. Such certificate to be renewed each year.* Explanations. * The renewal of the certificate from year to year would secure the attendance of the boy at a night-school, to keep up to the standard; otherwise he would soon lose what he had learnt. Ss 3 Leicestershire. Mr. Stanhope. Cc. 328. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, Or, B, have attended school 100 days,,or 20Q,. times, or 500 hours in the preceeding ‘year. 1. A school term to consist of not more than three consecutive hours, or: (in the case of night schools) less than 14 hours. 2., Attendance at,the night school to count as school “time,” but not in addition to two previous. attendances on the same day. ; UI. In spi. Mow Majesty’s inspector do not visit any particular parish, children may be sent for exa- nithation to another parish. on 330. In a letter accompanying the preceding, dated March 4, 1868, Mr. Willes says :-— “This plan has, I find, commended itself to a number of farmers. I urge for them that no ‘two counties, parishes, or even farms stand in. precisely the same position as regards the demand for children’s labour; that they ought not to be fixed rigidly to any giver months or even’ days ; that ifthe children have the inducement to learn afforded by the prospect of being free after 9 years of age, conditional on passing theoGovernment “inspector, and passing him every year:(thus sénding them .to. night: school to‘ keep up their learning), a great number will be free at 10, if not. at 9, that'all classes in a parish will have a direct object in keeping up the efficiency of the elementary . sehools, and-also of the regularity of attendance of all children under 9, as well as in forwarding those over 9-who have not yet. passed the inspector.” oe and ' ' Pye. apg ! 381.'Exrract from Return sent in by the Rev. J. F. ley ‘Halford, incumbent of Kilby. aif Population, 362. I believe that there are no children here between 8 and 13, neither at school nor work. I donot, however, by: work mean merely or’ principally agricultural employment. -Some 16 males and three females-are growing up-insufficiently educated, Most of these have been, when younger, to day schools, and several are in the habit of attending night school in winter, where they make but litlle progress. a Our difficulty at night school is. want of teachers. The mistress of the day school, already tired with her day’s work, cannot be expected to teach in it with spirit. I consider five hours day teaching to be a sufficient tax upon her strength and time. 332.:Rev. E. N. Pochin, vicay of Sileby, and dio- cesan inspector of schools.—The parish schools which I visit as diocesan inspector are chiefly in agricultural districts. Scarcely any have certificated teachers, and the real knowledge acquired is very meagre,. except in rare instances. I think that if diocesan inspection ‘were recognized by the Government, and accompanied by pecuniary assistance, it might be used as a powerful means to improve education in Church of England schools, and very large results might be secured by very small grants. At present the first classes of agricultural schools scarcely equal children of the third standard where certificated teachers are employed. The great need is efficient authoritative supervision, coupled with benefits to be derived for satisfactory results. ,m this, and other such parishes, where manu- facturing and agricultural labour are nearly equally divided, I find the parents unable to distinguish between a good and bad school; and they prefer to send their children where there are the fewest restric- tions, and the greatest independence. The proportion of children to the population is very far above the * Thus a farmer might, during the months of November, Devember, January, February (for example) send his boys to school from 2 to 4 p.m., and again from 6 to 7.30, employing them in the forenoons. ~ ilo, ate He would thus gain for them (say) 80 attendances in the day, and 40, or even more, at night school, leaving him only 40 days to make up in the rest of the year’ oN Ne _N.B.—On “turnip” farms, for instance, a boy is wanted as much in winter as in summer. : “YOUNG PERSONS, AND. WOMEN usual estimates. When I came here, and the National school (under Government) was opened, I invited all -the-children under 15 to a public tea, and upwards of 700 came. (I cannot vouch for their honour that they all were under 15.) The population was then about 1,800, and yet the average attendance at our day school is only-123., Many residents and proprietors contri- bute nothing at all to support schools or advance edu- cation, and the burden falls chiefly on the clergy, generally with small incomes, as well as the liability for all annual deficiences. Many parents are satisfied if their children only go to the Sunday school ; generally indeed the children select their own school, from the indifference of the parents, and the dissenting schools are mostly preferred, the reason being that there the children may do as they like. The dissenters are satisfied with quantity of attendance, rather than ‘quality of teaching, and the education given is worse than useless.- The. children seldom know anything. I have frequently questioned ‘them, and :foundithe grossest ignorance. As an’ instance, in the presence of Mr. E. Stanhope, Assistant Commissioner, I visited one who stated that she had: regularly, attended the “Ranter’s” Sunday school for 13 years (she was not nervous or excited). She did not know who Abraham, Moses, Samuel, or even Jesus Christ were ; she did not know if Abraham lived 50 or 500,000 years ago ; she had not heard of; St. Matthew's Gospel, and did not know if it contained any account of the battle. of Waterloo, the Emperor of the French, or not. She was unable to say who reigned in England, and could not read a word.f There can be no religious scruples or conscientious objections amongst such ignorance ; and schools like these, which only deceive with the name of teaching, and waste children’s early lives, ought not to be allowed to exist, at least without competent supervision and publication of reports. ' ; The instances are very:rare indeed where it would be a real hardship for parents to pay the small school weekly charges, and sacrifice their children’s earnings up to the age of 10, or even 12. . 332a. In a letter to Mr. E. Stanhope, dated April 9, 1868, Mr. Pochin adds :— “T send you acopy of the notes which I made in answers to queries amongst farmers, stockingers, and labourers in this parish.” pO Ge eta (a.) A few farmers collected together, agreed to these views, as follows :— Boys and girls are of very little use before ‘10 years of age, and might well be spared for school-work. mre The hours of work ‘need not be limited for boys; they will always take care of themselves, and would not work better for two hours if the other 22 were granted them for rest. . Girls should not be allowed to work after dusk ; they might work 12 hours in harvest; at other times get as much work out of them as you can, they won’t overwork themselves. *# * : ae (6.) W. S., farm labourer.—Earns 18s. a week in harvest, at other times 14s. Wishes for educa- tion, but wants his children’s earnings. Some labourers might afford to sacrifice their earnings, but he can’t. Has no objection to the feeling of his children being taught as a matter of charity. If the school charges were paid,- he would send his children regularly, and do without their earnings till they were 10 years of age. 333. Rev. F. J. Norman, rector of Bottesford, and tural dean.—The schools immediately round here are not materially affected by field labour. Bean-setting and twitching are the chief works on which the chil- dren sre employed. The otlier ‘hindrances to attend- ance are found in ‘hay-making, gleaning, and potato gathering, each cottager having a garden for’ the cultivation of potatoes. + This girl belonged to a stockinger’s family.—E. S:: “IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Ten boys under 10, 15 under 13, and 10 girls between 10 and 13, are employed in this parish, © I think it is most desirable that some influence should be brought to bear upon parents, and of course inéidentally upon ‘employers of labour, with regard to school attendance, and I believe that mode of influence which would require at least one quarter’s attendance at school in the year would be least offensive to our people, and most in accordance with the general practice amongst us. Indeed it is only the vicious and bad that do not sénd their children for at least a quarter of a year. The poorest respectable parents will send their children, while better-off slovens and bad characters will not send them, even if an offer be made to pay for their schooling. © 334. Rev. G. E. Gillett, rector of Waltham-on-the- Wold, and rural dean.—Women are a great deal employed here in some kinds of farm-work of a light description, and it seems to me healthy and advan- tageous to them, excepting in wet weather. In gleaning time many women suffer in such weather and from the excessive stooping. Girls are rarely, if ever, employed in farm-work, but they are sometimes kept at. home for lace running or similar. work, though less frequently than formerly., Boys of 11 or 12 are often in constant employment, but many continue at school somewhat beyond that age. Boys of 8 or 9 are some- times employed in bird-scaring or driving plough. I frequently see boys of that agé ‘having charge of carts on the turnpike road, The law on that subject seems to be unknown or systernatically evaded. The rule of our National school, which is a mixed school under a master, (a mistress attending in the afternoon for sewing, &c.,) is to take no children under 5, and to compel those we take to choose between school and work. We never, unless under special circumstances, allow them to be on and off during the week. If a boy goes to-work he ‘is struck off the register, and only re-admitted after the lapse of some time, or urtil that particular kind of work is over in the parish. Our school is extremely well attended. With some 12 or 14: children from neighbouring parishes which are too small to maintain a good school for the elder children, we have (our own population being about 650) about 115'to 120 children on the books, with a daily attendance of more than 100. To-day 107 are present. : I do not think any system of half-time would answer well in an agricultural parish, unless under special circumstances ; but I see no objection to a compulsory system if it do not fetter the managers of a school in their discretion as to their acceptance or dismissal of children. The strictness of our rule works well. If children are allowed to be absent whenever their parents wish it, for a day or two, they will be taken from school on the most frivolous pre- tences, and the discipline and progress of the children must suffer. Many children, after leaving the day school, come to the Sunday school, which numbers about 120 without any from other parishes. They thus keep up their religious knowledge; and to en- courage the children and their parents to read at home they are allowed to take some monthly penny periodical at half-price. I distribute about 80 of these every month. The whole of the parish, with trifling exceptions, belongs to the Duke of Rutland, excepting also that the glebe consists of 420 acres, the total acreage being 2,700 acres. His grace has’ built and is now building substantial stone cottages in place of the old ones. Some of these last are not fit for human beings to live ‘in, but they were mostly built by the labourers them- selves, with perhaps some assistance in materials ; or else 40 years and more ago by the’ parish. Tn a row of six of these last there is only one that has more than one bedroom. ‘The rents, are ‘moderate, for’ the worst little more than nominal, and the rest vary from 30s. to 60s. Many have small gardens attached to ‘their houses, and there are also a’ number of allotment gardens, each one-sixth of an acre, for’ which’ the rent is 10s. per annum, including all rates and taxes. The land is good, ‘and ‘conveniently situated. adjoining parishes. aye 329 335. Mr. E. F, Burbidge, farmer, Thorpe A‘noldé ——Almost all the land I occupy is grazing land, though the part of this parish furthest’ away from Melton has more plough land init. The occupatidns about here are’ not large, very few of them reaching 400 acres.’ Hardly ‘any children are emplpyed, and .no women. J am not an advocate for employing boys at all, because I think them the dearest labour ; a few work at bean-dibbling, and girls also. A man will take five or six of them. Then there is a little tent- ing ; but one boy on each farm is more’ than ‘the average. : ate ake ri There is nothing, therefore, to prevent their going to school, and they do go to our school pretty well up to 12 years of age. They may come free at 3 years of age, and stay as long as they like. The cottages in this county generally are not good’; in many cases they are badly looked after ; hardly any have three bedrooms. Even some of the new ones, built within the last few years, have two only. The Duke of Rutland owns a great part of this parish. He has cottages enough for his land ; but Lord Dysart with 400, and the Ravensworth Hospital with 500 acres of plough land, have no cottages whatever in in the parish for their labourers. Some of them have, therefore, to come from Melton, a mile anda half. ee 336. H. C. Woodcock, Esq., magistrate, and large occupier at Rearsby.—Some,.of the men go a long way to work here in March,,as it is not every one who can dibble beans well, and men who can do so will get employment four and five miles off. - Some of the parishes too are very badly supplied with cot- tages. There are hardly any at Shoby on 1,200 acres, and none at Sysonby or Welby. The labour has all to go from Asfordby. “ There are a great many cottages with only’ two bedrooms, but a few have only oné. Some of the worst have been built by the occupier’ upon the waste, and are held at a nominal'rent. Many of them have allotments. They are very often managed by the sick clubs, which invest all their funds in land, and let it out in plots of half a rood each. A garden of that size is as large as a man can manage with a spade. ; : - Many fewer lads are hired by the farmer now to lodge with them ; the result is these lads have’to'go on living: at-home. Besides this, in many villages near me there is a great deal of knitting ‘and-sewing done by the girls, and they are kept at home instead of being sent out to service. This makes the crowd- ing very much worse. pees The children do not go very readily to school. We have a charity for six children to-go free in our parish, and we can’t get children to attend regularly even by that means. a a 7 There is very great evil about statutes ; the worst class of servants go there to be hired. ‘The better class are now much more hired at register offices than they used to be. ; / 337. Mr. J. Hames, farmer, Rotherby.~We employ boys in tenting and. dibbling, and after 10 years’ of age in plough-driving. ‘ When I take a boy of 10 for leading a horse I employ him regularly all the year. We must find something for our horses to do every fine day. It would be no use for such boys to go to our school ; we have only a schoolmistress, and she could not manage them. They might go to Hoby, one mile from us, where there is a school with a master. a feo) oe! I find the lads who lodge in my house practise reading and writing by themselves; they are con- stantly writing letters. Such lads are hardly ever hired’ in the villages where their families live, but in We should otherwise never know where to find them. a che Every house’ in’ my ‘parish where there is a family has two bedrooms; very few have three. A few years ago the most of them had one only, but.a second has now been built on behind.” All have gardens, ‘and aré rented at ‘bout'22, 10s, or 32. Ss4 pte Gea Leicestershire. “Mr. Stanhope. 'C. Leicestershire, — Mr. Stanhope. c. 330 338. Rev. W. M. Colles, vicar of Melton Mow- bray.—In this place (population 4,446) we have a good free school for boys and girls, a free British school, and an infant school; they are well attended, and there is little or no field-work, except at harvest time, to take the children away. Of the four hamlets belonging to ‘this parish, Sysonby (population 67, 1 mile from here) has no school, and no children ; Welby (population 64, 2 miles) has none; Burton Lazars (population 233, 8 miles) has a private school, supported by E. B. Hartopp, Esq., M.P., and Freeby (population 126, 4 miles) has none. The children ought to go one mile from there to Wyfordby, where there is a school. These and other parishes about being “ close ” parishes, the poor come into Melton, and some live in places unfit for human habitation. Small owners have turned outbuildings into dwellings, and charge high rents for them. There is a great deal of crowd- ing in them. A more efficent inspection is much needed. To have it would not be infringing on the rights of private property more than is done at present, for power is already given to inspectors of nuisances ; but these inspectors have got up a sort of public opinion that they are not required to visit unless they are sent for, just as the registrars of births get it up on the subject of registration. The inspec- tion therefore is very inefficient. ASFORDBY. Population, 485. 339. Rev. J. Cartmell, rector.—The attendance at school does not vary much here in summer and in winter. Boys will stay till 10 or 11 years-of age, when they leave altogether. I find when these boys come back to me at confirmation, that they have for- gotten about all that they had learnt; their time spent at school is no longer any use to them. If they have been at Sunday school they will have kept up their reading pretty well. Bird-scaring is a demoralizing employment.; it gets the children into a sort of listless state. I tried once to induce the farmers to employ a sort of half-time system at it, but they would not do so. Many fewer lads lodge at the farmhouses than formerly ; a growing independence seems to take them home. 340. Mr. Wm. Inett, large occupier.—Grazing land predominates about here, and we employ few children. T have 10 now dibbling beans ; three are girls; one is not 8 years old, the oldest 14. This will last only a short time, but it would be a disadvantage to us not to be able to employ them, and it would be a very great hardship. The ordinary wages a man would earn here are 13s. or 14s. a week; but this is piece- work, and with his children a man can earn as much as 6s. a day for a short time. Then there is a little singling turnips and tenting. About 12 boys get regular employment with horses ; but before that they are certainly not employed 100 days in the year, and might well go to school much the largest of the year. But the parents allow them to spend so many days doing nothing. If I were to employ three boys, and they had to be at school alternate days I couldn’t get others to fill their places. They might well be spared eight days in every month, but it would be very difficult to organize them in that way. Very few lads are now lodged in farmers’ houses. The poor man therefore misses the sort of appren- ticeship he used to have, and also the kindly influence which his master and mistress had over him when he lodged in the house. [An open parish. Cottages belonging to small proprietors. “A good many with one bedroom, some with families in them.” “ None with three bed- rooms.” | HOBY AND ROTHERBY. Population, 503. 841. [A little bean-dropping and bird-scaring for young boys. Of those on the books of the schools, EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN four boys of 8, five of 9, and five of 10 and upwards ; two girls of 8, and 2 of 10, were taken away to bean- dropping. Boys were leaving for good at 10 years old, Cottages fair; all had two bedrooms. Rent, 4/. Gardens and allotments let by rector. ] THRUSSINGTON. Population, 574. 342. [Five boys of 8 and five of 9 were bean-drop- ping ; one boy of 9 had just left school altogether to plough; another, going 9, was ploughing instead of his brother. | ABKETTLEBY. Population, 371. 343. [Children go bean-dropping and tenting. They go plough-driving, and leave school altogether at about 10 years of age. The school closed. It supplied Holwell and Wart- nably also. To be re-opened in March. Several cottages with one bedroom; one of them let at 3/7. a year, another at 2/. 10s., and the rates to pay. In one, built on the waste, two married couples and a single man are living. There are free allotments, and most of the labourers keep a pig. | FRISBY. Population, 424, 344, [Belongs to many small owners. Most cottages with two bedrooms. Five of them were a disgrace to the place ; “ they have one bedroom, or perhaps a lean-to for a second,” built of mud, and rented at 4l.a year. At Kirby (1 mile off) were four very bad ones of a similar description. | MARKET BOSWORTH. Population, 997. 345. Rev. N. P. Small, rector.—We have a fine school here for boys over 7 years of age, and free schools for boys under that age, both here and in the the four chapelries attached to this parish, under the direction of mistresses. Even books are found. The chapelries are from 14 to 2 miles distant. The cottages here belong to Sir Alex. Dixie and Lord Lovelace. There are many with one bedroom and one room below, and no back door ; some of them take in three generations at once. In the chapelry of Barlestone they are very bad. [The chapelry of Sutton Cheney (population 352) is two imiles distant. One boy from there attended Market Bosworth school, and three of 8 were at the school: there. In Barlestone (population 546), three miles distant, three boys over 8 were at school, and one went to Market Bosworth school. .One or two of a similar age went to a school at Barton. From Cadeby (population 422), one mile distant, three boys over 8 were attending Market Bosworth school. I speak of children of the agricultural class; so in the two parishes of Thornton and Bagworth, with a population of 989, one boy of 11, two of 9, and one of 8, were the oldest boys of this class attending school.—E. S.] 346. Mr. Wood, farmer and guardian.—No girls at all are employed in the fields here. Women cannot be got to go out much. I don’t like such labour myself. it’s dear labour; and how can a woman with two or three children at home look after them properly if she goes out ? Boys are not much employed here under 12 years old, except for a short time. In the winter, boys under that age have nothing whatever to do. For ploughing we employ lads of 13 or 14. All boys under 12 ought therefore to go to school, and there ought to be something to compel or induce them to go. Here the school is free, and yet there are lots of boys “at a loose end,” idling about the streets doing nothing. I’ve often said I wish the ‘ IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. fyee school were miles away ; they might care more about schooling if they had to pay for it. I have'a great difficulty with some of my men; they seem scarcely to know right from wrong, and I’m sure that a better education is wanted to improve this. The wages here are about 14s. a week. Some give 13s. and beer, but I always give 14s. With these wages, if a man has three or four children, he has to make two or three pounds of mutton last him all the week, A good many of the allotment gardens here have been done away with; they are no great loss, be- cause they were ill-drained, exhausted, and encum- bered with fences. Those let by Lord Lovelace remain, and, if drained, would be valuable. However, one of the great uses of such gardens is that a man likes to have a place that he can call his own to go down to. There are five benefit societies here, all of which meet at public houses; so much drink is pro- vided every club night. I feel very strongly about this practice, which takes away very much from the value of those clubs. Some room ought to be provided in which they could meet. The hamlet of Coton, in which there are five farms, has no cottages ; hence the labourers have to walk a mile and more every day to and fro. 347. Mrs. Everett, labourer’s wife.—I go to “ clout- “ ing” (knocking manure), to pick twitch, and to hay harvest. No girls go, and not many women. There isn’t enough work to let all go that would go. I have to be at work at a quarter before 9, and leave off at 5. I don’t always stop for dinner ; sometimes it isn’t fit to stop, it’s too cold. If we don’t, they don’t like us to leave any sooner. At haymaking time we are not nice to an hour or two. Boys don’t get work till 11 or 12 years old. I’ve got a boy that goes ; he’s turned 12, he’s plough- driving. It’s earlier than many of them, but they ought to be 12 before they go out. My boy has been all the year; he was hired at Michaelmas last. I find him victuals, and he gets 3s. 6d. a week. I’ve another boy of 15 at home. Neither of them are good scholars ; they didn’t like schooling, they were bad boys about it. I’ve a girl of 12, and two other children. They all sleep in one chamber, boys and girls. My house is better than many; I’ve two rooms. The rent is 42. ; it’s more than many of them, but I’ve three “ hundred” (square feet) of garden here, and six ‘‘ hundred ” of allotment in Lord Lovelace’s field, but I have to pay for that. Tt helps to pay the rent. SUTTON CHENEY. Population, 352. 348. Mr. A. Brickwell, large occupier, and vice- chairman of the Board of Guardians at Market Bos- worth.—The occupations here do not exceed 200 to 300 acres at the most. I have never seen a young girl employed on any of them, and I certainly never em- ployed one myself. Women do go, but not nearly so much as they did. I don’t see much profit in it my- self; and as they have garden allotments to work in, and in busy times can get a little seaming from Hinchley, I don’t wonder that they prefer staying at home. T havejust asked the boy whom I employ how old he is, and he says he doesn’t know, and has gone to ask his mother. He has been with me over three years, and I think he must have been about 10 when he came to me. Under that age they are very little use ; but at 10 they can often get regular employment. Last year there was quite an outery for boys of that sort. They are sometimes hired by the year as young as 11. As soon as a boy goes to work here he is wanted to go to plough ; now that goes on all the year, and I don’t see any way to his being taken off work at any time whatever after 10 years of age. In October and November he could be best spared. To me it only makes the difference whether I should pay 18s. a week to a man to do the work which this lad does for 3s. 6d. ; but to large families it would be a downright 2, 331 hardship if such boys could not go to work. If all such boys are to go to school, could not some plan be devised of giving certificates of exemption in the case of large families, where there was real want. The parents here certainly value education more than they did. The cottages have mostly two bedrooms here ; those with one only in no case contain a family ; but there are hardly any with three bedrooms. They are scarcely ever let with the farms here, except where they are actually built upon the farm, and that is very seldom the case, BARLESTONE. Population, 546. 349. Rev. H. Homer, curate in charge.—School work is affected here not only by work in the fields, but by that in the collieries, the brickfields, and, in the case of girls, by seaming. Yet I believe that almost all the young children are sent to school here. It is free ; but girls leave early for seaming, and the boys, who have the right of attending Market Bos- worth school after 7, if they can read, leave early also. The cottages here are very bad indeed. Most of them belong to small proprietors ; the majority have only one bedroom, and often contain a family. Many of them take in lodgers. NAILSTONE. Population, 302. 350. Rev. R. Watts, rector.—Some of our labourers here have turned into colliers since the pits have been opened, and the wages have consequently risen. But most of the respectable men go to work a little in the fields here ; the farmers do not like their not doing so. One of the commonest sorts of work they do is stone-picking ; they are then usually paid by the basket, so that they can work their own hours. They usually do go from 10 till 4 or 5. Girls never go at all, but are kept at home a good deal after 11 years of age for nursing, so that the mothers may go out. Boys of 9 or 10 are taken for plough-driving, and are then often kept regularly ; before that age they are not often wanted, except for a little tenting ; they sometimes go to that as young as 8. I farm 56 acres myself, and I have sometimes had two boys to tent, sending them to school every alter- nate day. This I could manage; but for the farmers it would be much more convenient if the year could be divided, and the children compelled to attend school a part of it; some such measure is much needed here. The houses all belong to Lord Howe, and are very gocd; they have three bedrooms, and are let, with a garden of three “ hundred” (square yards), at 27. 10s. a year, and each cottage has besides an allotment of 900, at a rent of 138s. [In the school there was a certificated mistress, and one boy of 11, three of 10, and three of 9, attending. ] 351. Mrs. Jones, labourer’s wife. — I have seven children ; the youngest boy is now 15, but there are younger girls. This girl is at home now to mind the baby, but she ought to be at school. I’m not a scholar myself, but I see the privilege of it, and I have sent my children as much as I can. I see in the Langboro’ paper they’re going to make the children go to school. So they ought. My boys are good scholars; the youngest’s a very good reader and writer, but he never could do much with his sums. They went to school till they were pretty nearly 12. In some places I suppose poor folks couldn’t afford to send them; but in a village like this, where a man gets re- gular work, if he has four or five children he can send them. But it’s a bad time now, because flour’s at 2s. 10d. a stone, seconds. I don’t go to work myself, except an odd day or two. When there’s a family women are better at home. There’s Mrs. Price, she goes and John’s kept at home to mind the baby. He ought to be at school. There’s Mrs. Twigg, she is picking stones; she’d make 1s. a day on the fallow, but in a general way she works to get 6d. to 8d. a day, ; ie = Leicestershire. Mr. Stanhope. c. Leicestershire, Mr. Stanhope. c 332 [This woman came. to the parish with-her husband and small family 17 years ago. At first they had only 8s. a week, very soon 10s., which were the regular wages of the place, and now 14s. with extras. 352. Mr. Hollier, farmer, Higham-on-the-Hill.—I farm 300 acres, and employ two boys. The usual proportion about here is one plough-driving lad to every 150 acres. Of course we have other boys for tenting ; they come very young for that work. My plough-driving boys are 10 and 12 years old. They live in the village. I employ them all the year round every day, except on Sundays. If they were to be taken away I don’t know where I should get another. There is not.one in the parish of that age. I employ women all the year round nearly. They “ pyke” stones, pull “‘squitch,” knock manure, and so on, We employ them for weeding. We never employ boys for that here ; we could’nt trust them to do it, and the farms here are not big enough to send a man with them. But we can’t get women easily now; they will hardly come for 10d. a day, to work from 8 to 5, and then, of course, they never come in bad weather, so that they don’t work more than three or four days a week. 3853. Mr. Thorpe, farmer, Shenton.--We want all the boys that we can get of 11 years of age for plough-driving. Before that age I don’t think we ever want them, except for a little bit of tenting. I dare say after that age they could be spared a bit in the winter, if we were obliged to do it. But I don’t know where I could get another if my boy went to school. We can get any quantity of boys about 13: or 14 years old, if we like to engage them to live in the house. Bunt it’s not very pleasant to hear these boys about the house, and so we like to get day-boys. It’s good for the lads to be in the house, because they are well fed, and they make the stoutest men. or two at the end of the year. The boy I employ is 13 or 14 years old. He can’t read or write at all; he never cared to go to school and never will now. There is a free school in the village. One reason for keeping boys in the house is to have them on the spot to milk the cows or look after them. The first thing we begin to teach boys here is to milk. My boy has to be with me at 5 in the morning to milk, and I give him breakfast. He gets home by 6 in the evening. SIBSON AND HAMLETS. Population, 480, 354. Mr. Samuel Adams, farmer.—All our lads over 11 are taken up for ploughing ; some go even younger. Boys between 8 and 10 we send tenting ; but boys of that age we could spare most of the year. But it’s the plough-driving lads we should find it difficult to spare, because they are really worked every day. Our women don’t care to be employed much. My farm is 1j mile from Sibson, and I get most of my labour from there; but in consequence of being so far I am obliged to take some lads to lodge with me. I don’t like to do it, because of the dairymaids and girls of that sort that we are obliged to have in the house also. They made an attempt here to get rid of statutes, and one year I said I would not go to them but to the register offices. But I found at the register offices that I could not get the sort of servants that’ I wanted, and that year I was without servants for some time; so I gave up the trial, and the statutes here flourish as much as ever. | 355. Mr. Rh. H. Chapman, farmer, Upton.—There are lots of men growing up that cannot read or write. Iam afraid that there-is a considerable per- centage of young lads from 12 to 18 years old that cannot read intelligently, that is, so as to understand what they read. But it is much-better than it used to be. a SS : We only give them their food and a sovereign. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 856. Extracts from the Returns sent to the Com- missioners by Messrs, CHAPMAN and ARNOLD. Boys employed between 8 and 10 - - 6 is Hi 10 and 18 - - 18 ” ” 13 and 18 - - 6 Married women - - - - - 26 We consider that the necessary education for boys after 9 years of age should be given in the winter: months. About 20 of the labourers have full a mile to go to work, but the others are generally conveniently situ- ated. During the last few years 43 cottages have been built or renovated. The size of the rooms, ven- tilation, and drainage are good. The labourers have good gardens or allotments, and pay for cottage ard garden about 3/. a year. One-third of the cottages. are rented with the farms, the others direct from the- landlord. NEWBOLD VERDUN. Population, 708. 357. Mr. Joseph Gimson, farmer,—The number that usually make a practice of going out “ pea- pulling” during the season varies from 30 to 50 young girls and women ; the work lasts from five to six weeks. The wages paid vary from 9d. or 10d. to 2s., or even 2s. 6d. per day, according to the state of the crop, and dependent also on its being the first or second gathering, &c. The peas are picked stooping, or, when the ground is dry, kneeling. The pods are gathered into an apron, emptied into a sack ; and the workers are paid by the piece. ; Some of the workers come several miles, say from two to four ; but when the gathering is beyond our own parish, itis usual for the man who has bought the crop to convey the gatherers to aud from the field. . I believe that the moral effect of this work is decidedly: ‘bad. As regards boys, they are of little or no use to us before 10 years of age, and we could spare them during three months in the year, (say) November, December, and January, for the two following years. CONGERSTONE AND SHAKERSTONE. Population, 712. 358. Rev. R. E. Hall, rector—The whole of these parishes belong to Lord Howe, and are occupied by his labourers, or those of his tenants. The cottages are very good, some of those containing families having three bedrooms; the greater number have two only, of a good size, and all the out-buildings and arrangements are excellent. If we did not happen to have an unusual number of widows there would be enough cottages for all the labourers in Congerstone ; as it is, two only have to come from the neighbouring village. Nearly all the cottages have allotments, and ail have gardens; there are, therefore, no really poor families. Few of the women go to work; perhaps three in the parish go. Female agricultural labour is discouraged, except during the hay harvest. There is a school inter- mediate between the two parishes (they are one mile apart) for the accommodation of both. Few boys are employed, except at occasional tenting, before 12 years of age, and some of them attend school up to that age. We have only a mistress, and a master in the afternoons. 359. Mr. John Savidge, farming bailiff to Lord Howe, Gopsall Farm.—There is scarcely a boy sent to work here under the age of 10, and the few that are sent are only employed for a few weeks in seed time to scare crows. The average age for beginning is 11, but till 12 they can go to school four months in winter, We employ many boys on this farm, but all of the age of 10 and upwards. I do not see of what use they can be to the farmer until they have obtained that age, excepting as I said before, for a few weeks in the year to scare crows. Women are occasionally employed, and generally during both hay and corn ‘harvest ; besides this they IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCR)ITV. tre of little use, except to untie sheaves on threshing days. Many never go out to work at all, and those that go will only, on an average, three or four months in thegyear. 3 Girls in this district are never employed at all, but when they attain the age of 12 go out to service. 859. In Leicestershire I received returns from 15 parishes, containing a population of 7,818. The approximate. number of children of the agricultural labouring class in attendance at school was— ' ; In Summer. yeas phe oom On the Average ag " Register. | Attendance. Boys 3 : ;Under 10° - 405 320 Between 10 and 13 - 151s! 101 Girls : Under 10 - - 336 | 251 Between 10 and_13 - 115 82 In Winter. Boyét? - Under 10 - 486 405 Between 10 and. 13 - 226 172 Girls: Under 10 - - 888 298 Between 10 and 13 - 152 120 333~ ‘Thirteen parishes out of 22 had night schools in Leicestershire, winter, in which thé number of pupils was—_ : vere eae On the In average : Register. Attendance. Under 12 - - - 29 19 Over 12 - A - 204 147 360. The proportion of marks in the marriage ‘registers, though a very unsafe guide as to the con- ‘dition of education, i is of some value as a comparative ‘test between counties. The proportion of marks to _every 100 marriages is— 1855. 1865. Males. Females.| Males. Females. = oe _ Lincoln - | 29-7 | 86-1 | 21:5 | 22-7 Notts - | 30: 43-5 | 24-6 | 85-2 ‘Leicester = - - | 28-4 | 88-9 | 21-7 | 29-7 England and Wales - | 29-5 | 41-2 | 22-5 | 31-2 Showing that Lincolnshire, a purely agricultural county, has made a far more rapid advance from 1855- 1865 than the other two counties, and that its average is better than that of the whole of England taken together, especially in respect of female education, BVIDENCE ACCOMPANYING MR. PORTMAN’S REPORT. TABLE OF CONTENTS. — - CAMBRIDGESHIRE. Page Ely, Meeting -of Board of Sa - 835 Thorney a Manea ss = - - - 336 Whittlesey - 7 oy, : - Meeting of Board of Guardians - 837 Return of Committee of Board = - = % Nati>nal Schools - se a Hamlet of Coates - - os, Sutton . - - - 338 Haddenham - - - - Bg Littleport - - ~ - - - 339 ; Meeting at Vicarage 340 March - 341 Meeting of Board of Guardians of North Witchford - 842 Meeting of Board of Guardians at Wisbech > * Upwell - - - - - - 343 Fridaybridge—Elm - ee Parson Drove = - “55 Murrow -~ - - - - 344 C.-M: Bidwell - - fii: 3 Cambridge ~ - - - iy Great Paxton (Hunts) ~ - - - 845 Sandy a 7 oo Gamlingay - - = - 5 Longstowe - => 45 Bourn 2 5 ” Swavesey - - - - - ss ~ 346 Willingham - - - - - - 347 Over - - _ : - i Royston - . eek oe - - 848 Burwell - - ae oe - - 4 Soham - = : 349 Stapleford - - is Newton - - - eS Great Shelford - x Duxford - - - . Chrishall Grange “ Dungate . 353 Quy ” Bottisham - Littlebury - - Sewer’s End - - 2 Hildersham - - - = Tinton - Fulbourn - = Croydon - Swathnin Buitedk - - Swaffham Prior Cottenham - - - Waterbeach - - Babraham - - Withersfield - Horseheath. - - - Shudy Camps - - - ~ Castle Camps West Wratting Balsham - Caxton - Great Gransden Little Grandsen Bassingbourn Kneesworth Steeple Morden Guilden Morden Dry Drayton hue 1 t pe popettoa ' Mr. Stanhope. c. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. 334 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Cambridge- Page Page. ee Lolworth - : : - . - + 362 | Doncaster Union :— s — Stetchworth - = = 7 ae Rossington e 7 2 oe - 895 Mr. Porunan, Major Fryer, Newmarket - - < + 363 Conisborough = - : < = ae ae Wadworth - “ - - = ys d, Braithwell - - : - - “oy Letters to Hon. E. Portman from— Frickley - - . 7 < aan W. Whitting, Esq. - - - 335 Barmby Dun - e . - 396 C. M. Bidwell, Esq. - - 344 Owston - - % = = mgs W. R. Grove, M. O., St. Lees - ‘4 Sprotburgh - i - . nis E. Ireland, M. 0., Linton - a Barmbrough - S : ae Rev. H. J. Sharp’ - - - - 847 Almholme - : < a, Rev. J. W. Cockshott - ~ 349 Askern - - < = ey Samuel Jonas, Esq. - - - 352 Hickleton - 5 - - — Rev. J. Hailstone - - - 354 Burghwallis - - ‘ ~ ae Rev. J. Bode - - = - 360 Balby with Hexthorpe i - = Cadeby = - “ = = - 397 Campsall - « < oa Opinion of Rev. W. B. Hopkins of Littleport —- - 339 W. Walker, Esq. - - - - we 5 Extract from Minutes of Ruri-decanal Meeting at Burwell 349 Cusworth - - - - 5 Thurnscoe - - < 5 2 Skellow - - 3 eke YorksHIRE. Mexbro - . é 7 = aus +7. Loversall - - - é - Hast Ridieg: Kirk Bramwith - - 7 - a < Burstwick - - - - - 363 Carrhouse - - - = Ryhill - - - - Be = Elvington - - - = Salthaugh Grange - - 5s Long Sandall - - - = ee Keyingham : - - 35 Fenwick = “ eo Patrington - - - 5 Marr 3 5 oo Winestead - - - 364 Norton “i : 2 = Roos & = - = zs Industrial School, Doncaster - foe Rise - - 365 J. Wells, Esq., Booth Hery 2 x 399 Skirlaugh - - - - ‘5 Thorne - : 2 400 Withernwick - - - i Stainforth a - 401 Aldborough - - 366 Warmsworth - a é ~ 402 Hornsea - - - 3 Barnbrough - > a 3 403 Leven - - 4 Hemsworth - - : Elsternwick - . - 367 Tadcaster - - é A ae Humbleton - : - » Healaugh = c ” Cottingham = = - 7 Aberford ~ - : - 404 Waghen - - - ~ 368 Aston 3 S n 3 - Beeford - - 369 Ulley =» = % : 2 North Frodingham - - - 370 Harewood - 2 : : ~ 405 Weedley - - - 371 Wetherby - - - - 406 ‘Brantingham and Ellerker ae Kirk Deighton - 3 - - a 7 Hessle - - - - - 372 Bickerton a 2 fe E Bee Welton - - - , Walton School 7 a moe Beverley - - 7 Long Marston - - a Bishop Burton - 378 «Mr. Montague’ s cottages _ a Dalton Holme - - 374 ” Etton “ - é ahh North Riding. Warter - - 375 Flaxton - 3 2 408 Millington : 5 3 a 3 Sternsall - - s z 3 - 409 Pocklington . 2 bs = - 376 Anchor Plain Allotment - - - Barmby Moor = es = - Sheriff Hutton - - x 2 i Everingham - - 377 Alne = - - - i 410 Burnby - - - Sta Easingwold - . “ . Hayton - < =: as Castle Howard Reformatory - 2 ae Market Weighton - - - 378 Appleton-le-Street - = - a é 55 O. Hall, ganger -

393 H. Tireman, M. O., H. pes Birkin - - - = % 2 owden - - 389 Haddlesey a . Be Rev. Scott Surtees - a 3 - 398 Brayton - : : 2 3 36. i J. Bladworth, Esq. . s 2 - 401 Swinfleet - - - - 7 - Rev. F. D. Legard = = - - 411 Goole é = 7 = 7 i 7 7 W. C. Worsley, Esq. & a “ 412 Raweliffe - - - - = eee —_—— IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 335 ; : . Page Page Meeting of East Riding Chamber of Agriculture at Bever- Returns from Lord Wenlock’s tenants - - - 386 ley - - - - = _ 2 873 Meeting at Howden - - é - - 389 Meeting of East Riding Chamber of Agriculture at Brid- Selby Chamber of Agriculture - - - - 391 lington - - - : - - - 883 | North Riding Chamber of Agriculture « - - 407 Meeting at Driffiel - - - 381 : CAMBRIDGESHIRE.. ——$—— ELY. 1, Mr. Claxton, clerk to Board of Guardians.— There are two public gangs that go out of Ely. The boys at the workhouse school are taught agricultural labour in the fields belonging tothe Union. The girls are taught washing, cooking, &c., and remain at school till 15 years of age, when they go out to service. 2. Minutes of the Mrrtine of the Boarp of Guarpians, Exy. Mr. H. Martin, Chairman. It was generally agreed that the winter months, from end of November to March, should be the only period of the yeav during which any compulsion should be used with regard io the education of the children. That it is desirable in legislating to avoid any inter- ference with the maintenance of a family as aided by the children’s earnings. That 8 years isa fair age at which to place a limit, and that from 8 to 10 certain restrictions as to edu- cation may be placed on children. Some were in favour of 10 years as the limit. Schools are wanted in some paris of the fens; in many cases children are unable to go to school on account of distance. Night Schools—It was thought that there would be a difficulty in finding competent persons to con- duct and teach. Sunday schools of all denominations said to be well attended. Boys go to plough at 8 years and under. Girls go to field from 10 to 14 years, then some go to service ; they are not improved by field work; but are said to be necessary for it. The feeling generally was against compulsion as to the mode of employment of children and against legislative interference, except with much elasticity, and to a limited extent. Many private gangs in the district. It was not their opinion that the Agricultural Gangs Act, 1867, would do away with public gang masters, and con- vert the system to that of private gangs. Statute or hiring fairs exist for the engagement of domestic servants, but not of farm labourers. Half-time system would not work. Perhaps one day in a week might be given for education. THORNEY. Population, 2,219 - Acreage, 17,697. 3. The whole of this parish is in the possession of the Duke of Bedford. The cottages are very good, but it is said that there are not enough for the population. There are good schools, but theré is no night school. It is a fen district. Cottages and farms at a great distance from church or school are commun. 4, The subjoined extracts are from a letter written by Mr. Whitting, a resident in Thorney. “Tn all corn-growing districts juvenile labour is largely and essentially required. It will, I believe, be found that occupiers of tillage land require during the summer season the assistance of three or four children for every 100 acres. A farm of 400 acres will employ a gang of 12 or 15 from about the middle of March to the end of October, with an interval of perhaps a month or six weeks before harvest, when all the weeding and cleaning of land will or ought to have been done. The employment of this labour ig at once an important source of support to the jabourer’s family, and the means of training the chil- dren for their future work in life. ‘he farmer, there- fore, rarely finds any great difficulty in prucuring hands for the work. His difficulty is to determine the best method of employing them consistently with their moral and physical interests. For this object I know of no more effective or convenient arrange- ment that can be suggested than that of placing them under the care and direction of « superin- tendent, who is himself under the direction and in the private employment of the farmer; in other words, the system of private gangs. “T am no advocate for ‘public gangs;’ I would have them absolutely abolished by law. The system is bad in principle, and disadvantageous alike to the employers and the employed. “ But while T concur with the Commissioners in their condemnation of the public gang, I entirely demur to their observations, so far as they seek to place the private gang in the same category. Let the legislature enforce some slight modifications of the system in the way of restriction as to the age at which, and the time during which, the children should be employed, and I doubt whether any better arrangement could be substituted for the employment of juvenile labour than a properly constituted private ang. “ Judging from my own experience, and having regard to the interests both of the employers and the eraployed, I think, that as a rule, boys are fit to work in the gang at 8 and girls at 9 or 10 years of age. At 15, the latter should be altogether excluded from the gang. Boys gradually pass off to a higher class of labour, and girls should, at the age I have stated, begin to engage themselves in domestic ser- vice, or if necessary assist in their families at home. “ With reference to the hours of labour, I have found that children may very fairly work nine hours in the day, beginning at 7 o’clock, allowing a rest of half an hour for breakfast, and an hour for dinner, and Jeaving the field at half-past 5 or 6, according to their distance from home. . “ Nor need it be thought that two or three miles is any great distance for children to go to and from their work ; their out-door labour, under such conditions as I have described, promotes great buoyancy of health and spirits, and rarely produces undue fatigue. Where the children are living too far from their work to walk, it might well be made obligatory upon the farmer to send a light waggon or cart for them, as is now frequently done in the case of public gangs. I may add, as an important consideration in dealing with this subject, that the usual payment made to children working in the gangs, or otherwise employed on the farms in this part of the country, varies from 6d. or 7d. to 9d. a day, thus averaging 3s. or 4s. a week to each child. Then as to the education of the children who are thus employed, I have no hesitation in saying that this can be fairly and sufficiently , attended to during those periods of the year when the demand for their services in the field ceases, namely, the four or five winter months, and the month or six weeks in the summer, to which I have referred. Every child of ordinary abilities, who is made to take advantage of these leisure intervals may, at least, be taught to read intelligibly, to write legibly, to do common accounts with accuracy, and otherwise fit himself for the practical purposes of life. Many of them, as a fact, avail themselves to a far greater extent than I have indicated of the educational ad- vantages which are now so universally offered in Tt 3 Cambridge- shire, Mr. Portman. d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 336 rural districts, and which are also more universally sought for and appreciated. T have, at the present time, working in my gang, children of the third gene- ration, whose parents and:grandparents preceded them in similar occupations, most of whom I am glad to know have long since creditably established them- selves in their respective spheres in life, while some of the younger ones, under a higher degree of educa- tion, have qualified themselves for offices of private trust, and for appointment on railways, or in the- police force, or other public services, or as mechanics and artisans. This year my gang began to assemble for the season on the Ist of April; on the 6th there were 12 children at work, but on Monday the 8th only two presented themselves, all the others having gone to attend at their schools to meet the inspector ; the two remaining children had, unfortunately, been prevented by sickness, during the winter, from so qualifying themselves. “ T have no doubt that many farmers could give as favourable a report as I have done, perhaps more so, of children who are working, or have worked, in their private gangs; and I know of no supervision by licences or otherwise that can much improve the system. Farmers generally have too much self-respect, and too kind a feeling towards children under their employment, knowingly to appoint an immoral or an improper person to superintend them, and I don’t think they will require the aid or would approve of the interference of the rural police to instruct or control them in the management of their gangs, while at the same time I fail to see how the children, thus usefully and profitably employed in the field, are likely to have their morals less safely guarded than they would be in a school-yard or in the village streets. _ “ One word more and I will conclude this letter. The Commissioners, in their report, record their opinion that the gang system is the direct result ‘of the pulling down of cottages in close parishes, and of the forma- tion of large farms without providing an adequate number of cottages to contain the work people required for the labour of the farm. / However true in some respects this may be, I am inclined to think that the observation is one which may give rise to a wrong impression on this subject of cottages, and which if acted upon by the legislature would Jead to abortive results. “ It should be remembered that where parishes are very large, in the fens of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and parts of Yorkshire, it is desirable that the labourers should reside in or near to the principal villages or hamlets for the general conve- nience of their families, for the sake of domestic economy, and for the opportunity thus afforded them of attending places of worship and sending their children to school. Many also prefer the village as the more social position. Now, a farmer will gladly make arrangements for sending his foreman, his shep- herd, and yearly servants to places of worship on Sundays, and their children to school, but this could not be expected of him by all his labourers, if they lived on his farm, perhaps three or four miles away from the parish church and schools. As an instance in point, I may mention that a relative of mine, some “few years ago, built several cottages for his tenants on a remotely situated estate, only one of which has at present found an occupant. If families had to walk three or four miles to places of worship on Sundays, and their children to go daily the same distance to school, throughout the winter, they would assuredly losc the advantages of religious, moral, and secular instruction. “Tam, &. « Wm. Waittine, J.P. “ Thorney Abbey, Isle of Ely, * May 13, 1867.” MANEA. A hamlet of Coveney, five miles distant. Population, 1,206 - Acreage, 4,768. 5. Thomas Norman, gangmaster.—I have been a gangmaster for four or five years. When the gang- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN master's trade comes to an end, the farmer will find it very expensive to send out a man with five or six children, and the smail farmers will have a job to get. ie ss ee a a i . Di the work done one or two days in the week, if there - are no public gangs. The large farmers have plenty of hands among their own labourers. If the farmer paid me to take charge of a private gang, it would’ not berso good for me in money as the public gang. “The parents want the children’s earnings; they can’t afford to keep them at home. There are three or near four months in the winter when there is no work to do in the fields, I can read and write enongh for what I want., ~ ea ‘ oy 6. Mr. Plowright, farmer.—lI farm nearly 1,000 acres., Am opposed to the public gang system, but employ many children ; their labour is necesary for farming: operations. I do not think that the gangmaster’s occupation will cease in consequence of the Agricul- tuval Gangs Act. The children’s earnings are neces- sary for the support of the family. Adult’s wages are 12s, and 13s. a week. WHITTLESEY. The parishes of Whittlesey, with the hamlets of Coates, Eastrea, and the surrounding fens, contain a popula- tion of 6,967. Acreage, 25,131. _ 7. T. Bowker, Esq., J.P.—Under a proper -ganger the children are well taken care of. Itis very desirable that the ganger should see the children under his charge home to the village. Girls should leave the gang at 13 years ofage. I have never known a case of complaint of ill-usage in a gang during the 42 years I have been on the bench. The average distance to work is three miles. 8. Mrs. German, wife of ganger.—I have often been out with the gang. The children go to school in the winter. I have known many girls go to service from the gang after 13 years of age. Private gangs are collected by giving ld. a day more to each: child than in the public gangs [that is to say, the children get all the money, instead of 1d. a day being deducted by the ganger.—E. B. P.]. It will be difficult to keep boys and girls apart in private gangs, as there are often two or three of one family working at the same job, and they want to go together. It is very hard work for a woman to superintend a gang. A great many parents don’t care where the children are, so long as they are out of the horise. 9. Mr. Greig, schoolmaster—Would like to see infant schools established. The children are very rough and saucy when they return to school after field work. Rev. W. Waller, St. Mary’s vicarage. Extract from Return. 10, I think enforcing some amount of school attend+ ance, during the time the children are not at work, would be the method most applicable to this parish. There are many parents who are too poor to pay for their children’s schooling, but even when it 1s paid for, they are careless about the attendance. == = * The want of cottage accommodation hasa bad effect ou the morals of the poor. : Night schools have failed in this parish; the childyen are too tired to give the requisite attention: , There are seven dame schools. 11. John Morris, gangmaster—Have been ganger for six years. I never took my wife to field to help look after the gang, and I do not think a woman can manage a gang. I do not think a gang of girls would be employed as much as one of boys. [It was his impression that the Gangs Act will, by separating the sexes, greatly put a stop to the em- ployment of girls in field work, as a woman cannot keep them in order, and the farmer knows that in weeding time, if the girls romp about, much corn is spoilt,—E. B. P.] Where private gangs are employed the overlooker does not see the children home to the village. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENCE. 12, Merrine of the Boarp or Guarpians, WHITTLE- sex. Mr, Livert, Chairman. Seventeen guardians present. It ea agreed that 8 years should be the lowest limit fur field work, though some were in favour of 9. There was a feeling that an alteration should be made in the Poor Law to enable relief to be given to families where fathers’ wages are not enough to sup- port the family, in case of children under 8 or 9 not being allowed to work, and that, as in that case the burden would fall on the ratepayers, there should be a general tax on all descriptions of property to meet this waut, and not only on the land. It was suggested that women from 15 years upwards should not be allowed to go to field, unless married. Girls’ labour cannot be dispensed with in weeding and twitching time. It was stated that the state of morals in the gangs is not nearly as bad as has been represented. As to the separation of sexes in private gangs, a difficulty would arise on account of several of one family going together with one victual bag, and taking eare of each ether: also that it would be cutromiely difficult to get a woman to go with the gang. They were of opinion that the question of distance to work would, and is righting itself. That the health of the children is by no means injuriously affected. Half-time or alternate day system unanimously condemned. It was thought that three months winter, or from mid-November to mid-March, might be devoted to education, or a system of compulsory night schools for lads might be established. One ‘guardian was opposed to employment of girls altogether. The bad state of the cottages was considered to be the root of demoralization of both sexes, and to de- mand the attention of landlords. In Whittlesey there are many small owners of cottages; in some instances cottages are owned by labourers, who iuhabit them. In the fens there are cottages uninhabited ; people do not like living a long distance from villages. Union Chargeability Act does not apply to Whittle- sey. ‘Good schools and every facility for education in the town. 18. Return made by CommITTEE of GuarpIans of WHITTLESEY. Private gangs exist in the parish, The cultivation is chiefly arable. The employment of the gangs is :—In spring, in cleaning the land; in summer, in weeding; in autumn, in spreading manure and taking up roots. . For those who live near the farm the hours are 11; for those at a distance, 12; with 14 hours allowed for meals. The sexes work together. Three-fourths of the children are able to read and write ; among the adults the proportion is not so large. We do not think legislation is required for private gangs. There is always plenty of leisure time, especially in winter, when the children can attend school, there- fore the best mode of enforcing school attendance is that under the Print Works Act, for a certain number of hours during the preceding six months. Children can be sent to the National and other schools at 1d. per week. The cottage accommodation is very insufficient, and has its inevitable results on the health and morality of the poor, There are several night schools, open generally’ for two hours on tive nights in the week, where reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. They are well attended, but there is an. occasional deficiency of teachers. 337 14, Nationa, ScHoois, Wuittiesey, In Winter. Average attendance of boys . 115 43 Pe of girls - 97 In Summer, Average attendance of boys - 51 - - of girls - 50 15. Ponv’s Bripcz Scuoor, St. THomas’, In Winter. Average attendance of boys > 48 ” ” of girls 47 In Summer. Average attendance of boys - 37 ‘i ai of girls - 40 16. Return of Private Gane employed by Mr. SUEPPERSON. Age. | Boys. | Girls. —_— 8 2 — Can read and write. 10 3 — One boy cannot write. ll 2 1 Girl cannot read or write. One girl cannot write. 12 2 4 One boy cannot read or write. One girl cannot write, 13 2 3 One boy cannot read or write, 14 1 3 One boy cannot write. 15 — 2 Can read and write. 17 am ] ” ” 17. Return made by Joun Lirttz, of ELDENWELL, CoaTEs, near WHITTLESEY. Population about 7,000 - Acreage, 26,000. Private gangs are employed. A private gang employed in— — Males. | Females. | Total. Spring - - 19 9 28 Summer - - 19 9 28 Autumn - - 13 9 22 Winter - - 13 5 18 Males: Between 8 and 10 - - - 2 » 10 and 13 - - - 12 » 18 and 18 - - - 6 20 Females : Between 13 ard 18 - - -9 They are employed in spring, in hoeing, weeding, twitching, and sometimes driving teams; in the sum- mer, in weeding, twitching, or gathering cooch grass; in autumn, in knocking manure, taking up and clean- ing roots, and twitching ; and in winter the younger children are at home, and the elder ones are employed in shaking stubble, and the light work in thrashing. Hours of work, from half-past 6 a.m. in summer to a quarter before 6 p.m. They leave home at a quarter past 6 and gei home at half-past 6 as a rule. They are allowed for meals—break fast, 20 Tate and dinner an hour, The sexes work sometimes together and sometimes apart. Phe state of ediication is low, of a mere ‘elementary kind; such as.is taught at a mixed day school, Sundny, or evening school, ~ Tt 4 Cambridge-_ shire, ~ Mr, Portman. d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 338 I think private gangs might very well be left with- out legislative interference, except for education and the age at which children should be employed ; 9 yeurs is early enough for girls to go to work, and 8 for boys. It would be impossible for our children to go to school for half or alternate days. School attendance might be enforced for three months in winter. Nearly all the children live in the village. Most of the parents can afford to send their children to school. Cottage accommodation is very insufficient, and over- crowding is the cause of much disease and immo- rality. There are too few cottages on the farms, but the village is conveniently situated. The number of cottages in the village of Coates is 131:— With one bed-room. With two. With three. 33 82 9 The rents vary from 60s. to 160s. Average rent about 73s. Seventeen cottages are occupied by the owners. In a large village like Coates it is impossible for me to collect the necessary statistics to answer all your questions, but I know there is a great deal of overcrowding, both in families and with lodgers, and very deficient ventilation and drainage. I am_ not acquainted with the provisions of Act 27 & 28 Vict. ec. 114, Supposing the above Act applies to landed estates only, could it not be extended to owners of cottages as aloan or second mortgage, at a moderate rate of interest, to be expended on additional sleeping rooms ? The tenant would, I believe, be willing to pay the interest as an additional rent. Scroot. In Summer. Boys: Under 10 - - 26 Between 10 and 13 - - 0 Girls : Under 10 - 30 Between 10 and 13 - 4 Total—Boys - 26 Girls - 34 60 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - . ae 25 Between 10 and 13 s 6 Girls : Under 10 - - - 35 Between 10 and 13 - 10 Total—Boys 31 Girls _i8 There are two evening schools kept by labouring men for 21 weeks in winter, for boys only, for two hours a night for five nights a week; average atten- dance about 80; they are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. It does not adequately supply the deficiencies of the day school, The want of a room and a good teacher are the principal difficulties in supplying a night school. There are three public gangs in the village of Coates, consisting of 32 boys and 16 girls; total, 48. SUTTON. Population 1,731 - Acreage, 6,970. 18. Lhe Hon. and Rev.C. Spencer, vicar.—The state of education is very deficient ; very few can ever sign the marriage register. Many of the farmers are very illiterate, The cottages are rather crowded; they EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN mostly belong to small owners, who get all they can out of them. Thinks children’s labour is necessary at weeding time. The women also go very much to field work. Exrract from Rerurn made by the Hon. and Rev. C. O. Spencer, Sutton. I would make the same regulations for private as for public gangs. I believe the regulations for private gangs should be most rigid, especially with regard to the gangers. No girl under 10 years of age should be employed upon the land, nor any boy under 9 years in spring and summer, or under 12 years in winter. Every child under a certain age should be required to attend school for five months, from end of October to April; but no system of half time or alternate days would answer. ScHoo.. In Summer. Neca On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - 18 15 Between 10 and 13 - 10 7 Girls ; Under 10 - 15 10 Between 10 and 13 - 8 5 In Winter. Boys : Under 10 - 25 22 Between 10 and 13 - 15 13 Girls : i Under 10 | 20 | 15 Between 10 and 13 - | 10 | 8 | | There is a night school with 80 scholars, HADDENHAM. Population, 1,976. Acreage, 8,912. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 19. Rev. H. Hughes.—Private gangs exist, There are not often boys as young as 8 years employed. There is a great want of female servants; the girls who have been to field work will not stay in service, Little Dboys are much employed in driving manure carts. There are some families in his parish who get on very well, and keep their children from going to work till 10 years of age; it depends on the prudence of the parents. Girls should not go to field work till 18 years of age, if at all, Farmers employ women and girls on account of the cheapness of their labour. ‘There arc in the parish a boys’ school, a girls’ school (National), a Baptist school, and a night school every night in the winter. 20. Exrract from Rerurn by Rev. H. Hueues. Boys should not go to work under 8 years of age. The 10 hours for work should include the going to and returning from work. . -I would recommend that attendance should be enforced by alternate whole days at school and whole days at work. If children go to work in the morning they are not fit for school duties in the afternoon, and the farmers would require the first half of the day at work, if any. The girls’ and infant schools are free to the children of the poor, but the attendance is very irregular, owing to out-doors employment. Most of the cottages have two bed rooms. The great evil of the out-door employment amongst females under 13 is, that their evenings and Sundays are free to themselves, After work they will dress up and walk about in the evening; thisis a fruitful source of immorality. If the females under 13 were restrained IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—LVIDENCE. from out-door employment, they would not get an early liking for it, and I think the parents would be more anxious to get them out to service in families ; and if they were kept at school till 13 years of age, out-door employment would be distasteful to them. In Summer. —— On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - 84 36 Between 10 and 13 - 41 380 Girls; Under 10 - - 108 61 Between 10 and 13 - 15 8 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 80 80 Girls ; Under 10 . - 114 66 Beiween 10 and 13 - 32 19 LITTLEPORT. Population, 3,800. Acreage, 16,000. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 21. Return made by Rev. W. B. Horxins, vicar. Private gangs exist. Almost all the children of agricultural labourers in this parish, between the ages of 10 and 16, are em- ployed. In a few cases, children under 10 years have gone into the fields. Every farmer employs the labour of children and young persons. They are employed in cleaning the land, weeding, picking potatoes, &c.; boys are employed at all times to lead horses in carts and waggons. Hours in sum- mer from 6 to 6, hours in winter from 7 to 5, with one and a half hours allowed for meals. The sexes work most commonly together. I believe it has much the same effect on the morals as any other gathering of boys and girls, e.g., in the village street during the evening and at night. The effects are very bad upon girls. They become unwilling to submit to the restraint and regular hours of domestic service, and too often they become unthrifty and slatternly mothers. The state of education among the young and adults is bad. In five years ending 1866, 42°25 per cent. of the signatures in the marriage register were made by marks, In Littleport the private gangs are managed in a humane way. I should define a private gang to be a company of not less than 10 children, or young people, working for a farmer in the fields under the superin- tendence of a respectable labourer. It would be much better if females did not go to field work at all, except in hay-time and harvest. No girl under 12 years should go at all. Boys under 9 years should not be sent to field work. It seems right that children under 13 years should not be required to work more than eight hours a day. Many labourers in this parish live more than three miles from any school, and their dwellings are widely seattered, To them the education of their children at school is practically impossible. 7 [There is a new school being built by subscription in the fen, at a distance of three or four miles from Littleport, at “ Dairy Houses ” hamlet, where service has hitherto been held in a barn.—E. B. P.] An agricultural labourer earning 12s. a week cannot afford to pay much for education. There are two kinds of cottages here— 1. With one lower and one upper room, some- times two rooms on basement. Are unfit for a family. Rent, 27, 10s, a year. 2. 339 2, With two lower and two upper rooms, fit for a small family. Rent, 4/, 10s. to 61. 10s., accord- ing to size of garden. Water supply and drainage are bad. There are some belonging to the feoffees of the town charities, which are rent free, the tenants being subject to some good regulations. These have been improved during the last 20 years. The ditficulties in the way of maintaining a good night school are— 1, Want of efficient paid teachers. 2. Want of funds to provide a staff of teachers. 3. Unwillingness on the part of young people to begin again the drudgery of elementary learning when they have once left it off. 4, The distance which the young people have to walk to school after their work. 22. AGRICULTURAL Private Ganes, ParisH oF LitTLEerort. An opinion, as requested by the Commissioners, on th matters referred to on p. 6, questions 23—26. 1. There is a very important difference to be noted between the cases of (a) children, young persons, and women employed in a factory, or in print works, or in a mine, and (4) children, &¢. employed in agriculture in a private gang. : In the former case (a) the bulk of the children, &e. employed in a factory, &c. remain the same; their names and ages must be registered and changes can be easily traced. In the latter instance (4) the children, &c. are never long the same, even on the same farm, but are con- stantly changing, sometimes working for one farmer and sometimes for another ; employed for a few weeks and then scattered. In fact, a private gang is a sort of earthly nebula; you can see it from time to time, but it is most difficult to resolve or to define. 2. It follows from this peculiarity that the Legis- lature cannot so readily deal with a private gang as with a factory ; for, (1.) It is far more difficult to trace the children and to find out whether, and where, and for how long a time they are employed; and, | (2.) Any law would be more easily evaded and detection would be far more difficult. 3. If, therefore, legislation on this subject be resorted to, it becomes of very great consequence that the sympathy and co-operation either of the em- ployer, or of the parent, or of both, should be cordially given to any measure which may be proposed. Should the new law prove utterly distasteful both to the employer and to the parent, it will only issue in evasion, or in contraband practices. It seems, too, as we have seen, that from the very nature of the case evasion will not be difficult, whilst detection must be almost impossible. There is, therefore, no slight risk lest the law should become a dead letter, and tend to demoralize the people whom it was intended to elevate, 4. It seems desirable, then, to ascertain whether there be an age below which the labour of the child is worthless (or of little worth) to the employer, and his earnings inadequate to the supply of the extra food and clothing he will need in the gang. For if there be such an age, no hardship can be inflicted either upon the farmer or the parent by making it illegal for any child to be sent into the fields to work below this age. 5. What, then, is to be done with children, during this nonage, whilst they are forbidden by the law to go to work? Can we trust to the parent to do his duty, and to send his child to school? In some re- mote homes, in this parish, no school is within reach; are the children in these homes to be compelled to live in idleness? Theirs is a case which seems to require exceptional treatment. But when there is a school within reach it is tolerably certain that the respectable labourer will make an effort to secure an education for his child. And, with regard to orphan Un Cambridge- shire. —_— Mr. Portman. d, Cambridge- shire, Mr. Portman. a. 340 children, or children forany cause receiving out-door relief, the permissive..Act. of Mr. Denison might be made compulsory, and the rates be: fairly charged with the cost of their education. 6. There is of course a further question which demands-a,reply.: Is.it right to insist by law upon a compulsory attendance at school ? Must. a parent be compelled to produce a certificate that his child has. attended school for a defined number of years, .and for a specified minimum of times in each of those years, before the child can be allowed to work at all? T should say no to both of these questions, because 1 have no faith in compulsory education; and I am certain that a lad-who.is partial to marbles, chuck- farthing, or truant-playing cannot by Act of Parlia- ment: be made fond of school: But I may remark that these questions cannot receive an affirmative unless— (1.) An efficient school is within reach of the child’shome, say within two miles; and unless— (2.) The parent may reasonably be presumed to ~* ‘possess the means of paying for his children’s ~-gchooling’; and this is a question either of .. -higher wages, or of.free. schools, i.e., of schools . made .free. by,.grants from local or Imperial Ale ote, stagation, 76... 5 . ‘Te: So-far we have-.considered only the case of very young children; but when a child grows up beyond the unprofitable age; it seems fitting that the employer should not-be deprived of his: Jabour, nor that: the parent should forfeit the advantage which may accrue from his wages. It is important, too, that they who must. expect, to work , for their..daily. bread, should at an early age be inured to some of the hardships which they will have to bear; it is, in fact, a part of their training, and therefore of their education. But whilst this is freely granted it must also be added that-in agriculture, as well as in manufactures, the State is. bound to interfere so far as to secure, if possible,‘that no: child shalt become stunted in the growth of soul or body either by improper or exces- sive labour, or by being entirely removed at..a‘too early, age from school influences. ined ~ 582, What. kind of legislation, then, is required 10 provide, for these children? ,; Can Idgislation be ‘adapted to their case at all? .I am disposed toithink that it may be; and:in such a way as to do no wrong either. to:the employer-or the parent. ©... |: - 9% Tam intentionally leaving out the question how far bodily health is likely to be:injured by working in the fields. : The only.kind of toil which is dangerous td. héalth is-weeding when the corn is high and wet. ‘Kven'this kind of labour is: perhaps not more unhealthy than. some’ kinds: of work: in factories;.print works, and mines ;:and- its: danger might be modified or removed -by»proper: precautions: as. to food and change of cloth- ing, « he: question of. health ought to be referred.to nedigal authorities; but I believe.a- very general experience proves that almost all kinds of field work to which women and children are put is healthy and health-giving, rather than the contrary. cxory PN 10, Nor is,it:my.intention to speak of the moral or ‘immoral influence of field: work, because I am at a loss to.understand that in a private gang (and these only are:now under consideration), directed by-a respectable conductor, there can be -any' special or peculiar moral danger: to young persons over and above that which ‘springs from the common temptations of a life of toil. ‘No-rank and no employment can be exempted from the need of watchfulness and Christian prudence. A1,. I confine myself, therefore, to suggesting what may be done by the legislature to secure that-a certain amount of: education shall be given to children em- -ployed.in agricultural labour. I may at once state my -canviction that the only way in‘which education. can be. combined with agricultural labour is by means of ithe evening’ school. I may confidently assert that’ no boy -or .girl--ought entirely toigive up being: taught ‘before they attain to:the' age of 14, for ‘after 12 a -child begins to understand:the value of education,:and -becomes willing to’ give ‘hisswhole mind to-its acquire- uu EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS,. AND WOMEN ment, But if a.child leaves school at 10, he -will very rarely encounter the difficulty and overcome the shame of. beginning again when he is older. If, therefore, chi.ren are sent into the fields at an early age, care should be taken to keep up:theix education, and not to allow them to forget the little they have then acquired. This, however, owing ‘to the peculiar nature of field work, can, as I believe, only be done by their attending a night school; and, to be able to do this with any prospect of real advantage, they should be allowed to leave work two hours earlier whenever they go to the night school. a 12. My suggestions may thus be summed up in a tabular form:— _ . eS ak (1.) Prohibit the employment of children under 10 . years of age, except in cases where no school is - within two miles; and then only allow the child ’ to work with its own parent. (2.)- Between the ages of 10 and 14 require all children employed:in the fields to attend an evening school four days in every week whilst so employed; and whenever they attend even- ing school, require also that they shall’ leave work two hours eaflier than the uswal time. An exception must be made when there is no ‘evening school kept within two miles of the ‘ child’s home. . Bei Bikes 13. In order to carry out this suggestion into prac- tice, the management of elementary schools in agri- cultural districts - will have to be modified; for instance, the school. might meet three times a day on the four days when there is evening school, so as to allow the lower classes of the school to be taught in the afternoon; whilst the upper classes might assemble with the evening scholars ; thus:— Evening _ School and Upper Classes. “Lower. Classes. . a.m. _ p.m,’ p.m, Monday -| 9 to 12 2t038- | /°5'to 7 Tuesday “- | 94 12 25,38 i BLT Wednesday} 9 ,, 12 a Qe ard eee Thursday - | 95, 12 3 Ba Friday = - |- 94, 12 2°, 3 Ba eh Saturday: - holiday. ‘holiday. holiday. ‘In schools managed thus an assistant ‘teacher might. be. employed, either with or without pupil teachers, according to the size of the school. Of course, also; Her Majesty’s Committee of Privy Coun- cil must be consulted, in order that the Revised Code ‘may be modified to suit schools in agricultural districts, and to give them adequate assistance. OT 14. In:conclusion I beg leave to’ say that I make this suggestion with great diffidence; in fact, I only do so because the Commissioners ask for opinions. Out of. respect for them and their labours,.as well as from the interest-.I feel in the question, I have attempted ‘to sketch a plan,-which could be worked ‘out in practice. I shall be rejoiced if by any means some method.can be devised by which the general education in this district may be raised to a higher ‘level, and made a better training both for this worl -and for the next. | e _W. B. Hopxins, Vicar of Littleport. ‘11th February 1868, 23. MEETING at the ViIcARAGE, LittLEePort. “Present—Rev. W.B. Hopkins. Rev. W. Newton, = Mr. Joseph Martin cov cos c. Mr. J. Luddington } Paes. Labouring parents are-jeslous of any interference as to the eartiings:of the ehildren. He - All children’ up-to 10:-years of-age might have regular -schooling: during’. December, January, and February. Wane yeas fi Lo Oe ica “OI AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION:—-EVIDENCE, "Tt was suggested that children’s labour might' be regulated by agé at different seasons of the year. ete Legislation for school attendance should be restricted to a cprtain distance round the school. There are many outlying farms and homesteads at a’ great distance from a school, Bye ; The children walk to their work in the employer’s time. The parents refuse to let them go any great distance. The separation of sexes in private ‘gangs would be difficult, as many members of one family are employed together ; however, girls and boys of 12 years and upwards should not be employed in same gang. o Pg ¥ oa POU. HE SY ‘ Boys’ ScHoor. ... . 24, Mr. Leech, master.—1 have been here’ for' 20 years, ‘Average’ attendance in 1867 :— _ , Winter quarters = - - < er s “1 98 ummer , = - s ne They usually cease to attend regularly at 8 or 9 years of. age. Some as old as-18 years come in the winter, The Sunday school is well attended. Average age of 20 boys in first class is 13 years, It would be well that boys should be kept at school till 12 years of age. The children are neglected by their mothers; they are left at home in charge of some woman, and are dosed with landanum to keep them quiet. Some of the parents make great efforts. to send the children to school, but many: complain that ‘they have not the means to do so. T think the con- dition of the people is improving; they are struggling to get on. _ Some labourers hire a bit of land and work overtime. The children are then employed with them, ney eae ac Girts’ ScHOOL. 25. Fanny Webb, mistress.—A verage attendance:— Two winter quarters ia { ie es 99 Twosummer , 0 » 0 ot = 67 Some of the girls go to work at 8 years of age. In winter those up to 14 years come to school. ‘Those who go to field seldom go to service. - Some girls only get six weeks’ schooling during the year: '' Those who go regularly to field work never get’ into’ the higher class ; they lose a class while out at work. ‘There is a night school for girls, which is attended by those who have been out at field work, of the age of 14 up to 17 and 18 years. If girls could be kept at school till 14'years they would have no’taste for field work. T have known the big girls ashamed ‘of their field dress when I have met them wearing it. Iwas at a school at Kelshall, near Royston, where we ‘kept the ‘girls till 14 years." Regular attendance, even up to 10 years, would ‘be better for girls than if they re- ‘mained till 12-years with a lorig absence in the sum- ‘mer months. Their general health does’ not suffer much. They get faceache and earache, and those who work at the threshing machines have their eyes affected by the ‘dust. : ee sa ' 96. William Butcher, labourey, aged 81 years.— There was no gang-work in my early days. There was not half the corn grown then, and there was no work for children on the land then as now. Very small chil- dren now come by my ¢ottage from work, all muck and dirt; I don’t think it pays the parents. When you come to look at use of clothes, and what not, the money ain’t much. Parents think they must get the money as a nice help to therest. Wickedness is more after than at work. When I was a boy we always drawed-in at dark, had supper, and were sent to bed. Not so now, the parents don’t look after their chil- dren. Farmers won’t allow ill usage. I don’t think there is any bad work of that kind. Weeding could not be done without the children; men won't do it. It is a bad thing for girls to go to field work, at’ all. Young people now-a-days like.to:be free; don’t ‘care for service, and don’t like fo be restrained. ac 341 “27. Mrs, Titmarsh, labourer's wite—-My- husbant’s wages’ are’'12s, a week, and’ ‘it. takes! them''all to buy flour. I have two boys at fieldwork earning 6s. 6d. a week between them. Eldest is 13 years old ; will work all the winter, the’ younger one perhaps not. They have a long’ way to go to work.” Don’t gét home till 6 p.m.; can hardly get round enough to go to school. They can’t:read much. I should like them to go to school.’ I ani not' fond of sendihg’a girl to field ; would rather do with a little less and keep them at home. I don’t-like the boys and girls mixing at.work.. I was better ,off when the, children were mites, less food and clothing to find, I went out to field when I was young, and then to, service. '”- _ 28, Mrs. Goddard, labourer’s wife, lives in feoffees’ houses.—I have six children ; two of them are at field work; one, a boy, earns 8d. a day ;' the other, a girl, earns 6d. a day. Husband’s wages. 12s. a week, out of which I have to spend 10s. 6d. a week for flour only. We could not live without the children’s earnings. The boy went to night school last winter ;, he .ean’t read as ‘well ag I should like. I went to field, myself ; have been wet up to my waist; constitution need be, very strong to stand that. I have never had my ‘health. Girls don’t ought to go out so young. Poverty makes parents send their children to field ; they ought to be kept indoors at night. The children often do what men might do. Others -know. it as well as I. “If-chil- dren did not go it would be better for the men,’ My little girl of 10 years was yesterday throwing up man- gel into a cart, which is man’s work, ° 7 Population, 5,455.. Acreage; 19,140. Cultivation, 18,000 acres arable ;..1,000;acres pasture. 29. Return made by T. Tustine, Clerk to Board of Guardians of North Witchford Union. Se, oe Private -gangs exist partially!’ Forty-nine males, from 8 years to 15 ; 31 females, from 10 years to 18, so employed. In hoeing, weeding, planting, and tak- ing up root-croops in spring,; ummer, and autumn; in wititer, in stone-picking, bird-tending’‘and fork- ing twitch. They work nine hours in summer, and ‘seven in winter. They all live in the town at a dis- tance from the work. One and a half hour is allowed for meals. The sexes work together. It would be desirable to keep them apart, but there is not the‘same ‘evil existing‘in the“ private” gangs as in the “ public.” The employment is considered healthy, except in cases of weeding high wet corn, and of taking up roots. _ - There are scarcely any young persoris who have not had a fair amount of schooling. —- ‘In a purely agricultural district the females, ‘as-a body, adopt field employment, and ‘look: forward only to become wives of agricultural labourers, and to rear’ families to follow the same employment. The abandonment of the employment by the female could not alter her future prospects, or make her other than the wife of an agricultural labourer. A tone of morals follows on the employment which it would be desirable to improve ; but there is no other mode of earning a living for the bulk of the population. at No boys should be allowed to work under 8 years of ‘age. ° js d ‘There are many’ small occupiers of land in this district, and the‘ cultivation -is' done entirely by the man and his family. ~ These voluntarily adopt the same hours of labour as those who let themselves for the day; this would show that the hours are not exces- sive, and restriction not required. Boys’ Scnoor, Marcu. 30. Mr. Chamberlain, master.—I have been here 30 years. When I first came there were only 22 children in the school; there are now 226’ on the books; ‘and an average attendance at the Sunday school of 180. The numbers in~ attendance begin’ to “decrease ‘im- mensely early in April, and’to increase-at the end’ of Uu 2 Cambridge- shire. Mr.’ Portman. d, Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 342 November, Children are frequently out in the gangs for nine months in the year. When they return from field work they are not fit for the same class as when they went out. Children go to infant school till 7 years old, and then come to day school. I think 10 years of age would be a good limit for work, as the boys would then get three years in day school, and be fairly grounded in reading, writing, and simple arith- metic. Night school did not answer. GiR_s’ SCHOOL. 31. Mrs. Jones, mistress,—I formerly had a factory school. I consider that in the last three years there has been great improvement in the behaviour of the girls in the streets here, though the gangs make very offensive remarks if you meet them on the road. I should like girls to be prevented from going to work before 11 years of age.. The girls go out in March, and do not come back till the end of November. The women and children are employed by farmers on account of the cheapness of their labour, while the men are idling about on the bridge (the hiring place in March). Field girls cannot get places as servants in respectable families. They are hired at statutes. The statutes are just like a slave market. Boys ranged on one side of the street, and girls on the other, waiting for hire. They are pulled about and turned round like buying a slave. I consider the state of education even among the middle class at alow ebb. Heads of labouring families don’t care about education. No industrial training school for girls exists in the neighbourhood. 82. Mretine of the GuarpiaAns of the NortH Witcurorp Union, held at DoppineTon. Mr. J. Porn, Chairman. Seventeen guardians present. It was agreed that 8 years would be a good limit below which children should not go to field work, and that to fix it at 10 years would be a great injury to the labourer as well as to the employer. That the loss of labour (if 8 was the limit) would be very trifling, and would not create any great demand on the rates. Women’s labour was said to be necessary, though one expressed his opinion that field work was very hurtful to girls. : The question of regulating the distance to work was said to be more a question of hours, as the gangs go and return from work in the farmers’ time. Waggons are occasionally sent to fetch the children. As to extending to private gangs the separation of the sexes clause, it was said that a difficulty would arise from the fact of brothers and sisters being employed together, in many cases living on the farm where their labour is required. A great difference of opinion existed as to the benefit: or otherwise of doing away with “ public gangs.” In the event of the public gang system com- ing to an end, the small occupiers would be the sufferers, the larger ones only being able to keep private gangs constantly employed. The feeling was against public gangs, and I pointed out to them in what way the control of abuses in the system was placed in their hands by the Gangs Act. ‘In the case of a large gang in Chatteris women are frequently employed with one or more portions of the gangs, the master going with another. Education.—Half time and alternate days system not approved of. Four months in the winter might be devoted to school. The distance from some of the cottages in the fen to any school should be considered in any scheme of com- pulsory education. The union very well off for schools. Sunday schools well attended. A scheme of compulsory night schools in winter was much approved. Immorality of gangs denied to be as great as represented in Report. Girls frequently go to service from field work. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN The feeling was general that the state of the cot- tages, and the overcrowding of sleeping rooms, was the root of the immorality. Sleeping rooms not sufficient for decency. An instance was quoted of 10 people in a room. It was felt and urged that the attention of the Com- missioners should be turned to the cottage question, and a hope was expressed that some scheme for their improvement might be devised. Many cottages are owned by labourers. Union Chargeability Act has not yet much affected the district. Occupiers at a distance from towns would be very glad if landlords would build more cottages; the poor for the most part draw to the towns. Number of cottages requisite for 100 acres may be put at three. Private gangs exist in some parts of the union. 83. Mxetine of the Boarp or GUARDIANS, WISBECH, Dec, 12. Mr. Dieppe, Chairman. Twenty-seven guardians present. The private gang system does exist, but not to any great extent; public gangs are mostly used. The union is divided into three districts:— 1. Isle of Ely. 2. Tidd St. Giles. 3. A portion in Norfolk. Many farms cannot.be worked without gangs. The Agricultural. Gangs Act was highly approved, but it was not thought possible or advisable to apply it to private gangs. The separation of sexes in private gangs was con- sidered a difficulty, as the children of one family are employed together under the eye of the parents or relatives. Mr. Little expressed an opinion that the Act will throw a number of children out of work, and bring the families on the rates. A large occupier, 7.e., of 500 acres and upwards, can afford to keep a private gang, say of 30, at work through the spring and autumn, if mixed; but cannot keep two, one of boys and one of girls. The small occupiers are forced to employ public gangs to do the necessary work at certain seasons. It was agreed that 10 years would be a proper limit as to age. It was stated that the desire for education was increasing ; that schools and mission houses are being taken to the population. That the distances to school from outlying cottages and hamlets are at present so great that it would be difficult to enforce school attendance. That the boys get winter schools and Sunday schools. There is often a gap from the time they leave day school till 16 years of age, during which they get no education, after which time they will come to night schools, and try to pick up what they have lost and feel the loss of. _ It was thought that compulsory edu- cation would damp the efforts being made under the voluntary system. That, in applying the principles of the Factory Acts to agricultural labour, many exemptions must be pro- vided, e.g., in linfiting the age for work the words “for hire” should be inserted, to meet the case of a father of a family requiring the aid of his children on his own four or five acres, or any land he may have, there being in the fen district many such cases. The board expressed their opinion to be in favour of simple education, reading, writing, and arithmetic, but opposed to any compulsion or interference with parental powers. The board was unanimous in the opinion that the overcrowding of the cottages was the root of the evil. Three-roomed cottages rare. The land in this district is very much subdivided. Cottages are increasing in number. It was said that the gang system will vanish when there is a sufficiency of good cottages on the farms for- the working of each farm. That the tenants would gladly pay four per cent. to have cottages and get labour on the land. That good cottages, with a small piece of land, will keep the labourer from moving away. Mr. Wright said he had one man who had been with him 20 years who had two acres of land, and he had no reason to complain of the man’s inattention to work, Average wages - - 18s. per week. Sometimes - - 1s. 559 Men can earn more by piece work, which is much the custom. UPWELL. 34, John Barnes, ganger, Upwell.—[Had applied for relief at Wisbech Union the morning I saw him.] Said, Iam sure a woman can’t manage a gang. If public gangs system is done away with I shall lose my occupation. I cannot now make enough in the months of work to keep me during the winter. I get 2s. or 2s, Gd. a day from the farmer, and take Id. a head from the children’s earnings if they work for me over three days at a time. Urwr.t ScHoo.L. 35. Eliza Cousen, aged 9 years.—Have been out two years with gangs. I was not fit for same class at school when I came back as when I went out. Some- times girls have books with thera in the field, but don’t often read anything. 36. Mrs. Aworth, mistress, girls’school.—Sixty-three on books in the winter, numbers not much less in May. The number of attendances increases in November and decreases in March. The gang system demoralizes the children. 37. Mr. Aworth, master, boys’ school.—Average attendance in November, 50 ; they remain in school till April. Children of 6 years go out to field; if they could be kept regularly at school till 10 years of age they would be fairly grounded in reading, writing, and arithmetic. There is only one school in the parish, which is seven miles square. No night school in existence. Some of the lads get no education at all. The parents are quite uneducated themselves, do not value education, and will not send the children to school regularly. Boys of 8 or 9 years earn ls. a day. I do not see any chance of getting the children to school without compulsion. FRIDAYBRIDGE—ELM. 38. Fridaybridge is united with Elm for rating pur- "poses, but separated ecclesiastically. Population, 1,718. Acreage, 11,037. Cultivation, mixed. Extract from Return made by Capt. Catuin. There are principally “ private gangs” here. The numbers employed in them are— In Spring - 20 to 30 », Summer - - 80 , 40 » Autumn - - 20 , 80 Their work is, in spring and summer, planting potatoes, hoeing, and weeding, and gathering twitch ; in autumn, in gathering roots and twitch ; they are not employed in winter. The distances to work are from one to four miles. The hours between leaving home and returning are from 12 to 13 hours. In spring and autumn one hour only is allowed for meals; in summer one and a half hours. , The health does not suffer, even in cases of weeding high wet corn. The state of education among the young is low and deficient, but much worse among the adults. It does not appear desirable or practicable to subject “ private” gangs to the legislative regulations for “ public” gangs. There is ample time and opportunity for school attendance during the winter where schools exist. A private gang usually consists of the wives and children of the labourers usually employed on the same farm, and of a few others, being widows and orphans. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENCE, 343 The women have no training for domestic duties. I would not place any restriction on female labour. Boys should not go to work under 8 years. I see no reason for restriction on the hours of work. An amount of school attendance might be enforced in winter. School attendance is not affected by distance, and scarcely at all by the pecuniary resources of the pa- rents, as the boys only pay for the stationary. The girls pay 2d. a week. The subject of industrial training for girls has been brought before the Board of Guardians, but without success, There is a miserable deficiency in cottage accom- modation; the whole evil has its origin in over- crowded cottages. Labourers, as a rule, are worse lodged than cattle, and less cared for. Morals are first corrupted in over-crowded cottages. Tenants would be benefited by better cottage ac- commodation on their occupations, and could well afford to pay interest on the cost of the same. There are about 200 young males and females growing up with insufficient education. There are two night schools with 25 scholars; they are open one and a half and two hours, on two nights a week. Reading, writing, and arithmetic, are taught. 39. Capt. Catlin and Rev. S. Charlton.—There are some good new cottages built by the landlord of the estate held by Capt. Catlin. Men will remain on the farms if they have good cottages with a plot of ground attached. ‘There were many wretched cottages built on land “ cribbed from the waste.” Capt. Catlin told me the price at which be had bought up two of them— 1. With one room only, for - - 51. 2, ” ” ” ms - 21, [The following instances of the state of the cottages in this parish speak for themselves. ] 1. A cottage with one sleeping room, in which are aman and his wife, and four children aged 14, 12, 8, and 6 years respectively. 2. Cottage with one sleeping room; man and and wife, and five children aged 12, 10, 8, 6, and 8 years respectively. 3. Cottage with one sleeping room; man and wife, and five children aged 15, 14, 12, 9, and 7 years respectively. 4. Cottage with one sleeping room; man and wife, and six children aged 18, 14, 12, 9,6 and 4 years respectively. PARSON DROVE. 40. Rev. F, Jackson.—It is not necessary to apply the provision of the “ Gangs Act” to private gangs. School attendance by half day, or by alternate whole days, could not be worked. Compulsory attendance on one day in the week would be beneficial. If no child was allowed to go to work “for hire” under 10 years of age, the parents would send them to schoo! ; and it would be desirable that a certificate of a certain amount of education should be required before chil- dren are allowed to work. I would suggest the addition of an education clause to the “ Agricultural Gangs Act.” Night schools do not work well in this district. Government aid is much required for day schools in poor districts where a certificated master cannot be got. The cottage accommodation here, as elsewhere, is insufficient, and has injurious effects morally and physically. Here we have no wealthy landlords, and little owners are unable to build and improve. Two cottages per 100 acres are sufficient. The cottages are being gradually, though slowly, im- proved. There are many instances in which parents and grown-up children occupy the same sleeping- room. The outhouses are insufficient, but in regard to garden ground they are well supplied, as I have given up the glebe for cottage gardens, at a low rent. Rent of cottages, 6/. per annum, with land ; wages, 15s. a week. On the question of education our poor are indif- ferent, the wages of the children are preferred to Uus Cambridge- shire, Mr. Portman. d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 344 their instruction. The farmers would certainly -do what they could to resist a compulsory system ‘and a rate. a eae MURROW. A district of the parish of Wisbech St. Mary. 41. Mr. Newsham.—I farm 500 acres, and have a private gang for most of the year. Ihave hardly ever employed a “public” gang. I should like’ the limit-of age, below which no child be: allowed -to-work, to ‘be fixed at 10 years. There is an endowed school at Murrow, to which boys are admitted at 8 years of age; and generally discharged at 12 years. The master gets 10s. a quarter for each child'from the trustees. The children do not attend regularly. -I should like to see endowed schools placed under Government inspection. Iam opposed to a compulsory system of education; there is much voluntary aid given now which would then cease entirely, and Jess interest would be taken in the schools. We are building a new National school. - . : a he 42, Rev. P. H. Le Feuvre, curate, Murrow.—Ave- rage attendance at school 23, out of 40 on books: Boys do not attend more than two and a half months im the year. The parents are indisposed to send their chil- dren to school, partly because they want their earnings, and partly because they do not appreciate education. I would keep the children strictly at school till 10 years of age. The age must be fixed by law, as only the more liberal among the farmers would refrain from employing children at any'age when it is supposed they can work. There is not one boy in the school who can read fluently. Children attend Sunday school pretty well, but one of the great objects of such school is defeated by the inability of. the children to follow the subject of Bible reading, and consequently the education on Sunday must be to a certain extent secular, : 43. C. M. Bidwell, Esq., land-agent, Ely,—Occu- piers of land are very anxious to have good cottages built on the farms, inasmuch as the good labourers will not go any great distance to work, and the outlying farms get the worst mem. The occupier should pay four per cent. to the landlord for building cottages, as he would get his profit out of the increased power of the workman on the farm, even if he let the cottage to him at a lowrent. The gang system under proper supervision is not a decided evil, and it would be difficult at certain seasons to carry on the operations of the farm without gangs of children. The pre- valent immorality is chiefly owing to the crowded state of the cottages, and want of proper sleeping accommodation. ; jo et 44, C. M. BiowELt, Esq., to Hon. E PorTMAN. “ Dear Sir, Ely, Jan. 20, 1868. - “ Since my interview with you I have obtained and read the Lands Improvement Act, 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114., and I certainly think sec. 17 is very objection- able. If a party wanted to borrow money for the improvement of his estate, provided the security is fully sufficient and the proposed outlay ‘is judiciously made, I do not see why you want to publish it to the world. If a report is made by a competent person that the estate wants improvement, and the money borrowed is laid out with care and judgment for that improvement, where is the necessity to make - it ublic ? “T have also obtained and read the 29 Vict. c. 28. (Labouring Classes Dwelling Houses Act), and I think it is a very good measure, and if you could get Jandowners in the rural districts to adopt the Act, I think it might be very advantageously applied. The labourers’ cottages in many parts are very bad, and there is a growing necessity on most farms, particu- larly large farms situated two or three miles from the villages, to build cottages. Cottages cannot be built with sufficient accommodation for a family, with three EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS,’ AND WOMEN bed-rooms, besides keeping. room and pantry, to pay five per cent. on the rents now paid for cottages in the rural districts which do not exceed 4/. a year, so that, if money could be borrowed inexpensively at four per cent., it might answer the purpose of many landowners to take up’a loan. a “Tam, &.,, “ O, M. BWELL.”. 