1 AMYER TIBRARY VENITAS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN || FROM THE LIBRARY OF Professor Karl Heinrich Rau OF THE University OF HEIDELBERG PRESENTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BY Mr. Philo Parsons OF DETROIT 1871 AH 10294 No. L-THOSE THAT WILL NOT VUGMISAN WORK. No. 37. SATURDAY AUG. 23, 1851. [PRICE THREEPENCE. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON 1 LABOUR AND THE ONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. THE Pages at the back of the Statistical Tables | but the most unfortunate feature in the case is, that inserted in the present Number are left blank for the purposes of binding. The following extracts from a specch recently delivered at a public meeting are here inserted, because Mr. Mayhew believes that they express very clearly and simply one of the great evils of the time-an over large machinery for the distri- bution of our products, and the puffing, pushing, and cheating necessarily arising therefrom. If the country be over populated, assuredly it is so with traders, rather than workers; and yet we never hear of schemes for shipping off some hundreds of them. That the distributor is a very useful element in the economy of every State there cannot be the least doubt, serving both consumer and producer; but an excess of such people is, perhaps, one of the greatest evils that can befall a nation. That there are most honourable men connected with trade Mr. Mayhew most readily admits, having in the course of his investigations met with many such, but that the majority are compelled-by the very excess of the class, and the consequent struggle to live-to resort to frauds, cheats, and chicanery that they in their consciences must de- spise, all experience goes to prove. | the public generally give credence to those who make the boldest assertions. As an illustration of this fact I would mention, that the parties who were lately fined by government for adulteration were, without exception, making the greatest pro- fessions of the purity and cheapness of their ar ticles, and of the fairness of their mode of doing business, and I may add that they were doing the largest retail trades, and receiving more patronage from the public than others who were less noisy but more honest; and the same view is borne out by the recent exposures in the Lancet-all the parties exposed are doing the largest trades, and they all make the greatest professions of the purity of their goods and the uprightness of their deal- ings. The object of these unscrupulous tradesmen is always to appear to be cheap; to maintain this appearance every article is adulterated that can be | without being easily detected, and they are markad at such prices that their more honest rivals cannot compete with them. They put ground rice with their white pepper; a composition called P. D., costing about one penny per lb., with their black pepper; chicory with their coffee; and potato flour with their sugar; tea comes to their hand ready adulterated with starch, gum, dirt, and paint. "Mr. Woodin said :-I shall endeavour to show Another trick resorted to, to gain an appearance the truc position which the class to which I be of cheapness, is to sell some article which the public long holds under competitive arrangements. As know the value of, at or below the cost price, and shopkeepers it is our province to distribute the pro- the public take it for granted that the person doing ductions of others- we give no new intrinsic value so is cheap in everything else. Goods sold in this to the articles that pass through our hands. Ie Calico is a way are called leading articles.' buy a stated quantity of goods for a given sum, leading article' with the draper; he sells this at and we sell a lesser quantity for the same sum- a halfpenny a yard less than the cost; and this the difference is our profit, on which we live; the enables him to charge many shillings and often interests of the distributor and the consumer are pounds more than the proper price for shawls and therefore opposed to each other, because it is the other articles that have no fixed standard of value. interest of the consumer to get as much as possible The grocer makes sugar his principal leading for his money, and of the distributor to give as article, because the public can pretty nearly tell its little as possible. Tradesmen are all well an are that value; he therefore sells it a halfpenny a pound their interests are opposed to that of their cus- less than it cost him. He thereby endeavours to tomers—they know very well that their only object lead purchasers to the conclusion that he is equally in going into business is to get as much as they can cheap in everything else if he sells cheap sugar for themselves, to give as little as possible to the they think he must also sell cheap tca. producer for what they buy, and to take as much called in the trade keeping a sugar trap to catch as they can from the consumer for what they sell, tea customers tea customers; but tea is a thing the public can- and the more they can take in this way, the nearer not so easily tell the value of, and in the sale of they are to their ultimatum-the realization of a this article the grocer amply compensates himself fortune, and their retirement from business. This for his losses in sugar. By these and similar ne- is the real and only object of the whole class; but furious practices he attains his object; he gets a in order to obtain this object in the most speedy name for cheapness, gils plenty of patronage, and and certain manner, and at the same time to con- speedily makes a fortune." ceal it as much as possible from the public, they be lost sight of that the distributor adds nothing to assume to be actuated by principles of the purest the wealth of the community, but subtracts from it; philanthropy-they enter into business for the sole consequently there ought to be no more employed in purpose of benefiting the community; Pro bono that way than are sufficient to perform the duty publico' is their motto-their own interest is only only efficiently. After due consideration, I am of opi- a matter of secondary consideration. Thus the ion that one-tenth of the present persons so em- tradesman pretends to one thing, and means to do ployed are sufficient for that purpose; the other and does do something very different. To ensure nine-tenths are misapplying their labour, or at success it is necessary to be a good story-teller.' least their time, and the sooner that labour is di- It is an acknowledged fact, that the men making rected to productive employment, the better it will the greatest professions and the most noise are the be for themselves and for society." most dishonest, and the greatest cheats in trade, | * * This is It must not Mr. Vansittart Neale said :-" It had been cal- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. INTRODUCTION. I ENTER upon this part of my subject with a deep sense of the misery, the vice, the ignorance, and the want that encompass us on every side-I enter upon it after much grave attention to the subject, observing closely, reflecting patiently, and generaliz- ing cautiously upon the phenomena and causes of the vice and crime of this city-I enter upon it after a thoughtful study of the habits and character of the "outcast class generally-I enter upon it, moreover, not only as forming an integral and most important part of the task I have imposed upon myself, but from a wish to divest the public mind of certain "idols" of the plat- form and conventicle-"idols" peculiar to our own time, and unknown to the great Father of the inductive philosophy-and "idols," too, that appear to me greatly to obstruct a proper understanding of the subject. Further, I am led to believe that I can contribute some new facts concerning the physics and economy of vice and crime generally, that will not only make the solution of the social problem more easy to us, but, setting more plainly before us some of its latent causes, make us look with more pity and less anger on those who want the fortitude to resist their influence; and induce us, or at least the more earnest among us, to apply ourselves steadfastly to the removal or alleviation of those social evils that appear to create so large a pro- portion of the vice and crime that we seek by punishment to prevent. Such are the ultimate objects of my present labours: the result of them is given to the world with an earnest desire to better the condition of the wretched social outcasts of whom I have now to treat, and to contribute, if possible, my mite of good towards the common weal. But though such be my ultimate object, let me here confess that my immediate aim is the elimination of the truth; without this, of course, all other principles must be sheer sentimentality-sentiments being, to my mind, opinions engendered by the feelings rather than the judgment. The attainment of the truth, then, will be my primary aim; but by the truth, I wish it to be understood, I mean something more than the bare facts. Facts, according to my ideas, are merely the elements of truths, and not the truths themselves; of all mat- ters there are none so utterly useless by themselves as your mere matters of fact. A fact, so long as it remains an isolated fact, is a dull, dead, uninformed thing; no object nor event by itself can possibly give us any knowledge, we must compare it with some other, even to distinguish it; and it is the distinctive quality thus developed that constitutes the essence of a thing-that is to say, the point by which we cognize and recognise it when again presented to us. A fact must be assimilated with, or dis- criminated from, some other fact or facts, in order to be raised to the dignity of a truth, and made to convey the least know- ledge to the mind. To say, for instance, that in the year 1850 there were 26,813 criminal offenders in England and Wales, is merely to oppress the brain with the record of a fact that, per se, is so much mental lumber. This is the very mum- mery of statistics; of what rational good can such information by itself be to any person? who can tell whether the num- ber of offenders in that year be large or B 2 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. L small, unless they compare it with the number of some other year, or in some other country? but to do this will require another fact, and even then this second fact can give us but little real know- ledge. It may teach us, perhaps, that the past year was more or less criminal than some other year, or that the people of this country, in that year, were more or less disposed to the infraction of the laws than some other people abroad; still, what will all this avail us? If the year which we select to contrast criminally with that of 1850 be not itself compared with other years, how are we to know whether the number of criminals appertaining to it be above or below the average? or, in other words, how can the one be made a measure of the other? round our sun, and of all other suns round the centre of the universe; in fine, it is true not of one thing merely, but of every material object in the entire range of creation. There are, of course, two methods of dealing philosophically with every subject -deductively and inductively. We may either proceed from principles to facts, or recede from facts to principles. The one explains, the other investigates; the former applies known general rules to the com- prehension of particular phenomena, and the latter classifies the particular pheno- mena, so that we may ultimately come to comprehend their unknown general rules. The deductive method is the mode of using knowledge, and the inductive method the mode of acquiring it. In a subject like the crime and vice of the metropolis, and the country in general, of which so little is known of which there are so many facts, but so little com- prehension-it is evident that we must seek by induction, that is to say, by a careful classification of the known phe- nomena, to render the matter more intel- at a comprehensive knowledge of its ante- cedents, consequences, and concomitants, contemplate as large a number of facts as possible in as many different relations as the statistical records of the country will admit of our doing. With this brief preamble I will proceed to treat generally of the class that will not work, and then particularly of that portion of them termed prostitutes. But, first, who are those that will work, and who those that will not work? the primary point to be evolved. This is To give the least mental value to facts, therefore, we must generalize them, that is to say, we must contemplate them in con- nection with other facts, and so discover their agreements and differences, their an- tecedents, concomitants, and consequences. It is true we may frame erroneous and defective theories in so doing; we may believe things which are similar in appear-ligible; in fine, we must, in order to arrive ance to be similar in their powers and properties also; we may distinguish be- tween things having no real difference; we may mistake concomitant events for consequences; we may generalize with too few particulars, and hastily infer that to be common to all which is but the special attribute of a limited number; neverthe- less, if theory may occasionally teach us wrongly, facts without theory or gene- ralization cannot possibly teach us at all. What the process of digestion is to food, that of generalizing is to fact; for as it is by the assimilation of the substances we eat with the elements of our bodies that OF THE WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS. our limbs are enlarged and our whole. frames strengthened, so is it by associating THE essential quality of an animal is that perception with perception in our brains it seeks its own living, whereas a vegetable that our intellect becomes at once ex- has its living brought to it. An animal panded and invigorated. Contrary to the cannot stick its feet in the ground and vulgar notion, theory, that is to say, theory suck up the inorganic elements of its body in its true Baconian sense, is not opposed from the soil, nor drink in the organic to fact, but consists rather of a large col- elements from the atmosphere. The leaves lection of facts; it is not true of this or of plants are not only their lungs but their that thing alone, but of all things belong-stomachs. As they breathe they acquire ing to the same class-in a word, it consists not of one fact but an infinity. The theory of gravitation, for instance, expresses not only what occurs when a stone falls to the earth, but when every other body does the same thing; it expresses, moreover, what takes place in the revolution of the moon round our planet, and in the revolution of our planet and of all the other planets food and strength, but as animals breathe they gradually waste away. The carbon which is secreted by the process of respira- tion in the vegetable is excreted by the very same process in the animal. Hence a fresh supply of carbonaceous matter must be sought after and obtained at frequent intervals, in order to repair the continual waste of animal life. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 3 co But in the act of seeking for substances fitted to replace that which is lost in re- spiration, nerves must be excited and muscles moved; and recent discoveries have shown that such excitation and mo- tion are attended with decomposition of the organs in which they occur. Muscular action gives rise to the destruction of mus- cular tissue, nervous action to a change in the nervous matter; and this destruction and decomposition necessarily involve a fresh supply of nitrogenous matter, in order that the loss may be repaired. firm, the crippled, and the maimed-the old and the young. But a third, and a more extensive class, still remains to be particularized. The members of every community may be divided into the energetic and the an-ergetic; that is to say, into the hardworking and the non-working, the industrious and the indolent classes; the distinguishing cha- racteristic of the anergetic being the ex- treme irksomeness of all labour to them, and their consequent indisposition to work for their subsistence. Now, in the cir- cumstances above enumerated, we have three capital causes why, in every State, a certain portion of the community must derive their subsistence from the exertions of the rest; the first proceeds from some phy- Now a tree, being inactive, has little or no waste. All the food that it obtains goes to the invigoration of its frame; not one atom is destroyed in seeking more: but the essential condition of animal life is muscu- lar action; the essential condition of mus-sical defect, as in the case of the old and cular action is the destruction of muscular tissue; and the essential condition of the destruction of muscular tissue is a supply of food fitted for the reformation of it, or death. It is impossible for an animal-like a vegetable-to stand still and not destroy. If the limbs are not moving, the heart is beating, the lungs playing, the bosom heav- ing. Hence an animal, in order to continue its existence, must obtain its subsistence either by its own exertions or by those of others-in a word, it must be autobious or allobious. The procuration of sustenance, then, is the necessary condition of animal life, and con- stitutes the sole apparent reason for the addition of the locomotive apparatus to the vegetative functions of sentient nature; but the faculties of comparison and volition have been further added to the animal nature of Man, in order to enable him, among other things, the better to gratify his wants to give him such a mastery over the elements of material nature, that he may force the external world the more readily to contribute to his support. Hence the derangement of either one of those func- tions must degrade the human being-as regards his means of sustenance-to the level of the brute. If his intellect be im- paired, and the faculty of perceiving "the fitness of things" be consequently lost to him—or, this being sound, if the power of moving his muscles in compliance with his will be deficient-then the individual be- comes no longer capable, like his fellows, of continuing his existence by his own exertions. Hence, in every state, we have two ex- tensive causes of allobiism, or living by the labour of others; the one intellectual, as in the case of lunatics and idiots, and the other physical, as in the case of the in- the young, the super-annuated and the sub- annuated, the crippled and the maimed; the second from some intellectual defect, as in the case of lunatics and idiots; and the third from some moral defect, as in the case of the indolent, the vagrant, the profes- sional mendicant, and the criminal. In all civilized countries, there will necessarily be a greater or less number of human parasites living on the sustenance of their fellows. The industrious must labour to support the lazy, and the sane to keep the insane, and the able-bodied to maintain the infirm. Still, to complete the social fabric, another class requires to be specified. As yet, regard has been paid only to those who must needs labour for their living, or who, in default of so doing, must prey on the proceeds of the industry of their more active or more stalwart brethren. There is, however, in all civilized society, a farther portion of the people distinct from either of those above mentioned, who, being already provided—no matter how-with a sufficient stock of sustenance, or what will exchange for such, have no occasion to toil for an additional supply. Hence all society would appear to ar- range itself into four different classes :- I. THOSE THAT WILL WORK. II. THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK. III. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. IV. THOSE THAT NEED NOT WORK. Under one or other section of this quad- ruple division, every member, not only of our community, but of every other civilized State, must necessarily be included; the rich, the poor, the industrious, the idle, the honest, the dishonest, the virtuous, and the vicious-each and all must be comprised therein. 4 LONDON LABOUR AND THE London poor. Let me now proceed specially to treat of each of these classes-to distribute under one or other of these four categories the diverse modes of living peculiar to the members of our own community, and so to enunciate, for the first time, the natural history, as it were, of the industry and idleness of Great Britain in the nineteenth century. It is no easy matter, however, to classify the different kinds of labour scientifically. To arrange the several varieties of work into "orders," and to group the manifold species of arts under a few comprehensive genera-so that the mind may grasp the whole at one effort-is a task of a most perplexing character. Moreover, the first attempt to bring any number of diverse phenoinena within the rules of logical divi- | sion is not only a matter of considerable difficulty, but one, unfortunately, that is generally unsuccessful. It is impossible, however, to proceed with the present in quiry without making some attempt at sys- tematic arrangement; for of all scientific processes, the classification of the various phenomena, in connection with a given subject, is perhaps the most important; indeed, if we consider that the function of cognition is essentially discriminative, it is evident, that without distinguishing between one object and another, there can be no knowledge, nor, indeed, any percep- tion. Even as the seizing of a particular difference causes the mind to apprehend the | special character of an object, so does the discovery of the agreements and differences among the several phenomena of a subject cnable the understanding to comprehend it. What the generalization of events is to the ascertainment of natural laws, the gene- ralization of things is to the discovery of natural systems. But classification is no But classification is no less dangerous than it is important to science; for in precisely the same propor- tion as a correct grouping of objects into genera and species, orders and varietics, expands and assists our understanding, so does any erroneous arrangement cripple and retard all true knowledge. The re- duction of all external substances into four elements by the ancients-earth, air, fire, and water-perhaps did more to ob- struct the progress of chemical science than even a prohibition of the study could have effected. But the branches of industry are so multifarious, the divisions of labour so minute and manifold, that it seems at first almost impossible to reduce them to any system. Morcover, the crude generaliza- tions expressed in the names of the several arts, render the subject still more perplexing. Some kinds of workmen, for example, are called after the articles they make-as sad- dlers, hatters, boot-makers, dress-makers, breeches-makers, stay-makers, lace-makers, button-makers, glovers, cabinet-makers, artificial-flower-makers,ship-builders, organ- builders, boat-builders, nailers, pin-makers, basket-makers, pump-makers, clock and watch makers, wheel-wrights, ship-wrights, and so forth. Some operatives, on the other hand, take their names not from what they make, but from the kind of work they perform. Hence we have carvers, joiners, bricklayers, weav- ers, knitters, engravers, embroiderers, tan- ners, curriers, bleachers, thatchers, lime- burners, glass-blowers, seamstresses, assay- ers, refiners, embossers, chasers, painters, paper-hangers, printers, book-binders, cab- drivers, fishermen, graziers, and so on. Other artizans, again, are styled after the materials upon which they work, such as tinmen, jewellers, lapidaries, goldsmiths, braziers, plumbers, pewterers, glaziers, &c. &c. And lastly, a few operatives are named after the tools they use; thus we have ploughmen, sawyers, and needlewomen. But these divisions, it is evident, are as unscientific as they are arbitrary; nor would it be possible, by adopting such a classification, to arrive at any practical result. Now, I had hoped to have derived some little assistance in my attempt to reduce the several varieties of work to system from the arrangement of the products of industry and art at "the Great Exhibition." I knew, however, that the point of classification had proved the great stumbling block to the French Industrial Exhibitions. In the Expo- sition of the Arts and Manufactures of France in 1806, for instance, M. Costaz adopted a topographical arrangement, according to the departments of the kingdom whence the specimens were sent. In 1819, again, find- ing the previous arrangement conveyed little or no knowledge, depending, as it did, on the mere local association of the places of manufacture, the same philo- sopher attempted to classify all arts into a sort of natural system, but the separate divisions amounted to thirty-nine, and were found to be confused and inconve- nient. In 1827 M. Payon adopted a classification into five great divisions, ar- ranging the arts according as they are chemical, mechanical, physical, economical, or "miscellaneous" in their nature. It was found, however, in practice, that two, or even three, of these characteristics often belonged to the same manufacture. In LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 5 1834 M. Dupin proposed a classification that was found to work better than any which preceded it. He viewed man as a locomotive animal, a clothed animal, a domiciled animal, &c., and thus tracing him through his various daily wants and employments, he arrived at a classification in which all arts are placed under nine headings, according as they contribute to the alimentary, sanitary, vestiary, domi- ciliary, locomotive, sensitive, intellectual, preparative, or social tendencies of man. In 1844 and 1849 attempts were made towards an eclectic combination of two or three of the above-mentioned systems, but it does not appear that the latter arrange- ments presented any marked advantages. Now, with all the experience of the French nation to guide us, I naturally expected that especial attention would be directed towards the point of classifica- tion with us, and that a technological system would be propounded, which would be found at least an improvement on the bungling systems of the French. It must be confessed, however, that no nation could possibly have stultified itself so egregiously as we have done in this respect. Never was there anything half so puerile as the classification of the works of industry in our own Exhibition ! But this comes of the patronage of Princes; for we are told that at one of the earliest meetings at Buckingham Palace his Royal Highness propounded the system of classification according to which the works of industry were to be arranged. The published minutes of the meeting on the 30th of June, 1849, inform us— "His Royal Highness communicated his views regarding the formation of a Great Collection of Works of Industry and Art in London in 1851, for the purposes of ex- hibition, and of competition and encourage- ment. His Royal Highness considered that such a collection and exhibition should consist of the following divisions :- Raw Materials. Machinery and Mechanical Inventions. Manufactures. Sculpture and Plastic Art generally." Now, were it possible for monarchs to do with natural laws as with social ones, namely, to blow a trumpet and declaring le roi le veut," to have their will pass into one of the statutes of creation, it might be advantageous to science that Princes should seek to lay down orders of arrange- ment and propound systems of classification. But seeing that Science is as pure a repub- lic as Letters, and that there are no "High- nesses in philosophy-for if there be any "" aristocracy at all in such matters, it is at it is least an aristocracy of intellect rather an injury than a benefit that those who are high in authority should interfere in these affairs at all; since, from the very circumstances of their position it is utterly impossible for them to arrive at anything more than the merest surface knowledge on such subjects. The influence that their mere "authority" has over men's minds is directly opposed to the perception of truth, preventing that free and independent exercise of the intellect from which alone all discovery and knowledge can proceed. Judging the quadruple arrangement of the Great Exhibition by the laws of logical division, we find that the three classes-Raw Materials, Machinery, and Manufactures- which refer more particularly to the Works of Industry, are neither distinct nor do they include the whole. What is a raw material, and what a manufacture? It is from the difficulty of distinguishing between these two conditions that leather is placed under Manufactures, and steel under Raw Materials-though surely steel is iron plus carbon, and leather skin plus tannin; so that, technologically considered, there is no difference between them. If by the term raw material is meant some natural product in its crude state, then it is evident that "Geological maps, plans, and sections; prussiate of potash, and other mixed che- mical manufactures; sulphuric, muriatic, nitric, and other acids; medicinal tinctures, cod liver oil, dried fruits, fermented liquors and spirits, preserved meats, portable soups, glue, and the alloys cannot possibly rank as raw materials, though one and all of these articles are to be found so sified at the Great Exhibition; but if the meaning of a raw material tended to any product which constitutes the substance to be operated upon in an industrial art, then the answer is that leather, which is the material of shoes and harness, is no more a manufacture than steel, which is placed among the raw materials, because forming the con- stituent substance of cutlery and tools. So interlinked are the various arts and manufactures, that what is the product of one process of industry is the material of another-thus, yarn is the product of spinning, and the material of weaving, and in the same manner the cloth, which is the product of weaving, becomes the material of tailoring. бы "clas- be ex- But a still greater blunder than the non- distinction between products and materials lies in the confounding of processes with products. In an Industrial Exhibition to 1 6 LONDON LABOUr and the loNDON POOR. reserve no special place for the processes of industry is very much like the play of Hamlet with the part of Hamlet omitted; and yet it is evident that, in the quadruple arrangement before mentioned, those most important industrial operations which con- sist merely in arriving at the same result by simpler means-as, for instance, the hot blast in metallurgical operations-can find no distinct expression. The consequence is that methods of work are arranged under the same head as the work itself; and the "Executive" have been obliged to group under the first subdivision of Raw Materials the following inconsistent jumble-Salt deposits; ventilation; safety lamps and other methods of lighting; me- thods of lowering and raising miners, and draining; methods of roasting, smelting, or otherwise reducing ores; while under the second subdivision of Raw Materials chemical and pharmaceutical processes and products are indiscriminately confounded. Another most important defect is the omission of all mention of those industrial processes which have no special or distinct products of their own, but which are rather engaged in adding to the beauty or dura- bility of others; as, for instance, the bleach- ing of some textile fabrics, the embroider- ing of others, the dyeing and printing of others; the binding of books; the cutting of glass; the painting of china, &c. From the want of an express division for this large portion of our industrial arts, there is a jumbling and a bungling throughout the whole arrangement. Under the head of manufactures are grouped printing and bookbinding, the "dyeing of woollen, cot- ton, and linen goods," "embroidery, fancy, and industrial work," the cutting and en- graving of glass; and, lastly, the art of "decoration generally," including mental, coloured decoration," and the "imi- tations of woods, marbles, &c.,"—though surely these are one and all additions to manufactures rather than manufactures themselves. Indeed, a more extraordinary and unscientific hotch-potch than the en- tire arrangement has never been submitted to public criticism and public ridicule. orna- Amid all this confusion and perplexity, then, how are we to proceed? Why, we must direct our attention to some more judicious and more experienced guide. In such matters, at least, as the Exposition of the Science of Labour, it is clear that we must "put not our trust in princes." That Prince Albert has conferred a great boon on the country in the establishment of the Great Exhibition (for it is due not only to his patronage but to his own per- sonal exertions), no unprejudiced mind can for a moment doubt; and that he has, ever since his first coming among us, filled a most delicate office in the State in a highly decorous and commendable manner, avoid- ing all political partizanship, and being ever ready to give the influence of his patronage, and, indeed, co-operation, to anything that appeared to promise an ame- lioration of the condition of the working classes of this country, I am most glad to have it in my power to bear witness; but that, because of this, we should pin our faith to a "hasty generalization" propounded by him, would be to render ourselves at once silly and servile. If, with the view of obtaining some more precise information concerning the several branches of industry, we turn our attention to the Government analysis of the different modes of employment among the people, we shall find that for all purposes of a scientific or definite character the Occupa- tion Abstract of the Census of this country is comparatively useless. Previous to 1841, the sole attempt made at generalization was the division of the entire industrial community into three orders, viz. :— I. Those employed in Agriculture. 1. Agricultural Occupiers. a. Employing Labourers. 6. Not employing Labourers. 2. Agricultural Labourers. II. Those employed in Manufactures. 1. Employed in Manufactures. III. 2. Employed in making Manufacturing Machinery. All other Classes. 1. Employed in Retail Trade or in Handicraft, as Masters or Work- men. 2. Capitalists, Bankers, Professional, and other educated men. 3. Labourers employed in labour not Agricultural-as Miners, Quar- riers, Fishermen, Porters, &c. 4. Male Servants. 5. Other Males, 20 years of age. The defects of this arrangement must be self-evident to all who have paid the least attention to economical science. It offends against both the laws of logical division, the parts being neither distinct nor equal to the whole. In the first place, what is a manufacturer? and how is such an one to be distinguished from one employed in handicraft? How do the workers in metal, as the "tin manufacturers" (all branches), "lead manufacturers" (all branches), iron manufacturers, who are classed under the head of manufacturers, differ, in an econo- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Dimensions. TABLE SHOWING THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN 1851. COUNTIES. Number Square Statute Miles. Acres. Number of Inhabited Houses. of Uninha- bited Houses. Number of Building. Houses Houses. Total Total Number Number of of Houses, 1851. Ilouses, 1841. Increase of Houses per cent., 1841-51. Malcs. Population, 1851. Total Total Females. Population, Population, 1851. 1841. Population Increase of per cent., 1841-51. No. of Per- Density. Bedford 465 297,632 25,694 *676 126 26,496 22,877 15.8 62,420 67,369 129,789 112,378 16 43.5 Berks 741 473,920 39,462 1,563 211 41,236 39,650 4.0 99,227 99,927 199,154 189,227 5 2.3 41.7 2.4 11.5 11.2 5.1 5.0 Bucks 725 463,880 29,217 1,103 89 30,409 28,860 5'4 70,784 72,886 143,670 138,248 4 31.3 3.2 15.2 4.9 Cambridge 838 536,313 38,773 1,777 204 40,754 35,799 13.8 95,505 Chester 1014 649,050 79,849 4,248 756 84,853 75,103 13.0 206,715 96,351 216,723 191,856 169,638 13 35.8 2.8 13.1 4.9 423,438 368,115 15 Cornwall 1336 854,770 69,214 4,528 353 73,095 71,913 1.6 171,979 184,683 356,662 343,265 Cumberland 1515 969,490 36,771 1,531 238 38,540 37,160 3.7 96,106 99,381 195,487 177,807 Derby 1036 663,180 52,482 2,411 423 55,316 49,477 1.2 129,379 131,328 260,707 239,791 Devon 2557 1,636,450 99,104 6,016 765 105,885 102,424 3.4 271,579 300,628 572,207 534,883 Dorset 980 627,220 34,771 1,554 218 36,543 35,400 3.2 85,816 91,781 177,597 167,689 Durham 1062 679,530 68,989 3,030 595 72,614 61,940 17.2 206,666 204,866 411,532 325,854 Essex 1530 979,000 68,383 3,353 364 72,100 65,570 100 172,161 171,755 343,916 320,605 Gloucester 1235 790,470 78,385 4,961 3.93 83,739 79,953 4.7 198,122 221,353 419,475 395,533 Hereford 850 543,800 20,453 983 69 21,505 21,119 1.8 49,694 49,418 99,112 96,515 Hertford 626 400.350 33,954 1,189 214 35,357 32,687 8-2 86,331 87,632 173,963 162,394 Hunts 379 242,250 12,472 641 62 13,175 11,676 12.8 29,984 30,336 60,320 55,565 Kent 1519 + 972,240 109,386 5,516 1290 115,192 101,717 13.3 308,115 311,092 619,207 Lancaster 1746 1,117,260 356,436 17,453 3470 377,359 322,148 17.1 1,005,627 1,058,286 2,063,913 Leicester 799 511,340 49,968 1,599 198 51,765 49,470 4.6 115,295 119,643 Lincoln 2600 1,663,850 79,667 3,394 579 83,640 74,138 12.8 201,027 199,239 234,938 400,266 540,275 1,696,377 220,263 356,226 22 Middlesex 280 179,590 242,798 12,213 3276 258,287 222,443 16.1 885,614 | 1,010,096 1,895,710 1,582,538 Monmouth 507 324,310 32,901 1,473 183 34,557 30,099 4.8 92,095 85,070 177,165 150,544 Norfolk 2019 1,292,300 91,143 3,312 449 94,904 88,378 7.4 210,360 223,443 433,803 404,971 Northampton 1011 646,810 43,945 1,478 238 45,661 42,358 7.8 106,533 107,251 213,784 198,518 ~~~~~\BFo-wavKaaoõpi 10 65.2 41.7 2.4 20.0 5.0 25.1 1.5 76 5.3 11.6 5.2 5.3 40.0 2.5 11.9 5.0 34.5 2.9 15.4 5'7 28.6 3.5 17.1 5.1 26 62.5 1.6 9.3 5.9 34.5 2.9 13.5 5:0 53.0 1.9 9.4 5.3 18.2 5.5 25.3 4.8 43.5 2.3 11.3 5'1 25.0 4:0 18.3 4.8 63.6 16 8.4 5*7 200.0 ⚫5 2.9 5.8 45.4 2.2 9.9 4.7 12 23.8 4.2 19.9 5.0 20 1059.0 ⚫09 •7 7.9 55.5 1.8 9.3 5'4 7 33.3 3.0 13.6 4.8 33.3 3.0 14'1 4.9 Northumberland 1821 1,165,430 47,509 2,060 384 49,953 55,337 10*8* 149,158 154,377 303,535 265,636 13 25.6 3.9 23.3 6.3 Nottingham 822 525,800 59,427 1,481 267 61,175 57,611 6.2 144,428 150,010 294,438 270,535 9 55.5 1.8 8.6 5'0 Oxford 730 467,230 34,922 1,323 105 36,350 34,151 6'4 85,449 84,837 170,286 163,216 4 37.0 2.7 12.8 4.9 Rutland 152 97,500 4,961 153 18 5,132 4,899 4.8 Salop 1351 864,360 48,842 2,184 112 51,138 50,131 2.0 12.270 122,022 122,997 12,002 24,272 23,151 5 25.0 4:0 19.0 4.9 245,019 241,685 1 28.6 3.5 16.9 5.0 Somerset 1606 1,028,090 87,776 5,090 396 93,252 90,947 2.6 216,716 239,521 456,237 448,793 2 43.5 2.3 11.0 5*2 Southampton 1591 1,018,550 74,588 3,471 617 78,676 69,807 12.7 199,834 202,199 402,033 348,298 13 38.4 2.6 12.9 5.3 Stafford 1150 736,290 120,501 4,526 962 125,989 107,941 16 7 320,394 310,112 630,506 528,867 20 83.3 1.2 5.8 5*2 Suffolk 1436 918,760 69,479 3,098 424 73,001 Surrey 711 474,480 100,453 5,717 1663 116,038 67,050 101,121 8.9 15 6 165,267 325,155 170,724 335,991 314,467 7 37.0 2.7 12.5 4'8 359,650 684,805 586,816 17 144.0 *7 4:0 6.3 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Sussex 1419 907.920 59,308 2,220 609 62,137 58,506 6.2 166,828 172,600 339,428 302,081 12 Warwick 887 567,930 98,323 4,609 977 103,909 90,868 14:4 235,263 244,716 479,979 408,814 18 Westmorland 759 485,990 11,247 530 91 11,871 11,783 0.8 29,064 29,316 58,390 56,609 Wilts 1356 8,060 49,061 2,223 171 51,455 49,918 3.1 118,839 122,164 241,003 242,772 0.7 Worcester 718 9,710 52,055 2,753 362 55,170 49,371 11.8 126,739 132,023 258,762 230,387 13 + York 5733 3,069,510 358,694 16,469 3244 378,417 341,147 10.9 Travelling North Wales South Wales 3194 4231 2,044,160 83,091 2,707,840 119,507 3,720 5,269 522 87,333 844 125,620 85,847 115,822 826,845 901,922 8.5 200,538 203,622 1.7 300,645 306,851 1,788,767 1,582,977 20*7** 37°0 2.7 14.6 5.7 83.3 1.2 *54 4.9 3 12.0 8.3 40.9 5.2 27.7 3.6 16.8 4.9 55.5 1.8 8.5 5.0 13 49.7 2.5 9-7 49 5,016 404,160 389,106 4 19. 5.1 23.2 4.9 607,496 528,849 14 22.2 4.5 21.5 5'1 TOTAL ENGLAND AND AND WALES FOR 57,067 36,522,615 | 3,280,961 152,898 26,534 13,460,393 3,144,626 10.0 8,762,588 9,160,180 17,922,768 15,884,201 13 49.7 2.0 10.5 5'5 * In 1841 Flats were returned in Northumberland as separate Houses: this accounts for the decrease in 1851. LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THE DENSITY OF THEIR POPULATION, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER NUMBER OF PERSONS TO EVERY 100 ACRES. Counties above the Average. COMPARISON OF THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN 1841 AND 1851. 1811. | 1851. 1841. 1851. Agricultural Counties. Lincoln.. 21.7 23.8 ·· • • Mining Counties. Middlesex 1059-0 Counties below the Average. Leicester Rutland 22.7 25.0 Durham 47.6 62.5 Huntingdon 250 25.0 Cornwall 41.6 41.7 45.4 • Cambridge 30.3 35.8 Lancaster 200 0 Bedford 43.5 Essex.. 35.7 34.5 D Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counties. Surrey 144.0 Hertford 43'5 Sussex 32 2 37.0 Derby 41.6 40.0 Stafford 83.3 Somerset. • 48.5 Hereford 20.8 18-2 Stafford 71.4 83.3 York, West Riding 83.3 Berks • · • • 41.7 Chester 65.2 Cornwall. 41.7 Agricultural and Submanufacturing Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties. Kent.... 63.6 Derby • 40:0 Counties. Shropshire 28.5 28.6 Durham 62.5 Southampton 38.4 Westmorland 11.6 12.0 • • + North Wales 19 3 19.6 Worcester 55.5 Oxford. 37.0 Norfolk 32.2 33.3 South Wales 19-0 22.2 · • → Warwick 83.3 Suffolk · d ▼ 37.0 Suffolk 33.3 37.0 Nottingham 55.5 Sussex 37.0 · Hertford 40.0 43.5 Monmouth. 55.5 Cambridge 35.8 Bedford 37.0 43.5 Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties. Northumberland 21.2 25.6 Gloucester 53.0 Devon 34.5 Buckingham 33.3 31.3 Cumberland 18:51 20.0 Average for England and Essex 34.5 Northampton 31.2 33.3 · Monmouth 43.0 55.5 Wales 49.7 Norfolk 33.3 Oxford 34.4 37.0 • + Northampton 33.3 Berks.. York, East Riding • • 33.3 Hants. Bucks 31.3 Wilts.. 34.4 41.7 38.4 47.6 30.3 27.7 Metropolitan County. Middlesex 1000 0,1059-0 Dorset 28-6 Dorset 27.7 28.6 Sub-Metropolitan Counties. Shropshire 28.6 Somerset 41.6 43.5 • Wilts 27.7 Devon 32.2 34.5 Surrey Kent 125.0 1440 55.5 63.6 Northumberland • 25'6 Huntingdon 25.0 Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing Rutland 25.0 County. Lincoln 23.8 + • Gloucester 55.5 26.1 South Wales 22.2 Cumberland 20.0 Manufacturing Counties. North Wales 19.6 Lancaster 166 6 2000 Hereford 18.2 Yorkshire York, North Riding 15.2 Chester · Westmorland 12.0 Nottingham 42.6 48.7 58.8 65.2 47.6 55'5 Leicester Warwick Worcester. 43.0 45'4 71.4 83.3 52.6 55.5 NOTE. An Agricultural county has more than 10 pcr cent., and a Sub-Agricultural county less than 10 per cent. of its population employed in agriculture. A Manufacturing county has more than 15 per cent., and a Sub-Manufacturing county less than 15 per cent. of its population employed in manufacture. A Mining county has more than 5 per cent., and a Sub-Mining county less than 5 per cent. of its popula- tion employed in mining. ļ Cornwall'417 MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO EVERY 100 ACRES; OR THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION Northumberland 25.6 IN EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES IN 1851. ་ཀ Cumberland 200 Durham 625 Mestmorland 12:0 York 48'7 ***The counties printed black are those in which the Population is above the average density. The counties left white are those in which the Po- pulation is below the ave- age density. The average has been calculated from the last returns of the Registrar-General. Lancaster 200'0 North Wales 196 Chester Derby ·65*2 400 South Wales 222 Nottingham 55:5 Salop 286 Stofford 833 Leicester 4-154- Worcester Warwick 55'5 23.3 Wertford 182 Rullana 33.3 250 Northampton Lincoln. 258 Norfolk 33'3 Buckingham 313 Bedford 43.5 Hertford Essex345 435 Huntingdon 25'0 Cambridge 35 Suffolk 370 Monia oulla 55-5 Somerset 435 Devon 345 Oxfords Gloucester 370 530 Wilts 277 Dorset 286 Berks 417 Harls 984 Middlesex 1059* Surrey 1440 Sussex370 Kent 676 MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENDERS TO EVERY 10,000 OF THE POPULATION; OR THE INTENSITY OF THE CRIMINALITY IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Narthumberland 82 Durham 78 Cumberland 71 North Wales 7'2 South Wales 84- Monmouth Glouceste c 178 26*1 12'0 Westmorland 87 Yorkshire 714 Lancaster 8:5 Chester Derby 226 10'5 Nottingham 8.11 Salop 149 Stafford Leicester 179 772 Worcester Warwick 25°0 276* Hereford 238 Northampton 142 Oxford Buckingham 204 *** The counties printed black are those in which the number of Criminals is above the average. The counties left white are those in which the number of Criminals is below the ave- rage. The average has been calculated from the returns for the last ten years. Lincoln 12 8 Rutland 150 Norfolk 177? աստանո Cambridge 357 Wils Berkes 129 Bedford 15'2 Hertford Esses 77.5 19*1 Midellesen 245 189 Surrey 163 Kent 164 Somerset 199 Hants 177 Sussex 15:3 Devon 147 Dorset 143 Cornwall 8.0 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOŘ. TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS. COUNTIES. Average Population from Total number of Persons committed for Trial or Bailed. Total for 10 years. Average per Year Proportion to the Population Bedford Berks Bucks Cambridge Chester Cornwall Cumberland Derby Devon 1841-50. 1841. 1842, 1843. 1814. 1815. 1846. 1847. 121,083 191 229 202 188 194,763 306 833 328 287 140,959 287 277 313 280 286 180,747 240 241 257 297 239 395,919 943 1086 1018 777 688 349,991 295 282 301 269 272 186,762 151 115 109 138 118 250,249 277 322 322 279 554,798 687 716 740 1848. 1849. 1850. Number of Criminals to every 10,000 of Population. 155 260 767 280 147 185 178 204 162 161 250 335 360 358 318 283 315 310 276 255 244 871 1070 341 272 1,855 185 1 in 654 15.2 3,135 313 622 12.9 >> 287 242 2,880 288 489 20.4 "J 309 302 2,660 266 679 14.7 " 861 900 8,981 898 440 22.6 277 226 2,815 281 1245 8.0 "" 120 130 159 146 1,333 133 1404 7.1 715 186 277 720 721 214 264 245 255 2,641 264 947 10.5 "" 949 921 893 807 7,872 787 704 14.1 "} Dorset Durham Essex Gloucester Hereford Hertford 172,736 284 241 368,787 215 266 300 332,363 647 758 710 407,504 1236 1252 1186 1071 252 203 218 225 307 287 326 190 2,533 253 682 14.6 876 203 249 279 331 321 358 2,901 290 1271 7.8 " 596 554 602 603 689 587 631 6,377 638 520 19.1 "" 929 884 1092 1042 1063 920 10,675 1067 381 26.1 >> • 97,813 245 259 Hunts Kent Lancaster 1,881,261 Leicester Lincoln Middlesex Monmouth Norfolk Northampton 238 163,178 319 338 265 57,942 62 68 68 585,249 962 1155 977 911 831 3987 4497 3677 2893 227,621 466 492 509 481 328 358 335 378,246 349 507 563 542 389 419 506 504 1,740,814 3586 4094 4260 4027 4440 4641 5175 4856 164,093 364 264 261 278 196 217 282 298 419,463 666 808 782 206,496 342 346 270 294 244 230 226 158 212 271 270 242 252 2,332 233 419 23.8 "" 248 291 348 318 315 2,952 295 570 17.5 " 79 88 81 89 104 93 90 822 82 706 14.1 "} 815 889 1020 980 958 9,598 960 609 16.4 2852 3072 3156 3778 3290 3340 31,842 3484 539 18.5 346 299 300 3,914 391 582 17.1 "" 788 612 720 751 529 3861 3732 370 689 633 705 528 4,836 484 781 12.8 دو 42,672 4267 407 24.5 "} 433 2,963 296 554 18.0 }} 7,184 718 584 17.1 "" 302 270 243 307 327 248 2,919 295 699 14.2 "" Northumberland 284,777 226 245 290 291 189 169 189 201 261 283 2,347 235 1211 8.2 "" Nottingham Oxford 282,584 329 374 353 348 267 286 343 361 341 325 3,330 333 848 11.8 "" Rutland Salop Somerset • Southampton Stafford Suffolk Surrey 166,751 323 334 23.711 14 48 39 23 243,352 416 470 534 449 452,515 991 1148 967 1039 873 377,040 677 702 676 517 619 608 737 728 579,686 1059 1485 1175 885 717 851 1028 1120 325,336 482 527 585 630 407 471 505 495 635,917 923 1017 867 941 912 95S 1315 1296 328 296 309 228 299 296 303 252 2,968 297 591 17.8 28 26 41 52 35 27 333 33 718 13.9 >> 308 227 267 305 347 307 3,630 363 670 14.9 701 771 888 885 754 9,020 902 501 19.9 "" 751 1009 1053 537 472 1109 1030 686 6,701 670 562 77.7 10;382 1038 558 17.9 "} 5,111 511 636 15.7 ލ 10,398 1040 611 16.3 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Sussex 320,944 539 550 493 409 409 468 522 546 502 480 4918 492 652 15.3 "} Warwick 444,558 1046 1003 1045 894 769 799 998 1257 910 880 9601 960 463 21.6 "" Westmoreland 57,494 33 39 44 24 46 74 33 47 57 70 467 47 1223 8.1 >> Wilts Worcester 241,887 506 518 244,574 464 432 379 436 502 465 452 386 4570 457 529 18.9 " 566 609 679 603 563 535 620 681 653 607 6116 612 399 25.0 York North Wales South Wales 1,686,461 1895 2598 2301 1691 1417 1560 396,161 251 279 294 283 269 220 568,430 377 387 516 514 426 350 1794 2036 2022 1915 19,232 1923 876 11.4 307 332 338 316 2889 289 1370 7.2 >> 471 590 514 613 4788 479 1186 8.4 "" TOTAL FOR ENGLAND AND WALES • 16,918,158 27,760 31,309 29,591 26,542 24,303 25,107 28,833 30,349 27,816 26,813 278,423 27,842 • 607 16.4 THE YEARS OF CRIME. LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF CRIMINALS TO POPULATION. Number of Number of Criminals Number of Years. Criminal Population. to every Years. Criminal Population. EVERY 10,000 OF THE Offenders. 10,000 Offenders. Number of Criminals to every 10,000 people. people. Counties above the Average in Counties below the Average in 1811 5,337 10,150,615 5.2 1831 19,647 13,897,187 14.1 Crime. Crim". 1812 6,576 10,332,441 6.3 1832 20,829 14,098,142 14.7 Gloucester 26.1 Kent 16.4 1813 7,164 10,515,267 6.8 1833 20,072 14,299,097 14.0 Worcester 25.0 Surrey 16.3 1814 6,390 10,689,093 5.9 1834 22,451 14,500,052 15'4 Middlesex 24.5 Suffolk 15.7 1815 7,818 10,881,919 7.3 1835 20,731 14,701,007 14.1 Hereford 23.8 Sussex 15.3 1816 9,091 11,064,745 8.2 1836 20,984 14,901,962 14.1 Chester.. 22.6 Bedford 152 1817 13,932 11,247,571 11.5 1837 23,612 15,102,917 15.6 Warwick 21.6 Salop 14.9 1818 13,567 11,430,397 11.8 1838 23,094 15,303,872 15.1 • Bucks 20'4 Cambridge • 14.7 1819 14,254 11,613,223 12.2 1839 24,443 15,504,827 15.7 Somerset 19.9 Dorset • 14.6 1820 13,710 11,796,049 11.6 1840 27,187 15,705,782 17.3 Essex 19.1 Northampton 14.2 Wilts 18.9 Devon 14.1 Total for 10 years 97,839 109,630,320 Total in 10 years 223,050 · Lancaster 18.5 Rutland 139 Monmouth 18.0 Berks 12.9 Average ditto. 9,783 10,963,032 8.9 Average ditto 22,305 148,114,825 14,811,482 15·0 Stafford 17.9 Lincoln 12.8 Oxford 17.8 Nottingham • 11.8 Southampton 17'7 York. 11:4 1821 13,115 11,978,875 10.9 1841 27,750 15,914,148 17.4 Hertford 17.5 Derby 10:5 1822 12,241 12,170,706 10:0 1842 31,309 16,115,010 19:4 Leicester 17·1 South Wales 84 1823 12,263 12,362,537 9.9 1843 29,591 16,315,872 18.1 Norfolk 17.1 Northumberland 8.2 1824 13,698 12,554,368 10.9 1844 26,542 16,516,734 16 0 Average for all England Westmorland 8.1 1825 14,437 12,746,199 11.3 1845 24,303 16,717,596 14.5 and Wales 16.4 Cornwall · 8·0 1826 16,164 12,938,030 12.5 1846 25,107 16,918,458 14.9 Durham 7.8 1827 17,924 13,129,861 13.6 1847 28,833 17,119,320 16.8 North Wales 7.2 1828 16,564 13,321,692 12.4 1848 30,349 07,320,182 175 Cumberland 7.1 1829 18,675 13,531,523 13.8 1849 27,816 17,521,044 15.9 1830 18,107 13,705,354 13.2 1850 26,813 17,721,906 15.1 Total for 10 years 153,188 verage ditto 128,421,145 15,318 12,842,114 Total for 10 years 278,413 168,180,270 11.9 Average ditto 27,841 16,818,027 16.5 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 7 mical point of view, from the workers in wood, as the carpenters and joiners, the cabinet-makers, ship-builders, &c., who are all classed under the head of handicraftsmen? Again, according to the census of 1831, a brewer is placed among those employed in retail trade or in handicrafts, while a vine- gar maker is among the manufacturers. According to Mr. Babbage, manufacturing differs from mere making simply in the quantity produced-he being a manufac- turer who makes a greater number of the same kind of articles; it is thus simply production in a large way, in connection with the several handicrafts. Dr. Ure, however, appears to consider such articles manufactures as are produced by means of machinery, citing the word which ori- ginally signified production by hand (being the Latin equivalent for the Saxon handi- craft) as an instance of those singular ver- bal corruptions by which terms come to stand for the very opposite to their literal meaning. But with all deference to the Doctor, for whose judgment I have the highest respect, Mr. Babbage's definition of a manufacturer, viz., as a producer on a large scale, appears to be the more correct; and it is in this sense that we speak of manufacturing chemists, boot and shoe manufacturers, ginger-beer manufacturers, and the like. The Occupation Abstract of the Census of 1841, though far more comprehensive than the one preceding it, is equally un- satisfactory and unphilosophical. In this document the several members of Society are thus classified :- I. Persons engaged in Commerce, Trade, and Manufacture. II. Agriculture. III. Labour, not Agricultural. IV. Army and Navy Merchant Seamen, Fishermen, and Watermen. V. Professions and other pursuits requir- ing education. VI. Government, Civil Service, and Muni- cipal and Parochial Officers. VII. Domestic Servants. VIII. Persons of Independent Means. IX. Almspeople, Pensioners, Paupers, Lu- natics, and Prisoners. X. Remainder of Population, including Women and Children. Here it will be seen that the defects arising from drawing distinctions where no real dif- ferences exist, are avoided, those engaged in handicrafts being included under the same head as those engaged in manufacture; but the equally grave error of confounding or grouping together occupations which are essentially diverse, is allowed to continue. Accordingly, the first division is made to in- clude those who are engaged in trade and commerce as well as manufacture, though surely-the one belongs strictly to the dis- tributing, and the other to the producing class-occupations which are not only essentially distinct, but of which it is absolutely necessary for a right under- standing of the state of the country that we know the proportion that the one bears to the other. ´Again, the employers in both cases are confounded with the employed, so that, though the capitalists who supply the materials, and pay the wages for the several kinds of work are a distinct body of people from those who do the work, and a body, more- over, that it is of the highest possible import- ance, in an economical point of view, that we should be able to estimate numerically,- no attempt is made to discriminate the one from the other. Now these three classes, dis- tributors, employers, and operatives, which in the Government returns of the people are jumbled together in one heterogeneous crowd, as if the distinctions between Capital, Labour, and Distribution had never been propounded, are precisely those concerning which the social inquirer desires the most minute information. The Irish census is differently arranged There the from that of Great Britain. several classes are grouped under the fol- lowing heads :- I. Ministering to Food. 1. As Producers. 2. As Preparers. 3. As Distributors. II. Ministering to Clothing. 1. As Manufacturers of Materials. 2. As Handicraftsmen and Dealers. III. Ministering to Lodging, Furniture, Machinery, &c. IV. Ministering to Health. V. Ministering to Charity. VI. Ministering to Justice. VII. Ministering to Education. VIII. Ministering to Religion. IX. Various Arts and Employments, not included in the foregoing. X. Residue of Population, not having specified occupations, and in- cluding unemployed persons and women. This, however, is no improvement upon the English classification. There is the want of discrimination, and the same dis- 8 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. со of society. regard of the great "economical" divisions | any persons, throughout life, in improving the knowledge or cultivating the bodily and mental faculties of themselves or others. Moreover, to show the extreme fallacy of such a classification, it is only necessary to make the following extract from the Report of the Commissioners for Great Britain:- "We would willingly have given a clas- sification of the occupations of the inhabit- ants of Great Britain into the various wants to which they respectively minister, but, in attempting this, we were stopped by the various anomalies and uncertainties to which such a classification seemed necessa- rily to lead, from the fact that many per- sons supply more than one want, though they can only be classed under one head. Thus to give but a single instance the farmer and grazier may be deemed to minister quite as much to clothing by the fleece and hides as he does to food by the flesh of his sheep and cattle." He, therefore, who would seek to elabo- rate the natural history of the industry of the people of England, must direct his at- tention to some social philosopher, who has given the subject more consider- ation than either princes or Government officials can possibly be expected to devote to it. Among the whole body of economists, Mr. Stuart Mill appears to be the only man who has taken a comprehensive and en- lightened view of the several functions of society. Following in the footsteps of M. Say, the French social philosopher, he first points out concerning the products of in- dustry, that labour is not creative of objects but of utilities, and then proceeds to say :- "Now the utilities produced by labour are of three kinds; they are- 66 First, utilities fixed and embodied in outward objects; by labour employed in in- vesting external material things with pro- perties which render them serviceable to human beings. This is the common case, and requires no illustration. (6 Secondly, utilities fixed and embodied in human beings; the labour being in this case employed in conferring on human beings qualities which render them service- able to themselves and others. To this class belongs the labour of all concerned in education; not only schoolmasters, tutors, and professors, but governments, so far as they aim successfully at the improvement of the people; moralists and clergymen, as far as productive of benefit; the labour of physicians, as far as instrumental in pre- serving life and physical or mental effi- ciency; of the teachers of bodily exercises, and of the various trades, sciences, and arts, together with the labour of the learners in acquiring them, and all labour bestowed by | "Thirdly, and lastly, utilities not fixed or embodied in any object, but consisting in a mere service rendered, a pleasure given, an inconvenience or pain averted, during a longer or a shorter time, but without leav- ing a permanent acquisition in the im- proved qualities of any person or thing; the labour here being employed in produc- ing an utility directly, not (as in the two former cases) in fitting some other thing to afford an utility. Such, for example, is the labour of the musical performer, the actor, the public declaimer or reciter, and the showman. "Some good may, no doubt, be produced beyond the moment, upon the feeling and disposition, or general state of enjoyment of the spectators; or instead of good there may be harm, but neither the one nor the other is the effect intended, is the result for which the exhibitor works and the spec- tator pays, but the immediate pleasure. Such, again, is the labour of the army and navy; they, at the best, prevent a country from being conquered, or from being in- jured or insulted, which is a service, but in all other respects leave the country neither improved nor deteriorated. Such, too, is the labour of the legislator, the judge, the officer of justice, and all other agents of Government, in their crdinary functions, apart from any influence they may exert on the improvement of the national mind. The service which they render is to main- tain peace and security; these compose the utility which they produce. It may appear to some that carriers, and merchants or dealers, should be placed in this same class, since their labour does not add any proper- ties to objects, but I reply that it does, it adds the property of being in the place where they are wanted, instead of being in some other place, which is a very useful property, and the utility it confers is em- bodied in the things themselves, which now actually are in the place where they are required for use, and in consequence of that increased utility could be sold at an increased price proportioned to the labour expended in conferring it. This labour, therefore, does not belong to the third class, but to the first." To the latter part of the above classifica- tion, I regret to say I cannot assent. Surely the property of being in the place where they are wanted, which carriers and dis- tributors are said to confer on external objects, cannot be said to be fixed. If, in- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 9 deed, it be strictly embodied in them, since the very act of distribution consists in the alteration of this local relation, and III. transferring them to the possession of another. Is not the utility which the weaver fixes and embodies in a yard of cot- ton, very different of utility from that effected by the linendraper handing it over the counter in exchange for so much money? and in this particular act, which is at least an important part of the process of distribution, it would be difficult to per- ceive what is fixed and embodied, seeing that it consists essentially in a mere ex- change of commodities. Mr. Mill's mistake appears to consist in not perceiving that there is still another class of labour besides that which is em- ployed in producing an utility directly, and that which is occupied in fitting some other thing to afford an utility: viz., that which is engaged in assisting those who are so occupied in rendering things useful; these consist of such as are engaged in assist- ing the producers of permanent material utilities either before or during production, and those who are engaged in assisting them after production. Under the first division are comprised capitalists, or those who supply the materials and tools for the work, superintendents and managers, or those who direct the work, and labourers, or those who perform some minor office connected with the work, as in turning the large wheel for a turner, in carrying the bricks to a bricklayer, and the like; while the second division, or those who are en- gaged in assisting producers after produc- tion, are included carriers, or those who remove the produce to the market, and dealers and shopmen, or those who obtain purchasers for it. Now, it is evident that the function of all these classes is merely auxiliary to the labour of the producers, consisting principally of so many modes of economizing their time and labour. Whether the gains of some of these auxiliary classes are as disproportionately large, as the others are disproportionately small, this is not the place to inquire. My present duty is merely to record the fact of the existence of such classes, and to assign them their proper place in the social fabric, as at present constituted. Now, from the above it will appear, that there are four distinct classes of workers :- I. ENRICHERS, or those who are employed in producing utilities fixed and em- bodied in material things, that is to say, in producing exchangeable com- modities or riches. II. AUXILIARIES, or those who are em- ployed in aiding the production of exchangeable commodities. BENEFACTORS, or those who are em- ployed in producing utilities fixed and embodied in human beings, that is to say, in conferring upon them some permanent good. IV. SERVITORS, or those who are employed in rendering some service, that is to say, in conferring some temporary good upon another. Class 1 is engaged in investing material objects with qualities which render them seviceable to themselves or others. Class 2 is engaged in aiding the ope- rations of Class 1. Class 3 is engaged in conferring on human beings qualities which render them serviceable to themselves or others. Class 4 is engaged in giving a pleasure, averting a pain (during a longer or shorter period), or preventing an in- convenience, by performing some office for us that we should find irk- some to do for ourselves. Hence it appears that the operations of the first and third of the above classes, or the Enrichers and Benefactors of Society, tend to leave some permanent acquisition in the improved qualities of either persons or things,-whereas the operations of the second and fourth classes, or the Auxili- aries and Servitors, are limited merely to promoting either the labours or the plea- sures of the other members of society. Such, then, are the several classes of Workers; and here it should be stated that, I apply the title Worker to all those who do anything for their living, who perform any act whatsoever that is considered worthy of being paid for by others, without regard to the question whether such la- bourers tend to add to or decrease the aggregate wealth of the community. I consider all persons doing or giving some- thing for the comforts they obtain, as self- supporting individuals. Whether that something be really an equivalent for the emoluments they receive, it is not our voca- tion here to inquire. Suffice it some real or imaginary benefit is conferred upon so- ciety, or a particular individual, and what is thought a fair and proper reward is given in return for it. Hence I look upon sol- diers, sailors, Government and parochial officers, landlords, capitalists, clergymen, lawyers, wives, &c., &c., as self-supporting a certain amount of labour, or a certain desirable commodity, being given by each and all in exchange for other commodities, 10 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. which are considered less desirable to the individuals parting with them, and more desirable to those receiving them. Nevertheless, it must be confessed that the most important and directly valuable of all classes are those whom I have here denominated Enrichers. These consist not only of Producers, but of the Collectors and Extractors of it, concerning whom a few words are necessary. There are three modes of obtaining the materials of our wealth—(1) by collecting, (2) by extracting, and (3) by producing them. The industrial processes concerned in the collection of the materials of wealth are of the rudest and most primitive kind -being pursued by such tribes as depend for their food, and raiment, and shelter, on the spontaneous productions of nature. The usual modes by which the collection is made is by gathering the vegetable pro- duce (which is the simplest and most direct form of all industry), and when the pro- duce is of an animal nature, by hunting, shooting, or fishing, according as the ani- mal sought after inhabits the land, the air, or the water. In a more advanced state of society, where the erection of places of shelter has come to constitute one of the acts of life, the felling of trees will also form one of the modes by which the ma- terials making up the wealth of the nation are collected. In Great Britain there ap- pears to be fewer people connected with the mere collection of wealth than with any other general industrial process. The fishermen are not above 25,000, and the wood-cutters and woodmen not 5000; so that even with gamekeepers, and others engaged in the taking of game, we may safely say that there are about 30,000 out of 18,000,000, or only one-six hundredth of the entire population, engaged in this mode of industry-a fact which strongly indicates the artificial character of our society. The production of the materials of wealth, which indicates a far higher state of civilization, and which consists in the several agricultural and farming processes for increasing the natural stock of animal and vegetable food, employs upwards of one million; while those who are engaged in the extraction of our treasures from the earth, either by mining or quarrying, both of which processes-depending, as they do, upon a knowledge of some of the subtler natural powers could only have been brought into operation in a highly ad- vanced stage of the human intellect, num- ber about a quarter of a million. Alto- Alto- gether, there appear to be about one mil- lion and a half of individuals engaged in the industrial processes connected with the collection, extraction, and production of the materials of wealth; those who are employed in operating upon these mate- rials, in the fashioning of them into manu- factures, making them up into commodities, as well as those engaged in the distribu- tion of them-that is to say, the transport and sale of them when so fashioned or made up-appear to amount to another two millions and a half, so that the indus- trial classes of Great Britain, taken alto- gether, may be said to amount to four millions. For the more perfect compre- hension, however, of the several classes of society, let me subjoin the table in round numbers, calculated from the census of 1841, and including among the first items both the employers as well as employed :- Engaged in Trade and Manufacture 3,000,000 ,, • Agriculture Mining, Quarrying, and Transit • Total Employers and Employed Domestic Servants Independent persons • Educated pursuits (including Pro- fessions and Fine Arts) Government • Officers (including Army, Navy, Civil Service, and Parish Officers) Alms-people (including Paupers, Prisoners, and Lunatics) Residue of Population (including 3,500,000 wives and 7,500,000 chil- dren) 1,500,000 750,000 5,250,000 1,000,000 500,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 7,350,000 11,000,000 18,350,000 Now, of the 5,250,000 individuals en- gaged in Agriculture, Mining, Transit, Manufacture and Trade, it would appear that about one million and a quarter may be considered as employers; and, conse- quently, that the remaining four millions may be said to represent the numerical strength of the operatives of England and Scotland. Of these about one million, or a quarter of the whole, may be said to be engaged in producing the materials of wealth; and about a quarter of a million, or one-sixteenth of the entire number, in extracting from the soil the substances upon which many of the manufacturers are to operate. The artizan class, or those who are en- gaged in the several handicrafts or manu- factures operating upon the several mate- rials of wealth thus obtained, are distinct from the workmen above-mentioned, be- longing to what are called skilled workmen, whereas those who are employed in the collection, extraction, or growing of wealth, are unskilled workmen or labourers. An artisan is an educated handicrafts- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 11 man, following a calling that requires an | wood, as the carpenters, the cabinet-makers, apprenticeship of greater or less duration &c. (5) The workers in cane, osier, reed, in order to arrive at perfection in it; where- rush, and straw-as basket-makers, straw- as a labourer's occupation needs no educa- | plait manufacturers, thatchers, and the tion whatever. Many years must be spent like. (6) The workers in brick and stones in practising before a man can acquire suf- -as bricklayers, masons, &c. (7) The ficient manual dexterity to make a pair of workers in glass and earthenware-as pot- boots or a coat; dock labour or porter's ters, glass-blowers, glass-cutters, bottle- work, however, needs neither teaching nor makers, glaziers, &c. (8) The workers in learning, for any man can carry a load or metals—as braziers, tinmen, plumbers, gold- turn a wheel. The artisan, therefore, is smiths, pewterers, coppersmiths, iron-foun- literally a handicraftsman-one who by ders, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, anchor- practice has acquired manual dexterity smiths, locksmiths, &c. (9) The workers enough to perform a particular class of in paper-as the paper-makers, cardboard- work, which is consequently called "skilled." makers. (10) The chemical manufacturers The natural classification of artisans, or come next-as powder-makers, white-lead- skilled labourers, appears to be according makers, alkali and acid manufacturers, lu- to the materials upon which they work, for cifer-match-makers, blacking-makers, ink- this circumstance seems to constitute the makers, soap-boilers, tallow-chandlers, &c. peculiar quality of the art more than the (11) The workers at the superlative or ex- tool used-indeed, it appears to be the trinsic arts-that is to say, those which principal cause of the modification of the have no manufactures of their own, but implements in different handicrafts. The which are engaged in adding to the utility tools used to fashion, as well as the instru- or beauty of others, as printing, bookbind- ments and substances used to join the ing, painting, and decorating, gilding, bur- several materials operated upon in the nishing, &c. manufactures and handicrafts, differ ac- cording as those materials are of different kinds. We do not, for instance, attempt to saw cloth into shape nor to cut bricks with shears; neither do we solder the soles to the upper leathers of our boots, nor nail together the seams of our shirts. And even in these crafts where the means of uniting the materials are similar, the arti- san working upon one kind of substance is generally incapable of operating upon an- other. The tailor who stitches woollen ma- terials together would make but a poor hand at sewing leather. The two sub-connected with the "doing up" of houses. stances are joined by the same means, but in a different manner, and with different instruments. So the turner, who has been accustomed to turu wood, is unable to fashion metals by the same method. The most natural method of grouping the artisans into classes would appear to be according as they pursue some mecha- nical or chemical occupation. The former are literally mechanics or handicraftsmen -the latter chemical manufacturers. The handicraftsmen consist of (1) The workers in silk, wool, cotton, flax, and hemp-as weavers, spinners, knitters, carpet-makers, lace-makers, rope-makers, canvas-weavers, &c. (2) The workers in skin, gut, and fea- thers-as tanners, curriers, furriers, feather dressers, &c. (3) The makers up of silken, woollen, cotton, linen, hempen, and lea- thern materials-as tailors, milliners, shirt- makers, sail-makers, hatters, glove-makers, saddlers, and the like. (4) The workers in The circumstances which govern the classification of trades are totally different from those regulating the division of work. In trade the convenience of the purchaser is mainly studied, the sale of such articles being associated as are usually required together. Hence the master coachmaker is frequently a harness manufacturer as well, for the purchaser of the one generally stands in need of the other. The painter and house-decorator not only follows the trade of the glazier, but of the plumber, too; because these arts are one and all For the same reason the builder combines the business of the plasterer with that of the bricklayer, and not unfrequently that of the carpenter and joiner in addition. In all of these businesses, however, a dis- tinct set of workmen are required, accord- ing as the materials operated upon are different. We are now in a position to proceed to arrange the several members of society into different classes, according to the principles of classification which have been here laid down. The difficulties of the task, however, should be continually borne in mind; for where so many have failed it cannot be expected that perfection can be arrived at by any one individual; and, slight as the labour of such a task may at the first glance appear to some, still the system here propounded has been the work and study of many months. CLASSIFICATION { OF THE WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS OF GREAT BRITAIN. THOSE WHO WILL WORK. I. ENRICHERS, as the Collectors, Extractors, or Producers of Exchangeable Com- modities. II. AUXILIARIES, as the Promoters of Production, or the Distributors of the Produce. III. BENEFACTORS, or those who confer some permanent benefit, as Educators and Curators engaged in promoting the physical, intellectual, or spiritual well- being of the people. IV. SERVITORS, or those who render some temporary service, or pleasure, as Amusers, Protectors, and Servants. THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK. V. THOSE WHO ARE PROVIDED FOR BY SOME PUBLIC INSTITUTION, as the Inmates of workhouses, prisons, hospitals, asylums, almshouses, dormitories, and refuges. VI. THOSE WHO ARE UNPROVIDED FOR, and incapacitated for labour, either from want of power, from want of means, or from want of employment. VII. VAGRANTS. THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK. VIII. PROFESSIONAL BEggars. IX. CHEATS. X. THIEVES. XI. PROSTITUTES. THOSE WHO NEED NOT WORK. XII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM RENT. XIII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM DIVIDENDS. XIV. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM YEARLY STIPENDS. XV. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM OBSOLETE OR NOMINAL OFFICES. XVI. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM TRADES IN WHICH THEY DO NOT APPEAR. XVII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME BY FAVOUR FROM OTHERS. XVIII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR SUPPORT FROM THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. 1 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. culated from the Post Office Directory for London, and its suburbs in 1850, that the total number of retail tradesmen supplying certain goods was supplying certain goods was 4000, and estimating that each of them upon an average employed three persons besides himself, it would give a total of 16,000 engaged in the dis- tribution of articles of grocery, or about one per- son to every eighty of the two millions and a half of all ages, which may be taken as the population of the district in question. This was a very much larger number than was needed for the purpose of distribution, and necessitated a keen competition among those engaged in it. When a tradesman with capital came into a new neighbourhood, and fitted up a shop with splendid plate glass front, ticketing all his articles at an apparently low price, and advertising them as the best and finest articles that could be sold, the consequences of such com- petition were perhaps to shut up twenty small shops; but in the course of the struggle fraudulent adulteration was carried on by all parties to a large extent. "Sir, "" 18 Aug., 1851. "I was employing a part of my leisure hours in collecting and arranging accounts of the earnings of persons engaged in the various branches of the manufacture of hats, both silk and stuff, but as you have requested me not to trouble you any more, in obedience to your wish I have ceased my labour; to show you, however, that I bear no malice, I enclose all I have ready. "Your Obedient Servant, "R. H." Cunning may literally mean kenning, but is never used now in a good sense, it would be a poor excuse to make, after calling a person inquisitive, to say you meant enquiring; or, after using the term impertinent, to declare that you meant not keeping to the question: cunning is in the same class with the above two and many other words, which are never used by persons of education in their literal sense. One of the most elegant forms of literary art is the use of words in their literality; this was Sidney Smith's great charm. The philological rule, unfortunately for R. H., is the very reverse Words are never of that which he enunciates. used in their literal, and always in their conven- tional acceptation by persons of deficient education for the simple reason that it is impossible for the uneducated to know their radical signification. Those who have such knowledge feel an exquisite delight in discriminating between the correct and perverted sense. a No literary man knowing how to handle his tools would ever dream of using any one of the words cited by R. H. in any other than their literal acceptation the context would show whether the conduct to which they were applied was an offence against good morals or not. Surely R. H. has heard the phrase, "wrought with ex- quisite cunning," used even in common parlance. Does he fancy that this means wrought with a roguery quite recherché (to use the French equi- valent to exquisite), or with unusual skill work of the most expert craft or handicraft-not craft roguery, but craft in its true Old English sense of creation, production, from the Saxon verb creawian? It was precisely in this sense that Mr. Mayhew applied the words "exquisite cunning to R. H. The terms themselves prove whence the phrase was borrowed, and exqui- sitely "knowing" was all that was intended to be implied-that is to say, R. H. endeavoured to meet the argument like one skilled in the art of ratiocination, by slily proposing another. >> Mr. Mayhew would not have condescended to have wasted so much valuable ink in explaining a matter that must have been patent to every scholar from the very beginning; but R. H. is clearly, from the tone of his last letter, too good a fellow to make an enemy of unintentionally. The Wage Table he sends is the best mode of argument after all. * * * Replies to several letters are postponed R. H.'s temper is better than his philology. till the next Number. MUTUAL PENSION SO- CIETY. Established to provide Pensions for Necessitous and Aged Members. Subscription, 5s. per Annum. TRUSTEES.-William Breynton, Esq., Norfolk-street; Matthew Forster, Esq., Dacre Park, Kent. COMMITTEE.-Chairman-Thomas Tyerman, Esq., Parliament-street. Vice-Chairman-Horace Mayhew, Esq., Soho-square. MANAGER AND HONORARY SECRETARY. John Howden, Esq., 11, Chesterfield-street, Argyle-square. All persons subscribing 5s. per annum to be members, or a donation of 51. to constitute a member for life. Minors and females can be members. When the interest on the invested capital amounts to 501. per annum, an election of pensioners to take place as follows:- ,, >> To such necessitous persons who have been members for 5 years a pension of £5 per annum. Ditto ditto 8 Ditto ditto 10 Ditto ditto 15 Ditto ditto 20 Ditto ditto 25 "" £10 £15 "" ,, " €20 £25 £30 The pensioners to be elected by ballot, and all mem- bers to have one vote for each pensioner to be elected for every 5. per annum, or £5 subscribed by them, with liberty to give the whole of their votes to one can- didate, or divide them as they please. The affairs of the Society are managed by a Com- mittee, consisting of not less than twelve members, the Trustees, and Manager. Subscriptions and donations gratefully received by the Manager, who will feel great pleasure in giving any further information required. The Committee sincerely trust in the support of the provident to secure a harbour of refuge, if needed, when age or infirmity crceps on, and in the patronage of the wealthy, to aid those who are doing all in their power to prevent their being a burden on the com- munity in their old age. INTERESTING FACT.-The following singular and authentic case of restoration of the Human Hair is worthy of observation, more particularly as it relates to an article of high and universal repute during the last half century. Mr. A. Hermann, of Queen-street, Soho, had been quite bald for some time past, and had tried various preparations for the recovery of his Hair, but without any beneficial result. He was then induced to try the effects of "Rowlands' Macassar Oil," and after applying it for about two months, he, much to his gratification, had his Hair quite restored, and now possesses a beautiful Head of Hair. This fact speaks too strongly for itself to require comment.-Bell's Weekly Messenger. ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL, Is celebrated throughout the world for its genial and nourishing qualities for the Human Hair. For Children it is especially recommended, as forming the basis of a Beautiful Head of Hair. Price 3s. 6d. and 78.; family bottle (equal to four small), 10s. 6d.; and double that size, 218. per bottle. ROWLANDS' KALYDOR, For improving and beautifying the Skin and Complexion, eradicating all Cutaneous Eruptions, Sunburn, Freckles, and Discolorations, and for rendering the Skin soft, clear, and fair. Price 4s. 6d. and 8s. 6d. per bottle. ROWLANDS' ODONTO, OR PEARL DENTIFRICE, For preserving and beautifying the Teeth, strengthening the Gums, and for rendering the Breath sweet and pure Price 2s. 9d. per box. BEWARE OF SPURIOUS IMITATIONS. The only GENUINE of each bears the name of "ROWLANDS'" preceding that of the Article on the Wrapper or Label, with their signature at the foot, in Red Ink, thus:- A. ROWLAND & SONS. Sold by them at 20, Hatton Garden, London, and by Chemists and Perfumers. Just published, Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR, A CYCLOPÆDIA OF THE CONDITION AND EARNINGS OF (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK AND (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE STREET-FOLK. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE LONDON COSTERMONGers. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. THE STREET IRISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF GAME AND POULTRY. THE STREET-SELLERS OF TREES, SHRUBS, FLOWERS, AND ROOTS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF EATABLES AND DRINKABLES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF STATIONERY, LITERATURE, AND THE FINE ARTS. THE LOW LODGING-HOUSES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. THE FEMALE STREET-SELLERS. THE CHILDREN STREET-Sellers. 7 Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000%. BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. 1 No. 38. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY AUG. 30, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. FUGAMSON 2 OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. The subjoined is worthy of attention:- "SIR, "I venture to make a suggestion in reference to your work London Labour and the London Poor,' which I trust will not be taken amiss by you, for it proceeds from one who appreciates the purity of your motives, and admires your untiring zeal and laborious efforts in behalf of so large a portion of the neglected and suffer- ing population of London. My suggestion refers to that portion of the work on the Prostitution of the Metropolis,' shortly to appear in future numbers. Do you not think that it is likely to do less harm and more good if brought out in an entire volume, than in weekly numbers? Such a work is undoubtedly demanded. Nothing can be done to remedy an evil till the evil be fairly brought to light; but is there not danger lest the process of uncovering the evil, adopted by you, inay aggravate instead of diminish its intensity? Will not the cheapness of a work, bearing a title unhappily so attractive to the young, the idle, the prurient, promote indeed its sale, increase the number of its readers, make it popular with the masses, but not thereby tend to the end designed by the author, the reformation of the present extensive system of evil? Such a work as you design, Sir, if brought out in one volume, would find a ready sale with such as are and ought to be really interested in the subject. The name and character of the author would at once attract the philanthropist, the statesman, the minister of religion, and all others whose callings and pursuits make such details necessary to be known. You need never fear a loss from the publication of the work in such a form. It would, indeed, present but little temptation to others, who might receive harm from its perusal, and its price would put it out of the reach of those to whom it might do most mischief-so far, the number of readers would be less, and its sale less extensive; but moderate gains, with the satisfaction of feeling that they were obtained without promoting evil, would (you of all men need not be reminded of this) be far more satis- factory than the richest revenue, clogged with but the faintest misgiving that it was gotten (partly) by increas- ing sin. "Hoping you will excuse my freedom in thus ad- dressing you, and believing you will take the hint in the same friendly spirit in which it is given, I remain, dear Sir, ་་ "Your sincere Well-wisher, "M. (a Curate of London).” Mr. Mayhew regrets that he is unable to act upon the advice of his esteemed correspondent. To publish the account of the London Prostitutes complete in a volume would be, in Mr. Mayhew's opinion, to destroy a great part of the utility of such a work. Moreover, the price would render it available to those only who could afford to part with some 5s. or 6s. at once; whereas the great advantage of the fascicular" mode of publi- cation is, that it enables the poor to obtain expensive treatises by small instalments. But the London Curate sees great danger from the poor being allowed to read such books. Mr. Mayhew, liowever, takes a very dif- ferent view; he believes that many young girls now go wrong thoughtlessly-that is to say, they are ignorant of the necessary consequences of unchastity. Many parents, too, are either imprudently lax, or imprudently strict in the guardianship of their children, because they are unaware of the result of undue indulgence or undue rigour. Mr. Mayhew hopes to be able to teach both parties the ordained sequences of events in these matters. The London Curate, of course, would not object to instruct- ing the very humblest as to the laws of combustion or the causes of the seasons; and yet surely the natural order of the phenomena of vice is equally if not more important for the poor to know. No man thrusts his hand into the fire because he is certain it will burn him; render the sequences of moral events as apparently invariable, and there will be the same aversion to brave them, for the Great Lawgiver has most benevolently made them all ultimately terrible. The erring err some- times from a want of faith, and sometimes from a want of knowledge respecting physical and moral causation. Give them this faith or this knowledge-let the future result be continually present to them-let the escapes from evil be demonstrated to be the accidents, and the sufferance from it the natural consequences of a deviation from virtuc, and depend upon it the poor will be as prudent and guarded in their conduct as even the most respectable of us. This is the education that is needed more than all by the uninforined and the unthinking, and towards it Mr. Mayhew hopes to lend some little assistance. When "London Labour" is productive of misery the sooner the author converts his pen into "roast beef," as children as children say, by burning it, the better. The following is printed here as one out of many in- stances of the wrongs of the London Clerks, who are a most important body of London Labourers, numbering some thousands. Mr. Mayhew is most anxious to begin inves- tigating their condition at the earliest possible period. "An admirer of London Labour,' and a subscriber to most of the numbers, is desirous of knowing whether the mass of poor half-starved legal and commercial clerks which are in this metropolis are to be set forth to the public eye-the writer thinks they ought; he is a clerk to a GENTLEMAN, who employs him about six hours per day in writing and as a messenger, at the liberal salary of 9s. per week. I am generally fully employed. I know there are very many in this city not paid much more than my pittance. I am a young man of good education and connections, but having been out of employment some time I eagerly snapped at the pittance Ieceive. My master is reputed to be very rich, and, I am sorry to adil, very mean. You will scarcely believe that a security of 201. was required before I entered my present service, but no one would be security for me, knowing the trifling pay I was to receive; he therefore waived that. In more prosperous times I have received good pay, from 17 to 11. 5s. per week. Both iny parents are sick, iny mother is dying, I believe, and out of my small salary I am compelled to aid them, for although their friends are able they are not willing, my father having been a very reckless man and a drunkard. They pay the rent and that is all, for they dislike him so much that they will not give to my mother for fear he should get a share. It is somewhat unchristian I must own, but his recklessness has been so great that I scarcely wonder at it. I should be glad to have employment in book-keeping by single entry, &c., &c., after 4 P.M., if I could get it, for a trifle. I hope you will excuse this scrawl, but it is written in business hours in a great hurry. I perceive from your work that the most ignorant and mindless of the longer classes realize more than many who have received a good education and possess ability. Hoping you will forgive my intrusion and bad writing- "I am, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, "W. D. M.” The writer of the above speaks but the truth in saying that the most ignorant and mindless of the humbler class earn more than he does. A dustman, he will perceive, makes nearly double, and many of the street-traders (the coal-sellers for instance) about four times as much as W. D. M. If W. D. M. wishes to become rich he must give over working for himself and get to trude on the labour of others. This is the great evil of our social system. By industry a man can scarcely keep himself from starving, whereas, by scheming and trading, he may ride in his carriage and become one of the "respectable classes." The following is from a journeyman tailor-a gentle- man long known and respected by Mr. Mayhew :- "DEAR SIR, 6 C "Notwithstanding the many attempts to explain the meaning of the terin haberdasher,' I observe that you say in your last number of Labour and the Poor,' that it is still a mystery. I don't know whether the fol- lowing will throw any more light on the matter, but it struck me at the time as a still more curious application of the term than any that I have seen, so I transcribed it for you. It is from the Great Bible,' date April, 1540, in the British Museum, on vellum, presentation copy to Henry VIII., as is shown by the following inscription on the reverse of the fly leaf- This Booke is presented unto your most excellent highnesse by youre loving, faithfull, and obedient subject and daylye cratour, An- thonyc Marler of London, haberdassher. In this case was the office, for such I presume it to be, of daylye Oratour' lay or clerical? if the former, what trade was Anthonye Marler? if the latter, how was it connected with the term 'haberdasher ?' "In an old dictionary, date 1701, I find three supposed derivations for it:-Habcidas, Greek, have you that? Avoir d'acheter, French, having to buy; or Kooper- dascer, Dutch, a dealer in small wares or toys, also a dealer in hats. In Boyer's French and English Dic- tionary, date 1747, it is used in the same maiiner, with LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 181 gery and sewerage, therefore, differs in this respect. The scavengery is committed to the care of the several parishes, each making its own contract ; the sewerage is consigned by Parliament to a body of commissioners. In both instances, how- ever, the expenses are paid out of local rates. I shall now proceed to treat of each of these subjects separately, beginning with the cleansing of the streets. OF THE STREETS OF LONDON. THERE are now three modes of pavement in the streets of the metropolis. 1. The stone pavement (commonly composed of Aberdeen granite). 2. The macadamized pavement, or rather road. 3. The wood pavement. The stone pavement has generally, in the several towns of England, been composed of whatever material the quarries or rocks of the neighbour- hood supplied, limestone being often thus used. In some places, where there were no quarries available, the stones of a river or rivulet- side were used, but these were rounded and slippery, and often formed but a rugged pathway. For London pavement, the neighbourhood not being rich in stone quarries, granite has usually been brought by water from Scotland, and a small quantity from Guernsey for the pavement of the streets. The stone pavement is made by the placing of the granite stones, hewn and shaped ready for the purpose, side by side, with a foun- dation of concrete. The concrete now used for the London street-pavement is Thames ballast, composed of shingles, or small stones, and mixed with lime, &c. Macadamization was not introduced into the streets of London until about 25 years ago. Before that, it had been carried to what was accounted a great degree of perfection on many of the principal mail and coach roads. Some 50 miles on the Great North Road, or that between London and Carlisle, were often pointed out as an admirable specimen of road-making on Mac Adam's principles. This road was well known in the old coaching days as Leming-lane, running from Boroughbridge to Greta Bridge, in Yorkshire. The first thoroughfare in London which was macadamized, a word adapted from the name of Sir W. Mac Adam, the originator or great improver of the system, was St. James's-square; after that, some of the smaller streets in the aristocratic parishes of St. James and St. George were thus paved, and then, but not without great oppo- sition, Piccadilly. The opposition to the macadam- izing of the latter thoroughfare assumed many forms. Independently of the conflicting statements as to extravagance and economy, it was urged by the opponents, that the dust and dirt of the new style of paving would cause the street to be deserted by the aristocracy that the noiselessness of the traffic would cause the deaths of the deaf and infirm- that the aristocracy promoted this new-fangled street-making, that they might the better "sleep nights," regardless of all else. One writer espe- cially regretted that the Duke of Queensberry, No. XXXVII. | popularly known as "Old Q.," who resided at the western end of Piccadilly, had not lived to enjoy, undisturbed by vulgar noises, his bed of down, until it was his hour to rise and take his bath of perfumed milk! In short, there was all the fuss and absurdity which so often characterise local contests. The macadamized street is made by a layer of stones, broken small and regular in size, and spread evenly over the road, so that the pressure and friction of the traffic will knead, grind, crush, and knit them into one compact surface. better Until road-making became understood, or until the early part of the present century, the roads even in the suburbs immediately connected with London, such as Islington, Kingsland, Stoke Newington, and Hackney, were "repaired when they wanted it. If there were a "rut," or a hole, it was filled up or covered over with stones, and as the drivers usually avoided such parts, for the sake of their horses' feet, another rut was speedily formed alongside of the original one. Under the old system, road-mend- ing was patch-work; defects were sought to be remedied, but there was little or no knowledge of constructing or of reconstructing the surface as a whole. >>> The wood pavement came last, and was not established, even partially, until eleven or twelve years ago. One of the earliest places so paved was the Old Bailey, in order that the noise of the street- traffic might be deadened in the Criminal Courts. The same plan was adopted alongside some of the churches, and other public buildings, where ex- ternal quietude, or, at any rate, diminished noise, was desired. At the first, there were great complaints made, and frequent expostulations addressed to the editors of the newspapers, as to the slipperiness of the wooden ways. The wood pavement is formed of blocks of wood, generally deal, fitted to one another by grooves, by joints, or by shape, for close adjustment. They are placed on the road over a body of concrete, in the same way as granite. "In constructing roads, or rather streets, through towns or cities, where the amount of traffic is considerable, it will be found desirable,” says Mr. Law, in his Treatise on the Con- structing and Repairing of Roads,' "to pave their surface. The advantages belonging to pave- ments in such situations over macadamized roads are considerable; where the latter are exposed to an incessant and heavy traffic, their surface be- comes rapidly worn, rendering constant repairs requisite, which are not only attended with very heavy expense, but also render the road very unpleasant for being travelled upon while being done; they also require much more attention in the way of scraping or sweeping, and in raking in ruts. And some difficulty would be experienced in towns to find places in which the materials, which would be constantly wanted for repairing the road, could be deposited. In dry weather the macadamized road would always be dusty, and in wet weather it would be covered with mud. The only advantage which such a road really possesses M + 182 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. over a pavement is the less noise produced by carriages in passing over it; but this advantage is very small when the pavement is properly laid." Concerning wood pavements the same gentle- man says, "Of late years wood has been intro- duced as a material for paving streets, and has been rather extensively employed both in Russia and America. It has been tried in various parts of London, and generally with small success, the cause of its failure being identical with the cause of the enormous sums being spent annually in the repairs of the streets generally, namely, the want of a proper foundation; a want which was sooner felt with wood than with granite, in consequence of the less weight and inertia of the wood. The comfort resulting from the use of wooden pave- ment, both to those who travelled, and those who lived in the streets, from the diminished jolting and noise, was so great, that it is just matter of surprise that so little care was taken in forming that which a very little consideration would have shown to be indispensable to its success, namely, a good foundation. Slipperiness of its surface, in particular states of the weather, was also found to be a disadvantage belonging to wooden pavement; but means might be devised which would render its surface at all times safe, and afford a secure footing for horses. As regards durability, it has scarcely been used for a sufficient period to allow a comparison being made with other materials, but from the result of some observations com- municated by Mr. Hope to the Scottish Society of Arts, it appears that wooden blocks when placed with the end of the grain exposed, wear less than granite. At first sight, this result might appear questionable, but it is a well-ascertained fact that, where wood and iron move in contact in machinery, the iron generally wears more rapidly than the wood, the reason appearing to be, that the surface of the wood soon becomes covered with particles of dust and grit, which become partially embedded in it, and, while they serve to protect the wood, convert its surface into a species of file, which rapidly wears away whatever it rubs against." Such then are the different modes of construct- ing the London roads or streets. I shall now endeavour to show the relative length, and relative cost of the streets thus severally prepared for the commercial, professional, and pleasurable transit of the metropolis. The comparative extent of the macadamized, of the stone, and of the wood pavement of the streets of the metropolis has not as yet been ascertained, for no general account has appeared condensing the reports, returns, accounts, &c., of the several specific bodies of management into one grand total. It is, however, possible to arrive at an approxi- mation as to the comparative extent I have spoken of; and in this attempt at approximation, in the absence of all means of a definite statistical com- putation, I have had the assistance of an expe- rienced and practical surveyor, familiar with the subject. Macadamization prevails beyond the following boundaries:- | North of the New-road and of its extension, as the City-road, and westward of the New-road's junction with Lisson-grove. Westward of Park-lane and of the West-end parks. Eastward of Brick-lane (Spitalfields) and of the Whitechapel High-street. Southward (on the Surrey side) from the New- cut and Long-lane, Bermondsey, and both in the eastern and western direction of Southwark, Lambeth, and the other southern parishes. Stone pavement, on the other hand, prevails in the district which may be said to be within this boundary, bearing down upon the Thames in all directions. It is, doubtlessly, the fact that in both the dis- tricts thus indicated exceptions to the general rule may prevail-that in one, for instance, there may be some miles of macadamized way, and in the other some miles of granite pavements; but such exceptions, I am told by a Commissioner of Paving, may fairly be dismissed as balancing each other. The wooden pavement, I am informed on the same authority, does not now comprise five miles of the London thoroughfares; little notice, there- fore, need be taken of it. The miles of streets in the City in which stone only affords the street medium of locomotion are 50. The stone pavement in the localities outside of this area are six times, or approaching to seven times, the extent of that in the City. I have no actual admeasurement to demonstrate this point, for none exists, and no private individual can offer to measure hundreds of miles of streets in order to ascertain the composition of their sur- face. But the calculation has been made for me by a gentleman thoroughly conversant with the subject, and well acquainted with the general relative proportion of the defined districts, parishes, and boroughs of the metropolis. We have thus the following result, as regards the inner police district, or Metropolis Proper :— Granite paved streets Macadamized ditto (or roads) Wood ditto Total Miles. 400 • 1350 5 1755 This may appear a disproportionate estimate, but when it is remembered that the inner police district of the metropolis extends as far as Hamp- stead, Tooting, Brentford, and Greenwich, it will be readily perceived that the relative proportions of the macadamized and paved roads are much about the same as is here stated. As to the cost of these several roads, I will, before entering upon that part of the subject, state the prices of the different materials used in their manufacture. Aberdeen granite is now 17. 5s. per ton, de- livered, and prepared for paving, or, as it is often called, "pitching." A ton of seven inch " granite, that is, granite sunk seven inches in the ground, will cover from two and three-quarters to three square yards, superficial measure, or nine LONDON LABOUR and the london poor. 183 * feet per yard. The cost, labour included, is, therefore, from 9s. to 12s. the square yard. This appears very costly; but in some of the more quiet streets, such as those in the immediate neighbourhood of Golden and Fitzroy-squares, a good granite pavement will endure for 20 years, requiring little repair. In other streets, such as Cheapside, for instance, it lasts from three to four years, without repavement being necessary, sup- posing the best construction has been originally adop.ed. For macadamized streets, where there is a traffic like that of Tottenham Court-road, three layers of small broken granite a year are necessary; the cost of this repavement being about 2s. 6d. a yard superficial measure. The repairs and re- layings on macadamized roads of regular traffic range from 4s. to 6s. 6d. yearly, the square yard. The wood pavement, which endures, with a trifling outlay for repairs, for about three years, costs, on an average, 11s. the square yard. The concrete used as a foundation in this street-construction costs 4s. 6d. a cube yard, or 27 feet, by which admeasurement it is always calculated. A cube yard of Thames ballast weighs about 1 ton. The average cost of street-building, new, taking an average breadth, or about ten yards, from foot- path to footpath, is then- Granite built Macadamized Wood Or, as a total, • 400 miles of granite paved streets at £96 per mile 1350 macadamized ditto, at £44 per mile • 5 wood ditto, at £88 per mile. Per Mile. S. £. d. 00 41 0 0 96 O 88 0 0 2. The Epping and Chelmsford Roads, from Whitechapel, through Bow and Stratford. 3. The Barking Road, along the Commercial Road past Limehouse. 4. The Dover Road, from the Elephant and Castle, across Blackheath. 5. The Brighton Roads, (a) through Croydon, (b) through Sutton. 6. The Guildford Road, along the Westminster Road through Battersea and Wandsworth. 7. The Staines, or Great Western Road, from Knightsbridge through Brentford. 8. The Amersham and Aylesbury Road, along the Harrow Road, and through Harrow-on-the- Hill. 9. The St. Alban's Road, along the Edgeware Road through Elstree, 10. The Oxford Road, from Bayswater through Ealing. 11. The Great Holyhead Road. 12. The Great North Road. From Islington, by and through Barnet. As to the amount of resistance to traction offered by different kinds of pavement, or the same pavement under different circumstances, the follow- ing are the general results of the experiments made by M. Morin, at the expense of the French Government:— 1st. The traction is directly proportional to the load, and inversely proportional to the diameter of the wheel. 2nd. Upon a paved, or hard macadamized road, the resistance is independent of the width of the tire, when it exceeds from three to four inches. 3rd. At a walking pace the traction is the same, under the same circumstances, for carriages with 38,400 0 0 springs and without them. • 59,400 0 440 0 98,240 0 0 0 4th. Upon hard macadamized, and upon paved roads, the traction increases with the velocity: the increments of traction being directly proportional to the increments of velocity above the velocity 03-28 feet per second, or about 24 miles per hour. The equal increment of traction thus due to each equal increment of velocity is less as the road is more smooth, and the carriage less rigid or better hung. This, then (about £100,000), is the original cost of the roads of the metropolis. The cost of repairs, &c., annually, is shown by the amount of the paving rate, which may be taken as an average. 400 miles of granite, at 20s. per mile £ S. d. 400 0 0 1350 macadamized ditto, at £13 4s. per mile 17,820 0 0 0 * 5 wood ditto, at 20s. per mile Total • • 5 0 18,225 0 0 According to a General Survey of the Metro- politan Highways," by Mr. Thomas Hughes, the principal roads leading out of London are:- 1. The Cambridge Road, from Shoreditch through Kingsland. * This relates merely to the repairs to the wooden pavement, but if a renewal of the blocks be necessary, then the cost approaches that of a new road; and a re- newal is considered necessary about once in three years. 5th. Upon soft roads of earth, or sand, or turf, or roads fresh and thickly gravelled, the traction is independent of the velocity. 6th. Upon a well-made and compact pavement of hewn stones, the traction at a walking pace is not more than three-fourths of that upon the best macadamized roads under similar circumstances; at a trotting pace it is equal to it. 7th. The destruction of the road is in all cases greater, as the diameters of the wheels are less, and it is greater in carriages without than with springs. In Sir H. Parnell's book on roads, p. 73, we are told that Sir John Macneill, by means of an in- strument invented by himself for measuring the tractive force required on different kinds of road, obtained the following general results as to the power requisite to move a ton weight under ordi- nary circumstances, at a very low velocity. 184 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Description of Road. On a well-made pavement On a road made with six inches of broken stone of great hardness, laid either on a foundation of large stones, set in the form of a pave- ment, or upon a bottoming of con- crete On an old flint road, or a road made with a thick coating of broken stone, laid on earth On a road made with a thick coating of gravel, laid on earth · Force, in pounds, re- quired to move a ton. 33 46 65 147 In the same work the relative degrees of resist- ance to traction on the several kinds of roads are thus expressed :- On a timber surface. On a paved road 2 NN 10 5 • • On a well-made broken stone road, in a dry clean state On a well-made broken stone road, covered with dust 8 On a well-made broken stone road, wet and muddy. . 10 On a gravel or flint road, in a dry clean state 13 • 32 On a gravel or flint road, in a wet muddy state OF THE TRAFFIC OF LONDON. I HAVE shown (at p. 159, vol. ii.) that the num- ber of miles of streets included in the Inner Dis- trict of the Metropolitan Police is 1750. Mr. Peter Cunningham, in his excellent "Hand- book of Modern London," tells us that "the streets of the Metropolis, if put together, would measure 3000 miles in length;" but he does not inform us what limits he assigns to the said metropolis; it would seem, however, that he refers to the Outer Police District: and in an- other place he cites the following as the extent of some of the principal thoroughfares New-road • 5115 yds. long, or nearly 3 miles. 2304 Oxford-street Regent-street 1730 وو • · • 1690 "" · 1690 1396 رو "" 1/4 1 "" Piccadilly City-road Strand. Of the two great lines of streets parallel to the river, the one extending along Oxford-street, Hol- born, Cheapside, Cornhill, and Whitechapel to the Regent's-canal, Mile-end, is, says Mr. McCulloch, "above six miles in length;" while that which stretches from Knightsbridge along Piccadilly, the Haymarket, Pall-mall East, the Strand, Fleet- street, Watling-street, Eastcheap, Tower-street, and so on by Ratcliffe-highway to the West India Docks, is, according to the same authority, about equal in length to the other. Mr. Weale asserts, Mr. Weale asserts, as we have already seen, that the greatest length of street from east to west is about fourteen miles, and from north to south about thirteen miles. The number of streets in London is said to be 10,000, though upon what authority the statement is made, and within what compass it is meant to be applied, I have not been able to ascertain. It is calculated, however, that there are 1900 miles of gas "mains " laid down in London and the suburbs; so that adopting the estimate of the Commissioners of Police, or 1760 miles of streets, within an area of about 90 square miles, we can- not go far wrong. Now, as to the amount of traffic that takes place daily over this vast extent of paved road, it is almost impossible to predicate anything defi- nitely. As yet there are only a few crude facts existing in connection with the subject. All we know is, that the London streets are daily tra- versed by 1500 omnibuses-such was the number of drivers licensed by the Metropolitan Com- missioners in 1850-and about 3000 cabs-the number of drivers licensed in 1850 was 5000, but many "cabs" have a day and night driver as well, and the Return from the Stamp and Tax Office cited below, represents the number of licensed cabriolets, in 1849, at 2846: besides these public conveyances, there are the private car- riages and carts, so that the metropolitan vehicles. may be said to employ altogether upwards of 20,000 horses. In the Morning Chronicle I said, when treat- ing of the London omnibus-drivers and conductors : "The average journey, as regards the distance travelled by each omnibus is six miles, and that distance is, in some cases, travelled twelve times a day, or as it is called, 'six there and six back.' Some omnibuses perform the journey only ten times a day, and some, but a minority, a less number of times. Now, taking the average distance travelled by each omnibus at between 45 and 50 miles a day-and this, I am assured, on the best authority, is within the mark, while 60 miles a day might exceed it-and com- puting the omnibuses running daily at 1500, we find a travel,' as it was worded to me, of up- wards of 70,000 miles daily, or a yearly 'travel' of more than 25,000,000 miles; an extent which is upwards of a thousand times more than the circumference of the earth; and that this esti- Imate in no way exceeds the truth is proved by the sum annually paid to the Excise for 'mileage,' which amounts on an average to 91. each bus' per month, or collectively to 162,000l. per annum, and this, at 1d. per mile (the rate of duty charged), gives 25,920,000 miles as the aggregate distance travelled by the entire number of omni- buses every year through the London streets." The distance travelled by the London cabs may be estimated as follows:-Each driver may be said to receive on an average 10s. a day all the year through. Now, the number of licences prove that there are 5000 cab-drivers in London, and as each of these must travel at the least ten miles in order to obtain the daily 10s., we may safely assert that the whole 5000 go over 50,000 miles of ground a day, or, in round numbers, 18,250,000 miles in the course of the year. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 185 According to a return obtained by Mr. Charles Cochrane from the Stamp and Tax Office, Somerset House, there were in the metropolis, in 1849-50, the following number of horses :- • 3,683 Private carriage, job, and cart horses (in London) Ditto (in Westminster) 6,339 (in Westminster) 6,339 Cabriolets licensed 2846 (having two horses each) Omnibuses licensed 1350 (four horses each) · • 5,692 5,500 Total number of horses in the metropolis 21,214 I am assured, by persons well acquainted with the omnibus trade, that the number of omnibus horses here cited is far too low-as many proprie- tors employ ten horses to each "bus," and none less than six. Hence we may fairly assume that there are at the least 25,000 horses at work every day in the streets of London. Besides the horses above mentioned, it is estimated that the number daily coming to the metropolis from the surround- ing parts is 3000; and calculating that each of the 25,000, which may be said to be at work out of the entire number, travels eight miles a day, the aggregate length of ground gone over by the whole would amount to 200,000 miles per diem, or about 70,000,000 miles throughout the year. There are, as we have seen, upwards of 1750 miles of streets in London. It follows, therefore, that each piece of pavement would be traversed no less than 40,000 times per annum, or upwards of a hundred times a day, by some horse or vehicle. As I said before, the facts that have been col- lected concerning the absolute traffic of the seve- ral parts of London are of the most meagre des- cription. The only observations of any character that have been made upon the subject are-as far as my knowledge goes-those of M. D'Arcey, which are contained in a French report upon the roads of London, as compared with those of Paris. This gentleman, speaking of the relative number of vehicles passing and repassing over certain parts of the two capitals, says "The Boulevards of Paris are the parts where the greatest traffic takes place. On the Boulevard des Capucins there pass, every 24 hours, 9070 horses drawing carriages; on the Boulevard des Italiens, 10,750; Boulevard Poissonière, 7720; Boulevard St. Denis, 9609; Boulevard des Filles du Calvairc, 5856: general average of the above, 8600. Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine, 4300; Avenue des Champs Elysées, 8959. At London, in Pall Mall, opposite Her Majesty's Theatre, there pass at least 800 car- riages every hour. On London-bridge the number of vehicles passing and repassing is not less than 13,000 every hour. On Westminster-bridge the annual traffic amounts to 8,000,000 horses at the least. By this it will be seen that the traffic in Paris does not amount to one-half of what it is in the streets of London." OF THE DUST AND DIRT OF THE STREETS OF LONDON. We have merely to reflect upon the vast amount of traffic just shown to be daily going on through- out London-to think of the 70,000,000 miles of journey through the metropolis annually per- formed by the entire vehicles (which is more than two-thirds the distance from the earth to the sun)-to bear in mind that each part of Lon- don is on the average gone over and over again 40,000 times in the course of the year, and some parts as many as 13,000 times in a day—and that every horse and vehicle by which the streets are traversed are furnished, the one with four iron-bound hoofs, and the other with iron-bound wheels-to have an imperfect idea of the enor- mous weights and friction continually operating upon the surface of the streets-as well as the amount of grinding and pulverising, and wear and tear, that must be perpetually taking place in the paving-stones and macadamized roads of Lon- don; and thus we may be able to form some men- tal estimate as to the quantity of dust and dirt annually produced by these means alone. But the table in pp. 186-7, which has been col- lected at great trouble, will give us still more accu- rate notions on the subject. It is not given as per- fect, but as being the best information, in the ab- sence of positive returns, that was procurable even from the best informed. Here, then, we have an aggregate total of dust collected from, the principal parts of the metro- polis amounting to no less than 141,466 loads. The value of this refuse is said to be as much as 21,2217. 8s., but of this and more I shall speak hereafter. At present I merely seek to give the reader a general notion upon the matter. I wish to show him, before treating of the labourers en- gaged in the scavenging of the London streets, the amount of work they have to do. OF THE STREET-DUST OF LONDON, AND THE LOSS AND INJURY OCCASIONED BY IT. THE daily and nightly grinding of thou- sands of wheels, the iron friction of so many horses' hoofs, the evacuations of horses and cattle, and the ceaseless motion of pedestrians, all de- composing the substance of our streets and roads, give rise to many distinct kinds of street-dirt. These are severally known as (1) Dust. (2) Horse-dung and cattle-manure. (3) Mud, when mixed with water and with general refuse,, such as the remains of fruit and other things thrown into the street and swept together. (4) Surface-water when mixed with street- sewage. These productions I shall treat severally, and first of the street-dust. The "detritus" of the streets of London assumes many forms, and is known by many names, according as it is combined with more or less water. ** 186 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A TABLE SHOWING THE SEVERAL DIVISIONS OF THE METROPOLIS CLEANSED BY THE THE SCAVENGERS AND PARISH MEN, THE NAMES OF THE CONTRACTORS, THE NUMBER OF MEN AND CARTS EMPLOYED IN COLLECTING, THE QUANTITY OF DUST AND MUD COLLECTED DAILY IN THE STREETS IN DRY OF THE WHOLE. AND WET WEATHER, WITH THE ANNUAL VALUE Number of Men employed at scavenging. Number of Carts used daily in scavenging. In wet weather. Divisions and Districts, Names of Contractors. In dry In wet weather. weather. weather. In dry ► Kensington. Chelsea · Ditto (Hans' Town) St. George's, Pimlico Ditto, Hanover Square St. Margaret's, Westminster St. John's, ditto St. Martin's. Hungerford-market • St. James's, Westminster Piccadilly Regent-street and Pall-mall St. Ann's, Soho: Woods and Forests Parish Ditto · Mr. C. Humphries Mr. Redding Parish Ditto Mr. Hearne Machine Mr. J. Gore Parish · • Parish and Machine Ditto, ditto Ditto · Machine Parish Ditto Paddington. Marylebone (Five Districts) · Portland-market Mr. Tame D · • Hampstead Highgate St. Pancras, South-west Division Somers-town Southampton Estate Bedford ditto · Brewers' ditto. Calthorpe ditto Cromer ditto Doughty ditto Foundling ditto. Harrison ditto Skinners' ditto Union ditto. Islington District Battle-bridge Hackney • Parish Ditto Mr. Stapleton. Mr. Starkey • Mr. C. Starkey Mr. J. Gore D Mr. C. Starkey · • ► · Ditto Ditto. • + Mr. Martin Ditto Ditto Mr. H. North. Mr. J. Gore. Parish Mr. Starkey Parish Number of loads collected daily. Number of Cart-Loads In dry In wet weather. weather. annually collected by the Scavengers. Annual value of Dirt collected by Scavengers. £ s. d. 20 28 8 3 2 1 4 6 1 • • 20 3 1 GGGAAGBANOVVGAAGGr 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 4 1 NNNNNNNNN∞ON 223◄NNNNNNANNO45 6 1 1 1 2212-324-2222224IIINNN, 3 1252 187 16 0 4 3 5 13 8 8 4 1 5 8 4 4 5 6 15 NovaaKuwadova 1565 234 15 0 1252 187 16 0 1878 281 14 0 626 93 18 0 2817 422 11 0 2817 422 11 0 1565 626 234 15 0 93 18 0 1878 281 14 0 3130 469 10 0 1565 234 15 0 1565 234 15 0 1878 281 14 0 2191 328 13 0 6260 939 0 0 4 939 140 17 0 4 939 140 17 0 4 939 140 17 0 6 1565 234 15 0 7 9 2504 375 12 0 1 1 3 5 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 433 1252 187 16 0 626 93 18 0 626 93 18 0 2 1 1 1 626 93 18 0 2 1 1 1* 626 93 18 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 6 1 5 7 1 D ED CD CD CD CD 10 DA 626 93 18 0 626 93 18 0 626 93 18 0 626 93 18 0 626 93 18 0 1252 187 16 0 1878 281 14 0 939 17 0 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 187 , St. Giles-in-the-Fields and St. George, Blooms- bury St. Mary-le-Strand Savoy St. Clement Danes St. Paul's, Covent Garden. Covent Garden-market Holborn St. Sepulchre's Hatton-garden St. James's, Clerkenwell St. John's, ditto St. Luke's Goswell-street Liberty of the Rolls Blackfriars Bridge City Division, Eastern, A Ditto, North Middle, B Ditto, Western, C. Ditto, South Middle, D Shoreditch Norton Folgate Finsbury Square District J St. Botolph. • + Mr. Redding Mr. J. Gore Ditto Parish Ditto • Mr. Stapleton Parish Mr. J. Gore - Mr. Dodd. Mr. J. Gould • Mr. Dodd. · Messrs. Pratt and Sewell Mr. Redding Messrs. Pratt and Sewell Mr. Jenkins Mr. G. Sinnott Mr. T. Rooke. Mr. C. Redding Mr. J. Gould Mr. Dodd. Mr. J. Gould Ditto · Mr. Westley • • 2 6 10 AČUJNAONGNGGO 2 1 1 3 3219 3 waggons. 1 2 carts. 6 9 3 1 1 3 3 6412MOTA18G 10 2504 375 12 0 6 1565 234 15 0 626 93 18 0 1252 187 16 0 5 1252 187 16 0 12 3130 469 10 0 6 1565 234 15 15 0 4 939 140 17 0 3 626 93 18 0 10 2817 422 11 0 8 2191 328 13 0 6 8 10 2817 422 11 0 4 1 2 4 6 1565 234 15 0 1 1 1 3 626 93 18 0 5 1 1 4 6 1565 234 15 0 • 10 16 4 9 13 12 14 4 10 12 3 6 9 2 3 5 3 4 Spitalfields District. Spitalfields-market Bethnal-green Whitechapel Commercial-road Mile-end Ditto, New-town • St. John's, Wapping Shadwell St. George's-in-the-East Stepney.. Poplar East Borough. West ditto Borough Clink · Mr. Newman Mr. Parsons 3 7 Mr. E. Newman Mr. Parsons Parish · Mr. Newman Mr. Parsons Mr. Westley 6 · 4 1 • • Ditto Ditto • · . Mr. E. Newman Parish Mr. Redding Ditto 4 1 · · 6 2 6 1 • · 4 1 4 6 • • • Bermondsey Newington Lambeth Wandsworth Ditto (Christchurch) Camberwell and Walworth Rotherhithe Mr. W. Sinnott Parish 3 • 4 • • · Ditto 4 • Ditto 12 16 Ditto 14 20 Ditto 2 Ditto 4 Ditto Greenwich Deptford Ditto 3 Ditto Ditto 3 Woolwich Ditto 2 AGAGGGF55DQGA 6 2212-~~--HI 1 1 1 1 6054TNNNNTTMANINN M O IM NNAN” ∞ HO ONNA-d 2133NNI, 12 16 4382 657 6 0 G 8 12 3130 469 10 0 14 18 5008 751 4 0 9 11 3130 469 10 0 8 12 3130 469 10 0 4 6 1565 234 15 0 6 2191 328 13 0 6 1565 234 15 0 5 1252 187 16 0 6 1565 234 15 0 8 10 2817 422 11 0 3 6 8 2191 328 13 0 3 4 6 1565 234 15 0 2 3 5 1252 187 16 0 1 3 1252 2 2 4 939 187 16 0 140 17 0 3 5 1252 187 16 0 6 8 2191 328 13 0 4 6 1565 234 15 0 1 4 939 140 17 0 1252 187 16 0 4 939 140 17 0 4 939 140 17 0 9 15 3576 563 18 0 5 1252 187 16 0 8 10 2817 422 11 0 3 1 6 9 2191 328 13 0 1 626 93 18 0 5 1878 281 14 0 3 4 6 -568 1252 187 16 0 1565 234 15 0 2191 328 13 0 3 5 1252 187 16 0 1 1 3 626 93 18 0 Lewisham Scavengers' Total 358 531 130 183 13551 5481 140,983 21,147 9 0 Average total. Orderlies Gross total. 4441 men. 546 ditto. 156 carts. ... 9901 men. 156) 452 loads daily. 9 ditto. 461 loads daily. 143,800 loads yearly. £21,499 11 6 140,983 loads yearly. 2,817 ditto. £21,147 9 0 352 26 " 188 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 1st. In a perfectly dry state, so that the par- ticles no longer exist either in a state of cohesion or aggregation, but are minutely divided and dis- tinct, it is known by the name of "dust." 2nd. When in combination with a small quan- tity of water, so that it assumes the consistency of a pap, the particles being neither free to move nor yet able to resist pressure, the detritus is known by the name of "mac mud," or simply mud," according as it proceeds from a macadam- ized or stone paved road. "( 3rd. When in combination with a greater quan- tity of water, so that it is rendered almost liquid, it is known as "slop-dirt." 4th. When in combination with a still greater quantity of water, so that it is capable of running off into the sewers, it is known by the name of "street surface-water." The mud of the streets of London is then merely the dust or detritus of the granite of which they are composed, agglutinated either with rain or the water from the watering-carts. Gra- nite consists of silex, felspar, and mica. Silex is sand, while felspar and mica are also silex in combination with alumina (clay), and either potash or magnesia. Hence it would appear to be owing to the affinity of the alumina or clay for moisture, as well as the property of silex to " gelatinize" with water under certain conditions, that the particles of dry dust derive their property of agglutinating, when wetted, and so forming what is termed "mud "-either "mac," or simple mud, according, as I said before, to the nature of the paving on which it is formed. | from the friction of the wooden pavement even when kept moist. In the roads of the nearest suburbs, even around such places as the Regent's- park, at many seasons this dust is produced the enjoyment of fresh air is one for the intrusion largely, so that very often an open window for of fresh dust. This may be less the case in the busier and more frequently-watered thoroughfares, but even there the annoyance is great. I find in the "Reports" in which this subject is mentioned but little said concerning the in- Dr. Arnott, however, is very explicit on the subject. fluence of dust upon the public health. "It is," says he, "scarcely conceivable that the immense quantities of granite dust, pounded by one or two hundred thousand pairs of wheels (!) working on macadamized streets, should not greatly injure the public health. In houses bor- dering such streets or roads it is found that, not- withstanding the practice of watering, the furni- ture is often covered with dust, even more than once in the day, so that writing on it with the finger becomes legible, and the lungs and air tubes of the inhabitants, with a moist lining to detain the dust, are constantly pumping in the same atmosphere. The passengers by a stage-coach in dry weather, when the wind is moving with them so as to keep them enveloped in the cloud of dust raised by the horses' feet and the wheels of the coach, have their clothes soon saturated to white- ness, and their lungs are charged in a correspond- ing degree. A gentleman who rode only 20 miles in this way had afterwards to cough and ex- pectorate for ten days to clear his chest again." In order that the deleteriousness to health in- By dust the street-cleansers mean the collection cident to the inhalation of these fine and offensive of every kind of refuse in the dust-bins; but I particles may be the better estimated, I may here speak, of course, of the fine particles of earthy add, that in every 24 hours an adult breathes matter produced by the attrition of our roads 36 hogsheads of air; and Mr. Erasmus Wilson, when in a dry state. Street-dust is, more properly in his admirable work on the Skin, has the fol- speaking, mud deprived of its moisture by evapo-lowing passage concerning the extent of surface ration. Miss Landon (L. E. L.) used to describe the London dust as "mud in high spirits," and perhaps no figure of speech could convey a better notion of its character. In some parts of the suburbs on windy days London is a perfect dust-mill, and although the dust may be allayed by the agency of the water- carts (by which means it is again converted into mac," or mud), it is not often thoroughly allayed, and is a source of considerable loss, labour, and annoyance. Street-dust is not collected for any useful purpose, so that as there is no return to be balanced against its prejudicial effects it remains only to calculate the quantity of it annually pro- duced, and thus to arrive at the extent of the mischief. Street-dust is disintegrated granite, that is, pul- verized quartz and felspar, felspar being princi- pally composed of alumina or clay, and quartz silex or sand; it is the result of the attrition, or in a word it is the detritus, of the stones used in pavements and in macadamization; it is further composed of the pulverization of all horse and cattle-dung, and of the almost imperceptible, but still, I am assured, existent powder which arises presented by the lungs "The lungs receive the atmospheric air through the windpipe. At the root of the neck the wind- pipe, or trachea, divides into two branches, called bronchi, and each bronchus, upon entering its respective lung, divides into an infinity of small tubes; the latter terminate in small pouches, called air-cells, and a number of these little air-cells communicate together at the extremity of each small tube. The number of air-cells in the two lungs has been estimated at 1,744,000,000, and the extent of the skin which lines the cells. and tubes together at 1500 square feet. This cal- culation of the number of air-cells, and the extent of the lining membrane, rests, I believe, on the authority of Dr. Addison of Malvern." What is the amount of atmospherical granite, dung, and refuse-dust received in a given period into the human lungs, has never, I am informed, been ascertained even by approximation; but ac- cording to the above facts it must be something fearful to contemplate. After this brief recital of what is known concern- ing the sanitary part of the question, I proceed to consider the damage and loss occasioned by street- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 189 dust. In no one respect, perhaps, can this be ascertained with perfect precision, but still even a rough approximation to the extent of the evil is of value, as giving us more definite ideas on the subject. It will be seen, on reference to the preceding table, that the quantity of street-refuse collected in dry weather throughout the metropolis is be- tween 300 and 400 cart-loads daily, or upwards of 100,000 cart-loads, the greater proportion of which may be termed street-dust. The damage occasioned by the street-dust arises from its penetrating, before removal, the atmosphere both without and within our houses, and consists in the soiling of wearing apparel, the injury of the stock-in-trade of shopkeepers, and of household furniture. ་ a Washing is, of course, dependent upon the duration of time in which it is proper, in the estimation of the several classes of society, to retain wearing apparel upon the person, on the bed or the table, without what is termed "change ;" and this duration of time with thou- sands of both men and women is often deter- mined by the presence or absence of dirt on the garment; and not arbitrarily, as among wealthier people, with whom a clean shirt every morning, and a clean table-cloth every one, two, three, or more days, as may happen, are regarded as things of course, no matter what may be the state of the displaced linen. As this estimate, however, appears to me to exaggerate the evil beyond all duc bounds, I will proceed to adduce a few facts, bearing upon the point: and first as to the the point and first as to the expense of washing. In order to ascertain as accurately as possible, the actual washing expenses of labouring men and their families whose washing was done at home, Mr. John Bullar, the Honorary Secretary to the Association for the Promotion of Baths and Wash- houses, tells us in a Report presented to Parliament, "that inquiries were made of several hundred families of labouring men, and it was found that, taking the wife's labour as worth 5s. a week! the total cost of washing at home, for a man and wife and four children, averaged very closely on 2s. 6d. a week, =5d. a head. The cost of coals, soda, soap, starch, blue, and sometimes water, was rather less than one-third of the amount. time occupied was rarely less than two days, and more often extended into a third day, so that the value of the labour was rather more than two- thirds of the amount. The "The cost of washing to single men among the labouring classes, whose washing expenditure might be expected to be on a very low scale, such as hod-men and street-sweepers, was found to be 4d. a head. | "The cost of washing to very small tradesmen could not be safely estimated at much more than 6d. a head a week. It may, perhaps," continues the Report, "be The Board of Health, in one of their Reports, safe to reckon the weekly washing expenses of the speak very decisively and definitely on this sub-poorer half of the inhabitants of the metropolis at ject. Per- "Common observation of the rate at which the skin, linen, and clothes (not to speak of paper, books, prints, and furniture) become dirty in the metropolis," say they, "as compared with the time that elapses before a proportionate amount of deterioration and uncleanliness is communicated in the rural districts, will warrant the estimate, that full one-half the expense of washing to maintain a passable degree of cleanliness, is rendered ne- cessary by the excess of smoke generated in open fires, and the excess of dust arising from the im- perfect scavenging of the roads and streets. sons engaged in washing linen on a large scale, state that it is dirtied in the crowded parts of the metropolis in one-third the time in which the like degree of uncleanliness would be produced in a rural district; but all attest the fact, that linen is more rapidly destroyed by washing than by the wear on the person. The expense of the more rapid destruction of linen must be added to the extra expense of washing. These expenses and inconveniences, the greater portion of which are due to local maladministration, occasion an extra expenditure of upwards of two to three millions per annum-exclusive of the injury done to the general health and the medical and other expenses consequent thereon." Here, then, we find the evil effects of the im- perfect scavenging of the metropolis estimated at between two and three millions sterling per annum, and this in the mere matter of extra washing and its necessary concomitant extra wear and tear of clothes. not exceeding 6d. a head; but the expenditure for washing rapidly increases as the inquiry ascends into what are called the 'middle classes.' "The washing expenses of families in which servants are employed may be considered as double that of the servants', and, therefore, as ranging from 1s. 6d. to 5s. a week a head. "There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining with any exactness the washing expenditure of private families, but the conclusion is that, taking the whole population, the washing bills of London are nearly 1s. a week a head, or 5,000,000l. a year. "Of course," adds Mr. Bullar, "I give this as but a rough estimate, and many exceptions may easily be taken to it; but I feel pretty confident that it is not very far from the truth." As I before stated, I am in no way disposed to go to the extent of the calculation here made. It appears to me that in parliamentary investiga- tions by the agency of select committees, or by gentlemen appointed to report on any subject, there is an aptitude to deal with the whole body of the people as if they were earning the wages of well and regularly-employed labourers, or even mechanics. To suppose that the starv- ing ballast-heaver, the victim of a vicious truck system, which condemns him to poverty and drunkenness, or the sweep, or the dustinan, or the street-seller, all very numerous classes expends 1s. a week in his washing, is far beyond the fact. Still less is expended in the washing of these people's children. Even the well-con- ducted artizan, with two clean shirts a week 190 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. # (costing him 6d.), with the washing of stockings, &c. (costing 1d. or 2d.), does not expend 1s. a week; so that, though the washing bills of many ladies and of some gentlemen may average 10s. weekly, if we consider how few are rich and how many poor, the extra payment seems insuffi- cient to make up the average of the weekly shilling for the washing of all classes. A prosperous and respectable master green- grocer, who was what may be called "particular" in his dress, as he had been a gentleman's servant, and was now in the habit of waiting upon the wealthy persons in his neighbourhood, told me that the following was the average of his washing bill. He was a bachelor; all his washing was put out, and he considered his expenditure far above the average of his class, as many used no night-shirt, but slept in the shirts they wore during the day, and paid only 3d., and even less, per shirt to their washer-woman, and perhaps, and more especially in winter, made one shirt last the week. Two shirts (per week) Stockings. Night-shirt (worn two weeks ge- nerally, average per week) Sheets, blankets, and other house- hold linens or woollens Handkerchiefs. • 7d. 1 03/30 2 بت رستم 01/1 11d. My informant was satisfied that he had put his expenditure at the highest. I also ascertained that an industrious wife, who was able to attend to her household matters, could wash the clothes of a small tradesman's family, for a man, his wife, and four small children," well," at the following rate :- 1 lb. soap Soda and starch cwt. coals (extra) or less than 1d. per head. 4 d. or 5d. 4ld. 03/ 3 1/ 8d. In this calculation it will be seen the cheapest soap is reckoned, and that there is no allowance for the wife's labour. When I pointed out the latter circumstance, my informant said: "I look on it that the washing labour is part of the wife's keep, or what she gives in return for it; and that as she'd have to be kept if she didn't do it, why there shouldn't be no mention of it. If she was working for others it would be quite different, but washing is a family matter; that's my way of looking at it. Coke, too, is often used instead of coals; besides, a bit of bacon, or potatoes, or the tea-kettle, will have to be boiled, and that's managed along with the hot water for the suds, and would have to be done anyhow, especially in winter.' ? One decent woman, who had five children, "all under eight," told me she often sat up half, and sometimes the whole night to wash, when busy other ways. She was not in poverty, for she earned "a good bit" in going out to cook, and | her husband was employed by a pork-butcher. I may further add, that a great many single men wash their own clothes. Many of the street-sellers in particular do this; so do such of the poor as live in their own rooms, and occasionally the dwellers in the low lodging-houses. One street-seller of ham sandwiches, whose aprons, sleeves, and tray-cloth, were remarkably white, told me that he washed them himself, as well as his shirt, &c., and that it was the common practice with his class. This washing-his aprons, tray-cloths, shirts, and stock- ings included-cost him, every three weeks, 4 d. or 5d. for 1 lb. of soap, which is less than 1d. a week. Among such people it is considered that the washing of a shirt is, as they say, a penn'orth of soap, and the stockings in," meaning that a penny outlay is sufficient to wash for both. But not only does Mr. Bullar's estimate exceed the truth as regards the cost of washing among the poorer classes, but it also errs in the propor- tion they are said to bear to the other ranks of society. That gentleman speaks of "the poorer half of the inhabitants of the metropolis," as if the rich and poor were equal in numbers! but with all deference, it will be found that the ratio be- tween the well-to-do and the needy is as 1 to 2, that is to say, the property and income-tax returns teach us there are at least two persons with an income below 1507. per annum, to every one having an income Hence, the population of London being, within a fraction, 2,400,000; the numbers of the metropolitan well-to-do and needy would be re- spectively 800,000 and 1,600,000, and, allowing the cost of the washing of the former to average 1s. per head (adults and children), and, the wash- ing of the labouring classes to come to 2d. a head, young and old (the expense of the materials, when the work is done at home, average, it has been shown, about 1½d. for each member of the family), we shall then have the following statement :- above it. Annual cost of washing for 800,000 people, at 1s. per head per week. £2,080,000 Annual cort of washing for 1,600,000 people, at 2d. per head per week 693,333 Total cost of washing of metropolis £2,773,333 I am convinced, low as the estimate of 2d. a weck may appear for all whose incomes are under 150l. a year, from many considerations, that the above computation is rather over than under the truth. As, for instance, Mr. Hawes has said concerning the consumption of soap in the metro- polis, "Careful inquiry has proved that the quantity used is much greater than that indicated by the Excise returns; but reducing the results obtained by inquiry in one uniform proportion, the quantity used by the labouring classes earning from 10s. to 30s. per week is 10 lbs. each per annum, including every member of the family. Dividing the population of the metropolis into three classes: (1) the wealthy; (2) the shop- keepers and tradesmen; (3) labourers and the poor, and allowing 15 lbs., 10 lbs., and 4 lbs. to HU STREET ORDERLIE S. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 191 each respectively, the consumption of the metro- | nevertheless, an under-estimate for maintaining, polis will be nearly 200 tons per week." The at the present expense of washing, a proper amount of cleanliness in linen." cost of each ton of soap Mr. Hawes estimates at 457. Professor Clarke, however, computes the metro- politan consumption of soap at 250 tons per week, and the cost per ton at 501. According to the above estimates, the total quantity of soap used every year in the metropolis is 12,000 tons, and this, at 50l. per ton, comes to • Professor Clarke reckons the gross consumption of soda in the metropolis, at 250 tons per month, costing 10l. a ton; hence for the year the con- sumption will be 3000 tons, cost- ing • The cost of water, according to the same authority, is 3s. 4d. per head per annum, and this, for the whole metropolis, amounts to · Estimating the cost of the coals used in heating the water to be equal to that of the soap, we have for the gross expense of fuel annually con- sumed in washing • · £600,000 30,000 400,000 600,000 550,000 550,000 50,000 There are 21,000 laundresses in London, and, calculating that the wages of these average 10s. a week each all the year round, the gross sum paid to them, would be in round numbers Profit of employers, say Add for sundries, as starch, &c. Total cost of washing of metropolis £2,780,000 Hence it would appear, that viewed either by the individual expense of the great bulk of society, or else by the aggregate cost of the materials and labour used in cleansing the clothes of the people of London, the total sum annually expended in the washing of the metropolis may be estimated at the outside at two millions and three quarters sterling per annum, or about 17. 3s. 4d. per head. And yet, though the data for the calculation here given, as to the cost and quantity of the principal materials used in cleansing the clothes of London, are derived from the same Report as that iu which the expense of the metropolitan washing is estimated at 5,000,0007. per annum, the Board of Health do not hesitate in that document to say that," Of the fairness of the estimate of the expense of washing to the higher and middle classes, and to the great bulk of the householders, and the better class of artizans, we entertain no doubt whatever. Whatsoever deductions, if any, may be made from the above estimate, it is, Proceeding, however, with the calculation as to the loss from the imperfect scavenging of the metropolis, we have the following results :- LOSS FROM DUST AND DIRT IN THE STREETS OF TO THE EXTRA THE METROPOLIS, OWING WASHING ENTAILED THEREBY. According to the Board of Health, taking the yearly amount of the wash- ing of the metropolis at 5,000,000l., and assuming the washing to be doubled by street-dirt, the loss will be £2,500,000 Calculating the washing, however, for reasons above adduced, to be only 2,750,000l., and to be as much again as it might be under an improved system of scavenging, the loss will be 1,375,000 Or calculating, as a minimum, that the remediable loss is less than one- half, the cost is £1,000,000 Hence it would appear that the loss from dust and dirt is really enormous. In a work entitled " Sanatory Progress," being the Fifth Report of the National Philanthropic Association, I find a calculation as to the losses sustained from dust and dirt upon our clothes. Owing to the increased wear from daily brushing to remove the dust, and occasional scraping to remove the mud, the loss is estimated at from 31. to 71. per annum for each well-dressed man and woman, and 17. for inferiorly-dressed persons, including their Sunday and holiday clothing. I inquired of a West-end tailor, who previously to his establishment in business had himself been an operative, and had had experience both in town and country as to the wear of clothes, and I learned from him the following particulars. With regard to the clothes of the wealthy classes, of those who could always command a carriage in bad weather, there are no means of judging as to the loss caused by bad scavengery. My informant, however, obliged me with the following calculations, the results of his experience. His trade is what I may describe as a medium business, between the low slop and the high fashionable trades. The garments of which he spoke were those worn by clerks, shopmen, students, tradesmen, town-travellers, and others not engaged in menial or handicraft labour. Altogether, and after consulting his books rela- tive to town and country customers, my informant thought it might be easy to substantiate the fol- lowing estimate as regards the duration and cost of clothes in town and country among the classes I have specified. * 192 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. TABLE SHOWING THE COMPARATIVE COST OF CLOTHES WORN IN TOWN AND COUNTRY. Town. Country. Garments. Original cost. Difference of cost. Duration. Annual cost. Duration. Annual cost. Coat £ s. d. 2 10 0 Years. £ s. d. Years. £ s. d. £ s. d. 2 1 5 0 Waistcoat Trowsers • 0 15 0 21/ 1 5 0 14 0 6 0 1 0 0 Nww 3 0 16 S 0 8 4 3 0 5 0 0 1 0 2 0 12 6 0 7 6 1 14 2 0 16 10 Total Suit. 4 10 0 2 11 0 Here, then, it appears that the annual outlay for clothes in town, by the classes I have specified, is about 27. 11s.; while the annual outlay in the country for the same garments is 17. 14s. 2d.; the difference of expense being 16s. 10d. per annum. I consulted another tailor on the sub- ject, and his estimate was a trifle above that of my informant. I should remark that the proportion thus adduced holds, whatever be the number of garments worn in the year, or in a series of years, for the calcu- lation was made not as to individual garments, but as to the general wear, evinced by the average outlay, as shown in the tradesman's books, of the same class of persons in town and country. In the calculation given in the publication of the National Philanthropic Association, the loss on a well-dressed Londoner's clothing, arising from excessive dust and dirt, is estimated at from 37. to 7. per annum. By the above table it will be seen that the clothes which cost 1l. 14s. 2d. per annum in the cleanliness of a country abode, cost 27. 11s., or, within a fraction, half as much again, in the uncleanliness of a London atmo- sphere and roads. If, therefore, any London in- habitant, of the classes I have specified, expend four times 21. 11s. in his clothes yearly, as many do, or 101. 4s., he loses 31. 5s. 4d., or 5s. 4d. more than the minimum mentioned in the Report alluded to. Now estimating 21. 10s. as the yearly tailor's bill among the well-to-do (boys and men), and cal- culating that one-sixth of the metropolitan popula- tion (that is, half of the one-third who may be said to belong to the class having incomes above 1507. a year) spend this sum yearly in clothes, we have the following statement: AGGREGATE LOSS UPON CLOTHES WORN IN LONDON. £ s. d. 400,000 persons living in London expend in clothing (at 21. 10s. per annum) • 400,000 persons living in bet- ter atmospheres in rural parts, and with the same stock of clothes, expend one-third less, or 1,000,000 0 0 666,666 13 4 Difference 333,333 6 8 It would be pushing the inquiry to exceeding minuteness were I to enter into calculations as to the comparative expense of boots, hats, and ladies' dresses worn in town and country; suffice it, that competent persons in each of the vestiary trades. have been seen, and averages drawn for the accounts of their town and country customers. All things, then, being duly considered, the fol- lowing conclusion would seem to be warranted by the facts: Annual cost of clothes to 800,000 of the metropolitan population (those belonging to the class who have in- comes above 150l. per annum) at 41. per year each • Annual cost of clothes to 1,600,000 of the metropolitan population (those belonging to the class who have in- comes below 1507. per annum), at 17. per year each £3,200,000 • 1,600,000 £4,800,000 3,600,000 Annual cost of the same clothes if worn in the country • • Extra expense annually entailed by dust and dirt of metropolis · £1,200,000 In the above estimate I have included the cost of wear and tear of linen from extra washing when worn in London, and this has been stated on the authority of the Board of Health to be double that of linen worn in the country. In connection with this subject I may cite the following curious calculation, taken from a Parlia- mentary Report, as to the cost of a working man's new shirt, comprising four yards of strong calico. Material.-Cotton at 6d. per lb. d. 14 lb., with loss thereupon. Manufacture,— Spinning Weaving Profit 8.25 d. 2.25 · 3.00 •25 5.50 13.75 Bleaching about. 1.25 15.00 Grey (calico) 13.75d.+9d. (making)=1s. 10ąd. Bleached • 15d. +9d. -2s. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 193 OF THE HORSE-DUNG OF THE STREETS OF LONDON. "FAMILIARITY with streets of crowded traffic deadens the senses to the perception of their actual condition. Strangers coming from the country frequently describe the streets of London as smelling of dung like a stable-yard." As regards the loss and damage occasioned by the injury to household furniture and decorations, and to stocks-in-trade, which is another important consideration connected with this subject, I find the following statement in the Report of the Phi- lanthropic Institution :-" The loss by goods and furniture is incalculable: shopkeepers lose from 10l. to 150l. a-year by the spoiling of their goods for sale; dealers in provisions especially, who cannot expose them without being de- teriorated in value, from the dust that is in- cessantly settling upon them. Nor is it much better with clothiers of all kinds :-Mr. Holmes, shawl merchant, in Regent-street, has stated that his losses from road-dust alone exceed 1501. per annum.' "In a communication with Mr. Mivart, respecting the expenses of mud and road-dust to him, that gentleman stated that the rent of the four houses of which his hotel is composed, was 8967.; and that he could not (con-surance, "It is the smell of the Continent, ma'am." sidering the cost of cleaning and servants) estimate the expense of repairing the damage done by the dirt and dust, carried and blown into these houses, at a less annual sum than that of his rent!" An upholsterer obliged me with the following calculations, but so many were the materials, and so different the rates of wear or the liability to injury in different materials in his trade, that he could only calculate generally. The same quality, colour, and pattern of cur- tains, silk damasks, which he had furnished to a house in town, and to a country house belonging to the same gentleman, looked far fresher and better after five years' wear in the country than after three in town. Both windows had a southern aspect, but the occupant would have his windows partially open unless the weather was cold, foggy, or rainy. It was the same, or nearly the same, he thought, with the carpets on the two places, for London dust was highly injurious to all the better qualities of carpets. He was satisfied, also, it was the same generally in upholstery work subjected to town dust. I inquired at several West-end and city shops, and of different descriptions of tradesmen, of the injury done to their shop and shop-window goods by the dust, but I found none who had made any calculations on the subject. All, however, agreed that the dust was an excessive annoyance, and en- tailed great expense; a ladies' shoemaker and a bookseller expressed this particularly-on the ne- cessity of making the window a sort of small glass-house to exclude the dust, which, after all, was not sufficiently excluded. All thought, or with but one hesitating exception, that the esti- mation as to the loss sustained by the Messrs. Holmes, considering the extent of their premises, and the richness of the goods displayed in the windows, &c., was not in excess. I can, then, but indicate the injury to household furniture and stock-in-trade as a corroboration of all that has been advanced touching the damaging effects of road dirt. Such is one of the statements in a Report sub- mitted to Parliament, and there is no reason to doubt the fact. Every English visitor to a French city, for instance, must have detected street-odours of which the inhabitants were utterly unconscious. In a work which 'between 20 and 30 years ago was deservedly popular, Mathews's "Diary of an Invalid," it is mentioned that an English lady complaining of the villanous rankness of the air in the first French town she entered-Calais, if I remember rightly-received the comfortable as- Even in Cologne, itself, the "most stinking city of Europe," as it has been termed, the citizens are insensible to the foul airs of their streets, and yet possess great skill in manufacturing perfumed and distilled waters for the toilet, pluming them- selves on the delicacy and discrimination of their nasal organs. What we perceive in other cities, as strangers, those who visit London detect in our streets-that they smell of dung like stable- yards. It is idle for London denizens, because they are unconscious of the fact, to deny the existence of any such effluvia. I have met with nightmen who have told me that there was >> An nothing particular" in the smell of the cesspools they were emptying; they "hardly perceived it. One man said, "Why, it's like the sort of stuff I've smelt in them ladies' smelling-bottles." eminent tallow-melter said, in the course of his evidence before Parliament during a sanitary in- quiry, that the smell from the tallow-melting on his premises was not only healthful and reviving for invalids came to inhale it--but agreeable. I mention these facts to meet the scepticism which the official assertion as to the stable-like odour of the streets may, perhaps, provoke. When, however, I state the quantity of horse- dung and cattle-droppings voided in the streets, all incredulity, I doubt not, will be re- moved. "It has been ascertained," says the Report of the National Philanthropic Association, "that four-fifths of the street-dirt consist of horse and cattle-droppings." Let us, therefore, endeavour to arrive at de- finite notions as to the absolute quantity of this element of street-dirt. And, first, as to the number of cattle and horses traversing the streets of London. In the course of an inquiry in November, 1850, into Smithfield-market, I adduced the fol- lowing results as to the number of cattle entering the metropolis, deriving the information from the experience of Mr. Deputy Hicks, confirmed by returns to Parliament, by the amount of tolls, and further ratified by the opinion of some of the most experienced "live salesmen" and "dead 194 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 salesmen" (sellers on commission of live and dead cattle), whose assistance I had the pleasure of obtaining. The return is of the stock annually sold in Smithfield-market, and includes not only English but foreign beasts, sheep, and calves; the latter ave- raging weekly in 1848 (the latest return then pub- lished), beasts, 590; sheep, 2478; and calves, 248. 224,000 horned cattle. 1,550,000 sheep. 27,300 calves. 40,000 pigs. Total, 1,841,300. I may remark that this is not a criterion of the consumption of animal food in the metropolis, for there are, besides the above, the daily sup- plies from the country to the "dead salesmen." The preceding return, however, is sufficient for my present purpose, which is to show the quan- tity of cattle manure "dropped" in London. The number of cattle entering the metropolis, then, are 1,841,300 per annum. The number of horses daily traversing the me- tropolis has been already set forth. By a return obtained by Mr. Charles Cochrane from the Stamp and Tax Office, we have seen that there are altogether In London and Westminster, of pri- vate carriage, job, and cart horses Cab horses • The total here given includes the returns of horses which were either taxed or the property of those who employ them in hackney-carriages in the metropolis. But the whole of these 24,214 horses are not at work in the streets every day. Perhaps it might be an approximation to the truth, if we reckoned five-sixths of the horses as being worked regularly in the public thorough- fares; so that we arrive at the conclusion that 20,000 horses are daily worked in the metro- polis; and hence we have an aggregate of 7,300,000 horses traversing the streets of London in the twelvemonth. The beasts, sheep, calves, and pigs driven and conveyed to and from Smith- field are, we have seen, 1,841,300 in number. These, added together, make up a total of 9,141,300 animals appearing annually in the London thoroughfares. The circumstance of Smithfield cattle-market being held but twice a week in no way detracts from the amount here given; for as the gross number of individual cattle coming to that market in the course of the year is given, each animal is estimated as appear- ing only once in the metropolis. The next point for consideration is what is the quantity of dung dropped by each of the above animals while in the public thoroughfares? Concerning the quantity of excretions passed by a horse in the course of 24 hours there have 10,022 been some valuable experiments made by phi- 5,692 losophers whose names alone are a sufficient 5,500 guarantee for the accuracy of their researches. 3,000 The following Table from Boussingault's expe- riments is copied from the "Annales de Chimie Total number of horses daily in London 24,214 et de Physique," t. lxxi. Omnibus horses • Horses daily coming to metropolis. FOOD CONSUMED BY AND EXCRETIONS OF A HORSE IN TWENTY-FOUR FOOD. HOURS. EXCRETIONS. Weight in a fresh state in grammes. Weight in a fresh state in pounds. 3 7 Hay Oats 7,500 lbs. oz. 20 0 2,270 6 1 Excrements Urine 14,250 1,330 Weight in a fresh state in grammes. Weight in a fresh state in pounds. lbs. 02. 38 2 9,770 Water 26 1 42 10 Total 68 11 Total 15,580 41 9 16,000 25,770 Here it will be seen that the quantity of solid food given to the horse in the course of the 24 hours amounted only to 26 lbs. ; whereas it is stated in the Report of the National Philanthropic Association, on the authority of the veterinary surgeon to the Life Guards, that the regulation horse rations in all cavalry regiments is 30 lbs. of solid food; viz., 10 lbs. of oats, 12 lbs. of hay, together with 8 lbs. of straw, for the horse to lie upon and munch at his leisure, "This | quantity of solid food, with five gallons of water' is considered sufficient," we are told, "for all regimental horses, who have but little work to perform, in comparison with the draught horses. of the metropolis, many of which consume daily 35 lbs. and upwards of solid food, with at least six gallons of water. "At a conference held with the secretary and professors of the Veterinary College in College- street, Camden-town," continues the Report, LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR." 195 "those gentlemen kindly undertook to institute a series of experiments in this department of equine physiology; the subject being one which interested themselves, professionally, as well as the council of the National Philanthropic Asso- ciation. The experiments were carefully con- ducted under the superintendence of Professor Varnell. The food, drink, and voidances of several horses, kept in stable all day long, were separately weighed and measured; and the fol- lowing were the results with an animal of medium size and sound health:- 'Royal Veterinary College, Sept. 29, 1849. "Brown horse of middle size ate in 24 hours, of hay, 16 lbs.; oats, 10 lbs. ; chaff, 4 lbs. ; in all • Drank of water, in 24 hours, 6 gal- lons, or • Total · Voided in the form of fæces Allowance for nutrition, supply of waste in system, perspiration, and urine (Signed) "GEORGE VArnell, 30lbs. 48 lbs. 78lbs. 49 lbs. 29 lbs. "Demonstrator of Anatomy.' Here we find the excretions to be 11 lbs. more than those of the French horse experimented upon by M. Boussingault; but then the solid food given to the English horse was 4 lbs. more, and the liquid upwards of 7 lbs. extra. We may then, perhaps, assume, without fear of erring, that the excrements voided by horses in the course of 24 hours, weigh, at the least, 45 lbs. Hence the gross quantity of dung produced by the 7,300,000 horses which traverse the London streets in the course of the twelvemonth will be 7,300,000 × 45, or 328,500,000 lbs., which is upwards of 146,651 tons. But these horses cannot be said to be at work above six hours each day; we must, therefore, divide the above quantity by four, and thus we find that there are 36,662 tons of horse-dung annually dropped in the streets of London. I am informed, on good authority, that the evacuations of an ox, in 24 hours, will, on the average, exceed those of a horse in weight by about a fifteenth, while, if the ox be disturbed by being driven, the excretions will exceed the horse's by about a twelfth. As the oxen are not driven in the streets, or detained in the market for so long a period as horses are out at work, it may be fair to compute that their droppings are about the same, individually, as those of the horses. Hence as there are 224,000 horned cattle yearly brought to London, we have 224,000 × 45 lbs. = 10,080,000 lbs., or 4500 tons, for the gross quantity of ordure dropped by this number of animals in the course of 24 hours, so that, divid- ing by 4, as before, we find that there are 1125 tons of ordure annually dropped by the "horned cattle" in the streets of London. Concerning the sheep, I am told that it may be computed that the ordure of five sheep is about equal in weight to that of two oxen. As regards the other animals it may be said that their droppings" are insignificant, the pigs and calves being very generally carted to and from the market, as, indeed, are some of the fatter and more valuable sheep and lambs. All these facts being taken into consideration, I am told by a regular frequenter of Smithfield market, that it will be best to cal- culate the droppings of each of the 1,617,300 sheep, calves, and pigs yearly coming to the me- tropolis at about one-fourth of those of the horned cattle; so that multiplying 1,617,300 by 10, instead of 45, we have 16,173,000 lbs., or 7220 tons, for the weight of ordure deposited by the entire num- ber of sheep, calves, and pigs annually brought to the metropolis, and then dividing this by 4, as usual, we find that the droppings of the calves, sheep, and pigs in the streets of London amount to 1805 tons per annum. Now putting together all the preceding items we obtain the following results :- AND GROSS WEIGHT OF THE HORSE-DUNG CATTLE-DROPPINGS ANNUALLY DEPOSITED IN THE STREETS OF LONDON :- Horse-dung Tons. 36,662 1,125 Droppings of horned cattle Droppings of sheep, calves, and pigs 1,805 39,592 Hence we perceive that the gross weight of animal excretions dropped in the public thorough- fares of the metropolis is about 40,000 tons per annum, or, in round numbers, 770 tons every week-day-say 100 tons a day. This, I am well aware, is a low estimate, but it appears to me that the facts will not warrant any other conclusion. And yet the Board of Health, who seem to delight in "large" estimates, represent the amount of animal manure deposited in the streets of London at no less than 200,000 tons per annum. "Between the Quadrant in Regent-street and Oxford-street," says the first Report on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis, "a distance of a third of a mile, three loads on the average of dirt, almost all horse-dung, are removed daily. On an esti- mate made from the working of the street sweep- ing machine, in one quarter of the City of London, which includes lines of considerable traffic, the quantity of dung dropped must be upwards of 60 tons, or about 20,000 tons per annum, and this, on a City district, which comprises about one- twentieth only of the covered area of the metropolis, though within that area there is the greatest pro- portionate amount of traffic. Though the data are extremely imperfect, it is considered that the horse-dung which falls in the streets of the whole metropolis cannot be less than 200,000 tons a year." Hence, although the data are imperfect, the Board of Health do not hesitate to conclude that 196 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the gross quantity of horse-dung dropped through-streets, under ordinary circumstances," we are told, out every part of London-back streets and all are equal to one-half of that let fall in the greatest London thoroughfares. According to this esti- mate, all and every of the 24,000 London horses must void, in the course of the six hours that they are at work in the streets, not less than 51 lbs. of excrement, which is at the rate of very nearly 2 cwt. in the course of the day, or voiding only 49 lbs. in the twenty-four hours, they must remain out altogether, and never return to the stable for rest !!! Mr. Cochrane is far less hazardous than the Board of Health, and appears to me to arrive at his result in a more scientific and conclusive manner. He goes first to the Stamp Office to ascertain the number of horses in the metropolis, and then requests the professors of the Veterinary College to estimate the average quantity of excre- tions produced by a horse in the course of 24 hours. All this accords with the soundest prin- ciples of inquiry, and stands out in startling con- trast with the unphilosophical plan pursued by the Board of Health, who obtain the result of the most crowded thoroughfare, and then halving this, frame an exaggerated estimate for the whole of the metropolis. + But Mr. Cochrane himself appears to me to exceed that just caution which is so necessary in all statistical calculations. Having ascertained that a horse voids 49 lbs. of dung in the course of 24 hours, he makes the whole of the 24,214 horses in the metropolis drop 30 lbs. daily in the streets, so that, according to his estimate, not only must every horse in London be out every day, but he must be at work in the public thoroughfares for very nearly 15 hours out of the 24! The following is the estimate made by Mr. Cochrane :- Daily weight of manure deposited in the streets by 24,214 horses X 30 lbs. 726,420 lbs., or 324 tons, 5 cwt., 100 lbs. Weekly weight, 2270 tons, 1 cwt., 28 lbs. Annual weight, 118,043 tons, 5 cwt. Tons or cart-loads deposited annually, valued at 6s. × 118,043 = 35,4127. 