45, W. R. Grove, Medical Officer, St. Ives Union, to ee ‘:°. Hon. E, Portman, 27 Sept. 1867. °! “ As to the effect of field labour upon children and young females, my experience at present leads me to consider such occupation as not detrimental to health, for generally speaking the children in my district.enjoy good health, nor have I yet met with any: disease or deformity among young women, or those more advanced in:life, which could. be traced to out- door employment. I am, however, of opinion that the stooping posture required in weeding, stone-picking, &c., which is so often performed by young girls, is calculated to produce, deformity of the pelvis which would most likely impede parturition. In a tolerably extensive midwifery practice during a period of nearly four years (the time I have been here), I have only met with one or two cases of deformed pelvis, ~~ “With regard to cottage accommodation, it” is wretchedly bad. Old and young, husband and wife, and grown up sons and daughters, sometimes sleeping in the same room, which is frequently so small: and badly ventilated as to be positively injurious to health, setting aside any consideration with regard to morality and common decency. ey - “Your obedient servant, = “ Wittiam R. Grove.” | “ Si, 46, Epwarp IreLanp, Medical Officer, Linton Union, to Hon. E. Portman. me “Sm . - Bs ie _ Having only been medical officer for this union for a short period has been the cause of my delay.in answering your communication, till I had had time to make enquiries of the other medical officers of the district with regard to the information you require. I find that they agree with me, as far as regards the employment of children, young persons, and women.in wagriculture,. that it has a beneficial effect upon their, health; for for the most part. they are healthy and.robust,: with the exception of the tendency to rheumatic affection, which may. be trace- able to long exposure to wet and damp in the fields. I should be inclined to think that the children are sent into the fields at too early an age, having known frequent instances of children being employed at ages varying from 8 to 10 years. Of course the education of such is, as a rule, deplorably bad; but, in many cases where there are Jarge families (wages being so low), the parents are compelled to send out the children to earn their mite towards gaining a subsistence. The cottage accommodation in ‘my district is very bad. * #°°* * While attending cases of scarlet fever, I have found the accommodation so bad as to necessitate a young man of 19 years and his sister of 17 years lying'in the same room, the only other bed-room ‘being occupied bythe father, mother, and younger members of the family. I think there is very great room for improvement in the cottage accommodation, and until strenuous measures are adopted, sanctioned by Parliament, I think little can be done. “Tam, &e., “Epwarp IRELAND.” CAMBRIDGE. 47. Mr. S. Clear, Cambridge.—I once farmed largely I do not think that field work in any way destroys the health of the children or their morals as much as crowded cottages or public-houses. The half day or alternate day systems would not answer for farming operations. It is doubtful whether a compulsory system of education would succeed as well as the present IN! AGRICULTURE (1867). COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. voluntary one. Night schools exist in many places within my knowledge, and are, very beneficial, .Cot- tages require the attention of the legislature. I would suggest that Government should build.here and there in parishes a set of cottages for the poor, which scheme would operate beneficially by causing landlords to improve thé bad ones or lose their tenants. Small owners are too much inclined fo foréé.a high rent for their cottages, which causes the tenants to take in lodgers, and produces overcrowding, ‘ GREAT PAXTON, HUNTS, ” 48. Mr. Paine, farmer.—I ‘employ children, in a private gang under a steady man, for weeding, bean setting, &c., 10 or 12 together ; their ages are from 7 years upwards. I can always get as many as I want, if I let them know ‘they are wanted. I do not think the system a bad one, when, under. proper supervision. Boys must learn their work when. young, or they are useless.. I keep boys. on through. the winter, if possible, as the. money is most, wanted then. Girls should go to service after 13 years of age. Ido not think any. Act could be enforced which restricted the age for boys to go to work. I do not employ girls. ‘The cottages want-improvement.; the overcrowded’ state of many of them leads to, much’ immorality. Rent averages 3/.10s. per annum. Edu- cation of the boys ig defective, though most. of them goto school ~ ~~ ~ .,, vemtBee . & esd COPROLITE DIGGINGS. 49, Extract from Lerter from the Rev. J. B. Jamus, rector of Gamlingay, to Hon. E. Portman. “ The coprolite diggings in our neighbourhood have “ occupied very many of our boys, many of whom earn “at them 8s, and 9s. a week, which is more than the “ farmers.can give them” oo 4 Pe Sa SANDY eo oops on Sod en “ae 50. Mr. Coulson.—Girls of 7 years up to 18 years are employed in the coprolite works.. The work is taken by the piece; they get a sum per ton for picking over the fossils. A girl of 10 years would earn 7s. a week by day work, but more by piece work. The state of education among them is very low; some can read, hardly any can write. The parents also are very uneducated. This and the adjoining district of Polton is a gardening tract; children are much employed in large numbers in peeling onions and. such like work. I have seen gross cases of immorality and indecency, even among the smaller children, at leisure moments at the coprolite mills when waiting for the carts, and have heard much bad language, which is readily learnt by the young from constantly hearing it round them. The foremen do not check them. The sexes should be separated at the mills, by means of different sheds, or even by separate mills for boys and girls. In one instance the foreman keeps a public-house, where the -wages are paid, and the men and children are allowed to have as much drink as they like during the week ‘on credit, and the money is deducted on pay-night. These children have no time for learning, except. in the evening. ei “GAMLINGAY, ~° | Population, 2,000. Acreage, 4,3858a. 2r.25p. Cul- tivation, chiefly arable. Much land is devoted to market gardens. 51, Rev. J. B. James, rector.—Extract from Return. Persons of all ages from 6 years to 60 years are employed in the fields in spring in weeding, seeding, &ec. ; summer, in gathering early potatoes ; autumn, harvesting ; winter, in sundry field work. The women, however, are much employe: a home in straw plait -qwork. The hours of work are from 6 to 6; of those who live at a distance from their- work, some aré..out from 4 or 5a.m, till 7 p.m. One hour. allowed: for breakfast, and the same for dinner, ah 345 i. StHoon Sraristics—NationaL SCHOOL. a _ In Summer. oe On Average . Register. | Attendance, Boys eae fe See 51 88 Girls ® cb oy “2 48 36 In Winter. - i Hie 4 Ah, a Boys- 2-0: , : 56 46 Girls, oes) 48 38 “In. addition to the National school there is a British and a dame’s school, comprising a total (mostly young children) of 161 scholars. All children are at work from the earliest age at which they are able to work. A night school is open for 18 weeks from September to February, for two ‘hours on four nights a week (number of scholars 35), at’ which they are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. ‘ I donot consider that the night school adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school. There is an indisposition on the part of scholars to attend. ‘[Dr. James expressed himself in favour of com- pulsory education, and of legislation for preventing the employment of children in field work at an early age. | LONGSTOWE, near Caxton. Population, 260, Acreage, 1,500. Cultivation, chiefly ues oe - arable. tai be 52, Return made by Sidney oe Esq., Longstowe at ; ‘Hall. ~ ss a There are no private gangs; women and children are only employed occasionally, except boys to drive plough. They live near their work. When women are employed their hours'are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an hour allowed for dinner. The health is not injuriously affected, nor do I ‘know of any ill-treat- ment. I would not prohibit or restrict female labour. Boys should not work till 10 years of age, so as to attend school till that age. A certain number of hours’ schooling-in the week- after that age would be desirable up toa certain age. School attendance is not affected by distance, or by the pecuniary resources of the parents. Good cottage accommodation is most important as regards the health and morality of labourers’ families. There are 40 cottages and small houses in the parish; eight of them being charity houses in-a very~bad state, and the accommodation wretched, the rest pretty good ; none owned by per- sons “with whom labourers are obliged to deal. An average of about 40 children per quarter attend the school, -There is no. night school. orks og . 2 kt ~~ BOURN. a3 Acreage, 4,031, ° Cultivation, chiefly “, arable. a ere glee woe tee ree oe 3 bo 53. Rev. J. D. Ridout, vicarage.—-No private gangs. Of thoge employed singly, &c., there are 62, as near as T can lgarn ; there may be a few more— Males : Under 8 years - - - - il -- Stolyers = = =, ' .10-to 18 years ~ - * - 12 18 to 18 years- = : - 20 PE ipet fe MO” 5. Me BB Females: _ cost AE See ; ~~ Under 18 years. = - - None : 13 to 18 years-) = cS “te 10 Over 18 years—Mar.,9; Unmar.,5 -.-14 - MOGs wT Gn Nhe ip eee eg ° & - : aaihe ae a eee ‘Total . _ - 24° cin fae The little boy merely attends to some cows. The women go out only occasionally ; neyer in very bad Uu4 Cambridge- shire, Mr, Portman. ad. Cambridge- shire, Mr. Portman. d. 346 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, weather. Their employment is twitching, hoeing, cutting and gathering turnips, collecting stones, weed- ing, cutting docks, dropping beans, &c. Most live near, very few on the farms. Some few go two or three miles to work, but very rarely ; mostly under one, or one and a half miles. with 14 hours for meals ; females, 8 to 6, with one hour for meals, I do not think the health is injuriously affected. The young and females are certainly not subject to ill- treatment. I used to think that field labour had a bad effect on the morals of the females, but I doubt whether they are at all worse than those who do not go out in the fields. If any interference is necessary, I would restrict the employment of females to those over 18 ears. Of late years many of our young men have earned wages at coprolite digging, and therefore I believe the farmers have wanted, at particular times, all the labourers, young and grown up, and when wages are low the parents are too glad to send their children. As a general rule I should not recommend any restric- tion on the hours of work, but I think where lads under 18 are horsekeepers, and therefore have to be on the farm an hour before the ordinary labourers, the work must be very trying; but they have an extra shilling a week for it, and I am speaking more from my own feelings than from having heard any com- plaint. I think I should incline to half-day at school and half-day at work. Some houses on the different farms are so far off that the children in them get very little schooling, but the number of these is not great. Morality is at a low ebb; I fear it must be traceable to the want of a sufficient number of bed- rooms in our cottages. The cottages are crowded. There are fresh cottages built from time to time. Union Chargeability Act has not yet caused any increase. ScHooL StatTIsTICcs. In Summer. On Average Register. Attendance. Boys - - 48 35 Girls - - - 50 33 In Winter. Boys - - - 44 32 Girls - - - 47 37 The education is, in few instances, such as to give them pleasure in reading. There is a night school, open about 20 weeks between October and March, for one and a half or two hours for three nights a week, Number of scholars— Under 12 years - - - - 8 Above 12 years - - - - 21 24 Reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. I fear the night school does not adequately supply the deficiencies of the day school. [Mr. Ridout informed me that the cottage question is occupying the attention of the Bishop of the Diocese, and of the Rural Deans. | 54, Mr. C. Harradine, agent to Lord De la Warr.— Says the cottages are bad, and that it is difficult to get the people to be cleanly in their habits. The parents are so uneducated themselves that they do not know the value of education, and do not care about sending the children to schoo]. Thinks that children who earn wages should be compelled to attend night schools. Cottage rent is very low, Hours for males 6 to 6, _ YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN SWAVESEY. Population, 1,865. Acreage, 3,800. Cultivation, mixed. 55. Rev. H. J. Sharp, vicar.—On the 24th October 1867, a meeting was convened of the principal farmers of the parish. The opinions expressed in this Return are those of a majority of the farmers who attended the meeting. Private gangs exist in the parish, The numbers so employed in spring, autumn, and summer are 25 males and 25 females; none in winter. Of the males— 15 are between 8 and 10 years. 10 i 10 ,, 18 years. Females— 10 ay 8 ,, 10 years. 8 ” 10 ,, 138 years. 7 ‘3 13 ,, 18 years. The work in spring is dropping beans ‘tnd queech- ing ; in summer, weeding; in autumn, queeching. Distance to work, half a mile to two miles. Hours, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with half an hour allowed for break- fast and one hour for dinner. The sexes work toge- ther. Health is not injuriously affected, nor is there any ill-treatment. The state of education among the young is very good, among the adults pretty good. They would not place any restriction on the employ- ment of females, nor on the age at which boys should be employed. The distance to work might be regu- lated according to proposed table. With regard to school attendance, it was suggested that the children should go to school when not wanted on the farms. The school is in a central position ; the attendance is not affected by distance, or by the pecuniary resources of the parents. There are sew- ing-classes for the girls. Cottage accommodation is pretty good in the majority of cases. Three cottages per 100 acres said to be sufficient ; that proportion exists in the parish. Cottages have mostly two bedrooms, some have three ; they are not overcrowded. Rent 3/. 10s. per annum. ScHOOL. In Summer. ce On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - 95 67 Between 10 and 13 - 18 11 Total - - 413 78 7 Girls : Under 10 - - G7 57 Between 10 and 13 - 28 10 Total - - 95 67 - In Winter. Boys : i Under 10 : 94 | 49 | Between 10 and 13 - 19 | 15 Girls : Under 10 - - 60 | 53 Between 10 and 13 - 80 | 17 There is a night school open for 19 weeks, from October to February inclusive, for two hours on five nights a week. —. On Average | Register. | Attendance. Under 12 - 3 _ 13 8 Above 12 - “ A 38 24 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION : EVIDENCE. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. It partially supplies the deficiencies of the day school. The difficulty in maintaining it is, that of obtaining a proper staff of duly qualified teachers. 56. Letter from Rev. H, J. Sharp. “ Swavesey Vicarage, “My DEAR Sir, Jan. 30, 1868. “IT have to-day forwarded to you by post the school statistics. You will see by the note which I have prefixed at the head of the Return, that I do not hold myself individually responsible for all the opinions which I have written down. Those opinions are the opinions of the majority of the far- mers who attended the meeting. From some of those opinions I entirely dissent, but they may be taken as representing the general feeling on the subject among the employers of labour in this parish. I have made inquiries as to whether another meeting should be sealled for the purpose of further discussion, and I have stated that you had kindly offered to attend, but the general opinion is that the answers contained in the Return sufficiently indicate the views of the parish. “ Yours faithfully, “ Hon. E. Portman. H. J. Swapp.” 57. George Long, farmer, Swavesey.—Tbe children are mostly employed in February in dibbing beans. Education is well attended to in this parish. Most of the children can read and write; they get schooling for more than six months in the year. The labourers earn 12s. a week, out of which it is hard to live and keep a family without the aid of the children’s earn- ings. The cottages are good; rent averages 20d. a week, without a garden. The parish is full of small holders of from 50 to 100 acres, who combine butcher- ing or some other trade with that of farming. The poor eat a good deal of meat. Iam the only Church farmer in the parish. When I lived at Carlton I used to have a night school, and have taught old people and lads. WILLINGHAM. 58. The Rev. Dr. Phelps, Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, rector.—Does not reside in the arish. ‘The state of education is not very good, though there are good schools of different sorts, one of his own and others British. The farmers are a rough and badly educated class. Should like to see school attendance compelled by law, and, if necessary, a rate should be levied to find money for the payment of extra teachers. At the same time the sons of labour- ers must begin at an early age to learn their work as agricultural labourers, and should have a good and simple education suited to their station in life ; and the girls should be trained for domestic service, and for their household duties as wives and mothers. ° Extract from Return made by Rev. E. J. Laughlin, curate, Willingham. Population 1,630. Acreage, 4,528, Cultivation, mixed. There are no private gangs. Children, young persons, and women are employed in spring and sum- mer in weeding, in autumn in picking potatoes. They live near the farms. Hours of work are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., one hour allowed for each meal. Health is not injuriously affected, nor is there any ill-treatment. Field labour most injuriously influences the morals of the females, and unfits them for domestic service. There should be some restriction on the employment of females. I would prohibit female labour in the fields altogether, except in harvest. No boy should be employed under 10 years of age. I would enforce school attendance by alternate whole days at school and whole days at work. School attendance is not affected by distance, or by the pecuniary resources of the parents. There is no industrial training school for girls. The accommodation in the cottages is inadequate, and injuriously affects the health and morality of the labouring poor. The cottages are generally conveniently situated ; there are not enough 2. 347 with two or three bed-rooms. The general size’ of rooms is about four yards square ; the ventilation is defective and the drainage imperfect. There are but few gardens to the labourers’ cottages. The owner- ship is principally in the hands of small freeholders or tradesmen. Rent varies from 42. to 51. per annum. There is no progress being made towards increasing the cottage accommodation. ScHOOL. In Summer. Soy On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys : Under 10 - 230 86 Between 10 and 13 - 36 Total - - — 122 Girls : Under 10 - - "6 42 Between 10 and 13 - 20 Total - - — 62 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - — 107 Between 10 and 13 - —_— 45 Total - - _ 162 Girls : Under 10 - - as 53 Between 10 and 13 - _— 25 Total - - — 78 There is no night school. OVER. 59. Meeting at the vicarage. Present :—Rev. C. War- ren, vicar; Mr. N. Dring; Mr. Robinson. Children are not employed in greater numbers than nine or ten together; very few girls are employed. The work is weeding and potatoe picking. The hoeing and weeding is done by men, each accom- panied by some of his own family, or by a relative’s children. The age of going to field varies from 8 years to 12 years. Gangs of twitchers are employed for a few days at a time, when the sexes are mixed; they go two miles to work. There is no public gang. The cottages are small, and not in sufficient number ; some with two bedrooms. They belong to small pro- prietors. Rent £3 10s. to £5 a year. Men’s wages Ils. per week. Boys should not go to work before 10 or 11 years of age. ~ oP ee Mr. Dring finds those who have been at school till 11 years of age the best lads for farm work. Girls’ labour in field should be prohibited. School atten- dance might be secured for five months in winter, though when wages are low in winter many parents can hardly afford to pay for the schooling. There are ne funds for maintaining a night school with a sepa- rate master. Womens’ wages are 10d. a day ; boys ditto, 4s. a week, Hours of work, 7am. to 5or6 pm., with 14 hours allowed for meals. j 60. Return made by Rev. C. Warren, vicar. . Population, 1,180. Acreage, 3,600. Cultivation, mixed: The state of education among the young is low The occasional instruction they get in the schools is of little use, and the discipline and moral training they ought to have from their parents is in most cases very Xx Cambridge+ shire. Mr. Portman. de Cambridge- shire, Mr. Portman. 348 small, The education of adults is also low. More harm is done to the morals,.in my opinion, in the going and returning, than in the field itself. The number of children, young persons, and women em- ployed, not in gangs, varies from 40 to 150, according to the time of year. a In general the effect of field labour on the morals of females is very bad, and most of the mothers in my parish feel it to be so, but they say they are driven to send the children out to work, I do not recommend any restriction on the employment of females; the remedy is, I think, to be sought in the landlords looking to the conduct of their tenant farmers. I think no law could sufficiently define the kinds of work in which young boys might be em- ployed, and legislation would be inoperative without an oficial prosecutor in every parish. At certain times of the year school attendance might, perhaps, be made compulsory, but I do not look for any great result. School attendance is not affected by distance, but a good deal by the pecuniary resources of the parents, and at the very times when from there being little work the children might be sent to school. But I am bound to add that the want of foresight of the parents is the main cause. Girls are taught needlework and knitting. Better accommodation is wanted in the cottages. The effects of insufficient accommodation on morality and health have been very bad. The cottages are not conveniently situated, In the fen districts the popu- lation is unavoidably gathered into villages. The cottages are often over-crowded. There is no pro- gress towards increasing cottage accommodation. I would suggest that the owners of the soil should look to the cottage question, and not leave it in the hands of speculators. They might get a fair rent for the capital invested. ScHoot. In Summer. boars On Average Register. _ |. Attendance. Boys : Under 10 - - 85 60 Between 10 and 13 - 15 15 Girls : Under 10 - - 65 50 Between 10 and 13 20 10 In Winter. Boys : Under 10 - Pe 70 50 Between 10 and 13 - 25 20 Girls : Under 10 - - 55 45 Between 10 and 13 - 20 15 There is a night school for 26 weeks in the winter half-year, for two hours on two nights in the week. Average attendance, 40 above 12 years of age, out of 50 on register. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. I do not think that it adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school. 61. Return made by Mr. Nathaniel Dring and Mr. Charles Robinson, farmers. Legislation is not needed for the “ private” gangs, Children and young persons employed are from 10 years to 16 years, and are only 12 in number. We do not recommend any restriction to be placed on the em- ployment of females, ROYSTON. (Part in Cambridgeshire, part in Hertforshire.) Population, 1,882. Acreage, 323. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 62. Return made by Henry Thurnall, Esq. Private gangs of from 10 to 20 children are some- times employed in weeding in the spring. The hours EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN of work are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an half an hour allowed for breakfast, one hour for dinner, and half an hour at 4 p.m. The sexes more frequentl work apart, but in some cases together. I shoul think the children employed in gangs are generally too young to be injuriously affected “morally.” There is no injury to the health, nor is there any ill-usage. I think that the education of those children who are habitually employed in field work is below that of the children (especially females) not so employed. No labourers of adult age are employed in private gangs. I think that it would be well to restrict private gangs to a maximum of 20, and that the sexes should not. be allowed to work.together. Children, young persons, and women who do not work in gangs are employed in spring in weeding and bird-scareing; in summer, in bird-scareing and haymaking; in autumn, in picking twitch and bird-scareing; in winter, in cleaning turnips. The distances to work are very short. The hours of work depend on the time of year; in summer they are from 7 am. to 6 p.m, in winter from light till dark. aM I should say that the young females: employed in agriculture are quite equal in morals to thosé em- ployed in straw-plaiting and other similar employ- ments, I would not place any restriction on the employment of females in field work, except as to age. They should not be allowed to work under'11 years of age. I would not place any restriction on'the age of boys, as one boy of 9 is as strong‘as another of 11 or 12. As the agricultural operations, on which children are chiefly employed, are generally of short duration, and dependant upon the weather, neither the half day or the alternate day at school would be practicable. ~ Our schools are easy of access, but I-should think that distance might have great effect on the attendance. Tn the case of large families, the earnings of a child, though small, are a great temptation to the parents to send him to work instead of school. ‘There is no industrial training for girls.’ a I consider the want of proper accommodation thé greatest evil against which the agricultural labourer has to contend, both in point of morals and of health and comfort. The circumstances of this parish are exceptional; it is a market town, with a small quantity of land, consequently the cottage accommodation is in excess of the requirements of theland. | ~~, _ Lam of opinion, that, in course of time, thé Union Chargeability Act will operate beneficially. I think in cases where the advance was required merely for the building or improvements of cottages within. cer- tain limits, the notices required by the 17th section 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114. and some of the. preliminary inquiries might be safely dispensed with, but until the owners and occupiers of landed property begin to see that, although the erection of comfortable cottages for their labourers will not pay directly, it will do so indirectly by promoting the moral and physical im- provement of their labourers, I fear that no increased facility in borrowing money will have much effect, if any alteration in the Act referred to should be con- templated. I would draw your attention to the 25th section, and ask how this would affect buildings, which might not directly increase the yearly value of an estate more than the annual sum to be charged thereon. I have taken some pains in drawing plans for labourers’ cottages, and have superintended the building of many on Lord Dacre’s property. ‘In groups of three, each cottage containing two rooms below and three above, with outbuildings, the cost of each cottage has been 80/. And I believe, if any philanthropic body of men were to form a cottage building society, they might get three per cent. for their money, and do more good than they could in almost any other way. BURWELL. i 4 1,987. Acreage - 7,232 63. Rev. J. W. Cockshott, vicar.—The Crown owns a good deal of land, and many cottages which are, in Population - IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— EVIDENCE the hands of the tenant farmer are sub-let to the labourer at an increased rent. It is a very large parish. There are two sets of National schools, one at each end of the parish, and night schools at work four times a week, which are fairly attended. The young farmers are worse educated than the labourers, Efforts are being made to establish a good. middle- class school at Burwell. 64. Letter from Rev. J. W. Cockshott to Hon. E. Portman. “ Burwell Vicarage, “© My pear Sir, 22nd February 1868. “T regret very much that I have mislaid the paper. of enquiries you left with me some time ago. I do not, however, think I have any further evidence to furnish in the matter to which you refer. I can only bear my testimony to the evil effect of the employment of children, whether boys or girls, unless a guarantee is required from their employers that they are sent for a reasonable time each year to school. I hope that before very long girls will cease altogether from field employment, ‘Mothers are beginning to see that such employment ‘is acting as a serious barrier to, and injuring the prospects of their daughters for, domestic service. “ The case is far different with country lads. In spite of the offer of good schools at 1d. or 2d. a week the majority of our country lads are growing up in great ignorance, and consequently in many instances thoroughly demoralized. What to do with them I know not. Earning,:as they do, at a very early age sufficient for their support, their parents lose all influence over them, consequently they soon become victims of every kind-of vice; and yet, if efforts were put forth, much good might be done among these lads. It is a sad pity that the Committee of Council on Education do not remove some of the restrictions for ‘conferring grants in aid of evening schools. I have had a most interesting night school since October. In order te carry this on I have given up all society, and devoted four evenings every week to the instruction of these boys. To enable me to conduct this school, I have required the assistance of a paid teacher. I hoped to have secured a.Go- vernment grant for the payment of this master. The inspector of schools, however, holds out no encourage- ment to my obtaining help because this man is not a certified teacher. I have thus not only to devote my time to the benefit of these boys, but the prospect before me of having to pay this assistant out of my slender income; this is not very encouraging. I think also I pointed out to you by ocular demonstra- tion that the labourers have need of better cottages. We have at the present time some most flagrant cases of immorality, owing to the wretched bed-room accommodation. ‘This is a wide subject. * * * ‘ “ Believe me, &. « J. W. CocxsHorr.” 65. Extract from Minutes of a Ruri-decanal Meeting held at Burwell, November 8th, 1867. The meeting discussed suggestions for half-day system and alternate day system in agricultural labour,’ and the discussion was resolved into the ‘question of infant and night schools. Resolutions agreed on:— 1. It is desirable that infant schools be more encouraged by the Committee of Council on Edu- ‘eation, and that the children be admitted (if deemed desirable by the managers) at 2 years of age ; and in this way the boys may be better prepared to go out at an early age, as they now do, to enter on manual labour, and at the same time be better prepared to profit by night schools. 2. It is highly desirable to have a well-conducted evening school in every parish, and it would facilitate the establishment of evening schools if the Committee ‘of Council would pay for results independently of requiring a certificated master. i 349 BURWELL GIRLS’ SCHOOL (Nartionar), 66. Miss Campbell, mistress.—The school has been in existence from seven to eight years. The spring is the worst quarter for attendances. One girl had only attended six times in quarter ending 22nd November ; some only 27 up to 37 times in the spring quarter. When the girls return from the field they corrupt the others, and, though not fit for the same class as when they left school, they must be put in it or they would leave the school. Some go out as young as 7 years of age for a short time in the spring. Many do not go out at all, but go to domestic service. "The health of the children does not appear to suffer from field work. [I visited several cottages, and found them very bad. and highly rented, and in some cases overcrowded. The drainage and accommodation were very bad, and yet these cottages belong to persons quite able, pecu- niarily, to put them into good order.—E. B. P.] SOHAM. Meeting at the vicarage. 67. Present :—Rev. H. Tasker, vicar; and several of the principal farmers. Tt was agreed that 10 years would be a proper limit to fix, below which no child should be employed. The children are employed from March to November. The employment of girls .is very much discouraged in this parish, and many go to service. It was believed that in the case of a young family the parents really want the earnings of the elder children for the support of the family. Wages for men, 13s. a week. Larger earnings are obtained at the coprolite diggings. Farming operations require children’s labour for weed- ing. The gangs are mixed. The system tends to harden the children ; girls become very unruly. The gangmasters pay the money to the children, but there is no deduction as in the case of public gangs. The ganger, a regular labourer, gets the children when wanted ; is paid by the week, and perhaps makes 2s. over his regular wages: It was thought that women would be glad to go with the gangs. Women are much employed in field work in this district. Dis- tance to work is sometimes five or six miles, Any,boy of 8 years could easily go two miles to work. The health of the children does not suffer. If girls did not go to field, there are not boys enough to take their place ; but there would he more work for men and women, who could do it as well as the girls, but more expensively to the farmer. Parents would probably send their children to school if a limit of age for work was fixed. The parish is well off for schools. Com- pulsory education would not be approved. Half-time system not considered practicable. Boys of 12 and upwards are at work all the winter. From three to four cottages per 100 acres were considered sufficient for the farms, The cottages are generally good ; many belong to the labourers, who have with them rights of pasture for cow on the common. The cottages have of late in many instances been improved. 68, Return made by Rev. H. Tasker, vicar, Soham. Population, 4,283. Acreage, 12,700. ~ Cultivation, about 2 arable, } pasture. Private gangs exist. There are about 135 males and 135 females employed in spring, summer, and autumn; the greater number in April, May, and June ; none in winter, : Males : Between 8 and 13 - - - 835 » i8and18 = - ~ - 50 135 Females : Between 8 and 13 - ~ - 25 » i8and18 - - 60._ Over 18: Married - - js - 10 Unmarried - - - = 40's Py 135 Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d, Cambridge- Shire. Mr. Portman, a. 350 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, They are employed in spring in hoeing and hand- weeding ; in summer, in weeding the growing corn; in autumn, in picking up weeds behind the harrows and in taking up root-crops (mangold). Distance to work from one to five miles. Hours from 7 am. to 5.30 or 6 p.m., with an allowance of one and a half hours for meals. The effect of field work on the morals is undoubtedly bad. The treatment of the young is good. The leaders of the gangs in this parish are generally respectable men. ‘The state of education among the young is defective, in some very defective; some are without any education. Many of the children (boys and girls) who work in the gangs attend the schools regularly during the winter months, and irregularly at other times ; but much that is learnt in the school is for- gotten in the field, and must be learnt again. The effect of the system upon the girls is most prejudicial. The adults are for the most part uneducated. I should desire to see the gangs composed of males only ; of boys not under 10 years of age and of lads. I think it unnecessary to put any restriction on the number to be employed. It is most desirable that young females should be kept from field work generally. Of those not employed in gangs I should say there may be 100; their work is of the same kind as that done by the gangs. The effect of field work on the morals of females, and on their training for domestic duties, is decidedly bad. ‘The contrast offered by the interior of the cottage and management of the family of the wife who has been trained as a domestic servant, and of one who has been habitually employed in field work, is most strik- ing. I believe that at the present time labour is so much more scarce than it was that the farmer could not dispense with the labour of grown-up females; but I am prepared to recommend that restriction should be placed on the employment of female children. The time has been that, whilst women were employed in the fields, many men, often the husbands, were at home unemployed, because they could not obtain work, the wages of the women being only about half that of the men. Boys should not be employed under 10 years of age. The difficulties in enforcing school attendance are such that I am not able to make any recommendation. The farmers say that under a half day or alternate day system they could not get their work done. The attendance of the younger children at school is affected by distance in the winter. Our payments are very small, but many children are prevented from attending school by defect of pecuniary resources. We pay especial attention to needlework and knitting. Many girls have gone to service in good families and have turned out well. For the most part our cottages are of a good descrip- tion. There is but very little overcrowding. They are not conveniently situated for the farms. Almost all have two bed-rooms and a sitting-room. A large number of the cottages have good gardens, and the cottagers whose rents are under 4/. per annum have the privilege of turning out cows and geese upon commons appropriated to them. The extent of these comnions is 200 acres. Another 100 acres appropriated to them are let, and the proceeds applied to the pur- chase of coals. Rents arelow. The large landowners have not much cottage property. The owners of most of the cottages are tradesmen, but with the exception of a very few cases, the tenants are not obliged to deal with the owners. It is not a crying evil here, ScHOOL. In Summer. On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys : Under 10 - - 103 } 78 Between 10 and 13 - 56 Girls : Under 10 - - 90 64 Between 10 and 13 - 31 25 YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN In Winter. On Average Register. | Attendance, Boys: Under 10 - - 103 106 Between 10 and 13 - 56 Girls : Under 10 - - 90 49 Between 10 and 13 - 31 25 There are two night schools open from middle of October to the end of February for two hours ; in one case every night, in the other for two nights in the week. Average attendance, 25 out of 30. Those who are most deficient in education are the least disposed to attend the school for instruction. Boys who have been kept at school up to 10 years of age would be more likely to go willingly to night school afterwards. I think it would he a very great assist- ance in maintaining an efficient evening school if the Committee of Council would make a payment for results, after inspection, for an uncertificated master. The night school does not at present supply the defi ciencies of the day school. STAPLEFORD PARISH. Population 500, 69. Mr. Rowbotiom, steward to the Duke of Leeds, Gogmagog hills; daughter, a teacher at the parish school.—Children much employed in light work in the fields, such as weeding corn, singling turnips ; they go ten or a dozen together, under the superintendence of one of the employer’s labourers. They leave school at 8 years of age, and only return at intervals. The girls and boys work together ; the former prefer, as a rule, field work to domestic service. The wants of the family necessitate field labour for the children ; the demand for hands is great at certain seasons, and the parents are tempted by the pay to send their children out, though they only earn 4d. a day, or 2s. per week. [Mr. Rowbottom is of opinion that field work is bad for the health and morals of the girls, that the girls should not be allowed to go out till they are 10 or 11 years old, and that the sexes should be kept separate ; but believes that boys who are accustomed at an early age to agricultural labour do not suffer in health, and further, make good and active labourers as they grow up. .He does not think that a system of half-time could be worked. The hours of labour are from 8 to 5, resting one hour for dinner. | 70. Extract from Return made by Mr. Row- | bottom, Parish of Stapleford. Average employed in gangs (both sexes, and of all ages), from 35 to 40. In spring employed in weeding and twitching ; in summer singling green crops, &c. The sexes should be separated. About one-third of the young cannot read and write. It is my opinion that no licensed person is required in private gangs. I do not consider it necessary to register the names of children employed in private gangs. I think no boy should be allowed to leave school for work of any kind under 10 years of age and no girl under 11 years. I think no boy under 10 years of age should go more than two miles to work; that boys from 10 to 12 years of age should not be allowed to work more than 10 hours a day. I do not think the factory acts would answer in agriculture, as the children have long distances to go to their work, and are exposed to changes of the weather. I think the six months system would be most available. The cottage accommodation is very deficient ; many have only one room up stairs and one down, with a family of from six to ten in number. Some cottages are without back doors, and without water supply. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— EVIDENCE. The owners are chiefly farmers. Rent from 31. to 51. per annum. 71. Rev. R. Hawthorn, vicar.—The boys lose their education from the time of going to field work till they réturn to night-school at the age of 14. Would prevent boys from going out until 10 years old ; girls till 12, as they would not imbibe a taste for such work but would go to service. : 72, John Sneath, schoolmaster.—Number on books, 90, Average attendance of children 65 ; has not been lower than 50 this spring. Boys and girls leave for field work as young as 7 years, but not under. Boys generally going out in March, some returning to school in summer, others not till Michaelmas. Not one boy of 10 years old in the school. The girls re- turn to school at intervals till they are 12 or 14 years old, going to field in the spring. They are always worse for the field work, or forget much that they had learnt. The children are collected for work when wanted by the farmer sending a message round to the cottages to say that a certain number are wanted ; they work under the charge of a man who keeps a stick, and uses it. They hear very bad language, and are generally demoralized by the system. NEWTON. 73. W. Hurrill, Esg—Farms his own land, from 800 to 1,000 acres. Employs no girls. The boys who work on his land are sons of his own labourers. There is no gang in the parish. Does not see how the weeding is to be done without the boys. Would not allow girls to be used in field work. Women of 16 and 18 years of age do piece work, e¢.g., turnip hoeing, on their own account, and are paid by the piece in the same way as men would be. Soil, chalk. GREAT SHELFORD. 74, Rev. A. Crisford, vicar.—Private gangs exist in the parish. Boys only are employed on most of the farms, but in one instance girls also. The farmers are, with this one exception, opposed to the employment of girls. I do not think there is any occasion to employ girls, and I think that in some instances, such as bird keeping, old men who are receiving parish allowance might be employed. ‘The wages of men are lls. a week. The population, as compared with the acre- age, is the highest in the county except Sawston, where there are paper mills. The cottages are not over-crowded, and have of late been improved ; that is a landlords’ question. The cottages are mostly two-roomed. The land for the most part belongs to non-resident landlords, and the cottages are under the control of the farmers. 75. Girls’ School.—78 on books ; 50 average attend- ance. 18th July, seven away at field work; four have been away for nearly six months. Gjrls are generally absent in spring, but return in the winter, quite spoiled, and having forgotten most of what they knew. The school funds are affected by the absence of the children. 76. Emily Poulter —Age 12 years. My father earns lls. a week. I have been to field one year. Was weeding corn. Often wet over the tops of my boots. Employer would not let us go into shelter. I earn bd. a day, and 6d. for overtime. Work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. ; stop half an hour for breakfast, and an hour for dinner. Seven girls work together, and one little boy of 7 years old. Father takes me with him, and minds all the girls. 77. Sarah Wright.—11 yearsold. I have two sisters, Began field work this year; been out since March. Just come back to school. I work for same employer as last girl, Do twitching, weeding wheat, barley, and peas. I get very wet, and am out in the rain, Tearn 5d. a day. Poulter looks after us ; gives us the stick sometimes. Mother asked me if I’d like to go, I keep earnings, and mother lays them out for me in clothes. The girls get tired of -work and would rather go to school, I come to Sunday school. 78. Betsy Jennings.—9 years old. [Very small.] I live at Little Shelford. Have one brother and three 351 sisters. Have been two years at field work. Work with eight others; three boys. I get very wet weeding corn. Begin work at 8, stop at 6; have an hour for dinner. Man who looks after us has “ breaks ” in the day. We are left alone. Man uses stick to us if idle. Earn 6d. a day ; spend it in clothes. Am very tired after work. Other girls about 12 years old. One sister works with me. [N.B.—Was very sharp, now quite stupid.] 79. Boys’ School._—Average absent in spring, 10 out of 59. They generally leave school before 12 years. Those who go weeding young are not fit for same class on return as when they went out. 80. — Boutell_—7 years old. I work in field, pulling charlick. Eight boys together, under a lad 14 years old. I earn 4d. a day. 81. F. Saunders.—8 years old. 10 in family. I earn 4d. a day, field work. Work from 6 morning to 6 evening. Half hour for breakfast, one hour dinner. Get the stick sometimes. DUXFORD. Population - 141, Acreage - 3,051 82. The Rev. H. J. Carter, vicar—A gang of 30 to 40 children was employed in weeding this spring on one farm, and under superintendence of one man. Many of the women in the parish are drawn off to the paper mills at Sawston (i.e., from 16 years of age and up- wards), where the immorality is probably greater, though more refined than in field work. The children go three or four miles to work, from 8 years and upwards. Cottages very bad. I know an instance of a father and mother and six children in one room. I consider the want of proper accommodation in the cottages to be the cause of much demoralization. There is no resident squire. The gangs are paid by the farm bailiff; there is no paying of wages at the public houses. I think it would be difficult at present to find a substitute for the children’s labour. The women are much employed. I have a night school for lads in winter, which opens at 7 p.m. The parents are very indifferent about the education of their chil- dren. There is a good deal of emigration from this part of the country. [N.B.—Says two men and a boy are the proportion to 100 acres. Number necessary must depend on soil and customs of husbandry.—E. B, P.] 83. Extracts from Return made by Mr. Carter. There are two or three private gangs in this parish consisting of boys and girls. Very few of the children are under 8 years of age, and scarcely any over 18. The usual hours of work are from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m., one hour being allowed for dinner. The sexes work together ; the moral effect is bad, especially at meal- times and on the way home. I should not say that the health is injuriously affected. The young and females are not subject to ill-treat- ment, The state of education is unsatisfactory. Field work and the indifference of the parents are both great obstacles to education. I have seen very litile desire for education amongst the agricultural poor. The little that is learnt in the day school is soon for- gotten, so that at the time of their marriage the majority cannot sign the register. I think it desirable that the age of children employed in a private gang should be restricted; that the sexes should be separated, and that a certain amount of school attendance should be compulsory on all children from the time of their beginning to earn wages in a private gang ; above all, care should be taken by the employers to select respectable men as gang- masters. I do not see how it would be practicable for those placed over private gangs to be licensed. Under existing cireumstances I do not see in what way female labour in the fields can be dispensed with altogether. No girl should be employed in agriculture under 13 years old, and no boy under 8. Xx3 Cambridge- shire, My. Portman, eine d. Cambridge- shire. « Mr. Portman. d. 352 I donot see any difficulty in adopting the principles of the Print Works Act to the case of children em- ployed in farm labour. Each employer might be required to obtain 4 certificate from the school (when- ever such school is within two miles of the residence of the child), that there has been an attendance of 100 days of three hours a day within the preceding six months. al a School attendance is not affected by distance, nor by the pecuniary resources of the parents. The charge ‘is merely 1d. and 2d. per week. It is only in rare instances, arising from the improvidence of the parents, that the money cannot be found. I should say, from an experience of 12 years in different parishes in the county, that much of the evil, physical and moral, amongst the poor arises from insufficient cottage accommodation. I have not un- frequently: seen 10 or 12 in a family living in houses with only two small bedrooms, the elder children at the time being over 14 years of age. i From three to four cottages per 100 acres are sufli- cient. Cottages are not conveniently situated. Men have to walk two or more miles to. work. | Description of cottages.—One small sitting room and a small back room on the ground floor, with one bedroom, and sometimes two. Ventilation and drain- age indifferent, with a fair water supply. Generally a small piece of garden and an outhouse. In most cases where the families are large the accommodation is totally insufficient. The landowners for the most part own the cottages. Rent on an average 4/1. a year. Very little progress is being made towards increasing the cottage accommodation in any part of the county with which I am acquainted. . The question (i.e. of cottages) has always appeared to me to be a landlord’s question. The rent received from a labourer for a good cottage might not be re- munerative, but most tenants would be willing to insure 5 per cent. interest on any reasonable sum expended in making homes for the labourers near their work. ScHOOL STATISTICS.—NATIONAL SCHOOL. In Summer. On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys - - - 47 40 Girls - - - 46 33 In Winter. Boys e - 39° 41, i Girls - - - 54 41 I should say that at other elementary schools there would be an average attendance of about 15 little children in summer and 25 in winter. There are about 50 males and 50 females growing up with insufficient education. Very few are found to be able to read and write fairly at the age of 18, although they may have attended the day school when younger. What they learn is seldom kept up. There is an evening school for boys in ‘winter months open for 16 weeks two nights a week, and one and a half hours per night. Average attendance 24 out of 40 on register. The difficulties in maintaining an efficient evening school are the indifference of the young men about education, the fact that they are tired and worn out by the day’s work ; the distance some have to walk home from work before they come to night school, and the difficulty of obtaining competent teachers. I do not consider night schools suitable for girls at all. 84. Edward Willis.—8 years old. First went to field work last summer, keeping birds. Got no money EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND -WOMEN myself; it was paid to my parents, but I don’t know how much. Some children go out to work.at 6.years. ‘85. Emma Lofts~-12 years old. Been in fields weeding for two years; worked for Mr.Jonas. Wego about 20 in a body. They come and ask for us when we are wanted. Did not go weeding when corn was wet; if rain came on, we came home. Got.4d. a day. Mother sent me to field. I would sooner go:to service.~ Work from 8 to 6; one hour for. dinner.. Man who..looks after us uses bad language. My back has often ached, but I never had to be carried home. _ CHRISHALL GRANGE—Mzg. 8. Jonas. 86. Nathan Andrews, ganger.—I have been 30 ~years at gang-work. I see no good in schooling; the children would goto’ school hungry, and to work hungry, and that’s no good. I never give more than 6d. a day. The-‘wages: are better than they used to be. : -[This man is utterly uneducated and fond of the public - house. He receives the money for the children, but the payments are checked by Mr. Jonas. ] 87. Emma Hammond.—12} years. Working .in the gang. I began at 9 years, but not regularly. I live at Mr. Jonas’. I can earn 3s. a week. I went to school at Elmdon, but have not been for two or three years. Can-read a little. Mother can’t read. I work most of the year. 88. Louisa Andrews, daughter of -ganger, 16 years old.—Have been at work six years. Cannot read or write. 89. Rebecca Law, 11 years old.—Been at field work three years. Went to school at Chrishall, but.only -go to Sunday-school since I came to work. Go 24 miles to work. Four in family. = : ’ 90. Ann Francis, 12 years old—Been one year at work. Go 14 mile to work. 91. Samuel Jonas, farmer,Chrishall Grange.—Holds 4,000 acres, part of which is worked by his sons ; they employ gangs, as follows :— G. Jonas,, Ickleton—A. mixed gang that has to come 1} mile to work. : Sam. Jonas, jun.—A mixed gang ; 1} mile to work. S. Jonas, Home Farm.—Mixed ; 2 miles to work. 92. Wm. Jonas, Heydon.—A_ gang of boys. only. He holds under Lord Braybrooke, ‘who puts clause in agreement forbidding the employment of girls. The cottages on Mr. Jonas’ holding are very. good, and conveniently situated for the work ; the gardener and wife living in a cottage at the Grange, keep a day school in the summer for the smaller children, and a night school in winter for the older ones, Almost all the people about the place; can read and write. Mr. Jonas gives to men 11s. a week, and small beer. 98, Extract from Mr, Jonas’ Return. The children are employed.in spring in weeding the crops; in summer, in cleaning land and hoeing turnips ;. in autumn, in cleaning land, pulling mangold and turnips ; in winter, in cleaning turnip and man- gold for stock. Usual hours of work on the land about nine hours. Sexes work together.. I have never seen any ill effects. Isee no better plan:for enforcing some amount of school attendance than encouraging evening schools. Ns We have lately erected a school by subscription, which cost about.500/., in the centre of the village. .: I provide school and education for those living near me. I have lately erected blocks of cottages of three each block, and all have three bedrooms, a plot of garden, and are in the centre of my farm. .'They all live rent- free, or 1s. a week rent. By the interest I pay my landlord, I lose 5 per cent. 94. The Commissioners on the Employment of Chil- dren in Agriculture, “ GENTLEMEN, ; ne “J have returned your circular filled up to the best of my ability and the information I possess, At the same time I feel it my duty to address you by letter -on the subject also, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :——EVIDENCE. _ “I am of opinion that no good will arise, by the proposed interference of. the Government in the em- ployment of the children of our rural population in agricultural labour. I and my four sons, whose farms adjoin ‘mine, employ all the children of our labourers who are able and willing. to work, and this on arable land to the extent, of 4,000 acres; but with ,the pre- sent improved system of farming, this can only be done by having them placed under the, superintend- ence ofa. proper, person, forming, as you term it, private gangs, which yary in number from 8 to 16; and we feel it would be an act of oppression on our part, and injury to the, parents of, large families, if we refused to permit the:female children to participate in the advantages arising from the wages paid. to those thus employed ; and we are obliged to allow them to work with the boys, as there are but few girls; but I never saw any ill effects arising to the morals of those so employed ; as they get older, they either get married or go to service. i “Tf the Government should unwisely carry out their proposed plan of interference, I fear great dis- satisfaction and discontent would be created amongst our rural population.;- it would be the cause of lessen- ing the capability of the parents of large families from providing sufficient food for their children; and this to a considerable extent, for we could not, nor should we employ as we do now all:those children under any of the proposed restrictive measures, and this at a period of time when the deficiency of the wheat crop every where will cause prices to rule very high, and thus increase the calamity,.and add.to the misery of those with large families, whom the Government by unnecessary interference, an interference from which no good can arise, have thus caused. I go further, and add, I consider it an act of great oppression, cruelty, and injustice to interfere by legislative enact- ments with’ the manner in which every person, young or old, are willing and.anxious to seek their. own living, unaccompanied with crime! The indepen- dence of the subject is the great boast of Englishmen. “In regard-to education at the present moment, I believe few parishes can be found in which a school is not established and supported by the landowners and tenant farmers, and also by the parents of families by their penny per head weekly payments. I believe a more injurious step could not be taken than forcing education on the people, without causing them to par- ticipate in the natural duties and feelings of parents, by contributing in a small way to the funds providing such a blessing for their children. ; “TJ do not think any practicable plan can be devised 80 heneficialiy: adapted ts educate the children who are earning wages as that of evening schools, “In regard to cottage accommodation, great an advocate as I'am for the advantages arising from proper cottages, I do not see how the Government can interfere. I hdve lately had several blocks of cottages of three in a block erected by my landlords, and which I let to my men at ls. per week rent, or rent free, deducting Is. per week wages; they have the one-eighth of an acre of land attached for gardens to each cottage, and three bedrooms in each. I lose 5 per cent. by the interest I pay landlords on cost of erection, I,may add, such have been the conduct of the occupiers, that I have not had cause to change one of them. I have imported them from a distance, and they. are all considerably improved in comfort, appear- ance, and general conduct. But I must add, they have no cursed beer shop within reach, but, they have free access at all times to weak wholesome table ale, — “Tam, &c. z “SamMuEL JONAS, -Chrishall Grange, S.. Walden, “ Nov. 4, 1867.” 95. P. H. Frere, Dungate.— Employs children in ‘gang under one of his own men. Does not consider that the practice leads to immorality between the ages of 8 and 14, so much as, at_a more advanced age. The health of: the children is very good. Has a school on 353 his:farm kept by,a labouring woman; Thinks that six months, being from October to March, when children are not so much wanted in the fields, might be devoted to education. ie Bey / _ 96. Fleam Dyke Cottages, the property of Mr. Frere. —Two rooms above, and.one below, with small back room, warm and comfortable, and not . over- crowded, Situated at the extreme of West Wratting parish, two miles from the village. A woman living in centre cottage told me “that the children go to field as “young as 7 years, a lot together, sometimes under “a girl, sometimes under a man. You may be sure “they get into mischief if they can.” That the children do not “get much schooling, as it is too far “to send them. They talk of having a school at this “ place, in a room called the school-room, where they “used to have preaching. The parents are glad to “get the money for the children’s work. Man’s “ wages lls. a week.” 97. Clement Francis, Esq., Quy Hall.—Owns a large part of the parish of Quy. . Employs children in field labour, under one of his own labourers. The children so employed are healthy. He strictly forbids the taking in of lodgers in his cottages. The able-bodied labourers are much employed in coprolite diggings, but: return to the. farms for-harvest. Women, but not children, are employed by one of his, neighbours. Women earn ls. a day; children from 4d. to 6d. a day. ite) we [Mr. Francis is opposed to the employment of girls, except under certain restrictions. Says there is a great want of steady regular education and training for domestic service. ] 98. Extract from Return made by Mr. Francis. — QUY, ee ae . Acreage, 1,900. Cultivation -. vn chiefly arable. . Children are generally employed in gangs, ‘from 8 years to 13 years of age. Field labour is injurious to training for domestic service. Would recommend that boys should not. be employed under 8 years of age. That girls should not work in fields after 12 years of age. The cottages, for the most part, belong to the landowners ; have a fair amount of accommoda- Population, 400, tion, gardens, outhouses, and allotments, The rent is moderate, “°° °° *” ——— ee is = ScHoo.t STATISTICS. In Summer, a 5 On Aeerates: Register. | Attendance. Boys :- Under 10 - - 24 24 Over 10 - - | None Girls : i ; Under 10 - Ste 20 20 Over 10 - - =| None In Winter. Boys: a Under 10 - - 19 19 Over 10. a> ae. Sa 4 4 Girls : Under 10 - - 20 20 ‘Over 10 - - 18 18 I consider the state of education extremely low throughout the parish. There is no evening school. BOTTISHAM. Population, 1,600. Acreage, 5,581. Including Bottisham Lode. Part fen, part upland. y 99.1 visited the school. in Bottisham Lode. The children work in the fields, and usually commence such ‘work at 8 years of age; some few, however, under Xx4 Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 354 7 years, Mr. King, a farmer in this parish, sends the children to their work, a distance of three miles, in a waggon. The education of these children is defective. The schoolmaster reported some amount of ill-health resulting from field work. Cottages not very bad except in cases of small owners, who let at the highest possible rent, and thereby compel the lessee to take in lodgers.—E. B. P. 100. The Rev. John Hailstone, of Anglesey Abbey, formerly vicar of Bottisham. EmrLoyMent oF CHILDREN, YouNG PERsons, AND Women IN AGRICULTURE. “ DEaR Sir, “In the extreme difficulty of obtaining such accurate information as would enable me to fill up the tables in your circular of July 8, 1867, I have ventured to send you the following remarks upon such points as have come within my experience (of 30 years) in the agricultural parish (entirely) of Botti- sham, in the county of Cambridge, referring to numbers in page 1. “1. Bottisham, near Cambridge. “ Rev. John Hailstone (formerly vicar), now a re- sident. “ Population about 1,600, and acreage near 6,000 acres, and with chiefly arable cultivation. “6, ‘Private gangs,’ so called, i.e. a number of children from 8 to 12 years of age, employed by the farmers, under the supervision, generally, of some elderly labourer, for March, April, and May, in weed- ing, &c.—(‘ queeching,’ couching). If October is a dry month, more or less employed then for the same purpose. (Very difficult to thoroughly clear a field of weeds, when harrowed up to the surface, except by hand-picking, the threads of grass being so small, and so readily growing if left on the land.) “10. Many of our children walk between one and two miles for their day work. “11, From 7 to 5 p.m. “13. Breakfast, 8 to 8.30; dinner, 1 to 2 p.m. “ 14, Sexes work together. “15. If ‘young persons’ of 13 to 18 years of age, which is very seldom with us, work together or with children, it is most destructive to morals. “16. I have never observed any ill health arise, rather the contrary. Our school-rooms, if not well ven- tilated and looked to, have the effect of enervating our country children, and causing them to wish for and require a little more dainty food than the good ‘hunch’ of dry bread, which an out-door boy is well content with and fattens upon. “17. In some cases there is ill-treatment, but very rarely. Our good farmers take care, and in one in- stance, under my notice, sends his children every morning in a waggon when over two miles for work. “19. Upon the answer to this question hangs the whole matter. Ifwecan get our girls to school con- stantly till 12 or 13 or 14 years of age, we do not fear for them; with a strict eye to their moral education, and a constant deprecating of out-door work for young girls, we can nearly get them all to go out to service, and feel the degradation of out-door dirt and half-male sort of occupation. If we cannot obtain this result, we see inevitably, in nearly all the growing girls who go out to field work regularly, the low and wretched condition of early bastardy or improvident marriage. Much depends upon the advice and anxious teaching of the clergyman’s wife in this matter. “No girl can go out to work in the fields, at all hours, in all company, and at all sorts of occupation, without certain depreciation of character and moral sense. “ The children of both sexes who regularly are em- ployed in these small gangs at an early age, at certain seasons, before mentioned, of the year, grow up under avery small type of education ; they learn and unlearn by regular turns, and eventually very little remains in their possession of what may be called knowledge, either secular or religious. We can do nothing for boys unless they are kept at school constantly till 10 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN years of age. A couple of years afterwards at school, even irregularly, is tolerable, for the want may be sup- plied by night schools, and the more so after that age, The first requirement is imperative, and may be well the subject of legislation. Something effective may be done by strictness in the boys asking leave for a given time, and its being recorded, to prevent the notion that when leaving in March (say) it is not meant that they are to keep away till harvest. “ 20. The difficulties of legislating are very great. If the schools were free and no payment demanded of the children, the force of an Act of Parliament could apply to them, requiring them to go to school for a given time ; but as each pays his own 2d., say per week, out of their parents small earnings of 10s. or 11s. per week, some one would have to pay for them, if under compulsion to attend. The payment would be, in fact, a compulsory income tax, upon which serious difficulties would arise. Who to pay ? who to enforce ? who to punish if compliance be refused ? not to say constant collision between clergyman, farmer, and labourer. “ Page 6. I think week by week is preferable to day by day, as more conformable to village habits and country school management. “ The want of proper accommodation in cottages, and the undue and unhealthy crowding in the dwel- lings of our poor, is a serious hurt to their morals and their health. All we can do at school is undone at home. The wonder is more immorality does not exist considering the undisguised habits of old and young, married and unmarried, sleeping together in crowded rooms. Legislation on this point seems more prac- ticable and quite necessary. “ JoHN HaistTone.” LITTLEBURY, Counry or Essex. Population, 970. Acreage, about 4,000. Cultivation chiefly arable. Light soil. 101. Frederick Hooper, schoolmaster.—The children go to field work. I know one girl under 7 years who is at work singling turnips. Most girls after 9 years go to field. There is an evening school for boys; 19 out of 36 working boys attend on an average. Most chil- dren can read and write when they go out to field work. Respectable parents do not, as a rule, send their children to the fields. Childrens’ wages, 2s. to 2s. Gd. a week. There is another school at Littlebury Green, which takes about 20 children belonging to the parish. 102. J. Clayden, farmer, holds 1,000 acres in Little- bury under Lord Braybrooke. Never employs girls. Mens’ wages, 11s. a week. No dearth of labourers. Also holds land at Sewer’s End, near Saffron Walden. Extract from Mr. Clayden’s letter to Mr. Portman. “T really do not see that I can in any way fill up the Government paper, as really there is nothing like the gang system in work around here, nor are there any very young children employed in agriculture, except for a few weeks in the spring, when the charlock grows on some farms. Small children occasionally work with their parents, and where a man has from four to six little children no doubt they are an assist- ance to him. “ Most of our children go to school when young, and are very many of them able to read and write a little, but of course there are exceptions. “ Comfortable cottages, and, if possible, not grouped too nearly together, with gardens, lead to industrious and frugal habits, and, where these proper examples are set by the parents, I need not tell you it has a beneficial influence on the rising generation. “Night schools for adults or large-sized boys are very useful, and ought by every means to be en- couraged. I believe when properly conducted they are much appreciated. “ Yours very truly, “ Joun CLAYDEN.” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. SEWER’S END, Hamtet or Sarrron WALDEN. 103. Mr. Clayden’s bailiff says the children are em- ployed ; they come from school on Saturday to earn money to: pay for the next week’s schooling. The land here is heavy. Evidence of schoolmistress.—79 on books ; average attendance, 50. Boys are out at work from 9 years of age, from April to end of harvest ; they come to school in the winter. Girls go out in charlicking time ; very little ones go to that work. The parents are anxious to get them out. They are out about three weeks at a time. Girls and boys are mixed in fields under a man. On a Farm near Audley End belonging to Lord Braybrooke. 104, Henry Auger was in charge of a number of women. Had been at that work for 20 years. There were 26 women, married and single, at work ; four un- married. The youngest 16 years of age. He said he only looked after them in hay time, but that some- times a few were used for weeding. The women earn ls. a day for ordinary labour. Wages for weeding, 4s. 6d. a week. Some of them could read and write. 105. Extract from Return made by the Rev. Joseph Wiz, Littlebury. Searcely any gang system; though for weeding and stone picking several children are taken away from school. There are two hamlets in this village, distant about two miles from the school. The attendance is undoubtedly in some measure affected by such dis- tance, especially in the winter and in bad weather. The girls are taught needlework. Generally the coitage accommodation is bad, and being so, has an injurious effect on the morality and health of the people. Most of the cottages are built of lath and plaster. A few only of the cottages have anything deserving the name of a garden, or outhouses. The owners are chiefly tradesmen or persons to whom rent is an object, which is therefore high, and beyond the resources of the tenants,—I mean in comparison with their wages. I think something might be done by cottage associations formed for the purpose of buying up cottages at a fair valuation, which would be without pecuniary disadvantage to the tenant, but of immense advantage to him in point of health, comfort, and morality. ‘New cottages also might be built by such associations. Average attendance at school :— In summer, 35 out of 49 boys. 41 out of 57 girls. 44 out of 49 boys. ss 46 out of 57 girls. There is a night school open from November to March for two hours on each of two nights in a week. ‘The average attendance (all being over 12 years of age) is 21 out of 36. I do not consider that a night school adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school. The principal difficulty in the way of maintaining an efficient night school is the want of teachers, which obliges boys of unequal attainments to be placed in the same class. HILDERSHAM, near Linton. Population - 227 Acreage 1,499. 106. Rev. R. Goodwin.—The girls are hardly at all employed in the fields here ; their names are taken off the school list if they go out except during har- vest. Men’s wages are from 10s. to 11s. a week ; at piece work a man can earn lds. a week. Piece work “ig much in vogue in these parts. Gangs come from Linton, two miles distant, to work for a farmer in this parish, but there is no gang in the parish. Many girls go to domestic service. The cottages are not In winter, overcrowded. A night school is open in winter, and is attended by 8 or 9 lads, There is also one in the 2. 355 neighbouring parish of Abington, which is attended by about 20 lads. I think it is necessary for boys to go early to field work, in order that they may learn their business as agricultural labourers, but a system of alternate days for school and work, or a necessary attendance at school for a given number of days in the week, would be of great advantage. LINTON. Population, 1,833. Area, 3,775 acres. cipally gravel and chalk. 107. This is a smalltown, formerly a market town, and apparently supplies a good deal of labour for the neighbouring small villages. The houses are bad, and thickly inhabited, and I was told that there is gross immorality among the lower class. Mr. Mutimer, schoolmaster —I have been master here for 27 years. The average number in the school is 170, boys and girls. The girls go to work in the fields, but I do not think there are many who go out under 8 years of age. Their work is principally weeding and singling turnips just before harvest. I think that high farming lessens the demand for juvenile labour. Boys go out ina gang to work at Hildersham, and have been out all the year. Labour- ing men go as far as Babraham, a distance of six miles, for their work. The houses are bad and crowded. [The Rev. E. W. Wilkinson, vicar, also bore testi- mony to the bad state of the cottages. | FULBOURN. Population, 1,310. Acreage 5,221. Cultivation chiefly arable, about 200 acres of grass. 108. C. W. Townley, Esq. Extract from Return. There are three private gangs in the parish, employ- ing in all 15 males, 17 females—82 persons. They work at weeding corn and picking grass out of the fal- lows during three or four months, say, from begin- ning of April to July. Hours of work from 8 a.m., to 6 p.m., with a rest of half-an-hour at 10 a.in., and 1 hour for dinner. Distances to work half-a-mile to 14 mile. The sexes work together. Their health is not in- juriously affected, nor do I know of any cases of ill- treatment. All the children attend school when not at work. Number of persons employed singly or with a few others :— Soil prin- Males between 18 and 18 years - - 50 Females between 13 and 18 years - 12 Over 18—Married - 14 Unmarried - - - 8—34 Are employed from April to July ; hours of work from 7 a.m.to6 p.m. The employment of females in the fields must be against their making good domestic servants. Labour is at times scarce, and the parents could not do well without the children’s earnings. I think it better not to employ females after 13 years, or before 10 years. I would not employ boys under 8 years. Needlework is taught in the National school. The cottages generally have one sitting room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, and gardens, at 4d. a year. There are 229 cottages in the parish. There are four schools, 1, National, 1, endowed, and 2 dame schools. The average attendance at the National school is 100 boys and girls, and their average age is 7 years 7 months, The endowed school has 25 boys, The number of children neither at school nor at work ig -— In Summer. Boys—25. Girls—22. Of whom 20 are between ! Of whom 16 are between 8 and 10 years. | 8 and 10 years, In Winter. Boys—22. Of whom 18 are between 8 and 10 years. Girls—23. Of whom 15 are between 8 and 10 years. Yy Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 356 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, _ There is sometimes a night school during November, December, and January, “open ‘for ‘1! hour’ on three nights in the week. Number of scholars, 30 to 40 ; they are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. There is a difficulty in getting teachers. j The bigger boys do not work in the gangs. The single women employed ‘in field work ave usually those who, on account of bad character, are unable to obtain places as domestic servants. xs CROYDON. Population, 508. Acreage, 2,665. Soil, clayey ; subsoil, chalk and gravel. 109. Downing College, Cambridge, possesses most of the land in this parish. The cottages are much crowded, but the college has lately built some good ones at arent of 3/. 15s. per annum. Some of the old cottages let for 1/.a year. There is a good school- house. Here the children work in the fields; 4d.a day is the pay for young children. A women told me “she did not think it paid for wear and tear of “ their things, but they must go out.” Mens’ wages in this part of the county were low, but are rising in consequence of the demand for hands in the coprolite diggings. SWAFFHAM BULBECK. Population, about 900. Acreage, 3000. Culti- vation, chiefly arable. _ 110. Mr, B. Giblin, farmer, has farmed in the parish for 27 years. Employs in months of April, May, June, and July 10 children (five of each sex) in pick- ing grass and weeding corn; in the autumn and winter, three boys in trimming turnips. Hours of work from 7 am. to 5 p.m., two hours being allowed for meals. The sexes work together ; does not think their morals or health are injuriously affected by field labour. It is unnecessary to subject “private” gangs to legislative regulations similar to those applied to “public ” gangs; does not think half-time could work. Considers 10 or 12 children quite a sufficient number for one person to have the control of, and that field work is beneficial if a trusty man is put over them; thinks it better to keep the sexes apart. Few children are employed under 12 years of age, nor many women except for hoeing ; does not know of any at work between 15 years and 18 years. Mens’ wages lls. stated, most earn 13s. a week ‘The state of the cottages generally tends much more towards immorality than any employment they are subject to in this neighbourhood, chiefly owing to the crowded state of the cottages. There is nota sufficient numbér of cottages with two or three bedrooms and a sitting room. The Union Chargeability Act is not causing an inérease of cottages here. The cottage question is one for the landlords. The children might have six months’ schooling in the year. lll. Rev. W. Fleetwood, vicar—The parish is well off, and in a good state of education. There is a National school and two dame schools. The number of children employed singly, or with a few others, in the parish. is from 75 to 102 between ages of 8 and 13. Hours of work 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with allowance of 14 hour for meals. Distance to work from 11 mile to 4 miles. Health not injuriously affected by field labour, but it deteriorates their manners, impairs their morals, and unfits the females for domestic duties. ScHoo. Statistics, In Summer. soa On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - - 40 22 » Between 10 and 13 - None. None. Girls : Under 10 - - - 30 28 Between 10 and 13 6 6 YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN In Winter. wees On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - ~ 33 —_ Between 10 and 13 - 22 — Girls : : Under 10 - - 40 — Between 10 and 13 -|° 17 — There is a night school from October to March, open five nights a week for two hours per night. The average attendance of children above 12 years is 18 out of 21 on register ; reading, writing, and arith- metic are taught. The night school does not supply adequately the deficiencies of the day school. SWAFFHAM PRIOR. 112. Return made by James Witt, Esq. Population, 1,300. Acreage, 6,107. Cultivation, chiefly arable. Field land, 4rd skirt land, and fen land. There are two private gangs, employing 30 males of from 8 to 13 years of age, and 20 females of from 9 to 14 years of age; also some married women. They are employed in weeding and picking twitch in spring, summer, and autumn. Their usual hours of work are ten, with an hour and half allowed for meals. The sexes should be sepa- rated. The education among the young and the adults is such as requires great improvement. A private gang should be under 20 in number. I would restrict the hours of labour for females, on account of their domestic duties. Boys might be employed from 9 years upwards. I agree with the proposed table of restriction of distance to work according to age, if ample time is allowed for walking. In agriculturé I would have no half days, but should prefer the alternate whole day system. It appears to me that the wet weather during the summer months, together with the period when em- ployment ceases, would afford opportunity for school hours, if attendance could be insured during the winter months, thereby securing industrial education likewise. I would make compulsory on proprietors and occupiers in the rural districts the supply of schools, almost independent of the pecuniary resources of the parents. There is not industrial training for girls to the extent there ought to be. ; , Two cottages are sufficient per 100 acres. There are not enough of the right description. Many of the cottages have small gardens, but the larger number belong to private individuals and the shopkeepers with whom the poor have to deal. Average rent, 3/. 10s. a year. I do not see how to provide good cottage accommodation on self-supporting terms, till such pro- perty will yield a better per-centage. COTTENHAM. Population, 2,415. Acreage, about 7,000. Cultiva- tion, about 5,000 acres arable, 2,000 pasture. Soil, partly fen, clay, and loamy, called “Skirt Land.” 113. Extracts from Return sent by Rev. S. Banks, rector, and James Ivatt, Esq. The private gang system exists here. We cannot make any statement as to the numbers employed; there are many small owners in the parish who em- ploy their own children. The work is, in spring, twitching, weeding, and setting potatoes; in summer, weeding till midsummer; autumn, twitching and getting up potatoes. In winter very few are em- ployed. The distance to work is in some cases three miles. Hours of work 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., with an allowance of one and a half hours for meals. Sexe work mostly apart, in a few instances mixed; no complaint as to the effect on the morals, Gleaning IN AGRICULTURE (1867) time is very bad for the morals. Health certainly not injuriously affected. No ill-treatment. State of education on the whole very good. Public legis- lation for such parishes as this would be injurious, oppressive to the labouring class, and unpopular. Perhaps a few. young children go too far to work. Half-time system impossible; alternate days im- possible. The use of hands must be learnt as well as the use of heads, and the one must be taught early as well as the other. The labouring class ought to have a sufficient amount of “ school know- ledge,” but it must never be forgotten that they earn their living by their hands, and hands must be taught for the sake of the master as well as of the labourer. Labourers are paid well here, live well and dress well; the females in general too well. Some few complain nevertheless of paying for their chil- dren’s: schooling; the great majority pay, and perhaps ‘most pay willingly. Efforts for the industrial train- ing of girls are being made in the Church School of Industry, where none but useful work is allowed. The cottage accommodation is on the whole pretty fair; we have, however, some very bad cases. A few cottages are upon outlying farms; the village lies fairly in the middle. Cottages are chiefly brick, rooms from 12 to 14 feet square. Drainage of parish on the whole good ; ventilation of houses doubtful. ‘There are in the eottages three to four and even up to five and six rooms, with, in most cases, a fair allow- ance of outhouses, water, some gardens, and a large number of allotments. Small landowners and trades- men are owners of the’ cottages. Rent about 5/. Union Chargeability Act has not increased the num- ber of cottages. We believe there is more than one night school in the parish. The Church night school is held during November, December, January, and February, for one and three-quarter hours on two nights in the week, and was attended this year by 53 lads. Want of efficient teachers is the chief difficulty in maintaining efficient night schools. 114. Rev. S. Banks. —Children earn 6d. aday; are at work from March till the end of October. The wages are paid to the children themselves or to their parents, and not through the gangmaster. It would be pre- _ferable to half-day or alternate day system to have children prevented from going to work under a cer- tain age, and then only for a given time in the year, the remainder to be devoted to school. I have esta- blished and supported a school, not under Government Inspection. The allotment system is fully carried out ; there are at least 150 allotments. Men earn good wages at piece work and at drainage work. This parish is full of Wesleyans and Baptists. ; 115. James Ivatt—Owns 500 acres. Employs children, about 14 at atime ; some as young as 8 years. Does not employ girls. Cannot do without children’s labour in weeding time. Does not consider that the practice leads to immorality. When children are wanted one of his men collects them. The children are sent about in bodies from one part of the farm to another, as required. Men’s wages 12s. a week ; children’s 6d. a day. WATERBEACH. Population, 1,435. Acreage, 5,500. Cultivation, chiefly arable, with some market gardens. 116. Mr. W. Smith Wiles—I am the owner of an estate in this parish, and was more than 30 years the occupier of it, as also of other lands. There are three gangs in the parish ; No.1, 18 male children, average; No. 2, 18 females, average ; No. 3, mixed, in number about 15. The children employed in these gangs are the children of the labourers employed on the farms. Nos. 1 and 2 are’ employed on two large occupations adjoiming each other, and by arrangement one occupier takes the boys and the other the girls. No. 3 is mixed, but still the children of the labourers on the farm. I cannot see any better arrangement; they are employed in spring, summer, and autumn in cleaning the land, not in cropping. In winter none are employed, Dis- tances may vary from half to two miles. Hours of COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE.' 357 work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with allowance of one and half hours for meals. I have never heard of any ill- usuage, and do not think the employment injurious to health. The state of education is such as is commonly found in agricultural villages, far better than it was in their parents’ time. Those who work singly or with a few others are about 50 in number. In spring those over 18 years, married and unmarried, in hoeing corn crops ; in summer, mostly in the fruit gardens. Hours of work from 7 to 5. During the period I have lived here at least half my domestic servants were girls whom I had employed in the fields, and I do not know that I had ever cause to regret so. doing; of course I engaged those I thought best qualified. My opinion is that field employment has not necessarily any injurious effect upon the morals of females. No boys are ever employed at a less age than 8 years, and very few at that age, they not being useful, The employment of children in agricultural labour depend- ing upon the state of the weather, it is manifest. that the Act of 7 Vict. c. 15. ss. 81.-9. cannot apply. The season of employment extends from March. till November. There is an endowed school which all the children of the labourers have the opportunity of attending, at an average rate of less than ld. per week each child. The attendance is very slightly affected by distance. There is no special industrial training for girls. This being a fen parish most of the cottages are more than a mile from the farms, but as the drain- age of the fen has been progressing for some years, many farm homesteads and cottages have lately been built for the greater convenience of occupation and cultivation of such lands. The cottage accommodation is good. Most of the cottages are brick and tile and slate. The drainage of the village has been materially improved within the last 12 years. The rooms are about 12 ft. by 13 ft., 7 ft. high; with outhouses, gardens varying from 5 to 20 poles; are mostly owned by the landowners. Rent from three guineas to five guineas per annum. Sop a ScHOooL STATISTICS. Ln Summer. ses On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 . - - 50 33 Between 10 and 13 - 18 8 Girls : Under 10 - - 45 33 Between 10 and 13 - 26 15 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 58 37 Between 10 and 13 20 - No return. Girls : ; Under 10 - - 45 No return. Between 10 and 13 - 83 31° As to those neither at school nor at work I have no correct data, but I should think there are but few, the general desire of the parents being that their children should have some education. The returns are taken from the endowed school. There -are two or three other private schools, but the attendance is small and no accounts are kept. There are three night schools open for about 20 weeks in the winter half-year for one and a half hours on three nights in each week. At- tendance, about 45 lads, all above 12 years of age, I think a night school in a great measure makes up for the deficiencies of the day scliool. : [Mr. Smith Wiles further said that he does not think many girls are employed in the fields under 12 years of age, and that after 15 years they are. no good in a sient SPE eh eB gga BG RA Yy 2 Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 358 That he thought children under a certain age should not work in winter, and that, if possible, it would be good to place restrictions on the age to which children generally should go to work, but “he did not see how “it was to be done.” Men’s wages average lls. a week. Much more earned by piece-work. “Piece-work sharpens men’s “wits, and educated men make the best labourers. “ Still farm work must be learnt early in life.”’] 117. Matilda Leech, mistress of the endowed school. —The average attendance in winter is 150, boys and girls. The numbers begin to fall off in May. There is an infant school, with an average attendance of 60, of an age from three to six years ; the children then attend day school, more or less, up to 12 or 13 years of age. Needlework is done by the girls. The state of education is fair, most can read and write, but the long absences for field work throw the children back in their learning. Some mothers keep the children at home. I think the attendance is slightly affected by the distance at which some of the homes are from the school, BABRAHAM. 118. Mr. Samuel Webb, large farmer, aged 73.— There are no gangsin the parish. Children are employed with their parents, and earn dd. and 6d. a day. Labour is very scarce, and is brought from distant parishes. There is a good school and good charities. There are not sufficient cottages for the acreage of the parish. In years past many cottages were pulled down, and the poor driven out ; but Mr. Adeane talks of building new ones on different farms. Iam anxious to have some, and think that farmers generally would pay a fair per centage to the landlord for money laid out in this way. Ido not think that the half-time, or alternate day system, could possibly be worked, as the farming operations depend so much on weather, and in weeding time a day is of great importance. Education is low ; many parents are very glad to get the earnings of the children, and will not send them to school. The night school is poorly attended. I think it a bad thing to employ girls at all in field work, and do not do so myself, I am thoroughly opposed to the public gang system. [The population of this parish is 509, with an acreage of 2,143. It was formerly a “close parish,” in the fullest sense of the words, and the supply of labour is drawn from Sawston, Duxford, and even from Linton [as previously stated in evidence], thereby creating a species of gang system, as men, women, and children come together in “ groups,” at certain seasons when a number of hands are required for the work of the farms. ] WITHERSFIELD. Population, 640. Acreage, 2,468. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 119. Rev. W. Mayd, lord of the manor.—There are no private gangs; children, young persons, and women are employed in the fields in spring, summer, and autumn, and in collecting and burning weeds in winter. Boys only are employed in land-draining and driving plough. Distance to work, not more than half a mile. Men work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. ; women and children from 8 to 1, and from 2 to6. They all go home to dinner ; time allowed for meals 14 hours. Field work in winter is likely to produce rheumatism or rheumatic gout. I consider field work injurious to the morals of the females, inasmuch as they hear language and are exposed to indecent liberties to which otherwise they would not be subject. The demand for labour does at certain times require the assistance of females, but I think it very desirable that it should be restricted to married women. I think boys should not be employed under 9 years of age. I think two miles a suffi- cient distance for boys of any age to go to work; I would not allow girls to go at all. I would restrict the time of work for boys under 10 years of age to three days in the week, that they might attend school on the other days, as being more advantageous to the EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN employer, and more conducive to the good education of the children. As regards my own parish, I should be very reluctant to introduce any mode of enforcing school attendance ; there exists so good a feeling, both on the part of the employer and the employed, in favour of education, that I should be very unwilling to disturb it. Ithink the want of good cottage accom- modation is more conducive to immorality among the lower classes than any other cause. It is by no means uncommon for the cottages in this parish to have only one bedroom for the whole family. Such a state has a bad effect on morals, health, comfort, cleanliness, and education, A large proportion of the cottages are built of clay, brick, and a thatched roof; they seem to have built on the waste ground lying by the side of the road, so that there is not room for the necessary conveniences, [Mr. Mayd suggested, as a point for consideration, that it would be beneficial to obtain legal power for the lord of the manor to buy out cottages built on land originally “cribbed from the waste.” ] No progress is being made towards increasing the cottage accommodation. ScHooL STATISTICS. In. Summer and Winter. 5 On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: | Under 10 - - 39 29 Between 10 and 18 5 4 Girls : Under 10 - - 32 31 Between 10 and 13 9 7 There is a night school from October to March, open for two hours on three nights in the week. Average attendance (all above 12 years), 20. It does not adequately supply the deficiencies of the day school. The principal difficulty in maintaining a night school is disinclination to study on the part of the young men. Some do not like to mix with those younger than themselves, who are better scholars in consequence of having had an early education, which the older ones have not had. Men’s wages here are 10s. a week, with a quarter of an acre allotment. The girls are principally occupied in slop-work, which is served out to them from the factories in the neighbouring town of Haverhill, and this work they do at their own homes. The money earned is very little, if at all, in excess of that derived from field labour. HORSEHEATH. Population, 497. Acreage, 1,677. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 120. Rev. Francis H. Annesley, curate in residence. —Nogangs. Persons employed singly, or with a few others :-— Males : Between 8and10 - - - 4 4 10and12~ - 10 » 18 and 18 - 18 32 Females : —— Between 10 and 13 - - » 18and 18 - - - 2 Over 18 years: Married - - - - 10 Unmarried - - - 8 21 In spring, in picking stones off the land and in weed ing corn. In summer, in weeding corn and harvest, In autumn, in picking potatoes and pulling mangold and turnips. They live near their work. Hours of IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. work :—Boys, 6 to 6; girls, 8 to 5, with 1} hours allowed for meals. Health not injuriously affected. I do not know of any ill-usage. I think the employ- ment of females in agriculture is certainly demo- ralizine and detrimental to their proper training for domestic duties. I would recommend that no boy under 8 years of age should be employed in field labour. here is no industrial training for girls. School attendance is hardly at all affected by the distance from the school, nor by the pecuniary resources of the parents. Three cottages per 100 acres are sufficient, and that proportion exists here. In some cases the cottages are crowded. The cottages in this parish are tolerably commodious, and belong to different owners. The landowner has only a small proportion, and a tradesman owns several. Rent averages from 2/, 10s. to 47. 10s. per annum. [In consequence of the destruction of cottages at Camps, this village is full of families who get work in the neighbouring parishes. ] There is a night school upon for 16 weeks, from December to the end of March, for one and a half hours on three nights in the week. Average attend- ance is 25. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. Mr. Annesley complained of the immorality in the parish. 121. Mr. J. Webb, farmer.—Does not employ chil- dren. A labourer cannot live and support a large family without the children’s earnings,which vary from 3d. to 6d. a day. Does not consider that field work conduces to immorality so much as slop-work. {Mr. Cook, farmer, employs a gang of boys and girls (mixed) all the year. In this parish also the girls are much employed at home with the slop-work from Haverhill. I ascertained that in this neighbourhood cottage rent averages 3/.a year. Many of the cottages having only two rooms, but usually with a piece of land attached, or in the allotment field. In the town of Haverhill, cottages of the most miserable description are rented at 5/. a year. There is a considerable manufacture in Haverhill of corduroy and “white work ” (as it is called), a coarse shirting. These goods are then put out to the girls in the ‘ neighbouring villages, to be made up for the retail shops; and this kind of work, like the straw-plaiting in Bedfordshire, is said to have a most demoralizing effect on the girls employed.—E. B. P.] SHUDY CAMPS. Population, 330. Acreage, 1,832. Cultivation, mixed. 122. Rev. W. Joy, vicar.— A small and varying number of my parishioners are employed in a private gang in the adjoining parish of Horseheath, but there are no gangs in this parish. Very few women are en- gaged in field work. The boys from the time they can earn anything, till 14 or 15, are often nominally at school; but are so irregular in their attendance as to lower the efficacy of the school. This is be- coming more the case with the girls also, since the introduction of slop-work. The hours of work are from 6 am.to 6 p.m., or during daylight, with 1} hours allowed for meals. Slop-work (sewing) for the ready-made clothes dealers seems to me to be worse than field work for the girls, taking them earlier from school, keeping them from service, and exposing them to temptations. The women are sadly in want of proper training for domestic duties, but not through field work. ‘The only training of this kind open to them is domestic service, from which the best of them seldom return to us. I should dread any new source of irregular attendance in our small village schools. Their chief want is efficiency of teaching power. There are almost as many classes to be attended to as in a large school, and we cannot afford extra teachers. My aim is to economise teaching power by improved method and regular attendance. If we could be sure of our children regularly up to a definite age, say 359 8 years, as a minimum, I do not see why we should not ultimately give them a better education than most of them have had now 2 or 3 years later. School attendance is scarcely at all affected by distance, except in the case of young or delicate children in bad weather; nor much affected directly by the pecuniary resources of the parents, “no shoes to come in,” is an occasional excuse. It is not often that the parents have any real difficulty in paying the weekly penny, if they have, it is paid for them. Indirectly it is very much affected; their wages are too small for them to do without any little addition, which the children can earn or enable the mother to earn by helping her at home, hence irregu- lar attendance at school. We do not see our way in small schools to provide for the industrial train- ing of girls, though we should be glad to do so. There are 20 or 25 lahourers employed in the parish, over and above those who can find houses in it. There are nearly enough cottages with two or three bed- rooms. A large part of our cottages are old and badly built; not underdrained, accommodation mode- rate. Our wells are few and very deep. Garden ground and outhouses generally sufficient. Out-door provisions for decency sometimes sadly deficient. They are owned by non-resident landowners; rent 2i. to 32. 10s. per annum. Two good new cottages have been built, and two old farm-houses adapted for four labourers’ families. ScHooL. STATISTICS. In Summer. ooo On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys : Under 10 - - 15 6 Between 10 and 13 - 4 2 Girls: Under 10 - 21 11 Between 10 and 13 - 5 2 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 12 8 Between 10 and 13 3 1} Girls : Under 10 18 10 Between 10 and 13 - 4 2 Scarcely any children of the labouring class who are well, are neither at school, nor at work either at home or in the fields. Nearly all the young men and lads about 15 or 16 are insufficiently educated, and some of the girls. There seems to be a great improvement in the younger ones. There has been a night school, but it has been discontinued for want of sufficient attendance. I have had difficulty in getting any one fit to help me in teaching. The girls earn from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a week at slop- work. Men’s wages are 10s. a week, Girls and boys as young as 6 and 7 years, are employed in the fields. CASTLE CAMPS. Population, 901. Acreage, 2,703. straggling parish. 123. Rev. J. E. Bode, rector.—Wages 10s. a week for men, 5d. and 6d. a day for children. Children leave school early ; they sometimes go out in masses in weeding time. The parents do not like to refuse the farmer if he wants them. Very few people in the parish can sign their names. Thinks that the farmers would be opposed to a compulsory system, though they are willing to admit the necessity of education. Yy3 A large and Cambridge- shire. -——- Mr. Portman. d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 860 124, [I subsequently received the following letter from Mr. Bode. ] “ Castle Camps Rectory, “ Dear Sir, 81 December 1867. “ In answer to your letter received this morning, I am truly sorry to say that I have not been able to furnish the information desired. I fully intended to attempt to doso, but * * * * “ As an indication that my information would not have been important, I may add that there is nothing like an agricultural gang in this parish; there are very few girls or women employed in field work. I do not think there are half-a-dozen regularly employed in it. They all do what is called slop-work, for a manufacturer at Haverhill. I do not think this has any favourable result on their morals, or fitness for domestic duties. Comparing them with the girls and women in a parish in Oxfordshire, of which I was rector, where they were mainly employed in field work, I should say they are quite as immoral, perhaps a little less rude, but quite as bold. “ The girls are generally taken from school to this work at from 7 years to 9 years of age; the boys to farm work at about 7 or 8. Both sometimes return to day school at dull times in the year ; the former not so often. Both usually attend Sunday school, the boys till about 15, the girls till about 17. “ The only peculiarity in this parish is, that we have nearly 30 families residing in it, belonging to the adjoining parish of Shudy Camps, owing to the paucity of cottages in that parish. The cottages here are generally deficient in accommodation, there being searcely any with more than two bedrooms, but not many I think with less. “Part of the parish is a mile and a half from the school, and I think this makes the attendance more irregular in the winter. I have taken the liberty of putting down these remarks here ; they are not suffi- cient to enter in the formal paper, but may be better than nothing. “Tam, &e., “ Hon. E. Portman. J. E. Bove.” [In this part of the county, containing the villages of Shudy Camps and Castle Camps, I found men’s wages lower than in any part of Cambridgeshire.— E. B. P.] WEST WRATTING. Population, 777.. Acreage, 3,440. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 125. Edward Frost, Esq.— There are no gangs in the parish ; girls are not employed. The children sometimes go out singling turnips with their parents. This is a very large parish, six miles in length. The schools are good, All the children in the parish from 3 years of age up to 10 years in the case of boys, and 12 years in case of girls, attend school. ‘There is a night school for six months in the winter season, open for two hours on three nights in the week, which is attended by 17 boys. Scripture, reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. I consider the night school adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day school. Cottages are abundant; the worst belong to small owners. [Wages in this parish for men, 11s. a week. ] BALSHAM. Population, 460. Acreage, 4,400. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 126. Rev. C. BR. Dicken, rector—There is no or- ganized system of agricultural gangs in this parish. In spring, when children are employed by the farmers in weeding, &c. a person is usually appointed to over- look them, but their wages are paid by the farmers. It is quite a matter of chance whether the same chil- dren are employed from day to day, so that the ages cannot well be ascertained. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, Y OUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN CAXTON. Population, 545. Acreage, 2,000. Soil, stiff and clayey. 127. H. Mortlock, Esq., solicitor.—This is a very poor miserable district; there is little done for the poor people. Children do not go out to field work much, except in the spring for twitching and weeding, boys and girls together ; they work from’ 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and get very tired. The girls are quite spoilt by field work for domestic service. A man will not take charge of a lot of children in the field unless he has extra pay. The mothers take no trouble to get their children to service. If legislation as to the age at which children should go to work takes place, he does not think the provisions of the Act could be enforced, except by making the police public prosecutors. Wages are 12s. and 14s. a week for men. Cottages are very bad, mostly with only two rooms, The over- crowding of families is the root of the evil, and the cause of immorality. Thinks the children’s labour is at certain times necessary to the farmer. Caxton Union is the worst in the county. 128. A.J. Wright, Esq., medical officer.—Does not ° consider the health of the children is injuriously af- fected by field labour ; their morals become much de- teriorated ; they go out as young as6 or 7 years of age. The cottages are very bad and are disgracefully over- crowded, a state which leads not only to immorality but also to sickness. The moral state of the people of Caxton is very low. Should be very glad to see some legislation on the subject. , GREAT GRANSDEN, Hunrs. Soil, heavy clay. ae 129. T. V. Webb, Esg.—Women and girls work to gether in the fields wheat hoeing in the spring ; girls of 14 years and upwards and married women together. The boys are mainly employed in the care of horses. The little children occasionally go out picking char- lick in the spring, not in greater numbers than 10 together. The cottages are not overcrowded and are pretty good. Education must be compulsory. Thinks that a system of alternate weeks of work and school might succeed, but not half day or alternate days. The boys should not go to work till 10 years of age. The girls are sent to service at 13 years when pos- sible ; the mothers are growing averse to sending them to the fields. Thinks that a system of night, schools with liberal support from Government in case of un- certificated master as well as of certificated, is very desirable. ‘There is one in the parish which is well _attended,, the average age of lads attending being 16 years. To carry out this system an additional number of teachers would be required in every parish, as the attendance of lads earning wages up to 16 years of age for a certain number of evenings during the winter months should be made compulsory; in the case of those not earning wages, there should be a forced attendance at the day school up to a certain period, whereby you would secure a continuous education aud keep up the standard. At present the people are deficient in reading and writing. Men’s wages 12s. and 138s. a week. =~ LITTLE GRANSDEN. 130. Rev. A, Newby.—A very small parish. The same system of employment of labour in agriculture exists as in Great Gransden. BASSINGBOURN. Population, 2,213. Acreage, 4,245. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 131. Rev. H. Freeman Bishop, vicar. — Private gangs are employed by farmers in the spring in pulling charlock, and picking ‘up twitch. The distance to work rarely exceeds'a mile. Hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an allowance of one hour and a half for meals. The sexes work together, but have their meals apart. The working together of the sexes gives the young girls IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. very rough habits, and does not conduce to morality. I understand that their language is at times very bad. The health is not injuriously affected, nor do I know of any ill-treatment. The state of education, both among *the young and adults of both sexes, is low. Fhe employment of females in field work interferes with their usefulness in domestic service. Boys should not be employed under 10 years of age. The over-crowding of cottages has a bad effect on the morality of the labouring classes. Most of the cot- tages have two bedrooms; a great many are owned by tradesmen. This is a poor parish, with no resident squire, and the parents are glad to get the children’s earnings. I should be glad if something could be done to prevent the children from leaving school so early as they now do. KNEESWORTH, near Basstnapourn. Population, 280. Acreage, 970. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 132. W. Ten Brocke Crole, bailiff and farmer.—I employ on my farm four males and eight females, ina gang in spring and summer. [About three times this number are employed in the whole parish.] The males are between 10 and 13 years of age, females between 13 and 18 years. The work is pulling char- locks and picking up twitch. Hours, from 7 a.m. .to 6 p.m., with 14 hour alllowed for meals ; they all live close to their work. They leave home at 7, and are at home again at 6 p.m. The sexes work together, but have their meals apart. Their health is not at all injuriously affected; they are playing about till 9 or 10 o’clock at night. The state of education varies, some read very well, some not at all. We have only “ private” gangs in this parish, and the children are well cared for. I employ four males between 10 and 13 years of age not in the gang, in spring in bird- scareing; in summer and autumn, in driving hay-carts, dung-carts, and light jobs ; in winter, in cleaning turnips and helping the shepherd. Hours from 6 to 6 in summer, from light to dark in winter. The morals of the girls depend on their mothers. I would not place any restriction on the employment of females in field labour, nor on the age at which boys should go to work. A boy of 12 years old will walk 10 miles every day, driving plough in wet dirty land and play hard all the afternoon. Certain kinds of work can only be done in fine weather. The half-day or alternate day might be very inconvenient ; I would suggest night schools as preferable. We have a school in our parish close to the houses of the labourers, under the management of the squire. It is not un- usual for the farmers in this parish to pay for the schooling of children when the families are large. No industrial training for girls is attempted. I con- ceive bad accommodation in the cottages, 7.e., having only one bedroom, to be the root of all immorality. I should say two cottages are sufficient for every 100 acres; we have that proportion. Almost all our cottages have four rooms, and all have a garden. Rent ls. 3d. to 1s. 6d. a week. Mr. Crole thinks that the weeding and charlick- picking cannot be done without “the small hands.” The girls would be better if they did not go to field work quite so young. The parish and neighbourhood are much improved lately in point of morality, but there is still much immorality dating from “ the Feast.” STEEPLE MORDEN. Population, 913. Acreage, 3,820. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 133. Meeting at the vicarage. Present :—Rev. W. Martin, vicar. Mr. Strickland, farmers. » Pain, » Westrope, A large parish, and coprolite district. No school in existence when Mr. Martin came, but one has been open since January 1867. Mr. Martin expressed himself in favour of the half-day system of school and 361 work, if. it is possible to carry it out, if not then he would have alternate days. Children are employed in the fields as young as 6 years of age in charlick pulling, when they go 20 together with aman over them. The girls do not work much in the fields, as they are occu- pied with straw-plaiting at home. A child of eight years can earn 2s. 6d.a week in the field. Man’s wages 2s,a day. 15s. or 16s. a week can be earned by piece-work. 134. Return made by Rev. W. Martin. Children and young persons employed in agricultural labour :— Males (constantly) : ' Between 8 and 10 years - - - 4 » 1l0and13 ,, - - 19 » idsand18 ,, - - - 21 44 Females (occasionally) : Between 10 and 13 years 6 ‘ 13Zand18 ,, - - = 7% 7 Over 18 yrs. (married) They are employed in spring, in weeding, setting potatoes, &c.; in autumn, in dibbing wheat and beans. A few go two miles to work, but the greater part live on ornear the farms. Hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter ; two hours are allowed for meals. Ido not think the health is in- juriously affected, nor do I know of any ill-treatment. While the employment of females is only on occasional emergencies, I do not think there is much harm to their morals. I would not recommend any restriction on female labour. Boys should not be employed under 8 years of age. Distance must keep many away from school in bad weather, and prevent very young chil- dren from coming at all. Many parents keep their children from school to earn money by straw-plaiting. There is no industrial training for girls except in needlework. Owing to the coprolite works, the over- crowding of the cottages is a serious evil, and the effect of the mixture of sexes in the same sleeping room disastrous to morality. : There should be two or three cottages per 100 acres, for those employed in agriculture. There is not a sufficient number of cottages with two or three bedrooms. Rooms in the cottages are generally of sufficient area but too low, some barely six feet in height. Bedrooms badly ventilated. The ordinary cottage has two bedrooms, but some only one, scarcely any have three ; some have no garden, and insufficient room for outhouses. More than two-thirds of them belong to landowners. Rent from 2/. 10s. to 5l. a year. There is no progress being made towards in- creasing the cottage accommodation. One chief mode ‘of enabling labourers to pay a rent remunerative to the landlord is to attach to each cottage a sufficient piece of land. ScHoot, only lately opened. In Summer. cee On Average Register, | Attendance. Boys : Under 10 - - 58 35 Between 10 and 13 - 12 7 Total - - 70 42° Girls : Under 10 - - AT 28 Between 10 and 13 - 26 17 Total - - 73 45 Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. Cambridge- shire. Mr. Portman. d. 362 There is a night school open for one and a half hours on three nights per week. The average attendance is 17, three of whom are under 12 years of age. know of no better mode of supplying the deficiencies of the day school. The principal difficulty in main- taining a night school is, the want of a sufficient number of teachers to take different classes, and so secure sufficient individual attention to all. GUILDEN MORDEN. Population, 906. Acreage, 2,500. Cultivation, chiefly arable ; soil very heavy. 135. Meeting at the house of the Rev. H. Thornton, curate. Present :—Rev. H. Thornton. Mr. Johnson, », Chapman, farmers. » Masters, There are two private gangs in the parish; they are only employed for two months in spring in weed- ing. The sexes work apart. Not many of the children are under 8 years of age. There are coprolite works about five miles distant. It was not thought necessary to interfere with the employment of children, as in force in this parish. Wages of children from 4d. to 7d. a day. It was thought desirable to secure a certain number of days’ attendance at school for children below a certain age. Boys are employed horse-leading and ploughing throughout the year. The night school failed. It was thought that three cot- tages per 100 acres were sufficient for heavy land, but that a smaller number would suffice on the light lands. The middle-aged portion of the population are not at all educated. 186. Return made by Rev. H. Thornton, curate. Numbers employed in gangs. No. 1. Males : Under 8 years - - - s. 33 8to lO years - - - Sy ate 10 to 138 years - = - - lil Total - - 14 Females : Under 8 years - - - - @Q 8 to lOyears - - - - 4 10 to 13 years - - 3 13 to 18 years - - = 35 Total - 14 No. 2.—6 males and 6 females. They are employed in weeding and twitching. HourS from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with one and a half hours allowed for meals. Their health is not injuriously affected ; they only go short distances to work. Most of the young are capable of reading very fairly. As the gang system is only adopted in this parish to a very limited extent, and only during two months in the year, it is not necessary to subject it to the same restrictions as “ public gangs.” Of those who are employed not in gangs there are 20 young persons— 20 children—but no women, employed in driving or leading horses. There are not sufficient cottages with two or three bedrooms ; the accommodation is very defective, there being in many instances only one bedroom for a large family. Rent from 41. to 67. a year. The average attendance at the day school is about 100, and the numbers have not varied much in winter and summer, though there has been a greater number of elder children in winter and a greater number of younger in summer. All the children, however, in the school do not belong to the agricultural class, though most do. There are not many children in the parish who are growing up without any education at all. The night school is not efficient ; there is a waut of Government aid on liberal conditions in parishes that have no resident landowners or wealthy people. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN DRY DRAYTON. 137. I found here some very good cottages belonging to Rev. W. Smith; also a row of fair cottages belonging to Mr. Warren, a grocer at Cambridge—two rooms on ground floor, two upstairs, at a rent of Al. a year. There is an allotment field in the parish. 138. Letter from Rev. W. Smith, of Dry Drayton, to Hon. E. Portman. “ Dry Drayton, November 28, 1867. “T have delayed writing to you on the subject of the gang system of employing women and children in agriculture in this county, in order that I might collect all the information I am able on the subject. “In this parish we have neither public nor private gangs employed; women are employed to a certain extent in the fields, but in small parties of themselves, and occasionally afew children with them, but without any man. I am glad to say, the allowing children to work in the fields is generally disapproved in this parish, it being invariably the case that, where children are for any length of time employed in field-work, they become disinclined to go to service, and if they do go out to service they make very indifferent servants, “ Tn the adjoining parish of Lolworth private gangs exist for some portion of the year, and I regret to say . some of our young people have been induced to join them. “ As faras I can learn, public gangs exist only in the fen districts ; on our heavy clay land I believe there is notone. On the light lands of this county, that is, from Cambridge to Royston, and Cambridge to Newmarket, private gangs exist in some places in the spring of the year, and at the time of turnip-hoeing. “ My information, such as it is, has been obtained from farmers in various parts of the county. “Tam, &c., “ Witiiam SMITH.” LOLWORTH. 139, Mr. Daintree, farmer.—This is a small parish of heavy land, and labour is very scarce. We cannot do without the children’s labour. I would employ a gang if I could get one, and do not consider it a demoralizing system, if under proper supervision, though I decidedly disapprove of the public gang system. Most of my work is put out by the piece. The cottages are good; some new ones have been lately built. There is a night school in the parish, and I think a good system of night schools would be very beneficial, as the children should be educated more than they now are. Steam plough is much used in this district. The use of steam machines does not do away with the necessity for hands. “ Str, STETCHWORTH, near NEWMARKET. Population, 671. Acreage, 3,739. Cultivation, chiefly arable, 140. Charles Jillings, Stetchworth Hall. — The private gang system exists in this neighbourhood. I employ in spring and summer about 80 males and 15 females ; in winter, 12 males and 4 females. They are employed in spring in spudding docks, raking grass, cleaning roots, and in bird-keeping ; in summer, in hoeing and weeding corn, picking grass, singling beet, turnips, carrots, &c. ; in autumn, &c., in storing roots, keeping stock, bird-keeping, and picking stones. They usually work for 10 hours, with 14 hours al- lowed for meals ; their health is not injuriously affected, nor is there any ill-treatment. The state of education among the young is improving. It is not requisite to apply the provisions of the Gangs Act to “ private” gangs. Of those not employed in gangs there are about 100, children, young persons, and women; I employ from 30 to 40 on my farm. I would not place any restriction on female labour, as their services are here much required, and the work could not possibly be done without them. I would IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, not limit the age for boys to go to work. School attendance for four months during winter is desirable. The school is conveniently situated. Cottages are conveniently placed on the farms, and are not crowdad.: I consider that an evening school ade- quately supplies the deficiencies of the day school ; the night school is badly attended. 141. Major Fryer, Newmarket.—Children are em- ployed in this district, though not in any great numbers together. Married women are much employed. There is not more immorality among the field women than among the idle ones. The gangs are not so much mixed as they used to be. The want of good cottage accommodation is the root of the evil state of morals. 363 Schools are abundant. The state of education among the young is low, but is certainly improving. The lads feel the want of education, as they find the difficulty of getting places if they cannot read or write. The system of piece work, wherein a father is often assisted by his children, e.g., in turnip hoeing and singling, would render it difficult to restrict the hours of work on the land. Thinks that all classes are now anxious to raise the standard of education, and that legislation might tend to retard instead of advance the cause, by checking the voluntary support now freely given. An extension of the provisions of the Labouring Classes Dwelling House Act (29 Vict. c. 28.) to rural districts might be beneficial, YORKSHIRE. EAST RIDING. BURSTWICK. Population, 485. Acreage, 4,220, 142. Rev. F. B. King, Mr. Mitchenson, Mr. Park. —It was considered desirable that some system of en- forced education should be adopted. That no child should go to work under 11 years of age, and that they should remain at school till that age. Mr. King would make it necessary to produce a certificate of three years education in an approved school before employment, and would place a penalty on the em- ployer of any child without such certificate. Children are not much employed in the fields, sometimes 10 or 12 together, of both sexes with a man over them in weeding and potato picking, they are then paid by the farmer. Parents do not appreciate education, and make the children go out to earn something when they can, The health is injuriously affected hy exposure to weather and hard work under 10 years of age, the children are stunted in their growth. Women when married go hoeing, but they are not somuch employed now as formerly. The farm servants, male and female, are engaged at the statutes or hirings at Martinmas (the 23rd Nov.) for the year. They are lodged and boarded either in the house of the farmer or of his foreman, and are paid by the year. There are very few cottages attached to the farms and it would bea great advantage to master and labourer if there were more. The cottages are clean and in good repair and not overcrowded. Rent from 3/. to 51. The greatest distance to work is two miles. The state of education is low, the children are not sufficiently grounded. Sunday school is well attended. Night school does not answer, the farmhouses are far apart and at a dis- tance from the school, and the arrangements for “ doing-up”’ the horses at 8 p.m. prevent the lads from coming to school. Wages of an ordinary labourer are 2s. 6d. to 2s. 9d. a day. : RYHILL, HAMLET OF BURSTWICK. Population, 243. Acreage, 1,500. 143. Mr. Leonard, tarmer.—I farm 700 acres. I never employ children and do not consider that chil- dren under 10 years of age are of much use to the farmer. To prevent children under 10 years from going to field work would be no hardship to the farmer, though in some cases it might be to the parents of the children. Wages of an ordinary labourer are lds. a week. The younger portion of the population can mostly read and write. The rent of cottages with garden and pighouse is 4/. each per annum. More cottages are wanted and legislation on that point would be very beneficial. When farms are situated at a distance from the village the farmers would be too glad to pay a fair per-centage to the landlord for the money laid out in building cottages. SALTHAUGH GRANGE, KEYINGHAM. 144, Mr. Francis—I occupy 900 acres. Children are not much employed in field work. They go out bird-tenting and pulling “‘runch ” for about six weeks in spring and summer, They go at 9 years of age, 2: and are paid 8d. a day. Boys do not go with the carts. It would be no hardship on, the employer to forbid children working under a given age, though it might be to the parents, as the children go out to earn money for clothes, &c. The state of education is pretty good. The plough lads are hired by the year ; the fore- man will get 30/. a year and keep; waggoners, 161. to 201. and keep; lads 10/. to 14/7. and keep. When the lads are well looked after they become good and careful men and are able to save money. The wages of an ordinary labourer are 2s. 6d. a day, and 3s. for special work, such as thrashing; much work is done by the piece, and earnings larger than the weekly wage are made at it. Ihave three or four cottages on the farm, some men come two miles to work. One double cottage for general labour is suffi- cient for 200 acres under the system of yearly hiring of plough lads, Single and married women go out weeding. There has been a good deal of emigration and labourers have come from Norfolk and other counties, PARISH OF KEYINGHAM. Population, 639. Acreage, 1,890. Keyincuam ScHooL. 145. Mr. Kendall, master.—46 boys and. girls on register ; average attendance for year, 44 boys and girls. The children are away from school 9 or 10 weeks in spring and summer, bird tenting, singling turnips, weeding, &c. ; they go as young as 8 or QO years. J would recommend 11 years as the limit below which no child should go to work, a boy who attended regu- larly up to that time would be able to read and write and do arithmetic up to the rule of three. They lose a great deal of what they have learnt when they go out. Girls do not go much to field work except for band-making in harvest time. There is an Infant School in the parish, but no industrial training for girls. The night school did not answer. [There were 16 boys present of different ages who had been out pulling runch. | 146. Ness.—-12 years old, had been out pig-tenting in the autumn for 3 years, generally got 8d. a day. 147. John Beal.—I have been out pig-tenting and pulling runch ; got 8d. a day, and 1s. a day for band- making. We went 12 or 14 together, very few girls with us. I have been five miles to work, pulling runch ; walked there and back, got 8d.a day. My back was very tired. A ganger looks after us, and pays us the wages ; he is employed by the farmer to get children for the job, and is paid 2s. Gd. a day ; he does not make anything out of the children. He was a labourer belonging to the farm on which I worked. PATRINGTON. Population, 1,724. Acreage, 4,494. 148. Mr. R. Lambert, Mr. Marshall—Children of 8 to 10 years of age are employed for singling turnips and bird-tenting ; in the former work they usually go with their parents. Some are used for driving horses at that age. A boy of 8 years is no good for work, Z x Cambridge shire. Mr. Portman. — d. E. R. York, E. R. York. Mr. Portman. d. 364 Women are mostly used for weeding. Parents would suffer in many cases if the labour of young children was forbidden. Schools in the district are generally good, but the parents are very indifferent about send- ing their children to school. Mr. Lambert quoted a case of a man at Easington earning wages at the rate of 1502. a year, who refuses to allow his children to go to school. It was thought that a system enforcing school attendance for six months in the year would answer better than half days or alternate days of work and school. 149, PaTRINGTON SCHOOLS. Inrant ScHoo1, for both sexes up to 7 years. On the books 80 Boys ScHoot. In Winter. eae On register 83 Average attendance - 64 In Summer. On register - 84 Average attendance - 54 Grris ScHooL. On register - 60 Average attendance - 45 150. Mr: Plumley, master.—I have been here four and a half years. There is in the school now, one boy of 16 years of age, one of 15, several of 14 down to 7 years. Children of labourers usually leave school at 12 years of age ; some come back a little in the winter. Children go out line-weeding in a sort of gang. Those who attend school regularly up to 10 or 11 years are well grounded in reading, writing, and arithmetic. The parents are quite uneducated and do not appre- ciate education for their children, consequently they do not care to send them regularly to school. There is no poverty sufficient for an excuse. The payment to the school varies from 1d. to 1s. a week. The health of the children is not injuriously affected by field work, but they are often wandering about the streets in the cold and wet from the closing of the school to the time (6 p.m.) when their mothers return from the flax mill, the house being locked up during the mother’s absence. There is a night school open for three nights a week. Twenty males attend, vary- ing in age from 12 to 28; they are mostly sons of tradesmen or lads employed in shops, and they come very willingly. Very few are of the agricultural labouring class. 151. Wrigglesworth, boy, 10 years of age.—I have been out line-weeding ; we go about 20 together, boys and girls, some girls 15 years of age. The man who looks after us goes with us from the village. Some get 7d., some 8d. a day. The manager of the flax works pays us at the works. (There is here a large flax mill, employing about 150 hands.—K. B. P.] ; 152, Exrract from Lerrer from C. Metcatr, Esq., to Hon. E. Portman. Patrington, April 11, 1868. I have not had an opportunity of sufficiently examining the questions issued by the Royal Commis- sion as to be able to answer them at all correctly, but I may add in answer to your note that the children in this town and neighbourhood as a rule are sufficiently educated, and, excepting “the Rotary,” no gangs of children or women are employed, excepting for a month or six weeks during the line weeding, and then sober steady overlookers have charge of every ten or dozen children. Women are mostly employed for pulling line for a short period during the end of August and beginning of September, but then they do not go in gangs, as each family has their own lots, though there may be a great number in one field. Very few children are employed by the farmers in this district till the harvest commences, which only lasts a month or six weeks, and then the schools are closed for a month, at least it is so here, Sir, Average attendance - 64 — EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I can scarcely think that this neighbourhood, being so thinly populated, requires much fresh legislation. Your obedient servant, R. C. Mrrcarr. WINESTEAD. Population, 173. Acreage, 2,570. 153. Mr. Stephenson.—I have two cottages with my farm for labourers, and have yearly men in the house besides. There is with each cottage one and a half acres of land, and on a 20 acre allotment field in the low land 10-cottagers have two acres a piece. Wages for ordinary labourers 15s. a week. Children are not much employed in field work except for runch pulling in spring and summer ; then perhaps 8 or 10 together. A trusty man is sent to look after them. They earn 6d. and 8d. a day. I think 10 years would be a good limit to fix, below which children should not go to - -work ; they should not be kept away longer than that as they must learn their work as agricultural labourers and the parents want the earnings. Some of the lads read and write very well. Some parents, though earning good wages, will not send the children to school. There are sufficient schools in the district. I should not approve of compulsory education. _ 154. WinestEap SCHOOL. Mrs. Cotton, mistress, 20 boys and girls on books. —The children go out young to earn wages, and forget much that they have learnt. If they were kept regularly at school till 10 years of age, they would be able to read, write, and do a sum fairly. The Sunday school is not well attended. [One girl in the school of 10 years of age had been out singling turnips last year, and earned 9d. a day. | ROOS. Population, 596. Acreage, 2,414. Cultivation, mixed. 155. Return made by Rev. R. B. Macue 1, Rector. There are no private gangs here. Those employed in field work are,— Males. Between 8 and 10 - 3 » 10 and 13 - - 19 » 13 and 18 - - 3 Total 25 Females. Between 10 and 13 - 2 Over 18, married - - - 17 Total 19 The women are employed in spring with the thrash- ing machine ; in summer hoeing, weeding, and sing- ling turnips ; in autumn and winter with thrashing machine. The children are employed in spring in bird-tenting ; in summer in singling turnips, gather- ing stones, and picking thistles ; in autumn in tenting pigs on the stubbles ; in winter they go to school. A few walk occasionally two miles to a neighbouring village. The hours of work in bird-tenting are 12, in pig-tenting 9, with an hour or one and a half hours for meals. There is no injury to the health nor any ill treatment The field work has a bad effect on the morals of the females. I would restrict female labour to a defined age. I would not restrict the age for boys’ labour. ‘School attendance by half day at school and half day at work would be the best plan educationally for the child, but an attendance for six months during the year would be most convenient for the employer and the child. The school attendance is not affected by distance. 19 per cent. of farm labourers’ children cannot pay the school pence—2d. a week for one child, 1d. a week for each one after the first. Good cottage accommodation is very necessary. Two would be sufficient per hundred ‘acres. There is a sufficient number with two.and. three bedroons. Lhe:cottages generally have two ground-floor rooms, a kitchen and living room, and two bedrooms; in this-case they often keep the living room as a best parlour and live in the kitchen. The ventilation is imperféct ; drainage fair. Two-thirds of the cottages have gardens. Rent without garden, 3/. 10s. a year. Rent with garden, 5/.a year. A few are owned by the landowners, the rest by tradesmen and others. ‘There is no compulsion on tenants as to dealing with their landlord. , For providing good cottage accommodation I would suggest that three-quarters of the cost should be defrayed by public money, to be repaid in 40 years ; one-quarter to be paid by the landlord, and no interest paid on it, in consideration of the cottages becoming his property ultimately. ScHoot. In Summer. On | Average — Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - 17 17 Between 10 and 13 - 5 8 Girls : Under 10 - - 13 12 _ Between 10 and 13 7 5 In Winter. Boys: ~ Under 10 - - 11 5 Between 10 and 13 - 8 8 Girls : Under 10 - - 12 12 Between 10 and 13 - 8 5 Neither at school nor at work :—In summer, five boys between 8 and 10 years, and five between 10 and 13 ; in winter, one boy under 10, one girl between 10 and 13 ears. 7 156. Mr. Sykes, farmer.—Children are not much employed here, and rarely under 10 years of age, then at bird-tenting and weeding. There are very good infant and day schools. Day-labourers earn 15s. a week. I do not think children would get enough education before 10 years of age, but the winter months might after that age be given to schooling till they go to farm-service. Plough lads who go by the year do not often begin till they are 14 years old. Of farm servants, a foreman will get 501. a year and his keep ; a waggoner 26/. to 30/. and keep ; the lads of 14 years and upwards 127, and 132. a year and keep. These servants are now often boarded with the foreman, instead of in the farmer’s house as formerly. It is very desirable to have cottages on the farms. The Union Chargeability Act is operating beneficially in many parts. RISE. Population, 188. Acreage, 2,012. 157, There are some excellent new cottages on Mr, W. Bethell’s estate here, but he says that where they are placed at any distance from the village, he has found difficulty in getting the people to go and live in them, as they prefer living in the village. Wages are ordi- narily 15s. a week, for thrashing work he has to pay 3s. and 3s. 6d. a day, according to the distance to the job. (E.B.P.) 158, Exrract from Return.—Rev. W. WHATELEY. Children are employed in the spring in bird-tenting. School attendance is not affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents. The farms are cultivated almost entirely by ser- vants boarding in, the farmhouses. Labour is occa- sionally obtained from two villages at a distance of IN. AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. . 365 two miles, the number of. cottages in the village not being sufficient to supply at all times the requisite amount of labour. The cottages are nearly all recently built, are well- drained and ventilated with plenty of accommodation, having mostly three bedrooms, and a good supply of water, gardens and outhouses. They all belong to the owner of the parish ; rentabout 4/.a year, ScHOOL. In Summer and Winter. On register : Boys and girls under 10 -: - - 20 Between 10 and 13 - = - 5 Average attendance : Boys and girls under 10 - - -- 15 Between 10 and 13 - - - 5 There is no night school. The system of yearly farm servants is very bad for the morals, the lads become very rough. The cases where they are carefully looked after are exceptional, Ido not know of any gangs or of much employ- ment. of children except in bird-tenting. SKIRLAUGH. 159. John Ford, relieving officer.—Children go out to work as young as 10 years. We do not take children off the relief list till.13 years of age. Some- times in spring eight or nine children will go together for weeding, where they are overlooked by one of the farmer’s men. Children go with their parents for singling turnips. There is a great deal of work. done by the piece ; the fathers who earn good wages at it do not ‘send their children to work young. The union generally is well supplied with schools. Night schools have not answered. The people are well off, cottages not at all overcrowded. I do not suppose you can find two families in one cottage in the union. WITHERNWICK. Acreage, 2,700. Cultivation, arable. 160. Return made by Mr. W. Simpson, farmer. There are no private gangs. I employ two lads between 13 and 18 years of age, and one girl between 13 and 18 years, and one un- married woman over 18 years. They live on the farm, and are employed in all kinds of work. We have no female children who go to work in the fields, except in harvest-time when they go with their parents. Poor children pay 2d. a week for their schooling. A few labourers have to walk about a mile to their work. The cottages stand airy, are well ventilated, and have good drainage, usually with two ground- floor rooms, and two chambers. Rent from 3/. to 61. a year. There are always some cottages untenanted. There is no night school. WITHERNWICK SCHOOL. 161. Peter Atkin, master—There are on the books 75 boys and girls ; average attendance, winter, 70 ; summer, 40. Some children go out at 10 years of age, some not till 12 or 18 years. The boys are employed in spring and summer in stone picking, twitching, and picking runch. I have known some children who are employed with their fathers in draining become quite stiffened up like old men before they are 15 years old. We take children into the school at 4 years. I should like to see 12 years fixed as the limit below which they should not leave ‘school ; they would then be well grounded. There are two sisters who come alternate weeks who get a long way behind in their class. I once kept a night school ; 14 or 15 farm lads came from the houses, but I could not keep it on, as it did not pay. I should like to see forced attendance at night schools, The farmers take no interest in the school. 162. C. Fox, 13 years old.—I went out picking stones and twitching at 10 years old, and was out nearly six months in the year. We went about 20 together, some younger than me. There were two or three girls from “422 E. R. York. Mr. Portman, E. R. York. Mr. Portman. d, 366 8 to 14 years with us. I have been three miles to work, left home at 7 a.m., worked on land from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The foreman or a labourer looked after us. Master paid the wages, 8d. or 9d. a day. I forgot my reading and other things. 163. Wm. Harsley, 9 years old.—I have been out one year in two farmers’ places. Did little jobs about home, and looked after the cows. I got 1d. ALDBOROUGH. 164. Mr. Sherrington, schoolmaster.—This is an endowed school, called Tory’s Charity ; 70 on the books ; 60 to 65 average attendance in winter ; 45 in summer. Children go out to field labour at 11 and 12 years of age, return to school after harvest, and attend pretty regularly from Martinmas to March. They are employed in bird tenting, in pulling quicks (twitch), and singling turnips. Are paid 9d. to Is. a day ; they work about six together, and are looked after by a labourer. Some boys go draining with their father, who takes the work by the piece ; this is very hard work for them. I think 10 years too young an age at which to fix the limit ; if it were put at 12 years children would be well grounded ; before that age they forget very quickly what they have learnt. Their knowledge is imperfect, even if they come to school in winter, when working in spring and summer. A night school has been started this winter ; it is badly attended. One farm servant comes, the rest are chiefly apprentices. The farmhouses are too far from the village to allow the lads to come, under the present regulation of hours for work. There are 13 acres of allotments belonging to Tory’s Charity, which are let out to labourers in portions of 1 rood and 1 rood 20 perches toeach man. Most of the cottages have gar- dens. The labouring class is very well off. The women work a little in the fields in spring time. Parents are tolerably earnest in sending their children to school. 165. Extract from Letter from Rev. F. Marcetts to Hon. E. Portman. Aldborough, Hull, April 29, 1868. “ We have no gangs employed in this parish, and I am not aware that there is anything peculiar to be observed. Most of the work on the farms is done by the farm servants, who live in the farmhouses. The young people both boys and girls generally go out to service at 14 or 15, and this relieves their parents’ houses from overcrowding. “ The evils attending the agricultural employment of young people in this neighbourhood are not in the fields, but in the farmhouses where several servants of both sexes live together. No doubt much depends upon the master and mistress as to the ordering of their large households, and I think a higher tone is beginning to be observed both among masters and servants, but there is room for improvement. We have a good day school in the village, and an evening school in the winter, which is yet in its infancy. “ Yours faithfully, « FRANCIS MARGETTS.” HORNSEA. Acreage, 3,160, mixed. 166. Rev. W.L. Palmes, rector.—Children leave school at 11 or 12 years of age to go to farm work or to beach work, gathering stones with their parents. I think the system of farm lads in the farmers’ houses, as at present conducted, very degrading and bru- talising to both sexes. “ Sr, Population, 1,041. Cultivation, Extract from Return, Rev. W. Patmes. No private gangs. Each farmer hires one or more boys and girls by the year to live with him on his farm. Very few boys or girls are employed under 13 years of age, and but few girls between 13 and 18 years. The boys are employed in agricultural work and about horses and sheep, the girls in household work and with the cows. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN The sexes are thrown together too much, and the master and mistress generally take little or no charge of the morals or religion of their inmates. A hard feeling has grown up between the classes. The life of a farm servant does not seem to be conducive to purity, and the tone is coarse and bad as a rule. Except at hay and harvest times, the females are not hereabouts employed in field work. I would not allow boys to be employed under 14 or even 15 years of age, they go into farm service too early, and soon forget all that they have learnt at school. As far as the health is concerned, no restriction as to the hours of work is necessary, and I fear the farmers would oppose any arrangement to enable their servants to attend school for part of the day. The half day or alternate day system for school and work, could not be applied on account of distance from school, &c. But attendance for a certain number of hours during six months of the year might be arranged, when the labour is less required on the farm. I should prefer a compulsory attendance up to 14 or 142 years of age. Distance from the outlying farms affects the attend- ance at night school in the winter. Our labourers could quite well afford to pay the small weekly payment of 2d. or 3d. which we charge, but they do not value education as much as they ought. Almost all our girls go into farm service at 18, or are apprenticed as dressmakers. In the cottages the people huddle together in one sleeping-room, even when they have others, from habit and ignorance. We have ceased to be an agricultural village, and Hornsea is becoming a town, owing to the railway bringing the families of business-men in Hull to be residents here. Scoot. In Summer. toed On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - = 68 36 Between 10 and 13 - 20 16 Girls ; Under 10 - 26 18 Between 10 and 13 - 23 Il In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 75 59 Between 10 and 13 - 25 17 Girls : Under 10 - - 45 18 Between 10 and 13 - 15 12 They for the most part soon forget all that they have learned at school, and when they come to be married cannot write their own names, We had an evening school for some years, but the farm servants could not or would not attend. The farm servants, who would be most benefited by a night school, cannot well attend on account of distance, bad weather, and the objection made by their masters. LEVEN, 167. Rev. Geo. Wray, vector.—Children go out as young as 8 years of age to potatoe-planting and picking, to weeding and making bands in harvest. Some boys of 10 years go to farm service, and do not return to schvol. The parents are uneducated, and prefer getting the children’s earnings to sending them to school. The farm-servant system is very demorali- zing, the servants are not looked after, and rarely come to church. Wages, 2s. Gd. aday. There are IN AGRICUTTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENCE. 18 women, two girls, and 23 boys in the parish employed in field labour at harvest and other times. Their hours of work are 10, with one hour allowed for meals. The half: day and alternate day scheme for school attendance are inapplicable for farming which requires continuous labour. Rent of cottages, 4¢. to 51. a year. Remarxs, The inquiry involved in this Commission is scarcely applicable to the parish of Leven. There are no women or children constantly employed in field labour. A few engage themselves at particular seasons for sort terms, but that depends on the weather and circumstances. Wages are good and work is plentiful, but the men for the most part do the work. House accommodation is good, and would be amply sufficient for the wants of the parish if a considerable number of men who dwell in the village did not take employment in the adjoining parishes. The township of Leven contains much copyhold property, which facilitates speculation in building cottages, and these are chiefly held by retired petty tradesmen and others who have saved a little money. There is a much larger popula- tion than the township requires, and yet labourers are scarce, because so many are employed in neighbouriug parishes. The adjoining parish of Routh, which con- tains, I believe, 2,300 acres, has very little cottage accommodation, but is supplied with labourers chiefly from Leven, a-distance between two and three miles. That whole parish is the property of one nobleman. What is chiefly wanted around us, and this probably applies more or less to England at large, is cottage dwellings for married men, which would give them a local interest and check the propensity to seek a new place every returning Statutes. Boys generally go to farm service from 138 to 14 years of age. They hire for the year. Their home is broken up and they never attend school again. It would be a great advantage if farmers were prohibited from hiring boys under 14 years of age, and without a certificate from the clergyman of their parish that they can both read and write. Farmhouses are so scattered, and farm servants so separated from the rest of the world, that early neglect cannot be overcome in maturer life, but the mind becomes more and more callous and debased from frequent intercourse with evil, and the want of sound principles leaves it a prey to every vicious incentive. Where, as in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the farms are large and very detached, the farmer’s house is like a barrack with a long chamber full of beds, one of which the foreman commonly occu- pies to keep order and rouse the men in the morning. The great moral evil from this species of farming arises from the necessary mixture of the sexes, there being many men in a house and commonly two women servants at most. Bastardy cases are consequently numerous. There is a large number of men in this village who work in the drains. These are called bankers. The drainage here is extensive, and the cleansing takes place once or twice a year. It is done by contract. One man takes a contract and engages other men to work with him. It is severe labour but well paid. The difficulty of dealing with the agricultural population will be found far greater than that of the manufacturing, the one being scattered over a wide area and the other grouped together by the nature of their employment. Wages in the East Riding of Yorkshire will be found higher than in most parts of England. Grorcr Wray, Leven, March 27, 1868. Rector of Leven. ELSTERNWICK. 168. J. Dickinson, Esq.—tI have four or five cot- * tages on a farm ; the system of attaching cottages to the farm ought to be extended. It is not often the case in these parts that there are any so attached. The labourers live in the villages. There are plots of ground of one acre with the cottages. Most of the cottages have two bedrooms. Cottages’ on an estate : farmer. 367 should not all be the same size; you should build some with two and some with three bedrooms, to meet the wants of large and small families ; in many cases the third room would not be used, and when people have cottages larger than they want they are apt to become uncleanly and slovenly. Rent with land is usually 4/.a year. The cottages at Humbleton pay 4 percent. If money could be borrowed on easy terms from the Government for cottage building people with small sums to invest might take up enough to make up the requisite amount, on repayment in 40 years. At present the machinery for borrowing money for this purpose is cumbrous and expensive. In this district the properties are forthe most part small, say three to 400 acres; there are only three large pro- perties. Labourers’ wages are 2s. 6d.aday. There are plenty of good schools, and the parents send their children regularly. Boys do not go out to work young, they generally stay at school till 13 or 14 years of age. Till they can plough they are not of much use to the Farm servants do not attend church with any regularity, and “ the farmers can’t,make them.” 169. Mr. Marsden, Dunthorpe, Humbleton.—Very few children are employed at all. When a few hands are wanted for weeding we get some Irish ; they do more work “by take ” than ‘ by day,” and are paid in money and milk. Women are not employed in field labour. I have four cottages and a hind’s house on my farm. There is a rood of garden to each cottage; if they paid rent it would be 3/. to 4l.a year. My four farm lads are lodged and boarded in the foreman’s (hind’s) house. In a large business farm lads are necessary for the horse work, and they must live on the premises, it would not do to have them scattered about in cottages at a distance from the farm premises; but you should also have cottages for the labourers on the farm. The statutes are a great evil ; I should like to substitute register offices for hiring these lads. I think it would be difficult to fix a limit of age, but a sound and simple education should be secured for the children of the labourer. ; COTTINGHAM. Population, in 1861, 3,181. Acreage, 9,252. Cultiva- tion, about 5,000 acres arable, 3,800 grass, 350 garden land. The population has increased much since 1861. 170. Rev. C. Overton, Mr. E. Witty, Mr. Jame- son, schoolmaster.—The school is now (24th February) full. Children are taken away for casual work at 6 years of age, altogether at 10 and 11 years. They leave at an earlier age every year. They are employed in the gardens ; boys earn 1s, and ls. 6d. a day, girls about the same wages, but do not go to work before 8 years of age. Parents take work by the piece and take the children with them. There is no regular system of ganging, perhaps five or six children work together. The pea harvest is the time when most money is earned here, the children then are very much employed. School attendance is very much affected by the field work. A very small proportion of the population come to school at all, and of those who do come some only attend for two months inthe year. The parents are very indifferent about education. If children could be compelled to attend school from 5 to 10 years of age, they would be well grounded in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and from that age they might be allowed to go to work for two or three months in the year, and have to produce a cer- tificate of attendance at school for so many days in the year before permanent hiring. Encouragement of night schools by Government would be valuable and popular. The farm lads are the most ignorant class, and they might often be induced to attend night school. The statutes are the cause of much immorality, but have lately fallen into disuse here. Cottages are in some cases crowded, there is a want of new ones. ‘There are two sets of allotments adjoining the parish :— 1, Belonging to the church (12 acres, 82 poles). The land was given to those who had large families Z2z38 E. R. York. Mr. Portman, a. E.R. York. Mr. Portman. d. 368 old holders. pay 22s. a year for ,half -an acre, new ones about 5/. for same quantity. - Occu- pied by 20 tenants, of whom 18 have built cottages for themselves on the property. 2, A piece of land (25 acres, 37 poles) set out by Mr. Ringrose, let by the half acre to any one who will take it at 22. half an acre per annum, occupied by 30 tenants. ; The rent of garden land is 47, to 5/. an acre. Ordinary labourer’s wages, 2s. 6d. and 3s..a day. Women are much employed in field work, girls seldom go out weeding. There are only one or two large farms in the parish. Soil of all sorts, from wold land to strong warp, bog, &c. 171. Extract from Return sent by Rev. C. OveRTOoN, Vicar, Cottingham. There are no gangs. The number of persons employed are about, as follows :— Males: Under 8 - - - - 30 Between 8 and 10 : - 20 » 10, 18 - - 60 we, “lee le 2 - 120 Total - 230 Females : Under 8 ~ - - - 30 Between 8 and 10 - - 20 » 10, 18 40 yw 1B 43 18 - - 50 Over 18: Married - - - 100 Unmarried - - - 30 Total - 270 They are principally employed in. gardening in spring, summer, and autumn. They do not go more than one mile to work. Their hours of work are nine, with one hour allowed for meals. Young females are likely to be corrupted by contact with the older ones, but there is no ill-usage or injury to health. he I.would recommend that boys should not be em- ployed in field work under 10 years of age. It is not necessary here to place restrictions on the hours of work. I think alternate whole days at school, and whole days at work, the best scheme for securing school attendance. I think no boy or girl under the age of 14 years should be allowed to go to agricultural labour during the months of November, December, January, and February, which season might be devoted to education. Distance from school affects the attendance most seriously in winter, but not in summer. A good many parents avail themselves of the labour of their children to the disadvantage of the latter, in the matter of school attendance. Girls are taught sewing and knitting. It would be extremely desirable that those who have capital should invest it in building model cottages at a moderate rent, for the accommodation of the labourers who have families. en One cottage per hundred acres is sufficient here, there are two to 300 acres. Some of the cottages are too crowded. Cottages here are generally two stories high, a room about 12 feet square, and smaller kitchen below, two bedrooms of the size of lower. story upstairs, Ventilation is neglected, the drainage is good. There are but few cottage gardens. No com- pulsion by tradesmen when owners of cottages. Rent, 4l. to 61. per annum. There is no progress being made towards increasing the cottage accommodation. I think cottage improve- ment should be left to private enterprize. _ EMPLOYMENT -OF- CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN ScHOooL. In Summer. aes On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 = - 128 108 Between 10 and 13 - 32 30 Girls : Under 10 - - 110 86 Between 10 and 13 - 50 35 In Winter. Boys: ‘ Under 10 - - 145 140 Between 10 and 13 - 76 68 Girls : Under 10 - - 136 123 Between 10 and 18 - 51 45 Those neither at Work nor at School. In Summer. Boys: Between 8 and 10 - - 70 Ed) 10 ” 13 - e. 20 Girls : Between 8 and 10 - - 60 2» 10 » 18 7 a 25 In Winter. Boys : Between 8 and 10 - - 40 10 13 - - 30 Girls: ” ‘i Between 8 and 10 - - 85 2 10 4 13 ss os 20 There is a night school open for two hours on two nights a week during 20 weeks. ig On Register. Under 12 - - - 3 Above 12 - - 2 37 Average Attendance in Winter, Under 12 - - - 2 Above 12 = - - - 15 The night school is very popular, and if a master had a stipend, say 20/. a year, and were assisted by six or eight voluntary lady teachers, I think a very large proportion of the adult population would attend. The free school in the church yard, as conducted at present, interferes with the National school, without making education more general. The children taught there would be better taught in the National school, if this were made a school for a higher grade, or even if it were made a night school for adults, it would not impede the operations of the National school, and would do much more good. : WAGHEN or WAWNE. Population, 322. Acreage, 4,160, 172, Extract from Return by Francis JACKSON. There are no private gangs, No boys under 10 years are employed— Boys. Between 10 and 13 - - - S ” 13 ,, 18 - - - 38 Total - 46 No females employed, except in hay-time and harvest. The boys are employed in spring in ploughing and the general work of the farm, in winter in attending to the cattle, : IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, ~ The hours of work are 10 hours per’ day, with two hours allowed for meals, I would recommend that females should only be employed in hay-time and harvest. \No restriction on boys’ labout is necessary ; nor on the hours of work, as agricultural labour is not constant or excessive. I have great pleasure in stating that the feeling of parents generally is that parental duty is not fulfilled if their children have no education. It appears to grow with those parents who have not had that advantage; and in this part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, the children generally attend a day school about nine months in the year. I think no cottage is proper or comfortable without two bedrooms and two low rooms, well ventilated. One cottage per 100 acres is sufficient. The cottages in our parish have a low room 16 feet square, a smail kitchen with dairy, and pantry; two good: bedrooms about 12 feet square, a yard with a good supply of water, a garden of not less than one rood of land. Rent 41. a year. The cottages are conveniently si- tuated for farm work. All children of sufficient age are either at school or at work. About one in eight can neither read nor write. These persons are farm ser- vants whom we have thus returned as parishioners, but who have in many cases been brought up in other counties and parishes. Children go out to work with their parents, but not under 10 years of age. The weeding, at which they work, is usually taken by the piece, and they go band-making in harvest. Women and children are not employed generally in this district. Wages for an ordinary labourer are 15s. a week and “not a broken day.” The distance to work is not more than a mile. Cottages contiguous to the farms would be an advantage, but they should be in the hands of the landlord and not of the tenant. Payment to the school is according to age; 3d.a week is the highest price. There was a night school, but it did not answer for long. The statutes are very bad, but better than they were a few years ago. This parish may be taken as a fair sample of the neighbour- hood. Miss Calvert, schoolmistress.—The spring quarter gives the fullest attendance. There were then 35 on the books; from harvest to December, 26 on books. The highest age of boys attending is 9 years ; of girls, 12 years. The older boys go to school at Sutton, where there is a master, three miles distant. Rev. J. L. B. Henslowe, curate—I think that if a certificate is required before hiring it should be one of attendance at school in preference to one of acquirements, : [I give the following instances of cottages :— 1. One ground floor room and back places, such as dairy, &c.; two bedrooms, garden, and cow paddock. 8/. a year. ° 2. One room ground floor, back premises, and gar- den. 4/. a year. 3. One room ground floor, one up-stairs, and garden. 21. 10s. a year. A widow’s cottage. All these cottages were very tidy and comfortable, and provided with a kitchen range in the lower room. Be- fore the cattle plague most of the labourers here had a run for a cow in the lanes. Meaux, a hamlet of this parish, is not so well off for cottages.—E. B. P.] BEEFORD. Population, 808. Acreage, 4,200. 700 acres of grass ; 3,500 arable. 173. Exrract from Return by Gzorer Anaas, Esq. There are no private gangs. There are about 30 children and women employed in the parish. I em- ‘ploy six women for 10 weeks in spring and summer. There are 10 boys between 10‘and 13 years of age employed, and 20 married women over 18 years. Their work is weeding from the middle of April to the middle of June, and then a fortnight’s turnip hoeing. In the winter they are scarcely at all employed, perhaps 369 a day in a week dressing turnips. They work from 8am. to 5.380 p.m. with an hour allowed for dinner. Their health does not suffer nor do I know of any ill- treatment. Young women employed in field labour doubtless indulge in greater freedom of words and in a rougher phraseology than those in household service, and some deterioration of morals is very likely to take place. Farmers employing hands more than two miles from’ home will generally fetch them in his waggon; I would therefore modify the proposed table of distances. There should be no restriction on the hours of work; they are never long, and in broken weather very short indeed. The rule is to pay every boy or woman for half a day if they put in an appearance at all in the morning, and for ‘a full day if they stay beyond the dinner hour. It would doubtless be better that children should be kept wholly at school for a certain number of months, and then wholly released for field work for a given time. - School attendance is to a certain extent affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents. I am told 14 or 15 per cent. are absent partly in consequence of poverty, partly of indifference on the part of the parents. Girls are taught knitting and sewing. The cottage accommodation in Beeford musi be considered good, few standing unoccupied, and those probably the worst. Many of the cottages are exceed- ingly good. In this parish I find that one inhabited labourer’s cottage represents about 45 acres of arable land. There are about 80 tenanted and 10 untenanted cottages in the village. The occupier of every cottage is free to deal where and with whom he chooses. Drainage and ventilation are both attended to. The relieving officer has power to give all requisite orders. Attached to the village is a field of 17 acres laid out in 68 allotments of one rood each, for the exclusive benefit of the labourers at the rent of 8s. 6d. each, in- cluding all charges. This is or might be most advan- tageous. It, however, sometimes operates injuriously with men who dislike farm work. They have the gardens to fall back upon as an excuse in a busy season. ScHOOL. In Summer. On Average = Register. | Attendance, Boys: Under 10 - - 27 20 Between 10 and 13 - 9 4 Girls : Under 10 - 10 8 Between 10 and 13 - 5 4 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 82 28 Between 10 and 13 - 14 10 Girls: , Under 10 - - 12 9 Between 10 and 13 -|-- 8 6 Wages for ordinary labourer 15s. a week. The occupations in Holderness are not much above 400 acres each. , Savings banks are better for the poor than benefit societies. _ A compulsory system of éducation will probably come by degrees. i: [On the question of Lands Improvements Acts, Mr. Angas suggested that the tenant when willing should be allowed to build cottages at his own expense, the Zia E. R. York. Mr. Portman, ————— d. E.R. York. Mr. Portman. d, 370 cost to be spread over 12 years, and compensation to be given for the unexpired term if the tenant quits the farm. If the tenant completes the term of 12 years the cottage to belong to the landlord. In many in- stances landlords cannot afford to build or to borrow money for the purpose, and the above arrangement might obviate the difficulty. ] « 174. Letrer from G. Axcas, Esq., to Hon. E. TPorTMAN. Dear Sir, Beeford Grange, April 17, 1868. Your inquiry appears to me to embrace two subjects requiring separate replies. The first is as to the desirability of prohibiting children under a given age being employed in field work, and the second as to the propriety of enforcing a certain amount of education, or at any rate an observance of a certain routine of attendance at school by the children of agricultural labourers before going out into the world. I think I may safely answer your first inquiry by stating my belief that in this district no objection would be raised against an enactment forbidding the employment of young children, say under 10 years of age, in field labour. You cannot admit of exceptions or qualifications, or I should suggest continuous field labour because it does sometimes happen in this fitful climate that a single week’s work by a number of chil- dren might be most valuable. However to prevent the possibility of abuse or encroachment I do not think we should ask for much modification or exemp- tion save in harvest when all who can, should work. If such a scheme were adopted and fairly carried out I think it would obviate in a very great measure your second inquiry and the compulsory measures to which it points, because when parents are forbidden to send their children to any work, the almost natural tendency would be to send them to school. In our rural parish schools, supplemented as they are by Parliamentary grants and also by voluntary aid, the children of our workpeople may receive a useful education at almost a nominal rate, and this small sum I think few parents would object to pay, if it were even for no higher motive than getting rid of the children for a few hours daily.| Therefore I think I may venture to embody the collective opinion of the agriculturists of this part of East Yorkshire in a few words and state that while repudiating the existence of any palpable evil here from the employment of young children in field labour, they are quite ready to acknowledge that in other counties much evil has been engendered and that for the sake of example, and in order to guard against possible contingencies, they would be willing io agree to a minimum standard of age in receiving chil- dren as field hands, but at the same time they would feel strongly opposed to any coercive educational measures being put in operation, believing not only that the feelings of the parents would revolt from what they would certainly construe into an arbitrary law, but that, left to the dictates of their own con- sciences and free will, with the example and assistance of those a little higher in the social scale, the education of our young rural population would surely and steadily progress. This is my own opinion stated as briefly as I can possibly condense it, and I feel persuaded it represents in substance the sentiments of the district. It would be difficult if not impossible correctly to fill up the printed queries issued by the Royal Commis- sion. If you think proper I will endeavour to give some approximate answers most applicable to the parish, but any information I could supply would scarcely I think be a safe basis for guidance. Statistics of course might be furnished as to age and numbers, but other questions as to the moral and social condition of the parish would perhaps receive from different employers replies as conflicting as the varying shades of human belief. Go I assure you I shall myself and I have no doubt in common with the large body of Yorkshire ratepayers, take a great interest in your movements, Yours most respectfully, Gro, ANGAS, EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 175, Another Letter from the same. Beeford Grange, Dear Sir, April 25, 1868, I supplied the best answers I could. to the several inquiries contained in the printed circular you left with me, but the information you receive through such a medium must always be more or less vague and inconclusive. However, I suppose by striking an average you will not in the end be very far from the actual state of things as at present existing in the rural districts of the East Riding. In the best parts of Holderness there is really not much call for the ser- vices of women and children, no potatoes or line being grown, and in the better class of farms not much weeding (the land is not subject to ketlocks), there- fore apart from haytime and harvest the work of the farm consists very much in the heavier operations of draining, banking, hedging, &c. in which women and children are of no service; on the high wolds it is widely different, the soil there is very subject to brassacks or ketlocks, turnips are most extensively cultivated, and on the other hand villages are very thinly scattered and farmers are very glad to avail themselves of any extrinsic aid they can procure when field work is pressing. This state of things would speedily be obviated if landed proprietors could but be induced to build cottages around their several farm homesteads ; tenants at will are hardly likely to do it unless under some special written agreement to pro- tect them from loss, but I think most sensible business men would undera 14 years’ lease meet their landlords half way, and it is astonishing if both sides would but apply their shoulders willingly to the wheel how expenses would be reduced, and difficulties would vanish, ‘There need be no government subsidy I am quite sure ; if a landlord begins single-handed he will be robbed on every side, but let there only be a pleasant and equitable understanding and adjustment between him and a tenant and expenses are reduced one half. I am confident my bailiff’s house, which you saw, if done in the ordinary way would have cost 300/. at least, but by employing a builder in whom I had full confidence, by working to an approved and economical plan, by constant supervision and by the assistance of a few kind-hearted neighbours in team work, the actual cost in money was 1701., of which I paid 1102, and my landlord 60/, I just give'this illus- tration to show that where things work harmoniously improvements are easily effected, and therefore the corollary seems to be that it is most important ina very comprehensive sense that landlord and tenant should if possible be united, and that tenure should be of an enduring kind. . . . Another year your work would be much facilitated, we have all thought the matter over more fully and carefully and could better enter into and discuss the subject than when it was first presented. T remain, yours, &e. Gro. ANGAS. 176. Rev. C. Smith, Beeford.—I do not think a limit of age for field work would have any beneficial result, unless a certificate of school attendance for a given period were required before hiring. The young children are not much employed in this parish, NORTH FRODINGHAM. Population, 837. Acreage, 2,975, Cultivation, chiefly arable. 177. Extract from Return. Rev. Heny West, vicar—From 15 to 20 are em- ployed in private gangs in spring and summer, but T only heard of one child and one young person being so employed. Their work is weeding and stone picking, The distance to work is from two to four miles, Hours 10, with one hour allowed for dinner. The field work is dangerous for morals. I do not think the health suffers, nor do I know of any ill-treatment, though there is rough usage, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENCE. I think it desirable that the sexes should be sepa- rated, and that a certain amount of school attendance should be compulsory on children earning wages. Neayly all the able-bodied women go to field work, weeding, harvesting, and pulling mangel and turnips. Those employed are chiefly married women who neglect their families in pursuing out-door occupations, I would prohibit field work to those women with fami- lies. I would not allow boys to be employed in field work under 9 years of age, and from that age to 13 require six month’s attendance at school. Children who begin work at 8 a.m. should not work later than 4 p.m. My parish supplies neighbouring parishes with labour, some of the labourers have long distances to walk to their work. ScHoo.. In Summer. eet On Average Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - AT 89 Between 10 and 13 - 44 15 Girls : Under 10 - - 32 23 Between 10 and 13 - 20 12 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 54 38 Between 10 and 138 - 59 43 Girls ; Under 10 - - 32 22 Between 10 and 18 - 24 15 Those neither at work nor at school in summer, five boys and five girls. A night school was tried and failed, in consequence of the indifference of those who should have been interested in it. North Frodingham is an open parish, a centre of labour and supplies the neighbourhood for five or six miles with men’s and children’s labour. Draining is done by the piece, but children are not employed at it. I would recommend that half the week should be devoted to school by those children who are earning wages. Norra FropinguHsam SCHOOL. 178. Mr. Geen, master—Some children leave school as young as 8 years for casual work in the fields. Girls do not go to field work. I think 10 years as a limit would be too young for children to derive any real benefit from their education. 179. George Etherington. — Went out leading horses at 9 years old; worked 12 hours a day at 1s. a day ; father isa “hind.” Farm lads lodged in his house, they never read in the evening. 180. William Foster, 9 years old. Went out brassacking last year, 14 boys and some girls together. I got 8d.a day, was paid by the man who looked after us in his house. The man was not in the employ of the farmer as a labourer. 181. James Hasdale.—I was 9 years old when I first went out to work ; got 8d. a day for bird tenting and brassacking ; 1s.a day for leading horses. 182. Bilham, labourer.—A ganger. I take a gang of children out brassacking. I take the work by the 2. 371 piece, and pay the children myself. The farmer gives me so much for the job, and knows nothing about paying the children. There is a bit of profit init. I have had them both ways, paid by the farmer and paid by myself. WEEDLEY, SOUTH CAVE. Population, 900. Acreage, 4,000. 183. John Danby.—In spring 20 males between 10 and 13 years of age, are employed for a month for weeding, and in July, ten males and five females between 10 and 13 years of age for singling turnips. They go half a mile or one mile to work; the hours of work on the land are nine, with usually an hour for meals. The health and morals are not injuriously affected. ‘The young can read and write, most of them attend school the greater part of the year, We have no mixed gangs of adults. There is no need to apply the provisions of the “ Agricultural Gangs Act ” to private gangs. There are no moral evils or hard- ships in our private gangs. None of the proposed methods of enforcing school attendance are needed, the children attend during three-quarters of the year when they cannot get employment. The parents can all afford to send the children to school. The cottages generally are good. Two cottages per hundred acres are sufficient for the farms, as we hire young men to live in the house. Eighty children, boys and girls, attend the Government schools during nine months of the year. There is no night school. Wages for children, 9d. a day, weeding, 1s. a day, singling turnips; men’s wages, 2s. 6d.a day ; women’s, Is. aday. My foreman gets 31/, a year and cottage free of taxes, &c. The occupations are large; it is a thinly populated district. Allotment fields are common, too large an allotment makes the men indisposed to turn out to field work. Ten years would not be a bad limit for children’s work. The parents cannot do without the earnings, BRANTINGHAM AND ELLERKER. Population, 572. Acreage, 3,410. Cultivation, mixed, 184. Rev. Thomas Westmorland, vicar.—I have been here 10 years. ‘There are no private gangs. Children are now more employed in the fields than they were formerly. Eight or 10 go together with a man to look after them; they are employed in weeding, potatoe-planting, and turnip singling, in spring and summer; in autumn, in gathering pota- toes, taking up mangel and turnips. And at all times of the year in tenting birds, pigs, and cows. They are paid by the employer. Boys are more employed than girls. Girls who have been regularly employed out of doors, rarely settle down into good domestic servants. I would recommend a restriction on the employment of females in field work, limited to a defined age, and that boys should not be employed at all before 10 years of age, and for half time up to 12 years. ‘The distance to work is short. I would enforce school attendance by alternate days, or perhaps, to suit the employers, by alternate weeks. The children of the labourers go out to work when work is to be had, otherwise they attend school very well. ‘Two or three cottages per hundred acres are sufficient. Jn one part of the parish [Ellerker] there is a sufficiency of accommodation, in this part [Brantingham] not ; in several cottages there is-but one bedroom where five or six children sleep with their parents; there is a prospect of some improvement being made in this matter of accommodation. The cottages belong mostly to the landowner. Rent from 4/. to 5/. a year, with, in most cases, an allotment or garden. The allotment is one-eighth of an acre (half a rood). There are not many outlying cottages on the farms. Children’s wages are ls, a day for weeding. 3A E.R. York. Mr. Portman. —_— d. 372. BE. R. York. ScHOoL. Mr. Portman. In Summer. d, On Average , es Register. Attendance. Boys: Under 10 _ 17 14 Between 10 and 13 15 6 Girls : Under 10 - - 29 18 Between 10 and 13 - 8 3 ' In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - 20 18 Between 10 and 13 - 20 12 Girls : Under 10 - 28 24 Between 10 and 13 16 7 I tried an evening school about four years ago, but. was not successful; the farmers did not co-ope- rate, as they considered it interfered with the evening work of the lads for whom I principally intended it. I think the requiring of a certificate of a certain amount of knowledge, say reading, writing, and four first rules of arithmetic, before hiring, would be a good plan ; the penalty for non-compliance to be put on the employer. The Statutes are improving, instead of standing out in the streets, the lads and women are taken into, a covered place in separate rooms ; hitherto they.have led to much immorality, but a move is being made to put them on a better footing. HESSLE. Population, 1,750. Acreage, 2,695. Cultivation, oe mixed. 185. Rev. H. Newmarch.—No private gangs. School attendance is slightly affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents. Girls receive industrial training at the national school. The cottagesare good, the ownership’ various, and the rent rather high. There are also two schools, a national and an old parish school, quite adequate to the educational neces- sities of the parish. [This village is rapidly becoming a suburb of Hull. | WELTON. Population, 863. Acreage, 2,674. Cultivation, chiefly i arable. , 186. Rev. T. B. Paget, vicar.—There are no private gangs. About 80 children in the parish are employed in the fields, not more than three or four women. ‘They are employed in bird tenting, weeding corn, and in plant- ing and picking potatoes. Young persons are usually hired by the year and live on the farms. The hours of work vary according to the season and the weather, and are not unreasonably long. There is no injury to health. Young females are not employed in field work with us. I do not recommend any restriction as to the age at which boys may be employed ; but I think if a certificate of attendance at school for a given time during the year up to 13 years of age were required from all children earning wages before hiring, it would be a good plan. The parents send the children out to work as soon as they can, as they cannot afford to lose the earnings. In this parish all the children can attend schoul, and generally do for six months in the year. . School attendance here is not affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents; the very few whose parents are least able to afford the school pence are paid for by myself or other persons. The girls do the school in turns, making the fires, &c. Our cot- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN tages are generally good, with two and three bed- rooms. Wherever there is a third bedroom a lodger will if possible be taken. Rent of a good cottage with two rooms below and two above is 5/. or 61. Almost every boy and girl who ought to be at school attends in winter, though many of them irregularly, from various excuses, such as minding the baby, going errands. I have found the threat of turning the mothers of children who attend irregularly out of the Clothing Club succeed in making the attendance more regular. There is a night school open for two hours on two nights in the week during three or four months, attended by 18 scholars, who are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Farm youths cannot con- veniently attend; the scholars are chiefly boys who have recently left school to work on the land, or apprentices. [Mr. Paget read me aletter from the parish doctor stating that within his experience no injury had re- sulted to the health of the children from early field labour.] . : 187, W. Harrison Broadley, Esq., Welton.—Is building cottages on the farms {on various parts of his estate. He has endeavoured in the new farm-houses to secure more complete separation of the lads and female. servants by building a room for the lads connected with their sleeping-room and apart from the rest of the house, but finds that the farmer prefers having them all together in one large kitchen. WELTON SCHOOL. 188. _. Gill, master-—Number on register of day school, 97; average attendance in winter, 72. In the night school out of 18 on register there are two boys of 9 years, the rest-of various ages up to 16-years. Some boys went out this year early in February for bird tenting, occasionally for that work on Sunday. They mostly go ketlocking.* When they get to 13 years of age they go to service. If boys were compelled to attend school regularly up to 10 years of age, they would learn enough’ for agricultural work ; if up. to 11 years they would be fitted for better places, and in both cases they would probably learn enough to give. them a wish to improve themselves by attendance at night school. Some of the girls go out tenting and weeding as young as 8 years, and are absent about a fortnight at a time, sometimes longer ; they earn 6d. a day tenting, 8d. and 9d. weeding. ‘They seem to pre- fer weeding to tenting, though it is harder work. They go six or eight together, add girls, and are looked after by one of the farmer’s men. BEVERLEY. 189. In the three minster schools, é.e., the infant, the boys, and the girls’ school, there are in all 600 children receiving education, but of these, very few indeed are the children of agricultural labourers. The master stated that the indifference of parents was the greatest obstacle to school attendance with which he had to contend, : 190. Minutes taken at an interview with a Deputation from the East Ripinc Coamper of AGRICULTURE. Beverley, Feb. 20th, 1868. Half day at school and work or alternate days are not practicable in agricultural districts. The age of 10 would be a good limit to fix as the one below which children should not go to work, and from that age to 12 years they should attend school for a certain number of months in the year. At.12 years of age the strongest lads are fit for farm service. Private gangs exists in the neighbourhood ; both boys and girls from 9 years of age are employed together in the spring, in ketlocking, as many as 20 together under the supervision of one of the farmer’s labourers. A girl’s wages are 8d. or 9d. a day. * “ Ketlocking ” is “ pulling charlock.” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. _ The children’s earnings are necessary'to the parent for the maintenance of the family, but six months’ schooling between the ages of 10 and 12 would be tio injury ip the parents. < There is a growing desire for the education of their work-people on the part of the employers. ~ : There would be no objection to the requiring the production of a cettificate of a certain’ amount of school attendance when the lad comes to be hired. The statutes were admitted to be bad for the morals of the people. os , : Cottages on.the farms are very much wanted, as in many cases the distance from'the village, t6 work is too great. Many cottages also are overcrowded. a see ~ Education will not produce good effects without decency in the homes ; but good cottages on.the farms would create good feeling and sympathy between the master and the labourer. All ‘cottages should have three bed-rooms. Tenants would, as a rule, willingly pay a fair per-centage for cottage improvements. [The feeling on the subject of cottages was very strong, and it was ,wished that this feeling should be recorded.—E. B. P.] 191. Merrine of East Ripinc CoamBerof AGRI- _ CULTURE at BEVERLEY, W. Bainton, Esq., Chairman, said. —He thought the children might be sent to school till they were 9 years of age, and after that from 9 to 12 years for half their time, and when they had completed their twelfth year they might be set'at liberty. He believed that cottage accommodation was a most essential question for consideration, whatever amount of education you give a child, unless. there were decency and propriety at home, would be of little value. He believed that many tenants would pay a good per-centage for the erection of buildings which would improve the accom- modation for their labourers. He considered the present system in many places was cruel, the distance at which labourers resided from their work rendering it impos- sible for them to see their children more than on the Sunday. His opinion was that girls should not be employed at field labour at all. It was in domestic matters that they should be engaged, and in that alone, and they should be taught something of the manage- ment of small households. Mr. D. Bradley, Etton—With respect to the cot- tage accommodation he might say, that for a Chris- tian country, they had in England very bad cottages indeed. He could name instances where there were no chambers at all, but where the rooms were divided by a temporary screen to separate the sleeping places. In others there were only two rooms and a smaller one lighted only by a square of glass, substituted for a tile and where the only entrance of air was the open door, In such places a man, wife, and a large family were huddled together. He thought if the Govern- ment was to turn its attention to this matter, it would, indeed, be a great benefit. He did- not say anything against education. If it could be obtained without in- flicting any injury upon the parents, all well and good, and he would assist it, but he thought that matters that so materially affected the social condition of the poor should be first looked at. In common lodging- houses the law interfered, and stated that no more than a certain number should occupy one sleeping apartment, yet in private cottages the law took no cognizance of them, and no restrictions were imposed to uphold even decency. _ Mr. Edmund Riley, Kipling Cotes—Thought it was very difficult to deal with the question of employ- ing women and children without interfering with the right of the parents, and he did not think any legis- lative measure could affect this locality. None of the farmers hereabouts employed children under 9 years of age, and between that age and 12, more than half the year. * * * * He thought with Mr. Bradley, that Government ought to pay more attention to the subject of cottage accommodation. Alluding to the incon- venience of the present unsatisfactory condition of the labourers’ dwellings, the speaker said he employed one 373 man who’ had not seen his children in daylight during the whole of the winter. As his duties lay with the cattle, he had to be on the farm on Sundays, and his residence being three miles away; he had to go to his work early, and return late. Mr. Riley stated that he did not employ girls; and that he found labourers more serviceable than boys, if the cottage accommo: dation was such that the former could be employed. Mr. R. Whiteing, Beverley Parks. — They all knew that two out of every three of their servants could not write at all. He had a lad in his employ who had just sent away a letter that had taken him three months to write. They could scarcely get a lad to sign his name when they hired him. — - ‘ The Deputy Mayor of Beverley (T. Cussons, Esq.) —The principal thing in the discussion that had struck him (the speaker) was thé erection of more suitable dwellings for the labourers who worked on the farms. It would be a great advantage, he con- sidered, to the employer, to have the residences of his labourers as near the farm as possible. It would ‘also be doing a great deal towards bettering the labourers’ condition, if to such residences were attached a plot of land or garden ground, where he might have his children around him, and give them at the same time a moral and physical education. The speaker depre- cated the system of taking labourers into the country from towns, inasmuch as the wages of’ the latter being better than the former, the farmers were sure to get the worst class of men, beth morally and ‘physically. It applied more especially to boys taken from towns, who were often bad when they went away, and, he was afraid, returned no better. * * * In his opinion night schools, with the aid of farmers and parents of ‘children, might effect a good deal of good, and prevent the necessity of Government interference. 2 The Secretary read a communication from’ Mr. R. Norfolk (Beverley), who regretted his inablity to be present. As tothe existing class of adult labourers, the “right hand” of the British farmer, the fathers of future tillers of the soil, upon whose labour so many depended, little could be done for them, and that little useless in elevating their moral status, so long’ as those who alone had the power to provide suitable dwellings, were content to herd them like swine, and knowingly permit a state of things to exist which was a disgrace to civilization and to England as a nation. ‘ The following resolution was carried :—“ That this “ Chamber recognises the necessity of providing .im- “ proved education for the agricultural labourers, but “ defers passing any resolution on the subject till some “ definite scheme is before them.” i : BISHOP BURTON. Population, 498. Acreage, 4,259, Cultivation, mixed. 192. Francis Watt, Esq.—There are no private gangs. There are eight males between the ages of 8 and 13 employed on an average for three months ‘in the year bird minding. Twenty-four lads between 13 and 18 years. In summer they are employed in singling turnips, hoeing, and weeding. Those who mind birds do not walk more than a quarter of a mile to their work, and are at work for 11 hours. Times allowed for meals are from 6 a.m. to 6.30 a.m., from 12 to 1 p.m., 6 to 7 p.m. ‘Those who do not live on the farms leave for home as soon as they have finished their supper. Females are employed in field work in this parish only in haytime and harvest. I would recommend that boys under 12 years should attend school alternate days. Either the half day or alternate day system would be most suitable if it is found absolutely necessary to enforce attendance, but in this parish the people appreciate the efforts made to secure a good elementary education. The cottages here are not large, but are clean and healthy. Rooms will average in size 15 ft. by 13 feet. and 10 ft. high; some cottages have two bedrooms, some three. Every cottage has either a garden attached or a piece of land at a nominal rent, large enough to grow vegetables for consumption of the family. Rent, 21, to 8/. 10s. per 3A 2 *E. R. York. ‘Mr. Portman, * d E. R. York, Mr, Portman. 374 annum. Wages for ordinary labourers living in the village, 8s. and 9s. a week and meat. The average earnings for the year, including special work in lamb- ing time, turnip hoeing, and harvest, would be 11s. a week (and meat found). Boys wage for bird tenting, 8d.a day. On Sundays the bird tenting boys are relieved by lads living on the farm. ScHOOL. In Summer. On Average —\ Register. Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - 33 80 Between 10 and 138 - 14 5 Girls: Under 10 - - 16 14 Between 10 and 13 - 9 8 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 33 30 Between 10 and 13 - 14 10 Girls : Under 10 - - 16 14 Between 10 and 13 Z 9 8 193. Benjamin Swann, master.—There is no night school. There was one two years ago, but the attend- ance was so small and irregular that it was closed at the end of three months. The adult population of this parish is small and migratory. The hours for night school, from 7 to 9 p.m., are objectionable to the farmers, as they like their servants to be about the place; though not actually at work they are ready in any emergency, and they are expected to be in bed at 9 p.m. DALTON HOLME. Population, 506. Acreage, 3,090. Cultivation, almost wholly arable. 194, Extract from Return by Rev. T. F. Simmons. Women and children are employed all through the year in weeding, tenting, singling turnips, and picking flints. Hours of work, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with one hour allowed for dinner. I am inclined to think tha‘ occasionally the health is injuriously affected. The women who work in the fields are without exception married. They work alone or with other women. Young girls never work except with their mothers, or at turnip singling with their fathers. I know that it is the opinion of many industrious women who never work in the fields that they would lose more in the long run by the wear and tear of clothes and shoe leather than they would gain by the wages. I would prohibit any girl working apart from her father or mother, or other natural guardian, and I would prohibit associated female labour except at harvest. No boy should be employed at all under 8 years, nor any, except at light work, for more than 6 months under 10 years. I think that except at harvest it would practically have the effect of limiting the distance children were allowed to walk, if it were provided that the day’s labour of children should be calculated from and to the time of leaving and returning home. As it is, in many cases in this part ef the country women and children working for day wages do not commence work till 8 a.m. I would adopt forced school attendance for a certain number of hours during six months of the year. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I think it desirable that the cottages should continue to be massed near the church and school. As regards education, morality, advantages in sickness, &ec. labourers living in villages, and not on the farms, are less likely to be hardly used or to have a pressure put upon them in respect of wages and the labour of their wives and children. Cottages — house 12 ft. by 12 ft., back kitchen 12 ft. by 8 ft., small pantry or dairy; the better ones have a best bedroom on ground floor, two or three bedrooms upstairs in most of them, and generally a garden. Rent of new cottages (Lord Hotham’s), 62, a year ; of old ones, 20, to 4. Most of the cottages in this part belong to large landowners. There is a night school in winter for two hours on two nights per week for four months. Number of scholars, 25; average attendance, 23; all above 12 years of age. It is working well. Day ScHoot, In Summer. Boys and girls :— On register - - ~ - 50 Average attendance - - - 46 In Winter. On register - - - - 70 Average attendance - = - 65 I may mention that a few days after Mr. Portman’s visit to this parish a small boy, not 7 years old, who had been bird tenting for some weeks, volunteered the remark to the mother of some boys who were sent to school, “I wish t’law would come that boys wasn’t to “ work while they was ten.” 195. Rev. T. F. Simmons, Mr. C. Wood, Mr. Riley.—It was suggested that forced attendance at school for five days a week during six months of the year, up to 9 years of age, with reduced number of attendances up to a further age (say 13 years), might be fairly required, and that a certificate of such attend- ances should be produced to the employer before hiring. Wages, 2s. 6d. a day for ordinary labouring men, 8s. a day for machine work. Allotments of one rood, 10s. a year rent. Many labourers keep a cow. Mr. Riley was much in favour of having more cottages on the farms, on account of the distance married men have to go to and from their work. ETTON. Population, 501. Acreage, 3,790. Cultivation, chiefly arable. + 196. Rev. Canon Musgrave.—There are about 10 males and 10 females employed in private gangs in the parish in cleaning corn and flint gathering. The are usually paid according to the number of flints gathered, and not by the day. When the mothers are regularly employed the families no doubt suffer hy their absence from home during the day ; very few are thus employed in this parish. I would not allow a boy to be employed under 9 years of age. There is no necessity for regulating the distance to work. The children are never wanted for field work in the winter. If their attendance at school could be secured for eight or nine months in the year it would fully answer the requirements of the occupiers of land here. Half time would not suit them. The children are within easy reach of school. Cottage accommodation in this parish is on the whole sufficient. Two cottages per hundred acres are more than sufficient, because several servants who are hired by the year live in the farm houses. From two of the farms the cottages are distant two to three miles. Some cottages are crowded; few have more than two bedrooms. Average rent, 3/. 10s. per annum. ScHOOL. In Summer. s Average ai Register. Attendance. Boys : Under 10 - - 20 12 Between 10 and 13 - 7 4 Girls : Under 10 - - 16 11 Between 10 and 13 - 4 3 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 29 24 Between 10 and 13 - 14 12 Girls : Under 10 “ - 94 17 Between 10 and 13 - 12 7 There is a night school for two hours on two nights a week in the winter months attended by eight scholars, one of whom is under 12 years. The difficulty in maintaining the school is uncertainty of the lads re- maining in the same place, in consequence of the present system of hiring. Query whether compul- sory attendance at night school between the ages of 12'and 15, when the education is considerably defi- cient, would be desirable. Regular attendance at school is the thing needed. The statutes are very demoralising in their effects. The farm servants on distant farms rarely if ever come to church, and as the lads remain in the same place only for one year, as a rule, they do not become acquainted. with the clergyman, or take any heed to get a good character in the parish. The farmers do not sufficiently consider the character of the lads they hire, but look more to their physical strength. A piece of the glebe land is let out in allotments; the system is working well and is very beneficial to the labourer, as in the street of a village there is rarely sufficient garden ground attached. Erton ScHOOL. 197. Alfred Witty, 9 years old.—I went out ket- locking last year, for four weeks. There were 13 boys and girls together, we had our meals together. I went two miles to work, got 8d. a day, and have had 6d. a day for “ tenting.” 198. Francis Morlow, 9 years old.—I have been out tenting cows, Sundays and all, got 6d.aday. Four brothers and one sister in family, father is foreman to Mr. Whipp, and “ meats ” at his house. Giris’ SCHOOL. 199. Elizabeth Johnson, 13 years (oldest girl in the school).—I have been out ketlocking in the same gang with boys. Many other girls go. I got 8d.a day. My father looks after the gang. J have been out for three years. I go singling turnips as well as “ ketlocking.” Farmer pays me, one of the farm labourers goes round village and collects children for ketlocking, when they are wanted. WARTER. 200. Mr. Clark, schoolmaster.—Children go to field work as young as 8 years in summer, for weed- ing and picking stones. They are at school from October to the beginning of May. Regular attendance at school is the thing needed. Children should be at school for five years, in order to he well grounded. They should remain till they have passed a certain standard, and a certificate of such attainment should be required before hiring. Parents, being themselves uneducated, are indifferent about the education of their children. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 375 201. Mr. Smith, farmer.—Children’s wages for weeding are 1s, a day, or 6d. a day and three meals. 20 or 80 children of both sexes will go together for “ ketlocking.” In some cases a man takes the job at a fixed price per acre, and finds the children. 202. Mr. Storey, schoolmaster, Nunburnholme.—I would not allow children to go to work before 12 years of age. Many go ganging at 8 years. The system of taking the weeding by the acre prevails in this part. The ganger finds the children. 203. Extract from Rrturn by Rev. 8. Wixson, Warter. Children of 8 years to 14 years of age are employed in weeding corn. They go distances of half a mile to four or six miles, when the latter, they are conveyed to and from their work. The hours of work from the time of leaving home are 7.30 a.m. to 6.380 p.m.; on the land, 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., or 9 to 6. When the number is small, the sexes work together, when large, they are separated. The state of education is improved. Cottages all belong to the landowner, they are not conveniently situated for the work of the farms. ScHOOL, In Summer. jes On Average Register. Attendance, Boys: Under 10 - - 20 12 Between 10 and 13 - 14 8 Girls : Under 10 16 9 Between 10 and 13 9 it In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 24 13 Between 10 and 13 - 15 11 Girls : Under 10 - - 18 19 Between 10 and 13 13 9 MILLINGTON. Population, 340. Acreage, 2,750. Cultivation, chiefly arable. 204. Rev. H. Ellershaw, vicar—There are 25 males and 15 females, all between the ages of 10 and 13 years, -employed in private gangs; in spring in weeding, in summer in pulling charlocks and singling turnips. The usual hours of work on the land are 10, with one hour allowed for meals. The sexes work together, the effect on the morals is not good. The state of education is very indifferent, both among the young and the adults. Compulsory education in agri- cultural districts would in my opinion be an excellent thing, though the farmers generally would not advocate such a measure. Females employed in agriculture become exceedingly dirty in their habits, and indif- ferent as to domestic duties. I would certainly restrict their employment, except at hay time and harvest, as men’s wages average from 14s. to 18s. weekly. Dis- tance to work does not affect those above 14 years of age; I would not place any restriction, as they all take good care of themselves. Four school days per week for 20 weeks in the year, would be the best scheme of enforced school attendance for this locality. The school is in.the centre of the parish, the parents have the means, but many of them not the will to send their children to school, even when taught gratuitously. The cottage accommodation is in many instances digracefully bad, and injurious both to health and morals. From two to three cottages per 100 3A 3 E. R. York. Mr. Portman, d. E. R. York. Mr. Portman. 376 acres are considered sufficient. There is that propor- tion. The cottages are crowded, there is usually one sitting-room about 14 feet square, a small scullery, one bedroom, even fora family of 10 or 12, generally a small garden, few with outhouses. They belong to landowners living at a distance from the village. ‘Rents vary from 3/. to 7/.a year. There is no night school. The vicious morals of the cottagers, and their utter aversion to education, are obstacles to maintaining one, and the farmers themselves will not encourage either religion or education among their servants or depen- dants. The day school is closed for want of a master, their being no funds sufficient to pay one ; there is a small endowment of 138/. a year, with house and garden, and a small donation from St. John’s College, Cam- bridge. : POCKLINGTON. Population, 2,671. Acreage, 2,520. Cultivation, ~ mixed. : 205. Rev. J. Crosland, vicar.—There are no gangs. About 20 children and young persons are employed occasionally, between the ages of 10 and 18, in spring in drilling corn seed, and in summer in hoeing turnips. The usual hours of work are from 6 to 6, with two hours allowed for meals. Very few females are em- ployed here, and under the present system no restric- tion is needed, though they would be better em- ployed in domestic service. I would not allow boys to be employed under 11 years of age. No restriction as to. distance to work is_practicable._. Compulsory attendance at school during the winter months is more practicable than half days or alternate days at school and work. A few children are away from school on account of the poverty of their parents. Overcrowded and badly-built cottages are a great evil, and injurious to the health and comfort of the labourer. Some of our cottages are crowded with lodgers. The rooms are small, but fairly ventilated, and the drainage is good, (Gardens may be had in allotments near the town, of which nearly every cottager rents a small portion ; they belong mostly to small tradesmen, but there is no restriction as to dealing. Scucon. In Summer. On Average Te, Register. Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - - 90 60 Between 10 and 13 70 40 Girls : Under 10 - - 100 90 Between 10 and 13 - 40 20 In Winter. Boys: Under 10 - - 90 80 Between 10 and 13 - 70 60 Girls ;. Under 10 - 100 90 Between 10 and 13 - 40 30 There is a night school for 24 weeks in winter, open two hours on four nights a week, there are 24 scholars. The attendance is irregular, owing to the carelessness of the foreman in getting the lads off to school. There are about 30 malé and 20 female young persons grow- ing up with insufficient education ; and 80 boys and 21 girls between the ages of 8 and 13, who are neither at school nor at work in summer. 206. MEETING of FaRmMERS and others at PockLine- TON, February 29. It was agreed that 10 years should be the limit below which no child should go to work. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN At 18 years they go to service, and between the ages of 10 and 13 they could have six months’ schooling. A certificate of such attendance might be required before hiring, but it was thought that in times of pressure or scarcity of labour there would be a difficulty in enforcing such a regulation. The carelessness and indifference of the parents are greater obstacles to education than want of money. There is a private gang system, “ ketlocking ” is taken by the acre,.but the master pays the children’s wages and the railway fare, when they are so conveyed to their work. 5 The weeding lasts for three weeks in the year, women are employed before they send for gangs of children, it would be difficult to find a substitute for children’s labour at that time. Average wages for men, 14s. a week, It was stated, that at turnip-hoeing, which is taken by the acre, a man and a singler may earn 6s. 6d. a day, but that was said to be a very rare case, ~ The statutes were stated to be very bad for morality. It is very difficult to get men to sign a contract for hiring ; the younger lads can mostly read and write. Men do not remain in farm service, except as fore- men. When they reach 30 years of age, they marry and like to live in a cottage, and: then bécome day labourers, taking work by the piece or otherwise. It appeared that an increased number of cottages on the farms would not do away with the necessity for farm lads, or get rid of the hiring fairs, .Pocgiineton ScHoozs. 207. Infant School, Miss Atkin, mistress.—Aver- age attendance in summer, 84; in winter, 45. They are taken at 2 years old and remain till 7 or 8 years. Weekly payment is 2d. ; there are two assistants. 208. Mixed School, J. Ross, master.—The children go out to work about 10 years old and come back to school in winter. If they attended regularly they could pass the fourth standard at 11 years of age. Women and children are much employed in potatoe picking and hoeing. 209. Brighton, boy, 13 years old.—I went out to work gt 10 years old and earned 8d. a day.- 10 boys worked together; were looked after by the foreman and paid by the employer. I have been two and three miles to work on the Wolds, ketlocking ; last year I earned 10d. a day; then we went boys and girls to- gether ; mostly have to walk to work, but have been carried in a waggon ; we work in wet weather but not inwetcorn =. : 210. Ann Manners, 14 years.—I went ketlocking two years ago; 12 boys and girls together; had a man over us: got 8d. a day; at meals boys and girls sit separate.’ Bee 211. Mary Pegg, 13 years—Went out twice last year ketlocking ; boys and girls together ; we had our meals together ; got 10d. a day; I never was ill from the work. BARMBY MOOR. Population, 537. Acreage, 2,471. 212. Rev. R. Taylor, vicar.—There are gangs of Irish employed here in potato picking which is taken by the piece ; women and children are in these gangs ; the married women are also much employed in potatoe setting and picking and in weeding corn. The hours of work are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with one hour allowed for dinner. I would not permit boys to be employed under 10 years of age. I think a fixed amount of school attendance for six months in the year would suit best for agicultural children ; that a certificate of such attendance should be required before hiring, and that Government aid should be given for attendances less than 200 as now required. The school attendance is greatly affected by the re- sources of the parents; we have found the following pay- ments secure the largest attendance ; 3d. and 2d. a week; when three children in a family attend the third is at half-price, making 6d. a week. For four children the fourth goes free. In this parish to secure all the chil- “ IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. dren, 17 are charged 1d. and four go entirely free. These 17 and four are entirely independent of the third and fourth child in large families. The four entirely free include orphans. The ddttages should have three bedrooms ; in large families where this is not the case the children turn out badly. Barmby has always been an open parish, and we have,a sufficient number of cottages. Most of the cottages have two bedrooms and a garden. None are attached to the farms, but are owned as small investments. Rent 3. 