19s. 6d. "dries and is pulverized, and with the common soil is carried into houses as dust, and dirties clothes and furniture. The odour arising from the surface evaporation of the streets when they are wet is chiefly from horse-dung. Susceptible persons often feel this evaporation, after partial wetting, to be highly oppressive. The surface-water discharged into sewers from the streets and roofs of houses is found to contain as much filth as the soil-water from the house-drains." an Here, then, we perceive that the whole of the animal manure let fall in the streets is worse than wasted, and yet we are assured that it is an article, which, if properly collected, is of considerable value. "It is," says the Report of the National Philanthropic Association, article of Agricultural and Horticultural cómmerce which has ever maintained a high value with the farmers and market-gardeners, wherever con- veniently obtainable. When these cattle-droppings can be collected unmixed, in dry weather, they bear an acknowledged value by the grazier and root-grower ;-there being no other kind of manure which fertilizes the land so bounteously. Mr. Marnock, Curator of the Royal Botanical Society, has valued them at from 5s. to 10s. per load; ac- cording to the season of the year. The United Paving Board of St. Giles and St. George, since the introduction of the Street Orderly System into their parishes, has wisely had it collected in a state separate from all admixture, and sold it at highly remunerative prices, rendering it the means of considerably lessening the expense of cleansing the streets." Now, assuming the value of the street-dropped manure to be 6s. per ton when collected free from dirt, we have the following statement as to the value of the horse and cattle-voidances let fall in the streets of London:- 52,000 tons of cattle-droppings, at 6s. per ton £15,600 0 0 Mr. Cochrane, who considers the quantity of animal-droppings to be much greater, attaches of course a greater value to the aggregate quantity. His computation is as follows :— 118,043 tons of cattle-droppings, at 6s. per ton £35,412 19 6 It seems to me that the calculations of the quantity of horse and cattle-dung in the streets, are based on such well-authenticated and scientific foundations, that their accuracy can hardly be dis- puted, unless it be that a higher average might fairly be shown. It has, then, been here shown that, assuming the number of horses worked daily in the streets of London to be 20,000, and each to be out six hours per diem, which, it appears to me, is all that can be fairly reckoned, the quantity of horse-dung dropped weekly is about 700 tons, so that, including the horses of the cavalry regiments in London, which of course are not comprised in the Stamp-Office returns, as well Whatever estimate be adopted, the worth of as the animals taken to Smithfield, we may, per-street-dropped animal manure, if properly secured haps, assert that the annual ordure let fall in the and made properly disposable, is great and indis- London streets amounts, at the outside, to some- putable; most assuredly between 10,000l. and where about 1000 tons weekly, or 52,000 tons 20,0007. in value. per annum. The next question becomes-what is done with this vast amount of filth? The Board of Health is a much better guide upon this point than upon the matter of quantity: "Much of the horse-dung dropped in the London OF STREET" MAC" AND OTHER MUD. FIRST of that kind of mud known by the name of " of "mac." The scavengers call mud all that is swept from the granite or wood pavements, in contradistinction LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 197 to mac, which is both scraped and swept on the macadamized roads. The mud is usually carted apart from the mac, but some contractors cause their men to shovel every kind of dirt they meet with into the same cart. The introduction of Mac Adam's system of road- making into the streets of London called into existence a new element in what is accounted street refuse. Until of late years little attention was paid to "Mac," for it was considered in no way dis- tinct from other kinds of street-dirt, nor as being likely to possess properties which might adapt it for any other use than that of a component part of agricultural manure. Mac is found principally on the roads from which it derives its name, and is, indeed, the grinding and pounding of the imbedded pieces of granite, which are the staple of those roads. It is, perhaps, the most adhesive street-dirt known, as respects the London specimen of it; for the exceeding traffic works and kneads it into a paste which it is difficult to remove from the texture of any garment splashed or soiled with it. "Mac" is carted away by the scavengers in great quantities, being shovelled, in a state of more or less fluidity or solidity, according to the weather, from the road-side into their carts. Quantities are also swept with the rain into the drains of the streets, and not unfrequently quantities are found deposited in the sewers. there are no specific data, though there are what, under other circumstances, might be called circum- stantial or inferential evidence. I have shown both the length of the streets and roads and the proportion which might be pronounced macadamized ways in the Metropolis Proper. But as in the macadamized proportion many thoroughfares cannot be strictly considered as yielding "mac," I will assume that the roads and streets producing this kind of dirt, more or less fully, are 1200 miles in length. 3 On the busier macadamized roads in the vicinity of what may be called the interior of London, it is common, I was told by experienced men, in average weather, to collect daily two cart-loads of what is called mac, from every mile of road. The mass of such road-produce, however, is mixed, though the mac unquestionably predominates. It was described to me as mac, general dirt, and drop- pings, more than the half being "mac." In wet weather there is at least twenty times more "mac" than dung scavenged; but in dry weather the dung and other street-refuse constitute, perhaps, somewhat less than three-fourths of each cart- load. The "mac" in dry weather is derived chiefly from the fluid from the watering carts mixing with the dust, and so forming a paste capable of being removed by the scraper of the scavenger. It may be fair to assume that every mile of the roads in question, some of them being of consider- The following passage from "Sanatory Pro- gress," a work before alluded to, cites the opinionable width, yields at least one cart-load of " mac," of Lord Congleton as to the necessity of con- tinually removing the mud from roads. I may add that Lord Congleton's work on road-making is of high authority, and has frequently been appealed to in parliamentary discussions, inquiries, and reports on the subject. "The late Lord Congleton (Sir Henry Par- nell) stated before a Committee of the House of Commons, in June, 1838, 'a road should be cleansed from time to time, so as never to have half an inch of mud upon it; and this is particularly necessary to be attended to where the materials are weak; for, if the surface be not kept clean, so as to admit of its becoming dry in the intervals between showers of rain, it will be rapidly worn away.' How truly," adds the Report, "is his Lordship's opinion verified every day on the mac- adamized roads in and around London! * * * * * * The horse-manure and other filth are there allowed to accumulate, and to be carried about by the horses and carriage-wheels; the road is formed into cavities and mud-hollows, which, being wetted by the rain and the con- stantly plying watering-carts, retain the same. Thus, not only are vast quantities of offensive mud formed, but puddles and pools of water also; which water, not being allowed to run off to the side gutter, by declivity, owing to the mud em- bankments which surround it, naturally percolates through the surface of the road, dissolving and loosening the soft earthy matrix by which the broken granite is surrounded and fixed." The quantity of mac produced is the next con- sideration, and in endeavouring to ascertain this as a daily average, Sunday of course excepted. An intelligent man, who had the management of the mac and other street collections in a contractor's wharf, told me that in a load of mac carted from the road to any place of deposit, there was (I now use his own words) "a good deal of water; for there's great difference," he added, "in the stiff- ness of the mac on different roads, that seem very much the same to look at. But that don't signify a halfpenny-piece," he said, "for if the mac is wanted for any purpose, and let be for a little time, you see, sir, the water will dry up, and leave the proper stuff. I haven't any doubt whatever that two loads a mile are collected in the way you've been told, and that a load and a quarter of the two is 'mac,' though after the water is dried up out of it there mightn't be much more than a load. So if you want to calculate what the quantity of mac is by itself, I think you bad best say one load a mile." > But it is only in the more frequented ap- proaches to the City or the West-end, such as the Knightsbridge-road, the New-road, the Old Kent- road, and thoroughfares of similar character as re- gards the extent of traffic, that two loads of refuse are daily collected. On the more distant roads, beyond the bounds traversed by the omnibuses. for instance, or beyond the roads resorted to by the market gardeners on their way to the metro- politan "green" markets, the supply of street-re- fuse is hardly a quarter as great; one man thought it was a third, and another only a sixth of a load a day in quiet places. Calculating then, in order to be within the mark, 198 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. that the macadamized roads afford daily two loads of dirt per mile, and reckoning the great macadamized streets at 100 miles in length, we have the following results :-* QUANTITY OF STREET-REFUSE COLLECTED FROM THE MORE FREQUENTED MACADAMIZED THO- ROUGHFARES. · 100 miles, 2 loads per day " >> Weekly amount Yearly amount • Loads. 200 1,200 62,400 PROPORTION OF "MAC" IN THE ABOVE. 100 miles, 1 load per day "" "" Weekly Yearly • • • 100 600 31,200 To this amount must be added the quantity supplied by the more distant and less frequented roads situate within the precincts of the Metro- polis Proper. These I will estimate at one-eighth less than that of the roads of greater traffic. Some of the more quiet thoroughfares, I should add, are not scavenged more than once a week, and some less frequently; but on some there is considerable traffic. QUANTITY OF STREET-REFUSE COLLECTED FROM THE LESS FREQUENTED MACADAMIZED THо- ROUGHFARES. 1100 miles, load per day "" ¹ Weekly Yearly. Loads. 275 1,650 85,800 The proportion of mac to the gross dirt col- lected is greater in the more distant roads than what I have already described, but to be safe I will adopt the same ratio. PROPORTION OF "MAC." 1100 miles of road, load per day وو Weekly Yearly • • Loads. 137 825 42,900 YEARLY TOTAL OF THE GROSS QUANTITY OF STREET-REFUSE, WITH THE PROPORTIONATE QUANTITY OF "MAO" COLLECTED FROM THE MACADAMIZED THOROUGHFARES OF THE ME- TROPOLIS. 100 miles of macadamized roads • 1100 miles ditto ditto Street Refuse. "Mac." Cart-loads. Loads. 62,400 31,200 85,800 42,900 148,200 74,100 Thus upwards of 74,000 cart-loads of "mac" are, at a low computation, annually scraped and swept from the metropolitan thoroughfares. So far as to the quantity of "mac" collected, and now as to its uses. vr t Mac,' or Macadam," says one of Mr. Cochrane's Reports, "is a grand prize to the scavenging contractor, who finds ready vend and a high price for it among the builders and brick- makers. Those who paid for the road—and their surveyors, possibly know nothing of its value, or of their own loss by its removal from the road; they consider it in the light of dirt- offensive dirt-and are glad to pay the scavenger for carrying it away! When the broom comes, the scavenger's men take care to go deep enough; and many of them are, moreover, instructed to keep the 'mac' as free from admixture with foreign substances as possible; for, though cattle- dung be valuable enough in itself, the mac' loses its value to the builder and brickmaker by being mixed with it. Indeed, both are valuable for their respective uses if kept separate, not other- wise." On my first making inquiries as to the uses and value of "mac," I was frequently told that it was utterly valueless, and that great trouble and ex- pense were incurred in 'merely getting rid of it. That this is the case with many contractors is, doubtlessly, the fact; for now, unless the "mac," or, rather, the general road-dirt, be ordered, or a market for it be assured, it must be got rid of without a remuneration. Even when the con- tractor can shoot the "mac" in his own yard, and keep it there for a customer, there is the cost of re-loading and re-carting; a cost which a customer requiring to use it at any distance may not choose to incur. Great quantities of "mac," therefore, are wasted; and more would be wasted, were there places to waste it in. Let me, therefore, before speaking of the uses and sale of it, point out some of the reasons for this wasting of the "mac" with other street-dirt. In the first place, the weight of a cart-load of street- refuse of any kind is usually estimated at a ton; but I am assured that the weight of a cart-load of "stiff mac" is a ton and a quarter at the least; and this weight becomes so trying to a scavenger's horse, as the day's work advances, that the con- tractor, to spare the animal, is often glad to get rid of the "mac" in any manner and without any remuneration. Thousands of loads of "mac," or rather of mixed street-dirt, have for this, and other reasons, been thrown away; and no small quantity has been thrown down the gulley-holes, to find its way into that main metropolitan sewer, the Thames. Of this matter, however, I shall have to speak hereafter. There is no doubt that it is common for con- tractors to represent the "mac" they collect as being utterly valueless, and indeed an incum- brance. The "mixed mac," as I have said, may be so. Some contractors urge, especially in their bargains with the parish board, that all kinds of street dirt are not only worthless, but expensive to be got rid of. Five or six years ago, this was urged very strenuously, for then there was what was accounted a combination among the con- tractors. The south-west district of St. Pancras, until within the last six years, received from the contractor for the public scavengery, 100l. for the year's aggregation of street and house dirt. Since then, however, they have had to pay him 5007. for removing it. Notwithstanding the reluctance of some of the ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. the addition of 'mercer' being included under the term as at present. "I remain, my dear Sir, "Yours truly, "" Will any clerical antiquary" enlighten our darkness" on this curious point? The "daylye Oratour" of course was a layman, but what was the haberdasher in those days? Mr. Mayhew has before stated that he considers the Dutch Komper-daseer the most probable origin of the English haberdasher, for the consonantal changes aie all in conformity with known laws,-KH, and pb, and ssh; moreover, the signification, "a dealer in small wares," is precisely that of the term haberdasher in the present day. Hence all the requirements for dialectic derivation are fulfilled; but what is duseer? Mr. Mayhew can find this part of the Dutch compound in no Dutch dictionary. Kooper is a dealer, and the equivalent of our chap-man. An Oxfordshire correspondent writes as follows:- “SIR, < "As a constant reader of your publication London Labour,' I venture to address a few words to you. I am extremely interested in your work, and feel that the whole country is greatly indebted to you for your truth and honesty, and your manful advocacy of the labourer's welfare. It is, therefore, with no unfriendly spirit that I venture to criticise anything you put forth. I am not aware that any one can justly find fault with the body of the work, but I think it is occasionally otherwise with the fly sheets; to me, indeed, they are very interesting. and I should be very sorry if they were discontinued; but certainly they are your vulnerable part,-e.g., in your number of Aug. 2nd you say that taxes were in the first instance simply protection, and not to furnish the exchequer. I think you will find it quite the reverse as a general statement, or at least as regards the history of this country: the two objects were always contemplated as joined together in early times. "But it is not as regards such questions that I find fault with your fly sheets. Early in the work you inti- mated that you might see cause to modify your views and perhaps change them considerably. Now, I ask in all friendship whether, then, it is right to put forth views (I do not say statements) calculated to be drawn in with avidity by classes who have great reason for discontent, and who, be sure, will not abandon a theory which attempts to explain the source of their wrongs, in the same philosophical spirit in which you and I might modify our views upon further investigation. "Is it morally right to offer yourself as a leader of the blind, when you confess you may find out after a time that you yourself did not see quite clearly? "If I have not altogether mistaken your character you will, I am sure, pardon this freedom of speech. C Having said my say, allow me now to furnish you with a little fact of the working of free trade in Ox- fordshire. "Turnip hoeing is reduced this year from four to three shillings an acre in consequence, it is avowed by the farmers, of the cheapness of provisions." Mr. Mayhew. does consider it morally right to say honestly what he thinks upon all matters upon which his opinion is solicited. In so doing his usual practice is to cite a reason or determining cause for his judgment, so that others can receive his ideas for just what they are worth. Mr. Mayhew aspires to no leadership, nor even He is a dictatorship, in sccial and political matters. person who presumes to inquire and think for himself on such subjects, and he wishes others to do the same. In the early numbers he stated that he should appropriate the fly leaves of "London Labour" for the publication of certain speculations on economical and other subjects, candidly warning the readers that the opinions there expressed were nothing but speculations, and reserving to himself the right of changing such opinions as often as he found reason to do so. Surely this is the very reverse of leadership or dictatorship, and it is in pre- cisely the same spirit that Mr. Mayhew continues the publication of his sentiments from time to time. The passage referred to concerning the taxes is as follows:- The imposts on foreign commodities were neither instituted nor maintained as a source of income to the government, but simply as a means of protection to the home producer." Surely our Oxford friend will admit the truth of this statement as regards what were specially called "protective duties," and that it referred to no- thing else is self-evident. The following, from a clerical correspondent, requires no comment. It is printed here as a record of the fact:- "SIR, "It may perhaps afford some trifling illustration of the subject of Hot Cross Buns,' in your valuable work, to state that I well remember, when a boy about twelve years old (now sixty years ago), the distich you quote was set to music, and sung as a catch or glee; the several voices being so humorous and modulated as to produce a comic effect. Another of the same character began, The last dying speech and confession;' another, Ah, how Sophia,' but these words, being rapidly and hu- morously sung, caught the ear as A house o' fire, a house o' fire! Such music was then much in fashion. "I am, Sir, > "Yours most respectfully, • "R. W. N." On Monday, July the 28th, was published, Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings of (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; and (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. The London Costermongers. The Street-Sellers of Fish. THE STREET-FOLK. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF The Street-Sellers of Fruit and Vegetables. The Street-Irish. The Street-Sellers of Game and Poultry. The Street-Sellers of Trees, Shrubs, Flowers, and Roots. The Street-Sellers of Eatables and Drinkables. The Street-Sellers of Stationery, Literature, and the Fine Arts. The Low Lodging-houses. The Street-Sellers of Manufactured Articles. The Female Street-Sellers. The Children Street-Sellers. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,0007. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Office, 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. 27 แบ GREAT DIORAMA of the CITIES and SCENERY of EUROPE will leave London in a few weeks, at the close of the Great Exhibition. Mr. CHARLES MARSHALL'S Grand Tour through Europe present extensive panoramas of the Cities of Europe, magnificent Scenery of the Danube, Italy, Rome, and Venice, through Switzerland, down the Picturesque Rhine and Home, the White Cliffs of Britain. Tourists' Gallery, Leicester-square. Admission, 1s.; Reserved Seats, 2s.; Stalls, 3s. Daily at Twelve, Three, and Eight o'clock. Doors open half an hour previous to each exhibition. CENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE AGENCY, instituted under Trust to counteract the system of Adulteration and Fraud now prevailing in Trade, and to promote the principle of Co-operative Association. The Prospectus of the above Institution, containing the necessary means for obtaining further information, may be had at the following places:- The Central Office, 76, Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square. The Marylebone Branch, 35, Great Marylebone-strect, Portland-place. The Manchester Branch, 13, Swan-street, Manchester. Publishing Office of the Society for Promoting Working Men's Associations, 183, Fleet-street. Gratis if by direct application; if by letter one postage stamp. THE MUTUAL INVESTMENT SOCIETY. ESTABLISHED A.D. 1845. Enrolled pursuant to Act of Parliament, 6 & 7 Wm. IV., cap. 32, for the following purposes: FIRSTLY, To enable such of its Members as desire it, to purchase FREEHOLD or LONG LEASEHOLD PROPERTY; SECONDLY, To afford to the Industrious a secure Investment for their Savings, payable at any time, with Interest at the rate of £5 per cent. per annum ; MEETS ON THE FIRST WEDNESDAY IN EVERY MONTH, AT SEVEN O'CLOCK IN THE EVENING, IN EXETER HALL. Trustees:-H. MUGGERIDGE, Esq., St. Andrew's Hill, Doctors' Commons. LEOFRIC TEMPLE, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, Temple. Directors :-CHAIRMAN-Mr. H. GRAY, Earl Street, Blackfriars. Mr. H. PRITCHARD. Mr. S. COLLINS. Mr. W. GOODYER. Mr. M. FORSTER. Mr. J. STAFF. VICE CHAIRMAN-Mr. J. ELLIS, Ludgate Hill. Mr. S. STANDBROOK. Mr. HORACE MAYHEW. Mr. J. WHEELER. Mr. GEO. HUNT. Mr. W. DAVENPORT. Mr. W. MORLEY. Mr. R. WHENMAN. Mr. A. LINES. Mr. P. BARFOOT. Mr. J. CULVERWELL. Managing Director:--Mr. J. HOWDEN, 11, Chesterfield Street, Argyle Square. Solicitor:-W. H. RYMER, Esq., Chancery Lane. Surveyor:-T. TYERMAN, Esq., 14, Parliament Street. Bankers:-Messrs. BARCLAY, BEVAN, TRITTON, and Co. SHARES, £100.—SUBSCRIPTIONS, 10s. PER MONTH. No Entrance Fees or Fines to Depositors! No Arrears on Entrance!! No Fines on Withdrawal ! ! ! No. 39. [PRICE THREEPENCE SATURDAY, SEPT. 6, 1851. No. II.—THOSE THAT WILL NOT A WORK. 6 ་་བས་ PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON R POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ***Owing to the inadvertence of the gentleman to whom the calculation of the statistics of this periodical is confided, the Map which should have accompanied the Ignorance Table and Chart given with this number has been omitted. The defect shall be remedied in the next number of THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. 1 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. The following finds fault, under a mistaken idea, with the criminal statistics as given in No. 37 of this work “SIR, "Having completed, a fortnight ago, a work embracing the statistics of crime in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, in reference to the social state of the population, and seeing your advertisement, I sent for No. 37 of your publi- cation, with which I was very much pleased-but in reference to the maps, if given at all with a view of being of service, they certainly ought to be correct. "Let us examine Map 1, on the density of the population. "You have computed the number of persons to each statute acre whether it is capable of being cultivated or not; conscquently it is no criterion to the means of employment afforded to a given population-you could not, for instance, compare Lincolnshire with North Wales or Cumberland- indeed, out of the 32,342,400 acres on which your table is computed in England, 3,256,400 acres of land are incapable of improvement, and ought to be deduced; and in Wales, out of the 4,752,000 acres, 1,105,000 acres are incapable of improvement, and the residue ought to be the foundation of the table in order truly to arrive at the density of the population to a given quantity of land-for if you gave five men an acre of land in Norfolk, they might obtain their subsistence, but certainly not on the top of Snowden or Shap- Fells. "Again, as to Map 2, in reference to crime. "Flintshire is placed in the black book. It is a great pity you did not keep to the text 'cach county in England and Wales'-for Wales is lumped together. The average also is taken from England and Wales, while in truth all the black part is in England, therefore an average ought to have been taken for England only, or England and Wales separately. In that case Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, and Sussex, would have been above the average. You cannot truly deal with England and Wales as one, without doing injustice to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland; to illustrate this take the year 1849, and we have those committed for trial, &c. :- "In Ireland 1 in 1943 of the population. "In Scotland 1 in 6014 ditto. CL "In England and Wales 1 in 5713 ditto. Thus, placing England as 1 in 571 instead of 1 in 556, and placing Wales as 1 in 571 in- stead of 1 in 1070 of the population, the true gradation of crime would be thus :- “In Ireland 1 in 1942 of the population. "In England 1 in 556 ditto. "In Scotland 1 in 601 ditto. In Wales 1 in 1070 ditto. "My sole object in writing is to call your at- tention to these matters. ""I am, yours, "W. B. Prichard, C.E., F.S.A." The above objections are of two kinds-those which refer to the mode of estimating the density of the population, and those which refer to the mode of estimating the comparative criminality of the several counties. As to the density of the population, Mr. Prich- ard urges that this should be calculated not accord- ing to the entire area of the county, but according to merely that portion of it which is capable of cultivation. Now, with all deference to Mr. Prichard, the relative number of the population to a given quantity of arable land, or meadow land, has no connection whatever with the pur- poses for which the table was given, these being to arrive at definite notions as to the crowding of the people into a given space with the view of ascertaining whether the law be generally true that the greater the number of people congre- gated in a particular locality, the greater the crime. Of course the quantity of land capable of affording subsistence to the people must be less in the metropolis than in any other part of the kingdom-less even perhaps than on the top of Snowdon or Shap-Fells," and yet surely Mr. Prichard would not cite the deficiency of cul- tivatable land in London as the cause why there are 24 criminals in every 10,000 of the metropolitan population and only 7 criminals in the same number of people in Cumberland. Some say the excess of criminality in the capital is due to the greater crowding of people; others that it is due to the greater temptation arising from the large amount of property existing there; others again that it is due to the greater poverty of the "lower orders" in that quarter. The object of the maps and tables is to put each of the criminal theories to the test of statistics. If it be true that the greater crime of London is due to the greater mass of people there congregated, then should those localities where the population is most dense have the greatest number of criminals. The tables and maps speak for themselves on this point. As regards Map No. 2, Mr. Prichard errs in saying that Flintshire is placed in the black book; surely Flintshire is part of North Wales, and this he will see is left virgin white as indicative of its relative. purity. Then, with all a Welshman's pardonable love of country, Mr. Prichard urges that the criminal average should have been taken for England alone, saying that the whole of the black part is in England. This might have been gratifying to Mr. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 13 THOSE WHO WILL WORK. I. Enrichers, or those engaged in the collection, extraction, or production of exchange- able commodities. A. COLLECTORS. 1. Fishermen. 2. Woodmen. 3. Sand and Clay-collectors. 4. Copperas, Cement-stones, and other finders. · B. EXTRACTORS. 1. Miners. a. Coal. b. Salt. c. Iron, Lead, Tin, Copper, Zinc, Manganese. 2. Quarryers. a. Slate. b. Stone. C. GROWERS. 1. Farmers. a. Capitalist Farmers. i. Yeomen, or Proprietary Farmers. ii. Tenant Farmers. b. Peasant Farmers. i. Peasant Proprietors, as the Cumberland "Statesmen." ii. "Metayers," or labourers paying the landlord a certain portion of the produce as rent for the use of the land. iii. "Cottiers," or labouring Tenant Farmers. 2. Graziers. 3. Gardeners, Nurserymen, Florists. D. MAKERS OR ARTIFICERS. 1. Mechanics.* a. Workers in Silk, Wool, Worsted, Hair, Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Coir. b. Workers in Skin, Gut, and Feathers. c. Workers in Woollen, Silken, Cotton, Linen, and Leathern Materials. d. Workers in Wood, Ivory, Bone, Horn, and Shell. e. Workers in Osier, Cane, Reed, Rush, and Straw. f. Workers in Stone and Brick. g. Workers in Glass and Earthenware. h. Workers in Metal. i. Workers in Paper. 2. Chemical Manufacturers. a. Acid, Alkali, Alum, Copperas, Prussian-Blue, and other Manufac- turers. 6. Gunpowder Manufacturers, Percussion-Cap, Cartridge, and Firework Makers. c. Brimstone and Lucifer-match Manufacturers. d. White-lead, Colour, Black-lead, Whiting, and Blue Manufacturers. e. Oil and Turpentine Distillers, and Varnish Manufacturers. f. Ink Manufacturers, Sealing-wax and Wafer Makers. g. Blacking Manufacturers. h. Soap Boilers and Grease Makers. i. Starch Manufacturers. j. Tallow and Wax Chandlers. k. Artificial Manure Manufacturers. C 14 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 7. Artificial Stone and Cement Manufacturers. m. Asphalte and Tar Manufacturers. n. Glue and Size Makers. o. Polishing Paste, and Glass and Emery Paper Makers. p. Lime, Coke, and Charcoal Burners. 7. Manufacturing Chemists and Drug Manufacturers. r. Workers connected with Provisions, Luxuries, and Medicines. i. Bakers, and Biscuit Makers. ii. Brewers. iii. Soda-water and Ginger-beer Manufacturers. iv. Distillers and Rectifiers. v. British Wine Manufacturers. vi. Vinegar Manufacturers. vii. Fish and Provision Curers. viii. Preserved Meats and Preserved Fruit Preparers. ix. Sauce and Pickle Manufacturers. x. Mustard Makers. xi. Isinglass Manufacturers. xii. Sugar Bakers, Boilers, and Refiners. xiii. Confectioners and Pastry-cooks. xiv. Rice and Farinaceous Food Manufacturers. XV. Chocolate, Cocoa, and other Manufacturers of Substitutes for Tea. xvi. Cigar, Tobacco, and Snuff Manufacturers. xvii. Quack, and other Medicine Manufacturers, as Pills, Powders, Syrups, Cordials, Embrocations, Ointments, Plaisters, &c. 3. Workers connected with the Superlative Arts, that is to say, with those arts which 'have no products of their own, and are engaged either in adding to the beauty or usefulness of the products of other arts, or in inventing or designing the work appertaining to them. a. Printers. b. Bookbinders. c. Painters, Decorators, and Gilders. d. Writers and Stencillers. e. Dyers, Bleachers, Scourers, Calenderers, and Fullers. f. Print Colourers. g. Designers of Patterns. h. Embroiderers (of Muslin, Silk, &c.), and Fancy Workers. 2. Desiccators, Anti-dry-rot Preservers, Waterproofers. j. Burnishers, Polishers, Grinders, Japanners, and French Polishers. k. Engravers, Chasers, Die-Sinkers, Embossers, Engine-Turners, and Glass- Cutters. 7. Artists, Sculptors, and Carvers of Wood, Coral, Jet, &c. m. Modellers and Moulders. n. Architects, Surveyors, and Civil Engineers. o. Composers. p. Authors, Editors, and Reporters. *** Operatives are divisible, according to the mode in which they are paid, into- 1. Day-workers. 2. Piece-workers. 3. "Lump" or Contract-workers, as at the docks. 4. Perquisite-workers, as waiters, &c. 5. "Kind or Truck-workers, as the farm servants in the North of England, Domestic Servants and Milliners, Ballast-heavers, and men paid at "Tommy-shops." 6. Tenant-workers, or those who lodge with or reside in houses belonging to their employers. The Slop-working Tailors gene- rally lodge with the "Sweaters," and the "Hinds" of Northum- berland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland have houses found them by their employers. These "Hinds" have to keep a LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 15 J (6 Bondager," that is, a female in the house ready to answer the master's call, and to work at stipulated wages. 7. Improvement-workers, or those who are considered to be remune- rated for their work by the instruction they receive in doing it as "improvers" and apprentices. The wages of "society-men among operatives are settled by custom, the wages of non- society-men are settled by competition. 8. Tribute-workers, as the Cornish Miners, Whalers, and Weavers in some parts of Ireland, where a certain proportion of the proceeds of the work done belongs to the workmen. Operatives are also divisible, according to the places at which they work, into- 1. Domestic workers, or those who work at home. 2. Shop or Factory workers, or those who work on the employer's pre- mises. 3. Out-door workers, or those who work in the open air, as brick- layers, agricultural labourers, &c. 4. Jobbing-workers, or those who go out to work at private houses. 5. Rent-men, or those who pay rent for a. A "seat" at some domestic worker's rooms. b. "Power," as turners, and others, when requiring the use of a steam-engine. Some operatives have to pay rent for tools or "frames," as the sawyers and "stockingers," and some for gas when working on their employer's premises. Operatives are further divisible, according to those whom they employ to assist them, into- 1. Family workers, or those who avail themselves of the assistance of their wives and children, as the Spitalfields Weavers. 2. "Sweaters and Piece-master workers, or those who employ other members of their trade at less wages than they themselves receive. 3. "Garret-master" workers, or those who avail themselves of the labour of apprentices. Operatives are moreover divisible, according to those by whom they are em- ployed, into- 1. "Flints" and "Dungs;" "Whites" and "Blacks," according as they work for employers who pay or do not pay "society prices. 2. Jobbing piece-workers, or those who work single-handed for the public (without the intervention of an employer") and are paid by the piece. These mostly do the work at their own homes, as cobblers, repairers, &c. 66 3. Jobbing day-workers, or those who work single-handed for the public (without the intervention of an "employer ") and are paid by the day. These mostly go out to work at persons' houses and frequently have their food found them. Among the tailors and carpenters this practice is called "whipping the cat." 4. "Co-operative men, or those who work in "association" for their own profit, obtaining their work directly from the public, without the intervention of an "employer." Lastly, Operatives admit of being arranged into two distinct classes, viz., the superior, or higher-priced, and the inferior, or lower-priced. The superior, or higher-priced, operatives consist of— 1. The skilful. 2. The trustworthy. 3. The well-conditioned. The inferior, or lower-priced operatives, on the other hand, are composed of- 1. The unskilful, as the old or superannuated, the young (including apprentices and "improvers "), the slow, and the awkward. 16 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 2. The untrustworthy, as the drunken, the idle, and the dishonest. Some of the cheap workers, whose wages are minimized almost to starvation point, so that honesty becomes morally impossible, have to deposit a certain sum of money, or to procure two householders to act as security for the faithful return of the work given out to them. 3. The inexpensive, consisting of— a. Those who can live upon less, as single men, foreigners, Irish- men, women, &c. b. Those who derive their subsistence from other sources, as Wives, Children, Paupers, Prisoners, Inmates of Asylums, Prostitutes, and Amateurs (or those who work at a business merely for pocket-money). c. Those who are in receipt of some pecuniary or other aid, as Pensioners, Allottees of land, and such as have out-door relief from the workhouse. II. Auxiliaries, or those engaged in promoting the enrichment and distributing the riches of the community. A. PROMOTERS OF PRODUCTION. 1. Employers. a. Administrative Employers, or those who supply wholesale or retail dealers. These are subdivisible into- ! i. Standard Employers, or those who work at the regular standard prices of the trade. ii. "Cutting" Employers, or those who work at less than the re- gular prices of the trade, as Contractors, &c. b. Executive Employers, or those who work directly for the public without the intervention of a wholesale or retail dealer, as Builders, &c. c. Distributive Employers, or those who are both producers and retail traders. i. Those who retail what they produce, as Tailors, Shoemakers, Bakers, Eating-house Keepers, Street Mechanics, &c. ii. Those who retail other things (generally provisions), and compel or expect the men in their employ to deal with them for those articles, as the Truck-Masters and others. iii. Those who retail the appurtenances of the trade to which they belong, and compel or expect the men in their employ to pur- chase such appurtenances of them, as trimmings in the tailors' trade, thread among the seamstresses, and the like. d. Middlemen Employers, or those who act between the employer and the employed, obtaining work from employers, and employing others to do it, as Sub-contractors, Sweaters, &c. These consist of- i. Trade-working Employers, or those who make up goods for other employers in the trade. ii. Garret-masters, or those who make up goods for the trade on the smallest amount of capital, and generally on speculation. iii. Trading Operative Employers, or those who obtain work in con- siderable quantities, and employ others at reduced wages to assist them in it, as "Sweaters," "Seconders," &c. Seconders," &c. These are either- a. Piece Masters, as those who take out a certain piece of work and employ others to help them at reduced wages. B. "Lumper" Employers, or those who contract to do the work by the lump, which is usually paid for by the piece, and employ others at reduced wages in order to complete it. ***Employers are known among operatives as "honourable" or "dis- honourable," according as the wages they pay are those, or less than those, of the Trade Society. 2. Superintendents, or those who look after the workmen on behalf of em- ployers. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 17 a. Managers. b. Clerks of the Works. c. Foremen. d. Overlookers. e. Tellers and Meters, or those who take note of the number and quantity of the articles delivered. f. Provers, or those whose duty it is to examine the quality or weight of the articles delivered. g. Timekeepers, or those who note the time of the operatives coming to and quitting labour. h. Gatekeepers, or those who see that no goods are taken out. 2. Clerks, or those who keep accounts of all sales and purchases, incomings, and outgoings of the business. j. Pay Clerks, or those who pay the workmen their wages. 3. Labourers. a. Acting as motive powers. i. Turning wheels, working pumps, blowing bellows. ii. Wheeling, dragging, pulling, or hoisting loads. iii. Shifting (scenes), or turning (corn). iv. Carrying (bricks, as hodmen). v. Driving (piles), ramming down (stones, as paviours). vi. Pressing (as fruit, for juice; seeds, for oil). 6. Uniting or putting one thing to another. i. Feeding (furnace), laying-on (as for printing machines). ii. Filling (as "fillers-in" of sieves at dust-yards). iii. Oiling (engines), greasing (railway wheels), pitching or tarring (vessels), pasting paper (for bags). iv. Mixing (mortar), kneading (clay). v. Tying up (plants and bunches of vegetables). vi. Folding (printed sheets). vii. Corking (bottles), or caulking (ships). c. Separating one thing from another. i. Sifting (cinders), screening (coals). ii. Picking (fruit, hops, &c.), shelling (peas), peeling, barking, and threshing. iii. Winnowing. iv. Weeding and stoning. v. Reaping and mowing. vi. Felling, lopping, hewing, chopping (as fire-wood), cutting (as chaff), shearing (sheep). vii. Sawing. viii. Blasting. viii. Breaking (stones), crushing (bones and ores), pounding (drugs). ix. Scouring (as sand from castings), scraping (ships). d. Excavating, sinking, and embanking. i. Tunnelling. ii. Sinking foundations. iii. Boring. iv. Draining, trenching, ditching, and hedging. v. Embanking. vi. Road-making, cutting. B. DISTRIBUTORS OF PRODUction. 1. Dealers, or those who are engaged in the buying and selling of commodities on their own account. a. Merchants or Importers, and Exporters. b. Wholesale Traders. c. Retail Traders. d. Contracting Purveyors, or those who supply goods by agreement. e. Contractors for work or repairs, as Road Contractors, and others. 18 LONDON LABOUr and the london poor. ; f. Contractors for privileges, as the right of Printing the Catalogue of the Great Exhibition, or selling refreshments at Railway Stations, &c. g. Farmers of revenues from dues, tolls, &c. h. Itinerants, or those who seek out the Customers, instead of the Cus- tomers seeking out them. i. Hawkers, or those who cry their goods. ii. Pedlars, or those who carry their goods round. 2. Agents, or those who are engaged in the buying or selling of commodities for others, as Land Agents, House and Estate Agents, Colonial and East India Agents, &c., &c. a. Supercargoes. b. Factors, or Consignees. c. Brokers, Bill, Stock, Share, Ship, Sugar, Cotton, &c. d. Commission Salesmen, or Unlicensed Brokers. e. Buyers, or those who purchase materials or goods for Manufacturers, or Dealers. f. Auctioneers, or those who sell goods on Commission to the highest bidder. 3. Lenders and Lettors-out, or those who receive a certain sum for the loan or use of a thing. a. Lenders or Lettors-out of commodities, as- i. Job-horses, carriages, chairs and seats in parks, gardens, &c. ii. Plate, linen, furniture, piano-fortes, flowers, fancy dresses, Court suits, &c. iii. Books, newspapers, prints, and music. b. Lettors-out of tenements and storage room, as- i. Houses. ii. Lodgings. iii. Warehouse-room for imports, &c., as at wharfs. iv. Warehouse-room for furniture and other goods. c. Lenders of money, as― i. Mortgagees. ii. Bankers. iii. Bill-discounters. iv. Loan offices with and without policies of assurance. v. Building and investment societies. vi. Pawnbrokers. vii. Dolly shopmen. ** The several modes of distributing goods or money are→ 1. By private contract or agreement. 2. By a fixed or ticketed price. 3. By competition, as at Auctions. 4. By games of chance, as Lotteries (with the "Art Union"), Raffles (at Fancy Fairs), Tossing (with piemen and others), Prizes for skill (with throwing sticks, &c.), Betting, Racing, &c. The places at which goods are distributed are- 1. Fairs, or annual gatherings of buyers and sellers. 2. Markets, or weekly gatherings of buyers and sellers. 3. Exchanges, or daily gatherings of merchants and agents. 4. Counting-houses, or the places of business of wholesale traders. 5. Shops, or the places of business of retail traders. 6. Bazaars, or congregations of shops. 4. Trade Assistants. d. Shopmen and Warehousemen. 6. Shopwalkers. c. Cashiers or Receivers. d. Clerks. e. Accountants. f. Rent-Collectors. g. Debt-collectors. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Number of Males and Females who signed the Marriage Register with Marks. 1839. 1840. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1844. TABLE SHOWING THE IGNORANCE OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, DEDUCED FROM THe number COUNTIES. WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER WITH MARKS IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS. Avera ge Annual No. of Personsj married, 1839-18. sons who signed with Marks in Per Cent. above and below the Average. No. of Per- Total for Annual 10 Years. Average. 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. every 100 married. Bedford 1,850 1,112 1,148 956 921 1,028 1,110 1,095 1,124 957 1,003 10,454 1,045 56 +40·0 Berks 2,588 1,036 1,131 1,061 1,063 1,111 1,079 1,070 1,137 1,118 1,164 10,970 1,097 42 + 5·0 Bucks 1,920 979 1,008 820 918 882 918 975 1,074 906 999 9,479 948 49 +22.5 Cambridge 2,784 1,269 1,372 1,495 | 1,389 1,281 1,330 1,471 .1,398 1,213 1,328 13,546 1,355 45 +12.5 Chester 5,160 2,343 2,510 2,350. 2,096 (2,366 2,403 2,777 2,608 2,121 2,503 24,017 2,408 46 +15.0 Cornwall 4,894 2,150 2,148 2,128 | 2,312 2,281 2.141 2,338 2,407 2,102 2,146 22,156 2,216 45 +12.5 Cumberland 2,072 470 563 527 539 506 500 581 647 520 350 5,203 520 25 *37.5 Derby 3,652 1,521 1,490 1,321❘ 1,061 1,351 1,455 1,642 1,544 1,382 1,377 14,144 1,414 39 * 2.5' Devon 8,678 2,603 1,817 2,744 2,971 2,995 3,055 3,312 3,224 2,782 1,981 27,484 2,748 32 *20.0 Dorset 2,358 725 930 785 852 449 945 1,033 905 941 923 8,488 849 36 *10·0 Durham 5,770 1,900 2,083 2,001 1,830 1,771 1,825 2,375 2,378 2,376 2,327 20,866 2,087 36 *10·0 Essex 4,228 1,961 2,215 2,103 | 2,062 2,110 2,157 2,246 2,163 1,977 1,963 20,960 2,096 50 +25.0 Gloucester 6,918 2,329 2,541 2,347 2,197 2,393 2,277 2,578 2,698 2,215 2,304 23,879 2,388 35 *12.5 Hereford 1,268 462 463 522 548 609 516 598 576 424 488 5,206 521 41 + 2.5 Hertford 1,976 1,189 1,045 1,057 954 1,083 1,038 1,153 1,102 947 1,013 10,581 1,058 54 +35.0 Hunts 901 391 465 453 4.16 439 413 434 466 438 440 4,385 439 49 +22.5 Kent 8,091 2,431 2,382 2,476 2,488 2,556 2,502 2,944 2,855 2,569 2,481 25,684 2,568 32 *20.0 Lancaster Leicester · 34,068 16.411 15,793 16,096 14,626 17,820 19,850 22,177 20,709 16,588 18,161 178,231 > 17,823 52 +30·0 • 3.460 Lincoln 5,530 Middlesex Monmouth Norfolk Northampton 3,194 1,338 Northumberland 4,094 1,149 Nottingham Oxford Rutland 1,494 1,504 1,281 1,189 1,944 2,209 2,174 2,082 31,590 5,134 5,569 5,242 5,045 2,562 1,616 1,697 1,283 1,091 6,012 2,485 1,416 1,505 1,518 1,579 1,329 1.441 14,256 1,426 41 + 2.5 1,959 1,998 2,232 2,166 2,159 2,436 21,359 2,136 39 * 2.5 5,416 6,141 6,456 6,163 5,666 5,433 56,265 5,627 18 *55.0 1,110 1,228 1,722 1,982 1,720 1,574 15,053 1,505 59 +47.5 2,772 2,514 2,832 2,816 2,901 3,120 2,964 2,783 2,855 28,042 2,804 46 +15.0 1,489 1,377 | 1,220 1,404 1,441 1,504 1,467 1,253 1,332 13,825 1,383 43 + 7.5 1,264 1,108 965 1,013 811 1,214 1,244 1,190 1,328 11,286 1,129 28 *30.0 4,168 1,715 1,724 1,645| 1,642 1,742 1,953 2,000 1,834 1,635 1,760 17,650 1,765 42 + 5·0 2,316 826 961 951 957 929 889 831 880 869 843 8,936 894 39 * 2.5 216 115 92 125 99 97 69 73 99 152 118 1,039 104 49 +22.5 Salop 3,180 1,647 1,568 1,497 1,533 1,392 1,496 1,428 1,544 1,532 1,661 15,298 1,530 48 +20.0 Somerset 6,226 2,300 2,608 2,705 2,643 2,654 2,643 2,598 2,632 2.183 2,360 25,326 2,533 41 † 2.5 Southampton 5,768 1,614 1,801 2,049 1,959 1,910 1,977 2,181 2,185 2,019 1,875 Stafford Suffolk 8,292 3,886 4,738 2,173 4.045 3,552❘ 3,065 3,335 3,937 5,091 4,920 6,423 5,263 19,570 43,517 1,957 34 *15.0 4,352 52 +30·0 2,353 | 2,342 2,057 2,124 2,304 2,436 2,389 2,325 2,354 22,857 2,286 48 +20.0 Surrey 10,374 2,128 2,260 2,180 | 2,129 2,205 2,185 2,473 2,451 2,131 2,039 22,184 2,218 21 *47.5 Sussex 4,268 1,452 1,480 1,400 | 1,364 1,443 1,427 1,594 1,534 1,512 1,371 14,577 1,458 34 *15·0 Warwick 6,494 1,512 2,470 2,294❘ 2,052 2,415 2,516 2,670 2,958 2,870 2,855 24,612 2,461 38 * 5·0 Westmorland 780 195 191 177 185 193 225 237 321 220 135 2,079 208 27 *32.5 Wilts 3,236 1,495 1,603 1,550 1,487 1,522 1,527 1,685 1,642 1,481 1,528 15,520 1,552 48 +20.0 Worcester 5,536 3,201 3,098 | 2,934 | 2,588 2,528 2,974 3,744 4,192 1,871 1,643 28,773 2,877 52 +30·0 York 26,664 11,439 11,899 [10,726 10,503 | 11,099 12,970 North Wales 5,164 3,028 South Wales 8,152 4,382 3,022 | 2,999 | 2,925 4,532 4,378 | 4,093 4,190 2,694 13,395 12,688 11,797 2,737 2,916 3,219 4,617 4,978 11,930 118,446 11,845 44 +10·0 2,904 5,565 4,703 1,951 28,395 2,840 55 +37·5 4,811 46,249 4,625 57 +42.5 Total for England and Wales 94,996 261,340 100,616 104,335 99,634 94,996 101,235 101,235 | 107,985 107,985 | 118,894 117,633 117,633 | 104,306 104,306 105,937 1,050,907 105,091 40 LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR IGNORANCE, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER WITH MARKS IN EVERY 100 PERSONS MARRIED. Counties above the Average, or most Ignorant. Counties below the Average, or least Ignorant. THE CRIME AND IGNORANCE OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES COMPARED. Percentage above and below the Average. Percentage above and below the average. In No. In No. of In No. of Crimi- Register unable to nals. with signing Criminals read and Counties having great Crime and great Ignorance. Marks. write. Countics having great Crime and little Ignorance. In No. In No. of In No. signing Criminals of Crimi- Register unable to nals, with read and Marks. write. Monmouth South Wales. 59 Derby Worcester †.52.4 +36:0 39 † 8-5 Gloucester †59·1 *12.5 *11.9 Hereford 57 Lincoln +45.1 + 2.5 +41.5 Middlesex 39 †19:4 *55*0 *21.7 Chester Bedford North Wales. Hertford. 56 Oxford +37.8 +15.0 † 9.4 Oxford + 8.5 * 2.5 39 * *9 Bucks 55 Warwick. +24.4 +22.5 † 6.9 38 Southampton † 7.9 *15.0 #13.5 Somerset 54 Dorset †21.3 + 2.5 † 7.2 36 Essex Lancaster Stafford Worcester Essex Bucks · 52 Durham +16.4 +25'0 +24.2 36 Lancaster 52 Gloucester +12.8 +30°0 +22.0 35 Hertford 52 Southampton · + 6·7 +35.0 +29.8 34 Norfolk 4.2 50 Sussex 31 +15'0 †19·1 49 Devon. 32 Counties having little Crime • Hunts Rutland Salop 49 Kent Counties having little Crime 32 and great Ignorance. 49 Northumberland 28 and little Ignorance. North Wales *56.1 +37.5 †20:4 • • 48 Westmorland Cumberland. *56.7 *37.5 *15.4 27 South Wales *18.7 +42.5 +14.7 D Westmorland Suffolk 48 Cumberland *50*6 *32.5 *38.6 Hants ... 25 *14.0 +22.5 + 1.9 Wilts 48 Surrey Northumberland, *50*0 *30*0 *19.1 21 Northampton *13·4 † 7.5 + 1.5 · Chester 46 Middlesex 18 Derby *36.0 * 2.5 *23*5 Salop * 9.1 +20.0 +25.8 Lincolu *22·0 * 2.5 *14.8 Bedford Norfolk 45 * 7.3 +40.0 +28.3 Devon *14′0 *20.0 *12.9 Suffolk Cambridge 45 * 4.2 Sussex †20·0 + 8·1 * 6·7 *15.0 * 4.0 Cornwall 45 Surrey U * '6 *47.5 *13.8 York 44 Counties having little Crime, Northampton 43 Berks 42 Counties having great Crime, Nottingham 42 and in which the Ignorance and in which the Ignorance Tests are contradictory. Durham Tests are contradictory. Hereford. 41 Warwick Leicester. 41 • Average for England Wilts Somerset 41 and Wales 40 • Monmout Stafford Leicester Cornwall York Nottingham Berks Rutland Cambridge Dorset Kent N.B. The † prefixed to a number denotes that it is above, the * that it is below the average by the percentage which it expresses, *51.8 *100 † 1.5 *51.2 +12.5 * 6+9 +31-7 * 5.0 +15.2 †20·0 + 9.7 *20'4 *30.5 +10.0 * 8.5 *28.0 5.0 * 56 9.7 +47·0 *12.2 *21.4 † 5'0 * 4·7 9'] +30·0 * 3.4 *15-2 +22.5 * 2.5 4.2 † 2.5 *11.6 *10:3 +12.5 * 2.5 *10·0 *10.0 + 47 *20.0 + 6.3 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. TABLE SHOWING THE AMOUNT OF IGNORANCE AMONGST THE CRIMINALS IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS. COUNTIES. Average An- nual Number of Criminals from 1839-48. Number of Criminals who could neither read nor write. Total for 10 years. Average Number per Year. No. of Crimi- nals who can neither read Per Cent. above and below the Average. 1839. 1840. 1840. 1841.) 1842. 1843. 1844. 1845. 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. nor writet denotes above. in every 100. * below. " Bedford 181 39 72 90 110 80 81 64 66 64 79 745 74 Berks 313 103 121 97 113 48 75 79 88 100 127 951 95 TH LO 40.8 30.3 +28.3 * 4.7 Bucks 285 89 107 87 112 113 91 95 89 105 82 970 97 34.0 + 6.9 Cambridge 249 79 65 90 78 80 77 69 78 75 81 772 77 30.9 * 2.5 Chester 904 285 370 334 333 336 259 230 296 336 371 3,150 315 34.8 + 9.4 Cornwall 294 81 95 82 80 82 65 90 89 125 86 875 87 29.6 * 6.9 Cumberland 130 39 30 26 45 37 41 21 46 32 37 354 35 26.9 *15.4 Derby 263 74 48 66 92 77 61 53 63 41 64 642 64 24.3 *23.5 Devon 755 143 154 146 144 204 235 211 248 307 295 2,087 209 27.7 *12.9 Dorset 258 84 107 96 75 95 73 83 64 93 84 864 86 33.3 + 4.7 Durham 260 70 33 56 88 96 138 66 78 97 120 842 84 32.3 + 1·5 Essex 638 213 297 302 295 290 219 188 242 254 224 2,524 252 39.5 +24.2 Gloucester 1067 326 322 370 414 330 211 210 235 293 276 2,987 299 28.0 *11.9 Hereford 229 102 120 121 107 107 83 96 64 112 115 1,027 103 45.0 +41·5 Hertford 288 147 133 146 119 98 111 90 82 121 148 1,195 119 41.3 +29.8 Hunts 77 20 Kent 942 Lancaster 3462 33 21 348 251 353 371 330 1143 1391 1556 1947 1423 992 22 26 27 32 14 21 36 252 25 32.4 +1.9 301 301 267 305 368 3,195 319 33.8 + 6.3 1023 1097 1283 1389 13,444 1344 38.8 +22.0 Leicester 419 Lincoln 458 Middlesex 4230 141 159 117 119 927 882 980 135 141 137 135 87 96 66 82 1,179 118 28.1 *11.6 99 133 131 134 800 112 125 136 137 1,243 124 27.1 *14·8 1033 933 1230 1177 1280 1322 10,564 1056 24.9 *21.7 Monmouth 272 83 94 112 73 79 67 34 45 81 95 763 76 27.9 *12.2 Norfolk 727 285 266 258 308 284 290 254 271 293 247 2,756 276 37.9 +19.1 Northampton 291 96 • 92 118 111 92 90 107 86 56 93 941 94 32.3 + 1.5 Northumberland 214 24 57 45 58 75 96 44 45 49 57 550 55 25.7 *19.1 Nottingham 333 104 108 91 102 112 115 79 88 95 106 1,000 100 30.0 * 5.6 Oxford 308 113 131 106 99 117 84 93 64 90 73 973 97 31.5 * ⚫9 Rutland 29 4 1 11 13 8 12 8 15 17 89 9 31.0 * 2.5 Salop 367 136 176 182 173 215 164 104 89 112 119 1,470 147 40.0 +25.8 Somerset 935 281 410 352 Southampton 664 Stafford 1017 Suffolk 511 Surrey 1026 363 333 215 207 188 186 159 126 153 193 213 194 233 271 324 465 313 304 212 263 354 387 187 201 184 188 195 198 113 159 159 179 1,763 345 320 274 300 223 233 223 360 298 224 266 313 3,200 320 34.1 † 7.2 1,834 183 27.5 *13.5 3,126 313 30.7 * 3·4 176 34.4 + 8·1 218 348 340 2,824 282 27.4 *13.8 LONDON LABOUR AND the lonDON POOR. Sussex 498 173 173 176 191 143 111 97 151 136 168 1,519 152 30.5 * 4.0 Warwick 959 293 396 403 363 392 267 237 231 32.1 440 3,349 335 34.9 + 9.7 Westmorland 41 8 6 5 5 6 3 11 20 5 9 78 8 19.5 *38.6 Wilts 462 132 145 146 127 116 100 85 101 118 104 1,174 117 25.3 *20.4 Worcester 594 169 275 244 250 242 204 210 195 229 232 2,250 225 34.5 + 8.5 • York 1878 553 572 531 776 621 444 378 453 528 619 5,475 547 29.1 * 8.5 North Wales 274 84 110 92 122 116 107 81 79 126 136 1,053 105 38.3 +20.4 South Wales 435 108 136 135 138 174 188 183 108 187 240 1,593 159 36.5 +14.7 TOTAL FOR ENGLAND AND WALES. 27,542 8196 9058 9220 10,128 9173 7901 7438 7698 9050 9691 87,553 8755 31.8 No. of Criminals in 10,000. Counties above the Average. Cumberland 7'1 Berks Durham 7.8 Devon LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THE IGNORANCE AMONGST THEIR CRIMINALS, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WHO COULD NEITHER READ NOR WRITE IN EVERY 100 CRIMINALS. Counties below the Average. THE COUNTIES ARRANGED CRIMINALLY AND TOPOGRAPHICALLY (to show the local association of crime). DIVISION I.-Northern, Welsh, and Cornish Counties. - DIVISION IV. South Eastern and South Western. IGNO- TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE CRIMINALITY AND RANCE OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES, ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE OCCUPATION OF THEIR INHABITANTS. No. of Criminals in 10,000. 12.9 14.1 · Hereford 45.0 Oxford 31.5 Westmorland.. 8.1 Dorset 14.8 · • Hertford 41.3 Rutland 31.0 Northumberland 8.2 Sussex 15:3 Agricultural Counties. Bedford 40.8 Cambridge 30.9 North Wales... 7.2 Surrey 16.3 • Lincoln 12 39 Chester 22 46 • • • Salop 40.0 Stafford 30.7 South Wales .... 8.4 Kent.. 16.4 Rutland 13 49 Nottingham 11 42 · Essex 39.5 Sussex 30.5 Cornwall 8.0 Hants 17'7 Huntingdon 14 49 Leicester 17 41 Lancaster 38.8 Berks 30.3 Wilts. 18.9 DIVISION II.-York and Cambridge 14 45 Warwick 21 38 North Wales 38.3 Nottingham 30.0 Somerset 19·9 • Essex 19 50 Worcester. 25 52 N. Midland Counties. Norfolk 37.9 Cornwall 29.6 Monmouth • York.. .. 18.0 Sussex 15 34 11:4 Mining Counties. South Wales 36.5 York.. 29'1 Warwick. 34.9 Leicester 28.1 Derby Hereford 23 41 Durham 36 10.5 DIVISION V. - Western • Chester 34.8 Gloucester 28.0 Nottingham 11.8 Agricultural and Sub-| Cornwall 8 45 and North Western. Lincoln 12.8 Manufacturing Counties. Manufacturing and Sub-| Worcester 34.5 Monmouth 27.9 Rutland 13.9 Shropshire 14.9 Westmorland 8 27 Mining Counties. Suffolk. 34.1 Devon 27.7 Norfolk. 17 46 Leicestershire. 17.1 Derby 10 39 Somerset. 34.1 Southampton. 27.5 DIVISION III.-S. Mid- Stafford Suffolk 15 48 Stafford.. 17 52 17.9 Bucks 34.0 Surrey 27.4 land & Eastern Counties. Hertford 17 54 • • Lancaster 18:5 Agricultural and Sub- Kent.. 33.8 Lincoln 27.1 Hunts 14.1 Bedford. 15 56 Dorset 33.3 Cumberland 26.9 Northampton Chester... 22.6 Mining Counties. 14.2 · Hunts 32'4 Northumberland 25.7 Cambridge Warwick 21.6 Buckingham 20 49 Salop 14 48 14.7 Hereford. 23.8 Northampton 14 43 North Wales 7 55 Durham 32.3 Wilts 25.3 Bedford 15.2 Oxford • Worcester 25.0 17 39 South Wales 8 57 Northampton 32.3 Middlesex 24.9 Suffolk 15.7 Derby 24.3 Norfolk Gloucester Berks... 12 42 26.1 Sub - Agricultural and 17.1 Hants 17 34 Sub-Mining Counties. Average for Eng- Westmorland. 19.5 Essex 19.1 land and Wales 31.8 Oxford DIVISION VI. — Metro- Wilts 18 48 Northumberland 8 28 * 17.8 Dorset 14 36 Cumberland 7 25 Herts politan. 17:5 Somerset 19 41 Monmouth 18 59 • Bucks 20'4 Middlesex 24.5 Sub - Agricul. and Sub- Metropolitan County. Manufact. County. Gloucester Manufacturing Counties. Lancaster. Yorkshire The Northern, Welsh, and Cornish Counties range in criminality from 7.1 to 84 in 10,000. York and the N. Midland Counties, from 11.4 to 13.9. The S. Midland and Eastern Counties, from 14.1 to 20.4. The S. Eastern and S. Western, from 12.9 to 19.9. The Western and N. Western, from 14.9 to 26.1. The Metropolitan, 24.5. For definition of Agricultural, Manufacturing, and Mining Counties, see Table of Density of Population, No. 37. Middlesex 24 18 26 35 Sub-Metropolitan Coun- ties. 18 52 Surrey 16 21 11 44 Kent 16 32 • LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Bedford Berks Percentage below the Average. Percentage above the Average. 90 100 Bucks Cambridge. Chester Cornwall Cumberland Derby Devon Dorset Durham • • • Essex Gloucester Hereford Hertford Hunts Kent. Lancaster R Leicester Lincoln Middlesex Monmouth. Norfolk * • Northampton Northumberland. Nottingham Oxford Rutland Salop. Somerset Southampton Stafford Suffolk 4 Surrey Sussex Warwick · Westmorland Wilts Worcester York • North Wales South Wales Average. 20 10 + 90 100 -- 100 Average. 10 20 30 40 Percentage below the Average. TABLE SHOW1. G THE RELATIVE DEGREES OF CRIMINALITY AND IGNORANCE IN TE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES. The thin line represents Ignorance. The thick line represents Crime. THE AVERAGE TAKEN FOR TEN YEARS. ΟΙ 20 I *་- 30 40 50 60 70 08 90, 100' Percentage above the Average. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 19 h. Travellers, Town as well as Commercial. i. Touters. j. Barkers (outside shops). k. Bill deliverers. 7. Bill-stickers. m. Boardmen. n. Advertizing-van Men. 5. Carriers. a. Those engaged in the external transit of the Kingdom. i. Mercantile Sailing Vessels. ii. Mercantile Steam Vessels. b. Those engaged in the internal Transit of the Kingdom. i. Those engaged in the coasting trade from port to port. ii. Those engaged in carrying inland from town to town, as- a. Those connected with land carriage, as railroad men, stage coachmen, mail coachmen, and mail cartmen, post boys, flymen, waggoners, country carriers, and drovers. B. Those connected with water carriage, as navigable river and canal men, bargemen, towing men. iii. Those engaged in carrying to and from different parts of the same town by land and water. a. Passengers: as Omnibus-men, Cabmen, Glass and Job Coach- men, Fly Men, Excursion-van Men, Donkey-boys, Goat- carriage boys, Sedan and Bath Chair Men, Guides. B. Goods: as Waggoners, Draymen, Carters, Spring-Van Men, Truckmen, Porters (ticketed and unticketed, and public and private men). 7. Letters and Messages: as Messengers, Errand Boys, Tele- graph Men, and Postmen. 8. Goods and Passengers by water: as Bargemen, Lightermen, Hoymen, Watermen, River Steamboat Men. c. Those engaged in the lading and unlading and the fitting of vessels, as well the packing of goods. i. Dock and wharf labourers. ii. Coal whippers. iii. Lumpers, or dischargers of timber ships. iv. Timber porters and rafters. v. Corn porters. vi. Ballast heavers. vii. Stevedores, or stowers. viii. Riggers. ix. Packers and pressers. III. Benefactors, or those who confer some permanent benefit by promoting the physical, intellectual, or spiritual well-being of others. A. EDUCATORS. 1. Professors. 2. Tutors. 3. Governesses. 4. Schoolmasters.. 5. Ushers. 6. Teachers of Languages. 7. Teachers of Sciences. 8. Lecturers. 9. Teachers of "Accomplishments"-as Music, Singing, Dancing, Drawing, Wax-Flower Modelling, &c. 10. Teachers of Exercises-as Gymnastics. 11. Teachers of Arts of Self-Defence-as Fencing, Boxing, &c. 12. Teachers of Trades and Professions. i 20 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } B. CURATORS. 1. Corporeal. a. Physicians. b. Surgeons. c. General Practitioners. d. Homœopathists. e. Hydropathists. 2. Spiritual. a. Ministers of the Church of England. b. Dissenting Ministers. c. Catholic Ministers. d. Missionaries. e. Scripture Readers. f. Sisters of Charity. g. Visitants. IV. Servitors, or those who render some temporary service or pleasure to others. A. AMUSERS, or those who contribute to our entertainment. 1. Actors. 2. Reciters. 3. Improvisers. 4. Singers. 5. Musicians. 6. Dancers. 7. Riders, or Equestrian Performers. 8. Fencers and Pugilists. 9. Conjurers. 10. Posturers. 11. Equilibrists. 12. Tumblers. 13. Exhibitors or Showmen. a. Of Curiosities. b. Of Monstrosities. B. PROTECTORS, or those who contribute to our security against injury. 1. Legislative. a. The Sovereign. b. The Members of the House of Lords. c. The Members of the House of Commons. 2. Judicial. a. The Judges in Chancery, Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer, Ecclesiastical, Admiralty, and Criminal Courts. b. Masters in Chancery, Commissioners of the Bankruptcy, Insolvent Debtors, Sheriffs, and County Courts, Magistrates, Justices of the Peace, Recorders, Coroners, Revising Barristers. c. Barristers, Pleaders, Conveyancers, Attorneys, Proctors. 3. Administrative or Executive. a. The Lords Commisioners of the Treasury; the Secretaries of State for Home, Foreign, and Colonial Affairs; the Chancellor and Comptroller of the Exchequer; the Privy Council, and the Privy Seal; the Board of Trade, the Board of Control, and the Board of Health; the Board of Inland Revenue, the Poor-Law Board, and the Board of Audit; the Commissioners of Woods and Forests; the Ministers and Officials in connection with the Army and Navy, the Post Office, and the Mint; the Inspectors of Prisons, Factories, Railways, Workhouses, Schools, and Lunatic Asylums; the Officers in connec- tion with the Registration and Statistical Departments; and the other Functionaries appertaining to the Government at home. 6. The Ambassadors, Envoys Extraordinary, Ministers Plenipotentiary, Secretaries of Legation, Chargés d'Affaires, Consuls, and other Minis- ters and Functionaries appertaining to the Government abroad. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 21 c. The Governors and Commanders of British Colonies and Settlements. d. The Lord Lieutenants, Custodes Rotulorum, High and Deputy Sheriffs, High Bailiffs, High and Petty Constables, and other Functionaries of the Counties. e. The Mayors, Aldermen, Common Councilmen, Chamberlains, Common Sergeants, Treasurers, Auditors, Assessors, Inspectors of Weights and Measures, and other Functionaries of the Cities or incorporated Towns. f. The Churchwardens, the Commissioners of Sewers and Paving, the Select and Special Vestrymen, the Vestry Clerks, the Overseers or Guardians of the Poor, the Relieving Officers, the Masters of the Workhouses, the Beadles, and other Parochial Functionaries. g. The Masters and Brethren of the Trinity Corporation, the Pier and Harbour Masters, Conservators of Rivers, and other Functionaries connected with Navigation, and the Trustees and Commissioners in connection with the Public Roads. h. The Naval and Military Powers-as the Army, Navy, Marines, Militia, and Yeomanry. 2. The Civil Forces-as Policemen, Patrole, and Private Watchmen. j. Sheriffs' Officers, Bailiffs' Followers, Sponging-house Keepers. k. Governors of Prisons, Jailers, Turnkeys, Officers on board the Hulks and Transport Ships, Hangmen. 7. The Fiscal Forces-as the Coast Guard, Custom-house Officers, Excise Officers. m. Collectors of Imposts-as Tax and Rate Collectors, Turnpike Men, Toll Collectors of Bridges and Markets, Collectors of Pier and Harbour dues, and Light, Buoy, and Beacon dues. n. Guardians of special localities, as Rangers, and Park-keepers, Arcade- keepers, Street-keepers, Square-keepers, Bazaar-keepers, Gate and Lodge-keepers, Empty-house-keepers. o. Conservators, as Curators of Museums, Librarians, Storekeepers, and others. p. Protective Associations, as Insurance Companies against Loss by fire, shipwreck, strms, railway accidents, death of cattle, Life Assurance Societies, Provident or Benefit Clubs, Guarantee Societies, Trade Pro- tection Societics, Fire Brigade and Fire-escape Men, Humane Society Men, and Officers of the Societies for the Suppression of Mendicity, Vice, and cruelty to Animals. C. SERVANTS, or those who contribute to our comfort or convenience by the per- formance of certain offices for us. 1. Private Servants, regularly engaged. a. Stewards. b. Farm Bailiffs. c. Secretaries. d. Amanuenses. e. Companions. f. Butlers. g. Valets. h. Footmen, Pages, and Hall Porters. i. Coachmen, Grooms, "Tigers," and Helpers at Stables. j. Huntsmen and Whippers-in. k. Kennelmen. 7. Gamekeepers. m. Gardeners. n. Housekeepers. o. Ladies' Maids. p. Nursery Maids and Wet Nurses. q. House Maids and Parlour Maids. 7. Cooks and Scullery Maids. s. Dairy Maids. t. Maids of all work. 22 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 2. Private Servants temporarily engaged. a. Couriers. 6. Interpreters. c. Monthly Nurses and Invalid Nurses. d. Waiters at Parties. e. Charwomen. f. Knife, boot, window, and paint Cleaners, Pot scourers, Carpet beaters. 3. Public Servants. a. Waiters at hotels and public gardens. b. Masters of the Ceremonies. c. Chamber-Maids. d. Boots. e. Ostlers. f. Job Coachmen. g. Post-boys. h. Washerwomen. i. Dustmen. j. Sweeps. k. Scavengers. 7. Nightmen. m. Flushermen. n. Turncocks. o. Lamplighters. p. Horse Holders. 9. Crossing Sweepers. THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK. V. Those that are provided for by some Public Institution. A. THE INMATES OF WORKHOUSES. B. THE INMATES OF PRISONS. 1. Debtors. 2. Criminals (Some of these, however, are made to work by the authorities). C. THE INMATES OF HOSPITALS. 1. The Sick. 2. The Insane-as Lunatics and Idiots. 3. Veterans-as Greenwich and Chelsea Hospital men. 4. The Deserted Young-as the Foundling Hospital children. D. THE INMATES OF ASYLUMS AND ALMSHOUSES. 1. The Afflicted-as the Deaf, and Dumb, and Blind. 2. The Destitute Young-as Orphans. 3. The Decayed Members of the several Trades or Sects. a. Trade and Provident Asylums and Almshouses. b. Sectarian Asylums and Almshouses—as for aged Jews, Widows of Clergymen, &c. E. THE INMATES OF THE SEVERAL REFUGES AND DORMITORIES FOR THE HOUSELESS AND DESTITUTE. VI. Those who are Unprovided for. A. THOSE WHO ARE INCAPACITATED FROM WANT OF POWER. 1. Owing to their Age. a. The Old. b. The Young. 2. Owing to some Bodily Ailment. a. The Sick. b. The Crippled. c. The Maimed. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 23 I d. The Paralyzed. e. The Blind. 3. Owing to some Mental Infirmity. a. The Insane. b. The Idiotic. c. The Untaught, or those who have never been brought up to any industrial occupation (as Widows and those who have "seen better days"). B. THOSE WHO ARE INCAPACITATED FROM WANT OF MEANS. 1. Having no tools (as is often the case with distressed carpenters). 2. Having no clothes (as servants when long out of a situation). 3. Having no stock-money (as impoverished street-sellers). 4. Having no materials (as the "used-up" garret or chamber masters in the boot and shoe or cabinet-making trade). 5. Having no place wherein to work (as when those who pursue their calling at home are forced to become the inmates of a nightly lodging-house). C. THOSE WHO ARE INCAPACITATED FROM WANT OF EMPLOYMENT. 1. Owing to a glut or stagnation in business (as among the cotton-spinners, the iron-workers, the railway-navigators, and the like). 2. Owing to a change in fashion (as in the button-making trade). 3. Owing to the introduction of machinery (as among the sawyers, hand- loom weavers, pillow-lace makers, threshers, and others). 4. Owing to the advent of the slack season (as among the tailors and mantua- makers, and drawn-bonnet-makers). 5. Owing to the continuance of unfavourable weather. a. From the prevalence of rain (as street-sellers, and others). 6. From the prevalence of easterly winds (as dock-labourers). 6. Owing to the approach of winter (as among the builders, brickmakers, market-gardeners, harvest-men). 7. Owing to the loss of character. a. Culpably; from intemperate habits, or misconduct of some kind. b. Accidentally; as when a servant's late master goes abroad, and a written testimonial is objected to. THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK. VII. Vagrants or Tramps. 27 Under this head is included all that multifarious tribe of "sturdy rogues," who ramble across the country during the summer, sleeping at the "casual wards of the workhouses, and who return to London in the winter to avail them- selves of the gratuitous lodgings and food attainable at the several metro- politan refuges. VIII. Professional Beggars and their Dependents. A. NAVAL AND MILITARY Beggars. 1. Turnpike Sailors. 2. Spanish Legion Men, &c. 3. Veterans. هم B. "DISTRESSED-OPERATIVE BEGGARS. 1. Pretended Starved-out Manufacturers, as the Nottingham "Driz" or Lace- Men. 2. Pretended Unemployed Agriculturists. 3. Pretended Frozen-out Gardeners. 4. Pretended Hand-loom Weavers, and others deprived of their living by Machinery. C. "RESPECTABLE " BEGGARS. 1. Pretended Broken-down Tradesmen, or Decayed Gentlemen. 2. Pretended Distressed Ushers, unable to take situation for want of clothes. 24 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 3. "Clean-Family Beggars" with children in very white pinafores, their faces newly washed, and their hair carefully brushed. 4. Ashamed Beggars, or those who "stand pad with a fakement " (remain stationary, holding a written placard), and pretend to hide their faces. D. "DISASTER " BEGGARS. 1. Shipwrecked Mariners. 2. Blown-up Miners. 3. Burnt-out Tradesmen. 4. Lucifer Droppers. E. BODILY AFFLICTED BEGGARS. 1. Having real or pretended sores, vulgarly known as the "scaldrum dodge." 2. Having swollen legs. 3. Being crippled, deformed, maimed, or paralyzed. 4. Being blind. 5. Being subject to fits. 6. Being in a decline, and appearing with bandages round the head. 7. "Shallow coves," or those who exhibit themselves in the streets half clad, especially in cold weather. F. FAMISHED BEGGARS. 1. Those who chalk on the pavement, "I am starving." 2. Those who "stand pad" with a small piece of paper similarly inscribed. G. FOREIGN BEGGARS. 1. Frenchmen who stop passengers in the street and request to know if they can speak French, previous to presenting a written statement of their distress. 2. Pretended Destitute Poles. 3. Hindoos and Negroes, who stand shivering by the kerb. H. PETTY TRADING Beggars. 1. Tract sellers. 2. Sellers of lucifers, boot-laces, cabbage-nets, tapes, and cottons. **The several varieties of beggars admit of being sub-divided into- a. Patterers, or those who beg on the "blob," that is, by word of mouth. b. Screevers, or those who beg by screeving, that is, by written docu- ments, setting forth imaginary cases of distress, such documents being either- i. "Slums" (letters). ii. "Fakements" (petitions). I. THE DEPENDENTS OF Beggars. 1. Screevers Proper, or the writers of slums and fakements for those who beg by screeving. 2. Referees, or those who give characters to professional beggars when a reference is required. IX. Cheats and their Dependents. A. THOSE WHO CHEAT THE GOVERNMENT. 1. Smugglers defrauding the Customs. 2. (C Jiggers" defrauding the Excise by working illicit stills, and the like. B. THOSE WHO CHEAT THE PUBLIC. 1. Swindlers, defrauding those of whom they buy. 2. "Duffers and "horse-chaunters," defrauding those to whom they sell. Charley-pitchers " and other low gamblers, defrauding those with whom they play. 3. 4. "Bouncers and Besters" defrauding, by laying wagers, swaggering, or using threats. 5. "Flatcatchers," defrauding by pretending to find some valuable article-as Fawney or Ring-Droppers. A LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 25 6. Bubble-Men, defrauding by instituting pretended companies-as Sham Next- of-Kin-Societies, Assurance and Annuity Offices, Benefit Clubs, and the like. 7. Douceur-Men, defrauding by offering for a certain sum to confer some boon upon a person as- a. To procure Government Situations for laymen, or benefices for clergymen. b. To provide Servants with Places. c. To teach some lucrative occupation. d. To put persons in possession of some information "to their advantage.” 8. Deposit-Men, defrauding by obtaining a certain sum as security for future work or some promised place of trust. C. THE DEPENDENTS OF CHEATS ARE- 1. "Jollies," and "Magsmen," or accomplices of the "Bouncers and Besters.” 2. "Bonnets," or accomplices of Gamblers. 3. Referees, or those who give false characters to swindlers and others. X. Thieves and their Dependents. A. THOSE WHO PLUNDER WITH VIOLENCE. (C 1. Cracksmen —as Housebreakers and Burglars. 2. " Rampsmen," or Footpads. 3. "Bludgers," or Stick-slingers, plundering in company with prostitutes. B. THOSE WHO c HOCUS," OR PLUNDER THEIR VICTIMS WHEN STUPIFIED. 1. “Drummers," or those who render people insensible. a. By handkerchiefs steeped in chloroform. 6. By drugs poured into liquor. 2. "Bug-hunters," or those who go round to the public-houses and plunder drunken men. C. THOSE WHO PLUNDER BY MANUAL DEXTERITY, BY STEALTH, OR BY BREACH OF TRUST. 1. "Mobsmen," or those who plunder by manual dexterity-as the "light- fingered gentry." a. Buzzers," or those who abstract handkerchiefs and other articles from gentlemen's pockets. i. "Stook-buzzers," those who steal handkerchiefs. ii. “Tail-Buzzers," those who dive into coat-pockets for sneezers (snuff- boxes,) skins and dummies (purses and pocket-books). b. “Wires,” or those who pick ladies' pockets. (( C. Prop-nailers," those who steal pins and brooches. d. "Thimble-screwers," those who wrench watches from their guards. (C e. Shop-lifters," or those who purloin goods from shops while examining articles. 2. "Sneaksmen," or those who plunder by means of stealth. a Those who purloin goods, provisions, money, clothes, old metal, &c. i. "Drag Sneaks," or those who steal goods or luggage from carts and ii. " coaches. Snoozers," or those who sleep at railway hotels, and decamp with some passenger's luggage or property in the morning. iii. "Star-glazers," or those who cut the panes out of shop-windows. iv. "Till Friskers," or those who empty tills of their contents during the absence of the shopmen. ic V. Sawney-Hunters," or those who go purloining bacon from cheese- mongers' shop-doors. vi. "Noisy-racket Men," or those who steal china and glass from out- side of china-shops. vii. "Area Sneaks," or those who steal from houses by going down the area steps. viii. "Dead Lurkers," or those who steal coats and umbrellas from passages at dusk, or on Sunday afternoons. CC ix. "Snow Gatherers," or those who steal clean clothes off the hedges. X. Skinners," or those women who entice children and sailors to go with them and then strip them of their clothes. 26 LONDON LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } xi. "Bluey-Hunters," or those who purloin lead from the tops of houses. xii. "Cat and Kitten Hunters," or those who purloin pewter quart and pint pots from the top of area railings. xiii. "Toshers," or those who purloin copper from the ships along shore. xiv. Mudlarks, or those who steal pieces of rope and lumps of coal from among the vessels at the river-side. b. Those who steal animals. i. Horse Stealers. ii. Sheep, or "Woolly-bird," Stealers. iii. Deer Stealers. iv. Dog Stealers. v. Poachers, or Game Stealers. vi. "Lady and Gentlemen Racket Men," or those who steal cocks and hens. vii. Cat Stealers, or those who make away with cats for the sake of their skins and bones. c. Those who steal dead bodies-as the "Resurrectionists." 3. Those who plunder by breach of trust. a. Embezzlers, or those who rob their employers. i. By receiving what is due to them, and never accounting for it. ii. By obtaining goods in their employer's name. iii. By purloining money from the till. 6. Illegal Pawners. i. Those who pledge work given out to them by employers. ii. Those who pledge blankets, sheets, &c., from lodgings. c. Dishonest servants, those who make away with the property of their masters. d. Bill Stealers, or those who purloin bills of exchange entrusted to them, to get discounted. e. Letter Stealers. D. "SHOFUL MEN," OR THOSE WHO PLUNDER BY MEANS OF Counterfeits. 1. Coiners or fabricators of counterfeit money. 2. Forgers of bank notes. 3. Forgers of checks and acceptances. 4. Forgers of wills. E. DEPENDENTS OF THIEVES. 1. "Fences," or receivers of stolen goods. 66 2. Smashers," or utterers of base coin or forged notes. XI. Prostitutes and their Dependents. A. PROFESSIONAL PROSTITUTES. 1. Seclusives, or those who live in private houses or apartments. a. Kept Mistresses. M 6. "Prima Donnas," or those who belong to the "first class," and live in a superior style. 2. Convives, or those who live in the same house with a number of others. a. Those who are independent of the mistress of the house. b. Those who are subject to the mistress of a brothel. i. "Board Lodgers," or those who give a portion of what they re- ceive to the mistress of the brothel, in return for their board and lodging. ii. "Dress Lodgers," or those who give either a portion or the whole of what they get to the mistress of the brothel in return for their board, lodging, and clothes. 3. Those who live in low lodging-houses. 4. Sailors' and soldiers' women. 5. Park women, or those who frequent the parks at night, and other retired places. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Prichard's nationality, but it is quite unusual and in no way necessary. Surely the honourable virtue of the Welsh is sufficiently evident. The Welsh counties would have been calculated se- parately, but the returns of the Registrar-General did not admit of this being done. Mr. Mayhew will be happy to give every attention to Mr. Prichard's book when published. Mr. Prichard, it will be seen, estimates the relative criminality of each county according to the whole of the population. This, with all deference, is a less simple method than the proportion to a fixed quantity. By Mr. Prichard's method the ratio is contrary to the numbers; that is to say, the in- tensity of the crime in North and South Wales is in the inverse proportion of 1370 to 1186, so that the district bearing the highest number has the fewest criminals, whereas, by finding the ratio to a constant quantity (say 1000 or 10,000 of the population in each county) we arrive at an imme- diate or less "roundabout" method of com- parison thus the relative criminality of North and South Wales is directly as 7 to 8 (of every 10,000 of the Welsh people). Mr. Prichard, moreover, appears to draw his conclusions from one year's returns only (1849). No averages can be depended upon under ten or five years at least. If from an urn filled with different coloured balls, I draw only one ball, I can from that obtain no knowledge of the proportionate number of different coloured balls contained in the urn; but after a series of drawings, I shall be enabled to conclude (with more or less certainty, according to the extent of the series) the relative quantity of balls of each colour within the vessel.-See Quetelet on Pro- babilities. The following is etymological, and worthy of attention :- “SIR, Liverpool, 26th August, 1851. "Reading the part of your work of July 5th, including Bird-sellers, &c., I found, at page 70, your opinion that the word 'Duffer' appears to be connected with the German Durffen,' to want, to be needy. I am a German myself, and as I know you are always willing to take a correction, where you find it founded on reasons, I take the liberty to give you my opinion concerning the origin of • Duffer.' "There is a word in German spelled 'Duff, Duffen,' to make something blind (windows), to make it looking better as it looked before; and, figurative, to cheat somebody, and to change the appearance of something in any way. "Is it not more likely that word Duffer is connected with this word Duff? Besides, the word Durffen' is spelled in German dürffen.' "Sir, yours, "A German. ("Constant reader of your work.") The German Duffen is connected with the Anglo-Saxon Dufian, to dive. Mr. Mayhew pre- fers the derivation Durfen as being connected with that of Pedlar, but still the matter is far from being proved. For dialectic derivation we require to find the word itself (not the root of it) differ- ently spelt, but having the same signification. The conditions are fulfilled by neither of the derivations of Duffer. It shows how The following speaks for itself. the accursed cheap system is maintained, and how the wives of working-men are invariably used to The Rev. E. H. forwards 5s. in postage stamps degrade the value of labour for the production of for the Loan Fund." Irving, One of the King's Own, sends 2s. 6d. for the Crippled Seller of Nutmeg-Graters. "SIR, • C 26th August, 1851. Seeing by last week's number of your most valuable work London Labour and the Poor,' that it was your intention of treating of a fourth class, viz., Those who need not work,' I should be much obliged by your informing me at what period of the work you intend entering on it; and also if it is your intention of giving portraits to illustrate the present subject of Those that will not work.' Hoping to have an answer, when con- venient, in London Labour,' "Your most obedient Servant, "R. S. ("A reader from the first.") Portraits of all the classes treated of will be given. It is impossible to say when those who need not work will be treated of, seeing that the Operatives and the Distributors have not been as yet entered upon. Mr. Mayhew hopes to pay his attention to all in good time, though really the subject he has undertaken is so vast that it be- comes almost fearful to contemplate. slop goods of all kinds. Mr. Sidney Herbert told us some eighteen months ago that the only remedy for the lowness of women's wages was to ship off our female-workers to the colonies. 20,0007. were subscribed for this purpose; some half-dozen ship- loads have been sent out-and yet it would ap- pear from the subjoined that the remuneration for female-labour is not a farthing-piece the better: when will these Political Economists see their mistakes? "SIR, "I have read many of your details, and have felt shocked at the statement given of the condition of many of the labouring population. You have done good service to humanity in exposing the tyranny and oppression of such employers as Moses, Hyams, &c., and I trust you will give the publicity of your pages to every case of extortion and defrauding of the poor. The following statement will show that in the lowest depth' of low wages there is 'a lower deep.' lower deep.' A Jew, or converted Jew Printer, trading not a hundred miles from the Farringdon- street end of Ludgate-bill, is now paying 1. a thousand for cutting labels by scissars-formerly he paid 3d., then reduced it to 2d., and it is now at the sum I have named. He gives the work to the wives of the men in his employ, who dare not ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. refuse to take it for fear he should discharge their husbands, and it must be sent in by a certain time. By working twelve hours a day, and en- tirely neglecting her household duties, a woman may earn 2s. 6d. a week, but she must work ex- tremely hard to get that sum. This is the truth. I enclose my name and address, and dare the per- son (I will not outrage the term gentleman so much as to apply it to him) to deny what I have stated. Wishing you God speed' in your noble labours, "I remain, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, " The gentleman making the above statement for- wards his name and address. Mr. Mayhew would be glad to hear from those who maintain that wages are regulated by the law of supply and de- mand, or those who believe that the price of food does not regulate the value of the lower grades of labour, how it is that in the agricultural districts. a single man receives less wages than a married one? This question is put with the view of eliciting information on this most important subject. The facts that appear to be at variance with the Law of Supply and Demand have been stated in No. 32. They are briefly: (1) The depreciating effect of the relief in aid under the Old Poor-Law. (2) The reduction of remuneration in the Cabinet-Makers' Trade, while work increased and hands decreased. (3) The increase of the quantity of work, and the decline of wages in the cotton trade. (4.) The upholding of the rate of wages by the trade societies. (5) The different wages paid to single and to married men in the agricul- tural districts. If wages are regulated by a natural law, then, of course, the event recorded in the above letter is merely in the regular order of things-but if wages are in a measure arbitrary, depending on the will of the capitalist save when controlled by trade societies, public opinion, and the like, then, of course, the Jew Printer, who pays 2s. 6d. for a week's labour, is as morally odious as the slop-fraternity in general. Accord- ing to Political Economy, however, the Jew Printer is one of the great benefactors of society. Will R. H., or W. H., or the Editor of the Econo- mist, oblige us with their opinions on this subject? INTERESTING FACT. The following singular and authentic case of restoration of the Human Hair is worthy of observation, more particularly as it relates to an article of high and universal repute during the last half century. Mr. A. Hermann, of Queen-street, Soho, had been quite bald for some time past, and had tried various preparations for the recovery of his Hair, but without any beneficial result. He was then induced to try the effects of "Rowlands' Macassar Oil," and after applying it for about two months, he, much to his gratification, had his Hair quite restored, and now possesses a beautiful Head of Hair. This fact speaks too strongly for itself to require comment.-Bell's Weekly Messenger. ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL, Is celebrated throughout the world for its genial and nourishing qualities for the Human Hair. For Children it is especially recominended, as forming the basis of a Beautiful Head of Hair. Price 3s. 6d. and 7s. ; family bottle (equal to four small), 10s. 6d.; and double that size, 21s. per bottle. ROWLANDS' KALYDOR, For improving and beautifying the Skin and Complexion, eradicating all Cutaneous Eruptions, Sunburn, Freckles, and Discolorations, and for rendering the Skin soft, clear, and fair. Price 4s. 6d. and 8s. 6d. per bottle. ROWLANDS' ODONTO, OR PEARL DENTIFRICE, For preserving and beautifying the Teeth, strengthening the Gums, and for rendering the Breath sweet and pure Price 2s. 9d. per box. BEWARE OF SPURIOUS IMITATIONS. The only GENUINE of each bears the name of "ROWLANDS'" preceding that of the Article on the Wrapper or Label, with their signature at the foot, in Red Ink, thus:- A. ROWLAND & SONS. Sold by them at 20, Hatton Garden, London, and by Chemists and Perfumers. CENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE AGENCY, instituted under Trust to counteract the system of Adulteration and Fraud now prevailing in Trade, and to promote the principle of Co-operative Association. The Prospectus of the above Institution, containing the necessary means for obtaining further information, may be had at the following places:- The Central Office, 76, Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square. The Marylebone Branch, 35, Great Marylebone-strect, Portland-place. The Manchester Branch, 13, Swan-street, Manchester. Publishing Office of the Society for Promoting Working Men's Associations, 183, Fleet-street. Gratis if by direct application; if by letter one postage stamp. No. 40. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, SEPT. 13, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. WGAMBON OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. The subjoined table of wages, which, if correct, is highly valuable, has been kindly furnished by R. H. Mr. Mayhew prints it here to preserve it, but he in no way pledges himself as to its accu- racy. It is the production of a gentleman who is utterly unknown to him, and who gives no voucher for his respectability. The author is further a gen- tleman with a strong "economical" bias, and this alone Mr. Mayhew (without wishing to impute the least wilful perversion of the facts) is well aware will always give the mind a warp towards the in- terest of the employer, for Political Economy as it stands is super-eminently the science of trading. The rate of remuneration for the working man, we are told, is to be tested simply by what may be termed a scramble-the law of supply and de- mand—without any regard to the subsistence of the labourers or the share they contribute towards the increased ralue of the materials on which they operate, though the rate of profits among traders, we are told, is to be determined by the cost of living. For instance, "in a small sea- port town," says Adam Smith, a little grocer will make 40 or 50 per cent. upon a stock of a single hundred pounds, while a considerable wholesale merchant in the same place will scarce make 8 or 10 per cent. upon a stock of ten thousand. The trade of the grocer may be necessary for the conveniency of the inhabitants, and the narrowness of the market may not adnit the employment of a larger capital in the business. The man, however, must not only live by his trade, but live by it suitably to the qualifications it requires." A new Political Economy, one that will take some little notice of the claims of labour, doing justice as well to the workman as to the employer, stands foremost among the desiderata, or things wanted, in the present age. As the science now exists, Ikey Solomons, the Jew Fence, is the perfection of its principles. He buys in the cheapest market and sells in the dearest, and he is regulated in all his dealings solely by the principle of supply and demand. Were there more thieves and less receivers, of course he would give even less for the stolen goods than he does; and were there more receivers and fewer thieves, of course each receiver, by the principle of competition, would give Nor can the fence's exorbitant profits be quarrelled with "economically." They are, thus viewed, merely greater remuneration for greater risk, and perfectly justifiable. Has any econo- mist, however, the courage to justify them, and say that the market should be thrown open, and free trade, without any restrictions whatever, allowed to the receivers of stolen goods? W. B. B., the economist, has told us, in these pages, that "justice" and "right" and "conscience" are mere conceits, having no foundation in nature-moral bogies, as it were, invented by old women to frighten the naughty, and surely after this Ikey, the econo- mist, will be one of the forms of his hero-worship, at least if there be any worship in the gentleman at all. All this, however, but little concerns the Wage List of R. H., which, as was before said, is given here with a view to its preservation. more. 1849. 1850, 1848. OF STUFF 1845. HAT FINISHERS. 1846. 1947. WEEKLY WAGES 1844. 1843. 1842. 1841. co satB is = รอนุร๊!H ISIMOI әделәли ารอนุâ!H эглэлү 350МОТ รอบชิ!H самот su 75 ΔΙΟΙ эдлэли 250мот әгләлу ารอนุมtH 150МОТ saus!H самот ༤ d.ls. d. s. d. s. d. 9. d. s. d. s. d. s. Jis. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.s. d.js. d. s. ds. d. s. d.s. 9 857 433 4 s. ds. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.'s. d. s. d. s. .n 7 360 0'31 610 10 59 741 614 0,57 433 43 060 333 .17 488 0 38 10 .s 2 472 2:34 4 u' 995 4 10 459 733 8 15 756 028 913 847 030 4 5 863 2 38 8 1,12 2,65 437 56 756 0,28 613 448 030 113 0,65 438 3 3333 888 129 31 28 7 30 2 38 6 14 232 7:21 10 6 442 5.24 1 S. .h G. ԵՐ 15 6 62 g. 1 256 133 10] 037 4 6 4 56 732 2 J. W. P. .r W. H. .n 16 456 11 33 0 7 0 64 C.. .h 11 1165 11 32 7 460 532 9 9 344 11 27 5 7 056 027 │. 13 835 028 02 452 328 11 638 014 053 431 42 462 931 513 676 336 6 17 4 39 9 25 2 4 1802 H. W. O. .n 15 ա. .I* 4 34 7 22 10 17 4 40 0,23 0 9 031 817 5 W. H...... Average n .d 134 91 30 5 130 10: 31 127 1 | 30 11 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 199 contractors to give information on this, or indeed any subject connected with their trade, I have ascertained from indubitable authority, that "mac" is disposed of in the following manner. Some, but this is mostly the mixed kind, is got rid of in any manner; it has even been diluted with water so as to be driven down the drains. Some Some is mixed with the general street ordure-about a quarter of "mac," I was told, to three-quarters of dung and street mud-and shipped off in barges as manure. Some is given to builders, when they require it for the foundations of any edifices that are "handy," or rather it is carted thither for a nominal price, such as a trifle as beer-money for the men. Some, however, is sold for the same purpose, the contractors alleging that the charge is merely for cartage. Some, again, is given away or sold (with the like allegation) for purposes of levelling, of filling up cavities, or repairing un- evennesses in any ground where improvements are being carried on; and, finally, some is sold to masons, plasterers, and brickmakers, for the pur- poses of their trade. Even for such purposes as filling up," there must be in the "mixed mac" supplied, at least a considerable preponderance of the pure material, or there would not be, as I heard it expressed, a sufficient "setting" for what was required. As a set-off to what is sold, however, I may here state that 30s. has been paid for the privilege of depositing a barge-load of mixed street dirt in Battersea-fields, merely to get rid of it. The principal use of the unmixed "mac" is as a component part of the mortar, or lime, of the mason in the exterior, and of the plasterer in the interior, construction of buildings, and as an in- gredient of the mill in brick-grounds. 95 To a From this reduction of " mac " to its elements, it is manifest that it possesses qualities highly valuable in promoting the cohesive property of mortar, so that, were greater attention paid to its collection by the scavenger, there would, in all probability, be an improved demand for the article, for I find that it is already used in the prosecution of some of the best masons' work. On this head I can cite the authority of a gentleman, at once a scientific and practical architect, who said to me.- "Mac' is used by many respectable builders for making mortar. The objection to it is, that it usually contains much extraneous decaying mat- ter.' Increased care in the collection of the material would, perhaps, remove this cause of complaint. I heard of one West-end builder, employing many hands, however, who had totally or partially discontinued the use of "mac," as he had met with some which he considered showed itself brittle in the plastering of walls. Mac," is pounded, and sometimes sifted, when required for use, and is then mixed and "worked up" with the lime for mortar, in the same way as sand. By the brickmakers it is mixed with the clay, ground, and formed into bricks in a similar manner. Of the proportion sold to builders, plasterers, and brickmakers, severally, I could learn no pre- cise particulars. The general opinion appears to be, that "mac" is sold most to brickmakers, and that it would find even a greater sale with them, were not brick-fields becoming more and more remote. I moreover found it universally admitted, that "mac" was in less demand-some said by one- half-than it was five or six years back. Such are the uses of "mac," and we now come to the question of its value. The price of the purer mac" seems, from the best information I can procure, to have varied con- siderably. It is now generally cheap. I did not hear any very sufficing reason advanced to account for the depreciation, but one of the contractors ex- pressed an opinion that this was owing to the "disturbed" state of the trade. Since the passing of the Sanitary Bill, the contractors for the public scavengery have been prevented "shooting" any The accounts I received of the properties of "mac" from the vendors of it, were very con- tradictory. One man, until lately connected with until lately connected with its sale, informed me that as far as his own ex- perience extended, "mac" was most in demand among scamping builders, and slop brickmakers, who looked only to what was cheap. notorious" scamper," he one morning sent three cart-loads of "mac at 1s. a load, all to be used in the crection of the skeleton of one not very large house; and he believed that when it was used instead of sand with lime, it was for inferior work only, and was mixed, either for masons' or plaster-valueless street-dirt, or dirt "not worth carriage" ers' work, with bad, low-priced mortar. Another man, with equal knowledge of the trade, however, represented "mac" as a most valuable article for the builder's purposes, it was "so binding," and this he repeated emphatically. A working builder told me that "mac was as good as the best sand; it made the mortar "hang," and without either that or sand, the lime would "brittle" away. "Mac" may be said to be composed of pulverised granite and rain water. Granite is composed of quartz, felspar, and mica, each in granular crys- tals. Hence, alumina being clay, and silex a sub- stance which has a strong tendency to enter into com- bination with the lime of the mortar, the pulverizing of granite tends to produce a substance which has necessarily great binding and indurating properties. No. XXXVIII. in convenient waste-places, as they were once in the habit of doing. Their yards and wharfs are generally full, so that, to avoid committing a nuisance, the contractor will not unfrequently sell his "mac" at reduced rates, and be glad thus to get rid of it. To this cause especially Mr. attributed the deterioration in the price of "mac," but if he had convenience, he told me, and any change was made in the present arrangements, he would not scruple to store 1000 loads for the de- mands of next summer, as a speculation. I am of opinion, moreover, notwithstanding what seemed something very like unanimity of opinion on the part of the sellers of part of the sellers of "mac," that what is given or thrown away is usually, if not always, mixed or inferior" or inferior "mac," and that what is sold at the N Σ 200 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. lowest rate is only a degree or two better; unless, indeed, it be under the immediate pressure of some of the circumstances I have pointed out, as want of room, &c. On inquiring the price of "mac," I believe the answer of a vendor will almost invariably be found to be "a shilling a load;" a little further in- quiry, however, shows that an extra sum may have to be paid. A builder, who gave me the inform- ation, asked a parish contractor the price of "mac." The contractor at once offered to supply him with 500 loads at 1s. a load, if the "mac" were ordered beforehand, and could be shot at once; but it would be 6d. a mile extra if delivered a mile out of the mac-seller's parish circuit, or more than a mile from his yard; while, if extra care were to be taken in the collection of the "mac," it would be 2d., 3d., 4d., or 6d. a load higher. This, it must be understood, was the price of "wet mac." >> Good "dry mac," that is to say, "mac" ready for use, is sold to the builder or the brick- maker at from 2s. to 3s. the load; 2s. 6d., or something very near it, being now about an average price. It is dried in the contractor's yard by being exposed to the sun, or it is sometimes protected from the weather by a shed, while being dried. More wet "mac" would be shot for the trade, and kept until dry, but for want of room in the contractors' yards and wharfs; for "mac" must give way to the more valuable dung, and the dust and ashes from the bins. The best "mac" is some- times described as country mac," that is to say, it is collected from those suburban roads where it is likely to be little mixed with dung, &c. A contractor told me that during the last twelve months he had sold 300 loads of "mac;" he had no account of what he had given away, to be rid of it, or of what he had sold at nominal prices. Another contractor, I was told by his managing man, sold last year about 400 loads. But both these parties are "in a large way," and do not supply the data upon which to found a calculation as to an average yearly sale; for though in the metropolis there are, according to the list I have given in p. 167 of the present volume, 63 contracts, for cleansing the metro- polis, without including the more remote suburbs, such as Greenwich, Lewisham, Tooting, Streatham, Ealing, Brentford, and others-still some of the districts contracted for yield no "mac" at all. From what I consider good authority, I may venture upon the following moderate computation as to the quantity of "mac " sold last year. Estimating the number of contracts for cleansing the more central parishes at 35, and adding 20 for all the outlying parishes of the metropolis- in some of which the supply of road "mac" is very fine, and by no means scarce-it may be accurate enough to state that, out of the 55 individual con- tracts, 300 loads of " mac were sold by each in the course of last year. This gives 16,500 loads of "mac" disposed of per annum. It may, moreover, be a reasonable estimate to consider this "mac," wet and dry together, as fetching 1s. 6d. a load, so that we have for the sum realized the following result :- 16,500 loads of "mac," at 1s. 6d. £1237 10 per load It may probably be considered by the con- tractors that 1s. 6d. is too high an average of price per load: if the price be minimized the result will be- 16,500 loads of " mac," at 1s. per load £825 Then if we divide the first estimate among the 55 contractors, we find that they receive upwards of 221. each; the second estimate gives nearly 157. each. mate. I repeat, that in this inquiry I can but approxi- One gentleman told me he thought the quantity of "mac" thus sold in the year was twice 1600 loads; another asserted that it was not 1000. I am assured, however, that my calculation does not exceed the truth. mac; " I have given the full quantity of "mac," as nearly, I believe, as it can be computed, to be yielded by the metropolitan thoroughfares; the surplusage, after deducting the 1600 loads sold, must be regarded as consisting of mixed, and therefore useless, " that is to say, "mac" rendered so thin by continuous wet weather, that it is little worth; "mac" wasted because it is not storeable in the contractor's yard; and "mac" used as a component part of a barge-load of manure. In the course of my inquiries I heard it very generally stated that until five or six years ago 2s. 6d. might be considered a regular price for a load of "mac," while 4s., 5s., or even 6s. have hcen paid to one contractor, according to his own ac- count, for the better kind of this commodity. OF THE MUD OF THE STREETS. THE dirt yielded by a macadamized road, no matter what the composition, is always termed by the scavengers "mac;" what is yielded by a granite-paved way is always "mud." Mixed nud and " mac are generally looked upon as useless. I inquired of one man, connected with a con- tractor's wharf, if he could readily distinguish the difference between "mac" and other street or mixed dirts, and he told me that he could do so, more especially when the stuff was sufficiently dried or set, at a glance. "If mac was darker," he said, "it always looked brighter than other street-dirts, as if all the colour was not ground out of the stone." He pointed out the different kinds, and his definition seemed to me not a bad one, although it may require a practised eye to make the distinction readily. Street-mud is only partially mud, for mud is earthy particles saturated with water, and in the composition of the scavenger's street-mud arc dung, general refuse (such as straw and vegetable remains), and the many things which in poor neighbourhoods are still thrown upon the pave- ment. In the busier thoroughfares of the metropolis-- apart from the City, where there is no macadam- ization requiring notice-it is almost impossible to keep street "mac" and mud distinct, even if the scavengers cared more to do so than is the case at present; for a waggon, or any other vehicle, en- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 201 tering a street paved with blocks of wrought granite from a macadamized road must convey "mac" amongst mud; both "mac" and mud, however, as I have stated, are the most valuable separately. In a Report on the Supply of Water, Appendix No. III., Mr. Holland, Upper Stamford-street, Waterloo-road, is stated to have said, in reply to a question on the subject:-"Suppose the in- habitants of one parish are desirous of having their streets in good order and clean: unless the adjoining districts concur, a great and unjust ex- pense is imposed upon the cleaner parish; because every vehicle which passes from a dirty on to a clean street carries dirt from the former to the latter, and renders cleanliness more difficult and expensive. The inhabitants of London have an interest in the condition of other streets besides those of their own parish. Besides the inhabit- ants of Regent-street, for instance, all the riders in the 5000 vehicles that daily pass through that great thoroughfare are affected by its condition; and the inhabitants of Regent-street, who have to bear the cost of keeping that street in good repair and well cleansed, for others' benefit as well as for their own, may fairly feel aggrieved if they do not experience the benefits of good and clean streets when they go into other districts.' In the admixture of street-dirt there is this material difference-the dung, which spoils good mac," makes good mud more valuable. After having treated so fully of the road-pro- duce of "mac," there seems no necessity to say more about mud than to consider its quantity, its value, and its uses. In the Haymarket, which is about an eighth of a mile in length, and 18 yards in width, a load and a half of street-mud is collected daily (Sun- days excepted), take the year through. As a farmer or market-gardener will give 3s. a load for common street-mud, and cart it away at his own cost, we find that were all this mud sold sepa- rately, at the ordinary rate, the yearly receipt. for one street alone would be 70. 4s. This public way, however, furnishes no criterion of the general mud-produce of the metropolis. We must, therefore, adopt some other basis for a calculation; and I have mentioned the Haymarket merely to show the great extent of street-dirt accruing in a largely-frequented locality. But to obtain other data is a matter of no small difficulty where returns are not published nor even kept. I have, however, been fortunate enough to obtain the assistance of gentlemen whose public employment has given them the best means of forming an accurate opinion. The street mud from the Haymarket, it has been positively ascertained, is 1 load each wet day the year through. Fleet-street, Ludgate-hill, Cheap- side, Newgate-street, the "off" parts of St. Paul's Church-yard, Cornhill, Leadenhall-street, Bishops- gate-street, the free bridges, with many other places where locomotion never ceases, are, in pro- portion to their width, as productive of street mud as the Haymarket. | | ger 6 loads of street mud daily, or 36 loads for the scavenger's working week. In this yield, how- ever, I am assured by practical men, the Hay- market is six times in excess of the average streets; and when compared with even great business" thoroughfares, of a narrow character, such as Watling-street, Bow-lane, Old-change, and other thoroughfares off Cheapside and Cornhill, the produce of the Haymarket is from 10 to 40 per cent. in excess. 2 I am assured, however, and especially by a gentleman who had looked closely into the matter -as he at one time had been engaged in preparing estimates for a projected company purposing to deal with street-manures-that the 50 miles of the City may be safely calculated as yielding daily 1 load of street mud per mile. Narrow streets-Thames-street for instance, which is about three-quarters of a mile long-yield from 2½ to 3 loads daily, according to the season; but a number of off-streets and open places, such as Long- alley, Alderman's-walk, America-square, Monu- ment-yard, Bridgewater-square, Austin-friars, and the like, are either streets without horse-thorough- fares, or are seldom traversed by vehicles. If, then, we calculate that there are 100 miles of paved streets adjoining the City, and yielding the same quantity of street mud daily as the above estimate, and 200 more miles in the less central parts of the metropolis, yielding only half that quantity, we find the following daily sum during the wet sea- son :- 150 miles of paved streets, yielding 1; load of street mud per mile 200 miles of paved streets, yielding load of street mud per mile Loads. 225 150 375 Weekly amount of street mud during the wet season 2,250 58,500 Total ditto for six months in the year 63,000 loads of street mud, at 3s. per load. £8775 The great sale for this mud, perhaps nine- teen-twentieths, is from the barges. A barge of street-manure, about one-fourth (more or less) "mac," or rather "mac" mixed with its street proportion of dung, &c., and three-fourths mud, dung, &c., contains from 30 to 40 tons, or as many loads. These manure barges are often to be seen on the Thames, but nearly three-fourths of them are found on the canals, especially the Paddington, the Regent's, and the Surrey, these being the most immediately connected with the interior part of the metropolis. A barge-load of this manure is usually sold at from 51. to 61. Calculating its average weight at 35 tons, and its average sale at 57. 10s., the price is rather more than 3s. a load. "Common street mud," I have been informed on good authority, "fetches 3s. per load from the farmer, when he himself carts it away." Were the Haymarket a mile in length, it would The price of the barge-load of manure is tolera- supply, at its present rate of traffic, to the scaven-bly uniform, for the quality is generally the same. 202 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. inches. Mr. Daniel says that the average annual fall is 23 inches. The mean of the observa- tions made at Greenwich between the years 1838 and 1849 was 24.84 inches. The following extract from an account of the "Soft Water Springs of the Surrey Sands," by the Hon. Wm. Napier, is interesting. Some of the best, because the cleanest, street mud | of 23 years (1797-1819), as much as 25 179 -as it is mixed only with horse-dung-is ob- tained from the wood streets, but this mode of pavement is so circumscribed that the contractors pay no regard to its manure produce, as a general rule, and mix it carelessly with the rest. Such, at least, is the account they themselves give, and they generally represent that the street manure is, owing to the outlay for cartage and boatage, little remunerative to them at the prices they obtain; notwithstanding, they are paid to remove it from the streets. Indeed, I heard of one con- tractor who was said to be so dissatisfied with the demand for, and the prices fetched by, his street- manure, that he has rented a few acres not far from the Regent's Canal, to test the efficacy of street dirt as a fertilizer, and to ascertain if to cul- tivate might not be more profitable than to sell. OF THE SURFACE-WATER OF THE STREETS OF LONDON. THE consideration of what Professor Way has called the "street waters of the metropolis, is one of as great moment as any of those I have previously treated in my details concerning street refuse, whether "mac," mud, or dung. Indeed, water enters largely into the composition of the two former substances, while even the street dung is greatly affected by the rain. The feuders of the street, as regards the street surface-water, are principally the rains. I will first consider the amount of surface-water supplied by the rain descending upon the area of the metropolis: upon the roofs of the houses, and the pavement of the streets and roads. The depth of rain falling in London in the different months, according to the observations and calculations of the most eminent meteorolo- gists, is as follows:- Months. January February March Royal Society, Depth of Rain 1 inches. according to observation. Howard, ac- observation. cording to Da iell. ac- calculation. o rding to falling in the different Quantity of rain seasons. 1.56 1.907 1.483 Number of days on which rain falls. "The amount of rainfall," says the Author, "is taken from a register kept at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from the year 1818 to 1846. "The average fall of the last 15 years, during which time the register appears to have been correctly kept, is 22.64 inches. I consider this to be a very low estimate, however, of the average rainfall over the whole district. The fall on the ranges of the Hindhead must considerably exceed this amount, for I find in White's Sel- borne,' a register for ten years at that place; the greatest fall being in 1782, 50.26 inches, the all 37-58 inches. The elevation of the Hindhead lowest, in 1788, 22.50 inches. and the average of is about 800 feet above mean tide. C "With reference to the measurement of rain- fall, it is difficult indeed to obtain more than a very approximate idea for a given district of not very great extent; the method of measurement is so uncertain, as liable to be affected by currents of air and evaporation. It is well known that elevated regions attract by condensation more rain than low lands, and yet a rain-gauge placed on the ground will register a greater fall than one placed immediately, and even at a small height, above it. "M. Arago has shown from 12 years' observa- tions at Paris, that the average depth of rain on the terrace of the Observatory was 1988 inches, while 30 yards lower it was 22.21 inches. Dr. Heberden has shown the rainfall on the top of Westminster Cathedral, during a certain period to be only 12.09 inches, and at a lower level on the top of a house in the neighbourhood to be 22.608 inches. This fact has been observed all over the world, and I can only account for it as arising partly from the greater amount of condensation the nearer the earth's surface, but probably also from currents of air depriving a rain-gauge at a high elevation of its fair share.' >> The results of the above observations, as to the yearly quantity of rain falling in the metropolis, may be summed up as follows:- 14.4 • April May June July 1:45 1.643 0.746 Winter. 1.36 1.542 1·440 5.863 1.55 1719 1-786 1.67 2:036 1.853 1.98 1.964 1-830 2.44 2.592 2.516 August 2.37 2.134 1.453 Summer, 16.3 September. 2.97 1-644 2.193 6.682 October.... 2.46 2.872 2.073 November. 2.58 2.637 2.400 Autumn. December 1.65 2-489 2.426 7.441 15.8 12.7 14.0 Spring. 15.8 4.813 11.8 16.1 Inches of Rain falling Annually. 12.3 162 15:0 17.7 Royal Society (average of 20 years) Mr. Howard (average of 23 years). Professor Daniell 24.04 25·179 22.199 | 178-1 .... Totals 24-04 | 25-179 22.199 24.804 The rainfall in London, according to a ten years' average of the Royal Society's observations, amounts to 23 inches; in 1848 it was as high as 28 inches, and in 1847 as low as 15 inches. The depth of rain annually falling near London is stated by Mr. Luke Howard to be, on an average The mean mean,' or average of all the averages here given is within a fraction the average of the Royal Society's Observations for 10 years, and this is the quantity that I shall Dr. Heberden 22.608 Mean 23.506 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 203 adopt in my calculations as to the gross volume of rain falling over the entire area of London. I have shown, by a detail of the respective districts in the Registrar General's department, that the metropolis contains 74,070 statute acres. Every square inch of this extent, as garden, arable, or pasture ground, or as road or street, or waste place, or house, or inclosed yard or lawn, of course receives its modicum of rain. Each acre comprises 6,272,640 square inches, and we thus find the whole metropolitan area to contain a number of square inches, almost beyond the terms of popular arithmetic, and best expressible in figures. Area of metropolis in square inches, 461,614,444,800. Now, multiplying these four hundred and sixty four thousand, six hundred and fourteen millions, four hundred and forty-four thousand, eight hundred square inches, by 23, the number of inches of rain falling every year in London, we have the following result :- | than double that of the entire quantity of water an- nually supplied to the metropolis by mechanical means, the rain-water being to the other as 2.005 to 1.000. Now, in order to ascertain what proportion of the entire volume of rain comes under the deno- mination of street surface-water, we must first deduct from the gross quantity falling the amount said to be caught, and which, in contradistinction to that mechanically supplied to the houses of the This is estimated metropolis is termed, "catch." at 1,000,000 gallons per diem, or 365,000,000 gallons yearly. But we must also subtract from the gross quan- tity of rain-water that which falls on the roofs as well as on the "back premises" and yards of houses, and is carried off directly to the drains This must be a without appearing in the streets. considerable proportion of the whole, since the streets themselves, allowing them to be ten yards wide on an average, would seem to occupy only Total quantity of rain falling yearly in the me- about one-tenth part of the entire metropolitan tropolis, 10,686,132,230,400 cubic inches. area, so that the rain falling directly upon the pub- Then, as a fraction more than 277 cubiclic thoroughfares will be but a tithe of the aggre- inches of water represent a weight of 10 lbs., and an admeasurement of a gallon, we have the following further results :- Yearly Rain- fall in the Metropolis Weight in pounds and tons. 385,390,721,220 lbs., or 172,053,417 tons. 4 Admeasurement in gallons. gate quantity. But the surface-water of the streets is increased largely by tributary shoots from courts and drainless houses, and hence we may fairly assume the natural supply to be doubled by such means. At this rate the volume of rain-water annually poured into and upon the metropolitan thoroughfares by natural means, will 38,539,972,122 gals. be between five and six thousand millions of gallons, or one hundred times the quantity that is daily supplied to the houses of the metropolis by mechanical agency. The total quantity of water mechanically sup- plied every day to the metropolis is said to be in round numbers 55,000,000 gallons, the amount being made up in the following manner :- DAILY MECHANICAL SUPPLY OF WATER TO METROPOLIS. Sources of Supply. New River East London Chelsea West Middlesex Grand Junction Lambeth • Average No. of Gallons per day. 14,149,315 8,829,462 3,940,730 3,334,054 3,532,013 3,077,260 Southwark and Vauxhall 6.313,716 Kent • 1,079,311 Hampstead 427,468 Total from Companies Artesian Wells Land Spring Pumps Total daily From Companies Artesian Wells "" "" Land Spring Pumps. Total yearly Still only a part of this quantity appears in the form of surface-water, for a considerable portion of it is absorbed by the ground on which it falls especially in dry weather-serving either to "lay the dust," or to convert it into mud. Due regard, therefore, being had to all these considerations we cannot, consistently with that caution which is necessary in all statistical inquiries, estimate the sur- face-water of the London streets at more than one thousand millions of gallons per annum, or twenty times the daily mechanical supply to the houses of the entire metropolis, and which it has been asserted is sufficient to exhaust a lake covering the area of St. James's-park, 30 inches in depth. The quantity of water annually poured upon the streets in the process of what is termed " of what is termed "watering" amounts, according to the returns of the Board of 44,383,329 Health, to 275,000,000 gallons per annum! But 8,000,000 as this seldom or never assumes the form of street 3,000,000 surface-water, it need form no part of the present estimate. 55,383,329 YEARLY MECHANICAL SUPPLY OF WATER. 16,200,000,000 gals. 1,920,000,000 1,095,000,000 19,215,000,000 "" Hence it would appear that the rain falling in London in the course of the year is rather more What proportion of the thousand million gallons of "slop dirt" produced annually in the London streets is carried off down the drains, and what proportion is ladled up by the scavengers, I have no means of ascertaining, but that vast quantities run away into the sewers and there form large deposits of mud, everything tends to prove. Mr. Lovick, on being asked, "How many loads of deposit have been removed in any one week in the Surrey and Kent district? What is the total 201 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. quantity of deposit removed in any one week in the whole of the metropolitan district?" replied: "It is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain correctly the quantity removed, owing to the variety of forms of sewers and the ever-varying forms assumed by the deposit from the action of varying volumes of water; but I have had obser- vations made on the rate of accumulation, from which I have been enabled roughly to approximate it. In one week, in the Surrey and Kent district, about 1000 yards were removed. In one week, in the whole of the metropolitan districts, includ- ing the Surrey and Kent district, between 4000 and 5000 yards were removed; but in portions of the districts these operations were not in pro- gress." It is not here stated of what the deposit con- sisted, but there is no doubt that "mac" from the streets formed a great portion of it. Neither is it stated what period of time had sufficed for the accumulation; but it is evident enough that such deposits in the course of a year must be very great. The street surface-water has been analyzed by Professor Way, and found to yield different con- stituents according to the different pavements from which it has been discharged. The results are as follows: "Examination of Samples of Water from Street Drainage, taken from the Gullies in the Sewers during the rain of 6th May, 1850. "The waters were all more or less turbid, and some of them gave off very noxious odours, due principally to the escape of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. "Some of them were alkaline to test-paper, but the majority were neutral. "The following table exhibits the quantity of matter (both in solution and in solid state) con- tained in an imperial gallon of each specimen. "STREET WATERS. Residue in an Imperial Gallon. Number of Bottle. NAME OF STREET. Quality of Paving. Quality of Traffic. Soluble. Insoluble. Both. 1 Duke-street, Manchester-square 7 Foley-street (upper part) 5 Gower-street Macadam Middling Little Granite Middling Grains. Grains. 92.80 105.95 Grains. 198.75 95.13 116.30 211·43 120.00 168.30 294.30 12 Norton-street Little 123.87 3:00 126.87 >> 3 Hampstead-road (above the canal) Ballasted Great 96.00 84.00 180.00 4 Ferdinand-street • 22 Middling 44.00 48.30 92.30 2 Ferdinand-place Little 50.80 34.30 85.10 "" 10 Oxford-street. 6 11 Granite Macadam Wood Great 276-23 537.10 813.33 "" 194.62 34.00 390.30 584.92 5:00 39.00 "} "The influence of the quality of the paving on the composition of the drainage water," says Pro- fessor Way, "is well seen in the specimens Nos. 10, 6, and 11, all of them from Oxford-street, the traffic being described as 'Great.' "The quantity of soluble salts is here found to be greatest from the granite matter from the mac- adamized road, and very inconsiderable from the wood pavement. "The same relation between the granite and macadam pavement seems to hold good in the other instances; the granite for any quality of traffic affording more soluble salts to the water than the macadam. "The ballasted pavement holds a position in- termediate between the macadam and the wood, giving more soluble salts than the wood, but less than the macadam. "The quantity of solid (insoluble) matter in the different samples of water, which is a measure of the mechanical waste of the different kinds of pavement, appears also to follow the same relation as that of the soluble salts; that is to say, granite greatest, next macadam, then ballasted, and, lastly, wood pavement, which affords a quantity of solid deposit almost too small to deserve notice. "The influence of the quality of traffic on the composition of the different specimens of drainage is well marked in nearly all cases; the greatest amount of matter both insoluble and soluble being found in the water obtained from the streets of great traffic. "The following table shows the composition of the soluble salts of four specimens, two of them being from the granite, and two from the macadam pavement. "It appears from the table that the granite furnishes little or no magnesia to the water, whilst the quantity from the macadam is considerable. "On the other hand, the quantity of potash is far greatest in the water derived from the granite. "The traffic, as was before seen, has a very great influence on the quantity of the soluble salts. It seems also to influence their composi- tion, for we find no carbonates either in the water from the granite, or that from the macadam, where LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 205 the traffic is little; whereas, when it is great, carbonates of lime and potash are found in the water in large quantity, a circumstance which is "ANALYSIS OF THE SOLUBLE MATTER IN DIFFERENT SPECIMENS OF STREET DRAINAGE WATER. no doubt attributable to the action of decaying organic matter on the mineral substances of the pavement. Grains in an Imperial Gallon. Great Traffic. Little Traffic. Granite. Macadam No. 10. No. 6. Granite. No. 12. Macadam. No. 7. Water of combination and some soluble organic matter • 77.56 29.07 22.72 13.73 Silica •51 2.81 • Carbonic Acid 15.84 12.23 None None Sulphuric Acid 36.49 38.23 46.48 34.08 Lime 6.65 13.38 25.90 16.10 Magnesia None 23.51 Trace 3.50 • Oxide of Iron and Alumina, with a little Phosphate of Lime 2.58 1.25 ... Chloride of Potassium None 10.99 None 2.79 Sodium 53.84 44.88 18.44 19.70 • Potash Soda 82.76 18.27 8.75 5.23 • 1.58 · 276.23 194.62 123.87 95.13 "The insoluble matter in the waters consists of the comminuted material of the road itself, with small fragments of straw and broken dung. "The quantity of soluble salts (especially of salts of potash) in many of these samples of water is quite as great, and in some cases greater, than that found in the samples of sewer-water that have been examined; and it is open to question and further inquiry, whether the water obtained from the street-drainage of a crowded city might not often be of nearly equal value as liquid ma- nure with the sewer-water with which it is at present allowed to mix." | The noun Scavenger is said by lexicographers to be derived from the German schaben, to shave or scrape, "applied to those who scrape and clear away the filth from public streets or other places." The more direct derivation, however, is from the Danish verb skaver, the Saxon equivalent of which is sceafan, whence the English shave. Formerly the word was written Scavager, and meant simply one who was engaged in removing the Scrapeage or Rakeage (the working men, it will be seen, were termed also "rakers") from the surface of the streets. Hence it would appear that there is no authority for the verb to scavenge, which has lately come into usc. The term from which the personal substantive is directly made, is scavage, a word formed from the verb in the same manner as sewage and rubbage (now fashionably corrupted into rubbish), and meaning the refuse which is or should be scraped away from the roads. The Latin equivalent from the Danish With regard to the "ballasted pavement" men- tioned by Professor Way, I may observe that it cannot be considered a street-pavement, unless exceptionally. It is formed principally of Thames ballast mixed with gravel, and is used in the construction of what are usually private or plea- sure walks, such as the "gravel walks" in the inclosures of some of the parks, and upon Prim-verb skave, is scabere. rose-hill, &c. >> OF THE MASTER SCAVENGERS IN FORMER TIMES. DEGRADED as the occupation of the scavenger may be in public estimation; though "I'd rather sweep the streets may be a common remark expressive of the lowest deep of humiliation among those who never handled a besom in their lives; yet the very existence of a large body who are public cleansers betokens civilization. Their occupation, indeed, was defined, or rather was established or confirmed, in the early periods of our history, when municipal regulations were a sort of charter of civic protection, of civic liberties, and of general progress. I believe that the first mention of a scavenger in our earlier classical literature, is by Bishop Hall, one of the lights of the Reformation, in one of his "Satires." "To see the Pope's blacke knight, a cloaked frere, Sweating in the channel like a scavengere,' 29 Many similar passages from the old poets and dramatists might be adduced, but I will con- tent myself with one from the "Martial Maid of Beaumont and Fletcher, as bearing immediately on the topic I have to discuss:- "Do I not know thee for the alguazier, Whose dunghil all the parish scavengers Could never rid." Johnson defines a scavenger to be "a petty * 206 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. magistrate, whose province is to keep the streets clean;" and in the earlier times, certainly the scavenger was an officer to whom a certain authority was deputed, as to beadles and others. One or two of these officials were appointed, according to the municipal or by-laws of the City of London, not to each parish, but to each ward. | Of course, in the good old days, nothing could be done unless under "the sanction of an oath," and the scavengers were sworn accordingly on the Gospel, the following being the form as given in the black letter of the laws relating to the city in the time of Henry VIII. "The Oath of Scavagers, or Scavengers, of the Ward. "Yeshal swear, That ye shal wel and diligently oversee that the pavements in every Ward be wel and rightfully repaired, and not haunsed to the noyaunce of the neighbours; and that the Ways, Streets, and Lanes, be kept clean from Donge and other Filth, for the Honesty of the City. And that all the Chimneys, Redosses, and Furnaces, be made of Stone for Defence of Fire. And if ye know any such ye shall shew it to the Alderman, that he may make due Redress therefore. And this ye shall not lene. So help you God." * To aid the scavengers in their execution of the duties of the office, the following among others were the injunctions of the civic law. They in dicate the former state of the streets of London better than any description. A "Goung (or dung) Goung (or dung) fermour" appears to be a nightman, a dung-carrier or bearer, the servant of the master or ward scavenger. "No Goungfermour shall spill any ordure in the Street, under pain of Thirteen Shillings and Four Pence. "No Goungfermour shall carry any ordure till after nine of the clock in the Night, under pain of Thirteen Shillings and Four Pence. No man shall cast any urine boles, or ordure boles, into the Streets by Day or Night, afore the Hour of nine in the Night. And also he shall not cast it out, but bring it down and lay it in the Canel, under Pain of Three Shillings and Four Pence. And if he do so cast it upon any Person's Head, the Person to have a lawful Recompense, if he have hurt thereby. "No man shall bury any Dung, or Goung, within the Liberties of this City, under Pain of Forty Shillings." I will not dwell on the state of things which caused such enactments to be necessary, or on the barbarism of the law which ordered a lawful re- compense to any person assailed in the manner intimated, only when he had "hurt thereby." These laws were for the government of the city, where a body of scavengers was sometimes called * "Haunsed" is explained by Strype to signify "made too high," and the "Redosses to be "Rere- doughs." A mason informed me that he believed these Redoses were what were known in some old country- houses as "Back-Flues," or flues connecting any firc- grate in the out-offices with the main chimney. The terin "lene" is the Teutonic Lehn, and signifiés "let, lease," or literally loan. a "street-ward." Until about the reign of Charles II., however, to legislate concerning such matters for the city was to legislate for the metropolis, as Southwark was then more or less under the city jurisdiction, and the houses of the nobility on the north bank of the Thames (the Strand), would hardly require the services of a public scavenger. As new parishes or districts became populous, and established outside the city boundaries, the authorities seem to have regulated the public scavengery after the fashion of the city; but the whole, in every respect of cleanliness, propriety, regularity, or celerity, was most grievously de- fective. Some time about the middle of the last century, the scavengers were considered and pronounced by the administrators or explainers of municipal law, to be "two officers chosen yearly in each parish in London and the suburbs, by the constables, church wardens, and other inhabitants,” and their business was declared to be, that they should "hire persons called 'rakers,' with carts to clean the streets, and carry away the dirt and filth thereof, under a penalty of 40s." The scavengers thus appointed we should now term surveyors. There is little reason to doubt that in the old times the duly-appointed scavagers or scavengers, laboured in their vocation them- selves, and employed such a number of additional hands as they accounted necessary; but how or when the master scavenger ceased to be a labourer, and how or when the office became merely nominal, I can find no information. So little attention ap- pears to have been paid to this really important mat- ter, that there are hardly any records concerning it. The law was satisfied to lay down provisions for street-cleansing, but to enforce these provisions. was left to chance, or to some idle, corrupt, or in- efficient officer or body. (( pre- Neither can I find any precise account of what was formerly done with the dirt swept and scraped from the streets, which seems always to have been left to the discretion of the scavenger to deal with as he pleased, and such is still the case in a great measure. Some of this dirt I find, however, promoted "the goodly nutriment of the land" about London, and some was delivered in waste places apart from habitations." These waste places seem to have been the nuclei of the sent dust-yards, and were sometimes "presented," that is, they were reported by a jury of nuisances (or under other titles), as "places of obscene re- sort," for lewd and disorderly persons, the lewd and disorderly persons consisting chiefly of the very poor, who came to search among the rubbish for anything that might be valuable or saleable; for there were frequent rumours of treasure or thieves. Some outcast wretches, moreover, slept plate being temporarily hidden in such places by within the shelter of these scavengers' places, and occasionally occasionally a vigilant officer-even down to our own times, or within these few years-appre- hended such wretches, charged them with destitu- tion, and had them punished accordingly. Much of the street refuse thus " delivered," especially the dry rubbish, "was thrown into the streets from LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 207 houses under repair, &c., (I now speak of the past century,) and no use seems to have been made any part of it unless any one requiring a load or two of rubbish chose to cart it away. of I have given this sketch to show what master scavengers were in the olden times, and I now proceed to point out what is the present condition of the trade. OF THE SEVERAL MODES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF STREET-CLEANSING. WE here come to the practical part of this com- plex subject. We have ascertained the length of the streets of London-we have estimated the amount of daily, weekly, and yearly traffic-cal- culated the quantity of mud, dung, "mac," dust, and surface-water formed and collected annually throughout the metropolis-we have endeavoured to arrive at some notion as to the injury done by all this vast amount of filth owing to what the Board of Health has termed "imperfect scaveng- ing,”—and we now come to treat of the nieans by which the loads of street refuse-the loads of dust-loads of " mac and mud, and the tons of dung, are severally and collectively removed throughout the year. There are two distinct, and, in a measure, diametrically opposed, methods of street-cleansing at present in operation. 1. That which consists in cleaning the streets when dirtied. 2. That which consists in cleaning them and keeping them clean. These modes of scavenging may not appear, to those who have paid but little attention to the matter, to be very widely different means of effecting the same object. The one, however, re- moves the refuse from the streets (sooner or later) after it has been formed, whereas the other re- moves it as fast as it is formed. By the latter method the streets are never allowed to get dirty by the former they must be dirty before they are cleansed. The plan of street-cleansing before dirtied, or the pre-scavenging system, is of recent introduction, being the mode adopted by the "street-orderlies ;' that of cleansing after having dirtied, or the post- scavenging system, is (so far as the more gene- val or common method is concerned) the same as that pursued two centuries ago. I shall speak of each of these modes in due course, beginning with that last mentioned. (C By the ordinary method of scavenging, the dirt is still swept or scraped to one side of the public way, then shovelled into a cart and con- veyed to the place of deposit. In wet weather the dirt swept or scraped to one side is so liquified that it is known as slop," and is "lifted" into the cart in shovels hollowed like sugar-spoons. The only change of which I have heard in this mode of scavenging was in one of the tools. Until about nine years ago birch, or occasionally heather, brooms or besoms were used by the street-sweepers, but they soon became clogged in dirty weather, and then, as one working scavenger explained it to me, they scattered and CC drove the dirt to the sides 'stead of making it go right a-head as you wants it." The material now used for the street-sweeper's broom is known as "bass," and consists of the stems or branches of a New Zealand plant, a substance which has con- siderable strength and elasticity of fibre, and both sweeps" and" scrapes" in the process of scaveng- ing. The broom itself, too, is differently constructed, having divisions between the several insertions of bass in the wooden block of the head, so that clog- ging is less frequent, and cleaning easier, whereas the birch broom consisted of a close mass of twigs, and thus scattered while it swept the dirt. There was, of course, some outcry on the part of the "established-order-of-things gentry among sca- vengers, against the innovation, but it is now general. As all the scavengers, no matter how they vary in other respects, work with the brooms described, this one mention of the change will suffice. No doubt the cleansing of the streets is accomplished with greater efficiency and with greater celerity than it was, but the mere pro- cess of manual toil is little altered. "> In a work like the present, however, we have more particularly to deal with the labourers en- gaged; and, viewing the subject in this light, we may arrange the several modes of street-cleansing into the four following divisions :— 1. By paid manual-labourers, or men employed by the contractors, and paid in the ordinary ways of wages. 2. By paid "Machine "-labourers, differing from the first only or mainly in the means by which they attain their end. 3. By pauper labourers, or men employed by the parishes in which they are set to work, and either paid in money or in food, or maintained in the workhouses. 4. By street-orderlies, or men employed by philanthropists-a body of workmen with par- ticular regulations and more organized than other scavengers. By one or other of these modes of scavengery all the public ways of the metropolis are cleansed; and the subject is most peculiar, as including within itself all the several varieties of labour, if we ex- cept that of women and children-viz., manual labour, mechanical labour, pauper labour, and phi- lanthropic labour. By these several varieties of labour the high- ways and by-ways of the entire metropolis are cleansed, with one exception-the Mews, con- cerning which a few words here may not be out of place. All these localities, whether they be what are styled Private or Gentlemen's Mews, or Pub- lic Mews, where stables, coach-houses, and dwell- ing-ro ing-rooms above them, may be taken by any one (a good many of such places being, moreover, public or partial thoroughfares) public or partial thoroughfares); or whether they be job-masters' or cab-proprietors' mews; are scavenged by the occupants, for the manure is valuable. The mews of London, indeed, constitute a world of their own. They are tenanted by one class- coachmen and grooms, with their wives and families-men who are devoted to one pursuit, the care of horses and carriages; who live and asso- 208 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ciate one among another; whose talk is of horses (with something about masters and mistresses) as if to ride or to drive were the great ends of human existence, and who thus live as much together as the Jews in their compulsory quarters in Rome. The mews are also the "chambers" of unemployed coachmen and grooms, and I am told that the very sicknesses known in such places have their own peculiarities. These, however, form matter for future inquiry. Concerning the private scavenging of the metro- politan mews, the Medical Times, of July 26, 1851, contains a letter from Mr. C. Cochrane, in which that gentleman says: | briefly the characteristics of each class of cleansing. This will also denote the quality of the employers and the nature of the employment. gared tradesmen, or reduced gentlemen, must necessarily resort to it as their only means of in- dependent support; and hence the reason why dock labour and street labour, and indeed all the several forms of unskilled work, have a tendency to be overstocked with hands-the unskilled occupa- tions being, as it were, the sink for all the refuse skilled labour and beggared industry of the coun- try. 1. The Paid Manual Labourers constitute the bulk of those engaged in scavenging, and the chief pay-masters are the contractors. Many of these labourers consider themselves the only "regular hands," having been "brought up to the business;" but unemployed or destitute labourers or mechanics, or reduced tradesmen, will often endeavour to obtain employment in street-sweep- ing; this is the necessary evil of all unskilled labour, for since every one can do it (without pre- vious apprenticeship), it follows that the beaten- “It will be found, that in all the mews through-out artisans or discarded trade assistants, beg- out the metropolis, the manure produced from each stable is packed up in a separate stack, until there is sufficient for a load for some market-gardener or farmer to remove. The groom or stable-man makes an arrangement, or agreement as it is called, with the market-gardener, to remove it at his con- venience, and a gratuity of 1s. or 1s. 6d. per load is usually presented to the stable-man. In some places there are dung-pits containing the collect- ings of a fortnight's dung, which, when disturbed for removal, casts out an offensive effluvium, as sickening as it is disgusting to the whole neigh-in bourhood. In consequence of the arrangement in question, if a third party wished to buy some of this manure, he could not get it; and if he wished to get rid of any by giving it away, the stable- man would not receive it, as it would not be re- moved sufficiently quick by the farmer. The re- sult is, that whilst the air is rendered offensive and insalubrious, manure becomes difficult to be re- moved or disposed of, and frequently is washed away into the sewer. Of this manure there are always (at a mode- rate computation) remaining daily, in the mews and stable-yards of the metropolis, at least 2000 cart-loads. "To remedy these evils, I would suggest that a brief Act of Parliament should be passed, giving municipal and parochial authorities the same com- plete control over the manure as they have over the ashes,' with the provision, that owners should have the right of removing it themselves for their own use; but if they did not do so daily, then the control to return to the above. authorities, who should have the right of selling it, and placing the proceeds in the parish funds. By this simple means immense quantities of valuable manure would be saved for the purposes of agriculture-food would be rendered cheaper and more abundant-more people would be em- ployed whilst the metropolis would be rendered clean, sweet, and healthy." I may dismiss this part of the subject with the remark, that I was informed that the mews' ma- nure was in regular demand and of ready sale, being removed by the market-gardeners with greater facility than can street-dirt, which the contractors with the parishes prefer to vend by the barge-load. Having enumerated the four several modes of street-cleansing, I will now proceed to point out The "contractors," like other employers, are separated by their men into two classes—such as, more refined callings, are often designated the "honourable" and "dishonourable" traders-ac- cording as they pay or do not pay what is reputed "fair wages." I cannot say that I heard any especial appella- tion given by the working scavengers to the better-paying class of employers, unless it were the expressive style of "good-'uns." The inferior paying class, however, are very generally known among their work-people as "scurfs." 2. The Street-sweeping Machine Labourers. Of the men employed as Of the men employed as "attendant" scavengers, for so they may be termed, in connection with these mechanical and vehicular street-sweepers, little need here be said, for they are generally of the class of ordinary scavengers. It may, how- ever, be necessary to explain that each of those machines must have the street refuse, for the "lick-in" of the machine, swept into a straight line wherever there is the slightest slope at the sides of a street towards the foot-path; the same, too, must sometimes be done, if the pavement be at all broken, even when the progress of the machine is, what I heard, not very appropriately, termed " plain sailing." Sometimes, also, men follow the course of the street-sweeping machine, to " sweep up any dirt missed or scattered, as the vehicle proceeds on a straightforward course, for at all to diverge would be to make the labour, where the machine alone is used, almost double. 3. The Pauper, or Parish-employed Scavengers present characteristics peculiarly their own, as re- gards open-air labour in London. They are em- ployed less to cleanse the streets, than to prevent their being chargeable to the poor's rate as out- door recipients, or as inmates of the workhouses. When paid, they receive a lower amount of wages than any other scavengers, and they are some- times paid in food as well as in money, while a difference may be made between the wages of the } ! L 員 ​ར -- - ཟ VIEW OF A DUST YAR D. (From a Sketch taken on the spot.) } LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 209 * married and of the unmarried men, and, even be- tween the married men who have and have not children; some, again, are employed in scavenging without any money receipt, their maintenance in the workhouse being considered a sufficient re- turn for the fruits of their toil. 1 Some of these men are feeble, some are un- skilful (even in tasks in which skill is but little of an element), and most of them are dissatisfied workmen. Their ranks comprise, or may com- prise, men who have filled very different situa- tions in life. It is mentioned in the second edition of one of the publications of the National Philanthropic Association, "Sanatory Progress" (1850), "that the once high-salaried cashier of a West-end bank died lately in St. Pancras workhouse; that the architect of several of the most fashionable West-end club-houses is now an inmate of St. James's-workhouse;—and that the architect of St. Pancras' New Church lately died in a back garret in Somers-town. "These recent instances (a few out of many)" says the writer, "prove that wealth has wings,' and that Genius and Industry have but leaden feet, when overtaken by Adversity. A late number of the Globe newspaper states that, among the police constables on the Great Western Railway, there are at present eight members of the Royal College of Surgeons, and three solicitors;'-and the and the Limerick Examiner, a few weeks ago, announced the fact, that a gentlewoman is now an inmate of the workhouse of that city, whose husband, a few years ago, filled the office of High Sheriff of the county. > " I do not know that either the cashier or the architect in the two workhouses in question was employed as a street-sweeper. This second class, then, are situated differently to the paid street-sweepers (or No. 1 of the present division), who may be considered, more or less, independent or self-supporting labourers, while the paupers are, of course, dependent. 4. The "Street Orderlies."--These men present another distinct body. They are not merely in the employment, but many of them are under the care, of the National Philanthropic Association, which was founded by, and is now under the presidency of, Mr. Cochrane. The objects of this society, as far as regards the street orderlies' existence as a class of scavengers, are sufficiently indicated in its title, which declares it to be "For the Promotion of Street Cleanliness and the Employment of the Poor; so that able-bodied men may be prevented from burthening the parish rates, and preserved independent of workhouse alms and degradation. Supported by the contributions of the benevolent." of many hindrances and difficulties, to amend our street scavengery, indeed to reform it altogether; so that dust and dirt may be checked in their very origination. The corporation, if I may so describe it, of the street orderlies, presents characteristics, again, varying from the other orders of what can only be looked upon either as the self-supporting or pauper workers. These, then, are the several modes or methods of street-scavengery, and they show the following:- CLASSES OF STREET-SWEEPING EMPLOYERS. (1.) Traders, who undertake contracts for scavengery as a speculation. Under this de- nomination may be classed the contractors with parishes, districts, boards, liberties, divisions and subdivisions of parishes, markets, &c. (2.) Parishes, who employ the men as a matter of parochial policy, with a view to the reduction of the rates, and with little regard to the men. (3.) Philanthropists, who seek, more particu- larly, to benefit the men whom they employ, while they strive to promote the public good by increasing public cleanliness and order. Under the head of "Traders" are the con- tractors with the parishes, &c., and the proprietors of the sweeping-machines, who are in the same capacity as the capacity as the "regular contractors" respecting their dealings with labourers, but who substitute mechanical for manual operations. Of these several classes of masters engaged in the scavengery of the metropolis I have much to say, and, for the clearer saying of it, I shall treat each of the several varieties of labour separately. OF THE CONTRACTORS FOR SCAVENGERY. THE scavenging of the streets of the metropolis is performed directly or indirectly by the authorities of the several parishes "without the City," who have the power to levy rates for the cleansing the various districts; within the City, however, the office is executed under the direction of the Court of Sewers. When the cleansing of the streets is performed indirectly by either the parochial or civic authori- ties, it is effected by contractors, that is to say, by traders who undertake for a certain sum to re- move the street-refuse at stated intervals and under express conditions, and who employ paid servants to execute the work for them. When it is performed directly, the authorities employ la- bourers, generally from the work house, and usually enter into an agreement with some contractor for the use of his carts and appliances, together with the right to deposit in his wharf or yard the refuse removed from the streets. The street orderlies, men and boys, are paid a fixed weekly wage, a certain sum being stopped I shall treat first of the indirect mode of from those single men who reside in houses scavenging-that is to say, of cleansing the streets rented for them by the association, where their by contract-beginning with the contractors, meals, washing, &c., are provided. Among them them setting forth, as near as possible, the receipts and are men of many callings, and some educated and expenditure in connection with the trade, and accomplished persons. then proceeding in due order to treat of the labourers employed by them in the performance of the task. The system of street orderlyism is, moreover, distinguished by one attribute unknown to any other inode; it is an effort, persevered in, despite Some of the contractors agree with the parochial } 210 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. or district authorities to remove the dust from the house-bins as well as the dirt from the streets under one and the same contract; some undertake to execute these two offices under separate con- tracts; and some to perform only one of them. It is most customary, however, for the same con- tractor to serve the parish, especially the larger parishes, in both capacities. tenders to water the district, when the following were received, viz. :- "Mr. Darke "" Gore Nicholls Starkey. which was the lowest. £315 318 312 285 "Your Committee, anxious to prevent any in- There is no established or legally required crease in the watering-rate from being levied, and form of agreement between a contractor and his considering the amount required by the contrac- principals; it is a bargain in which each side tors for this service as excessive and exorbitant, strives to get the best of it, but in which the and even evincing a spirit of combination, resolved parish representatives have often to contend to make an inroad upon this system, and after against something looking like a monopoly; a much trouble and attention adopted other mea- very common occurrence in our day when capital-sures for watering the district, the results of ists choose to combine, which is legal, or unno- ticed, but very heinous on the part of the working men, whose capital is only in their strength or skill. One contractor, on being ques- tioned by a gentleman officially connected with a large district, as to the existence of combination, laughed at such a notion, but said there might be "a sort of understanding one among another," as among people who "must look to their own in- must look to their own in- terests, and see which way the cat jumped; concluding with the undeniable assertion that no man ought reasonably to be expected to ruin himself for a parish." "" There does not appear, however, to have been any countervailing qualities on the part of the parishes to this understanding among the con- tractors; for some of the authorities have found themselves, when a new or a renewed contract was in question, suddenly "on the other side of the hedge." Thus, in the south-west district of St. Pancras, the contractor, five or six years ago, paid 1007. per annum for the removal and possession of the street-dirt, &c.; but the following year the district authorities had to pay him 500l. for the same labour and with the same privileges! Other changes took place, and in 1848-9 a contractor again paid the district 957. I have shown, toɔ, that in Shadwell the dust-contractor now receives 4507. per annum, whereas he formerly paid 2402. To prove, however, that a spirit of combination does occasionally exist among these contractors, I may cite the following minute from one of the parish books. Extract from Minute-book, Nov. 7, 1839. Letter C, Folio 437. "Commissioner's Office, 30, Howland-street, "Nov. 7, 1839. "REPORT of the Paving Committee to the General Board, relating to the watering the district for the past year. "Your Committee beg leave to report that for the past three years the sums paid by contract for watering were respectively — "For 1836 "" 1837 1838 وو £230 220 200 "That in the month of February in the present year the Board advertised in the usual manner for which they have great pleasure in presenting to the Board, by which it will be seen that a saving over the very lowest of the above tenders of 1021. 3s. has been effected; the sum of 187. 18s. has been paid for pauper labour at the same time. Your Committee regret that, notwithstanding the efforts of themselves and their officers, the state of insubordination and insult of most of the paupers (in spite of all encouragement to industry) was such, that the Committee, on the 12th of July last, were reluctantly compelled to discontinue their services. their services. The Committee cannot but con- gratulate the Board upon the result of their experiment, which will have the effect of breaking up a spirit of combination highly dangerous to the community at large, at the same time that their labours have caused a very considerable saving to the ratepayers; and they trust the work, con- sidering all the numerous disadvantages under which they have laboured, has been performed in a satisfactory manner. "P. CUNNINGHAM, "Surveyor, “30, Howland-street, Fitzroy-square.” The following regulations sufficiently show the nature of the agreements made between the con- tractors and the authorities as to the cleansing of the more important thoroughfares especially. It will be seen that in the regulations I quote every street, court, or alley, must now be swept daily, a practice which has only been adopted within these few years in the City. "SEWERS' OFFICE, GUILDHALL, LONDON, RAKERS' DUTIES,* MIDSUMMER, 1851, TO MIDSUMMER, 1852. "CLEANSING. "The whole surface of every Carriage-way, Court, and Alley shall be swept every day (Sundays excepted), and all mud, dust, filth, and rubbish, all frozen or partially frozen matter, and snow, animal and vegetable matter, and everything offensive or injurious, shall be properly pecked, scraped, swept up, and carted away therefrom; and the iron gutters laid across or along the foot- ways, the air-grates over the sewers, the gulley- *The reader will remember that in the historic al sketch given of the progress of public scavengery, the master scavengers, &c., &c.; the word is now unknown word Rakers" occurred in connection with the sworn to the trade, except that it appears on city documents. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 211 { grates in the carriage-way of the streets respec- tively; and all public urinals are to be daily raked out, swept, and made clean and clear from all obstructions; and the Contractor or Contractors shall, in time of frost, continually keep the channels in the Streets and Places clear for water to run off and cleanse and cart away refuse hogan or gravel (when called upon by the Inspector to do so) from all streets newly paved. "The Mud and Dirt, &c., is to be carted away immediately that it is swept up. "N.B. The Inspector of the District may, at any time he may think it necessary, order any Street or Place to be cleansed and swept a second time in any one day, and the Contractor or Con- tractors are thereupon bound to do the same. "The Markets and their approaches are also to be thus cleansed DAILY, and the approaches thereto respectively are also to be thus cleansed at such an hour in the night of Saturday in each week as the Inspector of the District may direct. Every Street, Lane, Square, Yard, Court, Alley, Passage, and Place (except certain main Streets hereinafter enumerated), are to be thus cleansed within the following hours Daily namely- 66 "In the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September. To be begun not earlier than 4 o'Clock in the morning, and finished not later than 1 o'Clock in the after- noon. "In the months of October, November, December, January, February, and March. To be begun not earlier than 5 o'Clock in the morning, and finished not later than 2 o'Clock in the after- noon. "The following main Streets are to be cleansed DAILY throughout the year (except Sundays), to be begun not earlier than 4 o'Clock in the morning, and finished not later than 9 o'Clock in the morning. Fleet Street Ludgate Hill and Street St. Paul's Church Yard Cheapside Newgate Street Poultry Watling Street, Budge Row, and Cannon St. Mansion House Street Cornhill Leadenhall Street Aldgate Street and Ald- gate King William Street and London Bridge Fenchurch Street Holborn Holborn Bridge Skinner Street Old Bailey Lombard Street New Bridge Street Farringdon Street Aldersgate Street St. Martin-le-grand Prince's Street Moorgate Street The Strect called 'The Pavement' Finsbury Place, South Gracechurch Street Bishopsgate St., within and without The Minories Wood Street Gresham Street Coleman Street. "N.B. In times of frost and snow these hours of executing the work may be extended at the discretion of the Local Commissioners." The other conditions relate to the removal of the dust from the houses (a subject I have already treated), and specify the fines, varying from 17. to 5l., to be paid by the contractors, for the violation or neglect of any of the provisions of the contract. It is further required that "Each Foreman, Sweeper, and Dustman, in the employ of either of Messrs. the Contractors," (of whom there are four, Sinnott, Rooke, Reddin, and Gould), "will be re- quired to wear a Badge on the arm with these words thereon,— "London Sewers, Nº. Guildhall,' by which means any one having cause of complaint against any of the men in the performance of their several duties, may, by taking down the number of the man and applying at the Sewers' Office, Guildhall, have reference to his name and em- ployer. Any man working without his Badge, for each day he offends, the Contractor is liable to the penalty of Five Shillings. "All the sweepings of the Streets, and all the dust and ashes from the Houses, are to be entirely carted away from the City of London, on a Penalty of Ten Pounds for each cart-load." These terms sufficiently show the general nature of the contracts in question; the principal differ- ence being that in some parts, the contractor is not required to sweep the streets more than once, twice, or thrice a week in ordinary weather. re- Of the The number of individuals in London styling Of these, themselves Master Scavengers is 34. 