10s. to 52. per annum. The 5/. cottage has an excellent garden. i> ; At Fangfoss, my other parish, cottage accommoda- tion is not good ; the rents are high and the cottages not always healthy; these we are endeavouring to improve. ScHooL, In Summer and Winter. On “Average — == Register. | Attendance. Boys: Under 10 - 39 28 Between 10 and: 13 15 12 Girls: ~ UnderlO-. - - + B84 26 Between 10 and 13 sale One 7 . There is no night school. 4 Bid ot _ There is a. want: of schools in the plain district between here. and Howden, and there are not many resident clergymen. Farm lads are very irregular in their attendance at church, and the farmers say “they ‘cannot press them.” ... EVERINGHAM. .. ... Population, 321 ; Acreage, 2,979 ; Cultivation, about 2,000 acres arable, 800 grass. ~~ . 218. Lord Herries, Everingham Park.—There are no private gangs. . There are 18 males. and nine females between, the ages of 10 and 18 employed at different seasons of the year in topping turnips, plant- ing and picking potatoes. Hours of. work are, in winter, from 7 am. to 5 p.m.;, in summer, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with, 14 hours allowed for meals. I have never heard or found by my own knowledge that the females employed. in agriculture were otherwise than good and moral, I would not. place any restriction on their labour. bs Boys should not be employed under 10 years of age, L think one to three miles quite far enough for any one up to 18 years to go to work, and would commence at one mile for boys of 10 years. I.should object to com- pulsory education, it would tend to. check .the eager- ness of parents to send their children to school. ‘The children here are educated gratis. For families there should be three sleeping rooms in the cottages. ScHOOL. On Register. Boys: i Under 10 - z é = 20 Between 10 and13— - S é 16 Girls : Under 10 -_ ~ & e 15 Between 10and18 - - 4 10 Some few attend from neighbouring parishes. The attendance varies little throughout the year. There are three male and five females grown up with little or no education when young. § [This is a Roman Catholic school, but is attended by some Protestant children who do not have religious instruction. . The master is uncertificated but a good teacher, and takes boys out with him’ measuring land and instructs them in practical agriculture —E.B.P.]" 377 214, Corragss. Set No. 1. Two ground-floor rooms and dairy ; three bedrooms, outhouses and cow-house ; a rood of garden. Cost about 1402. a piece. Ornamental. Set No. 2. Row of seven. Two ground-floor rooms, three bedrooms, outhouses, &c. Cost something under 100/. a piece. Rent 2/. a year with a garden only, if with land for a cow, 1d. or 21. additional according to extent. BURNBY. Population, 126. Acreage, 1,700. Farms from 800 to 400 acres. _ 215. Rev. J. Williams.—There is no gang system, Women are not much employed except in harvest. I should prefer their not being employed at all, as field- work is most injurious to them for domestic service and for their future as wives and mothers. Children Jeave school too young. The farm, lads are much neglected, rarely come to church, and in consequence of the yearly. change of place are not under the influence of the clergyman. The farmers do not sufficiently consider the character of the lads when they hire them. Much might be done if the landlords would use their influence in this direction. HAYTON. . Population, 210. Acreage, 1,760. 216. Mr. Appleton, farmer.—Wages for labouring men 8s. a week and meat, or 15s. a week, no meat. Foreman 20 to 80 years of age, on farm, gets from 201. to 301. a year, board and lodging. Waggoners, 18 years and upwards, 162. to 18/. a year, board and lodging. Plough lads, 102. to 12/., board and lodging, The weekly expense of keeping lads is reckoned at 8s. Harvest wages, 1/. a week and meat. Children go out tenting at 8 or 9 years of age, get 6d. a day and meat ; they will be out five or six weeks in the year bird-tenting before harvest, and pig-tenting in fields after harvest. Most of the villagers have a cow ; pay 3l. a year for cow-gate. Cottages with gardens are rented at 31. and 41. a year; one-third of an acre allot- ment besides the garden, 18s. 6d. a year. The people are well off. 217. Mrs. Binnington, wife of a farmer, and for 12 years mistress of the school.—I would place the limit below which no boy should go to work at 10 years, and I think that by that time they may be well grounded in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Children go out at 8 or 9 years of age for weeding corn and sing- ling turnips, and are away from school for five or six weeks for that work in June and July, and for four weeks in autumn for potatoe gathering. Boys and girls go a dozen together for potatoe work from farm to farm, and are hired by the farmer; a woman usually goes with them. Six months’ attendance at school during the year for children between 10 and 12 years would be a very good thing, and would not cause much trouble to the teacher in “ making up lee-way.” I once had a night school in summer, which was well attended by lads varying from 18 years to 30 years. They learnt quicker than children of 8 and 9 years. A library has been established. Farm lads come from every farm to get books ; they ask for “ Travels,” and books of that description ; 40 lads came in one even- ing. ‘They take the books home, and pay 4d. a fort- night. Most of these lads were educated at Hayton School. The farmhouses are close to the village, Hayton ScHoot. In Summer. fe No. Average on Books. | Attendance, In 1862. - (- - 4l 23 In 1867 ‘and 1868 - - 57 30 2 3A 4 E. R. York. Mr. Portman, d. E. R. York. Mr. Portman. d. 378 In Winter. On Average —— Register. Attendance. In 1862 - S iS Al 35 In 1867 and 1868 - - 51 40 218. Miss Knowlson, mistress.—There would be no hardship in fixing limit for work at 10 years. I have kept some boys up to 13 years at school ; the girls leave younger, being kept at home to look after the little ones. Children from 8 to 10 years learn quickly if in regular attendance. There is a list kept showing the progress of each child from year to year. We have sewing-classes for the girls in the afternoon. 219. Mr. Thompson, farmer, Hayton.—I farm 150 acres. » 1864 3 1865 - - - 161 64 39° 751 » 1865 55 1866 - = 289 128 44-2907 >» 1866 5 1867 - - - 247 111 44-931 5, 1867 ” 1868 - - 474 210 44-308 * The return of this year is not complete. In the case of many of the recruits no entry is made in the educational column of the roll book. I have therefore included in the total number enrolled only those recruits who have these particulars respecting ‘them given. The total number of those enrolled is therefore incorrect ; to the whole number enrolled (236) is correct. 11. To F. H. Norman, Esq., Assistant Commissioner for inquiring into the Employment of Chil- dren, Young Persons, and Women in Agricul- ture. Lamport Endowed School, Sir, May 15th, 1868. Tue four questions which you sent to me, and on which you desired the opinion of teachers of Northamptonshire to be given, I submitted to the two associations of schoolmasters in this county : to the East Midland at Wellingborough on April 25th, and to the Northampton Association on April 4th and May 2nd, and to other teachers at various times. The result I now send you in as brief a form as possible. J. Question 1. “At what age do the children of agricultural labourers usually leave school, and what progrless has a child of average ability, at an average schoo usually made in reading, writing, and arith- metic, when he leaves?” Most teachers agree that, for the most part, boys » cease to attend regularly some time before leaving; that they go to work for the summer season for a year or two years before they leave school for good. From the returns I have received, and the opinions that have been ressed, the general opinion of teachers here is that the age at which boys thus begin to leave school is about 8, when, under ordinary circumstances, they could pass Standard Il.—very few Standard ITI. __of the Revised Code; and that the age at which they leave school altogether is 9, when they could pass Standard III. well. Exceptional instances are iven where boys stay at school till 10 or 11 and can pass well in Standard IV., but they are in such parishes as are in the hands of only one or two pro- prietors, and where the labourers as a class are better scared for than in more open parishes. II. Question 2. “ What progress would you expect a child of average ability who attended school regu- larly to have made in reading, writing, and arith- metic when he arrives at the age of 10 years :” The progress made would depend on two things:— but the proportion of those who can neither read nor write (116) 1. The age at which the child began to attend school regularly ; and, ’ 2. The kind of school and teaching it met with. A good infant school materially aids the progress of children, and where there is one, children that go to it usually get further advanced than in places where there is none. The general opinion is that children can usefully begin to attend school at 5 years old, and that their attendance, to be called regular, ought to be at least 200 days in the year. The school is taken to be an average school, by which is understood a school equal to the generality of those under a cer- tificated teacher, and being fairly supplied with books and other apparatus. ‘ Then, beginning regular attendance at 5 years old, and under the condition of good teaching—.e. such teaching as the supposed average school would afford —the general opinion is that at 10 a labourer’s child would fairly reach Standard V. of the Revised Code. There is a singular unanimity of opinion on this oint. III. Question 3. “ Do you think that the deficiency (if any) in the amount of education usually possessed by a labourer’s child when he goes out to work can be adequately supplied by his subsequent attendance at night school while at work during the day?” The first consideration here was what might be understood by a sufficient education. The estimate you mentioned, viz. “the reading of a newspaper “ with ease and fluency; the writing of a letter to a “ friend without effort; and the understanding, so as “ to be able to detect mistakes in, an ordinary bill of “ 9 tradesman,” was considered to give considerable latitude in its interpretation, and might be taken to mean more than was intended. But, to fix a standard to the meaning, it was taken to be equivalent to Standard VI. of the Revised Code, as, for several years, it seems to have been the opinion of the Com- mittee of Council that that standard was a sufficient education for the working classes from their not giving grants for anything beyond it. 8G 4 Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. 426 The question may then be stated thus : Can a child, leaving school at 8 or 9 and being able to pass Stan- dard III, by subsequent attendance at night-schools be made to reach Standard VI.? To this question, under present circumstances of night schools, a most decided “No” is the answer. Night schools, as found in most country parishes are deemed of very little use. Yet many think that this might be accom- plished by a regular attendance at night schools for three evenings per week for the greater part of the year after a child has been to the day school regularly from 5 to 10 years of age, as supposed in Question 2. TV. Question 4. “What are the chief difficulties you encounter in carrying on night schools ; and can you suggest any practicai remedies for the purpose of Fendoning them more useful than they at present are?” It is much more easy to point out difficulties than to mention practical remedies for them. The difficul- ties encountered in carrying on wight schools arise from two main causes :— 1. The indifference to education prevailing among the labouring classes in villages; and 2. Want of encouragement and support. Each of these brings others with it. The former begets— ‘ (1.) A scarcity of scholars; children please them- se:ves about attending the school ; (2.) Irregularity of professing attendants ; and (3.) In some degree, aided by the fatigues of the day, inattention and sleepiness. The latter results in : (1.) A want of good and sufficient teaching power ; the only remuneration too often given being the few pence the scholars pay, which barely find the fire and lights ; (2.) A mixture of young boys with their elders; and (3.) A very meagre programme of subjects taught. Other causes may help to produce some one or more of these difficulties, all of which stand in the way of making night schools efficient and popular. The small fee usually charged seems not to affect the attendance in most instances; though in a few it does. The evils engendered by the first of these main difficulties may be partially, though not wholly, re- moved by the removal of the second cause. With a more generous support, more teachers might be found, more divisions made in a school, and a more attractive list of subjects supplied, all of which would more or less tend to decrease the bad attendance, inattention, and sleepiness complained of. To render night schools valuable there must be a radical change in them. The result of my inquiries and experience brings out the following as being the principal practical remedies for the existing evils of night schools:— 1. A generous pecuniary support as a sine gua non. 2. A more attractive list of subjects and method of teaching ; the instruction must be varied, and more entertaining than a continuous attention to reading, writing, and arithmetic alone can possibly afford. 3. A larger and efficient staff of teachers to give vigour to the school, say one teacher to every 20 scholars. 4, A small library of instructive books; travels, history, &c., with some periodical publications. Evening schools cannot be said to have been fairly tried ; they have not received the attention they de- serve; as speculations they have at best only partially succeeded ; they have never been, except in a few rare examples, fully developed so as to show what they are capable of, and under present circumstances they cannot accomplish what might be expected from them. Such, sir, is the result of my inquiries among my fellow teachers in this part of Northamptonshire. I have been as brief in my remarks as I could be com- patible with clearness and fulness ; I may have failed to express myself so clearly as could be wished, in which case I shall be glad to give any additional in- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN formation or make any explanation which I may be able to furnish. I have, &c. Joun J. GRAVES. 12. The following account of the income and ox- penditure of J. G., an agricultural labourer, at Haselbeach, and of a single man in the Isle of Ely, were collected by Mr. Albert Pell of Haselbeach. He has kindly given me permission to publish them. [These particulats were collected in July 1867.— F. H. N.] The family consisted of— J.G. — - age 55, ill and earned nothing. Mrs.G. ,, 44, average carning 2s, 6d. per week, and food one day per week. 23, absent from home. 18, do. 15, earned 8s. per week. 18, absent from home, but cost in clothes. Kate - ,, 10, earned nothing weekly. John - , 7, do. Annie - ,, 5, earned nothing. Total at home 6, bring in weekly :— Elizabeth ,, Henry 5 Daniel - ,, Sarah 5 Mrs. G. - 2 “ 3 Z Daniel - - - - - wr? oak Oo o>) Weekly wages - 1 Yearly wages— Ss. Mrs. G. - - 5 (food in house) - 40 Daniel, wages (harvest) 32 is (beer) - - 10 John (scaring) - - 20 Donations— Value of milk - - 10 3 fire wood - 56 ” subscription to clothing club - - 10 2 8 138 2 = 233—about 52 Total weekly EXPENDITURE. Weekly. Rent—House and six poles of land - Bread—Eleven 4-lb. loaves at 74d. - Flour—One stone at 2s. 9d. - - Beer—One and a half’ gallons ai 1s. 1d. - Meat—2 lbs. (breast of mutton) at 7d. - Groceries—} lb. tea, 9d. ; 3 lbs. sugar, ls. 14d.; 14 Ib. currants, 6d. ; 4 1b. coffee, 4d. ; soap and oddments, 94d. - Butter—1 Ib. - - - - Coal—2 ton (for wood see income) per week - - - Hardware, crockery, &c. - - Oowkd eCoocooN N~w di- ho oo.h6S8 OO ee eo Noo Annual. Dress— £ s. J. G.. - - Mrs. G. - Daniel “ - Sarah - Kate, Johnnie, Aunie House linen— Pair sheets, 8s.; two teacloths, 8d.; two towels, 7d.; two pillow cases, 2s. - Clubs— J.G., 11; Mrs. G., 12s. O11 8 112 0 Total ann. expendt.17 3 3+52=0 6 7k Weekly expenditure 1 6 2 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Ls. d. Total weekly expenditure - 1 6 2 ‘a income - - - 0138 2 : Deficiency - 013 0 This deficiency is partly made up by Union allowance weekly to J. G.— s. d, Money - - - 4 0 Five loaves (6 lbs.) - - 4 3h 0 8 3b Unaccounted for - 0 4 8% Amount annually unaccounted for = 4s. 8$d. x 52 = 121, 4s. 10d. 13. Cost of a single man’s living in the Isle of Ely, ascertained January 24, 1865. Weekly. Bread—7 lbs. at ld. - - Flour—34 Ibs. - - - Meat—3} Ibs. (pickled pork) = - Butter—4 Ib. at 1s. - - Potatoes—1 gallon - - Sugar—l lb. o Coffee—2 ozs. - - - Spices - - - - Cooking - - - - Lodging and washing - -- CODD OCOCOOOOk HKooooocnwoo” OAH wkhNaADaNTS ne Weekly expenditure - o or _ > we 5 104 Clothing for year. Working jacket, 12. 6s.—lasts two years - « - Breeches and gaiters, 1/.—last two years - = Sleeved waistcoat, 14s.—lasts two years - - Two shirts - - - One jersey - - One pair stockings - Cap - - Boots - - - eocococo Sunday clothing— Every fourth year costs =015 74 4 ae 319 1 52 = weekly about 1 5 18(b). Total amount of the average annual earn- ings of a good labourer. Supplied by ALserr PEL, Esq. When the ordinary wages for six days work are 12s. (winter weeks included); if an able man and good workman be put to task work, such as draining, hedge- cutting, ditching, hoeing, throwing up dung, raising stone or clay, he would earn 15s.a week, and he ought not to work for these wages for more than 10 hours exclusive of meal times. If he is mowing by task he ought to earn at least 24s. week, and anything under 30s. would not be excessive ; but much of these wages will be spent in tools and beer, and the hours of labour are very prolonged, say, from 5 in the morning to 8 at night, with three hours’ rest in the heat of the day. During harvest the wages with me would be 25s. to 27s. » week, and the hours of labour indefinite and 2. 427 dependent on the weather; this will last for four weeks, to be followed by a fortnight’s labour at about 21s.; but during the harvest work a labourer will re- quire 5s. to 6s. worth of beer weekly, which he has to pay for. For the whole year the account will be thus— £ s. d. 20 weeks at 12s, - - 2 -12 0 0 *4 4, (mowing) at 25s. (less 5s. beer)- 4 0 O 4 ,, harvest at 27s. (less 6s. beer) - 4 4 0 Bet ay ‘5 21s. (less 5s. beer) - 112 O 22 =~, «at 15s. - - - - 1610 0 £38 6 O = 14s. 82d. per week, and beer given also=in cash 1s, 14d. per week. . Total 15s. 10d. per week out of the master’s pocket. 14. Dr. W. Paley, Peterborough. —I am an M.D. of the University of London, and have practised here about 30 years. For 26 years I have been physician to the hospital, where nearly 2,000 cases go through my hands every year, and those cases are principally from the agricultural districts. There are many agricultural gangs here. I may say generally that the labour performed by women and children in the fields is not injurious to them. I think that the benefit they receive from being out in the open air more than counterbalances some few ill effects which arise from exposure to wet, &. Rheumatism affects men principally and not children. I have never seen cases of rheumatism in children which T can trace as the result of exposure in fieldwork, and I do not think that rheumatism occurring late in life can be said to be the result of exposure in early life. I think that the foundation of bronchitis is more often laid in in- fancy than in childhood; very few of the cases of bronchitis which are brought to the hospital appear to me to be the immediate result of fieldwork ; I wonder that it is so, but that is the result of my experience. There is no question that the poor (women especially) are insufficiently fed, and many of the diseases which they are subject to might be avoided if they had better food ; but the field labour cannot be said to be the cause of these diseases, but rather tends to diminish them, by supplying the poor with better wages, and therefore better food than they would otherwise have. Flat feet arise not from field labour, but from the thick- ness of the soles of the boots, which won’t bend. Cases of varicose veins and curvature of the spine are very rare. I sometimes advise delicate children to go to light, easy, out of door occupation instead of going to school, as being far more healthy for them. Most of the field work for children, such as weeding, &c., is very light, and not injurious; it requires no severe muscular labour. Even in the cases of weak circu- lation without absolute disease, gentle exercise in the open air is one of the most effective remedies. I ama magistrate here and approve highly of the Gangs Act, but I don’t think it should be extended to private gange, because I don’t think there is any decided evil existing in the management of private gangs. I have frequently seen much good arise to the poor from the air and exercise they get in the out of door work. [Dr. Paley was kind enough to furnish me with a statistical account of all the cases which had come under his treatment in the hospital ; the total number was 86,243. The diseases which attacked the agri- cultural population most frequently were :—(1.) Rheu- matism, of which there had been 598 cases = J] in 61 cases. (2.) Inflammation of air tubes (bronchitis) 1,034 cases = 1 in 86. (3.) Asthma (with bronchitis) 690 cases = 1 in 52, * There will not be four weeks’ mowing on most farms, but I suppose the mower to do the thatching ; and if not this, to single turnips ‘or do some skilled work in the weeks preceding harvest, which will bring his earnings up to my quotation. 3H Northampton- shire, Mr. Norman, e. Northampton shire. Mr, Norman. 428 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN The following table will show the ages at which these diseases occurred :— 5 10 15 20 | 30 | 40 50 60 70 80 E -— Otol) lto2 | 2tod to | to to | -to | to | to to | to | to | to q Total. 10 15 | 20 30 | 40 50 60 70 80 | 90 ic Inflammation ofair| 239 | 148 | 187 | 48 | 23 | 16 | 54 | 58 | 77 | 75 | 73 | 48} 21] 17) 1,034 ” tubes. . Asthma (with 4 4 10 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 60 /125 |153 |152 | 95 | 26] 8 3 690 bronchitis). Rheumatism -| — — —_— 17 | 86 | 61 [180 | 96 | 96 | 79 | 41 | 11 4|— 593 {It will be observed from this table that although in the case of inflammation of the air tubes the number of infants attacked was very numerous, children between the ages of 5 and 15 (which may be taken as the limits within which children are engaged in field work) were decidedly healthy.—F. H. N.] (15. Dr. T. Walker.—I have been surgeon to the hospital at Peterborough for five years. On the whole I think that the agricultural labour is healthy. The poor may suffer from want of food, but not from diseases contracted in consequence of field labour. A few children who have been injured by accidents occurring in field work are brought to the hospital every year, but not many; horse accidents are not so frequent as accidents arising from machinery ; and the latter usually occur to children about the farm- yard carelessly playing with machinery. My impres- sion is that the per-centage of those injured is very small. I hear of almost every severe accident that occurs in the neighbourhood; I have several times met with cases of bad accidents causing loss of limb, and occasionally loss of life, to boys intrusted with fire-arms for scaring. The diseases which come under my notice as surgeon most frequently are strumous diseases of the bones, glands, eyes, and skin ; these are very common and are caused rather by bad food than exposure, although if there is a tendency to these diseases, exposure to cold and damp would be likely to foster it, more particularly when the food is insuffi- cient. Where the women go to work, as in the fen districts, the infants suffer, and sometimes have drugs given to them. On the whole I think that the field work is rather healthy than otherwise. 16. Lerrer from Dr. Barr, M.D., of Northampton, Surgeon to the Northamptonshire Militia. Northampton, April 8, 1868. In reply to your letter of the 22nd ultimo, requesting information as to whether field labour is physically injurious to the women, young persons, and children engaged in it, I regret to say that I am not in a position to give any very decisive opinion on the subject, as the number of persons connected with agriculture, who come under my medical observation is but small, my experience among the labouring population being almost entirely confined to the in- habitants of Northampton, who are all engaged in the manufacture of shoes. I have a few agricultural recruits to examine for the militia, and I have fre- quently to reject some of these lads for curvature of spine and flat feet; I consider these defects are generally caused by carrying heavy weights at an early age. I may mention that these recruits are extremely deficient in intelligence compared with those from the town ; they are generally destitute of any education, it being quite the exception to find one who can either read or write. Iam, &c. W. R. Barr, M.D. 17. The Rev. R. P. Lightfoot, vicar of Towcester. —I have been here one year, but have lived in Northamptonshire all my life. I have been diocesan inspector of schools since 1860. I think it would be desirable to prohibit children from going to work until the age of 8, and to compel them to attend school a portion of the year up to 9. The state of education is decidedly defective, especially in arith- Sir, metic. I am opposed to all compulsion after the age of 9 as regards agricultural labourers. The two causes of the want of education among labourers are indifference and unwillingness on the part of: the parents to forego the weekly earnings of the children. The second of these causes would be in some measure obviated by restricting the age at which the children might go to work. After they begin to work night schools are the only means of education. I haye returns relating to night schools from almost all the schools in the diocese of Peterborough ; they show that in the opinion of more than half the. clergy the night schools, as at present conducted, are either un- successful (é.¢., few attend them), or unsatisfactory (i.e., those who do attend are indifferent). By. far the best thing the Privy Council could do would be to enable the managers of schools to provide efficient machinery for the management of night schools. This might be done if the Privy Council paid for results without requiring certificated teachers, and at the same time increased their scale of payments. Country parishes, as a rule, cannot support certificated teachers, but they can provide sufficient teaching power for night schools. My experience teaches me that you can do much more by inducement than by compulsion. The results of day schools are on the whole satisfactory, and I think that if the same inducements were held out to maintain efficient night schools as are now held out to maintain efficient day schools the results of the night schools would be nearly if not quite equal to those of the day schools. Night schools require much more delicate manage- ment than day schools, on account of the age of the scholars who generally attend them. I am convinced that education is making considerable progress in the rural parts of this county ; that applies to day schools only ; they have increased in number and efficiency... I have formed that opinion as a diocesan inspector. I think that the superiority of assisted schools over others is far more marked now than it was five years ago. I was a guardian in the Hardingstone union for five years. I was then appointed one of the Nuisances Removal Committee nominated by the guardians, I visited almost every cottage in every village in the union, and acquainted myself with the sanitary con- dition of them. I found in numberless cases very insufficient drainage and privy accommodation, and the water supply in many cases bad and unwholesome. I fuund that the powers now conferred by law upon inspectors of nuisances were perfectly sufficient to remedy all evils ; but the powers conferred by ss. 19 and 20 of the 29 & 30 Vict. c. 90. are not generaily understood or effectively carried out. 18. Earl Spencer, Althorp—I am much opposed to the general employment of women in agriculture, excepting perhaps at hay-time or harvest; it is bad for their morality, and, under certain circumstances for their health, and prevents them learning when young, and afterwards attending to, domestic duties which are of immense importance to the comfort and prosperity of a labourer and his family. In this neighbourhood they so rarely do field work that there seems to be no call for parliamentary interference. In Norfolk, however, where I have property, the evil- 1s greater, and the employment of women and girls in’ the fields could be regulated by Parliament with ad- vantage. The difference of custom appears to arise. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMBIISSION :—EVIDENCE. ” from ‘this not being a purely arable county, and there is not so great a demand at all times of the year for boys’ and women’s labour. In Norfolk I have heard it urged that women are necessary for certain kinds of work, Such as twitching, turnip cutting, &. This work is generally done by men here, and might be equally well done by men in Norfolk, if there were a sufficient supply of them. ‘The state of education amongst the agricultural labourers seems to me at present decidedly defective. Much as the present system has done, it is not complete enough in its operation for a national education. It cannot meet the wants of the poorest village schools struggling for existence, because they cannot fulfil the Privy Council regulations, and it leaves in other places a large num- ber of the young inadequately educated. The first remedy is to ensure there being a sufficient number of efficient schools within reach of every cottage. The next to secure regular attendance of the children under a certain age. My individual inclination is in favour of compulsion, but great opposition would be raised to it at the present day, and I don’t think it could be carried out. I believe, however, that public opinion may so change as to render some scheme of compulsion practicable. It would be desirable to try some indirect means, somewhat on the principle of the Factory Acts; boys might be kept away from work until they are 10 without serious loss to the parents or in- convenience to the farmer. After the age of 10 they should be compelled to attend a certain number of hours a year. I cannot name a specific number. I am alive to the different circumstances of the agricul- tural and manufacturing communities; the residence of labourers being at best some way from their work, and the work itself being scattered over many acres, creates difficulties which do not exist where the factory isin a town and all the work doue within a small space. The work, too, varies at different seasons of the year. The principle, however, of the Act which has been so successful in the factories could, I feel sure, be applied with modifications to agriculture, and with great advantage. I think the principle of an education rate perfectly just ; the rate would be borne partly by landlords and partly by farmers, the latter of whom, with few exceptions, give hardly anything towards the expenses of education, and are benefited by it. -The clergy at present contribute far more than their proper share. The rate should be supplemented out of the Consolidated Fund in proportion to the efficiency of the school. A system of better education could only be gradually enforced. Iam in favour of the scheme which in the first instance gives all parishes an opportunity of improving their own condition, and calls in parliamentary interference on their failure to attain certain results in a given time, somewhat in the nature of the University Commission. 1 think that by education the labourer ought to be and could be so raised as to enable him-to engage in other than in agricultural labours, and the farmer would then have to compete with other employers of labour. The result would be a rise in agricultural wages, and with the improved labour cultivation would be improved, and the farmer and landlords benefited as well as the labourer. i donot see why a rate should stop volun- tary efforts of a pecuniary kind, and still less those which take the form of personal interest and care. The clergy would still be the most active and in- telligent members of a rural parish, and would not lose their interest in education because others were, brought to take part in it. Relief would be given to the few who now bear more than their share on their shoulders, and a larger number of persons would become interested in the matter. The supply of cottages in this neighbourhood may be sufficient for the labour of the district, but labourers often come from distant parishes to their work, and their homes are inconvenient in accommodation ; this has arisen from the old state of the law favouring parish instead of union chargeability. A change has set in since the Act of 1863. I think it necessary that a labourer should have « cottage with three bed- 429 rooms to bring up a family' respectably ; therefore, in building. cottages, I always build more with three rooms than with two. My tenants as a rule are anxious to have cottages, near their land, and some of them are willing to pay 5 per cent. on the outlay. Cottagers themselves are willing to pay an increased rent for a good cottage. For instance, at Thedding- worth I removed some squatters on the wastes who only paid a nominal rent of 1s. a year for a cottage with one bedroom to new cottages with two and three bedrooms at a rent of 2s. a week, with small gardens. My agent has never had any difficulty in collecting their rents; I have never heard any com- plaints. This occurred in three or four cases. The average of my cottage rents is 40s. a year, but I con- sider that too low, and now they can well afford to pay 70s. or 80s. a year for a good cottage with a garden. A landlord should make his cottages, as far as possible, profitable, for the sake of example to others. I permit no lodgers without special permis- sion, and I think that all labourers should, with scarcely an exception, rent their cottages directly from the landlord, as it makes them more independent. I am, however, usually ready to let cottages attached to what in this country is called a lodge or isolated farm to the nominee of the farmer. I think it desir- able that cottages should be put under inspection, and that guardians should be able to indict the owners and occupiers of cottages which are overcrowded or unhealthy ; and if necessary to do the repairs required for rendering such cottages wholesome and decent ; the expenses so incurred should be charged to the owner, and on failure by him to pay I would give the guardians power of selling the cottages. They should remunerate the union in the first instance for the outlay, and hand over the surplus, if any, to the former owner. Were such a principle adopted machinery no doubt ought to be constructed, in the form of some appeal, to protect the landlord from arbitrary and vexatious use of the power thus given to boards of guardians. A clause in the Act of 1866 gives’ con- siderable powers for this object, but I believe its powers might be increased, and its enforcements and application should be compulsory. I think it very desirable for the Government to give facility to proprietors who have no capital to raise money for the purpose of building cottages. I con- sider allotments of great importance, as tending to raise the independent character of labourers ; they should be limited to a rood or thereabouts within easy reach of the village. Occasionally corn is neces- sary as a change of crop. On the whole I am in favour of allowing these labourers to manage as they please ; allotments become objectionable when so large as to detract from the labour which the employer has a right to expect, and not large enough to support independently the labourer. Co-operative stores have been generally established about here, and have done an immense deal to raise the character of the labourer. 19. LetrEeR written by Mr. J. Brastey, of Chapel ; ‘Brampton. ; Chapel Brampton, Northampton, 17th Feb. 1868. As the questions contained in the circulars you placed in my hands will be filled up in detail by farmers in this and the adjoining parishes, I will endeavour to answer the inquiries you made of me more generally. I am not now in the occupation of any land, but for half a century I farmed largely, having for many years occupied a thousand acres of land. I have directly and indirectly been an extensive employer of labour, and have now under my manage- ment and superintendence about 57,000 acres of landed property, all belonging to two noblemen, and the greater portion in this county. In speaking here- after of the cottage accommodation for agricultural labourers, the properties to which I have alluded: must be excluded. Upon these estates a great deal has heen dome to meet the erying evil of bad cottage 3H 2 Northampton~ shire. Mr. Norman. e Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. ee 430 accommodation, and with most beneficial results, and though not sufficient to meet the want, yet far above the average of what has been done in the county as a whole. The system of public or private gangs is all but unknown in this district; in some cases a number of boys and young persons are employed in weeding corn, and one adult labourer engaged to look after them to keep them at their work and see they do it properly ; but they are all employed and paid by the farmer, and no evil arises from this practice. Women are scarcely employed in this district except in haytime and harvest, and from what I have seen of the result of their being employed I should not hesitate to prohibit their employment altogether in agricultural labour except in haytime and harvest. The mother of a family must neglect her children and her home duties, and her husband’s comforts cannot be attended to, and it is very doubtful whether her earnings are a sufficient compensation for the wear and tear of clothes and the want of good and econo- mical management in her household. Upon young women the effect is most demoralizing; they ges into loose and disorderly habits, and are rendered unfit for do- mestic servants and badly trained for labourers’ wives. I think no boy should be employed in agricultural labour under 10 years of age, and I should like it to be rendered illegal for a boy to work at that age unless he had been at school six months in the previous year. I would make it illegal to employ a boy of 11 years of age unless he had been three months at school in the previous year, and‘ illegal to employ a boy above 10 years of age unless he could read and write. In this latter opinion, if not in all the others, I should no doubt be in a great minority, but what would be considered a great hardship would soon find its own remedy. If you are to have compulsory education at all, you must make it the interest of the employers and the parents of the children to see that the children go to a parish day school, a night, or Sunday school. In an economical point of view I do not think there is any advantage in employing young boys and women in agriculture. I believe the cheapest labour is an able-bodied skilled labourer, and I should not antici- pate any scarcity of them. It is not many years ago since the great cry was, What is to become of the surplus labour of England ? The question was answered by the passing of the Poor Law Bill of 1832 and subsequent action upon it, especially the test of the union workhouse. There might be sume inconvenience during the time of transition, but it would soon be met by improved cultivation of the land and improvements in agricul- tural machinery. It would have been thought a short time ago a most tyrannous act to forbid many kinds of manual labour which are now entirely superseded by machines, such as threshing corn, &c. There is certainly no scarcity of labourers in this neighbourhood, and some of them find it difficult to get employment without walking an inconvenient distance to their work. The only difficulty, however, arises from an unequal distribution of labour, caused by the old law of settlement, and which I anticipate the Union Rating Act will remedy in a short period. The greatest improvement to the condition of the agricultural labourer would be in- creased cottage accommodation near the scene of his employment. In many parishes there are not half as many labourers residing as are required for the proper cultivation of the land, and in some not more than one-third ; and in many cases they have to walk two, three, and four miles to and from their labour. This is not only a great hardship upon the labourer, but a great waste of time and strength, alike injurious to the employer and employed. The crowded state of cottages is very demoralizing, as may be easily conceived when families of five and six children are brought up in a small cottage with only one sleeping room. I have known cases of one, and sometimes two, married daughters living with EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN their husbands in a small cottage with their father and mother and grown up brothers and sisters. I was in a cottage a few days ago, which measured 16 feet by 18 feet, in which lived an old man 84 years of age, his son and son’s wife, and 11 children. There was no office attached to the house, and the mother of the children was washing linen for her family in the only living room. I do not think any Act desirable for enabling pro- prietors to borrow money from the Government for building cottages. I find most of the tenants upon the farms under my management willing to pay 5 per cent. upon the outlay necessary for building. I think, however, as a general rule it is very desirable that the labourers should hold their cottages directly from the proprietor. Taking the average of farms, I think there should be three labourers’ cottages for every 100 acres of land. The average cost of the last 17 cottages I have built has been 154/.; most of these have three bed- rooms. The cost includes offices, a supply of water, fencing, levelling the ground, &c. They are built very substantially, and have more room than cottages in general, but not more than is needful for health and comfort. ‘They would, perhaps, cost a private indivi- dual 10 per cent. more ; we have no builder or archi- tect to pay. Some of these cottages are let at 2s. per week, and none under 1s. Of course they are not directly remunerative to the proprietor, indirectly I believe they will be. The farmer gets a better labourer and more work done for his money, even though he may pay higher wages; his land is better cultivated, and he can afford to pay a higher rent. A good labourer is worth and gets from 1s. to 2s. per week more living upon the farm than if living at a distance. That the habits, character, and temper of the cottage labourer is im- proved by a good cottage I have no hesitation in saying from my own experience and observation. If you wish to improve the moral and religious condition of the agricultural class, you must lay the foundation by improving their physical condition. A clean cot- tage and a well-kept garden creates a feeling of self respect, and gives to the occupant that spirit of self- reliance so necessary to the well doing of this class. Whenever a cottage is vacant there are many applications for it, notwithstanding the increased rent, and the rents are always paid to the day. I think it very desirable a public officer should be appointed with power to inspect labourers’ cottages, and when out of repair or unwholesome from defi- ciency of accommodation, want of ventilation, or drainage, to order the necessary alterations and im- provements to be made and’ charged to the owner, if, after proper notice, he refuses to do them himself. Power of sale should be given to the officer on failure of the proprietor to pay the sum thus neces- sarily spent on his property, and the money arising from such sale should, after paying all necessary expenses, including the expense of alterations, be handed over to the proprietor. A cottage allotment or garden under proper regula- tions is a great boon to an agricultural labourer. It should consist in all cases of one rood, or the fourth part of an acre. It should be near his home, if possi- ble good land, and should be let at the same rent as the adjoining farm land. If he hasl ess than a rood it will not admit of a variety of crops, if he has more it may improperly take up time from his daily labour, and give dissatisfaction to his employer. I could adduce innumerable instances in which these gardens have been the means of improving not only the comfort, but the character of the tenants The satisfaction and contentment which the occupa- tion of this small piece of land gives to the occupier is immense. It is too a great pecuniary benefit ; the labour costs him nothing, it supplies him with vege- tables through the year,—especially that important article of consumption in the family of a poor man, the potato,—and it enables him ata little cost to keep a pig. I have about one thousand of these tenants under IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. my management; they pay their rents most punctually, and at this moment I have not asingle arrear. So great is the advantage, that it enables them to pay a higher, rent for their cottages with greater ease to themselves, and with greater cheerfulness. That the plan is not generally popular I am perfectly aware, but where it has failed Jam convinced it is because it has not been properly managed, that the plan I recommend as to quantity, nearness, &c. has not been adopted, and perhaps there has been no supervision. That it may be made a powerful lever for good I have no doubt. I attribute the deficient state of education amongst the agricultural labouring class to the indifference of the parents and the employers. Neither the one or the other are willing to make any sacrifice to obtain the least education for the children, and no legislative enactment will be effective which will not make it the interest of the parents and employers to secure this desirable object by some such stringent regulations as those to which I have alluded in a former part of these remarks. That so little education is received by children in agricultural districts is not for the most part owing to the want of schools, for these are to be found in most parishes; it is not owing to the poverty of the parents, for their child can generally be sent to school by pay- ing a penny a week; it is not because the earnings of the child are an object, for they seldom equal the cost of extra clothing and food required for a child thus employed; it is not for want of funds to support the schools and sufficiently qualified teachers, for these are generally forthcoming ; but it is because the children, and especially the boys, are sent to work before they can even read. It is seldom you will find a boy in a village school above 10 years of age, not many above 8. Ifa child of 10 years of age had receved the smallest portion of education, or if he were not allowed to labour until he had received this modicum, both the parents and the employers would have an interest in encouraging it, and when a boy couid read and write the night and Sunday school might afterwards be all that was necessary, but a boy who cannot read at this age will neither attend the one or the other; he grows up into manhood in the greatest ignorance, and is as indifferent to the education of his children as he was to his own. Jno. BEASLEY. 20. Albert Pell, Esq.—I farm 685 acres of land in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire; half arable ; soil variable, but very little light. I have farmed land in Middlesex, in the fens of Cambridgeshire, as well as here. Have been a farmer since I was 21. I am also a landowner in Leicestershire and Cam- bridgeshire, and own, or partly own, between 30 and 40 cottages. Boys’ labour is useful for driving horses. I don’t think a boy would be fit to have the charge of horses unless he was early accustomed to them. Ihave only one boy working for me under 10 years of age, and I am employing seven under 16 years of age at present (March). One of them is searing, and he will return to school when the corn is up. In my opinion birds could be kept off the corn by agencies other than that of boys, and in some instances I know them to be so. As a fact, many children under 10 years of age are employed with advantage in singling turnips, and I think that their labour, although not indispensable, is very convenient for that purpose. As a rule juvenile and female labour is employed on light more than on heavy land. ‘As afarmer I could usually dispense with boys’ labour up to the age of 10; but there are exceptional occa- sions when the labour of boys under that age is very valuable. For instance, when a forcing time comes with young turnips and they have to be rapidly singled, and during the hurry of harvest Between the ages of 10 and 13 boys are usually employed with the team. Their labour is constant ; I could not wholly spare them at any particular season of the year. From the beginning of November to the 431 beginning of March I could spare the boys after half- past two, as my horses come in at two. At other seasons I could not spare them. I don’t think that the state of education in Northamptonshire is defective; the boys are much better scholars than their fathers were, but I do not find that they are more skilled or better farm labourers on that account. My bailiff, who has many thousands of pounds pass through his hands yearly, is illiterate ; so is one of my foremen, who has the sole management of 245 acres of land ; but both these men regret their want of education, and believe that they would have filled a higher situation in life if they had been better taught. I have introduced the use of machinery extensively on my farms, and I do not find that my present labourers are unable to use or take charge of such machinery. I think there is immense room for improvement in the school education among the labourers, z.e., I should like to see their reading, writing, &c. taught better, because I think it would be more useful to them as men. But the technical education which is necessary for farm labourers can only be acquired by long ex- perience at farm work and practice in the particular employment to which their life is to be devoted. I think that for the purpose of giving them an oppor- tunity of obtaining a better education it is desirable that the poor children should be restrained from going to work at all before the age of 10 years. I think that any system of education founded upon the alter- nate day or half day principle would be extremely in- convenient when applied to agriculture, and I there- fore think that a longer period should be wholly de- voted to education by agricultural children than by children engaged in factories before their regular labour begins. I don’t believe that the night school can be made a substitute for the day school, though it may be a useful supplement after the uge of 10 for those who choose voluntarily to attend it. I have taken great interest in the education of the lower orders in London and the country, and have myselt’ taught many of my labourers. Cottages are wanted in two of the parishes where I farm ; those cottages which do exist are extremely good. This village (Haselbeach) has been wholly rebuilt since I have been here. I think that the net earnings of a child up to the age of 10 are of very little value to the parent, having regard to the fact that it depresses the wages of the children above 10. Ido not think that there is any present defect in the law to operate against cottage building. The old law of settlement certainly did so. I do not see the need of an additional encouragement being afforded by the Government or Legislature for the purpose of build- ing cottages in the way of lending mouey or facilitat- ing the borrowing of it on settled estates. I believe that such a vast number of houses in the country have been built with a disregard to, or in ignorance of, arrangements essential to the health of the inmates, that the establishment of a State department with plenary powers and instructions to make such structu- ral alterations as would render the houses wholesome would, in many instances, lead to changes not much short of demolition. Whole villages or portions of villages are built in situations entirely inconsistent with health; in some cases subject to flooding, in others with no natural or accessible supply of good drinking water ; and it is just in these unhealthy spots that the cottages of the poor, in contradistinc- tion to the houses of the classes above them, are found. I have long thought it desirable that some provision should be made by Legislature to prohibit the building of houses in situations and under conditions known to be detrimental to health. The sanitary laws, though somewhat numerous, have proved of hardly any advantage hitherto in rural parishes, being for the most part permissive and the object of constant amendments. Few care to be meddlesome in these matters and to put the law in operation; and when this has been attempted little (as far as my experience goes) has come of it, except the intermittent expendi- ture of money upon no fixed principle, and often with 3H 3 Northampton- shire. —— Mr. Norman. e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. ae. 432 no commensurate return. An officer or ministry to direct public action, to take the initiative in legisla- tion, and to have the control over public sanicary works in the country would, I think, be desirable. With regard to allotments, I consider them almost indispensable in a manufacturing district, where the out-of-door work becomes a relaxation to a man who has been confined for the day at factory labour, ant is of as much, if not more, value to him than the crop which is to accrue from it. There is not this double advantage in the allotment to a field labourer ; but there is still a positive profit to his family in the occupaticn of a small allotment, say, not more than one rood. The value of the allotment depends mate- rially on its situation in reference to the cottage ; the nearer, of course, the better, as opportunity is thus afforded for the wife and children occasionally employ- ing themselves in its cultivation ; and where a pig is kept the manure and the food are not distant from each other. When the allotment is far removed from the cottage and placed, as it often is, on inferior land in the outskirts of the parish, the exertion and time devoted to walking to and fro, and the cultiva- tion of an ungenerous soil, deteriorates the value of the labourer as a hired servant, and interferes with the proper and honest fulfilment of his duties to his employer. When I have built new cottages I have as far as possible placed them so that they might have the allotment adjoining, with the pigstyes on the allotment a little distance from the house. I build from two to four houses in a group, none with less than two bedrooms, the others with two and a large landing for the boys’ sleeping room ; and the houses are so arranged that as a young family grows up in a house with two bedrooms, and the children who may be grown up in the adjoining three-chambered house go out to service or marry off, the third room upstairs may be shut off the one house and opened into the other, the tenants remaining in other respects un- disturbed. ' [The following are extracts from a paper addressed to me by Alfred Hughes, Esq. of Brampton Ash. Mr. Hughes is now the occupier of-a large grazing farm of about 800 acres. He previously occupied a farm in the Isle of Wight, and before that a farm in Nor- folk. His experience, therefore, is very extensive.— F. WN.) 21. I would abolish the employment of females on the land altogether, except for a short time at the harvesting of hay and corn; on moral grounds it is very objectionable, and it incapacitates them for domestic duties in their own homes or for service in gentlemen’s families. From my own observation, and from evidence taken from the most reliable sources, I believe that, be the necessities of the family what they may, or the demand for labourers ever so great, that there is in the end, or in fact, no real economy in employing boys in farm work under 12 years; they eat more, wear n:ore, tear more, learn nothing, and earn next to nothing. Take for instance the case of “scaring ;” a lad paid ls. a day, with a gun at 3d., will keep the birds off a large farm as effectually as possible, whereas two little boye at 6d. a day would certainly do no such thing ; after the age of 12 the boy will walk to his work as far as the man can or ought to walk, say, one mile. So far as the boys’ health and strength is concerned, I see no reason why they should not do the work usually allotted for as many hours as the grown-up labourer; but if the education of the young is to be kept up by means of night schools (which I consider most important), I would have all lads between the ages of 12 and 15 leave. work at 3 p.m., provided they regularly attended and contributed towards the said night school, As a farmer, I see no reason why such an arrangement could not be provided for. 1 consider the most advantageous system of educat- ing the agricultural poor to be to afford them every facility and the means to attend school regularly up to that age ; that they should then pass an examination qualifying them for employment of any kind; that EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN failing in that examination they should return to the day school for three months, but contribute to the night school as if.they had passed ; and that failing a second time their case should be referred to the inspector. That boys who pass the day school exami- nation should have a certificate qualifying them to obtain employment at any trade or labour, and that certificate should also procure them the privilege of attending the night school established in any neigh- bourhood in which they might find employment up to 15 years of age on their contributing the usual sub- scription towards its support. ‘ I have never yet lived where cottage accommoda- tion was so disposed as to provide for the require- ments of the land, or sufficiently good to provide for the comfort of the poor; where there has been an excess of cottages the tenements themselves have been so small as to occasion crowding ; and where im- proved cottages have been erected, in all the cases I have yet met with, more have been pulled down- than have been rebuilt, and in too many instances comfort and convenience has been sacrificed to external appear- ance or whimsical contrivance. As a rule, the poor do not like modern cottages; the reason, I think, is that their notions are not sufficiently consulted, the circumstance of their limited time and limited means not sufficiently considered. Among their reasonable objections the following are to be found in the majo- rity of modern cottages: the sitting room too large; back kitchen too small; staircase cramped; and -a lack of closets and cupboards above and below. : Few poor people ean afford two fires; consequently either the principal room should be adapted for cook- ing, or the kitchen or wash-house sufficiently large to allow of the family getting their meals there occa- sionally. . Cramped and difficult staircases are very objection- able with the poor—their reason is always the same ; it is not the inconvenience to the living, but the diffi- culty and distress entailed in the removal of the dead; most housewives have a real liking for old fashioned closets and cupboards, and with the poor they save furniture. ene ee: , I am of opinion that a kind of barrack. on a small scale would be found very convenient in every village, where the young men could board and lodge them- selves under the management of a married couple. This would be a great relief to the cottages, would facilitate the “night school movement,” and deter many young men from leaving the country altogether when their homes become crowded. Under the direction of two or three of the principal inhabitants such an establishment ought to be entirely self-supnoiting, and afford the best means for the young men to provide economically for themselves. In my opinion this question.of improved cotiage accommodation is the first and most important we have to deal with in seeking to raise the character and condition of the agricultural poor, and to stay the increasing emigration to the sources of skilled labour. The artisan is paid in proportion to his skill or qualifications for positions of responsibility; the agri- cultural labourer is paid by the week, and to a very great extent good, bad, and indifferent receive the same reward. Education with such a system of wages will neces- sarily increase this drafting of the best men in the country to the manufaciuring towns, railways, é&c. All the employers can do to stay this is to be more scrupulous and liberal in rewarding good services. All the landlords can do is to provide healthy, com- fortable, aud atiractive homes for the labouring poor. Regular employment throughout the year, a com- fortable cottage and good garden to render it self-sup- porting, will go a long way towards obtaining the object we have in view. As to whether these cottages should be held directly under the landlord or should be sublet by the tenants of the land, is a question upon which I do not give a positive opinion ; indeed, it must be an open question with the landlord; but-I do think that where the occupation exceeds 300 acres IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE,. a certain number of cottages should be let with the farm at fixed rentals with a special condition that the value of the. cottage, garden, &c. is by no means. to enter into the arrangement of wages between master and man. I think it better to base the estimate for cottage accommodation on the amount actually paid in wages in each district than on the average. We can, how- ever, arrive at the answer required and adopt that mode of calculation. Suppose the average wages per annum paid to a family on account of work done on the land is 80/. My wages here on a farm chiefly grass amount to 20s. per acre, so that here it would appear that a cottage would be required for every 80 acres, but if we take into account the extra hands of a migratory character employed at certain seasons and the bachelors lodged in villages, I think that in our district we should be well off with one cottage for every 1002. actually paid for labour, or for every 100 acres. On the whole our cottages are conveniently situated for the workmen, but in some. cases this point has been carried too far, the man walks 100 yards to his work, but all the family must walk one mile and a half to church, and the children two and a half to school ; the consequence is in such cases that both parents and children are very ignorant and heathens. I don’t think isolated cottages are desirable in the country ; they don’t get visited by those who are inclined to take an interest in them; the assistance which neighbours receive from each other in sickness and absence from home is very valuable among poor people, and they are more expensive to construct. On the last farm I occupied a very large sum was laid out in farm buildings, drainage, and cottages, the plans approved by the Commissioners were in no way: adapted to the requirements of the place, and the work passed by their surveyor simply scandalous ; the result of this lavish, ill-considered expenditure has been the ruin of the property. In order to carry on a day school and a night school in an agricultural village I think some such arrangement as this should be adopted: First, that the school-house should be as central as possible. Of course there is much in the internal arrangement of a school that cannot be entered into in this inquiry, where, judging from the space left for answers, we are not expected to be troublesome with suggestions. At the same time the questions asked raise the whole question of the amendment of the character and con- dition of the agricultural labourers, and I am anxious to press these points, which I consider most impor- tant, to bring about so desirable an object. 1. Simple, comfortable, and attractive dwellings. Simple in construction, comfortable in arrangement, and attractive in situation and garden ground. 2. The prevention of the employment of women and girls in agriculture, except in hay time and har- vest, and of boys before 12 years old, or until they are provided with a certificate from the inspector of schools. 3. In addition to the day school a night school permanently established, conducted by the master of the day school, and contributed to by the scholars. 4. Tt would be most desirable that farmers should combine to come to some better arrangement: in the rate of wages, either by a more systematic adoption of piece work, or by paying the men in some propor- tion to their usefulness. In order to establish permanently a night school, I believe it to be quite necessary that the teacher in the day school should undertake it; to accomplish this where there is only one teacher the work in the day school must be curtailed, and from my own experience I believe this may be done without loss to the scholars generally in this way: I would assemble moruing school at 8.30, all the scholars who can read and write ‘should be kept to secular instruction only. The little ones, in addition to their usual employment, to receive gome simple lessons in religion, = / Afternoon school from 2 till 4, where only one 433 teacher is kept. . No scholar should attend afternoon school but those that can read and write. That one hour should be devoted to reading from the Bible and in religious instruction, the remainder of the time to writing from dictation and in questionings on the dif- ferent subjects taught in the school, to finish off with singing. The girls should sew in the afternoon. (If there are two teachers and a class room there is no reason why the little ones should not re-assemble in the afternoon). The clergyman and visitors should be especially invited to assist in the afternoon school, not only to relieve the teacher as much as possible, but to interest the scholars. It is a great question, in my mind, whether in our national system we have not too much hard teaching. The teacher goes ahead far quicker than the learner, and answers are extracted from the common voice of the class without the mind of one-third of the scholars being engaged in the subject. As regards religious instruction to little children. except. of the simplest kind, the advantage gained by our present system may be ascertained by selecting and examining those who are able to read and write ; their absolute ignorance, or the extraordinary answers they will hazard, sufficiently prove the necessity for a more patient system, and for less hard teaching. Form an upper and a lower school out of morning and afternoon, and you will do much to emulate and interest the scholars and preserve the energy and skill of the teacher. We should not cram the-excep- tionally intelligent children quite so fast, but the milder treatment and refreshing school will do far more in the long run towards giving a sound and useful education to the children of the agricultural poor. 22. Mr. W. Higgs, Stamford.—I have lived here 33 years. I am agent to Lord Exeter, and during the last 28 years I have had the entire management of the estate. I am well acquainted with all this country as far as Peterborough in onedirection, and King’s Cliffe and Wakerley in the other. I have also been a farmer myself, but not in this district. What I am about to state applies to the whole of that district. The cultivation is mixed, but chiefly arable. Women and children are very little employed about here. In haymaking the women and children turn the hay, and during harvest they rake, &c. J know no district where the poor are as well off as they are here. The ordinary wages for men are 12s., that is the lowest, many earn more, as much as 15s. ; besides which a great deal of work is done by the piece. Women earn from &d. to ls.a day. There are no gangs ; very few boys are employed. The little boys are paid 6d. a day for scaring, and are wanted three or four months a year for that purpore. They are also employed a little in weeding ‘and picking stones, &c. They are all well treated. If I were to hear of any one of Lord Exeter’s tenants ill treating a boy I should be the first to speak to him. I don’t think a boy is of any use to guide the plough under 14 or 15. They are also very useful at that age in helping to feed stock, &c. They are useful to drive horses at the plough at the age of 9 or 10. The ordinary hours of work are from 6 to 6 in summer, and during day time in winter, The horsekeepers come early in the morning, but I don’t think the boys come with them. The supply of labour is plentiful. There are many young boys not employed about here. I don’t think the alternate day system would be feasible. Parents would not agree toit, because they want the whole week’s wages. The supply of schools is ample; and there is a greater desire for education among the poor than there used to be. The supply of cottages is fairly good. The cottages are improving both in quality and quantity. The men rarely have to go more than 13 mile to work. The rent is from 20s. to 80s. a year; the cottages are usually let direct to the labourers, some with and some without gardens ; the average rent is about 30s. J have had good opportunities of observ= ing the allotment system, and approve of it highly, provided the allotment is near the house, If this is the case, a labourer who comes home tired from work 3H 4 ‘Northampton- shire, Mr. Norman. a Northampton- shire, Mr. Norman. e. 434 is able to go out and walk about his allotment with his children and do a little work. He could not do that if his allotment or garden was at a distance. When the parish of Easton was enclosed five pieces of land of about 20 acres each (four arable and one pasture) were set apart for the labourers in five different parts of the parish. The most distant were two miles apart. Each cottager who has an allotment has an acre in each place. There is also a piece of land of 29 acres reserved as pasture, upon which those cottagers who hold portions of the five pieces of land may turn out a cow. One man with five acres, a house, and pasture for a cow pays 12/. a year rent; another with the same, except the house, pays 92. a year ; that is about the average amount of rent. I think that arrangement is very bad; the labourers have not enough work to do on their own land to employ themselves constantly, and they become too independent to work regularly for the farmer. The best of the labourers who have holdings of this kind get their employers to work it for them. I don’t approve of land being let, except as a garden, or if for agricultural purposes, in pieces of not less than 20 or 80 acres. It pays them best to grow vegetables, and growing corn is a temptation to them to steal. There is no Sunday labour here, except what is absolutely necessary, such as feeding the horses, bird scaring, the shepherds’ work, and milking. Some of the cottages are much crowded ; I usually prohibit lodgers. 23. Mr. Beecroft, Eye; Mr. H. Little, Peter- borough; A/r. Wright, of Helpstone ; farmers and guardians.—The county about here is mixed, but principally arable; private gangs are employed, but not generally ; when they are employed the sexes are generally mixed. Some of those who work in the gangs work all the year round, but the gangs are most numerous from the beginning of April until July. The children begin to work at about the age of 8; and it is usually only the larger boys, and rarely the girls, who work in the winter. The ordinary hours of work are from 7 a.m.to6 p.m. Few live more than two miles from their work. The poor usually had rather live at a distance from their work than from the village. A little concession is made for the dis- tance they have to go to and from their work. Some- times half an hour each way; 14 hours are allowed for meals, and if they work overtime, as in hay time, they have an additional half an’hour. They are subject to no ill treatment. We do not think that parliamentary interference is necessary to regulate private gangs. It is the interest of the employer to manage his labourers well. Private gangs usually work by the day, Women earn I1s., and boys 6d. to 10d. a day. Men’s wages about here are 14s. a week. The plough boys are from 12 to 14 years old, and they work with the gangs on those days when they do not go out with the horses. There are plenty of cottages ; they are of all sorts, but all the new ones are good. That is the first step towards making a man respectable. The rent varies from 50s. to 120s. a year. The dearer cottages have gardens ; and in many cases allotments of about 20 poles are given gratuitously, We think that some public officer should be appointed to inspect cottages. The number of cottages necessary per 100 acres must vary in different districts, and we cannot fix upon any definite number as the correct one. The education of the poor is decidedly defective, but it has improved recently. There are plenty of schools, and they are usually well attended during the winter months. We think that the boys should not be employed under 8, and girls under 10. School attendance should be enforced up to that age, but not afterwards. There are not enough children in this district to make it possible to organize two gangs to work on alternate days. 24, Mr. J. Hopkinson, Dogs Thorpe, Peterborough. —I farm 350 acres of land belonging to the Bishop of Peterborough. Ihave been here about 10 years. I very rarely employ women; I have not employed above three since I have been here ; besides that, they EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN sometimes come to help their husbands when their husbands are working by the piece. I don’t think little boys are of any use to farmers. I rarely employ a boy under 9 years old, and I think farmers could easily do without them up to the age of 10, At the worst, it would only cost a farmer 6d. » week more to get a boy over 10 to do the work which is now done by a boy under 10. In the winter, when the boys go out to drive plough, they come in at 2 o’clock. They then have their dinner, which lasts until 3, and I often send some of the little boys home at that hour, because I have really nothing for them to do. I cut chaff by horse-power. Even if I did want them, I should have to make a very small sacrifice to, let them go at 3 o’clock. They earn 6d. a day, i.e. 4d. an hour; soI should only have to sacrifice $d. for every hour they were absent. They would certainly be more useful to me if they were better educated. I hire 13 cottages with my farm; most of the farms about here have cottages let with them. I think three cottages per 100 acres is the proper number for the cultivation of the land. Farmers about here hire some of their men, such as horsekeeper, plough, and milk boys by the year. They receive a portion of their wages weekly, and remainder at Michaelmas. That is done to give the farmer a greater hold upon them. 25. John Beeby.—I am foreman to Mr. Hopkinson at Dogs Thorpe. My wages are 14s. and a house. I have five children ; the eldest isaged 7. Ihave lived here seven years, and been engaged in farmwork all my life. Boys are of very little use younger than 9 and only the biggest of them then. Farmers would not be put to much inconvenience if no boys worked until the age of 10. I don’t think that that restriction would stop the farmwork at all. Boys are wanted to seare, but not under 9. It would be impossible always to get old men to scare. I don’t think that any child under 9 earns more than 15s. a year. \I think it costs more for victuals and clothes when they go to work than when they do not. I intend my boy to go to work about 9, if he is strong and well. I think that boys employed in the fields should be bound to go to school three times a week at 4 o'clock for three hours each day, except in hay and corn harvest. The farmer should send them. They should do that up to the age of 14. They could be very well spared from the farms. If you had a night school, and they were not obliged to go, they would none of them go, they would play truant. The farmer must he bound to make them go. If they went from 4 to 7, the farmers would lose two hours, because they are now bound to work for him until 6, and the boys them- selves would lose one. A boy who has been taught is much more useful on the farm than one who has not. 26. Thomas Adams, age 14.—I work for Mr. Hopkinson; I have worked for him for two years. I began to work at 8. I first went to scare for two years, and then worked in Jackson’s gang for two years. I worked in the gang about seven or eight months a year. I went to school from the time I was 4 until I was 8, but have never been since, except sometimes on Sunday. I earn 4s. 6d.; I have only one brother and one sister; they are both younger than I am, and go to school; they can both read and write. I cannot read. MARHOLM. Population 2 - 172, 27. Extract from the return gent in by Rey. R. S. Bracker, of Marholm., I think it would be inexpedient to. attempt to en- force attendance at schcol after the age of 10, All the objections against compulsory education would ae 4 be ae mie I do not see how teaching power is to be regularly supplied for evenin h i addition to day ache pee Iam opposed to all compulsory education, an enact- ment that no child should be allowed to go to work IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, until the age of 10 (I should prefer 12, but this ig hopeless) would under the new Government scheme be a sufficient aid to the present voluntary efforts of educationalists. In this small parish all under 18 can read, wwite, and cipher fairly ; as a rule all above 25 have grown up with very insufficient education. 28. Mrs. Griffin, Marholm.—My husband is a labourer, and earns 15s. week. I have nine chil- dren living. We pay 56s. a year for our cottage with a garden. My eldest boy is nearly 9; he is bird scaring ; he went to work rather before he was 8. Boys are usually older than that when they first go to work. Since last May [this being April] he has only been out of work about three weeks ; but Mr. is very kind, and employs him as much as he can on account of my large family. I think my boy has been rather more regularly employed than boys of his age usually are. He has been very healthy since he has been at work; more so than he used to be ; his hours are from 6 to 6 ; he earns 2s. and sometimes 2s. 6d. » week, according to the work he does. I think he eats twice as much when he goes to work as when he goes to school, and he certainly wears out more clothes. I now pay 12s. for bread, and 1s. 4d. for flour per week. My younger children go to school; but my husband is not much of a scholar, and my eldest boy does not often do a lesson. I think every mother who is a mother wants to have her children taught. My girls have never been to work in the field. I should not like to send them out, though I used to go myself; they learn what they ought not to learn, and it is bad for their constitution. My children picked up two sacks of barley and two of wheat gleaning last year. The youngest of those who went to glean is only just 4. EYE. Population, 1,375. 29. The Rev. T. Tomlinson.—I am minister to the Free Methodists’ Church at Eye. I have resided here 14 years. I think there is a very decided want of education among the agricultural poor in this district. I think that on an average labourers’ wages are about 13s. or 14s. a week here. I attribute the want of education here to a disinclination on the part of the parents to forego the earnings of their children. I don’t think the poor are indifferent about education. There is a considerable dissenting interest in this parish, but as a rule the dissenters are unwilling to send their children to the national school. There are two private schools to which they do send them, but these schools are not good, and we want either an undenominational school or a school for dissenters, There is nothing in the mode of teaching at the national school to which we object, but we find that our children do not stand on an equal footing with the other children. ; 30. Mr. J. Harris, schoolmaster, Eye.—I have been here five years. At present in the first class there are only three boys and three girls who are the children of labourers ; they are all above 1]. Chil- dren usually begin to leave about the age of 7, but some continue to attend for three or four months in the winter up to the age of 14. Last winter, out of a total of 90 children in the school there were 24 between the ages of 10 and 14. I think it would be a good plan to compel children to go to school until they are 10. Ido not think that the cultivation of the soil would be seriously interfered with if children were not employed before the age of 10. I think there are a sufficient number of children in this parish to form relays of children to work on alternate days, but many children go from here to work in other parishes, and I do not think that there are enough children in this parish to form relays for other parishes. I find that when children return to school after having been at work eight months they have forgotten most of what they knew. There is a night school here, but we could only keep it open from the beginning of October to the end of March ; at that time there were only seven in attendance, 2, 435 None would attend a night school in the summer months, because they go to work in their own gardens. It would be impossible to keep night schools open throughout the year with the present staff of teachers ; the labour would be too severe. 31. Joseph Headland, \abourer.—I have lived at Eye for 20 years. I work for Mr. Beecroft. I have seven children alive. My wages are 14s. a week. I have never earned less than 12s. a week since I was a boy. I know nobody in the parish who pays as little as 13s. My eldest child, a daughter, aged 17, is in service ; the second, aged 15, a boy, works for Mr. Beecroft ; he goes to school on Sundays; he only went to night school one winter ; I could not keep him there; I had to pay 3d. a week for him. I should have liked to have kept him there if it had not been for the money. My third child is a girl, aged 11; she went out with the gang for about a year. The gang is not at work now, or she would be at work with them. She earned 5d.a day. She does not go to school because I cannot afford to pay for her. I have one son, aged 8, who has never been to work; he is at school now; he is not strong enough to go to work. I shall let him go to school all the ‘summer if I can any way spare the money. The children get about 4d. a day in the gang when they first go out. I think it would be better for him to go to work, because he is sickly. If women are a little poorly about here they usually say they would be better if they could get out into the fields. I think no girls go out to work in the gang as young as the boys. I think it costs rather more to feed and clothe children when they are at work than at school. I have an allotment of one acre and a half. I have employed two men one day each and lost one day myself to work in it since last Michaelmas. None of my children but my eldest boys work on it. I pay 12s. 6d. for it. I think it pays me. Grow vegetables, 32. John Franklin, aged 10.—I live at Newark, and work for Mr. I have worked for him since last harvest. I worked in a gang a short time before that, but I never worked before I was 9, There were not many boys in the gang smaller than I was. My father is dead. I have three brothers (younger than I am) and four sisters at home ; only one of my sisters works in the field ; she is 16. None of us go to school. There is no school at Newark. There was a dame’s school there, but the mistress was taken ill and had to give it up. I cannot read. [This was a very small boy. When I saw him he had a horse and iron roller under his sole charge, and was engaged in rolling a meadow; he could only just reach the horse’s bridle. He told me that he was often sent out alone in charge of horses.—F. H. N.] WITTERING. Population - - 235, 83. Mr. John Hockney.—I farm 255 acres. I employ no females, except a few women in weeding. I employ no boys under 18 years old, because I cannot get them ; they are all employed. I could not get a boy to scare this year. Some farmers employ little girls, but they areno use. ‘There is no school at Wittering ; there is one at Thornhaugh, about one mile off. None of our labourers’ children go there. The labourers are in- different, and will let their children play in the streets instead of sending them ; the least shower will stop them. The school is kept by a dame. The little boys earn 4d. to 6d. a day when scaring, and work about 10 weeks a year. ‘The educated labourers are the worst we have. I object to legislation as regards education. DEENE, Population - - 6540 34. The Rev. E. T. Sylvester, of Deene.—This parish, with the hamlet of Deene Thorpe, is 400 acres. All except the rector’s land belongs to Lord Cardigan. Lord Cardigan always provided a suit of clothes every year for each child between the ages of 5 and 14, whether at school or not; but if they did not come to the night 3] Northampton- shire, Mr. Norman, e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. a. 436 school, or were guilty of gross misconduct, the clothes were immediately stopped. The school was provided gratuitously. The cottages are let for 1s. a week, with gardens ; the cottages are some old, but all in good repair and comfortable. There is a clothing club to which the labourers subscribe 2d. a week, and Lord Cardigan adds 6s. 4d. at the end of the year, and a coal club. Each family is allowed one ton of coals, and Lord Cardigan pays one-third of the price of the coal, besides carting it home ; that amounts. to about 12s. per ton. All the winter each child under 14 and each of the parents is allowed one pint of. soup per week ; 100 lbs. of beef is converted into soup every week for this purpose. All the widows and old men have pensions, young widows 1s. 6d., old widows 2s. 6d. ; this is only to supplement the parish allowance. Every man under 50 has a woollen jersey once a year, this costs 4s. 6d. On Christmas day every. man and woman has 1 1b. of meat and 1 lb. of bread, and 1 pint of ale, and every child 4 lb. of meat, 4 Ib. of bread, and 2 pint of ale. The women go to work in the fields whenever they can, and boys rarely attend school after 10. In the parish in which I formerly was I had a night school ; a man of 60 attended it ; he could not read or write, but learnt to read by the end of the first year, and to write by the end of the second. . . [ Notwithstanding the vast sum given away annually in this parish, the labourers did not keep their children at school longer than elsewhere. Can they be said to value education ?>—F. H. N.] / 35. Mr. R. Parker.—I am bailiff to Lord Cardigan. I have been here 11 years. I am well acquainted with this district as far as Oundle and Kettering. Women are employed here at certain times in twitching, pick- ing stones, and breaking manure. About Glapthorne they are employed more in winter in cutting turnips. If they were not employed about here at all it would. not seriously increase: the expense of cultivation ; it would be more loss to them than to the farmers. A good many of the women who work are under 20. A few old women work all the year round, Boys are em- ployed as soon as they can hollow ; they then hoe, &c., and as a general rule as soon as you get a boy away from home, you usually find something for him to do all the year round. I don’t think it would be a serious loss to farmers if boys were not employed. before the age of 12. All the labourers here have allotments ; they manage them as they please. I think it is very desirable that the labourers should be better educated ; I think an Act of Parliament is wanted. Children should not work until the age of 10; it would not create much inconvenience if they did not work until 12. If we knew we could not have them, we could do without them. The wages here are 12s. The people are not good labourers; they are discontented and difficult to satisfy. BRAMPTON ASH. Population - 107. 36. John Pipe, foreman to Mr. Hughes,—I think an allotment of a quarter of an acre within half a mile is the best plan. It does not pay to grow corn. If I had that amount I should grow 30 poles of ‘potatoes, that would occupy me three whole days in spring and four in autumn, besides odd times before and after work. I should grow at least 15 sacks of potatoes (each sack containing 3 bushels of 80 Ibs. each) worth 10s. a sack. I should grow turnips, or mangold, or cabbage on the other 10 poles, which would be worth, perhaps, 1Z.; the Jabour for the whole at odd times would cost 10s., and three loads of manure at 4s., 12s. The expense and receipts would be as follows :— Payments. £ os. d. Seven days’ labour - 014 0 Extra labour at odd times 010 O Rent (at 2/. an acre) - 010 0O Manure (3 loads at 4s.) - - 012 0 £2 6 0 EMPLOYMENT OF_CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND: WOMEN Receipts. : £s. d. Potatoes on 30 poles, (producing } "710 0 15 sacks at 10s.) ~ ‘ Produce of 10 poles = - 10 0 £8 10 0 2.6 0 Net profit - £60 4 0 You might grow potatoes on three-quarters of the land every year. It does not pay to grow corn. Many men are so situated that they.cannot keep a pig, and then they have to:sell the corn straight off the land, and that does not pay. There is more waste- on an allotment than ona farm, and when men are employed at harvest they ought to be getting. in their own corn, and then the birds eat.it.. There are many men out of work here in winter, and they are always the worst educated and the most immoral. . MARKET HARBOROUGH. Population - 2,802. . . 87. Mr. E. K. Fisher, land agent, Market Har- borough,—I_ am well acquainted with Northampton- shire. I understand the mode of cultivation necessary for the grass country. Women and children are scarcely at all employed upon it.. There is nothing for them to do except in haymaking and harvest. As a rule on farms in the grazing district not more than one- third isarable. It'is quite as necessary to have skilled labourers on grass land as on any other, because the work they have to do is of a character requiring intel- ligence, viz., care of stock, draining, hedge’ cutting. Wages here are about 12s. I should think that a good labourer in the district would earn from 13s. to 14s, a week throughout. the year, including his extra wages earned in piece work. From January to the end of May there is really no work for women and children on the grass lands. In June, July, and August they are employed in hay and harvest, and occasionally in spudding or drawing thistles, and after harvest there is no work for them to do during the remainder of the year. The work for women and children on the arable portions of the pasture is of course the same as on the arable farms elsewhere. There is a sufficient supply of cottages on the grass country, but not always most conveniently placed ; the alteration in the rating law is gradually having the effect of remedying this evil. The usual rent is 50s. to 80s., generally a garden with the house; a cottage per 100 acres for grass land is amply sufficient, and 24 for arable is sufficient. In most parishes there is a certain amount of allotment; but I object to any labourer having more than a rood, I think there is no harm in their having a rood; I object to the system of growing corn; but I think that by restrict- ing the quantity of the allotment the growing of corn is virtually prevented. I don’t think boys are of any use until they are 10. I think sending them to scare is the worst thing for them; whenever I go about boys employed in scaring are constantly asking what “ o’clock it is,” as if the employment was wearisome. I think that the object might be effected by an old man or big boy with a gun more effectively and as economically as by employing little boys. It seems curious that some means of scaring by mechanical means could not be found out. I think there are four months in the year (November to February) when boys under 13 could be generally spared from the farm altogether, i.e, very few are required during these months for general field labour. ‘No labour is performed on Sunday except what is absolutely neces- sary, such as feeding stock, &c. There are co-opera- tive stores in most of the large villages. I don’t approve of them in small parishes, because I think they interfere with legitimate trade, and in order to work them well a manager should be found who understands several different trades, which is im- possible ; and it is difficult for labourers to exercise a proper supervision over the manager. _ '' IN AGRICULTURE’ (1867) COMMISSION : EVIDENCE. i ’ “MARSTON RUSSELL. Population - - 219. 38. Maria Wright, labourer’s wife.—I have a son at work’ aged 12. He has been at work two summers before the present year, but this is the first whole year he has been ‘at work ; June, July, August, and September are the busiest months. The first summer he worked-he earned 2s..a week, now he earns 4s.; he has been to school whenever he has not been to work. I think it costs me one-fourth more to have to feed and clothe him now than when he goes to school. Tthink it would be a good thing to say that no child should go to work before the age of 10. _ toy 39. Mrs. Crisp.—My husband is a labourer. I have five children ; the eldest is 12. He has been at work ever since he was 7, except for three months, when he was injured by an accident. I have been very sorry he went so young; although he has been healthy. He has been to school at odd times, but-not regularly. Few boys go. to work as young as 7; I think 12 is quite young enough for them to go. I think it would, be very fair to prohibit boys going to work until the age of 10; I don’t think it would be any loss to the parents, for the boys do need so much when they go to work. We have an allotment of one- third of an acre, and grow about 15 bushels of wheat on it, and consume three stone of flour a week. . [They expect to get three stone of flour from one bushel of wheat. Therefore they grew 15 bushels=45 stone flour, or a sufficient amount of flour to last 15 weeks.—F’. H. N.] COTTINGHAM. Population - - 1,139. 40. Exrract from return sent in by the Rev. WILLIAM Yates, of Cottingham. I think an educational test would be best ; no boy should be employed, nor girl enter service, unless they had passed an examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic, until the boy was 13 or the girl 14 years of age. Bad cottage accommodation is certainly injurious to modesty and morality; of these the poor are quite sensible themselves, and I think the feeling is grow- ing ; the effect on health does not seem so injurious as I should have expected, but when there is sickness in a house I think it increases infection and retards convalescence. Out of a confirmation class of 16 boys, one did not know the Lord’s prayer, and five could not say two consecutive articles of the Apostles Creed. The girls can most of them read, but not write. .We find that what is learned at night school in the winter is to a great extent forgotten in the summer, and we can seldom bring any of them above Standard IV. . The indifference of the young people themselves to education and the dislike to return to school after they have once left it are the chief difficulties ; those who do attend are for the most part made to do so by their parents, those who do not, ridicule those who do ; of course it must be allowed in extenuation that after a hard day’s work it is natural they should be more dis- posed to play than study. 41. The Rev. W. Yates, Cottingham.—Very few children attend in the school here after the age of 10. The mass of the children are in the 4th Standard, when they go to work. When they come to the night school after one or two years of work they are about the 2nd Standard. By attending the night school from November to March they, would just about regain what they had previously forgotten. The cottages are very bad in this village ; in one place there are seven cottages with only one privy, and in another 12 with only two. The seven cottages belong to a publican and are let for 65s. They are tolerably well built and comfortable in other respects, but they have no gardens. The parishes all round here are close; some men go three or four miles, and one boy five miles to work. I think there would be a difficulty in putting cottages under a building inspector; it would probably 437 increase the expense of building and might, therefore, reduce the number of cottages. 42. Charlotte Ward—My husband is a labourer, and earns 12s. a week ; he gets 18s. a week with beer for four weeks in harvest. I have seven children, six of whom are at home. I have one son aged 16 ; he went to work when he was 7, but only for a few weeks a ‘year; he did not go regularly until he was 10.” He earned 2s. a week at first ; J don’t think he worked for more than two months a year. He cost me more in food and clothes when he went to work than when he went to school. I think he would eat at least a loaf a week more. I might’have saved 6d. a week out of his earnings. We have three pieces of allot- ment ; one piece of one rood 14 miles off, another of 10 poles three-quarters of a mile off in the same direction, aiid another of 10 poles close by. ‘We pay about the same rent as is paid forthe surrounding land. My hus- band cannot manage all. When he employs other méii he pays them 2s: a’ day with beer. We usually grow about 13 poles of whéat ; we get about one sack fron that with what we glean. It costs 2s. 6d. a sack to “grind, and supplies us with bread for three weeks or more. I pay at least 10s. a week for bread and flour now. I think it would be a very good thing’ if no child went to work until the age of 10; I would make all the sacrifice I could to send them to school. It is no saving to keep a child at home rather than at school, because it costs at least 2d. a week more to feed him, and that is the price of the schooling. BARTON SEAGRAVE. Population’ - ~ 199. 43. William Maycoch, labourer.—I live at Barton Seagrave, and work for Mr. Wallis. I have worked’ for him altogether 15 years, but not consecutively. '’ Most of his men come from Barton Seagrave (half a mile) or from Burton (one mile); one comes from Kettering (two miles), ‘but he is a Kettering’man. Mr. Wallis employs no women, nor any. boys under 12; he em- ploys three or four who go with the horses, also a‘ few to clean turnips; but that work does not last akove two weeks altogether. He also employs about four scaring, but they are the same boys who clean the turnips; they are employed in scaring from now [February 26th] till May, and a little in October. A man is employed to scare with a gun when the corn is ripe, because a boy is not tall enough. ‘There are plenty of boys about, and the parents are quite willing to get the boys out; they are anxious for their children to go to school; they think it would be better for them if they got a little more learning. I don’t think any parents are prevented sending their children to school by having to pay the ld. a week; the older children are sometimes useful to the mothers at home, when she is washing and wants somebody to take care of the younger children. It would be a very good thing to say that no boy should go to work unless he could read. and write. Inever heard of a farmer saying to a man, “ Unless you bring your boy you shall not come your- self.” Most of us could go to school for two hours in the evening during winter, and should like to. The cottages at Barton are good; I pay 30s. for mine. It has only one bedroom and no garden. There are allotments up to 40 poles; I should like to have half an acre. We are not allowed to plough. The boys who are em- ployed in scaring have to come on Sundays. The men who are employed on Sundays are, (1) a man to look after the horses, who comes twice in the day, for one and a half hours each time; (2) a man to feed'the beasts, who comes twice for three hours each time; and (8) the shepherd; his work would occupy him all day, but another man usually does a portion of it for him. BURTON LATIMER. : Population - - 1,158. 44. The Rev. F. Newman, curate of Burton.— Women are not employed here. The children remain at school up to about the age of 104, but are absent at certain times of the year before that. The half- time system would not answer here. ‘The education 312 Northampton- ‘shire. Mr. Norman. e& Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e 438 of the-poor is at present insufficient. I attribute the insufficiency to the indifference of the parents and farmer, and to the demand for the children’s labour. Some children we cannot get to school; I think some such plan as demanding a certificate of a certain amount of proficiency before allowing the child to go to work, would obviate this difficulty. The irregu- larity of attendance is the great difficulty; they come for a fortnight, and stay away for a month on frivo- lous excuses. I think the field labour takes them away earlier than the shoe trade. I think that the field labour is objectionable, because it prevents the children from growing up as strong as they might; it is bad upon moral grounds, because the boys are mixed with men and learn bad language, and are exposed to temptations before they are old enough resist. There is a night school here, but it is not so well attended as it might be; the men won’t come with the boys, so this year we had two nights a week -for the men and two for the boys, and then the boys would not come because they would not be ticketed as boys. This is an endowed school, and we never thought it advisable to apply to Government for a grant for the night school, because our grant would have been subject to a considerable deduction, on account of our endowment. The night school is open for three months; nobody under 12 may attend, I think there is a growing desire for education here ; it arose very much from starting a store, when it was discovered that nobody except the tradespeople could keep the accounts. The store works well. We are too well off for charities; people depend too much upon them, and they bring in outsiders from other parishes. Cottages are sufficient in number, but the sleeping accommodation is insufficient. Labourers do not have to go far to work. WARKTON. Population - - 315, 45. Rev. H. Stobart, Warkton.—I think that the early labour in the fields is physically injurious. The state of education among the young is defective; I attribute that to the fact that children attend school irregularly, and are taken away too early. Mine isa free school, and that is a bad thing; the parents keep their children away on insufficient grounds ; owing to want of education themselves they have no tact in managing their children. The most powerful cause of the insufficient state of education is the desire to have the child’s earnings. I don’t complain of the girls, they stay long enough; there are no lace schools here. I think that a system of prizes for good attendance at schools wouid be desirable, I think the plan of giving a certificate of proficiency would be difficult to work, it would be so invidious to have to give the certificate. The night school is well attended; held twice a week, during four months. There are 27 on our books, and 20 usually attend; they behave well. I have no help, and I cannot pay special attention to bad cases. If there was any master to teach them on Sunday to read and write, they would probably come and do well; they do not go to work, and are not tired; and I do not see any objection to their learning on that day. Ihave a choir here of 27 men and boys; they like it, and come to be taught twice a week; they are common labouring lads ; it keeps up their reading, JI think additional help should be given to night school, but I cannot suggest the best mode. We are badly off for cottages; the labourers often tell me that they would be willing to pay more rent if they had better cottages. They pay about 40s. or 50s. a year, and get two dinners on the two rent days. There are allotments which I approve highly of, and think a great boon. One little boy in my parish was killed by being run over in 1865; he had the charge of the horses when it occurred; his brother subsequently had his foot severely injured by a harrow. RUSHTON. Population - - 484, 46. Rev. A. Hawkes, Rushton.—Women do not EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN work in the fields here ; they glean for themselves. Girls work at harvest a little, occasionally in scaring and picking up stones, but scarcely at all. The boys go to work so early that we cannot keep them at school; the work does them no harm physically. All the people are well off here ; all the people are respectable, if they were not they would be turned out, as all the village belongs to Mr. Clarke Thornhill. As a general rule, the poor do not value education as highly as they ought. Iam totally averse to compulsion ; I think it interferes too much with the liberty of the subject and would create opposition. A system of rewards for attendance would be better than compulson. The dissenters gain many adherents by saying that the people are oppressed by the upper classes, and if compulson were intro- duced the Government would be identified with the upper classes. There are 400 people in the village, and there are no children either at work or at school; we look them up. Night school is well attended; we take them as young as 10. This year I adopted the plan of getting several of the chief people in the village to take the school in successive weeks with the schoolmaster ; the scholars are pleased at seeing that others take an interest in them. Cottages are sufficient in number and well placed as regards the work ; but this is a respectable place ; people are always coming here from the surrounding villages, and we have great difficulty in preventing lodgers being taken in. Most of them have gardens and allotments; gardens I consider under any circumstances very preferable, because the allotments are half a mile off, and the men have to. pass a public house to get there. PILTON. Population - - 144, 47, The Rev. R. Hodgson, rector of Pilton, Oundle.—We put every spur on we can to keep the boys at school. They pay ld. a week. We have a boot club; the boys put in a certain sum per week, and sacrifice it all unless they attend school a certain number of times, and if they do attend we add something to the sum and give them each a pair of boots. They cease to attend day school about the age of 11. At that time they can read and write so as to be of use to them, and know as much arithmetic as they would ever have any use for, The school here is for the parishes of Pilton and Achurch. There is a night school every year at Achurch, and when it is wanted here; there are only 140 people here, and that is not enough to make it worth my while having one always. We have a village library, which is kept up by a subscription among the farmers. We have 300 books ; the poor like it very much. I don’t think the farmers value education at all; they think it necessary to have boys young so that they may be enured to their work; that is injurious to the boys’ physique. All the old men are crippled and rheumatic. I think it very desirable that the Factory Acts should be extended. The half time would not do; we might have the plan of working three days in succession in the week if there were enough boys to form relays ; but there must be a little hardship at first. Sometimes in the case of illness it is necessary for the mother to keep the elder children at home to look after the younger ones, but I don’t think that necessary in any other case. Field labour is injurious to the morality. We never like to take back to a mixed school (boys and girls) a boy who has been out to work ‘with men. We are badly off for cottages. There is a small property in the village which belongs to aman who won’t sell. His cottages are very bad, I would not keep a pig in them. Lord Lilford’s are good, and his rents are merely nominal, about 40s., with a dinner every rent day. The cottages on the other property are about 70s. a year. The labourers generally have not far to go to work ; afew as much as two miles. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. BARNWELL. Population - - 240. 48. Mr. A. Tate—I am agent for the Duke of Bucclewgh at Barnewell Castle. I manage 8,000 acres, and have been here 35 years. The property includes parts of 10 parishes in this county and Huntingdon- shire. No women are employed on this property ex- cept in hay time. Hoeing corn is done by contract, and a man brings his wife to help him; but I don’t think that men ever bring anybody except their wives and children to work with them. Boys are employed here with the horses, bird-keeping, &c. Women also pick stones by the load, but that work is not general. I have frequently known a girl go bird-keeping with a gun, but more in Huntingdonshire than here. We are well supplied with cottages ; the smaller ones let for 20s. to 30s. All the duke’s cottages are let directly to the labourers. The farmers all want cottages, and when they get a man into their cottages they make a slave of him. All the boys about are employed as soon as they are able to work. I think that if you educate them you must pension them. I have been here 35 years, and I find that when they have been taught much they become too independent. If kept at school until 12 or 14 years of age I would not en- gage them. We occasionally have men from Oundle come to work here, but not often. ‘There are schools in all the villages. POLEBROOK. Population - ~ 488. 49. Mr. S. Deacon.—I live at Polebrook. I farm 400 acres of land at Hemington, and am a land agent besides. I employ no women or girls as a general rule; they are not nearly as much employed as they used to be, and are employed less every day, owing to the use of machinery. I am a tenant right valuer, and know that to be the case. Little boys are employed a little in weeding and picking stones, but very little. I don’t think the farmers ever put pressure upon the parents to induce them to send their boys to work. Some of the parents of the boys ask me to give them leave to go away in the winter to go to school. Some of the best taught are the worst labourers. I pay my men 13s. 14s. and 15s. Not much lace or shoe trade here. There are plenty of cottages, and the labourers have not far to go to work; the rent per cottage is about 50s. or 60s. with a garden. I don’t like allot- ments; I like a garden not exceeding 20 poles near the cottage, but not small farms. Some of the allotments here are half acres. They grow corn, and the farmer ploughs for them. I think it would be a good thing if all could read and write, but progress is gradually being made; I object to all interference by Parliament. 50. Samuel Milburn, age 16.-—Llive at Polebrook. I am stable boy to Mr. Deacon. I have been in the stable one year, and was at field work up to that time. I first went out scaring when I was about 6 ; I went out scaring for about two years. I went to school for about three or four years on and off, partly before I began to work, and partly when I was not actually employed. I cannot read or write now ; I am sorry I cannot. I don’t hear the boys about say that they wish they could; most of them can. I am the eldest of seven ; all my brothers and sisters go to work now, except two, who are too young. Father can read and write, but mother cannot much. GLAPTHORN. Population - - 396. 51. Mr. H. Kirby.—I farm 457 acres of land be- longing to Lord Cardigan at Glapthorn (120 are grass). I usually pay 12s. a week. I employ seven women now, and shall have another to-morrow ; four of them are old widows, and two girls, one 14 and the other 13. I employ women from about February until November, but they never work on wet days. They are now gathering stones; they sometimes twitch ; in summer they hoe corn and turnips; they sometimes + 439 work together and sometimes singly, but never in a gang. I pay the women 7d. a day and the girls 6d. In hay time and harvest the women have Is., and girls 10d. I never have girls to work younger than I have now ; I usually have no work for them between November and, February, and some of them have to fall back upon the rates. I have lived here 38 years, and been a guardian ever since the Poor Law was passed. I have four boys always with the teams, aged about 13 or 14, to whom I pay 4s. They are no use to me before they are 10. J always employ one or two boys scaring, at 2s. 6d. a week. I usually employ a bigger boy ora man with a gun to scare when the corn is ripe. I don’t want any child before the age of 10 or 11. All my boys can read and write. I don’t ever have boys to scare on Sunday; they only get other boys with them, and do mischlef. Men are wanted to look after the horses and stock, and this time of the year the shepherd must stay with the sheep all day, because of the lambing. All my men live in the vil- lage. [The farm was in the village. |] There are three times as many labourers here as are wanted for the parish ; they have to go four or five miles to work. There is a great deal of extra-parochial land about where there are no cottages. The parents never ask me to let the boys go away from work to go to school. I have sometimes gone to the night school myself to teach them. I had two (twin) boys here about 15 years ago; my daughter taught them to read and write, and now one is a gentleman’s coachman, and the other occupies land in Australia; they have saved a great deal of money. There is no question that the men would be of more use to us if they were better educated. I have an engine, and the men are useless with that, unless they can read and write. There is no question about it, it is worth a farmer’s while to make a sacrifice to have his men better taught; they can’t read the indicator of the engine. It is the parents’ fault, we cannot get the men to send their children to school. I used to have machines broken, not from ill-will, but simply because the men were uneducated, and could not understand them. I think that the persuasion of landlords, &c. is more useful than Parliamentary interference. It is a Christian duty. If I were Lord Cardigan’s agent here, I would not allow any man to occupy a cottage who did not send his children to school. 52. -George Leveret, labourer.——I work for Mr. Kirby. I have. worked here nine years. I have three children. The eldest, a boy, aged 11, has been at work three years. He has never been to school, except night school, during that time. He can read and write a little. He first went to scare ; that occupied him about three months, and he went to school the rest of the year. He has been to work regularly about two years, and during that time he has never been to day school, and only a little to night school. The reason I sent him to work was because I wanted the money. The boys who go out young get a little rheumatic. My house is bad; it has but one bed- room. I pay 30s. a year for it, with an allotment of AO poles. It takes me all my time to manage my allot- ment without losing time. Most of the men here have an allotment of 20 poles, for which they pay 3s. 4d. . 58. Mrs. Peach.—I live at Glapthorn. I have four children. The eldest is 9; he has gone scaring, and earns 2s, a week. He has only been at it a week ; but bread is so dear that I could not pay for it. I shall send him to school again when he has done his scaring. My husband works for Mr. Kirby, and earns 18s. Last Sunday afternoon my boy went to church, and his father went to scare for him. I don’t think it hurts my son to go out scaring; I did not let him go at all until the weather took up. We eat 10 loaves a week, at 84d. a loaf, and i stone of flour, which costs 9d. [7s. 10d. spentin the week on bread and flour alone—F. H. N.] Idare say it will cost me ls. a week more to keep my son when he scares than when he stays at home, because he eats more. Ii bread had been cheaper he should not have gone out at all. 313 Northampton- shire, Mr. Norman. e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman, €. 440 [Cottage consisted of one sitting-room, two bed- rooms, all very small and bad, and -a ground floor ; no scullery or pantry. Rent, 30%., with garden. ] 54, John Underwood, \abourer.—1 work for Mr. Kirby. I have ‘four children at home now. I-have others ; one (a girl, aged 10) goes regularly to school now. I have always sent my boys to school. They can allread and write. Icannot; I wish I could. I could not send my two eldest girls to school ; I could notafford it when they were young. ‘There was no school here when I was a boy ; we got up schools since that time. I usually sent my boys to work when they were about 10. Iam sure it would have been better for them if they could have been kept longer at school: My chil- dren used to cost’ me 9d. a week for school ;-ld. a week for three at a day school, and 2d. a week for three at night. I think the parents ought to do all they can to have their children taught. Sometimes’ one of the elder children must be kept at home to help the mother. It is hard work for a woman when she has five or six little children to take care of. They are no use at work, except for scaring, until they are 11 or 12. IfI could keep them at home, I should like all of them to leave ; but they won’t be any better than they are now, I know. ; - : 55. James Ingram, age 10.—I live at Glapthorn. Father is a labourer. I have two brothers and’ one sister at home now. I have been out searing four times. [ first went out three years ago. wee [This boy was lame from birth. He read well.] 56. Charles Hostead, age 15—I work for Mr. Kirby. I have been at work many years. I milk’and look after the cows. I have been at night school since I have been to work. I did not go last winter, but went the winter before. Father is‘no scholar, but can: reckon anything in his head.’ ‘I have two brothers ‘older than me, who ¢an read and write. [Read well.] : cor Ba ats 57. ‘Mary Ann Cottingham, age 14.—I came to work for'Mr. Kirby, on and off, last summer ; always work with ‘mother. [Her mother was working with her at the time I saw her.—F. H. N.] I was stone- picking, twitching, and haymaking; mother reaped and I helped. Inever went searing. I have always been to school since I was 3 or 4 years old. I went last winter. [Read very well.] © ae 58. Susan Whittingham, age 12.—I have been at work in the fields a year ; I go to school in winter. I live with my aunt here; my relations live in Bed- fordshire. I go to Sunday school. [Read very well.] [These two girls were picking stones when I saw them, in a field, with three women, all apparently healthy ; the only women I have seen at work in Northamptonshire during more than three weeks tra- velling in the county.—Feb., F. H. N.] COTTERSTOCK. Population - - 211. : 59, Capt. Rickett, landowner, and agent to Lord Melville, at Cotterstock.—I have lived here 26 years. I don’t farm myself. We are badly off for schools. If a woman takes up an infant school she is satisfied with the pence she gets from the children; but if we take it'up she is not satisfied with that, and then the expense is thrown on us. There is no school here; but there is a National school at Oundle [one and a half miles], and Lord Cardigan’s school at Glapthorn [about one mile]. There is no building for a school here ; we had one in the church, but that was objected to and stopped. There are 204 people in the parish ; a few of the children go to Oundle to school, but none to Glapthorn. I think it very desirable that no boys should go to work until they are 12, both on physical and moral grounds. It might be done without too great interference with the cultivation. My idea is that the exposure of young boys must affect their vigour and growth. You are obliged to keep your calves and horses warm. I think that the attendance at school must be optional ; interference would provoke opposition. JI don’t think that the parents are indifferent to education here. If there is a want EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDHEN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN of education it is due to the fact that there is no con- venient school. I have had to. borrow money for the improvement of land; I did it through the General Land Drainage and Improvement Company. That institution is very useful, but the expenses made necessary by Acts of Parliament are so great that it is not worth while borrowing. less than 500/. If these ex- penses were diminished, small holders and proprietors might borrow money for building cottages. I see no objection to the advertisement. The chief expense is caused by the inspector from the Inclosure Commis- sioners. My own experience tells me that anything that would improve the dwellings of the people would be of the greatest value. The poor people them- selves value good cottages immensely ; I have had the most convincing proofs of that. I receive for some new cottages I have built, with one rood of land, 100s. and 110s. per annum; the men cheerfully pay the additional rent, in order to have a more comfortable house and save the doctor’s bill. FOTHERINGHAY. Population - - 246. 60. Mr. R. Barlow—I farm 300 acres at Fother- inghay. I employ no women or girls as a general rule ; two women occasionally. Also one boy scaring, . age 9, and five ploughboys ; the youngest is 12...I don’t think they are quite well enough taught; but the parents want the money. I don’t think the Government can do any good by interfering. Most of my men have allotments, and take a day or two to to work on them. If they have no allotments. I give them a‘piece ofland. © = AA ene ae 61. Thomas Peach, labourer.—I work for Mr. Barlow ; I have worked here 24 years. I have 11 children. I have eight at home; one aged 12 and another 9; the rest are younger. The one of 12 has been at work here two years; he went to school for two or three years before he came to work. © There is no night school here. The boy of 9 has just come to work. If it was not for what they earn, and’ my large family, I should like to give them a little more schooling. I never hear the men about here say any-. thing about education. I have a good cottage with three bed-rooms and two other’ rooms ‘downstairs, besides brewhouse ; I pay 2s. a week for it. - 62. Seth Peach [son of 61]—Iam 11. I think J have been here three years. I used to come scaring and keeping sheep at first. I used to go to school, and go now on Sunday. [Read avery little, could not write.—F. H. N.] WARMINGTON. Population - .- 724, . 63. William Atkins, Warmington, age 12.—I work for Mr. Ihave been at work five years, I have never been to school since I first ‘came to work. I have five brothers at home with my father and mother. There is only one bed-room ; father and mother and six sons sleep in that. [Could read a little, but not write. The cottage in which this boy lived with his parents was only separated by: the high road from the house of the farmer for whom he worked. From a conversation I had with the farmer T ascertained that he was quite ignorant of the boy’s want of education, and also of the utter want ‘of cottage accommodation from which his own labourer and immediate neighbour was suffering.—F. H. N.] CASTLE ASHBY. Population - - 183. 64. Mr. Scriven—I am land agent to Lord Nor- thampton, at Castle Ashby. My experience extends over the parishes of Castle Ashby, Yardley Hastings, Denton, Easton Maudit, and Great Doddington. The wages here are from 12s. to 15s., perhaps a few are as low as lls. Women are only employed very occa- sionally at hay time ; it is quite the exception even then. No girls are employed, except ' occasidnally IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—-EVIDENCE. . when a woman brings a couple of girls (probably her own) to help make hay. Boys are generally. ém- ployed. There are schools in all the villages ; the supply of cottages is’ not quite sufficient, but if the shoemakers were taken away there would be ample. As a géneral rule the cottages are fairly distributed. ; there are not. sufficient in Castle Ashby for the work to be done, and the supply of labour has to come from Yardley and Denton, each one and a half miles distant, We have tried building cottages at the farmers’ lodges, but we cannot get people to live in them although the farmers want them to come. ‘he rent varies very much ; some are let very low, because Lord North- ampton does not like to raise the rent of old tenants ; but when new tenants come, he charges about 10s. a room. Almost all have good gardens; some have allotments besides ; they have from 20 to 40 poles, and pay rent at the rate of from 20s. to 30s. an acre. We make no stipulations as to cultivation ; most of the labourers grow corn and consume it themselves. Llike the allotment system ; I don’t think it interferes too much with the labour due to the farmer ; the wives do a good deal of the work. I have no objec- tion to their growing corn. Perhaps some of the men in the villages I have mentioned may have to go two miles to work, but very few. The cottages which do not belong to Lord Northampton are not so good, and are higher rented than his. A statute fair is held every Michaelmas at Northampton ; men and maid- servants are hired, but for the house only ; I think the same fairs are held in all the market towns. All the villages have clothing clubs, and some coaling and blanket clubs as well. We don’t allow lodgers in the cottages, and I don’t think they are taken in without my knowledge. When the cottages are let with the farms, the farmer puts into them whoever he likes, but he generally comes and asks me about it before selecting a man. 65. George Brawn, labourer.—I work for Mr. White at Castle Ashby ; I have worked for him for three or four years ; I live at Yardley. Ihave two boys aged 8 and 15 and one daughter at home. The eldest boy has been at work since he was 9, and has never been to day school since that time, but he goes to night school at Castle Ashby ; the night school goes on until about Whitsuntide. I think it is a good thing to let ‘boys go to work, because poor people cannot, keep them unless they do. If I keep well my youngest boy shall not go to work until he is 14; if he does he is sure to have a depraved nature, and catch up all that is bad. My eldest boy has always been pretty hearty since he has been at work. The youngest boy is at school now, and I often think that if I could get a place for him where he would not get all manner of mischief, and catch all manner of ugliness, it would be better for him to go out in the summer because he has sick headaches. Master keeps a bull, and the farmers round send all the small boys with the cows, and I think it a very bad thing for them. ‘There are three boys at work on this farm, and when they are altoge- ther their language is very bad; they want somebody with.them ; but then it is miserable to be with them, and difficult to keep them in order. Master generally employs six boys all the year round; two with the team, two cutting chaff, bird keeping, &c., and two doing little odd jobs. The boy who scares comes on Sundays. On Sundays a man has to be here for two ‘hours in the morning and one in the afternoon with the horses; another man all day long with the sheep in the lambing season, but after that about 34 hours in the day. I look after the stock, and J come on Sunday from 6 to 10 a.m., and from 2.30 to 5 p.m. from September to May, and about 5 hours on every Sunday during the’ remainder of the year. There are no poor people but what would be glad if they were prevented from sending out their boys until they were 14, if they had the means of keeping them up to that age; an Act would do no good unless the poor, are aid. ‘The farmers never press the parents to send their boys:to work, I have 18s. shillings a week and some milk every morning. The usual wages are 11s, 441 66. Charles Underwood, age 11.—I work for Mr. White at Castle Ashby; I live at Yardley. I don’t know how long I have been ‘at work. It isa good while since I went to any school, except on Sundays, [Read a very little ; could not write. | _ ISLIP. Population - - 626. 67. John Jervis, \abourer.—I have seven children, five boysand two girls ; eldest boy 19 ; girls 24 and 84. One of my sons at shoemaking; two at field work now, and. I have had two more at field work. The eldest began. before he was 8; had Is. 6d: at first ; had con- stant work from that time, and never been to school since; he is now at shoe work. The next began to work after he was 9, and went to school once again for a few months, and then to work again ; he got 2s. at first. The third was not 9 when he went to work ; he has been at work ever since ;.-he got 2s. a week ‘at first. The fourth went to work before he was 8, but has been to school’ three or four different times since between times. I earn 13s. now; the usual wages in this parish are 12s. I always felt myself better off for my children’s wages, even when they only earned 1s. 6d. a week. It did not cost me the whole of their earnings to provide additional food and clothing for them when they went out to work. If I had to bring them up again I should send them to work as young as J did before. I have one son who, I think, has been injured by going out to work; he always seemed well before he went to work. I think all boys should be taught; all boys are sharper and more useful in the-field if they have been taught. I am not sure whether a man would be worse off if his children did not: go to work until the age of 10; they would be better taught, and would probably earn higher wages after the age of 10, although there would be a loss before that age. A great many women work about here ; it is a very bad thing. ‘I have known 10 or 12 belonging to this parish at work at once. The children are left at home with nobody to take care of them, and more than the mother’s earnings are thus wasted. They might make hay and work in harvest, but twitching and weeding may be done by men just as cheaply as by women. I think ‘the labour of women and girls should be stopped by law. I have known them work when there’ are ‘plenty of men to do the work. I have 30 poles of ground a quarter of a mile off ; rent 7s. 6d. I-have to lose about three whole days a year to work on it. I grow I5 poles of wheat every year and rest pota- toes. I grow 4 bushels of wheat; get 134 stones of flour. That would last me nearly three weeks. My bread bill is 10s. a week. I should get seven sacks of potatoes, worth about 10s. a sack. I am horsekeeper, and can sometimes get away early ; if I did not I should have to lose six days, and I have about the best piece of ground in the field. SUDBOROUGH. Population - - $821. 68. Ann Jackson.—My husband isa labourer. I have four sons, aged 18, 16, 138, and 11. All can read and, write a little, but not much. Could not read the “ Cornhill Magazine” [which I saw in the cottage. —F.H.N.]. Some of them went to work at 8, and all before 10. They earned 2s. or 2s. 6d. at first. They have had work all the year round since they began to work.. Some of them drove plough at the age of 8...1f I was going to have my time over again I would not send them so young to work. I think it is money in pocket for a parent to: keep small boys at home; it. costs.so much to keep them at work. They ought not to go to work until, they are 10 at least. I.think it ruins children to go to work, too young ; “they don’t grow as they should. We have an allotment of,-20 poles; we keep .a pig for manure. It would not pay to keep a pig if we had no allot- ment. : 3814 Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman, 2 Northamptor- shire. Mr. Norman. e. 442 BRIGSTOCK. Population - - 1,159. 69. George Edwins, age 16.—I work for Mr. Attenborough. I went to work when I was 9. I have never been to school since, except a little on Sundays, Most boys about here have been to school more than I have. My father is Mr. Attenborough’s foreman. I cannot write. [Could not spell “ house ” or “ church ; 6 taken from 17 leaves 10.—F. H. N.] 70. George Richards, age 9.—I work for Mr. : I have only been at work four days. Father is a labourer. I have been keeping sheep. IJ have one brother older than myself. He cannot read as well as I can. My mother never goes to work in the fields. I like work better than school [Reads fairly. Does not know what month it is. Says that his birthday is in July, but does not know whether that is a month.—F. H. N.] ” says that DENFORD. Population - - 429. 71. Mr. H. Gale—I farm about 650 acres here ; more than half is arable. I have been here about 30 years. I employ women in spring and summer, from about February to June. They are employed in bean setting, twitching, weeding, and haymaking. I employ none in winter. Perhaps I employ more women than my ee ne I pay them 8d. to 10d. a day, and have no difficulty in getting them. Three or four of them are the wives of my labourers, and, I think, have children. Last week they did not come to work because it was wet and rough, The work they do cannot be done in wet weather. About a month ago I had 15 boys picking twitch together in one place, and eight girls in another. That was in consequence of my taking a new farm which wanted weeding. I only employed them for a few weeks, and don’t often have as many as that ; I paid them 4d. and 5d. a-piece. I generally employ a few children in that way for a few weeks in the spring. The boys I employ all the year round are about 11 to 15 years old. Most of my labourers come from Tich- march [about two miles]. F pay 13s. a week. I am not put to much inconvenience on account of the distance my labourers live from my farm. I don’t think I should be put to much inconvenience if I em- ployed no boys until they were 10 years old. I don’t like small boys for scaring ; I employ a big boy with a gun. STANWICK. Population - - 669. 72. Mr. Aris.—I farm about 500 acres in Northamp- tonshire. I could dispense with boys’ labour altogether until they were 10 years old; but they are convenient for eight or ten weeks in the spring under that age, although I don’t employ them now that I can get women, whom I pay 10d. or Is. instead of 8d. as for- merly. I have found great inconvenience arising from the large allotments held by labourers ; the labourers go to work early in the morning for themselves, and are tired when they come to work for us. There are many shoemakers here, and the labourers not only work on the allotments for themselves, but they are employed by the shoemakers to work for them at the busiest times, as the shoemakers find it pays them best to continue working at their own trade. I found that my labourers wanted to go away to work for themselves so frequently in spring and autumn that I found it difficult to carry on the work of my farm, and Ido not now permit them to go away. ‘They never want to go away except in fine weather, when the farmer has most work to do, and never in the winter months. If a man only had one rood of ground, I would let him go away whenever he pleased, because I think it would be a benefit to him. If a man has more than one rood, he is obliged to keep a pig, and most of the cottages have no sufticient accom- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN modation for pigs, and nuisances are thus created, I find I cannot feed a pig at a profit myself. 73. The Rev. J. H. Gandy, rector of Stanwick.— I have been here four years; the land is chiefly arable. I have 15 acres of land let in allotments of a quarter of an acre each at the rate of 41. per acre; and 12 acres more in allotments of two acres at the rate of 3/. 10s. per acre. I will not let the latter to day labourers; they are usually taken by tradesmen. I find that it does not answer to let land in pieces of two acres; the land deteriorates in value from want of capital, and the occupiers neglect their regular business. I have found the allotments of quarter acres answer very well. My only restrictions are spade cultivation, and only half grain crop. I also make mine dependent upon attendance at some place of worship, honesty, and sobriety. There are several other pieces of allotment in this parish, but let at a higher rent than mine, I think it would be desir- able that children should be prevented going ‘to work up to the age of 10. Some compulsion to attend a day school up to that age, and a night school between the ages of 10 and 14, would be necessary. I think that the present staff of teachers, if more highly paid, could and would be willing to undertake the night schools. Our co-operative store has been in operation two years ; the sales amount to 120/. to 1802. per week. We have four branch stores in four other villages. The schoolmaster keeps the accounts. 74. James Marriott, \abourer.—I have half an acre of ground. I can manage that with my regular work ; I would not have so much if I could not grow half wheat ; I feel a better man for having that; I could not manage more; I think a man is better offas a labourer with that amount than with two or three acres. I have belonged to a co-operative store for two years. I get better goods than I did before, and pay less money for them. It also acts as a savings bank. I hold one share, for which I paid 14. 1s.; I have drawn out 2/. 6s., and have now 8. standing to my account. If I had not dealt with a store I should have spent all that money more. I think there are more men out of work in winter than there used to be. There are two or three men who are always out of work and do odd jobs on the allotments. Very little work is done by the women and children; it does not in- terfere with the attendance at school. I have had eight sons. I sent them out to work when they were about 8 or 9; but if I had my time over again I would not send them out until they were 10 or 12. I think that the mother of a family is best at home, she loses at home what she earns in the fields when she goes out to work. There are some men who do not belong to the store who are better off than those who do; because some men never pay their bills ; they owe as much as 102. Ifthey come to the store they must pay. WELLINGBOROUGH. Population - - 6,382. 75. Thomas Simmons.—I am one of the relieving officers for the Wellingborough Union. I have 13 parishes under my direction; they are all agri- cultural, except the town of Wellingborough. All applications for relief have to come through me. I have no reason to suppose that in this district the agri- cultural labour performed by women and children is injurious to them. I recollect no applications for parish relief which I can trace to excessive labour: nor do I recollect any cases in which diseases have been developed by agricultural labour. The agri- culturalists are more healthy than the shoemakers,. HARROWDEN. - 804. 76. Mr. T. A. Somes, Great Harrowden.—L. farm over 700 acres, 300 of which are grass, besides 130 acres of wood. I have been a farmer all my life. I generally employ 25 men. My lowest wages are 12s. a week from Michaelmas to March, and 13s. the rest of the year. My horsekeeper has 16s., and Population - IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-—-EVIDENCE. shepherd 15s. I generally employ about six boys ; the youngest boy I have had lately is 11. I pay them from 2s. 6d. to 6s. a week. A good workman who works, by the piece will earn about 1/. I keep 12 horses, and four of my boys are at work with them all the year round ; two boys are also employed in pulling and dressing turnips from October to April. I employ one or two old women in the summer to pick thistles, out of charity ; I don’t like them. I think boys are better off the land altogether until they are 10 years of age. We don’t want them, and if it were not for their parents they would be better at home. I very rarely have extra boys. I sometimes set them to break clots, or do any small job if they are out of work. I employ men to pick twitch, and never employ a gang. I have two girls now at work for a few days setting beans; I only employ them to help the family, otherwise I never employ girls. None of my men live more than one mile from parts of my land, though the distance from their houses to the farthest part of my land may be more than that. ‘I have four cottages in different parts of my farm. The men are very willing to take them, because I let them rent-free. All the boys go to the free school before they come to me. The shoemakers’ boys are not so well off as the agricultural boys. My head man engages all my boys; they are well conducted and trustworthy. In summer they work from 6 to 6; in winter they come when they can see, and return home at 5. Jt would not signify to me if they left one hour earlier all the year round, except in busy times ; I would allow them to do that if I thought they were doing good. The cottages are sufficient in number and well situated, but many have only one bed-room ; rent from 1/. 10s. to 5d. a year. Landed proprietors let them at moderate rents, but speculators charge high. They hardly ever have gardens, but most of them have allotments which are let at the rate of li. 12s. an acre; the allotments do not exceed one rood in extent. I approve of the system. The great difficulty about education is interfering with the earnings of the family. I think you would interfere too much if the children were not allowed to work until they were 10 years of age unless they had acquired a certain proficiency before that time. After the age of 10 they might attend at least one hour a day without inconvenience to the farmers, except in hay and harvest. I should not object to the above scheme being carried out, although a little inconvenient to me. My boys are perfectly healthy, and I have no difficulty in getting plenty to come to work. I think three cottages per 100 acres is the proper proportion. I should like to have more cot- tages on my land. I think farmers would usually be willing to pay a per-centage on the outlay if land- owners would build; I would myself pay four per cent. The Union Rating Act may be just, but it acts hardly upon some of us. Our rating has risen very much. The Act has filled the workhouses. I have frequently given men work, because if they went to the house I should have to pay as much as their wages in rates. J farm my land in the same way as my neighbours. : 77, Frederick Page, age 10.—My father is a labourer. I have one brother [a little child whom F. P. had been sent out to take care of when I saw him.—F. H. N.] I first went to work in harvest when I was 7; I “frit” crows. I went to school before that, but have never been since, except on Sundays. I get very cold keeping crows, but I go to play in the village when I come home. I have not been to work for three weeks. I like school better than work, but work better than nothing. [Could read ittle—F. H. N. . ee W. em vicar of Harrowden.— J do not think any compulsion would do, but I think there might be a scheme for making boys go to school when they are not earning wages. The evil which I want to remedy is, the children being kept from school by the parents without sufficient cause. The attend- ance is not sufficiently regular, The children are kept 2. 443 away from school for many purposes besides earning wages, é.g., to collect acorns, and nurse the baby. I think the only excuse for keeping children away from school should be the necessity of earning money, and that arrangement should continue so long as the parent is responsible for the maintenance of the child under the Poor Law. The parents are not sufficiently alive to the importance of education. The expense does not operate here, as the children only pay 3d. a week, and that only in winter, for firing, &c. No pressure is put upon the children by the farmer to induce them to leave school, but our farmers are a superior class. I have not much faith in night schools, as now established ; the work falls too much on the clergy. Provision might be made for the supply of teachers, which would render night schools effective. I have a night school. Many do not attend who might; they don’t come because they object to discipline. 79. G. Chaplin, age 8.—Went twitching two months ago for Mr. Walker. There were four boys and four girls at work ; the eldest was 12 years old. Thompson looked after us; did not make us work hard; he was kind. I was paid 2s. a week by Mr. Walker. We worked from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., and stopped half an hour at 10, and one hour for dinner. I like going to school better than to work, because I ain’t so tired. I have three sisters, and no brother. Father is a labourer. I read sometimes when I go home to amuse myself. [Read well.—F. H. N.] 80. Mrs. Smith, Harrowden.—My husband is a la- bourer. I have six children at home (four boys and two girls). ‘The ages of my sons are 23, 18, 7, and 4. I send the young ones to school ; I send them to work as soon as they can go, generally about nine. I never let them be idling about. The only reason I do not keep them at school longer than I do is, because I want their earnings. The boys usually go to work between 7 and 8; they earn very little before 10. They work a number together; I don’t object to that, the parents are always paid, and the boys not beaten. My eldest son gives me 7s. a week for his board and lodging. 80(b). 7. A. Walker, Little Harrowden.—I farm 180 acres (75 grass); the farm has been held by my family for 60 years. ITemploy a few women in summer, three or four, and two or three girls, from 10 up- wards; they are employed in haymaking and picking twitch. I have two boys constantly at work, aged about 12; They are no use to farmers until they are 10. I have extra boys for bird keeping and weeding. When I want a field weeded, I get two or three women, girls and little boys under 10; they usually come to seek a job. Sometimes I have to send to them; I can get as many as I want without pressing them. When the boys and girls go out together, one of the women looks after them. I would not send them out without some one to look after them; I have not observed any harm from boys and girls being sent out together at the age I have mentioned. My neigh- bours do their jobs of weeding in the same way as I do. I have never employed a public gang. I always pay the boys and girls myself; women 10d., boys 4d. I don’t employ them above three weeks or a month throughout the year. I think they would be more useful if they were better taught. I want men of trust; I think there are many children about the streets who ought to go to school. The boys are employed younger than they used to be. I don’t think a law prohibiting the boys from going to work until they are 10 would be unpopular among farmers. FINEDON. Population - 1,840. 81. Mr. W. Bearn, farmer and land agent.—I farm 300 acres at Finedon (220 arable and 80 pasture); I have farmed it for 35 years. My general staff of labourers is ten men and two boys; the men have 12s, to 16s.a week, and boys 3s. to4s. The boys are from 10 to 14 years old; they are principally employed with the team. They are also employed in twitching 3K Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. 444 and weeding. No women are employed except in hay time and harvest, and then chiefly married women, the wives of my labourers. My farm is a “‘pair- horsed farm” [capable of being ploughed with two horses.—F. H. N.], and therefore I do not employ as many boys as I otherwise should, All my workmen come from Finedon [two miles]; one man has been here 39 years, and has walked to and from Finedon every day, except Sundays, [four miles a day=48,828 miles in 39 years.—F,. H. N.] That is too far; I lose the time occupied in the walking; it amounts to half an hour night and morning. We do “ dibbling ” by the piece; I pay so much an acre, and the man finds the boys. So in harvest, a man contracts to cut the corn, and he brings his wife and child to help. The boys are also sometimes employed in draining, which is contract work; the boys carry and lay the pipes. I would pay 5 per cent. on the outlay to have cottages on my farm; and I should think it a great boon. I think the Rating Act is likely to have a good effect; the question of cottages is entirely a money question. I think there is a lack of education, which arises from the poverty of the parents. I don’t think they are indifferent about it. I don’t think the expense of cultivation would be increased, if we did not have children until they were 10 years old. Arrangements might be made to enable a boy to leave work at 3 o’clock at times, to go to the night school; it would not be a great inconvenience to us. In some cases the loss of the money earned by boys under 10 would be a serious loss to the family; but it would not be so if the boys were allowed to go to work during the summer months. I think on the whole that it is best for the Government to leave it alone. I think a law restricting labour would be unpopular among farmers, and would be resisted by the people. ROTHWELL. - 2,285. 82. Benjamin Coleman, labourer.—I have lived all my life at Rothwell. I have worked here for 20 years. When master [Mr. C. Brown, of Rothwell Lodge, ] wants weeding, or any job of that sort done, he sends two or three boys or girls to do it, with a man to look after them. Sometimes he employs girls. to scare birds ; they are 12 or 14 years old; I don’t know how old. There is never a girl now at all at work here. There are four or five boys employed here now. I have seven children; they are all grown up. My girls did not go out to work much. I have a grand- daughter aged about 11; she went out singling tur- nips last summer; she got 5d. or 6d. a day. Singling turnips is usually done by the piece; then the man engages the children; no man would take more than two or three children. Three or four men would work in a field together, and each would: have a girl or two working with him. The girls are not made ill ; they are healthful out of doors. My boys never went to scare and sich work till they were 9 or 10. Some doant go to scare on Sundays, and some do and some doant, just as it happens like. The school is good. I sent my children; they never went much to night school; most of them can read but not write. I think it is a good thing to learn if they make a good use of it; some make a bad use of it. My cottage costs 70s. a year without a garden. I have 10 poles of allotment ; and [ never do nothing there without interfering with my regular work. I never grow corn ; potatoes are better. It would be a bad job for a poor man not to let the boys go to work until they could read and write. If you have a strong family you want them to nurse and wash in the house. I have never heard of a farmer saying to a man you shall not go to work unless you bring your boy. THORPE MALSOR. Population - - 251 83. William Essam.—I don’t know how to spell my name ; I don’t know how old I am. I’ve been scaring two or three times before. I live at Thorpe. Population - EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I come to scare at half-past 6, and leave at half-past 5. Sister brings my dinner and breakfast. I went to school before I came to scare. Father is a labourer. I have no brother at home, only one sister. She is 11, and is a year older than me; I know by that that I am 10. I never went to any work except scaring and keeping pigs. My sister went to scare for Mr. ; she only went once; Mr. sent for her. Mother goes to work in harvest; she makes bands for father when father works by the great. Sometimes eight or nine boys and girls go to work together here. A foreman looks after them. I never heard them say whether they liked work- ing that way. I can read a little but not write. I like to go to school better than to scare ; I think it is better. Father wants me to learn. I get tired and wet scaring, and have to remain out all day in the rain. [I found the boy scaring in a field of spring wheat, He was very small, but ready in his answers, and intelligent F. H. N.] 84. The Rev. G. E. Maunsell, of Thorpe Malsor.— Women and children are very little employed here. I object to all field work for women, except in hay time and harvest. The boys begin to work at 8; they gene- rally scare all Sundays. After they begin to scare, they come very irregularly to school. From 11 they are employed regularly in the fields, and they don’t attend even Sunday school after they are 15 or 16. What they have learnt before they begin to scare, they forget when they goto work. I should be very glad to get something done about education, At 15 or 16 boys have forgotten everything they ever knew, and are perfect savages. Many of the parents are in- different. I think the suggestion that the children should not goto work unless they have learnt a certain amount is good. The root of the whole matter is the insufficient cottage accommodation; boys and girls herded together leads to great immorality. We clergy know of many things which others do not. There is no night school here, but I have the boys up to teach myself. We are in a good state in comparison with our neighbours as regards cottages. The rent varies from 25s. to 80s., but chiefly about 40s. or 50s., and usually with gardens. There are allotments for all who like tohave them. That system works well. We let them grow what they like. 85. Extract from Return sent in by the Rev. G. E. MavnsEx1, of Thorpe Malsor. Twitch or stone picking is bad physically for girls approaching the age of puberty ; alsothe necessary exposure to bad weather. I would prohibit female labour in the fields altogether, except at hay or corn harvest. ‘Twenty-five years’ experience in a country parish has shown me that where the labourer has good cottage accommodation education is more appreciated, and vice versé. The agricultural labourer’s cottage must always be a charge and not a pecuniary advantage to a landed estate, unless an exorbitant rent is charged. The landlord must reap his profit from good cottage accommodation through his farm tenants, who will have superior labourers, and from his decrease in poor rates, above all in the decrease of petty crime, and in improved morality. I have no evening school. I find in my small parish that I can work more efficiently by having the children singly. In 12 boys about nine make fair writers. In 12 girls, about 11. The balance fail either from distaste or inability. IRCHESTER. Population - - 1,168, 86. Mr. J. Cowper, of Irchester.—I farm 408 acres, 80 of which are grass. I employ no women. I employ from 8 to 12 boys and girls, according to the season of the year, of ages varying from 7 to 13, They are employed from Februaryuntil J uly, in picking stones and weeding. The rest of the year I do not employ them. [TI saw three boys at work weed- ing under an old man ; they seemed quite healthy and IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. contented, and said they went to play in the village directly their work was over; therefore, not over- tired—F. H. N.] I invariably put about six boys and gigls together, under the direction of a steady old man whom I can trust. They earn from 2s. to 3s. My regular staff of ploughboys is five; they earn from 4s. to 5s. They are with the team almost all the year. They are about 14 years old. Another boy goes with the shepherd; I pay him 3s. Some of the little boys are also employed in scaring, but only one or two. That should occupy them on Sundays, but we sometimes allow them to go. I have no diffi- culty in getting boys. I sometimes employ more than I want for the sake of the parents. There area good many children in the parish, and they are employed more generally in field labour than in other places. My man engages the children; I do no work by tthe great with them. I do contract with a man to single turnips, and he brings a boy with him, whom he pays. All my men come under one mile to their work. I pay 12s. 6d. ; the extra 6d. is in lieu of beer. The extra money they earn in harvest adds at least 1s. a week to their wages throughout the year. The edu- cation among the young is very defective, but is im- proving. One of my ploughboys left me to go to a situation on a railway, and has now been promoted, and gets 501. a year. There is a desire for educa- tion among the agricultural class, if they had only an opportunity of improving themselves. I think an Act of Parliament compelling fathers to send their children to school instead of to work would be objec- tionable, because you could only enforce it by fining the father if he disobeyed ; and if he could not pay he must go to prison; and it would never do that a man should be branded as a convict because he sent his sons to work. The cottages here are sufficient in number, but the accommodation in many cases bad. The rent is about 60s. to 100s.. [I found one in the village, small but clean and comfortable, let at 39s., with a garden.— F. H.N.] I have no cottages on my farm; I wish I had. I am willing to pay interest on the necessary outlay. I feel satisfied that if I had men living on my farm I should see that they were educated, and that they behaved well; but now, as they live at the village, I have no hold over them. I should not be put to serious inconvenience if I employed no chil- dren until they were 10. The employment before that age is of more benefit to the families than to the farmers. We don’t expect the children before 7 o’clock in the morning ; and if itis wet, we send them home. I should not like to have labourers living in my house. [This gentleman was good enough to show me round the village of Irchester, about three-quarters of a mile from his house. The school good and well attended. Some of the cottages good, but many very bad. He showed me one, the door of which opened into a narrow passage leading to a court-yard, in which a father, mother, and five children live. Only one room upstairs and one down, the latter used as a shoemaker’s workshop.—F. H. N.] 87. John Brudenell, labourer-——I have worked here (Irchester) for eleven years. I have only one son, aged 30. There used to be no school here. L used to teach them in the winter. They did not know where to go, and they wanted some learning, so I said, “I'll “ teach you.” That was 28 years ago. About six came to my cottage to be taught. That went on for two winters. . I took it up again about three years since, because there was no school. The boys’ friends asked me. I let them come to my house. Seventeen was the most I had; I had no room for more. I might have had many more if I had had room. They paid me ld. per week, and found their own lights. They each brought a candle in turn. I taught them ta read, write, and spell. They came very regularly for about four months. They were all boys. I took it up like out of pity for them. Their friends wanted them to learn. They used to come from 7 to 8. They got on uncommon well some on ‘em. Many of them did 445 did not know how to make a stroke when they. came, and could write their names fair when they left. There are a good many now who want to learn, but they don’t like to go to the school, because there are not enough people to teach em. A man cannot manage more than a score; 30 or 40 go to the night school now. I think it would be a very good thing if a law said you shall not send your boy to work unless he can read and write. It would sometimes be a hard- ship on the families, but I think he could learn enough between the ages of 7 and 10. At the age of 6 or 7a child can take care of the younger children, so that the mother can go about the housework. It would be rather inconvenient if the child were taken away at that age. I believe much of the children’s time is wasted ; that is because they ain’t made to go to school. It looks as if the parents had no care about their children as they should have. Ihave an allotment of one rood, for which I pay 12s. 6d. I could not manage more than that without neglecting my regular work. I grow a little corn. It is expensive work growing corn with spade labour, but I don’t mind that. I sell a few potatoes and wheat, but never anything else. There is nobody at home but my wife. I sometimes engage aman to dig for me. I pay him 3d. a pole; he can’t do it under. It will take him all his time to earn half- a-crown aday. A great many cottages here have only one room above and one below, with man, wife, and five or six children. I go out to look after the boys and girls twitching, &c., with about six of them; they are ready and willing to work. We work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with half an hour for lunch and one for dinner. They don’t appear tired. They are better when they have been out a fortnight or three weeks than when they begin. They had rather work than sit indoors. It does not hurt them a bit ; but they wear out more clothes at work; but only put on old ones. If there were cottages on the farms, away from the public-houses, the men could not go there so much. I live in the village now, but I had sooner live near my work than in the village, even if I bad three or four children. The children don’t get any good from run- ning about the village; and they are very handy to send for supplies if you live away from it. . [This man was a common farm labourer. His education, which was self-acquired, was very small ; but he was evidently a thinking and very intel- ligent man, and answered my questions with great readiness. The demand for education in the village was evidently limited to a few, as appears from the preceding and following (schoolmaster’s) evidence.— F. H. N.] 88. J.P. Jones, schoolmaster, Irchester.—The boys begin to leave this school when they are 8; they attend irregularly from that age until they are 10; a few continue until they are 12. There are 40 names on the book for night school, about 30 usually attend ; they pay 2d. a week, and are generally very attentive. The night school lasts two hours every evening. None come from a distance. About half the children in the village who might come to the day school do come. I have as many as I can manage; more would come to the night school if I had somebody to help me teach. Children are not prevented coming to the day school by having to pay 1d. a week; but I think that the 2d. a week paid for the night school is an impediment. PYTCHLEY. Population - 536. 89. Exrract from Return sent in by the Rev. C. Hercocs, J.P., Pytchley. In rural districts many young females are em- ployed away from home in service, and continue so till they marry, generally with good effect to their moral characters, where they acquire a beneficial training for domestic duties far better than those who seek employment at home. Here the employment of females [in agriculture] is by no means regular They are almost solely employed in weeding, hay" getting, and harvest; and the quantity engaged and- 3 K 2 Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. Northampton- e. Mr, Norman. e 446 the time of their employment is regulated by the season ; whether wet or dry. By this their morals are not prejudicially affected. I would not prohibit field labour for women, as they prefer out of door labour which is suitable for them, and at times their aid is very essential in busy seasons. I should recom- mend no restriction on the labour of boys after 8 years. Children do not undertake work here at a long distance from home. It would be vexatious to the employer and to parents to have the distance defined. The every day evidence afforded in our streets, after the hours of labour are over, and the amusements so joyously carried on, are a convincing proof that the energies of the young have not been overtaxed. No compulsory restraint to enforce education would be attended with a good effect. Induvements to attend at school, such as rewards given for regularity, entertainments given during the summer at the houses of the squires or the chief farmers are great incentives to join the school. The industrious and obedient obtain in public the favour of their superiors to the great incitement of the rest. If at all seasons of the year children above 8 years old were confined at school, their parents would become paupers without the assistance of their children. From 5 years old to 8 this inconvenience would not affect them; above that age it seems a night school might succeed. A few years since the cottages were too confined for room either to preserve health or to prevent evils. Happily this state of things has been much remedied, with the prospect of still further amelioration. Every year develops a disposition to improve the comfort and accommoda- tion of the cottages. All [young persons] both males and females can read, but out of this number a great proportion write imperfectly and know little of arithmetic. The evening schools are maintained by weekly payments from the scholars; the usuai charge being a halfpenny a head per night. The want of pecuniary means among the class of persons who would attend [is the principal difficulty in the way of main- taining an efficient evening school}. The only objec- tion being not the unwillingness of the young people to-attend, but the inability alleged by their parents to make the requisite payments. 90. The following is an extract from a letter addressed to me by the Rev. C. Heycocg. ““When you ask me how many weeks in the year children from 8 to 10 years old gain employment, I reply for 10 or 12 weeks, partly in bird scaring and weeding in the spring, and again in the hay season and harvest to drive carts, and to help their parents in gleaning during the autumn. Deprive the parents of their aid only for a few weeks, and the deficiency is sensibly felt. ‘The wages given by farmers for chil- dren [boys] at these seasons are 2s. per week. So that each child above 8 will earn towards shoemaker’s and tailor’s bill from 20s. to 25s. during the year. Again, in reply your inquiry whether in food and clothing there is any perceptible difference when at work, rather than when at school, I am instructed to say that there is no apparent difference.” 91, Extracts from Return sent in by J. B. Rosrnson, Esq., of Cranford [as to the state of education]. One boy aged 16 told the rector that he had never heard of Jesus Christ; this happened in 1868 ; the boy was not particularly dull. An evening school is only a question of money ; a good master and books supplied, the lads and young men would attend readily, as they did some years ago when a night school existed here. BOZEAT. Population - - - 955. 92. Rev. F. Pizey, Bozeat.—I have occasionally seen girls working in the fields here in summer weed- ing wheat, and in winter twitchiug. They are usually 12 to 16 years old. For inedical reasons girls should not be employed at that age. I object to the employ- EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN ment of little boys as carters; I have known them injured by the horses ; they should not be so employed until 12 or 13. The sexes work together when at work in the field. There are many illegitimate children, but the lace work causes that, not the farm work. Too many that I marry have had one (or more) children; there is also a falling off in the number of marriages. Some of our cottages are awfully bad, not fit to house a pig; they are very old; usually one room downstairs and one or two up. The school ia entirely dependent on the exertions of the parson. I can only pay an un- certificated mistress, and therefore it is not under in- spection. Boys leave about 9, girls at 7 as a rule, but boys go bird keeping and twitching before that. There are as a rule no gardens to the cottages ; there were allotments, but they have been taken away. Wages about lls. Many men walk three or four miles a day to work elsewhere. I am in favour of an extension of the Factory Acts ; I have lived in Lan- cashire and know how they work. Ido not think a boy can do much good at school after he has been at work all day. Farmers sometimes insist on the boys going to work with the father. In my opinion families would lose nothing if children were restricted from going to work up to acertain age. On the whole I consider the boys are well treated and fairly paid, but they have no sufficient opportunities of becoming educated. Girls in these parts labour under great disadvantages; they are put to the “lace trade” at the early age of 6 or 7 years. The lace making is the prolific source of bad health and bad morals, and pro- duces no pecuniary result worthy of the sacrifice. Lace makers as arule are unfit for domestic service and for the duties of a wife and mother ; hence the low condition of parishes in which such trades are carried on. 93. Mr. W. Fancott.—I have lived at Bozeat 38 years. I farm 145 acres (50 of which are grass). 1 never employ women; I employ two or three boys and four or five men. The lowest wages for men are 1ls., and for boys 2s. 6d. I sometimes employ young boys of 7 or 8 at twitching and picking stones in spring and summer, but not in winter. For these jobs I send out half a dozen boys with one of my men to look after them. 94. William Dredge, aged 17.—I have worked for Mr. Fancott [93] eight or nine years. I came for 4d. a day; I now get 7s. a week. I used to go to day school, and I go on Sundays now [read fairly]. 95. F. Dredge, aged 12.—I have been at work six or seven years; I drive plough. I go to school on Sunday, but have not been much at day school since I ae been at work. [Read a very little ; could not write. : 96. Mrs. Johnson, schoolmistress, Bozeat.—I have only just come here. J was schoolmistress here formerly for three years, but I left seven years ago. There are now 60 names on the books; I have had 110 names formerly, and the population has rather increased during the last seven years ; I intend ‘to open a night school next week. The Sunday school is well attended ; there are between 60 and 70 usu ally present. 97. Extract from letter written by Mrs. Jounson, schoolmistress, Bozeat. “TI find that from the age of 3 to 7 years they are tolerably regular ; but from that age to the age of 10 they are very irregular, and generally consider they have finished school ; some of them can scarcely read a word of two or three syllables correctly ; few of them have so far advanced as to write in a book, and but few have gone beyond the third simple rule in arithmetic when they leave the school.” 98. Edwin Robinson, age 6.—I have been out twitching once for Mr. That was last week. I worked all the week ; seven boys were at work. I have never been to work before. J. Surridge looked after us ; we worked from 6 to6. Mother sent me. Mr. —— paid me Is. 1d. We had half an hour for lunch, and one hour for dinner, for which we came IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. home. It rained part of the time, and we came home then. J. Surridge did not beat the boys. [Read fairly. 99. Arthur Chambers, age 7.—I went to work last Monday for a day and a half for Mr. Fancott; I went twitching. There were seven boys at work. Mr. F. gave me 5d. Mother sent me to ask Mr. F.. for work. We had half an hour for breakfast, and came home for one hour for dinner. G. H. looked after us; he cut a stick off the hedge, and gave it to some of them if they did not work; he gave it to me sometimes. [Could read.a very little, but not write. ] [This boy and the previous one, No, 98, were examined in the school at Bozeat. They were both extremely small, but were the oldest boys in the school, and the only boys in the school on that day who had been to work—F. H. N.] 100. Mr. J. Harrison.—I farm 460 acres at Bozeat. I employ three women and one girl twitching and stone picking. I have had them at work about a fortnight. None of the men go more than one mile to work from here. I come from Durham, and have only been here six months. I think the men here are very good labourers. It would do the boys good to have a bit more schooling. If any man has a bit more tact than the rest we all want him. 101. John Dredge—-I have nine children, eight at home (five boys and three girls). I havea good cottage with two good bed-rooms ; I pay 60s. a year without a garden. Three of my sons are at work, aged 16, 14, and 11. There are also two young ones not at work ; they go toa woman’s school. Tamno scholar, but I think it is a good thing to learn ; none of my children can write, but they can read a little. I often hear people say they wish they could read and write. I send my boys out to work as soon as J can; they go out twitching when they are 7 or 8. I think they go to work half their time between the ages of 8 and 10. I have heard my wife say that they eat more when they are at play than at work. SYWELL. Population = - 241. 102. Thomas Bands, master of Sywell school.—I have been here five years. We have at present 35 scholars on our books. I have never known more than 42 on our books. The average number who attend now is 33 on week days, and from 45 to 50 on Sundays. We have 58 names on our Sunday school book ; about the same number attend the Sunday school both in summer and winter. The children of eight years old can usually read and write pretty well, and understand the simple rules of arithmetic. There are only five children in the village who do not attend school at all. Between the ages of 8 and 10 the children attend the day school about six months in the year, and between 10 and 12 about three months in the year. After 12 they only attend on Sunday and the night school. ‘There is a night school three nights a week, from the beginning of October until the end of March ; it Jasts one and a half hours each evening; 15 attend at present; they are chiefly boys. The girls are employed in making lace. Fifteen is a large propor- tion of all the young persons who live in the village. The scholars at the night school read write, and do arithmetic. They read instructive books for the pur- pose of getting information. I sometimes read to them. 103. Extract from Return sent by Mr. Bampen. Morals are not more sffected by employment in agriculture than by the same number of persons being collected for any other purpose unrestrained by the presence of superiors. With respect to the proper training of young persons for domestic duties, the ab- sence of this is a manifest evil, and a distaste for the necessary restraint imposed upon in-door servants is acquired (?) by the liberty of obtaining a livelihood in the fields. It is objectionable for women having families to be taken too much from home; but as labourers are not plentiful, and the time that women 447 work in the fields so short, viz., a few months in the year, it is not advisable to place any restriction upon the employment of women. In agricultural districts the parents are rarely so inhuman as te force their children to do more than is consistent with their age and strength. The picture of health that most children ave who work in the fields sufficiently attests this. As much might be done by any well organized system of evening schools, any interference with attendance at work is less necessary ; indeed, evening schools might be made a very important way of obtaining education, and some means should be adopted of making them as efficient as possible, and as encouraging to the scholars. I should recommend compulsory attendance at day schools (such schools to be supported by the State and voluntary contributions) whenever employment cannot be obtained ; the parents being less able to bear any portion of the school expense when the children are unemployed, it is reasonable for this to be borne by others if compulsory attendance is required. 104. Mr. George Robinson.—I occupy Sywell Lodge Farm, 180 acres. I have been here seven years. I require four men, one lad (age 15), and three boys to cultivate my farm. I work myself besides. I pay 12s. per week to the men, 6s. to the lad, and about 2s. or 3s. to the boys. My men live either at Sywell (one mile distant) or at Holeot (one and a hulf miles). In consequence of the distance the men live from home, they come half an hour later and leave half an hour earlier than they otherwise would do. In harvest they sometimes knock up a place to sleep in. I contract to get my threshing done by machinery, otherwise I should have to keep more men. JI allow all the men who do not go home to dinner one pint of small beer ; that costs me 4d. per gallon. The boys have half a pint. I never employ a boy under 8, usually not under 10. I give 2s. per week at first, and raise it gradually ; when they are at the plough they have 3s. They are usually the sons of my labourers. The parents wish me to employ them. The boys are employed as follows :— ° In January and February, draining (the boys place the tile beside the furrow ready to be put in, and help to fill in the furrow after the tile has been placed). March to end of July, ploughing (on heavy land, where three horses are required, the boys lead the horses). August, harvest (boys make bands and tie up). September, October, and November, ploughing. December, draining. My lad can direct a plough. I never employ women; they are very little employed in this neighbourhood; sometimes they work where there is a cottage on the farm. I always pay the boy’s father if he works for me, otherwise I pay the boy. I allow one hour for dinner (1 to 2), and half an hour for lunch (9.30 to 10). The boys become stronger from the work they do; it is not injurious to them. My farm is managed in the same way as the other farms in the neighbourhood. If I did not employ any boys until they were 12 I should be short-handed ; the expense of the cultivation of my farm would increase. Where the land is heavy (as here) the plough must be drawn by three horses in line, and a boy is wanted to drive them. On light land two horses may be driven abreast with reins, Before I came here I had a farm at Kettering. The boys I had there were better educated than those I now have. I did not find that the boys who were better educated did their work better than those I have at present. The parents of my boys never ask me to let them go to school. Some of my men have allotments ; those who have generally stay away for a day or two to dig potatoes after harvest; they ask leave to go; I do not pay them wages when absent. I think a quarter of an acre is the proper quantity for an allotment. A man can attend to that without giving up his ordinary employment. They grow barley, wheat, and vegetables at Sywell. I sell them seed ; I don’t think they steal seed. They generally have their crops ground and use them themselves. 3 K 3 Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. 448 105. John Parker, age 12.1 work for Mr. Ro- binson ; I never worked anywhere else. I have three sisters and five brothers. My father and mother live at Holcot; I live with them. J have never been to school except on Sundays. There is no evening school at Holeot. I have been at work here about three years. I learnt to read a little at the Sunday school; can’t write. 106. Samuel Parker, age 10, brother of last.—I have been at work here one year; used to come with father a year before that. Never been to school except on Sunday. I never learnt to write; can read a little. [Very badly.—F. H. N. ] [The father of these boys told me that he could not send his boys to school, because he wanted all the money they could earn for him.—F. H. N.] 107. Joseph Barker, age 15.—I work for Mr. Ro- binson. I live at Sywell. I have been at work six years. Went to school before I began work. I go to a night school now three times.a week. I can read well, and write and sum a little. 108. Mr. James Siddons, Sywell Grange.—My farm is 409 acres in extent, 250 being grass. Ihave been here 17 years. I employ regularly five men at 12s., four boys at 3s.6d. to 8s. One or two of my sons also sometimes do a little work. I give no allowances as a general rule. I employ no females except in hay time, when I employ one or two women. Two. of my boys come from Sywell, which is one mile distant; three men from Walgrave (three miles) [they were temporarily employed in draining —F. H. N.] ; the rest come from Holcot. I have had men occasionally from Moulton (four miles). I employ my boys as follows :— January and February, serving the cattle in the yard and the sheep in the field. March to May, ploughing and seeding. June to September, hay and harvest. October, ploughing and seeding. November and December, looking after stock. The youngest boy I now have at work is 1l. I have had them under 9. Parents are always anxious to get their boys employed. The hours of work now are half-past 6 to half-past 5. I allow them half an hour each way, on account of the distance they have to come. I pay the boy’s father if he works for me, if not, the boy himself. I employ my boys all the year round, and increase their wages gradually. When the boys are at plough they go out from half-past 6 until 2; they then have half an hour for lunch, and do various little jobs about the yard after that. I could not spare them after they come in from plough with- out inconvenience. We are very short handed. The older boys of a family usually come to work for me here, because of the distance the farm is from their homes, and I can employ them all daylong. My boys can usually read and write. I desire them to go to the Sunday school. I think boys ought to learn to read and write; they would be more useful as farm labourers if they could. Their moral training is not well attended to; they are not trustworthy ; I attri- bute that to their not being well brought up. Formerly it was the practice for the younger labourers (z.e., the labourers from 16 to 24 years old) to live at the farm houses ; there they received a sort of training. That ceased some time ago, and the present generation had no such training as that. It is quite exceptional for the labourers to live at the farmhouse about here. I could spare the boys up to 9 years of age without serious inconvenience, but not up to 10. After they come to me I could not spare them at all without serious inconvenience. Young men don’t like to live with the farmers now because of the restraint. The use of machinery rather increases than diminishes the demand for labour. Ishould like to have all my labourers within about one mile of their work. I have one cottage which I rent with my farm. I would willingly pay at least four per cent. upon the sum necessary to build two more cottages, if I could have them. Mr. Beasley wishes some of the labourers to live in my house. I EMPLOYMENT: OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN approve of that plan, but the labourers won’t do it. I think one cottage to every 100 acres sufficient for my farm. My cottage has a garden of 20 poles. I approve of allotments ; they should not be more than 30 poles. More than that would interfere with the labour which the employer requires, or if it does not the labourer must hire somebody to work on his allot- ment. Asa general rule 20 poles would produce as much as a family would require. \ Although I find a difficulty in procuring labour the vagrants are constantly increasing in number ; they won’t work. I am a guardian of the Wellingborough Union. 109. Mrs. Deeley.—I live at Mr. Siddons’s cottage. I have five sons ; three work for Mr. Siddons. [The two others were too young to work.—F. H.N.| I always send my boys to work as soon as I can ; how are we to live if they don’t work? I would sooner live here than at Sywell. [One mile.] The baker brings me my things. My husband is a scholar ; he teaches the boys who don’t go to work. Our garden is useful ; I wish it was larger. 110. Richard Deeley (12 years old). [Son of last witness. |—I went to work when I was 7. I was at school before that; I have not been since. Don’t go to the evening school. Father teaches us on a Sun- day; we read the Testament. My brother writes rather better than me. OVERSTONE. Population - 206. 111. John Lucas, age 9.—I have been at work 24 years. I work for Mr. Britten at Overstone. I have one brother and four sisters. We live at Moulton, nearly one mile off. I went to school before I went to work; go to a Sunday school now ; can read a little. 112. George Barber, age 17.—I came to work seven or eight years ago. JI went to school before I came to work. I have been to school one winter since I have been at work. Can read a little. Live at Moulton. Ihave two brothers and three sisters. Live with father. I have never been ill since I have been at work. 118. Edward Horne; age 11.—I live at Overstone ; work for Mr. Britten; worked here four years ; never worked anywhere else. I go to school on Sun- days, and used to go to school before I came to work. I have never been away from work since I began. 114. William Horne, age 13. [Brother of last witness. |—I came to work here (Overstone farm) when I was 7 years old. I like work. I only go to school on Sundays. 115. William Chown, age 9.—I live at Moulton. I have been to work for two years. I have two sisters and one brother. I like going to work, but like going to school best; I go to school on Sundays, but on no other day. Can read a little; cannot write. 116. Thomas Chown. [Grandfather of last wit- ness. |—I live at Moulton; I have worked on this farm (Overstone) for nine years. I contract to do work for Mr. Britten. I make as much as I can out of it. I work with boys of from 10 to 14 years old. [He was, when examined, at work in a field with about seven or eight boys under him. The above witnesses Edward and William Horne and W. Chown were at work with him. I may add that the boys appeared to me to be healthy and contented, and the gang in every respect well conducted—F. H. N.] When I want more boys, I tell my boys that I want five or six, and they bring them nextday. No difficulty about getting them. I pay each boy 6d. to 8d. a day. The boys are easy to manage. They are all ready to work. I never use a stick. I was asked by to use a whip; “I said no, you cannot drive an Englishman, much more a boy.” 117. Henry Lucas. —TI live at Moulton; I have worked on this farm [Overstone] near 20 years. I have two boys and five girls. I earn 12s. a week, and 1s. extra when I come on Sundays. I send my boy (111) to work, because I want money. My boy is. not IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. strong; but he is better when.at work than at other times. He does not wear out more clothes when at work than when at play. Two of my girls work at the lage pillow. I pay for my cottage and allotment (10 poles) 42. 6s. a year. I grow vegetables on my allotment; use all the produce myself. I should like to have a quarter acre. JI have enough time to work at my allotment after my regular work. 118. John Stephenson.—I live at Moulton; work at Overstone. I have six boys and one girl; eldest boy is 13. Two of my boys work at Overstone. I send them to work as soon as they can work; I cannot keep them unless they work. Some of my children have been to school regularly, some very little. That is because their mother is sometimes out, and the children are obliged to stay at home; “the big uns to keep the little uns company.” I can read, but not write. I want my children to be taught. I know a man is a fool now if he cannot read and write. If I could read and write I could earn 27. a week. My boys are in better health when at work than at school. I pay ld. a week for them at school; I do not mind that, but I cannot afford to lose their earnings. If I had my choice, I would rather live on the land where my work is. I have lived in lone places ; I then had to walk two or three times a week to the nearest village to get provisions; that is inconvenient; I think it best for my wife and children to live with company. I pay 41. 10s. for my house. I have no allotment. 119. George Britten, of Overstone farm, 390 acres. —TI have had this farm for two years. My father is a farmer, and I was brought up to it, My regular staff is 11 men, two lads, and five boys. J pay the men 12s., the lads 7s. to 9s., and the boys 3s. per week. When they come on Sunday they have 1s. extra. No allowances. The men live at Moulton [about a mile off—F. H.N.] or Overstone [half a mile]. I allow them half an hour for breakfast, and one hour for dinner. The youngest boy I have ever employed was aged 84 years; I should not like to employ boys younger than that. It is not usual to employ them under 10. I could do without boys’ labour up to the age of 10 without increasing the expense of culti- vating my farm. When they are set on under 10 it is usually at the wish of the parents. I never employ women or girls, except in hay time or harvest. If the boy’s father works for me, I pay him the boys wages; if he does not, I pay the boy himself. Wages are usually paid weekly about here; I pay every Friday fortnight. I think I get turnips pulled, stones and twitch picked cheaper by Chown’s gang than I otherwise could. The gang works from Michaelmas until spring. Boys are always ready to work in it. I think that the uneducated make better farm- labourers than the educated; they are more contented and better satisfied. There is no work to be done on a farm which cannot be done by uneducated men. No sort of machinery could be used to supply the place of the boys’ work. I think two cottages per 100 acres the desirable number on this farm, which is mixediland. My men live chiefly at Moulton (one mile) ; there are no cottages on the farm. I should like half my men to live on the farm; their having to walk from Moulton is loss to me; not on account of the walk, but because they would be more under my command here. If I had cottages I could give them to whom I liked, and so secure good men. I think an allot- ment is very convenient to labourers. I think 20 poles sufficient. Those of my men who have allotments ask my leave to go to work for themselves, and are not paid when they go away. Their system is to grow half white corn and half green vegetables, and change the crop each year. As a general rule they consume everything they grow. There are very few cottages on the farms in this neighbourhood ; they are all let with the farms. The ordinary rent for cottages is from 1s. to 2s. per week. : 190. Rev. E. J. Birch, rector of Overstone. Popu- lation about 200. Been here 10 years. I think there is no need of any legislative enactment to restrain the 449 employment of women and children in field labour in this district, because there is very little of that work done by them here. Some boys are employed on every farm. I don’t think that farm labour is phy- sically injurious to them. Some boys are employed at limekilns and. in brickmaking in the neighbourhood, but not in my parish ; and I think that that work is physically injurious. The work is too severe; they have to carry heavy weights. I think it is desirable that the age at which children begin to work in the field should be fixed; Ishould say9. As a general rule, the boys in this neighbourhood do not commence regular work until they are 9 years old; but they go out to occasional jobs before the age of 9, and that occasional employment is a great interruption to their education at the most critical time. I think that some restric- tion should be placed on the number of hours boys are permitted to work, so as to enable them to have some spare time to go to school. I am inclined to think that they should not continue at work after two o’clock between the ages of 9 and 138. That is on the suppo- sition that the attendance at school is made compul- sory. I think that the education of the boys is fair up to the time at which they first go out to occasional work but they are apt to deteriorate very soon; and at the age of 15 their education usually is defective. We have a night school in my parish three times a week about three months a year, chiefly in the autumn and winter; any boys may attend it who are out at work. The night school is difficult to work, and the attendance of the scholars cannot be depended upon for long together ; I do not attribute the defective state of the education among boys to any indifference on the part of parents; I attribute it to the fact that the parents cannot do without the children’s earnings, i.e., they will not make the necessary sacrifice. I think that if the education were made compulsory, the expense should be borne by a Government grant, otherwise the ratepayers would have the control of the school. I think three cottages per 100 acres desirable for the proper cultivation of the land. There is not that number in the parish, but more are being built. The rent of the cottages in this parish is extremely low, much lower than the neighbourhood. The best are ls. 6d. per week, but only a few new ones. I think it desirable that the labourers should reside near their work ; but the cottages should be so placed as to be easily accessible from the village. The cottages are not crowded here. I think it a great advantage to a labourer to have a good garden of about 30 poles of land, a quarter of an acre is the extreme, not too far from his cottage. The produce of the allotment is generally consumed by the family, or by the pigs. One of the pigs is sometimes sold. Almost all the boys in my village attend school up to the age of 8, and fall off after that. GREAT BILLING. 425. 121. William Perrott, schoolmaster, Great Billing. —T have been here seven years. JI find that the atten- dance of girls falls off about 6—7 years of age ; they are then employed in lacemaking. The boys cease to attend at 8 or 9 years of age; some never come again after that ; others (ubout one-fourth) come back for five or six months in the winter; rarely any attend after the age of 10. Ido not think there are many boys under the age of 8 years who do not go to school at all. The evening school is badly attended ; about nine attend only in the winter months. 122. George Willet, age 8.—It went to school regu- larly up to last autumn [at school when I saw him, Feb. 11th.—F. H. N.], then went to work. I like going to school better that to work. Mr. Britten wanted me to go to work ; father worked for him last year. I worked at the harvest, and minded the pigs afterwards. I.werked up to. November; worked sometimes from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m, Made the bands to tie.up the corn, WhenI was with the. pigs. I shut 3K 4 Population Northampton- shire, Mr. Norman. e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e. 450 them up to go to breakfast and dinner. one sister. [Read well.—F. H. N.] 123, Philip Pilbrow.—I worked for Mr. Britten last harvest; I kept the pigs. Father is a shoemaker. I have two brothers and two sisters. I like going to work best. The boys tell me there is work to be had, and then Igo. I like work best, because I get money. I have 2d. a week out of my wages. The farmer gives me the wages; I give all to mother, except 2d. [At the school when ] examined him. Read well. Feb. 1lth_—F. H. N.] 124. James Dunn.—I farm the glebe, 290 acres, I could spare the boys up to 9 years old; not at all after that. We are badly off for cottages. There are plenty, but they are not good. There are allotments to all the cottages of about 20 poles. That is a good arrangement. The squire does not allow corn to be grown on the allotments. The cottagers usually con- sume all they grow. They sometimes require a few days to dig potatoes, but their ordinary labour is not otherwise interrupted. 125. Mrs. Somerfield.—l have five children (three boys). The eldest boy went to school regularly until he was 9; he is now at work. He earns half-a-crown a week, My husband isa shepherd; he earns 13s. 6d. a week. My boy either works with the plough, or looks after the sheep. Mr. Dunn was willing to take him, and I wanted a little money. He reads and writes every night when he comes home. I think it is a good thing to learn to read and write, but it some- times brings people into bad habits. LITTLE BILLING. Population - - 76. 126. Mr. William Pell, of Little Billing.—My farm is 300 acres ; my family have occupied it more than 100 years; one-third of it is pasture. My regular staff is about eight men and three boys ; the boys plough and do odd jobs; I contract with a man to pull turnips for me at 10s. per acre; I have always got these sort of jobs done by the piece; I could not get turnips pulled unless I did that; he gets boys to do the job for him. All the farmers in the neighbour- hood get these jobs done in that way. The worst class of labourers do that job; perhaps they do not always pay the boys. Only employ boys for that purpose from about October to February ; I do not think that the boys who work in that way are under 8 years old. In hay and harvest the number of boys I employ regularly is not increased. I do not usually take my labourers’ boys; the fathers no not look after them as well as other men. The boys usually come to ask for work. My men have 12s. and boys 3s. 6d. or 4s. a week. I very rarely employ women and girls. My boys average about 12 years of age ; I don’t think we ever have them under 10; I don’t know whether they go to school in the evening ; they are all quite healthy. The hours of work for men and boys are from 6 to 6 in summer and 7 to 5 in winter ; they usually come from Moulton [14 miles]; I make no allowance on account of the distance, but am obliged to give way a little. JI have two cottages now on my farm ; I should like to have two more, I should have a greater control over my men. I am not sure whether I should be willing to pay interest on the outlay neces- gary to build them. There is no difficulty about getting provisions ; the bread is brought by the baker, and the wife goes to market once or twice a week. The cottages have gardens of 30 poles; there they grow vegetables ; they consume all they grow. I do not allow them to grow corn, they are not honest over it, and it takes too much of their time. I think the Union Chargeability Act will have the effect of en- couraging building. MOULTON. Population - - 1,840. 127. William Barker, Moulton.—I farm 160 acres, one-third pasture, of my own land. Until the last three years ] farmed 400 acres. As a general rule I I have only 7 . boys all the year round. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I employ six men and three The men’s wages are 12s. a week, besides one quart of small beer in winter, and three pints of small beer and one of ale a day in summer ; the boys have Ss. to 8s. 6d. a week, and one pint of small beer a day. Then they never go away for their dinner, and I never allow them to buy beer and drink it here. I do not often employ a boy under 12 years of age, I can do without them up to that age. They are employed chiefly at plough or in attending to the sheep; [they dress the turnips before they are put into the machine to be cut.—F. H. N.]. When they go to plough they come in at two o’clock, and they then help to clean the horses or cut chaff; they are at work all the day long, I could not spare them in the afternoon. We want a night school in this village, there would be plenty of scholars; many lads from 10 to 14 don’t go home after their work is done, but stay about the village and demoralize one another ; they do that from 6to8 p.m. They might attend school from Novem- ber until the end of January. They then get home early enough to wash, &c. before school. This month [February] they work on their allotment after they get home; they would be much more useful to me if they were a little educated ; I could send them to Northampton on errands. They should be able to read, write, and know the first three rules of arith- metic. My boys usually are educated to that extent ; I know how they have been brought up before I take them. I arrange my work so that they may go to school on Sunday; my only law is that they go to some place of worship on Sunday, I don’t ask where ; but if they don’t go there, they don’t stop here. The best school is a good home. All cottages should have allotments, not more than a quarter of an acre. They employ the minds and bodies of the labourers when they would otherwise be idle ; if the allotment is more than a quarter of an acre the labourer is apt to get away from his master. There are a great many cottages in this village with- out any allotment; there should be none. They some- times sell part of the produce; I don’t approve of that. There are 2,000 inhabitants in the village ; not more than one-third are shoemakers. If the labourers have cheap and good cottages they behave properly, so that they may keep their cottages. Many cottages here are not fit to live in; it is impossible to live decently in them, and the rent for many is 44. 10s. or 5l. The cottages are built by speculators, who don’t care what inhabitants they bring provided they get their rent ; thus all sorts of characters are introduced into Moulton ; I don’t think the want of good cottages is due to any defect in the law. The Union Rating Bill is a good change. The speculators get six or seven per cent. for the money they spend on cottages. The labourers ought to grow on the allotments just as much as they can consume. I think they might grow a little corn, so as to have straw for their pigs, and thus they get manure. It is difficult to buy straw. Speculators let land for allotments at as much as 5/. per acre ; that is very-hard on the poor, but they would sooner pay it than have no allotment. I never have heard an oath on my farm except once last harvest when do not employ females. -one man swore before me and the other men ; I never said anything, but turned and walked away ; he stood condemned, and came and begged my pardon after- wards; if he had not, he knew what would have hap. pened. The poor about here are generally very comfort- ably off, although provisions are dear. I think that a good and comfortable house is essential as an induce- ment to aman to be respectable. A benefit club is very desirable ; after they have paid some subscriptions they don’t like to forfeit all, which they do if they are convicted. ‘The more we can get men to depend on themselves the better. 128. Rev. Thomas Sanders, vicar of Moulton.—I have resided here since 1840. Women are very seldom employed in the field here, they are in lacemaking, which is very sad; girls work at lacemaking very long hours, and cannot go to school, and when they go to service their hands are sometimes so cramped that they cannot IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. use them properly. There are several schools for lace- making here. There are many small proprietors here who run up cottages as a speculation ; they don’t mind what tgnants they get, and they often get men who have been turned out from other villages. The boys in the village attend the school well, I don’t think they could attend better if there was compulsion. Asa rule none but the children of respectable parents come ; if all other children were compelled to come, the respect- able ones would leave. Boys attend from about 4 until the age of 8 years; at about 8 the attendance becomes irregular, and at about 10 they cease to come at all. The corn on the ‘allotments is often sown “by dibbling.” Farmers could not do without little boys at certain times of the year. Education is progressing rapidly ; men see the necessity of it. When I came here there was nothing but a Sunday school. Ido not think that any legislation isis necessary. I am very anxious to get the labourers on. [have assisted eight or nine in fitting themselves for various situations in the police and elsewhere. I think it would be a good plan if the boys of the best character and attainments in the different schools were to meet in the county or large towns at stated times, and compete by examination for Government appointments, such as excise, &c. The prospect of obtaining places of that kind would be an inducement to them to attend school, and would prevent their being discontented. The half day and alternate day systems are bad for agricultural labourers; it may be fine when a boy goes to school and rain when he goes to work. The principle of the Print Works Act would be more convenient. I don’t think it would be any hardship to require boys to pass an easy ex- amination before they went out to work at all. When the boys leave school they can read and write fairly, and know the common rules of arithmetic. There is no night school here; I cannot attend to it, because from ill health I am unable to go out at night, and the Government inspector will not allow the master to attend to it. The cottages here are not much crowded; those built by the proprietors are good, those built by the speculators are bad. There are at present [Feb. 12] about 40 empty cottages in this village; the people have left them to go where they can get better wages. The rent of each is about 4/. or 41. 10s. The cottages belonging to the neighbouring proprietors are not so dear. None of the labourers go inconveniently far to work, or if they do they have time allowed them for it. I let nearly 20 acres in allotmenis to four men, who sublet to the cottagers. I make no stipulations, except that they shall not work or bring produce home on Sun- day. Each allotment is about 20 poles. The cottagers usually sell a few of their potatoes. They grow corn; I don’t object to that. My tenants pay me 751. for the 20 acres ; I pay all the rates and taxes. My tenants reserve a portion of the land which they cultivate themselves, and sometimes work for the other men to whom they let portions of it. I would not place any restriction upon the extent of allotment, I would let the cottagers have as much as they like. I attribute great importance to a man’s having a good cot- tage ; I think each ought to have a cellar. Some of the cottagers (the best) usually buy a nine gallon cask of beer; that pays them very well, better than going to a public house for their daily wants; the publican’s beer is very generally adulterated, and produces a fictitious thirst. [I may mention incidentally that I visited one of the lacemaking schools referred to above. It was kept by an old woman, who lived in a tolerably good cottage in the middle of the village. There were 13 girls at work when I saw it, about 8 to 14 years old, all except one sitting so cld8e together as scarcely to- be able to move. The schoolmistress told me she had kept it for 46 years, that each girl paid her $d. a day and earned 3d. or 4d., or rarely as much as 6d., 2 day by her work ; they had to provide the materials themselves; this money the girls or their parents kept. They worked from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m, and were absent half an hour for dinner. I observed 2, 451 a hazel stick, about as thick as my first finger, within easy reach of the mistress,—F. H. N.] 129. Extract from Return sent in by the Rev. , T. Sanpers, Moulton. The boys who work in the fields from 6 to 10 years old do so at stated busy times and come to school when these times are over. Hence left alune by the legis- lature their voluntary attendance is perhaps equal to what the compulsory might be. Compulsion would be very unpopular with the labouring poor of this parish. 180. Extract from Return sent in by Mr. H. J. Littir, Moulton. Half days alternately at school and work would simply be impossible ; alternate whole days at school would be very distasteful to farmers, and I think they would sooner do without the children than employ them under such restrictions ; some certain amount of school sttendance during the winter months up to a certain age appears to me the preferable plan. If you restrict the age at which children should be employed, education must be compulsory. For this purpose encourage night schools, make a lower standard of education to make schools eligible for grants from the Privy Council; and be satisfied to make every child’ read, write, and do a simple arithmetical gum well. 131. George Tanne7, age 8.—I went to work last summer with Chown (No. 116). We were picking carrots. We worked from 6 to 6. I took my dinner with me. J earned 4d.aday. Ihave five brothers and sisters at home. My mother sent me to work. I come to school now because there is no work to be done. [Read well.—F. H. N.] 132. John Burditt, age 8.—I went to work for Mr. Jones ; I trimmed the turnips ready for the machine. There is no work to do now, and therefore I go to school. Mother sent me to work. [Read well.— F.H.N.] BUGBROOKE. Population - 935, 133. Rev. Harwood Harrison, rector of Bugbrooke. —The supply of cottages here is sufficient; some cottages are built by speculators and let for 3/. 10s. to 4l. a year, without any land ; other cottages be- long to the neighbouring proprietors, and are good. I say every cottage ought to have three sleeping rooms, most cottages have only two; they all take in lodgers if they can getthem. Itis difficult to prevent them taking in lodgers; I built a cottage, but I felt that I could not interfere with my tenant’s liberty. Allotments are very beneficial. Several cottages in the village are empty now. There are some iron works in the village; trade was slack, and therefore people left. Trade has now become more active again. If a boy leaves school to go to work, and then comes back to school, we always charge him 1s. before we allow him to be re-admitted. We get a good many shillings that way. Ifa boy can only return for a few weeks, hiseparents will not pay ls. in order that he may be re-admitted. There is a night school; only about 16 have attended this winter; last year there were at one time 24, and I have had 30. They pay ld.a week. I attribute the falling off this year to the high price of bread. One man told me _ his bread bill was 9s. a week ; he had five or six children, all young. His wages were about 1/. per week. Four cottages stood together in this village, near a malt- kiln. They had gardens. A speculator bought them. He turned the kiln into six cottages, and built five others on the ground which had been used for gardens. 134. Mrs. Davies {this witness lived in one of the cottages which had formerly formed part of the malt kiln referred to by the last witness—F. H. N.] Ihave lived here a few months, my husband isa labourer. I have six children, the eldest son 19, second son 16, and third son 14, besides three little children. The three eldest go to work at Cold Higham [three miles]. We 3 L Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e@. Northampton shire. —_—- Mr. Norman. e. 452 used. to live there, but the cottage is now pulled down, and my boys go to work where they did before; they leave at 5 a.m. and come back at 7 pm. My husband earns 12s., and my sons 5s., 3s. 6d., and 2s.6d. We all sleep upstairs, there is only one room. [TI was told that this was an exceptional case. The cottage was a very bad one, only one room besides wash-house downstairs and one room upstairs. Chil- dren very dirty ; did not go to school.—F. H. N.] KISLINGBURY. Population 723. 135. Charles H. Watts, Kislingbury.—I farm 360 acres, chiefly my own and brother’s land; two-thirds are pasture. They work from 6 to 6 in summer, and from 7 to 4.30 in winter, and they have half an hour for break- fast, one hour for dinner, and half an hour in the afternoon. When at plough they go out at 7, they stop to bait the horses in the field at 11 for half an hour with nosebags, and come in at 3, then the boys have dinner, and after that do odd jobs. I think it would be inconvenient to spare them in the afternoon. There is always plenty for them to do. I always hire my boys in the village, and know whether they have been to school; they are more serviceable to me when they have been to school than when they have not, although I very seldom have a job for them to do which it is necessary that they should be able to read. I have between 60 and 70 cottages; the rent is from 52s. to 70s. a year, with gardens. I have three better cottages at 80s. They have allotments besides; they pay 12s.arood. All the people belonging to the vil- lage who apply for them have them. They may grow what they like, but they may not plough. They grow corn; that is a mistake, because you cannot tell whether it comes out of your own barn ; it is a temp- tation to them. My private opinion is that 20 poles close at home is better than a rood a mile away. I think that in summer I don’t get as much work out of my men as I should, because they go to work for themselves. There are generally a few idle men about who do jobs on the allotments in the winter; they dig by the pole. I dou’t think any legislation is wanted in the district. Progress is being made. There are sufficient cottages, except in the close parishes. I expect the Union Rating Act will have a good effect. 136. James Killingbeck, schoolmaster at Kisling- bury since 1857.—Almost all the boys in the village attend school up to the age of 8. They then fall off in the summer months. Almost all who have attended regularly up to the age of 8 attend subsequently from November to March. In the year 1867 13 boys left the school altogether ; their average age was 10 years 10 months. The girls go to the lace school; 17 left -last year; their average age was 8 years 11 months. HARPOLE. Population - - 833. 137. Rev. R. B. Dundas. —TI have held this living for 20 years. Attempts have been made in this village to set up a training school for girls; that died away, because the girls found they could get places among the farmers and tradespeople without any training, and so it was not worth their while to goto school They get very little when they first go out, 50s. or 60s. a year, but they are kept. This is an open village, and the cottages are very dear and . very bad; they are built as a speculation; the supply is sufficient. Most of the work is near at hand, --though some of the men. go two miles to a place where the supply of labour is deficent. There is not much - lacemaking. I let 30 acres in allotments; I could let 20 more if I had them. Half an acre is what the men like ; I think that is too much for a labouring _taan; I am obliged to give way, because if I don’t - others will. Farmers dislike allotments, because they say that they take the labour out of the men. My only rules are, that the allotments must be dug up by December 31 in each year, and that the allotment EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN must be divided into two equal parts, one part to bear a grain crop and the other a green crop. I don't think a grain crop is likely to make a man dishonest; if he wants to take corn he will take it whether he has an allotment or not; if they are not to have an allotment for that reason, they should not be allowed to feed a horse or a pig. Some of the labourers sell the produce of the allotments; that is because they want the money, not because they grow more than they can consume. The allotments should be placed close to the cottages; they are only placed in a field because there is not room near the cottages in this village. The village is crowded, and there was a fever here last year. I think people go too far about compulsory education; it will be the end of the voluntary system. WOOTTON. Population - - 837. 138. John James. —I am a labourer, but am ill now and cannot work. I have four sons at home, aged 16, 14, 11, and 8. None go to school, but they used to go before we came to live here ; I cannot send them, because I cannot afford it; I think it best for them to learn. My two eldest sons go to work ; they earn 4s. and 3s. a week. They work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and are strong and healthy. We pay ls. 6d. a week for this cottage, with a small garden and no allotment. [This was avery bad and dirty cottage, only two rooms, one up and one down stairs; in the former the whole of the family slept. I calculated the size of the rooms was 8 feet by 14.—F. H. N.] 189. Thomas Williams.—I farm 160 acres ; one- third grass. I am also a maltster, and have a brick- yard. I never employ females. I employ two boys generally all the year round; they are about 13 years old; I pay them 4s. a week. I occasionally employ boys about the age of 10 for bird-keeping, stone-pick- ing, &c.; I pay them 2s. a week. I could do without boys up to the age of 10 without serious inconvenience. I can always find something for my boys to do, unless the weather is very bad; but I could spare them a little in winter until they are 12 years old. When they go out to plough they come in at 2 p.m., and do simply nothing after that; I could spare them to go to school if it was wanted. I think if they have nothing to do they ought to be made to go to school ; I think they would be more useful as labourers if they were a little educated. LITTLE HOUGHTON. Population = - - 578. 140. W. Smyth, Esq.,J.P., Little Houghton.—I farm 700 acres of my own land; one-third grass.. I employ no women or girls as a rule. The cottages are sufficient in number; they belong tome; many are old-fashioned, but they are good ; the rents range from 1s. to 2s.; very few at the latter price. I take care to have a certain number of cottages with two, three, and four rooms. I have a few small cot- tages let as low as 9d. a week. All the cottages in the parish are in the village, except a few which I have built on my own land at a distance. Sometimes wives will not let their husbands go away from the village, because it is melancholy work living away from the village. I know of no changes in the law which I think it desirable to make as to the building of cottages, it is so palpably every one’s interest to build cottages on his own land. It is rather difficult to get the labourers to live away from the village, but it gives the employer a moral control over them to have them near him. I make no allowance in point of time for the distance my men have to come to work. Most of my cottages have gardens attuched to them, and allotments besides. I think allotments desirable ; about 20 poles is sufficient for a herb garden, a man can dig that. I gave one man 40 poles, and saw a plough and pony at work on it. The em- ployer loses nothing if the man has only 20 poles. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Corn is not grown on the allotments here, It would be impossible to send the boys engaged at work to school here ; they are so scattered that you could not collect them until the day’s work is over: There is no great w&nt of education about there ; there has been a great improvement in that respect, but there is a want of a moral tone among the young men. I think it would be a good thing to restrain them from going to work until 10 or il years of age; I don’t think you could compel boys to go to an evening school after they once begin to work, you must induce them to go. An examination before going to work would be of no use, as some boys are quite incapable of reading and writing. There are usually benefit, clothing, and coal clubs in all the villages about here. I think as much is done here without legislation as could be done with it. COURTEEN HALL. Population - ~~ 162 141. William Thomas Haskins, schoolmaster of Courteen Hall Grammar School.—Been there 12 years. There are 41 boys at school, two-fifths are sons of labourers. I do not take them until they can read an easy book (monosyllables). I have had sons of labourers who can do that at 6, and some not till they _are9orl10. They pay 2s. a quarter; that provides all materials; the instruction is really free. I have had them from 15 parishes, but since certificated masters have been appointed in some of the parishes, many have ceased to come fiom those parishes. They attend regularly up to 9; then they attend about six to nine months in the year up to the age of 12. At 12 they cease to attend altogether. When they leave me they can write a letter, read the newspapers, know enough of figures to understand a bill. They come long distances to my school, from two to four miles. One boy I have now who came from an infant school ; he is 9, and has been with me going on for six months. After giving him a lesson on the map of England, I asked him what county he lived in; hesaid “February ;” being told he was wrong, he said “ 1868.” The boys are attracted away from my school to go to-work. The boys who go to work are very healthy ; it is a wonder we get them to school at all, they are never so happy as when they are in the fields. BRAFIELD. . Population - ~ 494, 142. Rev. W. L. Collins, of Brafield.—I have been five years in this parish and 15 in the neighbourhood. Almost all the boys in the parish are either at school or at work, all except three or four. The boys leave at about the age of 9 years to go to work ; at the present time there are only two or three in the school out of a total of 45 boys, who are over 9 years of age. Now and then, when a boy gets a job at pig keeping or bird minding, he comes back to school again when it is over ; but as a general rule, when they have once left school they do not come back. When they leave finally, they can usually read fairly and write imperfectly. I should not wish them to stay at school after they are 11; ae. 1 do not think it would be practicable with reference to the fact that they are the children of poor parents; besides which, I think we could teach them all they would require by the time they arrived at that age, if their attendance was regular. It might be sufficient if they devoted their time exclusively up to the age of 10, and a portion of their time up to the age of 11 toeducation. The only plan which I think practicable for the education of boys after they go to work is by night schools. I don’t like the notion of cumpulsory education, but I think you might prevent them from being employed up toa certain age. I don’t think it necessary. I think things will right themselves - with a little management. I think it would be very desirable and very practicable to enact that no boy should be employed in the fields until he is 9 (I should prefer 10), unless ‘he has obtained a certificate of proficiency before that age. I should like to have a ‘night:school every night in the week, three times for ‘in the parish ; none of his family can read. 453 boys between the ages of 10 and 15, and three times for lads over 15. I used to have a.night school for four months in the year for two hours a night; I had it last year, but the attendance became irregular and I gave it up. We have only a schoolmistress; and she cannot teach big boys. At one time 30 boys used to attend the night school (the population of the parish is 500); but they became irregular, and I said I would not have a school unless 12 attended, and I had to give it up, but if I remain here I shall resume it next year. : _ The cottages here are very bad as regards ac- commodation, although they are not deficient in number, nor inconveniently situated as regards the land to be cultivated; few have more than two bed-rooms ; some of them belong to small pro- prietors. The people are healthy. I am not aware that the crowded state of the cottages leads to actual immorality, although it produces an immoral tone ; the rent varies from 50s. to 80s. a year. There are some cottages which belong to small proprietors, and have been built as a speculation; they are not worse than others, but are rented higher, and usually have no garden. I do not think that the present state of cottages is due to any defect in the law; perhaps a law might be introduced enacting that no new cottage should be built without two bed-rooms. The accom- modation here is growing worse, because the population is becoming more numerous. I do not think that the Union Rating Act hag had any effect, and no advantage has been taken of the Labouring Classes Dwelling- house Act. Ido not think that the poor are at all indifferent to education ; the only reason they do not send their sons to school more regularly is, that they want the earnings of the children, and while they are at school they do not see the advantage of regular attendance. I highly approve of’ allotments ; about half of the cottagers here have them—more than half ; they answer extremely well. We make it rather a a favour to the cottagers to let them to them; they usually have from 40 to 10 poles, and they pay rent at the rate of 8/. per acre; they may grow what they like, and many of them grow corn, which they usually sell. I think it best to let the men manage their allotments as they like, although I used to think differently. I think they can manage 25 poles with- out depriving their employer of the best of their labour ; their boys and their wives work for them. There are many shoemakers here who have allotments, and the work is very good for them. 148. Exrract from a letter written by the Rev. W. L. Cortins of Brafield. “T have tried to make out for you as you wished the average age at which children leave school in the agricultural villages in this county. Judging from my experience as diocesan inspector, I should say that the great majority of the children leave the school before they reach the highest class. I[ have taken the returns of 85 village schools which are under in- spection in this county, and I find thatthe average age in the second class, taking the first as the highest, is 8 years and 9 months. This would coincide with my own impression as to the age at which boys com- monly leave for field labour. The girls might fairly be put a year higher. They, in the majority of cases do reach the highest class in the school.” - 144. William Bailey, age 10. live in the village and work for Mr. I have been at work two years ; I drive the plough and clean the stable; I go to work at 6.80 and get home at6. I have four brothers and three sisters, all at home except me; Father works with the engine. I earn 3s. a week. I go to school on a Sunday ; I can’t read much, and never learnt to write. Only one of my brothers goes to school ; he is older than me. We sleep three in each room at home. I like. going to work better than to school ; father is not much of @ scholar. [I was told that this was the most “unlicked cub” The case was quite an exceptional one.—F. H. N.})« 3L 2 Northampton- Shire. Mr: Norman e. Northampton. shire. —— Mr. Norman. & 454 SPRATTON. Population - - 1,086. 145. Rev. J. L. Roberts, vicar of Spratton.—There is no trace of private gangs in this district. I never heard of such a thing about here, and it could not exist in the neighbourhood without my knowledge. As a general rule women and girlsare not employed in agricultural labour. Agricultural labour interferes with boys’ education by making them leave school early. I think the education is insufficient in quality when they’ leave, and apt to be forgotten. They forget how to read and write when they go to work, but they pick up practical knowledge and shrewdness. There is no more intelligent class than the better class of agricultural labourers. I think the deficiences I have mentioned might be supplied by the attendance at day school of children under 10 years of age during the winter months, and by attendance at night school after that age. I object altogether to compulsion ; I think the remedy will come of itself. People gra- dually begin to see the necessity of education. Some time ago people emigrated from this place, and then arose the necessity of letter writing ; now every boy wants to write. So stores have been established, which necessitate calculation, and they wish to learn arithmetic. Resistance would follow compulsion. The labourers too are becoming more ambitious than they were, and they know they cannot get on without education. The school here was formerly inefficiently conducted, it was then neglected by the poor; it is now better managed and is proportionately valued. A night ‘school is the only mode of educating boys after they go to work ; the early education must be supplemented by night schools, and the Government should make provisions which would give support to them. It should be so arranged that the certificated teacher can conduct the night school efficiently with- out a feeling of oppression; probably this would in- volve an alteration of the work to be done in the day school, and greater liberality in the grants. There are a few children in the village who don’t go either to school or to work ; that is due to the immoral charagter of the parents. The Government grant should be given to boys who attend the night school over 10 years of age, and not over 12. All the boys go to work at 10. Cottages in number are more than sufficient ; that is because the people have gone to the mauufacturing districts, on account of the long dis- ‘tances they had to go from here to get work. In accommodation the cottages were formerly infamous, but are gradually improving because the worst are uninhabited. The cottages are well situated as regards the work to be done in this parish, but this is an open village and supplies labour to the neighbouring parishes where there is a scarcity of cottages, and some of the labourers have long distances to walk to their work in those parishes, from 24 to 5 miles. Many cottages are built upon the waste, and the cot- tagers have enclosed portions of the land. These cottages are beyond all control. Those of them which belong to respectable men are good, the others bad. Rent is from 1s. to 2s. a week without gardens. Most of the agricultural labourers have allotments. I think I approve of allotments, but gardens are preferable; each allotment should not be more than a quarter of an acre, and there should be no restriction as to culti- vation. There is a store in the village ; it works well and respectably. I never ask the people to support it, they support it of themselves. The villages about here - are large and the people independent. The agricul- tural labour is not physically injurious within rea- sonable limits as to distance ; but I have known men who were insufficiently fed break down under it, or diseases developed. 146. Exrracr from Return sent in by the Rev. J. L. Roperts. The third mode (Print Works) is the only prac- ticable mode of enforcing school attendance; but even in this case compulsory action is undesirable. The EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN school attendance is importantly affected by the pe- cuniary resources of the parents. The question resolves itself really into the provision of the school on the one hand and the rate of wages on the other. The effect of cottage accommodation upon morality is direct and extreme; upon education indirect and powerful through morality. Controlling powers simi- lar to those in corporate towns are needed grievously in villages. The present sanitary Acts are tolerably effectual as to external arrangements, but wholly fail as to the interior. There ought to be some limit as to the tenement which a speculator or pauper proprietors can offer for human habitation; poor people literally convert pigsties and out-hovels into cottages and let them to each other to the great detriment of their neighbours’ property and persons. The course of events points clearly to arise in agricultural wages, and cottage accommodation will form a proper item in these wages, enhancing, of course, the cost of pro- duction. The thing will work itself out. 147, Extract from a letter written by the Rev. J. L. Roserts in explanation of his oral evidence. 1. My opinion is founded primarily upon my own experience, and this experience is ‘not’ derived from villages purely agricultural. 2. But in my own parish, and others similarly situated, the development has been gradual and is progressive, and I am of opinion’ that, owing to the vastly increasing habits of communication amongst all classes of the poor, the wave will spread even- tually over the whole country, reaching the most neglected districts at the latest period. 3. The external circumstances of this parish have not greatly altered in 20 years. The character of the people has altered most perceptibly in 10, and notably in this respect. 4, There is indifference in a certain class of parents arising, as I stated in conversation, from demoraliza- tion and utter absence of affection beyond the mere aropy; which really subsides after the infancy of the child ; with reference to this indifference I would say, (1) compulsion will raise it into hostility ; (2) it will bafile all legislative measures; (3) the compulsory attendance of such unfed, unclothed, uncared for chil- dren at school will produce very small and valueless results in their case ; and (4) will tend to lower ap- preciably the results of voluntary attendance in others. 5. T would call your attention to a difficulty in management arising out of exclusion from labour at a proper age on account of non-attendance. Practically it will remove from the managers the power of expul- sion. There would be in this place, and in others, instances of positive uncleanliness of person and utter indecency of conduct which ought I think, in justice to the children, to bar attendance ; I have felt the difficulty very seriously in the case of Sunday schools. 6. I would draw a clear distinction between restraint from labour on the ground of age (which I would look upon as protective), and restraint of children capable of labour on the ground of non-attendance at school, which I should look upon as penal. 7. I think that if Government are to interfere by direct legislation with education, they must control three elements in social life simultaneously to produce any result of real value, viz., education, cottage accommodation, and beer shops, &c.; and that the single treatment of every one of these will be nuga- tory ; and of the three I believe ‘beer shops and the public house question to be the master one controlling the other two. 8. The other two I believe to resolve themselves really and ultimately into that of wages ; and that the wages question will settle itself, especially as it shall become more customary to pay different labourers at varying rates, and so to encourage superiority of work, which implies superiority of intelligence. The real reason for indifference to education among the agricultural poor is tobe found, first, in their IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :— EVIDENCE. poverty, secondly, in their want (to use a somewhat cant expression) of a “ career;” the moment that they see the world open to them, that moment they will appregiate the education which enables them to avail themselves of the opening, and this will be the case as soon as the intelligent farmer sees the superior value of an intelligent labourer, and the intelligent (i.e. the educated) labourer commands a better rate of wages. The effect of direct Government interference is to reduce everything to a uniform level, to raise perhaps the lower line but proportionately at least to depress the higher, and to discourage all higher culture and the development of individual talent. The effect of the Revised Code eminently illustrates this. I apprehend a great deterioration in the tone and interest of school education under direct Government management or direct compulsory system. 4 148. J. Griffiths, schoolmaster, Spratton. — I have been here two years. The boys may enter the school after the age of 6. Some never attend regularly, ze., they only attend during three of the 12 months of the year; that is owing to the demand for field work. Those who attend regu- larly attend until they are 12 years old. When they leave, they can read so as to amuse themselves ; they can write fairly, and know enough arithmetic to understand a bill, About one-third of the whole number of boys who come here attend regularly; but they are not of the agricultural classes. The atten- dance had increased last year 25 per cent. as compared with previous years. I think the increase is likely to continue at the same rate, because the school is better managed than it was. We have not enough money to keep up the night school well. I have to be in the day school five hours and a half five days a week; and in the night school two hours two or three days a week. J could not even pay the expenses of the night school from the money I get from the night school, aided by the grant. Every boy who gets anything gets on an average, 2s. That would not pay the ordinary expense of keeping up the school, z.€., lights, &c. 149. Mrs. Balderson.—I have five children :—1, boy (age 11); 2, a girl (age 10); 3, a boy (age 6); and two other girls. My husband works for [within one mile]. My husband has been at work for three weeks, but he was out of work for five or six weeks before that. My eldest boy goes to work; he earns 2s. 6d.a week. I wish my children to go to school. My husband can read and write. There is more schooling now than there used tobe. My second boy, who is 6, goes to school. 150. Richard White, age 10.—I used to go to work for Mr. , who lives close by. I used to work from 7 a.m. to 7 pm. I had one hour for dinner, which I took with me ; half an hour for lunch, and half an hour at 4 p.m. I earned 2s. a week. I was not very tired in the everiing when I came home. [I first went to work two years ago. My father is a postman at Northampton. [Read well ; an exceptional case; few so good.— 151. Henry Martin, 8.—I go out to frighten birds for Mr. I go out at 7, and return home at Ts My father is a labourer. I have four brothers and two sisters at home; we all sleep in one room with father and mother. Iwentto work because Mr. came to fetch me. I like coming to school better than going to work. [Read fairly. ] RAVENSTHORPE. Population - - 701. 152. Mr. Edward Lantsbery.—I live at Ravens- thorpe, and farm 400 acres (half pasture) of my own land. I don’t employ women ; they are very seldom employed about here, except in spudding thistles, turn- ing hay, taking in harvest, shocking barley, &c. I don’t think anybody employs above two or three of them, and they are the-lowest of the low. . My regular staff is eight men and five or six boys (aged from 14 to 455 18.) Besides them I employ little boys to keep off Northampton- birds. I pay the men 12s., and boys 4s. to 8s.. besides beer every day (that is not usually allowed about here). All my labourers live close to my land. I have no difficulty in getting boys ; they are generally my labourers’ boys. Inever employ a boy under 10 years old. Their chief work is driving the team. In De- cember and January they attend to my beasts, and one of them is always with the shepherd. They are always healthy. Ploughing lasts until the middle of July, and then they hoe turnips. I think all my boys have been to school. I think everybody ought to be able to read and write. I find all my boys trust- worthy. When they go to plough they return home at three; then they have their dinner, clean the horses, and do odd jobs. It would be inconvenient to me to let them go away vufly in the afternoon. I should prefer my men living in the village, if sufficiently accessible from their work. In my parish the cottages are sufficient in number, and good. The parish is special in that respect. I have seven or eight cottages let with gardens and allotments; the rent is usually 1s. a week, We have allotments in this parish. The land was left as a charity to be so used. Some men have as much as an acre. If they have that quantity, they will go to work for themselves two or three weeks together. Allotments are a great help to them. I don’t object to their growing corn. I think half an acre is ample. I do not think it would be.a hardship to say that nobody should go to work unless he could read and write ; but I object to coercion. 153. Rev. W. A, Strong, Ravensthorpe.—Almost every family in this parish has an allotment; they are one or, two.roods each; there are in the parish 47 or 48 acres let under 2/. an acre ; we make no stipula- tion as to cultivation ; we make them cultivate with spade, but they don’t dig deep, and they grow wheat and vegetables; they seldom employ men to assist them, and seldom send their wives and children to work ; they all wish to have as much land as we will let to them. The education here is decidedly defective ; I think a compulsory scheme would be desirable if practicable, and that the expense should be met by a rate charged on all ratepayers. All the children, boys and girls, go to work in the fields from 7 upwards ; some of them come to school at certain times of the year after that age, and go to work at other times. I have reason to believe that the field labour is very injurious to the health ; a girl died here lately in consequence of a cold caught while bird scaring. There are no resident gentlemen here, but there are 16 farmers. I have been here three years and have never received any pecuniary assistance from the farmers for the school. 154, Extract from the Return sent in by the Rev. Witiiam A, Strone, of Ravensthorpe. 1. I believe that the allotment system has the effect of preventing wages from rising, for the land which the allotees work is let at a low rent, and this with the produce is evidently supposed to make up for low wages. 2. I have known farmers say that a man cannot throw his best strength into his master’s work, for he naturally keeps himself more or less for the evening hours of the work, or perhaps before going to his regular employment he has had an hour on his allotment. THORNBY. Population - - 252. 155. I. S. Lovell, Esq.—I farm 240 acres (160 being grass). It is chiefly my own property. I employ one woman pretty constantly ; she is an old friend and comes for her own sake, not for mine. I employ a few women and girls (aged about 10) in haymaking, and sometimes one or two more in spudding thistles. The women are not generally employed about here; they are employed a little in haymaking, and they glean in harvest for themselves.. The boy I employ 3L 3 shire. Mr, Norman. e. Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e 456 is almost always with the team. There are no gangs, either public or private. I think that in this neigh- bourhood the education of the labourers is sufficient; it is gradually improving. The. children are better educated than their fathers were, and they know enough for all the duties they will have to perform. I don’t think they would do the work better for me ag an employer, if they knew more. There is a night school ‘here; there was a difficulty in obtaining a regular attendance, but that difficulty has been met by refusing to receive the scholars at all unless they come regularly. There is neither club nor store here; the, parish is too small to maintain them, but most of our men belong to clubs in the adjoining parishes. The population is purely agricultural. I object to women going to field work; but it is better than lace work, it is more healthy, and when they return home in the evening, they remain at home. We are well off for cottages, none of my men come more than one mile; most of the cottages have gardens. There are 24 acres of land here left in the hands of trustees to be allotted at their discretion to the most deserving of the poor, at the rate of 2s. 6d. an acre ; that works well. Each family (married couple) has half an acre, and six of the most deserving families have a portion of the land together, on which they can keep six cows. They can manage half an acre a piece if conveniently situated, without seriously interfering with their ordinary labour. Some of the farmers do object to their having that amount. They have to leave their work (for their employers) occasionally, chiefly in-spring and autumn, and they ask leave to be absent. There are a few young and idle men about, who are employed on the allotments. We make no stipulation as to what they may grow, most of them grow corn. I think it would be a good thing if boys, did not work until they were 10; but I object to State interference. COTON (Hamlet of Ravensthorpe). - 156. Mr. W. Biggs, Coton, near Guildsborough.—I farm about 950 acres. I have 400 here (mixed), 330 at Stanford Hall (all grass), and 200 at Cold Ashby. I never employ women or boys if I can avoid it; I never do it except at Stanford for a few days among the: hay. I would not do it if I could get men. Women’s labour is very expensive. I employ six or seven boys; I cannot do without them. I seldom employ a boy under 11 or 12 years of age ; they can- not drive a team younger than that, and most of them are older. My ploughs are always double, and a boy of-14 or 15 can direct a plough with two horses, Ploughing and harrowing occupies the boys in spring, summer, and autumn, and they clean turnips in winter. There is rather a scarcity of boys here, but I don’t have to hunt about after them ; they come to me if they want work. I employ little boys of 7 or 8 to frighten birds, but for no other job; they are obliged to goout on Sundays. That occupies them from about 20th February to first week in May, for about three weeks before harvest, and also for three weeks after the wheat is sown in October. I have a difficulty in getting boys for that ; I sometimes want seven or eight. If we had no boys we might as well not sow the corn, and I am obliged to send about the villages to get the boys. I never employ little boys in any other ways. I employ one man always in winter with two or three boys cleaning and cutting turnips in the field with the flock, but I engage the boys. Most of my men go about one mile to their work. The cottages are some good and some bad ; the rent without a garden is Is., and with a garden 60s. or 70s. There are‘no cottages at Stanford. In every village empty cottages are to be found now ; they are generally the worst. The supply of labour is diminishing ; the worst is that only the old and useless men remain. I don’t want boys under 10 except at the times I have mentioned. At Ashby some of the best educated men were the worst for us; but they have a better chance of getting on if they are educated. I think it right to make boys learn, but I don’t think there are enough schools EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN about the country now to compel them to go ; that is the only objection I see to it. Allotments are very good for gardens, but growing corn is a bad system ; a man cannot cultivate corn with spade labour so as to get a profit. At Ravensthorpe, where there are above 50 acres of allotments, the labourers sometimes waut to leave their work for a fortnight together to work for themselves. I think an allotment should be one rood in extent, and confined to vegetables. Grow- ing corn encourages dishonesty, and even if honestly worked it is no advantage, because no profit can be made from small farming like that. They don’t work for us as they do for themselves ; they go home as soon and as fast as they can to work on their allotments. 157. BR. Ward, age 9.—I frightened crows for Mr. Biggs (56) last Michaelmas, and: frightened one spring before. I have been at work regularly since last Michaelmas. I went to school at Guildsborough before I came to work. My father is waggoner for Mr. Biggs. I have two brothers and one sister, all younger than me. I like.frightening crows better than regular work, because it is not so hard. I had as soon go to school as to work. I live at Coton [close by]. I go to the Sunday school at Guildsborough. [Read a little—_F., H. N.] HOLDENBY. Population - - 184. 158. W. Painter, of Holdenby.—I farm 95 acres arable, and nearly 300 pasture. JI employ women and girls in weeding corn in May and June, and in hay time’; they sometimes spud thistles or cock barley when people are busy, but I do not employ them at other times of the year, and never under 17 or 18 years of age. That sort of work is occasionally valu- able to me at a pinch. I generally employ four boys from 10 to 16, chiefly with the team. There are no private gangs about here. I have no employ- ment for boys until they are 10, except to frighten crows and keep pigs, &c. This is a close parish, and there are no cottages in it. There is a pros- pect of having cottages built since the change in the law. My men come from Spratton or East Hatton [2 miles each]. My men have to be here punctually, notwithsianding the distance they come. I would not pay my landlord a per-centage on the out- lay necessary for building cottages. There is only a dame’s school here, but the boys are as well educated as they can be under the circumstances. They leave work at 5.30 this time of the year. I don’t think they would be more useful to me if they knew more. 159. George Page, age 10.—I live at Holdenby. My father is a labourer. I have only one sister. I live with grandfather. I go to night school four months in the year ; I went to day school before I came to work. I went one year to frighten birds for Mr. ; the crop was beans. I used to get cold and wet, but not tired, frightening birds. [Read fairly. LAMPORT. Population - - 350, 160. Exrracr from Return sent in by the Rev. R. Isnam, of Lamport. There is not a person above 8 years old who cannot read and write in either Lamport or Hanging Houghton. 161. Charles Howard.—l live at Hanging Hough- ton. I am 138 years old. _ I work for Sir C. Isham. . I have been at work off and on since I was 6. Ihave , been to night school, and occasionally to day school during that time. I could read and write a little when I came here a year ago, but have learnt nearly all since. [Read well.—F. H. N.] HASELBEECH. Population - - 180, 162. Mrs. Griffin, \abourer’s: wife.—I think no boy should go to work under 10. I have-a son, aged 8. IN AGRICULTURE (]867) COMMISSION : —EVIDENCE. who scares for Mr. Pell; he earns 3s. a week, and has been scaring seven weeks now; he was so employed six weeks last autumn, and about seven weeks jast July and August with the peas. He helps in harvest with me, and earns about 6s. at it altogether. My family (four in number) obtained 17 stone of flour by gleaning last year. My son of 8 is a very sharp boy, and lives close to his work, and he may earn 80s.a year. [The cottage was in the centre of the farm where the boy worked.— F. H. N.] Most boys under 10 would never be able to earn more than 40s.a year. It would cost me more to keep him than it does if he had his meals in the field, but living near his work he can come home and get a warm comfortable meal, so that there is no waste. I keep beer in the house. We have a nine gallon cask every six weeks, it costs 13d. a gallon ; and I find it answer better than spending all that money in meat. My eldest son pays me 8s. a week for his board and washing. *My two biggest boys go to night school, and I have two girls at the day school, and my youngest son goes to the day school when he is not at work; and when he is at work we give him a lesson to do when he comes home in the evening. If he earned only 40s. a year, I would send him to school regularly, and sacrifice his wages. If he were to get a good education he might get on the railway, or get a foreman’s place, or some work other than that of a farm labourer. I think it is the duty of every man to educate his children, both for this world and the next. We hope both our boys will get something better than mere labourer’s work soon. - We had an offer from a blacksmith yesterday, to take my boy Dan (age 16) as apprentice without any premium, but we refused it because we did not like the man who made the offer, and Dan was not anxious for it. I think no boy ought to go to work until he is 10 years old, or can read and write. I think it costs 20s. a year more to keep a boy when he goes to work than when he goes to school. CLIPSTON. Population - - 877. 163. Mr. J. R. Wartnaby.—I farm 460 acres (120 arable), chiefly my own land. I employ females in hay time only. I employ about 10 boys; about three go with the teams; the other seven scare birds, clean turnips, pick stones and twitch, &c.; two or three of them together do that sort of work. I had rather not have any boy to work for me under 9 years of age, and they are only useful at that age to scare. My teams usually come in to be fed at dinner time, and then go out again and remain out until 4 o’clock. That is the usual plan in the Midland counties. There are plenty of men and boys here; we supply a few to other parishes, such as Kelmarsh and Oxenden [two miles each]. We have an old grammar school here, where a free education is given to the boys belonging to six surrounding parishes; there are only 10 boys belonging to those parishes now at the school. [I was subsequently told that two of these 10 boys were the sons of the schoolmaster.—F. H. N.] Boys belonging to other parishes are taken in, but have to pay for their education. The master receives 1002. a year and a house; he must be a clergyman, and is bound to teach reading, grammar, and Latin. I attribute the small attendance entirely to the indifference of the parents. Dissentersmay and do attend, and most of the labourers here are dissenters. I am so amazed at this state of things that I think some measure is necessary. I ~ should not object to the children being compelled to go to school up to the age of 10, except during the time when they are wanted, for scaring. We are well off for cottages; the usual rent is about ls. There are about 80 acres of allotments in this parish ; that is -too much by half. [I ascertained that the amount was 82 acres—F. H.N.] I think they tempt the men to rob us of our time night and morning, and - perhaps of other things. They come to work for us 457 when; they are tired, and don’t, give .us,, their, full strength. The women and children help to work on, the allotments. The wages are usually 12s. ; no allowances except in harvest. I can recolleét wages at 9s. about 20 years ago; and there were very few allotments at that time. When the enclosure took place here, 10 acres of land were set apart for the church, and 13.for the poor. That Jand is let in allotments of one rood each. The churchwardens are bound to spend the rent coming from the poor land for the benefit of the poor, but need not let the land in allotments. It is often extremely inconvenient to me to allow my men to go and work for themselves; but I cannot refuse. I don’t know how many men I can depend upon for a particular day. I do not object to allotments, if near home, and not exceeding one rood for a family. I would not restrict them as to the mode of cultivation. This village is almost purely agricultural. 164. Mr. Smeaton, Clipston.— I am a dissenter ; we maintain an open school here, about 40 or 50 children attend throughout the year. They are principally the children of dissenters, but other children attend as well. The boys stay at school up to 7 or 8, and the girls up to about. 12. There are only ‘the grammar school and an infant school besides ours. I don’t think dissenters object to send their children to the grammar school. I am most decidedly opposed to compulsory education, be- cause I think that no measure would be introduced which did not make religious instruction, which dis- senters object to, compulsory. J should approve of restricting the children from going to work until they are a certain age. I don’t think you would find any village about here where the people are better off than they are here; there is a store which is well supported, and which injures my custom as a grocer. 165. Rev. E. Thompson.—I have about 45 acres of land let in allotments. I have one allotment over three acres, three between two and three acres, 18 between one and two acres, six between half and one acre ; the remainder under half an acre. The allotments are in three pieces of land ; one piece is let at 3/. an acre; that is under half a mile from the village. Another piece is let at 2/. an acre; that is 14 miles from the village ; the third piece is let at ll. 15s. an acre; that is 14 miles from the village. The labourers like the allotments very much,; when one is vacant there are many applications for it. Many of my allotments are cultivated by hired labour. 166. Extract from the Return, sent in by the Rev. Epuunp THomeson, of Clipston. About March 20th, in fine weather I found 15 men without any work. This would be an intolerable state of things if there were no allotments. The allotment system certainly has the effect of raising wages ; the farmers think too much so in harvest time. I know it keeps many of our labouring men from idleness and poverty, and I think fosters a desirable spirit of independence. It works well here. GUISBOROUGH. Population -. - 730. 167. Extract from Return sent in by Mr. T. E. LovE Lt. Any restriction would be useless; the mutual interests of employer and employed are the best for both parties. I think young boys are very much pleased when they can begin to work on the farms.” The competition for labour hy farmers prevents any young persons being overworked, but I would make it illegal to have boys at work under 10 years of age. After boys begin to.work they seldom go to school except on Sundays, nor do I see how their parents “or guardians can afford to maintain’ them without work after 10 years old. In many or most villages the cottage accommodation . is very bad, it is bad for the moral as it is for the Lh 4 eee , Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. e,. Northampton- shire. Mr, Norman, e. 458 health. There is a general improvement in the last 20 years. Close parishes are those in which the cottages belong to the owners of the land ; these are the best for this reason, the worst labourers are sent to live in open parishes (or those belonging to small proprietors), in these the cottage accommodation is very bad indeed ; labourers ought to live as near to their work as possible. Time, interest, and the union rating will remedy that evil. I occupy land in five parishes; in four of these every possible exertion is made for the instruction of children, in the other I am sorry to say the children are sadly neglected. CHAPEL BROMPTON. 168. Extract from Return sent in by Mr. J. N. Brastey, of Chapel Brampton. In some parishes near this I have observed that where women are constantly employed in field labour the cottages are invariably dirty, the children run half wild, and the money which they earn seems to do no good ; in fact they are generally the poorest families in the place. No farmer will ever employ a child spending any portion of his time at school out of the usual 12 hours. BRINGTON. Population - - 806. 169. James Bramley, Thomas Haynes, Bernard Dunkley, and Richard Judge.—[These were four la- bourers whom I examined at Althorp ; I recorded no answer which was not assented to by all. F. H.N.] A labourer can manage a rood of land without interfering with his ordinary work, but he cannot manage more. We all have allotments. A man and his wife would consume what comes from one rood of land, but if they have no family they would grow a little more corn than if they had a family. Twenty or thirty years _ ago wages were 9s., but then the women and children worked and earned money, now they earn nothing, but it is much better for them to stay at home ; be- sides which, formerly, they had parish allowances. There were no allotments then, or very few. As a general rule the women and children do not work on the allotments, and it is best they should not. The net profits of a rood of land would be about 50s., but that depends so much on the season and on the land. If the allotment is conveniently situated a man can cultivate a rood without losing more than two days in the year. We should like to have an acre, and would be glad to lose time for the purpose of cultivating it, besides which there are always men out of work to help. Some men won't cultivate half a rood, they don’t care about it and don’t deserve to have it. I don’t think there is any desire among labourers to hold land except for the sake of what they got from it. They do not think they rise in position from holding land. If we had a little more land our boys might go to school usually, and to work at their leisure time ; at present if they go out to work they cannot go to school at all; work must occupy them all day. Wages here at 12s. No labourer can afford to pay more than 1s. a week for rent. A good cottage is essential for the health and comfort of a man and his family. Boys about here usually go to work at the age of 9, and as a general rule they don’t go to school after they have once been to work, although they may be out of work a good many weeks in every year. They get at most 2s. a week when they first go out. They may want a little more food when they are at work than at school, but not much, and it saves » great deal in clothes. A boy may perhaps be at work six months in the year before he is 10. We don’t think that a boy who is regularly at work could attend a day school without interfering with the labour due to his master. As a rule the parents do like to have their children educated, but some don’t care at all about it. We think it would be best to compel boys to go to school until they are 10; EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN some parents would never send their children without compulsion. WATFORD. Population - - 450. 170, Extracts from Return sent in by Lord Hentey. There are probably about 30 boys employed in agriculture in this parish. There are very few women so employed ; not more than six regularly. The boys are between the ages of 10 and 14, There are no young girls employed in agricultural labour. There are so few females employed in this neigh- bourhood that it is not possible to form an opinion as to the effects of such employment on their morals; the employment of females with machines, which is occa- sionally seen, may be considered objectionable. Boys should not be employed under 10 years of age. I should consider it rather hard upon the agricul- tural labourers (none of whom have any voice in making the laws or choosing representatives) to be forced to send their children (especially those who are earning something) to school. It must be a dif- ficult matter for a labourer to maintain a family upon the wages which are given here (about 12s. weekly), and it would be hard to interfere with the weekly receipts of the family. The school is in the village, and the children are not generally kept away by distance. There are some outlying cottages in the parish, at a distance of a mile or so from the school, the attendance of the children belonging to which is sometimes affected by the weather. There are about 56 cottages for about 3,400 acres of land—that is insufficient ; we have to hire labourers for the farm and from neighbouring parishes. A considerable number of cottages here belong to myself; many of them are newly built, and are, I trust, healthy and commodious. The rent of the best is 3/. a year ; I have, however, some very bad ones, which I hope to be able to pull down and replace. There are some belonging to small proprietors which are let I believe at 40. or 51. yearly. There are a few small freeholds. I do not know any case in which tradesmen are the owners who oblige tenants to deal with them. I think it very difficult, almost impossible, to build good cottages for labourers which shall pay anything but a very low interest on the money expended ; the simplest cottage can hardly be built under 1002, and the rent of this, if taken at 3/., would produce but a very low interest upon the capital outlay. But if a good sized piece of ground, say from a quarter to half an acre, could be let with the cottage and imme- diately adjoining it, I believe that the labourer could afford to pay a very much higher rent, because his wife and elder children could assist in cultivating it, which they have difficulty in doing with allotments a mile from their home. If a labourer were to pay 71. a year for a cottage with a quarter of an acre of land, worth ordinarily 10s. a year, this would almost make the original outlay upon the cottage remune- rative. The young persons are unable to read or write tolerably. The older children are the principal attendants at the night school, some adults attend, the younger children do not attend. There are no special difficulties in maintaining the night school ; of course it would be satisfactory if the attendance were larger, but as this entirely volun- tary on the part of the pupils, it is a difficulty which hardly admits of a remedy. FLOORE. Population - - 1,188. 170 (6). The Rev. J. P. Johnson, Floore.—I think that the state of education here is defective, but I don’t think that there is any such a substantial evil existing as to require an Act of Parliament to remedy it. The IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, school ‘here has been endowed for 20 boys who pay nothing; the rest pay 3d., or if more than one of a family attend the others pay 2d. and ld.each. If you had compulsion you must admit all the worst children, and it would be impossible to maintain discipline if you could not turn out the black sheep. There are particular families who invariably go wrong. There is no school or labourers’ cottages at Brockhall, which is 24 miles from here. The population of this parish supplies Brockhall and in part other parishes with labour. Some of our men may go two or three miles to work. The rent of the cottages here is about three or four guineas a year without gardens; about 19 cottages have been built upon the waste, they pay nothing ; and the cottages are always kept in one family. I have examined the register of our school, and I find that the 20 children who are educated free attend only half as many times as 20 other children chosen at random who pay. Almost all the labourers who wish for allotments have them. They are some 1 mile and some 13 miles from the cottages. The men grumble at the distance, but would rather have the land there than not haveit at all. They are let at the ordinary rent. I think the allotments take the children away from school a great deal, though the main work is done by the men. The people who live in the bad cottages on the waste are not as a rule worse than other people in the parish, but as a rule the worst of them live in the worst cottages. .71. Mrs. Rogers.—[This witness, the wife of a shepherd, was living in one of the best cottages on the waste mentioned by Mr. Johnson in his evidence.— F. H, N.J]—My husband built this house 14 years ago; it cost 701. We had to borrow part of the money, but it is all paid offnow. The repairs last year cost 3/., but they don’t often come to that. Our rates are 4s. 6d. a year. We have two bedrooms, that is enough for us with three children. My husband is a shep- herd; he earns nearly 12. a week. My eldest son is a clerk in an office at Liverpool; he was educated partly here and partly at Weedon. My second son is’ aged 16, and he is at work with my husband. My husband has an allotment of half an acre ; it is one mile from here ; he could not manage it if it were not on the road home from his work. Mr. , his master, ploughs it for him. We consume everything we grow, and pay 2/. a year for the half acre. My hus- band has always earned as much as he does now, or we could not have built this house. He is no scholar himself, but he tried to give his son a good education. LONG BUCKBY. Population - - 2,500. 172. Rev. C. A. Yate.—I have been here 12 years; the population of the parish is 2,500; they are princi- pally shoemakers. Girls don’t work in the fields at all, and women very rarely. Most of the boys stay at school up to 11 years of age. [The schoolmaster placed the age at 10, saying it was chiefly a town -population.—F. H.N.] There is a National school for boys and another for girls, besides several dames’ and private schools ; the latter are chiefly for infants, but there are one or two for children who might go to the National school. Most of the boys who leave can read ‘and write fairly, and do a little arithmetic. I think that the education has been defective up to the last three or four months, owing to our having a superannuated master, | but he no longer has the management of the school, and at present I don’t think the education is defective. Since the present master has been here the attendance has increased 50 per cent. I have never been able to put my school under: inspection ; the master and mistress are not certificated ; and there is an endowment of 20/.a year for the master which would have to be deducted. "Tam not in favour of compulsion. I think it would ‘be impracticable ; you would require an army of police to carry it out, and it.is contrary to the existing love - of independence. Knowing what I do of the nature of the place, and of the independent character of the 2. 459 people, I think that any pressure would be strongly resisted. Iam not opposed to restricting the age at which children should be permitted to go to work. There used to be a night school here, but it has not been carried on for two years. It is about to be resuscitated, as some of the younger men want to learn to read and write. They are shoemakers. A store has been established here during the last nine years. The sales now amount to about 9,000/. a year; they have not materially increased during the last three or four years. A class has been formed for the education of adults in a room which has been built for the purposes of the store. We have more than sufficient labourers for the work to be done in this parish. The cottages are insufficient in accommoda- tion ; I think there are none with three bedrooms, and some have only one. The rent is Is. 4d., in some cases with a garden. A few have allotments. I have 31 acres of land which I let in allotments of from a quarter to one acre; half an acre is the usual amount. The cottagers plough their allotments; they either hire a plough or in some cases their employers plough it for them, I let them grow what they like. They pay 32. or in some cases 3/. 10s. per acre, and pay tolerably punctually. Ihave a great many applica- tions for my allotments whenever any are vacant. The farmers have not complained to me about the allotments. I have forbidden boys working on the allotments lately; they only get into mischief. The men’s wives work a little. I think the allotment system has a very good moral effect on the men, and I don’t think it tends to keep down wages. I think the Government aid should be extended to all schools, whether the master and mistress are certificated or not. 178. Exrract from a Letter written by Mr. J. Hows, Secretary to the Self-assistance Industrial Society of Long Buckby, established 1858, showing the progress of the society since its commencement. £os d. Amount of business the first year - 2,809 11 8 Profiton same - . - - 194 5.3 Amount of business the sixth year 7,655 17 2 Profit on the same - - 657 14 1 Amount of business in 1867 - 8,845 0 33 Profit on the same - - 856 19 64 We started with 70 members, and have now 283; have paid the sum of 4,2331. Os. 5d. in interest and dividend on members’ purchases ; we have spent in building 8372, and in other fixtures 506/. COLD. HIGHAM. Population - - 349. oe 174. Smith.—I live at Cold Higham. I don’t know , what my Christian name is. I have never been bap- tized. I live with my mother. My father is'dead. I am 12. I don’t know whether I was 12 last year or this. I don’t know when my birthday is. I have never been to school or to any place of worship. I have five brothers and sisters at home ; one of them can read. There is one bedroom in the cottage. [This boy was at work with a horse hoe when I. saw him. There was no school at Cold Higham, where he lived, but there was one:at Pattishall, about three-quarters of a mile of.—F. H.N.] EYDON. Population - - 576. 175. Extract from the Return sent in by the Rev. A. J. Empson. No child under 8 years of age should be employed at all. ‘ All boys over 8 years of age and up to 18 years of age should be compelled to attend an evening school at least 40 nights every year, and produce a certificate 3M Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman. es Northampton- shire. Mr. Norman, e. 460 ‘of such attendance every spring before they are allowed to be employed for the ensuing year. The number and average of boys [at school] is the same in winter and summer, as the few boys who return in winter are balanced by extra infants in summer. All boys, immediately on leaving the day school, should be admitted to the night school, and be allowed to be presented for examination in the various standards as fast as they can be prepared. If a boy attended only the minimum of 40 nights [mentioned above] he would possibly require two years preparation to pass from one standard to another. Assuming him to have passed three standards before going to work he would have reached the fifth standard by the time his compulsory attendance- at night school was ended. | WELFORD. Population - - 1,099. 176. Extracts from Return sent in by Mr. Joun GEE. The women are not employed in the winter, except in stone picking, which is done by the load. The girls work at the bead trimming for Coventry. The demand upon the physical powers does not injuriously affect their health or constitution, but the: old men are subject to rheumatism. Neither females or the young are subject to ill- treatment. I believe scaring the crows has a bad effect on the boys, more particularly on Sundays. I believe it would. be better for the boys to be at school until 10 years old. The work done by young persons is not laborious, and I do not think they are at all injured by it, and I believe legislative restriction would be very un- popular. If the boys attended the day school regularly until they were 10 years old and then had an opportunity of going to a night school four or five nights a week at a cheaper rate than a penny each night for an hour and a half I think they might receive education enough for their position. The girls are taught to sew and knit by the schoolmaster’s wife, who is paid for doing it by the. clergyman’s family. I believe in many cases two cottages could be built for 200/., and by putting half of an acre of land to the two cottages, say worth 301, these might be advantageously let for 52. 10s. each, which would pay nearly five per cent., but the land should be adjoining the cottage. The principal difficulties in the way of maintaining an evening school are want of good teachers to assist the certificated master, want of attention on the part of the boys, and when they almost all leave the day school at 10 years old they are not allowed by the Privy Council to attend a night school until after they are 12, when many become ashamed of their ignorance, and they will not come ; and 3d. a week is too much for them to pay besides buying books. WHITFIELD. Population ‘§- - 265. 177. Mr. J. Bartlett.—I have lived here 38 years. I farm about 900 acres, about 620 of which are arable; I employ about 40 men and boys in winter, and about 50in summer. My wages amount to from 251. to 287. per week. Boys are sometimes handy at the age of 9, but of no real value until the age of 10 ; they give so much trouble before that age. I employ an old man with a gun to scare at 10s. a week; J am sure that is economical on large farms. Young boys do more harm than birds do. My land requires three horses to plough, and therefore I want boys to drive. I have been a guardian of the Brackley union for 20 years and I find that the greatest number of cases of ' better than remedies. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN bastardy occur in those parishes where the cottages are most crowded. ‘There are none from this parish, where the cottages are good. I think that the state of education is defective. I attribute the defect here to the fact that the the schoolmistress is inefficient. I am opposed to compulsion ; I feel certain that the parents would take advantage of the opportunity if they could send their children to a good school. FARTHINGHOE. Population - - 892, 178. The Rev. F. Litchfield—I have been of this parish for 51 years. I think that the education would be sufficient if the conditions upon which the Privy Council would grant money were less exacting. We. have only an’ uncertificated mistress here, and there-~ fore are not under inspection, I think that no pro-. vision should be made for educating children after they | begin to work. As far as this place is concerned, I, am opposed to restricting the age at which they may: goto work. Iam opposed to night schools, because” Lobject to everything which brings people out of their houses at night. The nuisances in cottages and streets require compulsory inspection ; it should be in the, power of any person to make complaints to the magis- trates in cases of nuisances. Inspectors of nuisances should have direct communication with the magistrates. without the intervention of the boards of guardians, and should be fined if they neglect their duty. Guar- dians have so much interest in cottage property that, they are not likely to enforce efficient inspection. I also think the construction of cottages should be put under superintendence ; preventive measures are I would never have more than two bed-rooms in cottages, because more than that offers an encouragement to the sons and daughters. when married to remain living in their parents’ cottage, and it is impossible to have sufficient superintendence: by land agents. I introduced the allotment system here in 1826, and have been satisfied with it ever since. I give 20 poles to each family. I also established a clothing club in 1826 ; and no person who misbehaves - is allowed to share in either the allotments or cloth- ing club, Wages about here are 11s. per week. WICKEN. Population - - 529. 179. Extract from a letter written by the Rev. H. J. Barton, rector. , On my coming here 30 years ago’ there was no girls’ school, and the parents being appealed to said they could not afford to lose the lace money, and therefore could not send their children (girls) to school, Finding that the so-called lace schools were little dens of iniquity, in which not only vile talking was heard, but vile books were read aloud (and such they are still), we determined (1840) to set up a lace school, which so far succeeded by the help of a first- rate lace mistress and reduced payments, that by de- grees the old dens were broken up and all the girls came to us, and have continued with us ever since. This, of course, implies the necessity of two mistresses, but it has proved much more, I hope, than worth the money. Only one school in the deanery (Easton Neston) followed the example, but it is now given up. We began with two days in the fortnight for regular school, now increased to three days, the remainder of the fortnight being given to lace, except for children from 5 to 6 or 7, who are always in re- gular school. The lacemakers whilst at their pillows say their hymns, sing, say their tables, and receive religious instruction from the schoolmistress, besides writing three times a week. The result has been not only a very much improved state of morals, but the girls’ now into good places. Before referring to the school farm or school gar- dens, I will only express once more my own strong conviction, that if in legislating for agricultural get out to service, many of them IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, schools you omit the agricultural element you will do but little good. .... When we began in 1854 we had only four acres, on which we employed 12 boys from & to 10 off and on for seven months in the year ; the other five months were entirely given to the school. The net profit upon the land was about 15/., the value of the produce being about 53/., and the cost of labour, tools, seeds, &c. about 387. This may serve as an approximation. The method of cultivation of the grain crops was upon the Lois Weedon plan; but this, though perfect in theory, was found not to answer. Of late years we have added one more acre, and adopted a modification of the Lois, Weedon plan, which answers well. But instead of 12 boys we can only keep six or seven, the farmers running away with the rest. The profits, however, are greater than when we had less land and more hoys, the value of the. crops varying from 50/. to 602. and the cost of the cultivation from 30/. to 35/. This is a very rough statement, but it will, I hope, give you some idea o the plan. As far as it goes it answers ; and I believe it might be so modified with the two masters as to provide for the teaching of the night school, if Go- vernment assistance were given so as to fill up the gap between 12 and 16 years of age. instead of causing the boys’ attendance at the school to be lengthened, it has, it fact, shortened it, as they become handy lads at an earlier age, and though they get 4d. a day with me for four hours’ work, many go to the farmers for 3d. a day for 10 hours, which means that the parents dare not refuse the farmers when their children are required. {Note.——There is a more detailed account of the working of this school farm in the Journal of the Bath and West of England Society for the Encou- ragement of Agriculture, &e., Vol. V., p. 307. ] 461 HARDINGSTONE. Population - - 1,915. 180. Exrract from Return sent in by Mr. W. SHaw, of Far Coton. I always employ all the boys belonging to the labourers who live in my cottages, of which I have eight, placed by my landlord at my control, in which my labourers live rent free. The field labour is the making of the boys. They are the picture of ‘health, and eat and drink enor- mously ; too much, I often think. F They have all been to school except one, who posi- . tively refuses, and I think he is the steadiest working boy of the lot. All the family have always refused to go to school, but I think it is to their disadvantage, not mine. _ I lived in Cambridgeshire, where 100 children at least where employed in two gangs; they were very young. I saw noimmorality nor impropriety, beyond the fact of the poor children walking so far to and from their work. I often thought, as they were only wanted at special seasons, it would have paid the - employer to have sent some one-horse light vans or I must remark that poy 8 waggons for that purpose. The shoe trade absorbs all female labour, so much so as to make domestic servants scarcely obtainable. If education is to be made compulsory, I should say — 10 years is the age to limit it to. In my opinion cottage accommodation is the most important question of the day, both morally and pecuniarily. Situate as I am, if I had not the full control of my cottages, I could not carry on my farm- ing with any degree of comfort or satisfaction, and now, night or day or on Sundays, my labourers serve me with satisfaction and willingness. 3M 2 Northampton shire. Mr. Norman, e. 462 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN EVIDENCE ACCOMPANYING MR. CULLEY’S REPORT. Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. f. CONTENTS. Page Page Summary of Answers to Commissioners’ Circulars of In- Straw plaiting and plait schools :— quiry, collected from 90 circulars of inquiry returned Bedfordshire ~ - - - 515 from 55 parishes in Bedfordshire, and 82 circulars Buckinghamshire - - 2 - 547 ae one 74 parishes in Buckinghamshire : Lace schools us Ae = 516 Labour returns (Tables A., B., C., D., E., F., for Signing marriage register with a mark asa test of igno- Bedfordshire) - = 464 rance :-— . : Labour returns (Tables A., 'B, C., 0, E., for Back- Bedfordshire Br oy ; = shee inghamshire) - - 480 Buckinghamshire - - 548 School returns (Tables a B., C, D. HB, F., for Per-centage of illegitimate births :— Bedfordshire) - ~ 474 Bedfordshire - - - - - 522 a GTabice ty B, G., D, io Bucking- - 492 Cost per head of charges for in-maintenance and out- General Evidence from the Counties of Bedford and Puake- aa fordshi 599 ingham : edfordshire — - - Containing — Buckinghamshire - - - 548 Evidence on the state of cottages in 52 parishes in Miscellaneous evidence from letters, &c. addressed to th Bedfordshire, and 88 aa in Buckingham- Assistant Commissioner : shire - 496, 522 Bedfordshire :— Evidence on the wages and earnings of labourers From John Harvey, Haq.» ., Chairman of Quarter Evidence given by the labouring class themselves, Sessions - - 518 and such other evidence as is peculiar to the » Col. Gilpin, MP. - - 519 parish from which it comes :— », Major W. C. Cooper, J.P. - - 69 Bedfordshire - - - - 496 » C.P. Stuart, Esq., J.P. - - 4 Buckinghamshire - - - 522 » Capt. Polhill Turner, J.P. - - 520 Opinions of Benches of Mae trals —_ » John S. Crawley, Esq., J.P. - 35 Bedfordshire - et - 509 » James Howard, He - DP. - sp Buckinghamshire - - - -' 539 » Rev. W. H. Bond. - 521 Opinions of Boards of Guardians: — » Inquiry into the stnte of the “dwellings of ihe Bedfordshire - - - - 509 rural labourers (Dr. Hunter, 1864) - 518 Buckinghamshire - - - - 539 » Mr. Graham, Deputy Chief Constable - oo» Minutes of Parish Seating at Turvey (Beds) - - 510 , Extract from report of the Governor of Bed- Medical evidence - - - 510 ford Gaol, 1867 = - - ” Relieving Officers’ evidence: — Buckinghamshire :— Bedfordshire - - - - 511 From Sir Harry Verney, M.P. - - - 543 Buckinghamshire - - - 541 » Rev. W. R. Freemantle - 55 School Teachers’ evidence :— » B.H. W. Way, Esq., J.P. « 544 Bedfordshire - - - - - 511 » W. Brown, Esq., Land Agent - 45 Buckinghamshire - - - 542 » W. Paxton, Esq., Land Agent - 545 Allotment systems :— » Thos. Beards, Esq., Land Agent - = he Bedfordshire - - - - - 513 » Rev. P, J. Ouvry, J.P. - - Bays Buckinghamshire - - - - 546 » W.G. Duncan, Esq., J.P. - - 546 Benefit Societies :— » Rey. J. Tarver - - ays Bedfordshire - - - 516 » Rev. F. A. Faber - - - iy Buckinghamshire - - - 547 » E.R. Baynes, Esq. - ee S45 Tue following answers are collected from 90 cir- culars returned from 55 parishes in the county of Bed- ford. 26 circulats from 16 (te. Woburn union). 39 circulars from 19 parishes in Bedford union. 12 circulars from 10 parishes in Ampthill union. 7 circulars from 5 parishes in Biggleswade union. 6 circulars from 5 parishes in Luton union. 36 circulars being returned by clergymen of parishes, and 54 by owners and occupiers of land. all the parishes in I. As To EMPLOYMENT In Private GANGS. The system of employing persons in agriculture in private gangs scarcely exists in the county of Bed- ford, and where it does exist, is confined to the em- ployment of children under a foreman, who is the servant of the employer. Only five returns under the head of private gangs were given in answer to the circulars of inquiry. In only one of these cases are the children employed throughout the year, viz., in the Woburn Park gang composed of children between 10 and 13 years of age, of whom there are 16. The Melchbourne Park gang consists of 10 children employed from March till October ; these children were all between 8 and 10 years of age at the time the return was made. The other returns under this head apply to the oc- casional employment of children in spring, chiefly in picking up twitch or stones. In answer to the questions under this head,—Mr. C. Stephenson, assistant agent, Woburn Park farm, says, “ There are 16 boys employed throughout the ‘ year in this gang. They are employed in spring, “in assisting shepherd and feeding cattle, picking “ stones and spreading soil, cleaning moots, &e. In IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, summer, in cleaning fallows, hoeing roots, destroy- ing thistles, &c. In autumn, in picking and forking twitch, pulling and storing roots, &c. In winter, the samg as in spring. They go from one to two miles to their daily work. Their usual hours of work upon the land are 9 hours in winter, and 11 in summer ; out of which half an hour for breakfast, and one hour for dinner is allowed. I am inclined to think that where boys have been employed under 10 years of age the demand on their physical powers may have injured their health. Females are not employed here in farm labour, though I should advocate such employment as decidedly preferable to straw plaiting or lace making, i.e. viewed in a “ physical and moral light. It is 2 condition that all boys must be able to read and write before joining this gang (every facility is afforded in this and the neighbouring parishes towards this end), this con- dition and the example set here must have a good effect elsewhere. The man having charge of the gang is a skilled labourer, able to read and write and keep a daily journal, detailing the nature of the “ work and the amount due to each boy for his work ; he is chosen not only for his manual but for his in- * tellectual fitness.” In answer to the question “Have you any observa- “ tions to make as to its being desirable or practicable to subject ‘ private gangs’ to legislative regulations, “ together with ‘public gangs,’” a x Mr, Stephenson says, “ This is a difficult matter to “ express an opinion upon, but I should be inclined * to recommend that boys be able to read and write “ before being employed ; that they should not be em- “ ployed under 10 years of age, nor girls under 12; “ that the working time for children under 13 years “ of age be restricted to nine hours per day. It would “ not be proper to lay down any harsh line as to “ distance to travel, e.g. a village might furnish more “ workers than the land required within a certain “ radius. Rather compel landowners to build cot- “ tages within an easy distance than visit the labourer “ with restrictions which it is not in his power to “* remove.” Mr, Edward Campion, agent to Lord St. John, and manager of Melchbourne Park farm, says :—‘ A gang “ of 10 boys between 8 and 10 years of age is em- _ “ ployed on this farm, during spring, summer, and “ autumn, they work under a foreman, and are employed in our pasture land, in twitching, weeding, singling turnips, and cutting thistles, &., they go “ from 4 to 14 miles to their work, the hours of “ work are 11 hours, including. 14 hours for meals, “ the demand upon their physical powers does not “ affect their health injuriously, nor are they subject “ to any ill-treatment; some of the boys can read “ and write, others only read. Children under “ 10 years of age ought not to work in the cold “ wet winter months, and it is during that time that “ children’s education should be attended to. No “ moral evils or hardships attend the employment of “ such a gang as is employed on this farm.” x ‘ n ‘ a a Mr. W. W. Kilpin, occupier, Bickerings Park, Woburn, says, “I employ a gang of 14 boys, in spring “ and early summer in twitching, picking stones, “ singling turnips, &c., their ages are, “ 6 between 8 and 10 years. « 8 a 10 and 13 ,, “© They work under one of my own labourers. They “ have to come from | mile to 14 miles to their work “ and their hours of work on the land are from « 6am. to 6 p.m. in summer, and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. “ in spring, including 15 hours for meals ; they are “ in no way injured by their employment ; the state “ of their education is not good. Private gangs such “ as mine need no legislative interference.” Mr. T. T. Hine, Knotting Green, Bedford, says : « 1 employ for almost a fortnight at a time in spring, 463 “ summer, and autumn, a gang of boys and girls, “ they are at work now, and their ages are :-— Boys. Age. Girls. Age. “ 2 between 8 and 10 5 between 10 and 13. “3 ‘3 10 and 13 “‘ They are employed: in twitching, weeding, hoeing, “ and singling turnips. They come half a mile. to “ work, and they work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in- cluding 1} hours for meals, they are not over- “ worked, and are too young to be immoral, They “ can read and write a little, and require no legis- “* lative interference.” Mr. John Blundell, Woodside, Luton, occupier, “ For about a month in the year I employ a gang of “ from 20 or 50 boys, between 6 and 12 years of age. “ They are employed in weeding, and I pay them “ each 6d. per day.” n a Onion Peeling.—Another kind of employment in gangs which cannot strictly be called employment in agriculture is the employment of women and children in peeling onions in sheds in the market gardens in the neighbourhood of Sandy and Biggles- wade (see general evidence from Biggleswade) of these gangs. Rev. John Richardson, of Sandy, says: “The “* following is the number and age of women and ‘* children employed in two gangs by market gar- “ deners in Sandy parish :— “ Females: “ Under 8 years : - 29 “ Between 8 and 10 - - 54 » lOand13 - 55 » l8and18 - - 42 “ Over 18 years erasers ee 2 “ Total females so em- 339 “ ployed in Sandy “ A few little boys are sometimes present, but no men “are employed, they work from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m., “and take their own time for meals; some few of “ them come three or four miles to their work.” In answer to the questions as to whether the young or females are subject to any ill-treatment or whether any special employment injuriously affects them, Mr. Richardson answers “ No.” CircuLar Questions.—II. § 2. a. be. II. As to the Emproymenr of Cuitpren, Youne Persons, and Women not. in Ganes, either “ Pusiic” or “Private,” but individually or in company with a few other Persons. 22. Inasmuch as on every farm there will probably be children, young persons, and women both permanently and occasionally employed, not in gangs either “public” or “private,” but in- dividually or with a few other persons ; and as these could not be omitted from any protective legislation which might be thought desirable and practicable on behalf of those employed in “public ” or “private” gangs, if the circum- stances of their employment should be found to require it, be kind enough to answer, as: fully as you are able, the following ques- tions :— (a.) What is the number of children, young persons, and women employed in agricul- tural labour singly or with a few others In your parish ? On your farm ? 3M 3 Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. f, Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. 464 . (b.) Give as nearly as you ean the following particulars as to the number and age of such persons so employed. Males. Females. | ees Ne ~ | oo | = el es = 13515 |Overis| .. Z)2|2 g\ 3/2 j a {ow Sloe = : “S a\a|o S| je a\s 3 q o\ala|a oe} a rd |B Sls sls] Bi elel eee) ai g S/E;E/8) Ze Sle elel 2) 2 Pia lajAal| aelPlajAl|alelP| & (c.) In what kinds of work are they em- ployed during the different seasons of the year ? In spring, in In summer, in In autumn, in In winter, in The following summary will give the substance of answers to these questions from 90 circulars returned to the Assistant Commissioner as described in the first page of the “ Summary of Answers to the Commis- sioners’ Circular Questions.” Nature of the employment in farm labour of children, young persons, and women individually or with a few other persons in the county of Bedford. From 50 answers. « Field keeping ” or “ Bird scaring.” Picking twitch. > stones. Cutting and cleaning roots. Hoeing and weeding. -| Potatoe setting. .| Bean dibbling. (Driving teams. Picking twitch. Spudding thistles. } Weeding. . Hoeing and singling root crops. Haymaking. Driving carts and teams. In Spring - In Summer -: EMPLOYMENT. OF ‘CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND. WOMEN “Harvesting. Ree Te ta EP Aaa Picking and forking twitch. i: . Pulling and ‘storing roots. Driving carts and teams. : Forking twitch. Cleaning’ roots. Feeding cattle and sheep. Driving manure carts and teams. Tn Autumn - In Winter - or: : +) Returns of ages and numbers of persons so employed, With the exception of 11 girls under 13 years of age, of whom five are under the head of private gangs, the only return of females as employed in farm labour. is by the Messrs. Howard, occupiers at Clapham, and amounts to— 9 females, between 8 and 9 years 6 ” ” ‘10 ,, 13, 4 ” 2° 13 ” 18 ,, 6 married females. above 18 ,, 5 unmarried ,, » 18 Total, 30 females “occasionally employed ;” further, in answer to questions, the Messrs, Howard say; “Females are not employed in farm labour in this district except in hay season.” 2 This unusual employment of females no doubt arises from the proximity of the town of Bedford. The same gentlemen return 43 males under 18 years as regularly or frequently employed. » Taste A, Gross returns of numbers and ages of children, young persons, and women employed in farm labour from all circulars, giving these particulars— s Males— Under 8 years’ - - - 1 Between 8 and 10 years - 55: lo ,, 13 ,, ~ 204 » 18, 18 ,, - 241 Total males under 18 - 501 Females— Under 8 years - - 0 Between 8 and 10 years - 11 5 10 5 Fs, - 10 » 18, 18 d ” ° 4 married - - 6 pps { unmarried - 5 Total females - 36 TABLE B. Retvuen of Males (no Females are employed) under 18 years employed in eight parishes in Woburn Union. Nature of d ge PARISH. 3 g # | 38 ‘ cia Cultivation. 4 2 4 S a ™ a & B g ai/3ef]ef|2|2 | 8 im < ies p o = 2 ae Holecut and Salford - | Mixed - 7 835 1,780 0 0 5 |-12 |. 10 - 27 Husborne Crawley - | Chiefly arable - 535 1,520 0 0° 0 o | wv 12° Tilsworth - - | Mixed -. -. - 348 1,510. 0 0 0 2) 9 jl Tingrith - Mixed - —: a1 226 946 0 0 0 12 14 26 Hockliffe - - | Chiefly pasture - 416 1,021 0 0 2 ll 14 27 Ridgmont - - | % arable - | 1,029 2,248 | 0 | O 10 | 32 | 26 | 68 Milton Bryant - - | 4 arable - 345 1,480 0 0 7 10 3 24 3,284 | 10,505 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 79 | 92 | 195 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-—-EVIDENCE. Tasiu C. Wogvurn Union. Return 6f males under 18 (no females are employed) employed on nine farms in Woburn Union, contain- ing, 2,623 acres arable. 1,150 ,, pasture. Total 3,773 acres. Farm varying from 270 to 600 acres— Males under8~ - - - Oo » between 8 and 10 - 14 ” » 10 ,, 18 - 48 $9 » 18 , 18 - 47 Total males under 18 109 Including 14 boys employed in private gang. Farms worked in four-course husbandry and re- quiring according to average of union from 120 to 140 adult men. Taste D, Berprorp UNIon. Return of children, young persons,.and women em- ployed on 16 farms in Bedford Union ; 6 in Luton Union ; and one in Biggleswade. Farms varying from 200 to 950 acres. 23 farms containing 6,764 acres arable. 2,838 ,, pasture. Total 9,602 acres. Males, Females. Under 8 - - O Under8 - - O Between 8and10 28 Between8and10 2 « 1O-= 19 99 104 18° 8 » 18 , 18 65 * Above 13 - - Oo Total males i aaithen 1: \ 172 Total females = Of these 11 girls, 5 are included in return of private gang for Knotting parish. These farms would probably employ about 300 males over 18 years. Comparative ages of males employed on two farms in Luton containing 850 acres. Males under 10 - - - 2 » between 10 and13 - 9 ” ” 13 ” 18 - 4 » over 18 - - - 86 Tasie E. Return of persons employed on 10 farms in the ad- joining parishes of Cople and Willington, in Bed- ford. Union, farmed in four-course husbandry, and containing 2,080 acres arable. 695 ,, pasture. Total 2,725 acres. These farms find regular employment for— 10 males between 8 and 10 years 21 2 ” 10 ” 13 ”? 26 |, » 138, 18 ,, 90 ,, over 18 years 147 males of all ages and no females. — Nearly 34 males over 18 to every 100 acres, and a probable requirement of over three cottages to every 100 acres. — 465 fale Taste F, Country or Beprorp. Taken throughout the county where the acreage of farms was given to the Assistant Commissioner. 42 farms containing 11,417 acres arable. 4,683 ,, pasture. 16,100 acres. Employ— Males. Females. Between 8and10 52 Between8and10 2 » 10 5 138 148 » 10, 138 9 » 18 5 18 183 Above 13 - - O Total males under af Bee > Total females’ 11 of all ages Probable adult males 500. Crmcurar Questions IL. (d.) ’ which they work ? If not, how far have they to come from their homes to their daily work. 46 circulars give no answers. ' » answer “yes” or “near.” (d.) Do they live on or near the farms on 29 6 55 » “under a mile.” 3 55 » “one mile” — 1 7 . ” 4 $5 » “tto2 miles. 2 5 » “14 to 2 miles.” CircuLar Questions II. (e.) (e.) What are their usual hours of work upon the land ? 35 circulars give no answer. 55 circulars from 41 parishes establish the fact that. the ordinary hours of work in farms in Bedfordshire, are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer, and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., or from light to dark in winter ; in some. cases instead of beginning work at 6 a.m. and stopping for breakfast at 8, the workers come at 7 a.m. and are not allowed to stop for breakfast. These hours, that is to say, about 10 hours work in summer and eight in winter, exclusive of time allowed for meals, applies to, all persons employed in farm labour of whom returns were sent to the Assistant Commissioner, except the children employed in Woburn Park and Knotting parish, whose hours of labour are shorter. (Answers to Question f. are omitted totally.) CrecvLar Questions II. (g.) (g.) What are the times allowed for meals ? 35 circulars give no answer. Of 55 circulars from 41 parishes— 31 circulars say 14 hours. 5 » say 12 hours. 7 » say 2 hours. 1 » says 2 to 24 hours. 1 » says 2 hours, but in hay time and ~ harvest they have “baver” at 11 am. and 4 p.m. 1 >» insummer they come at 6 a.m. and have from 8 to 9a.m. for breakfast, Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. f, in winter they come at 7 a.m. and . have from 10.30 to 11 am. for luncheon, and in both winter and summer 1 hour for dinner. [Norz.—The time allowed for meals varies from 14 to 2 hours, and at certain work a quarter of an hour is allowed about 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., at least for those who have only half an hour allowed for break- fast or who come at 7 a.m. and have no time allowed for breakfast} ~ =~ + 3M 4 466 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Bedfordshire. CirecuLaR Qussrions II. (A.) “ in hay time and harvest, in my opinion more might a . ‘ 3 Mr. Culley. (A.) Does the demand upon their physical He bs pea soe to the advantage of all es powers injuriously affect their health and pathes . : f. constitution ? Messrs. J. and F. Howard, occupiers, Clapham, says, ‘ : : “Females are not employed in this district in field ee fey © No. oo “ work, except in the hay harvest, even this, through ” = 4 say “ They are decidedly the better for “ the general use of machinery, is on the decrease.” "outdoor work,” or words to that Rev. B. Trapp, Thurleigh, “lace making prevents effect. “ the proper training of young women for domestic “ duties, so that when married they cannot mend their Cmcutar Questions IT. (.) “ husbands’ clothes or make a pudding fit to eat.” (i.) Are the young or the females whether BieeLeswape Unton. young or grown up, subject to any ill- Sreatinent Rev. R. F. Scott, Arlesay, says, “ The females are “ employed at straw. plait which I consider as a rule 34 circulars give no answer. “ unfits them for domestic service. No females are 56 59 answer “ No.” “ employed in agriculture.” Crrcutar Questions II. (j.) Luton Union. Rev. A. Bloomfield, Barton, says, “ The females in (J.) Do any special employments injuriously these parts are employed in straw plait, the effect affect females or the young generally ? “ of which is to keep at home atu the females, hence 59 circulars give no answer. “ a good deal of immorality in the young, and morality 21 » answer “ No.” “ held little in esteem. I consider morality at a low 3 5 » “Straw Plaiting.” * ebb in South Beds.” : Others answer as follows :— Wosvurn Union. CrrcuLar Questions II. (7.) Rev. J. M. Hamilton, Chalgrave, says, “Straw (2) Taking into consideration the demand “ plait not only in the plait schools, but in certain a labour in your parish and neighbour- “ cases in private houses.” ood, and the pecuniary resources of the . agricultural labourers, are you prepared Brprorp Union. to recommend that any restriction should Mr, Charles Howard, Biddenham, occupier, says, ae ae Hie “emplogemeniy of denieles “ None as it regards the boys asarule, but to my “ mind the employment of lace making so common in * this country is injurious to the health of the girls and the proper development of their frames.” Mr. John Thomas, Bletsoe, occupier, says, ‘“ Yes, I believe growing girls are injuriously atfected by : : ie being put by ce eutd to the faceless which 87 a give no answer as it is not the custom from the stooping position has a tendency to con- tp emipeey emales in farm labour. tract the chest and bring on pulmonary disease.” Rev. A. J. Coleridge, Doman cine “ They are DEeKOnD anon: ; principally employed in lace-making which is cer- Messrs. Howar d, occupiers, Clapham, say, “We tainly not a healthy pursuit, as it keeps them so “ would not allow girls to go to work under 12 years. “ many hours confined to the house and leaning over “ old. We would not prohibit the employment of the pillow.” “ females.” Rev. B. Trapp, Thurleigh, says, “ Girls from 6 to 7 Rev. Rk. N. Durrant, Risely, says, “I would re- years of age are taught lace-making, which seémsto « strict the employment to married women or women affect injuriously their physical development. They «over 40 years of age, and to girls between 10 are usually employéd 10 or 12 hours per diem.” “ ond 18.” , If 30, would you limit the restriction to females of a defined age, or would you prohibit female labour in the fields altogether, excepting at hay and corn harvest. «i a € a ¢ a ‘ x 6 . a é a a a na a8 n a a AMPTHILL UNION. Rev. B. Trapp, Thurleigh, says, “The employ- ce t ] 7 : Heo IE Betey, Granted saga, Noune gids 2 ment of females in field work is so rare that no J e : inconvenience would be felt if it ibi “ are often crowded together in what they calla lace altogether except in hay and na iservede rooee “ school.” : Rev. A. Browne, Fiitton, says, ‘‘ Not generally, but C “ the straw plaiting business, which is the staple em- IRCULAR II. (m.) ‘© ployment of women and young persons of both sexes (m.) 1. Taking into consideration the de- “ in this country is by some considered to be un- mand for labour in your parish and neigh-’ “ favourable to delicate or consumptive constitutions, bourhood, and the pecuniary resources of “ from its tendency to contract the chest and hurt the the agricultural labourers, are you pre- > “ free use of the arms.” pared to recommend that any restriction should be placed upon the age at which boys should be permitted to be employed CrecuLar Questions II. (4.) (4.) Have you any observations to make as in farm labour ? to the effect of the employment of females (m.) 2. If so, please to state the age below in agriculture on morals and on the pro- which you would recommend that boys per training for domestic duties ? should not be so employed. 85 peeing ane no aecitens or answer that (m.) 1. 71 circulars give no answer. women are not employed in agriculture. 9 iz answer “ Yes,” Others answer as follows :— 9 » » “No.” a (m.) 2. 45 circulars give no answer. : 2 answer 8 . Mr. Charles Howard, Biddenham, occupier, says, 6 a lee ” » 9 years. “ There are no females employed except occasionally 22 9 » 10 years, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) Others answer as follows :— Wosurn UNION. Rey J. G. Bulman, Potsgrove, says, “The supply of * labour appears to me to exceed the demand ; wages “ are low in consequence, which of course is an induce- “ ment to parents to utilize their children, as soon as “ and whenever they can get them employed. It “ would be for the good of the children to be “ kept at school till they are 10 or even 12 if practicable, but the poverty of the parents is the difficulty.” : Rev. B. C. Smith, Hulcot Rectory, says, “If a restriction is made, it should not affect boys over 9 “ years of age, or at most 10.” Rev. T. Tanqueray, Tingrith, says, “ Parents are « glad to get 1s. 6d. or 2s. per week as soon as they “can. I think 10 years is early enough.” na n ‘ a n n Beprorp UNION. Mr. John Brimley, Cople, says, “ 10 if the parents “ can spare them.” Mr. Thos. James, Cople, says, “10 for the sake of “ education.” AMPTHILL UNION. Mr. George Street, Maulden, says, “8 years. I “ should have said 10 years, but find on inquiry that “ with one exception my best and most skilful « labourers began when about 8 years old, and have “ worked here ever since, on a farm where the “ occupiers have the choice as labourers are “ abundant.” CrecuLar Questions II. (7.) : (z.) Do you see reason for recommending that the distance to which children and young persons should be allowed to go to work in farm labour should be restricted according to age ? If you should think some restriction of distance in reference to age desirable, do you approve of the following, which assumes that boys under 8 years of age would not be allowed to be employed at all ? No boy of 8 years of age and) '§ ; under - - - 10-2 1 mile. No girl under the age of - 13) 3 10 years of age and) .4° under 11 (9 a distance from his or her No boy of: ll 3 dere 2 miles. a ae ee : 2 2 7 a = Vs miles. Noyoune) ig 4. . 16) ae personof) jg 7° | 7h Els miles. 17 EE) 29 18 HH Have you any modification to propose in the above table ? 74 circulars give no answer. 6 5 answer “ No.” Others as follows :— Wosvurn Union. Mr. J. Foll, Harlington, says, “I think the above «“ table suitable as it would not be beneficial to em- “ ployers for young people to walk a greater distance “ to their work.” Rev. J. G. Bulman, Potsgrove, says, “y should “ gay that 3 or 4 miles is too great a distance for “ any young person to be compelled to go to “ work.” ; Mr. Z. Philips, Birchmore, says, “It would in my “ opinion be a very difficult matter to legislate upon. «“ Tt is an important matter for a labourer to be near « his work, but often they must go to a distance to “ seek employment.” COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 467 Beprorp Union. Mr. John Thomas Bletsoe, occupier, says, “ 14 miles is the greatest distance a boy would have to go to his work in this parish; my farm is close to the “ village, but I think boys should not be sent to general employment before 10 years old, but they may be of use for a few days, occasionally weeding during summer months. Ido not employ women except in hay time, and then only 2 or 3. Messrs. J. and F. Howard, Clapham, say, “No such scheme could be enforced, even if the police force were doubled.” 2 Rev. R. N. Durrant, Risely, says, “No girl or boy under 13 should go more than 2 miles ; no young “ person more than 4,” AMPTHILL UNIon. Rev. J. A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ My impression is that owing to the labourers’ cottages being pretty evenly dispersed over the parish few lads have in this parish any unreasonable distance to walk to their work, otherwise I should consider this table a fair one.” “ ee ‘ . an ‘¢ a BIGGLESWADE UNION. John Harvey, Esq., Northill, says, “I think 4 miles is too far for any labourer to go to his work, but of course no restriction can be placed on grown up persons.” an aOR ‘ x Luron Union. Rev. A. Blomfield, Barton, says, “In this parish as stated before, work being handy, no one is over- “ tasked in walking to and fro, or overworked.” Lionel Ames, Esq., East Hyde, says, “No, inas- “* much as the matter will adjust itself.” CircuLaR Questions IT. (0.) (0.) Do you see reason for recommending that any restriction should be placed upon the hours of work for children and young persons employed in agriculture; and if so, what amount of restriction would you propose ? 52 circulars give no answer. 20 4 answer “ No.” 4, 10 hours exclusive of meal hours. Others answer as follows :— Wosurn UNION. Mr, Z. Philips, Birchmore, says, “Certainly not ; my boys always enjoy a good game after leaving work, under such circumstances they cannot in any way be exhausted.” Rev. H. Cobbe, Milton Bryant, says, “Yes, but “ chiefly for the sake of education.” Rev. Truman Tanqueray, Tingrith, says, “They are never overworked except during hay time and harvest, when the number of hours is sometimes very great ; I do not see how the fillers of corn “ can work without the boys.” Brprorp Union. Rev. R. N. Durrant, Risely, says, “The hours of work should be restricted to the intervals between 6 a.m, and 6 p.m for summer, 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. for “ winter.” Rev. W. B. Russell, Turvey, says, “No restrictions seem to be required in agriculture, but I think the hours of work for young girls in the lace school excessive, and decidedly injurious to their “ health.” Messrs. J. and F. Howard, Clapham, say, “ No; when they are allowed to go to work it is impera- tive they should work the same time as the men; “ break a link in the chain and the whole routine of “ the farm is thrown out.” Rev. A. Coleridge, Bromham, says, “I should say that 10 hours per diem is ample work for children “ under 13. 38N Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. f. Bedfordshire. —— Mr. Culley. f, 468 Mr. Edward Campion, Melchbourne, says, “No boy under 11 years of age ought to be employed above a * 104 hours exclusive of meal times.” Rev. E. J. Hillier, Cardington, says, “ Boys ‘from 10 to 13 years of age should leave work at “ 2 pm.” Mr. Thomas James Cople,—* You cannot have ‘ different hours of labour for boys above 10, and ‘ the carters and ploughmen withdrawn from their “ work.” AMPTHILL UNION. Major J. H. Brooks, Flitwick,—* All children under ‘10 should attend day school, and from 10 to 14 * night school.” Mr. G. Street, Maulden, says, “No, they must be taught regular habits from the commencement, or a “ never have a regular plan of work.” Rev. A. J. Frere, says, “I think lads ought not to be employed more than 12 hours (including meal times), as they sometimes are I believe in bird- keeping, shepherding, and the like ; I believe such cases however in this neighbourhood’ to be very rare.” RRR RK BIGGLESWADE UNION. Mr. Samuel Bailey, Southill, says, “Less hours would be desirable, but I do not see how it could n “ be done.” CIRcULAR QUESTIONS. III. As TO REQUIRING SOME AMOUNT OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN EARNING Waces spy EMPLOYMENT IN Farm LABour. 23. The Commissioners being instructed to inquire to what extent, and with what modifications the principles of the Factory Acts can be adopted in reference to children employed in agriculture, “especially with a view to the “ better education, of such children,” your opinion is invited on the following points : 24. The three modes by which the prescribed amount of school attendance of children em- ployed in trades and manufactures is obtained are— By the Factory Act (7 Vict. c. 15. ss. 31-9). 1. By half day at school and half day at work. 2. By alternate whole days at school and whole days at work. By the Printworks Act (10 & 11 Vict. c. 70. ss. 2, 3, 26). 3. By school attendance for a certain number of hours during the preceding six months. 26. You are requested to state which of such modes of enforcing some amount of school attendance would seem most applicable to the circumstances of your parish and neighbourhood ; or whether a combination of one or more of them would better meet those circumstances ; or whether any other mode that you might wish to suggest appears to you preferable. Of 90 circulars returned from Bedfordshire 45 give no answer to this question. Wosvrn Union. Mr. C. Stephenson, Woburn Park farm, says, The half-day system does not appear feasible for * an agricultural parish. I think it is a work which “ would answer best in a gradual rather than a “ compulsory change ; if the men would give up beer- “ drinking as a habit, no legislative interference would “ be necessary ; encourage industry and economy, and “ then you have an antidote to vicious and idle “ habits.” Mr. W. L. R. Freeman, Speedwell, says, “ The “* winter months for school.” Mr. Kilpin, Bickerings Park, says, “Of these “ modes, No. 3 is the only one at all applicable to * farm labour.” Mr. James Crouch, Ridgmont, says, “I do not “ think the Factory Acts principles applicable, but t4 6 “cc “ “ 6 n ¢ a ‘ na na n nn A an ROR nA nan nan ARR HRA Kn RR RRR na na n a 2 a EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN I think it desirable that boys between the ages of 10 and 12 should attend a day school for at least four months in the year.”: Mr. Platt, Ridgmont, says, “The only one of these three modes applicable to farm labour is the 3rd. I have no objection to boys under 13 being sent to school for four winter months.” Mr. R. Checkley, Ridgmont, says, “ Quite inappli- cable to farm labourers ; boys under 10 could be dispensed with for four winter months.” ‘Mr. H. Readman says the same as Mr. Checkley. Mr. Morris, Ridgmont, says same as Mr. Checkley. Rev. J. S. Neumann, Hockliffe, says, “ No 2 seems to be the best arrangement.” Rev. V. S. C. Smith, Husborne Crawley, says, “ I would by no means advocate or countenance any mode of enforcing school attendance ; it would in my opinion be an unjust and undesirable stretch of authority.” ' Rev. H. M. Erskine, Aspley Guise, says, “ No. 1. This would hardly be practicable in the country. “ No. 2. This, if practicable, would be the best mode, but it is doubtful whether employers would readily fall in with it. “ No. 8. This mode seems the most practicable, but not the best, as a six months’ vacation is too long, and would undo much of the work of the pre- ceding six months, as there is no general unwilling- ness on the part of parents to send their children to school, I do not see that any compulsory system is necessary.” Rev. Truman Tanqueray, Tingrith, says, “The first mode is useless ; the second is worse ; still, any instruction to be satisfactory must be con- tinuous. The third mode is more feasible, but not likely to act. It is my opinion that farmers con- sider that continuous instruction in agriculture is as necessary as it is in other branches of edu- cation.” Rev. H. Cobbe, Milton Bryant.—* No. 1 would be most useful to the children, but No. 3 most con- venient to the farmers and sufficient for the children if they remained at school up to 10 years.” Beprorp Union. Mr. Charles Howard, occupier, Biddenham, says, There is no necessity for any compulsory system, so far as this parish is concerned ; if the boys were prohibited from working they would in all proba- bility remain at school. As will be seen by the return, there are only six boys employed under 10 years of age, and these are mostly the children of widows, or whose parents are badly off, in some cases through their own seeking.” Mr. Ulysses Payne, occupier, Goldington.—* Ist. Two modes impossible in agriculture. 3rd might apply in winter. It appears to me that an evening school from 6 to 7.80 for boys over 9, all the year, would keep up what they had learned, and if quick * and apt would make them good scholars.” Mr. Edward Turney, occupier, Souldrop, says, Say winter schooling for four months. Rev. A. J. Coleridge, Bromham, says, “I think that any of the above plans would be most unde- sirable and impracticable; it would seriously in- terfere with the cultivation of the land, and I think would lead to no educational advantages. The only plan I think is to keep children at school as long as possible, and then provide a night school.” Mr. John Thomas, occupier, Bletsoe, says, “I think all that is necessary might be done by using kind and persuasive measures to induce parents to send their children to school ; it would be in my opinion unnecessary and injudicious to enforce it.” Mr. John Wallis, Renhold, says, “ After 10 years of age a night school for the winter months, say from 6 o’clock till 8, would be a good thing, as our boys are-wanted as much in winter as in summer.” , ce « . n OR trustees, Biddenham, says, “ I think that any one of iT4 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION: —EVIDENCE. Mr. Thomas James, Cople, says, “I think com- pulsory school attendance after 10 years of age is not necessary ; boys can attend Sunday and night schgols.” Rev, E, J. Hillier, Cardington, says, “ Forbid the employment of children under 10 years, and compel children from 10 to 18 years of age to attend school half the day.” Mr. W. Islip, Melchbourne: “ Alternate days work and school would be objectionable, and on my own farm could not be carried out. Evening schools should be open during winter months.” Mr. Charles Street, Cople, say, “I do not think it necessary to interfere after 10 years of age.” Messrs. J. & F. Howard, Clapham, say, “ No such scheme would do in agricultural parishes, we do not think any compulsory enactment would work, such provisions have invariably broken down in America. We think if it were made illegal for boys to go to work until they are 10, it will suffice.” Rev. J. H. Williams, Kempston, “I should think > the proposed number, 38, the most suited to the case: the attendance, commencing Nov. Ist and lasting till March Ist, the half day or alternate day system could not be carried out in agricultural districts.” Mr. John Smith, Risely Grange, says, “ Some boys might attend school during 4 winter months.” Rev. R. N. Durrant, Risely, says, ‘“‘ 2nd mode, with the option of being kept entirely to work for 2 or 3 weeks in busy times.” Mr. William Golding, agent to Lord Dynevor’s these modes, if made compulsory, would most se- riously interfere with the employment of children of more than 10 years of age, and injure the pe- cuniary resources of the parents.” Mr. John Brimley, Cople, says, “ Whole days at school and whole days at work.” Mr. H. Purser, Cople, “ All these modes totally inapplicable to farm labour.” Mr. Jas. Eaton, Risely, says, “ Some boys might attend day school in 4 winter months. Boys driving teams could attend night school.” Revd. B. Trapp, Thurleigh, says, “ The 8rd mode by school attendance for a certain number of hours or days during preceding 6 or 12 months, or daily during 4 winter months would interfere least with the employment of boys in agriculture.” Mr. John H. Bodger, Cardington : “ Government should extend its aid to boys of 10 years of age attending night schools.” Mr, Edward Campion, Melchborne, “Boys from 10 to 13 years of age might attend school during 4 winter months from 4 to 7 p.m., and boys below 10 years of age might attend regularly in 4 winter months.” Mr. John Horrell, Oakley, says, “ By school at- tendance for a certain number of hours during pre- ceding six months.” Revd. R. P. Bent, Melchborne, says, “I should be glad to see an age fixed by legislature below which boys might not be allowed to perform any agricultural work. I am not quite prepared at present to suggest a minimum age, but I think 12.” AmMPTHILL UNION. Revd. John A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ No. 1 will not work, nor No. 2; No. 3 is more feasible, the slack time being from October to March or April. I think it might be made the interest of the parents to keep their boys at school regularly by fixing 11 years as the term below which (ordi- narily) no lad should go to farm work, but that if he could at 10 obtain the inspector’s certificate that he can read and write and sum fairly, he might go to work at 10.” — Revd. J. W. C. Campion, Westoning, “I do not approve of compulsory education in any shape.” a s 6é 6 6 469 Revd. George Renaud, Silsoe: “ The 2nd mode best. Say Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at school: in my opinion the educational acts now applied to mines and factories might be applied to agricultural populations ; no work under 10 and none from 10 to 12, unless a certificate that the boy can read and write, failing that, half time,” Major John Brooks, Fiitwick, “ I think the farmers here would not tolerate any sort of half time system, which is also at the same time found to be very prejudicial to education.” Revd. Charles Ward, Maulden, “1st mode for plaiters: 3rd mode for boys employed on land ; I should not have thought it desirable to enforce at- tendance at school, but that I am informed that children are set to learn plaiting sometimes at 4 years of age, and that they are kept too long at work in the plaiting schools, which as a rule are badly ventilated.” Mr. George Street, Maulden, says, “ Boys might be sent to school during the winter up to 10 years old, any interference after that time would bg in- jurious to parents,” Revd. David Wheeler, Pulloxhill, says, “ The conditions of work are so different in the case of agricultural lads, that I. do not see how regulations very suitable for factory boys can be made to apply to them ; the agricultural boy’s work is fixed by the season and the weather, according to these will there be an. amount of leisure, or a continual run of work.” BIGGLESWADE UNION. John Harvey Esq., Ickwell Bury, Northill, says, I have seen no plan comparsble to that suggested by Mr. Baker of Hardwicke, a copy of which I enclose.” {Nore.—This is an educational examination re- commended by Sir J. K. Shuttleworth. See general evidence. | 6 a © as . aOR na wn non a a ‘é a ot7 ‘ a « R o rs Revd. Charles Baldock, Southill. “ Far better if possible to insure constant regular attendance at school up to a certain age, say 10 years.” Charles L. Lindsell, Esq., Biggleswade :— “ No interference is necessary as the boys employed in agriculture cease work at sunset in winter and most of them attend night schools.” Luton Union. Lionel Ames, Esq., East Hyde, says, “ Were parents made to send their boys to school until they were 10 years old, two or three attendances at a night school per week, until the age of 14, would be amply sufficient for an agricultural labourer.” CIRCULAR QUESTIONS. 27. How far is the school attendance affected by the distance that the children have to go to school ? 85 circulars give no answer, 37 ss answer “ Not at all,” 9 s “ Very little,” Others answer as follows :— Wosurn UNION. The Rev. Joseph Simpson, Tilsworth, says, ‘““ There is no efficient school.” Beprorp Union. The Rev. B. Trapp, Thurleigh, says, “ Not much except in outlying parts of the parish.” Mr. John Smith, Risely, says, “ There is no school in Swineshead parish, nor any resident clergyman, and both are very much wanted.” Mr. G. Hine, Knotting, says, “A very good school, but no master or mistress for two years.” ~ Rev. R. P. Bent, Melchbourne, says, “In this parish it is not affected by distance in the slightest degree, a few children who live furthest from the school are about the most regular in their attendance.” 3N 2 Bedfordshire Mr. Culley. f Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. ee ee f, 470 AmprHiILL UNION. Rev, J. A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ A good deal, ‘ this being a scattered parish, there is a hamlet of 22 cottages at Pigsdon, near no school, that ‘ can be made available for the children, although “ there are two schools in the parish.” Rev. D. Wheeler, Pulloxhill, says, “ Not affected “ except in the case of children under six, who live * about one mile off.” Rev. H. H. Birley, Cranfield, says, “ In the case “ of a small hamlet, two miles from the school ; but “ it is in contemplation to build a school, which will “ meet this difficulty.” a nin n Luron Union. Lionel Ames, Esq., East Hyde, says, “ It is difficult “ if not impossible to get children to school who live “ more than a mile or a mile and a half from the « school houses.” CircULAR QUESTIONS. 28. How far is the school attendance affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents ? 41 circulars give no answer. 9 witnesses, say, “Considerably,” or “ Very much.” 9 35 say, “ Very little,’ “ Somewhat,” or “ Slightly.” 