10 are at present without a contract either for dust or scavenging, and 5 have a contract for removing the dust only; so that, deducting these two numbers, the gross number 34 is duced to 19 scavenging contractors. latter number 16 are in a large way of busi- ness, having large yards, possessing several carts and some waggons, and employing a vast number of men daily in sweeping the streets, carting rubbish, &c. The other 3 masters, however, are only in a small way of business, being persons of more limited means. A large master scavenger employs from 3 to 18 carts, and from 18 to upwards of 40 men at scavengery alone, while a small master employs only from 1 to 3 carts and from 3 to 6 men. By the table I have given, p. 186, vol. ii., it is shown that there are 52 contracts between the several district authori- ties and master scavengers, and nineteen contrac- tors, without counting members of the same family, as distinct individuals; this gives an average of nearly three distinct contracts per individual. The contracts are usually for a twelvemonth. Although the table above referred to shows but 19 contractors for public scavenging, there are, as I have said, more, or about 24, in Lon- don, most of them in a large way," and next year some of those who have no contracts at present may enter into agreements with the parishes. The smallness of this number, when we consider the vast extent of the metropolis, confirms the notion of the sort of monopoly and combination to which I have alluded. In the Post-Office Directory for 1851 there are no names under the heads of ! 212 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Scavengers or Dustmen, but under the head of | "Rubbish Carters," 28 are given, 9 names being marked as "Dust Contractors" and 10 as "Night- men. ,, Of large contractors, however, there are, as I have said, about 24, but they may not all obtain contracts every year, and in this number are in- cluded different members of the same family or firm, who may undertake specific contracts, al- though in the trade it is looked upon as one concern." The smaller contractors were repre- sented to me as rather more numerous than the others, and perhaps numbered 40, but it is not easy to define what is to be accounted a contractor. In the table given in pp. 213, 214, I cite only 7 as being the better known. The others may be con- sidered as small rubbish-carters and flying-dustmen. There are yet other transactions in which the contractors are engaged with the parishes, inde- pendently of their undertaking the whole labour of street and house cleansing. In the parishes where pauper, or "poor" labour is resorted to for it is not always that the men employed by the parishes are positive "paupers," but rather the unemployed roor of the parish-in such parishes, I say, an agreement is entered into with a contractor for the deposit of the collected street dirt at his yard or wharf. For such deposit the contractor must of course be paid, as it is really an occupation and renting of a portion of his premises for a specific purpose. The street dirt, however, is usually left to the disposal of the con- tractor, for his own profit, and where he once paid 501. for the possession of the street-collected dirt of a parish, collected by labour which was no cost to him, he may now receive half of such 501., or whatever the terms of the agreement may be. I heard of one contractor who lately received 257. where he once paid 501. In another way, too, contractors are employed by parishes. Where pauper or poor labour in street cleansing is the practice, a contractor's horses, carts, and cart-drivers are hired for the convey- ance of the dirt from the streets. This of course is for a specific payment, and is in reality the work of the tradesmen who in the Post Office Directory are described as "Rubbish Carters," and of whom I shall have to speak afterwards. Some parishes or paving boards have, however, their own horses and vehicles, but in the other respects they have dealings with the contractors. To come to as correct a conclusion as possible in this complicated and involved matter, I have obtained the aid of some gentlemen long familiar with such procedures. One of them said that to procure the accounts of such transactions for a series of years, with all their chops and changes, or to obtain a perfectly precise return, for any three years, affecting the whole metropolis, would be the work of a parliamentary commission with full powers to send for papers," &c., &c., and that even then the result might not be satisfactory as a clear exposition. However, with the aid of the gentlemen alluded to, I venture upon the following approximation. As my present inquiry relates only to the | Scavenging Contractors in the metropolis, I will take the number of districts, markets, &c., which are specified in the table, p. 186, vol. ii. These are 83 in number, of which 29 are shown to be scavenged by the "parish." I will not involve in this computation any of the more rural places which may happen to be in the outskirts of the metropolitan area, but I will take the contracts as 54, where the contractors do the entire work, and as 29 where they are but the rubbish-carters and dirt receivers of the parishes. I am assured that it is a fair calculation that the scavengery of the streets, apart from the re- moval of the dust from the houses, costs in pay- ments to the contractors, 150l. as an average, to cach of the several 54 districts; and that in the 29 localities in which the streets are cleansed by parish labour, the sum paid is at the rate of 501. per locality, some of them, as the five districts of Marylebone for instance, being very large. This is calculated regardless of the cases where parishes may have their own horses and vehicles, for the cost to the rate-payers may not be very materially different, between paying for the hire of carts and horses, and investing capital in their purchase and incurring the expense of wear and tear. count then stands thus :-- Parish payment on 54 contracts, 1507. each • • Parish payment on 29 contracts, 501. each Yearly total sum paid for Scavenging of the Metropolis. The ac- £8100 • 1450 • • £9550 or, apportioned among 19 contractors, upwards of 5001. each; and among 83 contracts, about 1157. per contract. Even if other contractors are em- ployed where parish labour is pursued, the cost to the rate-payers is the same. This calculation is made, as far as possible, as regards scavengery alone; and is independent of the value of the refuse collected. It is about the scavengery that the grand fight takes place between the parishes and contractors; the house dust, being uninjured by rain or street surface-water, is more available for trade purposes. From this it would appear that the cost of cleansing the streets of London may be estimated in round numbers at 10,000l. per annum. The next point in the inquiry is, What is the value of the street dirt annually collected? The price I have adduced for the dirt gained from the streets is 3s. per load, which is a very reasonable average. If the load be dung, or even With the chiefly dung, it is worth 5s. or 6s. proportion of dung and street refuse to be found in such a thoroughfare as the Haymarket, in dry, or comparatively dry weather, a load, weighing about a ton, is worth about 3s. in the purchaser's own cart. On the other hand, as I have shown that quantities of mixed or slop "mac" have to be wasted, that some is sold at a nominal price, and a good deal at 1s. the load, 3s. is certainly a fair average. Thus the annual sum of the street-dirt, as re- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 213 A TABLE SHOWING THE THE NUMBER OF MEN AND CARTS EM- PLOYED IN COLLECTING DUST, IN SCAVENGERY, AND AT RUBBISH CARTING, AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OF MEN, WOMEN, AND BOYS WORKING IN THE DUST-YARDS OF THE SEVERAL METROPOLITAN CONTRACTORS. Dust. Scavengery. Rubbish Carting. Working in the Yard. Contractors (Large). Number of Men Number of Men of Carts em- em- Number Number of Carts, Number Wag- gons, or em - used. ployed. ployed. Ma- ployed. of Men Number of Men of Carts used. em- ployed. Number Number Number of Wo- of Boys men em- work- ployed. ing. chines used. Mr. Dodd.. 20 10 26 13 20 20 Gould 20 10 28 11 11 11 "" Redding 32 16 41 18 22 22 Gore 32 16 18 7 none. none. Rooke 16 8 16 6 16 16 "" >> Stapleton & Holdsworth 10 5 11 8 10 10 Tame 20 10 5 1 12 12 Starkey, 10 5 Newman 8 22 22 8 none. none. 23 10 8 8 "" Pratt and Sewell 10 4 2 20 20 "" "" W. Sinnott, Sen. 28 14 5 2 none. none. O LO LO TN4+++ N LO 9 12 15 12 20 2 8 12 8 2 6 5 15 4446∞∞∞ 00 N O LO 3 2 2 2 2 5 J. Sinnott 8 16 6 ditto. ditto. none. none. none. دو 15 Westley 10 18 9 ditto. ditto. Parsons. 10 5 18 3 ditto. ditto. Hearne 18 9 7 2 20 20 "" "" Humphries 20 10 4 1 6 6 Calvert 6 3 none. none. 7 7 NO CO CO NO CO 3 2 6 3 3 9 2 6 LO CO CO posed Ň 2 1 3 3 "" 278 139 262 107 152 152 61 161 48 Contractors (Small). Mr. North 4 Milton 6 Jenkins 2 >> Stroud 10 >> Martin 2 >> Clutterbuck 4 دو "" W. Sinnott, Jun. 4 NILO − ∞ ∞ 2 2 1 4 4 1 3 none. none. none. none. 3 1 5 5 none. 1 ditto. none. ditto. 1 ditto. ditto. 4 1 6 3 ditto. ditto. 1 2 2 none. none. 2 ditto. ditto. LO CO 5 5 1 3 6 6 1 2 NON AN∞∞ 2 6 2 9 1Q73 2 1 1 1 32 16 13 10 5 15 15 12 26 10 Contractors, but not having any contract at present, only carting rubbish, &c. Mr. Darke Tomkins "" "" J. Cooper "" T. Cooper, Sen.... " وو Athill Barnett (lately sold off) Brown "" Ellis "" "" Limpus Emmerson.. 36 36 6 6 8 8 12 12 6 6 4 4 6 6 10 10 6 6 ... ... 91 94 214 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Dust. Scavengers. Rubbish. Employed in Yard. Machines. Men. Carts. Men. Carts. Men. Carts. Men. Women. Children. men Woods and Forests Regent-street and Pall-mall. St. Martin's none. none. 4 2 machines. none. none. none. none. none. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. ditto. 12 ditto. 9 224 "" ditto. Parishes. Kensington Chelsea * St. George's, Hanover-sq.* St. Margaret's, Westminster* Piccadilly St. Ann's, Soho* Paddington * St. Marylebone * (5 Districts) St. James's, Westminster... · Hampstead ... ... 25 8 5 5 A vererer 345 2213NNNTA 28 ::: 4 6 ... 35 4 2 { No parochial re- moral of dust. 4 1 ditto. 1 Highgate Islington 1 Hackney St. Clement Danes * Commercial-road, East Poplar Bermondsey Newington Lambeth * Ditto (Christchurch)…….. Wandsworth Camberwell and Walworth Rotherhithe Green wich 6 4 Deptford Woolwich 4 none. Lewisham.. ditto. none. ditto S 4 487) 1 2 6 2 ... 7 :: 46∞ 8 : 448 Nnwann: Acon:: 6 2 4 3 6 6 2 16 3 2 20 3 4 6 BIB∞∞∞ — N N N NN1 LOTH LO 3 waggons. 3 carts. 1 3 ... 1 ... 2 2 2 2 HAQ HAR 1 4 1 4 1 1 1 3 3 122 466 232 113211 HLO LO ∞ ∞ : 2 Total for Parishes 56 28 218 50 carts. 16 46 16 3 waggons. Total for large contractors. Total for small contractors 32 Total for machines 278 139 262 107 152 152 61 161 48 16 13 5 15 15 12 26 10 • 25 8 machines. ... Total for street orderlies 60 9 ... Gross total '366 183 578 179 carts. 167 167 89 233 74 3 waggons. Men. Carts. Total employed at dust '"" scavenging rubbish carting.. 366 183 578 179 167 167 (men, women, and children), in yard 396 Total employed in the removal of house and strect refuse 1507 529 *The parishes marked thus have their dustmen and dust-carts, as well as the rubbish carting and the indi- viduals in the dust-yard, reckoned in the numbers employed by the contractors. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 215 gards the quantity collected by the contracting scavengers (as shown in the table given at page 186), is, in round numbers, 89,000 cart-loads; that collected by parish labour, with or without the aid of the street-sweeping machines, at 52,000 cart-loads, or a total (I do not include what is collected by the orderlies) of 141,000 loads. This result shows, then, that the contractors yearly collect by scavenging the streets with their own paid labourers, and receive as the produce of pauper labour, as follows:- Loads of Per There are not now, I am told, more than twelve scavengers' wharfs and 20 yards (the wharf being also a yard) in the possession of the contractors in regular work. These are the larger contractors, and their capital, I am assured, may be thus esti- mated :- CAPITAL OF THE MASTER SCAVENGERS. £ S. d. 3,759 0 179 Carts, 217. each 3 Waggons, 327. each 230 Horses, 25l. each 230 Sets of harness, 21. each 600 Brooms, 9d. each 96 0 0 5,750 0 460 0 0 22 10 0 Street Dirt. Load. Total. By Contractors By Parishes 89,000 52,000 3s. 3s. £13,350 7,800 300 Shovels, 1s. each 100 Barges, 50%. each 15 ن 0 • 5,000 0 Total Total 141,000 £21,150 or a value of rather more than 11137. as the re- turn to each individual contractor in the table, or about 255l. as the average on each contract. As, however, the whole of the parish-collected manure does not come into the hands of the contractors, it will be fair, I am assured, to compute the total at 19,0007., a sum of 1000l. to each contractor, or nearly 2297. on each contract. It would appear, then, that the total receipts of the contractors for the scavenging of London amount to very nearly 30,000Z.; that is to say, 10,000l. as remuneration for the office, and 20,0001. as the value of the dirt collected. But against this sum as received, we have to set the gross expense of wages paid to men, wear and tear of carts and appliances, rent of wharfs, interest for money, &c. Concerning the amount paid in wages, it ap- pears by the table at pp. 186, 187, that the men employed by the scavenging contractors in wet weather, are 260 daily (being nearly half of the whole force of 531 men, the orderlies excepted). In dry weather, however, there are only 194 men employed. I will therefore calcu- late upon 194 men employed daily, and 66 em- ployed half the year, making the total of 260. By the table here given, it will be seen that the total number of scavengers employed by the large and small contractors, is 275. Number of Men. 194 (for 12 months) 66 (for 6 months) Total Weekly Wage. 16s. * 16s. Yearly. £8070 8s. 1372 16s. £9443 4s. There remains now to show the amount of capital which a large contractor must embark in his business: I include the amount of rent, and the expenditure on what must be provided for busi- ness purposes, and which is subject to wear and tear, to decay, and loss. I have computed all the weekly wages at 16s., though some of the men are paid only 14s. My object in this is to give the contractors the benefit of the difference. 15,102 10 0 I have estimated according to what may be the present value, not the original cost, of the imple- ments, vehicles, &c. A broom, when new, costs 1s. 2d., and is worn out in two or three weeks. A shovel, when new, costs 2s. The following appears to be the YEARLY EXPENDITURE OF THE MASTER SCAVENGERS. Wages to working scavengers (as before shown). Wages to 48 bargemen, engaged in unloading the vessels with street-dirt, 4 men to each of 12 wharfs, at 16s. weekly wage • Keep of 300 horses (267. each) Wear and tear (say 15 per cent. on capital) £ s. d. 9,443 0 0 • 1,996 0 0 7,800 0 0 2,250 0 0 2,000 0 O • 1,500 0 0 Rent of 20 wharfs and yards (average 1007. each) Interest on 15,000l. capital, at 10 per cent. £24,989 0 0 I have endeavoured in this estimate to confine myself, as much as possible, to the separate subject of scavengery, but it must be borne in mind that as the large contractors are dustmen as well as scavengers, the great charges for rent and barges cannot be considered as incurred solely on account of the street-dirt trade. Including, then, the pay- ments from parishes, the account will stand thus:- YEARLY RECEIPTS OF MASTER SCAVENGERS. From Parishes From Manure, &c. • £9,450 19,000 Total Income £28,450 Deduct yearly Expenditure 25,000 Profit £3,450 This gives a profit of nearly 1827. to each con- tractor, if equally apportioned, or a little more than 417. on each contract for street-scavenging 216 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. alone, and a profit no doubt affected by circum- stances which cannot very well be reduced to figures. The profit may appear small, but it should be remembered that it is independent of the profits on the dust. OF THE CONTRACTORS' (OR EMPLOYERS') PREMISES, &c. AT page 171 of the present volume I have de- scribed one of the yards devoted to the trade in house-dust, and I have little to say in addition regarding the premises of the contracting or em- ploying scavengers. They are the same places, and the industrious pursuits carried on there, and the division and subdivision of labour, relate far more to the dustmen's department than to the scavengers'. When the produce of the sweeping of the streets has been thrown into the cart, it is so far ready for use that it has not to be sifted or prepared, as has the house-dust, for the formation of brieze, &c., the " "mac being sifted by the purchaser. "" These yards or wharfs are far less numerous and better conducted now than they were ten years ago. They are at present fast disappearing from the banks of the Thames (there is, how- ever, one still at Whitefriars and one at Milbank). They are chiefly to be found on the banks of the canals. Some of the principal wharfs near Maiden-lane, St. Pancras, are to be found among unpaven, or ill-paved, or imperfectly macadamized roads, along which run rows of what were once evidently pleasant suburban cottages, with their green porches and their trained woodbine, clematis, jasmine, or monthly roses; these tenements, how- ever, are now occupied chiefly by the labourers at the adjacent stone, coal, lime, timber, dust, and general wharfs. Some of the cottages still pre- sented, on my visits, a blooming display of dahlias and other autumnal flowers; and in one corner of a very large and very black-looking dust-yard, in which rose a huge mound of dirt, was the cottage residence of the man who remained in charge of the wharf all night, and whose comfortable-look- ing abode was embedded in flowers, blooming luxuriantly. The gay-tinted holly-hocks and dahlias are in striking contrast with the dinginess of the dust-yards, while the canal flows along, dark, sluggish, and muddy, as if to be in keep- ing with the wharf it washes. the " The dust-yards must not be confounded with night-yards," or the places where the con- tents of the cess-pools are deposited, places which, since the passing of the Sanatory Act, are rapidly disappearing. | calculation to estimate the quantity of deleterious gas thus poured into the atmosphere after a slight shower. The question has been raised as to the propriety of devoting some special locality to the purposes of dust-yards, and it is certainly a question de- serving public attention. The chief disposal of the street manure is from barges, sent by the Thames or along the canals, and sold to farmers and gardeners. In the larger wharfs, and in those considered removed from the imputation of "scurfdom," six men, and often but four, are employed to load a barge which contains from 30 to 40 tons. In such cases the dust-vard and the wharf are one and the same place. The contents of these barges are mixed, about one-fourth being "mac," the rest street-mud and dung. This admixture, on board the vessel, is called by the bargemen and the contractors' servants at the wharfs Leicester (properly Læsta, a load). We have the same term at the end of our word bal-last. I am assured by a wharfinger, who has every means of forming a correct judgment, it may be estimated that there are dispatched from the contractors' wharfs twelve barges daily, freighted with street-manure. This is independent of the house-dust barged to the country brick-fields. The weight of the cargo of a barge of manure is about 40 tons; 36 tons being a low average. This gives 3744 barge-loads, or 132,784 tons, or loads, yearly; for it must be recollected that the dirt gathered by pauper labour is dis- patched from the contractors' yards or wharfs, as well as that collected by the immediate servants of the contractors. The price per barge-load at the canal, basin, or wharf, in the country parts where agriculture flourishes, is from 51. to 6l., making a total of 20,5947. The difference of that sum, and the total given in the table (21,1477.) may be accounted for on the supposition that the remainder is sold in the yards and carted away thence. The slop and valueless dirt is not included in this calculation. OF THE WORKING SCAVENGERS UNDER THE CONTRACTORS. I HAVE now to deal with what throughout the whole course of my inquiry into the state of London Labour and the London Poor I have con- sidered the great object of investigation-the condition and characteristics of the working men ; and what is more immediately the "labour ques- tion," the relation of the labourer to his employer, as to rates of payment, modes of payment, hiring of labourers, constancy or inconstancy of work, supply of hands, the many points concerning wages, perquisites, family work, and parochial or club relief. Upon entering a dust-yard there is generally found a heavy oppressive sort of atmosphere, more especially in wet or damp weather. This is owing to the tendency of charcoal to absorb gases, and to part with them on being saturated with First, I shall give an account of the class em- moisture. The cinder-heaps of the several dust-ployment, together with the labour season and yards, with their million pores, are so many huge earnings of the labourers, or "economical" part of gasometers retaining all the offensive gases arising the subject. I shall then pass to the social points, from the putrefying organic matters which usually concerning their homes, general expenditure, accompany them, and parting with such gases imme- &c., and then to the more moral and intellectual diately on a fall of rain. It would be a curious questions of education, literature, politics, religion, ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. The above statement of wages is, however, objectionable on other points besides those before raised, and as employers often deceive themselves, and the public too, respecting the earnings of their workmen, Mr. Mayhew will here append a short account as to how wage statements should be made out in fairness both to employer and employed. Of course it is to the interest of employers to make it appear that their workmen earn as much as possible, and of working men to make out that their wages are as little as possible. There is a na- tural tendency to exceed the truth on both sides, and this tendency, even without wilful dishonesty, will necessarily incline to exaggeration. For instance, an employer asserts that the wages of a working tailor are 36s. a week, and instantly the public conclude that the operatives in that trade have little to complain of. But in receiving this statement, we have first to inquire whether the operative earning this amount of money belongs to the better or worse paid class of workmen, and if to the former, what are the wages of the latter, and what pro- proportion do the worse paid men bear to the better paid. But even suppose this done, it would still give us no accurate knowledge on the sub- ject. 66 | day's work, and employed "seconders" to finish the work for them, while the average wages of all the hands were proved by this employer's ledger to be less than Mr. Mayhew had declared. But even after all this sifting, we shall have arrived only at the nominal wages of the work- man, and these nominal wages are often merely a blind to the public and the trade, being widely different from the virtual wages, or sum really received by the operatives. The fashionable mode of proceeding among employers at present is not to reduce wages directly, but indirectly, by laying some extra charge upon the men-that is to say, to increase their burdens by a kind of indirect taxation as it were. Hence it behoves us to set forth most particularly in every trade what are the deductions to the wages said to be received. Now these deductions Mr. Mayhew finds to be of several kinds. (1.) Fines or stoppages for positive or assumed misconduct. (2.) Rent charged for use of tools or implements of trade, as in the system of pence among the sawyers, and the frame rents among the stockingers. stockingers. (3.) Cost of such appur- tenances as the workman is made to find, as trimmings, in the cheap tailors' trade. (4.) Rent for gas. (5.) Rent for shop, occasionally intro- duced among piece workers as a fine for absence from work, on the plea that "the rent is going on all the same." (6.) Bonus paid to foreman in order to obtain work. (7.) Sum paid to middle- man from whom the work is obtained. (8.) Stoppages for benefit or provident fund, to which the workman loses all claim in case of being dis- charged. This is not at all an unusual trick among employers. If, moreover, the work be done at home we must deduct all the necessary expenses in connection with it, which are thus forced on the workman. These are: (1.) Candles and firing, used expressly for the work. (2.) Rent where the work is carried on in a distinct place. But these and the foregoing are only the more direct modes of reducing wages indirectly. The more indirect modes of lowering the remunera- tion for labour are: (1.) Reducing the quality of the provisions among those who board and lodge with their employers, as milliners, &c. (2.) Forcing or expecting the men to deal with the employer for their provisions, and charging them an undue price for the same. (3.) Forcing or expecting the men either to take lodgings of their employers which they do not use, or for which they are charged an undue price, or to rent houses of their employers on the same terms. (4.) Forcing or expecting the men to have their drink of their employer, and favouring those who expend the most of their earnings in this manner. (5.) Forcing the workpeople to find security for the work they take out, and, thus to pay an undue price for their food or drink to those bakers, butchers, or publicans, who make a trade of " standing security security" for the for the poorer workpeople. But the aids to wages are quite as necessary to be ascertained as even the drawbacks. These aids are of two kinds, according as they consist of either direct or indirect additions made Wages are strictly remuneration for work done. Hence it is useless to tell us merely what the re- muneration has been (for this is but the employer's side of the question); for a full and fair account, we should know how much labour has been given or exacted for the stated amount of pay (this is the working man's part of the subject). If the men are paid by the day they may, by extra supervision, be made to do double the amount of work usual in the trade (when their wages will be virtually reduced one-half). Such is the case in the strapping shops of the carpenters' trade. Or the men may be worked over hours, as by the "scurf employers" in the scavengers' trade. If, on the other hand, the men are paid by the piece, the price should be given as well as the ordinary rate of working, that is to say, the time that each piece occupies an average hand in making. A quick hand" may work twice as fast as a slow one, and it would be unfair to cite this as the average earnings of the several hands in the trade (though this was done to Mr. Mayhew by | an army clothier respecting the "loopers"). It should also be stated whether the work is done at home or on the employer's premises. If on the employer's premises the ordinary hours of labour should be set forth, and if at home, or any work be taken home to finish in after hours, not only the same statement should be given, but mention should be made whether the workman employs any one else to assist him. An employer, in contradiction to a statement made by Mr. May- hew, that those who "loop" the soldiers' coats earn on an average 3s. 6d. a week, asserted that he was paying some of his hands as much as 15s. a week for the same work, and account books were proferred in proof of the correctness of the assertion. On inquiry it turned out that the 15s. had been received only by the quickest hands, who often took two coats home with them after their ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. to the earnings of the workmen. The Direct Additions to Wages consist of: (1.) Perquisites or gratuities obtained by the workmen from various sources. (2.) Tribute money, or a certain portion of the proceeds of the work, given to the workmen over and above their regular wages, as the fourth penny to certain weavers, &c. (3.) Profits derived by the workmen from the em- ployment of other labourers to assist them, as sweaters, piece-masters, lumpers, and the like. (4.) Family workers, or those who avail them- selves of the assistance of the services of their (2.) of the employed to the unemployed; and if we show how much the constant hands get, at least in fairness we should exhibit how little falls to the share of the casual hands, and state the proportion that the one bears to the other, Again, it behoves us, if we would do justice to both employer and employed, to cite the duration of the season in those trades which are brisk and slack at various periods of the year, giving the difference between the earnings of the men in the busy and dull times; for most assuredly it would not be fair to quote the weekly gains of the hop- wives and children in their work, as the Spital-pickers for the few weeks of their employment, field weavers, the fancy cabinet makers, &c. The Indirect Additions to wages, on the other hand, include all extraneous sources of income, or such gains as are not derived immediately from the work. These appear to be: (1.) Pensions. (2.) Allowances from Provident or Charitable Societies. (3.) Other work done in over time. (4.) Allot- ments of land. (5.) Parish relief. But even when all these additions and deductions are made, we arrive at, solely, the occasional wages of the workmen, and these afford us no means of esti- mating the absolute yearly income of the labour- ers. To ascertain this point, we must set forth the quantity of employment obtained by the operatives throughout the year, which is a matter of the highest importance in forming a just esti- mate of the condition of the labourers belonging to those callings especially which depend on the seasons, or on the fashion of the time. To frame a correct notion of the state of any class of work- people, we must not only cite the weekly earnings of the employed, but we must set forth the ratio as an example of their ordinary wages, nor to set forth the earnings of the preference men at the docks (omitting all mention of the casual hands) as a type of the income of the dock labourers in general. Yet such are the ways in which state- ments of wages are generally made out by em- ployers, who cite the nominal weekly wages of a few constantly-employed men as an example of the average virtual wages of the whole class, employed and unemployed, throughout the year, though they know as well as Mr. Mayhew does, that the two things are as different as gross and net profits. R. H. has certainly given the yearly nominal wages of a few hands in the hatters' trade; he forgets, however, to say whether they are fully or partially employed men, whether quick or slow hands, or, indeed, to qualify the statement in any way by such distinctive features, as would give an individual character to what might otherwise be mistaken for a general state- ment. (ENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE AGENCY, instituted under Trust to CE counteract the system of Adulteration and Fraud now prevailing in Trade, and to promote the principle of Co-operative Association. The Prospectus of the above Institution, containing the necessary means for obtaining further information, may be had at the following places :- The Central Office, 76, Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square. The Marylebone Branch, 35, Great Marylebone-street, Portland-place. The Manchester Branch, 13, Swan-street, Manchester. Publishing Office of the Society for Promoting Working Men's Associations, 183, Fleet-street. Gratis, if by direct application; if by letter, one postage stamp. MUTUAL PENSION SO- CIETY. Established to provide Pensions for Necessitous and Aged Members. Subscription, 5s. per Annum. TRUSTEES.-William Breynton, Esq.; Matthew Fors- ter, Esq. COMMITTEE.-Chairman-Thomas Tyerman, Esq., Vice-Chairman-Horace Mayhew, Esq. Sp MANAGER AND HONORARY SECRETARY. John Howden, Esq., 11, Chesterfield-street, Argyle-square. All persons subscribing 5s. per annum to be members, or a donation of 51. to constitute a member for life. Minors and females can be members. When the interest on the invested capital amounts to 50% per annum, an election of pensioners to take place as follows:- for To such necessitous persons who have been members " "" "" 5 years a pension of £5 per annum. Ditto ditto 8 Ditto ditto 10 Ditto ditto 15 Ditto ditto 20 Ditto ditto 25 £10 }) " " £15 £20 >> £25 £30 "" " The pensioners to be elected by ballot, and all mem- bers to have one vote for each pensioner to be elected for every 5s. per annum, or £5 subscribed by them, with liberty to give the whole of their votes to one can- didate, or divide them as they please. The affairs of the Society are managed by a Com- mittee, consisting of not less than twelve members, the Trustees, and Manager. Subscriptions and donations gratefully received by the Manager, who will feel great pleasure in giving any further information required. The Committee sincerely trust in the support of the provident to secure a harbour of refuge, if needed, when age or infirmity creeps on, and in the patronage of the wealthy, to aid those who are doing all in their power to prevent their being a burden on the com- inunity in their old age. No. 42. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, SEPT. 27, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. G MOMSON OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. QUERY asks, If wages are not regulated by the law of Supply and Demand, on what do they depend? Wages depend, or should depend, upon the share of the produce justly accruing to the working man. Production is generally a joint affair; one party contributing the materials, tools, shelter, food, and superintendence necessary for the due performance of the work, and the other contributing the work itself. These are the two elements which make up the real value of every article produced, and common equity demands that each of the contributors should share in the result according to the proportion in which his contribution serves to increase the ultimate worth of the produce. The inquiry, therefore, into what regulates wages, resolves itself into a second inquiry, what regulates the share of the produce justly accruing to the working man. At present this is determined by a continual struggle between the two contributors as to how much the one can extort from the other, and how little the other can be starved into accepting. This is called the law of Supply and Demand, or the relation between population and capital; and is about as just a means of deciding what is essentially a point of simple equity, as a standing army is of settling the rights of nations. Neither numbers nor power have any connection whatever with a matter of abstract justice. The many discontents prevailing among the labouring classes of this country arise mainly from the present mode of regulating wages. So- cialism, chartism, communism, are all necessary consequences of the infraction of the fundamental law of the true economy of national wealth, viz., that production is a partnership, and that the labourer is therefore entitled to a fair share of the produce. Give him this share, recognise his claim to participate in the wealth that he creates, and you not only stop all cause for grumbling, but you put an end to all new-fangled principles of society (for this is the foundation-stone of every "model city")-you make the interest of em- ployer and employed one and the same; whereas now they are diametrically opposed, and so you destroy all that bitter enmity between classes which is ready at any moment at present to burst forth into physical fury. It wants but this fusion of interests to wed the two great clans of this coun- try—the savers and the workers-into one united family. But what regulates the share of the produce accruing to the workman? This, as was before stated, is determined by the additional value that the labour of the workman confers upon the materials supplied by the capitalist; the confer- ring of such additional value being the sole reason why the employer pays any wages at all to the labourer. It is no matter to the capitalist whether there be 10,000 or 100,000 labourers in the trade; he is determined in the price he pays for so much work by the price he will receive for it. Economists, however, deny that prices can in any way regulate wages. Formerly the workmen of this country were all villeins-either "villeins in gross," performing "villeins regard- the lowest household duties, or ant," attached to the soil, and being specially engaged in agriculture, The services rendered by them were either arbitrary, that is to say, dependent on the mere will of their lord, which constituted a state of "pure villeinage"-or certain and defined, which constituted privileged villein- age, or "villein-socage ;" but in either case the person and the property of the villein belonged entirely to the lord, for the labourers were inca- pable of acquiring anything for themselves. We have put an end to the villeinage system of labour, thank God! but we have transferred the labourer from the tyranny of the noble to the greed of the trader, who, aware of the absence of all legal right on the part of the workmen to obtain any share (saving the barest subsistence) out of the wealth they produce, takes care to perpetuate the wrong that the labourers shall have no power to acquire anything for themselves. After the villeinage system of labour came the hireling system, by which the compulsory villein of old was changed into the voluntary bondsman And the serf into the servant; the sole distinction being that for the sake of a small pittance over and above his subsistence (and often not that), the workman was made to part with all right to participate in the wealth he created, for so long as he continued the servant of his master. this is the system which remains in force to the present day. The workmen of this country are all hirelings, selling their services for a little present subsistence, rather than being the just There participators in the riches they produce. are but two objections possible to the above line of argument: the one is that by the present arrangement under the law of Supply and De- mand, the labourer does obtain his fair share of the produce; and the other, that the labourer has no right to any such share. The latter objection is, of course, a justification for pure villeinage, the wrong of which consisted mainly in depriving the labourer of the property he inherently pos- The former objection is, sessed in his labour. however, of a different kind. It admits the right of the labourer to share in the wealth he creates, and asserts that by the law of Supply and De- mand he obtains this share in as equitable a manner as possible. The reply to this, objection is first by the fact so often quoted here in illustration of the injustice done to the operative, viz., that the padlock which sells for a shilling the workman receives but a half- penny for making, and this surely even the most unconscionable would not attempt to justify as a fair division of the proceeds between the capi- talists, the distributors, and the producers. A second answer to the same point is that the law of Supply and Demand cannot possibly be a fair method of testing the amount of the share of the produce accruing to the labourer; LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 217 marriage, and concubinage of the men and of their families. All this will refer, it should be remem- bered, only to the working scavagers in the honourable or better-paid trade; the cheaper labourers I shall treat separately as a distinct class; the details in both cases I shall illustrate with the statement of men of the class de- scribed. (( The first part of this multifarious subject apper- tains to the division of labour. This in the scavaging trade consists rather of that kind of gang-work" which Mr. Wakefield styles "simple co-operation," or the working together of a number of people at the same thing, as opposed to "complex co-operation," or the working together of a number at different branches of the same thing. Simple co-operation is of course the ruder kind; but even this, rude as it appears, is far from being bar- baric. "The savages of New Holland," we are told, "never help each other even in the most simple operations; and their condition is hardly superior-in some respects it is inferior-to that of the wild animals which they now and then catch. As an instance of the advantages of "simple co-operation," Mr. Wakefield tells us that "in a vast number of simple operations performed by human exertion, it is quite obvious that two men working together will do more than four, or four times four men, each of whom should work alone. In the lifting of heavy weights, for example, in the felling of trees, in the gathering of much hay and corn during a short period of fine weather, in draining a large extent of land during the short season when such a work may be properly conducted, in the pulling of ropes on board ship, in the rowing of large boats, in some mining operations, in the erection of a scaffolding for a building, and in the breaking of stones for the repair of a road, so that the whole road shall always be kept in good repair-in all these simple operations, and thousands more, it is absolutely necessary that many persons should work together at the same time, in the same place, and in the same way." To the above instances of simple co-operation, or gang-working, as it may be briefly styled in Saxon English, Mr. Wakefield might have added dock labour and scavaging. The principle of complex co-operation, however, is not entirely unknown in the public cleansing trade. This business consists of as many branches as there are distinct kinds of refuse, and these appear to be four. There are (1) the wet and (2) the dry house-refuse (or dust and night-soil), and (3) the wet and (4) the dry street refuse (or mud and rubbish); and in these four different branches of the one general trade the principle of complex co-operation is found commonly, though not invariably, to prevail. The difference as to the class employments of the general body of public cleansers-the dust- men, street-sweepers, nightmen, and rubbish carters seems to be this:-any nightman will work as a dustman or scavager; but it is not all the dustmen and scavagers who will work as No. XXXIX, nightmen. The reason is almost obvious. The avocations of the dustman and the nightman are in some degree hereditary. A rude man provides for the future maintenance of his sons in the way which is most patent to his notice; he makes the boy share in his own labour, and grow up unfit for anything else. The regular working scavagers are then gene- rally a distinct class from the working dustmen, and are all paid by the week, while the dustmen are paid by the load. In very wet weather, when there is a great quantity of "slop " in the streets, a dustman is often called upon to lend a helping hand, and sometimes when a working scavager is out of employ, in order to keep himself from want, he goes to a "job of dust work," but sel- dom from any other cause. an In a parish where there is a crowded popula- tion, the dustman's labours consume, on average, from six to eight hours a day. In scavagery, the average hours of daily work are twelve (Sundays of course excepted), but they some- times extended to fifteen, and even sixteen hours, in places of great business traffic; while in very fine dry weather, the twelve hours may be abridged by two, three, four, or even more. Thus it is manifest that the consumption of time alone prevents the same working men being simulta- neously dustmen and scavagers. In the more remote and quiet parishes, however, and under the management of the smaller contractors, the oppo- site arrangement frequently exists; the operative is a scavager one day, and a dustman the next. This is not the case in the busier districts, and with the large contractors, unless exceptionally, or on an emergency. If the scavagers or dustmen have completed their street and house labours in a shorter time. than usual, there is generally some sort of em- ployment for them in the yards or wharfs of the contractors, or they may sometimes avail them- selves of their leisure to enjoy themselves in their own way. In many parts, indeed, as I have shown, the street-sweeping must be finished by noon, or earlier. Concerning the division of labour, it may be said, that the principle of complex co-operation in the scavaging trade exists only in its rudest form, for the characteristics distinguishing the labour of the working scavagers are far from being of that complicated nature common to many other callings. As regards the act of sweeping or scraping the streets, the labour is performed by the gangsman and his gang. The gangsman usually loads the cart, and occasionally, when a number are em- ployed in a district, acts as a foreman by superin- tending them, and giving directions; he is a working scavager, but has the office of over- looker confided to him, and receives a higher amount of wage than the others. For the completion of the street-work there are the one-horse carmen and the two-horse carmen, who are also working scavagers, and so called from their having to load the carts drawn by one or two horses. These are the men who shovel into the cart the dirt swept or scraped to one 0 218 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. side of the public way by the gang (some of it mere slop), and then drive the cart to its desti- nation, which is generally their master's yard. Thus far only does the street-labour extend. The carmen have the care of the vehicles in cleaning them, greasing the wheels, and such like, but the horses are usually groomed by stablemen, who are not employed in the streets. The division of labour, then, among the work- ing scavagers, may be said to be as follows:- 1st. The ganger, whose office it is to superin- tend the gang, and shovel the dirt into the cart. 2nd. The gang, which consists of from three to ten or twelve men, who sweep in a row and collect the dirt in heaps ready for the ganger to shovel into the cart. 3rd. The carman (one-horse or two-horse, as the case may be), who attends to the horse and cart, brushes the dirt into the ganger's shovel, and assists the ganger in wet sloppy weather in cart- ing the dirt, and then takes the mud to the place where it is deposited. There is only one mode of payment for the above labours pursued among the master scavagers, and that is by the week. 1st. The ganger receives a weekly salary of 18s. when working for an "honourable" master; with a scurf," however, the ganger's pay is but 16s. a week. | 2nd. The gang receive in a large establishment each 16s. per week, but in a small one they usually get from 14s. to 15s. a week. When working | for a small master they have often, by working over hours, to "make eight days to the week instead of six." 3rd. The one-horse carman receives 16s. a week in a large, and 15s. in a small establishment. 4th. The two-horse carman receives 18s. weekly, but is employed only by the larger masters. On the opposite page I give a table on this point. Some of these men are paid by the day, some by the week, and some on Wednesdays and Saturdays, perhaps in about equal proportions, the "casuals" being mostly paid by the day, and the regular hands (with some exceptions among the scurfs) once or twice a week. The chance hands are sometimes engaged for a half day, and, as I was told, "jump at a bob and a joey (1s. 4d.), or at a bob." I heard of one contractor I heard of one contractor who not unfrequently said to any foreman or gangsman who mentioned to him the applications for work, "O, give the poor devils a turn, if it's only for a day now and then." Piece-work, or, as the scavagers call it, "by the load," did at one time prevail, but not to any great extent. The prices varied, according to the nature and the state of the road, from 2s. to 2s. 6d. the load. The system of piece-work was never liked by the men; it seems to have been resorted to less as a systém, or mode of labour, than to insure assiduity on the part of the working scavagers, when a rapid street-cleansing was desirable. It was rather in the favour of the working man's individual emoluments than otherwise, as may be shown in the following way. In Battle-bridge, four men collect five loads in dry, and six men seven loads in wet weather. If the average piece hire be 2s. 3d. a load, it is 2s. 9 d. for each of the five men's day's work; if 2s. 2d. a load, it is 2s. 8d. (the regular wage, and an extra half- penny); if 2s., it is 2s. 6d. ; and if less (which has been paid), the day's wage is not lower than 28. At the lowest rates, however, the men, I was informed, could not be induced to take the "make necessary pains, as they would struggle to up half-a-crown;" while, if the streets were scavaged in a slovenly manner, the contractor was sure to hear from his friends of the parish that he was not acting up to his contract. could not hear of any men now set to piece-work within the precincts of the places specified in the table. This extra work and scamping work are the two great evils of the piece system. I In their payments to their men the contractors show a superiority to the practices of some traders, and even of some dock-companies-the men are never paid at public-houses; the payment, more- over, is always in money. One contractor told me that he would like all his men to be tee- totallers, if he could get them, though he was not one himself. But these remarks refer only to the nominal wages of the scavagers; and I find the nominal wages of operatives in many cases are widely dif- ferent (either from some additions by way of perquisites, &c., or deductions by way of fines, &c., but oftener the latter) from the actual wages received by them. Again, the average wages, or gross yearly income of the casually- employed men, are very different from those of the constant hands; so are the gains of a par- ticular individual often no criterion of the general or average earnings of the trade. Indeed I find that the several varieties of wages may be classi- fied as follows:- 1. Nominal Wages.-Those said to be paid in a trade. 2. Actual Wages.-Those really received, and which are equal to the nominal wages, plus the additions to, or minus the deductions from, them. 3. Casual Wages.-The earnings of the men who are only occasionally employed. 4. Average Casual or Constant Wages.-Those obtained throughout the year by such as are either occasionally or regularly employed. 5. Individual Wages. Those of particular hands, whether belonging to the scurf or honour- able trade, whether working long or short hours, whether partially or fully employed, and the like. 6. General Wages.-Or the average wages of the whole trade, constant or casual, fully or par- tially employed, honourable or scurf, long and short hour men, &c., &c., all lumped together and the mean taken of the whole. Now in the preceding account of the working scavagers' mode and rate of payment I have spoken only of the nominal wages; and in order to arrive at their actual wages we must, as we have seen, ascertain what additions and what deductions are generally made to and from this LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 219 TABLE SHOWING THE DIVISION OF LABOUR, MODE AND RATES OF PAYMENT, NATURE OF WORK PERFORMED, TIME UNEMPLOYED, AND AVERAGE EARNINGS OF THE OPERATIVE SCAVAGERS OF LONDON. OPERATIVE SCAVAGERS. Mode of Payment. Rates of Payment. Nature of Work performed. Time unemployed during the Year. Average casual (or constant) gains throughout the Year. 1. Manual Labourers. A. Better Paid. Ganger By the day. 18s. weekly, and 2s. To load the cart and superintend the men. allowance. Not two days during the year. 20s. per week. Carman (2 horse) دو " 18s. weekly, and 2s. allowance. To take care of the horses, help to load the Seldom or never out of em- cart, and take the dirt and slop to the dust- yard. 20s. ployment. Ditto (1 horse) Sweepers D JJ "" 16s. weekly, and 2s. allowance. Ditto. ditto. ditto. Ditto. ditto. 185. 22 وو وو 16s. weekly, and 2s. allowance. B. Worse Paid. To sweep the district to which they are sent, About three months during and collect the dirt or slop ready for carting away. 13s. 6d. the year. Ganger Carman. وو وو "} Sweepers II. Machine Men. وو 16s. weekly, and 1s. allowance. 15s. weekly, and 1s. allowance. To load the cart and superintend the men. 15s. weekly, and 1s. To sweep the district, collect the dirt or slop Three months during the year. 12s. 9d. "} To take charge of the horse and cart, help to load the cart, and take the dirt or slop to the dust- yard. Ditto. ditto. 12s. Ditto. ditto. 12s. " allowance. ready for carting off, work in the yard, and load the barge. Carman... ... ور رو 16s. weekly. To take charge of the horse and machine, col- lect the dirt and take it to the yard. Ditto. ditto. 12s. Sweepers III. Parish Men. A. Out-door Paupers. 1. Paid in Money. Married men Single men 2. Paid part in kind. Married men Single men B. In-door Paupers > 16s. weekly. To sweep where the machine cannot touch, work in the yard, and load the barges. Ditto. ditto. 12s. ور ور 9s. weekly. Sweep the streets and courts belonging to the Six months during the year. parish, and collect the dirt or slop ready for 4s. 6d. 33 carting away. 6s. weekly. Ditto, ditto. ditto. Ditto. ditto. 3s. ຄ 68. 9d. weekly, and Ditto. ditto. ditto. Ditto. ditto. 3 quartern loaves.) "" 5s. and 3 half-quar- tern loaves. Ditto. ditto. ditto. Ditto. ditto. All in kind. Food, lodging, and clothes. Ditto. ditto. ditto. 3s. 41d. and 3 quartern loaves weekly. 2s. 6d. and 3 half-quartern loaves weekly. Food, lodging, and clothes. IV. Street-Orderlies. Foreman or Ganger By the day. 15s. weekly. done well. Sweepers Barrow men Barrow boys 12s. weekly. Superintend the men and see that their work is Collect the dirt or slop ready for carting away. Collect the short dung as it gathers in the dis- trict to which they are appointed. Ditto. ditto. ditto. 220 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. amount. The deductions in the honourable trade are, as usual, inconsiderable. All the tools used by operative scavagers are supplied to them by their employers the tools being only brooms and shovels; and for this supply there are no stoppages to cover the ex- pense. Neither by fines nor by way of security are the men's wages reduced. The truck system, moreover, is unknown, and has never prevailed in the trade. I heard of only one instance of an approach to it. A yard fore- man, some years ago, who had a great deal of influence with his employer, had a chandler's- shop, managed by his wife, and it was broadly intimated to the men that they must make their purchases there. Complaints, however, were made to the contractor, and the foreman dis- missed. One man of whom I inquired did not. even know what the "truck system" meant; and when informed, thought they were "pretty safe from it, as the contractor had nothing which he could truck with the men, and if "he polls us hisself," the man said, "he's not likely to let anybody else do it." >> There are, moreover, no trade-payments to which the men are subjected; there are no trade-societies among the working men, no benefit nor sick clubs; neither do parochial relief and family labour characterize the regular hands in the honourable trade, although in sickness they may have no other resource. Indeed, the working scavagers employed by the more honourable portion of the trade, instead of having any deductions made from their nominal wages, have rather additions to them in the form of perquisites coming from the public. These perqui- sites consist of allowances of beer-money, obtained in the same manner as the dustmen-not through the medium of their employers (though, to say the least, through their sufferance), but from the householders of the parish in which their labours are prosecuted. The scavagers, it seems, are not required to sweep any places considered "private," nor even to sweep the public foot-paths; and when they do sweep or carry away the refuse of a butcher's premises, for instance-for, by law, the butcher is required to do so himself-they receive a gratuity. In the contract entered into by the city sca- vagers, it is expressly covenanted that no men employed shall accept gratuities from the house- holders; a condition little or not at all regarded, though I am told that these gratuities become less every year. I am informed also by an ex perienced butcher, who had at one time a private slaughter-house in the Borough, that, until within these six or seven years, he thought the sca- vagers, and even the dustmen, would carry away entrails, &c., in the carts, from the butcher's and the knacker's premises, for an allowance. I cannot learn that the contractors, whether of the honourable or scurf trade, take any advantage of these "allowances." A working scavager re- ceives the same wage, when he enjoys what I heard called in another trade "the height of | I perquisites," or is employed in a locality where there are no such additions to his wages. believe, however, that the contracting scavagers let their best and steadiest hands have the best perquisited work. These perquisites, I am assured, average from 1s. to 2s. a week, but one butcher told me he thought 1s. 6d. might be rather too high an average, for a pint of beer (2d.) was the customary sum given, and that was, or ought to be, divided among the gang. "In my opinion," he said, " there 'll be no allowances in a year or two." By the amount of these perquisites, then, the scavagers' gains are so far enhanced. The wages, therefore, of an operative scavager in full employ, and working for the "honourable" portion of the trade, may be thus expressed :- Nominal weekly wages. Perquisites in the form of allowances for beer from the public Actual weekly wages OF THE 16s. • 25. 18s. CASUAL HANDS" AMONG THE SCAVAGERS. Or the scavagers proper there are, as in all classes of unskilled labour, that is to say, of labour which requires no previous apprenticeship, and to which any one can "turn his hand" on an emergency, two distinct orders of workmen, "the regulars and casuals" to adopt the trade terms; that is to say, the labourers consist of those who have been many years at the trade, con- stantly employed at it, and those who have but recently taken to it as a means of obtaining a subsistence after their ordinary resources have failed. This mixture of constant and casual hands is, moreover, a necessary consequence of all trades which depend upon the seasons, and in which an additional number of labourers are required at different periods. Such is necessarily the case with dock labour, where an easterly wind pre- vailing for several days deprives thousands of work, and where the change from a foul to a fair wind causes an equally inordinate demand for workmen. The same temporary increase of employ- ment takes place in the agricultural districts at harvesting time, and the same among the hop growers in the picking season; and it will be hereafter seen that there are the same labour fluctuations in the scavaging trade, a greater or lesser number of hands being required, of course, according as the season is wet or dry. • 6 This occasional increase of employment, though a benefit in some few cases (as enabling a man suddenly deprived of his ordinary means of living to obtain "a job of work" until he can turn himself round"), is generally a most alarming evil in a State. What are the casual hands to do when the extra employment ceases? Those who have paid attention to the subject of dock labour and the subject of casual labour in general, may form some notion of the vast mass of misery that must be generally existing in London. The LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 221 subject of hop-picking again belongs to the same question. Here are thousands of the very poorest employed only for a few days in the year. What, the mind naturally asks, do they after their short term of honest independence has ceased? With dock labour the poor man's bread depends upon the very winds; in scavaging and in street life generally it depends upon the rain; and in market-gardening, harvesting, hop-picking, and the like, it depends upon the sunshine. How many thousands in this huge metropolis have to look immediately to the very elements for their bread, it is overwhelming to contemplate; and yet, with all this fitfulness of employment we wonder that an extended knowledge of reading and writing does not produce a decrease of crime! We should, however, ask ourselves whether men can stay their hunger with alphabets or grow fat on spelling books; and wanting employment, and consequently food, and objecting to the incarcera- tion of the workhouse, can we be astonished-- indeed is it not a natural law-that they should help themselves to the property of others? Concerning the "regular hands" of the con- tracting scavagers, it may, perhaps, be reasonable to compute that little short of one-half of them have been "to the manner born." The others are, as I have said, what these regular hands call "casuals," or "casualties." As an instance of the peculiar mixture of the regular and casual hands in the scavaging trade, I may state that one of my informants told me he had, at one period, under his immediate direction, fourteen men, of whom the former occupations had been as follows:- 7 Always Scavagers (or dustmen, and six of them nightmen when required). 1 Pot-boy at a public-house (but only as a boy). 1 Stable-man (also nightman). 1 Formerly a pugilist, then a showman's as- sistant. 1 Navvy. 1 Ploughman (nightman occasionally). 2 Unknown, one of them saying, but gaining no belief, that he had once been a gentle- 14 man. In my account of the street orderlies will be given an interesting and elaborate statement of the former avocations, the habits, expenditure, &c., of a body of street-sweepers, 67 in number. This table will be found very curious, as showing what classes of men have been driven to street- sweeping, but it will not furnish a criterion of the character of the " regular hands" employed by the contractors. The "casuals" or the "casualties" (always called among the men “cazzelties "), may be more pro- perly described as men whose employment is ac- cidental, chanceful, or uncertain. The regular hands of the scavagers are apt to designate any new comer, even for a permanence, any sweeper not reared to or versed in the business, a casual ("cazzel"). I shall, however, here deal with the "casual hands," not only as hands newly intro- duced into the trade, but as men of chanceful and irregular employment. These persons are now, I understand, numerous in all branches of unskilled labour, willing to un- dertake or attempt any kind of work, but perhaps there is a greater tendency on the part of the surplus unskilled to turn to scavaging, from the fact that any broken-down man seems to account himself competent to sweep the streets. To ascertain the number of these casual or out- side labourers in the scavaging trade is difficult, for, as I have said, they are willing in their need to attempt any kind of work, and so may be "casuals" in divers departments of unskilled labour. I do not think that I can better approximate the number of casuals than by quoting the opinion of a contracting scavager familiar with his work- men and their ways. He considered that there were always nearly as many hands on the look-out for a job in the streets, as there were regularly employed at the business by the large contractors; this I have shown to be 262, let us estimate there- fore the number of casuals at 200. According to the table I have given at pp. 213, 214, the number of men regularly or constantly employed at the metropolitan trade is as fol- lows:- Scavagers employed by large contractors Ditto small contractors Ditto machines Ditto parishes Ditto street-orderlies Total working scavagers in London 262 13 25 218 60 578 But the prior table given at pp. 186, 187, shows the number of scavagers employed through- out the metropolis in wet and dry weather (ex- clusive of the street-orderlies) to be as follows:- Scavagers employed in wet weather Ditto in dry weather Difference • 531 358 173 Hence it would appear that about one-third less hands are required in the dry than in the wet season of the year. The 170 hands, then, dis- charged in the dry season are the casually em- ployed men, but the whole of these 170 are not turned adrift immediately they are no longer wanted, some being kept on "odd jobs" in the yard, &c.; nor can that number be said to repre- sent the entire amount of the surplus labour in the trade; but only that portion of it which does obtain even casual employment. After much trouble, and taking the average of various state- ments, it would appear that the number of casualty or quantity of occasional surplus labour in the scavaging trade may be represented at between 200 and 250 hands. The scavaging trade, however, is not, I am in- formed, so overstocked with labourers now as it 222 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. was formerly. Seven years ago, and from that to ten, there were usually between 200 and 300 hands out of work; this was owing to there being a less extent of paved streets, and comparatively few contractors; the scavaging work, moreover, was "scamped," the men, to use their own phrase, "licking the work over any how," so that fewer hands were required. Now, however, the inhabitants are more particular, I am told, "about the crooks and corners," and require the streets to be swept oftener. Formerly a gang of operative scavagers would only collect six loads of dirt a day, but now a gang will collect nine loads daily. The causes to which the surplus of labourers at present may be attributed are, I find, as follows:-Each operative has to do nearly double the work to what he formerly did, the extra cleansing of the streets having tended not only to employ more hands, but to make each of those employed do more work. The result has, how- ever been followed by an increase in the wages of the operatives; seven years ago the labourers re- ceived but 2s. a day, and the ganger 2s. 6d., but now the labourers receive 2s. 8d. a day, and the ganger 3s. In the city the men have to work very long hours, sometimes as many as 18 hours a day with- out any extra pay. This practice of overworking is, I find, carried on to a great extent, even with those master scavagers who pay the regular wages. One man told me that when he worked for a certain large master, whom he named, he has many times been out at work 28 hours in the wet (saturated to the skin) without having any rest. This plan of overworking, again, is generally adopted by the small masters, whose men, after they have done a regular day's labour, are set to work in the yard, sometimes toiling 18 hours a day, and usually not less than 16 hours daily. Often so tired and weary are the men, that when they rise in the morning to pursue their daily labour, they feel as fatigued as when they went to bed. "Frequently," said one of my informants, "have I gone to bed so worn out, that I haven't been able to sleep. However" (he added), "there is the work to be done, and we must do it or be off." This system of overwork, especially in those trades where the quantity of work to be done is in a measure fixed, I find to be a far more in- fluential cause of surplus labour than " over population." The mere number of labourers in a trade is, per se, no criterion as to the quantity of labour employed in it; to arrive at this three things are required :- (1) The number of hands; (2) The hours of labour; (3) The rate of labouring; for it is a mere point of arithmetic, that if the hands in the scavaging trade work 18 hours a day, there must be one-third less men employed than there otherwise would, or in other words one- third of the men who are in work must be thus | deprived of it. This is one of the crying evils of the day, and which the economists, filled as they are with their over-population theories, have en- tirely overlooked. There are 262 men employed in the Metropo- litan Scavaging Trade; one-half of these at the least may be said to work 16 hours per diem in- stead of 12, or one-third longer than they should so that if the hours of labour in this trade were restricted to the usual day's work, there would be employment for one-sixth more hands, or nearly 50 individuals extra. | The other causes of the present amount of sur- plus labour are― The many hands thrown out of employment by the discontinuance of railway works. A less demand for unskilled labour in agricul- tural districts, or a smaller remuneration for it. A less demand for some branches of labour (as ostlers, &c.), by the introduction of machinery (applied to roads), or through the caprices of fashion. It should, however, be remembered, that men often found their opinions of such causes on pre- judices, or express them according to their class interests, and it is only a few employers of un- skilled labourers who care to inquire into the antecedent circumstances of men who ask for work. As regards the population part of the question, it cannot be said that the surplus labour of the scavaging trade is referable to any inordinate in- crease in the families of the men. Those who are married appear to have, on the average, four chil- dren, and about one-half of the men have no family at all. Early marriages are by no means usual. Of the casual hands, however, full three-fourths are married, and one-half have families. There are not more than ten or a dozen Irish labourers who have taken to the scavaging, though several have "tried it on;" the regular hands say that the Irish are too lazy to continue at the trade; but surely the labour of the hodman, in which the Irish seem to delight, is sufficient to disprove this assertion, be the cause what it may. About one-fourth of the scavagers entering the sca- vaging trade as casual hands have been agricul- tural labourers, and have come up to London from the several agricultural districts in quest of work; about the same proportion appear to have been connected with horses, such as ostlers, carmen, &c. In The brisk and slack seasons in the scavaging trade depend upon the state of the weather. the depth of winter, owing to the shortness of the days, more hands are usually required for street cleansing; but a clear frost" renders the scavager's labour in little demand. In the win- ter, too, his work is generally the hardest, and the hardest of all when there is snow, which soon becomes mud in London streets; and though a continued frost is a sort of lull to the scavagers' labour, after "a great thaw" his strength is taxed to the uttermost; and then, indeed, new hands have had to be put on. At the West End, in the height of the summer, which is usually the height of the fashionable season, there is again a more than usual requirement of scavaging industry in wet weather; but perhaps the greatest exercise of such industry is after a series of the fogs peculiar LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 223 to the London atmosphere, when the men cannot see to sweep. The table I have given shows the influence of the weather, as on wet days 531 men are employed, and on dry days only 358; this, how- ever, does not influence the Street-Orderly system, as under it the men are employed every day, un- less the weather make it an actual impossibility. According to the rain table given at p. 202, there would appear to be, on an average of 23 years, 178 wet days in London out of the 365, that is to say, about 100 in every 205 days are rainy ones. The months having the greatest and least number of wet days are as follows:- (" December "" July, August, October February, May, November January, April March, September June • No. of days in the month in which rain falls. 17 16 15 14 12 11 Hence it would appear that June is the least and December the most showery month in the course of the year; the greatest quantity of rain falling in any month is, however, in October, and the least quantity in March. The number of wet days, and the quantity of rain falling in each half of the year, may be expressed as follows:- · Total in No. of wet days. Total depth of rain falling in inches. 84 10 14 The first six months in the year ending June there are The second six months in the year ending December there are 93 Hence we perceive that the quantity of work for the scavagers would fluctuate in the first and last half of the year in the proportion of 10 to 14, which is very nearly in the ratio of 358 to 531, which are the numbers of hands given in table pp. 186, 187, as those employed in wet and dry weather throughout the metropolis. If, then, the labour in the scavaging trade varies in the proportion of 5 to 7, that is to say, that 5 hands are required at one period and 7 at another to execute the work, the question con- sequently becomes, how do the 2 casuals who are discharged out of every 7 obtain their living when the wet season is over? When a scavager is out of employ, he seldom or never applies to the parish; this he does, I am informed, only when he is fairly "beaten out" beaten out" through sickness or old age, for the men "hate the thought of going to the big house" (the union workhouse). An unemployed operative scavager will go from yard to yard and offer his services to do anything in the dust trade or any other kind of employment in connection with dust or scavaging. Generally speaking, an operative scavager who is casually employed obtains work at that trade for six or eight months during the year, and the re- maining portion of his time is occupied either at | rubbish-carting or brick-carting, or else he gets a job for a month or two in a dust-yard. Many of these men seem to form a body of street-jobbers or operative labourers, ready to work at the docks, to be navvies (when strong enough), bricklayers' labourers, street-sweepers, carriers of trunks or parcels, window-cleaners, errand-goers, porters, and (occasionally) nightmen. Few of the class seem to apply themselves to trading, as in the costermonger line. They are the loungers about the boundaries of trading, but seldom take any onward steps. The street-sweeper of this week, a "casual" hand, may be a rubbish-carter or a labourer about buildings the next, or he may be a starving man for days together, and the more he is starving with the less energy will he exert himself to obtain work: "it's not in" a starving or ill-fed man to exert himself otherwise than what may be called passively; this is well known to all who have paid attention to the subject. The want of energy and carelessness begotten by want of food was well described by the tinman, at p. 355 in vol. i. One casual hand told me that last year he was out of work altogether three months, and the year before not more than six weeks, and during the six weeks he got a day's work sometimes at rubbish carting and sometimes at loading bricks. Their wives are often employed in the yards as sifters, and their boys, when big enough, work also at the heap, either in carrying off, or else as fillers- in; if there are any girls, one is generally left at home to look after the rest and get the meals ready for the other members of the family. If any of the children go to school, they are usually sent to a ragged school in the neighbourhood, though they seldom attend the school more than two or three times during the week. >> The additional hands employed in wet weather are either men who at other times work in the yards, or such as have their "turns in street- sweeping, if not regularly employed. There ap- pears, however, to be little of system in the arrangement. If more hands are wanted, the gangsman, who receives his orders from the con- tractor or the contractor's managing man, is told to put on so many new hands, and over-night he has but to tell any of the men at work that Jack, and Bob, and Bill will be wanted in the morning, and they, if not employed in other work, appear accordingly. There is nothing, however, which can be desig- nated a labour market appertaining to the trade. No "house of call," no trade society. If men seek such employment, they must apply at the contractor's premises, and I am assured that poor men not unfrequently ask the scavagers whom they see at work in the streets where to apply "for a job," and sometimes receive gruff or abusive replies. But though there is nothing like a labour market in the scavager's trade, the employers have not to "look out" for men, for I was told by one of their foremen, that he would undertake, if necessary, which it never was, by a mere of the docks," to select 200 new hale men, of all classes, and strong ones, too, if properly fed, who round 224 LONDON LABOUR AND THE London poor. in a few days would be tolerable street-sweepers. It is a calling to which agricultural labourers are glad to resort, and a calling to which any labourer or any mechanic may resort, more espe- cially as regards sweeping or scraping, apart from shovelling, which is regarded as something like the high art of the business. We now come to estimate the earnings of the casual hands, whose yearly incomes must, of course, be very different from those of the regu- lars. The constant weekly wages of any work- man are of course the average of his casual-and hence we shall find the wages of those who are regularly employed far exceed those of the occa- sionally employed men :- Nominal yearly wages at scavaging for 25 weeks in the year, at 16s. per week • Perquisites for 26 weeks, at 2s. £ s. d. 20 16 0 2 12 0 0 Actual yearly wages at scavaging. 23 8 Nominal and actual weekly wages at rubbish carting for 20 weeks in the year, at 12s. Unemployed six weeks in the year. Gross yearly earnings Average casual or constant weekly wages throughout the year. 12 0 0 0 0 0 35 8 0 15 41 Hence the difference between the earnings of the casual and the regular hand would appear to be one-sixth. But the great evil of all casual labour is the uncertainty of the income-for where there is the greatest chance connected with an em- ployment, there is not only the greatest necessity for providence, but unfortunately the greatest ten- dency to improvidence. It is only when a man's income becomes regular and fixed that he grows thrifty, and lays by for the future; but where all is chance-work there is but little ground for rea- soning, and the accident which assisted the man out of his difficulties at one period is continu- ally expected to do the same good turn for him at another. Hence the casual hand, who passes the half of the year on 18s., and twenty weeks on 12s., and six weeks on nothing, lives a life of excess both ways-of excess of "guzzling" when in work, and excess of privation when out of it oscillating, as it were, between surfeit and stary- ation. A man who had worked in an iron-foundry, but who had "lost his work" (I believe through some misconduct) and was glad to get employment as a street-sweeper, as he had a good recommenda- tion to a contractor, told me that "the misery of the thing" was the want of regular work. "I've worked," he said, "for a good master for four months an end at 2s. 8d. a day, and they were prime times. Then I hadn't a stroke of work for a fortnight, and very little for two months, and if my wife hadn't had middling work with a laundress we might have starved, or I might have made a hole in the Thames, for it 's no good living to be miserable and feel you can't help yourself any | how. We was sometimes half-starved as it was. I'd rather at this minute have regular work at 10s. a week all the year round, than have chance- work that I could earn 20s. a week at. I once bad 15s. in relief from the parish, and a doctor to attend us, when my wife and I was both laid up sick. O, there's no difference in the way of doing the work, whatever wages you 're on for; the streets must be swept clean, of course. The plan's the same, and there's the same sort of manage- ment, any how." STATEMENT OF A "REGULAR SCAVAGER." THE following statement of his business, his sentiments, and, indeed, of the subjects which concerned him, or about which he was questioned, was given to me by a street-sweeper, so he called himself, for I have found some of these men not to relish the appellation of "scavager." He was a short, sturdy, somewhat red-faced man, without anything particular in his appearance to distinguish him from the mass of mere labourers, but with the sodden and sometimes dogged look of a man contented in his ignorance, and-for it is not a very uncommon case-rather proud of it. 66 My "I don't know how old I am," he said-I have observed, by the by, that there is not any exces- sive vulgarity in these men's tones or accent so much as grossness in some of their expressions- and I can't see what that consarns any one, as I's old enough to have a jolly rough beard, and so can take care of myself. I should think so. father was a sweeper, and I wanted to be a water- man, but father-he hasn't been dead long— didn't like the thoughts on it, as he said they was all drownded one time or 'nother; so I ran away and tried my hand as a Jack-in-the-water, but I was starved back in a week, and got a h- of a clouting. After that I sifted a bit in a dust-yard, and helped in any way; and I was sent to help at and larn honey-pot and other pot making, at Deptford; but honey-pots was a great thing in the business. Master's fore- man married a relation of mine, some way or other. I never tasted honey, but I've heered it's like sugar and butter mixed. The pots was often wanted to look like foreign pots; I don't know nothing what was meant by it; some b dodge or other. No, the trade didn't suit me at all, master, so I left. I don't know why it didn't suit me; cause it didn't. Just then, father had hurt his hand and arm, in a jam again' a cart, and so, as I was a big lad, I got to take his place, and gave every satisfaction to Mr. Yes, he was a contractor and a great man. I can't say as I knows how contracting's done; but it's a bargain atween man and man. So I got on. I'm now looked on as a stunning good workman, I can tell you. 46 Well, I can't say as I thinks sweeping the streets is hard work. I'd rather sweep two hours than shovel one. It tires one's arms and back so, to go on shovelling. You can't change, you see, sir, and the same parts keeps getting gripped more and more. Then you must mind your eye, if you're LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 225 shovelling slop into a cart, perticler so; or some feller may run off with a complaint that he 's been splashed o' purpose. Is a man ever splashed o' Is a man ever splashed o' purpose? No, sir, not as I knows on, in course not. [Laughing.] Why should he? "The streets must be done as they're done now. It always was so, and will always be so. Did I ever hear what London streets were like a thousand years ago? It's nothing to me, but they must have been like what they is now. Yes, there was always streets, or how was people that has tin to get their coals taken to them, and how was the public-houses to get their beer? It's talking nonsense, talking that way, a-asking sich questions." [As the scavager seemed likely to lose his tem- per, I changed the subject of conversation.] "Yes," he continued, "I have good health. I never had a doctor but twice; once was for a hurt, and the t'other I won't tell on. Well, I think nightwork 's healthful enough, but I'll not say so much for it as you may hear some on 'em say. I don't like it, but I do it when I's ob- ligated under a necessity. It pays one as over- work; and werry like more one's in it, more one may be suited. I reckon no men works harder nor sich as me. O, as to poor journeymen tailors and sich like, I knows they 're stunning badly off, and many of their masters is the hardest of beg- gars. I have a nephew as works for a Jew slop, but I don't reckon that work; anybody might do it. You think not, sir? Werry well, it's all the same. No, I won't say as I could make a veskit, but I've sowed my own buttons on to one afore now. Yes, I've heered on the Board of Health. They've put down some night-yards, and if they goes on putting down more, what's to become of the night-soil? I can't think what they 're up to; but if they don't touch wages, it may be all right in the end on it. I don't know that them there consarns does touch wages, but one's nate- rally afeard on 'em. I could read a little when I was a child, but I can't now for want of practice, or I might know more about it. I yarns my money gallows hard, and requires support to do hard work, and if wages goes down, one 's strength goes down. I'm a man as understands what things belongs. I was once out of work, through | a mistake, for a good many weeks, perhaps five or six or more; I larned then what short grub meant. I got a drop of beer and a crust some- times with men as I knowed, or I might have dropped in the street. What did I do to pass my time when I was out of work? Sartinly the days seemed wery long; but I went about and called at dust-yards, till I didn't like to go too often; and I met men I know'd at tap-rooms, and spent time that way, and axed if there was any openings for work. I've been out of collar odd weeks now and then, but when this happened, I'd been on slack work a goodish bit, and was bad for rent three weeks and more. My rent was 2s, a week then; its 1s. 9d. now, and my own traps. couldn't then have settled down my mind to read; I know I couldn't. I likes to hear the paper read well enough, if I's resting; but old Bill, as often wolunteers to read, has to spell the hard words so, that one can't tell what the devil he's reading about. I never heers anything about books; I never beered of Robinson Crusoe, if it wasn't once at the Wic. [Victoria Theatre]; I think there was some sich a name there. He lived on a deserted island, did he, sir, all by his- self? Well, I think, now you mentions it, I have heered on him. But one needn't believe all one hears, whether out of books or not. I don't know much good that ever anybody as I knows ever got out of books; they're fittest for idle people. Sartinly I've seen working people reading in coffee-shops; but they might as well be resting theirselves to keep up their strength. Do I think so? I'm sure on it, master. I sometimes spends a few browns a-going to the play; mostly about Christmas. It's werry fine and grand at the Wic., that's the place I goes to most; both the pantomimers and t' other things is werry stun- ning. I can't say how much I spends a year in plays; I keeps no account; perhaps 5s. or so in a year, including expenses, sich as beer, when one goes out after a stopper on the stage. I don't keep no accounts of what I gets, or what I spends, it would be no use; money comes and it goes, and it often goes a d- d sight faster than it comes; so it seems to me, though I ain't in debt just at this time. "I never goes to any church or chapel. Some- times I hasn't clothes as is fit, and I s'pose I couldn't be admitted into sich fine places in my working dress. I was once in a church, but felt queer, as one does in them strange places, and never went again. They're fittest for rich people. Yes, I've heered about religion and about God Almighty. What religion have I heered on? Why, the regular religion. I'm satisfied with what I knows and feels about it, and that's enough about it. I came to tell you about trade and work, because Mr. told me it might do good; but religion hasn't nothing to do with it. Yes, Mr. 's a good master, and a religious man; but I've known masters as didn't care a d-n for religion, as good as him; and so you see it comes to much the same thing. I cares. nothing about politics neither; but I'm a chartist. "I'm not a married man. I was a-going to be married to a young woman as lived with me a goodish bit as my housekeeper" [this he said very demurely]; "but she went to the hopping to yarn a few shillings for herself, and never came back. I heered that she'd taken up with an Irish hawker, but I can't say as to the rights on it. Did I fret about her? Perhaps not; but I was wexed. I "I'm sure I can't say what I spends my wages in. I sometimes makes 12s. 6d. a week, and sometimes better than 21s. with night-work. suppose grub costs ls. a day, and beer 6d.; but I No, I can't say I was sorry when I was keeps no accounts. I buy ready-cooked meat; forced to be idle that way, that I hadn't kept up often cold b'iled beef, and eats it at any tap-room. my reading, nor tried to keep it up, because I│I have meat every day; mostly more than once a R 226 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. day. Wegetables I don't care about, only ingans | and cabbage, if you can get it smoking hot, with plenty of pepper. The rest of my tin goes for rent and baccy and togs, and a little drop of gin now and then." The statement I have given is sufficiently ex- plicit of the general opinions of the " regular scavagers" concerning literature,' politics, and religion. On these subjects the great majority of the regular scavagers have no opinions at all, or opinions distorted, even when the facts seem clear and obvious, by ignorance, often united with its nearest of kin, prejudice and suspiciousness. I am inclined to think, however, that the man whose narrative I noted down was more dogged in his ignorance than the body of his fellows. All the intelligent men with whom I conversed, and whose avocations had made them familiar for years with this class, concurred in representing them as grossly ignorant. CC This description of the scavagers' ignorance, &c., it must be remembered, applies only to the regular hands." Those who have joined the ranks of the street-sweepers from other callings are more intelligent, and sometimes more temperate. The system of concubinage, with a great de- gree of fidelity in the couple living together with- out the sanction of the law-such as I have described as prevalent among the costermongers and dustmen-is also prevalent among the regular scavagers. I did not hear of habitual unkindness from the parents to the children born out of wedlock, but there is habitual neglect of all or much which a child should be taught a neglect growing out of ignorance. I heard of two scavagers with large families, of whom the treatment was sometimes very harsh, and at others mere petting. informant to read it to him, as "that kind of writing," although plain enough, was "beyond him." The son, in writing, had availed himself of the superior skill of a corporal in his company, so that the letter, on family matters and feelings, was written by deputy and read by deputy. The costermongers, I have shown, when themselves un- able to read, have evinced a fondness for listening to exciting stories of courts and aristocracies, and have even bought penny periodicals to have their contents read to them. The scavagers appear to have no taste for this mode of enjoying them- selves; but then their leisure is far more circum- scribed than that of the costermongers. It must be borne in mind that I have all along spoken of the regular (many of them hereditary) scavagers employed by the more liberal contractors. There are yet accounts of habitations, state- ments of wages, &c., &c., to be given, in connection with men working for the honourable masters, before proceeding to the scurf-traders. " The working scavagers usually reside in the neighbourhood of the dust-yards, occupying "second- floor backs," kitchens (where the entire house is sublet, a system often fraught with great extor- tion), or garrets; they usually, and perhaps always, when married, or what they consider "as good," have their own furniture. The rent runs from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 3d. weekly, an average being 1s. 9d. or 1s. 10d. One room which I was in was but barely furnished,-a sort of dresser, serving also for a table; a chest; three chairs (one almost bottomless); an old turn-up bedstead, a Dutch clock, with the minute-hand broken, or as the scavager very well called it when he saw me looking at it, "a stump;" a stump ;" an old corner cup- board," and some pots and domestic utensils in a closet without a door, but retaining a portion of Education, or rather the ability to read and the hinges on which a door had swung. The rent write, is not common among the adults in this was 1s. 10d., with a frequent intimation that it calling, so that it cannot be expected to be found ought to be 2s. The place was clean enough, and among their children. Some labouring men, the scavager seemed proud of it, assuring me that ignorant themselves, but not perhaps constituting his old woman (wife or concubine) was "a good a class or a clique like the regular scavagers, try sort," and kept things as nice as ever she could, hard to procure for their children the knowledge, washing everything herself, where "other old the want of which they usually think has barred women lushed." The only ornaments in the their own progress in life. Other ignorant men, room were three profiles of children, cut in black mixing only with "their own sort," as is generally paper and pasted upon white card, tacked to the the case with the regular scavagers, and in the wall over the fire-place, for mantel-shelf there was several branches of the business, often think and none, while one of the three profiles, that of the say that what they did without their children eldest child (then dead), was framed," with a could do without also. I even heard it said by glass, and a sort of bronze or cast frame, cost- one scavager that it wasn't right a child shoulding, I was told, 15d. This was the apartment of ever think himself wiser than his father. A man a man in regular employ (with but a few excep- who knew, in the way of his business as a private contractor for night-work, &c., a great many regular scavagers, "ran them over," and came to the conclusion that about four or five out of twenty could read, ill or tolerably well, and about three out of forty could write. He told me, more- over, that one of the most intelligent fellows gene- rally whom he knew among them, a man whom he had heard read well enough, and always un- derstood to be a tolerable writer, the other day brought a letter from his son, a soldier abroad with his regiment in Lower Canada, and requested my tions). con "" Another scavager with whom I had some conversation about his labours as a nightman, for he was both, gave me a full account of his own diet, which I find to be sufficiently specific as to that of his class generally, but only of the regular hands. The diet of the regular working scavager (or nightman) seems generally to differ from that of mechanics, and perhaps of other working men, in the respect of his being fonder of salt and strong-flavoured food. I have before made the same HENNIVE .. --------- བ THE LONDON SCAVENGER. [From a Daguerreotype by BEARD. - ! LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 227 remark concerning the diet of the poor generally. I do not mean, however, that the scavagers are fond of such animal food as is called "high," for I did not hear that nightmen or scavagers were more tolerant of what approached putridity than other labouring men, and, despite their calling, might sicken at the rankness of some haunches of venison; but they have a great relish for highly-salted cold boiled beef, bacon, or pork, with a saucer-full of red pickled cabbage, or dingy- looking pickled onions, or one or two big, strong, raw onions, of which most of them seen as fond as Spaniards of garlic. This sort of meat, some- times profusely mustarded, is often eaten in the beer-shops with thick "shives" of bread, cut into big mouthfuls with a clasp pocket-knife, while vegetables, unless indeed the beer-shop can supply a plate of smoking hot potatoes, are uncared for. The drink is usually beer. The same style of eating and the same kind of food characterize the scavager and nightman, when taking his meal at home with his wife or family; but so irregular, and often of necessity, are these men's hours, that they may be said to have no homes, merely places to sleep or dose in. A working scavager and nightman calculated for me his expenses in eating and drinking, and other necessaries, for the previous week. He had earned 15s., but Is. of this went to pay off an advance of 5s. made to him by the keeper of a beer-shop, or, as he called it, a "jerry." Rent of an unfurnished room Washing (average). [The man himself washed the dress in which he worked, and generally washed his own stockings.] Shaving (when twice a week) Tobacco [Short pipes are given to these men at the beer- shops, or public-houses which they "use."] Beer • • [He usually spent more than 4d. a day in beer, he said, Weekly. Daily. d. S. d. 1 9 3 со 11 1 1 7 4 2 4 "it was only a pot; " but this week more beer than usual had been given to him in nightwork.] Gin 2 [The same with gin.] Cocoa (pint at a coffee-shop) 11 Bread (quartern loaf) (some- times 5 d.) 6 Boiled salt beef ( lb. or lb. daily, as happened," for two meals, 6d. per pound, average. Pickles or Onions Butter. Soap • 4 • 01 1 2 101 3 6 2 4 13 1 1 13 21 Perhaps this informant was excessive in his drink. I believe he was so; the others not drinking so much regularly. The odd 9d., he told me, he paid to a snob," because he said he was going to send his half-boots to be mended. (C This man informed me he was a "widdur,” having lost his old 'oman, and he got all his meals at a beer or coffee-shop. Sometimes, when he was a street-sweeper by day and a nightman by night, he had earned 20s. to 22s.; and then he could have his pound of salt meat a day, for three meals, with a "baked tatur or so, when they was in. I inquired as to the apparently low charge of 6d. per pound for cooked meat, but I found that the man had stated what was correct. In many parts good boiled "brisket," fresh cut, is 7d. and 8d. per lb., with mustard into the bargain; and the cook-shop keepers (not the eating-house people) who sell boiled hams, beef, &c., in retail, but not to be eaten on the premises, vend the hard re- mains of a brisket, and sometimes of a round, for 6d., or even less (also with mustard), and the scavagers like this better than any other food. In the brisk times my informant sometimes had " hot cut" from a shop on a Sunday, and a more liberal allowance of beer and gin. If he had any piece of clothing to buy he always bought it at once, before his money went for other things. These were his proceedings when business was brisk. a In slacker times his diet was on another footing. He then made his supper, or second meal, for tea he seldom touched, on fagots." This preparation of baked meats costs 1d. hot- but it is seldom sold hot except in the evening- and d., or more frequently two for 1d., cold. It is a sort of cake, roll, or ball, a number being baked at a time, and is made of chopped liver and lights, mixed with gravy, and wrapped in pieces of pig's caul. It weighs six ounces, so that it is unquestionably a cheap, and, to the scavager, a savoury meal; but to other nostrils its odour is not seductive. My informant re- gretted the capital fagots he used to get at a shop when he worked in Lambeth; superior to any thing he had been able to meet with on the Middlesex side of the water. Or he dined off a saveloy, costing 1d., and bread; or bought a pennyworth of strong cheese, and a farthing's worth of onions. He would further reduce his daily expenditure on cocoa (or coffee sometimes) to 1d., and his bread to three-quarters of a loaf. He ate, however, in average times, a quarter of a quartern loaf to his breakfast (sometimes buying a halfpennyworth of butter), a quarter or more to his dinner, the same to his supper, and the other, with an onion for a relish, to his beer. He was a great bread eater, he said; but sometimes, if he slept in the day- time, half a loaf would "stand over to next day." He was always hungriest when at work among the street-mud or night-soil, or when he had finished work. On my asking him if he meant that he par- took of the meals he had described daily, he answered "no," but that was mostly what he had; and if he bought a bit of cold boiled, or 228 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. | even roast pork, "what offered cheap," the ex- particular class. He was satisfied these men, as pense was about the same. When he was drink- a whole, drank less than they did at one time; ing, and he did "make a break sometimes," he though he had no doubt some (he seemed to know ate nothing, and "wasn't inclined to," and he no distinctions between scavagers, dustmen, and seemed rather to plume himself on this, as a point nightmen) spent 1s. a day in drink. He knew of economy. He had tasted fruit pies, but cared one scavager who was dozing about not long nothing for them; but liked four penn'orth of a since for nearly a week, "sleepy drunk," and the hot meat or giblet pie on a Sunday. Batter- belief was that he had "found something." The pudding he only liked if smoking hot; and it was absence of all accounts prevents my coming to uncommon improved," he said, "with an ingan!" anything definite on this head, but it seems posi- Rum he preferred to gin, only it was dearer, but tive that these men drink less than they did. The most of the scavagers, he thought, liked Old Tom | landlord in question thought the statement I have (gin) best; but "they was both good." given as to diet and drink perfectly correct for a regular hand in good earnings. I am assured, however, and it is my own opinion, after long in- quiry, that one-third of their earnings is spent in drink. OF THE INFLUENCE OF FREE TRADE ON THE EARNINGS OF THE SCAVAGERS. Of the drinking of these men I heard a good deal, and there is no doubt that some of them tope hard, and by their conduct evince a sort of belief that the great end of labour is beer. But it must be borne in mind that if inquiries are made as to the man best adapted to give informa- tion concerning any rude calling (especially), some talkative member of the body of these working men, some pot-house hero who has pursuaded himself and his ignorant mates that he is an oracle, is put forward. As these men are some- times, from being trained to, and long known in their callings, more prosperous than their fellows, their opinions seem ratified by their circumstances. But in such cases, or in the appearance of such cases, it has been my custom to make subsequent inquiries, or there might be frequent misleadings, were the statements of these men taken as typical of the feelings and habits of the whole body. The statement of the working scavager given under this head is unquestionably typical of the charac-how," as a scavager's carman said to me, "the ter of a portion of his co-workers, and more especially of what was, and in the sort of here- ditary scavagers I have spoken of is, the cha- racter of the regular hands. There are now, however, many checks to prolonged indulgence in lush," as every man of the ruder street-sweep- ing class will call it. The contractors must be served regularly; the most indulgent will not tolerate any unreasonable absence from work, so that the working scavagers, at the jeopardy of their means of living, must leave their carouse at an hour which will permit them to rise soon enough in the morning. The beer which these men imbibe, it should be also remembered, they regard as a proper part of their diet, in the same light, indeed, as they regard so much bread, and that among them the opinion is almost universal, that beer is necessary to "keep up their strength;" there are a few teeto- tallers belonging to the class; one man thought he knew five, and had heard of five others. I inquired of the landlord of a beer-shop, fre- quented by these men, as to their potations, but he wanted to make it appear that they took a half-pint, now and then, when thirsty! He was evidently tender of the character of his customers. The land- lord of a public house also frequented by them in- formed me that he really could not say what they expended in beer, for labourers of all kinds "used his tap," and as all tap-room liquor was paid for on delivery in his and all similar establishments, he did not know the quantity supplied to any As regards the influence of Free Trade upon the scavaging business, I could gain little or no information from the body of street-sweepers, because they have never noticed its operation, and the men, with the exception of such as have sunk into street-sweeping from better-informed con- ditions of life, know nothing about it. Among all, however, I have heard statements of the blessing of cheap bread; always cheap bread. "There's nothing like bread," say the men, "it's not all poor people can get meat; but they must get bread." Cheap food all labouring men pronounce a blessing, as it unquestionably is, but thing ain't working as it should." some- In the course of the present and former in- quiries among unskilled labourers, street-sellers, and costermongers, I have found the great majority of the more intelligent declare that Free Trade had not worked well for them, because there were more labourers and more street-sellers than were required, for each man to live by his toil and traffic, and because the num- bers increased yearly, and the demand for their commodities did not increase in proportion. Among the ignorant, I heard the continual answers of, “I can't say, sir, what it 's owing to, that I'm so bad off;" or "Well, I can't tell anything about that." It is difficult to state, however, without positive inquiry, whether this extra number of hands be due to diminished employment in the agricultural districts, since the repeal of the Corn Laws, or whether it be due to the insufficiency of occu- pation generally for the increasing population. One thing at least is evident, that the increase of the trades alluded to cannot be said to arise directly from diminished agricultural employment, for but few farm labourers have entered these businesses since the change from Protection to Free Trade. If, therefore, Free-Trade principles have operated injuriously in reducing the work of the unskilled labourers, street-sellers, and the poorer classes generally, it can have done so only in- directly; that is to say, by throwing a mass of displaced country labour into the towns, and so LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 229 1 displacing other labourers from their ordinary occupations, as well as by decreasing the wages of working-men generally. Hence it becomes almost impossible, I repeat, to tell whether the increasing difficulty that the poor experience in living by their labour, is a consequence or merely a concomitant of the repeal of the Corn Laws; if it be a consequence, of course the poor are no better for the alteration; if, however, it be a coincidence rather than a necessary result of the measure, the circumstances of the poor are, of course, as much improved as they would have been impoverished provided that measure had never become law. I candidly confess I am as yet without the means of coming to any conclusion on this part of the subject. Nor can it be said that in the scavagers' trade wages have in any way declined since the repeal of the Corn Laws; so that were it not for the difficulty of obtaining employment among the casual hands, this class must be allowed to have been considerable gainers by the reduction in the price of food, and even as it is, the constant hands must be acknowledged to be so. exactly to what extent, perhaps an eighth, and he attributed it to less work, there being no railways about London, fewer buildings, and less general employment. About the wages of the labourers he could not speak as influencing the matter. From this tradesmen also I received an account that meat generally was 1d. per lb. higher at the time specified. Pickled Australian beef was four or five years ago very low-3d. per lb.-salted and prepared, and "swelling" in hot water, but the poor "couldn't eat the stringy stuff, for it was like "It's better now," he added, pickled ropes." "but it don't sell, and there's no nourishment in such beef.' " But these tradesmen agreed in the information that poor labourers bought less meat, while one pronounced Free Trade a blessing, the other de- clared it a curse. I suggested to each that cheaper fish might have something to do with a smaller consumption of butcher's meat, but both said that cheap fish was the great thing for the Irish and the poor needle-women and the like, who were never at any time meat eaters. From respectable bakers I ascertained that bread might be considered 1d. a quartern loaf dearer in 1845 than at present. Perhaps the follow- ing table may throw a fuller light on the matter. who were without accounts to refer to, but speak- ing positively from memory; I give the statement per week, as for a single man, without charge for the support of a wife and family, and without any help from other resources. Rent ► Before Free Trade. After Free Trade. Saving since Free Trade. 1s. 6d. 1s. 6d. 2s. 11d. 2s. 6d. 5d. 5d. 5d. Sıl. 8d. 3d. 2d. Id. 1s. 6d. 5d. 1s. 3d. 3d. 5d. 2d., or 1s. 6d. weekly. 32d. 3d. 31d. 3 d. Bread (5 loaves) Butter (lb.) Tea (2 oz.) Sugar (lb.) Meat (3 lb.) Bacon (1 lb.) Fish (a dinner 3d., or 1s. 6d. weekly. I will now endeavour to reduce to a tabular form such information as I could obtain as to the expenditure of the labourer in scavaging before and after the establishment of Free Trade. II give it from what I learned from several men, inquired, the better to be assured of the accuracy of the representations and accounts I received from labourers, the price of meat then and now. A butcher who for many years bas conducted a business in a populous part of Westminster and in a populous suburb, supplying both private families with the best joints, and the poor with their "little bits" their "block ornaments" (meat in small pieces exposed on the chopping-block), their purchases of liver, and of beasts' heads. In 1845, the year I take as sufficiently prior to the Free- Trade era, my informant from his recollection of the state of his business and from consulting his books, which of course were a correct guide, found that for a portion of the year in question, mutton was as much as 74d. per lb. (Smithfield prices), now the same quality of meat is but 5d. however, was but a temporary matter, and from causes which sometimes are not very ostensible or explicable. Taking the butcher's trade that as a whole, it was found sufficiently conclusive, that meat was generally 1d. per lb. higher then than at present. My informant, however, was perfectly satisfied that, although situated in the same way, and with the same class of customers, he did not sell so much meat to the poor and labouring classes as he did five or six years ago, he believed not by one-eighth, although perhaps 'pricers of his meat" among the poor were more numerous. For this my informant accounted by expressing his conviction that the labouring men spent their money in drink more than ever, and were a longer time in recovering from the effects of tippling. This supposition, from what I have observed in the course of the present inquiry, is negatived by facts. tr This, year Another butcher, also supplying the poor, said they bought less of him; but he could not say a day, 6 days) Potatoes or Ve- getables (d. a day) Beer (pot). • Total saving, per week, since Free Trade is. 3d. In butter, bacon, potatoes, &c., and beer, I could hear of no changes, except that bacon might be a trifle cheaper, but instead of a good quality selling better, although cheaper, there was a de- mand for an inferior sort. In the foregoing table the weekly consumption of several necessaries is given, but it is not to be understood that one man consumes them all in a week; they are what may generally be consumed when such things are in demand by the poor, one week after another, or one day after another, forming an aggregate of weeks. 230 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. t Thus, Free Trade and cheap provisions are an unquestionable benefit, if unaffected by drawbacks, to the labouring poor. The above statement refers only to a fully em- ployed hand. The following table gives the change since Free Trade in the earnings of casual hands, and relates to the past and the present expenditure of a scavager. The man, who was formerly a house painter, said he could bring me 50 men similarly circumstanced to himself. In 1845, per Weck. In 1851, per Week. s. d. 1 8 20 0 5 S. d. Rent 1 4 Rent 5 loaves 2 11 4 loaves • Butter 0 5 Butter Tea. 6 Tea. 0 1 6 Meat (3 lbs.) 1 0 3 Potatoes · 0 4 Beer (a pint) Meat (3 lbs.) Potatoes Beer (a pot) 7 3 5 O 0 2 0 2 5 10 Here, then, we find a positive saving in the ex- penditure of 1s. 5d. per week in this man's wages, since the cheapening of food. His earnings, however, tell a different story. 1851. 7 6 1845. $. d. s. d. Earnings of 6 days 15 0 Ditto 3 days Weekly Income 15 0 Expenditure 7 3 7 6 5 10 Difference 7 9 1 8 Thus we perceive that the beneficial effects of cheapness are defeated by the dearth of employ- ment among labourers. It is impossible to come to precise statistics in this matter, but all concurrent evidence, as regards the unskilled work of which I now treat, shows that labour is attainable at almost any rate. Another drawback to the benefits of cheap food I heard of first in my inquiries (for the Letters on Labour and the Poor, in the Morning Chronicle) among the boot and shoemakers-their rents had been raised in consequence of their landlords' property having been subjected to the income tax. Numbers of large houses are now let out in single rooms, in the streets off Tottenham- court-road, and near Golden-square, as well as in many other quarters-to men, who, working for West-end tradesmen, must live, for economy of time, near the shops from which they derive their work. Near and in Cunningham-street and other streets, two men, father and son, rent upwards of 30 houses, the whole of which they let out in one or two rooms, it is believed at a very great profit; in fact they live by it. The rent of these houses, among many others, was raised when the income tax was imposed, the sub-lettors declaring, with what truth no knew, that the rents were raised to them. It is common enough for capitalists to fling such im- posts on the shoulders of the poor, and I heard scavagers complain, that every time they had to change their rooms, they had either to pay more rent by 2d. or 3d. a week, or put up with a worse place. One man who lived at the time of the passing of the Income Tax Bill in Shoe-lane, found his rent raised suddenly 3d. a week, a non- resident landlord or agent calling for it weekly. He was told that the advance was to meet the in- come tax. "I know nothing about what income tax means," he said, "but it's some roguery as is put on the poor." I heard complaints to the same purport from several working scavagers, and the lettors of rooms are the most exacting in places crowded with the poor, and where the poor think or feel they must reside "to be handy for work." What connection there may be between the ques- tions of Free Trade and the necessity of the in- come tax, it is not my business now to dilate upon, but it is evident that the circumstances of the country are not sufficiently prosperous to enable parliament to repeal this " temporary" impost. From a better informed class than the scavagers, I might have derived data on which to form a calculation from account books, &c., but I could hear of none being kept. I remember that a lady's shoemaker told me that the weekly rents of the ten rooms in the house in which he lived were 4s. 3d. bigher than before the income tax, which "came to the same thing as an extra penny on over 50 loaves a week." It is certain that the great tax-payers of London are the labouring classes. I have endeavoured to ascertain the facts in connection with this complex subject in as calm and just a manner as possible, leaning neither to the Protectionist nor the Free-Trade side of the question, and I must again in honesty acknow- ledge, that to the constant hands among the scavagers and dustmen of the metropolis, the repeal of the Corn Laws appears to have been an unquestionable benefit. I shall conclude this exposition of the condition and earnings of the working scavagers employed by the more honourable masters, with an account of the average income and expenditure of the better-paid hands (regular and casual, as well as single and married), and first, of the unmarried regular hand. The following is an estimate of the income and expenditure of an unmarried operative scavager regularly employed, working for a large con- tractor :- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 231 WEEKLY INCOME. £ 8. d. Constant Wages. Nominal weekly wages Perquisites 0 16 0 020 Actual weekly wages 0 18 0 0 0 Cheese 0 0 4 Beer... 0 3 0 Spirits. ( 1 0 WEEKLY EXPENDITURE. t s. d. 020 and Rent Washing mending.. Clothes, and re- .... 0 0 10 heard from some of these men that it was looked upon as a great thing if the wife's labour could clear the week's rent of 1s. 6d. to 2s. The following may be taken as an estimate of the income and outlay of a better paid and fully employed operative scavager, with his wife and two children:- 0 0 8 pairing ditto.. 0 0 10 Butcher's meat.. 0 3 6 Bacon... Vegetables. WEEKLY INCOME OF THE FAMILY. WEEKLY EXPENDITURE OF THE FAMILY. • Tobacco. 0 0 103 £ s. d. £ s. d. Butter. Sugar Tea Coffee Fish.. 0 0 73 Nominal weekly 0 0 4 wages of man, • 168. Rent Candle Bread 0 3 0 0 0 3 • 2 0 2 1 0 0 3 • 0 0 3 • 0 0 4 Soap 0 0 2 Shaving Fruit 0 0 1 0 0 4 Keep of 2 dogs.. 0 0 C 68. Amusements, as skittles, &c. .. 0 1 9 1s. 4d. Actual 0 18 0 weekly The subjoined represents the income of an un- married operative scavager casually employed by a small master scavager six months during the year, at 15s. a week, and 20 weeks at sand and rubbish carting, at 12s. a week. Casual Wages. £ s. d. wages of wife. 0 7 4 Nominal weekly wages of boy.. 0 3 0 Butter. Sugar Tea. Coffee. Butcher's meat.. Bacon.. Raw fish.. Herrings Beer (at home). (at work) 0 1 0 0 6 Spirits.. Cheese Flour • 0 0 3 1 8 4 Suet. Fruit • 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 03 0 0 1 Actual Perquisites, 28. weekly 0 0 10 0 0 8 wages of man. Nominal weekly 0 18 0 0 0 10 004 wages of wife, Perquisites coal and wood, 0 3 36 0 1 2 in Potatoes. 0 0 10 004 004 0 2 0 016 0 Nominal weekly wages at scavaging, 16s. for 26 weeks during the year Perquisites, 2s. for 26 weeks during the year.. 20 16 0 2 12 0 Actual weekly wages for 26 weeks during the year 0 16 0 Nominal and actual weekly wages at rubbish carting, 12s. for 20 weeks more during the year 12 0 0 Average casual or constant weekly wages throughout the year 0 15 43 The expenditure of this man when in work was nearly the same as that of the regular hand; the main exceptions being that his rent was 1s. instead of 2s., and no dogs were kept. When in work he saved nothing, and when out of work lived as he could. The married scavagers are differently circum- stanced from the unmarried; their earnings are generally increased by those of their family. ແ The labour of the wives and children of the scavagers is not unfrequently in the capacity of sifters in the dust-yards, where the wives of the men employed by the contractors have the prefer- ence, and in other but somewhat rude capacities. One of their wives I heard of as a dresser of sheep's trotters; two as being among the most skilful dressers of tripe for a large shop; one as a cat's-meat seller" (her father's calling); but I still speak of the regular scavagers-I could not meet with one woman "working a slop-needle." One, indeed, I saw who was described to me as a "feather dresser to an out-and-out negur," but the woman assured me she was neither badly paid nor badly off. Perhaps by such labour, as an average on the part of the wives, 9d. a day is cleared, and ls. "on on tripe and such like." Among the "casual's" wives there are frequent instances of the working for slop shirt-makers, &c., upon the coarser sorts of work, and at "starvation wages," but on such matters I have often dwelt. I Rice.. Soap Starch. ... Soda and blue .. Dubbing Clothes for the whole family, and repairing ditto Boots and shoes for ditto, ditto Milk Salt, pepper, and mustard • • Tobacco.. Wear and tear of bedding, crocks, &c. Schooling girl 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 6 007 11 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 3 for 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 Baking Sunday's dinner. Mangling Amusements and sundries.... 0 1 1 7 6 The subjoined, on the other hand, gives the income and outlay of a casually employed opera- tive scavager (better paid) with his wife and two boys in constant work:— WEEKLY INCOME OF THE FAMILY. Nominal wages of man at sca- vaging for six months, at 16s. weekly. Ditto at rubbish carting three months, 12s. weekly. Average casual wages through- out the year. Nominal weekly wages of wife, 6s. (constant). Perquisites in wood and coal, 1s 4d. Actual £ s. d. 0 15 0 weekly wages of wife. 0 7 4 WEEKLY EXPENDITURE OF THE FAMILY. Rent Candle Soap Soda, starch, and blue. Bread Butter. Dripping Sugar • Tea Coffee • .. £ s. d. 0 3 6 006 004 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 9 0 0 5 = 0 0 0 0 8 Butcher's meat.. Bacon Potatoes. Cheese Raw fish. Herrings. Fried fish Flour Suet. + • • 0 0 0 6 • 0 3 نا 0 1 0 0 0 0 ( • 0 0 3 0 0 2 232 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Nominal weekly wages of two boys, 7s. the two Perquisites for running on messages, 1s. the two (con- stant). Actual weekly wages of the two boys...... t s. d. £ s. d. Fruit 0 0 6 0 0 11 Rice.. Beer (at home). () 2 () (at work) 0 1 9 01 0 009 Spirits... Tobacco. Pepper, salt, and . mustard • Milk Clothes for man, 080 1 10 4 • wife, and fa- mily. Repairing ditto for ditto.... Boots and shoes for ditto...... Repairing ditto for ditto..... Wear and tear of bedding,crocks, &c. .. Baking Sunday's dinner.. Mangling Amusements, 0 0 1 0 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 6 0 1 6 0 0 8 003 0 2 0 002 sundries, &c.. 0 1 0 1 10 4 OF THE WORSE PAID SCAVAGERS, OR THOSE WORKING FOR SCURE EMPLOYERS. THERE are in the scavagers' trade the same dis- tinct classes of employers as appertain to all other trades; these consist of:- 1. The large capitalists. 2. The small capitalists. As a rule (with some few honourable and dis- honourable exceptions, it is true) I find that the large capitalists in the several trades are generally the employers who pay the higher wages, and the small men those who pay the lower. The reasons for this conduct are almost obvious. The power of the capital of the "large master" must be contended against by the small one; and the usual mode of contention in all trades is by re- ducing the wages of the working men. The wealthy master has, of course, many advantages over the poor one. (1) He can pay ready money, and obtain discounts for immediate payment. (2) He can buy in large quantities, and so get his stock cheaper. (3) He can purchase what he wants in the best markets, and that directly of the producer, without the intervention and profit of the middleman. (4) He can buy at the best times and seasons; and "lay in" what he re- quires for the purposes of his trade long before it is needed, provided he can obtain it "a bar- gain." (5) He can avail himself of the best tools and mechanical contrivances for increasing the productiveness or economizing the labour" of his workmen. (6) He can build and arrange his places of work upon the most approved plan and in the best situations for the manufacture and distribution of the commodities. (7) He can employ the highest talent for the management or * The Saxon Sceorfu, which is the original of the Eng- lish Scurf, means a scab, and scab is the term given to the "cheap men" in the shoemaking trade. Scab is the root of our word Shabby; hence Scurf and Scab, de- prived of their offensive associations, both mean shabby fellows. design of the work on which he is engaged. (8) He can institute a more effective system for the surveillance and checking of his workmen. (9) He can employ a large number of hands, and so reduce the secondary expenses (of firing, light- ing, &c.) attendant upon the work, as well as the nuniber of superintendents and others engaged to "look after" the operatives. (10) He can resort to extensive means of making his trade known. (11) He can sell cheaper (even if his cost of pro- duction be the same), from employing a larger capital, and being able to "do with" a less rate of profit. (12) He can afford to give credit, and so obtain customers that he might otherwise lose. The small capitalist, therefore, enters the field of competition by no means equally matched against his more wealthy rival. What the little master wants in "substance," however, he gene- rally endeavours to make up in cunning. If he cannot buy his materials as cheap as a trader of larger means, he uses an inferior or cheaper article, and seeks by some trick or other to palm it off as equal to the superior and dearer kind. If the tools and appliances of the trade are expen- sive, he either transfers the cost of providing them to the workmen, or else he charges them a rent for their use; and so with the places of work, he mulcts their wages of a certain sum per week for the gas by which they labour, or he makes them do their work at home, and thus saves the expense of a workshop; and, lastly, he pays his men either a less sum than usual for the same quantity of labour, or exacts a greater quantity from them. for the same sum of money. By one or other of these means does the man of limited capital seek to counterbalance the advantages which his more wealthy rival obtains by the possession of exten- " resources." sive The large employer is enabled to work cheaper by the sheer force of his larger capital. He reduces the cost of production, not by employing a cheaper labour, but by mizing the labour" that he does employ. The small employer, on the other hand, seeks to keep pace with his larger rival, and strives to work cheap, not by "the economy of labour" (for this is hardly possible in the small way of production), but by reducing the wages of his labourers. Hence the rule in almost every trade is that the smaller capitalists pay a lower rate of wages. To this, however, there are many honourable ex- ceptions among the small masters, and many as dishonourable among the larger ones in different trades. Messrs. Moses, Nicoll, and Hyams, for instance, are men who certainly cannot plead deficiency of means as an excuse for reducing the ordinary rate of wages among the tailors. econo- Those employers who seek to reduce the prices of a trade are known technologically as cutting employers," in contradistinction to the standard employers, or those who pay their workpeople and sell their goods at the ordinary rates. Of" cutting employers" there are several kinds, differently designated, according to the different means by which they gain their ends. These are: LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 233 1. "Drivers," or those who compel the men in their employ to do more work for the same wages; of this kind there are two distinct varieties:- a. The long-hour masters, or those who make the men work longer than the usual hours of labour. b. The strapping masters, or those who make the men (by extra supervision) "strap" to their work, so as to do a greater quantity of labour in the usual time. 2. Grinders, or those who compel the work- men (through their necessities) to do the same amount of work for less than the ordinary wages. corre- The reduction of wages thus brought about may or may not be attended with a sponding reduction in the price of the goods to the public; if the price of the goods be reduced in proportion to the reduction of wages, the consumer, of course, is benefited at the expense of the producer. When it is not followed by a like diminution in the selling price of the article, and the wages of which the men are mulct go to increase the profits of the capitalist, the employer alone is benefited, and is then known as a "grasper." Some cutting tradesmen, however, endeavour to undersell their more wealthy rivals, by reducing the ordinary rate of profit, and extending their business on the principle of small profits and quick returns, the "nimble ninepence" being con- sidered "better than the slow shilling." Such traders, of course, cannot be said to reduce wages directly-indirectly, however, they have the same effect, for in reducing prices, other traders, ever ready to compete with them, but, unwilling, or perhaps unable, to accept less than the ordinary rate of profit, seek to attain the same cheapness by diminishing the cost of production, and for this end the labourers' wages are almost in- variably reduced. Such are the characteristics of the cheap em- ployers in all trades. Let me now proceed to point out the peculiarities of what are called the scurf employers in the scavaging trade. The insidious practices of capitalists in other callings, in reducing the hire of labour, are not unknown to the scavagers. The evils of which these workmen have to complain under scurf or slop masters are :— 1. Driving, or being compelled to do more work for the same pay. 2. Grinding, or being compelled to do the same or a greater amount of work for less pay. 1. Under the first head, if the employment be at all regular, I heard few complaints, for the men seemed to have learned to look upon it as an in- evitable thing, that one way or other they must submit, by the receipt of a reduced wage, or the exercise of a greater toil, to a deterioration in their means. The system of driving, or, in other words, the means by which extra work is got out of the men for the same remuneration, in the scavagers' trade is as follows:-some employers cause their sca- vagers after their day's work in the streets, to 66 load the barges with the street and house-col- lected manure, without any additional payment; whereas, among the more liberal employers, there are bargemen who are employed to attend to this department of the trade, and if their street sca- vagers are so employed, which is not very often, it is computed as extra work or over hours," and paid for accordingly. This same indirect mode of reducing wages (by getting more work done for the same pay) is seen in many piece-work callings. The slop boot and shoe makers pay the same price as they did six or seven years ago, but they have "knocked off the extras," as the addi- tional allowance for greater than the ordinary height of heel, and the like. So the slop Mayor of Manchester, Sir Elkanah Armitage, within the last year or two, sought to obtain from his men a greater length of "cut" to each piece of woven for the same wages. Some master scavagers or contractors, moreover, reduce wages by making their men do what is con- sidered the work of "a man and a half" in a week, without the recompense due for the labour of the "half" man's work; in other words, they require the men to condense eight or nine days' labour into six, and to be paid for the six days only; this again is usual in the strapping shops of the carpenters' trade. Thus the class of street-sweepers do not differ materially in the circumstances of their position from other bodies of workers skilled and un- skilled. Let me, however, give a practical illustration of the loss accruing to the working scavagers by the driving method of reducing wages. A is a large contractor and a driver. He em- ploys 16 men, and pays them the "regular wages" of the honourable trade; but, instead of limiting the hours of labour to 12, as is usual among the better class of employers, he compels each of his men to work at the least 16 hours per diem which is one-third more, and for which the men should receive one-third more wages. Let us see, therefore, how much the men in his employ lose annually by these means. } 4 Gangers, at 18s. a week, for 9 months in the year.. 12 Sweepers, at 16s. a' week, for 9 months in the year.... Total wages per Anu. Sum re- Sum they ceived per should Annum. receive. Differ- cnce. £ S. 140 8 € 3. 210 12 £ s. 70 4 374 0 499 4 124 16 514 16 709 16 195 0 Here, then, we find the annual loss to these men through the system of "driving" to be 1957. per annum. But A is not the only driver in the scavagers' trade; out of the 19 masters having contracts for scavaging, as cited in the table given at pp. 213, 214, there are 4 who are regular drivers; and, making the same calculation as above, we have the following results :— 234 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 • Differ- ence. Sum re- Sum they ceived per Annum. should receive. 26 Gangers, at 18s. a week, for 9 months in the year.... £ s. 912 12 £ S. 1216 16 £ s. 304 4 80 Sweepers, at 16s. a week, for 9 months 2496 0 3328 0 832 0 in the year. 3308 12 4544 16 1136 4 Thus we find that the gross sum of which the men employed by these drivers are deprived, no less than 11361. per annum. It re- 2. The second or indirect mode of reducing reducing the wages of the men in the scavaging trade is by Grinding; that is to say, by making the men do the same amount of work for less pay. quires nothing but a practical illustration to render the injury of this particular mode of reduction apparent to the public. B is a master scavager (a small contractor, though the instances are not confined to this class), and a "Grinder." He pays 1s. a week less than the “regular wages" of the honourable trade. He employs six men; hence the amount that the workmen in his pay are mulct of every year is as follows:- 6 men, at 15s. a weck,) Sum re- Sum they ceived per should Annum. receive. Differ- ence. for 9 months in the year £ s. 175 10 £ s. 187 4 £ s. 11 14 Here the loss to the men is 117. 14s. per annum, and there is but one such grinder among the 19 master scavagers who have contracts at present. 3. The third and last method of reducing the earnings of the men as above enumerated, is by a combination of both the systems before explained, viz., by grinding and driving united, that is to say, by not only paying the men a smaller wage than the more honourable masters, but by compel- ling them to work longer hours as well. Let me cite another illustration from the trade. C is a large contractor, and both a grinder and driver. He employs 28 men, and not only pays them less wages, but makes them work longer hours than the better class of employers. The men in his The men in his pay, therefore, are annually mulct of the following sums. SUMS THE MEN RECEIVE. £ s. d. 7 Gangers, at 16s. a week, for 9 months in the year ... 21 Sweepers, al 218 8 0 15s. a week.... 614 5 0 832 13 0 SUMS THEY SHOULD RECEIVE. £ s. d. 7 Gangers, at 18s. a week, for 9 months in the year . 245 14 0 Over work, 4 hours per day. 61 8 6 21 Sweepers, at 16s. a week, 12 hours a day Over work, 4 hours a day • 655 4 0 163 6 0 1125 12 6 Here the annual loss to the men employed by this one master is 2927. 19s. 6d. Among the 19 master scavagers there are al- together 7 employers who are both grinders and drivers. These employ among them no less than 111 hands; hence, the gross amount of which their workmen are yearly defrau-no, let me adhere to the principles of political economy, and say deprived is as under :— SUM THE MEN ANNUALLY RECEIVE. 28 Gangers,at 16s. a week, em- ployed for 9 months in the year . 83 Sweepers, at 15s. a week, employed for 9 months the year. in £ s. d. 873 12 0 2427 15 0 SUM THEY SHOULD AN- NUALLY RECEIVE. 28 Gangers, at 18s. a week (12 hours a day), for 9 months in the year Over work, 4 £ s. d. 982 16 0 hours per day 245 14 0 83 Sweepers, at 16s. a week, 12 hours a day 2589 12 0 3301 70 Over work, 4 hours per day 647 8 0 4465 10 0 Here we perceive the gross loss to the opera- tives from the system of combined grinding and driving to be no less than 11647. 3s. per annum. Now let us see what is the aggregate loss to the working men from the several modes of re- ducing their wages as above detailed. Loss to the working scavagers by the "driving" of employers. Ditto by the "grinding Ditto by the grinding and driving" of employers Total loss to the working sca- vagers per annum £. S. d. 1136 4 0 11 14 0 • 1164 3 0 2312 1 1 0 Now this is a large sum of money to be wrested annually annually out of the workmen that it is so wrested is demonstrated wrested is demonstrated by the fact cited at p. 174 in connection with the dust trade. The wages of the dustmen employed by the large contractors, it is there stated, have been increased within the last seven years from 6d. to 8d. per load. This increase in the rate of re- muneration was owing to complaints made by the men to the Commissioners of Sewers, that they were not able to live on their earnings; an in- quiry took place, and the result was that the Commissioners decided upon letting the contracts only to such parties as would undertake to pay a fair price to their workmen. The contractors accordingly increased the remuneration of the labourers as mentioned. Now political economy would tell us that the Commissioners interfered with wages in a most reprehensible manner-preventing the natural operation of the law of Supply and Demand; but both justice and benevolence assure us that the Commissioners did perfectly right. The masters in the dust trade were forced to make good to the men what they had previously taken from them, and the same should be done in the scavaging trade the contracts should be let only to those ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 7 seeing that it pays no regard to the value of such produce, but merely to the sum set aside by the employers for the remuneration of their work- people during the performance of the work. By the law of Supply and Deniand the workman's wages are made to depend solely upon the WAGE FUND, whereas they should, in justice, be regu- lated by the PRODUCE FUND, which are two very different things. The share of the Wage Fund accruing to each of the operatives depends simply on the number of workpeople among whom that Fund is to be divided, and pays no regard to the produce or value of the work; whereas it is here maintained that the operative should be remune- rated in proportion to the amount of wealth which his labour contributes to the Produce Fund. This is the law of justice, the other the law of neces- sity. The workman creates so much wealth; he, by the exercise of his skill, gives to one pound's worth of materials the value of two or three pounds; and, doing so, a certain proportion of the extra value belongs to him by the most cogent of all rights to individual possession-the right of creation. Deny this right, and you deny the deny the very foundation of the rights of property. You may, by the communistic theory of society, dis- pute his title to participate in the wealth he creates; but, under the present system of things, it is impossible that you can do otherwise than admit it. "The property," says Adam Smith, I which every man has in his labour, as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable. The patrimony of a poor man lies in the strength and dexterity of his hands.' 66 Wages, then, depend upon the increased value that a workman, by the exercise of his skill, gives to the materials on which he operates. The rate of remuneration for labour should be determined by the amount that the materials will sell for after being operated upon by the workman over and above their original cost and the ordinary rate of profit on the capital employed; and they certainly should not be regulated by what the employer can induce or compel the workman, through his necessities, to accept. The relation of the employer to the workman is that of a pawnbroker making an advance upon so much property deposited with him; and the employer, like the pawnbroker, is bound in justice to hand over to the workman the amount that the goods realize, when sold, over and above what he ori- ginally advanced upon them, and minus the ordi- nary rate of profit on the capital employed. And as the pawnbroker has no right to force the starving man to accept what he chooses (or the funds of his trade will allow him) to advance in full of all demands on the property when sold, so the employer should not have the power, because he advances the subsistence of the workman, to appropriate to himself the whole of the after proceeds of the labour. Who would say that the law of Supply and Demand would be a just means of regulating the amounts to be given by pawn- brokers to the poor, in exchange for their goods (without regard to the ulterior procecds of their | sale)? Does not the pawnbroker know that the poor hungry wretch is at his mercy, and will take whatever he can get? and what are the slop employers of the present day but labour pawn- brokers of the very worst kind, advancing what they please on the work, and over whom the poor workpeople have no control whatever? The only true and equitable system of wages is the tribute system; or that which makes the remuneration of the workman depend on the value of the produce of his labour, and which is opposed both to the hireling system, which pays no regard to the produce or just property of the labourer, and the villeinage system, which re- gards neither his property nor his liberty. As a villein, the workman is the slave of the capitalist; as a hireling, he is the servant of him; while as a tributer, he is his partner, having a common interest with him, and consequently being as anxious to promote his employer's welfare as he is his own. As yet we have only reached the hireling system of wages; when the tribute system will be universally adopted throughout the land, of course, it is impossible to predicate; but until this is done the same poverty, the same discontent, the same class enmity, and the same danger to the community, must continue to exist as now prevails among us. Mr. MAYHEW has to acknowledge the receipt of E. B.'s communication. The valuable table of wages and expenditure which he forwards will be given in as early a number as possible. Will E. B., however, oblige Mr. Mayhew by stating whether he is a quick hand or not, and the usual hours of labour with him, both of which conditions. he will perceive are necessary qualifications for an individual statement? Are there also any deduc- tions to be made from the wages given? and have the prices paid for his labour remained the same through the series of years indicated?—if not, please name the difference. thanks. R. H's communication has been received with thanks. It shall appear in an early number. D. W., of the Aberdeen Working Man's Library, will be written to privately. B. II. G. D. (Liverpool) is thanked for the pro- ferred information. Will he let Mr. Mayhew know the nature of his promised communication? The numbers have appeared. J. M. G. (Northampton).-The subject has already appeared. X. Y. Z.'s communication has been received with many thanks. It shall appear in an early number. W. L. Y. (Woolwich) shall be written to if he will forward his address. The parts are now re- printed, and may be had by ordering them. J. T. (Liverpool).-The statements are always taken down word for word from the narrator, when possible. G. W. is thanked. Mr. Mayhew will attend to his communication at an early date. A. B. C.'s letter shall be printed, and doubt- lessly many street-sellers will be glad to avail themselves of the offer therein made. Just published, a Re-issue of Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON LONDON POOR, A CYCLOPEDIA OF THE CONDITION AND EARNINGS OF (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK AND (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE STREET-FOLK. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE LONDON COSTERMONGERS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FISII. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. THE STREET IRISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF GAME AND POULTRY. THE STREET-SELLERS OF TREES, SHRUBS, FLOWERS, AND ROOTS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF EATABLES AND DRINKABLES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF STATIONERY, LITERATURE, AND THE FINE ARTS. THE LOW LODGING-HOUSES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. THE FEMALE STREET-SELLERS. THE CHILDREN STREET-SELLERS. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000%. BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. No. 43. [PRICE THREEPENCE. SATURDAY, OCT. 4, 1851. 1 } No. IV. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. WGAMEON OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "1 In the last number of "Those that will not, work,' a letter was printed from T. A., who wrote on behalf of two thieves who were inclined to lead an honest life, and one of whom had been refused his licence as an omnibus conductor, on account of his previous career. Mr. Mayhew pro- mised to institute inquiries as to the facts of the case, and to report thereon. He has accordingly placed himself in communication with the Com- missioners of Police, from whom the following reply has been received :- "SIR, Metropolitan Police Office, 4, Whitehall Place, "24th Sept., 1851. "I AM directed by Mr. Mayne to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant, and to acquaint you in reply, that after repeated careful considerations of the circumstances of the case of the party mentioned, he felt it his duty not to grant him a licence as conductor of an omnibus, and that Mr. Mayne regretted he was obliged to come to that conclusion; but he cannot enter into any statement of the grounds upon which he acts in executing a very responsible, discretionary power. "I am, Sir, "Your most obedient Servant, "C. YARDLEY, "Chief Clerk." By the above it will be seen that the Commis- sioners assert themselves, in as delicate a manner as possible, to have had sufficient cause for the re- fusal of the licence; let us, therefore, look calmly at the case. It may, doubtlessly, be a great evil that those who have adopted criminal courses as a means of subsistence should, when they may be disposed to reform, be denied by the govern- ment authorities the means of carning an honest livelihood. But suppose for a moment that the police were to grant licences to men whom they knew, and whom it is indeed acknowledged, to be thieves, to act as omnibus conductors; that is to say, to fill situations not only of great trust to the omnibus proprietors, but of no little temptation to the conductors themselves, as well as involving a continued intercourse with the public, and con- sequently requiring persons of at least civil, sober, and honest habits! What would the public say if the police were to take this privilege upon them- selves, and, believing in the tales of repentance urged by old offenders, they were to elect persons of known dishonesty to fill situations of considerable temptation, and requiring no little command over the temper and habits? T. A. forgets, in his zeal for his friends, and his desire to see an opportunity for reformation afforded to all those who have led a dishonest life, the peculiar nature of the duty confided to the Police Commissioners. The police have a very onerous and ungrateful office to per- form, and to those who have not had occasion to see them other than in their public capacity, it may appear that they may appear that they sometimes carry out the authority entrusted to them with undue harshness, but to others who, like Mr. Mayhew, have had repeated occasions to seek from them information on subjects connected with the poor and the criminal classes, they are most certainly a body of persons actuated by every desire to benefit and improve the condition of the people generally. Mr. Mayhew knows this from his own experience, and indeed he is most glad to be called upon to make this public expression of his opinion on the For many months now he has been in frequent communication with the heads of the police force, receiving important information from them, and, as a man wishing to do justice to all parties, he must confess that they are a body matter. more sinned against than sinning." That there may occur among members of the force repeated instances of a tyrannical use of the power en- trusted to them, Mr. Mayhew does not attempt to deny, but assuredly these are the exceptions; and, so far from their being in any way countenanced by the Commissioners, he knows that no persons regret or censure them so deeply as they do. People are apt to forget the benefits they owe to the vigilance of the police-the protectors by night and day of our persons, property, and liberties, from undue aggression; we should re- member, when we lay our heads down on pillows, to whom we pillows, to whom we owe the security of our slumbers. our Mr. Mayhew is well aware that the police appear to working men to be a force instituted by the rich against the poor, and created to main- tain the laws, in their oppression of the humbler classes. That the duty of the police is to main- tain the laws, there cannot be the least doubt. If we are to have any laws at all, there must be some force to see them executed; a lawless com- munity is neither desirable, nor, thank Heaven! possible for any length of time. The error of the poor people generally lies in considering the harshness of some of our laws to be the harshness of those who execute them. The street-sellers are an instance of this mistake; they visit the errors of the street acts on the heads of the force which carries them out, and so get to regard the police as the great enemies of the people and themselves. And so T. A., thinking only of the injury done to the conductor who has been de- prived of his licence on account of the dishonesty of his past career, and forgetting the duty the police owe to society in general, upbraids them with a tyrannical exercise of power. The Com- missioners dare not make any such hazardons experiments as to delegate situations of trust to those who are known to them to be untrustworthy. Suppose T. A.'s friends, after receiving their licence, were to lapse into their former malprac- tices; and let us say, for the sake of the argu- ment, that they were to avail themselves of the situation of conductor to pass counterfeit money, and it then came out that the police, from bene- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 43 been the most strictly investigated. The wealthy and luxurious capitals, in which the spoils of great conquests were piled up, never failed to supply a sufficient number of abandoned women, supported by the looser sort of men, in various degrees of position, from penury to splendour. Though circumstances of time and place, of religion and civilization, imparted peculiar charac- teristics to the prostitute class of each age and country, the general features of the system were invariably the same, and the prostitutes of Babylon resembled very much the prostitutes of New Orleans and London. We turn next to ancient Egypt, a country of whose laws and manners we have had interesting, if not complete, accounts be- queathed us. OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT EGYPT. TURNING to ancient Egypt, we find, in the records of that singular people, little directly bearing on the question before us. Herodotus, and Diodorus the Sicilian, are almost the sole lights which guide us in our researches among them. Recently, the labours of a learned antiquarian have tended to increase our acquaintance with the people of old Egypt, by translating into lan- guage the volumes of information engraved or painted on the walls of tombs, temples, palaces, and monuments, so numerous in the cities on the banks of the Nile. We have thus had broad glimpses of the ancient history, the geography, population, govern- ment, the arts, the industry, and the manners of that country at that period; but the extent of the prostitute system has not been touched upon. Nevertheless, as one of the most ancient civilizations known to history, Egyptian society de- serves some attention, and it is worth while to glance at the general condition of its women, especially as a few facts throw light on the especial point of our inquiry. The position of a woman in ancient Egypt was in some respects remarkable. Entire mistress of the household, she ex- ercised considerable influence over her husband, and was not subjected to any intolerable tyranny. In all countries, how- ever, where concubinage is allowed, the condition of the sex must be in a degree degraded. Herodotus tells us that the Egyptians married only one wife, Diodorus that they married as many as they pleased, the restriction applying only to the sacer- dotal order. The contradiction may be reconciled by supposing that the former writer described the general practice, and the latter the permission granted by the law; or, which is more probable, that he confounded concubinage with polygamy. From frequent allusions to this system we know it was tolerated. Wise laws, how- ever, held a check upon the practice. Every child, the fruit of whatever union, was to be reared by its parents, infanticide being severely punished. Illegitimacy was a term not recognised. The son of the free, and the son of the bond woman, had an equal right to inheritance, the father alone being referred to, since the mother was viewed as little more than a nurse to her own offspring. Women in Egypt bore numerous children, which rendered many concubines a burden too heavy for any but the wealthy to bear; nevertheless, some did indulge themselves in this manner, procuring young girls from the slave- merchants who came from abroad, or cap- tives taken in the field. In a country where the marriage of brother and sister was allowed, we might expect to find curious laws relating to the subject before us. But they were not cu- rious, in any particular degree. Adultery was punished in the woman by the ampu- tation of her nose, in the man by a thousand blows with a stick. The wealthier men` were extremely jealous, forcing their wives to go barefooted, that they might not wander in the streets. Eunuchs, also, were maintained by some. Among classes of a lower grade, the women enjoyed peculiar freedom, being allowed to take part in certain public festivals, on which occasions they wore a transparent veil. Among all sorts and conditions of the sex, the drink- ing of wine was permitted, as it was by the Greeks, though not by the Romans; and ladies are occasionally represented on the monuments, exhibiting all the evidences of excess. These observations apply to the respect- able female society of ancient Egypt. There existed, however, another class, nowhere indeed indicated under the term harlot, or prostitute, but evidently such from the accounts we have received. If the de- scriptions transmitted to us of the ordinary female society be correct, the women to whom we allude could have been no other than public prostitutes. Such were, in all probability, those who enlivened the festi- val of Bubastis, and danced at the private entertainments. What ideas of decency prevailed among them, may be imagined from the brief though curious account afforded by Herodotus. When the time of the festival arrived, men and women em- barked promiscuously, and in great num- bers, on board the vessels which conveyed them up or down the river. During the E 44 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. voyage, they played on various instru- ments, and whenever they arrived at a city moored the boats. Then some of the women, who could have been no other than the Almé of those days*, played fu- riously all kinds of music, flung off their garments, challenged the women of the town with gross insulting language, and outraged decency by their gestures and postures. An immense concourse of people assembled on the occasion, and a large pro- portion of them belonged to the female sex. "Some of them" only, according to our author, took part in the exhibitions of profligacy we have noticed. The public dancers and musicians of the female sex were also, in all probability, members of the sisterhood we allude to. They were, it is well known, held in extremely low estimation: they were clothed, like the prostitutes of ancient Greece, in a single light garment; indeed, from the monuments, it is questionable whether they did not, like those in the Ro- man saturnalia of Flora, dance entirely naked at some of the more dissolute private festivals of the wealthy. At any rate, their forms are represented so completely un- draped, that any garment they wore must have been a light veil which clung to the skin, and was transparent. But from what we are told of the festival of Bubastis, it is by no means improbable that they were actually nude. In that remote period, fancifully called the age of Sesostris, chastity does not appear to have been the capital virtue of society among the Egyptians. At least, we must draw this inference if we are to attach any significance to traditions or fables, which generally reflect some phase of truth. Sesostris, it is said, having of- fended the gods, was struck blind, and ordered to find a woman who had been strictly faithful to her husband. He was very long in performing the task, being furnished with an unerring rule of judg- ment. Of course the account is an idle fable, yet it is not altogether unworthy of notice, for it indicates an opinion as to the chastity of that period †. OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT GREECE. In the heroic ages of Greece, we find women -on the authority, indeed, of poets, the sole historians of those times-enjoying a con- siderable share of liberty, held in much Dr. Beloe also takes this view. + Diodorus Siculus, i. 59. See also the Euterpe of Herodotus, and Sir G. Wilkinson's Ancient Egypt. | | respect, accustomed to self-reliance, and allowed freely to mingle with others of their own sex and with men. A modest simplicity of manners is ascribed to them, which is wholly foreign to modern ideas of refinement. What education they received is not well known, though they appear to have been trained to practise many of the useful as well as the elegant arts of life; but with respect to the morality prevalent among them little exact information can be gained. As in the Bible, however, fre- quent allusion is made to harlots and strange women, waiting at the corners of the streets, so in the poets of antiquity, passages occur which point to the exist- ence of a class, dedicating itself to serve, for gain, the passions of men who could not afford marriage, or would not be bound by its restrictions. The science of statis- tics, however, does not seem to have been cultivated in those days. We are not told with certainty of the population of cities, or even whole countries, and men were not then found to calculate how many in a hundred were immoral, or to compare the prostitute with the honourable classes of women. With the commencement of the strictly historical age, though statistics are still wanting, there have been collected ma- terials from which we may gather fair ideas of the status of women, and the posi- tion and extent of the prostitute class among them. Beginning with Sparta, a very peculiar system displays itself. Among the citizens of that celebrated Doric state, women were regarded as little more than agencies for the production of other citi- zens. The handsome bull-stranglers of Lacedæmon held exceedingly lax notions of morality, and would have considered a delicately chaste woman as one charac- terized by a singular natural weakness. Taught to consider themselves more in their capacity of citizens than of women, their duty to their husbands, or to their own virtue, occupied always the second place. Their education inculcated the practice of immorality. All ideas of mo- desty were by a deliberate public training obliterated from their minds. Scourged with the whip when young, taught to wrestle, box, and race naked before assem- blages of men, their wantonness and licen- tiousness passed every bound. indeed, was an institution of the state; but Marriage, On no man could call his wife his own. occasions when the male population was away in the field, the women complained that there was no chance of children being born, and young men were sent back from the camp, to become the husbands of the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 45 ! whole female population, married and single. In times of peace, also, the public laws gave every woman a chance of becoming what we should in these days term a public prostitute. A man without a wife might insist on borrowing for a certain time the wife of another. Should her husband re- sist, the law was called in to enforce the demand. It is asserted, indeed, by some, that adultery was unknown in Sparta. There was no such offence, in truth, recog- nised in the code. It was common, legal, and occurred every day. At the same time, however, it is to be remembered, that the severe laws of Sparta, recognising no con- cessions to the weaker passions of men, allowed these things only for state pur- poses, that citizens might be brought forth. There appears to have been no class of prostitutes gaining a livelihood by selling their persons to the pleasures of men: the rigorous code of the state forbade such sen- sual indulgences. Women were not al- lowed, apparently, to walk the streets. The young were strictly watched by the elders, the elders jealously observed by the young; and any proneness to a practice subversive of that vigorous health in the population, considered essential to preserve the man- hood of Sparta, would have been de- nounced as an attempt to introduce luxury and effeminacy-the vices, in their eyes, of slaves. To assert that in the whole state no virtuous women, and no public prostitutes, in our sense of the word, could be found, would be rash; but it is certain that no authority which has come down to us represents chastity as a Spartan virtue, or prostitution for money, or from predilec- tion, one of their social institutions. In Athens a wholly different picture is presented. There, and generally among the Ionians, the duty of the wife was to preserve a chastity as delicate and pure as any which is required in our strictest social circle. There, at the same time, the courte- zan class cxisted, and men of all descrip- tions and all ages encouraged prostitution, to which a considerable class of women de- voted themselves. This is a complete con- trast with Sparta. The young girls of Attica were early trained to all the offices of religion; they acquired considerable knowledge; their intellectual qualities were to some de- gree developed: they were educated to become housekeepers, wives, and mothers, such as we describe under those heads. Exercising considerable influence over their male relatives, they possessed consequently considerable weight in the community, and altogether held a higher position than the women of Sparta. They lcd secluded lives, yet they enjoyed many opportunities of in- tercourse with the other sex; and though, in their theatres, and in their temples, inde- cency of the grossest description was fre- quently displayed to their sight, they seem otherwise to have been somewhat refined in this respect. In Sparta, the virgins never hesitated to expose themselves naked before any circle of spectators: in Athens they observed at least the public forms of de- corum, and, with the exception of the Hetaire or prostitute class, were suffi- ciently modest in their conversation and in their behaviour. Accustomed to be present at public spec- tacles, to converse with men, to share in the performance of ceremonies at religious or civic festivals, the women of Athens oc- cupied a position somewhat approaching that which we believe is proper to their sex. Marriages, as among us, were con- tracted, some from sentiment, others from interest. We are led to form a high idea of the general morality prevailing in the Attic states of Greece at an early period, from the exalted view of love, of chastity, of matronly duties, urged in the writers of the time. This seems a fair measure to employ, since, in a later age, when morals were more corrupt, and the regular class of prostitutes might be confounded with the general society, the style and sentiment of poets and others formed an exact reflex of the prevailing state of morality. Traditions point to a period in the social history of Greece, when men and women dispensed altogether with the ceremony of marriage, living not only out of wedlock, but promiscuously, without an idea of any permanent compact between two indivi- duals of opposite sexes. If such a state of things ever existed, it must have been be- fore any regular society was formed, and it is therefore vain to dwell upon it. Poly- gamy, we know, long continued in practice among the Greeks, though it was a privi- lege and a propensity chiefly followed by the powerful and rich. In Athens mar- riage was held sacred. The character of a bachelor was disreputable. So, indeed, was it in Sparta, where young men remaining single after a certain period might be pu- nished for the neglect of a duty exacted from them by the severe laws of the state. In both states, but in different degrees, the prohibition of marriage within certain limits of consanguinity extended; but when once the union took place, it was, in Athens, a crime of great enormity to defile its sanctity. The influence of the 46 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } 1 wife was, in the household, powerful; and commanding, as she did, the respect of men, the advantages of her position were so great, that to risk their loss by a trans- gression of the moral law, was not a com- mon occurrence. We may therefore assign to the women of Athens a high average of morality, and consider them as having been held in remarkable estimation. An important point in the manners of every people is the institution of marriage. From an inquiry into its estimation, whether it be held a religious rite, or a civil con- tract, or both, with various other circum- stances in connection with these, we are aided in forming a just idea of the pre- valent civilization. In the Doric states of Greece, it was esteemed as little more than a prudent ceremony, binding man and woman together for purposes of state. As among the savages of Australasia, it was the custom for a man to bear a woman forcibly from among her companions, when he took her to the bridesmaid's house, and, her hair being cut short and her clothes changed, she was delivered to him as wife. Ilis intercourse with her however, was, for some time clandestine, and he shunned being seen in her society. This was the case with the wealthier maidens. The portionless girls were, from time to time, shut up in a dark edifice, and the youths, being introduced, accepted each the woman he happened to seize upon. A penalty was A penalty was imposed on any one refusing to abide by the decision of chance. Occasionally public ceremonies were enacted at the marriages of the rich; but from all testimony it appears certain that the union of man with woman at Sparta was entirely of a civil, and by no means of a sacred character. Private interest, senti- ment, and happiness were indeed, in this, as in all other matters, subordinate to the public exigencies. When a woman had no children by her own husband, she was not only allowed, but required by the law to cohabit with another man. Anaxandrides, to procure an heir, had, contrary to all custom, two wives. The state excused no licentiousness for its own sake, but any amount for a public object *. In Attic Greece, the ceremony of mar- riage was viewed in a more poetical light, and divinity was supposed to preside over it. We have already alluded to the notion of the promiscuous intercourse among them at a remote period; but, passing from this fable, we find traces of polygamy long discernible. Heracles maintained a regular seraglio. Egeus, Pallas, Priam, Agamemnon, and nearly all the chiefs, possessed harems, but these were irregularities, contrary to law and custom, and only in fashion among royal personages. The story of the two wives of Socrates seems a pure invention. In the Athenian Republic, marriage, being held in reverence, was protected by the law. In the later and better known ages, consanguinity within certain limits was a bar to such union. Men, however, might marry half-sisters by the fathers' side, though few availed themselves of the permission. Betrothed long before mar- riage by their parents, the young man and woman were nevertheless allowed on most occasions to consult their own inclinations. Numerous religious rites preceded the actual ceremony, and heavenly favour was invoked upon it. The marriage was performed at the altar in the temple, where sacrifice was made, and a mutual oath of fidelity strengthened by every sacred pledge. Adultery was held a debasing crime, and divorce discreditable to man and wife * • In connection with the subject of mar- riage is that of infanticide. It prevailed among the Greeks, under the sanction of philosophy. Among the Thebans and the Tyrrhenians it was, however, unknown. Why? Because they were more humane, or moral? Not by any means. They were among the most profligate societies of antiquity. It is generally shame which in- duces to child-murder women bearing off- spring from illicit intercourse with men. Where no disgrace attaches to illegitimate offspring, the principal incentive to destroy them is taken away; and in Tyre, where female slaves served naked at the table of the rich, and even ladies joined the orgies in that condition, modesty was by no meaus a common grace of their sex. The Thebans, a very gross people, made infanticide a capital crime; but allowed the poor to impose on the state, under cer- tain circumstances, the burden of their children. In Thrace, the infant, placed in an earthen pot, was left to be devoured by wild beasts, or to perish of cold and hunger t. In Sparta, clandestine infanticide was a crime; but the state often performed what it declared a duty, by condemning weakly and delicate infants to be flung into a pit. In Athens, on the contrary, it was left for desperate women, and cold-blooded men, Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece, + Mackinnon's History of Civilization. *Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John. by J. A. St. John. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 47 privately to accomplish the act, exposing their children in public places to perish, or to claim charity from some wayfarer. Fre- quently the rich had recourse to this, for concealing an intrigue, and left a costly dowry of gold and jewels in the earthen jar where they deposited the victim. The temple steps sometimes received the found- ling; but occasionally they were left to die in desert places. In the flourishing period of the Republic, however, poverty was so rare, indeed so unknown, that it seldom exacted these sacrifices from the humbler people. In- fanticide was then left to the wholly un- natural who refused the burden, or the guilty who dreaded the shanie, of a child. But in the female society of that state, there was, as we have said, a sisterhood which exercised no inconsiderable influ- ence on public manners. These were the Hetaire, or prostitutes, who occupied much the same position which the same class does in most civilized communities of modern times. The youthful, beau- tiful, elegant, polished, and graceful, commanded, while their attractions lasted, the favours and the deference of wealthy and profligate young men, and, when their persons had faded, sank by degrees, until they dragged themselves in misery through the strects, glad to procure a meal by in- discriminate prostitution, with all who ac- cepted their company. When children were born to them, infanticide usually- especially in the case of girls-relieved them of the burden. The position the prostitute class of Athens occupied in relation to the other women in the community was peculiar. They entered the temples during the pe- riod of one particular festival-and in mo- dern countries the church is never closed against them; but they were not, as among us, allowed to occupy the same place at the theatre with the Athenian female citizen. Yet this was not altogether to protect the virtue of the woman; it was to satisfy the pride of the citizen, since every stranger suffered an equal exclusion from these "re- served seats." Notwithstanding this, how- ever, the courtezans occasionally visited the ladies in their own houses, to instruct them in those accomplishments in which, from the peculiar tenor of their lives, they were most practised, while it appears that both classes mingled at the public baths. The Hetaire, or prostitute class, exer- cised undoubtedly an evil influence on the society of Athens. They indulged the sen- sual tastes and the vanity of the young, encouraged among them a dissolute mau- ner of life, and, while the power of their attractions lasted, led them into expensive luxury, which could not fail of an injurious effect on the community. The career of the prostitute was, as it is in all countries, short, and miserable at its close. While their beauty remained unfaded they were puffed up with vanity, carried along by perpetual excitement, flattered by the com- pliments of young men, and by the conver- sation of even the greatest philosophers, and maintained in opulence by the gifts of their admirers. Premature age, however, always, except in a few celebrated cases, assailed them. They became old, ugly, wrinkled, deformed, and full of disease, and might be seen crawling through the market places, haggling for morsels of pro- vision, amid the jeers and insults of the populace. In some instances, indeed, there occurred in Athens what occasionally happens in all countries. Men took as wives the prosti- tutes with whom they had associated. Even the wise Plato hecame enamoured of Archæa- nassa, an Hetaira of Ctesiphon. For many of these women were no less renowned for the brilliancy of their intellectual qualities than for their personal charms. Of Phryne, whose bosom was bared before the judges by her advocate, and who sat as a model to the greatest of ancient sculptors, all the world has heard. Her statue, of pure gold, was placed on a pillar of white marble at Delphi. Aspasia exercised at Athens in- fluence equal to that of a queen, attracting round her all the characters of the day, as Madame Roland was wont to do in l'aris. Socrates confessed to have learned from her much in the art of rhetoric. Yet these women, harsh as the judgment may appear, were common whores, though outwardly 1e- fined, and mentally cultivated. Instances, indeed, of high public virtue displayed by members of that sisterhood, distinguished among the Iletaire of ancient Greece, are on record, and sufficient accounts of them have been transmitted to us to show that they were among the male society a recog- nised and respected class, while by the women they were neither abhorred nor con- sidered as a pollution to the community. Still, prostitutes they were, to all intents and purposes. The mean, the poor, and faded, were chiefly despised for their ugliness and indi- gence, not for their incontinence. It was in the Homeric ages, as we learn from the Odyssey, held disgraceful for " a noble maiden' to lose her chastity. But in Athens, at a later time, chastity in an unmarried woman was not held a virtue, 48 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. & One of the most remarkable features in the public economy of Athens was the tax upon prostitutes, introduced also in Rome by Caligula. It was annually farmed out by the Senate to individuals who knew accu- the loss of which degraded her utterly below | general public respect was denied them, the consideration of all other classes, or de- for the Athenians estimated above their barred her for ever from any intercourse brilliant charms the modest virtues of with the honourable of her own sex. The inferior women*. Hetaira was not, it is true, admitted to mingle freely in the society of young wo- men; but she was not shut out from all communication with them; while among men, if her natural attractions or accom- plishments were great, she exercised pecu-rately the names of all who followed this liar influence. Consequently, it appears that in Athens the superior public prosti- tute had a status higher than that of any woman of similar character in our own day. If we look for a comparison to illus- trate our meaning, we may find it in many of the ladies who at various periods have frequented our court-known but not ac- knowledged prostitutes*. calling. It is to be regretted that their statistics have not been furnished to us. Every woman, it appears, had a fixed price, which she might charge to the men to whom she prostituted her person, and the amount of the tax varied according to their profits. Apparently, they were principally strangers who filled the ranks of the Hetaire, for we find that if persons enjoy- ing the rank and privilege of citizens took to the occuption, a tax was imposed on them as on the ordinary prostitutes, and they were punished by exclusion from the public sacrifices, and from the honourable (6 In the public judgments of Athens we find, it is true, a penalty or fine imposed on whoredom," from which, however, the people escaped by a variation of terms, calling a whore a mistress, as Plutarch tells us. Solon, however, recognised pros-offices of state. The same writer informs titution as a necessary, or at least an inevitable evil, for he first built a temple to Aphrodite Pandemos, which, truly ren- dered, means Venus the Prostitute; and his view was justified by the declaration that the existence of a prostitute class was necessary, in order, as Cato also thought, that the wives and daughters of citizens might be safe from the passion which young men would, in one way or the other, satiate upon the other sex. Though pro- curers, therefore, were punishable by law, and the Hetaire were obliged to wear coloured or flowered garments, it was en- acted in the civil code of Athens, that persons keeping company with common strumpets shall not be deemed adulterers, for such shall be common for the satiating of lust." Brothels, consequently, existed in mode- rate numbers at Athens, and the young men were not discouraged from attending them occasionally. There were also par- ticular places in the city where the prosti- tutes congregated, and a Temple of Venus, which was their peculiar resort. We find in the poets passages, indeed, advocating the support of whores . Still, respected and beloved as the He- taire were among their friends and lovers, recognised by the law, and protected by it, * This view is chiefly drawn from information collected in Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John. † Potter's Antiquities of Greece. Ibid. us, on the authority of Demosthenes, that a citizen who cohabited with an alien paid a penalty, in case he was convicted, of a thousand drachmas, but the penalty could not often have been enforced, as the laws of Solon recognised prostitution; it was a feature in the manners of the city, and brothels were fearlessly kept, and entered without shame. Numerous evidences of this have been supplied us†. To preserve a respect for chastity, however, and to inculcate a horror for the prostitute's occu- pation, the same code allowed men to sell their sisters or daughters when convicted of an act of fornication, which, in Athens, as elsewhere, frequently was the first step in the regular career of these women ‡. The dishonour thus accruing to the gene- ral body of prostitutes, though a small class of them enjoyed many superior ad- vantages from their wealth, and the polish of their manners, served at Athens, in some degree, to preserve public morality. The system never seems to have reached the height which it has gained in many of our modern cities, where married women often follow the occupation, and live upon its gains §. In Corinth, however, prostitutes abounded, and the Temple of Venus in that city was sometimes thronged by a thousand of them. They were usually * Hase On the Ancient Greeks. + Boeck's Public Economy of Athens. Potter's Antiquities of Greece. § Hase On the Ancient Greeks. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Total Number of Births for 4 Number of Illegitimate Births. Average COUNTIES. Years, from 1845-48. per Year. 1845. 1846. 1847. A TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS. is calculated for as long a series of years as the returns of the Registrar General will permit. The average Per Cent. Number of above and below the Average. illegitimate in every 1000 Births. +denotes above below Total for 4 Years. Average per Year. Proportion to all Births, 1 in every 1348. " Bedford Berks 17,384 4,316 355 349 302 338 1,314 336 12.9 77 +14.9 23,195 5,799 463 472 438 470 1,843 461 12.5 79 +17.9 Bucks 17,984 4,496 328 329 296 306 1,259 315 14.2 70 +4.4 Cambridge Chester Cornwall 25,546 6,386 441 407 442 404 1,694 423 15.0 66 *1.5 • 51,396 12,599 1188 1190 1064 1072 4,514 1128 11.3 89 +32.8 45,017 11,254 576 537 515 508 2,136 531 21.0 47 *29.8 Cumberland 23,541 5,885 647 641 629 638 2,555 639 9.2 108 +61.2 Derby • 32,295 8,074 672 670 674 610 2,626 656 12.2 81 +20.9 Devon 64.802 16,200 789 889 758 837 3,273 818 19.7 50 *25.3 Dorset 20,529 5,132 364 331 309 366 1,370 342 14.9 66 *1.5 Durham 54,916 13,729 804 821 812 859 3,296 824 16.3 60 *10.4 Essex 41,356 10,339 588 673 590 631 2,485 621 16.6 60 *10.4 Gloucester 49,444 12,361 811 855 720 767 3,153 788 15.6 64 *4.5 Hereford 10,984 2,716 273 305 254 263 1,095 274 10.0 100 +49.2 Hertford 21,590 5,397 402 414 368 367 1,551 388 13.9 72 +7·4 Hunts 8,179 2,045 116 100 80 98 394 98 20.7 48 *28.3 Kent 73,836 18,459 1015 1008 976 995 3,994 998 14.8 54 *19.4 Lancaster 293,023 73,256 5929 5897 5477 5384 22,687 5672 12.9 77 +14.9 Leicester 29,512 7,378 640 62-1 531 536 2,331 583 12.6 79 †17.9 Lincoln 49,516 12,386 813 845 773 821 3,282 820 15.0 66 *1.5 Middlesex 217,523 54,381 2048 2251 2201 2298 8,801 2200 24.7 40 *40.3 Monmouth 21,995 5,499 247 266 253 309 1,075 269 20.4 49 *26.8 Norfolk 52,387 13,097 1424 1440 1295 1336 5,495 1374 9.5 105 +56.7 Northampton 27,674 6,918 440 420 395 411 1,666 416 16.6 60 *10.4 Northumberland 37,523 9,381 668 678 715 679 2,740 685 13.6 73 +8.9 Nottingham 35,244 8,811 895 827 775 736 3,233 808 10.9 91 +35.8 Oxford 20,886 5,221 368 468 386 361 1,583 396 13.1 76 +13.4 Rutland 2,825. 706 52 34 30 45 161 40 17.5 56 *16.4 Salop 25,899 6,475 676 658 593 632 2,559 640 10.1 99 +47·7 Somerset • 53,509 13,377 903 860 796 830 3,389 847 15.7 63 *6.0 Southampton 46,726 11,681 704 711 688 709 2,812 703 16.6 60 *10·4 Stafford 77,972 19,493 1240 1283 1409 1433 5,365 1341 14.5 69 +3.0 Suffolk Surrey 42,055 10,514 937 950 849 816 3,582 895 · 11.7 85 +26.8 81,968 20,492 855 911 930 915 3,611 903 22.6 44 *34.3 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Sussex 38,454 9,613 657 669 695 626 2,617 662 14.5 68 +1.5 Warwick 58,938 14,734 779 835 830 879 3,323 831 17.7 56 *16.4 Westmorland 7,073 1,793 179 147 149 149 624 156 11.3 87 +29.8 Wilts 29,008 7,252 521 549 485 469 2,024 506 14.3 69 +3.0 Worcester 40,561 10,140 768 885 512 553 2,718 679 14.9 66 *1.5 York 231,444 57,861 4266 4317 4030 4106 16,619 4155 13.9 71 +6.0 North Wales 43,268 10,817 872 854 830 832 3,388 817 12.7 78 +16.4 South Wales 72,188 18,047 1407 1256 1271 1300 5,234 1308 13.7 72 +7·4 Total for England and Wales 2,219,170 554,792 38,241 38,259 36,125 36,747 149,642 37,410 14.8 67 Marriages are both per cent. above the Average. 108 Cambridge 66 Lancaster LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATES IN EVERY 1000 CHILDREN BORN. Counties above the Average. Counties below the Average. Cumberland རུ THE EARLY MARRIAGES AND THE INCREASE OF THE POPULATION IN COMPARED. Rate of Counties in which the Increase of Early Marriages in every Increase of the Pothe Popula- pulation and the tion from number of Early 1841 to 1851 Counties in which the Rate of EACH COUNTY Annual No. of Increase of the Po-Increase of Early Marriages in every pulation is below the Popula- the Average, and tion from the number of 1841 to 1851 Early Marriages is per cent. above it. C'ambridge 1000 Marriages, from 1844-48. Among Males. Among Females. 227 Annual No. of 1000 Marriages, from 1844-48. Among Males. Among Females. 22 Norfolk 105 Dorset 66 · Stafford 20 Hereford. 100 Lincoln 66 Bedford 16 Salop 99 Worcester 66 • Chester 15 2292 50 130 13 62 176 Worcester 13 109 235 York 13 51 151 Hunts 9 Nottingham 91 Gloucester 64 Nottingham 9 Chester 89 Somerset 63 Westmorland 87 Southampton 60 Suffolk 85 Northampton GO Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the number of Early Marriages are both below the Average. Derby Essex Hertford Derby 81 Essex 60 Northumberland 13 39 124 Norfolk. Berks 79 Durham 60 • Southampton 13 25 118 Suffolk Leicester 79 Warwick. 56 Cumberland 10 105 Northampton · f North Wales. 78 Rutland 56 • • Gloucester 6 42 104 Leicester Lancaster 77 Kent 54 Devon 6 82 Berks • Bedford Devon. 50) Rutland 5 36 123 Oxford 76 Monmouth 49 Cornwall + 32 131 Bucks. Oxford • Northumberland. 73 Hunts 48 North Wales 4 Dy 77 Wilts 148 4 4 0.7 R85889bRANKR$698 187 336 158 138 204 210 148 162 190 179 143 74 46 151 164 151 Hertford. 72 Cornwall 47 Hereford 3 17 79 South Wales 72 Surrey 44 Westmorland 3 32 128 York 71 Middlesex • 40 Salop · 1 29 95 • Bucks 70 Wilts 69 Average for England and Stafford 69 Wales 67 Sussex 68 Kent 26 14 Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the Early Marriages among Females are above the Average and' those amony Males below it. Durham Surrey Monmouth South Wales 20 17 17 14 Counties in which the Increase of Population is above the Average, and the number of Early Marriages is below it. Middlesex 85 91 105 82 18 16 20 30 35 46 142 140 + • · Marriages among Females are below the average, and those County in which the Increase of the Population and Early among Males above it. Warwick 18 | 46 131 Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the Early Marriages among Males are below the Average and those among Females above it. Lincoln Sussex 12 12 } 39 38 153 160 Counties in which the Increase of the Population and Early Marriages among Females is below the Average and those among Males above it. Somerset Dorset · 2 6 17 1 112 125 Cornwall 47 MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN IN EVERY 1000 BIRTHS, Lancaster 77 Cumberland 108. Northumberland 'N. Wales 78 8.Wales 72 IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Durham 60 York. 71 *The counties printed black are those in which the number of Illegitimate Births is above the Average. The counties left white arc ose in which the number of Illegitimate Births is below the Average. The Average is taken for four years (as long as the re- turns will allow). Chester 89 Derbyst Notts Lincoln 65 Hereford 100 Salop 99 91 Stufford, Teloestery 79 Worcester 66 56 Warwicks Gloucester 64 Oxford ·76· Bullard Northampton 60 Norfolk 105 Hunting don 48 Bedford Camorlage C& Suffolk 85 Esse 60 rtfor Berks Middleses 40 Will 69 Kent 54 Surrey 44 Hants bo 49 Monmou Somerset 63 Devon 50 Dorset 66 The Average for all England and Wales is 67 in every 1000. Sussex 68. MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES AMONGST MALES IN EVERY 1000 MARRIAGES, IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Northumberland 39 Cumberland Durham 33 Westmorland. 32 35 *** The counties printed black are those in which the number of Improvident Marriages is above the Average. The counties left white are those in which the number of Improvident Marriages is below the Average. The Average is taken for five years (as long as the returns will allow). Lancaster 50 York 57 Derby Chester 54 46 North Wales 27 Sulop 23 Nottingham Leicester 79 I inccln 32 26 Rullam) Northampou Huntirigdo Bedfor IX. 73 Norfolk Sindfolk Staffard 62 Wurwich Worce Bucks 74 46. Orford 46 Cloucester Berks 418. ان Wilts 68 South Wales 30 17 بزار Somerset 47. Deron 22 Cornwall 32. Dorsety Hertford 75 Essex Middlesery 13 Kent Hants Surrey 10 26 25 Susscsc 38 The Average for all England and Wales is 43 in 1000. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES OF MALES AND FEMALES IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES FOR THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS. *** The returns of the Registrar do not admit of the average being calculated from a longer serus of years. COUNTIES. Annual Average Number of Marriages from Number of Early Marriages. Total for 5 years. Average per year. 1844. 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. 1844-48. Males Females Males Females, Males Females Males Females Males Females Cent. above) and below the Average. denotes above below Malcs Females Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females } Proportion to all Marriages, 1 in every Number of early Marriages to every 1000. * Bedford Berks 960 1,322 102 237 103 52 61 186 108 216 182 62 238 115 221 96 218 524 1,130 105 9.1 226 4.2 109 235 +153 +74 201 74 201 701 171 319 911 61 189 20.6 48 6.9 143 +12 +6 Bucks 974 66 181 66 175 87 196 76 179 67 213 362 944 72 189 13.5 5.1 74 194 +72 +44 Cambridge 1,428 ! 115 324 89 308 112 $19 96 311 115 328 527 1,620 105 324 13.6 4.4 73 227 +70 +68 Chester 2,764 153 393 175 427 151 455 132 372 136 446 750 2,093 150 419 18.4 6.5 51 151 +25 +12 Cornwall 2,510 86 St 312 848 80 334 86 313 68 311 404 1,618 81 330 30-9 7.6 32 131 *25 *3 Cumberland 1,000 31 54 88 115 28 133 23 94 38 97 174 557 35 111 30.2 9.5 33 105 *23*22 Derby 1,954 861 276 761 243 104 289 82 270 109 275 457 1,353 91 271 21-4 46 7.2 138 +7 +2 Devon 4,574 8+ 324 95 352 104 367 97 401 124 430 504 1,874 101 37545-2 121 22 $2 *49 *39 Dorset 1,209 62; 155 64 161 16 130 57 166 57 147 286 759 57 152 21-2 7.9 47 125 +9 *7 Durham 3,137 Essex 2,154 125 Gloucester 3,568 133 Hereford 648 CO CT CO — 82 353 110 468 118 463 124 462 115 489 549 2,235 110 447 28.5 7·0 35 142 *19 +5 454 133 436 116 415 123 411 121 462 618 2,178 124 436 17.3 4.9 57 202 +33 +50 350 162 378 180 414 114 340 163 372 752 1,854 150 371 23:7 9.6 42 104 *2*23 15 47 10 61 11 11 GO 47 7 42 57 257 11 51 58-912-7 17 79 *60*41 Hertford • 1,009 86 218 77 229 83 227 68 193 68 192 382 1,059 76 212 13.2 4.7 75 210 +74 +56 Hunts 455 77 370 91 41 29 110 42 91 37 102 226 767 45 153 10.1 GT 2.9 99 336 +130 +149 Kent 4,339 98 584 Lancaster Leicester · Lincoln Middlesex 360) 1477 Monmouth 1,395 28 119 38 112 S31 2310 1040 2729 1005 2784 18,785 1,827 160 330 168 359 150 125 321 2,862 112 393 115 430 82 453 110 | 16,859 219 1262 322 1428 i 614 128 659 108 567 128 625 574 3,049 115 610 37.7 7.1 26 140 *40 +1 773 2330 1100 2864 4719 13,017 950 2603 19.7 7.2 50 139 +16 +3 329 1606 277 124 117 138 509 286 1437 317 727 1,634 145 327 12.6 5 5 79 179 +84 +33 557 2,202 111 440 25.7 6.5 39 153 *9 +13 1546 7,210 309 1442 54.5 11.6 18 85 *58*37 119 43 147 44 157 44 165 197 737 39 147 35.7 9.4 28 105 *35*22 Norfolk 3,189 161 } 467 173 418 158 472 144 444 161 504 S03 2,335 161 6.8 467 19.8 50 146 } +16 +81 Northampton 1,618 109 317 136 351 112 326 110 287 119 281 586 Northumberland 2,161 68 219 79 283 98 Nottingham 2,204 118 369 133 365 139 Oxford 1,154 ! 53 172 190 52 Rutland 164 2 10 5 Salop 1,596 36 141 32 Somerset 3,159 141 Southampton Stafford 310 97 255 77 278 419 365 113 302 130 341 56 156 51 163 57 196 16 4 14 11 34 118 62 165 52 151 55 375 159 323 166 385 116 319 159 371 77 370 $1 414 3,085 100 370 67 301 70 367 395 4,807 215 631 278 818 285 835 391 1015 319! 907 1488 1,565 117 313 14.0 1,345 84 5.2 ་ 71 190 +65 +11 269 24.5 8.0 S9 124 *9*81 663 1,742 133 318 16.5 63 GO 158 +40 +17 269 877 51 175 21.3 6.5 46 151 +7 +12 6 33 28 107 61 21 27.3 7.8 36 128 *16 *5 177 237 755 47 151 33.9 10.5 29 95 *33* *30 711 1,778 119 356 121.2 8.8 47 112 +9 *17 1,825 79 365 39.0 8.4 25 118 *42 *13 4,239 298 848 16.1 5.6 62 176 +44 +30 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Suffolk 133 Surrey Sussex Warwick Westmorland Wilts Worcester · York 934 2868 North Wales 2,453 115 367 5,550 84 485 90 2,231 83 320 98 355 95 411 72 345 79 3,650 130 383 158 437 175 482 176 502 436 10 44 11 40 22 80 17 1,681 117 265 108 294 134 308 2,796 151 421 201' 583 14,399 828 2586 2,643 75 200 75 186 } 401 139 420 123 394 128 420 638 2,002 128 400 19.1 6.1 52 163 †21 +21 523 108 532 86 536 70 462 438 2,538 88 508 63.0 10.9 16 91 *63 *25 356 427 1,787 85 357 26.2 6.2 38 160 *12 +19 212 597 851 2,401, 170 480 21.4 7.6 46 131 +7. *3 61 8 50 68 278 14 56 31.1 7.7 32 128 *25 *5 99 246 115 282 573 1,395 115 279 14.6 6.0 68 164 +58 +21 254 604 93 272 811 2774 747 2649 65 224 67 207 89 240 791 2619 79 211 788 2,120 158 424 17.6 6.5 56 151 +30 +12 4144 South Wales 4,337 113 280 118 377 141 417 129 345 150 372 13,496 829 2699 17.3 361 1,028 72 206 36-7 12.8 651 5.3 57 187 +33 +39 27 77 *37 *43 1,791 130 358 33.3 12.1 30 82 *30 *39 Total for Eng- 139,146 5515 17,410 6287 19,376 6313 20,001 5566 18,118 6091 19,336 29,772 94,241 5954 18,848 23-3 7.3 43 135 land & Wales * Counties below LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR EARLY MARRIAGES, AS SHOWN BY THE BY THE NUMBER OF MAR- RIAGES, UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE, IN EVERY 1000 MARRIAGES. AMONGST MALES. Counties above COUNTIES COMPARED. Percent. above & below the Aver. Counties in which the the Average. the Average. Bedford 109 Gloucester 42 Huntingdon 336 AMONGST FEMALES. Counties above Counties below the Average. the Average. Warwick In No. of Illegitimate Births Illegiti- and the Early mate Marriages are both Births. above the Average. In No. of Early Marriages. THE ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS AND EARLY MARRIAGES IN THE SEVERAL († denotes plus.) (* denotes minus.) Percent. above & below the Aver. In No. of Early Among Males. Among Females. In No. Counties in which the of Illegitimate Births Illegiti- are above the Aver- mate age and the Early, Births. Marriages below it. Marriages. Among Males. Among Females. 131 Norfolk.. +56 + 16 +81 Cumberland. +61 *23 *22 Hunts 99 Lincoln 39 Bedford.... 235 Cornwall 131 Nottingham +35 † 40 +17 Hereford ... 149 *60 *41 ... Leicester 79 Northumb. 39 llertford Bucks • 75 Sussex 74 Rutland Cambridge 73 Durham Northamp. 71 Cumberland 33 Wilts 68 Cornwall.. 32 Stafford 62 Westmor. 32 Cambridge 227 Hertford 38 Essex 36 35 Bucks.. Northamp. 190 York Leicester Westmor. 128 Suffolk • +26 21 +21 Salop +17 *33 *30 210 Rutland. 128 Derby †20 7 † 2 Westmorland +29 *25 * 5 204 ► Dorset .... 125 Chester +32 25 +12 North Wales +16 *37 *43 194 Northumb. 124 Leicester +17 84 133 Northumberland + 8 * 9 *81 Southamp. 118 Berks... +17 12 + 6 South Wales +7 *30 *39 187 Somerset.. 112 Lancaster • +14 † 16 +3 179 Monmouth 105 Bedford +14 153 +74 Nottingham 60 S. Wales 30 Stafford 176 Cumberland 105 Oxford +13 † 7 †12 *** In the majority of these counties some peculiar form of courtship (as "night courtship" and and "bund- Essex 57 Salop. 29 Wilts... 164 Gloucester 104 Hertford † 7 + 74 †56 ling ") prevails. York 57 Monmouth 28 Suffolk 162 Shropshire 95 York... 6 33 +39 Worcester 56 N. Wales 27 Chester.. Suffolk.... 54 Kent 26 • 52 Southamp. 25 Lancaster. 50 Norfolk 50 Devon Middlesex Berks 48 Hereford Dorset 47 Surrey 16 Somerset 47 22422PR | Sussex 160 Surrey 91 Nottingham 158 Middlesex. 85 Bucks Stafford. † 4 † 72 Lincoln 153 Devon 82 Wilts.. 3 3 44 +30 + + 58 +21 Oxford 151 S. Wales 82 18 Chester 151 Hereford 79 Counties in which the Illegitimate_Children and Early Counties in which the Illegitimate Children are below the Marriages are both below the Average. 17 Worcester 151 N. Wales 77 Middlesex. Norfolk. 148 Surrey Berks 143 Average for Cornwall Derby 46 Average for Durham 142 England Monmouth Oxford 46 .... England Warwick .. 46 and Wales 43 Kent Lancaster Derby.. 140 and Wales 135 Devon 139 Rutland 138 Southampton Gloucester Average, and the Early Marriages above it. *40 *58 *37 Hunts *28 • †130 †149 *34 *63 *25 Northampton *10 † 65 † 41 *29 *25 * 3 Essex *10 33 † 50 *26 *35 *22 *25 *49 *39 Worcester. Cambridge * 1 30 + 12 * 1 70 + 68 *16 *16 * 5 *10 *42 *13 * 4 * 2 *23 ** The rule is, that where the greatest number of males marry at an carly age, the greatest number of females do so likewise-the exceptions being Dorset, Somerset, and Warwick, among the males, and Sussex, Lincoln, Durham, and Kent among the females. tt There are, on an average, rather more than 3 females married at an early age to every male. Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and Early Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and the Early Marriages among Males are both below the Average, Marriages among Females are both below the Average, • and those amimg Females above it. Kent *19 *40 + 4 and those among Males above it. Warwick *16 +7 * 3 Durham Lincoln. *10 *19 + 5 Somerset * 6 +9 *17 * 1 * 9 +13 Dorset * 1 * 7 Exceptional County. Sussex T *12 1 †19 *** The rule appears to be, that in those counties in which there are the greatest number of Early Marriages, there are (gerally) the greatest number of Illegitimate Children, and vice versą. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 49 E 1 1 the most beautiful women of the state, presented or sold to the temple, who pros- tituted themselves for hire. They were of a superior kind, admitting to their em- braces none but men who would pay munificently, and in this manner many of them are said to have accumulated large | fortunes *. Tabular statements, and numerical esti- mates, have been wanting to complete this glance at the system in ancient Greece; but it may, nevertheless, afford a just idea of the extent and character of the prosti- tute class there. | bers in the house were assigned, while the whole of it was free to her. Other circum- stances in her condition combined to invest her with dignity; and the consequence was, that the Roman matron seldom or never transgressed against the moral or social law. No divorce is recorded before the year 234 B.C.; and that instance was on account of the woman's barrenness—a plea allowed by the law, but universally reprobated by the people. Yet the ob- stacles to this dissolution of the marriage compact were by no means formidable. Under the imperial régime, when there was less facility, divorces were more fre- quent. OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT ROME. Ir our knowledge of ancient Greece, with The Roman law of marriage was strict. reference to its moral economy, is slight, Degrees of consanguinity were marked, ancient Rome is still less understood. No- though within narrower limits than among thing, indeed, like a detailed account of us, within which marriage was not only its social institutions has been preserved; illegal, but wholly void, and any inter- its scheme of manners is incompletely course, by virtue of it, denounced as incest comprehended; and only an outline picture by the law. Public infamy attached to it of its private life can be formed from pas--not only the odium of opinion, but a sages supplied by hundreds of authors, from allusions in the poets and in the satirical writers. German scholars have laboured industriously in the field of clas- sical politics; but the social economy of Rome has been neglected, or, which is worse, obscured by them. We are, there- fore, enabled only to afford a general sketch of the subject in connection with the great Republic, and the imperial system which grew out of its decay. Examining the condition of the female sex, especially with reference to prostitutes, we must in Rome, as in all other states, distribute our observations over several dis- tinct periods for such there were in the social history of the nation. In the more honourable days of the Re- public, women occupied a high status. While the state was extremely young we find them, indeed, in perpetual tutelage; but gradually, as institutions were im- proved and manners refined, they rose to independence, and formed an influential element in society. The matron, in par- ticular, stood in her due position. Re- spected, accomplished, allowed to converse with men, she was, in the most flourishing era of Roman history, a model for her sex. She presided over the whole household, superintended the education of the chil- dren, while they remained in tender years, and shared the honours of her husband. Instead of confined apartments being allotted to her as a domestic prison, the best cham- *Boeck. Potter. Mitford's notions of the Hetairæ appear to have been somewhat fanciful. formal decree by the prætor. Adultery was held as a base, inexpiable crime. It was interdicted under every penalty short of death, and even this was allowed under certain circumstances to be inflicted by the husband. Wedded life, indeed, was held sacred by every class from the knights to the slaves, though among these social aliens actual marriage could not take place. Celibacy was not only disreputable, but, in a particular degree, criminal; while bar- renness brought shame upon the woman who was cursed with it. In an equal, or a greater ratio, was parentage honourable. Polygamy was illegal; but the social code allowed one wife and several concubines, occupying a medium position, finely de- scribed by Gibbon, as below the honours of a wife, and above the infamy of a prosti- tute. Such institutions were licensed that common whoredom might be checked; though the children born of such inter- course were refused the rank of citizens. Often, indeed, they were a burden to the guilty as well as to the poor; and infanti- cide, which was declared in 374 B.C. a capital crime, was resorted to as a means of relief. If we examine our question in connection with marriage among the ancient Romaus we find a curious system. First, there were certain conditions to constitute con- nubium, without which no legal union could be formed. There was only con- nubium between Roman citizens*; there Occasional exceptions occurred. At one time there was no connubium between the plebeian and the patrician; but the Lex Canuleia allowed it. 10 50 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. - was none where either of the parties pos- | sessed it already with another; none be- tween parent and child, natural or by adoption; none between grandparents and grandchildren; none between brothers and sisters, of whole or half blood; none be- tween uncle and niece, or aunt and nephew: though Claudius legalized it by his mar- riage with Agrippina, the practice never went beyond the example. Unions of this kind taking place were void, and the father could claim no authority over his children. Mutual consent was essential-of the per- sons themselves, and of their friends. One wife only was allowed, though marriage after full divorce was permitted. There were two kinds of marriage, that cum, and that sine conventione. In the former the wife passed into her husband's family, and became subject to him; in the latter she abdicated none of her old rela- tions, and was equal to her husband. There was no ceremony absolutely essen- tial to constitute a marriage. Cohabitation during a whole year made a legal and lasting union; but the woman's absence during three nights annually released her from the submission entailed by the mar- riage cum conventione. Certain words, also, with religious rites, performed in presence of ten witnesses, completed a marriage; but certain priestly offices, such as those of the flamen dialis, could only be performed for those whose parents had been wedded in a similar way*. The sponsalia, or con- tracts between the man and his wife's friends, were usual, but not essential, and could be dissolved by mutual consent. The Roman idea of marriage was, in a word, the union of male and female for life, bringing a community of fortune, by a civil, not a sacred contract. Yet from the ceremonies generally observed, it is evident that an idea, though unrecognised, of a religious union, existed among the Ro- mans in their more pious age. With respect to property, its arrange- ment depended on settlements made before hand. Divorce was at one time procured by mutual consent, though afterwards it became more difficult, but never impos- sible. There was in Rome a legal concubinage between unmarried persons, resembling the morganatic or " left-handed marriage, giving neither the woman nor her children any rights acquired from the husband. * The sacerdotal functionary, termed flamen dialis, like the high-priest of the Jews, could only wed a virgin of unblemished honour, and when she died, could not marry again, but was forced to resign his office. Widowers often took a concubine, without infamy *. The law of Romulus, enacting that no male child should be exposed, and that the first daughter should always be preserved, while every other should be brought up, or live on trial, as it were, for three years, has misled some writers into giving the Romans credit for a loftier humanity. No parent, it is argued, would destroy a three years' old child. Nevertheless, it is certain that, in the imperial age, at least, infanti- cide and child-dropping were frequent Occurrences. Deformed or mutilated in- fants, having been shown to five witnesses, might be destroyed at once. The Milky Column, in the Herb-market, was a place where public nurses sat to suckle or other- wise tend the foundlings picked up in various parts of the city. In the early Christian age it was a reproach to the Romans that they cast forth their sons, as Tertullian expresses it, to be picked up and nourished by the fisherwomen who passed. Mothers would deny their children when brought home to their houses. Some stran- gled them at once. Various devices were adopted among them, as among other nations of antiquity, to check the overflow of population, as well as to hide the crimes of the guilty. Thus the Phoenicians passed children through fire, as a sacrifice; the Carthaginians offered them up at the altar; the Syrians flung them from the lofty pro- pylæa of a temple t. One observation, however, applies to the Romans, and, we believe, to every other nation, savage or civilized, in every age of the world-ex- ceptions being invariably allowed. Cruel as may have been the laws sanctioning infanticide, when once the child was re- ceived into the bosom of the family it was cared for with tenderness, and, generally, with discretion. It is not sentiment, but justice, which induces us to say that the mother, having once accepted her charge, has seldom been guilty of wilful neglect. The abandoned and dissolute, especially in those societies where fashion has made the performance of maternal duty ridiculous, if not disreputable, have consigned their offspring to others; but women in their natural state usually fulfil this obligation. In Rome, from various causes, public decency was, at least during the republican period, more rigidly observed, and licen- * See Julian Law, Ulpian, Gaius, Tacitus, Sue- tonius, and Dion Cassius, from whom, with various others, Smith's Dictionary is compiled. Dion. Halicar.; Apuleius; Festus; Lac-- tarra Columna; Tertullian's Apolog.; Ambrose's Hexam.; Lucian, De Syriâ Deâ. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 51 tiousness less common and less tolerated than in Sparta or even the later age of Athens. None of its institutions rivalled the dissolute manners of Crete or Corinth. One cause of prostitution being less common was the licence of concubinage, which was to the rich a preferable and a safer plan of self-indulgence. It existed, however, in the State, and employed a considerable class of women, though we are told the accomplished prostitute was known as a Grecian import. Nevertheless, the fre- quent allusions of the laws to these women prove that they formed no insignificant element in the society of the capital. Lenocinium, or the keeping of female slaves to hire them out as prostitutes for profit, was an offence rather against the moral than the written law of Rome. The lenones, in many instances, kept brothels or houses open for the trade of prostitution. They purchased in the market handsome girls, for each of whom a sum equal to about 2501. of English currency was given-from which we infer that the rates charged in the superior establishments of this kind were somewhat high. Free women were also kept for the same purpose, upon a mutual agreement. The practice was not actually interdicted, but branded as infa- mous by the prætor's declaration. No woman, however, whose father, grandfather, or hus- band had been a Roman knight was allowed to prostitute herself for gain. The inde- pendent prostitutes, or those who occupied houses of their own, were compelled to affix on the door a notice of their calling, and the price they demanded. They were also required when they signified to the prætor, as they were bound to do, their intention of following this disgraceful occu- pation, to drop their real names, which they resumed whenever they abandoned that mode of life. Cato, the censor, recognised prostitution as Solon did, and Cicero de- clared no State ever existed without it. Notwithstanding this, the occupation of the prostitute was, in the republican age, so infamous that a comparatively small class practised it; but under the emperors it grew so prevalent, that during the reign of the few of them who even pretended to morality, the severest edicts appeared called for against it. Caligula, however, inade a profit from the system. The lenones were subject to a tax, which fell, of course, as in Athens, upon the prostitutes them- selves. No check, therefore, was offered by him to prostitution. But Theodosius and Valentinian sought, by formidable penalties, to prevent parents from prostituting their children, and masters their slaves, for gain. Lenocinium was interdicted under pain of the scourge, banishment, and other punish- ments. In one age public opinion, in the other the whip, held guardianship over the morals of the State. The The owners of houses who allowed leno- cinium to be carried on on their premises were liable to forfeit the property, besides paying a price of ten pounds weight of gold. Such edicts, however, only drove immorality into the dark. When the prostitutes could not find enough brothels to harbour them— and, indeed, at all times the poorer sort were excluded from these large establishments- places of refuge were still open. fornices of Rome were long galleries, divided into a double row of cells-some broad and airy, others only small dark arches, situated on a level with the street, and forming the substructure of the houses above. Some of them, as those of the Formian villa of Cicero, were tastefully stuccoed, and painted in streaks of pink, yellow, and blue. In these long lines of cells the prostitutes of the poorer class were accustomed to assemble, and thence was derived the ecclesiastical term fornica- tion, with its ordinary English meaning. Allusions to this practice occur in the works of Horace and Juvenal, as well as other writers. Some of the arches appear to have been below the surface of the ground, as we find a decree of Theodosius against the subterranean brothels of Rome. The great satirist who has left us his vivid, though exaggerated picture of man- ners in the imperial age, supplies some allusions in elucidation of our subject. He speaks of the "transparent garments worn by prostitutes, as by the dancers of ancient Egypt; of the foreign women ho swarmed in its "foul brothels;" of the >5 gay harlots' chariots" dashing through the streets; and of the porticos and covered walks forming for these women places of promenade. We learn that some of them were forced, as a punishment for disorderly behaviour, to wear the male toga, while most were distinguished by a yellow head- dress. The fornices were publicly opened and closed at certain hours. stood at the doors of their cells, in loose, light attire, their bosoms exposed, and the nipples gilt. Thus Messelaña stood at the door of the lupanaria, with her breast adorned with this singular ornament*. The women At various periods efforts were made to suppress the prostitutes' calling, but never with success. The lawmakers of the im- perial age gave no example of the morality *See Satire vi. 121-2. k. 52 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. calling by others which rendered them more attractive to the dissolute youth of the city. They cultivated the arts of danc- ing, singing, and playing on musical instru- ments. They performed lascivious dances at their places of assembly, playing on the flute, and practising all those tricks of se- duction employed so successfully by the Almé of Egypt. which their edicts pretended to uphold. | many other countries, varied their principal Thus, the bawds who inveigled or ravished girls from their homes, to obtain a liveli- hood by their prostitution, became liable to "extreme penaltics," though what these were we know not. The law of lenocinium was more widely interpreted, as manners became more corrupt. If a husband per- mitted his wife to prostitute herself that he might share the gains, it was lenocinium. Justinian allowed a woman the privilege of divorce, if her husband endeavoured to tempt her into such adultery: he was forced also to restore her dowry. On the other hand, if a woman committed the crime, it was lenocinium for the husband to receive her again, to spare the adulterer if caught in the act, or to refrain from prose- cuting him if otherwise detected. If a man married a woman convicted of adul- tery, discovered a crime of this kind and was bribed to hold his peace, commenced a prosecution for adultery and withdrew it, or lent his house for rape or prostitution, the Julian law made him guilty of leno- cinium, and penalties of various kinds were attached to the offence in its different modifications. Lupanaria, or common brothels, were at all times considered infamous. Young men seem to have been more careful to visit them in secret than at Athens, where they visited and left them in the light of open day, and were encouraged to do so by the poets. There was, however, another class of disreputable places of assembly, to which a similar exists in most modern cities. These were the lower order of popine, or houses of entertainment, not absolutely recognised as "stews," but gene- rally known to be the resorts of prostitutes and their companions. In Pompeii there appears to have existed a class of the same description, for in one of the wine-houses discovered there, an inner room is situated behind the shop, the walls of which are covered with lewd and filthy pictures. Pornography, or obscene painting, was much practised at Rome, and doubtless afforded much pleasure to the company who nightly assembled in the Ganeæ, or regular brothels. / As among the Greeks, instances of men willing to marry prostitutes occurred among the Romans. It was found neces- sary to check the practice by rendering it disreputable. The penalty of public in- famy was denounced against all freemen contracting such an union; while a senator, and the son of a senator, were especially forbidden. The prostitutes of Rome, like those of | Difficulties have arisen before many in- quirers into the social condition of the an- cient Romans, as to whence the prostitutes came, seeing that they were chiefly strangers. Some light, we think, is thrown on the subject by the fact that the Ambubaix were Syrian musicians, who performed dances in Rome, and, like the Bayaderes of India, the Almé of Egypt, and the dancers of Java, led a life of prostitution. They con- tinued long to be imported; for, in the History of Gibbon, we find particular notice of the lascivious dances performed by the Syrian damsels round the altars on the Palatine Hill, to please the bestial senses of Elagabalus. During the public pan- tomimes, the prostitutes danced naked before the people; and, at the Floralian festival, the actresses at the theatre, who are known to have been common prostitutes, were compelled to strip, and perform inde- cent evolutions for the delight of the audi- ence. This refers, however, to the imperial age. It was at no time a task of much in- convenience to divest themselves of cloth- ing, for the harlots never encumbered themselves with much. In this they resembled the Hetaire of Greece, whose thin slight garment was so insufficient for the purposes of decency, that it was desig- nated as "naked." This was not, however, from hardiness or simplicity, but merely to promote the profit of their calling. other respects the luxury of the wealthy prostitutes was boundless, and they were borne through the streets on the rich and elegant lactræ or portable couches, softly pillowed on which they reposed their limbs in voluptuous indolence. In the reign of Domitian a decree was passed that no whore should in future make use of these couches, which were reserved as an especial luxury to the privileged classes of Rome. In The edicts against prostitution increased in severity under various emperors. The severity of Constantine enacted that a man guilty of rape should die, whether he ac- complished his purpose by violence, or by gentle and gradual seduction. The virgin who confessed her consent, instead of pro- curing a mitigation of this sentence, ex- posed herself to share the penalty. Slaves LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 53 who were accomplices in the crime of pro- curing young women for prostitution, were punished by being burnt, or having boiling metal poured down their throats. The consequence of such a savage law was, that it could not be generally applied; nor was it enforced by the example of the emperor, who, once rigidly strict, turned dissolute and luxurious towards the close of his reign. It will be seen, from the information here collected, that no actual knowledge exists of the precise extent of the prostitute system in Rome. Facts, and some of these extremely curious, have been preserved in connection with it; but the statistics of the question are wholly lost, if, indeed, they ever existed. On this account, it appeared possible to do no more than bring those facts together, and, throwing them into a general sketch of the morality prevailing at dif- ferent periods in the social history of that state, to draw thence an idea of the truth. Under the comparatively virtuous Republic, a line could certainly be drawn between the profligate and the moral classes of the community. Under some of the emperors such a distinction was wholly impossible. The vulgar prostitute was commonly met at the tables of the rich, and the palace itself was no more than an imperial brothel. A few notes on the history of the empire will justify these remarks. In the early period of the decline, the licentious amours of Faustina were excused, even encouraged, by her husband, and the nobles paid homage in the temples before the image of an adultress. In the eyes of Commodus virtue was criminal, since it implied a reflection upon his profligacy. Dissolving his frame in lust amid 300 con- cubines and boys, he violated by force the few modest women remaining near his court. Julia, the wife of Severus, though flattered in life and death by public writers, was no better than a harlot. We have already noticed the pleasures of Elagabalus, who committed rape upon a vestal virgin, and condescended to the most bestial vice. The nobles readily followed his example, and the people were easily led into the fashion. Maximin drowned every coy maiden who refused his embraces. In process of time, the most degrading fea- tures of Asiatic profligacy were introduced into Rome, and eunuchs crowded the palaces of the emperor and his nobles. History alludes to no more vulgar prosti- tute than the Empress Theodora, who played comedies before the people of Con- stantinople, and prostituted her person-of unparalleled beauty as it was-night after | | night to a promiscuous crowd of citizens and strangers, of every rank and descrip- tion. She exhibited herself naked in the theatre. Her sympathy for the prostitute class may be indicated by almost the only virtuous action recordered of her;-in- ducing her husband Justinian to found a monastery on the shores of the Bosphorus, where 500 miserable women, collected from the streets and brothels, were offered a re- fuge. When we remember the usual relative proportion of objects relieved by charity, to the numbers from which they are selected, this indicates a considerable trade in pros- titution then carried on in Constantinople. When, however, such a social system pre- vailed, no inquiry could fix the professional class of harlots, since moral women, if any existed, were certainly exceptions. It is always necessary, while inquiring into the morality of any people, to inquire into the extent to which the practice of procuring abortion was carried, and how it was viewed. Montesquieu justly observes, that it is by no means unnatural, though it may be criminal, for a prostitute, should she by chance conceive a child, to seek to be relieved from the burden. She has no means of support except one which she cannot possibly follow and at the same time fulfil the duties of a mother. These considerations, perhaps, had some weight with the legislators of Rome, as well as those reasons of political prudence which in various ancient states recognised in- fanticide. That it was practised to some extent there, is shown by frequent allu- sions in various works. It has been as serted, indeed, that the custom of procuring abortion prevailed to such an extent, that, combined with celibacy, it materially affected the population of the state, but this appears a false view. There are no accounts to support such an idea. It is not known at what particular time a law was introduced against it. Certainly it was held in a different light than it is by our religion, and our civilization. Plato's republic permits it. Aristotle also allows it to be practised under certain circum- stances, but only before the child is quick in the womb. So, also, among the Romans, it seems long to have been unrestrained by law, though it is impossible to believe that the natural instincts of women would not deter them, except in desperate situations, from such unnatural offences. Such is the view of the prostitute sys- tem, with a sketch of general morality, which the facts preserved by history enable us to offer. It appears from these facts, that, during the more flourishing period of 54 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 1 the Roman state, the ´prostitutes formed a class, to which the principal immorality of the female society was confined, while in the later or imperial age profligacy ran loose among the people, so that the dis- tinction between the regular harlot and the unrecognised prostitute was all but lost. Chastity, under the Republic, was a pecu- liar Roman virtue, and the prostitutes were usually foreigners, while we do not find that they ever mixed with reputable women who had characters to lose*. OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE ANGLO- SAXONS. We leave the countries of classical anti- quity and arrive at the Anglo-Saxons of our own history, in whom the reader will feel a peculiar interest. Unfortunately, our usual observations with reference to an- cient times, apply to them also. Extremely imperfect records exist of their manners, laws, and institutions. The learned and industrious Sharon Turner has collected most of the facts known, yet neither the word prostitution, nor any term analo- gous to it, is to be found in his work. In the Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ, we find laws and regulations in reference to the chastity of the women, but nothing which indi- cates the existence of a class professionally addicted to prostitution. Nevertheless, it is improbable that such a class was utterly unknown, for the modern historians, as well as the old chroniclers, who have de- scribed the era, allude repeatedly to the licentious manners of the period. Glutton- ing and deep drinking may, however, have excused the epithet, without supposing any prevalence of immorality. Sharon Turner refers us to the Maories of New Zealand, for a parallel to the manners and condition of Great Britain, when first invaded by the Romans. As far as profligacy goes, the comparison appears correct. Among the Britons, however, prevailed the extraordinary and pernicious institution of small societies of ten or twelve men, with a community of women among them. * Ceremonies of mariage, indeed, took place, but for no other purpose than to provide that each woman's husband should main- tain all her children, whoever their fathers might be. In some of their religious cere- monies women officiated naked, and in all their modes of life a coarse licentiousness obtained. The Romans introduced a more refined luxury, and manners became less coarse, though no less profligate. The Saxons, however, then transported themselves to these islands from the Cymbric Peninsula, and the civilization of the country passed through a complete revolution. In their system of manners peculiar to themselves, original country they had displayed a and the other wild races inhabiting the mighty woods of Germany. Their laws against adultery were of the most savage character. When a woman was guilty of it, she was compelled to hang herself, her body was burned, and the execution of the adulterer took place over the pile of her ashes. Among some communities the punishment was still more severe, and infinitely more barbarous. The guilty creature was whipped from village to village by a number of women, who tore off her garments to the waist, and pierced her with their knives. Company after company of them pursued her until she sank under the shame, torture, and loss of blood. Chastity, indeed, was very generally re- garded among these rude people, but their ideas were very foreign from ours. degrees of consanguinity within which marriage was prohibited were extremely narrow, a son being permitted to marry his father's widow, provided she was not his own mother. Taylor's Elements of the Civil Law; Life of the Greeks and Becker's Private Romans; Suetonius, with Burmann's Notes; the Codes of Justinian and Constantine; Smith's' Dic- tionary of Antiquities; Adams's Antiquities; Fergusson's Roman Republic; Niebuhr's His- tory; Gibbon's Decline and Fall, supply facts for the above; while the writings of Horace, Juvenal, Lactantius, Dion Cassius, the Augustine History, and numerous other authors, afford scattered notices, not easy to collect or digest. The In their marriage customs the Anglo- Saxons displayed considerable regard for the female sex, although the wife was taken rather as the property than as the companion of the husband. The original laws of Ethelbert, indeed, as we have said, made the transaction wholly one of pur- chase; but in the reign of Edmund a more refined code was established. The be- trothal usually took place some time before the actual ceremony. This was held as a sacred tie, the high-priest being at the marriage to consecrate it, and pray for a blessing on the wedded pair * *To show that a prostitute class existed, among women without means of support, we might mention instances of wills in which mo- thers left property to their daughters, on condi- tion that they should marry or keep themselves chaste, and not earn money by prostitution. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "" volent motives, gave licences to known thieves in some foreign language, differently spelt, but what would parliament and the press have to say meaning the same thing, there can be no error. on the subject? Or suppose the temptation of The subject of the slang or cant language of a continually receiving large sums of money for country is most peculiar; and all countries seem the proprietor of the omnibus was to prove too to have a distinct criminal or mendicant phraseo- strong for those who had once subsisted by thiev-logy; even the Hottentots have their "cuze-cat. ing, what would their employer say to the police for licensing, and so tacitly vouching for the fit- ness of known bad characters to fill posts of trust? 1 But though the police, as government officers, cannot grant to persons of notoriously dishonest propensities the opportunity of leading a new life when they are so inclined, Mr. Mayhew, who stands in a different position with the pub- lic, will be happy to interest himself on behalf of the two persons mentioned in the letter of T. A., and if they can assure him of the sincerity of their desire to reform, he will do all he can to put them in the way of carrying out their re- solves. Will T. A. communicate again with Mr. Mayhew on the subject? The following is very valuable, as correcting a derivation given in this work. A. B., who ob- jects to the use of anything but Saxon in the etymology of the English language, will here see how important it is that all languages (as proceeding from one parent stock) should be consulted for the complete understanding of our own :- "SIR, "I have been a reader of your work upon 'London Labour and the London Poor,' from its commencement, and therefore take the liberty of correcting what appears to me a mistake in your number of this week, viz., your derivation of the word 'shoful.' It is, as you are perhaps aware, constantly in use among the Jews of the present day, and is, I should say, evidently derived from the Hebrew subs. (shephel), a low or de- based estate, see Psalm cxxxvi. 23, 'in our low estate," Ecc. x. 6, "the rich sit in a low place." Hence the Hebrew adjective a lon) שְׁפֶל שְׁפַל Chaldee base' (as in 2 Sam. vi. 22, 'base in mine own sight; Ezek., xxix. 15, busest of the kingdoms,' &c., &c..); and the Chaldee y (shăphal), as in Dan. iv. 17, and settest up over it the basest of men.' Qy.-May not our English word shuffle come from this?" [Mr. Mayhew thinks not.] "I hope you will excuse me troubling you with this suggestion, but some of your derivations have been so ingenious, that I thought an additional notion' might not be alto- gether unacceptable. "I remain, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, "E. L." The above is conclusive, and proves to us that nothing short of direct dialectic derivation is suf- ficient to satisfy the mind. All indirect and con- jectural etymology (as derivation from supposed roots) is mere waste of learning. Indirectly, almost any etymology may be given, but directly, that is to say, by finding the exoteric term itself The "argot" of the French, the "roth-spræc" of the Germans, &c., all seem to be formed on the same basis-partly metaphorical and partly by the introduction of such corrupted foreign terms as are likely to be unknown to the society amid which the slang-speakers exist. There are several Hebrew terms in our "cant language," obtained, it would appear, from the intercourse of the thieves with the Jew fences; many of the cant terms, again, are Sanscrit, got from the gypsies; many Latin, got by the beggars from the Catholic prayers before the Reformation; and many, again, Italian, got from the wandering musicians and others indeed the showmen, of whom we shall have to treat shortly, have but lately introduced a number of Italian phrases into their cant lan- guage. The slang of this country, of which there are several varieties (Mr. Mayhew once was in company with a crossing sweeper, who could speak three distinct kinds of cant, and who was evidently not a little proud of his learning), is a most interesting subject, and one which will oc- cupy us largely when we come to treat of the thieves and their ways. Some of the slang phrases are merely old English terms, which have become obsolete through the caprices of fashion. For example, the slang phrase, "that is not the cheese," expressive of something not approved of, and which was supposed to have some fanciful reference to the caseous comestible, being occa- sionally Frenchified by the witlings of the day into "c'est ne pas le fromage," and occasionally paraphrased by them into "it is not the precise Stilton," was, or rather the cheese was, nothing more nor less than an old English term, meaning choice. Chaucer says,— "To chese (choose) whether she wold him marry or no." And the Anglo-Saxon cyst (from ceosan, to choose) means not only choice, election, but what is or would be chosen for its excellence; hence, "it is not the cheese," signified, simply, it is not what I should choose. So again, "that's not the ticket," meant merely, that's not etiquette. Those who know the derivation of the word etiquette itself (having the same origin) will not hesitate to adopt this rendering, strained as it may appear to others. But the whole subject of " cant is, to the philologist, replete with interest of the most profound character. Mr. Mayhew has to acknowledge, with thanks, returns from the authorities of the undermentioned places, in answer to the following queries:- Number of prostitutes, well-dressed, living in brothels? Number of prostitutes, well-dressed, walking the streets? Number of prostitutes, low, infesting low neigh- bourhoods? Number of brothels where prostitutes are kept? ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Average number of prostitutes kept in each house of ill fame where prostitutes resort? Average number of prostitutes resorting to each ? Number of houses where prostitutes lodge? Average number of prostitutes lodging in each? Returns have been received from the following towns, in addition to those acknowledged in No. 41:- Bradford. Gloucester. Lewes (Sussex). Grimsby. Whitehaven. Buckingham. Lincoln. Falmouth. Peterborough. The following has been received, and is acknow- ledged with thanks :- rr "C "SIR, Aigburth, Liverpool, 12th Sept., 1851. May I take the liberty of asking about what date you expect to commence your remarks on the state and conditions of prostitution, as I may be enabled to give you some information on the subject which you would not be likely to get at. If you will give me an answer in the next num- ber of your periodical I will send you my name and address. "Yours obediently, "B. H. G. D." Will B. H. G. D. be kind enough to communi- cate the nature of his information as soon as pos- sible? There are several peculiarities in connec- tion with prostitution in Liverpool that will require special notice. Of course all communications will be in the strictest confidence. CENTRAL ENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE AGENCY, instituted under Trust to counteract the system of Adulteration and Fraud now prevailing in Trade, and to promote the principle of Co-operative Association. The Prospectus of the above Institution, containing the necessary means for obtaining further information, may be had at the following places :- The Central Office, 76, Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square. The Marylebone Branch, 35, Great Marylebone-street, Portland-place. The Manchester Branch, 13, Swan-street, Manchester. Publishing Office of the Society for Promoting Working Men's Associations, 183, Fleet-street. Gratis, if by direct application; if by letter, onepostage stamp. On Monday, July the 28th, was published, Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings of (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; and (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT Work. THE STREET-FOLK. The London Costermongers. The Street-Sellers of Fish. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF The Street-Sellers of Fruit and Vegetables. The Street-Irish. The Street-Sellers of Game and Poultry. The Street-Sellers of Trees, Shrubs, Flowers, and Roots. The Street-Sellers of Eatables and Drinkables. The Street-Sellers of Stationery, Literature, and the Fine Arts. The Low Lodging-houses. The Street-Sellers of Manufactured Articles. The Female Street-Sellers. The Children Street-Sellers. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000!. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Office, 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. No. 44. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, OCT. 11, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. FICHLEAN OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. * SEQUEL TO THE "GREATEST PLAGUE OF LIFE." On 1st November, 1851, will be published, PART I., to be continued Monthly, Price One Shilling each, THE SHABBY FAMMERLY, OR HOW THE STUCKUPS WHO WAS "NOBODY " STRUGGLED TO BE "SOMEBODY,” EXPOJED BY EMMERLY TIDDIVATE, "" (LATE FAM DE SHAM то THE FAMMERLY, THOUGH REALLY AND TRULY NOTHINK BUT A COMMON HOUSEMAID AND I WERE NOTHINK WORKED OFF MY LEGS.) MISS E. TIDDIVATE in making this her first debutt before a Generous British Publick hopes the Cautious Reader will look upon her authorgraphy with an indulgent i, as E. T. is entirely self-learnt and was never brought up to wheeled a pen; but really I feel it my dooty to propergate all the mean artifuges and paltry subterfices my late missuses (who axcbully wanted to be mistook for some. of the owe tong) was guilty on as I pursessed the entire confidence of both the young ladies and their mar into the bargain likewise, which I told them they'd suffer for when they refuged to pay me my month as was my doo, so I mean to hold them up to publick reticule once a month, which I've nothink but a rights to in this land of liberties, and with that intentions I have kept a dairy every day of the nasty mean goings on of the whole of the shabby fammerly, who was always hunting after their bargains and their tray bong marshes as they called 'em-no matter who suffered so long as they got the things cheap. Oh I can't abear such mean ways! Miss E. T. begs to throw herself on a human british publick as she is satisfied it will not stand quietly by and see a poor helpless female put upon as I have been when her subscribers reads all she has gone through. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. * LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 235 masters who will undertake to pay the regular rate of wages, and employ their men only the re- gular hours; for by such means, and by such means alone, can justice be done to the operatives. to Now there are but two "efficient causes" account for the reduction of wages among the scurf employers in the scavagers' trade :-(1) The employers may diminish the pay of their men from a disposition to grind" out of them an inordinate rate of profit. (2) The price paid for the work may be so reduced that, con- sistent with the ordinary rate of profit on capital, and remuneration for superintendence, greater wages cannot be paid. If the first be the fact, then the employers are to blame, and the parishes should follow the example of the Com- missioners of Sewers, and let the work to those contractors only who will undertake to pay the regular wages " of the honourable trade; but if the latter be the case, as I strongly suspect it is, though some of the masters seem to be more grasping" than the rest-but in the paucity of returns on this matter, it is difficult to state positively whether the price paid for the labour of the working scavager is in all the parishes propor- tional to the price paid to the employers for the work (a most important fact to be solved)— if, however, I repeat, the decrease of the wages be mainly due to the decrease in the sums given for the performance of the contract, then the parishes are to blame for seeking to get their work done at the expense of the working men. It is The contract system of work, I find, necessarily tends to this diminution of the men's earnings in a trade. Offer a certain quantity of work to the lowest bidder, and the competition will assuredly be maintained at the operative's expense. idle to expect that, as a general rule, traders will take less than the ordinary rate of profit. Hence, he who underbids will usually be found to under- pay. This, indeed, is almost a necessity of the system, and one which the parochial functionaries more than all others should be guarded against— This brings me to the cause of the reduction of wages in the scavaging trade. The scurf trade, I am informed, has been carried on among the master scavagers upwards of 20 years, and arose. partly from the contractors having to pay the parishes for the house-dust and strect-sweepings, brieze and street manure at that period often sell- ing for 30s. the chaldron or load. The demand for this kind of manure 20 years ago was so great, that there was a competition carried on among the contractors themselves, each out-bidding the other, so as to obtain the right of collecting it; and in order not to lose anything by the large sums which they were induced to bid for the con- tracts, the employers began gradually to " grind down" their men from 17s. 6d. (the sum paid 20 years back) to 17s. a week, and eventually to 15s., and even 12s. weekly. This is a curious and in- This is a curious and in- structive fact, as showing that even an increase of prices will, under the contract system, induce a re- duction of wages. The greed of traders becomes, it appears, from the very height of the prices, pro- portionally intensified, and from the desire of each to reap the benefit, they are led to outbid one another to such an extent, and to offer such large premiums for the right of appropriation, as to necessitate a reduction of every possible expense in order to make any profit at all upon the trans- action. Owing, moreover, to the surplus labour in the trade, the contractors were enabled to offer any premiums and reduce wages as they pleased; for the casually-employed men, when the wet season was over, and their services no longer re- quired, were continually calling upon the con- tractors, and offering their services at 2s. and 3s. less per week than the regular hands were re-seeing that a decrease of the operative's wages can ceiving. The consequence was, that five or six of the master scavagers began to reduce the wages of their labourers, and since that time the number has been gradually increasing, until now there A labourer, in order to be self-supporting and are no less than 21 scurf masters (8 of whom have avoid becoming a "burden" on the parish, re- no contracts) out of the 3 contractors; so that quires something more than bare subsistence- nearly three-fifths of the entire trade belong to money in remuneration for his labour, and yet the grinding class. Within the last seven or eight this is generally the mode by which we test the years, however, there has been an increase of sufficiency of wages. A man can live very com- wages in connection with the city operative scava-fortably upon that!" is the exclamation of those gers. This was owing mainly to the operatives who have seldom thought upon what constitutes complaining to the Commissioners that they could the minimum of self-support in this country. not live upon the wages they were then receiving man's wages, to prevent pauperism, should include, 12s. and 14s. a week. The circumstances inducing besides present subsistence, what Dr. Chalmers the change, I am informed, were as follows:- has called "his secondaries;" viz., a sufficiency to one of the gangers asked a tradesman in the city pay for his maintenance: 1st, during the slack to give the street-sweepers something for beer," season; 2nd, when out of employment; 3rd, whereupon the tradesman inquired if the men when ill; 4th, when old *. If insufficient to do could not find beer out of their wages, and on being assured that they were receiving only 12s. a week, he had the matter brought before the Board. The result was, that the wages of the operatives were increased from 12s. to 15s. and 16s. weekly, since which time there has been neither an increase nor a decrease in their pay. The cheapness of provi-ion, as I have before said, out of the gutter, or else the sions seems to have caused no reduction with them. No. XL. rr but be attended with an increase of the very paupers, and consequently of the parochial ex- penses, which they are striving to reduce. (C A These items wages must include to prevent pau- perism, even with providence. But this is only on the supposition that the labourer is unmarried; if married, however, and having a family, then his wages should include, moreover, the keep of at least three extra per- sons, as well as the education of the children. If not, one of two results is self-evident-either the wife must toil, to the neglect of her young ones, and they be allowed to run about and pick their morals and educa- whole family must be transferred to the care of the parish. P 236 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON poor. this, it is evident that the man at such times must seek parochial relief; and it is by the reduction of wages down to bare subsistence, that the cheap employers of the present day shift the burden of supporting their labourers when unemployed on to the parish; thus virtually perpetuating the allowance system or relief in aid of wages under the old Poor Law. Formerly the mode of hiring labourers was by the year, so that the employer was bound to maintain the men when unemployed. But now journey-work, or hiring by the day, pre- vails, and the labourers being paid-and that mere subsistence-money-only when wanted are ne- cessitated to become either paupers or thieves when their services are no longer required. It is, moreover, this change from yearly to daily hirings, and the consequent discarding of men when no longer required, that has partly caused the immense mass of surplus labourers, who are continually vagabondizing through the country begging or stealing as they go-men for whom there is but some two or three weeks' work (harvesting, hop- picking, and the like) throughout the year. That there is, however, a large system of job- bing pursued by the contractors for the house-dust and cleansing of the streets, there cannot be the least doubt. The minute I have cited at page 210 gives us a slight insight into the system of combi- nation existing among the employers, and the ex- traordinary fluctuations in the prices obtained by the contractors would lead to the notion that the business was more a system of gambling than trade. The following returns have been procured by Mr. Cochrane within the last few days: "Average yearly cost of cleansing the whole of the public ways within the City of London, including the re- moval of dust, ashes, &c., from the houses of the inhabitants, for eight years, terminating at Michaelmas in the year 1850 Square yards of carriage-way, esti- mated at £4,643 430,000 Square yards of footway, estimated at. • 300,000 A more specific and later return is as follows:- Received for Dust. £ s. d. 1845. 0 0 0. • Paid for cleansing, &c. £ S. d. (Streets not 2833 2 0 cleansed 1846 1354 5 0 6034 • 1847 4455 5 0 1848 1328 15 0 • 1849 1850 0 0 • • 60 8014 2 0 7226 1 6 0 7486 11 6 0 0 0. 6779 16 0 daily. Streets cleansed daily. "From the above return," says Mr. Cochrane, "it may be inferred that the annual sums paid for cleansing in each year of 1844 and 1843 did not exceed 22817., as this would make up the eight years' average calculation of 46437." Since the streets have been cleansed daily, it will be seen that the average has been 71887. The smallest amount, in 1846, was 60347.; and | the largest, in 1847, 80147.; which was a sudden increase of 19801. Here, then, we perceive an immediate increase in the price paid for scavaging between 1846 and 1847 of nearly 33 per cent., and since the wages of the workmen were not proportionately increased in the latter year by the employers, it follows that the profits of the contractors must have been augmented to that enormous extent. The only effectual mode of preventing this system of jobbing being persevered in, at the expense of the work- men, is by the insertion of a clause in each parish. contract similar to that introduced by the Com- missioners of Sewers-that at least a fair living rate of wages shall be paid by each contractor to the men employed by him. This may be an in- terference with the freedom of labour, according to the economists' to the economists' "cant" language, but at least it is a restriction of the tyranny of capital, for free labour means, when literally translated, the unre- stricted use of capital, which is (especially when the moral standard of trade is not of the highest character) perhaps the greatest evil with which a State can be afflicted. Let me now speak of the Scurf labourers. The moral and social characteristics of the working scavagers who labour for a lower rate of hire do not materially differ from those of the better paid and more regularly employed body, unless, perhaps, in this respect, that there are among them a greater proportion of the "casuals," or of men reared to the pursuit of other callings, and driven by want, misfortune, or misconduct, to sweep the streets; and not only that, but to regard the "leave to toil" in such a capacity a boon. These constitute, as it were, the cheap labourers of this trade. Among the parties concerned in the lower- priced scavaging, are the usual criminations. The parish authorities will not put up any longer with the extortions of the contractors. The contractors cannot put up any longer with the stinginess of the parishes. The working scavagers, upon whose shoulders the burthen falls the heaviest as it does in all depreciated tradings-grumble at both. I cannot aver, however, that I found among the men that bitter hatred of their masters which I found actuating the mass of operative tailors, shoemakers, dressmakers, &c., toward the slop capitalists who employed them. I have pointed out in what the "scurf" treat- ment of the labourers was chiefly manifested-in extra work for inferior pay; in doing eight or nine days' work in six; and in being paid for only six days' labour, and not always at the ordinary rate even for the lighter toil-not 2s. 8d., but 2s. 6d. or even 2s. 4d. a day. To the wealthy, this 2d. or 4d. a day may seem but a trifling matter, but I heard a working scavager (formerly a house-painter) put it in a strong light: "that 3d. or 4d. a day, sir, is a poor family's rent." The rent, I may observe, as a result of my inquiries among the more decent classes of labourers, is often the primary con- sideration: "You see, sir, we must have a roof over our heads.' "" A scavager, working for a scurf master, gave LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 237 me the following account. He was a middle-aged, man, decently dressed, for when I saw him, he was in his "Sunday clothes," and was quiet in his tones, even when he spoke bitterly. (6 ፡ and I've worked until three and four in the morning that way, and then me and another man slept an hour or two in a shed as joined his stables, and then must go at it again. Some of these masters is ignorant, and treats men like dirt, but this one was always civil, and made his people be civil. But, Lord, I hadn't a rag left to my back. Everything was worn to bits in such hard work, and then I got the sack. I was on for Mr. next. He's a jolly good 'un. I was only on for him temp'ry, but I was told it was for temp'ry when I went, so I can't complain. I'm out of work this week, but I've had some jobs from a butcher, and I 'm going to work again on Monday. I don't know at what wages. The gangsmen said they 'd see what I could do. It'll be 15s., I expect, and over-work if it's 16s. "Yes, I like a pint of beer now and then, and one requires it, but I don't get drunk. I dusted for a fortnight once while a man was ill, and got more beer and twopences give me than I do in a year now; aye, twice as much. My mate and me was always very civil, and people has said, there's a good fellow, just sweep together this bit of rubbish in the yard here, and off with it.' That was beyond our duty, but we did it. I have very little night-work, only for one master; he's a sweep as well. I get 2s. 6d. a job for it. Yes, there 's mostly something to drink, but you can't demand nothing. Night-work's nothing, sir; no more ain't a knacker's yard. "I pay 2s. a week rent, but I'm washed for and found soap as well. My landlady takes in washing, and when her husband, for they're an old couple, has the rheumatics, I make a trifle by carrying out the clothes on a barrow, and Mrs. Smith goes with them and sees to the delivery. My father," he said, "was once in business as a butcher, but he failed, and was afterwards a journeyman butcher, but very much respected, I know, and I used to job and help him. Ó dear yes! I can read and write, but I have very seldom to write, only I think one never forgets it, it's like learning to swim, that way; and I read sometimes at coffee-shops. My father died rather sudden, and me and a brother had to look out. My brother was older than me, he was 20 or 21 then, and he went for a soldier, I believe to some of the Ingees, but I 've never heard of him since. I got a place in a knacker's yard, but I didn't like it at all, it was so confining, and should have hooked it, only I left it honourable. I can't call to mind how long that's back, perhaps 16 or 18 years, but I know there was some stir at the time about having the streets and yards cleaner. A man called and had some talk with the governor, and says he, says the governor, says he, if you want a handy lad with his besom, and he's good for nothing else but that was his gammon-' here's your man;' so I was engaged as a young sweeper at 10s. a week. I worked in Hackney, but I heard so much about railways, that I saved my money up to 10s., and popped [pledged] a suit of mourning I'd got after my father's death for 22s., and got to York, both on foot and with lifts. I soon got work on a rail; there was great call for rails then, but I don't know how long it's since, and I was a navvy for six or seven years, or better. Then I came back to London. I don't know just what made me come back, but I was restless, and I thought II 've my own furniture. could get work as easy in London as in the country, but I couldn't. I brought 21 gold sovereigns with me to London, twisted in my fob for safeness, in a wash-leather bag. They didn't last so long as they ought to. I didn't care for drinking, only when I was in company, but I was a little too gay. One night I spent over 12s. in the St. Helena Gardens at Rotherhithe, and that sort of thing soon makes money show taper. I got some work with a rubbish carter, a regular scurf. I made only about 8s. a week under him, for he didn't want me this half day or that whole day, and if I said anything, he told me I might go and be d-d, he could get plenty such, and I knew he could. I got on then with a gangsman I knew, at street-sweeping. I had 15s. a week, but not regular work, but when the work wer'n't regular, I had 2s. 8d. a day. I then worked under another master for 14s. a week, and was often abused that I wasn't better dressed, for though that there master paid low wages, he was vexed if his men didn't look decent in the streets. I've heard that he said he paid the best of wages when asked about it. I had another job after that, at 15s., and then 16s. a week, with a con- tractor as had a wharf; but a black nigger slave was never slaved as I was. I've worked all night, when it's been very moonlight, in loading a barge, "Well, I don't know what I spend in my living in a week. I have a bit of meat, or a saveloy or two, or a slice of bacon every day, mostly when I'm at work. I sometimes make my own meals ready in my room. No, I keep no accounts. There'd be very little use or pleasure in doing it when one has so little to count. When I'm past work, I suppose I must go to the workhouse. sometimes wish I'd gone for a soldier when I was young enough. I shouldn't have minded going abroad. I'd have liked it better than not, for I like to be about; yes, I like a change. I "I go to chapel every Sunday night, and have regularly since Mr. (the butcher) gave me this cast-off suit. I promised him I would when I got the togs. Things would be well enough with me if I'd constant work and fair constant work and fair pay. I don't know what makes wages so low. I suppose it's rich people trying to get all the money they can, and caring nothing for poor men's rights, and poor men 's sometimes forced to undersell one another, 'cause half a loaf you know, sir, is better than no bread at all" (a proverb, by the way, which has wrought no little mischief). In conclusion, I may remark, that although I was told, in the first instance, there was sub-letting in street sweeping, I could not hear of any facts to 238 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ' prove it. I was told, indeed, by a gentleman who took great interest in parochial matters, with a view to reforms" in them, that such a thing was most improbable, for if a contractor sub-let any of his work it would soon become known, and as it would be evident that the work could be accom- plished at a lower rate, the contractor would be in a worse position for his next contract. OF THE STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE, AND THE STREET-SWEEPERS EMPLOYED WITH IT. UNTIL the introduction of the machines now seen in London, I believe that no mechanical contrivances for sweeping the streets had been attempted, all such work being executed by manual labour, and employing throughout the United Kingdom a great number of the poor. The street- sweeping machine, therefore, assumes an import- ance as another instance of the displacement, or attempted displacement, of the labour of man by the mechanism of an engine. The street-sweeping machines were introduced into London about five years ago, after having been previously used, under the managenient of a company in Manchester, the inventor and maker being Mr. Whitworth, of that place. The novelty and ingenuity of the apparatus soon attracted public attention, and for the first week or two the vehicular street-sweeper was accompanied in its progress by a crowd of admiring and inquisi- tive pedestrians, so easily attracted together in the metropolis. In the first instance the machines. were driven through the streets merely to display their mode and power of work, and the drivers and attendants not unfrequently came into contact with the regular scavagers, when a brisk inter- change of street wit took place, the populace often enough encouraging both sides. At present the street-sweeping machine proceeds on its line of operation as little noticed, except by visitors, and foreigners especially, as any other vehicle. The body of the sweeping machine, although the sizes may not all be uniform, is about 5 feet in length, and 2 feet 8 inches or 3 feet in width; the height is about 5 feet 6 inches or 6 feet, and the form that of a covered cart, with a rounded top. The sides of the exterior are of cast iron, the top being of wood. At the hinder part of the cart is fixed the sweeping-machine itself, covered by sloping boards which descend from the top of the cart, projecting slightly behind the vehicle to the ground; under the sloping boards is an endless chain of brushes as wide as the cart, 16 in number, placed at equal distances, and so arranged, that when made to revolve, each brush in turn passes over the ground, sweeping the mud along with it to the bottom sloping board, and so carrying it up to the interior of the cart. The chain of brushes is set in mo- tion, over the surface of the pavement, by the agency of three cog wheels of cast iron; these are worked by the rotation of the wheels of the cart, the cogs acting upon the spindles to which the brooms are attached. The spindles, brushes, and the sloped boards can be raised or lowered by the winding of an instrument called the broom winder; or the whole can be locked. The brooms are raised when any acclivity is to be swept, and lowered at a declivity. lowered at a declivity. The vehicle must be water-tight in order to contain the slop. When full the machine holds about half a cart load or half a ton of dirt; this is emptied by letting down the back in the manner of a trap door. If the contents be solid, they have to be forked out; if more sloppy, they are "shot" out, as from a cart, the interior generally being roughly scraped to complete the emptying. The districts which have as yet been cleansed by the machines are what may be considered a govern- ment domain, being the public thoroughfares under the control of the Commissioners of the Woods and Forests, running from Westminster Abbey to the Regent-circus in Piccadilly, and including Spring-gardens, Carlton-gardens, and a portion of the West Strand, where they were first employed in London; they have been used also in parts of the City; and are at present employed by the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The company by whom the mechanical street-sweeping business is carried on employ 12 machines, 4 water carts, 19 horses, and 24 men. They have also the use, but not the sole use, of two wharfs and barges at Whitefriars and Millbank. The machines altogether collect about 30 cart-loads of street-dirt a day, which is equivalent to four or five barge- loads in a week, if all were boated. Two barges per week are usually sent to Rochester, the others up the river to Fulham, &c. The average price is 57. 10s. to Cl. per barge load, but when the freight has been chiefly dung, as much as 81. has been paid for it by a farmer. The street-sweeping machine seems to have commanded the approbation of the General Board of Health, although the Board's expression of appro- val is not without qualification. "Even that effi- cient and economical implement," says one of the Reports, "the street-sweeping machine, leaves much filth between the interstices of the stones and some on the surface." One might have ima- gined, however, that an efficient and economical implement would not have left this "much filth" in its course; but the Board, I presume, spoke comparatively. The reason of the circumscribed adoption of the machine-I say it with some reluctance, but from concurrent testimony-appears to be that it does not sweep sufficiently clean. It sweeps the surface, but only the surface; not cleansing what the scavagers call the "nicks" and "holes," and the Board of Health the "interstices," in the pavement. " One man is obliged to go along with cach ma- chine, to sweep the ridge of dirt invariably left at the edge of the track of the vehicle into the line of the next machine, so that it may be "licked up. In fine weather this work is often light enough. It is also the occupation of the accompanying scavager to sweep the dirt from the sloping edges of the public ways into the direct course of the machine, for the brushes are of no service along such slopes; he must also sweep out the contents of any hole or hollow there may be in the streets, as is frequently the case when the pavement has been disturbed in the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 239 men. relaying or repairing of the gas or water pipes. would cleanse it in three quarters of an hour. To But for this arrangement, I was told, the brushes do this by manual labour in the same or nearly would pass "clean over" such places, or only dis- the same time, would require the exertions of five turb without clearing away the dirt. Indeed Each machine has been computed to have irregularities of any kind in the pavement are mechanical power equal to the industry of five great obstructions to the efficiency of the street-street-sweepers; and such, from the above computa- sweeping machine. There are some places, moreover, wholly un- sweepable by the machine; in many parts of St. Martin's parish, for instance, there are localities where the machine cannot be introduced; such are-St. Martin's-court; the flagged ways about the National Gallery; and the approach, alongside the church, to the Lowther Arcade; the pave- ment surrounding the fountains which adorn the "noblest site in Europe;" and a variety of alleys, passages, yards, and minor streets, which must be cleansed by manual labour. In fair weather, again, water carts are indispen- sable before machine sweeping, for if the ground be merely dry and dusty, the set of brooms will not "bite." tion, would appear to be the fact. I do not include the drivers in this enumeration, as of course the horse in the scavagers' cart, and in the machine require alike the care of a man and there is to each vehicle (whether mechanical or not) one hand (besides the carman) to sweep after the ordinary work. Hence every two men with the machine do the work of seven men by hand. Having, then, ascertained the relative values of the two forces employed in cleansing the streets, let me now proceed to set forth what is "the economy of labour" resulting from the use of the sweeping machine. In the following table are given the number of men at present engaged by the machine company in the cleansing of those districts where the machine is in operation, as well as the annual amount of wages paid to the ma- chine labourers; these facts are then collocated with the number of manual labourers that would be required to do the same work under the ordinary contract system (assuming every two labourers with the machine to do the work of seven labourers by hand), as well as the amount of wages that would be paid to such manual labourers ; and finally, the number of men and amount of wages under the one system of street-cleansing is subtracted from the other, in order to arrive at the number of street-sweepers at present displaced by machine labour, and the annual loss in wages to the men so displaced; or, to speak economically, the last column represents the amount by which the Wage Fund of the street-sweepers is di- inished by the employment of the machine. We now come to estimate the relative values of the mechanicul and manual labour applied to the scavaging of the streets. The average progress of the street-sweeping machine, in the execution of the scavagers' work, is about two miles an hour. It must not be supposed, however, that two streets each a mile in length, could be swept in one hour; for to do this the vehicle would have to travel up and down those streets as many times as the streets are wider than the machine. The machines, sometimes two, sometimes three or four, follow alongside each other's tracks in sweeping a street, so as to leave no part unswept. Thus, supposing a street half a mile long and nine yards wide, and that each machine swept a breadth of a yard, then three such machines, driven once up, and once again down, and once more up such a street, TABLE SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF MEN AT PRESENT ENGAGED IN STREET-SWEEPING BY MACHINES, AND THE NUMBER THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SWEEP THE SAME DISTRICTS BY HAND, TOGETHER WITH THE ANNUAL AMOUNT OF WAGES ACCRU- ING TO EACH. DISTRICTS. Machine Labour. Number of Men employed to attend Machines. Annual Wages received by Machine Men, at 16s. a Week. Manual Labour. Number of Annual men that Wages that would be re-would be re- quired to sweep the Streets by Ma- nual labour. Difference. Number of ceived by Men displaced Manual La- by Machine- bourers, at 15s. a Week. work. Annual Loss in Wages to Manual Labourers by Machine- work. £ S. ざ ​S. £ S. St. Martin's-in-the S 332 16 28 1092 0 20 759 4 A Fields • Regent-street and Pall-mall (see 12 499 4 42 1638 0 30 1138 16 table, p. 214) Other places, con- nected with Woods and Forests Total. 166 8 14 546 0 10 379 12 24 998 8 84 3276 0 60 2277 12 } 240 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Hence, we perceive that no less than 60 street- sweepers are deprived of work by the street-sweep- ing machine, and that the gross Wage Fund of the men is diminished by the employment of me- chanical labour no less than 22771. per annum. But let us suppose the street-sweeping machine to come into general use, and all the men who are at present employed by the contractors, both large and small, to sweep the street by hand to be super- seded by it, what would be the result? how much money would the manual labourers be deprived of per annum, and how many self-supporting labourers would be pauperized thereby? The following table will show us: in the first compartment | given below we have the number of manual labourers employed throughout London by the large and small contractors, and the amount of wages annually received by them*; in the second compartment is given the number of men that would be required to sweep the same districts by the machine, and the amount of wages that would be received by them at the present rate; and the third and last compartment shows the gross num- ber of hands that would be displaced, and the annual loss that would accrue to the operatives by the substitution of mechanical for manual labour in the sweeping of the streets. TABLE SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF CONTRAC- TORS' MEN AT PRESENT EMPLOYED TO SWEEP THE STREETS BY HAND, AND THE NUMBER THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SWEEP THE SAME DISTRICTS BY MACHINE WORK, TOGETHER WITH THE AMOUNT OF WAGES ACCRUING TO EACH. Manual Labour. Number of Annual Wages Men at pre- received by sent employed Contractors' by Contractors Men for to sweep the sweeping the Streets, at 15s. a Week. streets. Machine Labour. that would be received by Machine Men, at 16. a Week. Number of Annual Wages Machine Men that would be required to attend the Street - sweep- ing Machines. Difference. Number of Men that would be dis- placed by Machine- work. Annual Loss that would accrue to Manual Labourers by Machine- work. £ 8. £ S. £ S. Districts at present contractors (see swept by large 262 10,218 0 75 3120 0 187 7098 0 table, p. 214) Districts swept by small contractors 13 507 0 4 166 8 9 340 12 275 • 10,725 0 79 3286 8 196 7438 12 Total. Here we find that nearly 200 men would be pauperized, losing upwards of 7000l. per annum, if the street-sweeping machine came into general use throughout London. But, before the intro- duction of machines, the thoroughfares of St. Martin's parish were swept only once a week in dry weather, and three times a week in sloppy weather, and since the introduction of the machines they have been swept daily; allowing, therefore, the extra cleansing to have arisen from the extra cheapness of the machine work-though it seems to have been the result of improved sanatory re- gulations, for in parts where the machine has not been used the same alteration has taken place- making such allowance, however, it may, per- haps, be fair to say, that the same increase of cleansing would take place throughout London; that is to say, that the streets would be swept by the machines, were they generally used, twice as often as they are fat present by hand. At this rate 158 machine men, instead of 79 as above calculated, would be required for the work; so that, reckoning for the increased employment which might arise from the increased cheapness of the work, we see that, were the street-sweeping ma- chines used throughout the metropolis, nearly 120 of the 275 manual labourers now employed at scavaging by the large and small contractors, would be thrown out of work, and deprived of no less a sum than 4680l. per annum. This amount, of course, the parishes would pocket, minus the sum that it would cost them to keep the displaced scavagers as paupers, so that in this instance, at least, we perceive that, however great a benefit cheapness may be to the wealthy classes, to the poorer classes it is far from being of the same advantageous character; for, just as much as the rate-payers are the gainers in the matter of street- cleansing must the labourers be the losers-the economy of labour in a trade where there are too many labourers already, and where the quantity of work does not admit of indefinite increase, meaning simply the increase of pauperismt. I have estimated the whole at 15s. a week the year through, gangers, "honourable men," regular hands and all, so as to allow for the diminished receipts of the casual hands. The usual argument in favour of machinery, viz., that" by reducing prices it extends the market, and so, causing a greater demand for the commodities, induces a greater quantity of employment," would also be an argument in favour of over population, since this, by LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 241 The "labour question" as connected with the sweeping-machine work, requires but a brief de- tail, as it presents no new features. The majority of the machine men may be described as having been "general (unskilled) labourers" before they embarked in their present pursuits: labourers for builders, brick-makers, rubbish-carters, the docks, &c. Among them there is but one who was brought up as a mechanic; the others have all been la- bourers, brick-makers, and what I heard called "barrow-workers" on railways, the latter being the most numerous. Employment is obtained by application at the wharfs. There is nothing of the character of a trade society among the machine-men; nothing in the way of benefit or sick clubs, unless the men choose to enrol themselves in a general benefit society, of which I did not hear one instance. The payment is by the week, and without drawback in the guise or disguise of fines, or similar inflictions for the use of tools, &c.; the payment, moreover, is always in money. The only perquisite is in the case of anything being found in the streets; but the rule as to perquisites seems to be altogether an understand- ing among the men. The disposal of what may be picked up in the streets appears, moreover, to be very much in the discretion of the picker up. If anything be found in the contents of the vehicle, when emptied, it is the perquisite of the driver, who is also the unloader; he, however, is expected to treat the men "on the same beat" out of any such "treasure trove," when the said treasure is considerable enough to justify such bounty. Odd sixpences, shillings, or copper coin, I was informed, were found almost every week, but I could ascertain no general average. Onc man, some time ago, found a purse inside the vehi- cle containing 20s., and "spent it out and out all on hisself," in a carouse of three days. He lost his situation in consequence. The number of men employed by the company in this trade is 24, and these perform all the work required in the driving and attendance upon the machines in the street, in loading the barges, grooming the horses, &c. There is, indeed, a twenty-fifth man, but he is a blacksmith, and his wages of 35s. weekly are included in the estimate as to wear and tear given below, for he shoes the horses and repairs the machines. The rate of wages paid by the machine com- pany is 16s. a week, so that the full amount of wages is paid to the men. But though the company cannot be ranked among the grinders of the scavaging trade, they must be placed among "the drivers." cheapening, labour must have the same effect as machi- nery on prices, and, consequently (according to the above logic), induce a greater quantity of employment But granting that machinery really does benefit the labourer in cases where the market, and therefore the quantity of work, is largely extensible, surely it cannot but be an injury in those callings where the quantity of work is fixed. Such is the fact with the sawing of wood, the reaping of corn, the threshing of corn, the sweeping of the streets, &c., and hence the evil of mechanical labour applied to such trades. I am assured, by those who are familiar with such labour, that the 24 men employed by the ma- chine masters do the work of upwards of 30 in the honourable trade, with a corresponding saving to their employers, from an adherence to the main point of the scurf system, the overworking of the men without extra payment. It has been before stated that, in dry weather, the roads require to be watered before being In summer swept, so that the brushes may bite. the machine-men sometimes commence this part of their business at three in the morning; and at the other periods of the year, sometimes at early morning, when moonlight. In summer the hours of labour in the streets are from three, four, five, or six in the morning, to half-past four in the after- noon; in winter, from light to light, and after street there may be yard and barge work. The saving by this scurf system, then, is: 30 men (honourable trade), 16s. weekly · 24 men (scurf-trade) doing same work), 16s. weekly. Saving to capitalist and loss to labourer • • £1248 yearly. 998 £250 >> It now but remains to sum up the capital, income, and expenditure of the machine-scavaging trade. The cost of a street-sweeping machine is 50%. to 607., with an additional 51. 5s. for the set of brooms. The wear and tear of these machines are very considerable. A man who had the care of one told me that when there was રી heavy stress on it he had known the iron cogs of the inner wheels "go rattle, rattle snap, snap," until it became difficult to proceed with the work. The brooms, too, in hard work and "cloggy" weather, are apt to snap short, and in the regular course of wear have to be renewed every four or five weeks. The sets of brooms are of bass, worked strongly with copper wire. The whole apparatus can be unscrewed and taken to pieces, to be cleaned or repaired. The repairs, independently of the renewal of the brooms, have been calculated at 77. yearly each machine. The capital invested, then, in twelve street-sweeping machines, in the horses, and what may be considered the appur- tenances of the trade, together with the yearly expenditure, may be thus calculated: CAPITAL OF STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE TRADE. 12 machines, 601. each. £720 12 sets of brooms, 51. 5s. each set 63 19 horses, 251. each 475 4 water-carts, 201. each 80 19 sets of harness (new), 77. each set 133 4 barges, 501. each`. 200 £1671 242 LONDON LABOUR AND The london poOR. YEARLY EXPENDITURE. 24 men, 16s. weekly £998 120 sets of brooms for 12 machines, 41. per set 480 Wear and tear, &c. (15 per cent.) 255 Keep of 19 horses, 10s. each weekly 494 Rent (say) 150 Clerk (say) 100 Interest on capital, at 10 per cent. 179 £2671 In this calculation I have included wear and tear of the whole of the implements of the stock- in-trade, &c., taking that of the brooms on the most moderate estimate. According to the scale of payment by the parish of St. Martin (which is now 1000l. per annum) the probable receipts of a single year will be :- YEARLY RECEIPTS. £ s. d. 2500 0 0 For hire of 12 machines 200 barge-loads of manure, 51. 15s. per barge 1150 10 0 Yearly expenditure Profit. 3650 10 0 2674 0 0 976 10 0 OF THE CLEANSING OF THE STREETS BY PAUPER LABOUR. UNDER the head of the several modes and cha- racteristics of street-cleansing, I stated at p. 207 of the present volume that there were no less than four distinct kinds of labourers employed in the scavaging of the public thoroughfares of the metropolis. These were: 1. The self-supporting manual labourers. 2. The self-supporting machine labourers. 3. The pauper labourers. 4. The "philanthropic" labourers. I have already set forth the distinguishing features of the first two of these different orders of workmen in connection with the scavaging trade, and now proceed.in due order to treat of the characteristics of the third. The subject of pauper labour generally is one of the most difficult topics that the social philo- sopher can deal with. It is not possible, however, to do more here than draw attention to the salient points of the question. The more comprehensive consideration of the matter must be reserved till such time as I come to treat of the poor specially under the head of those that cannot work. By the 43 Eliz., which is generally regarded as the basis of the existing poor laws in this country, it was ordained that in every parish a fund should be raised by local taxation, not merely for the relief of the aged and infirm, but for setting to work all persons having no means to maintain themselves, and using no ordinary or daily trade of life to get their living by. It was, however, soon discovered that it was one thing to pass an act for setting able-bodied | | paupers to work, and another thing to do so. "In every place," as Mr. Thornton truly says in his excellent treatise on "Over Population," "there. is only a certain amount of work to be done," (limited by the extent of the market) "and only a certain amount of capital to pay for it; and, if the number of workmen be more than propor- tionate to the work, employment can only be given to those who want it by taking from those who have." Let me illustrate this by the circumstances of the scavaging trade. There are 1760 miles of streets throughout London, and these would seem to require about 600 scavagers to cleanse them. It is self-evident, therefore, that if 400 paupers be set" to sweep particular districts, the same num- ber of self-supporting labourers must be deprived of employment, and if these cannot obtain work elsewhere, they of course must become paupers too, and, seeking relief, be put upon the same kind of work as they were originally deprived of, and that only to displace and pauperize in their turn a similar number of independent operatives. The work of a country then being limited (by the capital and market for the produce), there can be but two modes of setting paupers to labour: (1) by throwing the self-supporting operatives out of employment altogether, and substituting pauper labourers in their stead; (2) by giving a portion of the work to the paupers, and so decreasing the employment, and consequently the wages, of the regular operatives. In either case, however, the independent labourers must be reduced to a state of comparative or positive dependence, for it is impossible to make labourers of the paupers of an over-populated country without making paupers of the labourers. Some economists argue that, as paupers are con- sumers, they should, whenever they are able to work, be made producers also, or otherwise they exhaust the national wealth, to which they do not contribute. This might be a sound axiom were there work sufficient for all. But in an over- populated country there is not work enough, as is proven by the mere fact of the over-population; and the able-bodied paupers are paupers simply because they cannot obtain work, so that to employ those who are out of work is to throw out those who are in work, and thus to pauperize the self-sup- porting. The whole matter seems to hinge upon this one question- Who are to maintain the paupers? The rate- paying traders or the non-ratepaying workmen? If the paupers be set to work in a country like Great Britain, they must necessarily be brought into competition with the self-supporting workmen, and so be made to share the wage fund with them, decreasing the price of labour in proportion to the extra number of such pauper labourers among whom the capital of the trade has to be shared. Hence the burden of maintaining the paupers will be virtually shifted from the capitalist to the labourer, the poor-rate being thus really paid out of the wages of the operatives, instead of the profits of the traders, as it should be. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 243 T And here lies the great wrong of pauper labour. It saddles the poor with the maintenance of their with the maintenance of their poorer brethren, while the rich not only contribute nothing to their support, but are made still richer by the increased cheapness resulting from the de- preciation of labour and their consequent ability to obtain a greater quantity of commodities for the same amount of money. In illustration of this argument let us say the wages of 600 independent scavagers amount, at 15s. a week each the year through, to 23,4001. per annum; and let us say, moreover, that the keep of 400 paupers amounts, at 5s. a week each, to, altogether, 52007.; hence the total annual expense to the several metropolitan parishes for cleansing the streets and maintaining 400 paupers would be 23,4007. + 52007. 28,6007. = If, however, the 400 paupers be set to scavag ing work, and made to do something for their keep, one of two things must follow: (1) either the 400 extra hands will receive their share of the 23,4007. devoted to the payment of the operative scavagers, in which case the wages of each of the regular hands will be reduced from 15s. to 9s. a week; hence the maintenance of the paupers will be saddled upon the 600 independent operatives, who will lose no less than 93607. per annum, while the ratepayers will be saved the maintenance of the 400 paupers | and so gain 52001. per annum by the change; (2) or else 400 of the self-supporting operatives must be thrown out of work, in which case the displaced labourers will lose no less than 15,600., while the ratepayers will gain upwards of 50007. The reader is now, I believe, in a position to comprehend the wrong done to the self-supporting scavagers by the employment of pauper labour in the cleansing of the streets. upon-in St. Pancras upon-in St. Pancras a school for pauper children has been erected on the site of the stone-yard. This labour test was unequal when applied to all comers; for what was easy work to an agricul- tural labourer, a railway excavator, a quarryman, or to any one used to wield a hammer, was painful Nor was the and blistering to a starving tailor. test enforced by the overseers or regarded by the paupers as a proof of willingness to work, but simply as a punishment for poverty, and as a means of deterring the needy from applying for relief. relief. To make labour a punishment, however, is not to destroy, but really to confirm, idle habits; it is to give a deeper root to the vagrant's settled aversion to work. Well, I always thought it was unpleasant," the vagabond will say to himself "that working for one's bread, and now I'm con- vinced of it! vinced of it!" Again, in many of the workhouses the labour to which the paupers were set was of a manifestly unremunerative character, being work for mere work's sake; and to apply people to un- productive labour is to destroy all the ordinary motives to toil-to take away the only stimulus to industry, and remove the very will to work which the labour test was supposed to discover *. The labour test, then, or setting the poor to work as a proof of their willingness to labour, appears to be as foolish as it is vicious; the ob- jections to it being-(1) the inequality of the test applied to different kinds of work-people; (2) the tendency of it to confirm rather than weaken idle habits by making labour inordinately repulsive; (3) the removal of the ordinary stimulus to in- dustry by the unproductiveness of the work to which the poor are generally applied. And now, having dealt with the subject of parish labour as a test of the willingnes to work on the part of the applicants for relief, I will proceed to deal with that portion of the work itself which is connected with the cleansing of the streets. The preparation of the material of the roads of a parish seems, as far as the metropolis is con- cerned, at one time to have supplied the chief And first as to the employment of paupers at test," to which parishes have resorted, as regards all in the streets. If pauperism be a dis- the willingness to labour on the part of the able-grace, then it is unjust to turn a man into the bodied applicants for relief. When the casual | public public thoroughfares, wearing the badge of beg- wards of the workhouses were open for the re- gary, to be pointed at and scorned for his poverty, ception of all vagrants who sought a night's especially when we are growing so particularly shelter, each tramper was required to break so studious of our criminals that we make them many stones in the morning before receiving a wear masks to prevent even their faces being certain allowance of bread, soup, or what not for seen. Nor is it consistent with the principles of his breakfast; and he then might be received again an enlightened national morality that we should into the shelter of this casual asylum. In some force a body of honest men to labour upon the parishes the wards were open without the test of highways, branded with a degrading garb, like stone-breaking, and there was a crowded resort to convicts. Neither is it wise to do so, for the them, especially during the prevalence of the shame of poverty soon becomes deadened by the famine in Ireland and the immigration of the Irish repeated exposure to public scorn; and thus the peasants to England. The favourite resort of the occasional recipient of parish relief is ultimately vagrants was Marylebone workhouse, and Irish immigrants very frequently presented slips of paper on which some tramper whom they had met with on their way had written " Marylebone workhouse,” as the best place at which they could apply, and these the simple Irish offered as pass- ports for admission! Gradually, the asylum of these wards, with or without labour tests, was discontinued, and in one where the labour test used to be strongly insisted * Mr. Sidney Herbert informed me, that when he was connected with the Ordnance Departinent the severest punishment they could discover for idleness was the piling and unpiling of cannon shot; but surely this being simply an aversion to work, it is almost self- was the consummation of official folly! for idleness evident that it is impossible to remove this aversion by making labour inordinately irksome and repulsive. Until we understand the means by which work is made pleasant, and can discover other modes of employing our paupers and criminals, all our workhouse and prison discipline is idle tyranny. This is done at the Model Prison, Pentonville. 244 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. days weekly. As a general rule it was found that the greatest complaints were made by the authorities as to the idleness of the poor, and by the poor as to the tyranny of the authorities, in those parishes where the remunera- tion was the least. In St. Luke's, Chelsea, for instance, where the remuneration is but 7s. a week and three loaves, the criminations and recrimina- converted into the hardened and habitual pauper. | the Rolls), and the employment from 6 to 3 "Once a pauper always a pauper," I was assured was the parish rule; and here lies the rationale of the fact. Not long ago this system of employing badged paupers to labour in the public thoroughfares was carried to a much more offensive extent than it is even at present. At one time the pauper labourers of a certain parish had the attention of every passer-by attracted to them while at their work, for on the back of each man's garb-ations by the parish functionaries and the paupers sort of smock-frock-was marked, with sufficient prominence," CLERKENWELL. STOP IT!" This public intimation that the labourers were not only paupers, but regarded as thieves, and expected to purloin the parish dress they wore, attracted public attention, and was severely commented upon at a meeting. The "STOP IT!" therefore was can- celled, and the frocks are now merely lettered "CLERKENWELL." Before the alteration the men very generally wore the garment inside out. The present dress of the parish scavagers is usually a loose smock-frock, costing 1s. 6d. to 2s, and a glazed hat of about the same price. In some cases, however, the men may wear these things or not, at their option. The pauper scavagers employed by the several metropolitan parishes may be divided into three classes:- 1. The in-door paupers, who receive no wages whatever (their lodging, food, and clothing being considered to be sufficient remuneration for their labour). 2. The out-door paupers, who are paid partly in money and partly in kind, and employed in some cases three days and in others six days in the week. These may be subdivided into-(a) the single men, who receive, or rather used to receive, 9d. and a quartern loaf for each of the three or more days they were so employed; (b) the married men with families, who receive 7s. and 3 quartern loaves a week to 1s. 1½d. and 1 quartern loaf for each day's labour. 3. The unemployed labourers of the district, who are set to scavaging work by the parish, and paid a regular money wage-the employment being constant, and the rate of remuneration ranging from 1s. 3d. to 2s. 6d. a day for each of the six days, or from 7s. 6d. to 15s. a week. - In pp. 246, 247, I give a table of the wages paid by each of the metropolitan parishes. This has been collected at great trouble in order to arrive at the truth on this most important matter, and for which purpose the several parishes have been personally visited. It will be seen on reference to this document, that there is only one parish at present that employs its in-door paupers in the scavaging of the public streets; and 3 parishes employing 48 out-door paupers, who are paid partly in money and partly in bread; the money remuneration ranging from 1s. 1 d. a day (paid by Clerkenwell) to 7s. a week (paid by Chelsea), and moreover 31 parishes employing 408 applicants for relief (pau- pers they cannot be called), and paying them wholly in money, the remuneration ranging from 15s. per week to 7s. 6d. (paid by the Liberty of were almost equally harsh and bitter. I should, however, observe that the men employed in this parish spoke in terms of great commendation of Mr. Pattison the surveyor, saying he always gave them to understand that they were free labourers, and invariably treated them as such. The men at work for Bermondsey parish also spoke very highly of their superintendent, who, it seems, has interested himself to obtain for them a foul-weather coat. Some of the highway boards or trusts take all the pauper labourers sent them by the parish, while others give employment only to such as please them. These boards generally pay good wages, and are in favour with the men. The mode of working, as regards the use of the implements and the manual labour, is generally the same among the pauper scavagers as I have described in connection with the scavagers gene- rally. The consideration of what is the rate of parish pay to the poor who are employed as scavagers, is complicated by the different modes in which the employment is carried out, for, as we sec, there is-1st, the scavaging labour, by work- house inmates, without any payment beyond the cost of maintenance and clothing; 2nd, the "short" or three-days-a-week labour, with ΟΙ without "relief" in the bestowal of bread; and 3rd, the six days' work weekly, with a money wage and no bread, nor anything in the form of payment in kind or of "relief." Let me begin with the first system of labour above mentioned, viz. the employment of the in- door paupers without wages of any kind, their food, lodging, and clothing being considered as equivalents for their work. The principal evil in connection with this form of parish work is its compulsory character, the men regarding it not as so much work given in exchange for such and such comforts, but as something exacted from them; and, to tell the truth, it is precisely the counterpart of slavery, being equally deficient in all inducement to toil, and consequently requiring almost the same system of compulsion and super- vision in order to keep the men at their labour. All interest in the work is destroyed, there being no reward connected with it; and consequently the same organized system of setting to work is required as with cattle. There are but two in- ducements to voluntary action-pain to be avoided or pleasure to be derived-or, in other words, the attractiveness and repulsiveness of objects. Take away the pecuniary attraction of labour, and men become mere beasts of burden, capable of being set to work only by the dread of some punish- ment; hence the system of parish labour, which ༄ THE SWEEPS' лала ļ NMEASING HOME. (From a sketch taken on the spot.) LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 245 } has no reward directly connected with it, must necessarily be tyrannical, and so tend to induce idleness and a hatred of work altogether. Of the different forms of pauper work, street- sweeping is, I am inclined to believe, the most unpopular of all among the poor. The scavaging is generally done in the workhouse dress, and that to all, except the hardened paupers, and paupers, and sometimes even | to them, is highly distasteful. Neither have such labourers, as I have said, the incentive of that hope of the reward which, however diminutive, still tends to sweeten the most repulsive labour. I am informed by an ex- perienced gangsman under a contractor, that it is notorious that the workhouse hands are the least industrious scavagers in the streets. They don't sweep as well," he said, "and don't go about it like regular men; they take it quite easy." It is often asserted that this labour of the workhouse men is applied as a test; but this opinion seems rather to bear on the past than the present. 66 One man thus employed gave me following account. He was garrulous but not communi- cative, as is frequently the case with men who love to hear themselves talk, and are not very often able to command listeners. He was healthy looking enough, but he told me he was, or had been delicate." He querulously objected to be questioned about his youth, or the reason of his being a pauper, but seemed to be abounding in workhouse stories and workhouse grievances. Street-sweeping," he said, "degrades a man, and if a man's poor he hasn't no call to be de- graded. Why can't they set the thieves and pick- pockets to sweep? they could be watched easy enough; there's always idle fellers as reckons their- selves real gents, as can be got for watching and sitch casy jobs, for they gets as much for them, as three men's paid for hard work in a week. I never was in a prison, but I've heerd that people there is better fed and better cared for than in workusses. What's the meaning of that, sir, I'd like for to know. You can't tell me, but I can tell you. The workus is made as ugly as it can be, that poor people may be got to leave it, and chance dying in the street rather." [Here the man indulged in a gabbled detail of a series of pauper grievances which I had a difficulty in diverting or inter- rupting. On my asking if the other paupers had the same opinion as to street-sweeping as he had, he replied: To be sure they has; all them that has sense to have a 'pinion at all has; there's not two sides to it any how. No, I don't want to be kept and do nothink. I want proper work. And by the rights of it I might as well be kept with nothink to do as or [parish officials]. "Have they nothing to do," I asked? "Nothink, but to make mischief and get what ought to go to the poor. It's salaries and such like as swallers the rates, and that's what every poor family knows as knows anythink. Did I ever like my work better? Certainly not. Do I take any pains with it? Well, where would be the good? I can sweep well enough, when I pleasc, but if I could do more than the best man as ever Mr. Darke paid a pound a week to, it wouldn't be a | 11 bit better for me-not a bit, sir, I assure you. We all takes it easy whenever we can, but the work must be done. The only good about it is that you get outside the house. It's a change that way certainly. But we work like horses and is treated like asses. [On my reminding him that he had just told me that they all took it easy when they could, and thut rather often, he re- But it ain't much plied :] "Well, don't horses? use talking, sir. It's only them as has been in workusses and in parish work as can understand all the ins and outs of it.' In giving the above and the following state- ments I have endeavoured to elicit the feelings of the several paupers whom I conversed with. Poor, ignorant, or prejudiced men may easily be mistaken in their opinions, or in what they may consider their "facts," but if a clear exposition of their sentiments be obtained, it is a guide to the truth. I have, therefore, given the statement of the in-door pauper's opinions, querulously as they were delivered, as I believe them to be the sentiments of those of his class who, as he said, had any opinion at all. It seems indeed, from all I could learn on the subject, that pauper street-work, even at the best, is unwilling and slovenly work, pauper workmen If the streets be being the worst of all workmen. swept clean, it is because a dozen paupers are put to the labour of eight. nine, or ten regular scavagers who are independent labourers, and who may have some pride of art," or some desire to show their employers that they are to be depended upon. This feeling does not actuate the pauper workman, who thinks or knows that if he did evince a desire and a perseverance to please, it would avail him little beyond the sneers and ill-will of his mates; so that, even with a disposition to acquire the good opinion of the authorities, there obstacle in his way, and to most men who move in a circumscribed sphere it is a serious obstacle. this Of the second mode of pauper scavaging, viz., that performed by out-door paupers, and paid for partly in money and partly in kind, I heard from officials connected with pauper management very strong condemnations, as being full of mis- chievous and degrading tendencies. The payment to the out-door pauper scavager averages, as I have stated, 9d. a day to a single man, with, perhaps, a quartern loaf; and this, in some cases, is for only three days in the week; while to a mar- ried man with a family, it varies between 1s. 1½d. and 1s. 2d. a day, with a quartern, and some- times two quartern loaves; and this, likewise, is oc- casionally from three to six days in the week. On this the single or family men must subsist, if they have no other means of earning an addition. The men thus employed are certainly not independent labourers, nor are they, in the full sense of the word as popularly understood, paupers; for their means of subsistence are partly the fruits of their toil; and although they are wretchedly dependent, they seem to feel that they have a sort of right to be set to work, as the law ordains such modicum of relief, in or out of the workhouse, as will only ward off death through hunger. This "three- 246 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. *TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF MEN EMPLOYED BY SCAVAGING, AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OF HOURS PER DAY AMOUNT OF WAGES ACCRUING TO EACH, AND THE TOTAL 7 12 30 PARISHES. Paid in Money (by Parishes). Greenwich Walworth Newington Lambeth No. of mar-Number of ried men single men Number of Number of employed employed Superin- Foremen by parishes by parishes tendents or Gangers daily in sca- daily in employed employed vaging the scavaging by parishes. (by parishes. streets. the streets.] Daily or weekly wages of the married parish-men. S. 1 1 1 15 8 3 15 1 Poplar 20 • St. Ann's, Soho 4 1 Rotherhithe 4 Wandsworth 6 · Hackney 12 St. Mary's, Paddington 8 St. Giles's, and St. George's, Bloomsbury 20 454 54 114 15 15 15 14 12 12 1 2 12 4 12 St. Pancras (South-west Division) 10 2 12 St. Clement Danes 6 St. Paul's, Covent-garden 2 25 1 11 1 11 St. James's, Westminster 6 1 10 • • Ditto Ditto St. Andrew's, Holborn Marylebone St. George's, Hanover-square Liberty of the Rolls Bermondsey Paid in Money (by Highway Boards). St. James's, Clerkenwell (1st Division) Islington Commercial Road East 6 1 10 • 6 10 1 9 1 1 9 80 15 30 19 CO 1 10 9 6 1 4 • 1 7s. 6d. · 13 1 1 9s. a week. 1s. 4d. per day. Hampstead Highgate Kensington Lewisham Camberwell Christchurch, Lambeth Woolwich Deptford Paid partly in kind. 15 7 1 1 15 4 1 1 15 · 4 1 15 3 6 21 1 14 1 12 4 1 12 10 1 12 • 6 5 4 HRA 1 12 1 12 1 ONNNN 9 St. Luke's, Chelsea 27 9 ลว 3 Hans-town St. James's, Clerkenwell 6 6 • Paid wholly in kind. St. Pancras (Highways) 10 Total • 400 66 1 8 1 62 7s., and on an ave- rage 3 loaves each, at 4d. a loaf. 7s., and average 3 loaves per head. 1s. 1d. a day, and 1 quartern loaf. estimated expense of food, 2s. 4d. weekly. The number of men here given as employed by the parishes in the scavaging of the streets will be found to differ from that of the table at page 213; but the present table includes all the parish-men employed throughout London, whereas the other referred to only a portion of the localities there mentioned. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 247 THE METROPOLITAN PARISHES AND HIGHWAY BOARDS IN AND NUMBER OF DAYS PER WEEK, TOGETHER WITH THE ANNUAL WAGES OF THE WHOLE. Daily or weekly wages of the single parisli-men. Weekly wages of the Superintendents employed by parishes. Weekly wages of Foremen or Gangers employed by parishes. Number of hours per day each parish-man is employed to sweep the streets. Number of days in the week each parish-man is employed in sweeping the streets. Total annual wages of the whole, including the estimated value of food and clothes. £. S. d. S. S. 8. 15 30s. and a house 18 10 6 456 16 0 to live in. 14 18 12 6 899 12 0 20 18 10 6 18 10 6 1456 0 0 967 4 0 15 12 6 195 0 0 16 18 10 10 12 992 18 20 15 18 60 00 00 LO 00 10 6 187 4 0 10 6 234 0 0 10 6 665 12 0 12 6 509 12 0 12 6 936 0 0 18 12 6 93 12 == 11 15 10 6 267 16 0 11 13 12 6 234 0 0 12 10 6 187 4 0 12 10 6 187 4 0 12 10 6 166 12 0 15 12 10 6 304 4 0 9 18 16 10 6 2685 16 0 9s. a week. 20 16 10 6 1060 16 0 10 1s. 4d. per day. [28s. and clothing. 10 CO LO 6 19 10 0 5 321 3 4 10 O 6 15 18 10 6 15 1007. a year. 12 a a a 195 0 0 405 0 0 18 10 6 295 202 10 0 0 14 12 + Q 18 10 6 228 16 0 18 12 6 265 4 0 18 10 6 171 12 0 18 12 6 358 16 0 ! 15 10 6 226 4 Ü 18 10 6 202 16 0 18 10 140 8 0 7 14 10 6 834 12 0 { I 21s. and food. 14 10 6 161 4 0 10 3 70 4 0 со 8 4 128 5 4 15,919 8 8 248 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. days-a-week work" is by the poor or pauper labourers looked upon as being, after the in-door pauper work, the worst sort of employment. From a married man employed by the parish under this mode, I had the following account. He was an intelligent-looking man, of about 35, but with nothing very particular in his appearance unless it were a head of very curly hair. He gave me the statement in his own room, which was larger than I have usually found such abodes, and would have been very bare, but that it was somewhat littered with the vessels of his trade as a street-seller of Nectar, Persian Sherbet, Raspberryade, and other decoctions of coloured ginger-beer, with high-sounding names and indif- ferent flavour in the summer he said he could live better thereby, with a little costering, than by street-sweeping, but being often a sickly man he could not do so during the uncertainties of a winter street trade. His wife, a decent looking woman, was present occasionally, suckling one child, about two years old-for the poor often protract the wean- ing of their children, as the mother's nutriment is the cheapest of all food for the infant, and as the means of postponing the further increase of their family whilst another of five or six years of age sat on a bench by her side. There was nothing on the walls in the way of an ornament, as I have seen in some of the rooms of the poor, for the couple had once been in the workhouse, and might be driven there again, and with such apprehensions did not care, perhaps, to make a home otherwise than they found it, even if the consumption of only a little spare time were involved. The husband said:- "I was brought up as a type-founder; my father, who was one, learnt me his trade; but he died when I was quite a young man, or I might have been better perfected in it. I was com- fortably off enough then, and got married. Very soon after that I was taken ill with an abscess in my neck, you can see the mark of it still." [He showed me the mark.] "For six months I wasn't able to do a thing, and I was a part of the time, I don't recollect how long, in St. Bartholomew's Hospital. I was weak and ill when I came out, and hardly fit for work; I couldn't hear of any work I could get, for there was a great bother in the trade between master and men. Before I went into the hospital, there was money to pay to doctors; and when I came out I could earn nothing, so everything went, yes, sir, every thing. My wife made a little matter with charing for families she'd lived in, but things are in a bad way if a poor woman has to keep her husband. She was taken ill at last, and then there was nothing but the parish for us. I suffered a great deal before it come to that. It was awful. No one can know what it is but them that suffers it. But I didn't know what in the world to do. We lived then in St.. Luke's, and were passed to our own parish, and were three months in the work- house. The living was good enough, better then than it is now, I've heard, but I was miserable.” ["And I was very miserable," interposed the wife, for I had been brought up comfortable; my as father was a respectable tradesman in St. George's- in-the-East, and I had been in good situations."] "We made ourselves," said the husband, useful as we could, but we were parted of course. At the three months' end, I had 10s. given to me to come out with, and was told I might start costermongering on it. costermongering on it. But to a man not up to the trade, 10s. won't go very far to keep up costering. I didn't feel master enough of my own trade by this time to try for work at it, and work wasn't at all regular. There were good hands earning only 12s. a week. The 10s. soon went, and I had again to apply for relief, and got an order for the stone-yard to go and break stones. Ten bushels was to be broken for 15d. It was dreadful hard work at first. My hands got all blistered and bloody, and I've gone home and cried with pain and wretchedness. At first it was on to three days before I could break the ten bushels. I felt shivered to bits all over my arms and shoulders, and my head was splitting. I then got to do it in two days, and then in one, and it grew easier. But all this time I had only what was reckoned three days' work in a week. That is, you see, sir, I had only three times ten bushels of stones given to break in the week, and earned only 3s. 9. Yes, I lived on it, and paid 1s. 6d. a week rent, for the neighbours took care of a few sticks for us, and the parish or a broker wouldn't have found them worth carriage. My wife was then in the country with a sister. I lived upon bread and dripping, went without fire or candle (or had one only very seldom) though it wasn't warm weather. I can safely say that for eight weeks I never tasted one bite of meat, and hardly a bite of butter. When I couldn't sleep of a night, but that wasn't often, it was terrible, very. I washed what bits of things I had then myself, and had sometimes to get a ha'porth of soap as a favour, as the chandler said she didn't make less than a penn'orth.' eat too much dripping, it made me feel sick. hardly know how much bread and dripping I eat in a week. I spent what money I had in it and bread, and sometimes went without. I was very weak, you may be sure, sir; and if I'd had the influenza or anything that way, I should have gone off like a shot, for I seemed to have no con- stitution left. But my wife came back again and got work at charing, and made about 4s. a week at it; but we were still very badly off. Then I got to work on the roads every day, and had 1s. and a quartern loaf a day, which was a rise. I had only one child then, but men with larger families got two quartern loaves a day. Single men got 9d. a day. It was far easier work than stone-breaking too. The hours were from eight If I I to five in winter, and from seven to six in summer. But there's always changes going on, and we were put on 1s. 1d. a day and a quartern loaf, and only three days a week. only three days a week. All the same as to time of course. The bread wasn't good; it was only cheap. I suppose there was 20 of us working most of the times as I was. The gangsman, as you call him, but that's more for the regular hands, was a servant of the parish, and a great tyrant. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 249 Yes, indeed, when we had a talk among ourselves, there was nothing but grumbling heard of. Some of the tales I've heard were shocking; worse than what I've gone through. Everybody was grumbling, except perhaps two men that had been 20 years in the streets, and were like born. paupers. They didn't feel it, for there's a great difference in men. They knew no better. But anybody might have been frightened to hear some of the men talk and curse. We've stopped work to abuse the parish officers as might be passing. We've mobbed the overseers, and a number of us, I was one, were taken before the magistrate for it; but we told him how badly we were off, and he discharged us, and gave us orders into the workhouse, and told 'em to see if nothing could be done for us. We were there till next morning, and then sent away without anything being said. "It's a sad life, sir, is a parish worker's. I wish to God I could get out of it. But when a man has children he can't stop and say 'I can't do this,' and 'I won't do that.' Last week, now, in costering, I lost 6s."" [he meant that his ex- penses, of every kind, exceeded his receipts by 6s.], and though I can distil nectar, or anything that way," [this was said somewhat laughingly], "it's only when the weather's hot and fine that any good at all can be done with it. I think, too, that there's not the money among working men that there once was. Anything regular in the way of pay must always be looked at by a man with a family. "Of course the streets must be properly swept, and if I can sweep them as well as Mr. Dodd's men, for I know one of them very well, why should I have only 3s. 4d. a week and three loaves, and he have 16s, I think it is. I don't drink, my wife knows I don't" [the wife assented], "and it seems as if in a parish a man must be kept down when he is down, and then blamed for it. I may not understand all about it, but it looks queer." From an unmarried man, looking like a mere boy in the face, although he assured me he was nearly 24, as far as he knew, I heard an account of his labour and its fruits as a parish scavager; also of his former career, which partakes greatly in its characteristics of the narratives I gave, to- ward the close of the first volume, of deserted, neglected, and runaway children. r He lived from his carliest recollection with an old woman whom he first called "grandmother," grandmother," and was then bid to call "aunt," and she, some of the neighbours told him, had kept him out of his rights," for she had 4s. a week with him, so that there ought to have been money coming to him when he grew up. I have sometimes heard similar statements from the ignorant poor, for it is agreeable enough to them to fancy that they have been wronged out of fortunes to which they were justly entitled, and deprived of the position and consequence in life which they ought to have pos- sessed "by rights." In the course of my inquiries among the poor women who supply the slop milliners' shops with widows' caps, cap fronts, women's collars, &c., &c., I was told by one mid- dle-aged cap-maker, a very silly person, that she would be worth 100,000%, "if she had her rights." What those "rights" were she could not explain, only that there was and had been a great deal of money in the family, and of course she had a right to her share, only she was kept out of it. The youth in question never heard of a father, and had been informed that his mother had died when he was a baby. From what he told me, I think it most probable that he was an illegitimate child, for whose maintenance his father possibly paid the 4s. a week, perhaps to some near relative of the deceased mother. The old woman, as well as I could make the matter out from his narrative, died suddenly, and, as little was known about her, she was buried by the parish, and the lad, on the evening of the funeral, was to have been taken by the landlord of the house where they lodged into the workhouse; but the boy ran away before this could be accomplished; the parish of course not ob- jecting to be relieved of an incumbrance. He thought he was then about twelve or thirteen years of age, and he had before run away from two schools, one a Ragged-school, to which he had been sent, for it was so confining,” he said, “and one master, not he as had the raggeds, leathered him,” to use his own words, "tightly." He knew his letters now, he thought, but that was all, and very few," he said, gravely, “would have put up with it so long as I did." He subsisted as well as he could by selling matches, penny memorandum books, onions, &c., after he had run away, sleeping under hedges in the country, or in lodging-houses in town, and living on a few pence a day, or "starving on nothink." He was taken ill, and believed it was of a fever, at or somewhere about Portsmouth, and when he was sufficiently recovered, and had given the best account he could of himself, was passed to his parish in London. his parish in London. The relieving officer, he said, would have given him a pair of shoes and half-a-crown, and let him "take his chance, but the doctor wouldn't sartify any ways." He meant, I think, that the medical officer found him too ill to be at large on his own account. He discharged himself, however, in a few weeks from this parish workhouse, as he was convalescent. "The grub there, you see, sir," he said, "was stunning good when I first went, but it fell off." As the probability is that there was no change in the diet, it may not be unfair tɔ con- clude that the regular meals of the establishment were very relishable at first, and that after- wards their very regularity and their little varia- tion made the recipient critical. "When I left, sir," he stated, "they guv me 2s. 6d., and a tidy shirt, and a pair of blucherers, and mended up my togs for me decent. I tried all sorts of goes then. I went to Chalk-farm and some other fairs with sticks for throwing, and used to jump among them as throwing was going on, and to sing out, break my legs and miss my pegs.' I got many a knock, and when I did, oh! there was such larfing at the fun on it. I sold garden sticks too, and garden ropes, and posts sometimes; but it was all wery poor pay. Sometimes I made 10d., 1 250 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. but not never I think but twice 1s. a day at it, and oftener 6d., and in bad weather there was nothink to be done. If I made 6d. clear, it was 1d. for cawfee for I often went out fasting in a morning and 1d. for bread and butter, and 1d. for pudden for dinner, and another 1d. perhaps for beer-half- pint and a farden out at the public bar-and 2d. | for a night's lodging. I've had sometimes to leave half my stock in flue with a deputy for a night's rest. 0, I didn't much mind the bugs, so I could rest; and next day had to take my things out if I could, and pay a hexter ha'penny or penny, for hintrest, like. Yes, I've made 18. a hevening at a fair; but there's so many a going it there that one ruins another, and wet weather ruins the whole biling, the pawillion, theaytres and all. I never was a hactor, never; but I've thought sometimes I'd like to try my hand at it. I may some day, 'cause I'm tall. I was forced to go to the parish again, for I got ill and dreadful weak, and then they guv me work on the roads. I can't just say how long it's since, two or three year perhaps, but I had 9d. a day at first, and reglar work, and then three days and three loaves a week, and then threc days and no loaves. I haven't been at it werry lately. I've rayther taken the summer out of myself, but I must go back soon, for cold weather 's a coming. Vy, I lived a good deal on carrying trunks from the busses to Euston Railway; a good many busses stops in the New-road, in the middle of the square. Some was foreigners, and they was werry scaly. No, I never said nothink but once, ven I got two French ha'pennies for carrying a heavy old leather thing, like a coach box, as seemed to belong to a family; and then the railway bobbies made me hold my tongue. I jobbed about in other places too, but the time's gone by now. O, I had a deal to put up with last winter. What is 9. a day for three days? and if poor men had their rights, times 'ud be different. I'd like to know where all the money goes. I never counted how many parish sweepers there was; too many by arf. I've a rights to work, and it's as little as a parish can do to find it. I pay 1s. a week for half a bed, and not half enough bed-clothes; but me and Jack Smith sometimes sleeps in our clothes, and sometimes spreads 'em o' top. No, poor Jack, he hasn't no hold on a parish; he's a mud-lark and a gatherer [bone-grubber]. Do I like the overseers and the parish officers? In course not, nobody does. Why don't they? Well, how can they? that's just where it is. Ven I haven't been at sweeping, I've staid in bed as long as I was let; but Mother B.-I don't know no other name she has-wouldn't stand it after ten. O no, it wern't a common lodging-house, a sort of private lodging- house perhaps, where you took by the week. If I made nothink but my ninepences, I lived on bread and cawfee, or bread and coker, and some- times a red herring, and I've bought 'em in the Brill at five and six a penny. Mother B. charged d. for leave to toast 'em on her gridiron. She is a scaly old I've oft spent all my money in a tripe supper at night, and fasted all next day. I used to walk about and look in at • - the cook-shop windows, and try for a job next day. I'd have gone five miles for anybody for a penn'orth of pudden. No, I never thought of making away with myself; never. Nor I never thought of going for a soldier; it wouldn't suit me to be tied so. What I want is this here- regular work and no jaw. O, I'm sometimes as miserable as hunger 'll make a parson, if ever he felt it. Yes, I go to church sometimes when I'm at work for the parish, if I'm at all togged. No doubt I shall die in the workus. You see there's nobody in the world cares for me. I can't tell just how I spend my money; just as it comes into my head. No, I don't care about drinking; it don't agree with me; but there's some can live on it. I don't think as I shall ever marry, though who knows?" The third and last system of parish work is where the labourer is employed regularly, and paid a fixed wage, out of the parochial fund certainly, but not in the same manner as the paupers are paid, nor with any payment in kind (as in loaves), but all in money. The pay- ment in this wise is usually 1s. 6d. a day, and, but for such employment, the poor so employed, would, in most instances, apply for relief. In one parish, where the poor are regularly employed in street sweeping, and paid a regular wage in money, the whole scavaging work is done by the paupers, as they are usually termed, though they are not on the rate.' By them the streets are swept and the houses dusted, the granite broken for macadamization, and the streets and roads repaved or repaired. This is done by about 50 men, the labour in the different depart- ments I have specified being about equally ap- portioned as to the number employed in cach. The work is executed without any direct intervention of the parish officers employed in administering relief to the poor, but through the agency of a board. All the men, however, are the poor of the parish, and but for this employment would or might claim relief, or demand admittance with their families into the workhouse. The system, therefore, is one of indirect pauper labour. Nearly all the men have been unskilled labourers, the exception being now and then a few operatives in such handicrafts as were suffering from the dearth of employment. Some of the artizans, I was informed, would be earning their 9s. in the stone-yard one week, and the next getting 30s. at their business. The men thus labouring for the parish are about three-fifths Irishmen, a fifth Welchmen, or rather more than a fifth, and the remainder Englishmen. There is not a single Scotchman among them. There is no difference, in the parish I allude to, between the wages of married and single men, but men with families are usually preferred among the applicants for such work. They all reside in their own rooms, or sometimes in lodg- ing-houses, but this rests with themselves. I had the following account from a heavy and healthy-looking middle-aged man, dressed in a jacket and trousers of coarse corduroy. There is so little distinctive about it, however, that I will LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 251 | not consume space in presenting it in the narrative form in which I noted it down. It may suffice that the man seemed to have little recollection as to the past, and less care as to the future. His life, from all I could learn from him, had been spent in what may be called menial labour, as the servant, not of an individual, but of a parish; but there was nothing, he knew of, that he had to thank anybody for-parish or any one. They wanted him and he wanted them. On my asking him if he had never tried to "better himself," he said that he had once as a navvy, but a blow on the head and eye, from a portion of rock shivered by his pick-axe, disabled him for awhile, and he | left railway work. He went to church, as was expected of him, and he and his wife liked it. He had forgotten how to read, but never was "a dab at it," and so "didn't know nothing about the litany or the psalms." He couldn't say as he knew any difference between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church-goers, "cause the one was a English and the t' other a Irish religion," and he wasn't to be expected to understand Irish religion." He saw no necessity to put by money (this he said hesitatingly), supposing he could; what was his parish for and he would take care he didn't | lose his settlement. If he'd ever had such a chance as some had he might have saved money, but he never had. He had no family, and his wife earned about 4s. a week, but not every week, in a wool warehouse, and they did middling. 66 The above, then, are the modes in which paupers, or imminent paupers, so to speak, are employed, and in one way or other are paid for their labour, or what is called paid, and who, although parish menials, still reside in their own abodes, with the opportunity, such as it is, of "looking out" for better employment. As to the moral qualities of the street sweeping paupers I do not know that they differ from those of paupers generally. All men who feel them selves sunk into compulsory labour and a degraded condition are dissatisfied, and eager to throw the blame of their degradation from their own shoulders. But it is evident that these men are unwilling workers, because their work is deprived of its just reward; and although I did not hear of any difficulty being experienced in getting them to work, I was assured by many who knew them well, that they do not go about it with any alertness. Did any one ever hear a pauper whistle or sing at his street-work? I believe that every experienced vestryman will agree to the truth of the statement that it is very rarely a confirmed pauper rises from his degradation. His thoughts and aspirations scem bounded by the workhouse and the parish. The reason appears to be because the workhouse autho- rities seek rather to degrade than to elevate the man, resorting to every means of shaming the pauper, until at last he becomes so utterly callous to the disgrace of pauperism that he does not care to alter his position. The system, too, adopted by the parish authorities of not paying for work, or paying less than the ordinary prices of the trade, causes the pauper labourers to be unwilling workers; and finding that industry brings no reward, or less than its fair reward, to them, they get to hate all work, and to grow up habitual burdens on the State. Crabbe, the poet, who in all questions of borough and parish life is an authority, makes his workhouse boy, Dick Mon- day, who when a boy got more kicks than half- pence, die Sir Richard Monday, of Monday-place; but this is a flight on the wings of poetical licence; certainly not impossible, and that is all which can be said for its likelihood. The following remarks on the payment of the parish street-sweepers are from one of of Mr. Cochrane's publications :- "The council considers it a duty to the poor to touch upon the niggardly manner in which parish scavengers are generally paid, and the deplorable and emaciated condition which they usually pre- sent, with regard to their clothing and personal appearance. One contractor pays 16s. 6d. per week; 2 pay 16s.; 12 (including a Highway Board) pay 15s. each; 1 pays 14s. 6d. ; 2 pay 14s.; and 1 pays so low as 12s. On the other hand, five parish boards of guardians of the poor,' pay only 9s. each, to their miserable mud- larks; one pays S.; another 7s. 5d.; a third 7s.; a fourth compensates its labourers-in the British metropolis, where rent and living are necessarily higher than elsewhere-with 5s. Sd. per week! whilst a fifth pays 3 men 15s. cach, 12 men 10s. each, and 6 men 7s. 6d. each, for exactly the same kind of work ! ! ! But what renders this mean torture of men (because they happen to be poor) absurd as well as cruel, are the anomalous facts, that whilst the guardians of one parish pay 5 men 7s. each, the contractor for another part of the same parish, pays his 4 men 14s. each ;-and whilst the guardians of a second parish pay only 5s. 8d., the Highway Board pays 15s. to each of its labourers, for performing exactly the same work in the same district !—Mr. Darke, scavenging con- tractor of Paddington, tractor of Paddington, lately stated that he never had, and never would, employ any man at less than 16s. or 18s. per week ;-and Mr. Sinnott, of Bel- videre-road, Lambeth, about three months since, offered to certain West-End guardians, to take 40 paupers out of their own workhouse to cleanse their own parish, on the street-orderly system ; and to pay them 15s. per week each man* ; but the economical guardians preferred filth and a full workhouse, to cleanliness, Christian charity, and common sense ;-and so the proposal of this con- siderate contractor was rejected! It is certainly far from being creditable to boards of gentlemen and wealthy tradesmen who manage parish affairs, to pay little more than one-half the wages that an individual does, to poor labourers who cannot choose their employment or their masters. • · • "The broken-down tradesman, the journeyman deprived of his usual work by panic or by poverty of the times, the ingenious mechanic, or the un- successful artist, applies at the parish labour- market for leave to live by other labour than that To the honourable conduct of the above-named contractors to their men, I am glad to be able to bear wit- ness. All the men speak in the highest terms of them. 252 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 7 1 • • which hitherto maintained him in comfort. the wages of the labourer is to render industry The usual language of such persons, even when as unprofitable as indolence. In either case the applying for private alms or parochial relief, is, not same premium is proffered to pauperism. As that they want money, but that they have long yet the Poor-Law Commissioners have seen but been out of work;' that their particular trade one way of reducing the poor-rates, viz., by ren- has been overstocked with apprentices, or super-dering the state of the pauper as unenviable seded by machinery;' or, that their late em- ployer has become bankrupt, or has discharged the majority of his hands from the badness of the times.' To a man of this class, the guardian of the poor replies, We will test your willingness to labour, by employing you in the stone-yard, or to sweep the streets; but the parish being heavily burthened with rates, we cannot afford more than 7s. or 8s. a week.' The poor creature, conscious of his own helplessness, accepts the miserable pittance, in order to preserve himself and family from imme- diate starvation. • as possible, and they have wholly lost sight of the other mode of attaining the same end, viz., by making the state of the labourer as desirable as possible. To institute a terrible poor law with- out maintaining an attractive form of industry, is to hold out a boon to crime. If the wages of the working man are to be reduced to bare subsistence, and the condition of the pauper is to be rendered worse than that of the working man, what atro- cities will not be committed upon the poor. Elevate the condition of the labourer, and there will be no necessity to depress the pauper. Make "The council has taken much pains to as- work more attractive by increasing the reward for certain the wages, and mode of expenditure of it, and laziness will necessarily become more re- them, by this uncared-for, and almost pariah, pulsive. As it is, however, the pauper is not only class of labourers throughout the metropolitan kept at the very lowest point of subsistence, but parishes; and it possesses undeniable proofs, that his half-starved labour is brought into competition few possess any further garment than the rags with that of men living in a comparative state of upon their backs; some being even without a comfort; and the result, of course, is, that in- change of linen; that they never enter a place stead of decreasing the number of paupers or of worship, on account of their want of de- poor-rates, we make paupers of our labourers, cent clothing; that their wives and children are and fill our workhouses by such means. starved and in rags, and the latter without the scavager's labour be worth from 12s. to 15s. per least education; that they never by any chance week in the market, what moral right have the taste fresh animal food; that one-third of their guardians of the poor to pay 5s. 8d. for the same hard earnings is paid for rent; and that their only commodity? If the paupers are set to do work sustenance (unless their wives happen to go out which is fairly worth 15s., then to pay them little washing or charing), consists of bread, potatoes, more than one-third of the regular value is not coarse tea without milk or sugar, a salt herring only to make unwilling workers of the paupers, two or three times a week, and a slice of rusty but to drag down all the better workmen to the bacon on Sunday morning The meal called level of the worst. dinner they never know; their only refection being breakfast and tea:' beer they do not taste from year's end to year's end; and any other luxury, or even necessary, is out of the question. 