10 5 say, “ Not at all.” Others answer as follows :— Wosurn UNIon. Mr. C. S. Stephenson, says, “ The attendance has “ no doubt been greatly affected by the poverty of “‘ the parents, a more satisfactory state is however “ daily appearing. School accommodation is much “ increased, and expenses of management liberally “‘ responded to by subscription.” Rev. V. S. C. Smith, Huxborne, Crawley, “ Very “ slightly the parents make great efforts to send “ their children.” Rev. Truman Tanqueray, Tingrith, “If the wages “ all went home, instead of in part to the beershop, “ parents would be able to pay for their children’s * schooling.” Rev. H. M. Erskine, Aspley Guise, “ Considerably ; “ some are unable to afford the pence for their “ children’s schooling, others for the sake of the “ small gains of their children will send their boys “ early to bird-keeping, &c., and their girls to plaiting “ or lace schools,” Rev. W. S. Baker, Eversholt, “ Where the family “ is large, some of the children are obliged to be “ taken from school to earn.” Rev. J. G. Bulman, Potsgrove, “ ‘There is not one “ boy in our school 10 years of age, they are sent to “ work as soon as they can earn anything.” Rev. J. M. Hamilton, Chalgrave, “ As a general “rule, the parents can well afford to pay for their “ children’s schooling.” Rev. B. C. Smith, “ In only one or two cases.” , Beprorp UNION. Mr. John Thomas, Bletsoe, says, “ Not at all, “ except in larger families where parents are anxious “ to get their children out to work.” The Rev. R. P. Bent, Melchborne, says, “ It is “ certainly affected by this cause, inasmuch as boys “ are taken from school as soon as they can earn ‘“* anything in the fields.” Mr. Wm. Islip uses nearly the same words. Mr. H. Purser, Willington, “ Very considerably, “ boys from 9 to 10 years of age having 2s. 6d. “ per week.” Mr. Thomas James, Cople, says, “ Poverty of “ parents compels children to leave school early.” Messrs. J. & F. Howard, Clapham, “ When “ parents are too poor to clothe their children de- “ cently, absence is the result; we incline to the “ opinion that help from the school fund should be “ given in very urgent cases.” EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Rev. B. Trapp, Thurleigh, “ Girls are put very early to the lace pillow, at about 6 years, and boys taken with their parents to work on farms as soon “as they are strong enough to earn anything, the little money they earn is too valuable to their parents to be sacrificed for education.” nn n OR n nn 2 a AmPrTHILL UNION. Rev. J. A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ Very much, the wives of the labouring poor say they cannot spare the produce of their children’s plaiting, and though plaiting is allowed in the school at fixed times, this does not meet the difficulty, as the whole of a child’s time from very early years is generally appropriated to plaiting, the dames plaiting schools I look on as nurseries of evil, the children learn next to nothing, but plaiting (though reading and writing is said to be taught there) and boys and girls are mixed together in a way that tells mis- chievously.” er RF RRR KKK RK Sw BIGGLESWADE UNION. The Rev. Charles Baldock, Southill, says, “ Nor do I think that money or the want of it rather has “ much to do with the matter generally speaking.” Rev. G. C. Douton, Biggleswade, “ So far as this, “ that parents withdraw their children at a very early “ age from school that they may get the benefit of “ their earnings.” Lutron Union. Lionel Ames, Esq., Hast Hyde, says, “ The pe- cuniary resources of the parents materially affect the attendance of their children, also the straw- plaiting business al which children of 7 or 8 years of age can earn something.” CIRCULAR QUESTIONS. 29. Are any efforts being made for the industrial training of girls, in connexion with elementary education, with especial reference to prepar- ing them for their domestic duties ? 33 circulars give no answer. 39 ” answer “ No.” 7 7 » “ Sewing in school.” 4 5 ae. of Mies.” Others answer as follows : — Wosurn UNIon, Rev. H. Cobbe, Milton Bryant, says, “ Yes, the “ elder girls clean the school, brighten the grates, &c.” a Beprorp Union. Mr, Thomas James Cople, says, ‘‘ Yes, under care “ of Mrs. Barnard, of Cople House.” . Rev. A. J. Coleridge, Bromham, says, ““ Yes. The Hon. Miss Rice Trevor has a school especially for this purpose: needlework and knitting are also “ taught in the day school.” fev. E. J. Hillier, Cardington, says, “ There is an industrial day school here for the training of 30 “ girls for domestic service.” (A report of this school will be found in the General Evidence of Bedford- shire.—G. C.) a x AMPTHILL UNION, Rev. J. A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ We have tried training for domestic service, but they very seldom stay in it, the complete liberty which they have from 14 onwards, if they remain at home, as plaiters, indisposes them to it.” ftev, Charles Ward, Maulden, says, “ The elder “ girls are trained in housework and all in needle- “ work.” 6c ee “6 oe Luton Union. Lionel Ames, Esq., East Hyde, says, “ Needle- work is taught three afternoons a week to the girls, who also by turns sweep and clean the school- room.” “ “ce IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION: 471 EVIDENCE. CrrcuLaR Questions. Revd. B. Trapp, Thurleigh : “ The wonder is that Bedfordshire. 2 “ they are as moral as they are when from early to 30. Have you any remarks to make on the subject « gqult age both sexes are frequently herded together of cottage accommodation in regard to its « in one bedroom, and that very small.” f. 2 = . Mr. Culley. ; aR RR a os effect on morality or education; or on the health and comfort of the labouring poor ? 67 circulars give no answer to this question. Wosurn UNIon. The Revd. B. C. Smith, Holcut, says, “My firm conviction is that you may preach what you please, and educate as you please, but will never make people value morality, education, or religion who are condemned to live in homes a decent farmer would be ashamed to put his beasts into. Good cottage accommodation is the first requisite.” Revd. H. M. Erskine, Aspley Guise, “ Defective cottage accommodation is decidedly injurious to the moral condition of many of the inhabitants, and also, I should say, to their health and comfort.” Revd. W. S. Baker, “ The cottage accommodation Mr. Thomas James, Cople, says, “ The cottage accommodation is good, and the good cottages teach decency.” Mr. Edward Campion, Melchborne : “ Good cot- tages generally make good labourers. The men from good cottages are more sober, industrious, and superior workmen; their health is better, they at- tend work more regularly. Education is useless without good cottages.” Revd. R. P. Bent, Melchborne, says, ‘I am con- vinced that cottage accommodation has a great deal to do with the questions of morality and education of the working classes.” Mr. Wm. Islip, Melchborne : “ There wants great reform in many parishes in cottage accommodation, or the morality of the inmates will not be improved by further education.” “ is good for the most part. Where it has been im- “ proved a marked change for the better has taken “ place in the cleanliness, order, and self-respect of “ those who inhabit them.” Revd. John Clegg, Toddington, says, “The. dwell- < ‘“* ing houses are many of them in a most lamentable “ “ state and totally unfit for human habitation. I “ “ consider that the insufficient accommodation in “ them must have a very bad effect on morals and <“ “ health.” 7 Mr. C. Stephenson, Woburn Park farm, “ Good « “ cottage accommodation is necessary for the ame- “ lioration of the working classes. It is primarily “ “ of as much importance, if not more, than educa- “ tion : a great improvement has taken place in this “ and neighbouring parishes, and in some places “ little more is required. J would suggest what isin “ a measure being carried out, that each farm havea « “ certain number of cottages attached to or near to « “ the buildings. Nothing could add more to the « efforts to educate or lessen the habits of intoxica- “ labourer’s health and comfort than this.” “ tion will, to quite one half their extent, be frus- “ trated.” Rev. R. F. Scott, Arlesey, says, “ When families , “ are large and bedrooms not sufficient, the conse- 5 _ : “ 9 Mr. Charles Howard, Biddenham, says, “The , tar after: is roses lity.” “ cottage accommodation in this parish is certainly not good, but I think I may truly say that it is “ much beyond the average of the county. There “ are a few illegitimate children, attributable doubt- “ less to our proximity to Bedford ; in other respects “ the morality of the village is good. New cottages “ are being erected, and there is a growing disposition “ to remedy the present state of things. When we « get an improved education, men will not consent to “ live in such hovels as are to be found in many parts “ of this county.” Revd. R. N. Durrant, Risely : “‘ Health and com- “ fort and morality would be promoted by improved “ cottage accommodation, but education might be « lessened by the increased rents required.” Mr. Ulysses Payne, Goldington: “ Morals and AMPTHILL UNION. ftevd. J. A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ Every cottage ought to have three bedrooms ; most of those belonging to large proprietors have or are occupied by small families.” Major John Brooks, Flitwick, says, “The miserable cottage accommodation is no doubt very prejudicial to morality, but as a rule the people are healthy and the population steadily on the increase.” Rev. G. Renaud, Silsoe: “It is of immense im- portance.” BigGLeswapDrE Union. John Harvey, Esq., Ickwell Bury, says, “It is the most serious question of all, and I fear until some- thing like decent accommodation is provided, all PS Beprorp UNIon. a a n Luton Union. Lionel Ames, Esq., East Hyde, says, “ No cottage where a family is intended to live should have less than three bedrooms.” na CIRCULAR QUESTIONS. 81. How many cottages per hundred acres are considered sufficient for the accommodation of persons employed on land in your parish ? 386 circulars give no answer. Where the cultivation is described as chiefly “ health are affected by short accommodation.” arable,— . Revd. H. J. Williams, Kempston: “I consider 1 witness says - + 2 « the subject a very important one as bearing on the 2 witnesses say - - 2h “ health and moral character, and where there is 2 ” y - - - 2h to 3 “ insufficient accommodation the effect of education 5 ” 7 3 « is much impaired.” 3 55 3 2 - gb Revd. A. J. Coleridge, Bromham, says, “I have 9» 5 = + « no doubt that deficient bedroom accommodation is i witness says - 4s ” ” = « not only injurious to the health and comfort of the “ poor, but that it is a fertile source of indecency and ‘Where the cultivation is described as mixed, or “ immorality.” ; he "Reed. W. B. Russell, Turvey : “* The good state half aes “ of the cottages in Turvey has been one means of 2 witnesses say . 5 “ improving the morality of the parish; certainly, 1 witness says - i ~ aL « the comfort, and I doubt not the health of the eae say - = 2 3 “ uring poor.” : a ; ; oval i John Phonak Bletsoe : “I believe the want 9 » a = = a “ of cottage accommodation seriously affect the 1 witness says - . : - 44 « morals of the young.” 2 witnesses say - : : . oy 2 co 472 Bedfordshire. © Where the cultivation is described as chiefly pas- ture,— 1 witness says) - - - 2 Z » os 8. O8 2 ” 2 3 witnesses say - - - - 38 CIRCULAR QUESTIONS. 32. Is there that proportion of cottages in the parish ? 33. If not, what is the proportion ? 40 circulars give no answer. 36 4 answer “ Yes,” or, “ Yes, and more.” 4 5 » “Nearly so.” 9 » “No.” Rev. J. Clegg, ‘Toddington, says, “'Toddington is “ overcrowded with cottages.” CrrcuLaR QUESTIONS. 34. Are the cottages conveniently situated with respect to (i.e. not more than a mile from) the farms on which the work is to be done ? 38 circulars give no answer. 40 ,, answer “Yes.” 6 » Generally.” 4» », No,” or “ Not generally.” CrrcULAR QUESTIONS. 35. Is there a sufficient number of cottages with two bedrooms, or three bedrooms, and a sitting- room, for the larger families ? 36 circulars give no answer. 30g, answer “ Yes,” or “ Nearly.” 19g, » “No,” or “ Certainly not.” Others answer as follows :-— Wosvurn UNIon. Rev. B. C. Smith, Huleot and Salford, says, “ Most of the cottages have two bedrooms, scarcely one has “ three. Rev. H. Cobbe, Milton Bryant, says, “ Hardly : eight or nine require a third bedroom for decency.” 6 a ‘ a AMPTHILL UNION. Rev. A. Browne, Fiitton, says, ‘‘ Few cottages have “ more than two bedrooms, some with one one, but “ the number of all sorts appears to be adequate to “ local wants.” Rev. A. J. Frere, Shillington, says, “There is a “ want of three bedroom cottages for the larger “ families.” Mr, Henry Trethewy, Silsoe, says, “Most of the cottages have three bedrooms.” « a CIRCULAR QUESTIONS. 36. Are the cottages crowded, either with members of the family or with lodgers ? AO circulars give no answer. 27 witnesses say “No.” » “ With members of the family.” “Yes.” “ Some are.” “A few of them.” “ Not as a rule.” “ Not generally.” “Very rarely.” “ A considerable portion of “ them.” Others answer as follows :— 99 oe 9 ” ” 92 2 2 9 oP BB 2? Hee EDR Om ” 9 Beprorp UNION. Mr. William Golding, Biddenham, says, “No “ lodgers are allowed; after all the children are “ erown up or have finally left the cottage, the ** parents are allowed to take as lodgers one of their “ married children.” EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN BIGGLESWADE UNION. John Harvey, Esq., Ickwell Bury, says, “ Hamlets “ of Upper and Lower Caldecote very much crowded “ with both.” CIRCULAR QUESTIONS. 7. Give a general description of the cottages in your parish in respect of,—1l. Construction (including size of rooms, ventilation, and drainage). 2. Accommodation (including number of rooms in proportion to the family, water supply, garden, outhouses, &c.) 3. Ownership ; 7.e., whether by landowner, or by tradesmen with whom the tenants are obliged to deal, or by other person or persons. 4. Rent. The answers to this question will be found in the general evidence at the beginning of the evidence from each parish. The following summary will how- ever indicate the bearing of the evidence. 1. Rooms in old cottages are small and low. Cottage rooms vary from 10 ft. by 8 ft. to 12 ft. by 12 ft., for both old and new. Ventilation is generally stopped by the occupier. Artificial drainages very unusual. 2 & 3. In about half of 55 parishes the cottages are described as good, fairly good, or generally good, in all of these, except one, in which the cottages belong to smail proprietors, the cottage property be- longs, either altogether or in part, to chief landowners. In the remaining half of the parishes described the cottages are either mixed bad and good, or generally bad, and in these cases the ownership is generally described as, various, or, chiefly small proprietors, or it is said that many cottages are built on the waste, and belong to occupiers, in which last case they are always described as bad. The water supply is only described as bad in four parishes. Except where they belong to chief landowners, and in some cases then, the cottages are generally de- scribed as lacking accommodation necessary for a family. Where the cottages belong to chief land- owners sufficient outhouses are generally provided, but not always ; the cottages built on speculation belonging to small proprietors very deficient in outhouses. In only two cases are the occupants of cottages supposed to have to deal with the owners who are tradesmen. Gardens will be found dealt with in general evidence under the head of allotment system. Where gardens do not exist many landowners provide allotments at moderate rents, even where the cottage property does not belong to them in some cases. Gardens, how- ever, are much required in some of the larger villages. , 4. Rent varies from 1s. to 2s. 6d. per week, being highest in such towns as Biggleswade, and lowest, in proportion to the accommodation, where the cottages belong to the chief landowners. CircuLar Questions III. 38. If there is deficient accommodation, is any progress being made towards increasing it ? 72 circulars give no answer. 4 witnesses say “ No.” is being provided.” ,, say “ Cottages are being built, but not such as should be built.” Others answer as follows: — 1 5, says “ Some progress.” 1 ” » “ Little or none.” 2 ” » “ Better cottage accommodation 2 Wosurn Union. The Rev. H. M. Erskine, Aspley Guise, says, “A “ number of cottages have been built during the last “ two or three years.” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Mr. J. W. Foil, Harlington, “Some cottages in “ course of erection.” Mr. W. W. Kilpin, Bickerings Park, says, “ Re- plaging old by new.” Rev. James M. Hamiton, Chalgrave, says, “ All the “ cottages recently built have been by a tradesman “ and a farmer.” : : Rev. H. Cobbe, Milton Bryant, says, “Yes. Seven cottages recently built; five enlarged; and two about to be built.” € < nn Beprorp Union. Rev. R. P. Bent, Melchborne, says, “Of late the “ number of cottages has decreased.” Mr. Thomas James, Cople, says, “The Duke of Bedford is replacing old cottages by new yearly.” AmrTHiILtL UNION. Rev. H. H. Birley says, “The cottage accommoda- tion is decidedly in course of improvement.” CrrRcuLaR QUESTIONS 39. 39. Is the Union Chargeability Act (28 & 29 Vict. c. 79, March 1866) having any effect in causing an increase of cottage accommodation ? 68 circulars give no answer. 16 witnesses say “No.” 2 ay » “None at present.” 1 ‘i » “To some extent.” 1 99 » “ This will doubtless cause improvements to be made.” Others answer as follow :— AMPTHILL UNION. Rev. H. H. Birley, Cranfield, says, “It is more ‘ likely in this parish as many of our cottagers go to ‘ their work in other smaller parishes.” no 8 BiGGLESWADE UNION. John Harvey, Esq., Ickwell, Bury, says, - not at « present, but having had two close parishes adjoining ‘has greatly tended to cause the present want of “ cottages.” n n CrrcoLar QuEsTions.—40. 40. By the Act 27 & 28 Vict.c. 114., July 1864, the Enclosure Commissioners are authorized to advance public money for the improvement of land, including, by s. 9, “The erection of “ labourers’ cottages, * * and the improve- “ ment of and addition to labourers’ cottages.” Have you any remarks to make upon this Act in regard to any additional facilities, or any reduction of cost, that might cause greater progress to be made in supplying the want of good cottages ? ; : Of 90 circulars returned for Bedfordshire 86 give no answer. Others answer as follows :— Beprorp UNION. The Rev. R. N. Durrant, Risely, says, “ The same « gcheme as that adopted in the administration of « Queen Anne’s Bounty Fund’ for the erection of “ Parsonages might aid to provide better cottages. “ The Commissioners should advance to labourers <¢ themselves and others the amount needed for the « erection of good cottages, plans of which should be “ gubmitted for their approval. The loan to be by « 30 annual instalments with interest at 4 per cent. Mr. William Golding, Biddenham, “T consider “ this a most beneficial act for the improvement of « Janded property.” 473 AvPTHILL UNION. Mr, Henry Trethewy, Silsoe, says, “ I am of opinion “ that the act referred to may be of great use in some “ localities.” The Rev. W. C. Campion, landowner, Westoning, says, “ Where entails exist it is desirable that power “ should be given to raise money with as great facility “ and upon as easy terms as possible, a loan should “ not be hampered with many conditions.” CrrcuLak Questions 41. 41, Can you suggest any mode by which good cot- tage accommodation could be procured on self- supporting terms and involving no disadvantage to the tenant ? 77 Circulars give no answer. 4 witnesses say “ No.” 1 witness says “Impossible.” Others answer as follow :— Wosvurn UNION. Rev. B. C. Smith, Holeut and Salford, says, “ My own case in Salford is hopeless as long as the pro- perty continues to be leasehold; the lessees cannot be expected to build new cottages without the help of the college (All Soul’s, Oxford), or some guarantee from the college as to tenure, which the college can- not or will not give ; the only plan would be for the lessees and the college to work together.” Rev. Truman Tanqueray, Tingrith, says, “ Cer- tainly not; I look upon cottage property as a necessary encumbrance upon the land, and so I am “ sure will all find who build cottages as an invest- “ ment.” Beprorp UNnIon. Rev. R. N. Durrant, Risely, says, “ By the addition “ of 4 an acre of garden to each cottage.” Rev. H. J. Williams, Kempston, says, “ One mode “ of the labourer getting the ownership of a cottage “is by means of the building clubs, under which “ several have been built here.” Mr. Edward Campion, Melchbourne, says, “Let cotiages be built of a more simple and plain design, “ study economy in the building, attend to comfort “ and convenience, and look less at the outside “ appearance.” The Rev A. Browne, Flitton, says, “This is a diffi- “ cult question, as building materials have to be “ brought from a distance, and a cottage worthy the *¢ name cannot be built for much short of 180/., while 51. rent without a garden is quite as muchas the * ordinary farm iabourer can conveniently give.” BIGGLESWADE UNIon. John Harvey, Esq, Ickwell Bury, says, “It is, I fear, at the present rate of wages a simple impos- * sibility to build cottages which will pay directly without charging an exorbitant rent, but I think the indirect benefits make it worth a proprietor’s “ while, and that he will be repaid by the increased “ value of the labourer’s services. An allotment of “ a rood of land, not too far from the cottage, is an “ incalculable benefit of the cottager, having tried it “ for 30 years I maintain, in spite of the dislike of ‘ farmers, that it has no drawback.” “i Kg 6 a 6 a a Lunton Unron. Lionel Ames, Esq., East Hyde, says, “Cottage “ property is not remunerative except in obtaining a 3N 4 Bedfordshire. Mr, Culley. f. 474. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Bedfordshire. “ permanent and respectable wo rk man whose family er “ can be properly brought up. ” Mr. Culley. f. Crrcutar Questions LV. 42 and 48. IV. As to the Numper of CuILpRen at ScHoor and the NUMBERS EMPLOYED in Farm Lapour. 42. It would be of great assistance towards forming a correct judgment upon the question of re- quiring some amount of school attendance in the case of children earning wages by employ- ment in farm labour if you could furnish the Commissioners with precise information, or with an approximate estimate, relating to the points embodied in the following tables. 43, Approximate Number of Children of the Agri- cultural Labouring Class in attendance at Elementary Schools. The following tables will give a summary of the information given to the Assistant Commissioner in answer to this question. The expression “ Agricul- * tural Labouring Class ” was always pointed out by the Assistant Commissioner, and the returns asked for as of that class only. In order to arrive at the age at which the labourers’ children are usually withdrawn from schoo] it will be necessary to use only the returns from thinly populated rural parishes, or such other parishes as are stated in the notes as having the school returns confined to the agricultural labour- ing class, as in some cases the school return is a return of the whole school, a considerable proportion of the elder children belonging to a class somewhat better off than the agricultural labouring class. A.—Scuoo.t Returns. Day Schools. Woburn Union. Summer. Winter. 5 Number on Register. | Average Attendance. | Number on Register. | Average Attendance, a Name of 3 Boys Girls. Boys Girls, Boys. Girls. Boys, Girls. ; & 3]. oy. 3] of. | of OP 63 a” | <4 [587] 5 [8°] 6 [a*| 6 [A=] 5 [a=] 6 a=] 6 [aa 6 [a eo 1,435, 1,986] 82 | 42 | 55 | 35 | 63 | 39 | 48 | 33 | 82.| 42 | 55 | 35 | 63 | 39 | 43 | 33 Battleadon 143}. 1,123 No School (Potsgrove). b Chalgrave 961) 2,180) 23 | 0] 9| 4119] O|] 6| 2{ 22 1 9} 4] 18 1| 6] 2 Eversholt- 885; 2,119) 66 | 11 | 48 | 104 55 | 11 | 41! 8166] 10 “Ad 12155! 9} 86] 11 Harlington} 529) 1,815 b Hockliffe - 416] 1,021) 32] 1] 386| 2] 27 | Holeut - 71; 880 b Husburne 535} 1,520) 831| 1 | 25 / 3] 26 Crawley. b Milton 845} 1,480) 25 | O | 21 4} 20 Bryant. » Potsgrove 298) 1,885) 27 | 0) 15) 2] 20 Ridgmont | 1,029] 2,248] 59 | 10 | 45 | 7 | 50 b Salford -| 264, 900) 28; 0| 29; O|1 26 Tilsworth 348| 1,510 Tingrith -| 226] 946) 20; 9 | 19 | 16 4 20 ¢ Toddington| 2,433! 5,390122 | 28 | 58 | 11 | 70 » Woburn -| 1,764, 3,200) 4) 5|10/ O| 38 No School. 1} 32} 2721) 1415 eo 19] 1/14] 6 No School (see Salford). 1 | 22; 2] 81 1| 25} 3) 26| 1) 22] 2 0,16; 4/25; Oj] 21| 4/20) 0; 16! 4 0,10); 2]27/ 0); 15; 2)/20) 0:10] 2 8} 83 | 4766/18) 42} 9145) 8] 28! 5 0/26; O[ 28} 0/29; O}] 26/] Oj 26] o No School worth the name. 9 | 19; 161] 20| 9; 19/16]720| 9) 19) 16 10 | 838) 4 1183 | 20] 58 | 12] 85} 101 38] 4 4; 8] O| 4] 5]|10]} O}F 8] 4] 8] 0o 399 11,682| 29,603|519 ped 370 oa 74 289 | 77 1525 |102 a2 os {2 | 82 pst 85 * In this parish the return is confined to the children of farm labourers. > In these six rural parishes the return may be taken as confined to the agricultural labouring class. ‘The returns were all asked for as of the agricultural labouring class, but some of them certainly represent returns of the whole school. © This is only an approximation (one school putting boys and girls together, and the other only separating them as returned “on the register”). Husborne, Crawley, and Salford being new schools could only give return for one half-year, and Milton Bryant, Potsgrove, Tingrith and Woburn are returned in summer and winter as having very much the same attendance, and are here entered as being the same in winter and summer. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, 475 B. ScHoor RetTurN.— AVERAGE ATTENDANCE in 19 ParisuEs in Beprorp UNIoN. Bedfordshire. Summer. Winter. ee ° g ; f, 5 , . Name of Parish. e Boys. : Girls, Boys. Girls. 2, 3 S a? = ac = a2 S ak ze; ¢ | | 83) 8] ie] 8 | Fe] & | Ee ae 3 a B58 3 38 e g¢@ 3 38 ey < Pp mo Pp ae p mec he AS ® Biddenham - 350 | 1,760 | 16 0 19 0 7 . 0 18 0 ® Bletsoe - 412 2,239 16 0 19 5 14 1] 16 4 ® Bromham - 361 1,708 | 29 5 30 10 24 3 16 11 Cardington - 1,419 | :5,170 | 438 0 18 13 40 0 17 18 b® Clapham - - 502 1,982 |} 28 0 15 1 28 0 15 1 * Cople - 565 2,109 | 25 1 20 1 25 1 20 1 ® Goldington - 609 2,735 | 45 5 43 12 38 6 44 26 f Kempston - 2,191 5,160 | 45 82 74 80 45 82 76 83 © Knotting - - 185 1,724 Has been no teacher for 2 years. b @ Melchbourne - 251 2,574 8 1 13 11 8 1 13 11 baQakley - - 443 1,740 | 18 0 18 2 18 0 13 2 ¢ # Ravensden - 477 2,160 | 19 1 9 2 30 2 6 2 > @ Renhold - 513 2,165 | 15 11 18 18 15 11 18 8 @Risely = - 1,026 2,980 | 28 1 24 3 31 J 21 3 » Sharnbrook - 872 2,880 | 24 2 26 6 31 5 32 7 b a Sonldrop - - 276 1,290} 15 2 25 9 15 2 25 9 » Thurleigh - 666 3,480 | 20 0 8 0 20 0 8 0 Turvey - 1,093 8,944 8 3 5 1 16 7 3 1 dbs Willington - 290 1,648 | 138 0 5 0 138 0 5 Oo 12,501 | 49,536 | 415 64 | 384 173 | 428 72 | 366 182 « In these 15 parishes there is no other school. > In Clapham, Melchbourne, Oakley, Renhold, Souldrop, and Willington the winter attendance is taken as the same as summer attendance. ¢ In Ravensden and Souldrop the schools are new, ?.¢., recently erected. 4 In Willington a new school has been erected, but is not yet opened. * In Knotting there is a school, but has been no teacher for 2 years. £ As to Kempston, the Rev. Hy. Williams says, “In giving the number of girls in attendance at elementary schools I have “ included in the return the number belonging to two schools, which meet two days a week each at different parts of the “ parish, The whole number in the registers of these schools is 163 girls; they remain up to 16 or 17 years of age in some “ eases. There is also an infant school under Government; No. in register, 80 boys and 50 girls ; average attendance, 64 boys and 31 girls. There are three Sunday schools, Church, Wesleyan, and Independent.” (The total number of children and young persons in average attendance at day and night schools, exclusive of Sunday schools, is therefore in Kempston. (See night schools.) Summer, Males - - 1411 596 Winter, Males - - 198 388 Females - 185 Females - 190 In several cases infant schools are included in these returns, as in Goldington and elsewhere. C. ScHoot Rerurn.—ReEtTwrRN of 7 Parisues in AMPTHILL UNION. Day Schools. Summer Attendance. Winter Attendance. Name of % Number on Register. | Average Attendance. | Number on Register. Average Attendance. Parish. Z bs 8 Boys, Girls Boys Girls. Boys Girls Boys, Girls d Sloat loel 2 lant @ cel eS lel eo leele [sel = 3 Sl/a?t 3 [aS] a= [eS] A fat] a fe 8! SB eR] a pee) Rl A = &p gm on » ov vo v s vo oO om & 2 | 5 /8e| 5 /8el5 jae] 5 lee] 5 lake! 5 jas] 5 jac] 5 ize Cranfield - | 1,591 | 3,933) 68 71 51 3 | 63 4 51 3] 78 | 14 | 48 8 | 60 8 | 35 8 bd Flitton - 597 | 1,020] 18 O | 238 O07] 15 Oo} 15 07 18 0 | I8 0} 15 0| 16 0 Flitwick - 780 | 2,100/ 30 O | 24 0] 21 0 | 18 0 | 387 1 | 22 4 | 23 1; 18 4 e Maulden - | 1,563 | 2,508 AT ms) 48 | 16 | 36 5 | 38 7143} 11 | 88 | 238 | 30 8 | 30 | 14 Pulloxhill 708 1,576 | 35 | 12 47 | 10 |] 24 | 20 | 34] 10] 85 | 10 | 40 | 10 | 27 | 10} 80] 10 Silsoe - 718 | 2,967| 22 | 18 24 | 22117/ 13] 21 | 19] 35 | 16 | 24 | 22] 30} 12] 21 | 19 a Westoning 784 | 1,715) 32 | 19 17 9] 22] 13} 11 5 | 29 | 23 | 15 7} 22/18) 11 4 6,731 14,911 |255 | 61 |234 6O {198 | 55 |183 | 44 [275 | 75 |235 | 74 [207 | 57 |155 | 59 urn for Westoning is of the whole attendance. , > ae Fitton only the average attendance in summer was given. .Winter attendance said to be nearly the same. From Shilling- ly the numbers “on the register” of the two National schools were given. e In Maulden «plaiting ” is allowed in school for a certain number of hours. 2, 3 O 476 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Bedfordshire, me D.—Scxsoot Returns. Mr, Culley. / Day Schools. f, Biggleswade Union. Summer. Winter. ‘Number on Register. | Average attendance. | Number on Register. | Average attendance. a Ss Name of 3 Boys Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys Girls. Boys Girls. Parish, | & @|.2) 2138] 6 |.8h6 1.2) 41-2| 6 ).2) 2/28 4).8 om v et q pa A = 4 pay a ea a pase a = a - Bw ge | #./ 822] 2/22] 3/28) 2/22] = |2E| s [22] 5 |22) 3 ez - Bo Bo ° Ro . oS pa | < | 5 R=] 5 [8] 5 [a=] 5 SA] 5 82] 5 [88] 6 a=] 6 [ae Arlesey -| 1,403} 2,303} 54] 10 | 30} 14] 40 | 6] 22 | 10} 60] 10] 30| 15] 45 | 6] 20] 10 ® Biggles- 4,631| 4,310) 68 | 18 |104 | 16 |] 38 | 10] 72; 8] 68 | 18 |104 | 16 | 46 | 14 | 70] 12 “wade. Northill -| 1,362) 4,120) 25 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10] 25 | 15 | 20 | 20] 18] 7/j 18 Southill '!-| 1,391) 6,180| 87 | 9] 73] 8177) 7|]68/] 6]90|16/75| 8|82] 8| 78 Sandy -]| 2,118} 4,010) 60 | 20] 55} 8] 46] 12] 40] 38] 81 | 27 | 57 | 12] 50) 19/ 83] 11 Total - | 10,903) 20,923/294 | 72 |282 | 66 [221 | 45 |222 | 37 |824 | 86 286 71 |241 | 54 [214 | 46 These five returns are supposed to be confined to the agricultural labouring class. 3 a There is a British School in Biggleswade with about 100 children of this class not given here. E.—ScuHoot REtuRN. Lutron UNton. Return of East Hyde School. Population - 420 Acreage - - 1,605 Average attendance. Boys under 10 28 , 10 to 13 a, Teas Girls under 10 25 29 » 10tol3 - 4 In summer : 1 In winter : i Boys under 10 - 27 33 » 10to18 - 6 58 Girls under 10 - 20 25 ~ 1016 =~ § [East Hyde school return is confined to children of agricultural labouring class. | “ Barton in the Clay,” with a population of 956 and acreage of 2,225, has no day school or night school. F.—Scuoo.t Return. StaTeMENT contrasting the number of Children actually under education in the under-mentioned Schools, with that proportion of the population expected to be so by Government. Set 2 = e a Number of children ga & |4.S,.] in Schools inspected 8 2 es 3S 4 >| by Government. | § 3 _ 38 23 3 ag ‘ 90S Ss |3o.48 Bee mu |O 1866. 1867. |p, 27 Goldington -{| 609] 101 90 97 3°96 Apsley - - | 1,437 239 177 162 32°21 Milbrook 430 71 —_ 45 36°61 Eversholt - - 885 | 147 88 90 38°77 Appthill - 2,144 357 216 203 43°13 Woburn 1,764 294 148 159 45°91 Oakley - -| 443 | 74 = 38 | 48°64 Stevington - 606 101 51 45 55°44 Marston ~ | 1,270 211 98 90 57°34 Flitwick 773 128 40 _ *68°75 Maulden - |1,563 | 200 57 79 =| 69°61 Ridgmount 1,029 171 37 42 75°43 Toddington - | 2,433 405 _ 89. 78°02 [* 1866]. N.B.—The number of children represents the average attend- ance. The number on the books is‘not known at Bedford Office. Nore.—(This return of schools iu some of the parishes in which the Duke of Bedford interests himself was given to the Assistant Commissioner by Mr. Wing.) $ : CrrctLar Questions, IV.—44. 44, Approximate number of children of the agri- cultural labouring class neither at school nor at work. In summer. Total boys - - Total girls - - In winter. Total boys - - Total girls - - 74 circulars give no answer. 4 answer “ None.” 3 3 » © Few or none.” Woerurn Union. Rev, S. F. Cumberlege, Woburn, says : In summer, 1 boy between 10 and 18 years, 3 1 girl ,, 8and10_,, Rev. V. C. Smith, Husborne Crawley, says, In winter, 1 gitl between 8 and 10 years, 3 Tgirls ,, 10and13_,, Rev. B. C. Smith, Holcote and Salford, says, In summer, 38 girls between 8 and 10 years. Beprorp Union. Rev. R. N. Durrant, Risely, says, In summer, 2 boys between 8 and 10 years, se 8 girls 5 8and10 ,, 55 3 girls » l0and13_,, And the same in winter. Rev. G. Thornton, Sharnbrook, says, In summer, 4 boys between 8 and 10 years, *% 3 girls » 8andl10 ,, In winter, 6 boys » 8andlo ,, » 4 boys » l0and13 ,, 3 2 girls » l0and13 ,, AMPTHILL UNIon. Rev. G. Renaud, Silsoe, says, 13 boys not at school. - For Swineshead parish which is in the county of Huntingdon, but surrounded by Bedfordshire. 6c Mr. John Smith, says, “ Two-thirds of the children in the parish who are not at work, as there is “ no school.” ; ‘CircuLar Questions, IV.—45. 45. Approximate number of young persons of the agricultural labouring class, growing up with insufficient education. Males—Approximate number - - - - Females—Approximate. number - - - IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, 477 73 circulars give no answer to this question. Commissioner, 27 have evening schools, in all of, Bedfordshire The others answer as follows :— which reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught ;. ae in 3 or four there is religious teaching, and in one ™M*. Culley. Wosvurn Union. : : : a e geography is taught. In 2 parishes there are evening f Woburn—Males, 17. schools in summer for girls, viz., in Eversholt and. ° 35 Females, 8. Tingrith. Milton Bryant—Males, 3. Of the 27 evening schools— Female, 1. 6 are open for more than 20 weeks per year. 16 are open for 20 weeks per year. 5 are open from 10 to 20 weeks per year. are open for 4 nights per week. ” Ridgnorth, “ A large number.” Tingrith, ‘‘ All can read and write.” Tilsworth, “ Most of our young persons, say 40.” Harlington, “ Nearly all have a certain amount of * education, but generally inefficient,” 9 = : : . ; 1 %” 2 : BEDHORD UNION. 13 are open for 2 hours per night, Clapham—Males, 5. 4, o It x 3 ” Females, 5. _In 24 out of these 27 returns of evening schools Sharnbrook—Males, 6. 3 Females, 5. Willington, “ All we have.” the numbers and ages of the scholars on the register and in average attendance are given, and are as fol- : 3 z lows :— Biddenham, “ The education of 8 very large pro- On register. In average attendance. “ portion of the males is very insufficient owing to [Under 12 years - 134 Under 12 years - 78 “ the early age at which they are removed from Apovye . - 799 Ahevé 7 - 468 “ school, the females, as a rule, are better educated On the register of the remaining three schools “ owing to their longer attendance both at day and there are 96 scholars, with an average attendance of “* Sunday school.” about 60. ; Turvey, “ From the early age at which both boys Of the 23 parishes which are returned as having ‘ and girls are taken from school, the education of no evening schools, 5 have had such schools, which “ the great mass is insufficient. are now discontinued from the want of available teachers, : Se aes. In answer to question 52, “ Do you consider that Silsoe—Males, 10. “ the evening school adequately supplies the defi- 43 Females, 3. “ ciencies of the day school ? ” Flitwick—“ Perhaps 30 of both.” 17 witnesses answer “ No.” Flitton—* About half a dozen.” : 1 witness says, “ No, though of great use.” Maulden—“ Very few males or females can sign 2 witnesses say, “‘ Would do if they would attend.” “ the marriage register.” 2 3 » ‘Ina great measure.” B 4 - 0. es,” IGGLESWADE UNION. The other answers to this question are given at Northill—Males, about 250. length. ” Females, about 250. In answer to question 53, “ What do you find to Luron Uwton. “ be the principal difficulties in the way of maintain- . i “* ing an efficient evening school.” East Hyde—“ About half. : 10 witnesses say, “ The want of a suitable teacher.” [Nors.]—i. ¢. 17 out of 55 parishes answer as = 5 =’ « Weariness of children after work.” above. 4 4 » “ Indifference of parents.” Crecuiar Questions IV., 46 to 53. 2 5 » ‘Indifference of youths.” 3 46. Is there any evening school in your parish ? 1 witness says, “ The great number of public houses.” 47. How many weeks in the year is it open ? 1 ” » “Want of encouragement trom. ¢m- At what periods of the year ? “ ployers. . 48. How many nights per week ? 1 ” » “ Distance they have to come. 49. How many hours per night ? 1 ” ” i. Want of money. z 50. What is the number of scholars ? 1 ” » “There is no difficulty.” - - The other answers to this question are given at On the Register. In average attendance. length. In Summer. In Winter. Wosurn Union. Pt ai Eight out of the 16 parishes in Woburn Union o ° have night schools. 3 $8 | Under 12.| Above12.| Under 12. | Above 12. The number and age of scholars as follows : P <4 On register. In average attendance. Under 12 years - 380 Under 12 years - - 24 Above 3 - 219 Above » - 141 Total on register 249 ‘Total average attndce. 165 These are all the evening school scholars out of a population of 11,682 in Woburn Union. 51. What are the subjects of instruction ? County or Brprorp. i i hool : 52. Do you consider that the evening sc The aggregate of 546 scholars in average attend- adequately supplies the deficiencies of the day ance at evening schools for 50 parishes, of which 27 ee you find to be the prineipal difficulties bave such schools is for a population of 44,378. 53. at do ; intaining an efficient evenin . dn the way of maintaining g Renee school ? County or Beprorp. The following are the other answers to questions ishes in the county of Bedford for 52and53. oat at ane were sent to the Assistant Revd. H. M. Erskine, Aspley, says in answer to 30 2 Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. f, 478 question 52, “ No, but as a supplement to the day “ school it is of very great advantage.” In answer to 53, “ The irregular hours at which some of the “ pupils leave off work and the distance others have * to go after their day’s labour.” Revd. J. M. Hamilton, Chalgrave, in answer to question 53, says, “ The instruction of the children “ having been greatly neglected in their earlier years ‘for the sake of straw plait, they are ashamed when “ above 12 years old to come and begin to learn the “ very rudiments of reading.” Revd. W. S. Baker, Eversholt : 52. No. The children leave the day school about 10, and are not admitted to the evening school until 12 years old. 53. The difficulty of obtaining the attendance of the boys except during the four winter months, on account of their work ; and the difficulty of obtaining the attendance of the girls in daylight, except during the four summer months on account of their employ- ments in straw plaits. Revd. T. Tanqueray, Tingrith, in answer to ques- tion 53, “ Want of inclination to attend on the part “ of the people.” 53. What do you find to be the principal difficulties in the way of maintaining an efficient evening school ? Rev. V. C. Smith, Husborne, Crawley: I consider that in this parish, and I believe in county parishes generally, an evening school would supply to a great degree the deficiencies of the day school, e.g., in the case of those boys employed in farm labour, and those girls employed in lace making and straw plaiting, whose parents cannot afford to give up the children’s earnings or pay for school. Also many who have neglected school when young and are too old for the day school, would attend an evening school. I believe a good evening school to supplement a good day schvol (not of course, omitting the Sunday school) would be found sufficient for the wants of agricultural parishes and sufficiently attended without having re- course to any compulsory legislation. There is no evening school in this parish, there not being any room in the parish available for the purpose of a school, except the day schoolroom. This I am pro- hibited from using, it being private property. The Rev. A. B. Hamilton, Ridgmont, The opposi- tion of the authorities on the Bedford estate is one chief difficuly, and I find it impossible to get any persons above 18 or 20 to avail themselves of the night school. I have not been distinctly ordered to dis- continue the night school, but have been advised to do so. Iam most unwilling to do so, as it has been very successful in some cases, and many boys who could neither read nor write two yéars ago can now fairly do both. I think the gang system as pursued in this parish, ze. of employing very young children who are paid by the employer, not by the gang master, is very injurious to the education of the poor. Numbers of these young children are employed by the Duke of Bedford and by several tenants in this parish. They say “ We have no gangs” because the children are paid and employed by the farmer, not by the gang master. ‘“ We have no boys in our school over the * age of 10, and yearly in spring we lose all boys of *“ from 8 to 10, as they are sent by their parents to ‘““ work in preference to school. Ishould be glad to “ hear of some measure being passed to prevent the * occupation of such young children in these gangs, * for by no other name can I describe them.” Rev. S. F. Cumberlege, says, “ The evening school ‘““ by no means supplies the deficiences of the day “ school. The difficulties in the way of maintaining “ an efficient evening school are: indisposition to “ work, preference of other employment, attendance “ at mechanics’ institutes, volunteers, drum and fife “ bands, &c. There are two or three lads anxious “ for further education, but most having left the day * school early have lost both what they learnt and “ the capacity to learn, so that at the examination of * the evening scholars last year the report of the a EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG TFERSONS, AND WOMEN “ Government inspectors reported their attainments “ to be little better generally than that of the first “ class of an infant school.” Beprorp Unton. Mr. Charles Howard, Biddenham, in answer to question 52, says, “ Perhaps not adequately, but it is “ a most useful adjunct.” In answer to question 53, Mr. C. Howard says, “ Want of Goverment help and the consequent in- “ ability to maintain a properly qualified master. “ Government help being at present restricted to “ those particular districts which can afford a cer- “ tificated master.” AMPTHILL UNION. fev. H. H. Birley, Cranfield, in answer to ques- tion 52, says, “ Not adequately, though of much use.” In answer to question 53, he further says, “ Boys “ who have been hard at work all day have not much “ mental energy left, they will read and write readily, “ but unless they have had previous instruction it is “ very difficult to get them to.” Rev. A. Frere, Shillington, in answer to question 53, says, “I consider the rule of the Committee of “ Council, that in order to be aided the night school “ must be paid for by the lads, has worked very ill in “ this parish.” Rev. A. Browne, Flitton :— 52. Do you consider that the evening school ade- quately supplies the deficiencies of the day school ?—‘ Certainly not to the extent desired.” 53. What do you find to be the principal difficulties in the way of maintaining an efficient evening school ?—“ If the attendance is voluntary, the “ only real obstacle is the want of appreciation “on the part of the recipients, i.e. the parents “as wellas the scholars themselves. There is “less of this in the case of adults, but there “ will always be some shortsighted individuals “ who cannot be induced by any prospect of “ remote advantage to forego the present earn- “ings of their children, however small, in “favour of a steady continuance at school for “at least say three or four years. The expense “of properly qualified superintendents would “be another difficulty in the way of an efficient “ evening school in such a place as this.” N.B.—* There is no want of educational appliances “in this neighbourhood if only the people could be “ induced to avail themselves thereof. No part of “ this parish is a mile distant from one or other of “ three good daily schools, but scarcely more than six “ are receiving instruction at any one time in all three “of them together. In fact the only teaching that “ the great majority of this parish have had is that of “the Sunday school, supplemented. by an evening “ school two days in the week during the winter half “ year, mostly for adults, but including also a few “ boys above 15 years of age, who are exercised for “ 13 hour in reading, writing, and arithmetic; aver- “ age attendance about 34. As it is there are few “ who cannot both read and write, and some have a “* tolerable notion of the common rules of arithmetic.” CircuLar Questions, IV. 54. “ Field keeping on Sunday.” In answer to the question, “Are any boys pre- * vented from attending church by ‘ field keeping’ or “* bird scaring’ on Sundays?” a good many wit- nesses say, “One or two;” others say; “A few at “ certain seasons of the year.” The following witnesses answer more fully as follows :— Mr. Charles Howard, occupier, Biddenham, says, “I think it a practice that cannot be too strongly “condemned. I am glad to say that in this parish ““ we have relays of men for this work.” Mr. George Wallis, occupier, Renbold, says, “I ‘“ never allow boys to keep the fields on the Sundays, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :-—EVIDENCE. “ as I don’t think it right; I send a man with a gun to shoot off several times in the day if the crows are troublesome.” Mr John Horrell, occupier, Oakley, says, “ We “ require one boy on each Sunday about four months “in the year, and having about five boys we have them in turns.” Rev. A. J. Coleridge, Bromham, says, “ Yes, some “ few; I cannot say how many. It is a great and “ unnecessary evil, as I think, and has only last “ Sunday resulted in a little boy of 11 years of age shooting himself so badly that his life was almost * despaired of ; he is now in the Bedford Infirmary.” a a n a 479 Rev. J. A. Frere, Shillington, says, “ Yes, a good many, and by horse-keeping also. My own idea is, that in the latter case the difficulty might be met by having the entire work (and pay) divided be- tween two lads, where now one is retained for the work, and giving them the alternate Sundays free.” Rev. T. Tanqueray, Tingrith, says, “I cannot think of more than three who go ‘ crow keeping ;’ these three have not attended church service during “ that time. I have known them come sometimes to church once of the Sunday when the parent has taken the ‘ crow keeping,’ ” SUMMARY OF ANSWERS TO CIRCULARS OF INQUIRY FROM BUCKS. The following summary of answers given in cir- culars of inquiry is from 82 such circulars returned from 74 parishes in the county of Buckingham, of which— ; 41 were returned by clergymen of parishes. 41 by landowners and occupiers or their ageuits, of whom 80 are guardians of the poor for their respective parishes. The number of parishes in the different unions from which these returns have been received are— In Aylesbury Union from - - 18 parishes. In Thame Union from - In Winslow Union from - In Buckingham Union from - In Newport Pagnell Union from - 1 In Leighton Buzzard Union from - In Amersham Union from - - In Wycombe Union from - 10 ” In Eton Union from - - 5 o The circulars from one parish in Aylesbury Union and one in Eton Union arrived just too late to be inserted in the summary. AO O WD CrrcuLaR Questions I. As to EMPLOYMENT IN PRIVATE GANGS. Circulars either give no answer to the questions under this head, or answer that gangs are not em- ployed. From only ove parish is there a return of a private gang, viz., from Aston Clinton, of which the Rev. C. W. W. Eyton says,in answer to questions, « A gang of 15 boys, whose average age is 103 years, « is employed in this parish in spring, summer, and autumn in destroying weeds, thinning root crops; “ &¢.; none of them have to come more than 14 miles « to their work, The hours of work are from 6 a.m. « to 6 p.m., 1} hours being allowed for meals. There « is nothfing injurious to the health of these boys arising from the nature of their employment, nor “ are they ill-treated in any way. The state of « education among them is bad.” _ i Mr. W. Hawkins, Emberton, Newport Pagnell, under the head of general employment, says, “I “« sometimes have from 8 to 10 children from 8 to 12 « years of age, pulling up charlock out of the barley « generally, and one old man to look after them ; they “ only work while the weather is fine, and are paid « 3d. each per day. There are no organized gangs “ in this neighbourbood.” a G a n a ‘ a n CircuLar Quzstions II. (a.) (6.) (c.) IL As to the EMPLOYMENT of CHILDREN, Youne “persons, and WomMEN not in Ganaes, either “ Pusric”’ or “ Privates,” but individually or in company with a few other Persons. 22, Inasmuch as on every farm there will probably be children, young persons, and women both permanently and occasionally employed, not in gangs either “public” or “ private,” but individually or with a few other persons ; and as these could not be omitted from any pro- tective legislation which might be thought desirable and practicable on behalf of those employed in “public” or “ private” gangs, if the circumstances of their employment should be found to require it, be kind enough to answer, as fully as you are able, the following questions :— (a.) What is the number of children, young persons, and women employed in agricul- tural labour singly or with a few others In your parish ? On your farm ? (6.) Give as nearly as you can the following particulars as to the number and age of such persons so einployed. Males Females. vi ee Yh eer" Ih “7 =~ Wigs ~ | gia 1e | o Set = 3 3 < z 3 sid 18 4 A122) 2 Soe os _| 3 Pliepeta | tees g|é ele g/8) 42 /2/8)/8/ 8's) ei wm B o o o ay 2 o v | -# 3 = a é o E = . g s oO oy oO SS o vo o Pim /mMiA lA IJPFPlAlAlAIlAIeE |e | oe | ae ee oe | (c.) In what kinds of work are they em- ployed during the different seasons of the year ? The following summary of answers received to these questions will illustrate the nature and extent of the employment of children, young persons, and women in Buckinghamshire. The tables include a summary of. notes taken of 20 farms in the unions of Aylesbury, Thame, Winslow, Buckingham, Amersham, Wycombe, and Eton, as : | ‘ , 1 wl | | { ’ | ‘well the summary of answers’ in circulars of inquiry, 308 Bedfordshire. Mr, Culley. f. Bucks. 480 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Bucks. Taste A.—Lasour RETURNS. Mr. Culley. Gross Return of Campren, Youne Persons, and Womzn employed in Farm Lazour from 82 Circulars (many of whom give no Return), and 20 Farms taken in Note Book, showing comparative Number and Ages. , Males. Females. rg ry rg 3 rg g . a {8 |8 |. ga |8 |8 Over 18. Unions. ey S eo : "Total : od S a ro ‘Total ; si a a “Males . A a a : a 7419 12 1G bendeia] | 18.1851 2.) 3 | § |} toe me ES | Eo | Fa 3g ES | Es | Eo | A ot] S71] o7 a S7 ;} 37 }o7 a g bia ia |8 Pia [a iA s | 5 Aylesbury - - 2 81 88 | 116 237 _ _ - _ 2 1 3 Thame - -| o | 12 | 53 | a1 146 —|/—}]—|—/] 46 | 18 59 Winslow - - -f — _ 16 21 37 —_— — - —_ 2 1 8 Buckingham - - 2 13 72 76 163 - _ 7 — 5 9 21 Newport Pagnell -j — 2 14 20 36 — _ _ _ _ _ _ Amersham - - —_ 16 16 13 45 _ — — 2 2 2 6 Wycombe - - -| = _ 13 16 29 _ _ _ 6 5 _ ll Eton - cee mf = | a2 | 85 } 80 f-, 67 PF — | — jm] — | 29°] 18 42 Total - -| 4 | 86 | 297 | 378 760 —f{—- 7 8 | 91 | 39 145 _ | under 18. = of all ages. Taste B.—Lazour RETURNS. Gross Return of Curtpren, Youne Persons, and WomeEN employed in 17 Parishes as given in Circulars of Inquiry. Males. Females. rs Eo) Ee) 4 rg rg =) a a 8 BA a ‘3 g Over 18. 3 —_— 7 oo ° e 8 & ° 9 —7|"s g e tele |e a I[selala a) ie mB | 8 Se ele. eel eles | Sates ee lel ele j 2 § SLES | Bed olAs}TS)|Es| Ed | Eo |* Sid a am cs ~ 2 E 2g 3 oS 42 Ss 2 5 E 2 5 3 4 37 3 oo So rs a gm S- 8 ot q 5 Ay , in Newton Pagnell Union| 155 | 1,020} 0 2 1 4 77-—-|— _ — |}—j—}— 2 ,, in Eton Union - ~|2,189 | 4,830 | Q| 11 12 10 s3]—| — | — | — | 7] 2] 9 Total of 17 parishes - | 8,602 | 30,738 4 57 181 233 475 | — _ 7 10 54 | 24 1 95 5 4 5 1 2 parishes in Aylesbury Union—Aston Abbots, Cublington, Fleet Marston, Weston Turville, and Oving. j in Thame Union—Kinsey, Long Crendon, Shabbington, and Worminghall. in Buckingham Union—Addington, Adstock, Beachampton, Leckhamstead, and Thornborough. in Newport Pagnell Union—Broughton. in Eton Union—Farnham Royal and Taplow. ” ” ” ” Tasle C.—Lazour RETURNS. Gsoss Return of CHILDREN, Younc Persons, and Women employed in Farm Lagovr as given in Circulars only. Males. Females. rg rg rs Ee} rs rs 8 g a 8 q a Over 18. Union. ° Co) ° i anne as elie te! ae ol] bate Pe ete 3 | Total als g g a Males. | 2 | 8 | 8 8 3 | Females. ~ | ES |ES |b | 6 S |ES|Es|Eo| | & I o™ o” > Ee a o7 o- |} o> a q Pi|a ja |A S P |a |R ja s | 5 Aylesbury - - 0 Il 16 18 98 143 — _ — as od =o — Thame - - 0 1 4 4 27 36 _ as os o 12 5 17 Winslow - - 0 0 2 3 8 13 — —_ a oa aa ee as Buckingham - 0 0 1 2 7 10 _ _ _— — a — = Amersham - - 0 0 1 3 8 12 as — 2 — jee ie) a Wycombe - - 0 0 3 12 46 61 — ies a ee 5 oe 5 Eton - 0 0 7 12 55 74 — = — os 29 13 42 Totals -| © | 12 | 34 | 54 |249 | 349 eae ere (een (eee (ee ae et 64 of all ages. ‘IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Taste D.—Lazour Returns. 481 Bucks. nd Taste showing the Numper and AcE of Camtpren, Younc Persons, and Women employed on 13,459-Acres Mr, Culley. in BuckineHamsuine, as stated by Employers to the ‘Assistant Commissioner. Acreage. Males. Females, go |o |[o | 3 ls |s & q q gq | : q q q Over 18, a elie if tals le (2 2 (pg | ce a ; a =| (2) a ; . : & 5 ; a a |S ./o .|3 ./underris} » | 3 .]3 | 3.. 3} z Females. a | gt 2 fg |es\ee| be). eiee ee | ee) & |g sS qi iad ]| 6& |5 |e je |e Ria ia je 1315 Aylesbury - |1,986 |2,972 | 4,958] 0 | 11 | 28] 34] 63 efi ga) Se ee ep 3 Thame - - 305 512 817 0 1 4 4 9 = = — — 12 5 17 Winslow - - 112 | 635 747 0 0 2 , a _ _ _ — — —t — Buckingham - 620 {1,712 | 2,332 0 0 15 23 38 — — _ _ 4 _— 4 Newport Pagnell - | 465 | 395 860 | 0 Oo; 7 6 13 —} —-!| —y; -—|] -| — _— Amersham - - | 250 60 310} — | — 1 3, 4 —) —} —]| —| —I] — _— Wycombe - - {1,140 | 235 | 1,375] 0 Oo} 3] 12 15 Se ee ee OB 5: Eton - - 11,690 370 | 2,060 0 0 10 16, 26 —_ _— _— _ 22 8 30 Total - | 63568 | 6,891 | 13,459 0 12 60 | 103 175 _ —_—j;— _ 45 14 59 : under 18 .| of all ages. Taste E.—Lazour Returns, TaBLe showing NumBer and Aczs of att Persons employed on 8,442 Acres, of which 4,411 are arable, in Six Unions in Buckincuamsuiry, as given by Employers to Assistant Commissioner. ‘ Acreage. ‘ Males. Females. go [oso | 3 |o {ro ® a 8 a g q a Over 18. i : re 2 2 ° ca Say east Union, & ; a S a ee Total : = al 3 Total é g _ a 8 1/8 18. = Males. ee § , 8 3g E Females. #4 | 2 |e 1s*|8"|85| & a S=|e"|G5| E | & < PY a P jk iQ | °o P |Q ja | s |p Aylesbury - | 1,986 /2,972 {4,958 | —| 11 | 28] 34] 167]. 240 eth eee eed ee 2 1 3 ‘Thame - 305 512 817} —]- 1 4 4 27}. 36 moet _ _ _ 12 5 17 Buckingham | 120] 42| 162] —] —! 1]. 2] 7 10 eo | esl Seats a eee | oe ae Amersham - 250 60 310 _ _ Ei "3 8]. 12 _— — _— — oe en = Wycombe -/1,140| 235 1,375] —| —j| 3] 12] 46 61 et Ae ee ee pee 5 Eton - 610 210) 8207 —{| — 5 10 | 40 55 —| —f —-|f — 12 5 17 Totals - |4,411 |4,031 |8,442| —]| 12] 42/,65| 295) 414 | —}| —| —| —] a1] nu 12 ; ; : of all ages. of all ages. Showing comparative number of adult and young males, and of males and females of all ages. Boys under 12 are employed throughout the county—. In spring in bird scaring, picking couch grass (or twitch). pulling charlock. cutting thistles. 5 potato setting. : Bs attending stock. : In summer, picking couch grass. $5 weeding. helping in hay-making. ; - _ attending stock. In autumn, helping at harvest: » bird scaring. — 9 pig keeping, &c. a In winter. boys under 12 not so much employed, chiefly in attending to stock, helping shepherd, &c. Boys between 12 and 18 are employed throughout the country— aiare . ; In spring in couching. weeding, attending to stock. driving teams and carts, &c. In summer in hoeing root crops. 5% driving teams and carts, &c. In autumn in harvest work. .. driving carts. : getting up and storing roots, &c. 29 oR ’ fs 2 ord 9 9 ef esit = In winter in driving teams. 9 attending stock, &c. Females.—There’ ig.no return of females employed in farm labour from the unions of Newport Pagnell and Leighton Buzzard. A few women over 18 are employed in weeding in spring in Aylesbury Union. -- Women over 18, most of them married, are em- ployed in Thame Union in couching, weeding, hoeing, and planting seed in spring ; in hoeing root crops, haymaking, and harvesting in summer and autumn ; in thrashing in winter. In Winslow and Buckingham Unions, as in Ayles- bury, 2 few women are employed in weeding as well as in hay time and harvest ; there is one return of girls employed weeding. ees In Amersham Union very few females are em- ployed, except in hay time and harvest. In Wycombe Union a few girls between 13 and 18 are ‘employed in spring, weeding. In Eton Union women, generally married women, are employed in spring in weeding; in summer in -haymaking and harvesting ; in autumn in harvesting and raising and trimming roots, &c. ; in winter in trimming roots and thrashing. There is no return of females under 18 as employed in farm labour in Eton Union.. WN The following witnesses, speaking of the employ- ment of children, young persons, and women, say :— 304 ft 482 AYLESBURY UNION. Mr, E. Stone, Wotton, says, “ Women in spring “ and summer only, weeding and haymaking.” Rev. T. J. Williams, Waddesdon, “ A good many * lads out of work in winter.” Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville, says, “Women “ are not employed except in hay time and harvest ;” and the same answer is given from five or six parishes. Mr. J. M. Farnborough, Dinton, “I employ one “ or two women occasionally, couching, in spring.”* Mr. W. Bell, Bierton, “I do not employ any “ females ; occasionally 2 man’s wife comes to help “ him in piece-work, especially in harvest.”* TuHameE UNION. Rev. Jas. Statter, Worminghall, says of female labour, “ Occasionally scutching (7.¢., twitching) in “ winter.” Rev. E. Boys, Oakley, says of females, “ At home “ in winter.” i uo Rev. W. N. Jackson, Kingsey, says of winter, Out on the land very little.” Mr. Thos. Fuller, Ickford,—* I employ seven “ married women, and two girls between 15 and 18. “© They hoe wheat, couch, and clean crops generally, and single mangold and plant beans; they also work in hay time and harvest. ‘They usually work “ from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m., and hoeing by piece-work “ they earn from 1s. to ls. 6d. per day; planting “ beans by the bushel they earn 10d. or 11d. per day, planting about half a bushel.”* Mr. Henry Fuller, Ickford,—*“ I employ six women, of whom five are married ; they work from 9 a.m. “ till 4 p.m., and are paid by the den, 9d., i.e., for six “ hour’s work, as they rest an hour for dinner.” ‘ a non Rn RB a ‘6 a if = a Mr. Freeman, Chilton,—“ Pays two women 4s. per. “ week for weeding, 5s. to 6s.in hay time and har- “ vest, and 6s. for untying sheaves on scaffold thrash- “ ing.”* Winstow Union. Mr. Wm. Hinton, for Three Claydons, says, “ Very few females employed in field labour, and boys, ex- cept with plough, not employed much in winter.” if « nan 8 BuckincHam Union. Mr. Thos. Attwood, Leckhamstead,—“ Women are “ employed only a few weeks in summer months.” Neweorr PacneztL, UNIon. Mr. Wm. Hawkins, Emberton, says, “There are “ no females employed on the land in this neighbour- “ hood, and labour being plentiful very few young “ children, except in weeding seasons, say from “ middle of April to middle of May, and again from “ middle of September to middle of October. Isome- “ times have 8 or 10 children from 8 to 12 years old “ pulling up charlock in the barley in April generally; “ an old man looks dfter them.” [Note.—These boys are not entered in Mr. Haw- kins’ return of children and young persons employed. | Rev. J. P. Langley, Olney, says, “'There are a few “ boys, perhaps eight between 7 and 10, who occa- “ sionally go twitching or bird keeping, and at other “ times come to school.” Wycomse Union. Mr. Chas. Brown, Princes Rusborough,—“ A few “ girls weeding and haymaking.” Eton Union. Mr. Joseph Trumper, Burnham,—“I employ “ women couching and weeding, but not in hay time.” Mr. R. Webster, Hitcham,—“ I employ three women in couching and weeding, in harvest, and in winter “ in trimming roots for cattle and sheep.” Mr. Charles Cantrell, Datchett, — “ Employs “ women. In spring in weeding corn; in summer “ in haymaking and harvest ; in autumn in raising ‘ n * From Assistant Commissioner’s note book. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ and trimming mangold and swedes by piece-work ; “ in winter only occasionally with thrashing ma- “ chine.” Crrcutar Questions II. 22. (d.) (d.) Do they live on or near the farms on which they work? If not, how far have they to come from their homes to their daily work ? 24 circulars give no answer. 50 =~ answer “yes” or “near.” 4 4, 4mile to 14 miles. Others as follows :— Fleet Marston, Aylesbury.—“ Most have two miles “ to come.” : Oving, Aylesbury.—“ Some go two miles.” Weston Turville, Aylesbury.— Three farms are “ two miles from village.” Lavendon, Newport Pagnell.—“ One to three miles.” CrecuLar Questions II. 22. (e.) (e.) What are their usual hours of work upon the land ? The answers to this question vary,—for males under 18 from 5 a.m. and 6 pm. to 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. in summer, and from 6.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 a.m. and 4 p.m. for winter ; and for females from 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. In the unions of Newport Pagnell and Leighton Buzzard the most usual answer is 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter for males. _In the other unions the usual answer is 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. in summer, 7 a.m. to 5 -p.m. in winter for males. In Thame and Eton Unions the hours of work for women are,— : In Thame 8 or 9 a.m: to 4 p.m. In Eton 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. None of these hours refer to hay-time or harvest. CrrcuLar Questions IT, 22. (g.) (g.) What are the timesjallowed for meals ? Of 70 circulars giving answers i this question— 43 answer 1} hours. | 13 ,, Lhour.’ | 14. ,, «12. to 2 hours. The meaning of these answers is, that where la- bourers begin work at 6 a.m. the ‘usual time allowed for meals is 14 hours, } an hour for breakfast and the hour for dinner; that where labourers begin work at 7 a.m. (or, in the case of women, at 8 a.m.) - no time is allowed for breakfast, which is taken before beginning work, the usual one hour being allowed for dinner; and that in certain kinds of work a rest of 15 minutes is-given at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. CircuLar Qusstions II. 22. (A.) (A.) Does the demand upon their physical powers injuriously affect their health and constitution ? 17 circulars give no answer. 60 circulars answer “ No.” 3 circulars answer “That farm work improves their health.” 1 circular answers “ Apparently not till after 50 years of age, when it does.” 1 circular answers ‘No, they are well paid and well fed.” CircuLar Questions IT. 22. (i.) (i.) Are the young or the females, whether young or grown up, subject to any ill- treatment ? Only 32 circulars answer this question, and all say “No.” CrecuLar Questions II. 22 (j.) (j.) Do any special employments injuriously affect females or the young generally ? c 13 “ IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 382 circulars give no answer. 82 Cy, answer “ No.” 9 4, of which eight are from clergymen of parishes, answer “ Straw plaiting.” 7 * ,, from clergymen of parishes answer “Lace making.” Others answer as follows :— Rev. E. T. Drake, Amersham, “Straw plaiting both morally and physically.” Rev. R. C. Green, Broughton, “I think the health and agility and mental powers of many would be better if they had not so many hours work.” CrrcuLar Questions IT. 22. (h.) (&.) Have you any observations to make as to the effect of the employment of females in agriculture on morals and on their pro- per training for domestic duties ? 51 circulars give no answer. 10 ,, ' answer thatfemalesare not so employed. 3 4 answer that such employment is not injurious. The Ven. Archdeacon Bickersteth, D.D., Ayles- bury, says, “I do not think that the occasional cc if (24 it “ “ ec “ “ is (74 ce “ « <9 <9 rf n a rf “ a 74 <4 6 n « 6 an « 6 (<4 79 ec a 8 4 79 « “ n a “ “ employment of females in agriculture is objection- able. The habitual employment of them is in my judgment degrading and hurtful.” The Rev. H. W. G. Armstrong, Bierton, says, When mothers are much in the field, both their morals, and those of their families, with home comforts for the husband, are likely to suffer.” The Rev. T. J. Williams, Waddesdon, says, “I have a very strong conviction that both morally, and as affecting their fitness for being good wives and mothers, such employment is very bad.” The Rev. W. H. Young, Oving, says, “We have no female agricultural labour, but a good deal of straw plaiting, which is quite as great a hindrance to education, and in my opinion more demora- lizing.” Toame UNION. The Rev. B. Morland, Shabbington, says, “I think that females employed constantly in field labour become untidy, and, generally speaking, rough in manner, and their absence causes con- fusion in domestic affairs.” Rev. Jas. Statter, Worminghall, says, “The number of young females is so small that it is difficult to say what effect is produced. I don’t observe that they turn out worse or make worse servants than those who leave home early.” Rev. Jas. Hemsted, \ckford,—“I think the effect on the women themselves is bad, but it is still worse as regards their children who are badly neglected. ‘Ihe standard of morals is very low.” Winstow Union. Rev. A. M. Preston, Winslow, says, “ When working with boys they are generally rude and impudent.” Buckinenam Union. Mr. Thos. Barge, Willesden,—“I hold farms in three parishes, and I don’t remember ever having a girl apply to me for work. I occasionally employ a few adult women in hay time and harvest. I think the employment of young girls is objection- able.” Newport PaGnett Union. ‘eqinald Walpole, Esq., J.P., says, “ Agricul- a labour has no evil effect morally, nor do the proper training for domestic duties, but lace making has. Only adult women as a rule are ever employed on farms here.” AMERSHAM UNION. Rev. E. T. Drake, Amersham,—“ Some females are employed in hay-making and harvesting i it does them good physically, and no harm morally.” 2. 6 “ “ “ “ < cc “ “ it oc “ cc ¢ a «i (39 (<9 ce nN « ce (<9 ng ‘ r7 ce 7 na 8 n 6 na 8 (79 ce 6 a “ce C a “ ‘ 19 (<4 n 483 Mr. John Verge Howey, Coleshill, says, “In this hamlet my experience leaves me to think that the morals of our young girls are good, when at an early age they can be induced to go into domestic service, the reverse when brought up at home platting or casual field labour.” Mr. F. C. Rickards, Manor House, Chenies, says, I consider the employment of females in agricul- ture to be very prejudicial to their morals, and to render them unfit for domestic duties.” Mr. Jas. Gurney, Chalfont, St. Giles, says, “ The effect on females when married of constant field work is generally injurious to the comfort of their homes, and the proper care of their children.” Wrcomsr Unton. Rev. F. A, Faber, Saunderton, says, “We have thought it makes them bold, but it is better for their health than close sitting at the lace pillow.” Rev.W. E. Partridge, Horsendon, says, “Evidently agricultural work is less injurious to morals and domestic duties than lace work or straw plaiting. There is not much field work for females in this parish except in hay-time and harvest.” Mr. H. Gibbins, Bledlow, says, “I don’t think their employment is so injurious to morals as the want of better cottage accommodation, where male and female, old and young, sleep in one room.” Eron UNIon. Mr. C. Cantrell, Datchett, says, “It would be far better if the young unmarried women could he induced to go to service instead of field work, but in many cases this is difficult to do. With regard to married women with large families, I presume they can find sufficient occupation at home, but the temptation of earning a few extra shillings to buy clothes, &c. is very strong. Moreover the farmers are often desirous of employing them, and would often be inconvenienced by their absence.” CircuLaR Questions IT. 22. (1.) (l.) Taking into consideration the demand for labour in your parish and neighbour- hood, and the pecuniary resources of the agricultural labourers, are you prepared to recommend that any restriction should be placed on the employment of ‘females in field work ? If so, would you limit the restriction to females of a defined age, or would you prohibit female labour in the fields altogether, excepting at hay and corn harvest ? 56 circulars give no answer. 10 >» answer “No” to the first part of this question. 3 sy sg Yes.” 3 5 » “That no females are em- ployed.” Others answer as follows :— AYLESBURY UNION. The Ven. Archdeacon Bickersteth, D.D., says, Females are so little employed in field work in this district that no restriction appears to be required.” Rev. H. W. G. Armstrong, Bierton, says, “ The wages are not high, and it is an opinion that the must be supplemented by female and child labour. If it were practicable to avoid I consider that no mother should be employed in the field.” “ As above, if any plan to that effect could be arranged it would be most desirable that female labour in the fields should be altogether prohibited, hay and corn harvest not excepted.” “ cc ce TuHame UNION. Rev. J. Statter, Worminghall, says, “ Considering the rate of wages of the labourers generally, I think it would be a great hardship to place any restriction on the employment of females in this parish. , 3 P Bucks, Mr. Culley. f. Bucks. Mr. Cuiley. — f. 484 Rev. B. Morland, Shabbington,—“ TI cannot. see “ how at present a woman can be prevented, from “ working in the field if she has no family, I do not “ see that the country suffers from her so doing ; on “ the other hand, if she has a family she then re- “ quires the income which cannot be made up to. her “ in any other way.” “ There are but few who do go out to field-work, excepting for hay and corn harvest, and therefore my opinion is that at present things had be better left as they are.” BucxineHam UNION. Rev. M. W. Davis, Maids Moreton,—* I should be “ in favour of prohibiting field labour for females “ altogether, except in hay and corn harvest.” Newport PaGnety UNION. Mr. W. Whitworth, Willen, occupier,—“ I think “ females should only be employed in hay-time and “ harvest, when the master is generally present.” Mr. John Yorke, occupier, Olney,—Answers as Mr. Whitworth. AMERSHAM UNION. Mr. Wm. Crouch, Amersham,—* I would prohibit “ the employment of females under 16 years of age.” Mr. John Werge Howey, Coleshill, says, ‘“ No. “ Field labour is the only opportunity females have “ of earning a little money ; young girls at plaiting, “ old women at lace making, 12 hours’ work, earning “ 8d. per day. Field labour strengthens their con- “ stitution, earning Is. to ls. 6d. per day.” “No. They earn twice the amount at field labour, and are very anxious to get work, but won’t ex- pose themselves to the weather, as in the northern counties.” Wrcomse UNIon. Mr. H. Gibbins, Bledlow, says, “I think the re- “ striction should only extend to females under 10 “ years.” CrrcuLaR Questions II. 22. (m.) (m.) 1. Taking into consideration the de- mand for labour in your parish and neigh- bourhood, and the pecuniary resources of the agricultural labourers, are you pre- pared to recommend that any restriction should be placed upon the age at which boys should be permitted to be employed in farm labour ? (m.) 2. If so, please to state the age below which you would recommend that boys should not be so employed. To first part of question— 18 circulars answer “ No.” 12 5 5 «|S Yes.” To second part of question— 5 circulars answer “ Not under 8 years.” 3 39 sa a 9 years. 1 ss » ” 9 or 10 years. 14 ” ” ” 10 years. 1 3 5 10 or 11 years. 1 39 a as 12 years. 1 13 years.” 29) 2 3? BouckincHAmM UNION. Mr. Thomas Barge, occupier, says, “ No; in some “ cases it would be a great hardship on the parents.” Mr. Ridgway, occupier, says, “ Not under 10, except “ for a few weeks bird keeping ” Newrort PaGnetLt Union. Mr. W. Hawkins, Emberton, occupier, says, “I “ find there are at this date (July) but two boys “ under 10 at work in this parish, so that a restriction “ to 10 years would make very little difference.” CrrcuLar Questions IT. 22. (x.) (n.) Do you see reason for recommending that the distance to which children and EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN young persons should be allowed to go to work in farm labour should be restricted according to age ? If you should think some restriction of distance in reference to age desirable, do you approve of the following, which assumes that boys under 8 years of age would not be allowed to be employed at all? No boy of 8 years of age and under - - 1 mile. No girl under the age of = - 10 years of age a we e—_— —— To be taken to work beyond fe a 8 m a No boy of mad under = 17 q 2 miles. LI, 3 =~ 12 5 12 2” » - 18 a a ae ee a% $3 miles 4, » - 45 3° f No young 15 ? 16 an g 2 » rm? person of 6 i e 7 = 8 } A dailes ” is am Have you any, modification to propose in the above table ? 47 circulars give no answer. 19 » answer “ No.” 8 8 » “Yes;” and generally approve the table. Other circulars answer as follows :— AyLespury Union. Rev. A. Isham, says, ‘Fourteen should come under “ the category of 2 miles, and 3 miles ought to be the “ maximum for young agricultural labourers.” Mr. J. K. Fowler, says, “1 think neither child nor “ grown-up person should have to go 3 miles to their “ work.” Winstow Union. Mr. Wm. Neal, occupier, says, “ No boy under 10 “ should be employed ; lads of 16 I would not attempt “ to control.” Bucxinenam Union. Rev. R. P. Greaves, Tingewick, says, “ Boys are “ of little use here under 11; up to 14 they should “ not have to go more than two miles to their work; “ lads under 18 ought not to have to walk, even three “ miles to their work.” Mr. Thomas Attwood, occupier, Leckbhampstead, says, “I consider 10 years of age sufficiently early “ for any child to go out to field labour, for the fol- “ lowing reasons, viz., the development of his strength “ and to allow time for education.” Newport Paenett Union. R. Walpole, Esq., J.P., says, “I object to these “ distances even for grown men, the walk home at “ night after the day’s labour must unfit them for “ their next day’s work and lessen their value to their “ employer.” AMERSHAM UNION. Mr. J. Werge Howey, says, “ Two miles is suffi- “ cient at any age.” Wyrcomse Union: Rev. W. Partridge, says,“ One mile each, being “ for all ages, would be more desirable.” i Eron Union. Rev. 8. F. Marshall, says, “The table should be ** lessened throughout by one mile.” CrecuLar Questions II. 22. (0.) (0.) Do you see reason for recommending that any restriction should be placed upon the hours of work of children and young persons employed in agriculture; and if so, what amount of restriction would you propose ? IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 40 circulars give no anwser. 20 rs answer “ No.” l #4 » 8 hours. 1 ae » 10 hours. Other circulars answer as follows :-— a A 2 8 ‘ na ‘« n 6 a aOR ‘< a a ¢ a « Ce « “ nn Ce oe « cc “ “ oc “ nn nn c Ce Ge “ee nn 8 “ cc cc Ge «i «i a a «i Rn an annan € Ce «i Rn a a 6 Ce cc n ‘ nn ce cc ‘ Ce oc aK cc “ AYLESBURY UNION. Rev. J. Thornton, Aston Abbots, says, “I think that all young persons ought to have the oppor- tunity of being educated, which at present they have not, and young children, especially females, are cruelly confined to plaiting, to the great in- jury of their health and neglect of mental training. Compulsory education will alone remedy the evil.” Rev, A. Isham, Weston Turville, says, “Restric- tion is required to bring them under education.” Rev. R. C. Burton, Cublington, says, “Children should be obliged to attend school for a certain number of days in the year.” THAME UNION. Rev. B. Morland, Shabbington, says, “When young persons go to work I think they must remain out the regular hours ; for instance, a boy at plough must remain with the team until they leave off work.” BuckineHam UNION. Rev. M. W. Davies, Maids Moreton, says, “In reply to the above questions, I have tried by gentle compulsion to keep all the children at school up to the age of 9. I could not do so any longer, out of regard for the parents’ resources. They would not, as a rule, allow their children to go to work too far from home, nor to work above their strength. I have found the parents generally very careful of their children.” Rev. H. Drummond, Leckhampstead, says, “I think some restriction very desirable. The ‘ usual ‘hours’ are sometimes completely disregarded, and I hear of little boys under 10 kept from between 5 and 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.” Mr. John Linnell, Addington, says, “ Very little, as I consider that the discipline they are under when at work is beneficial, that the habit of labour is best acquired when young, that they are far better at work than being contaminated by the evil talk in the village street, and I do not think it possible for persons with families of six or eight in number to provide sufficient food fer them without their earnings, particularly while provisions are as dear as now.” Nrwrort PAGNELL UNION. Mr. J. Yorke, occupier, Olney, says, “I see none, because there are many light works to which the time of boys in the afternoons is given that fit them for future life.” Mr. W. Hawkins, Emberton, occupier, says, “ Boys over 10 who attend evening school might with little inconvenience leave work a little earlier, say 4 in the winter months.” AMERSHAM UNION. Mr. C. Metealfe, Latimer, says, “No boy or girl should work more than 10 hours a day.” Wrcomse UNION. Rev. W. G. Partridge, says, “Women from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except in hay-time and harvest.” Mr. Chas. Brown, landowner and occupier, says, The hours should be from 6 to 4.” Mr. Henry Gibbins, landowner and occupier, says, For children under 10 years of age, 8 hours in summer, 6 hours in winter. No limit for older ersons.” Mr. Owen Peel Wethered, says, “1 would apply the provisions of the Factory Act as to hours as nearly as possible.” 485 Eron Union. Rev. S. F. Marshall, says, “I am of opinion that “ the hours should be restricted to 8 hours under 14, “ and 10 under 17 years of age.” CrrcuLaR Questions III. 28 to 26 III. As TO REQUIRING somME AMOUNT OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN EARNING Waces sy EmptoyMent In Farm Lapour. 23. The Commissioners being instructed to inquire to what extent, and with what modifications the principles of the Factory Acts can be adopted in reference to children employed in agriculture, “especially with a view to the “ better education of such children,” your opinion is invited on the following points :— 24. The three modes by which the prescribed amount of school attendance of children em- ployed in trades and manufactures is obtained are— By the Factory (7 Vict. c. 15. ss. 31-9). 1. Byhalf day at school and half day at work. 2. By alternate whole days at school and whole days at work. By the Printworks Act (10 & 11 Vict. ¢. 70. ss. 2, 8, 26). 8. By school attendance for a certain number of hours during the preceding six months. 26. You are requested to state which of such modes of enforcing some amount of school attendance would seem most applicable to the circumstances of your parish and neighbourhood ; or whether a combination of one or more of them would better meet those circumstances ; or whether any other mode that you might wish to suggest appears to you preferable. Forty-three circulars give no answer. [ Note.—In giving the answers to this question the answers given by occupiers of land are distinguished from those given by clergymen for parishes. ] Three occupiers and one clergyman answer, none of these modes are applicable to farm labour. Two clergymen and one occupier prefer the second mode. Two occupiers and one clergyman consider the third mode the only one applicable, and think night- school attendance sufficient after 10 years of age. The Ven. Archdeacon Bickersteth says, “I doubt “ much whether either of the plans 1 or 2 would “ answer in agricultural districts. The principle of “ the Printworks Act (plan 3) might, I think, be ap- “ plied with advantage with some modifications, such “ as the substitution of 12 for 6 months.” Seven clergymen and four occupiers express them- selves very much in the same words as Archdeacon Bickersteth, and to the same effect, most of them considering that after 10 years of age sufficient school attendance could be given in three or four winter. months. Other circulars answer as follows :— Ay tespury : UNIon. Rev. C. Erle says, “I am unable to say what would “ be the most effectual method. The boys are taken “ from school when they are wanted for work, and “ their education is consequently very incomplete.” Mr. John Treadwell, occupier, says, “ First and “ second modes totally inapplicable to farm labour. * Boys here go to night school in winter, having a “ school in the village provided by the Duke of “ Marlborough.” © THAME UNION. Rev. E. Boys, Oakley, says, “I would suggest the “ half day at school and half day at work as prefer- “ able, and it should be compulsory. Parents keep ‘ their children from school to work on their allot- “ ments.” n 3P 2 Bucks. Mr, Culley. f 486 Winstow Union. Rev. H. F. Ralph says, “ The first mode would, I « think, be best in a lace-making place.” Mr. Wm. Hinton, speaking for Three Claydons, says, “Most of the boys in these localities who do “ farm work are able to go to school in the winter “ months, except carters’ boys, and these would not “ probably be employed at all if they did not go “ regularly.” Mr. W. Neal, Winslow, occupier, says, “I think “ it would be immaterial to the employer whether “‘ the boys were employed half days or whole days, “ as he would have to keep double the number. In “ either case it would depend more in which way the “ discipline of the school could be best kept up.” rn nn BuckincHam UNION. Rev. W. F. Norris says, “ I have heard it suggested, “ and am inclined to recommend such plan, that the best half-time system would be effected by insisting “on school attendance for half a month, ze. the “ farmer taking the boy to work for the other half, on distinct understanding that he was at school the first half. This would come to his employing two “ boys alternately, each producing in turn his cer- “ tificate from a master.” Mr. Thos. Barge, occupier, says, “The two first “ modes are impracticable ; boys would be useless for “ either half or alternate days.” Mr. Thos. Attwood, occupier, says, ‘‘I consider “ every facility should be given for the education of “ the children until they reach the age of 10 years, “ as by that time, under the training of a competent “ person, they have every opportunity of acquiring “ sufficient knowledge to fit them for the duties of their station in life.” a nn na ‘ a a a n a n Newrort PaGnett UNION. Rev. J. W. Irving says, “I feel a difficulty in “ answering this question after consulting with my “ farmers. I should prefer the alternate day system.” Rev. R. C. Green says, “ We have some labourers “ with eight or nine children, and I don’t see how “ they are to feed their families unless they can put “« them out to work early. In such cases we lose the girls often at 7 or 8, and they learn lace; the boys “ at 8 or 84. The most suitable mode of enforcing “ education here for boys would be to require attend- “ ance regularly during the six winter months, but “ J do not know whether it is possible, or, in the long “ run, desirable. See a pamphlet by Rev. H. Brand- “ reth, ‘ Wastethrifts and Workmen,’ Longmans, “ 1868. The case of girls is different; the half day “ system would be far best for them.” R. Walpole, Esq., J.P. and occupier,— I prefer “ No. 8, as interfering less than 1 and 2 with the “ occasional and intermittent work required of boys ; “ but I do not see how the rule is to be enforced on “ the parents. No bench of magistrates would en- “ force a penalty, and the rule does not touch em- “ ployers. If it can be enforced it should apply to “ the winter months and to boys under 11 and girls “ under 15. Night schools are very useful, and ought to be encouraged by Government, and grants should be given to both day and night schools, where the results are satisfactory, whether the teacher is certificated or not.” W. G. Duncan, Esq., J.P., landowner and occupier, and Chairman of Board of Guardians, says, “I con- “ sider half at school and half at work simply ridicu- “ lous; alternate days at school and work not prac- “ ticable. Educate the children up to 9 years of age, “ and then they will have learnt to read and write “ sufficiently to educate themselves afterwards.” Mr, W. Whitworth, occupier, says, “I think if “ the Poor Law Board were at once to send a circular “ to every union recommending the guardians to cease giving out-door relief to any orphan children, or to widows who neglected to send their children to school if there is one convenient, and also recom- a n ann a RR “« x EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ mend them to pay their schooling, it would have “ avery beneficial effect on the labouring poor.” Mr. John Yorke, occupier, Olney, says, “I think “ night schools are best calculated to meet the con- “ dition of the boys.” AMERSHAM UNION. Mr. John Werge Howey, Coleshill, says, “In this hamlet straw platting of mere children is a source “ of great benefit to poor labourers. Allowing chil- “ dren to learn lessons half the day, and platting the “ other half, would be some inducement to send them rf n an “© to school.” Mr. Jas. Gurney, occupier, says, “I beg to suggest that under 10 years of age it might be well to place restrictions on their employment during four winter months.” ‘ € ‘ a an Wrcomse Union. Mr. H. Gibbins, landowner and occupier, says, ~ Under 10 years parents should be compelled to ‘ 7 n send children to a school ; above that age a certain amount of attendance at school should be enforced “ up to the age of 13 years by certificate.” a Eton Union. Rev C. Whateley says, “I do not see how any restrictions can be made. It would be hard on a “ father of a large family to prevent his obtaining all he could by his boys’ earnings.” Mr. C. S. Cantrell, Datchett,—* In my own neigh- “ bourhood I think boys might be compelled to attend “ school during the winter months, when farm work “ is slack, but in the spring, summer, and autumn «“ months their earnings, say 2s. or 3s. per week, con- “ tribute materially to aid the family income, and it “ will be impossible to keep the boys at school. « Evening schools in winter are very beneficial to “ the boys and young men.” n n a a CrrcuLar Questions IIT. 27. 27. How far is the school attendance affected by the distance that the children have to go to school ? 19 circulars 47 ,, from __ parishes say “ Not at all.” “ Very little.” 3 3) 99 ” Others answer as follows :-— AYLESBURY UNION. Mr, E. Bennett, occupier in a hamlet of Wingrave, says, “ About two miles to Wingrave. A good many “ don’t go.” : Rev, C. Shilson, Halton,—“ A good many come “ from a distance.” Mr. W. Mason, Fleet Marston, says,—‘“ No chil- . “ dren live in the parish.” _ fev. R. C. Burton, Cublington,—* There is no “ parish school in the parish.” Rev. H. W. G. Armstrong, Bierton,—“ The chil- “ dren in the hamlets are often prevented by rough “ weather in winter.” BuckincHam Union. Mr. Thomas Barge, Hillesden, says, “ Some of the * cottages are necessarily a considerable distance “ from the school. In such cases the atiendance “ depends on the weather.” Newrort Pacnett Union. Mr. W. G. Duncan, landowner and occupier, Brad- well, says, “ Our school is in the village, and no child “ has a quarter of a mile to come; but the parents “ keep their children away from school on all sorts “ of trumpery pretexts.” Mr. R. Walpole, J. P., Hanslope, says, “In wet “* weather materially ; but our parish has two ham- “ lets, situated respectively half a mile and one mile “ from the parish church, which is close to the school, “ and these distances are detrimental in fine weather “ and wet.” IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Mr. John Yorke, Olney, says, ‘The fact of the “ distance must interfere much with the privilege of “ their attending school.” i e Wycombe UNION. Rev, F, A. Faber, Saunderton, says, “In summer * not at all; in winter little children are unable to “ 0.” am W. A. Partridge; Horsendon, says, “ Parents “ do not like sending their children when they have “ far to go, say over a mile.” Rev. F. B. Ashley, Wooburn,—* This parish is “ about six miles by three, and the attendance is affected by weather and illness.” Mr. Owen Peel Wethered, Great Marlow,—*< Only “ in a very slight degree in our parish, as there are “ outlying schools.” es g CrrcuLar Questions III. 28. 28. How far is the school attendance affected by the pecuniary resources of the parents ? 19 circulars give no answer. 21 a answer “ Not at all,” or to that effect. 12 43 » “Considerably,” or to that effect. 9 oa » “Slightly” or “ Somewhat.” Other answers as follows :— AYLEsBURY UNION. The Ven. Archdeacon Bickersteth says,—“ The “ payment is very small, and, excepting in a few cases “ of gross neglect or great poverty, is no impediment “ in the way of the children’s attendance. In the “ National schools of the Aylesbury district alone “ upwards of 100/. was paid in weekly pence in 1867.” Rev. T. J. Williams, Waddesdon,—“ Very con- “ siderably. During the past winter many young «“ men from 16 to 20 years were out of work, and the “ cost of keeping them prevented the parents from “ being able to pay for the younger children.” Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville,—“ Not at all as “ to inability to pay school fees. But the rule is, “* when the plait trade is brisk, few children at school ; “ when it is dull more come, but irregularly.” Rev. H. W.G. Armstrong, Bierton,—“ The parents’ “ resources being small they send many of their chil- “ dren, from 3 years of age, to straw platting schools.” Rev. J. Thornton, Aston Abbots,—“ This is, of “ course, a difficulty, especially in large families ; but “ if the men were more temperate there would be “ little difficulty, since work is plentiful and wages “ fair.” Mr. J. K. Fowler, Aylesbury, says, “I believe “ there is not a labourer in regular work but who « gould afford, if he pleased, to pay something towards “ his children’s schooling.” Mr. J. Henley, Dinton,—“ Depends on the age of “ the family.” Mr. W. Crook, Stone, says, “ None at all, for when “ there is a large family the charitably disposed pay “ for their education generally in most agricultural “« villages.” Winstow Union. Rev. A. M. Preston, Winslow, says, “ Not much in “ the case of boys, as there are 20 free scholars «“ chosen from the sons of the poorest labourers ; but «* these are the most irregular in atiendance, But “ the attendance of the girls is seriously affected, the “ temptation to go to straw plaiting schools being “ great.” Rev. H. F. Ralph, Little Horwood, says, “This « does not appear to be a hindrance, with the small « payment for schooling, excepting the temptation to “ earn money at the lace pillow.” Mr. W Hinton, Claydon, says, “ Parents are gene- “rally glad, when the families are large, tu get ‘ 487 oe employment for a boy at 3s. or 4s. per week. But “ when this cannot it appears, excepting some cases where parents are careless, to be generally managed to pay the ld. or 2d. per week per head.” “ ‘ Newport Pacnett Union. Mr. W. G. Duncan, J.P., Bradwell, says, “Our labourers are well paid and well off, and cheaply educated ; yet we find difficulty in getting many “ children to school.” Mr. R. Walpole, J.P., Uanslope, says, “ Not at all “ until the boys are able to do field work and the girls to make lace. The parents generally are ready to send their children to school, and pay 2d. a week for it, until they are tempted by the gains of labour.” Rev. T. P. Williams, Little Brickhill, says, “ Chil- dren often detained from school by reason of the poverty of their parents, or by their desire for “ beer.” Rev. J. P. Langley, Olney,—“ Directly the chil- dren can earn anything, or be of any use at home, they are, in many instances, kept away from school. The consequence is great irregularity of attendance and early removal.” Rev. J. W. Irving, Broughton, says, “Not at all. “The payment is 2d. each per week, or 1s. 6d. per “ quarter. To induce attendance, children who are “ present four days in the week are allowed to pay “ Jd. per week into a clothing club, and to every ld. “ a 4d. is added, thus giving them, if they are regular “ for the quarter, 6d. out of 1s. 6d. back.” n x nn nn an a LEIGHTON UNION. Rev. W. G. Hamilton, Ivinghoe, says, “ There are but few who could not afford to pay for their chil- dren’s schooling if they were inclined.” “ “ AmERSHAM UNION. Rev. E. T. Drake, Amersham, says, “More than it ought.” Mr. John Werge Howey says, “ The adult labouring class, as a rule, can neither read nor write. Their wages are, first class farm labourers averaging 14s. per week. Out of this house rent 1s. 6d. per week, firing, clothing, living upon bread at 84d. or 9d. per quartern loaf, what can they do to educate their children ?” ‘ a « rs ‘ 6 « cs RAR KAA Wycombe UNION. Mr. H. Gibbins, owner and occupier, says, “ Gene- rally the poor have large families, and I think it is the duty of the State to educate its children as much as to enforce obedience to the law.” i « «i Ra 8 Eron UNIon. Rev. C. Whateley, Taplow, says, “Not at all. Some of the poorest are paid for by gentry and a small charity. The weekly charge prevents none from attending.” «i « «i Ran CircuLar Questions III. 29. 29, Are any efforts being made for the industrial training of girls, in connexion with elemen- tary education, with especial reference to preparing them for their domestic duties ? 36 circulars give no answer. 22 » say “No.” 4 53 » “ Yes,” but give no particulars. 17. ~—«5,_~—s sewing in school. Others as follows :— Mr. E, Stone, Wootton, says, “'The girls are taught sewing and household work.” Rev. B. Morland, Shallington, says, “They are taught to be good needlewomen, and all the school girls get situations when old enough.” Mr. John Yorke, Olney, says, “None now. Lately an institution was in being from which very satis- “ factory results ensued.” ‘ a « “ a @ a 3P 3 Bucks. Mr, Culley. _—— f. Bucks. Mr. Culley. —_—-——_ f, 488 ¢ “ « c ce aR cc e oe “ec na “ CrgcuLar Questions ITI. 30. 80. Have you any remarks to make on the subject of cottage accommodation, in regard to its effect on morality or education ; or on the health and comfort of the labouring poor ? 46 circulars give no answer. 36 witnesses answer as follows :— AYLESBURY UNION. The Ven. Archdeacon Bichersteth, Aylesbury, says, The cottage accommodation in Aylesbury was very bad indeed when I came to reside here in 1853. Since that date, and particularly during the last 10 years, it has greatly improved, and is still improving daily.” Ree. T. J. Williams, Waddesdon,—“ I can make no suggestions, but do most heartily regret the evil effects, both on morality and education, arising from too little and too deficient cottage accom- modation.” Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville,—“ Many cottages have only one room, in which parents and grown “ up sons and daughters sleep. The effect is injurious “ 6 6 13 nO nan an aOR anna a a RR on health and morality.” Rev. W. H. Young, Oving,—-“I do not think the cottage accommodation sufficiently bad to be inju- rious to health, but it must have a debasing moral effect.” AYLESBURY UNION. Rev. C. Erle, Hardwick,—“Our cottage accom- modation is in some instances defective, cottages very old and dilapidated. Lately there have been 12 new cottages in the course of erection, which though small are an improvement on the older ones.” Rev. R. C. Burton, Cublington,—“Most of the cottages in this parish afford fair accommodation, but several are very bad, having only one bed-room for a family of seven or eight people.” Rev. H. W. E. Armstrong, Bierton,—“It is a matter of general pastoral experience, that when- ever the cottage accommodation is not what it ought to be, the morality, education, health, and comfort of the inmates suffer. Bierton stands fairly in this respect, and there are but few lodgers.” Rev. J. Thornton, Aston Abbots,—“Our village has been almost entirely rebuilt within the last 15 years, and the cottages are very good, and to most a quarter of an acre of land is attached.” Mr. E. Stone, Wotton, says, “ Not in this parish ; but in the surrounding villages, generally, the cottage accommodation is very inadequate, and undoubtedly tends greatly to retard moral im- provement.” Mr. J. K. Fowler, Aylesbury, says, “I think asa rule the poor are badly housed, but worse even in towns in the country. If the cottages are bad in the country, at all events the labourers get fresh air, but in Aylesbury the cottages are bad and very miserably supplied with water.” Tame UNION. Rev. Jas. Statter, Worminghall,—“ Most of the cottages have two bed-rooms, some few have three, four or five have only one, and two of these are inconveniently crowded. Cases of gross immorality occur, but I hardly know whether more from the crowded than the uncrowded houses.” Rev. B. Morland, Shabbington,—“ The cottages are extremely bad; they are nearly all freeholds, belonging to the occupiers, originally taken from the waste lands, for which not even a quit rent is paid, built with mud, with but one bed-room and one sitting room, and in many instances not a foot of outlet. Tconsider this to be the greatest bar to improvement which has to be contended with in “ “cc ce 6“ iT n nh «a a aR 6 ¢ ‘ oe « cc aN 8 C ci? 7 RR a 4 6 nO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN this parish, nor do I see any way of improvement, for if new cottages were to be built the poor would rather live where they are rent free than pay arent for a comfortable house. The morality must suffer under these circumstances.” WinsLow UNron. Rev. C. H. Travers, Stewkeley,—“ The crowding of families into cottages with inadequate accom- modation cannot fail to be destructive of all self- respect and injurious to morality, and subversive of all benefits otherwise to be derived from edu- cation, as well as affecting health and comfort.” Rev. A. M. Preston, Winslow,—“ Generally the want of sufficient accommodation is very disastrous in its effect on the morals.” Mr. W. Hinton, Claydon,—“I have no doubt that both morally and physically improved cottage ac- commodation is more healthy, which improve- ment has been effected hereabout.” Mr. W. Neal, occupier,—“ Some of the cottage accommodation is very limited. The cottages in this town are chiefly let and built as a commercial speculation. Over-crowding affecting the physical powers of the females, especially the bad influence, being corrected in the males by their open air occupation, and the division of the sexes not being attainable in the sleeping apartments, the con- sequence is that many of the girls become mothers at a very tender age, say 16 to 18, and it being so general, it is hardly looked on as a disgrace by their own class. They-are enabled to get married soon after they are 20.” 4 Buckineuam UNION. Rev. W. F. Norris, Buckingham,—“T have long felt the insufficient cottage accommodation is one of the greatest hindrances to the welfare of the labouring poor ; and health, comfort and education suffer for want of a change in this respect.” Mr. T. Attwood, occupier, Leckhampstead,— “I think some of the cottages are much too thickly inhabited by their occupiers taking in lodgers, &c.; others are too small for the requirements of the families who occupy them, as there are but very few that have more than two bed-rooms, and in several of them the whole family have to sleep in the same room.” Mr. Thomas, Barge, Hillesdon, —“I consider cottages that have not sufficient sleeping accom- modation act injuriously both on the health and morals of the inmates.” , Newrort Pacnetyt Union. Mr. W. G. Duncan, J.P., owner and oceupier,— I find that if a labourer or artisan can crowd his house with a lodger or two, he will do it, even if he has to huddle all his young children into the same bed-room with himself and wife. Rents, owing to beer propinquity to Wolverton station workshops, are high, from 2s. 6d. to 4s. a week ; wages average from 10s. to 17s. a week.” Mr, R. Walpole, J.P., Hanslope,—“I have about 60 cottages under my control, and allow no lodgers without my consent, which is never given unless there is decent room. No other owner in the parish enforces a similar rule. That crowded cottages affect the morality, health, and comfort of the labouring poor is a fact that cannot admit of dispute, and it is, I think, a corollary that such crowding interferes most prejudicially with even a desire to educate.” Rev. G. W. Tomkins, Olney, —“The defective arrangements for sleeping which are to be observed in the cottages of the poor have a bad effect both on health and morality.” Rev. R. C. Green, Loughton,—“ Some of the cot- tages have one bed-room, some two; the effect on morality (in large families) is bad. The health IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. “ is pretty good. In this country coal is dear (1l. “ per ton) and poor people like a small down-stair “ room, which can be made cozy in winter ; hence “ cottage-builders have built accordingly, — small “ rooms below and above. Some of these small bed- “ rooms, where the roof is of slate and flattish, are “ very close in summer. The poor are rather un- “ willing to pay a good price for a good cottage. If “ you gave them a bed-room chimney, they would “ probably stuff it up.” Mr, F. Coales, Chicheley,—“ Bad cottages, bad morals.” Rev. J. P. Langley, Olney, says, “The cottage accommodation is in many cases insufficient, owing to the poverty of the parents, who cannot afford to take a larger house. This state of things has necessarily a bad effect on morality, health, and comfort. Many are too poor to pay for their children’s schooling. The lord of the manor gives 102. per annum to send such children free to the National school.” a a aOR G ng « “ 4 rs tf rs « « a RR an Rana LeieHton Union. Rev. G.. W. Hamilton, Ivinghoe,—“ There are many cottages where there is insufficient accom- modation for the family; which does, most un- questionably, affect the morality, and the health, and comfort of the inmates.” i Rev. W. Roberts, Northall, Eddlesborough,—“ The cottages are sufficient in number for the popu- lation, but the bed-room accommodation is very poor, elder girls (12 to 25) oftentimes sleeping in same room, either with parents or grown up sons.” cy « « tf Rn RA 7 rs cf ei nR RRA AmersHAmM UNION. Mr. Metcalfe, Latimer,—“I1 should think the cot- “ tage accommodation has a great deal to do with “ the morality and also the health of the people. I “« should think there is nothing so likely to improve “ the condition of all labourers as good cottages ; it “ stimulates them.” Mr. J. Werge Howey, owner and occupier, Coles- hill,—“ As a rule cottages have two rooms. Male “ and female, from children up to 14 years, huddle “ together to keep in warmth ; certainly not condu- “ sive to decency or morality ; frequently one blanket “ for the lot of children.” Mr, James Gurney, Chalfont, St. Giles,—“ There “ are several cottages in this parish injurious to * health and morals.” n WrcomBe UNION. Rev. F. A. Faber, Saunderton, says, “ The mixing “ of sexes from want of sleeping accommodation is “ greatly against the morality of our poor.” | Rev. W. E. Partridge, Horsendon, says, “I pay “ much attention to the lodgings of my labouring “ people. I have 12 or 14 cottages, and I prevent “ herding in dormitories as much as I can; such “ herding is destructive to decency and morals.” Mr. O. P. Wethered, Great Marlow,—Many of the “ cottages both in town and parish of Marlow are so “ small and badly adapted for families as necessarily “ to exercise a prejudicial effect upon both morals «“ and health. The Nuisances Removal Act (if its “ provisions as to over-crowding, &c. are firmly “ carried out by the local authority) affords a “ remedy in a great measure.” Mr. H. Gibbins, Bledlow, says, “Generally very «“ bad. I find in proportion to the insufficiency of “ of accommodation, so is the degradation of those «“ who inhabit the cottages. Respectable and well “ instructed labourers live in the best cottages, the “ worst and most ignorant in the worst cottages. It “ euts both way—‘Ignorance is the fountain of “ vice.” 489 Eron Union. Rev. S. F. Marshall, Farnham Royal,—“ The coé- “ tage accommodation at present existing I consider “ to be highly prejudicial to morality, as well as to “ the health of the labouring poor. It is really im- “ possible for feelings of delicacy to be preserved “ when such numbers are herded together without “ distinction of sex.” Rev. R. J. Rogers, Burnham,—“No doubt the “ smallness of the cottages, and the general insuffi- “ ciency of cottage accommodation in the parish, “ cause great over-crowding, and this is attended by “ the worst consequences to health and morality.” CrrcULAR Questions III. 31. 31. How many cottages per hundred acres are considered sufficient for the accommodation of the persons employed on the Jand in your parish ? 34 circulars give no answer. ° In north Bucks, é.e., in Aylesbury, Thame, Wins- low, Buckingham, Newport Pagnell, and Leighton Unions,— Where the cultivation is chiefly, arable,-— 5 witnesses say = - - - 1 witness says - - - 3to04 ” 2” a . “3 Mr. W. M. Hawkins, Emberton, says, “ About one “ man to 25 acres, and one boy to 50.acres are em- “ ployed, taking arable and pasture together.” Where the cultivation is described as mixed, or half arable,— 2 witnesses say - - - - 8 2 2 ” ‘. S = a 2 2” 2 . a 7 35 2 »” 2 = > - 3 l witness says - - = - 24 Where the cultivation is described as chiefly pas- ture,— 1 witness says - 5 3 witnesses say = - - - 8t04 5 ” ” = a - 3 5 oe) ” ° a . 23 5 ” 2 = = - 2 The Caitterns, AMERSHAM, and Wycomse Unions. Where the cultivation is described as chiefly arable,— 1 witness says - - 2 - 6 4 witnesses say = - - - - 4 Where the cultivation is described as mixed, or half arable,— 1 witness says - . - 4t05 oh) 9 7 al - 3 1 2” »” 7 . - 2 Soura Bucks, Eton Union. Where the cultivation is described as chiefly arable,— 1 witness says - - dSor6 2 witnesses say - 4ord 1 witness says - - 4 10 cottages to 700 acres, 1 92 23 For THE WHOLE CounTY. Chiefly Arable. Mixed. Chiefly Pasture. lsays - 6° 2say 8 l says - 5 lsays 5or6 lsays-4o0r5 | 3say - 3to4 Qsay - 40r5 2say -4 5say - 3 lo say - 4 2say - 3$ | Seay - 24 lsays - 3t04 3say - 3 5say 2 lsays 3 lsays - 2} lsays 10 to 700 acres.| 1 says - 2 3P4 Bucks, Mr. Culley. 490 As an illustration of this question, on 12 farms in North Bucks, containing 1,530 acres arable and 2,037 acres pasture, in all 3,567 acres, the aggregate staff of adult men employed was stated by the different occupiers to be 121 men, and the aggregate want of cottages as stated by the same gentlemen was 112, being a requirement of over 3 and less than 33 to each 100 acres where the cultivation is a quarter more pasture than arable. On four farms in Wycombe union, where the cultivation was 840 acres arable to 185 pasture or chiefly pasture, the ordinary staff of adult men was stated to be 37, and the number of cottages required 32, being as nearly as may be the same proportion of cottages per 100 acres as was required in North Bucks, where the cultivation was rather less arable than pasture, viz., over 3 and less than 31. Ona farm in Eton Union 12 men, 10 of whom were married, were employed on 270 acres, and would therefore require 10 cottages where the pro- portion of arable to pasture was 210 to 60 acres. Crrcutar Questions ITI. 32 and 33. 