66 "Of the 21 scavengers employed by St. James's parish in 1850, no less than 16," says Mr. Coch- rane's report, were married, with from one to four children each. How the poor creatures who receive but 7s. 6d. a week support their families, is best known to themselves." Let me now, in conclusion, endeavour to arrive at a rough estimate as to the sum of which the pauper labours annually are mulct by the before- mentioned rates of remuneration, estimating their labour at the market value or amount paid by the honourable contractors, viz. 16s. a week; for if private individuals can afford to pay that wage, and yet reap a profit out of the transaction, the guardians of the poor surely could and should pay the same prices, and not avail themselves of starving men's necessities to reduce the wages of a trade to the very quick of subsistence. If it be a sound principle that the condition of the pauper should be rendered less desirable than that of the labourer, assuredly the principle is equally sound that the condition of the labourer should be made more desirable than that of the pauper; for if to pamper the pauper be to make indolence more agreeable than industry, certainly to grind down If a It may be estimated that the outlay on pauper labour, as a whole, after deducting the sum paid to superintendents and gaugers, does not exceed 10s. weekly per individual; consequently the lowering of the price of labour is in this ratio: There are now, in round numbers, 450 pauper scavagers in the metropolis, and the account stands thus:- 450 scavagers, at the regular weekly wages of 16s. each • 450 pauper labourers, 10s. each weekly Yearly. £18,710 • 11,700 £7,020 Lower price of pauper work. Hence we see, that the great scurf employers of the scavagers, after all, are the guardians of the poor, compared with whom the most grasping contractor is a model of liberality. That the minimum of remuneration paid by the parishes has tended, and is tending more and more, to the general depreciation of wages in the scavaging trade, there is no doubt. It has done so directly and indirectly. One man, who had been a last-maker, told me that he left his employment as a London scavager, for he had come down to the parish," and set off at the close of the summer into Kent for the harvest and hopping, for, when in the country, he had been ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 1 A working man sends the following extra- ordinary illustration of the boasted principle that machinery increases employment, and so, by ex- tending the demand for labour, raises the wages of the workman:- “Sir, Sheffield, September 22, 1851. - tion. "I beg to be excused in the freedom I take with your patience in the perusal of these few humble lines, but having been a constant and an attentive reader of your valuable work, London Labour and the London Poor,' I should like to hear the opinion of R. H. or J. H., of the Man- chester school, on this question. I ask what is the cause of reduction in the price of railway- spring making? We well know that railways keep continually increasing, consequently the demand for those articles must be greater; and, on the other hand, it is perfectly well known that there are no more manufactories of them than there were a few years ago; but the supply is on the increase, and is now wanted to be made cheaper. Three or four years since there was no machinery; and since its introduction it has com- pletely put away with the practice of forging the work. The price of forging railway-springs was 1s. 10d. per cwt., at which rate two good workmen would earn about 12s. per day; but now the same work that they used to get 12s. for is done by machinery at the cost of not more than 3s. or 3s. 6d. It seems most singularly strange to us where the profit goes to if the proprietors do not get it. So much for the forging. A strike has recently taken place to maintain the price of fitting railway-springs; and appeals to the public have been circulated through the town of Sheffield, of which I inclose one for your inspection, merely to show you and the public that the produce of the Cyclops Works (specimens of whose manufac- tures occupy so large a space in the Great Ex- hibition) is procured from the working men with a great deal of tyranny by the rich capitalist. I beg a thousand pardons for intruding on your patience, and remain "Yours, "A WORKING MAN." The inclosed bill is as follows:- "THE APPEAL OF THE RAILWAY SPRING MAKERS TO THE INHABITANTS OF SHEFFIELD AND THE PUBLIO GENERALLY. FELLOW TOWNSMEN, "Our present condition and circumstances impel us to submit for your inspection the following facts, in the hope that they will excite that sym- pathy and good feeling which we think we are deserving of, and which have often been displayed in cases similar to ours. The facts we are about to state in support of the above assertion are simply these :-About four years ago the price of railway springs fitting and vicing were 5s. per hundred weight, this was the current price but the following year a reduc- tion was attempted at by one of our greatest em- ployers, which eventually succeeded. The conse- quence of this was, the price of our labour was reduced from 5s. to 3s. 6d. per hundred weight. We submitted tamely to this reduction, as we wished, if possible, to preserve harmonious rela- tions with our employers, and especially with two principal ones, with whom the present contention has arisen. But mark! the reduction which we assented to was not doomed to rest there, for it gave a stimulus to the rapacity of the two manu- facturers aforesaid, for they shortly afterwards made a further attempt, which, if quietly submitted to, will take at least from 30 to 40 per cent. from the price we have previously been receiving; manifested towards us, we have no guarantee but this is not all from the disposition which is when this cheapening process is to terminate. Since the time that we suffered our work to be lowered to 3s. 6d. per hundred weight, the grinders receive at the rate of 3d. per hundred weight out of it, and the benefit that we derive from their services in this respect does not exceed 6d. per state, that there are men belonging to us, who man per week; and it is an important fact to have worked for the two employers aforesaid, for scanty wages, and the same men, in consequence materials, have been subjected to all the insults of having to perform their work with very bad and tyranny that the cruelty and selfishness of But perhaps it may be said, there is a numerous man towards his fellow man can possibly devise. class of artizans in other trades who are working low wages, and therefore they are equally deserving of public sympathy.' If such remarks should be made, we shall here beg to state the It following appalling facts relative to our trade. tion, and we almost venture to challenge the is indisputably one of the most laborious descrip- ingenuity of man to produce one of a more per- nicious tendency, or one that has a more destruc- tive influence on the human constitution than We not only work in one of the hottest atmospheres, but we have to breathe a sulphurous and poisonous blast, arising from the material that we work with. Men of the most robust constitu- tion scarcely attain the age of 50, and in no one instance can we find a man who has attained the age of 60. We can further state, as a positive fact, that scarcely any man can follow our trade for the space of a dozen or fourteen years, without being completely emaciated, and consequently unfit for labour. | for very ours. "Fellow Townsmen, we will not trespass too "We, of course, are a class of artizans who are much upon your patience by presenting to you a placed in the unenviable plight of having to resist large number of harrowing details, affecting our most unjustifiable aggressions on the part of cer- welfare. You will perceive by the above descrip- tain capitalists, in the price of our labour. We tion, that we, as a class of artizans, are fairly are precisely in that condition when self-defence entitled to some consideration; you will also per- not only becomes a duty, but even a moral obliga-ceive, that in consequence of our lives being so + ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. much embittered, and shortened, that we can put in a strong claim for living wages, as some com- pensation for the miseries we undergo, resulting from our employment A little timely aid on your part will put a check to the insidious designs of two rapacious employers, who care nothing about moral obligations, justice, or humanity; who look upon the human machine as a means only of pro- curing for themselves the lion's share of the good things of this life, and who, in short, feel not half the tenderness towards human beings as they would towards inanimate machinery. The pre- sent struggle we have with them is a most import- ant one; it is almost a case of life and death. When it is considered that our calling has con- tributed largely to the triumph of mechanical science, whereby stupendous machinery outstrips the celerity of the wind, or almost equals the ra- pidity of lightning, and whose beneficial influence is felt by all classes of the community; surely a combination of circumstances like these, entitles us to no small share of commiseration. Every dodge, no matter how mean and artful, has been tried by the two employers alluded to, to effect our downfall. They have tried to engage men from London and elsewhere to take our places, and as an inducement have offered them the same price as we are struggling to maintain, but they have signally failed in their object. They have also tried to effect their selfish designs by the means of articled apprentices, &c., but this, we have no doubt, will prove a decided failure. We have the proud satisfaction of stating that all our other employers are quite willing to give the prices which we consider it our duty to uphold, and we have still the greater satisfaction of knowing that our men are firm. "Once more fellow Townsmen, we say a little timely aid on your part will very quickly termi- nate a struggle which is at war with humanity and justice, and be assured that you will have the pleasing satisfaction of rescuing one of the most useful class of artizans that the community can boast of from inevitable ruin. Yours, very respectfully, "THE COMMITTEE OF RAILWAY "SPRING MAKERS. "The Committee will sit at the house of Mrs. Johnson, Railway Hotel, Wicker, at half-past Seven o'clock every Saturday evening, and close at Ten, they will also sit every Monday evening at half-past Seven, and close at Ten, when the subscriptions in aid of our cause will be thankfully received and gratefully acknowledged." "Sept. 18, 1851." Mr. Mayhew has been informed upon unques- tionable authority that, owing to the cheapness of provisions, a general reduction of wages is con- templated by the manufacturers throughout the country. == Should this be the case, it will, at least, open the eyes of the people generally to the Manchester motives for carrying free trade. The benefit derived from the alteration of the corn- laws will then stand thus:-20,000,000 quarters of corn reduced from 50s. to 40s. per quarter 10,000,000l. sterling gained by some class or other. By whom, is the question? Certainly not by the landlords, or farmers, or agricultural la- bourers; and if the wages of working men be generally decreased, in consequence of the cheap- ness of food, which was said would be such a benefit to them, it certainly cannot be alleged that the operatives will have ultimately gained one penny by the measure; and since neither artizans nor agriculturists will have benefited by the change, who must have pocketed the 10,000,000l. saved by it, but the very manufacturers and traders who advocated the alteration, and used the poor merely as a stalking-horse to cover their own dishonest ends. Of course, to capitalists cheapness is the greatest possible blessing-to cause a sovereign to exchange for twice the pre- vious quantity of commodities is to double the income of each capitalist through the country; but since this very cheapness is now brought about by the cheapening of the labour upon which alone the working man has to live, that which is said by economists to be the greatest possible benefit to the community, is a gain only to the small portion of it termed the moneyed classes. Assuredly were it not for the trade societies, the country would have been destroyed by the greed of the capitalists long ago. Will W. P. (who sends Post Office order for 21.) forward his address, so that Mr. Mayhew may communicate privately with him? T. L. L., A. C., W. T. S., G. W. S., will be answered at the earliest opportunity. T. A., who writes in answer to the reply of the Police Commissioners, will be communicated with privately. ! No. 46. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, OCT. 25, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. J R. H. sends the following qualification of his statement of wages concerning the stuff hat finishers. "Remarks intended to have accompanied the table of wages of stuff hat finishers. "The workpeople are all paid by the piece; the exceptions to this rule are rare, and are generally learners, who receive a stipulated but varying portion of their wages. Cl "C (( "C "The prices paid are as under :- Finishing stuff hats, 11., 1s., 1s. 2d. each, ac- cording to quality. Finishing plates (a coarse hat), 6., 7d., Sd. 10. each, according to quality. Finishing wool bonnets, 8d. each. Finishing stuff bonnets, 1s. each. Finishing Naples hats, 5d., 6d., 10d. each, ac- cording to quality. Altering old bonnets, 6d. each. week, 2s. 11d.; average throughout the year, 9s. 9d. per week, with about half employment. At present, the girl who picks in our shop fills up her time with trimming hats, and averages 10s. or 11s. per week. "The wages given you are net wages; if you will multiply the average by 52, you will have the yearly wages. "There are no deductions beyond these. The men employ a boy to run errands for them, and look to the fire; the practice is, for each man, in turn, to light and keep it up; this they find troublesome, and therefore get a lad to do it for them, but if they like to take their turn, and fetch their beer or dinner themselves, then they do not pay him *. All tools are found by the employer; no rent is charged for standing room, or gas, or anything whatever; there are no fees to foremen; and the employer finds soap and "Altering old hats, 8d., 10d., 1s. each, according towels for the men to wash with. to quality. "These are London prices. "It is seldom the case now that a workman is confined to the stuff hat finishing alone, the ma- jority of finishers being hoth silk and stuff. The persons whose wages have been given you have been employed solely on beaver hats, and as that is a rarity, I thought it would be acceptable to you when you came to treat on the condition of the persons engaged in the manufacture of hats. "When silk hats were first introduced the stuff men would not allow the masters to finish them in the same shop with beaver hats; but as the stuff trade declined they were glad enough not only to relax this rule but even to learn the trade themselves. There seems every probability (un- less fashion, omnipotent in everything, intervenes) that beaver hats, will cease to exist as a manufac- ture; they are certainly more comfortable to the head, but the impossibility of imparting a good or permanent colour to them is a sad drawback to their use; besides which, the beavers have so much decreased in America that it is doubtful if a sufficient quantity could be imported to supply the demand that would arise if they should ever again supersede the use of silk hats. "In the finishing of stuff hats, a girl or woman is employed to pick out those coarse hairs that the clearing machine has failed to remove from the beaver. She is paid 1d., 1d., 2d. per hat, according to quality, and this must be added to the prices given above, making ls., ls. 1½d. or 1s. 4d. per hat. "In most cases the workpeople employ their own wives or daughters to pick for them, each finisher employing a different person, sometimes one picker working for two or more men. Under these circumstances there is not anything like full employment for them. Since 1846 the picker for the men in the table sent you has been paid by the employer. During 1846 her wages were as follows-highest week, 16s. 11d.; lowest lowest "In our place a fire is found for the men to cook their meals on. "With the above wages an average workman, fully employed, could earn 50s. per week, say from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M." The above is given without comment. R. H. sends also the earnings of silk hat finishers, and promises other statements of the earnings of men all of which will be most acceptable; but he persists in withholding his name or address, say- into the truth of his statements, and that is all ing, of course Mr. Mayhew will make inquiries that is needed. Since the above was in type R. H. has forwarded several valuable averages of wages. They are of the greatest service, and Mr. Mayhew is much obliged for them. The following letter has been received from the Director of the Anti-Truck Society at Derby. It treats of the stoppage of workmen's wages; so often touched upon here, that it requires no com- ment. Those who think well of the object, and feel inclined to forward it by their subscriptions, can send them to the address of the writer, 28, Iron Gate, Derby. "THE LABOUR QUESTION. "DEAR SIR, "I regularly read your replies to the questions put to you by the political economists, and am satisfied therewith. QUERY asks, 'If wages are not regulated by the law of supply and demand, on what do they depend?' now I myself say, they should depend on supply and demand, but do they? I say they do not, and I will tell you why. The fraud practised by the manufacturer on the LABOUR of the working man by stopping a part of his LABOUR is the awful cause of all the working man's present misery. LABOUR is an element of itself, to be paid for by itself unconnected with the * Each man pays the lad about 1s. per week; some- times there are more than one-at present, in our shop, there are four lads at 8 or 9 years, all children of the workmen, and they earn perhaps 28. a weeke LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 253 { more used to agricultural labour than to last, clog, or patten making. He considered that he had not been successful; still he returned to London a richer man by 26s. 6d. Nearly 20s. of this soon went for shoes and necessary clothing, and to pay some arrears of rent, and a chandler's bill he owed, after which he could be trusted again where he was known. He applied to the fore- man of a contractor, whom he knew, for work. "What wage?" said the foreman. "Fifteen shillings a week," was the reply. "Why, what did you get from the parish for sweeping?" "Nine shillings." Well," said the foreman, "I know I know you're a decent man, and you were recommended before, and so I can give you four or five days a week at 2s. 4d. a day, and no nonsense about hours; for you know yourself I can get 50 men as have been parish workers at 1s. 9d. a day, and jump at it, and so you mustn't be cheeky." The man closed with the offer, knowing that the fore- man spoke the truth. A contractor told me that he could obtain "plenty of hands," used to parish scavaging work, at 10s. 6d. to 12s. a week, whereas he paid 16s. It is evident, then, that the system of pauper work in scavaging has created an increasing market for cheap and deteriorated labour, a market including hundreds of the unemployed at other unskilled labours; and it is hardly to be doubted that the many who have faith in the doctrine that it is the best policy to buy in the cheapest and sell in the dearest market, will avail themselves of the low-priced labour of this pauper- constituted mart. It is but right to add, that those parishes which pay 15s. a week are as worthy of commendation as those which pay 9s., 7s. 6d. and 7s. per week, and 1s. 4d. and 1s. 1d. a day are reprehensible; and, unfortunately, the latter have a tendency to regulate all the others. OF THE STREET-ORDERLIES. THIS Constitutes the last of the four varieties of labour employed in the cleansing of the public thoroughfares of London. I have already treated of the self-supporting manual labour, the self- supporting machine labour, and the pauper labour, and now proceed to the consideration of the phi- lanthropic labour of the streets. In the first place, let us understand clearly what is meant by philanthropic labour, and how it is distinguished from pauper labour on the one hand, and self supporting labour on the other. Self-supporting labour I take to be that form of work which returns not less, and generally some- thing more, than is expended upon it. Pauper labour, on the other hand, is work to which the applicants for parish relief are "set," not with a view to the profit to be derived from it, but partly as a test of their willingness to work, and partly as a means of employing the unemployed; while philanthropic labour is employment provided for the unemployed with the same disregard of profit as distinguishes pauper labour, but with a greater regard for the poor, and as a means of affording them relief in a less degrading manner No. XLI. "" in than is done under the present Poor Law. Pauper and philanthropic labour, then, differ essentially from self-supporting labour in being non-profitable modes of employment; that is to say, they yield so bare an equivalent for the sum expended upon the labourers, that none, the ordinary way of trade, can be found to pro- vide the means necessary for putting them into operation while pauper labour differs from philanthropic labour, in the fact that the funds. requisite for "setting the poor on work vided by law as a matter of social policy, whereas, in the case of philanthropic labour, the funds, or a part of them, are supplied by voluntary contribu- tions, out of a desire to improve the labourers' condition. There are, then, two distinguishing features in all philanthropic labour-the one is, that it yields no profit (if it did it would become a matter of trade), and the other, that it is in- stituted and maintained from a wish to benefit the labourer. are pro- The Street-Orderly system forms part of the operations on behalf of the poor adopted by a society, of which Mr. Charles Cochrane is the president, entitled the "National Philanthropic Association," which is said to have for its object "the promotion of social and salutifercus improve- ments, street cleanliness, and the employment of the poor, so that able-bodied men may be pre- vented from burthening the parish-rate, and pre- served independent of workhouse, alms, and degradation." Here a twofold object is ex- pressed: the Philanthropic Association seeks not only to benefit the poor by giving them employ- ment, and "preserving them independent of work- house, alms, and degradation," but to benefit the public likewise, by "promoting social and saluti- ferous improvements and street cleanliness." I shall deal with each of these objects separately; but first let me declare, so as to remove all sus- picion of private feelings tending in any way to bias my judgment in this most important matter, that I am an utter stranger to the President and Council of the Philanthropic Association; and that, whatever I may have to say on the subject of the street-orderlies, I do simply in conformity with my duty to the public-to state truthfully all that concerns the labourers and the poor of the metropolis. Viewed economically, philanthropic and pauper work may be said to be the regulators of the minimum rate of wages--establishing the lowest point to which competition can possibly drive down the remuneration for labour; for it is evi- dent, that if the self-supporting labourer cannot obtain greater comforts by the independent exer- cise of his industry than the parish rates or private charity will afford him, he will at once give over working for the trading employer, and declare on the funds raised by assessment or voluntary sub- scription for his support. Hence, those who wish well to the labourer, and who believe that cheap- ness of commodities is desirable " only," as Mr. Stewart Mill says (p. 502, vol. ii.), "when the cause of it is, that their production costs little labour, and not when occasioned by that labour's Q 254 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. being ill-remunerated;" and who believe, more- over, that the labourer is to be benefited solely by the cultivation of a high standard of com- fort among the people to such, I say, it is evident, that a poor law which reduces the relief to able-bodied labourers to the smallest modicum of food consistent with the con- tinuation of life must be about the greatest curse that can possibly come upon an over-popu- lated country, admitting, as it does, of the reduc- tion of wages to so low a point of mere brutal ex- istence as to induce that recklessness and improvidence among the poor which is known to give so strong an impetus to the increase of the people. A minimized rate of parish relief is necessarily a minimized rate of wages, and admits of the labourers' pay being reduced, by pauper competition, to little short of starvation; and such, doubtlessly, would have been the case long ago in the scavaging trade by the employment of parish labour, had not the Philanthropic Associa- tion instituted the system of street-orderlies, and by the payment of a higher rate of wages than the more grinding parishes afforded-by giving the men 12s. instead of 9s. or even 7s. a week- prevented the remuneration of the regular hands being dragged down to an approximation to the parish level. Hence, rightly viewed, philanthropic labour and, indeed, pauper labour too-comes under the head of a remedy for low wages, as preventing, if properly regulated, the undue depre- ciation of industry from excessive competition, and it is in this light that I shall now proceed to con- sider it. The several plans that have been propounded from time to time, as remedies for an insufficient rate of remuneration for work, are as multifarious as the circumstances influencing the three requi- sites for production-labour, capital, and land. I will here run over as briefly as possible-abstaining from the expression of all opinion on the subject- the various schemes which have been proposed with this object, so that the reader may come as prepared as possible to the consideration of the matter. The remedies for low wages may be arranged into two distinct groups, viz., those which seek to increase the labourer's rate of pay directly, and those which seek to do so indirectly. The direct remedies for low wages that have been propounded are:- A. The establishment of a standard rate of re- muneration for labour. This has been pro- posed to be brought about by three different means, viz. :— 1. By law or government authority; either (a) fixing the minimum rate of wages, and leaving the variations above that point to be adjusted by competition (this, as we have seen, is the effect of the poor-law); or, (b) settling the rate of wages generally by means of local boards of trade for conseils de prud'hommes, consisting of delegates from the workmen and em- ployers, to determine, by the principles of natural equity, a reasonabte scale of remu- neration in the several trades, their deci- sion being binding in law on both the employers and the employed. 2. By public opinion; this has been generally proposed by those who are what Mr. Mill terms "shy of admitting the inter- ference of authority in contracts for labour," fearing that if the law intervened it would do so rashly and ignorantly, and desiring to compass by moral sanction what they consider useless or dangerous to attempt to bring about by legal means. Every employer," says Mr. Mill, "they think, ought to give sufficient wages," and if he does not give such wages willingly, he should be compelled to do so by public opinion. CC 3. By trade societies or combination among the workmen; that is to say, by the pay- ment of a small sum per week out of the wages of the workmen, towards the form- ation of a fund for the support of such of their fellow operatives as may be out of employment, or refuse to work for those employers who seek to give less than the standard rate of wages established by the trade. B. The prohibition of stoppages or deductions of all kinds from the nominal wages of workmen. This is principally the object of the Anti-Truck Society, which seeks to obtain an Act of Parliament, enjoining the payment in full of all wages. The stoppages or extortions from workmen's wages generally consist of:- 1. Fines for real or pretended misconduct. 2. Rents for tools, frames, gas, and sometimes lodgings. 3. Sale of trade appliances (as trimmings, thread, &c.) at undue prices. 4. Sale of food, drink, &c., at an exorbitant rate of profit. 5. Payment in public-houses; as the means of inducing the men to spend a portion of their earnings in drink. 6. Deposit of money as security before taking out work; so that the capital of the en- ployer is increased without payment of interest to the workpeople. C. The institution of certain aids or additions to wages; as- 1. Perquisites or gratuities obtained from the public; as with waiters, boxkeepers, coach- men, dustmen, vergers, and others. 2. Beer money, and other "allowances" to workmen. 3. Family work; or the co-operation of the wife and children as a means of increasing the workman's income. 4. Allotments of land, to be cultivated after the regular day's labour. 5. The parish allowance system," or relief in aid of wages, as practised under the old Poor Law. D. The increase of the money value of wages; by- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 255 1. Cheap food. 2. Cheap lodgings; through building im- proved dwellings for the poor, and doing away with the profit of sub-letting. 3. Co-operative stores; or the "club system" of obtaining provisions at wholesale prices. 4. The abolition of the payment of wages on Sunday morning, or at so late an hour on the Saturday night as to prevent the labourer availing himself of the Saturday's market. 5. Teetotalism; as causing the men to spend nothing in fermented drinks, and so leaving them more to spend on food. Such are the direct modes of remedying low wages, viz., either by preventing the price of labour itself falling below a certain standard; prohibiting all stoppages from the pay of the la- bourer; instituting certain aids or additions to such pay; or increasing the money value of the ordinary wages by reducing the price of provisions. The indirect modes of remedying low wages are of a far more complex character. They consist of, first, the remedies propounded by political econo- mists, which are- A. The decrease of the number of labourers ; for gaining this end several plans have been proposed, as- 1. Checks against the increase of the popula- tion, for which the following are the chief Malthusian proposals:- a. Preventive checks for the hindrance of impregnation. 7. Prohibition of early marriages among the poor. c. Increase of the standard of comfort, or requirements, among the people; as a means of inducing prudence and re- straint of the passions. d. Infanticide; as among the Chinese. 2. Emigration; as a means of draining off the surplus labourers. 3. Limitation of apprentices in skilled trades; as a means of preventing the undue in- crease of particular occupations. This, however, is advocated not by economists, but generally by operatives. 4. Prevention of family work; or the dis- couragement of the labour of the wives and children of operatives. This, again, can- not be said to be an "economist" remedy. B. Increase of the circulating capital, or sum set aside for the payment of the labourers. 1. By government imposts. "Governments," says Mr. Mill, can create additional in- dustry by creating capital. They may lay on taxes, and employ the amount pro- ductively." This was the object of the original Poor Law (43 Eliz.), which em- powered the overseers of the overseers of the poor to "raise weekly, or otherwise, by taxation of every inhabitant, &c., such sums of money as they shall require for providing a sufficient stock of flax, hemp, wool, and other ware or stuff, to set the poor on work." 2. By the issue of paper money. The pro- position of Mr. Jonathan Duncan is, that the government should issue notes equiva- lent to the taxation of the country, with the view of affording increased employment to the poor; the people being set to work as it were upon credit, in the same manner as the labourers were employed to build the market-house at Guernsey. C. The extension of the markets of the country; by the abolition of all restrictions on com- merce, and the encouragement of the free interchange of commodities, so that, by in- creasing the demand for our products, we may be able to afford employment to an extra number of producers. " The above constitute what, with a few excep- tions, may be termed, more particularly, the eco- nomist" remedies for low wages. D. The regulation of the quantity of work done by each workman, or the prevention of the undue economizing of labour. For this end, several means have been put forward. 1. The shortening the hours of labour, and abolition of Sunday-work. 2. Alteration of the mode of work; as the substitution of day-work for piece-work, as a means of decreasing the stimulus to over- work. 3. Extension of the term of hiring; by the substitution of annual engagements for daily or weekly hirings, with a view to the prevention of "casual labour." 4. Limitation of the number of hands em- ployed by one capitalist; so as to prevent the undue extension of "the large system of production." 5. Taxation of machinery; with the object, not only of making it contribute its quota to the revenue of the country, but of im- peding its undue increase. 6. The discountenance of every form of work that tends to the making up of a greater quantity of materials with a less quantity of labour; and consequently to the expendi- ture of a greater proportion of the capital of the country on machinery or materials, and a correspondingly less proportion on the labourers. E. "Protective imposts," or high import 'duties on such foreign commodities as can be pro- duced in this country; with the view of pre- venting the labour of the comparatively untaxed and uncivilized foreigner being brought into competition with that of the taxed and civilized producer at home. F. "Financial reform," or reduction of the taxation of the country; as enabling the home labourer the better to compete with the foreigner. The two latter proposals, and that of the exten- sion of the markets, may be said to seek to remedy low wages by expanding or circum- scribing the foreign trade of the country. G. A different division of the proceeds of labour. For this object several schemes have been propounded: 256 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1. The "tribute system" of wages; or payment of labour according to the additional value which it confers on the materials on which it operates. 2. The abolition of the middleman; whether sweater," ""piece-master," "lumper," or what not, coming between the employer and employed. 3. Co-operation; or joint-stock associations of labourers, with the view of abolishing the profit of the capitalist employer. H. A different mode of distributing the pro- ducts of labour; with the view of abolishing the profit of the dealer, between the producer and consumer-as co-operative stores, where the consumers club together for the purchase of their goods directly of the producers. I. A more general and equal division of the wealth of the country: for attaining this end there are but two known means:- 1. Communism; or the abolition of all rights to individual property. 2. Agapism; or the voluntary the voluntary sharing of individual possessions with the less fortu- nate or successful members of the com- munity. These remedies may, with a few excep- tions (such as the tribute system of wages, and the abolition of middlemen), be said to constitute the socialist and communist schemes for the pre- vention of distress. J. Creating additional employment for the poor; and so removing the surplus labour from the market. Two modes of effecting this have been proposed: 1. Home colonization, or the cultivation of waste lands by the poor. 2. Orderlyism, or the employment of the poor in the promotion of public cleanliness, and the increased sanitary condition of the country. K. The prevention of the enclosure of com- mons; as the means of enabling the poor to obtain gratuitous pasturage for their cattle. L. The abolition of primogeniture; with the view of dividing the land among a greater number of individuals. M. The holding of the land by the State, and equal apportionment of it among the poor. N. Extension of the suffrage among the people; and so allowing the workman, as well as the capitalist and the landlord, to take part in the formation of the laws of the country. For this purpose there are two plans 1. "The freehold-land movement," which seeks to enable the people to become pro- prietors of as much land as will, under the present law, give them "a voice" in the country. 2. Chartism, or that which seeks to alter the law concerning the election of members of Parliament, and to confer the right of voting on every male of mature age, sound mind, and non-criminal character. 0. Cultivation of a higher moral and Chris- tion character among the people. This form of remedy, which is advocated by many, is based on the argument, that, without some mitigation of the "selfishness of the times," all other schemes for improving the condition of the people will be either evaded by the cunning of the rich, or defeated by the servility of the poor. The above I believe to be a full and fair state- ment of the several plans that have been proposed, from time to time, for alleviating the distress of the people. This enumeration is as comprehensive as my knowledge will enable me to make it; and I have abstained from all comment on the several schemes, so that the reader may have an oppor- tunity of impartially weighing the merits of each, and adopting that, which in his own mind, seems best calculated to effect what, after all, we every one desire-whether protectionist, economist, free- trader, philanthropist, socialist, communist, or chartist the good of the country in which we live, and the people by whom we are surrounded. Now we have to deal here with that particular remedy for low wages or distress which consists in creating additional employment for the poor, and of which the street-orderly system is an example. The increase of employment for the poor was the main object of the 43 Eliz., for which pur- pose, as we have seen, the overseers of the several parishes were empowered to raise a fund by assessments upon the property of the rich, for providing "a sufficient stock of flax, hemp, wool, and other ware or stuff, to set the poor on work." But though economists, to this day, tell us that "while, on the one hand, industry is limited by capital, so, on the other, every increase of capital gives, or is capable of giving, additional employ- ment to industry, and this without assignable limit,"* nevertheless the great difficulty of car- rying out the provisions of the original poor-law has consisted in finding a market for the products of pauper labour, for the frequent gluts in our manufactures are sufficient to teach us that it is one thing to produce and another to dispose of the products; so that to create additional employ- ment for the poor something besides capital is requisite: it is necessary either that they shall be engaged in producing that which they themselves immediately consume, or that for which the market admits of being extended. The two plans proposed for the employment of the poor, it will be seen, consist (1) in the culti- vation of waste lands; (2) in promoting public cleanliness, and so increasing the sanitary condition of the country. The first, it is evident, removes the objection of a market being needed for the products of the labour of the poor, since it pro- *This is Mr. Mills's second fundamental proposition respecting capital (see "Principles of Pol. Econ." p. 82, vol. i.). What I intend to assert is," says that gentleman, "that the portion (of capital) which is destined to the maintenance of the labourers may-supposing no in- crease in anything else-be indefinitely increased, with- out creating an impossibility of finding them employ- ment-in other words, if there are huiñan beings capa- ble of work, and food to feed them, they may always be employed in producing something." LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 257 poses that their energies should be devoted to the production of the food which they themselves consume; while the second seeks to create addi- tional employment in effecting that increased cleanliness which more enlightened physiological views have not only made more desirable, but taught us to be absolutely necessary to the health and enjoyment of the community. The great impediment, however, to the profit- able employment of the poor, has generally been the unproductive or unavailing character of pauper pauper labour. This has been mainly owing to the fact that the able-bodied who are deprived of employ- ment are necessarily the lowest grade of opera- tives; for, in the displacement of workmen, those are the first discarded whose labour is found to be the least efficient, either from a deficiency of skill, industry, or sobriety, so that pauper labour is necessarily of the least productive character. Another great difficulty with the employment of the poor is, that the idle, or those to whom work is more than usually irksome, require a stronger inducement than ordinary to make them labour, and the remuneration for parish work being necessarily less than for any other, those who are pauperized through idleness (the most benevolent among us must allow there are such) are naturally less than ever disposed to labour when they become paupers. All pauper work, therefore, is generally unproductive or unavail- ing, because it is either inexpert or unwilling work. The labour of the in-door paupers, who re- ceive only their food for their pains, is necessarily of the same compulsory character as slavery; while that of the out-door paupers, with the re- muneration often cut down to the lowest subsist- ing point, is scarcely of a more willing or more availing kind. Owing to this general unproductiveness, (as well as the difficulty of finding a field for the profitable employment of the unemployed poor,) the labour of paupers has been for a long time past directed mainly to the cleansing of the public thorough- fares. Still, from the degrading nature of the occupation, and the small remuneration for the toil, pauper labourers have been found to be such unwilling workers that many parishes have long since given over employing their poor even in this capacity, preferring to entrust the work to a contractor, with his paid self-supporting operatives, instead. The founder of the Philanthropic Association appears to have been fully aware of the two great difficulties besetting the profitable employment of the poor, viz., (1) finding a field for the exercise of their labours where they might be "set on work" with benefit to the community, and without in- jury to the independent operatives already en- gaged in the same occupation; and (2) overcoming the unwillingness, and consequently the unavail- ingness, of pauper labour. The first difficulty Mr. Cochrane has endea- voured to obviate by taking advantage of that growing desire for greater public cleanliness which has arisen from the increased knowledge of the principles governing the health of towns; and the second, by giving the men 12s. instead of 9s. or 7s. a week, or worse than all, 1s. 1d. and a quartern loaf a day for three days in the week, and so not only augmenting the stimulus to work (for it should be remembered that wages are to the human machine what the fire is to the steam-engine), but preventing the undue depreciation of the labour of the independent workman. He who discovers the means of increas- ing the rewards of labour, is as great a friend to his race as he who strives to depreciate them is the public enemy; and I do not hesi- tate to confess, that I look upon Mr. Charles Cochrane as one of the illustrious few who, in these days of unremunerated toil, and their neces- sary concomitants-beggars and thieves, has come forward to help the labourers of this country from their daily-increasing degradation. benevolence is of that enlightened order which seeks to extend rather than destroy the self-trust of the poor, not only by creating additional em- ployment for them, but by rendering that employ- ment less repulsive. His The means by which Mr. Cochrane has endea- voured to gain these ends constitutes the system called Street-Orderlyism, which therefore admits of being viewed in two distinct aspects-first, as a new mode of improving "the health of towns," and, secondly, as an improved method of employ- ing the poor. Concerning the first, I must confess that the system of scavaging or cleansing the public thoroughfares pursued by the street-orderlies assumes, when contemplated in a sanitary point of view, all the importance and simplicity of a great discovery. It has been before pointed out that this system consists not only in cleansing the streets, but in keeping them clean. By the street-orderly method of scavaging, the thorough- fares are continually being cleansed, and so ever allowed to become dirty; whereas, by the ordi- nary method, they are not cleansed until they are dirty. Hence the two modes of scavaging are diametrically opposed; under the one the streets are cleansed as fast as dirtied, while under the other they are dirtied as fast as cleansed; so that by the new system of scavaging the public tho- roughfares are maintained in a perpetual state of cleanliness, whereas by the old they may be said to be kept in a continual state of dirt. The street-orderly system of scavaging, however, is not only worthy of high commendation as a more efficient means of gaining a particular end—a simplification of a certain process-but it calls for our highest praise as well for the end gained as for the means of gaining it. If it be really a sound physiological principle, that the Creator has made dirt offensive to every rightly-constituted mind, because it is injurious to us, and so esta- blished in us an instinct, before we could discover a reason, for removing all refuse from our presence, it becomes, now that we have detected the cause of the feeling in us, at once disgusting and irra- tional to allow the filth to accumulate in our streets in front of our houses. If typhus, cholera, and other pestilences are but divine punishments 258 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. when with scarcely any more trouble we might prevent it entirely. There is, indeed, the same difference between the new and the old system of housewife: the one never cleaning her house until it is dirty, and the other continually cleaning it, so as to prevent it being ever dirty. inflicted on us for the infraction of that most kindly law by which the health of a people has been made to depend on that which is naturally agreeable-cleanliness, then our instinct for self-scavaging, as there is between a bad and a good preservation should force us, even if our sense of enjoyment would not lead us, to remove as fast as it is formed what is at once as dangerous as it should be repulsive to our natures. Sanitarily regarded, the cleansing of a town is one of the most important objects that can engage the atten- tion of its governors; the removal of its refuse being quite as necessary for the continuance of the existence of a people as the supply of their food. In the econoiny of Nature there is no loss: this the great doctrine of waste and supply has taught us; the detritus of one rock is the con- glomerate of another; the evaporation of the ocean is the source of the river; the poisonous exhalations of animals the vital air of plants; and the refuse of man and beasts the food of their food. The dust and cinders from our fires, the "slops" from the washing of our houses, the excre- tions of our bodies, the detritus and "surface- water" of our streets, have all their offices to perform in the great scheme of creation; and if left to rot and fust about us not only injure our health, but diminish the supplies of our food. The filth of the thoroughfares of the metropolis forms, it would appear, the staple manure of the market- gardens in the suburbs; out of the London mud come the London cabbages: so that an improve ment in the scavaging of the metropolis tends not only to give the people improved health, but im- | proved vegetables; for that which is nothing but a pestiferous muck-heap in the town becomes a vivifying garden translated to the country. Dirt, however, is not only as prejudicial to our health and offensive to our senses, when allowed to accumulate in our strects, as it is beneficial to us when removed to our gardens, but it is a most expensive commodity to keep in front of our houses. It has been shown, that the cost to the people of London, in the matter of extra washing induced by defective scavaging, is at the least 1,000,0007. sterling per annum (the Board of Health estimate it at 2,500,0007.); and the loss from extra wear and tear of clothes from brushing and scrubbing, arising from the like cause, is about the same prodigious sum; while the injury done to the furniture of private houses, and the goods exposed for sale in shops, though impossible to be estimated-appears to be something enormous: so that the loss from the defective scavaging of the metropolis seems, at the lowest calculation, to amount to several millions per annum; and hence it becomes of the highest possible importance, economically, as well as physiologically, that the streets should be cleansed in the most effective manner. Now, that the street-orderly system is the only rational and efficacious mode of street cleansing both theory and practice assure us. To allow the filth to accumulate in the streets before any steps are taken to remove it, is the same as if we were never to wash our bodies until they were dirty- it is to be perpetually striving to cure the disease, Hence it would appear, that the street-orderly system of scavaging would be a great public benefit, even were there no other object connected with it than the increased cleanliness of our streets; but in a country like Great Britain, afflicted as it is with a surplus population (no matter from what cause), that each day finds the difficulty of obtaining work growing greater, the opening up of new fields of employment for the poor is perhaps the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon the nation. Without the dis- covery of such new fields, "the setting the poor on work" is merely, as I have said, to throw out of employment those who are already employed; it is not to decrease, but really to increase, the evil of the times-to add to, rather than diminish, the number of our paupers or our thieves. The increase of employment in a nation, however, re- quires, not only a corresponding increase of capital, but a like increase in the demand or desire, as well as in the pecuniary means, of the people to avail themselves of the work on which the poor are set (that is to say, in the extension of the home market); it requires, also, some mode of stimulating the energies of the workers, so as to make then labour more willingly, and consequently more availingly, than usual. These conditions appear to have been fulfilled by Mr. Cochrane, in the establishment of the street-orderlies. He has introduced, in connection with this body, a system of scavaging which, while it employs a greater number of hands, produces such additional bene- fits as cannot but be considered an equivalent for the increased expenditure; though it is even doubtful whether, by the collection of the street manure unmixed with the mud, the extra value of that article alone will not go far to com- pensate for the additional expense; if, however, there be added to this the saving to the metropolitan parishes in the cost of watering the streets-for under the street-orderly system this is not re- quired, the dust never being allowed to accumu- late, and consequently never requiring to be "laid " -as well as the greater saving of converting the paupers into self-supporting labourers; together with the diminished with the diminished expense of washing and doctors' bills, consequent on the increased cleanli- ness of the streets-there cannot be the least doubt that the employment of the poor as street- orderlies is no longer a matter of philanthropy, but of mere commercial prudence. Such appear to me to be the principal objects of Mr. Cochrane's street-orderly system of scavag- ing; and it is a subject upon which I have spoken the more freely, because, being unacquainted with that gentleman, none can suspect me of being pre- judiced in his favour, and because I have felt that the good which he has done and is likely to do. to the poor, has been comparatively unacknow- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 259 ledged by the public, and that society and the people owe him a heavy debt of gratitude *. resolutions in favour of the street-orderly method were passed. The authorities did not adopt these recommendations, but they ventured so far to depart from their venerable routine as to order the streets to be "swept every day!" This employed upwards of 300 men, whereas at the period when the sages of the city sewers did not consider any proposed improvement in scavagery worthy their attention, the number of men employed by them The street-orderly system was afterwards tried in the parishes of St. Paul, Covent-garden, St. James (Westminster), St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. Anne, Soho, and others—sometimes calling forth opposition, of course from the authorities con- nected with the established modes of paving, scavaging, &c. It is not my intention to write a complete his- tory of the street-orderlies, but merely to sketch their progress, as well as describe their peculiar characteristics. I shall now proceed to set forth the character of the labour, and the condition and remuneration of the labourers in connection with the street-orderly system of scavaging the metropolitan thoroughfares. The first appearance of the street-orderlies in the metropolis was in 1843. Mr. Charles Cochrane, who had previously formed the National Phi- lanthropic Association, with its eleemosynary soup-in cleansing the streets did not exceed 30. kitchens, &c., then introduced the system of street- orderlies, as one enabling many destitute men to support themselves by their labour; as well as, in his estimation, a better, and eventually a more economical, mode of street-cleansing, and partaking also somewhat of the character of a street police. The first "demonstration," or display of the street-orderly system, took place in Regent-street, between the Quadrant and the Regent-circus, and in Oxford-street, between Vere-street and Charles- street. The streets were thoroughly swept in the morning, and then each man or boy, provided with a hand-broom and dust-pan, removed any dirt as soon as it was deposited. The demonstration was pronounced highly successful and the system. effective, in the opinion of eighteen influential inhabitants of the locality who acted as a com- mittee, and who publicly, and with the authority of their names, testified their conviction that "the As far as the street-orderly system has been most efficient means of keeping streets clean, and tried, and judging only by the testimony of public more especially great thoroughfares, was to pre-examination and public record of opinion, the trial A memorial to the vent the accumulation of dirt, by removing the has certainly been a success. manure within a few minutes after it has been Court of Sewers, from the ward of Broad-street, deposited by the passing cattle; the same having, supported by the leading merchants of that locality, hitherto, remained during several days." in recommendation of the employment of street- orderlies, seems to bear more closely on the subject than any I have yet seen. The cost of this demonstration amounted to about 400., of which, the Report states, " 2007. still remains due from the shop-keepers to the Association; which," it is delicately added, "from late commercial difficulties they have not yet repaid" (in 1850). CC Within these few months public meetings have been held in almost every one of the 26 wards of the City, at which approving resolutions were either passed unanimously or carried by large majorities; and the street-orderly system is now about to be introduced into St. Martin's parishi instead of the street-sweeping machine. "Your memorialists," they state, "have ob- served that those public thoroughfares within the city of London which are now cleansed by street- orderlies, are so remarkably clean as to be almost Whilst the street-orderlies were engaged in cleans-free from mud in wet, and dust in dry weather— ing Regent-street, &c., the City Commissioners of that such extreme cleanliness is of great comfort to the sewers of London were invited to depute some the public, and tends to improve the sanitary con- person to observe and report to them concerning dition of the ward." the method pursued; but with that instinctive sort of repugnance which seems to animate the great bulk of city officials against improvement of any kind, the reply was, that they did not consider the same worthy their attention." The matter, however, was not allowed to drop, and by the persevering efforts of Mr. Cochrane, the president, and of the body of gentlemen who form the council of the Association, Cheapside, Cornhill, and the most important parts of the very heart of the city were at length cleansed according to the new method. The ratepayers then showed that they, at least, did consider "the same worthy of attention," for 8000 out of 12,000 within a few days signed memorials recommending the adoption of what they pro- nounced an improvement, and a public meeting was held in Guildhall (May 4, 1846), at which * Mr. Cochrane is said, in the Reports of the National Philanthropic Association, to have expended no less than 60007. of his fortune in the institution of the Street- Orderly system of scavaging. But it is not only in the metropolis that the street-orderlies seem likely to become the esta- blished scavagers. The streets of Windsor, I am informed, are now in the course of being cleansed upon the orderly plan. In Amsterdam, there are at present 16 orderlies regularly employed upon scavaging a portion of the city, and in Paris and Belgium, I am assured, arrangements are being made for the introduction of the system into both those cities. Were the street-orderly mode of scavaging to become general throughout this country, it is estimated that employment would be given to 100,000 labourers, so that, with the families of these men, not less than half a million of people would be supported in a state of inde- pendence by it. The total number of adult able- bodied paupers relieved-in-door and out-door- throughout England and Wales, on January 1, 1850, was 154,525. The following table shows the route of the street- orderly operations in the metropolis. A further 260 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 column, in the Report from which the table has been extracted, contained the names of thirteen clergy- men who have "weekly read prayers and delivered discourses to the street-orderlies at their respec- tive stations, and recorded flattering testimonials of their conduct and demeanour." EMPLOYMENT OF STREET-ORDERLIES. LOCALITIES CLEANSED. No. of Wives and Street- Children Orderlies. dependent. Money expended. £ S' d. 1843-4. Oxford and Regent Streets 1845. Strand 50 256 560 0 0 8 38 0 0 • 1848. Strand 1848. St. Martin's Lane, &c. 1848. 1845-6. Cheapside, Cornhill, &c., City of London 1846-7. St. Margaret's and St. John's, Westminster 1847. Piccadilly, St. James's, &c. Piccadilly, St. James's, &c. 1848-9. St. Paul's, Covent Garden 1849. Regent Street, Whitehall, &c. . • 1849. St. Giles's and St. George's, Bloomsbury 100 363 1540 2 0 15 65 306 0 0 8 32 115 0 0 8 31 35 0 0 38 138 153 0 0 • 48 108 341 3 0 • • 13 38 38 10 0 18 68 98 0 0 14 71 58 1 0 1849. St. Pancras, New Road, &c. 16 46 177 6 0 1849. St. Andrew's and St. George's, Holborn. 23 83 63 4 9 1849. Lambeth Parish 16 41 84 16 0 1851. 1851. St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. 68 179 119 3 4 City of London, Central Districts (per week, during 6 weeks last past) 103 378 55 0 0 546 1897 3782 6 1 Total The period of nine years comprised in the above statement (1843 and 1851 being both included) gives a yearly average, as to the number of the poor employed, exceeding 60, with a similar average of 210 wives and children, and a yearly average outlay of 4207. The number of orderlies now employed by the Association is from 80 to 90. Such, then, is a brief account of the rise and progress of this new mode of street-sweeping, and we now come to a description of the work itself. "The orderlies," says the Report of the Asso- ciation, "keep the streets free from mud in winter, and dust in summer; and that with the least possible personal drudgery :-adhering to the principle of operation laid down, viz., that of • Cleansing and keeping Clean,' they have merely, after each morning's sweeping and removal of dirt, to keep a vigilant look-out over the surface of street allotted to them; and to remove with the hand- brush and dust-pan, from any particular spot, whatever dirt or rubbish may fall upon it, at the moment of its deposit. Thus are the streets under their care kept constantly clean. Не "But sweeping and removing dirt," con- tinues the Report, "is not the only occupation of the street-orderly, whilst keeping up a careful inspection of the ground allotted to him. is also the watchman of house-property and shop-goods; the guardian of reticules, pocket- books, purses, and watch-pockets; rienced observer and detector of pickpockets; the ever ready, though unpaid, auxiliary to the police constable. Nay, more ;-he is always at hand, to render assistance to both equestrian and the expe- pedestrian: if a horse slip, stumble, or fall,—if a carriage break down, or vehicles come into col- lision, the street-orderly darts forward to raise and rectify them if foot-passengers be run over, or knocked down, or incautiously loiter on a cross- ing, the street-orderly rescues them from peril or death; or warns them of the approaching danger of carriages driving in opposite directions: if other accidents befall pedestrians,-if they fall on the pavement, from sudden illness, faintness, or apo- plexy, the street-orderly is at hand to render assistance, or convey them to the nearest surgery or hospital. If strangers are at fault as to the localities of London, or the place of their destina- tion, the orderly, in a civil and respectful manner, directs them on their way. If habitual or pro- fessional mendicants are importunate or trouble- some, the street-orderly warns them off; or hands them to the care of the policeman. And if a really poor or starving fellow-creature wanders in search of food or alms, he leads him to a work- house or soup-kitchen*. "Should the system become general (of which there is now every good prospect), it will be the A strect-orderly in St. Martin's-lane recovered a piece of broad-cloth from a man who had just stolen it from a warehouse; others in Drury-lane detected several thefts from provision-shops. Two orderlies in Holborn saved the lives of the guard and driver of one of Her Majesty's mail-carts, the horse having become un- manageable in consequence of the shafts being broken. In St. Mary's Church, Lambeth, a gentleman having ing Divine service, carried him out into the air, and fallen down in apoplexy, the orderlies who were attend- promptly procured him medical aid, but unhappily life was extinct. Many instances have occurred, however, in which they have rendered essential service to the pub- lie and to individuals. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 261 means of rescuing no less than TEN THOUSAND PERSONS and their families from destitution and distress (in London alone);-from the forlorn and wretched condition which tempts to crimi- nality and outrage, to that of comfort, independ- ence, and happiness-produced by their own in- dustry, aided by the kind consideration of those who are more the favourites of fortune than themselves. "In conclusion it may be stated, that the street-orderly system will keep the streets and pavements of London and Westminster as clean as the court-yard and hall of any gentleman's private dwelling: it will not only secure the general comfort and health of upwards of two millions of people, but save a vast annual amount to shopkeepers, housekeepers, and others, with regard to the spoiling of their goods by dust and dirt; in the wear and tear of clothes and furni- ture, by an eternal round of brushing, dusting, scouring, and scrubbing." The foregoing extract fully indicates the system pursued and results of street-orderly ism. I will now deal with what may be considered the labour or trade part of the question. By the street-orderly plan a district is duly apportioned. To one man is assigned the care of a series of courts, a street, or 500, 1000, 1200, 1500, or 2000 yards of a public way, according to its traffic, after the whole surface has been swept "the first thing in the morning." In Oxford-street, for instance, it has been estimated that 500 yards can be kept clear of the dirt con- tinually being deposited by one man; in the squares, where there is no great traffic, 2000 yards; while in so busy a part as Cheapside, some nine men will be required to be hourly on the look-out. These street-orderlies are confined to their beats as strictly as are policeman, and as they soon become known to the inhabitants, it is a means of check- ing any disposition to loiter, or to shirk the work; to say nothing of the corps of inspectors and super- intendents. with the remuneration of the great majority of the pauper scavagers, the street-orderly is in a state of comparative comfort, for he receives nearly double as much as the Guardians of the Poor of Chelsea and the Liberty of the Rolls pay their labourers, and full 25 per cent. more than is paid by Bermondsey, Deptford, Marylebone, St. James's, Westminster, St. George's, Hanover-square, and St. Andrew's, Holborn; and, I am assured, it is the intention of the Council to pay the full rate of wages given by the more respectable scavagers, viz., 16s. a week each man. If traders can do this, philanthropists, who require no profit, at The labourer least should be equally liberal. never can be benefited by depreciating the ordi- nary wages of his trade; and I must in justice con- fess, that there are scattered throughout the Report repeated regrets that the funds of the Association will not admit of a higher rate of wages being paid. The street-orderly is not subjected to any fines or drawbacks, and is paid always in money, every Saturday evening at the office of the Association. In this respect, however, he does not differ from other bodies of scavagers. The usual mode of obtaining employment among the street-orderlies is by personal application at the office of the Association in Leicester-square; but sometimes letters, well-penned and well- worded, are addressed to the president. The daily number of applicants for employment is far from demonstrative of that unbroken pros- perity of the country, of which we hear so much. On my inquiring into the number, I ascertained towards the end of August, that, for the previous fortnight, during fine summer weather, London being still full of the visitors to the Exhibition, on an average 30 men, of nearly all conditions of life, applied personally each day for work at street-sweeping, at 12s. a week. Certainly this labour is not connected with the feeling of pauper degradation, but it does not look well for the country that in twelve days 360 men should apply for such work. On the year's average, I am assured, there are 30 applications daily, but only ten new applicants, as men call to solicit an engagement 1. The foreman, whose duty is to "look over again and again. Thus in the year there are the men" (one such over-looker being employed to nine thousand, three hundred, and ninety ap- about every 20 men), and who receives 15s. per week.plications, and 3130 individual applicants. In 2. The barrow-men, or sweepers, consisting of men and boys; the former receiving 12s. and the latter generally 7s. per week. The division of labour among the street-order- lies is as follows:-- The tools and implements used, and their cost, are as follows-wooden scoops, to throw up the slop, 1s. 2d. each (they used to be made of iron, weighing 8 lbs. each, but the men then complained that the weight "broke their arms"); shovel, 2s. 3d.; hoe and scraper, 1s. 3d.; hand-broom, 8d.; scavager's broom, 1s. 2d.; barrow, 12s. ; covered barrow, 24s. In the amount of his receipts, the street- orderly appears to a disadvantage, as many of the " regular hands" of the contractors receive The reason 16s. weekly, and be but 12s. for this circumscribed payment I have already alluded to the deficiency of funds to carry ont the full purposes of the Association. Contrasted the course of one month last winter, there were applications from 300 boys in Spitalfields alone, to he set to work; and I am told, that had they been successful, 3000 lads would have ap- plied the next month. When an application is made by any one re- commended by subscribers, &c., to the Association, or where the case seems worthy of attention, the names and addresses are entered in a book, with a slight sketch of the circumstances of the person wishing to become a street-orderly, so that inquiries may be made. I give a few of the more recent of these entries and descriptions, which are really "histories in little":- r Thomas M'G , aged 50, W- L-street, Chelsea Hospital, single man. Taught a French and English school in Lyons, France. Driven out of France at the Revolution of 1848. Penniless. 262 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. -street, H "Rich. M―,13, C- garden, 42 years. Married. Can read and write. Has been a seaman in the royal service ten years. Chairmaker by trade. Has jobbed as a porter in Rochester, Kent. "Phil. S- 1, R- L-street, High Hol- born. From Killarney, co. Kerry. Bred a gardener. Fifteen years in constabulary force, for which he has a character from Col. Macgregor, and received the compensation of 50%., which he bestowed on his father and mother to keep them at home. Nine months in England, viz., in Bristol, Bath, and London. Aged 35. Can read and write. "Edw. C-, 79, M street, Hackney. Aged 27. Married. Army-pensioner, 6d. a day. Can read and write. Recommended by Rev. T. Gibson, rector of Hackney. "Chas. J-, 11, D J—, D- street, Chelsea. Aged 38. Gentleman's servant. "" In my account of the "regular hands" em- ployed by the contracting scavagers, I have stated that the street-orderlies were a more miscellaneous body, as they had not been reared in the same proportion to street work. They are also, I may add, a better-conducted and better-informed class than the general run of unskilled labourers, as they know, before applying for street-orderly work, that inquiries are made concerning them, and that men of reprobate character will not be employed. Many of those employed as orderlies have since returned to their original employments; others have procured, and been recommended to, superior situations in life to that of street- orderlies, by the Council of the Association, but no instance has occurred of any street-orderly having returned back to his parish workhouse or stoneyard.” This certainly looks well. One street-orderly, I may add, is now a re- putable school-inaster, and has been so for some time; another is a clerk under similar circum- stances. Another is a good theoretical and prac- tical musician, having officiated as organist in churches and at concerts; he is also a neat music copyist. Another tells of his correspondence with a bishop on theological topics. Another, with a long and well-cultured beard, has been a model for artists. One had 1507. left to him not long ago, which was soon spent; his wife spent it, he said, and then he quietly applied to be permitted to be again a street-orderly. Several have got engagements as seamen, their original calling- indeed, I am assured, that a few months of street- orderly labour is looked upon as an excellent ordeal of character, after which the Association affirms good behaviour on the part of the employed. The subscribers to the funds not unfrequently recommend destitute persons to the good offices of the Association, apart from their employment as street-orderlies. Thus, it is only a few weeks ago, that twelve Spanish refugees, none of them speaking English, were recommended to the Asso- ciation; one of them it was ultimately enabled to establish as a waiter in an hotel resorted to by foreigners, another as an interpreter, another as a gentleman's servant, and another (with a little boy, his son) in shoe-blacking in Leicester-square. Thus among street-orderlies are to be found a great diversity of career in life, and what may be called adventures. One great advantage, however, which the orderly possesses over his better paid brethren is in the greater probability of his "rising out of the street.' This is very rarely the case with an ordinary scavager. "> I now give the following account from one of the street-orderlies, a tall, soldierly-looking man :— "I'm 42 now," he said, "and when I was a boy and a young man I was employed in the Times machine office, but got into a bit of a row a bit of a street quarrel and frolic, and was called on to pay 31., something about a street-lamp: that was out of the question; and as I was taking a walk in the park, not just knowing what I'd best do, I met a recruiting sergeant, and en- listed on a sudden-all on a sudden-in the 16th Lancers. When I came to the standard, though, I was found a little bit too short. Well, I was rather frolicsome in those days, I confess, and perhaps had rather a turn for a roving life, so when the sergeant said he'd take me to the East India Company's recruiting sergeant, I consented, and was accepted at once. I was taken to Cal- cutta, and served under General Nott all through the Affghan war. I was in the East India Com- pany's artillery, 4th company and 2nd battalion. Why, yes, sir, I saw a little of what you may call service.' 'service.' I was at the fighting at Candahar, Bowlinglen, Bowling-pass, Clatigillsy, Ghuznee, and Caboul. The first real warm work I was in was at Candahar. I've heard I've heard young soldiers say that they 've gone into action the first time as merry as they would go to a play. Don't believe them, sir. Old soldiers will tell you quite dif- ferent. You must feel queer and serious the first time you 're in action: it's not fear-it's ner- vousness. The crack of the muskets at the first fire you hear in real hard earnest is uncommon startling; you see the flash of the fire from the enemy's line, but very little else. Indeed, oft enough you see nothing but smoke, and hear no- thing but balls whistling every side of you. And then you get excited, just as if you were at a hunt; but after a little service—I can speak for myself, at any rate-you go into action as you go to your dinner. "I served during the time when there was the Affghanistan retreat; when the 44th was com- pletely cut up, before any help could get up to them. We suffered a good deal from want of sufficient food; but it was nothing like so bad, at the very worst, as if you 're suffering in London. In India, in that war time, if you suffered, you were along with a number in just the same boat as yourself; and there's always something to hope for when you're an army. It's different if you 're walking the streets of London by your- self-I felt it, sir, for a little bit after my return -and if you haven't a penny, you feel as if there wasn't a hope. If you have friends it may be different, but I had none. It's no comfort if - ་་་་་ ་ EVERENING THE ABLE-BODIED PAUPER STREET-SWEEPER. [From a Daguerreotype by BEARD.] LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 263 you know hundreds are suffering as you are, for you can't help and cheer one another as soldiers can. serge, costing 2s. 6d., and a glazed hat, costing the same amount. The system formerly adopted was as fol- lows:- The men were formed into a distinct body, and established in houses taken for them in Ham-yard, Great Windmill-street, Haymarket. (( Well, sir, as I've told you, I saw a good deal of service all through that war. Indeed I served thirteen years and four months, and was then discharged on account of ill health. If I'd served eight months longer that would have been fourteen "The wages of the men," states the Report, years, and I should have been entitled to a pen- were fixed at 12s. each per week; that is, 9s. sion. I believe my illness was caused by the were charged for board and lodging, and 3s. were hardships I went through in the campaigns, fight-paid in money to each man on Saturday afternoon, ing and killing men that I never saw before, and until I was in India had never heard of, and that I had no ill-will to; certainly not, why should I? they never did me any wrong. But when it comes to war, if you can't kill them they'll kill bath once a week. When I got back to London I applied at you. the East India House for a pension, but was refused. I hadn't served my time, though that wasn't my fault. "I then applied for work in the Times machine office, and they were kind enough to put me on. But I wasn't master of the work, for there was new machinery, wonderful machinery, and a many changes. So I couldn't be kept on, and was some time out of work, and very badly off, as I've said before, and then I got work as a sca- venger. O, I knew nothing about sweeping before that. I'd never swept anything except the snow in the north of India, which is quite a different sort of thing to London dirt. But I very soon got into the way of it. I found no difficulty about it, though some may pretend there is an art in it. I had 15s. a week, and when I was no longer wanted I got employment as a street- orderly. I never was married, and have only myself to provide for. I'm satisfied that the street-orderly is far the best plan for street-clean- ing. Nothing else can touch it, in my opinion, and I thought so before I was one of them, and I believe most working scavengers think so now, though they mayn't like to say so, for fear it might go again their interest. "Oh, yes, I'm sometimes questioned by gentlemen that may be passing in the streets while I'm at work, all about our system. They They generally say, ' and a very good system, too.' One said once, 'It shows that scavengers can be decent men; they weren't when I was first in London, above 40 years ago.' Well, I sometimes get the price of a pint of beer given to me by gentlemen making inquiries, but very seldom." Until about eighteen months ago none but un- married men were employed by the Association, and these all resided in one locality, and under one general superintendence or system. The boarding and lodging of the men has, however, been discontinued about fifteen months; for I am told it was found difficult to encourage industrial and self-reliant pursuits in connection with public clee- mosynary aid. Married men are now employed, and all the street-orderlies reside at their own homes; the adults, married or single, receiving 12s. a week each; the boys, 6s.; while to each man is gratuitously supplied a blouse of blue out of which he was expected to pay for his clothing and washing. The men had provided for them clean wholesome beds and bedding, a common sitting-room, with every means of ablu- tion and personal cleanliness, including a warm Their food was abundant and of the best quality, viz., coffee and bread and butter for breakfast, at eight o'clock; round of beef, bread, and vegetables, four times a week for dinner, at one o'clock; nutritious soup and bread, or bread and cheese, forming the afternoon repast of the other three days. At six in the evening, when they returned from their labours, they were refreshed with tea or coffee, and bread and butter; or for supper, at nine, each had a large basin of soup, with bread. Thus, three-fourths of their wages being laid out for them to advan advantage, the men were well lodged and fed; and they have always declared themselves satisfied, comfortable, and happy, under the arrangements that were made for them. Under the charge of their intel- ligent and active superintendent, the street-order- lies soon fell into a state of the most exact disci- pline and order; and when old orderlies were drafted off, either to enter the service of parish. boards who adopted the system, or were recom- mended into service, or some other superior position in life, and when new recruits came to supply their places, the latter found no difficulty in conforming to the rules laid down for the performance of their duties, as well as for their general conduct. Military time' regulated their hours of labour, refreshment, and rest; due attention was required from all; and each man (though a scavenger) was expected to be cleanly in his person, and respectful in his demeanour; indeed, nothing could be more gratifying than the conduct of these men, both at home and abroad." "In their domicile in Ham Yard," continues the Report, "the street-orderlies have invariably been encouraged to follow pursuits which were useful and improving, after their daily labours were at an end; for this, a small library of history, voyages, travels, and instructive and entertaining periodical works, was placed at their disposal; and it is truly gratifying to the Council to be able to state, that the men evinced great satisfaction, and even avidity, in availing themselves of this source of intellectual pleasure and improvement. Writing materials also were provided for them, for the purpose of practice and improvement, as well as for mutual instruction in this most necessary and useful art; and it must be gratifying to the members of the Association to be informed, that, in April last, 34 out of 40 men appended their 264 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. | power, and strive to bring about the villeinage of benevolence, making the people the philanthropic, instead of the feudal, serfs of our nobles, should be denounced as the arch-enemies of the country. Such persons may mean well, but assuredly they achieve the worst towards the poor. The curfew- bell, whether instituted by benevolence or ty- ranny, has the same degrading effect on the people signatures, distinctly and well written, to a docu- ment which was submitted to them. Such a fact will at least prove, that when poor persons are em- ployed, well fed, and lodged, and cared for in the way of instruction, they do not always mis-spend their time, nor, from mere preference, run riot in pot houses and scenes of low debauchery. It is to be borne in mind, however, that one-half of these men were persons of almost every trade and occu-destroying their principle of self-action, without pation, from the artizan to the shopman and clerk, and therefore previously educated; the other half consisted of labourers and persons forsaken and indigent from their birth, and formerly dependent on workhouse charity or chance employment for their scanty subsistence; consequently in a state of utter ignorance as to reading and writing. Every night, after supper, prayers were read by the superintendent; and it has frequently been a most edifying as well as gratifying sight to members of your council, as well as to other persons of rank and station in society, who have visited the Hospice in Ham Yard at that interest- ing hour, to observe the decorum with which these poor men demeaned themselves; and the heartfelt solemnity with which they joined in the invoca- tions and thanks to their Creator and Preserver! "Each Sunday morning, at 8 o'clock, a portion of the church service was read, followed by an extemporaneous discourse or exhortation by the secretary to the Hospice. They were marshalled to church twice on the Sabbath, headed by the superintendent and foremen; and generally divided into two or three bodies, each taking a direction to St. James's, St. Anne's, or St. Paul's, Covent Garden; in all of which places of worship they had sitting accommodation provided by the kind- ness of the clergy and churchwardens. On Tuesday evenings they had the benefit of receiving pastoral visits and instruction from several of the worthy clergymen of the surrounding parishes." This is all very benevolent, but still very wrong. There is but one way of benefiting the poor, viz., by developing their powers of self- reliance, and certainly not in treating them like children. Philanthropists always seek to do too much, and in this is to be found the main cause of their repeated failures. The poor are expected to become angels in an instant, and the consequence is, they are merely made hypocrites. Moreover, no men of any independence of character will submit to be washed, and dressed, and fed like schoolboys; hence none but the worst classes come to be experimented upon. It would seem, too, that this overweening disposition to play the part of ped-agogues (I use the word in its literal sense) to the poor, proceeds rather from a love of power than from a sincere regard for the people. Let the rich become the advisers and assistants of the poor, giving them the benefit of their superior education and means-but leaving the people to act for themselves-and they will do a great good, developing in them a higher standard of comfort and moral excellence, and so, by im- proving their tastes, inducing a necessary change in their habits. But such as seek merely to lord it over those whom distress has placed in their which we are all but as the beasts of the field. Moreover, the laying out of the earnings of the poor is sure, after a time, to sink into "a job;" and I quote the above passage to show that, despite the kindest management, eleemosynary help is not a fitting adjunct to the industrial toil of independ- ent labourers. The residences of the street-orderlies are now in all quarters where unfurnished rooms are about 1s. 9d. or 2s. a week. The addresses I have cited show them residing in the outskirts and the heart of the metropolis. The following returns, how- ever, will indicate the ages, the previous occupa- tions, the education, church-going, the personal habits, diet, rent, &c., of the class constituting the street-orderlies, better than anything I can say on the matter. Before any man is employed as a street-orderly, he is called upon to answer certain questions, and the replies from 67 men to these questions supply a fund of curious and important information-im- portant to all but those who account the lot of the poor of no importance. In presenting these details, I beg to express my obligations to Mr. Colin Mackenzie, the enlightened and kindly secretary of the Association. I shall first show what is the order of the questioning, then what were the answers, and I shall afterwards recapitulate, with a few comments, the salient characteristics of the whole. The questions are after this fashion; the one I adduce having been asked of a scavager to whom a preference was given :- The Parish of St. Mary, Paddington.-Ques- tions asked of Parish Scavagers, applying for employment as Street-Orderlies, with the an- swers appended. Name ?-W- Age-35 years. C- How long a scavenger?-Three months. What occupation previously? footman. Married or single ?- Married. Gentleman's Reading, writing, or other education ?—Yes. Any children?-One. Their ages?-Three years. Wages?-Nine shillings per week. Any parish relief?-No. What and how much food the applicants have usually purchased in a week. Meat?-2s. 6d. Bacon?None. Fish? None. Bread?-2s. Potatoes?-4d. Butter?-6d. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 265 Tea and sugar?—1s. Cocoa-None. What rent they pay?—2s. Furnished or unfurnished lodgings ?—Unfur- nished. Any change of dress?-No. Sunday clothing?—No. How many shirts?-Two shirts. Boots and shoes ?—One pair. How much do they lay out for clothes in a year?—I have nothing but what I stand upright in. Do they go to church or chapel ?--Sometimes. If not, why not?-It is from want of clothes. Do they ever bathe?—No. Does the wife go out to, or take in work?- Yes. What are her earnings ?-Uncertain. Time of having been at scavagering. "" 3 "all their lives at the business. 1 about 27 years. 6 from 15 to 20 years. 6 10 15 "" "" "" 4 from 5 to 10 years. 1, 34 J 5 13 twelve months and less. Hence it would appear, that few have been at the business a long time. The greater number have not been acting as scavagers more than five years. State of education.-Could they read and write? 45 answered yes. 5 could read only. 4 replied 12 could do neither. 1 was deaf and dumb. that they could read and write. Hence it would appear, that rather more than two-thirds of the scavagers have received some little education. Do they have anything from charitable institu- two-thirds tions or families?—No. When ill; where do they resort to ?-Hospitals, dispensaries, and the parish doctor. Do their children go to any school; and what?— Paddington. Do they ever save any money; how much, and where? How much do they spend per week in drink? Do not passers by, as charitable ladies, &c., give them money; and how much per week? No. Did they go to church or chapel? 22 answered yes. 9 went to church. chapel. the Catholic دو 4 4 chapel. 1 and chapel. both church 5 went sometimes. Thus it would seem, 1 not often. 17 never went at all. 1 was ashamed to go. 1 went out of town to enjoy himself. 2 made no return (1 being deaf and dumb). that not quite two- Such are the questions asked, and I now give thirds regularly attend some place of worship; the answers of 67 individuals. Their ages were :— 10 were from 20 to 30 15 from 50 to 60 13 24 30 40 40 50 4 "> 1 60 70. 70 "" The greatest number of any age was 7 persons. of 45 years respectively. Their previous occupations had been :- 22 labourers. 3 at the business "all their lives." LA 3 dustmen. 3 ostlers. 2 stablemen. 2 carmen. 2 porters. 2 gentlemen's servants. 2 greengrocers. 1 following dust-cart. 1 excavator. gravel digging. 1 stone breaking in yards. 1 at work in the brick- fields. 1 sweep. 1 hay binder. 1 gaslighter. 1 dairyman. 1 ploughman. 1 gardener. 1 errand boy. 1 fur dresser. 1 fur dyer. 1 skinner. 1 leather dresser. 1 letter-press printer. 1 paper stainer. that about one-eleventh go occasionally; and that about one-fourth never go at all. Why did they not go to church? 12 had no clothes. 55 returned no answer (1 being deaf and dumb). Hence of those who never go (19 out of 67), very nearly two-thirds (say 12 in 19) have no clothes to appear in. 59 answered no. 3 replied yes. Did they bathe ? Thames. 2 returned "sometimes." 2 said they did in the 1 was deaf and dumb. Hence it appeared, that about seven-eighths never bathe, although following the filthiest occu- pation. Were they married or single? 6 were single. 56 were married. 5 widowers. Thus it would seem, that about ten-elevenths are or have been married men. IIow many children had they? Пого LO HO N 6 had 1 each. none (6 of these being single men). 2 returned their family 1 glass blower. 1 farrier. 1 plasterer. 1 had 15. 1 clerk. 1 at work in the lime- works. 1 vendor of goods. 1 6. 16 "" " 1 licensed victualler. 2 5 each. >> 11 1 coal porter. 19 4 >> 3 >> "" 9 2 12 had been artizans. 55 unskilled workmen. Consequently 51 out of 61, or five-sixths, are married, and have families numbering altogether Hence about five-sixths belong to the unskilled 165 children; the majority had only 3 children, class of operatives. and this was about the average family. Therefore, of 67 scavagers as grown up without stating the number. • 266 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. What were the ages of their children? 11 were grown up. 2 between 30 and 40. 9 49 80 20 and 30. 10 and 20. "" 1 and 10. 8 were 1 year and under. 5 were returned at home. 1 returned as dead. One-half of the scavagers' children, therefore, are between 1 and 10 years of age; the majority would appear to be 8 years old. Some were said to be grown up, but no number was given. Did their children go to school? 13 answered yes. 13 to the National School 5 to the Ragged School. 2 to Catholic. 2 to Parish. 6 to local schools. 1 replied that he went sometimes. 2 returned no. 1 replied that his chil- dren were "not with him." 22 (of whom 16 had no children, and 1 was deaf and dumb) made no reply. From this it would seem, that a large majority -41 out of 51, or four-fifths-of the parents who have children send them to school. Westley, for St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate; Mr. Parsons, for Whitechapel; Mr. Newman, for Bethnal-green, &c. These wages the scavagers laid out in the following manner :— 1 paid 4s. 1 3s. 6d. ?? 8 3s. >> 14 2s. 6d. "" 33 28. 1s. 6d. 4 "" For rent, per week. 1 paid 1s. 3d. 2 "" 1s. I lived rent free. 1 paid for board and lodging. 1 lived with mother. Hence it would appear, that near upon half the number paid 2s. rent. The usual rent paid seems to be between 2s. and 3s., five-sixths of the entire number paying one or other of those amounts. Only three lived in furnished lodgings, and the rents of these were, respectively, two at 2s. 6d. and the other at 2s. For bread, per week. 1 expended 5s. 3d. 1 5s. "" 1 4s. 7d. 22 Did their wives work? 1 4s. 6d. 15 returned no. 10 worked "sometimes." 1 4s. 3d. 6 said their wives were 12 answered yes. 7 4s. " unable." 1 sold cresses. 13 3s. 6d. >> 8 3s. having no wives and 3 1 being deaf and dumb). 4 13 2s. 6d. 2s. 3d. 28. 1 had lost the use of 15 made no return (11 her limbs. 2 did, but "not often." 4 did "when they could." Hence two-fifths of the wives (22 out of 56) do no work, 16 do so occasionally, and 13, or one- fourth, are in the habit of working. What were wives' earnings? 10 returned them as "uncertain." 1 "didn't know." 1 estimated them at 1s. 6d. per week. 1 at 1s. to 2s. 2 at 2s. "" 3 at 2s. or 3s. "" " 1 at 2s. to 4s. per week. 1 at 3s. or 4s. 4 expended 1s. 6d. 1s. 9d. 1 " 4 two loaves a day from parish. 3 gave a certain sum per week to their wives or mothers to lay out for them, and 1 boarded and lodged. 1 was deaf and dumb. Thus it would seem, that the general sum expended weekly on bread varies between 2s. and 4s. The average saving from free-trade, therefore, would be between 4d. and 8d., or say 6d., per week. For meat, per week. ગ્ 4 expended 4s. 5 3s. 6d. 11 3s. 1 at 3d. or 4d. per day. 43 gave no returns (hav- ing either no wives, 12 "" 1 5 2s. >> or their wives not working). 1 was deaf and dumb. 2 at about 3s. So that, out of 29 wives who were said to work, 16 occasionally and 13 regularly, there were returns for 23. Nearly half of their earnings were given as uncertain from their seldom doing work, while the remainder were stated to gain from 1s. to 4s. per week; about 2s. 6d. perhaps would be a fair average. What wages were they themselvse in the habit of receiving? 3 had 16s. 6d. per week. 15 had 9s. per week. 2 192 GI 2 د, A " "" 2s. 6d. 2s. 4d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 2d. 1s. 10d. 6d. 1 expended 8d. 1 once a week. 4 had none. 5 no returns (3 of this number gave a weekly allowance to wives or mothers, 1 was deaf and dumb, and 1 paid for board and lodging). By the above we see, that the sum usually ex- pended on meat is between 2s. 6d. and 3s. per weck, about one-third of the entire number ex- pending that sum. All those who expended 1s. and less per week had 9s. and less for their week's labour. The average saving from the cheapening of provisions would here appear to be between 5d. and 6d. per week at the outside. For tea and sugar, per week. 5 paid 1s. 3d. 2 paid 2s. 6d. 28 16s. 158. 4 88. "" "> 5 78. 1 2s. 4d. 5 1s. 2d. "" "> ** وو "" >> 3 14s. 6d. 4 " 1s. 1d. a day 1 2s. 3d. 13 1s. >> >> 1 14s. and 2 loaves. "" 2 12s. "" 22 Hence it is evident, that one-half receive 15s. or more a week, and about a fourth 9s. It was not the parishes, however, but the con- tractors with the parishes, who paid the higher rates of wages: Mr. Dodd, for St. Luke's; Mr. 2 "" 5 no returns: 1 deaf and dumb, 1 board and lodging, and 3 making allowances. The sum usually expended on tea and sugar seems to be between Is. 6d. and 2s. per week. 19 28. Ed. 2 1s. 9d. "} 4 1s. 8d. " 12 1s. 6d. 5 1s. 4d. >> LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 267 How many shoes had they? "" For fish, per week. 3 expended 1s. 5 8d. 23 6d. 4 allowed so much per week to wives, or mother, or landlady. 27 had 2 pairs. 39 1 >> 8 4d. 1 deaf and dumb. "" nothing. 23 Hence one-third spent 6d. weekly in fish, and For bacon, per week. one-third nothing. 1 expended 1s. 2 10d.' "" 1 9d. "" 5 1 expended 4d. nothing. 1 was deaf and dumb. Thus the majority had only one pair of shoes. How much did they spend in drink? 1 expended 2s. a week. 124HAN 1 said he "wouldn't 1s. or 2s. "" 1s. 6d. "} 1s. "> "" 6d. " "" 3d. or 5d. 9 "" 2) 8d. 6d. 43 "" 4 allowances to wives, &c. 1 deaf and dumb. The majority (two-thirds), therefore, do not have bacon. Of those that do eat bacon, the usual sum spent weekly is 6d. or 8d. For butter, per week. 1 expended 1s. 8d. 24 1s. "" " 12 11 "" 10d. 8d. 6d. 11 2 1 expended 3d. nothing. 4 made allowances. 1 deaf and dumb. Thus one-third expended 1s., and about one- sixth spent 10d.; another sixth, 8d.; and another sixth, 6d. a week, for butter. 1 spent 1s. 2 6 "" 10d. >> 8d. "" 18 7d. 6d. " 1 For potatoes, per week. 6 spent 4d. 28 spent nothing. 4 made allowances. 1 deaf and dumb. About one-fourth spent 6d. ; the greater propor- tion, however (nearly one-half), expended nothing upon potatoes weekly. NNN∞ I وو 11) 7 said they "couldn't say." say. "" 1 said "that all de- pends." 2 said they "had none to spend." 2 expended nothing. 44 gave no return (1 deaf and dumb). Hence answers were given by one-third, of whom the greatest number "couldn't say." (?) Of the ten who acknowledged spending anything upon drink, the greater number, or 4, said they spent 1s. a week only. But? Did they save any money? 36 answered no. 31 gave no reply (1 being deaf and dumb). What did they in case of illness coming upon themselves or families? 28 went to the dispen- sary 8 went to the hospital. 6 22 doctor. parish 3 wives went to the lying-in hospital. 1 went to the work- house. 2 said "nothing." 1 "never troubled any." 8 made no reply (1 being deaf and dumb). The greater number, then, go, when ill, to the dispensary. Were they in receipt of alms? 6 made no returns (1 being deaf and dumb). Did the passers-by give them anything? 49 answered no. 56 answered no. For clothes, yearly., 2 2 expended 21. 2 1l. 10s. "" 1 had 2 pairs of boots a year, but no clothes. 3 " sometimes. yes. 2 17. 58. 2 expended БС not 3 11. much.' 1 1 17s. >> 1 15s. "" 4 12s. >> 1 10s. دو 18s. 34 couldn't say. 2 got them as they could. 1 expended a few shil- lings. 1 said it "all depends." 2 returned "nothing." 1 was deaf and dumb, 6 made no return. Hence 43 out of 67, or nearly two-thirds, spent little or nothing upon their clothes. Had they a change of dress? 28 had a change of dress. 1 was deaf and dumb. 38 had not. Above one-half, therefore, had no other clothes but those they worked in. Had they any Sunday clothing? 20 had some. 21 made no return. 1 deaf and dumb. 45 had none. More than two-thirds, then, had no Sunday clothes. How many shirts had they? 10 had 3 shirts. 2 had 1 shirt. 54 وو 2 27 1 was deaf and dumb. The greater number, therefore, had two shirts. 2 sometimes beer. 1 answered never. 2 seldom. "" 1 answered very el- dom. 12 no returns (1 being deaf and dumb). Did they receive any relief from their parishes ? 56 replied no. 4 had 2 loaves and 1s. a day as wages. 1 had 4 loaves a week. 1 a 4-lbs. loaf. " 1 had 15lbs. of bread. 2 answered "not at present." 2 made no returns. Thus the greater proportion (five-sixths), it will be seen, had no relief; two of those who had re- lief received 9s. wages a week, and two others only 7s., while four received part of their wages from the parish in bread. These analyses are not merely the characteris- tics of the applicant or existent street-orderlies ; they are really the annals of the poor in all that relates to their domestic management in regard to meat and clothes, the care of their children, their church-going, education, previous callings, and parish relief. The inquiry is not discouraging as to the character of the poor, and I must call attention to the circumstance of how rarely it is * 1 268 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. that so large a collection of facts is placed at the command of a public writer. In many of the public offices the simplest information is as jealously withheld as if statistical knowledge were the first and last steps to high treason. I trust that Mr. Cochrane's example in the skilful arrangement of the returns connected with the Association over which he presides, and his courteous readiness to supply the information, gained at no small care and cost, will be more freely followed, as such a course unquestionably tends to the public benefit. It will be seen from these statements, how hard the struggle often is to obtain work in unskilled labour, and, when obtained, how bare the living. Every farthing earned by such workpeople is necessarily expended in the support of a family; and in the foregoing details we have another proof as to the diminution of the purchasing fund of the country, being in direct proportion to the diminution of the wages. If 100 men receive but 7s. a week each for their work, their yearly outlay, to "keep the bare life in them," is 18207. If they are paid 16s. a week, their outlay is 4160.; an ex- penditure of 23407. more in the productions of our manufactures, in all textile, metal, or wooden fabrics; in bread, nieat, fruit, or vegetables; and in the now necessaries, the grand staple of our foreign and colonial trade-tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, rice, and tobacco. Increase your wages, Increase your wages, therefore, and you increase your markets. For manufacturers to underpay their workmen is to cripple the demand for manufactures. To talk of the over-production of our cotton, linen, and woollen goods is idle, when thousands of men engaged in such productions are in rags. It is not that there are too many makers, but too few who, owing to the decrease of wages, are able to be buyers. Let it be remembered that, out of 67 labouring men, three-fourths could not afford to buy proper clothing, expending thereupon "little" or "nothing," and, I may add, because earning little or nothing, and so having scarcely anything to expend. I now come to the cost of cleansing the streets upon the street-orderly system, as compared with that of the ordinary modes of payment to contractors, &c. It will have been observed, from what has been previously stated, that the Council of the Association contend that far higher amounts may be realized for street manure when collected clean, according to the street-orderly plan. If, by a better mode of collecting the street dirt, it be kept un- mixed, its increase in value and in price may be most positively affirmed. Before presenting estimates and calculations of cost, I may remind the reader; that under the street-orderly system no watering carts are re- quired, and none are used where the system is carried out in its integrity. To be able to dispense with the watering of the streets is not merely to get rid of a great nuisance, but to effect a con- siderable saving in the rates. I now give two estimates, both relating to the same district:- | COMPARATIVE EXPENSE OF CLEANING AND WATERING THE STREETS, &c., OF ST. JAMES'S PARISH; under the system now in operation by the Paving Board, and under the sanitary system of employing street-orderlies, as recom- mended by 779 ratepayers. It is assumed, from reasonable data, that the superficial con- tents of all the streets, lanes, courts, and alleys in the parish, do not amount to more than $0,000 square yards. "Present Annual Expense of Cleansing St. James's Parish: -- Paid to contractor for carrying away slop, including expense of brooms.. Paid to 23 men, average wages, 10s. per week, 52 weeks.. £800 0 0 598 0 0 £1398 0 0 "Annual Expense of Street-Orderly System:- 30 men (including those with hand-barrows), at 10s. per week, 52 weeks ... Expense of brooms. Cartage of slop.... * £780 0 0 30 0 0 100 0 0 £910 0 0 £488 0 0 450 0 0 Saving by diminished expense of street- watering throughout the parish Annual prospective saving £938 0 0 "Obs. The sum of 8007. per annum was paid to the contractor on account of expenses incurred for the removal of slop. During the three years previous to 1849, the contractor paid money to the parish for permission to remove the house- ashes, the value of which was then 2s. per load; it is now 2s. 6d. In St. Giles's and St. George's parishes, whose surface is more than twice the extent of St. James's, the expense of slop-cartage, in 1850, was 3047. 14s. Od., whilst the sum re- ceived for cattle-manure collected by street-or- derlies, was 73l. 14s. Od.; and the slop-expenses for the four months ending November 29, were 591. 18s. 6d., whilst the manure sold for 217. 6s. Od. Thus has the slop-expense in these extensive united parishes been reduced to less than 1207. per annum. Since the preceding estimate was submitted to the Commissioners of Paving, the street-orderly system has been introduced into St. James's parish; and it is confidently expected that the Annual Prospective saving' of 9381., will be fully realised." A similar estimate has just been sent into the authorities of the great parish of St. Marylebone, but its results do not differ from the one I have just cited. I next present an estimate contrasting the ex- pense of the street-orderly method with the cost of employing sweeping-machines :- "COMPARATIVE EXPENSE OF CLEANSING AND WATERING THE STREETS, &o., OF ST. MARTIN'S PARISH, under the system now in operation by the Paving Board, and under the sanatory system of employing street-orderlies, as recom- mended by 703 ratepayers. It is assumed, from reasonable data, that the superficial con- tents of all the streets, lanes, courts, and alleys in the parish, amount to about 70,000 square yards. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 269 "Expenses by Machinery in St. Martin's Parish. Annual payinent to street-ma- chine proprie- tor.. Watering rate £ s. d 980 0 0 (1847) 644 16 8 to 391 0 0 Salaries clerks Support of 28 able bodied - men in work- house, thrown out of work, at 4s. 6d. per man 327 12 0 £2343 8 8} "Expenditure by the Em- ployment of Street-Order- lies. £ s. d. Maintenance of 28 street-or- derlies keep clean 70,000 yards to "The apparent extra cost, therefore, would be 5301. 11s. The vestry, however, would see that the charge for supporting 34 able-bodied men in the workhouse is at least 5s. per week each, or 4427. per annum. This, therefore, must be de- ducted from the 5307. 11s., leaving the extra cost 887. 11s. per annum. This sum, the committee were assured, will be not only repaid by the 12s. per week 768 0 0 reduced outlay for repairs, which the new system (presumed contents), at 2500 yards each man, at Two inspectors of orderlies, at 15s. per week. One superin- tendent of ditto, at 11. per week... Wear and tear of brooms Interest on out- • • lay for bar- rows, brooms, 78 0 0 52 0 0 36 8 0 and shovels.. 26 19 0 Watering rate (not required) Value of ma- nure pays for cartage. 961 7 0 Annual saving by street-or- derlies...... 1382 1 984 2343 8 81 I now give an estimate concerning a smaller district, one of the divisions of St. Pancras parish. It was embodied in a Report read at a meeting in Camden-town, on the desirableness of introducing the street-orderly system :- The Report set forth that the Committee had "made a minute investigation into the present systems of street-cleansing, as adopted under the superintendence of Mr. Bird, the parish surveyor, and under that of the National Philanthropic Association. "From the 26th of March, 1848, to the 26th of March, 1849, the Direc- tors of the Poor expended in paving and cleansing, &c., the three and a quar- ter miles under their charge, 35451. 19s. 7d.; of this the following items were for cleansing, viz. — £ s. d. ... 249 13 0 10 12 0 Labour Tools Slop carting.. 496 0 0 Proportion of ... foreman's sa- lary 39 0 0 795 5 0 "The street-orderly system of cleansing the said roads in the most most efficient manner would give the following expenditure per annum :- £ s. d. Thirty-four men to cleanse 3+ miles, at the rate of 2000 su- perficial yards each man, 12s. per week each 1060 16 0 Two inspectors of orderlies, at 15s. per week each.. Superintendent Cost of brooms, shovels, &c... No allowance for slop carting, the National Philanthropic Association holding that the manure, properly col- lected, will more than pay for its removal 78 0 0 104 0 0 83 0 0 1325 16 0 Deduct cost of cleansing by the old mode 795 50 530 11 0 will effect; but a very great saving will be the result of the thorough cleansed state in which the roads will be constantly maintained. Under the late system, to find the roads in a cleansed state was the exception, not the rule; and when all the advantages likely to result from the new system. were taken into consideration, the committee did. not hesitate to recommend it for adoption in its most efficient form." Concerning the expense of cleansing the City by the street-orderly system, Mr. Cochrane says:-- "The number required for the whole surface (in- cluding the footways, courts, &c.) would be about 250 men and boys. "" Upon the present sys- tem this number would be formed in three divisions:- "First division.-170 to begin work at 6 a.m., and end 6 p.m. Second division, called relief and aids.—30 boys boys from 12 at noon to 10. Third division.—50 men from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Total, 250. "The men and boys are now working at from 6s. to 12s. per week. These 250 men and boys would cost for wages during the year about. Twelve foremen, at 407. per annum.. Two superintendents at 501. each..... Brooms, &c... Barrows "Expenses of Cleansing and Watering the Streets, &c., of the City of London, on the old system of Scava- ging, from June, 1845, to June, 1346. Annual Expense. To scavaging con- tractors Value of ashes and dust of the city of London,given gratis to the above contrac- tors in the year ending 1846, and now purchased by them for the year ending 1847 Estimated contri- beadles, clerks, £6040 5500 £5100 butions levied for watering streets... 4000 480 Salaries to survey- ors, inspectors, 100 325 100 • Two clerks, at 1007. each.. Manager. to 200 100 £6405 "No items are given for slopping or cartage, as, if the streets are properly attended to, there ought to be no slop, whilst the value of the manure may be more than equivalent for the ex- pense of its removal. "Some slop-carts will, however, be occasionally required for Smithfield- &c., of Sewers' Office, according printed ac- count, March 3, 1846.... Expense for clean- ing out sewers and gully-holes (not known) Annual 2495 expense under the imper- fect system of street-cleansing. £18,025 "Number of men en- ployed, 58. "State of the Streets:- Inhabitants always com- market and similar locali-plaining of their being ties; making, therefore, ample allowance for con- tingencies, it is confidently considered that the expense for cleansing the whole of the city of London by street-orderlies would not exceed 8000l. per annum." muddy in winter and dusty in summer." Two estimates, then, show an expectation of a yearly saving of no less than 23207. to the rate- payers of two parishes alone; 9381. to St. James's, and 13821. to St. Martin's. And this, too, if all that be augured of this system be realized, with a freedom from street dust and dirt unknown under other methods of scavagery. I think it right, 270 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. however, to express my opinion that even in the reasonable prospect of these great savings being effected, it is a paltry, or rather a false, because miscalled, economy to speculate on the payment of 10s. and 12s. a week to street- labourers in the parishes of St. James and St. Martin respectively, when so many of the con- tractors pay their men 16s. weekly. If this low hire be justifiable in the way of an experi- ment, it can never be justifiable as a continuance of the reward of labour. If the street-orderly system is to be the means of permanently reducing the wages of the regular scavagers from 16s. to 12s. a week, then we had better remain afflicted with the physical dirt of our streets, than the moral filth which is sure to proceed from the poverty of our people-but if it is to be a means of elevating the pauper to the dignity of the independent labour, rather than dragging the independent labourer down to the debasement of the pauper, then let all who wish well to their fellows encourage it as heartily and strenuously as they can-otherwise the sooner it is denounced as an insidious mode of defrauding the poor of one-fourth of their earnings the better; and it is merely in the belief that Mr. Cochrane and the Council of the Association mean to keep faith with the public and increase the men's wages to those of the regular trade, that the street-orderly system is advocated here. our philanthropists are to reduce wages 25 per cent., then, indeed, the poor man may cry, me from my friends.' If save As to the positive and definite working of the street-orderly system as an economical system, no information can be given beyond the estimates I have cited, as it has never been duly tested on a sufficiently large scale. Its working has been, of necessity, desultory. It has, however, been intro- duced into St. George's, Bloomsbury; St. James's, Westminster; and is about to be established in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields; and in the course of a year or two it seems that it will be sufficiently tested. That its working has hitherto been de- sultory is a necessity in London, where "vested interests" look grimly on any change or even any inquiry. That it deserves a full and liberal testing seems undeniable, from the concurrent assent of all parishioners who have turned their attention to it. It remains to show the expenses of the Philan- thropic Association, for I am unable to present an account of street-orderlyism separately. The two following tables fully indicate to what an extent the association is indebted to the private purse of Mr. Cochrane, who by this time has advanced between 6000l. and 70002. "BALANCE SHEET. Receipts and Expenditure of the National Phi- lanthropic Association, for the Promotion of Social and Sanatory Improvements and the Employment of the Poor, from 29th September, 1846, to 29th September, 1849. DR. To subscrip- tions and do- nations from the 29th Sept- ember, 1846, to 29th Sept- £ s. d. CR. ember, 1849 1393 16 7 Balance due to president, 29th Septem- ber, 1849.... 5739 19 9 7133 16 4 By balance due to president, Sept. as per Balance Sheet, 29, 1846 Secretary's sa- lary • £ s. d. 2935 17 9 • 300 0 0 248 10 0 to Rent of offices, &c... Salaries clerks, mes- sengers, &c.. Do. to collectors Commission to 371 19 4 312 18 1 130 5 6 .. 556 17 0 do..... Printing and stationery Hire of rooms for public meetings Advertisements and newspa- pers Bill posting. Salaries to per- sons in charge of free lavato- ries in Ham- yard, Great Windmill-st., St. James's.. Brooms, rows, shovels, - bar- and for the use of street order- lies... Charges of con- tractors and others for removal of street slop, &c.... Food, lodging, and wages to street - order- lies, domiciled in Ham-yard, Great Wind- mill-street, St. James's..... Clothing for the street order- lies. - Baths provided for do. Sundry ex- penses for of- fices, includ- ing postage- stamps, &c... Law expenses.. Builder's charges for free lava- tories in Ham- yard Amount ad- vanced to the late secretary for improving the dwellings of the poor.. Farther ad- vances made by president on various occasions for the general purposes of the Associa- tion 60 10 0 244 5 3 8 12 6 10 18 2 86 8 0 58 9 6 980 11 4 13 3 2 5 15 10 92 7 11 8 10 10 95 13 10 20 0 0 592 2 4 7133 16 4 Audited by us, Oct. 19th, 1849, Charles Shepherd Lenton, 33, Leicester-square; and Joseph Child, 43, Leicester-square." ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. property and machinery of the EMPLOYER-the STOPPAGE system is the fraud; how can wages depend on supply and demand, if by a fraud of the EMPLOYER he stops any part of the WAGES? and what are wages but the earnings of LABOUR? Therefore what a man earns for labour is his wages; keep the word labour distinct, and dis- tinctly understand that wages are the earnings of labour, and then let the employers answer you, how labour can depend upon supply and demand unless the entire amount of the labour is not paid for without any stoppages. There are two ways in which the employers defraud labour; one is the STOPPAGE system, and the other is the TRUCK system. “If a PRINTER employs a man to print for him in his press, he pays him for his labour; if a HOSIER employs a man to make stockings for him, in his frame, he STOPS the labour for the rent of the frame. This fraud of the hosier is a mixing up of the relation of landlord and tenant with the employment of a workman to a master; now one negatives the other; for if a master employs a man to work for him, in his frume, how can the workman have the frame to his own use, which he must do, if he is to pay a rent for it?-if not, there can be no rent at all. Wages are the earnings of LABOUR; keeping that in view, and never losing sight of it, nothing short of the UNIVERSAL ANTI-TRUCK LAW can save the working man from the fraud of the employer, or secure him the full reward of his LABOUR. This, and this only will remedy the destroying of man's labour; no one has so wisely gone into the question as you have: you see the right of the labourer to share in the production, and you will now see that it is a fraud only that prevents him doing so; it is the fraud of the master mixing up his own machinery with the man's labour, and STOPPING from the labour a rent of the machinery, instead of keeping the labour distinct and paying for it, the labour, without any stoppage: can QUERY reply to this, or does he admit that the Universal Anti-Truck Law ought to be passed next session? "It is absolutely necessary, then, I say, to pass the UNIVERSAL ANTI-TRUCK LAW, for the sake of the 'Existence of Life' to the working man; unless every workman is paid the ACTUAL EARNINGS of his labour, he can have nothing to live on; what is to become of the children and wife of a working man, if he is not to be paid what he actually earns? The employers only pay them by the piece, that is, the quantity they actually do; surely, then, that actual earning ought not to be STOPPED by reason of fines or frame rent, or charges; the working man simply asks to be paid for the actual earnings of his labour; such a request is just, holy, and right, and no one can stand in the way of it, without offending against the law of God and the interest of his country. Labour is an element of itself, to be paid for by itself, unconnected with the pro- perty or machinery of the employer; what law can be so just, as that which secures to the work- ing man his actual earnings without any de- duction? | "On the other side, I give you the UNIVERSAL ANTI-TRUCK LAW, the first clause of which is the principle thereof, viz :— "That the ENTIRE amount of all WAGES, the earnings of LABOUR, shall be actually and po- sitively PAID in the current coin of the realin, without any deduction or stoppage of any kind whatever. "The second clause is the security that no em- ployer shall offend against it; if he does he shall be punished in the County Court. "The third clause declares that no employer shall mix up anything with labour, but shall simply pay for the labour when done and earned. "The fourth clause is against set-off. The fifth against any trickery to avoid the law; and the last clause to show workmen that they shall not neglect their work; existing laws are very strong against neglecting work. I humbly and earnestl pray you will assist to pass this law; it will do more good for England than all the laws besides ; what is so natural and simple as the UNIVERSAL ANTI-TRUCK LAW, and why do employers want to evade it? The system of stoppages is deplorable, because of employers stopping their men's actual earnings. Wicked employers make a profit out of their men's wages that they may undersell their neighbours; this works the most frightful of evils this is that baneful and pernicious evil, called unlawful and unholy COMPETITION. "Honest EMPLOYERS are content with making a profit on their goods after the labour is paid for; but unprincipled and wicked EMPLOYERS try all they can to undersell their neighbours by getting a profit out of their workman's wages, by paying them in goods, so as to get a double profit; or, by stopping their wages for fines, or frame rent, and charges, so as to get their work done for little or nothing; no consideration whatever being had as to how the workman is to subsist, or what the state of starvation and misery the wife and chi- dren must be in. Nothing can cure this frightful evil, but the UNIVERSAL ANTI-TRUCK LAW, that the actual earnings of labour shall be paid for, with- out any stoppage whatever. "I am, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, "J. BRIGGS. The following comes from the Correspondent who furnished the facts printed in No. 39 con- cerning a certain Jew printer of Farringdon-street. Certain parts are omitted touching the printer's past career, with which Mr. Mayhew has no desire to meddle. "I have not yet done with the Jew printer of Ludgate-hill; I have waited patiently to see if he would offer any reply to the statement made in your Number of September 6th. I have taken care that your Journal should reach his hands. This person on the most trivial reasons discharges men on the instant, and when asked for the required usual notice, sneeringly replies, you may summons me;' his motto is (and he openly avows it), wages are too high and must be reduced,' and for this end he employs a host of boys at 4s. and 5s. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 6 per week, and, whenever he can, substitutes their | I must quote from memory, as I have not now labour in the place of men's. These lads he treats most shamefully, making them, poor fellows, work night after night as over time, and then docking them if their fagged and overwrought bodies cannot do quite so much labour the next day. "I am, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, 66.* "Boy labour or thief labour," said an enter- prising shoe-factor to Mr. Mayhew, "it's all the same to me, so long as I can get my work done cheap." This boy and apprentice labour is the great curse of the printer's trade. The two following letters are touching the mean- ing of the term "Daylye Oratour" mentioned in the Notices to Correspondents attached to No. 38:- 'SIR, MORPETH, OOт. 4, 1851. "I think I can throw some light on the 'Office' of 'Daylye Oratour.' I believe that Anthoyne Master of London, haberdasher,' by so entitling himself, merely intended to intimate that he daily offered prayers for his Majesty's welfare. Orare means not only to speak or deliver an oration, but to entreat, to plead, to pray to the gods. Thence, of course, 'Oratory,' a place where prayer is wont to be made. But the ques- tion is, I think, set at rest by an expression which I remarked some time since in a MS. letter, of date early in the 17th century, which I regret access to the papers. The context was to this effect: If God protract your life and grant you,' &c., for which' the writer continued, I shall be to Him a orator. I leave a blank, for I am not certain what adjective was used; it might be 'constant' or 'daily.' But this use of the word, orator' fixes, I think, the meaning in your correspondent's quotation. "I have had thought of addressing you about but doubt whether what I could say would be of 'trampers' lodging-houses in the country towns, any value to you. "I am, Sir, "Truly and gratefully yours, "W. T. S." interesting work on London Labour, doubtless "As it is only once a month that I obtain your some one else has, ere now, attempted (and pro- bably with success) to explain the term 'Daylye Oratour' (No. 38, fly-leaf); however, at the risk of being thought troublesome, I venture to forward the following:- 'Daylye Oratour' I imagine means nothing more than daily petitioner, and is equivalent to saying that he was one who prayed daily for the welfare of his sovereign; the present concluding clause in petitions and your peti- tioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray,' &c., scems connected with the above. "I I am, Sir, "Yours truly, "Ashby-de-la-Zouch." "T. L. L." RIMMEL'S TOILET VINEGAR will be found far preferable to any Eau de Cologne as a tonic and refreshing lotion for the Toilet or Bath, removing all freckles, pimples, and irrita- tion. It forms also a delightful and reviving perfume, a pleasant dentifrice, and a powerful disinfectant in apart- ments or sick rooms. Its useful and sanitary properties render it an indispensable requisite in all families. Price 2s. 6d. and 5s. To be had of E. RIMMEL, Perfumer, 39, Gerard-street, Soho, London; of all Perfumers and Chemists; and at the Exposition, 58, Baker-street. Just Published, Price Sixpence, A BRIEF INQUIRY into the Evils attendant upon the Present Method of Erecting, Purchasing, and Renting DWELLINGS for the INDUSTRIAL CLASSES, with Suggestions for their Remedy; being an apology for the formation of the METROPOLITAN BUILDINGS PURCHASE COMPANY, by One of its Promoters. London: published by HOULSTON and STONEMAN, 65, Paternoster-row. On Monday, July 28th, was published, Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings of (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; and (3) THOSE that Will not Work. THE STREET-FOLK. The London Costermongers. The Street-Sellers of Fish. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF The Street-Sellers of Fruit and Vegetables. The Street Irish. The Street-Sellers of Game and Poultry. The Street-Sellers of Trees, Shrubs, Flowers, and Roots. The Street-Sellers of Eatables and Drinkables. The Street-Sellers of Stationery, Literature, and the Fine Arts. The Low Lodging-houses. The Street-Sellers of Manufactured Articles. The Female Street-Sellers. The Children Street-Sellers. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,0007. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Office, 16, Upper Wellington-street, Strand. No. 47. [PRICE THREEPENCE. SATURDAY, NOV. 1, 1851. No. VI. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. ERSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. VICHISON OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. GC "Sir, street, Glasgow. During a recent visit, about two months ago, to London, some things came under my observa- tion, which I have thought I might send to you, as they may be of use in the course of your exposure of London prostitution. I give you real names and addresses, as a guarantee for the strict truthfulness of what I write. "One Saturday evening I alighted at the Quadrant, Regent-street, from a Bayswater omnibus, about nine o'clock. I was immediately struck by the number of well-dressed young females loiter- ing on the pavement of the Haymarket; two especially attracted my attention; both young, good-looking, and apparently intelligent; one-I can't say both-rouged. I watched them for a little, saw them laughingly address one or two gentlemen, and then I walked slowly close by to give them an opportunity of speaking to me: this they were not long in doing. I at once found they were French girls, speaking English imper- fectly. They said to me, we come from Paris, have been here about three months, and are going back soon." I urged them to give me their address, but they would not, pressing me to go with them to where they lived, which they said, "was quite at hand, and you will be gratified-have the plea- sure immediately." Without heeding my refusal, they turned their faces towards the Quadrant and walked on at a pretty smart pace. I followed them a little behind; at last they stopped at No. U J. street; one of them opened the door with a latch-key, and both entered, leaving it partially opened. I had gained my object, and without delay I walked off. Immediately after I saw them again on the pavement. "The next day I dropped a parcel of tracts into the letter box of the house I saw them enter, and a day or two after I sent another package through the post. "On the Monday afternoon I was walking on the north side of the Quadrant: on the balcony at the windows above M, Milliner, No.-, I observed three ladies standing; one of them, noticing that I had seen them, beckoned to me with her finger. The day after I sent them, too, a parcel of tracts. "In Regent-street and Piccadilly I strolled about till after dusk. I think I counted apart- ments to let' or 'furnished apartments' put in windows and on doors, by dozens, which I had not observed by daylight. In windows of coffee rooms, &c., I found private apartments for ladies.' This appeared to my mind an ambiguous intimation, and admitting a perfectly honourable interpretation. I came, however, at length, to the window of the Coffee House, Piccadilly, across the whole length of which, at the bottom, there was a gauze screen, through which the light from the gas shone faintly; I observed something painted on it, and, on looking more closely, I read, 'private apart- ments for ladies,' and on a line below, in letters not quite so large as those above, and, for private apartments, ladi.s.' My mind was now fully interested in the investigation, and I resolved to go to the Casino in Great Windmill-street, thinking that I should gain a little more insight into the horrid system: nor was I mistaken; the first thing that met me was, as I went in; the charge of admis- sion is nominally 1s., but some ladies who passed in immediately before me laid down only 6d. Having entered, I found a large hall, brilliantly lighted, with a band on an elevated platform at the further end. I expected that there would be a stage and professional dancers; in this I was wrong-the dancers were the visitors, who each, according to his fancy, joined in the dance, the young women with their bonnets and shawls on, the young men with their hats on, and top- coats and sticks, if they chanced to have them with them. The attitudes were anything but decent. While I was there-about 30 minutes- the place was not very crowded, though the visitors were evidently coming in greater num- bers; and I understand that as the evening advances, the attendance becomes very great. The young women had, for the most part, gentlemen along with them; there was, however, a considerable number without any friend. I was standing near to one of these, a young girl, rouged, when a young man came up and said to her, may I have the pleasure of paying my addresses to you?' She, however, was at the moment joined by a gentleman whom she had evidently been expecting. ፡ There "I had for a short time previous been watching a girl whose whole appearance much interested me she was apparently under 20, not painted, tastefully and decorously dressed; she might be called beautiful, and there was an innocence about her looks which made me feel it strange indeed that she should be in such a place. She had stood alone for about a quarter of an hour; no one had spoken to her, she to no one. was a liveliness in her eye, but a pensiveness at times crept over it. Poor thing, thought I, can I do anything to save you, if you are fullen? for had I met her anywhere else I should never have thought her fallen. I went to her and said, 'Have you no friend here?' She said 'No.' 'Do you expect any?' She replied, 'No, certainly, or he would have come along with me.' 'Will you go with me, then?' 'Where?' she asked. To my lodgings.' 'No,' she said, 'I cannot go to your lodgings.' I pressed her; she refused. Oh,' she said, we can find numbers of places in the neigh- bourhood; if you do not choose to pay for such accommodation, I cannot go with you.' I now requested that she would at least go out with me ; she consented, and we left the Casino; I led her to my lodgings, which were at hand, but she would not go in; she said, 'No, I'm not so hard- ened; I cannot go into respectable people's houses; You will get plenty of girls in the Argyll rooms, who will go anywhere with you, but I am not so bad yet.' I tried to persuade her, saying I would take all the responsibility; but she was firm, and at last said, 'Let me go back to the rooms, my time is precious; I cannot go with you.' I then asked her to walk with me a little, to which she A ، LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 71 children, whom they have mourned for years with a pure and deep sorrow. Men have loved and respected their wives; maidens have prized and guarded their virtue; but it is too true that these are exceptions, and that the character and the condition of the female sex in Australia is that of debasement and immorality. With respect to the prostitute class of the colonial towns, to which allusion has been made, it will be noticed in another part of this inquiry, when we examine into the manners of English and other settlers abroad. Of prostitutes as a class among the natives themselves, it is impossible to speak separately; for prostitution of that kind implies some advance towards the forms of regular society, and little of this appears yet to be made in that region. From the sketch we have given, however, a general idea may be gained of the state of women and the estimation of virtue among a race second only to the lowest tribes of Africa in barbarity and degrada- tion*. OF PROSTITUTION IN NEW ZEALAND. In the New Zealand group we find a race considerably elevated above the other in- habitants of Australasia, with a species of native civilization-a system of art, indus- try, and manners. Perhaps the savage of New Holland is one of the most miserable, and the New Zealander one of the most elevated, barbarians in the world. By this we do not mean that he has made any progress in refinement, or been subdued by the amiable amenities of life; but he is quick, intelligent, apt to learn, swift to imitate, and docile in the school of civiliza- tion. The Maories, in their original state, are low and brutal; but they are easily raised from that condition. They have exhibited a capacity for the reception of knowledge, and a desire to adopt what they are taught to admire-which encou- rage strong hopes of their reclamation. Among them, however, vice was, until re- cently, almost universal, and at the present * See Sturt's Two Expeditions, and Sturt's Expedition to Central Australia; Westgarth's Australia Felix Leichardt's Expeditions; Hodg- son's Australian Settlements; Haydon's Australia Felix; Stoke's Discoveries; Angas' Savage Life and Scenes; Sir George Grey's Journals; Eyre's Expedition; Pridden's History; Earl, Mackenzie, Mitchell, Howitt, Mudie, Macconochie, Oxley, Henderson, Cunningham, with the other travellers and residents, almost innumerable, who have described the aborigines of Australia. day it is so, with the exception of a few tribes brought directly under the influence of educated and moral European commu- nities. The only class which has discarded the most systematic immorality is that which has reconciled itself to the Christian religion, or been persuaded to follow the manners of the white men. The unre- claimed tribes present a spectacle of licen- tiousness which distinguishes them even among barbarous nations. They show, indeed, an advance in profli- gacy. Their immorality is upon a plan, and recognised in that unwritten social law which among barbarians remedies the want of a written code. It is not the beastly lust of the savage, who appears merely obedient to an animal instinct, against which there is no principle of morals or sentiment of decency to contend; it is the appetite of the sensualist, delibe- rately gratified, and by means similar, in many respects, to those adopted among the lowest classes in Europe. We may, indeed, compare the Maori village, unsubjected to missionary influence, with some of the hamlets in our rural provinces, where moral education of every kind is equally an exile. The New Zealanders have been divided into the descendants of two races, the one inferior to the other; and the Malay has been taken as the superior. Ethnologists may prove a difference between them, and trace it through their manners; but these distinctions of race are not sufficiently The social institutions of the islande are marked to require separate investigations. very generally the same, with some unim- portant variations among the several tribes. We are placed in this peculiar difficulty Zealand-that they appear to have under- when inquiring into the manners of New gone considerable modification since, and in consequence of, the arrival of Europeans. The natives refer to this change them- selves, and in some cases charge the whites with introducing various evils into their country. Undoubtedly this is as true of the globe whither men have carried from New Zealand as of every other portion of vantages of civilization. But in speaking Christendom the vices as well as the ad- of European settlers, a broad distinction must be borne in mind. White is not more contrasted with black, than are the regular orderly colonies established under the authority of Great Britain with the irregular scattered settlements planted by whalers, runaway or released convicts, land speculators, and other adventurers before the formal hoisting of our flag. The G 72 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. influence of the one has been to enlighten | of determination will sometimes divorce and to elevate, of the other to debase and his first wife to punish her contumelious demoralize, the native population. Gam- behaviour to his second. bling, drinking, and prostitution were en- couraged or introduced by the one, Chris- tianity, order, and morality are spreading through the exertions of the other; and it is, therefore, unjust to confound them in one general panegyric or condemnation. Nor shall we include all the unrecognised settlements in this description. Many of the hardy whalers and others have taken to themselves Maori wives, who, sober, thrifty, and industrious, submit without complaining to rough usage and hard work, and are animated by a deep affection for their husbands. Contented with a calico | gown and blanket, an occasional pipe of tobacco, and a very frugal life, they cost little to support, and appear for the most part not only willing but cheerful. The female sex throughout New Zealand is not in such complete subjection to the male as in New Holland. With the right they have acquired the power to resist any unnatural encroachment upon their liber- ties, though still in a state of comparative bondage. They are influential in society, and whenever this is the case they enjoy, more or less, remission of oppression. We find them declaiming at public meetings of the people, and fiercely denouncing the warriors who may be dishonourably averse to war, or have behaved ignominiously in the field. By influencing their friends and relatives they often secure to themselves revenge for an injury, and thus security against the same in future. In various other ways their position is defended against utter abasement. They are not regarded merely as subservient to the lust and indolence of the male sex. When dead they are buried with ceremony ac- cording to the husband's rank, and formal rites of mourning are observed for them. In public and in domestic affairs their opinions are consulted, and often their hands are obtained in marriage by the most humble supplication, or the most difficult course of persuasion, by the lover. All this is evidence of a higher state than that which is occupied by females either in Africa or New Holland. Polygamy is permitted and practised by those who can afford it. In reality, how ever, the man has but one wife and a number of concubines, for though the second and third may be ceremoniously wedded to him, they are in subjection to the first, and his intercourse with them is frequently checked by her. She is para- mount and all but supreme, though a man It is customary for a man to marry two or more sisters, the eldest being recognised as the chief or head of the family. They all eat with the men, accompanying them, as well as their lovers and relations, before marriage, on their war expeditions or to their feasts. Betrothal takes place at a very early age-often conditionally before birth. Thus two brothers or two friends will agree that if their first children prove respectively a boy and a girl, they shall be married. When it is not settled so early, it is arranged during infancy, or at least childhood-for a girl of sixteen without an accepted lover is regarded as having out- lived her attractions and all chance of an alliance. The betrothal is usually the oc- casion of a great feast, where wishes for the good success and welfare of the young couple are proclaimed by a company of friends. Three varieties of marriage for- mality are observed-differing as the girl is wanted to fill the place of first, second, third, or fourth wife. The first is a regular ceremony, the second less formal, and the last, which is merely conventional, is when a slave is raised from servitude to the marital embrace. The highest is that in which the priest pronounces a benediction, and a hope, not a prayer, for the prosperity of the married couple. The rest, which is the most approved and common, is for the man to conduct his betrothed to his hut, and she is thenceforward mistress of the place. Unless she be divorced, no one can take away her power, and no inferior wife can divide it. When they have entered the dwelling a party of friends surround it, make an attack, force their way, strip the newly-married pair nearly naked, plun- der all they can find, and retire. By taking a woman to his house a man makes her his wife, or virtually, except in the case of the first, his concubine. When he merely desires to cohabit with one, without being formally united to her, he visits her habi- tation. Though polygamy or concubinage has been practised in New Zealand from imme- morial time, jealousy still burns among the wives as fiercely as in any Christian country where the institution is forbidden by the social law. It is the cause of bitter domestic feuds. The household, with a plurality of women, is rarely at peace. It is universally known to what an extent the jealousy of the Dutch women in Batavia carried them when their husbands in- dulged in the practice-common in Dutch LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 73 settlements of keeping female slaves. | concubines. A stepmother ill-treating the They watched their opportunity, and when children, or a mother wantonly killing one it occurred would carry a poor girl into of them, is liable to divorce. The latter is the woods, strip her entirely naked, smear not an useless precaution, for jealous wives her person all over with honey, and leave have been known in cold blood to murder an her to be tortured by the attacks of insects infant, merely to revenge themselves upon and vermin. A similar spirit of ferocious their husbands, or irritate them into divorce. jealousy is characteristic of the women in A woman extravagantly squandering the New Zealand. The inferior wives conse- common property, idling her time, play- quently lead a miserable life, subjected to ing the coquette, becoming suspected of the severest tyranny from the chief, who infidelity, or refusing to admit a new wife makes them her handmaids, and sometimes into the house, is sometimes put away. terrifies her husband from marital inter- This is effected by expelling her from the course with them. She exposes them to house. When it is she who seeks it, she perpetual danger by endeavouring to insi- flies to her relatives or friends. Should the nuate into his mind suspicions of their husband be content with his loss, both are fidelity, and thus the household is rendered at liberty to marry; but if he desire to miserable. When a man takes a journey regain her, he seeks to coax her back, and, She is he is usually accompanied by one of his failing in that, employs force. wives, or, if he goes alone, will bring one compelled to submit unless her parents are back with him. Hence arise bitter heart- | powerful enough to defend her for in burnings and quarrels. Occasionally they New Zealand arms are the arbiters of law. | lead to the death of one among the dis- When the desire to separate is mutual, it putants, and frequently to infanticide. is effected by agreement, which is a com- plete release to both. If the husband insist on taking away the children, he may, but he is forbidden, on pain of severe punishment, from annoying his former wife any further. So furious are the passions of the women when their jealousy is excited against their younger rivals, that many of the chiefs in New Zealand fear to enjoy the privilege allowed them by their social law. When they resolve upon it, they often proceed with a caution very amusing to contem- plate. More than one anecdote in illustra- tion of this is related in the works of recent travellers. A man having a first wife of bad temper and faded beauty, whom he fears, nevertheless, to offend alto- gether, is attracted by some young girl of superior charms, and offers to take her home; she accepts, and the husband pre- pares to execute his design. It is often long before he acquires courage to inform his wife, and only by the most skilful mixture of persuasion, management, and threats, that she is ever brought to con- sent. Women captured in battle, however, may be made slaves, or taken at once to their captor's bed. Thus raised from ac- tual slavery, their condition is little im- proved. The tyranny of the chief wife is exercised to oppress, insult, and irritate them. Should one of them prove preg- nant, her mistress-especially if herself barren-will often exert the most abomi- nable arts to ensure her miscarriage, that the husband may be disappointed of his child, and the concubine of his favour which would thence accrue to her. There is among the New Zealanders a rite known as Tapu, and the person per- forming it is sacred against the touch of another. While in this condition no con- tact is allowed with any person or thing. There are, however, comparative forms of Tapu. Thus a woman, in the matter of sexual intercourse, is tapu to all but her husband, and adultery is severely punished. Formerly the irrevocable remedy was death, and this may still be inflicted; but jealousy is seldom strong in the New Zealand hus- band, who often contents himself with receiving a heavy fine from his enemy. The crime is always infamous, but not in- expiable. The husband occasionally, when his wife has been guilty, takes her out of the house, strips her, and exposes her entirely naked, then receiving her back with forgiveness. The paramour usually attempts to fly. If he be not put to death, he also is sometimes subjected to a similar disgrace. When a wife discovers any girl carrying on a secret and illicit connection with her husband, a favourite mode of revenge is, to strip and expose her in this manner. For, in New Zealand, libidinous as the conduct of the people may be, their Divorces, according to the testimony of outward behaviour is, on the whole, deco- most writers, are not unfrequent in New rous. They indulge in few indecencies be- Zealand. Among the ordinary causes are, fore a third person. The exposure of the mere decline of conjugal affection, barren-person is one of the most terrible punish- ness in the wife, and a multiplication of ments which can be inflicted. A woman 74 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. has hanged herself on its being said that she has been seen naked. One girl at Karawanga, on the river Thames, charged with this offence, was hung up by the heels and ignominiously flogged before all the tribe. Shame drove her mad, and she shot herself. They are otherwise obscene, and the children are adepts in indecency and immorality. One strong characteristic of their rude attempts at art is the ob- scenity in their paintings and carvings. In those singular specimens which crowd the rocks of Depuch Island, on the coast of New Holland, not a trace of this grossness is visible. One of the most melancholy features in the manners of this barbarous race, is the prevalence of infanticide. The Christian converts, as well as some of the natives who hold frequent intercourse with the more respectable Europeans, Lave aban- doned it, as well as polygamy; but, with these exceptions, it is general through- out the thinly-scattered population of New Zealand. It almost always takes place immediately after birth, before the sentiment of maternal affection grows strong in the mother's breast. After keep- ing a child a little while they seldom, except under the influence of fienzy, de- stroy it. As they have said to travellers, they do not look on them, lest they should love them. The weakly or deformed are always slain. The victim is sometimes buried alive, sometimes killed by violent compression of its head. This practice has contributed greatly to keep the popu- lation down. It is openly and unblush- ingly pursued, the principal victims being the females. The chief reasons for it are usually-revenge in the woman against her husband's neglect, poverty, dread of shame, and superstition. One of the most common causes is the wife's belief that her husband cares no longer for his off- spring. The priests, whose low cunning is as characteristic of the class in those islands as elsewhere, frequently demand a victim for an oblation of blood to the spirit of evil, and never fail to extort the sacri- fice from some poor ignorant mother. An- other injurious and unnatural practice is, that of checking or neutralizing the opera- tions of nature by procuring abortion. Tyrone Power, in his observations on the immorality prevalent in New Zealand, remarks that some of the young girls, betrothed from an early age, are tapu, and thus preserved chaste. He regrets that this superstition is not more influential, since it would check the system of almost universal and indiscriminate prostitution, which prevails among those not subject to this rite. Except when the woman is tapu, her profligacy is neither punished nor cen- sured. Fathers, mothers, and brothers will, without a blush, give, sell, or lend on hire, the persons of their female relatives. The women themselves willingly acknowledge the bargain, and Mr. Power declares the most modest of them will succumb to a liberal offer of money. Nor is anything else to be expected. in any general degree. The children are educated to obscenity and vice. Their intercourse is scarcely restrained, and the early age at which it takes place has proved physically injurious to the race. Even those who are betrothed in infancy and rendered tapu to each other, commence cohabitation before they have emerged, according to English ideas, from childhood. Except in the case of those couples thus pledged before they can make a choice of their own, the laws which in New Zealand regulate the intercourse of the sexes with regard to preparations for marriage, approach in spirit to our own. A man desiring to take as wife a woman who is bound by no betrothment has to court her, and sometimes does so with supplication. The girls exhibit great coyness of manner, and are particular in hiding their faces from the stranger's eye. When they bathe it is in a secluded spot; but they exercise all the arts which attract the opposite sex. When one or two suitors woo an independ- cut woman, the choice is naturally given to the wealthiest; but should she decline to fix her preference on either, a desperate feud occurs, and she is won by force of arms. Sometimes a young girl is seized by two rivals, who pull on either side until her arms are loosened in the sockets, and one gives way. Perhaps, under these circumstances, the system of betrothal is productive of useful results, since it prevents the feuds and conflicts which might otherwise spring from the rivalry of suitors. The girl thus bound must submit to marriage with the man, whatever may be her indifference or aversion to him. Occasionally, indeed, some more youthful, or otherwise attrac- tive, lover gains her consent to an elope- ment. If caught, however, both of the culprits are severely whipped. Should the young suitor be of poor and mean condi- tion, he runs the chance of being robbed and murdered for his audacity. When, on the contrary, a powerful chief is desirous of obtaining a maiden who is betrothed, he has little difficulty in effecting his object, for in New Zealand the liberty of the indi- vidual is proportionate to his strength. It LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 75 Wallatani, in the Bay of Plenty, went on an excursion to the Bay of Islands, and was accompanied by his wife and her sister. There he met a chief of the neighbourhood, who possessed some merchandise which he coveted. He at once offered to barter the chastity of his wife for the goods, and the proposal was accepted. The woman told her sister of the transaction, and she di- vulged the secret. So much reproach was brought upon the chief among his people, that he shot his wife's sister to punish her incontinent tongue. is a feudal system, where the strong may evade the regulations of the social law, and the weak must submit. Justice, how- ever, to the missionaries in those islands requires us to add, that in the districts where their influence is strong, a beneficial coveted. strong, a beneficial change in this, as in other respects, has been produced upon the people. They acknowledge more readily the supremacy of law; they prefer a judicial tribunal to the trial of arms; they restrain their animal passions in obedience to the moral code which has been exhibited to them; and many old polygamists have put away all their wives but one, contented to live faithfully with her. Among the heathen population chastity is not viewed in the same light as with us. It not so much required from the woman as from the wife, from the young girl as from the betrothed maiden. In fact, it signifies little more than faithful conduct in mar- riage, not for the sake of honour or virtue, but for that of the husband. With such a social theory, we can expect no general refinement in morality. Indeed, the term is not translatable into the language of New Zealand. Modesty is a fashion, not a senti- ment, with them. The woman who would retire from the stranger's gaze may, pre- vious to marriage or betrothal, intrigue with any man without incurring an infa- mous reputation. Prostitution is not only a common but a recognised thing. Men care little to receive virgius into their huts as wives. Husbands have boasted that their wives had been the concubines of Europeans; and one declared to Polack that he was married to a woman who had regularly followed the calling of a prosti- tute among the crews of ships in the har- bour. This he mentioned with no inconsi- derable pride, as a proof of the beauty of the prize he had carried away. Formerly many of the chiefs dwelling on the coast were known to derive a part of their revenue from the prostitution of young females. It was, indeed, converted into a regular trade, and to a great extent with the European ships visiting the group. The handsomest and plumpest women in the villages were chosen, and bartered for certain sums of money or articles of merchandise, some for a longer, some for a shorter period. The practice is now, if not abolished, at least held in great reprobation, as the following anecdote will show. It exhibits the depraved manners of the people in a striking light, and is an illustration of that want of affection between married people which has been remarked as a character- istic of the New Zealanders. A chief from Bar- Jerningham Wakefield describes the ar- rival of the whalers in port. He mentions as one of the most important transactions following this event, the providing of the company with "wives for the season." Some had their regular helpmates, but others were forced to hire women. gains were formally struck, and when a woman failed to give satisfaction, she was exchanged for another. She was at once the slave and the compauion of her master. This is neither more nor less than a regular system of prostitution; but it is gradually going out of fashion, and is only carried on in a clandestine manner in the colonies properly so called. Indeed this is, unfor- tunately, one of the chief products of imper- fect civilization-that vice, which before was open, is driven into the dark; it is not extirpated, but is concealed. A man offered his wife to the traveller Earl, and the woman was by no means loth to prosti- tute herself for a donation. Barbarians readily acquire the modes of vice practised by Europeans. In the criminal calendar of Wellington for 1846, we find one native convicted and punished for keeping a house of ill-fame. Extraordinary as it may appear, prosti- tution in New Zealand has tended to cure one great evil. It has largely checked the practice of infanticide. For, as the female children were usually destroyed, it was on the supposition that, instead of being va- luable, they would be burdensome to their parents. This continued to be the case until the discovery was made that by pros- tituting the young girls considerable profits might be made. It is to Europeans that the introduction of this idea is chiefly owing. The females were then, in many cases, carefully reared, and brought up to this dishonourable calling without reluc- tance. No difficulty was ever experienced from their resistance, as they would pro- bably have become prostitutes of their own free will, had they not been directed to the occupation. Slavery, which has from the earliest time existed in New Zealand, 76 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. has supplied the materials of prostitution, female servants being consigned to it. When possessed of any attractions they are almost invariably debauched by their masters, and frequently suffer nameless punishments from the jealous head wife. Concubinage does not, as in some other countries, release a woman from servitude, but she enjoys a privilege which is denied to the chief wife-she may marry again after her master's death. In we discover various phases of manners developed under different influences. some of the lonely groups lying out of the usual course of trade or travel, com- nities exist whose social habits remain entirely pure-that is, unchanged by in- tercourse with foreigners. In others conti- nual communication through a long period, with white men, has wholly changed the characteristic aspects of the people-given them a new religion, a new moral code, Formerly the general custom, however, new ideas of decency and virtue, new plea- was for a wife to hang, drown, strangle, or sures, and new modes of life. The same starve herself on the death of her husband. process appears likely, at a future day, to Her relatives often gave her a rope of flax, obliterate the ancient system of things. with which she retired to a neighbouring In all the islands of this class, indeed, the thicket and died. It was not a peremptory reform of manners is not so thorough as obligation, but custom viewed it as almost the florid accounts of the missionaries a sacred duty. Sometimes three of the would induce us to believe; but those wives destroyed themselves, but generally pioneers of civilization have done enough, one victim sufficed. Self-immolation is without assuming more than their due, to now, indeed, becoming very rare; but it is deserve the praise of all Christendom. To still the practice for the widow, whether have restrained the fiercest passions of she loved her husband or not, to lament human nature among ignorant and wilful him with loud cries, and lacerate her flesh savages; to have converted base libidinous upon his tomb. Whenever she marries heathens into decent Christians; to have again a priest is consulted to predict whe-checked the practice of polygamy; and in ther she will survive the second husband or not. Occasionally we find instances of real attachment between man and wife, such as would sanctify any family hearth; while examples have occurred of women hanging themselves for sorrow, on the death of a betrothed lover. These, however, are only indications that humanity is not in New Zealand univer- sally debased below the brute condition. The general colour of the picture is dark. Women are degraded; men are profligate; virtue is unknown in its abstract sense; chastity is rare; and prostitution a charac- teristic of female society. Fathers, mo- thers, and brothers-usually the guardians of a young woman prostitute her for gain, and the women themselves delight in this vice. There is, nevertheless, some amelioration observable in the manners of the people, produced by the influence of the English colonies. Those colonies them selves, however, are not free from the stain, as will be shown when we treat of commu- nities of that description in general *. OF PROSTITUTION IN THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC. AMONG the innumerable islands which are scattered over the surface of the Pacific, * Tyrone Power's Pen and Pencil Sketches; Angas's Savage Life and Scenes; Handbook of New Zealand, by a Magistrate of the Colony; Dieffenbach's Travels; Brown on the Aborigines; Jerningham Wakefield; Earl's Travels, &c., &c. many places to have extinguished the crime of infanticide; these are achieve- ments which entitle the missionaries to the applause and respect of Europe; but it is no disparagement of their labours to show, where it is true, that immense things yet remain to be performed before the islanders of the Pacific are raised to the ordinary level of civilized humanity. The main family of the Pacific - the Society, the Friendly, the Sandwich, the Navigators', and the Marquesas Islands- present a state of society interesting and curious. Inhabiting one of the most beau- tiful regions on the face of the earth, with every natural advantage, the inhabitants of those groups were originally among the most degraded of mankind. Superior to the savage hordes of Africa and the wan- dering tribes of Australia, they are in physical and intellectual qualities inferior to the natives of New Zealand, though excelling them in simplicity and willing- ness to learn. Tahiti may be considered the capital of Polynesia, as it is the head of its politics, trade, and general civilization. Before the settlement of the missionaries and the in- troduction of a new social scheme, its manners were barbarous and disgusting. The condition of the female sex sponded to this order of things. It was humiliated to the last degree. Most of the men, by a sacred rite, were rendered too holy for any intercourse with the women corre- TABLE IX. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. COUNTIES. Average Population from 1841-50. Total Number Committed for Rape. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1814. 1845. TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO RAPE. Proportion per Cent above and below the Aver. † denotes above. * below. Total for 10 Years. Annual Average. 1816. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. No. committed annually for Rape in every 10,000,000 Persons. Bedford 121,083 Berks 194,763 21 2 1 1 Bucks 140,959 1 1 12 ~7 Co 1♡ 1 3 1 ... ... ܗ: 2 Cambridge 180,747 1 1 Chester 395,919 1 ܗ: 9 Cornwall 349,991 1 H- 7 6 1 2 1 Cumberland 186,762 3 ... Derby · 250,249 Devon ... 554,738 1 ... 1 Dorset 172,736 1 3 Durham 368,787 Essex 332,363 2 Gloucester 407,504 Hereford 97,813 Hertford 168,178 Hunts 57,942 Kent 585,249 Lancaster 1,881,261 8 Leicester 227,621 27 07 11∞ 1 2 10 2 1 2 LO LO M ∞∞∞ 2 1 2732 N 4 1 227 5 1 1 11 2 5 2 2 :- 1 1 4 4 1 1 5 12 627 1 9 4 1 4 4 2 SR 5 1 : 1 1 6 5 10 2 3 1 4 10 7 8 1 1 1 8 11 12 10 8 12 12 3 2 2 2 1 Lincoln • Middlesex 378,246 1,740,814 1 2 3 ... 9 13 11 12 12 15 15 Monmouth 164,093 3 2 2 4 Norfolk • 419,463 1 4 Northampton 206,496 Northumberland 284,777 1 Nottingham 282,584 1 Oxford 166,751 1 Rutland 23,711 :: Salop 243,352 2 2 Somerset 452,515 Southampton 377,040 24 3 1 Stafford • 579,686 6 8 Suffolk 325,336 1 3 2 Surrey • 635,917 1 Sussex 320,944 :10 5 1622 HNS H∞ NO N' 23 67 1 2 -A: GA: B 121244 ... 11 2 1. 1 :: 1 2 3 11∞ 2 1 1 3 1 15Q MAH HANNON CHIN~~ :Ha-gaba + 1 8 .8 66 *2.9 2 12 1.2 62 *8.8 2 22 2.2 156 +129.4 2 10 1.0 55 *19.1 6 50 5.0 126 +85.3 2 24 2.4 68 7 .7 37 *45.6 1 12 1.2 48 *29.4 5 27 2.7 49 *27.9 1 9 .9 52 *23.5 4 47 4.7 127 +86.8 2 42 4.2 126 +85.3 28 2.8 69 +1.5 5 •5 51 *25.0 1 24 2.4 143 +110.3 1 3 •3 52 *23.5 3 35 3.5 60 *11.8 9 94 9.4 50 *26.5 1 16 1.6 70 +2.9 2 13 1.3 34 *50·0 9 115 11.5 66 *2.9 29 2.9 177 +145.6 9 39 3.9 93 +36.8 4 15 1.5 73 +7·4 16 1.6 56 *17.6 1 8 .8 28 *58.8 1 15 1.5 90 +32.4 1 1 2 .2 84 +23.5 2 1 1 2 :: 5 15 1.5 62 *8.8 4 3 3 2 4 4 1 2527~ 1 3 4 10 8 6 17 3 2 2 4 5 4 A co J¬Z 3 26 2.6 57 *16.2 1 29 2.9 77 +13.2 13 3 ANã 81 8.1 140 +105.9 20 2.0 61 *10.3 35 3.5 55 *19.1 2 17 1.7 53 *22.1 ... 我​说 ​Warwick 444,558 5 10 1 4 1 2 co 3 3 19 1.9 43 ... *36.8 Westmorland 57,494 4 ... 4 •4 :. : 70 +2.9 Wilts 241,887 3 Worcester 244,574 1 York 1,686,461 North Wales > South Wales 396.161 568,430 3 COI LO mo 6 1 5 12 243 22N 1 2 1 2 1 23 2.3 95 +39.7 1 8 1 3 3 24 2.4 98 : +14·1 12 17 14 15 15 102 10.2 60 *11.8 2 3 WN 2 2 : 3 1 1 3 1 2 3 3 3 2 N 2 12 1.2 30 *55.9 : 20 2.0 35 *48.5 and Wales Total for England 16,918,458 78 118 127 127 88 139 97 124 121 137 1154 115-4 68 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the Average. + denotes above. Chester Essex Counties below the Average. Monmouth 177 Cornwall 68 156 Bedford Bucks.... Hertford 143 Middlesex.. Stafford 140 Berks Durham 127 Salop Suffolk 126 126 Counties in * which the "} Number of • $ .... 66 62 • • ... 4 61 Kent Worcester. 98 York 60 22288788 66 Rapes and the Number of Ille- gitimate Births| In Num- ber of mate mate below. which Number In No. Rupes is above of and the Num- Illegiti-ber of Illegiti- Births Counties in the of might seem necessary, males only being capable of committing the above offence. ***The proportionate number of persons perpetrating this crime has been calculated with reference to the entire population, instead of the male part of it only, as at the first glance counties in this respect was influenced by the relative number of females. But it was found, on examination, that the intensity of the criminality in the several Monmouth contains the greatest number of males in proportion to females; so that, were the male popu- lation alone considered, the criminality of that county in the above respect would be considerably decreased. But the fact of there being more rapes in Monmouth than elsewhere would appear to be owing to the very excess of males over females in that county; the average, therefore, has been calculated from the entire population. LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMI- NALITY WITH REGARD TO RAPE, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION. Counties above the Average. THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THE NUM- BER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN IN EACH COUNTY. Percentage above and below Percentage above and below the Average. denotes above. below. "} THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THE RE- LATIVE NUMBER OF FEMALES TO MALES IN EACH COUNTY. Percentage above and below the Average. † denotes above. " Percentage above and below the Average. † denotes above. below. Counties in* below.) which the In Num- In No. of Number ber Illegiti- of Rapes and the Num- Number of Fe-1 In In No. of Fe- ber males are both above Rapes. 62 the Average. Bucks +129.4 † 44 Births. below the Ave- |rage. Monmouth of Rapes. mate males are both of to Counties in * which the Number of Rapes is above and the Num- ber of Females In Num- ber In No. of Fe- males of to Births. above the Ave- Rapes. Males, below the Ave- Rapes. Males. rage. rage. +145.6 *26.8 Norfolk +36.8 +1.0 Monmouth +145.6 *12.4 Hertford +110:3 60 +74 Durham 86.8 *10-4 Stafford +105.9 + 30 Essex 85.3 *10'4 Chester + 85.3 +32-8 Worcester. 44.1 * 1.5 Wilts 95 Somerset 57 Wilts Norfolk. 93 Northumb. . 56 + 39.7 † 3·0 Rutland 23.5 *16:4 Gloucester .. † 1:5 Counties in which the Number of Hertford Rapes and the Number of Fe-Stafford males are both below the Ave-Durham +6'7 Bucks +129.4 * 1.9 +110.3 * 2.9 +105.9 * 7·6 + 86-8 * 5·7 Norfolk Oxford 90 Rutland... Southamp. •· Northamp. Leicester Westmor. Gloucester 70 AIDRERZ Cambridge 55 † 36.8 +56 7 Southampton 13.2 *10:4 rage. Chester 85.3 · 84 Surrey 55 † 32.4 77 Sussex 53 73 Dorset 52 70 Hunts.. 52 Hereford Lancaster 50 Devon Derby. 48 Warwick 43 Cumberland 37 S. Wales ... 35 Average for England Lincoln N. Wales and Wales 68 Nottingham 28 30 2 29 7899*5*182 49 Lincoln. *50*0 * 1.5 Oxford +134 Northampton † 7'4 Leicester 2.9 +17.9 Gloucester .. † 1·5 Westmorland † 29 † 29.8 Counties in which the Number of Counties in which the Number of Rapes and the Number of Ille- Rapes is below and the Number gilimate Births are both below of Illegitimate Births above the the Average. Average. Nottingham *10'4 Nottingham *58*8 *1.0 Essex 85.3 * 4.8 * 4.5 North Wales *55.9 *2.9 Worcester 44.1 * 1·0 Lincoln.. *50*0 *5*7 Wilts. 