32,.Is there that proportion of cottages in the parish ? 33. If not, what is the proportion ? 27 circulars give no answer. 2 uss answer “Too many.” 39g si | es.” 3 oy » Yes, but bad ones.” 4 5 * 4 “Nearly or hardly.” 5 og , “No.” 19 Mr. C. Cantrell, Datchett, says, “There are very “ few cottages on the farms, and they chiefly belong “ to small speculation proprietors.” Rev. W. F. Norris, Buckingham, says, “ Our farms “ are singularly without cottages on their fields.” n CrrcuLar Questions IIT. 34. 34. Are the cottages conveniently situated with respect to (z.e., not more than a mile from) the farms on which the work is to be done ? 21 circulars give no answer. Al Ms answer “ Yes.” 13s, » “Generally.” 6 ” ” “No.” Rev. W. H. Voung, Oving, says, “ As we have too “ large a labouring population many have to seek “ their work in other parishes.” a CircuLaR Questions III. 35. 35. Is there a sufficient number of cottages with two bedrooms, or three bedrooms, and a sitting room, for the larger families ? 22 circulars give no answer. 23 $5 answer “ Yes.” 8) » “No.” Others answer as follows :— Mr. J. K. Fowler, Aylesbury, says, “There are plenty of houses but no good ones.” Rev. B. Morland, Shabbington, says, ‘“ There are “ only six cottages with more than one room.” Rev. D. Watkins, Thornborough, says, “ All have sitting rooms and most have two bedrooms, some few have three.” Mr. O. P. Wethered, Great Marlow, says, “In the town but not in outlying parts of the parish.” ‘ gn «i « nan a € n CrrcuLaR Questions III. 386. 36. Are the cottages crowded, either with members of the family, or with lodgers ? EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 25 circulars give no answer. 18 » answer “ No,” 22 ” » “Some with families.” 12 ” ” “ Yes.” 2» » “No lodgers allowed.” Others answer as follows :— Rev, A. M. Preston, Winslow, says, “ Crowded “ generally and occasionally with lodgers.” Mr. R. Walpole, J. P., Hanslope, says, “ Both “ with families and lodgers; cottages are at a pre- “ mium.” Mr, O. P. Wethered, Great Marlow, says, “If they “ are a local authority remedies it.” CrrcuLtarR Questions III. 37. 37. Give a general description of the cottages in your parish in respect of,—1. Construction (including size of rooms, ventilation, and drain- age). 2. Accommodation (including number of rooms in proportion to the family, water supply, garden, outhouses, &c.) 3. Owner- ship, z.¢., whether by landowner, or by trades- men with whom the tenants are obliged to deal, or by other person or persons. 4, Rent. The answers to this question will be found in the general evidence at the head of the evidence from the respective parishes. CiRcULAR Questions III. 38. 38. If there is deficient cottage accommodation, is any progress being made towards increasing it? 58 circulars give no answer. 9 > answer “ Yes,” 2 i » “Very little.” 8 3 a “ No.” Others answer as follows :— Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville, says, “Tt has been deficient, and private enterprise has increased it.” Rev. J. Statter, Worminghall, says, “Progress is “ intended.” Mr. W. Hinton, Claydon, says, “ Mr. Morrison, “« Mr. Hubbard, Mr. Dodge, as well as Sir H. Verney, who is the largest owner, have all been making “ great improvements.” Rev. C. H. Travers, Stewkley, says, “Better cot- “ tages are being built, but not for the poor.” Rev. J. P. Langley, Olney, says, “Yes; but the rent is high, 2s. per week and upwards.” CircULAR QuxstTions III. 39. 39. Is the Union Chargeability Act (28 & 29 Vict. c. 79., March 1866) having any effect in causing an increase of cottage accommodation ? 55 circulars give no answer. 25 » say “No.” 1 » says “ Yes.” Mr. W. Hinton, Claydon, says, “It has caused a “ little increase in the small villages, I believe.” a CrrctLar Questions III. 40, 40. By the Act 27 & 28 Vict. c. 114. July 1864, the Enclosure Commissioners are authorized to advance public money for the improvement of land, including by s. 9. “The erection of “ labourers’ cottages, * * and the improve- “ ment of and addition to labourers’ cottages.” Have you any remarks to make upon this Act in regard to any additional facilities, or any re- duction of cost, that might cause greater pro- gress to be made in supplying the want of good cottages ? : an na . a na AOR no «a a8 ann a Rn 8 IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 79 circulars give no answer. Others answer as follows :— The Ven. Archdeacon Bickersteth, says, “It ap- pears to me that the provisions of this Act might be extended with advantage.” Mr. J. K. Fowler, Aylesbury, says, “I think many old cottages could be greatly improved at a cheaper rate than by building new ones.” Rev. R. C. Green, Leighton, says, “I think all cottages should be certified by the State, and im- proper ones not allowed to be built.” CrecuLar Questions III. 41. 41. Can you suggest any mode by which good cottage accommodation could be provided on self-supporting terms, and involving no dis- advantage to the tenant. 62 circulars give no answer. 8 » say “No.” Others answer as follows :— The Ven. Archdeacon Bickhersteth, says, “I do not think it possible to build labourers’ cottages so as to make them remunerative as an investment. The real gain is of another kind, namely, the improve- ment in the social condition and comfort of the labourer.” Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville, says, “The cost of an airy three-room cottage substantially built must entail a rent too high for the agricultural labourer, if it is to be remunerative. I do not see how this is to be met, except by some regulation that all cottages certified to be built for a benevo- lent purpose towards the agricultural poor should be exempt from all taxes paid on the materials used and all after taxation, general and local. If a cottage which now costs 1251. could be brought down to 100/., and the rent fixed at 42. 10s. clear of all taxation, the poor would be greatly benefited. 4l. 10s. onght to be a maximum rent.” Mr. J. K. Fowler, occupier, Aylesbury, says, “I think on all large farms a certain number of cot- tages should be built, and let with the farms, a stipulation being made that the tenant should not charge the labourer more than a fixed sum.” The Rev. C. H. Travers, Stewkley, says, “I be- lieve that if landowners would erect suitable cot- tages for the labouring class they would find it easy to let them at a remunerative rent, while the im- proved moral condition of their labourers would be permanent advantage to both.” Mr, John Linnell, bailiff, Addington, says, “The principle is not sufficiently recognized that cottages ought to be provided for labourers on the land as well as shedding for the stock, and let with the farms, a nominal rent being charged by the tenant of the farm ; the labouring class would not then be left at the mercy of speculators and small trades- people, as is too often the case.” Mr. Thos. Barge, occupier, Hillesdon,—“ When the ‘ parish is in small holdings there are great difficul- ties in the way of the poor obtaining good cottages. If people of small means build, they expect to get 5 or 6 per cent. ; that brings the rent too high. Only country gentlemen and. large landowners will be satisfied with 2 per cent.” Mr. Thos. Ridgway, Bourton, occupier, says, Cottage building being unremunerative as a specula- tion, the only means to secure better dwellings for the labouring classes would appear to be a kind of mutual understanding between the parties prin- cipally concerned, viz., the landowner, tenant, and labourer, each endeavouring according to his cir- cumstances to aid and assist. The landlord should build, the tenant take with his farm, and the labourer, with a garden provided (a boon he seldom enjoys in a town), pay a fair rent for same ; by some such means as this I think eventually it would 2. 491 “ prove of benefit to all parties. But this is a sub- “ ject on which a great deal might be said and more written.” Mr. R. Walpole, J.P., Hanslope, says, “A good cottage will never command a remunerative rent, and a bad cottage, meaning thereby a cottage defi- cient in accommodation, may be remunerative, but “ would be disadvantageous to the tenant.” Mr. W. Whitworth, occupier, Willen, says, “No. But if you wish to prevent pauperism you must “ educate the children and give them better cottages in some way, or you will never keep them out of “ workhouses and jails, and send every person to jail “ or the workhouse who is found begging.” Mr, John Werge Howey, landowner and occu- pier, Coleshill, says, “I cannot suggest any, except rT capitalists build and are satisfied with 14 per cent. “ per annum.” Rev. W. E. Partridge, Horsendon, says, “ Land- “ owners should as much as possible endeavour to “ keep the cottages under their own control and not “ let them in all cases with the land, or at least retain ‘ the power to repossess them on short notice.” Rev. S. F. Marshall, Farnham Royal, says, “I ‘ believe that better cottage accommodation for the ‘ agricultural labouring class would be provided ‘ without disadvantage to the tenant if it were ‘ enacted that no rent could be recovered by legal * process for any cottage or house that did not fulfil “ certain conditions essential to morality and health * of the occupants.” CrrcuLaR Questions IV. 42 and 43. IV. As to the Numpers of CHILDREN at ScHoot and the Numbers employed in Farm Lazour. 42. It would be of great assistance towards forming a correct judgment upon the question of requiring some amount of school attendance in the case of children earning wages by em- ployment in farm labour if you could furnish the Commissioners with precise information, or with an approximate estimate, relating to the points embodied in the following tables. 43. Approximate Number of Children of the Agri- cultural Labouring Class in attendance at Elementary Schools. In Summer. On the Register of some School. | In average Attendance. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. ey | ¢e-| Se | ge) eee) e | ge we. Ong o eo he cs} Pa oS e86,/ 628 [3/88 | 3 | 88] 8 | $8 a 2 A a : pies |e fee |e |e | es | as given in answer to this question. and E, are summaries of A, and B, Tables A. and B. will show the nature of the returns Tables C., D., 3 Q Bucks. Mr. Culley. 492 EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Bucks. Mr. Culley. ScHoor Return.—A. APPROXIMATE NuMBER of CurprEN of the AGRICULTURAL Lasourine Crass in AVERAGE ATTENDANCE at ELEMENTARY ScHOOLs in the following Parisues in BucKINGHAMSHIRE, as given in Returns. ‘Summer. Winter Boys Girls Boys. ' Girls Parish or Hamlet. g, : : Notes. a he ye ee) eel Steel ele. Ss, gS J e rs be re fe re 2 | 2 | ee (g2| 2 $3] 3 82] = |g8 2 EF] § [Pa /Re/ 5 fe] 6 [Aa] 6 jae Aylesbury Union : Aston Abbots - - -| 3811 | 2,180 17 0 15 0 17 0 15 0 —_ Aylesbury - - - |6,168 |3,200 25 5 14 7) 28 6 14 7 | National school only. a Bierton on woe - | 691 | 2,470 32) 6 9 1} 28 7 8 3 | All except _ small dame’ s a : school, Qving - - 436 |. 911 19 3 14 3 18 3 15 4 Only school. Waddesdon - - - | 1,786 | 6,010 67 6 69 6| 82 7 66 7 | All schools:in parish. Weston Turville ~~ - | -724 {2,450 | o18 4 5 7) 18 4 5 7 | Only school; 10 go to 3 ‘ ; another parish. Winchendon, Upper - - | 220 | 1,184 12 Oo}; 7 3] 10 0 7 3 | Only school. Thame Union: SA I 2 |e : Ickford - - - | 487 | 1,249 18 0 9 2/ 19 oO; 11 2{|A small Wesleyan school besides. Shabbington - = - - | 371 | 2,138 18 2) 22 5 | 20 3 | 26 6 | Only school. ~ Worminghall - - - | 854 | 1,469 20 6] 15 5 | 20 6| 15 5 | Only school. Winslow Union: - j ™ Three Claydons - 1,477 | 8,016 27 15 93 24] 43 20 93 24 | All schools. Stewkley - - - | 1,453 | 4,330 78 2] 30 0} 60 3 | 24 0 | Labouring class only. ° Winslow — “- § = “2 | 1,890 | 1,800 24 2] 20 6| 24 2| 20 6 | National and free schools. ae Badlugham Union : Addington , - ~ -| 111 } 1,268 9 0 6 0 9 0 6 0 Labouring class only. Adstock ss es 385 | 1,130 18 Oo; 16 2| 22 o|] 16 2 | Only school. Beachampton - - - | 272 | 1,492 8 1 6 3 8 1 6 3 | Dame school. Leckhampstead < ~- | 428 | 2,522 21 3 2 o| 21 2 2 2 | Only school. Newton Pagnell Union : ai Brickhill, Great = 290 | 2,333 34 8 | 30 7] 35 9] 30 6 | Only school. Chickeley - - 265 | 1,620 10 0 10 0 14 0; 10 0 | Only school. Emberton - - | 624 | 1,860 34 1 10 0} 37 1 8 0 | Only school. Hanslope - - - {1,791 |5,540 | 40 1} 30] 3] 48 2] 38] 3A small dame’s school be- sides. © Leighton - me - 386 {1 2495 27 0 27 0 27 O'|} 27 0 — Amersham Union :- : Chalfont, St. Giles - 1,217 | 3,690 32 6} 26 9} 384] ll] 26 9 | 60 children at infant school | : besides. Coleshill - - = 531 | 2,810 19 0 20 3] 14: 0 12 6 voli Wycombe Union: : - Bledlow ms - ~ [1,189 | 4,130: 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 ——J Horsendon and Timer - ~ | 124 | 1,192 18 4} 15 ]-10] 14 3} 20 6 | Only school. Princes Risborough = - | 1,050 2,000 41 0 A7 7 41 0 47 q . Ste Eton Union : . , Farnham Royal - - | 1,378 | 2,910 39 3 45 7 39 3 45 7 ates Taplow - - 811 | 1,920 » ee 2 9 1 4 2 8 1. ‘ee Total in average attendance | — —_ 750 80 | 641 | 121 | 774 95 | 640 | 196 Total on register of same |] __ < ; ato ei} 1,000 | 118 | 807 | 170 | 920 | 140 | 755 | 174 | IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. ( i : hosed The following are Berean of Scxoots which could not be included in Tastz A. of Bucks Scuooxs, “Soxoo1 ReturRNSs.—TABLE B. is composed only of ‘Schools where both Boys and Girls attend, and where all Particulars asked for in the Circulars of Inquiry are given. Average Attendance. In Summer. In Winter. Parish. a _ Be Girls. Boys. Girls. Notes: 2 | al Z|]. |22)a2| 2 |g2| 2) e2| 2 | a2 8 ao Ss | ke rg he rg 2) P(E |G2) 2 (G5) 8 Fa) 2 18 @| 4 Ps ASlip i BS\isp pee) Bb RS Aston Clinton - - | 1,108 | 3,640 | 30 10 _— a=e 49 19 _— | — | Boys’ school only; girls not J. | given. Cublington - | 288 | 1,212 4 3 4 3 Not given. Private school ; no National 3 “ school, Halton - - -| 147 | 1,452 12 “33 Not given. Hardwick - - | 708 | 3,200 , 42 = 5 64 Not given. All schools in in parish. Oakley - - - | 420 | 2,250 16 32 16 32 Labouring children. - Little: Horwood - -| 449 | 1,950 About 40 children. — | bs | - hes —_ Swanbourne - - | 603 | 2,510 22 | -— 33 — Maids Moreton - -} 543 }1 260 50 almost all under 10 years of age. —— oh Thornborough. - | 694 2, 530 / 15 | oO | 8 2 Not given. Another small school. Little Brickhill - -| 482 1 047 ies 40, all under 10 40, all under 10 ; — Broughton - - | 155 ‘13020 23 : 28 Schoolmistress away. Ivinghoe - {1,849 | 5,252 28 ll 35 14 On register only given. There is another school, Northall (Eadlesborou, gh) _ _— 27 10 16 4. i Not given. Two other schools in Eddles- : : borough. . ; Latimer (Chesham) -| — _ 50 12 | 120 30 60 | _i2 | 110 | 40 Number on register. Little Missenden . = {1,109 {3,173 | 27 8.| 25 10 _. Not:given. — Saunderton - | 282 41,590 | 12 0 15 0 | These attend Risborough ae / ; National school. ‘ Wooburn - = | 2,245 | 2,850 ' 72 28 No return. —__—.. Olney - - . = | 2,298 | 3,140 q i No return. There is also a British school. Scooot RETURNS. —TasLe Cc. Summary of Tables A. and B., where the particulars are stated jn the returns given, é “Summer. In average Attendance. Boys. Girls Co) 5 oS ¢ | ge] s | gs be rg h EZ $23) 3/3 Be ee - > oO in’ ‘all returns where both 823 | 96 694 boys‘and girls are given -J:| ~ Average attendance i in ih Scnoor Rerurns.—D. Total boys in average attendance at schools: as compared with girls at same schools where the circulars give such parhienlars. In summer. Total boysunder13- - -1,117 » girls , 18- - - 1,011 ScHooL Rervrns.—E. Total children of ‘oth sexes in average attendance in, summer at all of these schools where such par- ticulars are given. Children under 10 - - - L 587 between 10 and 13 - "246 Crecuar Quzstions IV. 44. 44, Approximate number ‘of ‘children of the a ‘cultural labouring” class - ‘neither - ‘at s¢ ool nor at work. 2 esta iG hu. eee asl bed, 65 circulars give no answer. 3 9 say “ None.” 1 circular says “ Not many.” _2 circulars say “ All not_at school are plaiting.” 1 circular says: “ All not at school are making lace.” Others answer as follows :— Waddesdon, population 1,786, “ ‘About 20 between “ 8 and 13 years. of age.” Worminghall and Shabbington, population 725. : 5 boys. between. 8 and 10 summer and winter. T girls __ agg ha ey » 6-boys:.. 5, 10 and 13 $5 5 ae girls: 4, - ” oy ” “Aeindlow: povaliiee 1 1890. ay bons 8 or 10 between 8 and 10: years. eS ‘8or4 » 1l0and13 ,, Syanbourne, Popalayios 6038,—“ 2 boys" between “ Band 13.” © Emberton, populition 624, “ and 13.” Chalfont St. Giles, population 1 ,217. About 100 boys between 8 and 10 years in summer, ‘ ‘» Wands? 5 354 girls » 8and10 ,, ° ee » lOand13 , --*;,° About 150° of each ‘class in‘ ‘winter. Coleshill, population 513. - In winter about 20 boys between 8 and’ 10 years. “4. 10and 13, ' Blediow Ridge, «20 boys and as many girls between “ 8 and. 10 years out of about 150 children of all “ages.” “ Ce population Li 050, ae iC Brow; says, “ A-few do not attend school’ through’ the neglect “ of ‘their parents, there are three schools-in the “ parish, one in each hamlet supported by: "private «“ hetiefaction.” 3 Q ‘pplstis: = boys between 8 493 Bucks. which Mr. Culley, f. | Bucks. Mr. Culley. f. 494 CrrcuLar Questions IV. 45. 45. Approximate number of young persons of the agricultural labouring class growing up with insufficient education. Where numbers are given in answer to this question they are as follows :— —_— Population. | Males. Females. Aston Abbot 811 380 30 Oving - + 436 15 12 Singleton - 386 1l 4 Emberton - 624 27 12 Northall — 15 15 Coleshill : - 581 81 17 Horsenden and Imer 124 5 ine Chalfont, St. Giles -| 1,217 200 ' 200 Bledlow 1,189 100 Male and Female. Other circulars answer as follows :— Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville,—“ Many females ** cannot write their names, and some males, but the ‘** number is greatly diminished.” Rev. B. Morland, Shabbington, says, “ Very few of the boys are sufficiently educated, I may say none, as they are taken away so young, but the difficulty “ is how io keep them longer. Females are much better educated, sufficiently so for me to get them * all out to service.” Rev. Jas. Statter, Worminghall, says, “ All would “ depend upon what was considered to be the “ meaning of the word insufficient; there are certainly many young persons imperfectly educated, I mean not sufficiently for their condition in life.” Rev. Wm. Hinton, Claydon, says, “Very few males without elementary education, but cannot “‘ state a number. I should think no females, as “ girls attend school better.” Rev. M. D, Maulden, Swanbourne, says, “ They are for the greater part: backward, the habit of “ straw plaiting preventing much real school work “ being done by the girls. There is a plaiting school “ attended by about 20 girls over 11 years of age. “ They plait the greater part of the day, having half an hour’s schooling in the morning and an hour in the afternoon for five days per week; a regular child can get about a day and a half’s schooling per week.” fev. D. Watkins, Thornborough, says, all can read, most of them can write, and many of them can cipher a little. Rev. M. W. Davies, Maids Moreton, says, “ The generality know how to read; those who do not owe it commonly to the neglect of their parents, who would not use a good school, when placed within their reach.” Rev. R. M. Russell, Beachampton, says, “The greater majority of the 19 males employed on the “ 10 farms.” Mr. Thos. Barge, Hillesden, says, “ Till within a recent period the means of education were very scant in this parish. Some of the labourers are very unlearned, butit is different now with the children ; they have the opportunity of attending a good school. Being a scattered village there is no night school, but in lieu of that, books are found them after they leave school.” Rev. W. J. Hamilton, Ivinghoe, says, “I cannot “ state; many attend the Sunday school who do not come daily, and in fact, have very little teaching except what is obtained there.” Rev. T. P. Williams, Little Brickhill, says, “ As scarcely any children remain at school, even so long as to nine years old, the education of all is insufficient.” Rev. J. P. Langley, Olney, says, “Some cannot “ read or write; the education of almost all is very “ insignificant.” Mr. Francis Coles, Chicheley, says, “ All can read “ and most of them can write.” a 4 a 8 “c “ ce 6“ “cc 6 na 8 a a a ann RAR BR nian na “ e 6 n EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN Mr. W. G. Duncan, J. P., Chairman of Newport Board of Guardians, Bradwell, says, “In all parishes “ you will find parents who neglect their children’s “ education and morals. There are very few young “ persons in this parish who cannot read.” : Mr. C. Metcalfe, Latimer, says “The education of “ the girls is much better than that of the boys, as “ the boys are sent out to work soon.” Rev. F. H. Ashley, Wooburn, says, “ All have “ been to school, but some insufficiently educated.” Mr. Charles Brown, Princes Risborough, says, “ About three families in 20 neglect daily education, “ owing to the children’s going to work or negligence “ of the parents.” CrrcuLar Questions IV. 46 to 51. 46. Is there an evening school in your parish ? 47, How many weeks in the year is it open? At what periods of the year? 48. How many nights per week ? 49. How many hours per night ? 50, What is the number of scholars ? On the Register. In average Attendance. In Winter. In Summer. Under 12. | Above 12, | Under 12. | Above 12, Under 12 Above 12. 51. What are the subjects of instruction ? 46. Is there an evening school in your parish ? Circulars from 37 parishes answer that they have night schools. The following parishes have night schools for both boys and girls :—Aylesbury, Cublington Adstock, Thornborough, Emberton, Olney, and Wooburn. Waddlesdon and Princes Risborough have each three night schools, and Hardwick two for boys. 47. How many weeks in the year is it open, and at what periods ? In Emberton and Bledlow the schools are open throughout the year for boys and girls, and in Olney throughout the year for girls only. In 6 parishes the schools are open above 20 weeks. » 14 ‘5 i 9 for 20 weeks. 3 10 . 0 » less than 20 weeks. » 5 parishes the number of weeks is not stated. All these are open in winter or spring only, and all for from 12 to 24 weeks. 48. How many nights per week ? In Cublington 6 nights for boys and 2 for girls. », In Emberton 5 nights. »» Aylesbury 4 nights for boys and 2 for girls. » 8 parishes 4 nights, ” 11 ” 3 ” » 17 ” 2 » 1 parish 1 night. », Waddesdon 2 schools for 2 nights, and 1 school for 3 nights. » Risborough 2 schools for 3 nights and 1 school for 2 nights. 49, How many hours per night? 1 school is open for 3 hours. 2 schools are open for 23 hours. 14 ” 2? ” 24 ? ” 14 ” 1 school is open for 1 hour. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. 50. What is the number of scholars ? The following table shows the nature of the answers to this question. On the In average Attendance. Register. . In Winter. | In Summer. Tm? a N a % He | » nm o Pil< |p ja" |p" 14 Emberton - -| 10 28 | 10 28 6 14 Cublington = - 15 19 | 18 15} — _ Oving - - 138 27 | 2 5} — _ Aylesbury, Boys 0 45 | 0 25; — _ . Girls -| 0 | 90] 0 | vof — | — Bierton - -| 0 28] 0 4{, — — Waddesden 1 70 | 2 34 [ — _ Upper Winchendon 5 12] 5 lo; — _— Ickford - 4 16) 4 6) — _— ‘Worminghall 7 18 | 5 9); — — Swanbourne 0 40] 0 31] -- _ Adstock - 20 82 | 16 22) — —_ Leckhampstead 4 21] 4 lly — —_ Chalfont St. Giles 6 34] 5 30]; — —_ Coleshill - - 0 18] 0 6; — _ Buckingham 0 10 | 0 10; — _ Taplow 2 7| 2 5] — _ ‘Wooburn - -| 0 721 0 49 | Boys and girls. Aston Abbotts — —]| 0 12); — _ Winslow - — —]| 0 30] — _ Thornborough - 35 25 Boys and girls Risborough 50 30 _ _— Aston Clinton - - 13 — — Halton - - 20 _— _ Hardwick - 25 _ — Two Claydons 31 — — Little Horwood = 30 — —_ Loudwater 30 — _ Stewkley 50 _— -— Chickeley 17 _— _— Ivinghoe - 19 Boys and girls Northall - 13 _— — Saunderton - - 8 _ _— Little Missenden - - 18 — _ Farnham Royal - 29 —_ — Olney - 30 12 Boys.) — _— 3 - - 40 30 Girls.| — _— Bledlow “ Sometimes none; never more than 8,” 51. What are the subjects of instruction ? Wherever there are night schools for girls sewing is taught. In all night schools reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. In five cases Scripture teaching is added ; in two cases dictation and letter writing are added ; in two cases geography, and in one history. The following notes are given in answer to the question 46 :— ; Rev. A. Isham, Weston Turville, says, ‘An evening ** school attended by about 20 of all ages was open in “ the winter of 1866 to 1867 for about 12 weeks in “ winter ; but for want of a superintendent it was not “ opened in 1867 to 1868.” Rev. R. W. Russell, Beachampton,—“ There is no “ evening school. Except an evening school is “ restricted as to age it appears to encourage indif- * ference towards the day school, and encourages an “ earlier removal from school to work.” Rev. W. E. Partridge, Horsendon, says, “I don’t ‘ affect night schools in general. Much mischief ‘ frequently follows unless a strict surveillance in all ‘ eases is exercised to and from school after dark.” nnn CrrcuLaR Questions IV. 52. $2. Do you consider that the evening school ade- quately supplies the deficiencies of the day school ? 52 circulars give no answer. 2 » answer “ Yes.” 1 circular answers “ Very fairly.” 1 3 as “To a certain extent.” 1 » ” “ Not altogether.” 20 circulars answer “ No.” 495 Others as follows :— Rev. T. J. Williams, Waddesdon, says, “Not “ adequately, certainly; but it is a great help to “ those who use it regularly.” Rev. H. W. E. Armstrong, Bierton, says, “It might “ do so if regularity of attendance could be secured.” Rev. J. Thornton, Aston Abbots, says, “No ; being “ quite voluntary it is not attended.” Mr. W. Hinton, Claydon, says, “Yes; it is appre- “ ciated fully.” Rev. G. W. Tomkins, Lavendon, says, “It does * much good.” [ Note—The return of the night school in Lavendon was accidentally omitted from the Table of Night Schools. It is open for six or seven weeks, and for six nights per week, and has about 30 scholars. There is no return of a day school. ] CrrcuLaR Questions IV. 53. 53. What do you find to be the principal difficulties in the way of maintaining an efficient evening school ? 41 circulars give no answer. Several witnesses give more than one source of difficulty. The following table shows the proportion in which the different causes of difficulty are named in 85 answers :— Weariness or indifference of the young 15 times. Want of teaching power or funds -13 Indifference of parents - - 6 4 Want of schoolrooms - - ~ 6 5 Beer-houses - - - 38 » One circular answers that there is no difficulty. Others answer as follows :— Rev, A. Isham, Weston Turville, says, “The “ want of a master to conduct the male department. “ And with regard to the female department, the “ girls will not leave their plait for education ; if “ they would, the want of a mistress.” Rev. W. H. Young, Oving, says “I do not approve “ of evening schools for girls in a village. It does not answer for young men, except in the winter. “ T find the young men who have learnt very little , “ ashamed to come with boys who have left school “ lately, and therefore know more than themselves.” Rev. R. C. Green, Loughton, says, “It is dependent “ almost entirely upon me. A young man helped “ me gratuitously last winter for one hour per night, “ but J wanted more help, and should like to be able “ to remunerate the helpers for their services. The “ school ought to be open five nights instead of three; “ but I could not undertake this myself, and it ap- “ pears to me absurd to expect a day master or “ mistress to undertake it. At present the great “ burden is the backwardness of the pupils; this “ evil will probably diminish as the influence of a good day school extends itself, a thing which we have only lately succeeded in getting. Several of “ the younger boys are too tired and sleepy to do “ much work at a night school. I take them at 9 “ when I know that they have left the day school.” Mr. R. Walpole, J.P., Hanslope, says, “ The want “ of a paid male superintendent. and master, and of “ voluntary teachers. The National day school is “ under Government inspection, and is a mixed girls’ “ school, therefore under a mistress, who is not fitted “ by her sex to be a paid teacher of young male “ persons in an evening school. The mistake made “ by Government is, laying down the principle of “ payment by results, and then neglecting to follow “ it up by recognizing uncertificated teachers. I “ think the system of Government inspection very “ good, but that it is too confined in its operation ; “ and I have also no hesitation in saying that, for the “ purposes of giving a sufficient education to the “ children of the agricultural labourers, it requires “ too high a qualification for the teachers, and im- poses too high a standard upon the taught. I am “ sole manager of the school in this parish, and “ speak from observation. The Government does * not seem to know the difference that exists between 3Q3 an na 8 R Bucks. Mr. Culley. Bucks. Mr. Culley. Bedfordshire. 496 . ‘e the life of a child in a comparatively sparsely ‘ populated district and that of: one who is born and ‘ bred in the hotbed of a manufacturing town. I “ believe that inquiry of experienced persons, such “ as Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools, will show “ that a child of 7 years who pays his 2d. a “ week for his schooling in London is equal in “ intelligence and quickness to one of 9 in an “ agricultural district paying the same amount ; and “ T think that until this difference is recognized and “ acted on Government inspection will not do the * good that it might.” ftev.. W.F. Norris, Buckingham, says, “The class “ of persons for whom night schools are intended EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YQUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN * will not come to the school. Their primary educa- “ tion generally has been much neglected, and they “ themselves have no desire or inclination to learn “ anything more than they already know. Many “come to school for a night or so, but lack that “ perseverance which ‘is essential to improvement. “ Consequently they give up the effort, and seek “ some more pleasant mode of passing their evenings. “ A constant excuse for not attending school is, that “ their fathers got through the world without learning “ and they are content to do the same. “TI consider that there is no lack of teaching power or disposition in school managers to render any assistance they can.” ’ , si a (14 ee na GENERAL EVIDENCE FROM BEDFORDSHIRE. EVIDENCE from 52 parishes in BEDFORDSHIRE, giving the ANswERs to the CrrcuLaR Quzstion III,- _ 87,—(“Give a. general description of the cottages-in your parish in respect of—1. Con- ' “ struction (including size of rooms, ventilation and drainage). 2. Accommodation “ (including number of rooms in proportion. to the| family, water supply, garden, out- “ houses, &c.), 3. Ownership: «.e.,-whether by landowner, or by tradesmen with whom be Meaek RAY oop; 2. Wosurn Union. 1. Aspley Guise - Pop., 1,435 - Acr., 1,936, we Cultivation mixed. la. Rev. H. M. Erskine says, “ The condition of “ cottages varies very much according to ownership, “ thé worst are those which ‘belong to small. pro- “ prietors, farmers, and small tradesmen, who are ‘either. unable ‘or unwilling to lay out anything in “ their improvement; some have but one bedroom ‘for the-whole family; few, if any, have more than “ two ; the rent ranges from 31. to 6/. a year. 2. Battlesden - Pop., 143 - Acr., 1,096. Cultivation mixed, All cottages have an allotment of 40 poles. © _ 2a. Mr. Geo: Harris says of the cottages, “ They “ are of brick and thatch, old cottages, but have been “ recently put into repair and made comfortable by ‘ the landowner, who is the owner of the cottages.” - 1. 8. Chalgrave - Pop., 961 - Acr., 2,330. ‘Allotments, 17 acres of glebe let in allotments, eight of 20 poles, and 10 between 40 poles and 5 acres. Rent, 3/: per acre. 8a. Rev. J. M. Hamilton says of the cottages, “ In “ most cases their is only one downstairs room, 10 or * 12 feet square, with fireplace; this is used as kitchen “:and living room; behind this is a small room (with- out fireplace), about 10 feet by 6. Above these are “ two bedrooms, the staircase reducing the size of the * smaller one. Out of 118 cottages, 60 belong to “ small yeoman farmers, 37 to small tradesmen, 11 * to men in humble circumstances, and 10 to the “ large landowners.” Rent of cottages, 4/. to 51. 5s. 86. Mrs. Mitchell, “ I was applying for relief “ when I saw you last, sir, at Woburn, because my “ husband was out of work ; he is hoeing wheat now, “ and his eldest boy is with him, that boy cannot “ read nor write; four of these six have never been ‘ at school, and I can’t say any of ’em can read or “ write ; they plait sometimes as late as 10 at night, ‘© but then they rest four or five hours in the day.” ’ [Nore.—These children were very ill clad, wretched, and sickly looking, and the parents had been accused of -ill-treating them, which however the woman vehemently denied.]- 8c. Mr, John Ayre, occupier: “I pay men 12s. “-per week, they get nothing extra except in hay- “time and harvest.” - ; _ 4, Eversholt - Pop., 885 - Acr., 2,130. Cultivation mixed. Eighteen acres let in allot- ments, of which 44 are of 20 poles let at 40s.’ per acre. 7 «40. Rev. W. 8. Baker, speaking of the cottages, said, ‘ This is an open parish, supplying labour an ‘ R /\ . “the tenants are obliged to deal,.or by other_ person or persons, 4. Rent.”) And other evidenee,'including that of labourers, their wives and children, &c. “to other parishes; there are some very good and “-some very bad cottages.” “Visited a block of four cottages recently, built by the Duke of Bedford, such as those described by Mr. Stephenson for Woburn, the centre cottages have two bedrooms. upstairs, and the end cottages three each, the walls are 14-inch solid brick walls, and plastered, which, with the very perfect offices for each’ cottage and common oven, will make the cost very great, certainly more than 800/. for the four. - 4b, Mrs.' Kean, living in one of these cottages, has brought up 10 children, the youngest of 11 ‘years is still at'school, and none of her children have ‘left school under 10 years of age; her husband has 14s. per week. : _4c., Visited also three old mud cottages built in 1801, and ‘in bad condition, rooms very low and small as usual in old mud cottages; in one of these, with two small bedrooms, -a. family of-nine, father, mother, and seven children, eldest children girls 18 and 16, and boy 15. a 5. Harlington - Pop., 557 - Acr., 1,841. Ten acres of gardens and allotments. Cultivation half arable. 5a, Mr. John. W, Foll says, “ The cottages gene- “ rally: consist of two rooms below and two small “ rooms above, but many have not more than one ‘ bedroom.. Ventilation and drainage very fair; ““ water supply good ; generally belong to landowners, “ a few to tradesmen.” 54. Arthur Cox, has never been at any school, is 8 years old, and cannot read nor write. [Norr.—There is no school at Harlington, and children attend Westming school. ] " = ee labourer, with four children, as been out of work six days, and isn i for relief; eldest child 6. a ow applying od. Mr. J. W. Foll estimated the. addition to the ordinary labourer’s wage of 1ls. per week:to be by piece work and extra wage in-haytime and harvest, 4s. per week for the year, which, allowing 1s. a week is 52s. per year as the value of beer allowance which make the cost per week of such:a man 14s. for the year ; eight pints of beer are often allowed in long days in harvest: =e e 6. Hockliffe - Pop., 416 - Acr.; 1,000. Four acres of small allotment. Cultivation chiefly pastoral. ; bees 6a. Rev. J. S. Newmann says of the ‘cotta “ Ventilation and drainage in isis cases Gapeeeer: “in several instances only one bedroom; water has to be fetched from a distance ; more privies néeded. 2 ee generally satisfactory. Average rent, IN AGRICULTURE (1867) 6b. Mrs: G. Turney, herself, husband, and seven children in acottage with only one sitting and one small low bed room ; eldest girl 20, eldest boy 17 ; husband earning 11s. per week and son 7s. per week. Her husband was in one benefit club for 25 years, and then they found it was insolvent, and he and some others started anew club at the same public house, which he still subscribes to. There are four such clubs, one at each of the public houses in the village. There are one or two houses like hers, but none worse for large families. 7. Huleote and Salford - Pop., 335 - Acr., 1,800 Cottages, 51. Cultivation mixed. Forty-one allotments under one acre. 7a. Rev. B. C. Smith, of the cottages, says, “ They “ are mostly wattle and daub, or lath and’ plaster ; “ ¢he rooms are low, of medium size, and I do not “ think the drainage very bad generally speaking. “ In consequence of the miserable state of repair “ that they are in the ventilation is abundant. There “ is no deficiency of water; the gardens are small, “ some have none, but they have allotment ground ; “‘ outhouses bad. Some families are much crowded. “The cottages belong to lessees under All Souls “ College, Oxford, i.e. those in Salford, not those in “ Hulcote. Three out of the five in Hulcote belong “ to me; the other two to the Rev. G. G. Harter of “ Cranfield. Rent 1s. a week generally, though some “ few are let at 2s. 6d. per week. 76. Joseph Laing. Has 11s. per week ; lives in a very bad cottage with a daughter 18, and two sons 13 and 5; living room very low and small, and one very small bedroom. ‘Cottage next it same size and in same bad condition. John Laing, in a similar cottage near these two, has also 11s. per week. 8. Husborne Crawley - Pop., 535 - Acr., 1,520. Allotments, 65 allotments of 20 poles; rent, 40s. per acre. he 8a. Rev. V. S. C. Smith says of the cottages, “ The * houses generally contain two rooms below, two or “ three above stairs; size, 9 feet square ; water supply, “ outhouses, &c. in good proportion; the rent 1s. 2d. “ to 1s. 4d. per week. There are a few exceptional “ houses where the rent is about 4/. per annum, with “ for the most part one room below and one or two “ above. The Duke of Bedford owns about seven- “ eighths of the houses ; the rest chiefly belong to «© small non-resident tradesmen.” A new and very good school recently built by the Duke of Bedford with Moule’s earth closets in ope- ration, which seem to answer very well, 8. Charles Bowler, labourer, “ I worked for the “ duke may be a dozen years ago at ls. 4d. a day, « 8s. a week, then we were raised. to 9s., and then “ 10s., and there we. stuck for a good many years, “ and then the new railway raised us to 11s., and “ now I believe they pay 12s., but many.a farmer « round pays no more than 11s.” 9. Milton Bryant - Pop., 352 (1861), now (809) ; cer., 1,508. Allotments, 46 allotments of 20 poles. one-third arable, 9a. Rev. H. Cobbe says of the cottages, “'Two « storied, brick-tiled or slated. Living room about « 12 square yards, with one small room behind and a « bedroom over each. Ventilation and drainage “ fair, Water supply very good; garden and out- « house close to cottage, and allotments near at « hand. Landowner. -Every cottage except nine “ belonging to charity trustees, and three belonging “ ¢o another landowner are upon one estate. Gene- “ rally 21. 12s. per annum.” _ : ; 9b. Mr. Lewis Burnell, occupier, pays his ordinary labourers 11s. per week, horsemen 12s. with no in- wrease except in haytime and harvest. 10. Potsgrove - Pop., 298 - Acr., —. Allotments, 40 of 20 poles each, at, 40s. per acte. 10a. Rev. J. G. Bulman says, “ The cottages vary « much; some of them are fairly comfortable, others Cultivation COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, || “ are very deficient in accommodatio#' In one, in which there are (I think)seven persons, there is, for “ instance, only one small bedroom under the thatched “ roof, in addition to the room, by no means large, “ on the ground floor. j ‘“« There is sufficient water supply “ in the village. nu “ Some of the cottages are owned by tradesmen. “ The cottagers tell me they are requested, but deny “ that are compelled to deal with them. I leave you to estimate the value of this distinction. I “ ought to add that these cottages are about the best “ in the village.” a 106. Mr. Joseph Paxton, occupier, says,. “ It is admitted that the cottage accommodation in agri- cultural districts is in a very unsatisfactory state. “ Generally speaking, the class seem to delight in “ being huddled together. There ought to be three “ bedrooms in cottages where large families exist. “ The system of ‘earth closets’ is so remarkably * simple and so very beneficial to health that when “ in operation it is a great boon.” 10c. Mr. William Stopp, occupier, pays men from lls. to 138s. per week ; employs no boys. under :10. Thinks wages are increased on an average ls. per week for the year by piece work. 10d, Mr. J. Hill, occupier, says, “ I employ no “ boy under 10, and see no reason why they should “ be employed so young if it were not for the poverty “ of the parents ; I pay men from Ils. to 18s. per “ week.” 10e. Mrs. Bunyan, Sheeplane, hamlet of Pots- grove, “ I have four children, three are at school, the “ eldest 10; they are not fit to go to work till they “ are 12. My husband has 11s.'a week regulatly “ now he is draining, and may get 13s. by the piece. “ We have an allotment of 30 poles, but we had our “ name down a long time before we got it. I find it “ very difficult to keep my children at school, ‘but “ TI think it is my duty to keep them out of the plait “ school.” 10f. Mrs. Bodsworth, living in a very bad cottage, rent ls. per week (this cottage not fit for any one to live in). arr 10g. Mrs. Neal, husband and five children; is a very wretched cottage with one very small bedroom, rent ls. 2d. per week. 4 11. Ridgmont - Pop., 1,029 - Acr., 2,238. Allotments, 15 acres, let in 110 allotments. Culti- vation, two-thirds arable. National and British schools. lla. Mr. J. Crouch, occupier, Ridgmont, says of the cottages, “'The cottages in this parish are for the most “ part substantially built and well ventilated. Rather ‘ less than two-thirds of the cottages are owned by “ the labourers themselves, small ‘tradesmen, &c. ; “ more than one-third are owned by the Duke of * Bedford, the principal landowner. I believe the “ average rent is about 3/. 10s. per annum.” 116. James Wait, Bickerings Park, Ridgmont, a farm labourer in charge of a gang of 14 boys twitch- ing, boys between 8 and 11 years, and receiving 2s. per week, “ I have 11s. a week and do piece work oc- * -casionally ; these boys are here because their parents “ can’t afford to keep them at school ; they'll work ‘“‘ here or elsewhere till autumn, and then: may be “ some of them will be sent to school.” lle. Charles Tuck (one of gang): _ How old are you ?—*“ In my 11” (10). Can you read and write ?—“ A little.” Can you spell your ownname ?——“ Yes ” (spelling it). 1ld. Phineas Juff’ (one of gang): How old are you ?—“ In my nine” (8). Can you read and write ?—* Not much.” ' Can you spell your name ?—“No.”. 5 lle. Mr. Henry Readman, guardian for Ridgmont, “ We shall pay 5s. rates this year ; the workhouse « (Woburn) is full of able-bodied men whose families “ are receiving out relief; 18 came in one day about “ three weeks ago, having amongst them about 60 8 Q 4 an “ persons composing their families.” 497° from a good well Bedfordshi Mr. Culle} —_—_——— f. Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. £5 498 12. Tilsworth - Pop., 348 - Aer., 1,218. Cultivation mixed. 12a. Rev. Joseph Simpson says, “There are 55 cot- ** tages in the parish, of which 23 have one bedroom, “* 30 two bedrooms, 2 three. bedrooms ; 82 cottages are occupied by farm labourers in regular employ- « ment. “ A great many old cottages built of wooden “ frames, lath and plaster, and thatched ; some, and “ those bad ones, of brick and slate, built by trades- men; some cottages freehold or copyhold on the waste. “ Drainage very bad, and a great many nuisances. “ Rent of cottages about 37. 10s. per annum. Many old cottages belong to landowners.” [Nore.—The cottages in Tilsworth are in many cases as bad as they well can be, and overcrowded in five or six instances visited by the Assistant Com- missioner; two extremely badly situated cotiages by the side of a pond, belonging to one of the land- owners. There is no school, and only seven boys were reported as attending the Wesleyan school in Tebworth, about two miles ; what should be the school, a very small building, is used as a plait school. | 126. Mr. J. H. Simpson, speaking of the state of the parish, said “ About the time the boys voices be- “ gin to crack they are just beginning to be able to “ read the Psalms easily. The girls are hard worked by their parents as long as they are young, and “ when they get a little older and can keep them- selves they care nothing for their parents or any- body else ; they get married when they can, utterly “ unable to keep their house, and between their bad “ management and the bad cottages, no wonder the ‘“* husbands go to the beershop. The people in this parish are honest and docile.” 12c. Two boys leading teams at Tilsworth, 13 years old each of them: Neither of them can read or write, one never had been at any day school, the other had been a short time at Wesleyan school at Chalgrave. 13. Tingrith -Pop., 226 Acreage, 962. Allotment, 10 acres, 50 allotments. Cultivation mixed. 13a. Rev. T. Tangueray, says of the cottages, « Brick and tile or stones and tile. Ventilation good “ if the tenants do not fill up the chimneys ; drainage “ good. The largest room about 15 feet square, the ‘* smallest perhaps 13 feet square. Supply of water “ ample, from a public tap. Garden to each cottage “ besides allotments. No crowding in rooms. Land- ““ owner. No shops or shopkeepers. Rent about 1s. “ per week.” 136. [NotE.—Tigrith is a small close parish in which the cottage accommodation is well looked after, but it is said to depend on the neighbouring open parishes for a good deal of its labour. ] 14, Toddington - Pop., 2,433 - Acreage, 5,600. Cultivation, mixed. 14a. Rev. John Clegg, of the cottages, says, “The “ dwelling houses are many of them in a most “ lamentable state, and totally unfit for human habita- “ tions, Artificial drainage is bad, in fact I think “ the place is almost devoid of any drainage. Venti- “ lation is very bad. There is plenty of good spring ‘“* water in the place. The houses are owned for the “ most part by tradesmen or small owners, very many * of whom live out of the parish.” 14b. Copy of letter, dated March 13th, 1868, from Rev. J. Clegg to George Culley, Esq. Dear Sir, I was sorry that I missed you on Tuesday. The straw plait trade is very bad now, otherwise you would have seen those small rooms crammed to suffocation with little children. On perusing the paper of questions which you forwarded to me IJ find I shall be unable to answer any question satisfactorily, for this reason, the questions have reference to women and children employed in agriculture. There are no women employed in this parish in agricultural labour, and no more boys than are generally employed in any ordinary country parish. In answer to your question ”“ nx EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN concerning the apparently low state of morals in this parish, the causes are (in my opinion) want of educa- tion ; the bad state of many of the houses of the poor ; the great number of public houses; and the straw plait. There are two schools in the parish, both under Government inspection, one Church of England, the other Wesleyan; with the latter of course I have nothing whatever to do, of the former I know a good deal to my cost, as I could not possibly keep it in its present efficient state without the help of my own personal friends. The squire is the chief subscriber in the parish, and three farmers help me; the attendance of the children is so irregular that our grant is small in comparison with the expenses. The moment straw plaiting improves in value a great number of the children are taken away from the school and made to plait. The average attendance at the National school is 100. The introduction of any system by which a regular attendance of children at school could be ensured would be a boon to the parish. The houses in the parish are many of them in a wretched state. and belong to a variety of persons, many of them living out of the parish. We harbour here the outcast poor from many other parishes, where the houses have been pulled down and the inhabitants consequently obliged to seek shelter elsewhere. In such houses there is, as you may suppose, very little regard for decency, in fact none, and it is a wonder to me that there is not more immorality than there is. There is also a great deal of drunkenness in this parish. I think there are 13 or 14 public houses in the place, and many of the labourers spend their wages regularly at. them, while their wives and families maintain the house by straw plaiting. There is not so much poverty as improvidence; money is spent as fast as it comes, and families, to my know- ledge, have been starving this last winter where the husbands were earning 20s. to 25s. a week nine months ago by working on the railway. The people here are quite alive to the Poor Law, and know that as soon as they have spent all and have no work the parish must keep them, and it is quite amusing to watch the systematic way in which they proceed. I think I may safely say that the present Poor Law Act does quite its share towards producing a low state of morals here. I trust that what I have stated may prove of service to you in making your report to Her Majesty’s Government, Believe me, dear Sir, Faithfully yours, Joun Cizce. 14e. Copy of a letter, dated March 25th, 1868, from Mr. Thomas Magor to George Culley, Esq. Dear Sir, As no women or girls are employed in this district, and no boys at an age when such work would be injurious to them, I shall confine my observations to what in my opinion is the primary cause of the pe- culiar wretchedness of this district, viz., the straw plait manufacture, and secondly, the evils arising to a great extent from it: 1. Defective education. 2. Drunken- ness. 3. Evils of the present Poor Law Act. 4. The tally system. 5. The mismanagement of clubs and friendly societies. 6. Overcrowding of villages. The straw plait manufacture—At from 3 to 5 years of age children of both sexes are sent to the plaiting schools, which for the most part are con- ducted in labourers’ cottages quite unfit for the purpose (an exception may be made in favour of the village of Harlington, where there are two schools, both well managed and the children taught the rudiments of reading and writing, and sewing in case of girls). In these schools, with the above ex- ception, the children are crowded together almost as thickly as they can get for about eight hours; during summer imperfect ventilation is procured by opening the door, but as any amount of cold so benumbs the fingers as to unfit them for plaiting, during winter fresh air is carefully excluded, so that the atmosphere is sometimes sickening. At the age of 10 or 12 most of the boys exchange plaiting for farm work, but IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE, resume plaiting when severe weather or a scarcity of work prevents them labouring in the fields. Many of the girls as they grow up exchange plaiting for bonnet sewing at certain seasons of the year. From the fact of the girls being engrossed from early child- hood by plaiting, they grow up as a class very ignorant of domestic economy, they can neither cook, make or mend their clothes, which are usually bought of some material which will not wash, and is worn until it drops to pieces. The profits of the plait trade are very fluctuating ; in prosperous times a good work- man can earn from 1s. to 3s. daily, but at the present time, when the trade is very depressed, very little can be earned. In my opinion the operation of the Factory Act would ameliorate many of these evils, but females’ education must be made to embrace in- struction in domestic economy, before much good can be done. Drunkenness.—Most of the men are intemperate. The causes are the aggregation of the cottages in villages, the wretched condition of the cottages, often deficient in all sanitary conveniences, the entire absence of a proprietary considering themselves in any way responsible for the moral or physical well being of their tenants, and lastly the very defective legisla- tion respecting’ public houses. To remedy this state of things I would especially recommend the erection of a sufficient number of cottages on each farm to accom- modate its own labourers, saving them the labour of a long daily walk with the public house at its finish ; sanitary matters should be regulated by a central board instead of a local one, often interested in keeping up local abuses, and the landlords of public houses should incur a certain amount of responsibility for harbouring drunken men, while licences should be much more sparingly issued. The tally system.—With the establishment of the county court a race of tradesmen arose whose dealings were chiefly among the needy; for a weekly payment varying in amount goods below a certain value can be obtained, the trader trusting to the county court and to a charge of from 20 to 40 per cent. above cost price for repayment. These ‘tallymen, by appealing to the vanity of the women and their extreme ignorance of all economy, contrive:to get them as much in debt as may suit their purpose, so that the wages of these poor people are always spent in anticipation. No debts below 5/. should be recoverable in the county court. Traders should receive no encouragement to trust people with weekly wages, who after a time would learn the value of ready money payments. The mismanagement of clubs and friendly societies. —Most of these clubs are held in public houses; the working expenses are unnecessarily heavy. The mem- bers are not secured against fraud. They are not sufficiently assisted in times of distress by the Poor Law, and it is found almost impossible under the present regulations to provide a fund for aged members. Overcrowding of villages. — Toddington seems formerly to have been a much more important place ‘than at present, but as the prosperity of the town decreased the number of inhabitants was kept up by the origination of the plait trade. The women and children in past years could earn sufficient money to keep the household, while the men spent their own earnings too frequently in drink. For generations they have borne a bad character ; most of them agri- cultural labourers, and always being in greater number than the surrounding farmers required, they have kept down the price of labour, have prevented land- lords or farmers from building cottages on each farm, and have often io walk a distance of four or five miles to and from their work to a cottage: presenting none of the features of what a home should be; no garden, these house generally consisting of two wretched rooms utterly insufficient for the purposes -of decency. Evils of the present Poor Law system.—In the parish of Toddington, with a population of 2,433, 542 persons have been relieved by the parish from 2. ‘a week in the Fens; is in the Beds militia, 499 the 1st of October 1867 to 11th March 1868. I con- sider the present poor law system altogether bad; no distinction is drawn between the man struggling with adversity, the able-bodied loafer, and the drunken and dissipated. Severe labour tests should be imposed upon those who are known to be bad characters, while those who are sick or otherwise helpless should receive more tender consideration. You will excuse this hasty and imperfect report, as I am much pressed for time. Believe me very truly yours, Tuomas Macor. 14d. Mr. W. Horsley, registrar of births, marriages, and deaths,‘ This place (Toddington) I should say “ has no equal; we have the refuse of Harlington, “« Sundon, Chalgrave, Tingrith, and all round us; “ about 100 new cottages have been built here lately, but they didn’t pull the old ones down, so there they “ are with such people in them, not fit for pigs to live “ in scarcely. All these houses, or nearly all, belong “ to small freeholders, and the gentry round about on “ whose land these people work pay no heed to them. Why they used to pull down houses at all the places * round and drive the people here.” 14e. Mrs. Edwards, husband a farm labourer. Her- self, husband, her mother, and five children have only one bedroom ; living in a very wretched house, for which they pay 44. a year. Has two children who go to plaiting school half day and National school half day. ; Taf Mrs. Garner and seven children in one very small bedroom, about 8 feet square and very low. 149. George Purser, 20, can neither read nor write ; has done no work since last harvest, when he got 30s. iT No “ recruiting serjeant for the regulars ever comes near “ here.” 14h. Charles Purser, 16, can neither read nor write ; has been often in the workhouse, but has never been taught to read; is not doing anything just now. x ‘ n a 6 a 15. Woburn - Pop., 1,764 - Acr., 4,196. Allotments, 10 acres in 78 allotments; average rent, 53s. 4d. per acre. lida. Mr. C. Stephenson, Woburn Park Farm, says, * All cottages of modern construction are brick “ and tile, or slate ; one bedroom, 12 ft. square, and “ two are 8 ft. by 12 ft.; lower rooms, 12 ft. square. “ Ventilation by chimney and windows ; when ven- “ tilators are put in, they have invariably been “ stopped up by the occupiers. Drainage, part into “ main sewers and part into cesspools, cleaned out “ once a year. Accommodation, one sitting room “ and one large scullery ; about one half the number “have three bedrooms, and the remainder two. ‘¢ Water is supplied to all, spring from wells and rain “ gathered in tanks. All cottages have small gar- “ dens attached independent of their allotments. “ Quthouses include wood barn, privy, and ashbin, “ and one large oven to each block of cottages; a “ small kitchen range in each cottage, which has “ oven and boiler. Tenancies held direct from the “ owner. Rent, 1s. 2d. and 1s. 4d. per week.” 156. [Nore.—This description applies to blocks of cottages built in many parishes by the Duke of Bed- ford, and is raferred to in describing the cottages in those parishes. The cottages are for the must part built of brick, but in some parishes,’ as in Oakley, they are of stone. The blocks consist of two, three, or four cottages, as may be required, four being the most usual number, in which case the outside cottages have three and the inside two bedrooms each.—G. C.] 15c. Mrs. Burnage, Woburn, husband a farm la- bourer, works at Speedwell, and gets 11s. per week ; “ Sometimes gets a bit of piece work, but seldom, “ say 5s. or 10s. for the year, putting by harvest.” Has five children, two of 4 and 6 years at infant school. Girl of 8 stops at home to work. Girl of 11 goes out to nurse a baby and earns 1s. per week. “© 12s. a week is all we have to live on, and bread 3R Bedfords Mr. Cul f, Bedfordshire, Mr. Culley. fi 500 “ costs me 7s. a week.” Has an allotment of 20 poles. 15d. John-' Willesden, farm foreman, Woburn. Has one son, 10 years old, at school in Woburn. The clergyman wants him to remain at school, but he is afraid he may have him there till he loses the opportunity of learning his business as a farm la- bourer. ‘“ You know, sir, I began work at 8, and no * doubt lost a good deal by not remaining at school * longer, but I consider that I learnt some things “ between 8 and 10 at work which has helped to “ make me what I am, a foreman of a small farm. ... “ T pay a regular iabourer under me 11s. per week, “ with no piece work or any extra pay, except in “ haytime and harvest. Ican get as many men at EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ 11s. per week as I like, and I consider ¢haé the “ regular wage of the district.” : lée. Mr. Lewis, Hundreds Farm, Woburn. Farms 80 to 90 acres. ‘Pays horsemen 14s. per week ; pays another man 12s. per week. The man at 12s per week would make 2/. in the year by piece work, besides haytime and harvest. 15f. Mr. C. Stephenson, Woburn Park Farm, says of the wages, “ Wages nominally lls. or 12s. per “ week, but 22 men upon this farm have averaged “ 2s.7d. per day during 1867 ; this of course includes “ all piece work, and the usual béer allowance is also “ commuted and paid in money. Lads 14 to 17 “ years of age earn ls. 3d. per day.” 15g. The following Taste gives the names, numbers in families, number of bedrooms, rent ot cottages, owner- ship of cottages, quantity of garden or aliotment, and distance from work, in the case of 14 (all the) married labourers working on a farm in Woburn Parish. Rent | rye a ee Family. No. of Bedrooms. a bog Owner of Cottage. Cae ue, s. d. ‘ Sinfield - | Wife and 4 children, 12 to 1 years | One bedroom -|1 10/ Mrs. Circuit - | 2 poles| 1 mile. Newbury - i 5 children, 10to1 ,, Two bedrooms |2 6] Miss Cobbe ete a ia 39 Oliver - - 1 child - - - 5 » -|1 2] Duke of Bedford | 40 poles ss Sedgwick- » Achildren, 15to2 ,, 5 » ~|1 9|Mr. John Cook-| 5 5 | Foulkesk - 5 3 children, 9to2 ,, | One bedroom-|1 6/Mr. W. Gurney | 4. ,, 5 Smith - | Wife, family away - - -| Two bedrooms |2 3/Mrs. Mahon -|20 ,, os Keetch - % a5 - - -| Three , -|1 4|]Duke of Bedford |15 ,, | 12 mile. Hurst's - ¥y 53 - - - | Two » -|l 2 35 55 1, | 1 mile. Henley gi ” ” = = -|QOne bedroom -|1 2 i si a S i Brown - | Wife, no family - - -| Three bedrooms}1 4 a5 55 8 poles | 14 mile. C. Clarke- | Wife and 6 children, 17 to 7 years 5 » -jl 4 és ve 1 pole | 4 of mile. Burgess - i 4 children, 17to6 ,, | Four bedrooms!1 4 3 es 20 poles On farm. Ward - 55 no family - - -|Three ,, -|2 6 3 a 40 ,, ss G. Clarke 55 8 children, 20t0 14.,, | Two 3 1 6 33 5 40 , | 1i mile. 15h. Mrs. Newbury, 18, Cobbe’s Row, Woburn. Husband a farm labourer working on Birchmore farm, and getting 11s. per week. Pays 2s. 6d. a week rent for a bad ‘cottage in a very narrow and dirty street ; no land attached to cottage. “ We can’t get « one of the duke’s houses; there is always a many “ erying out for them ; they’re cheap and good, and “ we have no chance..... We often say as we “ would like a piece of land, but there ain’t much * chance for us here in Woburn ; there is only one “ field for all Woburn. I have five children ; the eldest 10, a girl, I must keep at home to mind the baby when I get a bit of washing or such like. If I’m not ¢o send my boy to work in his 10 (at 9 years old) I think we must starve. My husband gets no great work, and has not done for two years ; “ we have nothing but bread and dripping and some- * times dry bread to eat, and may be a penn’orth of turnip tops on Sunday.” 15%. Mrs. Holmes, 10, Cobbe’s. Row, Woburn. Husband an able-bodied labourer (described by the relieving officer as a bad lot from Toddington) in the workhouse. Family, his wife and five children, re- ceiving out relief, six loaves and 4s. per week. Pay 2s. 6d. a week rent for bad cottage and no ground. Eldest child of 11 and three others at school. Wife pays schooling, and does straw plait to make up their living. “I can do a score of plait a day, and get 4d. * a score, and have to pay 14d. for straw. .... We “ eat rice and bread, vegetables is out of character ; “ sometimes I get a penn’orth of turnips” a a ‘ a ‘ n ‘ a ¢ x 5 Brprorp UNIon. 16. Biddenham - Pop., 350 - Acr., 1,556.. Cultivation is mixed; about two-thirds arable, one-third grass. Sixty-three labourers’ cottages. 16a. Mr. Wm. Golding, says, “ The cottages are “ constructed of stone and tiles ; and many of them “ of oak frames, studded, and lath and plaster, and ‘“ rough cast, and covered with thatch; the latter “ are very strongly built cottages. The living rooms “ average about 12 ft. by 10 ft., some larger and some smaller ; the bedrooms about 10 ft. by:7 ft, some much larger and others a very little smaller, Nearly all the cottages have three sleeping rooms, all good water supply and drainage. Each has a “* garden attached, varying from 15 poles up to 1 rood, “* which produces enough to pay the rent. The land- “ lord pays all rates, taxes, &c., and for all repairs, &c. “ The Right Hon. Lord Dynevor’s trustees are the “ owners. Annual rent 25s. up to 3/., according to the size of cottage and its accommodation. In addition to the home garden as above described, each cottager “ has an allotment averaging about one rood, and for “ which he pays about the same rent as the farmers “ are charged for their occupation ; I consider these “ allotments most beneficial in helping the parents of “ large families to bring them up respectively, and “ they have proved a great preventative to crime ; “ in the event of any of the occupiers being convicted “ before a bench of magistrates they forfeit their “ allotment, we have had but here and there a case “ of forfeiture ; the men would suffer anything rather than forfeit their allotment.” This description applies also to Bromham. 166. Mr. Charles Howard, says, “ Our village is “ considered very pretty, the cottages being generally “ described as < truly rural.’” [Nors.—Mr. Howard then describes the cottages very much as Mr. Golding. ] 16c. William Hockle, 11 years old, “keeping “ crows ;” is in field from 6 to 6, with 13 hour rest. Was at school till he was 7; can read and write now. 16d. Arthur Baxter, at work; left school at 74, but goes to Sunday school; can read a little. ° 16e. Joseph Macom, 10, left school at 9; can read and write ; is helping shepherd. 16f. Julia Brockett, 16, lace making; works from 8 or 9 a.m. till “whiles,” 10 p.m., with 2 hours rest; earns 2s. 6d. a week. [Nore.—This girl at work in a very low cottage; rooms not above 5 ft. 6 in. to 6 ft., I should think. ] nn A aA AR RK a a IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. "" 17. Bromham - Pop., 861 - Acr., 1,700. 17a. Rev. J. A. Coleridge says, “ As a rule our * cottages are above the average, some few are still “vewy bad. They are thus constructed” (here follows a description similar to that for Biddenham, belonging to the same owners, and having the same allotment system and moderate rent for cottages). 18. Bletsoe - Pop., 412 - Aecr., 2,187. Cultivation, two-thirds arable; one-third grass. 18a, Mr. John Thomas says, “ The cottages are thatch and plaster and brick and slate ; rooms “ small, drainage good generally ; water supply, “ garden ground, &c., good. They belong to the “ landowner and rents are moderate.” ‘ a 19. Cardington - Pop., 1,419 - Acr., 5,060. 19a. Rev. E. J. Hillier says, “ The cottages are most of them the property of the landlord, who is careful in the management of them, and they are « Jet at low rents to labourers on the estate.” 196. Mr. John E. Bodger says, “ Good accom- «“ modation in every respect, with a rood of land for “ the cottages. Rent low. My men have each a rood of land, and I consider that quite sufficient for a labouring man. The late Mr. Whitbread was “ asked to give an acre and refused.” 19¢. [Notxof Assistant Commissioner.—Visited one bad cottage in Cardington, in which Mrs. Peck lives ; cottages generally good. 19d. Here is an industrial school for girls, the only one, I believe, in the county of Bedford, of which the report is as follows :— « a ‘ n nx ‘ na ¢ « Carprneton LInpustriaL Day ScHOOL FoR GIRLS. «“ Tats school is the only one of the kind in the county of Bedford ; and as an experience of eight years has now been gained, it is thought that a statement of the method pursued, the expense incurred, and the advantages resulting, may be to « some persons suggestive and serviceable. ; « Tf a girl goes out to domestic service without special training, she generally begins at low wages, “ ina place of an inferior kind; but from this in- « dustrial school the girls have obtained at once a “ good start in life, in superior families, at wages “ of about 10/. a year. ; “In the Cardington Industrial School girls are «“ admitted between the ages of 7 and 17. Instruc- “ tion in the elementary branches of education— « reading, writing, and arithmetic—and in the Bible « and the formularies of the Established Church, is “ here given as in the parochial school. Plain « needlework and cutting out are also taught; and «“ the elder girls are instructed in the use of a sewing i hine.. ; «To this instruction is added the special training « in the work of a cook, a housemaid, a laundress, «“ and a dairymaid; the elder girls taking weekly “ turns to act in these capacities. « Practice in all ordinary kinds of cooking is obtained in the following ways: Ist, soup and other articles of food are frequently prepared for poor sick persons ; and, 2ndly, a dinner in winter «“ and a meat tea in summer, with a varying bill “ of fare, is given to the whole school once a week ; « which dinner or ya however, any girl may forfeit “ h her own fault. we The milk for the dairy is bought of a farmer. «One girl acts as dairymaid,. and she takes her pail to the milking. The butter is sold at market “< price. 2 . ; i « The buildings consist of an ample schoo room, furnished with a Flavell’s cooking range, a mistress’s house, a dairy, a pantry, and a scullery furnished « with washing trays and other appliances. « When any girl, at the age of 17, after con- -e ducting herself well, goes out to service, to a place approved of by the patrons of the school, she is presented by them with an outfit of clothing. an a nn ee a n an an 4 a ow a n non aOR nn aOR 501 “ All the girls who have hitherto. gone out, to service from the school in this. way have obtained good places, and have given satisfaction in them ; “ and those who have left the school before the age “ of 17 have obtai::ed better places than they. could ‘« otherwise have expected. |: . “ The chief employments of women and girls in this county are lace making and straw plaiting. As the wages of farm labour are low, parents cannot afford both to pay the weekly twopence, which is the small school fee required, and also to lose what their children could earn at the lace pillow or at plaiting straw. Therefore these manual em- ployments are adopted into the work of the school. A certain number of hours a day are devoted to these occupations, and a teacher is engaged to “ superintend the girls so employed. This arrange- “ ment is found to leave the girls time enough for the * other school work, and it leaves the mistress more _ free to attend to the domestic training ; and those girls whose parents wish them to do more work than can be done in the allotted time may remain after the regular school hours to complete it. “ The entire training in all its branches (except the instruction in lace making and straw plaiting), “ is carried on by one competent trained but not certified mistress, who has also had some ex- perience in domestic service. It is considered “ to be a decided advantage that she does not hold a: “ certificate, as she is able to devote to the industrial training of the elder girls all the time and energy which certified mistresses are bound to give to the “ instruction of pupil teachers. us “ The total expenses of the school at present are about 701. a year. The number of girls is limited “ to 30, which is found to be as many as can be “ supplied by the population of Cardington proper, which by the last’ census was 572; some girls are “ admitted also from hamlets belonging to Cardington. “ It may be remarked, however, that in a large parish a school of double the number could probably “be maintained at proportionally small extra cost. The cost would also be dimished if the industrial “ part were an annex to the parochial school, instead “ of being, as this is, a separate establishment.” “ April, 1868.” n n n n 20. Clapham - Pop., 502 - Acr., 1,948, Cultivation chiefly arable. 20a. Messrs. J. § F. Howard say of the cottages, The construction is generally inferior, the soil is generally porous, and the river very near, so that there is little or no artificial drainage. Ownership by men of moderate means who have built or bought cottages as an investment; a few belong to the landowners. Rents are moderate; from 31. to “ 41.a year. We hold strong opinions on the de- “ sirability and even the duty of landowners pro- viding sufficient accommodation for the labourers, We should even be glad to see some compulsory “ enactment to provide for parishes where the cottage “ accommodation per hundred acres is much below “ the requirements.” ‘ a « a ‘ ct a “ a ‘« a a a OR ‘« wn 2i. Cople, Pop., 565 - Acr., 2,109 - Cottages, 102. Allotments, 96, containing 17 acres, let at 40s. . 2la. [Nearly all the cottages belong to the Duke of Bedford, and are good, constructed as those described by Mr. C. Stephenson for Woburn, with good offices and‘a rood of ground as allotment. Most of the farms have a block of cottages attached to the farm- steading. Speaking of such a block, Mr. Amos Warwick, bailiff to Mrs. Brimley, farming 300 acres, said, two were quite enough as long as they were kept in the landlord’s hands. ] 216. Mrs. Facey, living in house built on waste, for which she pays quitrent, 5s. ‘Self and five chil- dren in-one small bedroom ; three younger, two at ~ school; gets 3s. and 3 loaves from parish. “I wouldn’t “ have any of my children leave school before 11 or 3R 2 Bedfordshire. Mr. Culley. ——— f. Bedfordshire, — Mr. Culley. a f, 502 « 12 if I could help it, and none of them have left “ before 10, but betimes we might have starved if “ they couldn’t work at it before 10 when they “ was’nt at school.” 2le. Joseph Eastwell, 15 on Mr. Purser’s farm topping and routing mangold ; can read a little but vannot write. 22. Goldington - Pop., 609 - Acr., 2,735, Cultivation mixed. 22a. Mr Ulysses. Paine says of, the cottages,. ‘* Some newly built with good accommodation, others *“ mud and stud. Drainage and ventilation bad, rooms “ small, short in number for a family ; water good, “ with garden accommodation. Landowners’ rent, “ 31, 10s. per year.” 22b. [Assistant Commissioner’s note-——Some cot- tages built of mud and stud in a very bad state belong- ing to asmall freeholder, rent Is. 2d. to 1s. 4d. per week, with no garden. } 22c. Mr. Newmann (a farm labourer) with five children in a very bad cottage. Three children at school, no child at work; he receives 12s. per week, which is “ the usual pay.” 22d. Very good schools with large attendance of very young children. Some good blocks of cottages belonging to the Duke of Bedford. 23. Kempston - Pop., 2,191 Fg Girls home from service - - 38 » who go to work - - 2 », Who look after children - - 6+ 70 » at school - - 36 », under four years - - 28 Total cottagers and families - - 278 Other inhabitants of parish - -~ 61 Present population - - 329 23c. (NortE.—A very poor village, most cottages of mud and thatch, built on the waste. Women work in Thame parish at about 5s. a week), 24, WoRMINGHALL, population, 1861, 354; acreage, 1,469. : 24a. The Rev. Jas. Statter, says of the cottages, “ Many of the old cottages confined and bedly venti- “ lated ; the drainage is very fair. The new cottages “ are in much better condition; the drainage is very 3U 3 Buckingham-, shire. Mr. Culley. f. Buckingham- Mr. Culley. - hay time and harvest, a month at each time. 528 * good; the sleeping rooms generally too small. “« Water supply good. Garden ground in most cases “ sufficient. Outhouses capable of improvement. With * the exception of two cottages belonging to a charity, “ the rest are the property of the lord of the manor.” 246. Earnings of a family in Worminghall as given by Rev. Jas. Statter :— Daniel Chudbone, age 49, has 10s. per week. Wife, 46 (7d. per day), 3s. 6d. Daughter, 22. Son, 21, has 9s. per week. Do., 12, has 2s. 6d. per week. _ Daughter, 10. At school. Do. 7. do. Two infants. ‘ Total income of family 25s. per week to provide for nine persons and keep two children at school. ” WINSLOW UNION. 25. Taree Cxiaypons, population, 1861, 1,477; acreage, 8,016. 25a. Mr. Wm. Hinton, says of the cottages, “ Many-.of the old cottages were of wattle and daub, “ with thatched roofs, and badly lighted and venti- “ lated ; but these are gradually giving way to “ superior brick and tiled cottages having larger and better ventilated rooms. in some cases there is a well’of water in the cottage gardens, but recently * a well in each village has been sunk by the present “ Lady Verney, each yielding an ample. supply of “ pure water. This year a handsome cast-iron pump “ and rustic porch have been placed over each of “ these wells, which make them as ornamental to the “ village as they are useful. For the most part the “ cottages belong to the landowners.” 256. Mr. A. Fraser, land agent, says, “ Very few “ boys are employed in this district, which is chiefly ‘“ grazing, except in hay time and harvest, when a “ few, girls and women are also employed. There is * no agricultural employment injurious either to “ health or morals. It would be an injury both to: “ parents and children to fix an age under which « they should not be employed in farm labour, as the “ child must learn its work, and the parents in many “ cases cannot do without the earnings of the “ children. In this district children do very little “ work in winter, and could therefore be kept at “ school during four or five winter months. Two “ cottages per 100 acres is sufficient for cultivation * of land in this district. The ordinary wages vary “ from 10s. to 14s. per week. Boys earn from 4s. to 5s. per week. Women in hay time and harvest “ earn 1s. per day, not including beer. In the Three Claydons, the cottages belong principally to Sir ‘¢ Harry Verney, and consist of two rooms and back “* premises on the ground floor, and two or three bedrooms ; rent, 3/. per annum. No family lives “in a cottage with less than two bedrooms. On Sir “ H. Verney’s estate there are sufficient cottages “ belonging to him for the cultivation of the land. “ T think it would be a great encouragement and aid “ to landowners to provide suitable cottages if they * could borrow money directly from Government on “ better terms than at present through public com- “ panies, and without some of the restrictions im- “ posed by the Enclosure Commissioners, some of “ which I think absurd.” 26. Great Horwoop, population, 725; acreage, 2,389. 26a. Circular questions not answered for this parish. ‘The cottages appeared to the Assistant Com- missioner to be fairly good. 266. George Stokes, a farm labourer: “I am a sn oy ‘ 5 x n a a a s s n - Sunday man. I get 13s.a week. I get no victuals I work I get about 15s. a week in I pay “ 3L. 4s, a year for my cottage and four. poles. I “ nor milk, only a drop on Sunday mornings. « from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. -“ have seven children, eldest 16, a boy ; he gets 8s. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG ‘PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ a week, and gives us 5s.; he finds his own clothes, “ and pays his club 2s. 4d. a quarter; I don’t know “ justly what he gets. The boy 14 gets 6s. now; he “ gives it all to us, and we find him all. The girl, 12, “ makes a little lace. The boy, 93, is at farm work, “ and gets 2s. 6d.; he was at school till he was 9. “ T wish he could have kept on; but we can’t do “ without his 2s. 6d., with bread so dear; all the same “ T approve of that job keeping them at school till 10, “ T heard there was some talk of keeping them till 13, “ and that would not do at all. What I’ve told you is “ every penny I have had since last harvest. There “are several men out of work in the village. I rather think there’s plenty of work, but may be “ the farmers is rather short of money. If I had four “ acres I could support my family on it, and I think “ every family ought to have that. We have three “ allotments, one rood each, and we work it amongst “us. We work by moonlight sometimes, and, with “‘ my other work, it’s almost too much for me, the late * hours.” 2 a 27. Lirtte Horwoop, 1861, 449; acreage, 1,950. 27a. The Rev. H. F. Ralph says of the cottages: “ The cottages are very bad, small, the great majority “ of them with one bedroom only, thatched, the ven- “ tilation and drainage good, water supply fair, gardens “ good. The cottages belong chiefly to small owners, “ some possessed by the cottagers themselves.” population, 28. Hogsron, population, 1861, 207 ; acreage, 1,526. 28a. Mr. John Morris, occupier, says of the cot- tages: “Brick and tiled, some brick and- thatched, * rooms sufficiently large and well ventilated, drainage “ good, water supply and gardens very good. Cottages “ belong to landowner. Rent about 40s.” ‘ 29. MursLEy, population, 482 ; acreage, 2,840. _ 29a. Some of the cottages in the parish are good, some very bad; the cottages do not belong to the chief landowners. . 296. Mr. Conway, occupier, says, “ Children are of “ no use to us in this neighbourhood under 10; but “ still I would not approve of any legislative interfer- * ence to fix an age under which boys should not be “ employed. The hours of work on my farm are, in “ in summer, from 6 to 54; meal times, 14 hours. “ The average labourer’s wage is 12s. Sunday men “ have 13s. ; 80. STEWKLEY, population, 1861, 1,453; acreage, 4,330. 30a. The Rev. C. H. Travers says of the cottages : “ As a general rule, the cottages are totally inade- “ quate as regards accommodation. The ownership “ being vested in small tradesmen, and the straw- “ plait trade having brought an increase of nearly ** 900 people into the parish in this century, a number “ of tenements have been formed, some out of malt- “~ing houses, &c., which readily let, and where fami- “‘ lies are crowded together sometimes from six to “ eight in one small room, the rents varying from 1s. to “ 1s. 6d. per week. There are very few labourers’ “ cottages in the village with more than one bedroom “ and that one of miserable dimensions.” _ 806. Mr.. Thomas Woodman, occupier : “I occupy “ 590 acres, of which 535 are pasture. I employ 14 “ or 15 able-bodied men throughout the winter, and, “ as my farm lies two miles from the village, my “ labourers have that distancé to walk to their work. My opinion is decidedly in favour of having cottage “ accommodation provided for the labourers as near “ as possible to their work. The average weekly earnings of my men, who attend to cattle (exclu- “ sive of an allowance of milk for breakfast, and 1s. “ for Sunday service), has been for the past year 12s. “ per week. The total earnings of my men who “ have taken their work has amounted to 401., or as “ much as 15s. per week for the past year. IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. Parish Meeting. 30c. Evidence of Messrs. Palmer, J. Vere Woodman, and James Kempston, occupiers: “Wages are rather “ lowér in this than in the surrounding parishes. Ordinary labourers have 11s. a week ; cattle. men, “ who go on Sunday, 12s.; lads of 18 or 14 years have 4s. 6d. a week. The hours of work are from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Labourers who have 11s, per week in winter and spring, have 16s. for four or five weeks, * generally five in hay time, and 18s. to 21s. for four weeks in harvest. There is not much piece work in the parish. The beer allowance costs at least 40s. “ per man per year. Men at lls., with no other piece work or allowance, would earn for the year an “ average of 12s. 6d. to 13s. per week. Most of them could add somewhat to this. Almost all have allotments, most of them half an acre, some on parish land and some on glebe. Very few cottages “ belong to chief landowners. They are crowded in “* many instances, and bad, with no drainage. From two to three cottages per 100 acres would be suffi- cient for the cultivation of this parish, probably two “ per 100 acres.” Aone 80d. Visited three one-bedroomed cottages, unfit for people to live in, standing in a row back from the road. In one of them— / » 80e. Mrs. Smith (husband a labourer) has six chil- dren; rent, 1s. 1d. per week :— Boy, 15, gets 5s. Girl, 10, never been at any school. Boys (8 and 7) at school. Two younger not at school. Husband has 13s. per week. In another— . 30f. Mrs. Green, her husband, and six children. Girl, 16, at home. Boy, 13, at work. os st hs occasionally. Boy, 5, at infant school, others do nothing. In the last cottage of this row are seven persons. 30g. Visited an old malting house made into seven very small cottages, with one small bedroom and a nasty open drain close to the doors. Rent of each cottage 1s. per week. In one of these lives— 30h. Mrs. Mead : “ My husband isa farm labourer ; “ he has lls. a week ; he worked on the road for 10s, “in the winter. I have 10 children: eldest 16, a “ « boy, get 7s.a week. He can read, but can’t write. «“ The next, a girl 14, plaits ; she can read, too, but “ can’t write. That drain in front is very nasty, the “ rooms being small, and we can’t sit out for the ‘© drain.” a n n Rn n na n a ‘ a 31. SwANBOURNE, population, 1861, 603 ; acreage, 2,510. 3la. Rev. M. D. Maulden says of the cottages: “ There are about 80 cottages, mostly thatch roof, «“ mud walls between rafters, with two or, at the « most, three rooms. Drainage not good, water supply “ fair, deficiency of gardens and outhouses. About “ half belong to the resident landowners, and. the «“ other half to tradesmen and farmers. The rents “ yun from 21. 10s. to 42. I am not aware that the « tenants have to deal with the tradesmen their “ Jandlords.” _ 815. There are five low, thatched, and very poor cottages on the road side, rent for three of them 1s. per week, two pay only the rent of ground. 3lc. Mrs. Rowe says, “My husband has Ils. a “ week ; we are pretty well off, and don’t complain. « [ have no children.” 32. Winstow, population, 1861, 1,890; acreage, 1,900. 32a. Mr. William Neal, occupier, says, “The « Jandlord’s cottages are-old and thatched, but-much « more roomy than the modern ones, always having t “ two rooms below and two above, often three, and a piece of garden ground at the back. Many of the new cottages have no ground only what they “ are built on. Some in the centre of the téwn have no closet accommodation, obliging occupiers to “ trespass or ask leave of their neighbours. They frequent the nearest public pump for water, the “ supply of which is good on the whole. The drain- “ age of the town for surface water is good, but the ‘system of draining the closets into it without any ** water works for flushing is sure to lead to bad- consequences in time.” Fs “ The rent of one front room with back kitchen and two small bedrooms is 1s. 8d. per week.” 32b. Some very bad cottages, with one bedroom each, at Tinker’s End ; five of them rejoice under’ the name of “ Albert Place.” Rent 1s. 2d. to 1s. 4d. per week. Farm labourers live in most of them. 32c. Mr. Dudley, land agent, says, “ I employ a “ good many labourers, and pay them 12s. a week as “ work I pay them extra. I pay in hay time and “ harvest 15s. for eight weeks. The greatest diffi- “ culty the farm labourer has to'deal with is im- ‘ providence and the weakness of the family ties. It “ is terrible to see the slightness of the family tie; “ they think no more of father or mother than I do, “ of my dogs.” Reg fi 32d. Mrs. Boyce, Piccadilly, says, “ My husband is a farm labourer, and has 18s. per week. Have. © five children— ‘ Boy of 13, at work. Ditto 11, ditto, Ditto 9, at school. Ditto 4, at home. Girl of 6, at school. “ T have kept them all at school to 10. We pay “ 1s. 8d. a week rent.” 82e. Mrs. Vickers—Husband a farm labourer ; has 12s. a week ; has five children, two of 8 and 9 at day school, two of 4 and 6 at infant school, one of 24 at home. “We have nothing else but my hus- “band’s money. I manage to keep them at school, “ but it’s hard work, and we have had a hard struggle “ to get on at all. As soon as my boy of 8 can “ get work he must go, we can’t help it.” _ 32f. John French, in workhouse at Winslow because he cannot get a house, says, “I occupied a “ wattle and dab cottage, with thatch and no win- “ dows, at Nash ; paid 6d. per week rent. Inspector “ of nuisances reported the house, and landlord sent “me out, and said he would pull down the cottage “ yather than put it right. I had 10s.a week. My “ girl of 16 got her victuals for her work at a farm- “ house, son of 14 had 8s. a week, son of 12 was at * school when he would go, son of 10 at school. I “ like to keep ’em at school, but if a farmer will give them 2s. a week, they must go and work., but there ain’t much as boys can get to do much afore they’re 12? 329. Robert Turnly, 10 years old, in charge of a cart with sand going from Winslow to Grandborough, sitting on the horse with his feet on. shafts; has never been at any school except Sunday school ; can neither read nor write. Name on the cart More- craft. n n BUCKINGHAM UNION. 33. State of cottages in Buckingham Union :— The Assistant Commissioner received from one of the guardians of Buckingham Union a copy of a series of papers entitled “ Rural Life in Buckingham- shire,” published in the “Morning Star” in the autumn of 1863, and his remarks on the changes, if any, which had taken place in the villages referred to in those papers. The chief offenders in the way of cottages were, in 1868, Gawcott, Maids Moreton, Hillesden, Padbury, Adstock, Preston Bissett, and Twyford, ees ; , 3U 4. 529: regular wage, winter and summer, and for extra’ Buckingham-"— shire. Mr. Culley: fe Buckingham- shire, Mr. Culley. f. 530 In Twyford 82 out of 124 cottages had but one bedroom. In Maids Moreton 58 , 94 ditto. In Preston Bissett 36 ,, 66 ditto. In Padbury 330 4 = 77 ditto. In Gawcott 382, = 87 ditto, In Adstock 31, 70 ditto. In Hillesden 12 38 ditto. The only improvement ‘in cottage accommodation which has taken place in any of these parishes is in Hillesden and Padbury, according to the Assistant Commissioner’s informant, who says that ‘Hillesden ' has been much improved by Mr. Morrison, and that a few new cottages have been built in Padbury. Many other parishes are found very serious fault with in these papers, in some of which the Assistant Com- missioner was informed that improvement had taken place, and in others that there was no improvement. The village of Shalstone is held up in joyful contrast to all of those round it, and remains as a bright example of what a resident proprietor may do for the comfort of the labouring poor. 34. AppINeToN, population, 1861, 111; acreage, 1,268. 34a. Mr. John Linnell, bailiff to J. J. Hubbard, Esq., says, “The cottages in this parish are con- * structed of brick with tiled roofs principally, well ventilated, with a living room 12 ft. + 14 ft. + 8 ft. “6 in. and bedrooms lofty and ventilated, with “ garden, pump, wac?house, and coal place. There “ are three bedrooms in almost every instance where “ there is a family. These cottages are of superior construction, and well fitted with respect to accom- modation in every respect. They are the property * of the owner of the land; the rent varies from 1s. * to 2s. per week.” 346. Norz.—(The cottages in this parish are not sufficient to supply the labour required. In answer to Circular Question ITI. 32, Mr. Linnell says, “‘ We * obtain our labourers from Adstock, situated within “ a mile.” —G. C.) 85. ApstTocK, population, 1861, 385 ; 1,180. 35a. The Rev. J. Niven says of the cottages, Some of mud or clay, others of brick ; good water ; “ nearly all have gardens or allotment ground. A “ number of the cottages belong to the poor men who occupy them, and are generally kept clean ; * others belong to landowners and other. parties. “ Rents vary from 1s. and ls. 3d. per week. We supply labour to Addington.” 356. Note.—(Most of the cottages are old and small, but the Assistant Commissioner found them cleaner than is generally the case in such cottages in Bucks.) 36. BEacHAMPToN, population, 1861, 272; acre- age, 1,492. 36a. The Rev. R. N. Russell says, “The chief ‘¢ tt “ acreage, “ landowners are James Walker, Esq., and Lord “ Carington. “ James Walker, Esq., owns about 750 acres, and “has 28 cottages, eight new and good, with three “ bedrooms, rent 1s. per week; some of remainder “ fair, and some bad, rent 30s. a year. “ Lord Carington owns about 500 acres. On a complaint of the condition of the cottages on this property, they were pulled down, and a miserable hovel-like farmhouse made into three cottages un- approachable in winter, and having no water to drink except pond water, unless it is fetched from a distance; it would be most desirable to induce the present owner to look into this matter. e ““ There are some wretched hovels built by a squatter on the road-side adjoining Lord Caring- ** ton’s property.” 86). Four brick cottages in a row by road-side, with one small room downstairs and ditto above; rent ls. 3d. per week; no outhouses or other con- veniences, In one of these lives— ec “ EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN 86c. Mrs. Reynolds, who says, “ My husband is a “ farm labourer, and gets lls. a week. We have “ four, children, the eldest eight. I would be glad “ to send him to work if he could’ get it. You see “ there’s six of us to keep out of the 11s. a week.” In another of these cottages lives William Alder- man, who works at Wolverton Station, and has to walk, acording to his wife’s account, four or five miles to his work, but cannot: afford to take a cottage nearer, rents are so high. 36d. Mrs, Betts, occupying a cottage in another part of the village, says, “ My husband is a farm “ labourer, but he is never well very long together. “ We have eight children at home. “ Lad 20, works, keeps himself and lodges here. “ Girl 17, makes lace. “ Boy 15, gets 5s, and gives me 4s. “ Boy 18, gets 4s., gives me all. “ Girl 10, makes lace {goes to school three after- “ noons per week). “ Boy 8, goes to work, gets 2s. “ Two younger at home. ‘“« Neither the girl 10 nor boy 8 can read or write. “ It’s a pity, but we had to send the boy of 8 to “ work.” 36e. John Shean, age 12, cannot read nor write, works about a farmhouse, “chopping wood, cleaning “ milk buckets, and such like jobs.” 37. BuckineHaM, population, 1861, 3,849 ; acreage, 4,777. : 37a. The Rev. W. F. Norris, says of the cottages, “ Ventilation bad. * “ Drainage chiefly into the river, and the drains mostly cheaply made with stones, and quite in- sufficient. “ Water supply is good, aud gardens are sufficient “ for the population. “ Owners in every class of life. “ No compulsory dealing, though in certain cases “ the tenant is expected to frequent a certain shop. “ Rent considerably higher than in the villages.” 376. Mr. Thos. Ridgway, occupier, says, “The “ cottages are not so good as one would desire to see them, still where the land is owned by large pro- “ prietors improvements are being rapidly made in most instances, the reverse being the case where they belong to small tradesmen or speculators. “ Being in a market town they vary much in size ' “ and construction. The accommodation is very ‘“‘ various. Water supply generally good. Being in “ the town many of the dwellings have no garden, “ and scant means of out-door convenience. “ The principal owners of cottage property are “ tradesmen, who have built tenements for the use of ‘ small holders, “ The rent varies, say from 2s. to 3s. 6d. per week, “ according whether any garden belongs to the * cottage.” ‘ x é n ny a nn aN ' 38. Foscorr, population, 96 ; acreage, 714. 38a. Several wattle and daub cottages. 386. Mrs. Bryant, husband a farm labourer, has 12s, per week.— We have four children; the eldest “ a boy of 10 goes to work, drives a plough, and gets “ 2s, a week. Next a boy of eight goes to, work “ crow-scaring, and gets 2s. Next, child four years “ old. Next a baby. Both elder boys were at school, “ and one of ’em will go again after hay-time. If “ Mr. Hall will keep him on, the eldest will go on at “ work. The boys can read and write a little. They “ go two nights a week to night school. My hus- “ band earns more than 12s. at piece work, such as “ wheat hoeing, bean hoeing, and hedge cutting, but “ T don’t ask for what he gets more than 12s. I “ never count on having more than the 12s. We “ pay 6d. a week rent, and have one very small “ bedroom.” 39. HILLEspEN, population, 1861, 251; acreage, 2,150. 39a. Mr. Thos. Barge, occupier, says, “ About IN AGRICULTURE (1867) COMMISSION :—EVIDENCE. “ half the cottages in this parish are newly built, with “ five rooms, good size, well ventilated, and drained ; large gardens, &c. The others are now in course of enlargement and repair. They all belong to one proprietor, the owner of most of the land in the “ parish. The rent is from 1d. 10s. to 32. per annum. “In some of the parishes in this district where the land and houses belong to many and different owners, the cottages are small and bad, and very little improvement is taking place ; on the contrary, where the parish belongs to a large landowner, in ** most cases, excellent dwellings for the labourers are being put up, and great improvements are in “ progress. “ The labourers wages are about 14s. per week ; other earnings very uncertain.” 40. LecKHAMPSTEAD, population, 1861, 482; acre- age, 2,522. 40a. Mr. Thos. Attwood, occupier, says, “The “ cottages in this parish (although many of them are old) are on the whole an average of the cottages in * other villages in this neighbourhood. They are “« well supplied with water, there are but very few that have not good gardens, and they mostly have “ outhouses, &c. A very large proportion of them belong to the landowners, and I can with safety say “ there are not three of the occupiers that are re- “ stricted in their dealings by their landlords. . J am under the impression that the average weekly rental “ would not exceed 1s. 2d. per week.” 41, Mar’s Moreton, population, 1861, 543; acreage, 1,260. ‘ 41a. Rev. M. W. Davies says, “ The cottages are “ badly constructed; many of them with but one “ room below and one above, and these of course ' & crowded ; the drainage. is imperfect ; the water supply deficient ; gardens are scarce ; privy accom~ “ modation extremely bad; rents low, though high “ enough for what the cottages are; ownership chiefly “ vested in the landowners. Considering the many «¢ drawbacks the morality and health of the parish are “ very fair.” 416. George Henderson, a farm labourer, living in one of a row of six old and very bad cottages (called Well More or Moor) quite unfit for human beings to live in, with a small room on ground floor and ditto above, has six children. ' Boy, 18, at work, gets 9s. per week. Girl, 15, making lace. Girl, 12, ditto. ; 8 younger girls. Ale. Girl, 12, Louisa Henderson.—< There is no « schoolmaster just now not for two or three months. « T cannot read nor write nor spell my own name.” 41d. Ellen Jones, aged 12 (Wellmore).—*“ I work “ at my pillow. I can’t read nor yet write. I go to ¢ school of a Sunday. I was at school a time, but I « didn’t learn much. There ain’t no school just now. « James Jones, my father, gets 11s. a week. Mother “ ig osier peeling. My eldest sister 15 is with her. « T’ve two sisters younger. None of us are at school. “ There ain’t never a school.” 4le. Mrs. Hands (husband a farm labourer, has three children) says, “He gets 12s. a week. He “ never gets great work. The eldest boy 10 works “ for a farmer; he gets 2s. 6d. per week. He went « +o school five years, but he didn’t improve much “ with his schooling.” a ‘ sn a 41f. Frank King, labourer.—“ 1 am digging gravel: “ for a poor man who has the road. He pays me 3s. “a day, from 6 a.m. till 45 p.m. We rest a little, « over an hour. I live in Maid’s Morton. Nearly ‘ all the houses have only one room. We pay ls. a “ week rent.” 41g. James Anderson, wife and four grandchildren, eldest a boy 19; second, ditto 15; pays 2. a year rent, says, “It’s a shocking place. My landlord ‘ wanted me to buy it ; I told him I would not have “ it ata gift.” ae 2. 531 41h. Thomas Jolly, 18.—Can read and write a Buckingham- little. 41i. John Jolly, 15.—Can read and write. school] four years ago. 41j. William Jolly, 12.—Can read and write a little. Gets 3s. a week driving plough. Was at school three weeks last winter. Left 42. SHausrong, population, 246; acreage, 1,320. 42a. The following account of the state of the cot- tages in Shalstone is copied from one of the articles before referred to, published in the “ Morning Star” in 1863, and represents very truly the state of the village as seen by the Assistant Commissioner in 1868 :— “ The village of Shalston is a gladsome contrast to the penury and suffering around. Here no old nor ill-conditioned cottages are to be seen. Nearly all have been rebuilt, all the old ones are well repaired, and all the new ones, built of brick, have four rooms, a pretty portico in front, wash-houses and out-houses, pump, well, and pigsty. A piece of well tilled garden is attached to each cottage, and plots of ground at cheap rates are available to each cottage.” 426. Sophia Greaves (single woman), working with another woman (married) picking twitch (or “switch ”), gets 8d.aday. “I come out in February, “ and work on in the field till Michaelmas, at any “ job, weeding corn, &e. I live in Water Stratford, * and work on this farm in Shalstone.” 42c. Wm. Parkins (an old man) says, “ And there’s another thing in this parish, we have never a public house, so the men can’t waste their wages. “ T’ve been out and about a good deal, and J think “ there is nothing helps a man to save more, nor not ‘“* having a chance to spend his 6d. or so of a Saturday “ night at a public house.” cc “ 43. THORNBOROUGH, population, 1861, 694; acreage, 2,530. 43a. Rev. Daniel Watkins, says of cottages, “ We ‘“« should be glad to have three bedrooms in each cot- “ tage occupied by a man and wife and children of ‘ different sexes, but with the present rate of wages “ the cottagers could ill afford to pay a higher rent. “ The water is good, and not deficient in quantity. “ Most cottages have gardens attached. Ownership “ very much divided; chief landowner has about 700 “ acres, and owns three or four cottages. The rents “ vary from 4/.to 2/2. 10s. We supply labour to “ Thornton and Buckingham.” 436. Mr Bell, occupies Coombe, says, “‘ I employ “ nobody under 10 years. I pay ordinary men 13s. ‘a week, and they have a good deal of piece-work “ at which they earn about 15s. per week. I have a “ brick yard, in which three boys of about 14 are “ employed; this farm belongs to me, and is well sup- “ plied with good cottages.” 43c. Mrs. Griffin, Coombe ; husband a farm labourer, has 12s, a week; occupies one of a block of three good brick and tile cottages, with 30 poles of garden at 31. a year. Mrs. Griffin says, “We have three “ children, the eldest, four years, goes a mile to school “ at Thornborough ; we get on pretty well considering “ bread is so dear, and haven’t anything to complain “ of.” 7 43d. Mrs: Clarke (husband a farm labourer, earn- ing 12s, a week), says, “she has four children : “ Girl 10 years old, at lace school. s a “Girl 7, » “Boy 6 is at day school. “Boy 2 at home.” The girl of 10 earns 1s. a week. “TI pay 8d. a week “ for the children at school” (meaning lace and day school) “we have hard work to get along, but we “ get along somehow, and I often say as how I would “ like to keep my girls at school, but how are we to “ Jive if they ain’t to work. My girl works 10 and * sometimes 11 hours a day, and it’s long sitting. “ The little one of 6 she grows thin on it, it don’t “ suit her sitting at the pillow so long.” , 3X shire, Mr. Culley. f. Buckingham. shire, Mr. Culley. f, 532 43e. Wm. Mundy, 13 years old, working for a farmer; can read, but can’t write; was at school a good many years ago: goes to Sunday school. 43f. Martha Howard, keeps a lace school. Girl, 13, can read, cannot write, goes to Sunday school. Girl, 12, can read a little. 12, can read, cannot write. » 12 » 99 ”? 12 ” ” 11, can read and write a little. ” 8 ”? ” 44, Tuornton, population, 111 ; acreage, 1,332. 44a, Mr. Macfarlane, land bailiff, says of the labourers, “I consider labour here dearer than in ** Oxfordshire, Northampton or Berks, and much “ dearer than in the south of Scotland, where one “ man is nearly equal to two of ours. Some men “ working for Mr. Cavendish are now earning 15s., “ 16s., and 17s. per week, hoeing beans, and mangold, “ &c., our beer allowance costs us about 3d. a year “ per man.” 446. Notr.—(This parish draws labourers from surrounding parishes.—G. C.) 45. TincEwick, population, 1861, 914; acreage, 2,072. 45a. Mr. R. P. Greaves, occupier, says of cottages, “ Construction, fair generally. Brick and slate with “ good drainage and ventilation ; in such a number ‘of cottages, there will be some exceptions, we have “ some miserable places run up on the waste years “ ago, now scarcely habitable, small rooms badly “ ventilated, containing in a few cases, large families. n x * Accommodation. Two bedrooms generally, water. “ supply good, mostly gardens, and sufficient out- “ houses. “ Ownership. Various, no large landowner pos- sessing any, no tradesmen pressing their tenants to “ deal with them. “ Rents moderate, from 3/. to 4/., including often good-sized garden.” NEWPORT PAGNELL UNION. 46.. BRaDWELL, population, 1861, 1,658; acreage, 891. 46a. W. G. Duncan, Esq., landowner, says, “ Our * cottages are fairly comfortable ; rooms are small, “ but a poor man objects to a large room, he says it “ is cold in winter. Ventilation and drainage good. « Accommodation generally sufficient, if they would “ not take lodgers; water supply deficient ; not many “ with gardens ; all with out-houses. Landowners “ have scarcely any houses. The houses have been “ built in rows by various persons buying plots of “ Jand and running up houses to induce the artizans “* from Wolverton to occupy them at a less rent than “at Wolverton, 14 miles off. Rent 2s. 6d. to 4s. « weekly. “ This parish is very peculiarly circumstanced. 20 years ago it was peopled by a purely agricultural “ population of about 340 inhabitants. But Wolver- ton station works increased so much, that labour “ was required there, and our labourers left farm “ work and took to labour at the workshops. Agri- “ cultural labour has been hard to get i the parish. « Just now, employment at Wolverton has decreased, “ consequently, we have plenty of labour for our “ farms, chiefly from the single men. The number “ of children of the agricultural labouring class in “ our school is very small. We have a very good “ school, with three teachers; charge to each scholar “ 2d. weekly, and we have had 62 children on the “ books, since Christmas 1867.” 47. Great BrickHILL, population, 1861, 590; acreage, 2,333. 47a. Mr. Charles Gilby, says of the cottages, “The accommodation; water supply, garden, out- “< houses, &c., generally good ; they belong to the “ landowner. oa “i ES a a na a EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS, AND WOMEN “ Rent, from 3/. to 41.” 476. Norz.—(As far as the Assistant Commissioner could see the cottage accommodation in this parish is well looked after.) 48. Lirtte BricKHILL, population, 1861, 423 ; acreage, 1,047. 48a. The Rev. T. P. Wiiliams, says of the cot- tages, “The rooms are for the most part small. “ Drainage tolerable, and water supply sufficient. “ Gardens not generally adjacent to cottages, but “ all have allotments of 20 poles in the immediate “ vicinity.” 486. Cory of Lerrer from Rev. T. P. Witiiams to G, Cutter, Esq., Horrabridge, Plymouth. June 8rd, 1868. SPEAKING generally, Little Brickhill may be considered well circumstanced as to the agricultural population. The farmers (five in number) are considerate people who do not desire to press unduly on their labourers, The labourers are sufficient for the requirements of the farmers (in point of mumber) and not in excess, The average of wages, except in harvest time, is about 11s, for an adult. Women and girls are never employed in agriculture, but seldom even in hay- making. Lace making and straw plaiting occupy much of: the time of the young girls who are not at school. Many of the older ones go off to Dunstable or to Luton as “bonnet sewers.” They do not, as a rule, affect domestic service. The labouring men of this part of Buckingham- shire generally, do not compare favourably with the labourers of other counties. They are not fond of hard work, and are fond of beer. The wives having been usually straw plaiters or bonnet sewers, know little about promoting the domestic comfort of their husbands, or of properly bringing up their children. am, Sir, Your obedient servant, T. P. Wittiams. 48c. Mrs. Ickford (husband farm labourer, has five children, eldest 11, four of them at school,) says, “If “ my girl (11) could earn anything she would be at “ work, but plaiting is so bad, she can’t. I like ’em ** to be at school, but they must work as soon as they “ can earn anything.” Str, 49. Broveuton, population, 1861, 155; acreage, 1,020. 49a. The Rev. J. W. Wing says of the cottages, “ One sitting room and a pantry below, and two to “ three bedrooms as above; one well for four houses. “ Garden about 15 poles. Outhouse should be “ farther from the dwelling, it now adjoins. Owner “ is the proprietor of the entire parish. Rent, 1s. per “* week.” 496. Extract of letter from the Rev. J. W. Wing to Geo. Cully, Esq.:—“