39.7 * 1·9 South Wales *48.5 *2.9 Oxford 32.4 * 5.7 Cumberland *45.6 *1.9 Rutland 23.5 * 6.7 Warwick *36.8 *1.0 Southampton 13.2 * 3·8 Derby *29.4 *3.3 Northampton 7.4 * 3·8 *58*8 +35.8 Lancaster *26.5 * Leicester 2.9 * 3.0 Warwick *36*8 *164 North Wales *55'9 +16.4 Hereford *25·0 *5.7 Westmorland + 2.9 * 3·8 Devon *27.9 *25.3 South Wales *48.5 † 7·4 Hunts *23.5 *3.8 Hunts *23.5 *28 3 Cumberland *45.6 +61.2 Sussex *22.1 • *1.9 Dorset *23.5 34 * 1.5 Derby *29.4 +20.9 Cambridge *19.1 *3.8 Counties in which the Number of Rapes is below and the Num- ber of Females above the Ave- Surrey *19.1 *34.3 Lancaster *26*5 $14.9 Northumb. *17.6 *1.9 rage. Cambridge *19.1 * 1.5 Hereford *25.0 +49.2 York *11.8 *2.9 Devon *27*9 + 57 Somerset Kent *16.2 * 6·0 Sussex *22.1 + 1.5 Kent *11·8 *3·8 Dorset *23*5 † 19 *11·8 *194 Northumb. *17·6 + 8.9 Suffolk *10.3 *1.9 Surrey *19.1 5'7 Middlesex Cornwall * 2.9 *40:3 York #11·8 + 6·0 Salop * 8.8 *3.8 Somerset *16*2 5.7 *29.8 Suffolk *10:3 +26.8 Berks * 8.8 *3.8 Middlesex * 2.9 8.6 Salop * 8.8 +47·7 Bedford Berks. * 8.8 +17.9 Cornwall ** * 2.9 † 2.9 † 1·9 Bedford * 2.9 $14.9 *** The rule appears to be, that the crime of Rape is (in the majority of cases) the least where the number of Illegitimate Children is the greatest. *** The rule appears to be, that the number of Rapes is the greatest in those counties where the number of Females is the leart. MAP No. VII. 4 MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR RAPE IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION, "Cornwall.68 IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. ས 37 Cumberland Northumberland 55 *** The counties printed black are those in which the number committed for Rape is above the Average. The counties left white are those in which the number committed for Rape is below the Average. The Average has been cal- culated for the ten years from 1841 to 1850. Westmertene 70 다 ​Lanens lar 50 Durham 727 York .60 Chester 126 N.Wales 30 Derby Salop Stafford .48 S.Wales 35 Deron 49 62 Herelor ester ری Glozic Nottingham سلامي ter Northampt Warwick 1.3 73 34 Lincoln Norfolk 93 Huntingdon كونة Cambr doe دان Suffolk 61 177 Wilks Somersel 85 57 Oa for ch Ветис Bedford 60 143 Hertfor cl 06 Essex 126. Middleser Kent. 60 Surrey 95 Hants. 71 Sussex 53 Dorset 52 The Average for all England and Wales is 68 in every 10,000,000 People. Monmouth (the highest) Nottingham (the lowest) 171 28 "1 "" MAP No. VIII. MAP 3 Corruvall SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF TEN AND TWELVE YEARS OF IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE THE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF SWales C Cumberland Westmorlanct Lancaster N Wales Chester ENGLAND AND WALES. Northumberland 0 Durham *** The counties printed black are those in which the number committed for this offence is above the Average. The counties left white are those in which the number committed for the same offence is below the Average. The Average has been calculated for the ten years from 1841 to 1850. York, 1 Lincoln 3 Hereford Salop Worcesters Stafford Warwick Gloueester Ex Oxford Darby Notting Leicester Mithard? Northampton Buckingham Bedford い ​Cambric Norfolk U Suffolk Hertford Middlesex Esset Berks WELLS Somerset Surrey Kent.14 Dans De1011 ( 3 Sussere Dorset 0 The Average for all England and Wales is 3 in every 10,000,000 People. Westmoreland (the highest) 17 >> TABLE LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. X. 1 Average Population from 1941-50. Total number committed for carnally abusing girls between the age of 10 and 12 years. 1841. 1842. 1843. | 1844. TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 10 AND 12 YEARS. COUNTIES. Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. † denotes above. Total for 10 Years. Annual Average, | 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. No. committed annually in every 10,000,000 Persons. Bedford. 121,083 Berks 194,763 1 ... Bucks 140,959 2 ... Cambridge 180,747 1 ... ... Chester 395,919 2 1 Cornwall 319,991 1 Cumberland 186,762 ... ... Derby Devon Dorset Durham • 250,249 ... ... ... ... below. +100·0 1 ·1 5 +66.7 ... •2 14 +366.7 1 •1 6 +100·0 3 ⚫3 8 †166.7 1 .1 3 ... +100.0 +100.0 ∞ ∞ · 554,738 ... ... ... • 172,736 ... ... 368,787 ... ... Essex • 332,363 ... 1 ... ... ... Gloucester Hereford Hertford 407,504 97,813 168,178 Hunts 57,942 Kent 585,249 2 1 1 Lancaster 1,881,261 1 ... Leicester Lincoln 227,621 378,246 ... :: ... :: Middlesex 1,740,814 1 2 ... 1 ... 4 1 2 ... ... Monmouth 164,093 ... ... Norfolk 419,463 Northampton 206,496 1 ::: 1 •1 3 1 2 .2 1 •1 6 *100·0 *100.0 *100.0 +66.7 *100.0 +100·0 *100.0 1 3 14 1 2 4 ·4 2 +366.7 *33.3 1 1 •1 4 • +33.3 1 1 •1 3 ... 1 2 14 1.4 8 +166.7 *100.0 *100·0 ♡ LO 1 •1 5 10 +66.7 Northumberland 284,777 Nottingham 282,584 *100·0 *100·0 Oxford • 166,751 Rutland Salop Somerset ... 23,711 243,352 452,515 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... Southampton 377,040 Stafford. 579,686 : : : ... ... *100·0 ... *100·0 *100.0 1 3 •3 7 +133.3 1 ... 1 •1 *100.0 со ... ... ... Suffolk 325,336 *100·0 Surrey · 635,917 1 1 1 ... :00 3 ⚫3 5 +66·7 ... Sussex 320,944 *100·0 ... ... ... .. : LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Warwick 444,558 ... ... Westmorland. 57,494 1 ... Wilts 241,887 ... Worcester 244,574 ... York 1,686,461 1 ... North Wales South Wales 396,161 568,430 ... ... ... ... Total for England 16,918,458 4 2 7 8 6 ¿ .. ... ... 1 2 ... ... : 1 •1 17 1 •1 : + 4 4 •4 16 •2 1 ... ... *100·0 +466.7 +33.3 +433.3 *66.7 * *100.0 *100·0 above and below the Average. FOR the * Number of Rapes and the In Number of Num- Cases of Carnal Counties above Counties below Abuse are both the Average. the Average. above the Ave- ber of Rapes. Counties in't denotes above. Counties in't denotes above. below. which the * Number of In No. Rapes is above, In of Cases and the Num-' Num- [of Cases of ber ber of Cases of of Carnal Carnal Abuse of Carnal and Wales сл 5 5 9 8 2 56 5.6 3 *The proportionate number of persons perpetrating the above crime has been calculated with reference to the entire population, instead of the male part of it only, as at the first glance might seem necessary, males only being capable of committing the above offence. But it was found, on examination, that the intensity of the criminality in the several counties in this respect was influenced by the relative number of females (see comparative table below); the average, therefore, has been calculated from the entire population. LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMI- NALITY WITH REGARD TO CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 10 AND 12 YEARS, AS SHOWN BY THE NUM- BER COMMITTED THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULA- TION. THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THAT OF CARVALLY ABUSING CHILDREN COUNTY. which Percentage THE CRIME OF CARNALLY ABUSING CHILDREN COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF FEMALES TO MALES IN EACH COUNTY. Percentage above and below the Average. Counties in't denotes above. Percentage above and below the Average. IN EACH Percentage above and below the Average. below. which the Car-* Counties inlt denotes above. below. which the Car-* below. In No. nal Abuse of | In No. of Females Westmor. 17 Cornwall.. 3 rage. Abuse. is below the Rapes. Average. Abuse. to nal Abuse of Children and In No. Children is In No. the Number of of Cases above, and the of Cases Females to of Number of Fe- of Males are both Carnal males to Males Carnal above the Ave- Abuse. | Males. below the _Ave- Abuse. | Males. In No. of Females to Worcester 16 Essex 3 Bucks. †129.4 †366·7 +366.7 Monmouth +145.6 *100·0 rage. rage. Kent 14 Lincoln .. Hertford +110 3 +1000 Stafford... +105.9 *100·0 Middlesex. +166.7 +86 Westmorland 1466.6 *3.8 Bucks .... 14 Southamp. Chester † 85.3 +1667 Durham + 86 8 *100.0 Somerset †133.3 +57 Worcester. +433.3 • *1·0 Middlesex & Lancaster.. 2 Worcester. † 44.1 +433.3 Essex + 85.3 ** Gloucester + 66.7 †67 Bucks 1366.7 *1.9 Chester.... 8 York 1 Wilts + 39-7 † 33.3 Norfolk. † 36·8 *100·0 Surrey † 66.7 †5*7 Kent +366.7 *3.8 Somerset. 7 Bedford Northampton † 74 † 667 Oxford. † 32.4 *100·0 Cambridge 6 Cumberland Leicester 2.9 Hertford .. 6 Derby Westmorland + 2.9 Surrey 5 Devon Gloucester 5 Dorset Berks 5 Durbam Northamp. 5 Hereford Leicester 4 Hunts Wilts 4 Monmouth · Norfolk *58*8 *100-0 North Wales *55.9 Lincoln Northumb. Average for England Salop Stafford Suffolk Sussex Warwick N. Wales and Wales 3 S. Wales Nottingham Oxford Rutland South Wales Warwick Derby Devon Surrey *1000 Cambridge *50·0 * Somerset *48.5 *1000 Kent Gloucester.. Counties in which the No. of Rapes|Counties in which the No. of Rapes is below and the No. of Cases of Carnul Abuses above the Aver. and the No. of Cases of Carnal Abuse are both below the Aver. Nottingham.j 333 Rutland .. +4666 Southampton † 13-2 1.5 † 66.7 + 23.5 *100*0 * Counties in which the Carnal Chester Abuse of Children and the No. Cambridge of Females to Males are both Hertford below the Average. +166-7 * 100-0 *3.8 +100-0 *2.9 Berks 66'7 *38 South Wales. *1000 * 29 Northampton 66.7 *3.8 North Wales *100·0 * 2.9 Leicester 33.3 *10 Warwick *100·0 * 10 Wilts... + 33·3 *1.9 *191 † 66×7 *19.1 · +100 0 *16*2 +133.3 Sussex Suffolk Stafford *100 0 * 1·9 Counties in which the Carnal *100*0 * 1·9 *100*0 * 7·6 *11.8 +366.7 Salop *100*0 * 3.8 · Abuse of Children is below and the No. of Females to Males above the Average. Cumberland *45.6 *1000 Berks. * 8.8 + 66.7 Rutland *100'0 * 67 [Norfolk.. *36*8 *1000 Middlesex. * 2.9 †166·7 Oxford *100.0 * 5.7 Dorset *29*4 *100.0 Nottingham *100°0 * 10 Devon *27.9 *100.0 Northumb. Lancaster • *26.5 * 33.3 Monmouth Hereford.. *25.0 Hunts... Dorset. Sussex York Suffolk Northumb. *23:5 *23.5 *22.1 *17·6 *11.8 *10 3 Salop Bedford. * 8.8 * 2.9 Cornwall. *100 0 *100*0 ***The rule appears to be, *100 that where the Number of *1000 Rapes is the greatest, the Nun- *1000 ber of Cases of Carnally Abus- * 667 jing Children is (generally speak- *1000 ing) the greatest also; and vice *1000 vei sá, where the Rapes are the *1000 least, the carnal abuse of Chil- dren is the least likewise. Hunts * 1.9 * * 66*7 29 * 33·3 Durham Derby Cumberland York.... Lancaster Southampton * Lincoln Essex * 3.8 * 57 * 4.8 ***The rule appears to be, that the crime of Carnally Abusing is (generally speaking) the greatest in those Counties where the number of Females is the least. *100*0 *12.4 Cornwall *100*0 * 3·8 · Hereford *100*0 * 5.7 *100'0 * 5'7 *100*0 * 3.8 *100·0 *100*0 * 1.9 Bedford * *100.0 +1.0 *100.0 †1·9 *100·0 +5.7 *100.0 †2.9 +1.9 • ***** LONDON. LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 77 except such as was pleasant to their own lusts. It was similar to the tapu of the New Zealanders, but was not, as among them, common to all. It was an exclusive privilege of the males. In consequence of this, women lived in a condition of exile from all the pleasures of life. They never sat at meals with their husbands, dared | not eat the flesh of pigs, of fowls, of cer- tain fish, or touch the utensils used by the men. They never entered the houses of their "tabooed" lords, dwelling in separate habitations, which these might enter when they chose. Those of the royal blood, however, were excepted from the action of this law. They might mingle with the other sex, might inherit the throne, and enjoy the advantages of society. With almost all others, beggary, toil, and degra- dation was the universal lot. the men. public hire of their persons. For, although polygamy existed, it was practised only by the rich, since the facility of divorce ren- dered it more convenient to take one wife, dwell with her a short time, and abandon her for another, than to be troubled or burdened with several at the same time. The wealthy, however, took numerous con- cubines-indulging in this luxury more. than any of the other islanders. In all their customs and national characteristics, if we desire to view them in their original form, we must contemplate the people of those islands as they were twenty years ago. A great change is now apparent among them. The accounts, therefore, published at that period, though improved by later inquiries, afford us the information we are in search of. We are not surprised to find an indolent licentious people, as they were, when under no restraint, ad- dicted to the most odious forms of vice. One natural result of their manner of life was infanticide. It was practised to a frightful extent, and was encouraged by a variety of causes. In the first place, po- verty and idleness often induced parents to destroy their children choosing to suffer that short pang of natural sorrow than the long struggles with starvation which awaited the indigent—even in those prolific islands. Next the common licen- tiousness produced innumerable bastards, which were generally killed. Thirdly, the social institutions of the country, with the division of classes, contributed to increase the prevalence of the custom-for the fruit of all unequal matches was cast aside. Superstition also aided it, for the priests demanded for their gods frequent oblations of infant blood. The missionary Williams was informed that, from the constant occur- rence of wars, women, being abandoned by their husbands, slew their children, whom they knew not how to support. When a man married a girl of inferior rank, two, four, or six of her children were sacrificed before she could claim equality with him, and should she bear any more they were spared. Vanity, too, exercised its influ- ence, for, as nursing impaired the beauty of the women, they sought to preserve their attractions by sparing themselves the labour. Perhaps, however, we should not lay it to the charge of vanity. The miserable women of these islands found in the flower of their persons the only chance of attachment or respect from their husbands. When this had faded, no- thing could save them from neglect. Marriage under such circumstances could not be looked upon as a sacred tie, or even a dignified state. It was held to serve only | the purposes of nature and the pleasures of With all, indeed, except the rich, it was a mere unceremonious bargain, in which the woman was purchased, though the parents usually made a present to their son-in-law. Among the nobler orders of society there was a little more parade, though an equal absence of sanctity. A person with a beautiful daughter brought her to some chief, saying, "Here is a wife for you." If she pleased him he took her from her father's hands, placed her under the care of a confidential servant, and had her fattened, until old and plump enough for marriage. All her friends assembled with his at the temple, and proceeded to the altar. The bride, with a rope hanging about her neck, was accompanied by a man bearing a bunch of the fragrant fern. Prayers were muttered, and blessing in- voked upon the union. Then the names of their ancestors were whispered, and at each one of the leaves was torn. The near- est kinsman of the woman next loosened the rope from about her neck, and delivered her over to the bridegroom, bidding him take her home. Presents of various kinds were made to the newly-married pair, but, with all this ceremony, the tie was merely one of convenience. Within a month the man might tire of his partner and wish to be rid of her. All he had to do was to desire her departure, saying, “It is enough -go away." She immediately left him, and almost invariably became a prostitute. This process might be repeated as often as he pleased. The caprice of the male sex thus threw numbers of the females into a necessity of supporting themselves by the Whatever the cause, the extent of the practice was fearful. Three-fourths of the 78 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. | made on the occasion of their setting out. They bore with them portable temples for the worship of their tutelar gods, and, wherever they halted, performed their pan- tomimes for the amusement of the people. The priests and others-all classes and things-were ridiculed by them in their speeches, with entire impunity, and they were entertained by the chiefs with sump- children were destroyed, and sometimes in the most atrocious manner. A wet cloth placed on the infant's mouth, the hands clenched round its throat, or the earth heaped over it while alive in a grave, were among the most humane. Others broke the infant's joints, one by one, until it expired. This was usually the plan of the professional child-killers, of whom there was a class-male and female-tuous feasts. There were, however, seven though the parents often performed the office themselves. Before the establish- ment of Christianity, Williams declares he never conversed with a woman who had not destroyed one or two of her offspring. Many confessed to him, as well as to Wil- mer, that they had killed, some three, some five, some nine, and one seventeen. Connected with infanticide was one of the most extraordinary institutions ever established in a savage or a civilized coun- try. This was the Areoi Society. It was at once the source of their greatest amuse- ments and their greatest sorrow, and was strictly confined to the Society group, though indications of a similar thing have been discovered in the Ladrones. The de- licacy of the missionary writers-in many instances extremely absurd-has induced them to neglect informing us in detail of the practices and regulations adopted by this society; but enough is known from them, and from less timid narrators, to allow of a tolerably full sketch. From the traditions of the people it appears that the society was of very an- cient date they said there had been Areois as long as there had been men. Its origin is traced to two heroes-brothers, who, in consequence of some adventures with the gods, were deified, and made kings of the Areoi, which included all who would adhere to them as their lords in heaven. Living in celibacy themselves, they did not enjoin the same on their followers; but required that they should leave no descendants. Thus the great law of the Areois was that all their children should be slain. What the real origin of the institution was it is impossible to dis- cover. This legend, however, indicates a part of its nature. The Areois formed a body of privileged libertines, who spent their days travelling from province to province, from island to island, exhibiting a kind of licentious dra- matic spectacle to the people, and every- where indulging the grossest of their pas- sions. The company located itself in a particular spot as its head-quarters, and at certain seasons departed on ar excursion through the group. Great parade was classes of the Areois, of which the first was select and small, while the seventh per- formed the lower and more laborious parts in their entertainments. Numbers of ser- vants followed them to prepare their food and their dresses, and were distinguished by the name of Fanannan; these were not obliged to destroy their children. Every Areoi had his own wife, who was sacred from attack. Improper conduct towards her was severely punished, some- times by death. Towards the wives of other persons, however, no respect was shown; for after one of their vile and obscene spectacles, the members of the fraternity would rush abroad, and commit every kind of excess among the humble people. At their grand feasts, to which the privileged orders only were admitted, numbers of handsome girls were introduced, who prostituted themselves for small gifts to any member of the association. The practice of destroying all their chil- dren, which was compulsory among the Areois, licensed them to every kind of excess. The moment a child was born its life was extinguished—either strangled, stabbed with a sharp bamboo, or crushed under the foot. The professional execu- tioner waited by the woman's couch, and, immediately the infant came into the world, seized it, hurried it away, and in an instant flung it dead into some neigh- bouring thicket, or a pit prepared before- hand. Infanticide was by no means confined to the Areois; it was an universal practice. Generally the sacrifice took place imme- diately after the birth; for, with the ex- ception of those children demanded by the priests to offer in the temple, it was seldom that an infant allowed to live half an hour was destroyed. Whenever the exccution was performed, it was previously resolved upon. The females were killed oftener than the males, and thus sprang up a great disproportion between the sexes, which was evidently owing to this and their often unnatural customs, as, since their abolition, the sexes are nearly equal. Adultery was sometimes punished with death, but not under the public law. It LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 79 was optional with the husband to pursue | Nor could this be a matter of wonder. the criminal, or content himself with pro- The education of the people was in a curing another wife. A strange state of school of licentiousness. The most effec- manners is exhibited by the account we tive lessons in obscenity were afforded by have of the early missionaries arriving in the priests in the temples, and children of Tahiti. The King Pomare came down to tender years indulged in acts of inde- meet them with his wife Idia. This woman, scribable depravity. Thus in few parts of though married to the prince, remaining the world could be discovered a more cor- on friendly terms with him, offering him rupt system of manners, a more complete advice, and influencing his actions by her absence of morals, than in Tahiti. counsel, was then cohabiting with one of her own servants, who had for some time been her paramour. The King, meanwhile, had taken his wife's youngest sister as a concubine; but she had deserted him for a more youthful lover, whereupon he con- tented himself with a girl belonging to the poorer class. Women, indeed, and men of the royal blood, were above the law. Abandoned wives, and girls who could find no husbands, usually became prosti- tutes, as distinguished from those who pursued a profligate life from sheer sen- suality. They hired themselves out to the young men whom the monopoly of women by the rich constrained to be contented with such companions. We have no in- formation whether they were subject to any especial regulations; what the terms of contract were between them and their temporary cohabitants; how they sup- ported themselves in old age; or, indeed, of anything concerning them, except the general nature of their calling. A large class of these prostitutes dwelt near the ports and anchoring grounds, deriving their means of subsistence from open or clandestine intercourse with the sailors, who willingly paid them with little articles of ornament or utility from Europe. One of the missionaries of the first com- pany desired to marry a Tahiti woman. His brethren, however, strongly objected to the act; first, because she was a heathen, second, because she was a prostitute. There could not be then found on the island, as they declared themselves on belief, a single undebauched girl above twelve years of age; therefore, in accord- ance with the Scripture prohibition against marrying a "heathen harlot," they forbade him forming the connection. Nevertheless he persisted, took the prostitute as wife, and is supposed to have been murdered with her connivance. Inconstancy among wives, and profligacy among unmarried women, was then a cha- racteristic almost universal in Tahiti. The wide-spread practice of procuring abortion concealed many of the intrigues which took place, and the last crime which began visibly to decrease was that of adultery. measure Under the influence of the missionaries a great and beneficial change was produced. French priests have now in a superseded them; but even their exer- tions have not been able to neutralize the good effects of the new code of morals introduced by the English friends of civilization. As to the actual amount, however, of the good which has been effected, the accounts are contradictory. From the missionaries themselves we learn that Christianity has been firmly established; that the female sex has been elevated to an honourable position; that the Christian rite of marriage is now generally observed; that infanticide is wholly abolished; and that the manners of the people have be- come comparatively pure. The picture, indeed, drawn by these artists, is vivid and full of charms. We cannot, however, accept it without reserve; for such writers have in many parts of the world been too eager to ring their peals of triumph over the appearance of reform, without inquiring into its substantial and durable nature. Other accounts insist on the truth of a totally different view. A recent author, a merchant, many years resident in Tahiti, describes the result of missionary labour as a mere skinning over of the corruption which exists. "Even now," he says, speak- ing of that island, "a people more ready to abandon themselves to sensuality cannot be found under the canopy of heaven." And further, in noticing the state of the youthful population, he asserts, "It is a rare thing for a woman to preserve her chastity until the age of puberty." De- licacy, he proceeds to tell us, is a thing unknown. There is hardly a man who would not wink at his wife's prostitution, or even abet it, to support himself. The same system of corrupt manners is general throughout the islands. The missionaries, by making adultery and fornication of- fences punishable by fines-so many dollars each-have set up a species of licence for immorality. The penalty is either eluded or laughed at. Sometimes the woman's paramour pays the penalty, and continues 80 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ages and both sexes were in 1839 naturally proportionate; Christian marriage is esta- blished as the national custom, and polygamy abolished; if infanticide be ever practised, it is as a secret crime; and as for immorality, though by no means extirpated, it has been considerably reduced. "Licentiousness," says Wilkes, "does still exist among them, but the foreign residents and visitors are in a great degree the cause of its continuance, and an unbridled intercourse with them serves to perpetuate it. Severe laws have been enacted, but they cannot be put in force in cases where one of the parties is a foreigner." He proceeds to deny that the island is conspicuous in this respect, and believes it would show advantageously in contrast with many countries usually styled civilized. with her. The morals of the people, there- | stationary-the births and deaths among all fore, have not been radically reformed. Public decency is observed, but private manners are disgusting. The Tahitians have thus learned hypocrisy, for they now practise secretly what was formerly a re- cognised custom. The men are jealous of their own race, but will bargain for their wives with Europeans. One was asked the reason of this distinction. He instantly made answer, that when a white man took one of their wives he made her a present, passed on his way, and thought no more of her; but it was very different with their own people, for they would be continually hovering about the woman. The legal penalty for adultery by a single man is a fine of ten hogs to the husband. If it is committed by a married man he pays the ten hogs, while his paramour pays his wife another ten to compensate her for the injury she has suffered; thus the bargain is equal. Divorce is optional on either hand. For prostitution, or fornication of any kind, the missionaries enacted a fine. In a climate, however, where the girl ripens into puberty at the age of eight or nine, this becomes a licence, and immorality is very slightly checked. The depopulation of the group, which is still going on, is mainly owing, says the same author, to physical privations acting on moral de- pravity; for indigence is the lot of the people, and licentiousness now, as formerly, their besetting sin. We believe this to be an unfair account of the state of things now existing in Tahiti. The writer is possessed of a strong preju- dice against the missionaries, and we are inclined to apply to him, with some modi- fication, the observations of Commodore Wilkes, commander of the recent American exploring expedition in reference to that island. He tells us there is a class of traders who defame the missionaries, as well as a profligate class who hate them, because they forbid intoxicating liquors, have abo- lished lascivious dances, and prevent women going on board ship to prostitute them- selves. One charge against the missionaries is, however, proved: they are guilty of a misjudging zeal amounting to fanaticism, forbidding the women to wear chaplets of flowers, because it is a sinful vanity; such a restriction is worse than ridiculous. The Commodore, however, whom we accept as a judicious and a trustworthy authority, already shows that much good has been effected. The population is now almost * Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant long Resident in Tahiti, 1851. In the distant Sandwich group a similar system of manners existed before the abo- lition of idolatry in 1819. There was, how- ever, one singular custom: children bore the rank of their mother, not their father, pro- bably from the reason assigned by other savage races for different laws, that the pa- rentage was never certain. Polygamy was practised, but if the king had a daughter by a noble wife she succeeded to the throne, though he should have numerous sons by the others; in fact, they were no more than concubines, though their offspring were not invariably destroyed, unless the mothers belonged to the humbler class of people; all the king's illegitimate children, how- ever, were immediately killed. Adultery was punished with death; but intrigues were frequent, and infanticide was practised to a terrible extent. Since the enactment of the laws restraining sexual intercourse, the crime has become comparatively rare, and the progress of depopulation has been arrested. We must, however, first view the people as they were before these reforms occurred: there was little check upon the intercourse of the sexes, except with regard to married women; the young girls being abandoned almost entirely to a dissolute mode of life, the marriage contract was a loose tie, easily broken, without anything of a sacred or even honourable character. Husbands con- tinually abandoned their wives, who in- variably destroyed the children thus left to them in their virtual widowhood, and took to prostitution as a means of life. The practice of procuring abortion was also resorted to, even more than infanticide, and women were sometimes killed by the operation; nevertheless, bastard children are sometimes reared, and the language of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 81 the islanders supplies a delicate designa- | been established by law. tion for one of this brood: it is called "one that comes." (C Although the condition of the female sex was degraded, and although the women were for the most part subjected to the will of the chiefs, a few remained to be wedded among the poor, and to follow their own inclinations in the choice of partners. The word "courting" is used among them, or at least a synonymous term, signifying, literally, we must be crept to." This in- dicates some elevation in their social inter- course, but appears to have been a recent introduction. When a man wished to marry a girl, some previous intimacy was supposed. According to their former cus- toms he goes to her, and offers her a present. If she was willing to receive him, the gift was accepted; if not, he went his way. The parents were then cousulted. When they consented he at once took home his bride, and all was consummated. When they refused he either abandoned his suit or persuaded his lover to elope with him; or, if possessed of sufficient property and power, forces her away. When once settled in union the wives were usually faithful, though previously they indulged in the utmost profligacy without any check. The infanticide of the Sandwich Islands presented details still more horrible than the worst of those described in connection with Tahiti. Children six or seven years old, who so far had been carefully nursed, were sometimes sacrificed when their pa- rents became desperate or indolent. An American traveller relates an affecting in- cident of a man who desired to be rid of his child, while the mother endeavoured to save it. Long altercations took place be- tween them, until the father one day, to put an end to the debate, seized his little son, threw him over his knees, and with a single blow broke his back. The circum- stance was related to the king, with a de- mand for punishment upon the offender. "Whose child was it?" he asked. They answered, "His own. "Then that is no- thing," he said, " to you or to me." Usually the office was performed by female child- stranglers, who made it their profession. In a country where marriage, especially among the rich, was simply a compact for temporary or permanent cohabitation, abundance of employment was naturally afforded to those people. The chiefs, it is true, married in the temple, but the addi- tion of ceremonies added not a whit of sanctity or durability to the bond. The first Christian wedding took place in Oalm in 1822, and the rite has since that period "" | The edict of 1819, indeed, proclaimed a revolution in the social system of the group. But it is not easy to reform the manners of a whole people. It is a slight task to publish laws, but difficult to enforce them, espe- cially when they assail the most deeply- rooted prejudices, the sentiments, the pas- sions, the religions, and the pleasures, of a numerous community. Idolatry, infanti- cide, polygamy, concubinage, and prostitu- tion were all prohibited by the declaration of 1819, but are still practised, though in secret, but by no means so extensively as in former times. The financial laws check infanticide. If a man has four children, he is exempt from labour taxes to the king and to his landlord; if five, from the poll- tax also; if six, from all taxes whatsoever. Indeed, the condition of the females has been considerably raised, so that, instead of being the slaves, they are now, at least in some degree, the companions of the men. Of the actual state of the sex, and the characteristic of manners in the Sandwich group, a fair sketch may be gathered from the facts scattered through the large work of Commodore Wilkes; he went through many districts, and examined minutely the progress of the people under the new code. In one district of Dahu, a small island in the group, no instance of infanticide had occurred (1840) during ten years; the law against the illicit intercourse of the sexes had not tended to increase the practice, and the population, which had been almost swept away, was recovering. In the valley of Halalea the population had been decreas- ing at the rate of one per cent. for nine years. In 1837, it was 3024-1609 males, 1415 females; and in 1840, 2935 — 1563 males, 1372 females. The general licen- tiousness of manners, causing barrenness in the women, with the practice of infanticide and abortion, prevented any increase. In Waiaulea the population of 2640 decreased by 225 in four years; and instances were known of women having six, seven, or even ten children, in as many years, with- out rearing one of them; the bastards were almost always destroyed, but the new law operated very beneficially to check the in- tercourse of the sexes; and only one case was known of a woman destroying her child, through fear of the penalty attaching to fornication. It appears probable, however, that the regulation compelling all un- married women, found pregnant, to work on the public roads, must encourage many unnatural practices; in Hawaii itself, the principal island, where large numbers of men and women formerly lived in promis- 82 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. cuous intercourse-as one woman common to several men-great improvement is visible, and public manners have undergone much change; licentiousness, notwithstanding, is still a prominent characteristic of the people. These observations may be applied generally to the whole of the Sandwich group. Of the Tonga or Friendly Islands no description equals in completeness, and none exceeds in general accuracy, that by Mariner, compiled by John Martin. Ac- cording to him, the female sex was not degraded there, old persons of both sexes being entitled to equal reverence; women in particular were respected as such, con- sidered to form part of the world's means of happiness, and protected by that law of manly honour which prohibits the strong from maltreating the weak. There were many regulations respecting rank which do not belong to this inquiry; but others of the same kind must be alluded to. The young girl, betrothed or set apart to be the wife or concubine of a noble, acquired on that account a certain position in the commu- nity. The rich women occupied themselves with various forms of elegant industry, not as professions, but accomplishments; while others made a trade of it. The chastity of the Tonga people should be measured, in Mr. Martin's opinion, rather by their own than by others' ideas of that virtue. Among them it was held the positive duty of a married woman to be faithful to her husband. By married wo- man was meant one who cohabited with a man, lived under his roof and protection, and ruled an establishment of his. Her marriage was frequently independent of her own will, she being betrothed by her parents, while very young, to some chief or other person. About a third were thus disposed of, the rest marrying by their own consent. She must remain with her hus- band whether she pleased or not, until he chose to divorce her. About two-thirds of the females were married, and of these about half continued with their husbands until death; that is, about a third remained married till either they or their partners died. Of the others two-thirds were married, and were soon divorced, marrying again two, three, or four times; a few never contracted any mar- riage at all; and a third were generally un- married. Girls below puberty were not taken into this account. During Mariner's residence of four years in the islands, where he enjoyed privileges of social intercourse which no native was allowed, he made numerous inquiries, and was led to believe that infidelity among the married women was very rare. He remem- bered only three successful instances of planned intrigue, with one other which he suspected. Great chiefs might kill their wives taken in adultery, while inferior men beat them. They were under the surveil- lance of female servants, who continually watched their proceedings. Independently of this also, he considered them inclined to conjugal virtue. A man desiring to divorce his wife, had to do no more than bid her go, when she became perfect mistress of herself, and often married again in a few days. Others remained single, admitting a man into their houses occasionally, or lived as the mistress of various men from time to time-that is to say, became wandering libertines or pros- titutes. Unmarried women might have intercourse with whom they pleased with- out opprobrium, but they were not easily won. Gross prostitution was unknown among them. The conduct of the men was very different. It was thought no reproach, as a married man, to hold intercourse with other females; but the practice was not general. It was checked by the jealousy of the wife. Single men were extremely free in their conduct; but seldom made at- tempts on married women. Rape occasion- ally happened. Captives taken in war had, as a thing of course, to submit, and in- curred no dishonour through it. Few of the young men would refuse to seduce an unmarried girl of their own nation, had they the opportunity. Nevertheless, in comparison with the islanders in the sur- rounding sea, they were rather a chaste than a libertine people. Commodore Wilkes declares himself glad to confirm the account in "Mariner's Tonga Islands as an "admirable and accurate description. The women are said to be virtuous, and the general state of morals superior far to that of Tahiti. The vene- real disease is much less extensively pre- valent. In the Marquesas the curious social phe- nomenon of polyandrism exists-several men cohabiting with one woman. This is in consequence of the preponderance of the male over the female sex. A young girl may become attached to a youth, and live with him for a short time. A mau may then become attached to her, and transfer her, with her lover, to his house, where he supports them both. Infanti- cide is unknown, but procuring abor- tion not uncommon. The marriage tie, though a mere private compact signified by an exchange of presents, is, in spite of ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. agreed; we crossed to a quiet street and walked slowly down it. Now I told her why I had spoken to her and taken her away from the rooms; that it was for no improper purpose, but to see if I could not do her some little good. The conver- sation that followed I cannot detail; her history was this she was the daughter of an officer, who after her mother's death had kept a mistress, under whose care she lived till the decease of her father. Immediately upon this event she was driven from the house; she went to an acquaintance's, a young woman, whom she accompanied the same evening to the theatre, the first time she had entered one she was then under fifteen; she is now eighteen. They were spoken to by some officers who pressed them to have some wine in the refreshment rooms: she remembers going back to the theatre, but no more. Next morning she found herself in the barracks, in bed with one of the officers. She was now ruined, without a friend to whom she could go. She was kept by the officer while the regiment remained there. When it left she became the mistress of other officers in succession. At length she was induced to go to London, where for some time she lived in a gay house; till, going one evening about twelve months ago to the Casino, she met a young man, by whom she has been kept in lodgings since; she, however, with his knowledge, sees occasionally other gentle- men, as her friend cannot afford quite so much as will keep her. The house in which she lodges is kept by a woman, whose daughter is also in keeping. I have said I cannot detail my conversation with her -some of her expressions only can I give: 'Oh do not talk to me about serious things; I'm miserable enough already; my heart is often like to break when a smile is on my face; when sitting in my room alone, I am often like to go mad. I have had no Bible these four years-I could not read it and turn into that bed with a man in the evening. I would do anything but starve, to get out of this life; but what can I do ?” [Mr. Mayhew has put these words in italics, to point attention to them.] "If I ask for work, I can give no character. Who will trust me? Oh, don't speak to me of what I may become, I know it all; but I hope something will turn up to ena- ble me to better my condition. I was once a very good girl, never one Sabbath absent from the Wesleyan chapel." [Query? while she was living under the same roof with her father's mis- tress!] "I cannot swear and drink as others do; I am not yet so far gone.' "I made an appointment to see her next day, having made up my mind to make an effort, before leaving London, to get her into an asylum, if she were willing to go. But instead of meeting me she left a note for me, from which I learnt that her friend, having heard of our interview, had persuaded her to go and stay with him at his own lodgings for a little, and that if I had anything to say to her she would call for any note I might leave; I did write, and left it along with some tracts. Since my return I have addressed a letter to her at her old lodgings, but have received no reply; if she had not returned to them it is not likely that such a landlady would make any efforts to have it sent to her. Her name was A M- J- street, friend whom she called James, was the son of a solicitor, in whose counting-house he is occu- pied; more about him she would not tell me. G ; her lodgings, No. Waterloo-road. Her "The evening of the day on which I hoped to have done something for her rescue, I left for home, thoroughly sickened by what I had seen of London life, on its dark and gloomy side. I make no comment on these facts. It is a naked recital of what I saw, and I leave it to you to make any use or no use of them, as seems to you advisable. "Before you close, will you be able, think you, to do or suggest anything that will give good promise of abating, if not of extirpating, the fright- ful evil? I almost despair. "This is written very hastily; you will, how- ever, I think, be able to make it out. "Yours respectfully, "W. G., Jr.” The above account of the London adventures of a well-intentioned gentleman from the country are both interesting and instructive, and Mr. Mayhew is much obliged to the writer. They are instructive, as teaching us how ready the well- intentioned are at all times to magnify evils. Those who have paid attention to mental pheno- mena, know that it is the peculiar character of the feelings to distort, exaggerate, or highly colour, all objects upon which they are centred. W. G., jun., evidently came up to London from Glasgow, prepared to find the prostitution of the metro- polis much greater than it really is, and hence his mistake as to the general character of the houses in Regent-street. To his inflamed imagination the whole of this locality seems to have appeared a colony of brothels and places of "accommoda- tion." That there are in this street some few houses of an infamous character carrying on the worst possible trades, under the cloak of respect- able businesses, Mr. Mayhew is fully aware, and purposes, when he comes to this part of the sub- ject, to let the public see how the "market" for prostitutes is regularly supplied from such quar- ters. But that it is the practice of the inhabi- tants of Regent-street generally-or even any- thing but exceptionally-to put out at night cards of "APARTMENTS TO LET," with the view of an- nouncing that their houses may be used for base purposes, is a stretch of morbid fancy that is in no way warranted by the truth. The fact is, W. G., jun., on passing up Regent-street in the daytime had been diverted by other matters, and consequently failed to notice many of the announcements which at night attracted his atten- tion, awakened as it then was to the subject. The gentleman is equally wrong concerning the coffee- house he mentions, and construes a harmless announcement into an immoral sign. Mr. May- hew is also afraid that the distribution of tracts among the profligate is a pure waste of good ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. wholesome paper and print. and print. Could the well- intentioned distributors of such things hear what is said of them, and see what is done with the papers they leave, they would begin to perceive, perhaps, that the enormous sum of money thus ex- pended every year might be far more profitably applied. Up to March, 1849, the Religious Tract Society had distributed 500,000,000 copies of its publications; but whether the beneficial re- sults have been in any way equal to these pro- digious means, it is for those to say who believe in such a mode of "doing good." For Mr. Mayhew's part he candidly confesses he has but little faith in its virtue; for, despite these 500,000,000 tracts, our criminals and prostitutes increase yearly; he thinks that the money thus expended might be far more wisely laid out. But the tract world generally are guided more by their feelings than by their reason, and are consequently the most difficult of all people to convince of the futility of a certain line of conduct on which they have set their hearts rather than their minds. this young woman was greatly to blame, and did not require over-much seducing to lead her into vicious courses. The true cause of her fall, and for which indeed she deserves our deepest pity, lies in her early career: in her want of a mother's care, counsel, and instruction, and in having a father who partook more of the attributes of the satyr than the man-so true is it, that the sins of the parents are visited upon the children, even to the third and fourth generation! There are three different classes of prostitutes, arranged accord- ing to their causes, viz., (1) those who are driven to adopt a vicious life; (2) those who are bred to it; and (3) those who take to it. And it is highly necessary that, in all our remedies for the evil, and attempts at reformation, we should bear these distinctions in mind, for each requires a different course of treatment. The first class is the one upon which the greatest effect can be produced; but to do much good, even here, we must begin before habit has hardened the unfortunate to practices that, at one time, she really loathed. Of the two other classes-those who are bred and those who take to prostitution, either from natural or acquired vicious propensities-it is difficult to speak in this place. It would fill a sheet of print, to set forth all the antecedents, concomitants, and consequents in connection with them. Mr. May- hew hopes to be able to propose some new mode of mitigating this great social evil, before he has finished his inquiry; but to be called upon to pro- pound a remedy at the commencement of his in- The story of the poor girl above mentioned partakes of the sentimental character as detailed by W. G., but is really, when contemplated in its true light, the history of thousands of such cha- racters. Motherless, she is brought up under the same roof with her father's mistress (he being what is termed "an an officer and a gentleman!") Here of course, if she imbibes no bad principles, she learns, at least, no good, though to blind W. G., she makes him believe that, even in this state, she is a regular attendant at chapel! Then, imme-vestigations, and before he has made himself diately on her father's death, she is driven from his mistress's house, and goes to live with a young woman (apparently single), whom she accom- panies the same evening to a theatre (immediately after her father's death, mark !), and after having retired to certain "refreshment rooms" with some officers whom she had never seen before, and par- taken of wine with them, she becomes insensible, and is then, to use her own words, ruined.' Girls, of course, are always unwilling to attribute their degradation to their own'imprudence; but assuredly the most charitable of us must allow, that " acquainted with the nature and causes of the disease, is to ask him to play the quack, and prescribe a panacea without so much as knowing the character of the evils he pretends to cure. This species of moral, political, and social char- latanry is the great curse] of the age. The Mor- risons and Holloways are not confined to medicine alone, but pervade every part of our social system. "I would do anything but starve, to get out of this life," said the girl; "but what can I do?" This, after all, is the point to which we must direct our thoughts-" What can I do?” SEQUEL TO THE "GREATEST PLAGUE OF LIFE." On 1st November, 1851, will be published, PART I., to be continued Monthly, Price One Shilling each, T HE SHABBY FAMMERLY; Or, HOW THE STUCKUPS WHO WAS "NOBODY" Struggled to be "SOMEBODY," expojed by EMMERLY TIDDIVATE (late "Fam de Sham" to the Fammerly, though really and truly I were nothink but a common Housemaid, and worked off my legs. RIMMEL'S LIQUID HAIR DYE offers the guarantee of fifteen years' constant success to those who are daily disappointed with the numerous, inefficient, and often dangerous preparations sold under the name of Dyes. It is easily applied, free from smell, and gives instantaneously a perma- nent and perfectly natural black or brown shade to the Hair, Whiskers, &c., without staining or injuring the skin. Price 5s. 6d. for brown, Gs. for black, including brushes for application. Sold by all Perfumers and Chemists; and by the Inventor, E. RIMMEL, Sole Proprietor of the Toilet Vinegar, &c., 39, Gerard-street, Soho, London; and at the Exposition, 58, Baker-street. No. 48. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, NOV. 8, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBHARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. WAHISAN . OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. 1 } ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. W. S. finds fault, and "suspects motives," &c. The gentleman can of course think as he pleases. "Sir, “In No. 42, page 230, of 'London Labour,' you give a table of a week's expenditure in the re- spective years 1845 and 1851, and I am surprised and sorry to see the unfairness of the comparison. In 1845 you charged for five loaves, but in 1851 only for four; you make a difference of one penny for tea, with which free-trade has nothing to do. You make a difference of twopence per pound on three pounds of meat, whereas your own two witnesses prove the difference to be only one penny; and in 1845 you set down a pot of beer, and in 1851 only a pint. Now, correcting these errors or misstatements, the saving is only five- pence instead of 1s. 5d., as you state the difference. You pretend to be impartial, but I fear it is not so, and I suspect your motives, which I regret, as I have been your subscriber and admirer from the beginning. "Yours, "W. S." Street-Orderlies); and those whose wages have been reduced are, of course, considerable losers by the alteration. To the tradesman and capitalist, however, whose profits depend not, like wages, upon the price of food, the change of course is a clear gain; each pound being worth at least a guinea, since free trade. 1st October, 1851. The gentleman is in error. On revision, he will perceive, that the contrasted accounts went to show that the man had lost almost as much by free-trade as he had gained. If food had been cheapened since 1846, employment had become scarcer; so that he could afford to have five loaves per week before free-trade, and only four loaves per week since. Hence though the man had gained by the repeal of the corn laws one penny in every seven pence he laid out in bread, he had, nevertheless, been able to earn one loaf less per week since 1846 than he could before then, that is to say, he had gained 4d., and lost 7d. by the measure. In meat, however, he had gained 6d. a week; but then in rent he had lost 4d.; in potatoes, 1d.; in tea, 1d.; and in beer 2d. per week; that is to say, he had since 1845 been able to afford less of the three last-men- tioned articles. Thus, the gains would appear to be-bread, 4ɗ., and meat, 6d. per week, or 10d. altogether; whereas the losses are- rent, 4d.; potatoes, 1d.; tea, 1d.; beer 2d.; and bread, 7d.; or 15d. altogether; so that there would seem to be a net loss of Ed. per week to this man since free-trade. This should have been more fully ex- plained in the article, though the whole bearing of it inclines to the same result. Mr. Mayhew was inquiring of a man who made soldiers' trousers what he had gained by free-trade. He was one of the very poor who were to be so much benefited by the measure. Meat he never tasted, and his weekly consumption of bread was two loaves per week, the saving in which was 2d. His wages had not been decreased, nor was his work less, so that he was a clear gainer of 2d. in about 78. week, or 1d. in every 3s. 6d. of his earnings!! It would appear that those who earn about 15s. a week, and whose wages have not yet been reduced, save perhaps 1s. by the change (see the article on a G. W. says, Do you mean to notice "Medical Assistants" in your exposé of the working classes? Our twin sisters, too, the Governesses, claim a share of attention. I may be able to supply you with some information concerning the two TRADERS. Mr. Mayhew will be happy to hear from the gentleman on both subjects. Some reader, perhaps, will answer the following: “Sir, "Will you, or any of your readers, tell me to whom I can dispose of any quantity of rags (all sorts), brass, copper, lead, iron (cast and wrought), horse-hair, whalebone, bones, skins (hares' and' rabbits'), paper (waste of all sorts and sizes). I should think some person-a buyer, for instance -would tell me. My reason for asking is this- I purpose buying such articles from bawkers and others; but before I do, I wish to be advised as whom I can get it. to the amount I can realize for them, and from "I should much prefer being answered per post, and would gladly pay the postage or remunerate the individual for his trouble, and inclose my name for that purpose. If, however, the medium let it be done so, to "News Agent." of your pages be preferred, or more practicable, Any letter addressed to the writer of the above, under cover to Mr. Mayhew, shall be forwarded to his address. J. M., of Southampton, says: "Sir, Having read in your number of London La- bour,' &c., for August 30, No. 38, a statement of the number of vehicles passing and repassing London Bridge every hour to be 13,000, think- ing there must be some mistake, I would feel obliged by your giving the information." The information was given on the authority of M. D'Arcey's Report to the French Government on the roads of London as compared with those of Paris. It will be seen, by the table printed in the present number of this work, that the amount referred to twelve hours instead of one. The two following letters proffer information on a most important subject. The distributing of commodities is almost as important as the produc- tion of them, and any information on the subject will be most acceptable. Mr. Mayhew is much obliged to his correspondents for their promises of assistance. " 'Sir, "If you should find any difficulty in procuring information respecting the social, moral, and intel- lectual condition of the Drapers' Assistants, I LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 271 STREET-ORDERLIES.--CITY SURVEYOR'S REPORT. I HAVE been favoured with a Report "upon street- cleansing and in reference to the Street-Orderly System," by the author, Mr. W. Haywood, the Surveyor to the City Commission of Sewers, who has invited my attention to the matter, in consequence of the statements which have ap- peared on the subject in "London Labour and the London Poor." Mr. Haywood, whose tone of argument is courteous and moderate, and who does not scruple to do justice to what he accounts the good points of the street orderly system, although he con- although he con- demns it as a whole, gives an account of the earlier scavaging of the city, not differing in any material respect from that which I have already printed. He represents the public ways of the City, which I have stated to be about 50 miles, as "about 51 miles lineal, about 770,157 superficial yards in area." This area, it appears, compre- hends 1000 different places. In 1845 the area of the carriage-way of the City was estimated at 418,000 square yards, and the footway at 316,000, making a total of 734,000; but since that period new streets have been made and others extensively widened. The precincts of Bridewell, St. Bartholomew, St. James's, Duke's-place, Aldgate, and others, have been added to the jurisdiction of the Sewers Com- mission by Act of Parliament, so that the Surveyor now estimates the area of the carriage-way of the City of London at 441,250 square yards, and the footway at 328,907, making a total of 770,157 square yards. "I am fully impressed," observes Mr. Haywood, "with the great importance to a densely-popu- lated city of an efficient cleansing of the public ways. Probably after a perfect system of sewage and drainage (which implies an adequate water supply), and a well-paved surface (which I have always considered to be little inferior in its im- portance to the former, and which is indispen- sable to obtaining clean sweeping), good surface cleansing ranks next in its beneficial sanitary influence; and most certainly the comfort gained by all through having public thoroughfares in a high degree of cleanliness is exceedingly great." —— unwholesome state of the metropolitan thorough- fares unfounded as regards the city of London, but he asserts that from the daily street-sweeping, the surface there is maintained in as high an average condition of cleanliness, as the means hitherto adopted will enable to be attained." "Nor does this apply," says Mr. Haywood, "to the main thoroughfares only. In the poorer courts and alleys within the city, where a high degree of cleanliness is, at least, as needful, in a sanitary point of view, as in the larger and wider thorough- fares, the facilities for efficient sweeping are as great, if not greater, than in other portions of your jurisdiction. For many years past the whole of the courts and alleys which carts do not enter, have been paved with flagstone, laid at a good inclination, and presenting an uniform smooth non-absorbent surface in many of these courts where the habits of the people are cleanly, the scavenger's broom is almost unneeded for weeks together; in others, where the habit prevails of throwing the refuse of the houses upon the pave- ments, the daily sweeping is highly essential; but in all these courts the surface presents a condition which renders good clean sweeping a compara- tively easy operation, that which is swept away being mostly dry, or nearly so. After alluding to the street-orderly principle of scavaging, "to clean and keep clean," Mr. Haywood observes, "between the street-orderly system' and the periodical or intermittent sweeping there is this difference, that upon the former system there should be (if it fulfils what it professes) no deposit of any description allowed to remain much longer than a few minutes upon the surface, and that there should be neither mud in the wet weather, nor dust in the dry weather, upon the public ways; whilst, upon the latter system, the deposit necessarily accumulates between the periods of sweeping, commencing as soon as one sweeping has terminated, gradually increasing, and being at its point of extreme accumulation at the period when the next sweeping takes place: the former, then, is, or should be, a system of prevention; the latter, confessedly, but a system of palliation or cure. "The more frequent the periodical sweeping, therefore, the nearer it approximates in its results to the 'street-orderly system,' inasmuch as the accumulations, being frequently removed, must be smaller, and the evils of mud, dust, effluvia, &c., less in proportion. Mr. Haywood expresses his opinion that streets "ordure soddened"-smelling like "stable yards," -dangerous to the health of the inhabitants impassable from mud in winter and from dust in Now to fulfil its promise: upon the street- summer-and inflicting constant pecuniary loss, orderly system,' there should be men both day "can only exist in an appreciable degree in and night within the streets, who should con- thoroughfares swept much less frequently" than stantly remove the manure and refuse, and, failing the streets within the jurisdiction of the City this, if there be only cessation for six hours Commissioners of Sewers. In this opinion, how- out of the twenty-four of the 'continuous cleans- ever, Mr. Haywood comes into direct collisioning,' it becomes at once a periodical cleansing but with the statements put forth by the Board of Health, who have insisted upon the insanitary state of the metropolitan streets, more strongly, perhaps, in their several Reports, than has Mr. Cochrane. But Mr. Haywood believes that not only are the assertions of the Board of Health as to the No. XLII. a degree in advance of the daily sweeping, which has been now for years in operation within the city of London." This appears to me to be an extreme conclusion: -because the labours of the street-orderly system cease when the great traffic ceases, and when, of course, there is comparatively little or no dirt R 272 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. deposited in the thoroughfares, therefore, says Mr. Haywood, "the City system of cleansing once per day is only a degree behind that system of which the principle is incessant cleansing at such time as the dirtying is incessant.” The two prin- ciples are surely as different as light and darkness: -in the one the cleansing is intermittent and the dirt constant; in the other the dirt is intermittent and the cleanliness constant-constant, at least, so long as the causes of impurity are so. Mr. Haywood, however, states that the Com- missioners were so pleased with the appearance of the streets, when cleansed on the street-orderly system, which "was certainly much to be ad- mired," that they introduced a somewhat similar system, calling their scavagers “daymen," as they had the care of keeping the streets clean, after a daily morning sweeping by the contractor's men. They commenced their work at 9 A.M. and ceased at 6 P.M. in the summer months, and at half-past 4 P.M. in the winter. In the summer months 36 daymen were employed on the average; in the winter months, 46. The highest number of scavaging daymen employed on any one day was 63; the lowest was 34. The area cleansed was about 47,000 yards (superficial measure), and with the following results, and the following cost, from June 24, 1846, to the same date, 1847- The average area cleansed during the summer months, per man per diem, Yards Superficial. was 1298 Ditto during winter, per man per diem, was . 1016 The average of both summer and winter months was, per man per diem. 1139 • £1450 18 • 78 0 reason assigned for the abandonment of the sys- tem of the daymen is peculiar and characteristic. The system of continuous cleansing gave very great satisfaction, although it was but a degree in advance of the once-a-day cleansing. The streets which the daymen attended to "looked," and of course were, superior" in cleanliness to those scavaged periodically. It was also felt that the principle should be extended at least to all streets of similar traffic ;" and why was it not so extended? Because, in a word, "it was not worth the money;" though by what standard the value of public cleanliness was calculated, is not mentioned. The main question, therefore, is, what is the difference in the cost of the two systems, and is the admitted "superior cleanliness" produced by the continuous mode of scavaging, in comparison with that obtained by the intermittent mode, of sufficient public value to warrant the increased expense (if any)-in a word, as the City people say-is it worth the money? First, as to the comparative cost of the two systems: after a statement of the contracts for the dusting and cleansing of the City (matters I have before treated of) Mr. Haywood, for the purpose of making a comparison of the present City system of scavaging with the street-orderly system, gives the table in the opposite page to show the cost of street cleansing and dusting within the jurisdiction of the City Court of Sewers. Mr. Haywood then invites attention to the sub- joined statement of the National Philanthropic Association, on the occurrence of a demonstration as to the efficiency and economy of the street- orderly system. "Association for the Promotion of Street Paving, Cleansing, Draining, &c., 20, Vere Street, Oxford Street, January 26th, 1846. 'Approximation to the total Expenses connected with cleansing, as an experiment, certain parts of the City of London, commencing December, 1815, for the period of two months. "350 brooms, being an average of 5 brooms for each man £. s. d. 25 18 10 99 1 9 65 0 0 The cost of the experiment was for day men (including brooms, bar- rows, shovels, cartage, &c. * One Foreman at And the total cost of the experiment. £1528 18 "The daily sweeping," Mr. Haywood says, "which for the previous two years had been esta- blished throughout the City, gave at that time very great satisfaction. It was quite true that the streets which the daymen attended to, looked su- perior to those cleansed only periodically, but the practical value of the difference was consi- dered by many not to be worth the sum of money paid for it. It was also felt that, if it was conti- nued, it should upon principle be extended at least to all streets of similar traffic to those upon which it had been tried; and as, after due consideration, the Commission thought that one daily sweeping was sufficient, both for health and comfort, the day or continuous sweeping was abandoned, and the whole City only received, from that time to the present, the usual daily sweeping." The "present" time is shown by the date of Mr. Haywood's Report, October 13, 1851. The * The wages paid are not stated. For carting ❤ For advertising ... For rent of store-room, 31. 14s.; Clerks' salaries, 121.; Messengers, 51. 5s.; wooden clogs for men, 21. 5s. 10d. ; expenses of washing wood pavement, 5l... Expenses of barrows . Christmas dinner to men, foremen, and superintendents (97) 83 men (averaging at 2s. 6d. per day) for 9 weeks.... 4 superintendents at 25s. 4d., foreman at 18s., cart foreman 20s., storekeeper 18s., chief superintendents 21., for 9 weeks.. For various small articles, brushes, rakes, &c.. Petty expenses of the office, postages, &c., and stationery Approximation to the total cost of the ex- pense.... 28 4 10 24 14 0 15 12 6 573 15 0 112 10 0 36 7 8 600 £987 4 7 Signed, M. DAVIES, Secretary." "I will now," says Mr. Haywood, "without further present reference to the Report of the Association, proceed to form an estimate of the expenses of the system as they would have been if it had been extended to the whole City, and which estimate will be based upon the informa- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 273 Date. TABLE SHOWING THE COST OF STREET CLEANSING AND DUSTING WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY COURT OF SEWERS. Mode of Contracting, whether Contracts for Dusting and Scaven- ging were let separately or together. Leading or Principal feature in the Regulations for the Dusting and Cleansing. Sum paid for Scaven- ging and Dusting, or for Scavenging only during the year. Sum received by Com- mission for Sale of Dust when the Con- tracts were let sepa- rately. Total Disbursements by the Commission for Scavenging and Dust- ing. Year ending £ Michaelmas, 1841 separately Main streets of largest 4590 "" وو 1842 separately 1843 together traffic running east and west cleansed daily, other principal streets the s. d. 6 0 every other day, 3633 17 0 whole of the remainder of the public ways tunce a week; dust to be re- moved at least twice a week. 2084 4 6 £ s. d. 48 Amounts paid and received are balanced £ s. d. 4590 6 0 3633 17 0 2084 4 6 Average per Annum for 3 Years. 3436 1844 separately Main line of streets cleansed 3826 12 daily, other principal streets every other day, and all other place twice in every week; dust to be removed at least twice a week. 6 2033 2 0 Amounts paid and received are balanced 2 6 3826 12 6 2833 20 Average per Annum of the 2 Years 3329 17 3 1845 separately 1846 separately 6034 6 01354 5 04680 1 0 "" 1847 separately 8014 2 2 04455 04455 5 5 0 3558 1 03558 17 0 Daily cleansing throughout 1848 separately every public way of 7226 1 every description; dust 61328 15 05897 6 6 "" 1849 together to be removed twice a 7486 11 week. 6 7486 11 6 دو 1850 together 6779 16 6779 16 0 1851 ༢ together 6328 17 6328 17 0 5788 11 6 Average per Annum of the last 6 Years NOTE. From 24th June, 1846, to 24th June, 1847, the Commission made their own experiment upon the Street- Orderly System-the expenses of such experiment are included in the above amounts. In 1849 the area of the jurisdiction of the Commission was increased by the addition of various precincts under the City of London Sewers' Act. tion as to the expenses of the system, furnished by the experiment or demonstration made by the Association within your jurisdiction. "The total cost of the experiment was £987 4s. 7d., and, deducting the charges under the head of advertising, Christmas dinner, and petty cash expenses, and also that for office-rent, clerks, messengers, &c., and assigning £50 as the value of the implements at that time for future use, there is left a balance of £822 7s. 3d. as the clear cost of the experiment. "The experiment was tried for a period of eight weeks exactly, according to the return made to the Commission by the Superintendent of the Association, but as in the statement of expenses the wages appear to be included for a period of nine weeks, I have assumed nine weeks as the correct figure, and the experiment must therefore have cost a sum of £822 7s. 3d. for that period, or at the rate of about £91 per week. 274 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. "Now the total area of the carriage- way of the City of London was at that time : "And the area of the foot-way Making a total of "And the area of the carriage-way cleaned by the street-orderlies was "And the area of the foot-way • Making a total of Squ. Yards 418,000 316,000 734,000 30,670 18,590 49,260 "The total area of foot-way and carriage-way cleansed was therefore 1-15th of the whole of the carriage-way and foot-way of the City; or, taken separately, the carriage-way cleansed was some- what more than 1-14th of the whole of the City carriage-way. "It has been seen also that the total cost of cleansing this 1-14th portion of the carriage-way, after deducting all extraneous expenses, was at the rate per week of Or at the rate, per annum, of £91 £4732 "To assign an expenditure in the same propor- tion for the remaining 13-14ths of the whole car- riage-way area of the City would not be just, for, in the first place, allowance must be made, owing to the dirt brought off from the adjacent streets, which, it is assumed, would not have been the case had they also been cleansed upon the street-orderly sys- tem; and moreover, as the majority of the streets cleansed were those of large traffic, a larger pro- portion of labour was needed to them than would have been the case had the experiment been upon any equal area of carriage-way, taken from a dis- trict comprehending streets of all sizes and de- grees of traffic; but if I assume that the 1-14th portion of the City cleansed represents 1-11th of the whole in the labour needed for cleansing the whole of the City upon the same system, I be- lieve I shall have made a very fair deduction, and shall, if anything, err in favour of the expe- riment. Estimating, therefore, the expense of cleans- ing the whole of the City carriage-way upon the street-orderly system according to the expenses of the experiment made in 1845-6, and from the data then furnished, it appears that cleansing upon such system would have come to an annual sum of 52,0521. It will be seen that there is a remarkable difference between this estimate of 52,0527. per annum and that of 18,000l. per annum estimated by the Association, and given in their Report of the 26th January, 1846; and what is more re- markable is, that my estimate is framed not upon estimate is framed not upon any assumption of my own, but is a dry calcula- tion based upon the very figures of expense of expense furnished by the Association itself, and herein- before recited." A second demonstration, carried on in the City by the street-orderlies, is detailed by Mr. Haywood, but as he draws the same conclusions from it, there is no necessity to do other than allude to it here. | According to the above estimate, it certainly must be admitted that the difference between the two accounts is, as Mr. Haywood says, "remark- able able"-the one being nearly three times more than the other. But let us, for fairness' sake, test the cost of cleansing the City thoroughfares upon the continuous plan of scavaging by the figures given in Mr. Haywood's own report, and see whether the above conclusion is warranted by the facts there stated. From June, 1846, to June, 1847, we have seen that several of the main streets in the City were cleansed continuously throughout the day by what were called "day- men"-that is to say, 47,000 superficial yards of the principal thoroughfares were kept clean (after the daily cleansing of them by the contractor's men) by a body of men similar in their mode of operation to the street-orderlies, and who removed all the dirt as soon as deposited between the hours of the principal traffic. The cost of this experiment (for such it seems to have been) was, for the twelve months, as we have seen, 15287. 18s. Now if the expense of cleansing 47,000 superficial yards upon the continuous method was 15291., then, according to Cocker, 770,157 yards (the total area of the public ways of the City) would cost 25,0547.; and, adding to this 63281. for the sum paid to the contractors for the daily scavaging, we have only 31,382. for the gross expense of cleansing the whole of the City thoroughfares once a day by the "regular scavagers," and keeping them clean afterwards by a body similar to the street-orderlies-a difference of upwards of 20,000l. between the facts and figures of the City Surveyor. It would appear to me, therefore, that Mr. Haywood has erred, in estimating the probable expense of the street-orderly system of scavaging applied to the City at 52,000l. per annum, for, by his own showing, it actually cost the authorities for the one year when it was tried there, only 15297. for 47,000 superficial yards, at which rate 770,000 yards could not cost more than 31,500l., and this, even allowing that the same amount of labour would be required for the continuous cleansing of the minor thoroughfares as was needed for the principal ones. That the error is an over- sight on the part of the City Surveyor, 'the whole tone of his Report is sufficient to assure us, for it is at once moderate and candid. 66 It must, on the other hand, be admitted, that Mr. Haywood is perfectly correct as to the difference between the cost of the "demonstration" of the street-orderly system of cleansing in the City, and the estimated cost of that mode of scavaging when brought into regular operation there; this, however, the year's experience of the City day- men" shows, could not possibly exceed 32,000l., and might and probably would be much less, when we take into account the smaller quantity of labour required for the minor thoroughfares-the extra value of the street manure when collected free from mud-the saving in the expense of watering the streets (this not being required under the orderly system)-and the abolition of the daily scavaging, which is included in the sum above cited, but LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 275 which would be no longer needed were the orderlies employed, such work being performed by them at the commencement of their day's labours; so that I am disposed to believe, all things considered, that somewhere about 20,000l. per annum might be the gross expense of continuously cleansing the City. Mr. Cochrane estimates it at 18,000l. But whether the admitted superior cleanliness of the streets, and the employment of an extra number of people, will be held by the citizens to be worth the extra money, it is not for me to say. If, however, the increased cleanliness effected by the street-orderlies is to be brought about by a decrease of the wages of the regular scavagers from 16s. to 12s. a week, which is the amount upon which Mr. Cochrane forms his estimate, then I do not hesitate to say the City authorities will be gainers, in the matter of poor- rates at least, by an adherence to the present method of scavaging, paying as they do the best wages, and indeed affording an illustrious ex- ample to all the metropolitan parishes, in refusing to grant contracts to any master scavagers but such as consent to deal fairly with the men in their employ. And I do hope and trust, for the sake of the working-men, the City Commissioners of Sewers will, should they decide upon having the City cleansed continuously, make the same re- quirement of Mr. Cochrane, before they allow his street-orderlies to displace the regular scavagers at present employed there. Benefits to the community, gained at the ex- pense of "the people," are really great evils. The street-orderly system is a good one when applied to parishes employing paupers and paying them 1s. 1d. and a loaf per day, or even nothing, ex- cept their food, for their labour. Here it elevates paupers into independent labourers; but, applied to those localities where the highest wages are paid, and there is the greatest regard shown for the welfare of the workmen, it is merely a scurf-system of degrading the independent labourers to the level of paupers, by reducing the wages of the regular scavagers from 16s. to 12s. per week. The avowed object of the street-orderly system is to provide employment for able-bodied men, and so to prevent them becoming a burthen to the parish. But is not a reduction of the scavager's wages to the extent of 25 per cent. a week, more likely to encourage than to prevent such a result? This is the weak point of the orderly system, and one which gentlemen calling themselves philan- thropists should really blush to be parties to. After all, the opinion to which I am led is this- the street-orderly system is incomparably the best mode of scavaging, and the payment of the men by "honourable" masters the best mode of employing the scavagers. The evils of the scavaging trade appear to me to spring chiefly from the parsimony of the parish authorities-either employing their own paupers without adequate remuneration, or else paying such prices to the contractors as almost necessitates the under-payment of the men in their employ. Were I to fill a volume, this is all that could be said on the matter. OF THE "JET AND HOSE" SYSTEM OF SCAVAGING. THERE appears at the present time a bent in the public mind for an improved system of scavagery. Until the ravages of the cholera in 1832, and again in 1848, roused the attention of Government and of the country, men seemed satisfied to dwell in dirty streets, and to congratulate themselves that the public ways were dirtier in the days of their fathers; a feeling or a spirit which has no doubt existed in all cities, from the days of those original scavagers, the vultures and hyenas of Africa and the East, the adjutants of Calcutta, and the hawks-the common glades or kites of this country-and which, we are told, in the days of Henry VIII. used to fly down among the passengers to remove the offal of the butchers and poulterers' stalls in the metropolitan markets, and in consideration of which services it was forbidden to kill them-down to the mechanical sweeping of the streets of London, and even to Mr. Cochrane's excellent street-orderlies. Besides the plan suggested by Mr. Cochrane, whose orderlies cleanse the streets without wet- ting, and consequently without dirtying, the sur- face by the use of the watering-cart, there is the opposite method proposed by Mr. Lee, of Sheffield, and other gentlemen, who recommend street- cleansing by the hose and jet, that is to say, by flushing the streets with water at a high pressure, as the sewers are now flushed; and so, by washing rather than sweeping the dirt of the streets into the sewers, through the momentum of the stream of water, dispensing altogether with the scavager's broom, shovel, and cart. In order to complete this account of the sca- vaging of the streets of London, I must, in con- clusion, say a few words on this method, advocated as it is by the Board of Health, and sanctioned by scientific men. By the application of a hose, with a jet or water pipe attached to a fire-plug, the water being at high pressure, a stream of fluid is projected along the street's surface with force enough to wash away all before it into the sewers, while by the same apparatus it can be thrown over the fronts of the houses. This mode of street-cleansing prevails in some American cities, especially in Philadelphia, where the principal thoroughfares are said to be kept admirably clean by it; while the fronts of the houses are as bright as those in the towns of Holland, where they are washed, not by mechanical appliances, but by water thrown over them out of scoops by hand labour-one of the instances of the minute and indefatigable in- dustry of the Dutch. It is stated in one of the Reports of the Board of Health, that "unless cleansing be general and simultaneous, much of the dirt of one district is carried by traffic into another. By the subdivision of the metropolis into small districts, the duty of cleansing the public carriage-way is thrown upon a number of obscure and irresponsible authorities; while the duty of cleansing the public footways, which are no less important, are charged upon multitudes of private individuals." [The grammar 276 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. | windows of the wards afforded great relief. Mr. Lovick, in his Report on the trial works for cleansing courts, states:- "The importance of water as an agent in the improvement and preservation of health being in proportion to the unhealthiness or depressed con- is the Board of Health's grammar.] "It is a false pecuniary economy, in the case of the poorest in- habitants of court or alley, who obtain their liveli- hood by any regular occupation, to charge upon each family the duty of cleansing the footway before their doors. The performance of this service daily, at a rate of 1d. per week per house or perdition of districts, its application to close courts family, would be an economy in soap and clothes to persons the average value of whose time is never less than 2d. per hour." [This is at the rate of 2s. portance. [This is at the rate of 2s. a day; did this most innocent Board never hear of work yielding 1s. 6d. a week? But the sanitary authorities seem to be as fond as teeto- tallers of "going to extremes."] In another part of the same Report the process and results are described. It is also stated that for the success of this method of street purification the pavement must be good; for "a powerful jet, applied by the hose, would scoop out hollows in unpaved places, and also loosen and remove the stones in those that are badly paved." As every public place ought to be well-paved, this necessity of new and good pavement is no reasonable objec- tion to the plan, though it certainly admits of a ques- tion as to the durability of the roads- the macada- mized especially-under this continual soaking. Sir Henry Parnell, the great road authority, speaks of wet as the main destroyer of the highways. and densely-populated localities, in which a low sanitary condition must obtain, is of primary im- portance. Having shown the practicability of applying this system (cleansing by jets of water) to the general cleansing of the streets, my further labours have been, and are now, directed to this end. "For the purpose of ascertaining the effect produced by operations of this nature upon the atmosphere, two courts were selected: Church- passage, New Compton-street, open at both ends, with a carriage-way in the centre, and footway on each side; and Lloyd's-court, Crown-street, St. Giles's, a close court, with, at one entrance, a covered passage about 40 feet in length: both courts were in a very filthy condition; in Church- passage there were dead decaying cats and fish, with offal, straw, and refuse scattered over the surface; at one end an entrance to a private yard was used as a urinal; in every part there were most offensive smells. It is stated in the Report, after the mention of Lloyd's-court was in a somewhat similar experiments having been made by Mr. Lovick, condition, the covered entrance being used as a Mr. Hale, and Mr. Lee (Mr. Lee being one of the general urinal, presenting a disgusting appearance; engineering inspectors of the Board), that the whole atmosphere of the court was loaded with "Mr. Lovick, at the instance of the Metro-highly-offensive effluvia; in the covered entrance politan Commissioners of Sewers, conducted his this was more particularly discernible. experiments with such jets as could be obtained from the water companies' mains in eligible places; but the pressure was low and insufficient. Never- theless, it appeared that, taking the extra quan- tity of water required at the actual expense of pumping, the paved surfaces might be washed clean at one-half the price of the scavagers' manual labour in sweeping. Mr. Lee's trials were made at Sheffield, with the aid of a more powerful and suitable pressure, and he found that with such pressure as he obtained the cleansing might be effected in one-third the time, and at one-third the usual expense, of the scavagers' labour of sweeping the surface with the broom." [This expense varies, and the Board nowhere states at what rate it is computed; the scavagers' wages varying 100 per cent.] "The effect of this mode of cleansing in close courts and streets," it is further stated, "was found to be peculiarly grateful in hot weather. The water was first thrown up and diffused in a thin sheet, it was then applied rapidly to clean- sing the surface and the side walls, as well as the pavements." Mr. Lovick states that the immediate effect of this operation was to lower the tempera- ture, and to produce a sense of freshness, similar to that experienced after a heavy thunder-shower in hot weather. But there is nothing said as to the probable effect of this state of things in win- ter-a hard frost for instance. The same expedient was resorted to for cooling the yards and outer courts of hospitals, and the shower thrown on the "The property of water, as an absorbent, was rendered strikingly apparent in the immediate and marked effects of its application, a purity and freshness remarkably contrasted to the former close and foul condition prevailing throughout. A test of this, striking and unexpected, was the change at different periods in the relative condi- tion of atmosphere of the courts and of the con- tiguous streets. In their ordinary condition, as might have been expected, the atmosphere was purer in the streets than in the courts; it was to be inferred that the cleansing would have more nearly assimilated these conditions. This was not only the case, but it was found to have effected a complete change; the atmosphere of the courts at the close of the operations being far fresher and purer than the atmosphere of the streets. The effect produced was in every respect satisfactory and complete; and was the theme of conversation with the lookers-on, and with the men who conducted the operations. "The expense of these operations, including water, would be, for— "Church-passage (time, five minutes), 1ɗ. "Lloyd's-court (time, ten minutes), 31d. "Mr. Hale, another officer, gave a similar statement." Other experiments are thus detailed :— ८८ Lascelles-court, Broad-street, St. Giles's. This court was pointed out to me as one of the worst in London. Before cleansing it smelt intolerable,” [sic] "and looked disgusting. Besides an abun- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 277 • dance of ordinary filth arising from the exposure of refuse, the surface of the court contained heaps of human excrement, there being only one privy to the whole court, and that not in a state to be publicly used. The cleansing operations were commenced by sprinkling the court with deodorising fluid, mixed with 20 times its volume of water; a great change, from a very pungent odour to an imperceptible smell, was immediately effected; after which the refuse of the court was washed away, and the pavement thoroughly cleansed by the hose and jet; and now this place, which before was in a state almost indescribable, presented an appearance of comparative comfort and respectability." It is stated as the result of another experiment in " an ordinary wide street with plenty of traffic," that "water-carts and ordinary rains only create the mud which the jet entirely removes, giving to the pavement the appearance of having been as thoroughly cleansed as the private stone steps in front of the houses." With respect to Mr. Lee's experiments in Sheffield, I find that Messrs. Guest, of Rother- ham, are patentees of a tap for the discharge of water at high pressures, and that they had adapted their invention to the purpose of a fire- plug and stand pipe suitable for street-cleansing by the hose and jet. Church-street, one of the prin- cipal thoroughfares, was experimentally cleansed by this process: "The carriage-way is from 20 to 24 feet wide, and about 150 yards long. It was washed almost as clean as a house-floor in five minutes." Mr. Lee expresses his conviction that, by the agency of the hose and jet, every street in that populous borough might be cleansed at about 1s. per annum for each house. "The principal thoroughfares," he states, "could be thus made perfectly clean, three times every week, before business hours, and the minor streets and lanes twice, or once per week, at later hours in the day, by the agency of an abundant supply of water, at less than half the sum necessary for the cartage alone of an equal quantity of refuse in a solid or semi-fluid condition." The highways most frequented in Sheffield con- stitute about one-half of the whole extent of the strects and roads in the borough, measuring 47 miles. This length, Mr. Lee computes, might be effectually cleansed with the hose and jet, ten miles of it three times a week, 21 miles twice a week, and 16 miles once a week, a total of 88 miles weekly, or 4576 miles yearly. The quantity of Water required would be 3000 gallons a mile, or a yearly total of 13,728,000 gallons. This water might be supplied, Mr. Lee opines, at 1d. per 1000 gallons (571. 4s. per annum), although the price obtained by the Water-works Company was 6d. per 1000 gallons (3711. 16s. per annum). "I now proceed,” he says, "to the cost of labour: 4576 miles per annum is equal to 14 miles for each working day, or to six sets of two men. cleansing 2 miles per day each set. To these must be added three horses and carts, and three carters, for the removal of such débris as cannot be washed away and for such parts of the town as 3 | cannot be cleansed by this system, making a total of fifteen men. Their wages I would fix at 507. per annum each. The estimate is as follows:- "Annual interest upon the first cost of hose and pipes, three horses and carts Fifteen men's wages Three horses' provender Wear, tear, and depreciation of hose, &c. Management and incidentals, say • £ 30 750 150 · 250 120 £1300." The estimate, it will be seen, is based on the supposition that the water supply should be at the public cost, and not a specific charge for the purposes of street-cleansing. The 47 miles of highway of Sheffield is but three miles less than those of the city of London, the cost of cleansing which is, according to the estimate before given, no less than 18,000. The Sheffield account is divested of all calcula- tions as to house-dust and ashes, and the charge for watering-carts; but, taking merely the sum paid to scavaging contractors, and assigning 10007. (out of the 24857.), as the proportion of salaries, &c., under the department of scavagery in the management of the City Commissioners, we find that while the expense of street-cleansing by the Sheffield hose and jet was little more than 347., in London, by the ordinary mode, it was upwards of 1407. per mile, or more than four times as much. The hose and jet system is said to have washed the streets of Sheffield as clean as a house-floor, which could not be said of it in London. The streets of the City, it should also be borne in mind, are now swept daily; Mr. Lee proposes only a periodical cleaning for Sheffield, or once, twice, and thrice a week. Of the cost of the experiments made in London with the hose and jet, in Lascelles-court, &c., nothing is said. Street-cleansing by the hose and jet is, then, as yet but an experiment. It has not, like the street- orderly mode, been tested continuously or sys- tematically; but the experiments are so curious and sometimes so startling in their results that it was necessary to give a brief account of them here, in order to render this account of the cleansing of the streets of the metropolis as comprehensive as pos- sible. For my own part, I must confess the street-orderly system appears to excel all other modes of scavagery, producing at once the greatest cleanliness with the greatest employment to the poor. Nor am I so convinced as the theoretic and crotchety Board of Health as to the healthfulness of dampness, or the daily evaporation of a sheet of even clean water equal in extent to the entire sur- face of the London streets. It is certainly doubtful, to say the least, whether so much additional mois- ture might improve the public health, which the Board are instituted to protect; rain certainly con- tributes to cleanliness, and yet no one would advocate continued wet weather as a source of general convalescence. I shall conclude this account of the scavaging 278 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. of London, with the following brief statement as to the mode in which these matters are conducted abroad. In Paris, where our system of parochial legis- lation and management is unknown, the scavag- ing of the streets-so frequently matters of private speculation with us-is under the immediate direction of the municipality, and the Govern- ment publish the returns, as they do of the revenue of their capital from the abattoirs, the interments, and other sources. In the Moniteur for December 10, 1848, it is stated that the refuse of the streets of Paris sells for 500,500 francs (20,0207.), when sold by auction in the mass; and 3,800,000 francs (equal to 152,000l.) when, after having lain in the proper receptacles, until fit for manure, it is sold by the cubic foot. In 1823, the streets of Paris were leased for 75,000 francs (30007.) per annum in 1831 the value was 166,000 francs (66407.); and since 1845 the price has risen to the sum first named, viz., 500,500 francs (20,0201.); from which, however, is to be deducted the expense of cleansing, &c. I may add, that the receptacles alluded to are large places provided by Govern- ment, where the manure is deposited and left to ferment for twelve or eighteen months. OF THE COST AND TRAFFIC OF THE STREETS OF LONDON. I HAVE, at page 183 of the present volume, given a brief statement of the annual cost attending the keeping of the streets of the metropolis in work- ing order. The formation of the streets of a capital like London, the busiest in the world-streets traversed daily by what Cowper, even in his day, described as "the ten thousand wheels" of commerce-is an elaborate and costly work. In my former account I gave an estimate which referred to the amount dispensed weekly in wages for the labour of the workmen engaged in laying down the paved roads of the metropolis. This was at the rate of 100,000l. per week; that is to say, calculating the operation of relaying the streets to occupy one year in every five, there is no less than 5,200,000l. expended in that time among the workpeople so engaged. The sum expended in labour for the continued repairs of the roads, after being so relaid, appears to be about 20,000l. per week", or, in round numbers, about 1,000,000l. a year; so that the gross sum annually disbursed to the labourers engaged in the construction of the roads of London would seem to be about 2,250,000l., that is to say, 1,000,000l. for repairing the old roads, and 1,250,000l. per annum for laying down new ones in their place. It now remains for me to set forth the gross cost of the metropolitan highways, that is to say, the sum annually expended in both labour and materials, as well for relaying as for repairing the roads. The granite-built streets cost, when relaid, * At p. 183 the sum of 18,2251. is said to be expended in repairs annually; it should have been weekly. about 11,000l. the mile, of ten yards' width, which is at the rate of 12s. 6d. the square yard, materials and labour included, the granite (Aber- deen) being 17. 5s. per ton, and one ton of " inch" being sufficient to cover about three square yards. seven- The average cost of a macadamized road, materials and labour included, if constructed from the foundation, is about 4400l. per street mile (ten yards wide)-5s. the superficial yard being a fair price for materials and labour. Wood pavement, on the other hand, costs about 9680l. a mile of ten yards' width for materials and labour, which is at the rate of 11s. the super- ficial yard. The cost of repairs, materials and labour in- cluded, is, for granite pavement about 1d. per square yard, or 1007. the street mile of ten yards wide; for "Macadam" it is from 6d. to 3s. 6d., or an average of 1s. 6d. per superficial yard, which is at the rate of 13207. the street mile; while the wood pavement costs about the same for repairs as the granite. £ The total cost of repairing the streets of London, then, may be taken as follows:- Repairing granite-built streets, per mile of ten yards wide Repairing macadamized roads, per street mile · Repairing wood pavement, per street mile • 100 1320 100 40,000 Or, as a total for all London,- Repairing 400 miles of granite-built streets, at 1007. per mile Repairing 1350 miles of macadam- ized streets, at 13207. per mile 1,782,000 Repairing five miles of wood, at 100l. per mile • 500 £1,822,500 The following, on the other hand, may be taken as the total cost of reconstructing the London streets- Granite-built streets, per mile ten yards wide. Macadamized streets, per street mile Wood "" £ 11,000 4,400 9,680 Or, as a total for the entire streets and roads of London,— Relaying 400 miles of granite-built Relaying 1350 miles of macadam- streets, at 11,000l. per mile. ized streets, at 44007. per mile Relaying five miles of wood-built streets, at 96807. • £ 4,400,000 5,940,000 48,400 £10,388,400 But the above refers only to the road, and be- sides this, there is, as a gentleman to whom I am much indebted for valuable information on the subject, reminds me, the foot paving, granite curb, and granite channel not included. The usual price for paving is 8d. per foot superficial, LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. and the poor. 279 when laid-granite curb 1s. 7d. per foot run, and granite channel 12s. per square yard. 'Now, presuming that three-fourths of the roads," says my informant, "have paved foot- paths on each side at an average width of six feet exclusive of curb, and that one-half of the macadamized roads have granite channels on each side, and that one-third of all the roads have granite curb on each side; these items for 400 miles of granite road, 1350 macadamized, and 5 miles of wood-together 1755 miles-will there- fore amount to Three-fourths of 1755 miles of streets paved on each side, six feet wide, at 8d. per foot superficial. One-half of 1350 miles of maca- damized roads with one foot of granite channel on each side, at 12s. per yard square One-third of 1755 miles of road with granite curb on each side, at 1s. 7d. per foot run Cost of constructing 1755 miles of roadway • Total cost of constructing the streets of London £ 2,779,392 0 0 I feel certain that in without proper accesses. those parts where the roads are made by Com- missioners three times more builders, in proportion to their number, get into difficulties than in the districts where they are permitted to make the roads themselves." The paved ways and roads of London, then, it appears, cost in round numbers 10,000,0007. sterling, and require nearly 2,000,000l. to be expended upon them annually for repairs. But this is not the sole expense attendant upon the construction of the streets of the metropolis. s. d. Frequently, in the formation of new lines of thoroughfare, large masses of property have to be bought up, removed, and new buildings erected at considerable cost. In a return made pursuant to an order of the Court of Common Council, dated 23rd October, 1851, for "An account of all money's which have been raised for public works executed, buildings erected, or street improve- ments effected, out of the Coal Duties receivable by the Corporation of London in the character of trustees for administration or otherwise, since the same were made chargeable by Parliament for such purposes in the year 1766," the following 3,726,989 4 5 items are given relating to the cost of the forma- tion of new strects and improvements of old ones: 453,537 4 5 489,060 0 0 10,388,400 0.0 £14,115,389 4 5 "Accordingly the original cost of the metropolitan pavements exceeds fourteen millions sterling, and, calculating that this requires renewal every five years, the gross annual expenditure will be at the rate of 2,500,000l. per annum, which, added to 1,822,5007., gives 4,322,5007., or upwards of four millions and a quarter sterling for the entire annual cost of the London roadways. "From rather extensive experience," adds my informant, "in building operations, and consc- quently in making and paying for roads, I am of opinion that the amount I have shown is under rather than above the actual cost. "In a great many parts of the metropolis the roads are made by the servants of a body of Com- missioners appointed for the purpose; and from dear-bought experience I can say they are a pub- lic nuisance, and would earnestly caution specu- lating builders against taking building ground or erecting houses in any place where the roads are under their control. The Commissioners are genc- rally old retired tradesmen, and have very little to occupy their attention, and are often quite ignorant of their duties; I have reason to believe, too, that some of them even use their little authority to gratify their dislike to some poor builder in their district, by meddling and quibbling, and while that is going on the houses which have been. erected can neither be let nor sold; so that as the bills given for the materials keep running, the builder, when they fall due, is ruined, for his creditors will not take his unlet houses for their debts, and no one else will pur; chase them until let, for none will rent them Street Improvements forming New Thoroughfares. Building the bridge across the river Thames, from Blackfriars, in the city of London, to Upper Ground-street, in the county of Surrey, now called Blackfriars Bridge, and forming the avenues thereto, and embanking the north abutment of the said bridge- (Entrusted to the Corporation of the city of London) Making a new line of streets from Moor- fields, opposite Chiswell-street, to- wards the east into Bishopsgate-street (now Crown-street and Sun-street), also from the east end of Chiswell- street westward into Barbican-(Cor- poration of the city of London). Making a new street from Crispin-strect, near Spitalfields Church, into Bishops- gate-street (now called Union-street), in the city of London and in the county of Middlesex-(Commissioners named in Act 18, George III., c. 78) Opening communications between Wap- ping-street and Ratcliffe-highway, and between Old Gravel-lane and Virginia- street, all in the county of Middlesex (Commissioners appointed under Act 17, Geo. III., c. 22) Formation of Farringdon-street, removal of Fleet-market, and erection of Far- ringdon-market, in the city of London —(Corporation of the city of London). Formation of a new street from the end of Coventry-street to the junction of Newport-street and Long-acre (Cran- bourn-street), continuing the line of street from Waterloo Bridge, already completed to Bow-street (Upper Wel- lington-street), and thence northward into Broad-street, Holborn, and thence to Charlotte-street, Bloomsbury, ex- tending Oxford-street in a direct line through St. Giles's, so as to communi- cate with Holborn at or near South- ampton-strect (New Oxford-street); also widening the northern and • Amount raised for Public Works, &c. £. s. d. 210,000 0 0 16,500 0 0 9,000 0 0 1,000 0 0 250,000 0 0 280 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Brought forward southern extremities of Leman-street, Goodman's-fields, and forming a new street from the northern side of Whitechapel to the front of Spital- fields Church (Commercial-street), and forming a new street from Rose- mary-lane to East Smithfield, near to the entrance of the London-docks; also formation of a street from the neighbourhood of the Houses of Par- liament towards Buckingham Palace, in the city of Westminster (Victoria- street), all in the county of Middlesex ; also formation of a line of new street between Southwark and Westminster Bridges, in the county of Surrey- (Her Majesty's Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues) NOTE. The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods have been autho- rised to raise further moneys on the credit of the duty of Id. per ton for further improvements in the neigh- bourhood of Spitalfields, but the Chamberlain is not officially cogni- zant of the amount. Forming a new street from the northern end of Victoria-street, Holborn (formed by the Corporation to Clerkenwell- green, all in the county of Middlesex) (Clerkenwell Improvement Com- missioners) • Formation of a new line of streets from King William-street, London Bridge, to the south side of St. Paul's Cathe- dral, by widening and improving Cannon-street, making a new street from Cannon-street, near Bridge-row, to Queen-street, and another street from the west side of Queen-street, in a direct line to St. Paul's-churchyard, and widening Queen-street, from the junction of the said new street to Southwark Bridge; also improving Holborn Bridge and Field-lañe, and effecting an improvement in Grace- church-streeet and Ship Tavem-pas- sage, all in the city of London-(Cor- poration of the city of London) Finishing the new street left incomplete by the Clerkenwell Improvement Com- missioners, from the end of Victoria- street, Farringdon-street, to Coppice- row, Clerkenwell, all in the county of Middlesex-(Corporation of the City of London) • • Total cost of forming the above-men- tioned new thoroughfares • • £ 8. d. 486,500 0 0 665,000 0 0 25,000 0 0 500,000 0 0 88,000 0 0 1,764,500 00 Improving existing Thoroughfares. Improving existing approaches, and forming new approaches to new Lon- don Bridge, viz., in High-street, Tooley-street, Montague-close, Pep- per-alley, Whitehorse-court, Chequer- court, Chaingate, Churchyard-passage, St. Saviour's churchyard, Carter-lane, Boar's-head-place, Fryingpan-alley, Green Dragon-court, Joyner-street, Red Lion-street, Counter-street, Three Crown-court, and the east front of the Town Hall, all in the Borough of Southwark; also ground and premises at the north-west foot of London Bridge, Upper Thames-street, Red- cross-wharf, Mault's-wharf, High Timber-street and Broken-wharf, Swan-passage, Churchyard-alley, site of Fishmonger's Hall, Great East- cheap, Little Eastcheap, Star-court, Fish-street-hill, Little Tower-street, Idol-lane, St. Mary-at-hill, Crooked- lane, Miles-lane, Three Tun-alley, Warren-court, Cannon-street, Grace- church-street, Bell-yard, Martin's-lane, Nicholas-lane, Clement's-lane, church-lane, Sherborne-lane, thin's-lane, Cornhill, Lombard-street, Dove-court, Fox Ordinary-court, Old Ab- Swi- Post Office Chambers, Mansion-house- street, Princes-street, Coleman-street, Coleman-street-buildings, Moorgate- street, London Wall, Lothbury, Tokenhouse-yard, King's Arms-yard, Great Bell-alley, Packer's-court, White's-alley, Great Swan-alley, Crown-court, George-yard, Red Lion- court, Cateaton-street, Gresham-street, Milk-street, Wood-street, King-street, Basinghall-street, Houndsditch, Lad- lane, Threadneedle-street, Aldgate High-street, and Maiden-lane, all in the City of London-(Corporation of the City of London) Widening and improving the entrance into London near Temple-bar, im- proving the Strand and Fleet-street, and formation of Pickett-street, and for making a new street from the east end of Snow-hill to the bottom of Holborn-hill, now called Skinner- street (Corporation of the City of London) • • Widening and improving Dirty-lane and part of Brick-lane, leading from White- chapel to Spitalfields, and for paving Dirty-lane, Petticoat-lane, Went- worth-street, Old Montague-street, Chapel-street, Princes-row, &c.. all in the county of Middlesex-(Commis- sioners appointed by the Act 18, Geo. III., c. 80) Widening the avenues from the Mino- ries, through Goodman's-yard into Prescott-street, and through Swan- street and Swan-alley into Mansell- strcet, and from Whitechapel through Somerset-street into Great Mansell- street, all in the county of Middlesex -(Commissioners named in Act 18, George III., c. 50) Total cost of improving the above- mentioned thoroughfares Paving. Paving the road from Aldersgate Bars to turnpike in Goswell-street, in the county of Middlesex-(Commissioners Sewers, &c., of the City of London) Completing the paving of the town borough of Southwark and certain parts adjacent--(Commissioners for executing Act 6, George III., for pav- ing town and borough of Southwark) Total cost of paving the above-men- tioned thoroughfares £ s. d. 1,016,421 18 1 246,300 0 0 1,500 0 0 1,500 0 0 1,265,721 18 1 5,500 0 0 4,000 0 0 9,500 0 0 Hence the aggregate expense of the preceding improvements has been upwards of 3,000,000%. sterling. I have now, in order to complete this account of the cost of paving and cleansing the thorough- fares of the metropolis, only to add the following statement as to the traffic of the principal thorough- fares in the city of London, for which I am in- debted to Mr. Haywood, the City Surveyor. By the subjoined Return it will be seen that there are two tides as it were in the daily current of locomotion in the City-the one being at its flood at 11 o'clock A.M., after which it falls gradually till 2 o'clock, when it is at its lowest ebb, and then begins to rise, gradually till 5 o'clock, when it reaches its second flood, and then begins to decline once more. The point of greatest traffic in the City is London-bridge, where the conveyances passing and repassing amount to 13,099 in the course of twelve hours*. * At p. 185 the traffic of London Bridge is stated to be 13,000 conveyances per hour, instead of per 12 hours. .. Herning WE MEASOJA THE RUBBISH-CARTER. [From a Daguerreotype by BEARD.] LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 281 Of these it would appear, that 9351 consist of one- horse vehicles and equestrians, 3389 of two- horse conveyances, and only 359 of vehicles drawn by more than two horses. The one-horse vehicles would seem to be between two and three times as many as the two-horse, which form about one-fourth of the whole, while those drawn by more than two horses constitute about one- sixtieth of the entire number. The Return does not mention the state of the weather on the several days and hours at which the observations were made, nor does it tell us whether there was any public event occurring on those days which was likely to swell or diminish the traffic beyond its usual proportions. The table, moreover, it should be remembered, is confined to the observations of only one day in each locality, so that we must be guarded in receiving that which records a mere accidental set of circumstances as an example of the general course of events. It would have been curious to have extended the observations throughout the night, and so have ascertained the difference in the traffic; and also to have noted the decrease in the number of vehicles passing during a continuously wet as well as a showery day. The observations should be further carried out to different seasons, in order to be rendered of the highest value. Mr. Haywood and the City authorities would really be conferring a great boon on the public by so doing. OF THE RUBBISH CARTERS. THE public cleansing trade, I have before said, consists of as many divisions as there are distinct species of refuse to be removed, and these appear to be four. There is the house-refuse, consisting of two different kinds, as (1) the wet house-refuse or "slops," and "night-soil," and (2) the dry house-refuse, or dust and soot; and there is the street-refuse, also consisting of two distinct kinds, as (3) the wet street-refuse, or mud and dirt; and (4) the dry street-refuse or "rubbish." &c. mean all such refuse matter as will admit of being used as the foundation of roads, buildings, "Rubbish," on the other hand, appears to be limited, by the trade, to "dry dirt;" out of the trade, however, and etymologically speaking, it signifies all such dry and hard refusc matter as is rendered useless by wear and tear*. The term dirt, on the other hand, is generally applied to soft refuse matter, and dust to dry refuse matter in a state of minute division, while slops is the generic term for all wet or liquid refuse matter. I shall here restrict the term rubbish to all that dry and hard refuse matter which is the residuum of certain worn-out or used-up" earthen com- modities, as well as the surplus earth which is removed whenever excavations are made, either for the building of houses, the cutting of railways, the levelling of roads, the laying down of pipes or drains, and the sinking of wells. The commodities whose residuum goes to swell the annual supply of rubbish, are generally of an earthy nature. Such commodities as are made of fibrous or textile materials, go, when "used up," chiefly to form manure if of an animal nature, and to be converted into paper if of a vegetable origin. The refuse materials of our woollen clothes, our old coats and trousers, are either torn to pieces and re-manufactured into shoddy, or become the invigorators of our hop and other plants; whereas those of our linen or cotton garments, our old shirts and petticoats, form the materials of our books and letters; while our old ropes, &c., are converted into either brown paper or oakum. Those commodities, on the other hand, which are made of leathern materials, become, when worn out, the ingredients of the prussiate of potash and chemists. Our old wooden commodities, again, other nitrogenised products manufactured by our the refuse of our fires themselves, whether the are used principally to kindle our fires; while soot which is deposited in the chimney above, or the ashes which fall below, are employed I now purpose dealing with the labourers en- gaged in the collection and removal of the last-mainly to increase the fertility of our land. mentioned kind of refuse. Technologically there are several varieties of rubbish," or rather "dirt," for such appears to be the generic term, of which rubbish" is strictly a species. Dirt, according to the under- standing among the rubbish-carters, would seem to consist of any solid earthy matter, which is of an useless or refuse character. This dirt the trade divides into two distinct kinds, viz. :- 1. "Soft dirt," or refuse clay (of which "dry Soft dirt," or refuse clay (of which "dry dirt," or refuse soil or mould, is a variety). 2. “Hard-dirt,” or “hard-core," consisting of the refuse bricks, chimney-pots, slates, &c., when a house is pulled down, as well as the broken bottles, pans, pots, or crocks, and oyster-shells, &c., which form part of the contents of the dust- man's cart. The phrase "hard-core "* seems strictly to * The core in this term may be a corruption of the Saxon Carr, a rock, rather than that which would at first suggest itself as its origin, viz., the Latin cor, the heart. Hard-core would therefore mean hard rock-like rubbish, instead of lumps of rubbish having a hard nucleus or heart. Our worn-out metal commodities, on the other hand, dities when the metals are of the scarcer kind, as are newly melted, and go to form fresh commo- gold, silver, copper, brass, lead, and even iron; and when of the more common kind, as is the case with old tin, and occasionally iron vessels, they either become the ingredients in some of our che- mical manufactures, or else when formed of tin are cut up into smaller and inferior commodities. Even the detritus of our streets is used as the soil of our market gardens. All this we have already seen, and we have now to deal more particularly with The term rubbish is a polite corruption of the ori- ginal word rubbage, which is still used by uneducated people; ish is an adjectival termination, as whitish, slavish, brutish, &c., and is used only in connection with such substantives as are derived from adjectives, as English, Scottish, &c. Whereas the affix age is strictly substantival, as sewage, garbage, wharfage, &c., and is found applied only to adjectives derived from sub- stantives, as savage. A like polite corruption is found in the word pudding, which should be strictly pudden: the addition of the g is as gross a mistake as saying garding for garden. There is no such verb as to pud whence could come the substantival participle pudding; and the French word from which we derive our term is poudin without the g, like jardin, the root of our garden. ( 4 282 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 STREET TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES AND HORSES PASSING THROUGH HOURS OF 8 A.M. AND 8 P.M., UPON CERTAIN Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending 9 A.M. Vehicles drawn by 10 A.M. Vehicles drawn by 11 A.M. Vehicles drawn by 12 A.M. Vehicles drawn by Date. Situation. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 13th " 8th July, 1850. Temple Bar Gate 9th "" 10th JJ 11th " 12th "" ,, 59 • Holborn Hill, by St. Andrew's Church Ludgate Hill, by Pilgrim-street Newgate-street, by Old Bailey Aldersgate-street, by Fann-street Cheapside, by Foster-lane • 230 • 250 268 76 250 59 65 140 201 12 380 166| 17 290 170 11 360 155 8 198 52 345 110 18 483 301 15th JJ Poultry, by Mansion House 287 103 24 437 315 16th Finsbury Pavement, by South-place 185 63 14 252 123 17th " " Cornhill, by Royal Exchange 98 56 18th 19th 20th 22nd " 23rd دو رو دو 39 Threadneedle-street 47 47 7 172 177 4 67 77 "" " ,, 22 24th >> 25th " 26th JJ Gracechurch-street, by St. Peter's-alley Lombard-street, by Birchin-lane Bishopsgate Within, by Great St. Helen's London Bridge • Bishopsgate-street Witht, by City bounds. Aldgate High-street, by ditto 202 50 121 15 194 58 519 139 148 51 335 68 6 200 99 1 87 28 7 253 144 22 744 339 4 197 121 22 291 111 6 480 181 16 454 261 13 433 184 11 150 44 21 703 385 10 654 398 10 330 138 15 252 210 1 162 23 308 2 140 11 323 164 45 955 334 11 310 134 20 292 115 • "} Leadenhall-st., rear of East India House 193 45 13 272 141 16) 388] 196 61 20 292 192 42 448 235 21 505 222 9 530 154 13 420 210 11 367 137 14 147 36 36 768 390 19 690 373 7 250 129 17 270 184 3 160 18 320 175 4 174 14 13 277 143. 43 820 274 3 170 109 10 287 145 11 340 150 14 B 6 c 5 D 11 F 10 M 30 N 70 10 P 30 A 13 E 97 113 12 17 G 8 H 71 50 4J 12 K L • • 50 27th 33 35 Eastcheap, by Philpot-lane 274 35 26 293 40 13 340 46 12 320 34 18 R 29th }} Tower-street, by Mark-lane 132 22 15 180 37 5 220 32 10 220 39 12 s 30th " JJ 31st 11 Lower Thames-street, by Botolph-lane Blackfriars Bridge • 79 7 2 117 10 3153 15 7 90 7 8 T 268 42 17 280 78 23 409 99 10 393 89 34 U 1st Aug. 2nd 3rd وو "" ,, >> Upper Thames-street, rear of Queen-street Smithfield Bars Fenchurch-street 97 28 15 172 43 12 126 281 11 160 42 21 V 180 16 175 20 7 206 18 11 198 GO 6 180 16 4 205 41 14 G 254 7 298 39 9 w 6 x STREET 5017 1256 303 6421 2997 339 8415 3478 315 8230 3159 297 TRAFFIC. TABLE SHOWING TOTALS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF VEHICLE PASSING PER HOUR AND PER DAY OF 12 HOURS THROUGH CERTAIN STREETS WITHIN THE CITY OF LONDON. Date. Situation. HOURS ENDING 9 10 11 12 1 3 4 2 5 6 7 8 A. M.│A. M.¦A. M. Noon P. M. P. M. P. M. P. M. P. M. P. M. P.M. P.M. Total of 12 Hours Average per Hour. 1850. July 8 9 Temple Bar Gate. Holborn-hill, by St. And. Ch. "" ,, "" 10 Ludgate-hill, by Pilgrim-st. 11 Newgate-st., by Old Bailey 12 Aldersgate-st., by Fann-st. 361 320 • 168 13 Cheapside, by Foster-lane 473 • 15 Poultry, by Mansion House 414 762 16 Finsbury-pave,, by South-pl 262 17 Cornhill, by Roy. Exchange 161 385 311 526 704 757 691 664 791 327 552 670 698 476 728 636 528 628 509 261 2081 196 805 1124 1169 1071 1080 475 387 364 479 461 18 Threadneedle-street 98 145 262 214 '' "" 19 Gracech-st., by St. Pet.-alley 258 322 20 Lombard-st., by Birchin-la 137 22 Bishopsg.-st., by Gt. St. Hel. 259 23 London Bridge 439 507 117 408 "" 31 Aug. 1 2 " 3 · Fenchurch-street >" 156 188 500 430 680 1128 1332 1124 329 447 24 Bishp-st. out, by Cy. Bound 203 286 25 Aldgate High-street, ditto. 425 422 417 442 26 Leadenhall-st., E. I. House 251 429 595 495 346 398 372 27 Eastcheap, by Philpot-lane 335 222 262 29Tower-street, by Mark-lane] 169 271 30 L. Thames-st, by Botolph-la_88 130 175 105 Blackfriars Bridge 327 381 518 516 140❘ 227 223 165 U.Thames-st., rear of Qn.-st 140 Smithfield Bars 203 230 202 277 206 262 253 343 6576 9757 12208 11686 11408 10466|11068 11351|12543|11342|9757 7697 125859 10488) 737 738 671 537 614 623 606 535 377 915 445 841 317 789 514 628 531 619 584 543 420, 555 537 564 738 572 563 467 394] 6375 531 214 235 194 219 235 2590 233 229 198 215 1020 1009) 1007 1076| 1106 964 808 492 11053 1043 941 875 910 956 825 802 595 10274 364 345 293 347 483 475 400, 244 487 441 493 451 468 430 354 327 4916 409 211 154 212 195 198 205 148, 108 2150 179 392 423 464 516 461 436 338 331 4887 407 169 232 237 304 243 2228 209 130 106 185 396 238 439 432 541 4842 450 404 345 403 1094 1048 1101 1180] 1344) 1308 962 798 13099 1091 307 342 390 335 430 4110 439 323 279 342 445 379 389 409 405 401 331 289 4754 396 594 563 525 569 466 5930 588 437 418 378 343 368 393 398 349 294 128 292 324 290 262 282 238 164 114 105 108 118 147 168 465 336 385 416 570 205 160 164 213 253 276 255 334 267 328 293 269 272 327 364 7741 6906 645 575 6829 569 921 856 4460 371 494 4102 341 2890 240 121 69 46 1380 115 548 463 337 5262 438 312 176 93 289 288 159 3642 259 249 545 2331 194 3108 259 303 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 283 TRAFFIC. CERTAIN THOROUGHFARES WITHIN THE CITY OF LONDON, BETWEEN THE DAYS DURING THE YEAR 1850. Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending Hour ending 1 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 2 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 3 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 4 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 5 F.M. Vehicles drawn by 6 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 7 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 8 P.M. Vehicles drawn by 1 Horse and Equestrians. 22 Horses. 13 415 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or E more. A 460 218 230 453 160 10 435 158 c 530 256 D 390 156 3 330 180 9 377 155 E 165 40 1 680 334 G 680 358 9 180 49 19 550 231 13 373 150 4 400 221 5 390 167 6 150 32 6 664 336 9 665 338 5 595 337 9 548 321 H 243 115 27 I 275 208 J 160 50 K 295 87 L160 9 M 260 125 N 775 296 0 191 112 r 300 135 0415 168 R 340 32 81 215 15 11 164 70 23 765 255 4 243 96 10 249 123 11 385 171) 6 223 118 4 253 180 1 120 10 330 4 184 107 11 300 28 S 260 26 6 270 39 8 305 185 2 164 46 12 360 93 2 227 9 4 320 113 28 793 284 3 285 97 7 260 112 7353 158) 15 310 381 15 252 34 10 496 237 12 270 100 7 288 242 7 525 201 12 172 40 4 730 339 6 575 330- 2 215 128 3 276 172 2 157 37 11 375 123 1 283 20 6 287 140 24 845 305 8 231 103 17 274 122 14 387 172 20 345 25 330 111 9 360 220 5 415 142 12 185 40 8 645 303) 10 505 310! 8300 159 7 242 180 3 157 45 24 310 113 180 26 40 11 320 123 33 970 305 8 305 126 16 276 110) 5 390 183 15 280 58 4 226 26 39 13 195 34 4 470 255 13 435 7 639 251 1375 235 12 390 177 7 187 36 7 671 427 5 565 381 4 340 135 3 255 206 1150 45 18 302 135 J 223 20 5 380 150 30 975 336 1 309 113) 13 248 141 10 295, 166 8340 43 10 230 219 17 329 200 8 405 198 11 17 219 92 6 3 214 202 4 4 250 136 10 141 46 7 271 212 3 292 299 16 140 101 1| 186 140) 3 771 31 6 250 75 94 12 7 222 120 18 510, 258 8 177 99 11 190 96 6 260 152 5 109 16 2 94 16 8 11 3 1 3 30 3 3 4 615 209 4 330 210 6 337 126' 8 175 44 16 482 319 10 455 344 16 242 142 8 177 176 3 115 30 13 253 79 3 115 15 9 { 7 270 127 33 680 264 8 203 112 15 220 100 15 292 139 11 230 59 6 9 137 25 83 21 1100 8 1001 15 3 130 13 4 143 23 2 100 15 6 52 14 31 40 4 U 365 78 22 253 65 V v 160 35 10 120 31 w 252 18 6232 19 X240 45 8 223 39 18 302 73 10 340 9125 33 6 160 4 305 20 9 250 11 46 7 220 6 267 54 66 10 450 103 171 446 87 15 361 89 13 265 66 6 44 9 185 52 16 241 54 6 305 17 6 265 20 6 300 57 1 17 139 25 4 269 7 215 36 8 193 53 12 71 13 9 10 9 145 14 3 516 28 8132 3077 199 7441 2815 210 7941 2923 204 8104 3065 182 8727 3543 273 8067 3019 256 6671 2911 1755138|2426| 133 STREET TRAFFIC. TABLE SHOWING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF EACH DESCRIPTION OF VEHICLE PASSING THROUGH CERTAIN STREETS WITHIN THE CITY OF London, bE- LONDON, TWEEN THE HOURS OF 8 A.M. AND 8 P.M. (12 HOURS.) Date. Situation. Total Number of Vehicles drawn by Equestrians. 1 Horse and 2 Horses, 3 Horses or more. Total of the whole. Average Number per Hour. 1 Horse and Equestrians. 2 Horses. 3 Horses or more. Average of the whole. 8th July, 1850. Temple Bar Gate 9th 10th "" "} 23 * 11th 12th "> "" Newgate-street, by Old Bailey >> Aldersgate-street, by Fann-street 5035 2498 208 Holborn Hill, by St. Andrew's Church 4974 1797 Ludgate Hill, by Pilgrim-street 4259 2483 4484 1795 1990 479 135 7741 6906 419 208 17 414 645 149 11 575 87 6829 354 207 7 569 • 96 6375 373 149 8 531 121 2590 165 40 10 215 13th "" Cheapside, by Foster-lane 7107 3794 152 11053 592 316 12 921 15th ,, Poultry, by Mansion House 6283 3869 122 10274 523 332 10 856 16th " 17th 18th 19th 20th 22nd 23rd 24th 25th وو "J Finsbury Pavement, by South-place Cornhill, by Royal Exchange Threadneedle-street 2904 1458 98 4460 242 121 8 371 2761 2074 81 4916 230 172 7 409 1536 587 27 2150 128 49 2 179 }) >> J دو دو Gracechurch-st., by St. Peter's-alley • 3505 1223 159 4887 292 102 13 407 Lombard-street, by Birchin-lane JJ " Bishopsgate-st., by Great St. Helen's London Bridge " J Bishopsgate-st., out, by City Boundy. 2769 1273 ور وو Aldgate High-street, ditto 3222 1378 26th Leadenhall-street, East India House • 3970 27th Eastcheap, by Philpot-lane 29th Tower-street, by Mark-lane 30th 31st " " Lower Thames-st., by Botolph-lane Blackfriars Bridge. 2019 195 3270 1477 95 4842 9351 3389 359 13099 4110 4754 1841 119 5930 3481 464 157 4102 2416 369 105 1187 152 14 2228 168 16 1 185 272 123 8 403 779 282 30 1091 G8 154 230 106 268 114 12 5 342 396 330 153 10 494 290 38 13 341 2890 201 30 8 240 41 1380 98 12 3 115 4132 935 195 5262 344 78 16 438 1st Aug. 2nd "" 3rd Upper Thames-st., rear of Queen-st. Smithfield Bars Fenchurch-street 1756 428 147 2331 146 35 12 194 • " 2843 193 72 3108 3050 518 74 3642 237 16 254 6 259 43 6 303 88304 34669❘ 2886 125859 7358 2889 240 10488 284 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the refuse of the sole remaining materials, viz., those of an earthy kind, and out of which are made our bricks, our earthenware and porcelain, as well as our glass, plaster, and stone com- modities. What becomes of all these materials when the articles made of them are no longer fit for use? The old glass is, like the old metal, re- melted and made into new commodities; some broken bottles are used for the tops of walls as a protection against trespassers; and the old bricks, when sound, are employed again for inferior brick- work; but what becomes of the rest of the earthen materials-the unsound bricks or bats," the old plaster and mortar, the refuse slates and tiles and chimney-pots, the broken pans, and dishes, and other crocks-in a word, the pot- sherds and pansherds *, as the rubbish-carters call them what is done with these? But rubbish, as we have seen, consists not only of refuse earthen commodities, but of refuse earth itself: such as the soil removed during excava- tions for the foundations of houses, for the cuttings of railways, the levelling of roads, the formation of parks, the laying down of pipes or drains, and the sinking of wells. For each and all of these operations there is necessarily a certain quantity of soil removed, and the question that naturally occurs to the mind is, what is done with it? There is, moreover, a third kind of rubbish, which, though having an animal origin, consists chiefly of earthy matter, and that is the shells of oysters, and other shell-fish. Whence go they, since these shells are of a comparatively indestruct ible nature, and thousands of such fish are con- sumed annually in the metropolis? What, the inquirer asks, becomes of the refuse bony cover- ings of such fish? Let us first, however, endeavour to estimate what quantity of each of these three kinds of rubbish is annually produced in London, begin- ning with the refuse earthen commodities. There is no published account of the quantity of crockeryware annually manufactured in this country. Mr. McCulloch tells us, "It is esti- mated, that the value of the various sorts of carthenware produced at produced at the potteries may amount to about 1,700,000l. or 1,800,000l. a year; and that the earthenware produced at Worcester, Derby, and other parts of the country, may amount to about 850,000l. or more, making the whole value of the manufacture 2,550,000l. or 2,650,000l. a year." What proportion of this quantity may fall to the share of the metropolis, and what proportion of the whole may be annually destroyed, I know of no means of judging. We must therefore go some other way to work in order to arrive at the required information. Now, it has been before shown, that the quantity of "dust," or dry refuse from houses, annually col- lected, amounts to 900,000 tons or chaldrons yearly; and I find, on inquiry at the principal yards,” that the average quantity of Potsherds This is the Saxon sceard, which means a sheard, remnant, or fragment, and is from the verb seeran, sig- nifiing both to shear and to share or divide. The low Dutch schaard is a piece of pot, a fragment. | and broken crockery is at the rate of about half a bushel to every load of dust, or say 1 per cent. out of the entire quantity collected. At other yards, I find the proportion of sherds to be about the same, so that we may fairly assume that the gross quantity of broken earthenware produced in London is in round numbers 9000 loads or tons per annum. The sherds run about 250 pieces to the bushel, and assuming every five of such pieces to be the remains of an entire article, there would be in each bushel the fragments of fifty earthenware vessels; and thus the total quantity of crockeryware destroyed yearly in the metropolis will amount to 18,000,000 vessels. As to the quantity of refuse bricks, the number annually produced, which is between 1,500,000,000 and 2,000,000,000, will give us no knowledge of the quantity yearly converted into rubbish. In order to arrive at this, we must ascertain the number of houses pulled down in the course of the twelvemonth; and I find, by the Returns of the Registrar-General, that the buildings removed between 1841 and 1851 have been as follows:— DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HOUSES THROUGHOUT LONDON BETWEEN 1841 AND 1851. St, Martin's A St. James's, Westminster St. Giles's Strand Holborn East London West London • London, City of Whitechapel Total Annual Decrease in Average 10 Years. Decrease. 116 11.6 130 13.0 • 181 18.1 389 38.9 86 $.6 11 1·1 265 26.5 • 592 59.2 2 •2 46 4.6 158 15.8 1976 197.6 St. Saviour's, Southwark St. Olave's Total Thus, then, we perceive that there have been, upon an average, very nearly 200 houses annually pulled down in London within the last ten years, and I find, on inquiry among those who are likely to be the best-informed on such matters, that each house so pulled down will yield from 40 to 50 loads of rubbish; so that, altogether, the quantity of refuse bricks, slates, tiles, chimney- pots, &c., annually produced in London must be no less than 8000 loads. But the above estimate refers only to those houses which have been pulled down and never rebuilt; so that, in order to arrive at the gross quantity of this kind of rubbish yearly produced in the metropolis, we must add to the preceding amount the quantity accruing from such houses as are pulled down and built up again, or newly fronted and repaired, which are by far the greater number. These, I find, may be estimated at between 5 and 10 per cent. of the gross number of houses in LONDON. LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 285 ( the metropolis. In some quarters (the older parts of London, for instance,) the proportion is much higher, while in the suburbs, or newer districts, it is scarcely half per cent. Each of the houses so new-fronted or repaired may be said to yield, on an average, 10 loads of rubbish, and, at this rate, the yearly quantity of refuse bricks, mortar, &c., proceeding from such a source, will be 150,000 loads per annum; so that the total amount of rubbish produced in London by the demolition and reparation of houses would appear to be about 160,000 loads yearly. | oyster-shells actually produced in London may be said to average between 25,000 and 30,000 loads per annum. There still remains the quantity of refuse earth to be calculated; this may be estimated as follows :— 1. Foundations of Houses.-Each house that is built requires the ground to be excavated from two to three yards deep, the average area of each being about nine yards square. This gives be- tween 160 and 200 cubic yards of earth removed from the foundation of each house. A cubic yard of earth is a load, so that there are between 160 and 200 loads of earth displaced in the building of every new house. The following statement shows—— THE NUMBER OF HOUSES BUILT THroughout LONDON BETWEEN 1841 AND 1851. West Districts. Central Districts East Districts South Districts. Total The quantity of refuse oyster shells may easily be found by the number of oysters annually sold in Billingsgate-market. These, from the returns which I obtained from the market salesmen, and printed at p. 63 of the first volume of this work, appear to be, in round numbers, 500,000,000; and, calculating that one-third of this quantity is sent into the country, the total number of shells. remaining in the metropolis may be estimated at about 650,000,000. Reckoning, then, that 500 shells go to the bushel (the actual number was found experimentally to be between 525 and 550), and consequently that 20,000 are contained in every load, we may conclude that the gross quan- North Districts. tity of refuse oyster shells annually produced in London average somewhere about 30,000 loads. That this is an approximation to the true quantity there can be little doubt, for, on inquiry at one of the largest dust-yards, I was informed by the hill- man that the quantity of oyster-shells collected with the refuse dust from houses in the vicinity of Shoreditch, Whitechapel, and other localities at the east-end of the metropolis, averages 6 bushels to the load of dust; about the west-end, however, half a bushel or a bushel to each load is the ave- rage ratio; while from the City there is none, the house "dust" there being free from oyster-shells. In taking one district, however, with another, I am assured that the average may be safely com- puted at 2 bushels of oyster-shells to every 3 loads of dust; hence, as the gross amount of house-dust is equal to 900,000 tons or loads per annum, the quantity of refuse oyster-shells collected yearly by the dustmen may be taken at 15,000 loads. But, besides these, there is the quantity got rid of by the costermongers, which seldom or never appear in the dust-bins. The costers sell about 124,000,000 oysters per annum, and thus the extra quantity of shells resulting from these means would be about 12,400 loads; so that the gross quantity of refuse • Total No. of Houses built in 10 Years. Average No. of Houses built per Year. 9,624 13,778 962.4 1377.8 • 349 8,343 14,807 34.9 834.3 1480 7 46,901 4690·1 Hence, estimating the number of new houses built yearly in the metropolis at 4500, the total quantity of earth removed for the foundations of the buildings throughout London would be 800,000 loads per annum. 2. The Cuttings of Railways.-The railways formed within the area of the metropolis during the last ten years have been-the Great Northern; the Camden Town, and Bow; the West India Docks and Bow; and the North Kent Lines. The extension of the Southampton Railway from Vauxhall to Waterloo-bridge, as well as the Richmond Line, has also been formed within the same period, but for these no cuttings have been made. The Railway Cuttings made within the area of the Metropolis Proper during the last ten years have been to the following extent - Width of Cutting. } RAILWAYS. Great Northern Camden Town and Bow • West India Docks and Bow North Kent Length of Cutting. Depth of Cutting. Quantity of earth Removed. At top. At bottom. Miles. Yards. Yards. Yards. Loads. -2-2 112OI 11 12 10 10 290,400 1 1/ 12 10 10 290,400 15 10 12 528,000 15 10 12 528,000 Hence, the gross quantity of earth removed from | been 1,636,800 loads, or say, in round numbers, railway cuttings within the last ten years has 160,000 loads per annum. 286 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 3. The Cutting of Roads and Streets.-Ac- | its own special "shoot," as it is called, for rub- cording to a Return presented to Parliament, there bish, of which the following are the principal. were 200 miles of new streets formed within the Rubbish shoots. metropolitan police district between the years 1839-49; but in the formation of these no earth has been taken away; on the contrary a con- siderable quantity has been required for their construction. In the case of the lowering of Holborn-hill, that which was removed from the top was used to fill up the hollow. 4. The Formation of Parks.-The only park that has been constructed during the last ten years in the metropolis is Victoria Park, at the east end of the town; but I am informed that, in the course of the works there, no earth was carted away, the soil which was removed from one part being used for the levelling of another. 5. Pipe and Sewer Works.-The earth dis- placed in the course of these operations is usually put back into the ground whence it was taken, excepting in the formation of some new sewer, and then a certain proportion has to be carted away. Upon inquiry among those who are likely to be best informed, I am assured that 1000 loads may be taken as the quantity carted away in the course of the last year. 6. Well-sinking.-In this there has been but little done. Those who are best informed assure me that within the last ten years no such works of any magnitude have been executed. The account as to the quantity of rubbish re- moved in London, then, stands thus :- Refuse Earthen Materials. Potsherds and Pansherds Old bricks, tiles, slates, mortar, &c. Oyster-shells Refuse Earth. Foundations of houses Railway cuttings Pipe and sewer laying · • Loads per Annum. 9,000 160,000 25,000 800,000 160,000 1,000 1,155,000 Thus, then, we perceive that the gross quantity of rubbish that has to be annually removed throughout the metropolis is upwards of 1,000,000 loads per annum. Now what is done with the vast amount of refuse matter? Whither is it carried? How is it disposed of? The rubbish from the house building or remov- ing is of no value to the master carter, and is shot gratuitously wherever there is the privilege of shooting it; this privilege, however, is very often usurped. Great quantities used to be shot in what were, until these last eight years, Bishop Bonner's Fields, but now Victoria Park. At the present time this sort of rubbish is often slily deposited in localities generally known as "the ruins," being places from which houses, and indeed streets, have been removed, and the sites left bare and vacant. But the main localities for the deposition of this kind of refuse are in the fields round about the metropolis. Each particular district appears to have The rubbish of Kensington and Chelsea is shot in the Pottery Grounds and Kensington-fields. The rubbish of St. George's Hanover-square, Marylebone, and Paddington, is shot in the fields about Notting-hill and Kilburn. The rubbish of Westminster, Strand, Holborn, St. Martin's, St. Giles's, St. James's, West- minster, West London, and Southwark, is shot in Cubitt's fields at Millbank and West- minster improvements. The rubbish of Hampstead is shot in the fields at back of Haverstock-hill. The rubbish of Saint Pancras is shot in the Copenhagen-fields. The rubbish of Islington, Clerkenwell, and St. Luke's, is shot in the Eagle Wharf-road and Shepherdess-fields. The rubbish of East London and City is shot in the Haggerstone-fields. The rubbish of Whitechapel, St. George's in the East, and Stepney, is shot in Stepney fields. The rubbish of Hackney, Bethnal-green, and Shoreditch, is shot in the Bonkers-pond, Hackney-road. The rubbish of Poplar is shot in the fields at back of New Town, Poplar. The rubbish of Bermondsey is shot in the Bermondsey fields. The rubbish of Newington, Camberwell, and Lambeth, is shot in Walworth-common and Kennington-fields. The rubbish of Wandsworth is shot in Potters- hole, Wandsworth-common. The rubbish of Greenwich and Lewisham is shot in Russia-common, near Lewisham. The rubbish of Rotherhithe is used for ballast. The quantity of rubbish annually shot in each of the above-mentioned localities appears to range from 5000 up to as high as 30,000 and 40,000 loads. Of the earth removed in forming the founda- tion of new houses, between one-fourth and one- sixth of the whole is used to make the gardens at the back, and the bed of the roads in front of them, while the entire quantity of the soil dis- placed in the execution of the "cuttings" of rail- ways is carted away in the trucks of the company to form embankments in other places. Hence there would appear to be about from 160,000 to 200,000 loads of refuse bricks, potsherds, pan- sherds, and oyster-shells, and about 600,000 loads of refuse earth deposited every year in the fields or "shoots" in the vicinity of the metropolis. The refuse earth displaced in forming the foun- dations of houses is generally carted away by the builders' men, so that it is principally the refuse bricks, &c., that the rubbish-carters are engaged in removing; these they in removing; these they usually carry to the shoots already indicated, or to such other localities where the hard core may be needed for forming the foundation of roads, or the rubbish be re- quired for certain other purposes. The principal use to which the "rubbish” is put LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 287 is for levelling, when the hollow part of any newly-made road has to be filled up, or garden or lawn ground has to be levelled for a new mansion. Rubbish, at one time, was in demand for the bal- lasting of small coasting vessels. For such bal- lasting 2d. a ton has to be paid to the corporation of the Trinity House. This rubbish has been used, but sometimes surreptitiously, for ballast, unmixed with other things. It is, however, light and inferior ballast, and occupies more space than the gravel ballast from the bed of the Thames. Suppose that a collier requires ballast to the extent of 60 tons; if house rubbish be used it will occupy the hold to a greater height by about 10 inches than would the ballast derived from the bed of the Thames. The Thames ballast is sup- plied at 1s. a ton; the rubbish-ballast, however, was only 3d. to 6d. a ton, but now it is seldom used unless to mix with manure, which might be considered too wet and soft, and likely to ferment on the voyage to a degree unpleasant even to the mariners used to such freights. The rubbish, I am told, checks the fermentation, and gives consistency to the manure. I am assured by a tradesman, who ships a con- siderable quantity of stable manure collected from the different mews of the metropolis, that com- paratively little rubbish is now used for ballast (unless in the way I have stated); even for mixing, but a few tons a week are required up and down the river, and perhaps a small quantity from the wharfs on the several canals. Nothing was ever paid for the use of this rubbish as ballast, the carters being well satisfied to have the privilege of shooting it. Two of the principal shoots by the river side were at Bell-wharf, Shadwell, and off Wapping-street. The rubbish of Rotherhithe, it will be seen, is mainly "shot" as ballast. The "hard-core" is readily got rid of; some- times it is shot gratuitously (or merely with a small gratuity for beer to the men); but if it have to be carted three or four miles, it is from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a load. This is used for the foundations of houses, the groundwork of roads, and other pur- poses where a hard substratum is required. The hard-core on a new road is usually about nine inches deep. There are on an average 20 miles of streets, 15 yards wide, formed annually in London. Hence there would be upwards of 100,000 loads of hard-core required for this purpose alone. Where the soil is of a gravelly nature, but little hard rubbish is needed. Oyster- shells did form a much greater portion than they do now of the hard substratum of roads. Eight or nine years ago the costermongers could sell their oyster-shells for 6d. a bushel. Now they cannot, or do not, sell them at all; and the law not only forbids their deposit in any place whatever, but forbids their being scattered in the streets, under a penalty of 51. But as the same law provides no place where these shells may be deposited, the costermongers are in what one of them described to me as "a quandary." One man, who with his wife kept two stalls in Tottenham Court-road, one for fish (fresh and dried) and for shell-fish, and the other for fruit and vege- "one of those poor tables, told me that he gave long-legged fellows who were neither men nor boys, and who were always starving and hang- ing about for a two-penny job, two-pence to carry away a hamper-full of shells and get rid of them as he best could. O, where he put them, sir," said the man, "I don't know, I wouldn't know; and I shouldn't have mentioned it to you, only I saw you last winter and know you're in- quiring for an honest purpose." "" Another costermonger who has a large barrow of oysters and mussels, and sometimes of "wet fish near King's-cross, and at the junction of Leather-lane with Back-hill, Leather-lane with Back-hill, Hatton-garden, was more communicative: "If you'll walk on with me, sir," he said, "I'll show you where they 're shot. You may mention my name if you like, sir; I don't care a d for the crushers; not a blessed d' He accordingly conducted me to a place which seemed adapted for the special purpose. At the foot of Saffron-hill and the adjacent streets runs the Fleet-ditch, now a branch of the common sewers; not covered over as in other parts, but open, noisome, and, as the dark water flows on, throwing up a sickening stench. The ditch is in- differently fenced, so that any one with a little precaution may throw what he pleases into it. "There, sir," said my companion, "there's the place where more oyster-shells is thrown than anywhere in London. They're thrown in in the dark." Assuredly the great share of blame is not to those who avail themselves of such places for illegal purposes, but to those who leave such filthy receptacles available. The scattered oyster- shells along all the approaches, on both sides, to this part of the open Fleet-ditch, evince the use that is made of it in violation of the law. Many of the costers, however, keep the shells by them till they amount to several bushels, and then give the rubbish-carters a few pence to dispose of them for them. Some of the costermongers, again, obtain leave to deposit their oyster-shells in the dustmen's yards, where quantities may be seen whitening the dingy dust-heaps, and a large quantity are collected with the house-dust and ashes, together with the broken crockery from the dust-bins of the several houses. The oyster-shells are carted away with the pan- sherds, &c., for the purposes I have mentioned. I now come to deal with the rubbish-carters, that is to say, with the labourers engaged in the removal of the "hard" species of refuse; of which we have seen there are between 160,000 and 200,000 loads annually carted away; the refuse earth, or "soft dirt," being generally removed by the builders' men, and the refuse, crockery ware, &c., by the dustmen, when collecting the dust from the "bins" of the several houses. The master Rubbish-Carters are those who keep carts and horses to be hired for carting away the old materials when houses or walls are pulled down. They are also occasionally engaged in carrying away the soil or rubbish thrown up from the foundations of buildings; the excava- tions of docks, canals, and sewers; the digging 288 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. of artesian wells, &c. This seems to comprise | what in this carrying or removing trade is ac- counted "rubbish." Perhaps not one of these tradesmen is solely a rubbish-carter, for they are likewise the carters of new materials for the use of builders, such as lime, bricks, stone, gravel, slates, timber, iron- work, chimney-pieces, &c. Some of them are public carmen; licensed carmen if they work, or ply, in the City; but beyond the City boundaries no licence is necessary. This complication per- plexes the inquiry, but I purpose to confine it, as much as possible, to the rubbish-carters proper, having defined what may be understood by "rubbish." These carters are also employed in digging, pick-axing, &c., at the buildings, the rubbish of which they are engaged to remove. Among the conveyors of rubbish are no dis- tinctions as to the kind. Any of them will one week cart old bricks from a house which has been pulled down, and the next week be busy in re- moving the soil excavated where the foundations and cellars of a new mansion have been dug. From inquiries made in each of the different districts of the metropolis, there appear to be from 140 to 150 tradesmen who, with the carting | of bricks, lime, and other building commo- dities, add also that of rubbish-carting. These masters" among them find employment for 840 labouring men, some of whom I find to have been in the service of the same employer upwards of 20 years. 66 The Post-Office Directory, under the head of rubbish-carters, gives the names of only 35 of the principal masters, of whom several are marked as scavagers, dust-contractors, nightmen, and road- contractors. The occupation abstract of the census, on the other hand, totally ignores the existence of any such class of workmen, masters as well as operatives. I find, however, by actual visitation and inquiry in each of the metropolitan districts, and thus learning the names of the several masters as well as the number of men in their employment, that there may be said to be, in round numbers, 150 master rubbish-carters, employing among them 840 operatives throughout London. A large proportion of this number of labouring men, however, are casual hands, who have been taken on when the trade was busy during the summer (which is the the "brisk season " of rubbish-cartage), and who are discharged in the slack time; during which period they obtain jobs at dust-carting or scavaging, or some such out- door employment. Among the employers there are scarcely any who are purely rubbish-carters, the large majority consisting of dust and road- contractors, carmen, dairymen, and persons who have two or three horses and carts at their dis- posal. When a master builder or bricklayer obtains a contract, he hires horses and carts to take away any rubbish which may previously have been deposited. The contract of the King's Cross Terminus of the Great Northern Railway, for instance, has been undertaken by Mr. W. Jay, the builder; and, not having sufficient con- | veyances to cart the rubbish away, he has hired horses and carts of others to assist in the removal of it. The same mode is adopted in other parts of the metropolis, where any improvements are going on. The owners of horses and carts let them out to hire at from 7s. for one horse, to 14s. for two per day. If, however, the job be un- usually large, the master rubbish-carters often take it by contract themselves. Although the operative rubbish-carters may be classed among unskilled labourers, they are, per- haps, less miscellaneous, as a body, than other classes of open-air workers. Before they can obtain work of the best description it is necessary that they should have some knowledge of the management of a horse in the drawing of a loaded carriage, or of the way in which the animal should be groomed and tended in the stable. I was told by an experienced carman, that he, or any one with far less than his experience, could in a moment detect, merely by the mode in which a man would put the harness on a horse and yoke him to the cart, whether he was likely to prove a master of his craft in that line or not. My informant had noticed, more especially many years ago, when labour was not so abundantly obtain- able as it was last year, that men out of work would offer him their services as carmen even if they had never handled a whip in their lives, as if little inore were wanted than to walk by the horse's side. An experienced carter knows how to ease and direct the animal when heavily bur- dened, or when the road is rugged; and I am assured by the same informant, that he had known one of his horses more fatigued after traversing a dozen miles with a "yokel" (as he called him), or an incompetent man, than the animal had been after a fifteen miles' journey with the same load under the care of a careful and judicious driver. This knowledge of the management of a horse is most essential when men are employed to work single-handed," or have confided to them singly a horse and cart; when they work in gangs it is not insisted upon, except as regards the " car- man," or the man having charge of the horse or the team. (< The master rubbish-carters generally are more particular than they used to be as to the men to whom they commit the care of their horses. It may be easy enough to learn to drive a horse and cart, but a casual labourer will now hardly get employment in rubbish-carting of a << good sort" unless he has attained that preli- minary knowledge. The foreman of one of the principal contractors said to me, It would never do to let a man learn his business by practising on our horses." I mention this to show, that although rubbish-carting is to be classed among unskilled labours, some training is necessary. I am informed that one-third of the working rubbish-carters have been rubbish-carters from their youth, or cart, car, or waggon-drivers, for they all seem to have known changes; or they have been used to the care of horses in the capacity of ostlers, stable-men, helpers, coaching-inn por- ters, coachmen, grooms, and horse-breakers. Of ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. F should be most happy to give you any aid in my power, having heen connected with the trade the The domestic comforts greater portion of my life. in some establishments, the bad living, shameful extortions, and tyranny in others, have so long been suffered to exist, that their magnitude has become diminished, and we rest contented under the worst form of oppression." Letter No. 2 runs :- "Sir, "Having read your very excellent work, the 'London Labour and Poor,' ever since its first pub- lication, I remember having seen in some of the back numbers an intimation to one of your cor- respondents that it was your intention in course of time to treat of that class of the London labour. the Drapers. I am myself a Draper's Assistant, and having some little practical knowledge of the business, I should feel a great pleasure in giving you any information on the subject, as far as my knowledge of the peculiarities of the trade goes, if you have not already completed your inquiries; and if what little assistance I can render you in your arduous undertaking is worthy of your ac- ceptance, I should feel the greatest pleasure in contributing my mite to the immense funds of information that you have collected. A letter addressed to me, or an answer in the next num- ber of your 'London Labour and Poor,' stating the nature of the information you require on the sub- ject, shall meet with my earnest attention. "P.S. I have enclosed one of my employer's cards, to whose house, should you write, you will please address for me." The information required upon this and, indeed, every other trade is, (1) the division of labour in the trade, citing the nature of the work performed by the different classes of workmen; (2) the hours of labour; (3) the labour market, or the mode of obtaining employment; (4) the tools employed and who finds them; (5) the rate and mode of pay to each different class of workmen, dividing the wages or salaries into two classes, the "fair" and the "unfair;" (6) the deductions from the pay in the form of fines, "rents," or stoppages of any kind; (7) the additions to wages in the shape of perquisites, premiums, allowances, &c.; (8) a history of the wages of the trade, with the dates of increase or decrease in the pay, and the causes thereof; (9) the brisk and slack season of the trade, with statement of the causes on which they depend, as well as the number of extra hands required in the brisk season as compared with the slack; (10) the rate of pay to those who are "taken on" only during the brisk season; (11) the amount of surplus labour in the trade and the cause of it, whether from (a) overwork, (b) undue increase of the people in the trade, (c) change from yearly to weekly hirings, (d) excessive eco- nomy of labour, as large system" of business, (e) introduction of women; (12) the badly-paid trade-(a) the history and causes of it, (b) what is the cheap labour employed, or how do the cheap workers differ from those who are better paid are they less skilful, less trustworthy, or they can they afford to take less, deriving their subsist- ence from other sources? (c) is the badly-paid trade maintained chiefly by the labour of appren- tices, women, &c., &c.? (d) is it upheld by mid- dlemen, "sweaters," or the like? (e) are the men injured by driving (that is, by being made to do more work for the same money) or by grinding (that is, by being made to do the same or more work for less money), or are they injured from a combination of both systems? (f) who are the employers paying the worse wages? "cutting men," that is to say, men who are reducing the mens' wages as a means of selling cheap; or are they "grasping men," who do it merely to increase their profits; or small capitalists, who do it in order to live? Proofs should be given of all stated. Accounts of earnings and expenditure are of the greatest importance; also descriptions of modes of life and habits, politics, religion, literature, and amusements of the trade; estimates of the number in trade with the proportion belonging to the better aud the worse paid class, and the quantity of sur- plus hands. If any trade and benefit society, an account of it would be desirable; if not, what do men, in case of sickness? An eminent antiquarian has kindly forwarded the following in explanation of the term dosses." He says:- "Dear Sir, rere- "Thinking you might be anxious for an answer to your rere-doss' query, I have had copied from Parker's Glossary of Architecture' such portion of his explanation as I thought would answer "Yours truly, your purpose. The extract is here appended: Reredos, dossel (retable, Fr.; postergule, Ital.), the wall or screen at the back of an altar, seat, &c.; it was usually ornamented with panelling, &c., especially behind an altar, and sometimes was enriched with a profusion of niches, buttresses, pinnacles, statues, and other decorations, which were often painted with brilliant colours. ancient domestic halls, was likewise called a "The open fire-hearth, frequently used in reredos. "In the description of Britain prefixed to Holinshed's Chronicles,' we are told that form- erly, before chimneys were common in mean erly, before chimneys were dosse in the hall, where he dined and dressed his houses, each man made his fire against a rere- meat.'" This is all very satisfactory. The original word would appear to have been dosel or rere-dosel; for Kelham, in his 'Norman Dictionary,' explains the word doser or dosel to signify a hanging or canopy of silk, silver, or gold work, under which kings or great personages sit; also the back of a chair of state (the word being probably a de- rivative of the Latin dorsum, the back. Dos, in slang, means a bed, a dossing crib" being a sleeping-place, and has clearly the same origin). A rere-dos or rere-dosel would thus appear to have been a screen placed behind anything; and, + ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. applied to fires, it would seem to have signified a low wall erected at the back of them. I am told, that in the old houses in the north of England such erections may, to this day, occasionally be seen, with an aperture behind for the insertion of plates and such other things as may require warming. Can any of my etymological friends point out the derivation of the slang term "mort or mot," a low woman, and thence a prostitute? The word mot, indeed, seems to be the generic term for prostitute; as a flash mot (a courtezan), a coolie's mot (a soldier's woman), a legger's mot (a sailor's woman), and so on. The prostitutes are occa- sionally called " marms, "or "or "ma'ams;" this ap- pears to be an abbreviation of "madams," which would scem to have been formerly used for mistresses," or kept women. Can any one oblige Mr. Mayhew with proof of this, or to the contrary? Is the term mot (or mort) connected with mother? The Russian for mother is mat; and the Sanscrit, mata; the Welsh is mam (query, ma'am). T. A. will be sent to. W. D. M.-Mr. Mayhew has no knowledge of the subject to which he refers, but his letter has been handed to the manager of the society, and that gentleman's answer shall be inserted as soon as possible. Wurtenkrämer's communication has been re- ceived and shall be printed at the earliest opportu- nity. Mr. Mayhew is deeply indebted to R. W. for his offer of assistance; he hopes to be able to insert the communication in the next number, when a few words of comment will be appended thereto. T. A.'s letter from Liverpool shall be printed, probably in the next number. The objection he raises is sound, though far from unanswerable. G. H. is thanked, and shall be attended to. Mrs. R. of Hertford shall be answered privately, as she requests. SEQUEL TO THE "GREATEST PLAGUE OF LIFE." Now published, WITH AN ETCHING BY KENNY MEADOWS, PART I., to be continued THE Monthly, Price One Shilling each, SHABBY FAMMERLY; Or, SOME ACCOUNT OF MY MISSUSES, expojed by EMMERLY TIDDIVATE (late "Fam de Sham" to the Fam- merly, though really and truly I were nothink but a common Housemaid, and worked off my legs). RIMMEL'S TOILET VINEGAR will be found far preferable to any Eau de Cologne as a tonic and refreshing lotion for the Toilet or Bath, removing all freckles, pimples, and irrita- tion. It forms also a delightful and reviving perfume, a pleasant dentifrice, and a powerful disinfectant in apart- ments or sick rooms. Its useful and sanitary properties render it an indispensable requisite in all families. Price 2s. 6d. and 5s. To be had of E. RIMMEL, Perfumer, 39, Gerard-street, Soho, London; of all Perfumers and Chemists; and at the Exposition, 58, Baker-street. On Monday, July 28th, was published, Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings of (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; and (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE STREET-FOLK. The London Costermongers. The Street-Sellers of Fish. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF The Street-Sellers of Fruit and Vegetables. The Street Irish. The Street-Sellers of Game and Poultry. The Street-Sellers of Trees, Shrubs, Flowers, and Roots. The Street-Sellers of Eatables and Drinkables. The Street-Sellers of Stationery, Literature, and the Fine Arts. The Low Lodging-houses. The Street-Sellers of Manufactured Articles. The Female Street-Sellers. The Children Street-Sellers. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000%. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Office, 16, Upper Wellington-street, Strand. No. 52. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, DEC. 6, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. WATHMEAN OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Wortenkramer writes:- “As I can, I think, answer two questions at once in a satisfactory manner, viz., the origin of the word 'Haberdasher' and the meaning of the 'Daylie Oratour,' I again offer my mite to the valuable information contained in your interesting publication. In a foot note to my former letter on the word 'haberdasher,' you inquire 'What is a berdash? As I could give no further elucidation of it than my letter contained on the authority of the German Dictionary of Bailey, and Fahren- krüger, viz., a neckerchief, formerly worn (eine chemalage Halstuchart), I did not further trouble you, the more especially, as I certainly had not followed dialectic or any other scientific mode of derivation, conceiving that those means had been previously tried unsuccessfully, and that the derivation must be looked for in some such corruptions of sound as 'hocus pocus,' from hoc cst corpus. In turning over, however, the pages of N. Bailey's Dictionary, I stumbled upon the word Tatch, a sort of fastening, a loop or button, &c.,' and it occurred to me that the answer to your question, what is a 'berdash?' was here solved, and that the true meaning of berdash is a beard-tatch; that is, a beard-tie, something tied under the beard, or, in other words, a necker chief. This agrees with the definition in Bailey and Fahrenkruger's Dictionary, the English-German part of which is so excellent that I cannot for a moment suppose the derivation to be fanciful. The change from beard-tatch into 'berdash' does not violate any rule of etymology, and if I have at last set the origin of the word 'haberdasher ' at rest, it is somewhat curious that the ladies' girdle and the gentlemen's neckcloth should have given names to the Haberdasher's and Girdler's Companies of the city of London. "As regards the Daylie Oratour,' it is merely a form of petition, as one of your correspondents suggests; it is nearly disused; but I have within the last year seen a bill in the Irish Court of Chancery, beginning in the old form Your sup- pliant and daily orator sheweth unto your Lord- ship. In England to this day, the bills begin, Your orator sheweth.' "Gray's-Inn." "Your obedient Servant, "WORTENKRAMER. The above derivation of berdash is unfortu- nately neither dialectic nor historic, but purely conjectural. In this manner, with the exercise of the least ingenuity, almost any origin may be ascribed to words. When Wortenkramer finds the word "berdash" in a foreign tongue, dif- ferently spelt, but with the letters changed accord- ing to the Phonetic Canons laid down by Grimm and Bopp, and meaning literally a neckerchief, then will he have troubled himself to some pur- pose; as it is, he is quite at sea. Berdash and beard-tash, or beard-tie, for neckcloth, is very much in the "king Jeremiah" style of philology. The historic evidence concerning the meaning of the phrase "daylic oratour" is of a different nature, being at once explanatory and sound. The subjoined is from a working tailor, who sends an account of his wages and expenditure for several years-statistics which are of the utmost possible importance, especially when the writer accompanies them with vouchers for his credibility. It were indeed to be wished that all trades would do the same; for it is only in this way that any proof as to wages can be arrived at. A workman's actual weekly wages are often so different from his nominal weekly wages, and his casual receipts per week frequently consider- ably less than his constant income, while the gains of a particular individual cannot possibly form a criterion of the general earnings of the whole trade; so that it is solely by the collection of a large number of facts any accurate and com- There are no prehensive result can be obtained. less than six different kinds of wages in every trade, and it is absolutely essential that each be distinguished from the other. The two first kinds refer to a man's weekly wages. To ascertain a man's actual weekly wage, we deduct all fines and stoppages from his nominal weekly wage, or else we add to it all perquisites, allowances, and the like; the nominal wage being what he is said to receive per week for his labour, and the actual what he really does receive from his em- ployer. To arrive at a man's constant (or average casual) wage, we must multiply his actual weekly wage by the number of weeks he has been employed, and divide by 52 (the total number of A man whose weeks throughout the year). actual weekly wages amount to 17., and who is casually employed for six months in the year, will have had only 10s. for a constant (or average The general casual) wage throughout the year. wage of a trade is to be arrived at solely by dividing the gross amount paid for labour in the course of the year-first, by the entire number of labourers; and, secondly, by the total number of tailors may carn, on an average, 17. a week the weeks in the year. The better paid journeymen year through; fully employed and casual men as well; and the slop-tailors, 10s. a week; and thus the general wages, as contradistinguished from the individual, will be 15s. per week. It is highly necessary for a right understanding of the wage question that each form of wage be dis- tinguished, for one kind of wage is no guide to the other. "DEAR SIR, "Reading in your work, London Labour,' No. 40, an account of wages by R. H. (though I do not quite like the way he averages it, but which supplies some information as far as it goes), I beg leave to send you an account of mine, as journeyman tailor, for the last ten years, the time I have been married (my wedding-day LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 307 use of machinery, that a pillow lacemaker must now work twelve hours daily to earn 2s. 6d. a week." The last of the conditions above cited, as causing the same or a greater amount of work to be exe- cuted with a less quantity of labour, is the large system of production Mr. Babbage and Mr. Mill have so well and fully pointed out of labour" effected in this manner, that I can- not do better than quote from them upon this subject:- "the economy which determines whether the economy of labour produced by these means is a blessing or a curse to the nation. To apply mechanical power, the division of labour, the large system of production, or indeed any other means of enabling a less number of labourers to do the same amount of work when the quantity of work to be done is limited in its nature, as, for instance, the threshing | of corn, the sawing of wood, &c., is necessarily to make either paupers or criminals of those who were previously honest independent men, living by the exercise of their industry in that particular direction. Economize your labour one-half, in "Even when no additional subdivision of the connection with a particular article, and you must work," says Mr. Mill, "would follow an enlarge- sell twice the quantity of that article or displacement of the operations, there will be good economy a certain number of the labourers; that is to say, suppose it requires 400 men to produce 4000 com- modities in a given time, then, if you enable 200 men to produce the same quantity in the same time, you must get rid of 8000 commodities, or deprive a certain number of labourers of their ordinary means of living. Indeed, the proposition is almost self-evident, though generally ignored by social philosophers: economize your labour at a greater rate than you expand your markets, and you must necessarily increase your paupers and criminals in precisely the same ratio. The division of labour," says Mr. Mill, following Adam Smith, "is limited by the extent of the market. If by the separa- tion of pin-making into ten distinct employments 48,000 pins can be made in a day, this separation will only be advisable if the number of accessible consumers is such as to require every day some- thing like 48,000 pins. If there is a demand for only 25,000, the division of labour can be advan- tageously carried but to the extent which will every day produce that smaller number." Again, as regards the large system of production, the same authority says, "the possibility of substitu- ting the large system of production for the small depends, of course, on the extent of the market. The large system can only be advantageous when a large amount of business is to be done; it implies, therefore, either a populous and flourish ing community, or a great opening for exportation." But these are mere glimmerings of the broad in- controvertible principle, that the economization of labour at a greater rate than the expansion of the markets, is nccessarily the cause of surplus labour in a community. | The effect of machinery in depriving the families of agricultural labourers of their ordinary sources of income is well established. "Those countries," | writes Mr. Thornton, "in which the class of agri- cultural labourers is most depressed, have all one thing in common. Each of them was formerly the seat of a flourishing manufacture carried on by the cottagers at their own homes, which has now decayed or been withdrawn to other situations. Thus, in Buckinghamshire and Bed- fordshire, the wives and children of labouring men had formerly very profitable occupation in making lace; during the last war a tolerable lace- maker, working eight hours a day, could easily earn 10s. or 12s. a week; the profits of this em- ployment have been since so much reduced by the No. XLIV. in enlarging them to the point at which every person to whom it is convenient to assign a special occupation will have full employment in that occupation." This point is well illustrated by Mr. Babbage: :-"If machines be kept working through the 24 hours" [which is evidently the only economical mode of employing them], "it is necessary that some person shall attend to admit the workmen at the time they relieve each other; and whether the porter or other servant so em- ployed admit one person or twenty, his rest will be equally disturbed. It will also be necessary occasionally to adjust or repair the machine; and this can be done much better by a workman accustomed to machine-making than by the person who uses it. Now, since the good performance and the duration of machines depend, to a very great extent, upon correcting every shake or imperfection in their parts as soon as they appear, the prompt attention of a workman resident on the spot will considerably reduce the expenditure arising from the wear and tear of the machinery. But in the case of a single lace-frame, or a single loom, this would be too expensive a plan. Here, then, arises another circumstance, which tends to enlarge the extent of the factory. It ought to consist of such a number of machines as shall occupy the whole time of one workman in keeping them in order. them in order. If extended beyond that number the same principle of economy would point out the necessity of doubling or tripling the number of machines, in order to employ the whole time of two or three skilful workmen. Where one portion of the workman's labour consists in the exertion of mere physical force, as in weaving, and in many similar arts, it will soon occur to the manufacturer that, if that part were executed by a steam-engine, the same man might, in the case of weaving, attend to two or more looms at once; and, since we already suppose that one or more operative engineers have been employed, the number of looms may be so arranged that their time shall be fully occupied in keeping the steam- engine and the looms in order. "Pursuing the same principles, the manufactory becomes gradually so enlarged that the expense of lighting during the night amounts to a consider- able sum; and as there are already attached to the establishment persons who are up all night, and can therefore constantly attend to it, and also engineers to make and keep in repair any T 308 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. machinery, the addition of an apparatus for mak- ing gas to light the factory leads to a new exten- sion, at the same time that it contributes, by diminishing the expense of lighting and the risk of accidents from fire, to reduce the cost of ma- nufacturing. Long before a factory has reached this extent it will have been found necessary to establish an accountant's department, with clerks to pay the workmen, and to see that they arrive at their stated times; and this department must be in communication with the agents who purchase the raw produce, and with those who sell the manu- factured article. It will cost these clerks and accountants little more time and trouble to pay a large number of workmen than a small number, to check the accounts of large transactions than of small. If the business doubled itself it would probably be necessary to increase, but certainly not to double, the number either of accountants or of buying and selling agents. Every increase of business would enable the whole to be carried on with a proportionally smaller amount of labour. As a general rule, the expenses of a business do not increase by any means proportionally to the quantity of business. Let us take as an example a set of operations which we are accustomed to see carried on by one great establishment-that of the Post Office. to own a threshing machine for the small quantity of corn he has to thresh; but there is no reason why such a machine should not in every neighbourhood be owned in common, or provided by some person to whom the others pay a consideration for its use. The large farmer can make some saving in cost of carriage. There is nearly as much trouble in carrying a small portion of produce to market, as a much greater produce ; in bringing home a small, as a much larger quan- tity of manure, and articles of daily consumption. There is also the greater cheapness of buying things in large quantities." A short time ago I went into Buckinghamshire to look into the allotment system. And, in one parish of 1800 acres, I found that some years ago there were seventeen farmers who occupied, upon the average, 100 acres each, and who, previous to the immigration of the Irish harvest-men, con- stantly employed six men a-piece, or, in the aggre- gate, upwards of 100 hands. Now, however, the farmers in the same parish occupy to the extent of 300 acres each, and respectively employ only six men and a few extra hands at harvest time. Thus the number of hands employed by this system has been decreased one-half. I learned, moreover, from a clergyman there, who had resided in Wiltshire, that the same thing was going on in that county also; that small farms were giving way to large farms, and that at least half the labourers had been displaced. agricultural labourers, at the time of taking the last census, were 1,500,000 in number; so that, if this system be generally carried out, there must be 750,000 labourers and their families, or 3,000,000 people, deprived of their living by it. The "Suppose that the business, let us say only of the London letter-post, instead of being centralised in a single concern, were divided among five or six competing companies. Each of these would be obliged to maintain almost as large an esta- blishment as is now sufficient for the whole. Since each must arrange for receiving and deliver- ing letters in all parts of the town, each must Sir James Graham, in his evidence before the send letter-carriers into every street, and almost Committee on Criminal Commitments, has given us every alley, and this, too, as many times in the some curious particulars as to the decrease of the day as is now done by the Post Office, if the number of hands required for agricultural purposes, service is to be as well performed. Each must where the large system of production is pursued have an office for receiving letters in every neigh-in place of the small: he has told us how many bourhood, with all subsidiary arrangements for collecting the letters from the different offices and re-distributing them. I say nothing of the much greater number of superior officers who would be required to check and control the subordinates, implying not only a greater cost in salaries for such responsible officers, but the necessity, per- haps, of being satisfied in many instances with an inferior standard of qualification, and so failing in the object." hands he was cnabled to get rid of by these means, the proportion of labour displaced, it will be seen, amounted to about 10 per cent. of the labouring population. In answer to a question relative to the increase of population in his district, he replied:- "" I have myself taken very strong means to prevent it, for it so happens that my whole estate came out of lease in the year 1822, after the currency of a lease of fourteen years; and by But this refers solely to the "large system of consolidation of farms, and the destruction of business" as applied to purposes of manufacture cottages, I have diminished, upon my own pro- and distribution. In connection with agricul-perty, the population to the extent of from 300 to ture there is the same saving of labour effected. | 400 souls.' "The large farmer," says Mr. Mill, "has some advantage in the article of buildings. It does not cost so much to house a great number of cattle in one building, as to lodge them equally well in several buildings. There is also some advantage in implements. A small farmer is not so likely to possess expensive instruments. But the principal agricultural implements, even when of the best construction, are not ex- pensive. It may not answer to a small farmer "On how many acres?-On about 30,000 acres. [This is at the rate of one in every 100 acres]. "What was the whole extent of population?- It was under 4000 before I reduced it. "What became of those 300 or 400?-The greater part of them, being small tenants were, enabled to find farms on the estates of other pro- prietors, who pursued the opposite course of sub- dividing their estates for the purpose of obtaining LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 309 higher nominal rents; other's have become day | labourers, and as day labourers, I have reason to know, they are more thriving than they were on my estate as small farmers, subject to a high rent, which their want of capital seldom enabled them to pay; two or three of these families went to America. "Have you any out of work?-None entirely out of work, some only partially employed; but since the dispersion of this large mass of popula- tion, the supply of labour has not much exceeded the demand, for whenever I removed a family, I pulled down the house, and the parochial jealousy respecting settlements is an ample check on the influx of strangers." bably commenced even before the prosperity of the peasantry had reached its climax; but in 1487 it attracted the notice of Parliament, and an Act was passed to restrain its progress; for already it was observed that inclosures were be- coming more frequent, whereby arable land, which could not be manured without people and families, was turned into pasture, which was easily rid by a few herdsmen; and that 'tenancies for years, lives, and at will, whereupon most of the yeomanry lived, were turned into demesnes' * In 1533 +, An act was passed strongly condemning the practice of 'accumula- ting' farms, which it was declared had reduced 'a marvellous multitude' of the people to poverty and misery, and left them no alternative but to steal, or to die 'pitifully' of cold and hunger. In this Act it was stated that single farms might be found with flocks of from 10,000 to 20,000 sheep upon them; and it was ordained that no man should keep more than 2000 sheep, except upon his own land, or rent more than two farms. Similar to the influence of the large system of production in its displacement of labourers, as enabling a larger quantity of work to be executed by one establishment with a smaller number of hands than would be required were the amount of work to be divided into a number of smaller esta- blishments,—similar to this mode of economizing labour, is that mode of work which, by altering the produce rather than the mode of production, "Two years later it was enacted that the king and by substituting an article that requires less should have a moiety of the profits of land con- labour for one that required more, gets rid of averted (subsequently to a date specified) from large quantity of labour, and, consequently, adds to tillage to pastures, until a suitable house was the surplusage of labourers. An instance of this erected, and the land was restored to tillage. In is in the substitution of pasturage for tillage. 1552, a law‡ was made which required that on “Plough less and graze more," says Sir J. Graham, all estates as large a quantity of land as had the great economist of labour, simply because been kept in tillage for four been kept in tillage for four years together at any fewer people will be required to attend to the time since the accession of Henry VIII., should land. But this plan of grazing instead of plough- be so continued in tillage. But these, and many ing was adopted in this country some centuries subsequent enactments of the same kind, had not back, and with what effect to the labourers and the the smallest effect in checking the consolidation of people at large, the following extract from the farms. We find Roger Ascham, in Queen Eliza- work of Mr. Thornton, on over-population, will beth's reign, lamenting the dispersion of families, show:- the ruin of houses, the breaking up and destruc- tion of the noble yeomanry, the honour and strength of England.' Harrison also speaks of towns pulled down for sheep-walks; and of the tenements that had fallen either down or into the lord's hands;' or had been brought and united together by other men, so that in some manor, seventeen, eighteen, or twenty houses were shrunk.'S "The extension of the woollen manufacture was raising the price of wool; and the little attendance which sheep require was an additional motive for causing sheep farming to be preferred to tillage. Arable land, therefore, began to be converted into pasture; and the seemingly-inter- minable corn fields, which, like those of Germany at this day, probably extended for miles without having their even surface broken by fences or any other visible boundaries, disappeared. After being sown with grass they were surrounded and divided by inclosures, to prevent the sheep from straying, and to do away with the necessity of having shepherds always on the watch. By these changes the quantity of work to be done upon a farm was exceedingly diminished, and most of the servants, whom it had been usual to board and lodge in the manor and farm-houses, were dis- missed. This was not all. The married farm- servants were ousted from their cottages, which were pulled down, and their gardens and fields were annexed to the adjoining meadows. The small farmers were treated in the same way, as their leases fell in, and were sent to join the daily increasing crowd of competitors for work that was daily increasing in quantity. "Even freeholders were in some instances ejected from their lands. This social revolution had pro- one "Where have been a great many householders and inhabitants,' says Bishop Latimer, there is now but a shepherd and his dog.' And in a curious tract, published in 1581, by one William Stafford, a husbandman is made to exclaim, Marry, these inclosures do 'and undo us all, for they make us pay dearer for our land that we occupy, and causeth that we can have no land to put to tillage; all is taken up for pasture, either for sheep or for grazing of cattle, insomuch that I have known of late a dozen ploughs, within less compass than six miles about me, laid down. within this seven years; and where threescore persons or upwards had their livings, now one man, with his cattle, hath all. Those sheep is * Lord Bacon's Hist. of King Henry VII., Works, vol. v. p. 61. + 25th Henry VIII. cap. 13. 5 & 6 Edw. VI., cap. 5. § Eden's Hist. of the Poor, vol. i. p. 118. Latimer's Sermons, p. 100. } 310 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ' the cause of all our mischief, for they have driven husbandry out of the country, by which was increased before all kinds of victuals, and now altogether sheep, sheep, sheep.' While num- bers of persons were thus continually driven from their homes, and deprived of their means of live- lihood, we need not be at a loss to account for the increase of vagrancy, without ascribing it to the increase of population." As an instance, within our time, of the same mode of causing a surplusage of labourers, and so adding to the quantity of casual labour in the kingdom, viz., by the extension of pasturage and consequent diminution of tillage, we may cite the "clearances," as they were called, which took place, some few years back, in the Highlands of Scot- land. "It is only within the last few years," says the author above quoted, "that the strathes and glens of Sutherland have been cleared of their inhabitants, and that the whole country has been converted into one immense sheepwalk, over which the traveller may proceed for 40 miles together without seeing a tree or a stone wall, or anything, but a heath dotted with sheep and lambs † The example of Sutherland is imitated in the neighbouring counties. During the last four years some hundreds of families have been 'weeded' out of Ross-shire, and nearly 400 more have received notice to quit next year. Similar notice has been given to 34 families in Cromarty, and only the other day eighteen families, who were living in peace and comfort, in Glen- calvie, in Ross-shire, were expelled from the farms occupied for ages by themselves and their fore- fathers, to make room for sheep." And still we are told to "plough less and graze more !" We e now come to the last-mentioned of the cir- cumstances inducing a surplusage of labourers, and, consequently, augmenting the amount of casual labour throughout the kingdom, viz., by altering the mode of hiring the labourers. At page 236 of the present volume, I have said, in connection with this part of the subject,- Formerly the mode of hiring farm-labourers was by the year, so that the employer was bound to maintain the men when unemployed. But now weekly hirelings and even journey-work, or hiring by the day, prevail, and the labourers being paid mere subsistence-money only when wanted are necessitated to become either paupers or thieves when their services are no longer required. It is, moreover, this change from yearly to weekly and daily hirings, and the consequent discarding of men when no longer wanted, that has partly caused the immense mass of surplus labourers, who are continually vagabondizing through the country, begging or stealing as they go-men for whom there is but some two or three weeks' work (har- vesting, hop-picking, and the like) throughout the year." Blackstone, in treating of the laws relating to master and servant (the greater part of the Pictorial History of England, vol. ii. p. 900. + Reports of the" Commissioner" of the Times News- paper, in June, 1845. farm labourers or farm servants, as they were then called, being included under the latter head), tells us at page 425 of his first volume- "The first sort of servants, acknowledged by the laws of England, are MENIAL SERVANTS; so called from being inter moenia, or domestic. The contract between them and their masters arises upon the hiring. If the hiring be generally, without any particular time limited, the law construes it to be a hiring for a year (Co. Lit. 42); upon a principle of natural equity, that the servant shall serve, and the master maintain him, throughout all the revo- lutions of the respective seasons, as well when there is work to be done, as when there is not." Mr. Thornton says, " until recently it had been common for farm servants, even when married and living in their own cottages, to take their meals with their master; and, what was of more consequence, in every farm-house, many unmarried servants, of both sexes, were lodged, as well as boarded. The latter, therefore, even if ill paid, might be tolerably housed and fed, and many of them fared, no doubt, much better than they could have done if they had been left to provide for themselves, with treble their actual wages.' The Formerly throughout the kingdom-and it is a custom still prevalent in some parts, more espe- cially in the north-single men and women seek- ing engagements as farm-servants, congregated at what were called the "Hirings," held usually on the three successive market days, which were nearest to May-day and Martinmas-day. hiring was thus at two periods of the year, but the engagement was usually for the twelvemonth. By the concurrent consent, however, of master and servant, when the hiring took place, either side might terminate it at the expiration of the six months, by giving due notice; or a further hiring for a second twelvemonth could be legally effected without the necessity of again going to the hirings. The servants, even before their term of service had expired, could attend a hiring (generally held under the authority of the town's charter) as a matter of right; the master and mistress having no authority to prevent them. The Market Cross was the central point for the holding of the hirings, and the men and women, the latter usually the most numerous, stood in rows around the cross. The terms being settled, the master or mistress gave the servant a piece of money," known as a "god's penny" (the 'god's penny" (the "handsel penny "), the offer and acceptance of this god's penny being a legal ratification of the agreement, without any other step. In the old times such engagements had almost always (as shown in the term "God's penny ") a character of religious obligation. At the earliest period, the hirings were held in the church-yards; afterwards by the Market Cross. I have spoken of this matter more in the past than the present tense, for the system is greatly changed as regards the male farm- servant, though little as regards the female. Now the male farm-labourers, instead of being hired for a specific term, are more generally hired by week, by job, or by day; indeed, even "half-a-day's " work is known. At one period it was merely the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 311 married country labourers, residing in their own cottages, who were temporarily engaged, but it is now the general body, married and unmarried, old and young, with a few exceptions. Formerly the farmer was bound to find work for six or twelve months (for both terms existed) for his hired labourers. If the land did not supply it, still the mian must be maintained, and be paid his full wages when due. By such a provision, the labour and wage of the hired husbandman were regular and rarely casual; but this arrangement is now seldom entered into, and the hired husbandman's labour is consequently generally casual and rarely regular. This principle of hiring labourers only for so long as they are wanted, as contradistinguished from the "principle of natural equity," spoken of by Blackstone, which requires that the servant shall serve and the master maintain him throughout all the revolutions of the respective seasons, as well when there is work to be done as when there is not," has been the cause, perhaps, of more casual labour and more pauperism and crime, in this country, than, perhaps, any other of the antecedents before mentioned. The harvest is now collected solely by casual labourers, by a horde of squalid immi- grants, or the tribe of natural and forced vagabonds who are continually begging or stealing their way throughout the country; our hops are picked, our fruit and vegetables gathered by the same pre- carious bands-wretches who, perhaps, obtain some three months' harvest labour in the course of the year. The ships at our several ports are dis- charged by the same "casual hands," who may be seen at our docks scrambling like hounds for the occasional bit of bread that is vouchsafed to them; there numbers loiter throughout the day, even on the chance of an hour's employment; for the term of hiring has been cut down to the finest possible limits, so that the labourer may not be paid for even a second longer than he is wanted. And since he gets only bare subsistence money when employed, "What," we should ask ourselves, must be his lot when unemployed?" I now come to consider the circumstances causing an undue increase of the labourers in a country. Thus far we have proceeded on the assumption that both the quantity of work to be done and the number of hands to do it remained stationary, and we have seen that by the mere alteration of the time, rate, and mode of working, a vast amount of surplus, and, consequently, casual labour may be induced in a community. We have now to ascer- tain how, still assuming the quantity of work to remain unaltered, the same effect may be brought about by an undue increase of the number of labourers. There are many means by which the number of labourers may be increased besides that of a positive increase of the people. These are- 1. By the undue increase of apprentices. 2. By drafting into the ranks of labour those who should be otherwise engaged, as women and children. 3. By the importation of labourers from abroad. 4. By the migration of country labourers to | towns, and so overcrowding the market in the cities. 5. By the depression of other trades. 6. By the undue increase of the people them- selves. Each and every of the first-mentioned causes are as effective a circumstance for the promotion of surplus labour, as even the positive extension of the population of the country. Let me begin with the undue increase of a trade by means of apprentices. This is, perhaps, one of the chief aids to the cheap system. For it is principally by apprentice labour that the better masters, as well as workmen, are undersold, and the skilled labourer conse- quently depressed to the level of the unskilled. But the great evil is, that the cheapening of goods by this means causes an undue increase in the trade. The apprentices grow up and become la- bourers, and so the trade is glutted with work- men, and casual labour is the consequence. This apprentice system is the great bane of the printer's trade. Country printers take an undue number of boys to help them cheap; these lads grow up, and then, finding wages in the provinces depressed through this system of apprentice labour, they flock to the towns, and so tend to glut the labour market, and consequently to in- crease the number of casual hands. One cause of the increased surplus and casual labour in such trades as dressing-case, work-box, writing-desk-making and other things in the fancy cabinet trade (among the worst trades even in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green), shoemaking, and especially of women and children's shoes, is the taking of many apprentices by small masters (sup- plying the great warehouses). As journey-work is all but unknown in the slop fancy cabinet trade, an apprentice, when he has served his time," must start on his own account in the same wretched way of business, or become a casual labourer in sonie unskilled avocation, and this is one way in which the hands surely, although gradually, in- crease beyond the demand. It is the same with the general slop cabinet-maker's trade in the same parts. The small masters supply the "slaughter- houses," the linen-drapers, &c., who sell cheap furniture; they work in the quickest and most scamping manner, and do more work (which is nearly all done on the chance of sale), as they must confine themselves to one branch. The slop chair- makers cannot make tables, nor the slop table-makers, chairs; nor the cheffonier and drawer-makers, bedsteads; for they have not been taught. Even if they knew the method, and could accomplish other work, the want of practice would compel them to do it slowly, and the slop mechanic can never afford to work slowly. Such classes of little masters, then, to meet the demand for low-priced furniture, rear their sons to the business, and fre- quently take apprentices, to whom they pay small amounts. The hands so trained (as in the former instances) are not skilled enough to work for the honourable trade, so that they can only adopt the course pursued by their parents, or masters, before them. Hence a rapid, although again gradual, 312 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. increase of surplus hands; or hence a resort to some unskilled labour, to be wrought casually. This happens too, but in a smaller degree, in trades which are not slop, from the same cause. Con- cerning the apprentice system in the boot and shoe trade, when making my inquiries into the con- dition of the London workmen, I received the following statements:- "My employer) had seven apprentices when I was with him; of these, two were parish appren- tices (I was one), and the other five from the Refuge for the Destitute, at Hoxton. With With each Refuge boy he got 51. and three suits of clothes, and a kit (tools). With the parish boys of Covent- garden and St. Andrew's, Holborn, he got 57. and two suits of clothes, reckoning what the boy wore as one. My employer was a journeyman, and by having all us boys he was able to get up work very cheap, though he received good wages for it. We boys had no allowance in money, only board, lodging, and clothing. The board was middling, the lodging was too, and there was nothing to complain about in the clothing. He was severe in the way of flogging. I ran away six times myself, but was forced to go back again, as I had no money and no friend in the world. When I first ran away I complained to Mr. the magistrate, and he was going to give me six weeks. He said it would do me good; but Mr. interfered, and I was let go. I don't know what he was going to give me six weeks for, unless it was for having a black eye that my master had given me with the stirrup. Of the seven only one served his time out. He let me off two years before my time was up, as we couldn't agree. The mischief of taking so many apprentices is this:-The master gets money with them from the parish, and can feed them much as he likes as to quality and quantity; and if they run away soon, the master's none the worse, for he's got the money; and so boys are sent out to turn vagrants when they run away, as such boys have no friends. Of us seven boys (at the wages our employer got) one could earn 19s., another 15s., another 12s., another 10s., and the rest not less than 8s. each, for all worked sixteen hours a day-that's 41. 8s. a week for the seven, or 2251. 10s. a year. You must recollect I reckon this on nearly the best wages in the women's trade. My employer you may call a sweater, and he made money fast, though he drank a good deal. We seldom saw him when he was drunk; but he did pitch into us when he was getting sober. Look how easily such a man with apprentices can undersell others when he wants to work as cheap as possible for the great slop warehouses. They serve haberdashers so cheap that oft enough it's starvation wages for the same shops.' Akin to the system of using a large number of apprentices is that of employing boys and girls to displace the work of men, at the less laborious parts of the trade. "It is probable," said a working shoemaker to me, "that, independent of apprentices, 200 addi- tional hands are added to our already over- burdened trade yearly. Sewing boys soon learn the use of the knife. Plenty of poor men will offer to finish them for a pound and a month's work; and men, for a few shillings and a few weeks' work, will teach other boys to sew. There are many of the wives of chamber-masters teach girls entirely to make children's work for a pound and a few months' work, and there are many in Bethnal-green who have learnt the business in this way. These teach some other members of their families, and then actually set up in business in opposition to those who taught them, and in cutting offer their work for sale at a much lower rate of profit; and shopkeepers in town and country, having circulars sent to solicit custom, will have their goods from a warehouse that will serve them cheapest; then the warehouseman will have them cheap from the manufacturer; and he in his turn cuts down the wages of the work- people, who fear to refuse offers at the warehouse price, knowing the low rate at which chamber- masters will serve the warehouse." As in all trades where lowness of wages is the rule, the boy system of labour prevails among the cheap cabinet-workers. It prevails, however, among the garret-masters, by very many of them having one, two, three or four youths to help them, and so the number of boys thus employed through the whole trade is considerable. This refers prin- cipally to the general cabinet trade. In the fancy trade the number is greater, as the boys' labour is more readily available; but in this trade the greatest number of apprentices is employed by such warehousemen as are manufacturers, as some at the East end are, or rather by the men that they constantly keep at work. Of these men, one has now eight and another fourteen boys in his service, some apprenticed, some merely "engaged and dischargeable at pleasure. A sharp boy, in six or eight months, becomes "handy;" but four out of five of the workmen thus brought up can do nothing well but their own particular branch, and that only well as far as celerity in production is considered. It is these boys who, are put to make, or as a master of the better class distinguished to me, not to make but to put together, ladies' work- boxes at 5d. a piece, the boy receiving 2d. a box. 'Such boxes,' said another workman, are nailed together; there's no dove-tailing, nothing of what I call work, or workmanship, as you say, about them, but the deal's nailed together, and the vencer's dabbed on, and if the deal 's covered, why the thing passes. The worst of it is, that people don't understand either good work or good wood. Polish them up and they look well. Besides-and that's another bad thing, for it encourages bad work-there's no stress on a lady's work-box, as on a chair or a sofa, and so bad work lasts far too long, though not half so long as good; in solids especially, if not in ve- neers." To such a pitch is this demand for children's labour carried, that there is a market in Bethnal- green, where boys and girls stand twice a week to be hired as binders and sewers. Hence it will be easily understood that it is impossible for the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON poor313 POOR. . skilled and grown artizan to compete with the labour of mere children, who are thus literally brought into the market to undersell him! Concerning this market for boys and girls, in Bethnal-green, I received, during my inquiries into the boot and shoe trade, the following state- ments from shopkeepers on the spot :- "Mr. H- has lived there sixteen years. The market-days are Monday and Tuesday morn- ings, from seven to nine. The ages of persons who assemble there vary from ten to twenty, and they are often of the worst character, and a de- cideded nuisance to the inhabitants. A great many of both sexes congregate together, and most market days there are three females to one male. They consist of sewing boys, shoe-binders, winders for weavers, and girls for all kinds of slop needle- work, girls for domestic work, nursing children, &c. No one can testify, for a fact, that they (the females) are prostitutes; but, by their general conduct, they are fit for anything. The market, some years since, was held at the top of Abbey- street; but, on account of the nuisance, it was removed to the other end of Abbey-street. When the schools were built, the nuisance became so intolerable that it was removed to a railway arch in White-street, Bethnal-green. There are two policemen on market mornings to keep order, but my informant says they require four to maintain anything like subjection." But family work, or the conjoint labour of a workman's wife and children, is an equally exten- sive cause of surplus and casual labour. A small master, working, perhaps, upon goods to be supplied at the lowest rates to wholesale warehousemen, will often contribute to this result by the way in which he brings up his children. It is less expensive to him to teach them his own business, and he may even reap a profit from their labour, than to have them brought up to some other calling. I met with an instance of this in an inquiry among the toy-makers. A maker of common toys brought up five children to his own trade, for boys and girls can be made useful in such labour at an early age. His business fell off rapidly, which he attributed to the great and numerous packages of cheap toys imported from Germany, Holland, and France, after the lower- ing of the duty by Sir Robert l'eel's tariff. The chief profit to the toy-maker was derived from the labour, as the material was of trifling cost. He found, on the change in his trade, that he could not employ all his family. His fellow tradesmen, he said, were in the same predicament; and thus surplus hands were created, so leading to casualty | in labour. "The system which has, I believe, the worst effect on the women's trade in the boot and shoe business throughout England is," I said in the Morning Chronicle, "chamber-mastering. There are between 300 and 400 chamber-masters. Com- monly the man has a wife, and three or four chil- dren, ten years old or upwards. The wife cuts out the work for the binders, the husband does the knife-work, the children sew with uncommon rapidity. The husband, when the work is finished at night, goes out with it, though wet and cold, and perhaps hungry-his wife and children wait- ing his return. He returns sometimes, having sold his work at cost price, or not cleared 1s. 6d. for the day's labour of himself and family. In the winter, by this means, the shopkeepers and warehouses can take the advantage of the cham- ber-master, buying the work at their own price. By this means haberdashers' shops are supplied with boots, shoes, and slippers; they can sell women's boots at 1s. 9d. per pair; shoes, 1s. 3d. per pair; children's, 6d., 8d., and 9d. per pair, getting a good profit, having bought them of the poor chamber-master for almost nothing, and he glad to sell them at any price, late at night, his children wanting bread, and he having walked about for hours, in vain trying to get a fair price for them; thus, women and children labour as well as husbands and fathers, and, with their combined labours, they only obtain a miserable living.” The labour of the wife, and indeed the whole family-family work, as it is called—is attended with the same evil to a trade, introducing a large supply of fresh hands to the labour market, and so tending to glut with workpeople each trade into which they are introduced, and thus to increase the casual labour, and decrease the earn- ings of the whole. "The only means of escape from the inevitable poverty," I said in the same letters, "which sooner or later overwhelms those in connection with the cheap shoe trade, seems to the workmen to be by the employment of his whole family as soon as his children are able to be put to the trade-and yet this only increases the very de- pression that he seeks to avoid. I give the state- ment of such a man residing in the suburbs of London, and working with three girls to help him:- "I have known the business,' he said, 'many years, but was not brought up to it. I took it up because my wife's father was in the trade, and taught me. I was a weaver originally, but it is a bad business, and I have been in this trade seventeen years. Then I had only my wife and myself able to work. At that time my wife and I, by hard work, could earn 17. a week; on the same work we could not now earn 12s. a week. As soon as the children grew old enough the falling off in the wages compelled us to put them to work one by one-as soon as a child could make threads. One began to do that between eight and nine. I have had a large family, and with very hard work too. We have had to lie on straw oft enough. Now, three daughters, my wife, and myself work together, in chamber- mastering; the whole of us may earn, one week with another, 28s. a week, and out of that I have eight to support. Out of that 28s. I have to pay for grindery and candles, which cost me 1s. a week the year through. I now make children's shoes for the wholesale houses and anybody. About two years ago I travelled from Thomas- street, Bethnal-green, to Oxford-street, "on the 314 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. | hawk." I then positively had nothing in my in- side, and in Holborn I had to lean against a house, through weakness from hunger. I was compelled, as I could sell nothing at that end of the town, to walk down to Whitechapel at ten at night. I went into a shop near Mile-end turn-line, you may safely say that 2000 of them, at pike, and the same articles (children's patent leather shoes) that I received 8s. a dozen for from the wholesale houses, I was compelled to sell to the shopkeeper for 6s. 6d. This is a very frequent case-very frequent-with persons cir- cumstanced as I am, and so trade is injured and only some hard man gains by it.' " Here is the statement of a worker at "fancy cabinet" work on the same subject:- We sands of children now slaving at this business. There's the M-'s; they have a family of eight, and the youngest to the oldest of all works at the bench; and the oldest ain't fourteen. I'm sure, of the 2500 small masters in the cabinet the very least, has from five to six in family, and that's upwards of 12,000 children that's been put to the trade since prices has come down. Twenty years ago I don't think there was a child at work in our business; and I am sure there is not a small master now whose whole family doesn't assist him. But what I want to know is, what's to become of the 12,000 children when they 're growed up, and come regular into the trade? Here are all my young ones growing up without being taught anything but a business that I know they must starve at.' "J In answer to my inquiry as to what dependence he had in case of sickness, "Oh, bless you," he said, "there's nothing but the parish for us. I did belong to a Benefit Society about four years ago, but I couldn't keep up my payments any longer. I was in the society above five-and- twenty year, and then was obliged to leave it after all. I don't know of one as belongs to any Friendly Society, and I don't think there is a man as can afford it in our trade now. They must all go to the workhouse when they 're sick or old." "The most on us has got large families. put the children to work as soon as we can. My little girl began about six, but about eight or nine is the usual age." Oh, poor little things," said the wife," they are obliged to begin the very minute they can use their fingers at all." "The most of the cabinet-makers of the East end have from five to six in family, and they are generally all at work for them. The small masters mostly marry when they are turned of 20. You see our trade's coming to such a pass, that unless a man has children to help him he can't live at all. I've worked more than a month together, and the longest night's rest I've had has been an hour and a quarter; aye, and I've been up three nights a week besides. I've had my children lying ill, The following is from a journeyman tailor, con- and been obliged to wait on them into the bar-cerning the employment of women in his trade :- gain. You see, we couldn't live if it wasn't for the labour of our children, though it makes 'em-there were but very few females employed in it: a poor little things!-old people long afore they are growed up." Why, I stood at this bench," said the wife, "with my child, only ten years of age, from four o'clock on Friday morning till ten minutes past seven in the evening, without a bit to eat or drink. I never sat down a minute from the time I began till I finished my work, and then I went out to sell what I had done. I walked all the way from here [Shoreditch] down to the Lowther Arcade, to get rid of the articles." Here she burst out in a violent flood of tears, saying, Oh, sir, it is hard to be obliged to la- bour from morning till night as we do, all of us, little ones and all, and yet not be able to live by it either. "And you see the worst of it is, this here children's labour is of such value now in our trade, that there's more brought into the business every year, so that it's really for all the world like breeding slaves. Without my children I don't know how we should be able to get along." "There's that little thing," said the man, pointing to the girl ten years of age. before alluded to, as she sat at the edge of the bed, "why she works regularly every day from six in the morning till ten at night. She never goes to school. We can't spare her. There's schools enough about here for a penny a week, but we could not afford to keep her without working. If I'd ten more children I should be obliged to employ them all the same way, and there's hundreds and thou- "When I first began working at this branch, few white waistcoats were given out to them, under the idea that women would make them cleaner than men-and so indeed they can. But since the last five years the sweaters have employed females upon cloth, silk, and satin waistcoats as well, and before that time the idea of a woman making a cloth waistcoat would have been scouted. But since the increase of the puffing and the sweating system, masters and sweaters have sought every- where for such hands as would do the work below the regular ones. Hence the wife has been made to compete with the husband, and the daughter with the wife: they all learn the waistcoat busi- ness, and must all get a living. If the man will not reduce the price of his labour to that of the female, why he must remain unemployed; and if the full-grown woman will not take the work at the same price as the young girl, why she must remain without any. The female hands, I can confidently state, have been sought out and intro- duced to the business by the sweaters, from a desire on their part continually to ferret out hands who will do the work cheaper than others. The effect that this continual reduction has had upon me is this: Before the year 1844 I could live com- fortably, and keep my wife and children (I had five in family) by my own labour. My wife then attended to her domestic and family duties; but since that time, owing to the reduction in prices, she has been compelled to resort to her needle, as well as myself, for her living." [On the table was a bundle of crape and bombazine ready to be LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 315 made up into a dress.] I cannot afford now to let her remain idle-that is, if I wish to live, and keep my children out of the streets, and pay my way. My wife's earnings are, upon an average, Ss. per week. She makes dresses. I never would teach her to make waistcoats, because I knew the introduction of female hands had been the ruin of my trade. With the labour of myself and wife now I can only earn 32s. a week, and six years ago I could make my 36s. If I had a daughter I should be obliged to make her work as well, and then probably, with the labour of the three of us, we could make up at the week's end as much money, as, up to 1844, I could get by my own single hands. My wife, since she took to dressmaking, has become sickly from over- exertion. Her work, and her domestic and family duties altogether, are too much for her. Last night I was up all night with her, and was compelled to call in a female to attend her as well. The over-exertion now necessary for us to main- tain a decent appearance, has so ruined her con- stitution that she is not the same woman as she was. In fact, ill as she is, she has been compelled to rise from her bed to finish a mourning-dress against time, and I myself have been obliged to give her a helping-hand, and turn to at women's work in the same manner as the women are turning to at men's work." gar- "The cause of the serious decrease in our trade," said another tailor to me, "is the employ- ment given to workmen at their own homes; or, in other words, to the 'sweaters.' The sweater is the greatest evil to us; as the sweating system increases the number of hands to an almost in- credible extent-wives, sons, daughters, and extra women, all working long days '—that is, labouring from sixteen to eighteen hours per day, and Sundays as well. I date the decrease in the wages of the workman from the introduction of piece-work and giving out garments to be made off the premises of the master; for the effect of this was, that the workman making the ment, knowing that the master could not tell whom he got to do his work for him, employed women and children to help him, and paid them little or nothing for their labour. This was the beginning of the sweating system. The workmen gradually became transformed from journeymen into 'middlemen,' living by the labour of others. Employers soon began to find that they could get garments made at a less sum than the regular price, and those tradesmen who were anxious to force their trade, by underselling their more honourable neighbours, readily availed themselves of this means of obtaining cheap labour. The consequence was, that the sweater sought out where he could get the work done the cheapest, and so introduced a fresh stock of hands into the trade. Female labour, of course, could be had cheaper than male, and the sweater readily availed himself of the services of women on that account. Hence the males who had formerly been employed upon the garments were thrown out of work by the females, and obliged to remain unemployed, unless they would reduce the price of their work to that of the women. It cannot, therefore, be said that the reduction of prices. originally arose from there having been more workmen than there was work for them to do. There was no superabundance of hands until female labour was generally introduced-and even if the workmen had increased 25 per cent. more than what they were twenty years back, still that extra number of hands would be required now to make the same number of garments, owing to the work put into each article being at least one- fourth more than formerly. So far from the trade being over-stocked with male hands, if the work were confined to the men or the masters' premises, there would not be sufficient hands to do the whole." According to the last Census (1841, G.B.), out of a population of 18,720,000 the proportions of the people occupied and unoccupied were as follows:- Occupied Unoccupied (including women and children) · 7,800,000 10,920,000 1 Of those who were occupied the following were the proportions:- Engaged in productive employ- ments * Engaged in non-productive em- ployments 5,350,000 2,450,000 Of those who were engaged in productive em- ployments, the proportion (in round numbers) ran as follows:— Men Women • Boys and girls 3,785,000 660,000 905,000 Here, then, we find nearly one-fifth, or 20 per cent., of our producers to be boys and girls, and Such was upwards of 10 per cent. to be women. the state of things in 1841. In order to judge of the possible and probable condition of the labour market of the country, if this introduction of women and children into the ranks of the labourers be persisted in, let us see what were the proportions of the 10,920,000 men, women, unoccupied among us. The ratio was as follows:- and children who ten years ago still remained Men Women Boys and girls'. • · 275,000 3,570,000 7,075,000 Here the unoccupied men are about 5 per cent. of the whole, the children nearly two-thirds, and the wives about one-third. Now it appears that out of say 19,000,000 people, 8,000,000 were, in 1841, occupied, and by far the greater number, 11.000,000, unoccupied. Who were the remaining eleven millions, and what were they doing? They, of course, con- sisted principally of the unemployed wives and children of the eight millions of people before specified, three millions and a half of the number * I have here included those engaged in Trade and Commerce, and employers as well as the employed among the producers. 316 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. > being females of twenty years of age and upwards, and seven millions being children of both sexes under twenty. Of these children, four millions, according to the "age abstract," were under ten years, so that we may fairly assume that, at the time of taking the last census, there were very nearly seven millions of wives and children of a workable age still unoccupied. Let us suppose, then, that these seven millions of people are brought in competition with the five million producers. What is to be the consequence? If the labour market be overstocked at present with only five millions of people working for the support of nineteen millions (I speak according to the Census of 1841), what would it be if another seven millions were to be dragged into it? And if wages are low now, and employment is preca- rious on account of this, what will not both work and pay sink to when the number is again in- creased, and the people clamouring for employment are at least treble what they are at present? When the wife has been taught to compete for work with the husband, and son and daughter to undersell their own father, what will be the state of our labour market then? But the labour of wives, and children, and apprentices, is not the only means of glutting a particular trade with hands. There is another system becoming every day more popular with our enterprising tradesmen, and this is the importation of foreign labourers. In the cheap tailoring this is made a regular practice. Cheap labour is regu- larly imported, not only from Ireland (the wives of sweaters making visits to the Emerald Isle for the express purpose), but small armies of working tailors, ready to receive the lowest pittance, are continually being shipped into this country. That this is no exaggeration let the following state- ment prove:- "I am a native of Pesth, having left Hungary about eight years ago. By the custom of the country I was compelled to travel three years in foreign parts, before I could settle in my native place. I went to Paris, after travelling about in the different countries of Germany. I stayed in Paris about two years. My father's wish was that I should visit England, and I came to London in June, 1847. I first worked for a West end show shop-not directly for them-but through the person who is their middleman getting work done at what rates he could for the firm, and obtaining the prices they allowed for making the garments. I once worked four days and a half for him, finding my own trimmings, &c., for 9s. For this my employer would receive 12s. 6d. He then employed 190 hands; he has employed 300. Many of those so employed set their wives, children, and others to work, some employing as many as five hands this way. The middleman keeps his carriage, and will give fifty guineas for a horse. I became unable to work from a pain in my back, from long sitting at my occupation. The doctor told me not to sit much, and so, as a countryman of mine was doing the same, I em- ployed hands, making the best I could of their | labour. I have now four young women (all Irish girls) so employed. Last week one of them re- ceived 4s., another 4s. 2d., the other two 5s. each. They find their board and lodging, but I find them a place to work in, a small room, the rent of which I share with another tailor, who works on his own account. There are not so many Jews come over from Hungary or Germany as from Poland. The law of travelling three years brings over many, but not more than it did. The revo- lutions have brought numbers this year and last. They are Jew tailors flying from Russian and Prussian Poland to avoid the conscription. I never knew any of these Jews go back again. There is a constant communication among the Jews, and when their friends in Poland, and other places, learn they are safe in England, and in work and out of trouble, they come over too. I worked as a journeyman in Pesth, and got 2s. 6d. a week, my board and washing, and lodging, for my labour. We lived well, everything being so cheap. The Jews come in the greatest number about Easter. They try to work their way here, most of them. Some save money here, but they never go back; if they leave England it is to go to America." The labour market of a particular place, how- ever, comes to be overstocked with hands, not only from the introduction of an inordinate number of apprentices and women and children into the trade, as well as the importation of workmen from abroad, but the same effect is produced by the migration of country labourers to towns. This, as I have before said, is specially the case in the printer's and carpenter's trades, where the cheap provincial work is executed chiefly by apprentices, who, when their time is up, flock to the principal towns, in the hopes of getting better wages than can be obtained in the country, owing to the prevalence of the apprentice system of work in those parts. The London carpenters suffer greatly from what are called "improvers," who come up to town to get perfected in their art, and work for little or no wages. The work of some of the large houses is ex- ecuted mainly in this way; that of Mr. Myers was, for instance, against whom the men lately struck. But the unskilled labour of towns suffers far more than the skilled from the above cause. The employment of unskilled labourers in towns is being constantly rendered more casual by the migrations from the country parts. The peasants, owing to the insufficiency of their wages, and the wretchedness of their dwellings and diet, in Wilts, Somerset, Dorset, and else- where, leave their native places without regret, and swell the sum of unskilled labour in towns. This is shown by the increase of population far beyond the excess of births over deaths in those counties where there are large manufacturing or commercial towns; whilst in purely agricultural counties the increase of population does not keep pace with the excess of births. "Thus in Lan- cashire," writes Mr. Thornton, in his work on Over-Population, "the increase of the population in the ten years ending in 1841, was 330,210, and in Cheshire, 60,919; whilst the excess of HENNTABLE WW ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING CLIMBING SWEEPS. [From a Daguerreotype by Beard.] MISIN- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 317 births was only 150,150 in the former, and 28,000 in the latter. In particular towns the contrast is still more striking. In Liverpool and Bristol the annual deaths actually exceed the births, so that these towns are only saved from depopulation by their rural recruits, yet the first increased the number of its inhabitants in ten years by more than one-third, and the other by more than one-sixth. In Manchester, the annual excess of births could only have added 19,390 to the population between 1831 and 1841; the actual increase was 68,375. The number of emi- grants (immigrants) into Birmingham, during the same period, may, in the same way, be estimated at 40,000; into Leeds, at 8000; into the me- tropolis, at 130,000. On the other hand, in Dorset, Somerset, and Devon, the actual addition to the population, in the same decennial period, was only 15,491, 31,802, and 39,253 respectively; although the excess of births over deaths in the same counties was about 20,000, 38,600, and 48,700." The unskilled labour market suffers, again, from the depression of almost any branch of skilled labour; for whatever branch of labour be de- pressed, and men so be deprived of a sufficiency of employment, one especial result ensues-the unskilled labour market is glutted. The skilled labourer, a tailor, for instance, may be driven to work for the wretched pittance of an East end slop-tailor, but he cannot "turn his hand" to any other description of skilled labour. He cannot say, "I will make billiard-tables, or hook-cases, or boots, or razors;" so that there is no resource for him but in unskilled labour. The Spitalfields weavers have often sought dock labour; the turners of the same locality, whose bobbins were once in great demand by the silk-winders, and for the fringes of upholsterers, have done the same; and in this way the increase of casual labour increases the poverty of the poor, and so tends directly to the increase of pauperism. We have now seen what a vast number of sur- plus labourers may be produced by an extension of time, rate, or mode of working, as well as by the increase of the hands, by other means than by the increase of the people themselves. If, how- ever, we are increasing our workers at a greater rate than we are increasing the means of work, the excess of workmen must, of course, remain unemployed. But are we doing this? Let us test the matter on the surest data. In the first instance let us estimate the increase of population, both according to the calculations of the late Mr. Rickman and the returns of the seve- ral censuses. The first census, I may observe, was taken in 1801, and has been regularly continued at intervals of ten years. The table first given refers to the population of England and Wales:- INCREASE IN THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Years. Population, England and Wales. Increase Numerical Increase. per Cent. Annual Increase per cent. *1570 4,038,879 1600 4,811,718 772,839 19 0.6 1630 5,601,517 789,799 16 0.5 1670 5,773,616 172,129 3 0.08 1700 6,045,008 271,362 5 0.2 1750 6,517,035 472,027 8 0.2 +1801 8,892,536 2,375,501 37 0.7 1811 10,164,068 1,271,532 14 1·4 1821 11,999,322 1,835,250 18 1.8 1831 13,896,797 1,897,475 16 1.6 1841 15,914,148 1,982,489 14 1.4 1851 17,922,768 1,968,311 1.3 *1755 1,265,380 Increase per Cent. in 50 Years, from 1801 to 1851=101. * The amount of the population from 1570 to 1750, as here given, is copied from Rickman's tables, as published by the Registrar-General. 13 The population at the decennial term, as here given, is the amended calculation of the Registrar-General, as given in the new census tables. INCREASE IN THE POPULATION OF SCOTLAND. Years. Population, Scotland. Numerical Increase. Increase per Cent. Annual Increase per Cent. * From returns furnished by the clergy. +1801 1,608,420 343,040 27 0.6 1811 1,805,864 197,144 12 1.3 1821 2,091,512 285,657 16 1.6 1831 2,364,386 272,865 13 1.3 1841 2,620,184 255,798 11 1.1 1851 2,870,781 245,237 10 1.0 Increase per Cent. in 50 years, from 1801 to 1851 78. crease per Cent., Annual rate of In- 1.16. The returns here cited are copied from those given by the Registrar-General in the new census. T Annual average increase per Cent., 1·41. 318 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. INCREASE IN THE POPULATION OF IRELAND. Numerical Increase and Decrease. Annual rate of Increase and Decrease and Decrease Increase Years. Population, Ireland. * † denotes Increase. Decrease. " per Cent. per Cent. 1731a 2,010,221 1754b 2,372,634 + 362,413 +19 1767 2,544,276 + 171,642 + 7 1777 2,690,556 + 146,280 +6 1785 2,845,932 + 155,376 + 6 1788 4,040,000 +1,194,068 +42 1805° 5,395,456 +1,355,456 +34 1813d 5,937,858 + 542,402 +10 1821€ 6,801,827 + 863,969 +15 +1.4 1831 7,767,401 + 965,574 +14 +1.3 1841 8,175,124 + 407,723 + 5 1851 6,515,794 *1,659,330 *20 + ·5 *1.8 Total Decrease in 30 Years, from 1821 to 1851-4 per Cent. 30 Years, from 1821 to 1851, Annual rate of Decrease for •1 per Cent. a Returns obtained through an inquiry instituted by the Irish House of Lords. b The population from 1754-1788 is estimated from the "hearth money" returns. • Newenham's Inquiry into the Population of Ireland. d Estimate from incomplete census. • First complete census. INCREASE IN THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. Years. Population. Numerical Increase. Decennial Increase per Cent. Annual Increase per Cent. 1821 20,892,670 1831 24,028,584 3,135,914 15 1·4 26,709,456 2,680,872 27,309,346 599,890 11 1.1 2 1841 1851 Discarding, then, all conjectural results, and ad- hering solely to the returns of the censuses, we find that, according to the official numberings of the people throughout the kingdom, the increased rate of population is, in round numbers, 10 per cent. every ten years; that is to say, where 100 persons were living in the United Kingdom in 1821, there are 130 living in the present year of 1851. The average increase in England and Wales for the last 50 years may, however, be said to be 1.5 per cent. per annum, the population having doubled itself during that period. How, then, does this rate of increase among the people, and consequently the labourers and artizans of the country, correspond with the rate of in- crease in the production of commodities, or, in plain English, the means of employment? This is the main inquiry. The only means of determining the total amount of commodities produced, and consequently the quantity of work done in the country, is from offi- cial returns, submitted to the Parliament and the public as part of the "revenue" of the kingdom. These afford a broad and accurate basis for the necessary statistics; and to get rid of any specu- lating or calculating on the subject, I will confine my notice to such commodities; giving, however, further information bearing on the subject, but still derived from official sources, so that there may be no doubt on the matter. The facts in connection with this part of the subject are ex- hibited in the table given in the next page. 0.2 08 in Increase years, from 1821 to - 1851 per Cent. = 31 Annual Rate of In- crease 9 per Cent. The majority of the articles there specified supply the elements of trade and manufacture in furnishing the materials of our clothing, in all its appliances of decency, comfort, and luxury. The table relates, moreover, to our commerce with other countries-to the ships which find profitable employment, and give such employment to our people, in the aggregate commerce of the nation. Under almost every head, it will be seen, the in- crease in the means of labour has been more exten- sive than has the increase in the number of la- bourers; in some instances the difference is wide indeed. The annual rate of increase among the popula- tion has been 9 per cent. From 1801 to 1841 the population of the kingdom at the outside cannot be said to have doubled itself. Yet the productions in cotton goods were not less than ten times greater in 1851 than in 1801. The increase in the use of wool from 1821 to 1851 was more than sixfold; that of the population, I may repeat, not twofold. In twenty years (1831 to 1851) the hides were more than doubled in amount as a means of production ; in fifty years the population has not increased to the same amount. Can any one, then, contend that the labouring population has extended itself at a greater rate than the means of labour, or that the vast mass of surplus labour throughout the country is owing to the working classes having increased more rapidly than the means of employ- ing them? Thus, it is evident, that the means of labour LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 319 have increased at a more rapid pace than the labouring population. But the increase in "pro- perty" of the country, in that which is sometimes called the "staple" property, being the assured possessions of the class of proprietors or capitalists, as well as in the profits, prove that, if the labourers of the country have been hungering for want of employment, at least the wealth of the nation has kept pace with the increase of the people, while the profits of trade have exceeded it. AMOUNT OF THE PROPERTY AND INCOME OF GREAT BRITAIN. Year. 1815 1842 1844 Increase "" • Property assessed to Property-tax. £60,000,000 95,250,000 58 per cent. ..... Annual rate of in- 1.7 per cent. crease • Annual Profits of Trade. £37,000,000 60,000,000 62 per cent. 1.7 per cent. Here, then, we find, that the property assessed to the property tax has increased 35,250,0007. in 27 years, from 1815 to 1842, or upwards of 1,000,000l. sterling a year; this is at the rate of 1.7 per cent. every year, whereas the population of Great Britain has increased at the rate of only 14 per cent. per annum. But the amount of assess- ment under the property tax, it should be borne in mind, does not represent the full value of the possessions, so that among this class of proprietors there is far greater wealth than the returns show. As regards the annual profits of trade, the in- crease between the years 1815 and 1844 has been 23,000,0007. in 29 years. This is at the rate of 1.7 per cent. per annum, and the annual increase in the population of Great Britain is only 14 per cent. But the amount of the profits of trade is unquestionably greater than appears in the finan- cial tables of the revenue of the country; conse- quently there is a greater increase of wealth over population than the figures indicate. The above returns show the following results :- Population of the United Kingdom Productions from Exports Imports. Shipping entering Ports Property Profits of trade Increase per Cent. 6. per Ann. · 21 to 5 14 5 6 1.7 1.7 TABLE SHOWING THE INCREASE IN THE PRODUCTIONS AND COMMERCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, FROM 1801-1850. + denotes increase. وو decrease. Soap Cotton Wool HIS Flax Hemp - • D Increase per Cent. from 1821. 1811 to 1831. 127,500,000 Increase and De- crease per Cent. from 1821 to 1831. +31 1841. Increase per Cent. from 1831 to 1841. 1850. 273,000,009 66+ †200 170,500,000 437,000,000 53,000,000 +34 205,000,000 091 664,700,000 1801. 1811. Increase and De- crease per Cent. from 1801 to 1811. 1821. .in lbs. 55,500,000 56,000,000 80,000,000 92,000,000 +44 97,000,000 +64 137,000,000 66 10,000,000 "} 1,000,000 1,500,000 +50 2,250,000 55,000,000 • 66 • 30,000,000 4,250,000 104,000,000 56,500,000 21,750,000 25,500,000 *11 40,250,000 29,750,000 2,560,203 1,895,000 +85 26,000,000 60,000,000 +17 48,250,000 2,581,964 3,241,927 5,000,000 151,000,000 73,000,000 7,159,000 72,675,000 204,000,000 117,447,000 66,300,000 Increase per Cent. from 1841 to 1850. Average Total Increase per Cent. Annual Increase per Cent. 269 5.3 21.7 20.9 12.3 a Official Value of Exports in £24,500,000 Tonnage of Vessels belonging Official Value of Imports Tonnage of Vessels entering to British Empire Ports .... Hides .... • · I t +71 51,000,000 101,750,000 197,309,000 62,750,000 100,460,000 3,512,480 +36 4,232,962 4,652,376 +44 7,110,476 65 274 • The official value was established long ago; it represents a price put upon merchandise or commodities; it is in reality a fixed value, and serves to indicate the relative extent of imports and exports in different years. The declared value is simply the market price. Far, very far indeed then, beyond the increase of the population, has been the increase of the wealth and work of the country. And now, after this imposing array of wealth, let us contemplate the reverse of the picture: let us inquire if, while we have been increasing in riches and productions far more rapidly than wẹ have been increasing in people and producers-let us inquire, I say, if we have been numerically in- creasing also in the sad long lists of paupers and criminals. Has our progress in poverty and crime been "pari passu," or been more than commen- surate in the rapidity of its strides? 320 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PAUPERS IN ENGLAND AND WALES. Numerical Increase and Decrease. Annual Increase † denotes Increase. and Decrease per Cent. Years. Number of Paupers relieved, Quarters ending Lady-day. 1840 1,199,529 1841 1,299,048 1842 1,427,187 1843 1,539,490 1844 1,477,561 1845 1,470,970 1846 1,332,089 1847 1,721,350 1,876,541 1848 * Here, then, we have an increase of 56 per cent. in less than ten years, though the increase of the population of England and Wales, in the same time, was but 13 per cent.; and let it be remem- bered that the increase of upwards of 650,000 pau- pers, in nine years, has accrued since the New Poor Law has been in what may be considered full working; a law which many were confident would Decrease. + 99,519 +78 +128,139 +10 +112,303 +938,071 +8 +60 6,591 * 0·4 * 3 +29 +9 * 38,881 +389,261 +155,191 Annual Increase, 7 per Cent. 1840 to 1848–56. Increase per Cent. from result in a diminution of pauperism, and which cer tainly cannot be charged with offering the least encouragement to it. Still in nine years, our poverty increases while our wealth increases, and our pau- pers grow nearly four times as quick as our peoplc, while the profits on trade nearly double themselves in little more than a quarter of a century. We now come to the records of criminality :- TABLE SHOWING THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CRIMINALS IN ENGLAND AND WALES FROM 1805-1850. Annual Average Num- ber of Criminals Increase Numerical Increase. Committed. Decennial Increase per Cent. Annual Increase per Cent. per Cent. in the 43 years. 1805 4,605 Annual 1811 5,375 770 17 2.8 1821 9,783 4408 82 8.2 504 1831 15,318 5535 57 5.7 per 11.7. Ave- rage Increase Cent., 1841 22,305 6987 46 4.6 1850 27,814 5509 25 3.6 From these results-and such figures are facts, and therefore stubborn things-the people cannot be said to have increased beyond the wealth or the means of employing them, for it is evident that we increase in poverty and crime as we in- crease in wealth, and in both far beyond our "The official returns as to the number of paupers are most incomplete and unsatisfactory. In the 10th annual Report of the Poor Law Commissioners, p. 480 (1844), a table is printed which is said to give the returns from the earliest period for which authentic Parliamentary documents have been received, and this sets forth the number of paupers in England and Wales, for the entire twelve months in the years 1803, 1813, 1814, and 1815; then comes a long interval of "no returns,” and after 1839 we have the numbers for only three months in each year, from 1840 up to 1843; in the first annual Report (1848) these returns for one quarter in each year are continued up to 1848; and then we get the returns for only two days in each year, the 1st of July and the 1st of January, so that to come to any conclusion amid so much incon- sistency is utterly impossible. The numbers above given would have been continued to the present period, could any comparison have been institutéd. The numbers for the periods (not above given) are- 1803 1813 1814 1815 1,040,716 1,426,065 1,402,576 1,319,851 1849 (1st Jan.) 940,851 (1st July) 846,988 1850 (1st Jan.) 889,830 (1st July) 796,318 1851 (1st Jan.) 329,440 Number of paupers for the entire twelve months. Number of paupers for two separate days in each year. increase in numbers. The above are the bare facts of the country-it is for the reader to explain them as he pleases. As yet we have dealt with those causes of casual labour only which may induce a surplusage of labourers without any decrease taking place in the quantity of work. We have seen, first, how the number of the unemployed may be increased either by altering the hours, rate, or mode of working, or else by changing the term of hiring, and this while the number of labourers remains the same; and, secondly, we have seen how the same results may ensue from increasing the num- ber of labourers, while the conditions of working and hiring are unaltered. Under both these circumstances, however, the actual quantity of work to be done in the country has been supposed to undergo no change whatever; and at present we have to point out not only how the amount of surplus, and, consequently, of casual labour, in the kingdom, may be increased by a decrease of the work, but also how the work itself may be made to decrease. To know the causes of the one we must ascertain the antecedents of the other. What, then, are the circumstances in- ducing a decrease in the quantity of work? and, {t LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 321 consequently, what the circumstances inducing an | straw-plaiters of Buckinghamshire and Bedford- increase in the amount of surplus and casual labour? In the first place we may induce a large amount of casual labour in particular districts, not by decreasing the gross quantity of work re- quired by the country, but by merely shifting the work into new quarters, and so decreasing "The the quantity in the ordinary localities. west of England," says Mr. Dodd, in his ac- count of the textile manufactures of Great Britain, was formerly, and continued to be till a comparatively recent period, the most important clothing district in England. The changes which the woollen manufacture, as respects both localization and mode of management, has been and is now undergoing, are very remarkable. Some years ago the west of England cloths' were the test of excellence in this manufac- ture; while the productions of Yorkshire were deemed of a coarser and cheaper character. At present, although the western counties have not deteriorated in their product, the West Riding of Yorkshire has made giant strides, by which equal skill in every department has been attained; while the commercial advantages 1esulting from coal-mines, from water-power, from canals and railroads, and from vicinage to the eastern port of Hull and the western port of Liverpool, give to the West Riding a power which Gloucestershire and Somersetshire cannot equal. The steam- engine, too, and various machines for facilitating some of the manufacturing processes, have been more readily introduced into the former than into the latter; a circumstance which, even without reference to other points of comparison, is suffi- cient to account for much of the recent advance in the north." (( Of late years the products of many of the west of England clothing districts have considerably declined. Shepton Mallet, Frome and Trowbridge, for instance, which were at one time the seats of a flourishing manufacture for cloth, have now but little employment for the workmen in those parts; and so with other towns. "At several places in Wiltshire, Somersetshire, and Gloucestershire, and others of the western counties," says Mr. Thornton, most of the cottagers, fifty years ago, were weavers, whose chief dependence was their looms, though they worked in the field at harvest time and other busy seasons. By so doing they kept down the wages of agricultural labourers, who had no other employment; and now that they have themselves become dependent upon agriculture, in consequence of the removal of the woollen manufacture from the cottage to the factory" [as well as to the north of England], "these reduced wages have become their own portion also;" or, in other words, since the shifting of the woollen manufacture in these parts, the quantity of casual labour in the cultivation of the land has been augmented. The same effect takes place, of course, if the work be shifted to the Continent, instead of merely to another part of our own country. This has been the main cause of the misery of the | shire. "During the last war," says the author before quoted, "there were examples of women (the wives and children of labouring men) earning as much as 22s. a week. The profits of this employment have been so much reduced by the competition of Leghorn hats and bonnets, that a straw-plaiter cannot earn much more than 2s. 6d. in the week.' "" But the work of particular localities may not only decrease, and the casual labour, in those parts, increase in the same proportion, by shifting it to other localities (either at home or abroad), even while the gross quantity of work required by the nation remains the same, but the quantity of work may be less than ordinary at a particular time, even while the same gross quantity annually required undergoes no change. This is the case in those periodical gluts which arise from over- The production, in the cotton and other trades. manufacturers, in such cases, have been increasing the supplies at a too rapid rate in proportion to the demand of the markets, so that, though there be no decrease in the requirements of the country, there ultimately accrues such a surplus of commo- dities beyond the wants and means of the people, that the manufacturers are compelled to stop pro- ducing until such time as the regular demand carries off the extra supply. And during all this time either the labourers have to work half-time at half-pay, or else they are thrown out of employ- ment altogether. Thus far we have proceeded in the assumption that the actual quantity of work required by the nation does not decrease in the aggregate, but only in particular places or at particular times, owing to a greater quantity than usual being done in other places or at other times. We have still to consider what are the circumstances which tend to diminish the gross quantity of work required by the country. To understand these we must know the conditions on which all work depends; these are simply the conditions of demand and supply, and hence to know what it is that regulates the demand for commodities, and what it is that regu- lates the supply of them, is also to know what it is that regulates the quantity of work required by the nation. Let me begin with the decrease of work arising from a decrease of the demand for certain com- modities. This decrease of demand may proceed from one of three causes:- 1. An increase of cost. 2. A change of taste or fashion. 3. A change of circumstances. The increase of cost may be brought about either by an increase in the expense of production or by a tax laid upon the article, as in the case of hair-powder, before quoted. Of the change of taste or fashion, as a means of decreasing the *It might at first appear that, when the work is shifted to the Continent, there would be a proportionate decrease of the aggregate quantity at home, but a little reflection will teach us that the foreigners must take something from us in exchange for their work, and so increase the quantity of our work in certain respects as much as they depress it in others. 322 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. demand for a certain article of manufacture, and, consequently, of a particular form of labour, many instances have already been given; to these the following may be added: "In Dorsetshire," says Mr. Thornton, "the making of wire shirt- buttons (now in a great measure superseded by the use of mother-o'-pearl) once employed great numbers of women and children." So it has been with the manufacture of metal coat-buttons; the change to silk has impoverished hundreds. The decrease of work arising from a change of circumstances may be seen in the fluctuations of the iron trade; in the railway excitement the demand for labour in the iron districts was at least tenfold as great as it is at present, and so again with the demand for arms during war time; at such periods the quantity of work in that par- ticular line at Birmingham is necessarily increased, while the contrary effects, of course, ensue imme- diately the requirements cease, and a large mass of surplus and casual hands is the result. It is the same with the soldiers themselves, as with the gun and sword makers; on the disbanding of certain portions of the army at the conclusion of a war, a vast amount of surplus labourers are poured into the country to compete with those already in work, and either to drag down their weekly earnings, or else, by obtaining casual employment in their stead, to reduce the gross quantity of work accruing to each, and so to render their incomes not only less in amount but less constant and regular. Within the last few weeks no less than 1000 policemen employed during the Exhibition have been discharged, of course with a like result to the labour market. The circumstances tending to diminish the sup- ply of certain commodities, are—' 1. Want of capital. 2. Want of materials. 3. Want of labourers. 4. Want of opportunity. working is changed. Some kinds of work, as we have already seen, depend on the weather-on either the wind, rain, or temperature; while other kinds can only be pursued at certain seasons of the year, as brick-making, building, and the like; hence, on the cessation of the opportunities for working in these trades, there is necessarily a great decrease in the quantity of work, and consequently a large increase in the amount of surplus and therefore casual labour. We have now, I believe, exhausted the several causes of that vast national evil-casual labour. We have seen that it depends, First, upon certain times and seasons, fashions. and accidents, which tend to cause a pe- riodical briskness or slackness in different employments; And secondly, upon the number of surplus labourers in the country. The circumstances inducing surplus labour we have likewise ascertained to be three. 1. An alteration in the hours, rate, or mode of working, as well as in the mode of hiring. 2. An increase of the hands. 3. A decrease of the work, either in particu- lar places, at particular times, or in the ag- gregate, owing to a decrease either in the demand or means of supply. Any one of these causes, it has been demon- strated, must necessarily tend to induce an over supply of labourers and consequently a casualty of labour, for it has been pointed out that an over supply of labourers does not depend solely on an increase of the workers beyond the means of work- ing, but that a decrease of the ordinary quantity of work, or a general increase of the hours or rate of working, or an extension of the system of pro- duction, or even a diminution of the term of hiring, will also be attended with the same result-facts which should be borne steadily in mind by all those who would understand the difficulties of the times, and which; the "economists" invariably ignore. On a careful revision of the whole of the cir- cumstances before detailed, I am led to believe that there is considerable truth in the statement lately put forward by the working classes, that only one-third of the operatives of this country are fully The decrease of the quantity of capital in a trade may be brought about by several means: it may be produced by a want of security felt among the moneyed classes, as at the time of revolutions, political agitations, commercial depressions, or panics; or it may be produced by a deficiency of enterprise after the bursting of certain commercial "bubbles," or the decline of particular manias for speculation, as on the cessation of the railway ex-employed, while another third are partially em- citement; 80, again, it may be brought about by a failure of the ordinary produce of the year, as with bad harvests. The decrease of the quantity of materials, as tending to diminish the supply of certain commo- dities, may be seen in the failure of the cotton crops, which, of course, deprive the cotton manu- facturers of their ordinary quantity of work. The same diminution in the ordinary supply of particular articles ensues when the men engaged in the production of them "strike" either for an advance of wages, or more generally to resist the attempt of some cutting employer to reduce their ordinary earnings; and lastly, a like decrease of work necessarily ensues when the opportunity of ployed, and the remaining third wholly unem- ployed; that is to say, estimating the working classes as being between four and five millions in number, I think we may safely assert-considering how many depend for their employment on parti- cular times, seasons, fashions, and accidents, and the vast quantity of over-work and scamp-work in nearly all the cheap trades of the present day, the number of women and children who are being con- tinually drafted into the different handicrafts with the view of reducing the earnings of the men, the displacement of human labour in some cases by machinery, and the tendency to increase the divi- sion of labour, and to extend the large system of production beyond the requirements of the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 323 markets, as well as the temporary mode of hiring —all these things being considered, I say I believe we may safely conclude that, out of the four million five hundred thousand people who have to depend on their industry for the livelihood of themselves and families, there is (owing to the ex- traordinary means of economizing labour which have been developed of late years, and the dis- covery as to how to do the work of the nation with fewer people) barely sufficient work for the regular employment of half of our labourers, so that only 1,500,000 are fully and constantly em- ployed, while 1,500,000 more are employed only half their time, and the remaining 1,500,000 wholly unemployed, obtaining a day's work occa- sionally by the displacement of some of the others. Adopt what explanation we will of this ap- palling deficiency of employment, one thing at least is certain: we cannot consistently with the facts of the country, ascribe it to an increase of the population beyond the means of labour; for we have seen that, while the people have in- creased during the last fifty years at the rate of 9 per cent. per annum, the wealth and pro- ductions of the kingdom have far exceeded that amount. OF THE CASUAL LABOURERS AMONG THE RUBBISH-CARTERS. THE casual labour of so large a body of men as the rubbish-carters is a question of high impor- tance, for it affects the whole unskilled labour market. And this is one of the circumstances distinguishing unskilled from skilled labour. Unemployed cabinet-makers, for instance, do not apply for work to a tailor; so that, with skilled labourers, only one trade is affected in the slack season by the scarcity of employment among its operatives. With unskilled labourers it is otherwise. If in the course of next week 100 rub- bish-carters were from any cause to be thrown out of employment, and found an impossibility to obtain work at rubbish-carting, there would be 100 fresh applicants for employment among the bricklayer's-labourers, scavagers, nightinen, sewer- men, dock-workers, lumpers, &c. Many of the 100 thus unemployed would, of course, be willing to work at reduced wages merely that they might subsist; and thus the hands employed by the regular and "honourable" part of those trades are exposed to the risk of being underworked, as regards wages, from the surplusage of labour in other unskilled occupations. The The employment of the rubbish-carters depends, in the first instance, upon the season. services of the men are called into requisition when houses are being built or removed. In the one case, the rubbish-carters cart away the refuse earth; in the other they remove the old materials. The brisk season for the builders, and consequently for the rubbish-carters, is, as I heard several of them express it, "when days are long." From about the middle of April to the middle of October is the brisk season of the rubbish-carters, for during those six months more buildings are erected than in the winter half of the year. There is an advantage in fine weather in the masonry becoming set; and efforts are generally made to complete at least the carcase of a house before the end of October, at the latest. I am informed that the difference in the en- ployment of labourers about buildings is 30 per cent.-one builder estimated it at 50 per cent.-- less in winter than in summer, from the circum- stance of fewer buildings being then in the course of erection. It may be thought that, as rubbish- carters are employed frequently on the foundation of buildings, their business would not be greatly affected by the season or the weather. But the work is often more difficult in wet weather, the | ground being heavier, so that a smaller extent of work only can be accomplished, compared to what can be done in fine weather; and an em- ployer may decline to pay six days' wages for work in winter, which he might get done in five days in summer. If the men work by the piece or the load the result is the same; the rubbish- carter's employer has a smaller return, for there is less work to be charged to the customer, while the cost in keeping the horses is the same. Thus it appears that under the most favourable circumstances about one-fourth of the rubbish- carters, even in the honourable trade, may be exposed to the evils of non-employment merely from the state of the weather influencing, more or less, the custom of the trade, and this even during the six months' employment out of the year; after which the men must find some other means of earning a livelihood. There are, in round numbers, 850 operative rubbish-carters employed in the brisk season throughout the metropolis; hence 212 men, at this calculation, would be regularly deprived of work every year for six months out of the twelve. It will be seen, however, on reference to the table here given, that the average number of week: each of the rubbish-carters is employed through- out the twelve months is far below 26; indeed many have but three and four weeks work out of the 52. By an analysis of the returns I have collected on this subject I find the following to have been the actual term of employment for the several rubbish-carters in the course of last year :- Employment in the Year. Men. 9 had 214 Co "" ") 39 weeks, or 9 months. 26 6 "" 4 20 5 " 10 18 " 28 16 4 S 11 353 13 3 "" 4 12 34 10 ;) 29 9 38 38 19 27 45 15 856 10 10 وو ور "" >> 4 "" "" COIP OT 2 33 1 " * $ 324 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Hence about one-fourth of the trade appear to | have been employed for six months, while up- wards of one-half had work for only three months or less throughout the year-many being at work only three days in the week during that time. The rubbish-carter is exposed to another ca- sualty over which he can no more exercise con- trol than he can over the weather; I mean to what is generally called speculation, or a rage for building. This is evoked by the state of the money market, and other causes upon which I need not dilate; but the effect of it upon the labourers I am describing is this: capitalists may in one year embark sufficient means in building speculations to erect, say 500 new houses, in any particular district. In the following year they may not erect more than 200 (if any), and thus, as there is the same extent of unskilled labour in the market, the number of hands required is, if the trade be generally less speculative, less in one year than in its predecessor by the number of rub- bish-carters required to work at the foundations of 300 houses. Such a cause may be exceptional; but during the last ten years the inhabited houses in the five districts of the Registrar-General have increased to the extent of 45,000, or from 262,737 in 1841, to 307,722 in 1851. It appears, then, that the annual increase of our metropolitan houses, concluding that they increase in a re- gular yearly ratio, is 4500. Last year, however, as I am informed by an experienced builder, there were rather fewer buildings erected (he spoke only from his own observations and personal knowledge of the business) than the yearly average of the de- cennial term. The casual and constant wages of the rubbish- carters may be thus detailed. The whole system of the labour, I may again state, must be regarded as casual, or-as the word imports in its derivation from the Latin casus, a chance-the labour of men who are occasionally employed. Some of the most respectable and industrious rubbish-carters with whom I met, told me they generally might make up their minds, though they might have excellent masters, to be six months of the year unemployed at rubbish-carting; this, too, is less than the average of this chance employment. Calculating, then, the rubbish-carter's receipt of nominal wages at 18s., and his actual wages at 20s. in the honourable trade, I find the following amount to be paid. By nominal wages, I have before explained, I mean what a man is said to receive, or has been promised that he shall be paid weekly. Actual wages, on the other hand, are what a man posi- tively receives, there being sometimes additions in the form of perquisites or allowances; some- times deductions in the way of fines and stop- pages; the additions in the rubbish-carting trade appear to average about 2s. a week. But these actual wages are received only so long as the men are employed, that is to say, they are the casual rather than the constant earnings of the men working at a trade, which is essentially of an occasional or temporary character; the average employment at rubbish-carting being only three months in the year. Let us see, therefore, what would be the con- stant earnings or income of the men working at the better-paid portion of the trade. £ The gross actual wages of ten rubbish-carters, casually employed for 39 weeks, at 20s. per week, amount to The gross actual wages of 250 rubbish-carters, casually employed. for 26 weeks, at 20s. per week The gross actual wages of 360 rubbish-carters, casually employed for 13 weeks, at 20s. per week · s. d. 390 0 0 6500 0 0 4600 0 0 Total gross actual wages of 620 of the better-paid rubbish-carters. 11,490 0 0 But this, as I said before, represents only the casual wages of the better-paid operatives-that worth that is positively received by the men is to say, it shows the amount of money or money's while they are in employment. To understand what are the constant wages of these men, we must divide their gross casual earnings by 52, the number of weeks in the year: thus we find that the constant wages of the ten men who were em- ployed for 39 weeks, were 15s. instead of 20s. per week-that is to say, their wages, equally di- vided throughout the year, would have yielded that the 20s. per week casual wages of the 250 men constant weekly income. By the same reasoning, employed for 26 weeks out of the 52, were equal to only 10s. constant weekly wages; and so the 360 men, who had 20s. per week casually for only three months in the year, had but 5s. a week constantly throughout the whole year. Hence we see the enormous difference there may be be-, tween a man's casual and his constant earnings at a given trade. The next question that forces itself on the mind is, how do the rubbish-carters live when no longer employed at this kind of work? When the slack season among rubbish-carters commences, nearly one-fifth of the operatives are discharged. These take to scavaging or dustman's work, as well as that of navigators, or, indeed, any form of unskilled labour, some obtaining full em- ploy, but the greater part being able to get a job only now and then." Those masters who keep their men on throughout the year are some of them large dust contractors, some carmen, some dairymen, and (in one or two instances in the suburbs, as at Hackney) small farmers. The dust- contractors and carmen, who are by far the more numerous, find employment for the men employed by them as rubbish-carters in the season, either at the dust-yard or carrying sand, or, indeed, carting any materials they may have to move-the e-the wages to the men remaining the same; indeed such is the transient character of the rubbish-carting trade, that there are no masters or operatives who devote themselves solely to the business. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. was Dec. 25, 1840). We have now four children, and we have buried one. My wife does nothing towards a living except look after the family, which I consider is quite plenty. I came to I came to London on Nov. 8, 1837, and went to work at my present employer's, Feb. 13, 1838, where I have worked ever since (except five months at the end of 1839, when I was in Paris). I have always made it a rule from the time I commenced as journeyman to keep an account of my earnings, and the principal items of expenditure, so you may rely on their accuracy; if you require proof you can call on me any Sunday evening, and I shall feel great pleasure in showing you the way I keep my accounts. With respect to beer, &c., in the other sheet, I keep no account of my ex- penditure that way, but I think 4d. a day is as near the truth as I can come without regular accounts. Date. INCOME. Weekly Average. Weeks. Highest Week. Weeks. Lowest Weeks. CC My employer's name is J H and a good master he is. I wish all were like him; but if you should make any use of any part of this paper be sure you do not mention his name. My native county is Cambridgeshire. I left home March 21, 1837, and 'tramped' to most of the princpal towns in the north of England during the summer and autumn of that year, when I came to London to see the Queen go to Guildhall, on Nov. 9, 1837, and here I have been ever since, and here I suppose I am likely to remain; but I am perfectly satisfied. If I have work as I have had heretofore I shall be a lucky man. "I beg to remain "Your obedient Servant, "E B- EXPENDITURE. Rent. Firing and Candles. Bread and Flour. Meat and Fish. £ s. d. $. d. S. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 1841 54 13 1842 59 1 8 1843 62 13 41 24 14 1844 69 7 7 1 26 8 1845 66 18 3 1846 73 334H 21 01 33 0 4 Nil. 10 8 3 2 18 3 5 12 41 9 10 4 22 81 7 1847 73 2 9 1848 64 5 10 28 1 maa. 25 82/2 9 28 3 TFH CO CO at 36 0 6 Nil. 10 15 0 3 4 23 5 17 4 9 16 6 36 0 3 Nil. 11 8 3 3 10 4 5 11 101 10 14 0 1 36 0 1 Nil. 10 8 0 4 0 4/ 7 3 0 11 9 6 6 36 0 3 Nil. 10 14 3 3 12 01/2 7 16 10 10 12 0 "" 6 36 0 1 Nil. 11 1 0 3 9 () S 5 10 12 3 4 "" ་ 35 6 2 Nil. 11 1 0 3 13 11 8 18 9 10 12 8 24 83 6 36 0 2 Nil. 11 1 0 4 0 10/2/ 1849 66 13 7 25 73 "" 11 36 0 4 Nil. 11 6 3 3 1 2 1850 67 0 6 25 11/2 8 36 0 1s. 11 4 3 3 15 42 со со со 8 11 10 11 18 4 8 5 3 7 5 10 18 10 10 6 447 4. 26 657 4 9 25 31 52 SOME OF THE PRINCI- PAL ITEMS OF EXPEN- DITURE FOR THE TEN YEARS. Rent Firing and 4 AVERAGE PER WEEK. Firing, &c. Rent £ s. d. Bread. 109 7 3 Meat candles 35 5 63 Bread & flour 74 10 8 Meat, fish, &c. 103 1 71 Soap, soda, &c. 7 6 91 Clothing for family (six persons).... Doctors' bills for family 62 5 13 (six persons) 13 12 9 Trade and be- nefit society and fire in- 45 1 21 38 16 91 surance .... Household fur- niture Beer, &c., I only suppose at 4d. per day, or 7. per annum 70 0 0 564 7 9 Income 657 4 9 Expenses 564 7 9 It leaves for groceries, fruit, and vegetables.. 92 17 0 Or about 97. yearly. · · • • • • £ s. d. 04 24 01 44 0210 Soap, soda, &c. () Clothing Doctors' bills Trade society, &c. Furniture Beer, &c. Grocery, &c... 0 4 13 0 34 0 2 103 0 0 63 0 1 83 0 1 53 0 2 81 73 35 5 6 74 10 S 108 1 7 109 7 3 35 "The above is a correct account of my income as a journeyman tailor, in full work, at a full- priced shop, on the best work, on the employer's premises; the average number of men about ten. "I have not included in the above an account of a trifle I make by a little "crib" at the shop, or a few shillings by doing a job of my own, which I lay out in books; the account as I have 01 7 given is for purely domestic purposes. Books by some are considered a luxury, or things that can be done without, so I did not include them; but I can vouch for the accuracy of the accounts. "E- B- 1 310 The following explains and qualifies some of the above statements :- "I beg leave to supply you with the other items that you require to my statement. I will take them as they stand on the cover of No. 42. 1. Am I a quick hand? I can safely say that I am quicker than the average by a good deal, when there is plenty of work. I earn more money than the rest in the shop, except one; but when it is slack time we share the work amongst ourselves as fair as we can." [E. B. should have said how much quicker he was in his work than an average hand; that is to say, how much more ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. money he could earn than an ordinary hand in a given time at the same wages.] 2. The usual hours of labour is twelve hours per day in the busy time; at other times various, according to circumstances." [What have been the average number of hours per day throughout the year?] "3. There are no manner of deductions from the wages whatever. 4. It is rather difficult in respect to reduction of wages during the period given in my accounts, for the prices paid for some garments are less than they were, but then again they are made different; other garments have more work put in, and others again some- thing less; but I daresay the shop I work at has been reduced less in price than almost any other in the trade, that is, as far as my knowledge extends. Perhaps it is 6d. per day, or 3s. per week harder work to make up what is called full time than it was when I first went there, thirteen years ago. But as I stated before, Mr. is a very good master; there are indeed very few like him; he has all his work done on his premises, and he calls from the Society at present at the White Hart, Little Windmill-street. We have a clean, airy, well-ventilated shop to work in; coals and gas found us, with soap, water, and towels in the shop for our use, and every other convenience. "I beg to remain Your dutiful Servant, "E B B- "P.S. Please not to mention any names in what you extract." R.'s and Isaac C.'s communications shall be in- serted at an early period. Lewis M. B. is thanked; his solution of the word shall appear in a future number. A. G. and Olim Mirator shall be answered as soon as possible. * NOW READY. 7 On SATURDAY, NOVEMBER the 29th, 1851, WAS PUBLISHED THE FIRST NUMBER OF A NEW WORK, TO BE CONTINUED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE TWO-PENCE, LOW ENTITLED WAGES: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM; CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW, Author of "London Labour and the London Poor;" "What to Teach, and How to Teach it;" &c., &c., &c. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. No. 53. [PRICE THREEPENCE. SATURDAY, DEC. 13, 1851, る ​No. IX. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. PARSONS LIBRARY University of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND, ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Mr.. Mayhew acknowledges with thanks the receipt of returns from the police authorities as to the number of prostitutes in the subjoined towns:- Brighton. Stoke-upon-Trent. Sunderland. Gateshead. Wigan. The following communications on the etymology of the slang term Mot, are all curious, and some very useful- "Sir, (( Albany-street, Dec. 2nd, 1851. "It has often happened in the course of your most useful and interesting publication, 'London Labour and the London Poor,' that I have seen words used for which I could have given an explanation, but have deferred doing so till I have seen some one else come forward-then it would be needless. In the last number, in re- ference to the word 'mot,' your correspondent properly states it as coming from the old French word motte. This is the true orthography, and has reference, as he translates it, to the vulva; but its origin in the slang, or argot, is from motte, turf. 66 "I am, Sir, "Yours most obediently, "T. S. B." [In the country the mark in quoit-playing is termed a motte," probably from the above signi- fication; but the slang term "mot," a low woman, is clearly another word.-H. M.] "Sir, "In a former number of your valuable work, 'London Labour,' &c., you made an inquiry con- cerning the derivation of the word 'mot,' as popularly applied to prostitutes. I did not doubt that, among the answers this inquiry would elicit from some of your numerous readers, the meaning which I have always heard abroad attributed to that term would have been mentioned; but as I do not find it in the replies of either of your two correspondents, E. C. or Wortenkrämer, I venture to suggest that this word, like so many of the same class, argot, or slang, adopted in our vulgar tongue, is derived from the Dutch, and was per- haps introduced thence by our sailors; for it is still used by the lower classes in Holland to ex- press the same meaning as that of mot in English slang. Thus een mot' means a low prostitute; een mottekast,' a brothel (literally, a chest or case infested with moths). The primary and real signification of the word 'mot,' in Dutch, is the same as moth in English. It is, therefore, there applied to this class of women as a vituperative term, designating them as foul agents of corrup- tion and destruction, even as the moth is to woollen cloth. Etymologies, I am aware, are generally fan- ciful, and sometimes even border on the ridiculous. Still, when we find in so many living languages this word applied to express the same reproachful meaning in all of them, the explanation above given may not perhaps appear to you altogether improbable and unworthy of notice. Possibly it may be the real one. The French derivation given by your cor- respondent, E. C., seems also to point to the mean- ing of corruption, because the term vulva, or rather what it is intended to designate thereby, being common to all the sex, cannot in a vitupe- rative sense be applied to the dissolute part of them exclusively, but must be intended as ex- pressing (in a coarse manner) the meaning of a foul and corrupt vulva. "I am, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, and Constant Reader, "D. "Upper Clapton, "Nov. 29th, 1851." The above is useful, as giving another dialectic explanation of the term " mot." The question con- sequently becomes, are the Dutch words "mot,” a moth, and "mot," a low woman, etymologically the same words, or do they proceed from different roots? I suspect they have not a common origin for the following reasons. The Saxon term moth, a moth, is evidently another form of the Saxon mot, a mote, atomus; and hence an insect, gnat or moth. This, again, is connected with the Anglo-Saxon mite, and Heb., s, moth, a little thing. The latter is probably from some root to cut, to divide; as in-sect, from seco. Now the Dutch term mottekast, for a brothel, has evidently, to those who have any knowledge of the cognate languages, a less fanciful origin than that supposed by D. In Anglo-Saxon, the equivalent for the Dutch mottekast would be mot- hus, that is, a moot-house, or meeting-house, a place of assembly; and hence a brothel, a place of assembly for men and women, a meeting or assignation-house; " and hence mot would be a low woman in the habit of frequenting such places, the frequenter of brothels. (( The Saxon term mot, or gemot, is an assembly, a meeting as in the old Saxon parliament or witenagemot, i. e., the assembly (gemot) of the wits or wise men (witena). This mot, a meeting, was a substantive formed from the verb metan, to meet, meet with, find, obtain, get. Hence a "mot" would mean either a woman in the habit of fre- quenting a mot-hus, or house of assembly for men and women, a brothel; or a woman accustomed to make appointments and meet gentlemen. The low French term molte, signifying vulva, and the Italian mozzo, are more likely to be connected with moth and mote than with mot, a prostitute. The derivation of mot, a low woman, from mot-hus and mottekast, a brothel, appears to be conclusive. There is another term, trull, applied to the lower order of prostitutes. This is the Saxon term threel, and old German trulle, a slave, one in LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 109 і The Persians generally believe themselves entitled to unlimited indulgence in the de- lights of the harem. Their religious law con- fines them to four wives, but they may have as many concubines or other female com- panions as they can support. The priests are expected to be the most chaste, but are usually the most licentious; it is remarked as an extraordinary circumstance of one celebrated spiritual leader, that it was affirmed that he never had connection with any other woman than his four legitimate wives. A Persian is permitted, as well by the enactments of the law as by common usage, to take a female, not within the prohibited degrees of affinity, in three different ways: he may marry, he may purchase, or he may hire her. ´Persons are frequently be- trothed during infancy; but the engage- ment is not considered binding unless con- tracted by both the actual parents. The girl, indeed, may, even under these cir- cumstances, refuse her consent, but this privilege is rather nominal than real. If she resolutely refuse, she may be taken back to the recesses of her parent's harem, and there chastened until she choses to submit ; and it is not long before she is whipped into compliance. The nuptial ceremony must be witnessed by at least two men, or one man and two women. An officer of the law attends to attest the contract. The written document is delivered to the wife, who carefully preserves it, for it is the deed that entitles her to the amount of her dower, which is part of her provision in case of being left a widow, and her sole dependence in case of being divorced. Her right in this respect is strictly guarded by law, and by her male friends, and it is one of which the women of Persia are extremely jealous. The marriage festival is usually very expensive, for the reputation of the husband is supposed to be measured by the splendour of his nuptials. Though a man may, when he pleases, put away his wife, the expense and scandal attending such a proceeding make it rare. It seldom occurs, indeed, except among the poorer classes, who do not so rigidly seclude their females; among the wealthier and prouder, a man would be ashamed to expose a woman, with whom he had once associated, to be seen by others, unless in the case, of course, of a common woman. Divorce never takes place on account of adultery, which is punished with death. Bad temper and ex- travagance on the woman's side, and neglect or cruel usage on the husband's, may be urged by either as reasons for separation. If the husband sues for a divorce, he pays back the dowry he received with his bride; if the wife commences the proceeding, she loses her claim. In this, as in all other respects, the male sex has the advantage. A man who desires to be relieved of a dis- agreeable partner, sometimes uses her so cruelly that she is compelled to open the suit, by which means he gets rid of her, but keeps her money. The Persian may have as many female slaves as he desires or is able to maintain. They earn no advantage of position by becoming his concubines instead of the sweepers of his house. They are still in slavery, and may at any time be sold again if they displease their masters. A woman so cast off is in a bad position, for she must then sink into worse degradation than before. Mohammedan jealousy, how- ever, serves, in some respects, as a kind of protection for the woman; for a man, hav- ing once cohabited with her, will seldom allow her to fall into the hands of any other. One very extraordinary custom prevails in Persia, and seems now peculiar to that country, though it is said to have existed in Arabia at the time of the prophet's appearance there. Mohammed tolerated it; but his successor, Omar, abolished it, as a species of legal prostitution injurious to the morals of the people. All the Turks and others, therefore, who hold his precepts in veneration, abhor and condemn the practice, but it still obtains. It is that of hiring a companion. A man and a woman agree to cohabit for a certain period— some for a few days, others for 99 years. In the one case it is simply an act of pros- titution; in the other it is morally equiva- lent to marriage, though the woman ac- quires no right to property of any kind, except the price of her hire. This sum is agreed upon at the first compact; and though the man may discard his compa- nion when he pleases, he must pay her the whole amount promised. If both are willing, the arrangement may be renewed at the expiration of the term, which is generally short. This kind of intercourse usually takes place among persons of very unequal stations. The women are gene- rally of a low class, and are, for the most part, a peculiar sort of prostitutes, if pros- titution mean the hiring out of a woman's person for money. The children springing from such a union are supported by the father. In one circumstance the custom differs from the ordinary prostitution of other countries. When a man has parted from a woman of this class, she is forbidden to form any new connection until a suffi- • K 110 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. cient time has elapsed to prove whether or not she is pregnant from the last. This precaution is to hinder the chance of a man's being burdened with the support of a child of which he is not actually the father. The characteristics of women in Persia agree with this picture of their treatment. They are degraded down to the level of their condition. Leaving a few exceptions out of sight, we find the rich and idle vain, sensual, and absorbed by animal desires; the poorer classes, licentious and intriguing. The peculiar customs of the country cause strange occurrences to take place. A man is sometimes deceived into marry- ing the wrong woman, under cover of the inviolable drapery which veils her face. He is usually content to stow her away in his harem, and solace himself with a con- cubine, or the company of prostitutes; for though he may hold that his own wife and daughter would be polluted by the eye of a strange man, and though he may be able to fill his harem with beautiful slaves, the Persian voluptuary is not content. He must associate with the more brilliant and lively beauties, who are ready to receive him in various retired houses of the city. These houses are generally in obscure places, dull and uninviting on the outside, but fitted up in the interior with much elegance and luxury. Formerly there was a numerous class of public dancing girls in Persia, and the beauty of their persons, and the melody of their voices, were celebrated by the most famous poets of the country. They were wealthy and popular, continuing to figure prominently at the entertainments of the people until the family of Futteh Ali Khan rose to the throne; they were then dis- couraged by a monarch who crowded his harim with a thousand women, and, in the midst of this multitude of concubines, issued edicts for the suppression of immo- rality. The dancing girls were prohibited from approaching the court, and compelled to seek a livelihood in the distant provinces of the empire. It is not to be denied that considerable reform has taken place in the manners of the people; but profligacy is still a marked characteristic of the cities in Persia. Under the Sefi dynasty morals reached the last stage of depravity. The royal treasury was filled with the proceeds of immorality. Public brothels were licensed and became extremely numerous. A large revenue was drawn from them. In Ispahan alone no less than 30,000 prostitutes paid an annual sum to government. The gover- nors of provinces and cities also granted the same privileges for sums of money, and there was scarcely a town of any size in Persia which had not at least one large brothel, crowded with inmates. The pros- titutes were all licensed, and known by the appellation of cahbeha, or the worthless. An old traveller, whose authority is accepted by the best writers, describes the system then prevailing; it displays the corruption of manners in the open and systematic character of profligacy. As soon as the merchants' shops were closed in the cities the brothels were opened; the prostitutes then issued into the streets, dispersed them- selves, and repaired to particular localities. There they sat down in rows, closely veiled; behind each company stood an old woman holding an extinguished candle in her hand. When any man approached with a sign that he desired to make a bargain, this harridan lit her taper, and led him down the line of women, removing the veil of each in her turn until he made his choice. The girl was then dispatched with him, under the guidance of a slave, to the house, which usually stood close by the way-side. All payments were made to the old woman or "mother" of the company. Under the reigning family this open system has been checked, and prostitution, not being licensed, is a more secret system. Nevertheless, there abound in the cities of Persia numerous brothels, to which the men proceed after dark, and where they are entertained as they desire; numbers of women are always ready to hire themselves out to any who desire to associate with them. The females of the wandering tribes are far more virtuous than those of the cities; they are also more happy and free, for if they share the labours of the men, they share also their pleasures and hopes; far from being secluded, they are allowed to converse even with strangers, and grace the hospitality of the tents with modest but polite attention. The men seldom have more than one wife, and abhor the practice of hiring women, though their priests have made attempts to introduce it among them. Still, even the women of these tribes are below their proper condition, and the men as they become wealthier become more cor- rupt; when, also, they sojourn for a while in the cities, they speedily contribute to the general profligacy, and often exceed the regular inhabitants in vice. Among those, however, in the nomade state, rape and adultery are rare, and when committed the woman suffers a cruel death at the hands of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 111 her nearest kindred. In the cities females are seldom publicly executed, but are put to death in private, or given as slaves to men of infamous occupation*. OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE AFGHANS. of marriage is determined by the individual's ability to purchase a wife, provide a home, and support a family. Usually men form alliances within the blood of their own tribe; but many Afghans take also Tav- jik and Persian women. It is not con- sidered disreputable to take a wife from those nations; but it is held below the WOMEN in Afghanistan are sold to the dignity of the Durani race to bestow a men. A marriage is a commercial transac-wife on a stranger, and this, consequently, tion. The practice is recognised by the is seldom or never done. Moslem law, and is here, as in most parts of Asia, universally adopted. The price varies, of course, according to the condition of the bridegroom or his friends. Females, consequently, are in some measure regarded as property. They are in absolute sub- jection to the other sex. A husband may at any time, from mere caprice, and with- out assigning any reason, divorce his wife; but a woman cannot, unless she have good grounds, and sue for the separation before a magistrate. Even this is seldom done. Even this is seldom done. When a widow marries, the friends of her first husband may claim the price that was originally paid for her; but usually the brother of the deceased inherits this pro- perty, and any one else usurping his pri- vilege becomes a mortal enemy. However, the widow is not forced to take a new part- ner against her will. Indeed, if she have children with claims upon her care, it is considered more respectable to lead a single life. In the lower regions of India, on the warm plains, we find marriage contracts fulfilled at a very early age. In the colder climate of Kabul they are left to a later period in life—men being wedded at twenty, women at about fifteen years of age. The time varies, however, with different classes. Among the poor, with whom the price of a wife is not easily to be amassed, the men often remain unmarried until forty, and the women till twenty-five. On the other hand, the rich frequently take brides of twelve to bridegrooms of fifteen, or even earlier, be- fore either of them has attained puberty. Those living in towns and in Western Afghanistan marry earlier than those dwelling in the pastoral districts and in the eastern parts. These often wait until twenty-five, until the chin is thoroughly covered with beard, and the man is in all respects mature. The Ghiljies are still more prudent in this respect. In most parts of the country, nevertheless, the date * Malcolm's History of Persia; Javler's Three Years in Persia; Kotzebue's Embassy to Persia; Brydges' Narrative of the Embassy; Morier's Second Journey in Persia; Ker Porter's Travels; Stocqueler's Pilgrimage. The intercourse of the sexes is regulated by various circumstances, many of them accidental. In the crowded towns, where the men have little opportunity of converse with the women, matches are generally made with views of family policy, and contracted through the agency of a go-between. When a man has fixed on any particular girl to be his wife, he sends some female relation or neighbour to see her and report to him upon her qualifications. If the account be satisfactory, the same agent ascertains from the girl's mother whether her family are favourable to the match; should all this prove well, arrangements are made for a public proposal. On an appointed day the suitor's father goes with a party of male relations to the young woman's father, while a similar deputation of females waits on her mother, and the offer is made in customary form. Various presents are also sent, the dowry is settled, a feast is pre- time after, when both man and woman pared, and the betrothal takes place. Some have mutually, by free consent, signed the articles of agreement—which stipulate for a provision for the wife in case of divorce- the union is completed at a festival, and the bride is delivered, on payment of her price, at the dwelling of her future master. take place; but, as women there go unveiled, In the country, formalities very similar and the intercourse of the sexes is less restricted, the marriage generally originates in a personal attachment between the wedded pair, and the negotiations are only matters of etiquette. An enterprising lover may also obtain his mistress, without gaining the consent of her parents, by tearing away her veil, cutting off a lock of her hair, or throwing a large white cloth over her, and declaring her to be his lawful and affianced wife. After this no other suitor would pro- pose for her, and she is usually bestowed. on the bold lover, though he cannot escape paying some price for his wife. Such ex- pedients are, therefore, seldom resorted to. When a man desires a girl for whom he cannot pay, and who reciprocates his affec- tion, the common plan is to elope. This is, 112 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. indeed, considered by her family as an out- rage equivalent to the murder of one of its members, and pursued with equally ran- corous revenge, but the possession of the wife is at least secured. The fugitive couple take refuge in the territories of some other tribe, and find the hospitable pro- tection which is accorded by the Afghans to every guest, and still more to every sup- pliant. Among the Eusufzies different customs prevail. A man never sees his bride until the marriage rites are completed. The Beduranis, also, maintain great reserve be- tween the youth and the girl betrothed one to another. Sometimes a man goes to the house of his future father-in-law, and labours, as Jacob laboured for Rachael, without being allowed to see his destined wife until the day for the ceremony has arrived. With many of the Afghan tribes a similar rule is nominally laid down, but a secret intercourse is countenanced be- tween the bridegroom and future bride. It is called Naumzud bauzee, or the sport of the betrothed. The young man steals by night to the house of his affianced, pretending to conceal his presence altogether from the knowledge of the men, who would affect to consider it a great scandal. He is favoured by the girl's mother, who privately con- ducts him to an interior apartment, where he is left alone with his beloved until the approach of morning. He is allowed the freest intercourse with her, he may con- verse with her as he pleases, he may kiss her, and indulge in all other innocent freedoms; but the young people are under the strongest cautions and prohibitions to refrain from anticipating the nuptial night. "Nature, however," says Mountstuart El- phinstone, "is too strong for such injunc- tions, and the marriage begins with all the difficulty and interest of an illicit amour.' Cases have not unfrequently occurred in which the bride has been delivered of two or three children before being formally received into her husband's house. This, however, is regarded as extremely scanda- lous, and seldom happens among the more respectable Afghans. However, the custom of Naumzud bauzee prevails with men of the highest rank, and the king himself sometimes enjoys its midnight pleasures. Though polygamy is allowed by the Mohammedan laws, it is too expensive to be practised by the bulk of the people. The legal number of wives is four; but many of the rich exceed this, and maintain a crowd of concubines besides. Two wives and two female slaves form a liberal esta- blishment for a man of the middle class; while the poor are obliged to be content with one companion. The social condition of the female sex in Afghanistan is low, as it must be in all countries where women are bought and sold. The wives of the rich, indeed, se- cluded in the recesses of the harem, are allowed to enjoy all the comforts and luxuries within reach of their husband's wealth. This, however, is more to please the man, than indulge the women, though many husbands really love their wives, and are influenced to a considerable degree by their desires. In general, however, it is to enjoy the pride of having a beautiful wife in his zenana, with all the appliances of opulence to render her gracious and dainty. Among the poorer classes the women perform the drudgery of the house and carry water. Those of the most barbarous tribes share the labours of the field; but nowhere are they employed as in India, where there is scarcely any difference be- tween the toils of the sexes. A man by the Mohammedan law is allowed to chas- tise his wife by beating. Custom, however, is more chivalrous and merciful than the written code, and lays it down as disgrace- ful for a man to avail himself of this pri- vilege of his sex. Though many women of the higher ranks learn to read, and exhibit considerable talents for literature, it is reckoned immo- dest for a female to write, as that accom- plishment might be made use of to intrigue by correspondence with a lover. Many families have all their household affairs, and many even their general cus- toms, controlled by women. These some- times correspond for their sons. It is usually the mother who enjoys this in- fluence, but the wives also frequently rise to ascendancy; and all the advantages conferred on him by the Mohammedan law frequently fail to save a man from sinking to a secondary position in his own house. All domestic ainusements indulged in by men are, among the lower and more esti- mable orders, shared by the women. In towns, these envelope themselves in an ample white wrapper, like the Arab burnouse, which covers them to the feet, and altogether conceals their figure. A network in the hood, spread over the face, enables them to see, while their features are invisible to others. When on horse- back, those of the upper classes wear large white cotton wrappers on their legs, which completely hides the shape of the limb. Frequently, also, they travel in hampers, large enough to allow of their reclining, F LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 113 which are strung like paniers over a camel's back, and covered with a case of broad cloth. They are hot almost to suffo- cation during the sultry season. Females are allowed to go about seated in this manner, and form a large proportion in the crowds which throng the public ways. Scrupulously concealed as their features are, they are thus subject to little re- straint; and, compared with their sex in the neighbouring regions, though they do not occupy an honourable, they are by no means in an unhappy position. In the rural districts they are still more free, and go without a veil. Walking through the village or the camp, they are subject to no other restraint than the universal opinion that it is indecent to associate with the other sex. Should a strange man approach, they immediately cover their faces. At home, they seldom enter the public room of their house if an Afghan with whom they are not intimate is there. With Armenians, Persians, and Hindoos, indeed, they do not hold this reserve; for they consider them as of no importance; and the pride of her race is, in these cases, a sufficient guardian to the woman's virtue. When their husbands are from home, also, they receive guests, and entertain them with all the liberal courtesy required by the sacred laws of hospitality. CC But the modesty and chastity of the country women, especially of those belong- ing to the simple shepherd tribes, has been remarked and admired by almost every traveller. "There are no common prosti- tutes," says Mountstuart Elphinstone, except in the towns, and very few even there, especially in the west, which is the colder region; it is considered very disre- putable to frequent their company." In Afghanistan, however, as in all other parts of the East, and in many states of anti- quity, the imperfect education of the women is a cause of profligacy among the men. The wives and concubines who fill a rich man's harem are usually ignorant, insipid, and unacquainted even with the forms of conversation. The prostitutes, on the other hand, are generally well versed in the science of the world, polished in their manners, practised in the arts of se- duction, and afford amusement of such interest and variety that men, with four wives and numerous female slaves at their command, frequently seek the society of these accomplished women. An able and judicious writer has ob- served that, as far as he recollected, he saw among no people in the East, except | the Afghans, any traces of the sentiment which we call love, that is, according to European ideas. There, however, it not only exists, but is extremely prevalent. One sign of this is exhibited in the nume- rous elopements, which are always attended with peril, and are risked through love. It is common also for a man in humble circumstances to pledge his faith to a par- ticular girl, and then start off to some start_off_to_some even to Lower India, remote town, or where, by industry or trade, he might acquire wealth enough to purchase her from her friends. One traveller met at Poonah a young man who had contracted one of these engagements. He had formed an attachment with the daughter of a Mullah, who reciprocated his affection. Her father gave his consent willingly to the marriage; but said that his daughter's honour would suffer if she did not bring as large a price as the other women of her family. The young people were much afflicted, for the man owned only one horse. However, his mistress gave him a needle used for applying antimony to the eye, and with this pledge of her affection he was confidently working to accumulate the fortune which was required to purchase her. These romantic amours are most common among the country people, espe- cially where the women are partially se- cluded-accessible enough to be admired, but withdrawn enough to excite the lover's attachment by some difficulty. Among the higher orders such unions are less frequent, though with them also they occasionally occur. It was an affair of love between a chief of the Turkolaunis and a Khan of the Euzufzies that gave rise to a bloody war which lasted many years. Many of the songs and tales sung and told among the Afghans have love for their plot and spirit, and that passion is expressed in the most glowing and flowery language. Such a trait in a nation's manners is highly fa- vourable, and, joined with many others, renders the Afghan one of the most admi- rable races of the East. · An exceptional feature in the manners of that region is exhibited by the Moolah Zukkee, a sect of infidel pedants, who are more unprincipled, dissolute, and profligate than any other class in the country. They resemble in their conduct the Areois of the South Sea Islands, doubt the truth of a future state, are sceptical as to the exist- ence of a God, and have released themselves from every fear of hell. They have taken full advantage of this, and indulge in the vilest lusts without check or shame. This is the more extraordinary as the Afghans 1 114 LONDON LABOUR ANd the LONDON POOR. * are represented, on the whole, as a devout | and pious people. The inhabitants of Afghanistan are divided into the stationary and wandering population-the dwellers in tents, and the dwellers in houses. It is a curious fact that the dwellers in tents, who live chiefly to the west, are the more chaste and moral. It is among these, however, that the inter- course of the sexes is confined less by law than by public opinion. Men and women dance together, but in modest measures. The slaves we have alluded to are divided into the home-born and the foreign. The beautiful girls are purchased for the harims of the rich; the others are sold as menials, or attendants on the rich women. The habit of buying concubines is unfortunately becoming more common. Intercourse with the voluptuaries of Persia has seduced them into many Persian vices. Naturally they are, perhaps, one of the least volup- tuous nations in Asia; but their manners are becoming visibly corrupted, and this decay of their ancient simplicity is felt and regretted by themselves. Corps of prostitutes and harims full of concubines will do the work of the sword among them, and their spirit of independence, which never yielded even before English bayonets, will evaporate, if they long continue to decline in their morals and manners. Luxury has subdued more great nations than the sword. In the Vizeeree country, to the north of the Sherauni district, one very extraordinary custom prevails; it is quite peculiar to that tribe; the women have the right of choosing their husbands. When a woman has fixed on any man whom she desires to marry, she sends the drummer of the camp to pin a handkerchief on his cap, with a pin which she has previously used to fasten up her hair. The drummer goes on his mission, cautiously watches his opportunity, and executes the feat in public, naming the woman. The man is obliged immediately to take her as his wife, if he can pay her price to her father*. OF PROSTITUTION IN KASHMIR. IN Kashmir we find the Hindu system of manners considerably modified by various circumstances. The people are not op- pressed by that rigid code of etiquette, which in India isolates every caste and al- most every family. Naturally addicted to pleasure, they find much of their enjoy- * See Elphinstone's Kabul; Vignes' Visit to Ghuzni; Burnes' Kabul. | ment in the society of the female sex, and from the earliest times have been celebrated for their love of singers and dancers. Formerly, when the valley was more popu- lous and flourishing than at present, its capital city was the scene of eternal revel, in which morals stood little in the way of those gratifications to which the sensual ideas of the richer orders inclined them. Now, under a vile and monstrous despotism, the inhabitants relieve themselves from a continual struggle with misfortune by in- dulging in gross vices. Formerly they were corrupted by luxury; now they decay through misery, and drown the sense of hopeless poverty in the gratification of their animal passions. The situation of the female sex in Kash- mir differs from that occupied by them among the Hindus of Bengal. They are far more free, and appear more licentious. The women of this delightful and romantic valley have long been celebrated for their grace and beauty. Their renown extended on the one side as far as the plains of Cen- tral Asia, and on the other beyond the borders of the Ganges. They were formerly much sought after by the Mogul no- bility of Delhi, to whom they bore strong and handsome sons; and even after that monarchy had declined from its original opulence and power, its luxurious kings solaced themselves in their humiliation by concubines and dancing girls from Kashmir. Nor has the beauty which in those early ages attracted to the women of this country the admiration of all the East, faded in any degree. They are still described as the flowers of Oriental grace-not so slender as the Hindus of Bengal, but more full, round, voluptuous, and fascinating. Since few except those belonging to the very highest classes wear a veil, travellers have enjoyed abundant opportunities of observing the The face is of characteristics of the sex. a dark complexion, richly flushed with pink; the eyes are large, almond-shaped, and overflowing with a peculiar liquid brilliance; the features are regular, harmonious, and fine; while the person, as we have said, is plump and round, though the limbs are often models of grace. Such is the portrait we are led to draw by the accounts of the best writers. They agree, however, in adding, that among all, except the dancers, singers, and prostitutes, with probably those few women who are shut up in harems, art has done nothing to aid nature. The eyes, unsurpassed for brightness, with full orbs, and long black lashes, shine often from a dirty face, expressing a mind flooded with sensual desires, and utterly unadorned by LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 115 education or accomplishments. Among | in Kashmir bear a fair proportion to the The the poorer classes, especially, filth, poverty, men, and are proverbially fruitful. and degradation render many of the women depopulation of the country is owing to no repulsive, in spite of their natural beauty. natural causes, but to the rapacious des- British It is remarkable that the inhabitants of thepotism under which it suffers. boats on the lakes possess among them the handsomest women in the valley. The customs of marriage, courtship, and the general habits of the women, resemble so closely what have already been described in treating of India, that we need not enter into any particular account of them. The life of the woman belonging to a chief of high rank is a monotonous seclusion. She sits, enveloped in full wrappings of shawls and robes, amid all the luxury and brilliance of an Oriental harem, with every appliance of ease and comfort, but not the liberty which the humbler orders enjoy. Wives of all classes, indeed, are subject to their hus- bands, but those of the nobles are most un- der control. They often experience in its full bitterness the curse of slavery under a capricious despot. The authority of the man is absolute. Mikran Singh, a chief of the valley, was a few years ago, during the reign of the Maharaja Runjit Singh, guilty of a horrible act, which illustrates in a striking manner the condition of women in that country. His wife happened to be in the Punjab, and, while there, was accused by some enemies of a criminal intrigue. She was sent to her husband in Kashmir. Her son flung his dagger at the feet of Mikran Singh, and threw himself at his knees, begging mercy for his mother. The man promised to forgive her; but, as soon as occasion offered, ordered her to be forced into a bath the temperature of which was rapidly increased with the purpose of suf- focating her. She was tenacious of life, and struggled long with her tortures, filling the palace with shrill and piercing shrieks. Many people fled from the neighbourhood that they might not listen to listen to these fearful cries. At length, to put an end to this horrid scene, the husband sent his wife a bowl of poison, which she drank and immediately died. Women of the middle and lower classes affect no concealment, and never wear a veil. They experience less caprice from their husbands, and are perhaps more free than females in Hindustan formerly were. Widows have long been released from the disgusting obligation of burning at the funeral pyre of their husbands. The cus- tom, indeed, was at no time very prevalent in the valley, and since the decree of abolition, published by Aurungzebe in 1669, it has never been revived. Women government would soon, without a doubt, restore it to its ancient flourishing condition, as well as reform its manners. Travellers in Kashmir always remark the dancing girls, for which it was formerly re- nowned. The village of Changus, near the ancient city of Achibul, was at one time celebrated for a colony of them. They excelled, in singing, dancing, and other ac- complishments, all the other girls of the valley. When Vigne visited it some years ago, the village had fallen to decay, and its famous beauties had disappeared. Old men, however, remembered and spoke of them with regret. One, whose name was Lyli, still lived in the recollection of many. A few dancers of another class remained, but were inferior in their natural charms and arts to those of the city, and were obliged to be content with engagements in the humbler or country districts. These women may be divided into classes. Among the highest we might find some that are virtuous and even modest, as we may among singers and actresses in Europe. Others frequent entertainments at the houses of rich men and public festivals, receiving large sums for their attendance, and occasionally consent to prostitute their persons for a valuable gift. Others are regular professional harlots, indiscrimi - nately prostituting themselves to any who desire their society. Many of these are widows, who are forbidden to marry again, and are devoted to the service of some god, whose temple and priests they enrich by the gains of their disreputable calling. The Watul or Gipsy tribe of Kashmir is remarkable for the loveliness of its females. Living in tents or temporary huts, these Gipsies pass from spot to spot; and many of their handsomest girls are sold as slaves to furnish the harems of the rich, or enter the train of some company of dancing girls. These are bred and taught to please the taste of the voluptuary, to sing li- centious songs in an amorous tone, to dance in voluptuous measures, to dress in a peculiar style, and to seduce by the very ex- pression of their countenances. Formerly many of these women amassed large sums in their various callings; but now that the prosperity of the valley has decreased, the youngest and most beautiful seek their fortunes in the cities of Agra and Delhi; which, though decaying, still retain traces. of the imperial luxury and profligacy which 1 116 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. once rendered them the splendid capitals of the East. The bands of dancing girls are usually attended by divers hideous duennas and men, whose conspicuous ugliness makes the loveliness of the women appear more com- plete through contrast. Baron Hugel, whose ideas are purely German, did not find his sense of the beautiful satisfied by the women, and especially the public women, of Kashmir; but every other traveller, from Bernier to Vigne, expatiates upon the subject. The Baron does not, in other respects, inspire us with the idea that he is an authority on such a question. The Nach girls are under the surveil- lance of the Government-which licenses their prostitution-and lead in general a miserable life. They are actual. slaves, cannot sing or dance without permission from their overseer, and must yield up to him the most considerable part of their profits. Some of them still ask large sums, especially from strangers. One troop de- manded from our German author a hundred rupees for an evening's performance. The education of a superior Nach girl should commence when she is no more than five years old. Nine years, it is said, are re- quired to perfect them in song and dance. They dress usually in trowsers of rich- coloured silk, loosely furled round the limb, fitting tight at the ancle, and con- fined round the waist by a girdle and tassels, which hang down to the knee. Over these is draped a tunic of white muslin, reaching half-way down the leg; but when dancing they wear a full flowing garment of soft light tissue of various colours, inter- mixed with gold. Some have been seen with ornaments on their persons to the value of 10,000 or 12,000 rupees. Some, also, with all these adornments, neglect to be clean, and omit perfume from among the graces of their toilette. Their songs are often full of sentiment and fancy, finely expressed, and accompanied by pleasing music. Their dances are not chaste or modest; but neither are they obscene or gross. Among the poorer orders exist a swarm of prostitutes, frequenting low houses in the cities or boats on the lakes; but of their modes of life we have no account. Probably the manners of prostitutes differ little throughout the world. It is certain that they are largely patronised by the more demoralised part of the population. The traveller Moorcroft, who gave gra- tuitous advice to the poor of Serinaghur, had at one time nearly 7000 patients on his list. Of these a very large number were suffering from loathsome diseases, in- duced by the grossest and most persevering profligacy. Altogether the manners of Kashmir appear very corrupt*. OF PROSTITUTION IN INDIA. WE shall have to view the Ilindus under former oppressors, and as they are under two aspects-as they were under their the administration of the Company. The change of rule has wrought, and is working, a change in the manners and institutions of the people perfectly wonderful to con- template. Ulimate and position have much to do with national characteristics, but government has more. India under the English no more resembles India under the Mogul, than the England of the nineteenth century resembles the England of the Hep- tarchy. A beneficent revolution in her fortune has occurred, which is developing and ideas of her native race. Consequently an extraordinary reform in the customs a distinction must be observed between the old and the new state of things. It will be necessary, also, to distinguish those pro- vinces which are absolutely under our sway from those which are independent, or only related to us by subsidiary alliances. A strong contrast is exhibited by these different communities, which, as far as the welfare of the people is concerned, differ as much from each other as the slave states of western Africa differ from the popula- tion of Cape Colony. and beneficent government is administered for the happiness of the people; in the other, an imbecile yet savage tyranny makes them look with jealousy on their more fortunate neighbours. This is an important consideration, and by no means irrelevant to our subject, for it illustrates the influence of laws and institutions upon In the one a wise the manners and morals of a nation. is not elevated, and as long as their ancient The state of women among the Hindus teachers of religion are revered, such must be the case. The female sex is held abso- lutely dependent on the male, and, as among the Chinese, the father before marriage, the husband afterwards, and the son in widowhood, are the natural protectors assigned by the sacred law. Nothing is to be done by a woman of her purely inde- pendent will. She must reverence her lord, and approach him with humble re- * Vigne's Travels in Kashmir; Hugel's Travels in Kashmir; Moorcroft's Travels in the Himalayan Provinces; Forster's Travels from Bengal to England; Hamilton's East India Gazetteer Bernier's Travels in the Empire of the Mogul. TABLE XIV. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. COUNTIES. Average Population 1841-50. 1844): 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WITH REGARD TO ASSAULTS WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY Total Number Committed for Assaults, with intent to Ravish and Carnally Abuse. Total for 10 Years. Average. Annual ABUSE. No. Com- mitted An- nually in Percentage above and below the Average. every 1,000,000. * it denotes above. LIST "J below. Bedford 121,083 Berks 194,763 1 Bucks 140,959 Cambridge 180,747 Chester 395,919 Cornwall 349,991 Cumberland 186,762 Derby 250,249 Devon 554,738 D Dorset 172,736 • Durham 368,787 Essex 332,363 3 Gloucester 407,504 2 2323 I 3D HAIQ M M 2117 42 ・ COLO DO SO OD -372123 1327 426 369 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Jest przed Jand 61 0.6 50 *39.3 13 1.3 67 *19-2 13 1.3 92 †10.8 1 14 1.4 77 * 7.2 5 46 4.6 116 +39.8 23 2.3 66 *20.5 15 1.5 80 * 3.6 12 1.2 48 *42.2 Counties above the 35 3.5 63 *24.7 Average. THE OF COUNTIES, IN ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH RE- GARD TO ASSAULTS WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COM- MITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE EVERY 1,000,000 OF THE POPULATION. Counties below the Average. IN 13 1.3 75 * 9.6 Hereford 97,813 1 Hertford 168,178 3 1 - puri co en CO - 3 261 2.6 71 *14.5 Worcester 139 Hereford 3 28 2.8 84 + 1.2 Norfolk 119 York . 5 4 1 LO - 37 3.7 91 † 96 Chester 116 North Wales 81 0.8 82 * 1.2 Wilts 116 Lincoln • 1 3 2 13 1.3 78 * 6·0 Somerset 115 Cumberland Hunts 57.942 3 0.3 52 *37.4 Kent 106 Hertford + Kent 585,249 3 8 8 9 5 Lancaster 1,881,261 Leicester 13 19 21 227,621 2 5 21 26 15 15 Gor 5 5 15 10 10 1 11 62 6.2 106 +27.7 Southampton 106 Cambridge 11 6 162 16.2 87 † 4.8 Monmouth 104 Dorset 75 3 1 4 23 2.3 101 +21-7 Northampton 102 Durham Lincoln Middlesex 378,246 2 6 2 1,740,814 6 3 2 29 2.9 80 * 3.6 Oxford 102 Berks 14 10 10 11 20 8 11 1111 111 64 *22*9 Stafford 101 Comwall Monmouth 164,093 1 I 17 1-7 104 +25.3 Leicester. 101 Middlesex Norfolk 419,463 3 50 5.0 119 +43.4 Sussex * D 100 Devon Northampton 206,496 1 21 2.1 102 +229 Warwick 92 • • Surrey # Northumberland 284,777 16 1.6 56 *32.5 Bucks 92 Salop Nottingham 282,584 10 10 36 *56'6 Gloucester 91 Suffolk Oxford 166,751 17 1'7 102 +22.9 Lancaster 87 Northumberland Rutland 23,711 1 0.1 42 *49*4 Westmorland 87 Hunts Salop 243,352 Somerset 452,515 Southampton 377,040 Stafford 579,686 Suffolk 325,336 Surrey 635,917 12 Sussex Warwick 320,944 444,558 5 1177~J CNY CO 1 67432 Westmorland. Wilts 57,494 241,887 3 3 Worcester York North Wales • South Wales I 244,574 3 3 5 1,686,461 16 14 15 16 396,161 5 2 2 2 568,430 11 • Q 34693 2 4 12 19 16 1 3 WWBAG: GAPAGVO 3 3 7 3 2 •32732444234951 261726237 14 1*4 58 *30.i Essex 81 Bedford 51 5.1 115 +38.6 Derby 40 4.0 106 +27.7 Rutland 58 5.8 101 †21·7 Nottingham 3 18 1.8 56 *32.5 South Wales 38 3.8 60 *27.7 32 3.2 100 †20.5 41 4.1 92 +10.8 5 0.5 87 + 4.8 85538RRRR683838KA083983 28 2.8 116 +39.8 Average for England and Wales 83 1 34 3.4 139 +67.5 6 8 14 136 13'6 81 * 2.4 12 4 32. 3.2 81 * 2·4 2 18 1.8 33 *60*2 Total for England and Wales • 16,918,458 118 141 158 167 123 164 131 133 112 122 1369 137-0 83 MAP No. XII. MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR ASSAULTS, WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE, IN EVERY 1,000,000 OF THE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF Northumberland 56 ENGLAND & WALES. *** The counties printed black are those in which the number com- mitted for this offence is above the Average. The counties left white are those in which the number committed for the same offence is below the Ave- rage. The Average has been calculated for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850. Durham 71 Cumberland 80 Westmorland 87 Lancaster 87 York 81 Lincoln 80 Chester 116 N Wales 81 Salop 58 Derby Stafford 101 48 Nottingham Licester 101 Worcester Warwick) Hereford. 139 92 36 42 Rutland) Northampton 102 S. Wales 33 82 Mowouth 104 Cornwall 66 Devon 63 Hunting Norfolk 119 Cambridge 77- 52 Suffolk 56 Gloucester Oxford 91 102 Berks Buckinghain Bedford Somerset 115 Wilts 116 67 64 50 Hertford. 78 Middlesex Essex 84 Hants 106 Surrey 60 Kent 106. Dorset 75 Sussex 100 The Average for all England and Wales is " Worcester (the highest) South Wales (the lowest) 83 in every 1,000,000 people. 139 33 > "} وو کو WOMAN OF THE SACS, OR "SÁU-KIES SAU-KIES" TRIBE OF AMERICAN INDIANS. [Copied, by permission, from a Portrail taken by MR. CATLIN, during his residence among the Red Indians.] } LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 117 or some other similar cause. The wife, also, must be consulted, and her consent obtained to the second match. She still held the principal rank in the family, for the new comer could not take her place while she remained in the household. spect. She is bound to him while he de- sires it, whatever his conduct may be, and, if she rebel, is to be chastised with a rope or cane on the back part of her person, "and not on a noble part by any means. Writers with a particular theory to sup- port frequently quote the institutes of In various parts of India, different cus- Menu, to show that a contempt of women toms of marriage prevail. There are, in is inculcated, and hard usage of them en-deed, four prescribed forms-all honourable, couraged by the precepts of that singular code. Indolence, vanity, irrascible humours, evil dispositions, and lasciviousness, are enumerated as the vices which are declared natural to them. "A woman is chaste, when there is neither place, time, nor per- son, to afford her an opportunity to be im- moral," says the "Hetopadera," which is quoted in application to the whole sex, though it applies only as Professor Wilson -the great authority on this subject-ob- serves, to that class of idle, intemperate, profligate females, to be found in every society. Passages undoubtedly occur in the laws and in satirical compositions levelled at the whole sex; but the Hindus themselves usually describe them as amia- ble, modest, gentle, chaste, full of wit, and excelling in every grace. They are al- lowed to inherit property; they are per- mitted under certain circumstances to exercise power, though by indirect means; and they certainly exert great influence over the men. In no state of ancient times, except the polished republics of Greece and Rome, were women held in so much esteem as among the Hindus. and various only in detail. A fifth is, when the bridegroom, contrary to the sacred law, traffics for a girl. Another is, when a captive, left helpless in a man's power, is forced to become the companion of his bed. And a last is, when a girl is ravished, when surprised asleep, and taken off or deluded to the house of a new master. Marriage is viewed as a religious duty by the Hindus. A few are exempted, under special circumstances, from the fulfilment of this sacred obligation. The rules of law enacted with respect to it apply chiefly to affairs of caste, with which we have here little to do. It is forbidden to purchase a wife for money, except under particular conditions; but the young girls have little share in their own destiny, being usually betrothed while very young. The father has the disposal of them until three years after the age of puberty, when it is reckoned disgraceful for her to be single, and then she may choose a partner for herself. Few, however, will marry a maiden so old. In Bahar the girl, betrothed while an infant, is not permitted to enter her husband's house until mature, when she is conducted thither with as much ceremony as the Debarred as they are from the advantages circumstances of the family will allow. of education, not allowed to eat with their In Bengal the couple are pledged with husbands, and forbidden from mixing in many rites and a profusion of expense. society, the Hindu women, of course, are The bride is taken to her husband's house, degraded below their just position; but it remains there a little while, and then goes is not true that they are abject slaves, home for a short period, but the whole is or are generally treated with barbarity. consummated as soon after ten years of Among the more wild and barbarous tribes, age as practicable. The timid effeminate as well as the more ignorant classes in all Bengalee appears of a sensual character, parts of India, men frequently beat their and regards his wife as little more than the wives; but, from the few revelations of the instrument of his pleasure. A better state Zenana which have been made, it would of things is now beginning to prevail there, appear that its inmates are generally in consequence of the efforts made by the treated with considerable deference and Company; but under the old system, not attention. The contact of Mohammedan one female in twenty thousand was allowed with Hindu manners has certainly, how-to acquire the least particle of learning. ever, had an effect on the latter, which has depreciated the rank and estimation of the female sex. Nowhere, indeed, where polygamy is allowed, can women hold their true posi- tion. In India, however, though permitted, it was not encouraged by the religious law, and sanctioned in particular cases only, as barrenness, inconstancy, aversion, The natives excuse or justify this fact,- first, by the prohibition against educating girls which are contained in their sacred books; and secondly, by declaring that many women would, did they possess those means of intrigue, run riot in profligacy and vice. The birth of a daughter being through- out the East, and especially in Bengal, 118 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. t regarded as less auspicious than that of a son, indicates a low position of the sex. From that moment her parents are solicitous to settle her, so that she is often in infancy pledged for life. The character of the bridegroom is of little consequence. Matches, consequently, often prove un- happy, especially where the jealousy or despotism of the husband forces the woman to live in seclusion, and mainly within the private recesses of the zenana. This, how- ever, is not the general custom, women being allowed to appear at festivals and jubilees. Even the wives of respectable Hindus fre- quently quit the interior apartments set aside for them, and go to bathe in the waters of the Ganges or some other holy stream. The poorer, of course, who assign a share of labour to their wives, cannot seclude them if they would, for the expense of confinement is not inconsiderable. The wife waits on her husband, and is treated with very partial confidence. In the lower ranks she is employed to prepare cow-dung for fuel, to fetch water, to make purchases in the markets, and perform the drudgery of the house, though this is no more than is done by the poorer classes in Europe. The rich woman adorns herself, curls her hair, listens to the gossip of her slaves, and indulges in what amusements | may be within her reach. It may be imagined that the child or wife, uneducated and without a gleam of light in her mind, amuses herself by a thousand trivial de- vices. The home is thus not unhappy, unless the husband be naturally harsh, or the house be ruled by a tyrannical mother- in-law, which is often the case. Matches founded upon a mutual attachment are very rare, but by no means unknown. The romances of the Hindus are in many cases founded on them. The general plan, however, is for the parties to be betrothed in childhood. When they perform the ceremonies of marriage they are complete strangers to each other; yet Hindu wives are, on the whole, faithful. When the husband finds himself united to a woman who is hateful to him, he neglects her altogether, and takes another or a concubine, though this is against the ancient law. In many things, however, the practice of this nation, espe- cially among the ruder classes, is opposed to that extraordinary sacred code. However, if he have no children, he adopts this plan of ensuring them, and frequently conceals the facts for a long time from his wife. Polygamy causes great troubles in the Bengalee households. A man is not allowed by law to take a new partner after fifty, | but this regulation is observed by few. These customs, together with the facility of divorce-a privilege from which the female sex is excluded-contribute to the demo- ralization of society. A man calling his wife mother, by that act renounces her, and is thenceforward free from the tie. A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year; she whose children are all dead in the birth; she who bears only daughters, in the eleventh ; while she who is of an un- kind disposition may be divorced without delay. The whole code, composed by the priestly order, is unjust to the sex. Of the general character of the female sex in Hindustan very exaggerated ideas commonly prevail. It is represented as cor- rupted throughout by the obscenity and in- decency of the public religion and the in- stitutions framed by priests. It is true the Hindu Pantheon is a representation of the lowest vices, and that the manners of the people are by no means delicate; yet the respectable class of women appear chaste, orderly, modest, and decorous. The fair muscular race of Afghanistan has indeed been depicted in favourable contrast to the dark and slim race of Bengal, but this need suppose no characteristic depravity in the latter, for the hardy mountaineers are cele- brated for their contempt of sensual plea- sures. Other parts of India exhibit their peculiar features. Among the rude Mughs of Arracan a hunting and fishing, as well as cultivating, and formerly a pre- datory tribe-when a man wants money he pawns his wife for a certain sum, or transfers her altogether. In the southern parts of the Peninsula and the Mysore, manners are more licentious, and women are more debased. There polygamy has always been practised by the powerful and wealthy whose means enabled them to enjoy indul- gences discouraged by the precepts of the ancient law. Buchanan, travelling towards the close of the eighteenth century, found about 80 concubines secluded in the palace of Tippoo Sultan, at Seringapatam. These were attended by more than 500 handmaids. The same traveller made a diligent inquiry into the manners of the various commu- nities he visited. Among the Teliga Di- vangas, followers of Siva, a man was allowed to take many wives, but not to hurt them, or divorce them, except for adultery. It was once the practice for the widow to bury herself alive with the body of her husband. The Shaynagas of Canara were not allowed to take a second wife unless the first had died, or had no children. The Corannas permitted polygamy, and girls LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 119 were purchased for money. Adultery was punished by a beating or by a divorce, in which case the guilty wife might marry whom she pleased. The Panchalaru had similar laws, and so indeed had many other tribes. One of the most general rules was that a woman could not be divorced except for faithless conduct. Widows were some- times destroyed. Among the Bherid and many others, marriage was contracted, under obligation, before the age of pu- berty. If a girl remained single beyond that age, no credit was given to her vir- ginity; she was declared incapable of marriage, and usually took resource in prostitution. The severe laws against violating the law of chastity have not, in India, been formed so much for the protection of mo- rals, as for preserving the boundaries of castes. Women are severely punished for holding intercourse with a man of superior caste; that is, if the intrigue be dis- covered, for there is no doubt that such intrigues frequently occur. Among the Woddas the laws of marriage were by no means so stringent as among many other tribes visited by Buchanan. Women abounded. Every man had as many wives as he pleased. They all la- boured for him; and if one was lazy she was divorced, though left free to marry again; she also might leave him if hardly treated, but could not contract a new en- gagement without his consent. The Carruburru permitted adultresses to live with any man who would keep them, provided their husbands did not imme- diately desire revenge. They were de- spised, but not altogether cast out from the communion of social life. The chil- dren of concubines enjoyed equal rights with those of real wives. That they were a gross people is proved by the fact that adultery was sometimes winked at in an industrious woman, too valuable as a ser- vant to lose. The more refined idea, how- ever, which prevailed among them of not allowing a girl to marry until naturally marriageable, was looked upon by mem- bers of the higher castes as a beastly depravity. Among the Rajpoots women are not degraded; they hold a higher position. Ladies of rank are, indeed, secluded, but more from ideas of dignity and etiquette than sentiments of jealousy or the habit of despotism. There is an air of chivalry in some of their customs. A woman of high station, threatened with danger, some- times sent to any youth whom she might admire the present of a bracelet. He was then called her "bracelet-bound brother," and was expected to defend her under all circumstances, even at the hazard of his life. Men, it has been remarked, make the laws-women make the manners-of a country. In Rajasthan, the few women reared exercised great influence on the actions, habitudes, and tastes of the men. The Rajpoot consults his wife on every important occasion; and, much as we are given to lament the condition of these women, it is by no means so debased as many writers would persuade us to ima- gine. Marriage contracts which often, as among the Jews, took place at the well, where the young girls assembled to draw water and converse, were, in frequent in- stances, the commencement of a happy life. The precepts of Menu have been quoted to show the contempt of the sex inculcated by the sacred books. His cen- sures on a class, however, have been taken as his description of all womankind—but falsely; for the Rajpoot proverbs on this subject are derived from those famous The mouth of a institutes. woman, Her we find there, is constantly pure. name should be chosen graceful and eu- phonous, resembling a word of benedic- tion. When they are honoured, the gods are pleased; when they are dishonoured, the gods are offended. The language of another sage was full of rich, and, perhaps, "Strike not, even exaggerated sentiment. with a blossom, a wife guilty of a hundred faults." The religious maxims laid down for married couples is equally elevated. "Let mutual fidelity continue until death." Intermarriage is prohibited in the same clan, or even tribe, though the patronymic may have been lost for centuries. Eight hundred years had divided the two branches of one famous house, yet an al- liance between them was prohibited as incestuous. Pregnant women and maidens are in Rajpootana treated with great tenderness and respect. Many women in this country can read and write. They cannot govern actually; but indirectly as regents, several of them have equalled in vigour and tyranny any of the masculine tyrants for which Asia is so celebrated. Polygamy has caused many troubles in the country; and at a remote period in its history we discover an instance of polyandrism. One of the modified systems we have alluded to exists in Sindh and the Indian provinces of Beluchistan. Little gifted by nature, the Beluchi women are the servants of their husbands, and labour while their lords are feasting or sleeping. 120 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Nevertheless, when, under the destructive tyranny of the Amirs, a foray was about to be undertaken, or any danger averted, the females of the village were taken into consultation, and strongly influenced the councils of the men. A strong resemblance was discovered by Pottinger between the moral and social institutions of the Belu- chis, especially in reference to marriage, and those of the Jews. A woman's husband dying, his brother is bound to marry her, and his children are heirs of the deceased. A similar enact- ment is to be found in the law as set forth in Deuteronomy. In cases of adultery, full expiation and atonement must be made, or both criminals put to death. The regula- tions with respect to divorce are very similar. The resemblance between Indian manners and those of the Jews was, as early as 1704, noticed by an anonymous French writer, who drew up a curious parallel in support of his theory. The Muzmi, or hill tribes of Nepaul, who are not Hindus, follow the customs of Upper Thibet in most things, except poly- | andrism, or the plurality of husbands. Their women enjoy considerable privileges. The females of the Brahmin and India class in Central India, also, possess great influence over their husbands. If married to men of any consequence, they have a right to a separate provision, and an estate of their own. They enjoy much liberty, seldom wear a veil, give entertainments, and expend much money in jewels and clothes. In the families of the great Sindia and Holkar they wielded no mean degree of power, which they seldom exerted in the cause of peace. Their education is not by any means so limited as that of their sex in Bengal. Generally, among the Mohammedans of India, the women of high rank are somewhat secluded, though not severely restrained; but those of the lower classes, sharing as they do the labours and the pleasures of their husbands, are neither watched nor immured. Whether they are harshly used or not depends very much, as in England, on the individual character of the husband. No description will apply universally to the conduct of any race. In Bengal there were, under native rule, many female zemindars, or village revenue administrators, who were, however, subject to the influence, but not to the authority, of the male members of their family. Among the tribes of the Rajamahal Hills, on the western borders of that province, fewer restrictions still are in practice. They are not Hindus of caste, and therefore more free to obey their natural inclinations. One of their most prominent distinctions is the permission for widows to marry again. Their morality is tolerably good. When a man sees his son inclined to the company of prostitutes, he asks him if he desires to be married. If he replies in the affirmative, a neighbour is sent unless a choice have been already made-to find a suitable girl. Both parties must agree to the match, though the girls, being wedded very young, seldom oppose their parents' will. The young man's father makes a present to the father of the bride; a marriage dinner is provided, the newly-joined couple eat off the same leaf, their hands are joined, they are exhorted not to quarrel, and the youth then takes home his wife. One of the most remarkable and cele- brated institutions of the Hindus was that of suttee, or the burning of the widow with her husband's body. The shastres, or sacred books, are full of recom- mendations to perform this terrible sacri- fice, and promise ineffable bliss to the voluntary victim. This custom of female immolation, which distinguished especially Rajpoot manners, had its origin, according to the priests, in the example of a,holy personage, who, to avenge an insult, con- sumed herself before an assemblage of the gods. Custom gave it sanction, as religion offered it a reward. The institu- tion of castes, however, and the perpe- tual separation enjoined upon them, appear to have been the real origin of the custom. In a few instances a man might marry a woman of inferior order, but in no case could she descend. Polygamy being prac- tised, men continually left numerous young widows, who, being forbidden under the pain of damnation, to contract a second engagement, had to choose between infamy, misery, and the funeral pile. It is said that 15,000 victims formerly perished annually in Bengal. When we remember that 60 sometimes died on one pyre, we can believe that a large number were thus destroyed; but the calculation alluded to appears, nevertheless, extravagant. It is un- necessary here to enter largely on the subject, which is familiar to every general reader. Happily the horrible practice is now effec- tually abolished throughout the British dominions-one among the innumerable blessings achieved for that region by the The contrast Company's administration. between the native states and the English provinces is remarkable, if for this alone. At the death of Runjit Singh a large sacrifice of women was made for his funeral, but now that the Punjab is annexed, no more will be permitted. 1 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 121 In Central India the custom prevailed most when the Rajpoots were in the height of their power, their influence, and their pride. The suttees were then very fre- quent, as is attested, among other evi- dences, by the number of monuments still remaining, with representations of the cere- mony, which were erected in memory of the devoted wives. The Mohammedans, when they were supreme, endeavoured, as far as possible, to check the practice. The Mahrattas, by a judicious neglect and in- difference, which neither encouraged by approval nor provoked by prohibition, which they were unable to enforce, ren- dered it very rare. When Sir John Mal- colm wrote, about 1820, there had not been, as far as it was possible to know, throughout Central India, more than three or four instances annually during the last twenty years. These instances were con- fined to particular communities of Rajpoots and Brahmins, while no examples occurred, as under the princes of Jeydpoor, Jaidpoor, and Ondepoor, of women being forcibly dragged to the pile and thrust, an un- willing sacrifice, into the flames. Some of the greatest fanatics had entirely aban- doned the custom for several generations. Where it continued most generally to be preserved was where the priests denounced the terrors of heavenly vengeance against those who dared to allow one precept of the sacred code to be set aside. These hereditary nobles of India obstructed the social reform of the country with all the bigotry usual to such a class. There was no duty, said the law, which a woman could honourably fulfil, after her husband's death, except casting herself in the same fire with him. Formerly the horrors of the practice, in its details, could not be exaggerated, though writers occasionally enlarged upon the general results. Children of eight or ten years of age have devoted themselves sometimes, through fear of the harsh usage they experienced from their relatives. Wo- men of 85 have been plunged into the blazing pile; and maidens not married, but only betrothed, have been made a sa- crifice with the ashes of their intended husbands. In Ripa, if one wife consented to burn, all the rest were compelled to follow her example. Fearful scenes have on these occasions been witnessed by tra- vellers. A miserable wretch, escaping twice from the pyre, has clung to their feet, im- ploring them to defend her, until, naked, with the flesh burned off many parts of her person, she has been finally flung upon the burning heap. Young children, bound - | together, have been laid struggling by the body, and appeared to be dead from fear before the wood was kindled. Among the Yogees, the wife sometimes buried herself alive with the corpse of her husband. In 1803 it was computed that 430 suttees took place within 30 miles of Calcutta- in 1804 between 200 and 300. What Aborigines' Protection Society" can re- gret the revolution which has given India into the hands of England? (C The painful subject of infanticide is next forced upon our contemplation. Formerly it prevailed to a great extent in India, though the exertions of the Company have now all but extirpated it from the British dominions. Various circumstances contri- buted in Rajpootana to encourage the de- struction of female children. The Rajpoot must marry a woman of pure blood, be- yond the utmost degree of affinity to him. To find partners for their daughters was, therefore, a difficult undertaking for the haughty nobility of Rajasthan. Besides, the stupendous extravagance of the nobles at their wedding feasts-which the pride of caste compelled-rendered such con- tracts an overwhelming expense. The ma- jority of the female infants were therefore slain. In cases where a community was threatened with danger from an enemy, all the children, and, indeed, all the women, were slaughtered lest they should fall into strange hands. Custom sanctioned, but neither traditionary law nor religion al- lowed, infanticide, of which the ancient dwellers on the banks of the Indus gave an early example. It was the custom among them, says Ferishta, when a female child was born, to carry it to the market- place. There the parent, holding a knife in one hand and his infant in the other, demanded whether any one wanted a wife. If no one came forward to claim the child as a future bride, it was sacrificed. This caused a large numerical superiority of men. Such a birth was among the Raj- poots an occasion of sorrow. Its destruc- tion was a melancholy event. Families were accustomed to boast of the suttees to which they had contributed the victims, but none ever recurred with pride to the children which had thus been slain. The choice, however, was for the girl to die, or live with a prospect of dishonour, which could not be endured by the proud people of Rajast'han. Wilkinson asserted in 1833, that the number of infants annually mur- dered in Malwa and Rajpootana was 20,000. In 1840 the population of Cutch was 12,000, but there were not 500 women. In 1843 a folio of more than 400 pages was 122 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. presented to Parliament, full of correspond- ence on this subject. In many of the states, it appeared, the Rajahs were in- duced to offer portions to women when marrying, in order to check infanticide. In Katteewar great efforts were made, and parents were rewarded for preserving their female children. Pride of caste, the ex- pense of marriage feasts, and poverty, were the general causes, besides a desire to con- ceal the fruit of illicit intrigues. In some villages there were only 12 girls to 79 boys under twelve years of age. In one hamlet of 20 people not one female was living. It It is probable, nevertheless, that much exaggeration has been put forward on this subject, especially in reference to Rajpootana, as the seclusion of the females there rendered it impossible accurately to know the number of births. Undoubtedly, however, it was practised to a great extent; but by means of funds, for the reward and encouragement of those parents who reared all their children, as well as by the gradual introduction of laws, a mighty reform has been effected in India. In Odessa and the east of Bengal children were formerly sacrificed to the goddess Gunga, and for this purpose cast into the sacred river. In most countries infanticide has been chiefly the resort of the poor, but in parts of India it was the practice of the rich, being caused by pride rather than indigence. In Bengal, however, the peasantry were occasionally guilty of this device to rid themselves of a burden. A mother would sometimes expose her infant to be starved or devoured, and visit the place after three days had passed. If the child were still living-a very rare case- she took it home and nursed it. | Wilson to the contrary. There is no doubt that the manners of the people have under- gone a remarkable improvement since the establishment of British rule. The ori- ginal institutions of the people were op- posed to morality. The prohibition against the marriage of widows was a direct encou- ragement to prostitution. Many enlight- ened Hindus long ago recognised the de- moralizing influence of this law, and ex- erted themselves to abolish it. A wealthy native in Calcutta once offered a dowry of 10,000 rupees to any woman who would brave the ancient prejudices of her race, and marry a second husband. A claim was soon made for the liberal donation. A learned Brahmin of Nagpoor, high in rank and opulence, wrote against the law. Among one tribe, the Bunyas, it was long ago abolished; not, however, from a moral persuasion of its injustice, but under the pressure of circumstances. Even then, however, in Bhopal, the hereditary digni- taries of the priestly order, naturally at- tached to ancient prejudices, sought to re- establish the prohibition. There were very few exceptions of this kind among all the millions of the Hindu race. Even the Mohammedans, with the precept and ex- ample of their own prophet to encourage them, held the marriage of a widow dis- graceful. Temporary reform took place at Delhi, but the old custom was, until re- cently, supreme. The moral evils were that it led to depravity of conduct on the part of the widow, caused a frightful amount of infanticide and abortion, and induced these women by their practice to corrupt all others with whom they came in contact. Female children being married so early, hundreds and thousands were left widows before they had ripened into puberty. The crowded house-containing men of all shades of consanguinity, grandfathers, fa- thers-in-law, uncles, brothers-in-law, and cousins, all dwelling with the young widow in the inclosure of the family mansion- Another unnatural crime was that of procuring abortion, which is still practised, though in a clandestine manner, since it is a breach of the law. It was formerly very prevalent. Ward was assured by a pun- dit, a professor, that in Bengal 100,000 children were thus destroyed in the wombled to illicit and incestuous connections every month. This was a startling exag- geration, but there is no doubt the offence was of frequent occurrence. being continually formed. Pregnancies were removed by abortion. The Bombay code took cognisance of this, and punished it severely. When a woman was known to be pregnant she was narrowly watched, and if the father could be found he was compelled to support his child. Whether the Hindus and other inhabit- ants of India are remarkable for their chasteness or immorality is a question much disputed. Unfortunately, men with a favourite theory to support, have been so A boy might be betrothed to a child. extravagant in their assertions on either If she died he was free from the engage- side that it is difficult, or even impossible, ment; but if he died she was condemned to form a just opinion on the subject. to remain a maiden widow, and subject to Many have represented the Hindus as a the humiliating laws attached to that con- sensual, lascivious, profligate race; but we dition. It is easy to imagine the demoral- have the weighty testimony of Professorizing effects of such an institution. Under LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 123 the old system the hardships and indigni- | her resolution, and allowed the option of ties imposed on the widow made her prefer living within or without the precincts of suttee, or the sacrifice by fire, or else a the temple. If she chose the former, she retreat in a brothel. Another corrupting got a daily allowance of food and annually custom is that of early marriages. Men a piece of cloth. She swept the holy build- seldom have sentiments of affection for ing, fanned the image of the god, and any woman, or, if at all, it is for some confined her prostitution to the Brahmins. fascinating dancing girl, for their wives Usually some priestly officer of the reve- are chosen while too young to feel or excite nue appropriated one of these women to the passion of love. They therefore-and himself, paying her a small fee or sum, and the Brahmins in particular-resorted to would flog her, in the most insulting man- the company of the prostitutes, who are ner, if she cohabited with any other man all dedicated, more or less, to the service of while under his care. Part of the daugh- some temple. ters were given away in marriage, and part followed their mother's calling. All the dancing women and musicians of Southern India formerly belonged to the Corinlar, a low caste, of which the respect- | able members, however, disdain connec- tion with them. They thus formed a separate order, and a certain number were attached to every temple of any consequence, receiving very small allowances. They were mostly pros- titutes, at least to the Brahmins. Those attached to the edifices of great sanctity were entirely reserved for these priestly sensualists, who would have dismissed any one connecting herself with a Christian, a Mussulman, or a person of inferior caste. The others hired themselves out indiscri- minately, and were greatly sought after. Their accomplishments seduced the men. The respectable women, ignorant, insipid, and tasteless, were neglected for the more attractive prostitutes. Under the rule of the Mohammedans, who were much ad- dicted to this class of pleasures, the Brah- mins did not dare enforce their exclusive privileges, but afterwards resumed their sway with great energy. A set of dancers was usually hired out at prices varying from twelve shillings to six pounds ster- ling. They performed at private enter- tainments as well as public festivals. Each troop was under a chief. When one became old she was turned away without provision, unless she had a handsome daughter fol- lowing the same occupation, and in this case was usually treated by the girl with liberality and affection. Buchanan tells us that all he saw were of very ordinary ap- pearance, inelegant in their dress, and dirty in their person. Many had the itch, and some were vilely diseased. In the temples of Tulava, near Manga- lore, a curious custom prevailed. Any wo- man of the four pure castes who was tired of her husband, or as a widow was weary of chastity, or as a maiden, of celibacy, went to the sacred building and ate some of the rice offered to the idol. She was then publicly questioned as to the cause of | The The Brahminy women who chose to live outside of the temple might cohabit with any men they pleased, but were obliged to pay a sixteenth part of their profits to the Brahmins. They were an infamous class. This system still obtains, though in a modi- fied degree. In other parts of the region it prevails more or less. In Sindh every town of importance has a troop of dancing girls. No entertainment is complete with- out them. Under the native government this vice was largely encouraged. girls swallowed spirits to stimulate their zeal. They are, many of them, very hand- some, and are all prostitutes. To show the system of manners prevailing before the British conquest, it may be remarked that numbers of these women accumulated great fortunes, and that the voices of a band of prostitutes were louder than all other sounds at the Durbars of the de- bauched Amirs. In consequence of this the people of Sindh were hideously demo- ralized. Intrigues were carried on to an extraordinary extent in private life, and women generally were very lax. An evi- dent reform is already perceptible. Among the Hindus immorality is not a distinguishing characteristic, though many men of high grade pass their nights with dancers and prostitutes. In the temples of the south lascivious ceremonies still occur, but in Hindustan Proper such scenes are not often enacted. This decency of public manners appears of recent introduction, which is indeed a reasonable supposition, for the people have now aims in life, which they never enjoyed in security under their former rulers. It was for the interest of the princes that their subjects should be indolent and sensual. It is for the in- terest of the new government that they should be industrious and moral. Great efforts have been made with this object, and much good has resulted. Towards the close of the last century an official report was made by Mr. Grant, and + 124 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. addressed to the Court of Directors. It was the result of an inquiry instituted into the morals of British India. India and Bengal were especially held in view. Much laxity of morals in private life then prevailed, and he believed that many in- trigues were altogether concealed, while many that were discovered were hushed up. Receptacles for women of infamous character everywhere abounded, and were licensed. The prostitutes had a place in society, making a principal figure at all the entertainments of the great. They were admitted even into the zenanas to exhibit their dances. Lord Cornwallis, soon after his arrival in Bengal, was invited by the Nawab to one of these entertain- ments, but refused to go. The frightful punishments against adultery appeared enacted far more to protect the sanctity of caste than public or private virtue. A man committing the crime was threatened with the embraces, after death, of an iron figure of a woman made red hot. Connec- tion, however, with prostitutes and dancing girls was permitted by the written law. If that account was correct-and it is corroborated by many others—an immense amelioration must have taken place. The Hindus are now generally chaste, and the profligacy of their large cities does not exceed that of large cities in Europe. In Benares, in 1800, out of a population of 180,000, there were 1500 regular prosti- tutes, besides 264 Nach or dancing girls. They were all of the Sudra, which is a very low caste. In Dacca there were, out of a population of 35,238 Mohammedans and 31,429 Hindus, 234 Mohammedan and 539 Hindu prostitutes. At Hurdwar it was one of the duties of the female pilgrims to the sacred stream to bathe stark naked before hundreds of men, which does not indicate any great modesty. The better order of Nach girls are of the highest grace and fascination, with much personal charm, which they begin to lose at 20 years of age. They mostly dress in very modest attire, and many are decent in their manners. The Gipsies of India, many of whom are Thugs, have numbers of handsome women in their camps, whom they send out as prostitutes to gain money, or seduce the traveller from his road. It is said that many of the Europeans scattered over India encourage immorality, taking temporary companions. A large class of half-caste children has been certainly growing up in the country, whose mothers are not all the children of white men. The institution of slavery in Malwa was principally confined to women. Almost all the prostitutes were of this class. They were purchased when children by the heads of companies, who trained them for the calling, and lived upon the gains of their prostitution. The system is even at present nearly similar, the girls being bargained away by their parents into vir- tual servitude. Many of the wealthy Brahmins, with from 50 to 200 slaves, em- ployed them all day in the menial labours of the establishment, and at night dis- persed them to separate dwellings, where they were permitted to prostitute them- selves as they pleased. A large proportion of the profits, however, which accrued from this vile traffic formed the share of the master, who also claimed as slaves the children which might spring from this vile intercourse. The female slaves and dancing girls could not marry, and were often harshly used. Society was disorganized by the vast bastard breed produced by this system. The Europeans at Madras, a few years ago, did not consider their liaisons with the native women so immoral as they would have been considered in England. The concubines were generally girls from the lower ranks, purchased from their mothers. Their conduct usually depends on the treatment they receive. Many of them become exceedingly faithful and attached, being bitterly jealous of any other native women interfering with their master's affections, but never complaining of being superseded by an English wife. They are often, however, extravagant gamblers, and involve their "lovers" in heavy debts. An Indian mother will sometimes dedi- cate her female child to prostitution at the temple; and those who are not appro- priated by the Brahmins may go with any one, though the money must be paid into a general fund for the support of the esta- blishment. one Some of the ceremonies performed in the temples of the south, by the worshippers of the female deities, were simply orgies of the impurest kind. When a man desired to be initiated into these rites, he went with a priest, after various preliminary rites, to some house, taking nine females (one a Brahmin) and nine men woman for himself, and another for his sacerdotal preceptor. All being seated, numerous ceremonies were performed until twelve o'clock at night, when they gratified their inflamed passions in the most libidi- nous manner. The women, of course, were prostitutes by habit or profession. Men ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. thral-dom. The old Dutch drille, from the same root, is explained-mulier vaga, levis meretrix. The Icelandic cognate is thrall, servus. Hence the word trull is the Saxon equivalent for the modern term slavey," the appellation given to that class of prostitutes who are, as Duchatelet expresses it, "subject to the mistress of a brothel ;" that is to say, those who have to give up the whole or a portion of their gains to the bawd, in return for their board and lodging and clothes, in contradistinction to the "femmes libres," or those who trade on their own account. The French term for the former class is "esclaves," the English "slavey;" and it is curious not only that the same vile mode of traffic should be com- mon to both countries, but that they should be expressed by the same term. The word trull has a similar signification to "slavey.” Still there is the word mort to be explained. Is this the same term as mot? I suspect not; but the following letter gives the ingenious specu- lations of a gentleman who has evidently paid some little attention to the subject of comparative philology. 'Sir, 'Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 'Dec. 4, 1851. "I am engaged on an etymological cant or slang | vocabulary, and have been hesitating whether to connect the word 'mot' with mate, a companion, &c., or with mother; I find you suggest the latter, and I have almost made up my mind to adopt it. I must confess I should be better satisfied if I could prove it from the Anglo-Saxon maca, a mace, a husband, wife, mate, or companion, or could I establish that this a had the broad sound; this latter circumstance would, I think, decide it, mace, make, mate, mort, mot. [The writer should study Bopp's "Vocalismus."] young courtiers, inserted in Percy's "Reliques of Ancient Poetry," the word madam used for kept woman- "Like a flourishing young gallant newly come to his land, Who keeps a brace of painted madams at his command.' "Also in Witt's Recreation' there are some lines on a patched up lines on a patched up "madam;" and, again, the common people in this part of the country fre- quently call such persons madams. "I am, sir, yours truly, "T. L.'L." y, or T. L. L. will have seen that the term mot has a wholly different origin from that originally con- jectured. The word maca, a mate, wife, is con- nected with the verb macian, to make, form, match, but mace, a lump, is connected with Latin massa; much, on the other hand, is related to Latin magis, and more with major, and these all with the Latin magnus, and the Saxon mag-en, Anglice, main strength, power; whence the Saxon mægeste, greatest, most powerful; max-imus, and mag-ester, a master, magister. It is difficult to say whether these words are derivatives of macian, to make, or the verb derived from them. Be this as it may, however, it is manifest that from macian, to make, comes mæden (Ger. magd), a maiden, made, even as mate gives made in the past tense; and hence, too, the Saxon mæg, a relation, son, daughter, a friend, male or female, a woman: the Scotch Mac has the same origin. Hence, again, we have modor, mother, and mater, and the several cognates for the same word, all meaning, simply, mactor, a maker, even as father is from factor, a maker, and author from auctor. The dropping of the c in all these words is by no means uncommon; c and g in former times had, probably, the sound of guttural aspirate. Blodig, in Saxon, is the original of our bloody, and so, in the French, éloigne and boulogne. Thus the Latin factum becomes, in French, tait, and so our verb make in the past tense gives, made for maked, the c, k, or g, having a tendency first to pass into or y, and then to disappear altogether. The ordinary derivation of father is from feeder, he who supplies the food, because fedan, in Saxon, is to feed, and fader, a father; but the Icelandic fadi, at fæda, is generare, connected with fio, qvw, and facio. Webster strives to connect mother with mud, the earth, as when we speak of our "mother earth," but such deriva- tions are all fanciful, and words have a far more simple and less metaphorical origin than is ordi- narily believed. The word man, again, is from the verb to make. In Saxon man means- 1, a man; 2, one of the human kind, a woman! while the plat. Dutch müken means a maid, maiden, so that it would appear that the word maken (i. e. maken) originally signified any created thing, and then one of the human kind, a man or a woman; and, lastly, a man proper; while the term maid, macod, came to be restricted to a young woman. The names Meg and Madge have the same origin, and meant, originally, merely a woman, a relation, even as John means. "You will find in the song of the old and in Sanscrit, a man, and Jane, Jinny (yuvn), a "The word mort is used in several of our dialects for a great quantity; the Anglo-Saxon for lump is mace; one might almost be tempted here to com- pare the French argot word largue, which means a woman, a doxy. I think, however, that the Anglo-Saxon mace, lump, and our much are con- nected. "Turn now to the Sanscrit, matar (mother); Sclavonic, mater; Lithuanian, moter (a woman, a mother is motina), and Lettish, mate; now the broad sound being immediately given to the a where it occurs, and the accent being on the penul- tima, the last syllable would be faint and at last disappear, so that we have not much difficulty in arriving at mort, mot; and, probably, it came thus to us through the Gypsies, whether Bohemian or German." [But see the extract here appended from Borrow.] "In Witt's Recreation' a col- lection of epitaphs, epigrams, fancies, &c., a Gypsy sings- ( And for the Romi-morts, I know by their ports, And there jolly resorts, They are of the sorts That love the true sports Of King Ptolomæus, Or great Coriphæus, And Queen Cleopatra, The Gypsics' grand Matra? ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. woman; all of which are connected with yevoμas, to beget. In precisely the same manner our word wight, which is in Saxon wuht, means any created thing:(1) a creature, wight, animal, thing; (2) aught, anything. The Dutch and German cognate wicht, stands for a child. All these are connected with the Anglo-Saxon weascian, to wax, grow, nasci, fieri; even as the Saxon aht, aught, some- thing, is related to the verb agan, to own, have, obtain, which is connected both with the Greek xw, and the Latin augeo. The relative words what and it are from this root. } To return, however, to the term mort. This would appear, according to Mr. Borrow, not to be a Gypsy term. He says, in his account of the Robber language,- "The first vocabulary of the 'Cant Language,' or English Germania, appeared in the year 1680, appended to the life of The English Rogue,' a work which, in many respects, resembles the his- tory of Guzman d'Alfarache, though it is written. with considerably more genius than the Spanish novel. Amongst his other adven- tures, the hero falls in with a Gypsy encampment, is enrolled amongst the fraternity, and is allotted a mort, or concubine; a barbarous festival en- sues, at the conclusion of which an epithalamium is sung in the Gypsy language, as it is called in the work in question. Neither the epithalamium, however, nor the vocabulary, are written in the language of the English Gypsies, but in the Cant,' or allegorical robber dialect, which is sufficient proof that the writer, however well acquainted with thieves in general, their customs Y and manners of life, was in respect to the Gypsies profoundly ignorant. His vocabulary, however, has been always accepted as the speech of the English Gypsies, whereas it is at most entitled to be considered as the peculiar speech of the thieves and vagabonds of his time. The cant' of the present day, which, though it differs in some respects from the vocabulary already mentioned, is radically the same, is used not only by the thieves in town and country, but by the jockeys of the racecourse and the pugilists of the 'ring.' As a specimen of the cant of England, we shall take the liberty of quoting the epithalamium to which we have above alluded. 'Bing out bien morts, and tour and tour, Bing out, bien morts and tour; For all your duds are bing'd awast, The bien cove hath the loure *. 'I met a dell, I viewed her well, She was benship to my watch; So she and I did stall and cloy Whatever we could catch. This doxy dell can cut ben whids, And wap well for a win, And prig and cloy so benshiply, All daisy-ville within. 'The hoyle was up, we had good luck, In frost for and in snow; When they did seek, then we did creep And plant in roughman's low.'" The question is still whether the word mort is the same as mot; and if not, whence comes it? "*This word is pure Wallachian (λovage), and was brought by the Gypsies into England; it means booty, or what is called in the present cant language, 'swag,' The Gypsies call booty 'louripen.' NOW READY. On SATURDAY, NOVEMBER the 29th, 1851, WAS PUBLISHED THE FIRST NUMBER OF A NEW WORK, To be continued in Weekly Numbers, Price TWOPENCE, and Monthly Parts, Price NINEPENCE, LOW ENTITLED WAGE S: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM; CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW. Author of "London Labour and the London Poor;" "What to Teach, and How to Teach it," &c., &c., &c. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. No. 54. [PRICE TWOPENce. SATURDAY, DEC. 20, 1851. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELL NGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRANT University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. G WIGAMSON S OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. D. S. (Birmingham) shall have Mr. Mayhew's opinion as to the best mode of publishing the poem. A Commanding Officer's letter shall be inserted in the next number of "Those that Will Not Work. >> A. C. (Hadleigh), and a City Clerk, shall be answered in an early number. F. C. R. M. (M.D.) will be written to pri- vately. The late remarks on machinery in connection with the increase of surplus labour have brought a small avalanche of letters down upon us. Some are from those who are known, and whose opi- nions are esteemed by us; while some of the writers are unknown to us, but their opinions are worthy of respect, as they have evidently been endeavouring to think out the subject for them- selves. It will, perhaps, be better to give the letters seriatim, and reply to them collectively. The first refers to the use of machinery in connec- tion with the scavaging of the streets. "Sir, Having read your remarks upon machine and pauper sweeping in No. 44 of your most inte- resting publication, permit me to ask you one question on the principle you advocate therein. "You are against employing machines and paupers, because of the number of men thrown out of labour by them; for upon employing them a vast amount of labour which was formerly pro- fitable to the community becomes unprofitable, and therefore is not employed. "The labour in question is surplus labour, and is over and above what is required for the good of the community. "Now if individuals are employed in unprofit- able labour, so that it only be innocent labour, I do not see that it matters what the nature of it is. If, then, instead of employing individuals to sweep, the machines were used, and the men thus thrown out of work were to be employed in digging holes and filling them up again, in build- ing houses and knocking them down again, or any other work equally unprofitable, and the wages saved by the machines were expended on this, so that there would be exactly the same amount of labour employed, and the same amount of wages expended as if no sweeping-machines were used, then it seems as if it would be exactly the same as if no machines were used. My question, then, is this-Whether you are in favour of the community finding unprofitable labour for the surplus labourers, and paying them for the same? "Liverpool." "I am, "Your obedient Servant, "T. A." The second is from a friend, and relates to the use of machinery in connection with the printing trade. It runs as follows:- < "I have been pondering a good deal at various times about your theory of the Wage Fund,' and am inclined to think you are mistaken in supposing that money is taken from it in order to erect machinery. Of course I look to the process in my own case as that of thousands of others. I was a hand-press printer, and made, we will say, 500l. per annum. Of this I spent 250l.; 2507. I invested in 3 per cents., or bank stock, or railway shares. A's a hand-press printer I could not further extend my trade. I could only do this by producing books at a much cheaper rate. I then, with the accumulated savings of several years, or by other means, purchase ma- chinery; my trade increases, and, instead of dis- charging men, I employ a great many more. Is not this the case with the cotton and woollen manufacturers? The only difference with them was, that they threw a number of hand-loom weavers out of employ, and instead paid a greater amount of wages to women and children than were paid before to the men. Unless you could show that less was paid in wages after the intro- duction of machinery than before, you cannot prove that the Wage Fund' has been abstracted from and thrown into fixed capital. You will recollect that without machinery we should have little or no foreign trade." ' Another refers more particularly to the use of machinery in connection with the stocking trade. "Nov. 25, 1851. "Sir, > "In your recent discussion on the wage law and your sweeping remarks on machinery, you seem to forget the good that machinery has done. If you look at the present time, and compare it with 50 years since those 'good old times you will at once be struck with the marked improvement that has taken place. I do not deny that machinery has thrown a great many men out of employment; but you must recollect that a few must suffer for the good of the many, and that if a man is ground down by machinery, he has to pay less both for clothing and eatables. That the introduction of machinery in our manu- factures has, on the whole, done more good than harm, there can be no doubt. "You say that the machinery in England is equal in power to 600,000,000 men in one sense to compete with other countries. I could adduce so much the better; it enables the large capitalist several instances in support of this, but will content myself with the following:-A short time ago Saxony monopolised nearly the whole of the American stocking trade; but since the recent improvements in stocking-machinery at Notting- ham, we have been able to successfully compete with that country. Hoping you will excuse my freedom in writing you, "I remain, Sir, "Yours respectfully, "" J. C " LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 325 THE EFFECTS OF CASUAL LABOUR IN GENERAL. HAVING now pointed out the causes of casual labour, I proceed to set forth its effects. All casual labour, as I have said, is necessarily uncertain labour; and wherever uncertainty exists, there can be no foresight or pro-vidence. Had the succession of events in nature been irre- gular,—had it been ordained by the Creator that similar causes under similar circumstances should not be attended with similar effects,-it would have been impossible for us to have had any knowledge of the future, or to have made any preparations concerning it. Had the seasons fol- lowed each other fitfully,-had the sequences in the external world been variable instead of inva- riable, and what are now termed "constants" from the regularity of their succession been changed into inconstants,-what provision could even the most prudent of us have made? Where all was dark and unstable, we could only have guessed instead of reasoned as to what was to come; and who would have deprived himself of present enjoyments to avoid future privations, which could appear neither probable nor even possible to him? Pro-vidence, therefore, is simply the result of certainty, and whatever tends to increase our faith in the uniform sequences of outward events, as well as our reliance on the means. we have of avoiding the evils connected with them, necessarily tends to make us more prudent. Where the means of sustenance and comfort are fixed, the human being becomes conscious of what he has to depend upon; and if he feel❘ assured that such means may fail him in old age or in sickness, and be fully impressed with the certainty of suffering from either, he will im- mediately proceed to make some provision against the time of adversity or infirmity. If, however, his means be uncertain-abundant at one time, and deficient at another-a spirit of speculation or gambling with the future will be induced, and the individual get to believe in "luck" and "fate" as the arbiters of his happiness rather than to look upon himself as "the architect of his fortunes" -trusting to "chance" rather than his own powers and foresight to relieve him at the hour of neces- sity. The same result will necessarily ensue if, from defective reasoning powers, the ordinary course of nature be not sufficiently apparent to him, or if, being in good health, he grow too confident upon its continuance, and, either from this or other causes, is led to believe that death will overtake him before his powers of self-support decay. ized at one time, and then no money be earned until after an interval, incomings are rapidly spent, and the interval is one of suffering. This is part of the very nature, the very essence, of the casualty of employment and the delay of remuneration. The past privation gives a zest to the present en- joyment; while the present enjoyment renders the past privation faint as a remembrance and unim- pressive as a warning. Want of providence," writes Mr. Porter, "on the part of those who live by the labour of their hands, and whose employ- ments so often depend upon circumstances beyond their control, is a theme which is constantly brought forward by many whose lot in life has been cast beyond the reach of want. It is, in- deed, greatly to be wished, for their own sakes, that the habit were general among the labouring classes of saving some part of their wages when fully employed, against less prosperous times; but it is difficult for those who are placed in circum- stances of ease to estimate the amount of virtue that is implied in this self-denial. It must be a hard trial for one who has recently, perhaps, seen his family enduring want, to deny them the small amount of indulgences, which are, at the best of times, placed within their reach." It is easy enough for men in smooth circum- stances to say," the privation is a man's own fault, since, to avoid it, he has but to apportion the sum he may receive in a lump over the interval of non- recompense which he knows will follow." Such a course as this, experience and human nature have shown not to be easy-perhaps, with a few exceptions, not to be possible. It is the starving and not the well-fed man that is in danger of surfeiting himself. When pestilence or revolution are rendering life and property casual- ties in a country, the same spirit of improvident recklessness breaks forth. In London, on the last visitation of the plague, in the reign of Charles II., a sort of Plague Club indulged in the wildest excesses in the very heart of the pestilence. To these orgies no one was admitted who had not been bereft of some relative by the post. In Paris, during the reign of terror in the first revolution, the famous Guillotine Club was composed of none but those who had lost some near relative by the guillotine. When they met for their half-frantic revels every one wore some symbol of death: breast pins in the form of guillotines, rings with death's-heads, and such like. The duration of their own lives these Guillotine Clubbists knew to be uncertain, not merely in the ordinary uncer- tainty of nature, but from the character of the times; and this feeling of the jeopardy of exist- ence, from the practice of violence and bloodshed, The ordinary effects of uncertain labour, then, are to drive the labourers to improvidence, reck-wrought the effects I have described. Life was lessness, and pauperism. Even in the classes which we do not rank among labourers, as, for instance, authors, artists, musi- cians, actors, uncertainty or irregularity of employ- ment and remuneration produces a spirit of waste- fulness and carelessness. The steady and daily accruing gains of trade and of some of the profes- sions form a certain and staple income; while in other professions, where a large sum may be real- No. XLV. more than naturally casual. When the famine was at the worst in Ireland, it was remarked in the Cork Examiner, that in that city there never had been seen more street "larking" or street gambling among the poor lads and young men who were really starving. This was a natural result of the casualty of labour and the conse- quent casualty of food. Persons, it should be remembered, do not insure houses or shops that U 326 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. are doubly or trebly hazardous;" they gamble on the uncertainty. Mr. Porter, in his "Progress of the Nation," cites a fact bearing immediately upon the present subject. The For some years after the peace of 1815 the staffs of the militias were kept up, but not in any active service. During the war the militias per- formed what are now the functions of the regular troops in the three kingdoms, their stations being "The formation of a canal, which has been in changed more frequently than those of any of the progress during the last five years, in the north of regular regiments at the present day. Indeed, Ireland (this was written in 1847), has afforded they only differed from the "regulars" in name. steady employment to a portion of the peasantry, There was the same military discipline, and the who before that time were suffering all the evils, sole difference was, that the militia-men-who were so common in that country, which result from the balloted for periodically-could not, by the laws precariousness of employment. Such work as they regulating their embodiment, be sent out of the could previously get came at uncertain intervals, United Kingdom for purposes of warfare. and was sought by so many competitors, that the militias were embodied for twenty-eight days' remuneration was of the scantiest amount. In this training, once in four years (seldom less) after the condition of things the men were improvident, to peace, and the staff acted as the drill sergeants. recklessness; their wages, insufficient for the com- They were usually steady, orderly men, working fortable sustenance of their families, were wasted at their respective crafts when not on duty after in procuring for themselves a temporary forgetful- the militia's disembodiment, and some who had ness of their misery at the whiskey-shop, and the not been brought up to any handicraft turned out men appeared to be sunk into a state of hopeless-perhaps from their military habits of early rising degradation. From the moment, however, that work was offered to them which was constant in its nature and certain in its duration, and on which their weekly earnings would be sufficient to pro- vide for their comfortable support, men who had been idle and dissolute were converted into sober hard-working labourers, and proved themselves kind and careful husbands and fathers; and it is stated as a fact, that, notwithstanding the distribu- tion of several hundred pounds weekly in wages, the whole of which must be considered as so much additional money placed in their hands, the con- sumption of whiskey was absolutely and perma- nently diminished in the district. During the com- paratively short period in which the construction of this canal was in progress, some of the most careful labourers-men who most probably before then never knew what it was to possess five shil- lings at any one time-saved sufficient money to enable them to emigrate to Canada." There can hardly be a stronger illustration of the blessing of constant and the curse of casual la- bour. We have competence and frugality as the results of one system; poverty and extravagance as the results of the other; and among the very same individuals. In the evidence given by Mr. Galloway, the engineer, before a parliamentary committee, he remarks, that "when employers are competent to show their men that their business is steady and cerlain, and when men find that they are likely to have permanent employment, they have always betler habits and more settled notions, which will make them better men and better workmen, and will produce great benefits to all who are interested in their employment." Moreover, even if payment be assured to a working man regularly, but deferred for long in- tervals, so as to make the returns lose all appear- ance of regularity, he will rarely be found able to resist the temptation of a tavern, and, perhaps, a long-continued carouse, or of some other extrava- gance to his taste, when he receives a month's dues at once. I give an instance of this in the following statement:- Yet and orderliness-very good gardeners, both on their own account and as assistants in gentlemen's grounds. No few of them saved money. these men, with very few exceptions, when they received a month's pay, fooled away a part of it in tippling and idleness, to which they were not at all addicted when attending regularly to their work with its regular returns. If they got into any trouble in consequence of their carousing, it was looked upon as a sort of legitimate excuse, "Why you see, sir, it was the 24th" (the 24th of each month being the pension day). The thoughtless extravagance of sailors when, on their return to port, they receive in one sum the wages they have earned by severe toil amidst storms and dangers during a long voyage, I need not speak of; it is a thing well known. These soldiers and seamen cannot be said to have been casually employed, but the results were the same as if they had been so employed; the money came to them in a lump at so long an in- terval as to appear uncertain, and was conse- quently squandered. I may cite the following example as to the effects of uncertain earnings upon the household outlay of labourers who suffer from the casualties of employment induced by the season of the year. "In the long fine days of summer, the little daugh- ter of a working brickmaker," I was told, "used to order chops and other choice dainties of a butcher, saying, Please, sir, father don't care for the price just a-now; but he must have his chops good; line-chops, sir, and tender, please-'cause he's a brickmaker.' In the winter, it was, 'O please, sir, here's a fourpenny bit, and you must send father something cheap. He don't care what it is, so long as it's cheap. It's winter, and he hasn't no work, sir-'cause he 's a'brickmaker.' I have spoken of the tendency of casual labour to induce intemperate habits. In confirmation of this I am enabled to give the following account as to the increase of the sale of malt liquor in the metropolis consequent upon wet weather. The account is derived from the personal observations. of a gentleman long familiar with the brewing LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 327 trade, in connection with one of the largest houses. In short, I may state that the account is given on the very best authority. There are nine large brewers in London; of these the two firms transacting the greatest extent of business supply, daily, 1000 barrels each firm to their customers; the seven others, among them, dispose, altogether, of 3000 barrels daily. All these 5000 barrels a day are solely for town consumption; and this may be said to be the average supply the year through, but the public- house sale is far from regular. After a wet day the sale of malt liquor, prin- cipally beer (porter), to the metropolitan retailers is from 500 to 1000 barrels more than when a wet day has not occurred; that is to say, the supply increases from 5000 barrels to 5500 and 6000. Such of the publicans as keep small stocks go the next day to their brewers to order a further supply; those who have better-furnished cellars may not go for two or three days after, but the result is the same. The reason for this increased consumption is obvious; when the weather prevents workmen from prosecuting their respective callings in the open air, they have recourse to drinking, to pass away the idle time. Any one who has made himself familiar with the habits of the working classes has often found them crowding a public- house during a hard rain, especially in the neigh- bourhood of new buildings, or any public open-air work. The street-sellers, themselves prevented from plying their trades outside, are busy in such times in the "publics," offering for sale braces, belts, hose, tobacco-boxes, nuts of different kinds, apples, &c. A bargain may then be struck for so much and a half-pint of beer, and so the con- sumption is augmented by the trade in other matters. of Now, taking 750 barrels as the average the extra sale of beer in consequence of wet weather, we have a consumption beyond the de- mands of the ordinary trade in malt liquor of 27,000 gallons, or 216,000 pints. This, at 2d. a pint, is 18001. for a day's needless, and often pre- judicial, outlay caused by the casualty of the weather and the consequent casualty of labour. A censor of morals might say that these men should go home under such circumstances; but their homes may be at a distance, and may present no great attractions; the single men among them may have no homes, merely sleeping-places; and even the more prudent may think it advisable to wait awhile under shelter in hopes of the weather improving, so that they could resume their labour, and only an hour or so be deducted from their wages. Besides, there is the attraction to the labourer of the warmth, discussion, freedom, and excitement of the public-house. That the great bulk of the consumers of this additional beer are of the classes I have men- tioned is, I think, plain enough, from the increase being experienced only in that beverage, the con- sumption of gin being little affected by the same Indeed, the statistics showing the ratio of beer and gin - drinking are curious enough means. f (were this the place to enter into them), the most gin, as a general rule, being consumed in the most depressed years. "It is a fact worth notice," said a statistical journal, entitled "Facts and Figures," published in 1841, "as illustrative of the tendency of the times of pressure to increase spirit drinking, that whilst under the privations of last year (1840) the poorer classes paid 2,628,2861. tax for spirits; in 1836, a year of the greatest prosperity, the tax on British spirits amounted only to 2,390,1887. So true is it that to impoverish is to demoralise." The numbers who imbibe, in the course of a wet day, these 750 barrels, cannot, of course, be ascertained, but the following calculations may be presented. The class of men I have described rarely have spare money, but if known to a land- lord, they probably may obtain credit until the Saturday night. Now, putting their extra beer- drinking on wet days-for on fine days there is generally a pint or more consumed daily per working man-putting, I say, the extra potations at a pot (quart) each man, we find one hundred and eight thousand consumers (out of 2,000,000 people, or, discarding the women and children, not 1,000,000)! A number doubling, and trebling, and quadrupling the male adult population of many a splendid continental city. Of the data I have given, I may repeat, no doubt can be entertained; nor, as it seems to me, can any doubt be entertained that the increased consumption is directly attributable to the casualty of labour *. OF THE SOURF TRADE AMONG THE RUBBISH- CARTERS. Before proceeding to treat of the cheap or "scurf" labourers among the rubbish-carters, I shall do as I have done in connection with the casual labourers of the same trade, say a few words on that kind of labour in general, both as to the means by which it is usually obtained and as to the distinctive qualities of the scurf or low- priced labourers; for experience teaches me that the mode by which labour is cheapened is more or less similar in all trades, and it will therefore save much time and space if I here--as with the casual labourers give the general facts in connection with this part of my subject. In the first place, then, there are but two direct modes of cheapening labour, viz. :—— 1. By making the workmen do more work for the same pay. 2. By making them do the same work for less pay. The first of these modes is what is technically termed "driving," especially when effected by com- pulsory "overwork;" and it is called the " economy of labour" when brought about by more elaborate and refined processes, such as the division of la- bour, the large system of production, the invention * The Great Exhibition, I am informed, produced a very small effect on the consumption of porter; and, accord- ing to the official returns, 160,000 gallons less spirits were consumed in the first nine months of the present year, than in the corresponding months of the last: thus show- ing that any occupation of mind or body is incompatible with intemperate habits, for drunkenness is essentially the vice of idleness, or want of something better to do. 328 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. of machinery, and the temporary, as contradistin- guished from the permanent, mode of hiring. Each of these modes of making workmen do more work for the same pay, can but have the same depressing effect on the labour market, for not only is the rate of remuneration (or ratio of the work to the pay) reduced when the operative is made to do a greater quantity of work for the same amount of money, but, unless the means of disposing of the extra products be proportionately increased, it is evident that just as many work- men must be displaced thereby as the increased term or rate of working exceeds the extension of the markets; that is to say, if 4000 workpeople be made to produce each twice as much as formerly (either by extending the hours of labour or in- creasing their rate of labouring), then if the markets or means of disposing of the extra pro- ducts be increased only one-half, 1000 hands must, according to Cocker, be deprived of their ordinary employment; and these competing with those who are in work will immediately tend to reduce the wages of the trade generally, so that not only will the rate of wages be decreased, since each will have more work to do, but the actual earnings of the workmen will be diminished likewise. Of the economy of labour itself, as a means of cheapening work, there is no necessity for me to speak here. It is, indeed, generally admitted, that to economize labour without proportionally extending the markets for the products of such labour, is to deprive a certain number of workmen of their ordinary means of living; and under the head of casual labour so many instances have been given of this principle that it would be wearisome to the reader were I to do other than allude to the matter at present. There are, however, several other means of causing a workman to do more than his ordinary quantity of work. These are :- 1. By extra supervision when the workmen are paid by the day. Of this mode of increased production an instance has al- ready been cited in the account of the strapping-shops given at p. 304, vol. ii. 2. By increasing the workman's interest in his work; as in piece-work, where the payment of the operative is made propor- tional to the quantity of work done by him. Of this mode examples have already been given at p. 303, vol. ii. }; con- 3. By large quantities of work given out at one time; as in "lump-work" and " tract work.' 4. By the domestic system of work, or giv- ing out materials to be made up at the homes of the workpeople. 5. By the middleman system of labour. 6. By the prevalence of small masters. 7. By a reduced rate of pay, as forcing operatives to labour both longer and quicker, in order to make up the same amount of income. Of several of these modes of work I have already spoken, citing facts as to their pernicious influence upon the greater portion of those trades where they are found to prevail. I have already shown how, by extra supervision-by increased interest in the work-as well as by decreased pay, operatives can be made to do more work than they otherwise would, and so be the cause, unless the market be proportionately extended, of depriving some of their fellow-labourers of their fair share of employment. It now only remains for me to set forth the effect of those modes of employment which have not yet been described, viz., the domestic system, the middleman system, and the contract and lump system, as well as the small- master system of work. Let me begin with the first of the last-men- tioned modes of cheapening labour, viz., the do- mestic system of work. I find, by investigation, that in trades where the system of working on the master's premises has been departed from, and a man is allowed to take his work home, there is invariably a ten- dency to cheapen labour. These home workers, whenever opportunity offers, will use other men's ill-paid labour, or else employ the members of their family to enhance their own profits. The domestic system, moreover, naturally induces over-work and Sunday-work, as well as tends to change journeymen into trading operatives, living on the labour of their fellow-workmen. When the work is executed off the master's premises, of course there are neither definite hours nor days for labour; and the consequence is, the generality of home workers labour early and late, Sundays as well as week-days, availing themselves at the same time of the co-operation of their wives and children; thus the trade becomes overstocked with workpeople by the introduction of a vast number of new hauds into it, as well as by the overwork of the men themselves who thus obtain employment. When I was among the tailors, I received from a journeyman to whom I was re- ferred by the Trades' Society as the one best able to explain the causes of the decline of that trade, the following lucid account of the evils of this system of labour :-- "The principal cause of the decline of our trade is the employment given to workmen at their own homes, or, in other words, to the sweaters.' The sweater is the greatest evil in the trade; as the sweating system increases the number of hands to an almost incredible extent- wives, sons, daughters, and extra women, all working long days'-that is, labouring from sixteen to eighteen hours per day, and Sundays as well. By this system two men obtain as much work as would give employment to three or four men working regular hours in the shop. Conse- quently, the sweater being enabled to get the work done by women and children at a lower price than the regular workman, obtains the greater part of the garments to be made, while men who depend upon the shop for their living are obliged to walk about idle. A greater quan- tity of work is done under the sweating system at a lower price. I consider that the decline of my trade dates from the change of day-work into piece-work. According to the old system, the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 329 journeyman was paid by the day, and conse- quently must have done his work under the eye of his employer. It is true that work was given out by the master before the change from day- work to piece-work was regularly acknowledged in the trade. But still it was morally impossible for work to be given out and not be paid by the piece. Hence I date the decrease in the wages of the workman from the introduction of piece-work, and giving out garments to be made of the pre- mises of the master. The effect of this was, that the workman making the garment, knowing that the master could not tell whom he got to do his work for him, employed women and children to help him, and paid them little or nothing for their labour. This was the beginning of the sweating system. The workmen gradually be- came transformed from journeymen into 'middle- men,' living by the labour of others. Employers soon began to find that they could get garments made at a less sum than the regular price, and those tradesmen who were anxious to force their trade, by underselling their more honourable neighbours, readily availed themselves of this means of obtaining cheap labour." The middleman system of work is so much akin to the domestic system, of which, indeed, it is but a necessary result, that it forms a natural addendum to the above. Of this indirect mode of employing workmen, I said, in the Chronicle, when treating of the timber-porters at the docks:- ( "The middleman system is the one crying evil of the day. Whether he goes by the name of 'sweater,' chamber-master,' lumper,' or contractor, it is this trading operative who is the great means of reducing the wages of his fellow working-men. To make a profit out of the employment of his brother operatives he must, of course, obtain a lower class and, consequently, cheaper labour. Hence it becomes a business with him to hunt out the lowest grades of working men-that is to say, those who are either morally or intellectually in- ferior in the craft--the drunken, the dishonest, the idle, the vagabond, and the unskilful; these are the instruments that he seeks for, because, these being unable to obtain employment at the regular wages of the sober, honest, industrious, and skilful portion of the trade, he can obtain their labour at a lower rate than what is usually paid. Hence drunkards, tramps, men without character or sta- tion, apprentices, children-all suit him. Indeed, the more degraded the labourers, the better they answer his purpose, for the cheaper he can get their work, and consequently the more he can make out of it. Boy labour or thief labour,' said a middle- man, on a large scale, to me, 'what do I care, so long as I can get my work done cheap?' That this seeking out of cheap and inferior labour really takes place, and is a necessary consequence of the middleman system, we have merely to look into the condition of any trade where it is extensively pursued. I have shown, in my account of the tailors' trade printed in the Chronicle, that the wives of the sweaters not only parade the streets of London on the look-out for youths raw from the country, but that they make periodical trips to the poorest provinces of Ireland, in order to obtain workmen I have shown, more- at the lowest possible rate. over, that foreigners are annually imported from the Continent for the same purpose, and that among the chamber-masters in the shoe trade, the child- market at Bethnal-green, as well as the work- houses, are continually ransacked for the means of All my in- obtaining a cheaper kind of labour. vestigations go to prove, that it is chiefly by means of this middleman system that the wages of the working men are reduced. It is this contractor this trading operative-who is in- variably the prime mover in the reduction of the wages of his fellow-workmen. He uses the most degraded of the class as a means of under- selling the worthy and skilful labourers, and of ultimately dragging the better down to the abase- ment of the worst. He cares not whether the trade to which he belongs is already overstocked with hands, for, be those hands as many as they may, and the ordinary wages of his craft down to bare subsistence point, it matters not a jot to him; he can live solely by reducing them still lower, and so he immediately sets about drafting or im- porting a fresh and cheaper stock into the trade. If men cannot subsist on lower prices, then he takes apprentices, or hires children; if women of chastity cannot afford to labour at the price he gives, then he has recourse to prostitutes; or if workmen of character and worth refuse to work at less than the ordinary rate, then he seeks out the moral refuse of the trade-those whom none else will employ; or else he flies, to find labour meet for his purpose, to the workhouse and the gaol. Backed by this cheap and refuse labour, he offers his work at lower prices, and so keeps on reducing and reducing the wages of his brethren, until all sink in poverty, wretchedness, and vice. where we will, look into whatever poorly-paid craft we please, we shall find this trading opera- tive, this middleman or contractor, at the bottom of the degradation." " " Go The "contract system or lump work," as it is called, is but a corollary, as it were, of the foregoing; for it is an essential part of the middle- man system, that the work should be obtained by the trading operative in large quantities, so that those upon whose labour he lives should be kept continually occupied, and the more, of course, that he can obtain work for, the greater his profit. When a quantity of work, usually paid for by the piece, is given out at one time, the natural tendency is for the piece-work to pass into lump-work; that is to say, if there be in a trade a number of distinct parts, each requiring, perhaps, from the division. of labour, a distinct hand for the execution of it, or if each of these parts bear a different price, it is frequently the case that the master will contract with some one workman for the execution of the whole, agreeing to give a certain price for the job "in the lump," and allowing the workman to get whom he pleases to execute it. This is the case. with the piece-working masters in the coach-build- ing trade; but it is not essential to the contract or 330 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. lump system of work, that other hands should be employed; the main distinction between it and piece-work being that the work is given out in large quantities, and a certain allowance or reduc- tion of price effected from that cause alone. It is this contract or lump work which con- stitutes the great evil of the carpenter's, as well as of many other trades; and as in those crafts, so in this, we find that the lower the wages are reduced the greater becomes the number of trading operatives or middlemen. For it is when work men find the difficulty of living by their labour increased that they take to scheming and trading upon the labour of their fellows. In the slop trade, where the pay is the worst, these creatures abound the most; and so in the carpenter's trade, where the wages are the lowest-as among the speculative builders-there the system of contract- ing and sub-contracting is found in full force. Of this contract or lump work, I received the following account from the foreman to a large speculating builder, when I was inquiring into the condition of the London carpenters :- "The way in which the work is done is mostly by letting and subletting. The masters usually prefer to let work, because it takes all the trouble off their hands. They know what they are to get for the job, and of course they let it as much under that figure as they possibly can, all of which is clear gain without the least trouble. How the work is done, or by whom, it's no matter to them, so long as they can make what they want out of the job, and have no bother about it. Some of our largest builders are taking to this plan, and a party who used to have one of the largest shops in London has within the last three years discharged all the men in his employ (he had 200 at least), and has now merely an office, and none but clerks and accountants in his pay. He has taken to letting his work out instead of doing it at home. The parties to whom the work is let by the speculating builders are generally working men, and these men in their turn look out for other working men, who will take the job cheaper than they will; and so I leave you, sir, and the public to judge what the party who really executes the work gets for his labour, and what is the quality of work that he is likely to put into it. The speculating builder gene- rally employs an overlooker to see that the work is done sufficiently well to pass the surveyor. That's all he cares about. Whether it's done by thieves, or drunkards, or boys, it's no matter to him. The overlooker, of course, sees after the first party to whom the work is let, and this party in his turn looks after the several hands that he has sublet it to. The first man who agrees to the job takes it in the lump, and he again lets it to others in the piece. I have known instances of its having been let again a third time, but this is not usual. The party who takes the job in the lump from the speculator usually employs a foreman, whose duty it is to give out the materials and to make working drawings. The men to whom it is sublet only find labour, while the lumper,' or first con- | He tractor, agrees for both labour and materials. It is usual in contract work, for the first party who- takes the job to be bound in a large sum for the due and faithful performance of his contract. then, in his turn, finds out a sub-contractor, who is mostly a small builder, who will also bind him- self that the work shall be properly executed, and there the binding ceases-those parties to whom the job is afterwards let, or sublet, employing foremen or overlookers to see that their contract is carried out. The first contractor has scarcely any trouble whatsoever; he merely engages a gentle- man, who rides about in a gig, to see that what is done is likely to pass muster. The sub-contractor has a little more trouble; and so it goes on as it gets down and down. Of course I need not tell you that the first contractor, who does the least of all, gets the most of all; while the poor wretch of a working man, who positively executes the job, is obliged to slave away every hour, night after night, to get a bare living out of it; and this is the contract system." A tradesman, or a speculator, will contract, for a certain sum, to complete the skeleton of a house, and render it fit for habitation. He will sublet the flooring to some working joiner, who will, in very many cases, take it on such terms as to allow himself, by working early and late, the re- gular journeymen's wages of 30s. a week, or per- haps rather more. Now this sub-contractor cannot complete the work within the requisite time by his own unaided industry, and he employs men to assist him, often subletting again, and such assistant men will earn perhaps but 4s. a day. It is the same with the doors, the staircases, the balustrades, the window-frames, the room-skirt- ings, the closets; in short, all parts of the building. The subletting is accomplished without diffi- culty. Old men are sometimes employed in such work, and will be glad of any remuneration to escape the workhouse; while stronger workmen are usually sanguine that by extra exertion, "though the figure is low, they may make a tidy thing out of it after all." In this way labour is cheapened. "Lump" work, "piece" work, work by "the job," are all portions of the contract system. The prin- ciple is the same. "Here is this work to be done, what will you undertake to do it for?" In number after number of the Builder will be found statements headed "Blind Builders." One firm, responding to an advertisement for "esti- mates" of the building of a church, sends in an offer to execute the work in the best style for 5000l. Another firm may offer to do it for some- where about 3000. The first-mentioned firm would do the work well, paying the "honourable" rate of wages. The under-working firm must re- sort to the scamping and subletting system I have alluded to. It appears that the building of churches and chapels, of all denominations, is one of the greatest encouragement to slop, or scamp, or under-paid work. The same system prevails in many trades with equally pernicious effects. "If you will allow me," says a correspondent, "I would state that there is one cause of hardship LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 331 and suffering to the labouring or handicraftsman, which, to my mind, is far more productive of distress and poor-grinding than any other, or than all other causes put together: I allude to the con- tract system, and especially in reference to print- ing. Depend upon it, sir, the father of wicked- ness himself could not devise a more malevolent or dishonest course than that now very generally pursued by those who should be, of all others, the friends of the poor and working man. The Government and the great West-end clubs have reduced their transactions to such a low level in this respect that it seems to be the only question with them, Who will work lowest or supply goods at the lowest figure? And this, too, totally irre- spective of the circumstance whether it may not reduce wages or bankrupt the contractor. No matter whether a party who has executed the work required for years be noted for paying a fair and remunerating price to his workmen or sub-tradesmen, and bears the character of a re- sponsible and trustworthy man-all this is as nothing; for somebody, who may be, for aught that is cared, deficient in all these points, will do what is needful at so much less; and then, unless willing to reduce the wage of his work people, the long-employed tradesman has but the alternative of losing his business or cheating his creditors. And then, to give a smack to the whole affair, the Stationery Office' of the Go vernment, or the committee of the club, will congratulate themselves and their auditors on the fact that a diminution in expenses has been effected; a result commemorated perhaps by an addition of salary to the officials in the former case, and of a cordial vote of thanks' in the latter. I do not write without book,' I can assure you, on these matters; for I have long and earnestly watched the subject, and could fill many a page with the details." Of, the ruinous effects of the contract system in connection with the army clothing, Mr. Pearse, the army clothier, gave the following evidence before the Select Committee on Army and Navy Appointments. "When the contract for soldier's great coats was opened, Mr. Maberly took it at the same price (13s.) in December, 1808; this shows the effect of wild competition. In February following, Esdailes' house, who were accoutrement makers, and not clothiers, got knowledge of what was Mr. Maberly's price, and they tendered at 12s. 6d. a month afterwards; it was evidently then a struggle for the price, and how the quality the least good (if we may use such a term) could pass. Mr. Maberly did not like to be outbidden by Esdailes; Esdailes stopped subsequently, and Mr. Maberly bid 12s. 6d. three months after, and Mr. Dixon bid again, and got the contract for 11s. 3d. in October, and in December of that year another public tender took place, and Messrs. A. and D. Cock took it at 11s. 5½d., and they subsequently broke. It went on in this sort of way,-changing hands every two or every three months, by bidding against each other. Presently, though it was calculated that the great coat was to wear four years, it was found that those great coats were so inferior in quality, that they wore only two years, and representations were accordingly made to the Commander-in-Chief, when it was found necessary that great care should be taken to go back to the original good quality that had been established by the Duke of York." Mr. Shaw, another army clothier, and a gentle- man with whose friendship, I am proud to say, I have been honoured since the commencement of my inquiries-a gentleman actuated by the most kindly and Christian impulses, and of whom the workpeople speak in terms of the highest admira- tion and regard; this gentleman, impressed with a deep sense of the evils of the contract system to the under-paid and over-worked operatives of his trade, addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Committee on Army, Navy, and Ordnance Esti- mates, from which the following are extracts:— "My Lord, my object more particularly is, to request your lordship will submit to the committee, as an evidence of the evils of contracts, the great coat sent herewith, made similar to those supplied to the army, and I would respectfully appeal to them as men, gentlemen, as Christians, whether fivepence, the price now being given to poor females for making up those coats, is a fair and just price for six, seven, and eight hours' work. My Lord, the misery amongst the workpeople is most distressing-of a mass of people, willing to work, who cannot obtain it, and of a mass, espe- cially women, most iniquitously paid for their labour, who are in a state of oppression disgraceful to the Legislature, the Government, the Church, and the consuming public. I would, therefore, most humbly and earnestly call upon your lordship, and the other members of the com- mittee, to recommend an immediate stop to be put to the system of contracting now pursued by the different government departments, as being one of false economy, as a system most oppressive to the poor, and being most injurious, in every way, to the best interests of the country." • · In another place the same excellent gentleman says:- "I could refer to the screwing down of other things by the government authorities, but the above will be sufficient to show how cruelly the workpeople employed in making up this clothing are oppressed; and some of the men will tell you, they are tired of life. Last week I found one man making a country police coat, who said his wife and child were out begging." The last mentioned of the several modes of cheapening labour is the "small-master system" of work, that is to say, the operatives taking to make up materials on their own account rather than for capitalist employers. In every trade where there are small masters, trades into which it requires but little capital to embark, there is tain to be a cheapening of labour. Such a man works himself, and to get work, to meet the exi- gences of the rent and the demands of the collec- tors of the parliamentary and parochial taxes, he will often underwork the very journeymen whom he occasionally employs, doing "the job" in such cer- 332 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. cases with the assistance of his family and appren- tices, at a less rate of profit than the amount of journeymen's wages. Concerning these garret masters I said, when treating of the Cabinet trade, in the Chronicle, "The cause of the extraordinary decline of wages in the Cabinet trade (even though the hands de- creased and the work increased to an unprece- dented extent) will be found to consist in the in- crease that has taken place within the last 20 years of what are called 'garret masters' in the cabinet trade. These garret masters are a class of small 'trade-working masters,' the same as the chamber masters' in the shoe trade, supplying both capital and labour. They are in manufacture what the | peasant proprietors' are in agriculture-their own employers and their own workmen. There is, however, this one marked distinction between the two classes-the garret master cannot, like the peasant proprietor, eat what he produces; the con- sequence is, that he is obliged to convert each arti- cle into food immediately he manufactures it-no matter what the state of the market may be. The capital of the garret master being generally suffi- cient to find him in materials for the manufacture of only one article at a time, and his savings being but barely enough for his subsistence while he is engaged in putting those materials together, he is compelled, the moment the work is completed, to part with it for whatever he can get. He cannot afford to keep it even a day, for to do so is gene- rally to remain a day unfed. Hence, if the market be at all slack, he has to force a sale by offering his goods at the lowest possible price. What wonder, then, that the necessities of such a class of individuals should have created a special race of employers, known by the significant name of 'slaughter-house men'-or that these, being aware of the inability of the 'garret masters' to hold out against any offer, no matter how slight a remune- ration it affords for their labour, should continually lower and lower their prices, until the entire body of the competitive portion of the cabinet trade is sunk in utter destitution and misery? Moreover, it is well known how strong is the stimulus among peasant proprietors, or, indeed, any class working for themselves, to extra production. So it is, in- deed, with the garret masters; their industry is almost incessant, and hence a greater quantity of work is turned out by them, and continually forced into the market, than there would otherwise be. What though there be a brisk and a slack season in the cabinet-maker's trade as in the majority of others?-slack or brisk, the garret masters must produce the same excessive quantity of goods. In the hope of extricating himself from his over- whelming poverty, he toils on, producing more and more-and yet the more he produces the more hopeless does his position become; for the greater the stock that he thrusts into the market, the lower does the price of his labour fall, until at last, he and his whole family work for less than half what he himself could earn a few years back by his own unaided labour." The small-master system of work leads, like the domestic system, with which, indeed, it is inti- mately connected, to the employment of wives, children, and apprentices, as a means of assistance and extra production-for as the prices decline so do the small masters strive by further labour to compensate for their loss of income. Such, then, are the several modes of work by which labour is cheapened. There are, as we have seen, but two ways of directly effecting this, viz., first by making men do more work for the same pay, and secondly, by making them do the same work for less pay. The way in which men are made to do more, it has been pointed out, is, by causing them either to work longer or quicker, or else by employing fewer hands in proportion to the work; or engaging them only for such time as their services are required, and discharging them immediately afterwards. These constitute the several modes of economizing labour, which lowers the rate of remuneration (the ratio of the pay to the work) rather than the pay itself. The several means by which this result is attained are termed 'systems of work, production, or engagement," and such are those above detailed. tr Now it is a necessity of these several systems, though the actual amount of remuneration is not directly reduced by them, that a cheaper labour should be obtained for carrying them out. Thus, in contract or lump work, perhaps, the price may not be immediately lowered; the saving to the employer consisting chiefly in supervision, he having in such a case only one man to look to instead of perhaps a hundred. The contractor, or lumper, however, is differently situated; he, in order to reap any benefit from the contract, must, since he cannot do the whole work himself, employ others to help him, and to reap any benefit from the contract, this of course must be done at a lower price than he himself receives; so it is with the middleman system, where a profit is derived from the labour of other operatives; so, again, with the domestic system of work, where the several mem- bers of the family, or cheaper labourers, are gene- rally employed as assistants; and even so is it with the small-master system, where the labour of apprentices and wives and children is the principal means of help. Hence the operatives adopting these several systems of work are rather the in- struments by which cheap labour is obtained than the cheap labourers themselves. It is true that a sweater, a chamber master, or garret master, a lumper or contractor, or a home worker, generally works cheaper than the ordinary operatives, but this he does chiefly by the cheap labourers he em- ploys, and then, finding that he is able to under- work the rest of the trade, and that the more hands he employs the greater becomes his profit, he offers to do work at less than the usual rate. It is not a necessity of the system that the middle- man operative, the domestic worker, the lumper, or garret master should be himself underpaid, but simply that he should employ others who are so, and it is thus that such systems of work tend to cheapen the labour of those trades in which they are found to prevail. Who, then, are the cheap labourers ?-who the individuals, by means of < LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 333 whose services the sweater, the smaller master, the lumper, and others, is enabled to underwork the rest of his trade?-what the general character- istics of those who, in the majority of handicrafts, are found ready to do the same work for less pay, and how are these usually distinguished from such as obtain the higher rate of remuneration? The cheap workmen in all trades, I find, are divisible into three classes :- 1. The unskilful. 2. The untrustworthy. 3. The inexpensive. First, as regards the unskilful. Long ago it has been noticed how frequently boys were put to trades to which their tastes and temperaments were antagonistic. Gay, who in his quiet, unpretending style often elicited a truth, tells how a century and a half ago the generality of parents never consi- dered for what business a boy was best adapted- 'But ev'n in infancy decree What this or t'other son shall be." A boy thus brought up to a craft for which he entertains a dislike can hardly become a proficient in it. At the present time thousands of parents are glad to have their sons reared to any business which their means or opportunities place within their reach, even though the lad be altogether un- suited to the craft. The consequence is, that these boys often grow up to be unskilful workmen. There are technical terms for them in different trades, but perhaps the generic appellation is muffs." Such workmen, however well conducted, can rarely obtain employment in a good shop at good wages, and are compelled, therefore, to accept second, third, and fourth-rate wages, and are often driven to slop work. master, as far as slop remuneration goes, which, though small in a small business, is wealth in a "monster business." esses There are, again, the "improvers." These are the most frequent in the dress-making and milli- nery business, as young women find it impossible to form a good connection among a wealthier class of ladies in any country town, unless the "patron- are satisfied that their skill and taste have been perfected in London. In my inquiry (in the course of two letters in the Morning Chronicle) into the condition of the work women in this call- ing, I was told by a retired dressmaker, who had for upwards of twenty years carried on business in the neighbourhood of Grosvenor-square, that she had sometimes met with "improvers" so taste- ful and quick, from a good provincial tuition, that they had really little or nothing to learn in Lon- don. And yet their services were secured for one, and oftener for two years, merely for board and lodging, while others employed in the same esta- blishment had not only board and lodging, but handsome salaries. The improver's, then, is gene- rally a cheap labour, and often a very cheap labour too. The same form of cheap labour prevails in the carpenter's trade. A There is, moreover, the labour of old men. tailor, for instance, who may have executed the most skilled work of his craft, in his old age, or before the period of old age, finds his eyesight fail him,-finds his tremulous fingers have not a full and rapid mastery of the needle, and he then la- bours, at greatly reduced rates of payment, on the making of soldiers' clothing-" sanc-work,' is called-or on any ill-paid and therefore ill- wrought labour. as it also, by the employment of Irishmen (in, perhaps, all branches of skilled or unskilled labour), and of foreigners, more especially of Poles, who are infe- rior workmen to the English, and who will work very cheap, thus supplying a low-price labour to those who seek it. I may remark further, that if a first-rate work- man be driven to slop work, he soon loses his skill; he can only work slop; this has been shown over and over again, and so his labour becomes cheap in the mart. The inferior, as regards the quality of the work, Other causes may be cited as tending to form and under-paid class of women, in tailong, for unskilful workmen: the neglect of masters or fore-example, again, cheapen labour. It is cheapened, men, or their incapacity to teach apprentices; irre- gular habits in the learner; and insufficient prac- tice during a master's paucity of employment. I am assured, moreover, that hundreds of mechanics yearly come to London from the country 'parts, whose skill is altogether inadequate to the de- mands of the" honourable trade." Of course, during the finishing of their education they can only work for inferior shops at inferior wages; hence another cause of cheap labour. Of this I will cite an in- stance: a bootmaker, who for years had worked for first-rate West-end shops, told me that when he came to London from a country town he was sanguine of success, because he knew that he was a ready man (a quick workman.) He very soon found out, however, he said, that as he aspired to do the best work, he had his business to learn all over again;" and until he attained the requisite skill, he worked for "just what he could get:" he was a cheap, because then an unskilful, labourer. There is, moreover, the cheaper labour of ap- prentices, the great prop of many a slop-trader; for as such traders disregard all the niceties of work, as they disregard also the solidity and per- fect finish of any work (finishing it, as it was once described to me, "just to the eye"), a lad is soon made useful, and his labour remunerative to his 2. Of Untrustworthy Labour (as a cause of cheap labour) I need not say much. It is ob- vious that a drunken, idle, or dishonest workman or work woman, when pressed by want, will and must labour, not for the recompense the labour merits, but for whatever pittance an employer will accord. There is no reliance to be placed in him. Such a man cannot "hold out" for terms, for he is perhaps starving, and it is known that "he cannot be depended upon." In the sweep's trade many of those who work at a lower rate than the rest of *The term sanc in "sanc-work" is the Norman word for blood (Latin, sanguis; French, sang), so that "sane-work" means, literally, bloody work, this called either from the sanguinary trade of the soldier, or from the blood-red colourof the cloth. 334 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the trade are men who have lost their regular | Limerick peasant I have spoken of, who was work by dishonesty. 3. The Inexpensive class of workpeople are very numerous. They consist of three sub-divisions:- (a.) Those who have been accustomed to a coarser kind of diet, and who, consequently, requiring less, can afford to work for less. (b.) Those who derive their subsistence from other sources, and who, consequently, do not live by their labour. (c.) Those who are in receipt of certain "aids to their wages," or who have other means of living beside their work. Of course these causes can alone have influence where the wages are minimized or reduced to the lowest ebb of subsistence, in which case they be- come so many means of driving down the price of labour still lower. a. Those who, being what is designated hard- reared that is to say, accustomed to a scantier or coarser diet, and who, therefore, "can do" with a less quantity or less expensive quality of food than the average run of labourers, can of course live at a lower cost, and so afford to work at a lower rate. Among such (unskilled) labourers are the pea- sants from many of the counties, who seek to amend their condition by obtaining employment in the towns. I will instance the agricultural labourers of Dorsetshire. "Bread and potatoes," writes Mr. Thornton, in his work on Over-Population and its Remedy, p. 21, "do really form the staple of their food. As for meat, most of them would not know its taste, if, once or twice in the course of their lives, -on the squire's having a son and heir born to him, or on the young gentleman's coming of age,- they were not regaled with a dinner of what the newspapers call 'old English fare.' Some of them contrive to have a little bacon, in the proportion, it seems, of half a pound a week to a dozen per- sons, but they more commonly use fat to give the potatoes a relish; and, as one of them said to Mr. Austin (a commissioner), they don't always go without cheese."" actually driven to eat the grass, which biblical history shows was once a signal punishment to a great offender-would not such a man work for the veriest dole, rather than again be subjected to the pangs of hunger? In my inquiries among the costermongers, one of them said of the Irish in his trade, and without any bitterness, "they'll work for nothing, and live on less." The meaning is obvious enough, although the assertion is, of course, a contradiction in itself. This department of labour," says Mr. Baines, in his History of the Hand-Loom Weavers, is "greatly overstocked, and the price necessarily falls. The evil is aggravated by the multitudes of Irish who have flocked into Lancashire, some of whom, having been linen weavers, naturally resort to the loom, and others learn to weave as the easiest employ- ment they can adopt. Accustomed to a wretched mode of living in their own country, they are con- tented with wages that would starve an English labourer. They have, in fact, so lowered the rate of wages as to drive many of the English out of the employment, and to drag down those who remain in it to their own level." b. Those who derive their subsistence from other sources can, of course, afford to work cheaper than those who have to live by their labour. To this class belongs the labour of wives and chil- dren, who, being supposed to be maintained by the toil of the husband, are never paid "living wages" for what they do; and hence the misery of the great mass of needlewomen, widows, un- married and friendless females, and the like, who, having none to assist them, are forced to starve upon the pittance they receive for their work. The labour of those who are in prisons, workhouses, and asylums, and who consequently have their subsistence found them in such places, as well as the work of prostitutes, who obtain their living by other means than work, all come under the category of those who can afford to labour at a lower rate than such as are condemned to toil for an honest living. It is the same with apprentices and "improvers," for whose labour the instruction received is generally considered to be either a sufficient or partial recompense, and who consequently look to other means for their support. Under the same head, too, may be cited the labour of amateurs, that is to say, of With many poor Irishmen the rearing has been still harder. I had some conversation with an Irish rubbish-carter, who had been thrown out of work (and was entitled to no allowance from any trade society) in consequence of a strike by Mr. Myers's men. On my asking him how he sub-persons who either are not, or who are too proud sisted in Ireland, "Will, thin, sir," he said, "and it's God's truth, I once lived for days on green things I picked up by the road side, and the turnips, and that sort of mate I stole from the fields. It was called staling, but it was the hunger, 'deed was it. That was in the county Limerick, sir, in the famine and 'viction times; and, glory be to God, I 'scaped when others didn't." / I may observe that the chief local paper, the Limerick and Clare Examiner, published twice a week, gave, twice a week, at the period of "the famine and evictions," statements similar to that of my informant. to acknowledge themselves, regular members of the trade at which they work. Such is the case with very many of the daughters of trades- men, and of many who are considered genteel people. These young women, residing with their parents, and often in comfortable homes, at no cost to themselves, cost to themselves, will, and do, undersell the regular needlewomen; the one works merely for pocket-money (often to possess herself of some article of finery), while the other works for what is called "the bare life." c. The last-mentioned class, or those who are in possession of what may be called "aids to wages," are differently circumstanced. Such are Now, would not a poor man, reared as the the men who have other employment besides M ། LONDON NIGHT ME N. [From a Daguerreotype by BEARD.] - 1 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the 335 Į that for which they accept less than the ordinary pay, as is the case with those who attend at gentlemen's houses for one or two hours every morning, cleaning boots, brushing clothes, &c., and who, having the remainder of the day at their own disposal, can afford to work at any calling cheaper than others, because not solely dependent upon it for their living. The army and navy pensioners (non-commis- sioned officers and privates) were, at one period, on the disbanding of the militia and other forces, a very numerous body, but it was chiefly the military pensioners whose position had an effect upon the labour of the country. The naval pen- sioners found employment as fishermen, or in some avocation connected with the sea. The military pensioners, however, were men who, after a career of soldiership, were not generally disposed to settle down into the drudgery of regular work, even if it were in their power to do so; and so, as they always had their pensions to depend upon, they were a sort of universal jobbers, and jobbed cheaply. At the present time, however, this means of cheap labour is greatly restricted, compared with what was the case, the number of the pensioners being considerably diminished. Many of the army pensioners turn the wheels for turners at present. The allotment of gardens, which yield a partial support to the allottee, are another means of cheap labour. The allotment demands a certain portion of time, but is by no means a thorough employment, but merely an aid," and conse- quently a means, to low wages. Such a man has the advantage of obtaining his potatoes and vege- tables at the cheapest rate, and so can afford to work cheaper than other men of his class. It was the same formerly with those who received "relief" under the old Poor-Law. And even under the present system it has been found that the same practice is attended with the same result. In the Sixth Annual Report of the Poor-Law Commissioners, 1840, at p. 31, there are the following remarks on the subject: done at the extraordinary low prices of stays, complete, 9d.; shirts, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. per dozen. "The women all declare that they cannot possibly, after working from twelve to fifteen hours per day, earn more than 1s. 6d. per week. The manufacturers assert that, by steady work, 4s. to 6s. a week may be earned under ordinary circumstances. "In the meantime the demand for workwomen increases, and it is by no means unusual to see hand-bills posted over the town requiring from 500 to 1000 additional stitchers.' Such, then, is the character of the cheap workers in all trades; go where we will, we shall find the low-priced labour of the trade to consist of either one or other of the three classes above-mentioned; while the means by which this labour is brought into operation will be generally by one of the "systems of work" before specified. The cheap labour of the rubbish-carters' trade appears to be a consequence of two distinct ante- cedents, viz., casual labour and the prevalence of the contract system among builder's work. The small-master system also appears to have some influence upon it. First as regards the influence of casual labour in reducing the ordinary rate of wages. The tables given at p. 290, vol. ii., showing the wages paid to the rubbish-carters, present what ap- pears, and indeed is, a strange discrepancy of pay- ment to the labourers in rubbish-carting. About three-fourths of the rubbish-carters throughout Londonreceive 18s. weekly, when in work; in Hampstead, however, the rate of their wages is (uniformly) 20s. a week; in Lambeth (but less uniformly), it is 19s.; in Wandsworth, 17s. in Islington, 16s.; and in Greenwich, 14s. and 12s. The character of the work, whether executed for 12s. or 20s. weekly, is the same; why, then, a rubbish-carter, who works at IIampstead, earn 8s. a week more than one who works at Greenwich? An employer of rubbish-carters, and of similar labourers, on a large scale, a gentleman thoroughly conversant with the subject in all its industrial bearings, accounts for the discrepancy this manner:- can "Whilst upon the subject of relief to widows in aid of wages, we must not omit to bring under your Lordship's notice an illustration of the depressing effect which is produced by the prac-in tice of giving relief in aid of wages to widows upon the earnings of females. Colonel A'Court states: "As regards females, the instance to which I have alluded presents itself in the Portsea Island Union, where, from the insufficiency of workhouse accommodation, as well as from benevolent feel- ings, small allowances of 1s. 6d. or 2s. a week are given to widows with or without small chil- dren, or to married women deserted by their husbands. Having this certain income, however small, they are enabled to work at lower wayes than those who do not possess this advantage. The consequence is, that competition has enabled the shirt and stay manufacturers, who abound in the Union, and who furnish in great measure the London as well as many foreign markets with these articles of their trade, to get their work After the corn and the hop-harvests have termi- nated, there is always an influx of unskilled labourers into Gravesend, Woolwich, and Green- wich. These are the men who, from the natural bent of their dispositions, or from the necessity of their circumstances, resort to the casual labour afforded by the revolution of the seasons, when to gather the crops before the weather may ren- der the harvest precarious and its produce un- sound, is a matter of paramount necessity, and the increase of hands employed during this sea- son is, as a consequence, proportionately great. The chief scene of such labour in the neighbour- hood of the metropolis, is in the county of Kent; and on the cessation of this work, of course there is a large amount of labour "turned adrift," to seek, the next few days, for any casual employment that may "turn up." In this way, I am assured, 336 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. a large amount of cheap and unskilled labour is being constantly placed at the command of those masters who, so to speak, occupy the line of march to London, and are, therefore, first applied to for employment by casual labourers; who, when en- gaged, are employed as inferior, or unskilful, workmen, at an inferior rate of remuneration. Greenwich may be looked upon as the first stage or halt for casual labourers, on their way to Lon- don. My informant assured me, as the result of his own observations, that an English labourer would, as a general rule, execute more work by one-sixth, in a week, than an Irish labourer (a large propor- tion of the casual hands are Irish); that is, the extent of work which would occupy the Irishman six, would occupy the Englishman but five days, were it so calculated. The Englishman was, how ever, usually more skilled and persevering, and far more to be depended upon. So different was the amount of work, even in rubbish-carting, between an able and experienced hand and one unused to the toil, or one inadequate from want of alertness or bodily strength, or any other cause, to its full and quick execution, that two "good" men in a week have done as much work as three indifferent hands. Thus two men at 18s. weekly each are as cheap (only employers cannot always see it), when they are thorough masters of their business, as three unready hands at 12s. a week each. The misfortune, however, is, that the 12s. a week men have a tendency to reduce the 16s. to their level. With regard to the difference between the wages of Hampstead and Greenwich, I am in- formed that stationary working rubbish-carters are not too numerous in Hampstead, which is consi- dered as rather "out of the way;" and as that metropolitan suburb is surrounded in every direc- tion by pasture-land and wood-land, it is not in the line of resort of the class of men who seek the casual labour in harvesting, &c., of which I have spoken; it is rarely visited by them, and consequently, the regular hands are less interfered with than elsewhere, and wages have not been deteriorated. The mode of work among the scurf labourers differs somewhat from that of the honourable part of the trade; the work executed by the scurf masters being for the most part on a more limited scale than that of the others. To meet the demands of builders or of employers gene- rally, when "time" is an object, demands the use of relays of men, and of strong horses. This demand the smaller or scurf master cannot always meet. He may find men, but not always horses and carts, and he will often enough undertake work beyond his means and endeavour to aggran- dise his profits by screwing his labourers. The hours of scurf-employed labour are nominally the same as the regular trade, but as an Irish carter said, "it's ralely the hours the masther plases, and they're often as long as it's light." The scurf labourer is often paid by the day, with "a day's hire, and no notice beyond." I am informed that scurf labourers generally work an hour a day, without extra remuneration, longer than those in the honourable trade. The rubbish-carters employed by the scurf masters are not, as a body, I am assured, so badly paid as they were a few years back. It is rarely that labouring men can advance any feasible reason for the changes in their trade. One of the main causes of the deteriorated wages of the rubbish-carters is the system of contract- ing and subletting. This, however, is but a branch of the ramified system of subletting in the construction of the "scamped" houses of the speculative builders. The building of such houses is sublet, literally from cellar to chimney. The rubbish-carting may be contracted for at a cer- tain sum. The contractor may sublet it to men who will do it for one-fourth less perhaps, and who may sublet the labour in their turn. For instance, the calculation may be founded on the working men's receiving 15s. weekly. contractor, a man possessing a horse, perhaps, and a couple of carts, and hiring another horse, will undertake it on the knowledge of his being able to engage men at 12s. or 13s. weekly, and so obtain a profit; indeed the reduction of price in such cases must all come out of the labour. A This subletting, I say, is but a small part of a gigantic system, and it is an unquestionable cause of the grinding down of the rubbish-carters' wages, and that by a class who have generally been working men themselves, and risen to be the owners of one or two carts and horses. From one of these men, now a working carter, I had the following account, which further illustrates the mode of labour as well as of employment. "I got a little a-head," he stated, "from railway jobbing and such like, and my father- in-law, as soon as I got soon as I got married, made me a present of 201. unexpected. I started for myself, thinking to get on by degrees, and get a fresh horse and cart every year. But it couldn't be done, sir. If I offered to take a contract to cart the rubbish and dig it, a builder would say,- 'I can't wait; you haven't carts and horses enough from your own account, and I can't wait. If you have to hire them I can do that myself.' I was too honest, sir, in telling the plain truth, or I might have got more jobs. It's not a good trade in a small way, for if your horses aren't at work, they're eating their heads off, and you're fretting your heart out. Then I got to do sub-eon- tracting, as you call it. No, it weren't that, it was under-working. I'd go to Mr. V- as I knew, and say, 'You 're on such a place, sir, have you room for me?' 'I think not,' he'd say, 'I've only the regular thing and no advantages-10s. 6d. for a day's work, horse and cart, or 4s. a load.' Those are the regular terms. Well, sir, I'll do it for 8s. 6d., and be my own carman;' and so perhaps I'd get the job, and masters often say: I know I shall lose at 10s. 6d., but if I don't, you shall have something over. Get anything over! Of course not, sir. I could have lived if I had constant work for two horses and carts, for I would have got a cheap man; such as me must get cheap men to drive the Then I'd say, LONDON. LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 337 second cart, and under my own eye, whenever I could; but one of my poor horses broke his leg, and had to be sent to the knacker's, and I sold the other and my carts, and have worked ever since as a labouring man; mainly at pipe-work. O, yes, and rubbish-carting. I get 18s. a week now, but not regular. "Well, sir, I'm sure I can't say, and I think nó man could say, how much there's doing in sub- contracting. If I'm at work in Cannon-street, I don't know what 's doing at Notting-hill, or be- yond Bow and Stratford. No, I'm satisfied there's not so much of it as there was, but it's done so on the sly; who knows how much is done still, or how little? It's a system as may be carried on a long time, and is carried on, as far as men's labour goes, but it's different where there's horses, and stable rent. They can't be screwed, or under-fed, beyond a certain pitch, or they couldn't work at all, and so there's not as much under-work about horse-labour." These small men are among the scurf and petty rubbish-carters, and are often the means of de- pressing the class to which they have belonged. The employment in the honourable trade at rubbish-carting would be one of the best among unskilled labourers, were it continuous. But it is not continuous, and three-fourths of those engaged in it have only six months' work at it in the year. In the scurf-masters' employ, the work is really casual," or, as I heard it quite as often de- scribed, "chance." In both departments of this trade, the men out of work look for a job in scavagery, and very generally in night-work, or, indeed, in any labour that offers. The Irish rub- bish-carters will readily became hawkers of apples, oranges, walnuts, and even nuts, when out of employ, so working in concert with their wives. I heard of only four instances of a similar resource by the English rubbish-carters. What I have said of the education, religion, politics, concubinage, &c., &c., of the better-paid rubbish-carters would have but to be repeated, if I described those of the under-paid. The latter may be more reckless when they have the means of enjo ment, but their diet, amusements, and expendi ure would be the same, were their means commensurate. As it is, they sometimes live very barely and have hardly any amusements at their command. Their dinners, when single men, are often bread and a saveloy; when married, some- times tea and bread and butter, and occasionally some "block ornaments;" the Irish being the principal consumers of cheap fish. The labour of the wives of the rubbish-carters is far more frequently that of char-women than of needle-women, for the great majority of these women before their marriage were servant-maids. All the information I received was concurrent in that respect. The wife of a carman who keeps a chandler's shop near the Edgeware-road, greatly resorted to by the class to which her husband belonged, told me that out of somewhere about 25 wives of rubbish-carters or similar workmen, whom she knew, 20 had been domestic servants; what the others had been she did not know. "I can tell you, sir," said the woman, "charing If a young is far better than needle-work; far. woman has conducted herself well in service, she can get charing, and then if she conducts herself That's, of well again, she makes good friends. I know it from ex- course, if they 're honest, sir. perience. My husband-before we were able to open this shop-was in the hospital a long time, and I went out charing, and did far better than a sister I have, who is a capital shirt-maker. There's broken victuals, sometimes, for your children. It's a hard world, sir, but there's a many good people in it." One woman (before mentioned) earned not less than 5s. weekly in superior shirt-making, as it was described to me, which was evidently looked upon as a handsome remuneration for such toil. Another earned 3s. 6d.; another 2s. 6d. ; and others, with uncertain employ, 2s., 1s. 6d., and in some weeks nothing. Needle-work, however, is, I am informed, not the work of one- tenth of the rubbish-carters' wives, whatever the From all I could learn, earnings of the husband. too, the wives of the under-paid rubbish-carters earned more, by from 10 to 20 per cent., than those of the better-paid. The earnings of a char- woman in average employ, as regards the wives of the rubbish-carters, is about 4s. weekly, without the exhausting toil of the needle-woman, and with the advantage of sometimes receiving The wives broken meat, dripping, fat, &c., &c. of the Irish labourers in this trade are often all the year street-sellers, some of wash-leathers, some of cabbage-nets, and some of fruit, clearing perhaps from 6d. to 9d. a day, if used to street- trading, as the majority of them are. The under-paid labourers in this trade are The Irish workmen in chiefly poor Irishmen. this branch of the trade have generally been brought up on the land," as they call it, in their own country, and after the sufferings of many of them during the famine, 12s. a week is regarded a rise in the world." as From one of this class I learned the following particulars. He seemed a man of 26 or 28 :- I "I was brought up on the land, sir," he said, "not far from Culin, in the county Wexford. lived with my father and mother, and shure we Father were badly off. Shure, thin, we were. and mother-the Heavens be their bed-died one soon after another, and some friends raised me the manes to come to this country. Well, thin, indeed, sir, and I can't say how they raised them, God reward them. I got to Liverpool, and walked to London, where I had some relations. I sold oranges in the strates the first day I was in London. God help me, I was glad to do any thing to get a male's mate. I've lived on 6d. a-day sometimes. a-day sometimes. I have indeed. There was 2d. for the lodging, and 4d. for the mate, the tay and bread and butter. Did I live harder than that in Ireland, your honour? Well, thin, I have. I've lived on a dish of potatoes that might cost a penny there, where things is bhutiful and chape. Not like this country. No, no. I wouldn't care to go back. I have no friends there now. Thin I got 338 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ingaged by a man-yis, he was a rubbish-carter- to help him to fill his cart, and then we shot it on some new garden grounds, and had to shovel it about to make the grounds livil, afore the top soil was put on, for the bhutiful flowers and the gravel walks. Tim-yis, he was a counthryman of mine, but a Cor-rk man-said he'd made a bad bargain, for he was bad off, and he only clared 4d. a load, and he'd divide it wid me. We did six loads in a day, and I got 1s. every night for a wake. This was a rise. But one Sunday evening I was standing talking with people as lived in the same coort, and I tould how I was helping Tim. And two Englishmen came to find four men as they wanted for work, and ould Ragin (Regan) tould them what I was working for. And one of 'em said, I was 6 a b Irish fool,' and ould Ragin said so, and words came on, and thin there was a fight, and the pelleece came, and thin the fight was harder. I was taken to the station, and had a month. I had two black eyes next morning, but was willin' to forget and forgive. No, I'm not fond of fightin'. I'm a paceable man, glory be to God, and I think I was put on. Oh, yis, and indeed thin, your honour, it was a fair fight,' I inquired of an English rubbish-carter as to these fair fights. He knew nothing of the one in question, but had seen such fights. They were usually among the Irish themselves, but sometimes Englishmen were "drawn into them." "Fair fights! sir," he said, "why the Irishes don't stand up to you like men. They don't fight like Christians, sir; not a bit of it. They kick, and scratch, and bite, and tear, like devils, or cats, or women. They're soon settled if you can get an honest knock at them, but it isn't easy." "} "I sarved my month," continued my Irish in- formant," and it ain't a bad place at all, the prison. I tould the gintleman that had charge of us, that I was a Roman Catholic, God be praised, and couldn't go to his prayers. O very well, Pat,' And next day the praste came, and we were shown in to him, and very angry he was, and said our conduc' was a disgrace to religion, and to our counthry, and to him. Do I think he was right, sir? God knows he was, or he wouldn't have said so. says he. M The "I hadn't been out of prison two hours before I was hired for a job, at 10s. a week. It was in the city, and I carried old bricks and rubbish along planks, from the inside of a place as was pulled down; but the outside, all but the roof, was standin' until the windor frames, and the door posts, and what other timbers there was, was sould. It was dreadful hard work, carrying the basket of rubbish on your back to the cart. dust came through, and stuck to my neck, for I was wet all over wid sweatin' so. Every man was allowed a pint of beer a day, and I thought nivver anything was so sweet. I don't know who gave it. The masther, I suppose. Will, thin, sir, I don't know who was the masther; it was John Riley as ingaged me, but he's no masther. Yis, thin, and I've been workin' that way ivver since. I've sometimes had 14s. a week, and sometimes 10s., and sometimes 12s. A man like | me must take what he can get, and I will take it. I've been out of work sometimes, but not so much as some, for I'm young and strong. No, I can't save no money, and I have nothing just now to save it for. When I'm out of work, I sell fruit in the streets." This statement, then, as regards the Irish labourers, shows the quality of the class em- ployed. The English labourers, working on the same terms, are of the usual class of men so working,-broken-down men, unable, or accounting themselves unable, to "do better," and so accepting any offer affording the means of their daily bread. OF THE LONDON CILIMNEY-SWEEPERS. CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS are a consequence of two things-chimneys and the use of coals as fuel; and introduction. these are both commodities of comparatively recent It is generally admitted that the earliest men- tion of chimneys is in an Italian MS., preserved in Venice, in which it is recorded that chimneys were thrown down in that city from the shock of an earthquake in 1847. In England, down even to the commencement of the reign of Elizabeth, the greater part of the houses in our towns had no chimneys; the fire was kindled on a hearth- stone on the floor, or on a raised grate against the wall or in the centre of the apartment, and the smoke found its way out of the doors, windows, or casements. 6. During the long, and as regards civil strife- generally peaceful, reign of Elizabeth, the use of chimneys increased. In a Discourse prefixed to an edition of Holinshed's "Chronicles," in 1577, Harrison, the writer, complains, among other things, marvellously altered for the worse in England," of the multitude of chimneys erected of late. "Now we have many chinneys," he says, "and our tenderlings complain of rheums, catarrhs, and poses. Then we had none but rere- doses, and our heads did never ache."* He de- mura, too, to the change in the material of which the houses were constructed: "Houses were once builded of willow, then we had oaken men; but now houses are made of oak, and our men not only become willow, but a great many altogether of straw, which is a sore alteration." * "Reredos, dossel (retable, Fr.; postergule, Ital.)," according to Parker's Glossary of Architecture, was "the wall or screen at the back of an altar, seat, &c.; it was usually ornamented with panelling, &c., especially behind an altar, and sometimes was enriched with a pro- fusion of niches, buttresses, pinnacles, statues, and other decorations, which were often painted with brilliant colours. [ "The open fire-hearth, frequently used in ancient domestic halls, was likewise called a rèredos. In the description of Britain prefixed to Holinshed's Chronicles,' we are told that formerly, before chimneys were common in mean houses, each man made his fire against a reredosse in the hall, where he dined and dressed his meat."" C The original word would appear to be dosel or rere dosel; for Kelham, in his "Norman Dictionary," explains the word doser or dosel to signify a hanging or canopy of silk, silver, or gold work, under which kings or great personages sit; also the back of a chair of state (the word being probably a derivative of the Latin dorsum, the back. Dus, in slang, means a bed, a dossing crib " being a sleeping-place, and has clearly the same origin). A rere-dos or rere-dosel would thus appear to have been a LONDON ĻABOUR AND THE LONDON POORpoor. 339 . In Shakespeare's time, the chimney-sweepers | houses. These conditions appear to have been seem to have become a recognised class of public cleansers, for in "Cymbeline" the poet says- "Fear no more the heat o' the sun, Nor the furious winter's rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art goue, and ta'en thy wages: Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers come to dust." In this beautiful passage there is an intimation, by the "chimney-sweepers" being contrasted with the "golden lads and girls," that their employ- ment was regarded as of the meanest, a repute it bears to the present day. But chimneys seem, like the "sweeps" or "sweepers," to have been a necessity of a change of fuel. In the days of "rere-dosses," our an- cestors burnt only wood, so that they were not subjected to so great an inconvenience as we should be were our fires kindled without the vent of the chimney. Our fuel is coal, which produces a greater quantity of soot, and of black smoke, which is the result of imperfect combustion, than any other fuel, the smoke from wood being thin and pure in comparison. The first mention of the use of coal as fuel occurs in a charter of Henry III., granting licence to the burgesses of Newcastle to dig for coal. In 1281 Newcastle is said to have had some slight trade in this article. Shortly afterwards coal began to be imported into London for the use of smiths, brewers, dyers, soap-boilers, &c. In 1316, during the reign of Edward I., its use in London was prohibited because of the supposed injurious influence of the smoke. In 1600 the use of coal in the metropolis became universal; about 200 vessels were employed in the London trade, and about 200,000 chaldrons annually imported. In 1848, however, there were, besides the railway-borne coals, 12,267 cargoes imported, or 3,418,340 tons. The London coal trade now employs 2700 vessels and 21,600 seamen, and constitutes one-fourth of the whole general trade of the Thames. To understand the necessity for chimney-sweepers, and the extent of the work for them to do, that is to say, the quantity of soot deposited in our chimneys during the combustion of the three and a half millions of tons of coals that are now annually consumed in London, we must first comprehend the conditions upon which the evolution of soot depends, soot being simply the fine carbonaceous particles condensed from the smoke of coal fuel, and de- posited against the sides of the chimneys during its ascent between the walls to the tops of our screen placed behind anything. I am told, that in the old houses in the north of England, erections at the back of the fire may, to this day, occasionally be seen, with an aperture behind for the insertion of plates, and such other things as may require warming. A correspondent says there is "a reredos,' or open fire-hearth, now to be seen in the extensive and beau- tiful ruins of the Abbey of St. Agatha, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The ivy now hangs over and partially conceals this reredos; but its form is tole- rably perfect, and the stones are still coloured by the action of the fire, which was extinguished, I need hardly say, by the cold water thrown on such places by Henry VIII. "J determined somewhat accurately during the inves- tigations of the Smoke Prevention Committee. There are two kinds of smoke from the ordinary materials of combustion-(A) Opaque, or black smoke; (B) Transparent, or invisible smoke. A. The Opaque smoke, though the most offen- sive and annoying from its dirtying properties, is, like the muddiest water, the least injurious to animal or vegetable health. It consists of the particles of unconsumed carbon which have not been deposited in the form of soot in the flue or chimney. This is the black smoke which will be further described. which are for the most part invisible, such as car- B. Transparent smoke is composed of gases bonic acid and carbonic oxide; also of sulphurous acid, but smokes with that component are both by Professor Brande to destroy vegetation, for it visible and invisible. The sulphurous acid is said has long been a cause of wonder why vegetation in towns did not flourish, since carbonic acid fires) is the vital air of trees, shrubs, and plants*. (which is so largely produced from the action of our *It has been notorious for many years, that flowers will not bloom in any natural luxuriance, and that fruit will not properly ripen, in the heart of the city. Whilst this is an unquestionable fact, it is also a fact, that greatly as suburban dwellings have increased, and truly as London may be said to have "gone into the country, the greater quantity of the large, excellent, unfailing, and cheap supply of the fruits and vegetables in the London "green" markets are grown within a circle of from ten to twelve miles from St. Paul's. In the course of my inquiries (in the series of letters on Labour and the Poor in the Morning Chronicle) into the supply, &c., to the green markets" of the metropolis, I was told by an experienced market-gardener, who had friends and connections in several of the suburbs, that he fancied, and others in the trade were of the same opinion, that no gardening could be anything but a failure if attempted within "where the fogs went." My informant explained to me that the fogs, so peculiar to London, did not usually extend beyond three or four miles from the heart of the city. He was satisfied, he said, that within half a mile or so of this reach of fog the gar- dener's labours might be crowned with success. He knew nothing of any scientific reason for his opinion, but as far as a purely London fog extended (without regard to any mist pervading the whole country as well as the neighbourhood of the capital), he thought it was the boundary within which there could be no proper growth of fruit or flowers. That the London fog has its limits as regards the manifestation of its greatest density, there can be no doubt. My informant was frequently asked, when on his way home, by omnibus drivers and others whom he knew, and met on their way to town a few miles from it: "How's the fog, sir? How far?" The extent of the London fog, then, if the informa- tion I have cited be correct, may be considered as in- dicating that portion of the metropolis where the population, and consequently the smoke, is the thickest, and within which agricultural and horticultural la- bours cannot meet with success. "The nuisance of a November fog in London," Mr. Booth stated to the Smoke Committee, "is most assuredly increased by the smoke of the town, arising from furnaces and private fires. It is vapour saturated with particles of carbon which causes all that uneasiness and pain in the lungs, and the uneasy sensations which we experi- ence in our heads. I have no doubt of the density of these fogs arising from this carbonaceous matter." The loss from the impossibility of promoting vegeta- tion in the district most subjected to the fog is nothing, as the whole ground is already occupied for the thousand purposes of a great commercial city. The matter is, however, highly curious, as a result of the London smoke. immediate neighbourhood of the metropolis, it is stated Concerning the frequency of fogs in the district of the in Weale's" London," that fogs" appear to be owing, 1st, 310 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. I may here observe, that several of the scientific | men who gave the results of years of observation and study in their evidence to the Committee of the House of Commons, remarked on the popular misunderstanding of what smoke was, it being ge- nerally regarded as something visible. But in the composition of smoke, it appears, one product may be visible, and another invisible, and both offen- sive; while occasionally you may have from the same materials varieties of products, all invisible, according to the manner to which they are supplied with air." carbon, forms an additional amount of carbonic oxide gas, which passes to the external atmosphere as an invisible gas, unless kindled in its progress, or at the top of the chimney, when its tempera- ture is sufficiently elevated by the action of air. Carbonic oxide gas burns with a blue flame, and produces carbonic acid gas. Black smoke is always associated with car- buretted hydrogen gases. These may be mechani- cally blended with the oils and resins, but must be carefully distinguished from them. They form more essentially, when in a state of com- bustion, the inflammable matters that constitute flame. 2. Smoke from Charcoal, Coke, and Anthracite, is always invisible if the material be dry. A flame may appear, however, if carbonic oxide be formed. The Committee requested Dr. Reid to prepare a definition of "smoke," and more especially of black smoke." The following is the substance of the doctor's definition, or rather description:- 1. Black Smoke consists essentially of carbon separated by heat from coal or other combustible bodies. If this smoke be produced at a very high 3. Wood or Pyroligneous Smoke is rarely temperature, the carbon forms a loose and black. pow- Water and carbonic acid are the products dery soot, comparatively free from other sub- of the full combustion of wood, omitting the con- stances; while the lower the temperature at sideration of the ash that remains. which black soot is formed, the larger is the amount of other substances with which it is mingled, among which are the following:-car- bon, water, resin, oily and other inflammable products of various volatilities, ammonia, and carbonate of ammonia. When the carbon, oils, resin, and water are associated together in certain proportions, they constitute tar. Soft pitch is produced if the tar be so far heated that the water is expelled; and hard pitch (resin blackened by carbon) when the oils are volatilized. In all cases of ordinary combustion, carbonic acid is formed by the red-hot cinders, or by gases or other compounds containing carbon, acting on the oxygen of the air. This carbonic acid is discharged in general as an invisible gas. If the carbonic acid pass through red-hot cinders, or any carbonaceous smoke at a high temperature, it loses one particle of oxygen, and becomes car- bonic oxide gas. The lost oxygen, uniting with to the presence of the river; and, 2ndly, to the fact that the superior temperature of the town produces results precisely similar to those we find to occur upon rivers and lakes. The cold damp currents of the atmosphere, which cannot act upon the air of the country districts, owing to the equality of their specific gravity, when they encounter the warmer and lighter strata over the town, displace the latter, intermixing with it and con- densing the moisture. Fogs thus are often to be ob- served in London, whilst the surrounding country is entirely free from them. The peculiar colour of the London fogs appears to be owing to the fact that, during their prevalence, the ascent of the coal smoke is impeded, and that it is thus mixed with the condensed moisture of the atmosphere. As is well known, they are often so dense as to require the gas to be lighted in midday, and they cover the town with a most dingy and depressing pall. They also frequently exhibit the peculiarity of increasing density after their first formation, which appears to be owing to the descent of fresh currents of cold air towards the lighter regions of the atmɔ- sphere. "They do not occur when the wind is in a dry quarter, as for instance when it is in the east; notwithstanding that there may be very considerable difference in the temperature of the air and of the water or the ground. The peculiar odour which attends the London fogs has not yet been satisfactorily explained; although the uni- formity of its recurrence, and its very marked character, would appear to challenge elaborate examination." 4. Sulphurous Smokes. Tons of sulphur are annually evolved in various conditions from copper- works. Offensive sulphurous smokes are often evolved from various chemical works, as gas-works, acid-works, &c. 5. Hydrochloric Acid Smoke is evolved in general in large quantities from alkali works. 6. Metallic Smokes-when ores of lead, copper, arsenic, &c., are used-often contain offensive matter in a minute state of division, and sus- pended in the smoke evolved from the furnaces. 7. Putrescent Smokes, loaded with the products of decayed animal and vegetable matter, are evolved at times from drains in visible vapours, more especially in damp weather. The foetid par- ticles, when associated with moisture in this smoke, are entirely decomposed when subjected to heat. Dr. Ure says, speaking of the cause of the ordinary black smoke above described, "The in- evitable conversion of atmospheric air into car- bonic acid has been hitherto the radical defect of almost all furnaces. The consequence is, that this gaseous matter is mixed with an atmosphere containing far too little oxygen, and instead of burning the carbon and hydrogen, which consti- tute the coal gases, the carbon is deposited partly in a pulverized form, constituting smoke or soot, and a great deal of the carbon gets half-burnt, and forms what is well known under the name of carbonic oxide, which is half-burnt charcoal." "The ordinary smoke," Professor Faraday said, in his examination before the Committee, "is the visible black part of the products, the unburnt portions of the carbon. If you prevent the production of carbonic oxide or carbonic acid, you increase the production of smoke. You must with coal fuel either have carbonic acid or oxide, or else black smoke. "Which is the least noxious?" he was asked, and answered," As far as regards health, carbonic acid and carbonic oxide are most noxious to health; but it is not so much a question of health as of cleanliness and comfort, because I LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 341 believe that this town is as healthy as other places where there are not these fires. "It is partly the impure coal gas evolved after the fresh charge of coal which originates the smokes, when not properly supplied with air; but it is a very mixed question. When a fresh charge of coal is put upon the fire, a great quan- tity of evaporable matter, which would be called impure coal gas according to the language of the question, is produced; and as that mat- ter travels on in the heated place, if there be a sufficient supply of air, both the hydrogen and the carbon are entirely burnt. But if there be an insufficient supply of air, the hydrogen is taken possession of first, and the carbon is set free in its black and solid form; and if that goes into the cool part of the chimney before fresh air gets to it, that carbon is so carried out into the atmo- sphere and is the smoke in question. Generally speaking, the great rush of smoke is when coal is first put on the fire; and that from the want of a sufficient supply of oxygen at the right time, because the carbon is cooled so low as not to take fire." This eminent chemist stated also that there was no difference in the ultimate chemical effect upon the air between a wood fire and a coal fire, but with wood there was not so much smoke set free in the heated place, which caused a difference in the gaseous products of wood combustion and of coal combustion. He thought that perhaps wood was the fuel which would be most favourable to health as affecting the atmosphere, inasmuch as it produced more water, and less carbonic acid, as the product of combustion. What may be called the peculiarities of a smoky and sooty atmosphere are of course more strongly developed in London than elsewhere, as the following curious statements show :- Dr. Reid, in describing metropolitan smoke, spoke of those black portions of soot that every one is familiar with, which annoy us, for instance, at the Houses of Parliament to such an extent that I have been under the necessity of putting up a veil, about 40 feet long and 12 feet deep, ou which, on a single evening, taking the worst kind of weather for the production of soot, we can count occasionally 200,000 visible portions of soot excluded at a single sitting. We count with the naked eye the number of pieces entangled upon a square inch. I have examined the amount de- posited on different occasions in different parts of London at the tops of some houses; and on one occasion at the Horse Guards the amount of soot deposited was so great, that it formed a complete and continuous film, so that when I walked upon it I saw the impression of my foot left as dis- tinctly on that occasion as when snow lies upon the ground. The film was exceedingly thin, but I could discover no want of continuity. On other occasions I have noticed in London that the quan- tity that escapes into individual houses is so great that in a single night I have observed a mixture of soot and of hoar frost collecting at the edge of the door, and forming a stripe three- quarters of an inch in breadth, and bearing an exact resemblance to a pepper and salt grey cloth. Those that I refer to are extreme occasions." Mr. Booth mentioned, that one of the gar- deners of the Botanic Garden in the Regent's- park, could tell the number of days sheep had been in the park from the blackness of their wool, its oleaginous power retaining the black. Dr. Ure informed the Committee that a column of smoke might be seen extending in different directions round London, according to the way of the wind, for a distance of from 20 to 30 miles ; and that Sir William Herschel had told him that when the wind blew from London he could not use his great telescope at Slough. It was stated, moreover, that when a respirator is washed, the water is rendered dirty by the par- ticles of soot adhering to the wire gauze, and which, but for this, would have entered the mouth. Professor Brande said, on the subject of the public health being affected by smoke, "I cannot say that my opinion is that smoke produces any unhealthiness in London; it is a great nuisance certainly; but I do not think we have any good evidence that it produces disease of any kind." "This Committee," said Mr. Beckett, "have been told that, by the mechanical effects of smoke upon the chest and lungs, disease takes place ; that is, by swallowing a is, by swallowing a certain quantity of smoke the respiratory organs are injured; can you give any opinion upon that?" "One would con- ceive," replied the Professor, "that that is the case; but when we compare the health of London with that of any other town or place where they are comparatively free or quite free from smoke, we do not find that difference which we should expect in regard to health." Mr. E. Solly, lecturer on chemistry at the Royal Institution, expressed his opinion of the effect of smoke upon the health of towns:- If "My impression is," he said, "that it produces decided evil in two or three ways: first, mechani- cally; the solid black carbonaceous matter pro- duces a great deal of disease; it occasions dirt amongst the lower orders, and, if they will not take pains to remove it, it engenders disease. we could do away the smoke nuisance, I believe a great deal of that disease would be put an end to. But there is another point, and that is, the bad effects produced by the gases, sulphurous acid and other compounds of that nature, which are given out. If we do away with smoke, we shall still have those gases; and I have no doubt that those gases produce a great part of the disease. that is produced by smoke." On the other hand Dr. Reid thought that smoke was more injurious from the dirt it created than from causing impurity in the atmosphere, although "it was obvious enough that the inspiration of a sooty atmosphere must be injurious to persons of a delicate constitution." Dr. Ure pronounced smoke, in the common sense of visible black smoke, un- wholesome, but "not so eminently as the French imagine." Many witnesses stated their conviction that where poor people resided amongst smoke, they 342 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. felt it impossible to preserve cleanliness in their persons or their dwellings, and that made them careless of their homes and indifferent to a decency of appearance, so that the public-house, and places where cleanliness and propriety were in no great estimation, became places of frequent resort, on the plain principle that if a man's home were uncom- fortable, he was not likely to stay in it. "I think," said Mr. Booth, "one great effect of the evil of smoke is upon the dwellings of the poor; it renders them less attentive to their per- sonal appearance, and, in consequence, to their social condition. "" certain dis- It was also stated that there were "certain dis- tricts inhabited by the poor, where they will not hang out their clothes to be cleansed; they say it is of no use to do it, they will become dirty as before, and consequently they do not have their clothes. washed." The districts specified as presenting this characteristic are St. George's-in-the East and the neighbourhood of Old-street, St. Luke's. It must not be lost sight of, that whatever evils, moral or physical, without regarding merely pecu- niary losses, are inflicted by the excess of smoke, they fall upon the poor, and almost solely on the poor. It is the poor who must reside, as was said, and with a literality not often applicable to popular phrases, "in the thick of it," and con- sequently there must either be increased washing or increased dirt. To effect the mitigation of the nuisance of smoke, two points were considered :— A. The substitution of some other material, containing less bituminous matter, for the "New- castle coal." B. The combustion of the smoke, before its emission into the atmospheric air, by means of mechanical contrivances founded on scientific prin- ciples. As regards the first consideration (A) it was recommended that anthracite, or stone Welsh coal, which is a smokeless fuel, should be used instead of the Newcastle coal. This coal is almost the sole fuel in Philadelphia, a city of Quaker neatness beyond any in the United States of North America, and sometimes represented as the cleanest in the world. The anthracite coal is somewhat dearer than Newcastle coal in London, but only in a small degree. Coke was also recommended as a substitute for coal in private dwellings. "Are you of opinion," Dr. Reid was asked, "that smoke may be in a great measure prevented by extending the use of gas and coke?" He answered, "In numerous cities, where large quan- tities of gas are produced, coke is very frequently the principal fuel of the poor, and the difficulty of lighting that coke, and the difficulty of having heat developed by it in sufficient quantity, neces- sarily led me to look at the construction of the fire-places adapted for it. And on a general re- view of the question, I do entertain the opinion, that if education were more extended amongst the humblest classes with respect to the economy of their own fireside (I mean, literally, the fire-place, at present), and if gas were greatly extended, so that they did not drain the coal of the gas-works of the last dregs of gaseous matter, which are of very little use as gas, and more to be considered as adding to the bulk for sale than as valuable gas, that a coke might be left which would bẹ easily accendible, which would be economical, and which, if introduced into fire-places where an open fire is desired, would entirely remove the necessity of sweeping chimneys even with machines, and would at the same time give as economical a fire as any ordinary fire-place can produce, for an ordinary coal fire rarely is powerful in its calorific emanations till the mass of gas has been expelled, and we see the cherry-red fire. The amount of gas that has escaped previously to the production or coking of the fire, is the gas that is valuable in a manufactory, and if therefore the individual consumer could have, not the hard-burnt stony coke, but the soft coke, in the condition that would give at once a cherry-red fire, we should attain the two great objects—of economising gas, and at the same time of having a lively cheerful fire. Then this led me to look particularly at the price of a gas lamp for a poor man. In a poor man's family, where the breakfast, the tea and dinner, require the principal attention, and he has some plain cooking utensils, in the heat of summer I believe that he will produce as much heat as he wants for those purposes from a single burner, which can be turned on and left all day, which shall not risk any boiling over, and by having this instead of having a heavy iron grate, this plan pure heat directed to the object to be warmed, would, if gas were generally introduced even into the humblest apartments, prove a great source of economy in summer." Dr. Reid also told the Committee that there was a great prejudice against the use of coke, many persons considering that it produced a sulphurous smell; but as all ordinary coal coked itself, or became coke in an open fire, and was never powerfully calorific till it became coke, the prejudice would die away. Very little is said in the Report about the smoke of private houses; an allusion, however, is made to that portion of the investigation :-" Your Committee have received the most gratifying assurances of the confident hope entertained by several of the highest scientific authorities exa- mined by them, that the black smoke proceeding from fires in private dwellings, and all other places, may eventually be entirely prevented, either by the adoption of stoves and grates formed for a perfect combustion of the common bituminous coal, or by the use of coke, or of anthracite; but they are of opinion that the present knowledge on that subject is not such as to justify any legislative interference with these smaller fires." "I should, in prospect," Professor Faraday said to the Committee, "look forward to the possibility of a great reduction of the smoke from coal fires in houses; but my impression is, that, in the pre- sent state of things, it would be tyrannical to de- termine that that must be done which at present we do not know can be done. Still, I think there ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Now in the above letters, it will be seen many different arguments are used in favour of ma- chinery. The first is, that if we can discover the means of doing a given quantity of work with fewer hands, that to employ a greater number is to employ them as fruitlessly and unprofitably as if we were to set them "to dig holes and fill them up again." The second is, that it admits of the market being extended. The third is, that in the cotton trade the wages of the hand-loom weavers alone have been de- creased, while those of the "power" operatives have been raised. The fourth, that it increases the foreign trade of the country, or, as one gentleman expresses it, "enables the large capitalist to compete with capitalist to compete with other countries." These appear to exhaust the reasons above given why machinery is to be regarded as a bene- fit, in the present state of our social institutions. The fallacy of the whole appears to consist in ignoring the existence of the labourer, and not paying the same regard to his interests as to those of the capitalist class. This seems to be the fundamental error of all party reasoning. Each person considers the community to be made up of that class with which he is the most concerned; and when he speaks of the community being benefited, we shall find, if we probe him well, that he means merely the increase of the worldly ad- vantages of that particular section with which he may happen to be connected. This is a natural source of prejudice; indeed, all those who have paid attention to the laws of suggestion know the tendency of every feeling to give rise to ideas and opinions in accordance with it. Hence it will be found, that when traders speak of the community being benefited, they mean, generally, that the profits of trade are to be increased; so with the landlords, when they say that the coun- try is to derive some special advantage from a particular condition of things, the meaning is, too often, that rents are likely to be improved; and so, again, with the working men, the good of the nation signifies, in nine cases out of ten, the im- provement of their own condition. Now, by the benefit of the community, we are to understand the benefit, if not of every individual member of it, at least of the greatest number. The labouring population and those who are immediately de- pendent upon them, necessarily make up the majority of this kingdom: the benefit of the com- munity, therefore, involves the improvement of the condition of the labourers more particularly than that of any other section of society; and by conse- quence, that which tends to impoverish them, however much it may be to the advantage of any be to the advantage of any other class, must be said to inflict a national injury. A certain mode of production may tend to increase the stock of national wealth, to a con- siderable amount, but the increase of the riches of a country is no benefit to the people unless those riches be distributed, and the people them- selves obtain a due share of them. The ma- If chinery question consequently resolves itself into a matter of fact-do the people, that is to say, the labouring population, become possessed of a greater amount of comforts and commodities by mechani- cal contrivances for the economy of labour? This must necessarily depend upon the extensibility of the market for the commodities to the pro- duction of which the machinery is applied. there be only a definite quantity of such commo- dities required-as, for instance, of hearses-that is to say, if the demand for the articles be de- pendent on some circumstance which no cheap- ness could possibly influence, then of course the economy of labour in connection with the pro- duction of those articles cannot but be attended with the displacement of just as much labour as is economised; and thus, though the capitalist class would be benefited by the cheapening of the commodity, the labouring class would be injured to the extent of the economisation of the labour for if the condition of the capitalist class depends on the quantity of commodities they can get in exchange for their capital, that of the labouring class depends on the quantity of commodities they can get in exchange for their labour;-hence the economy of labour must in all cases, where the market is circumscribed, be as great an evil to the poor as it is a gain to the rich. In other cases where the market is extensible, it must be ad- mitted that the labourers may be benefited by the economy of labour: for since the value of those commodities the supply of which can be inde- finitely extended is generally determined by the cost of production, it follows, that to economise the labour of producing such commodities is to decrease the cost of production, and so to extend the demand for them, by which means a greater quantity of la- bourers may be employed. There can be no doubt that a greater number of workmen are employed in producing copies of writings by means of moveable types than ever could have been employed had the scribe not been superseded by the compositor. The cause of this is to be found simply in that cheapening of the article (owing to the diminished. cost of production), which has naturally induced a large increase of demand, In such a case, machinery, it must be confessed, has been a good to both classes, the producers and the consumers being equally benefited by it; but has this been. the case with the cotton-manufacture? It would appear not by the statistics of that trade-which must be reserved till the next number-when it shall be demonstrated to all those that are open to reason, that precisely as the capitalists in that trade have been enriched, the working classes have been impoverished by it. Who can explain that the poverty and crime of this country ad- vance at the same rate with our wealth, by any other means than that the capitalist class have learnt by the economy of labour to obtain a greater quantity of riches with a less sum paid to the labourers? Those, however, who are in- terested in the question, will find this part of the matter more fully discussed in the publication entitled "Low Wages" than it is possible to do here. NOW READY. THE FIRST PART (PRICE NINEPENCE) OF A NEW WORK, TO BE CONTINUED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE TWO-PENCE, LOW ENTITLED WAGES: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM; CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW, Author of "London Labour and the London Poor;" "What to Teach, and How to Teach it," &c., &c., &c. Mr. Mayhew has found, from the commencement of his investigations into the condition of the working men of the Metropolis, that the received doctrines of Political Economy are insufficient, either to explain or remedy the evils of unrequited labour, and he has been long engaged in generalising the facts he has collected in the course of his inquiries, and in making deductions therefrom, with a view to the better understanding of the "perils of the nation.' "" Some of the articles on the "Labour Question" which have been printed on the wrappers of "London Labour" will be inserted in the present volume, which, being of a speculative character, it is thought advisable to issue in a distinct form, so that the facts collected by the Author may exist separately from the opinions engendered by them in his mind. The work will be published in weekly instalments, so as to bring it within the means of the working classes, and will be completed (it is believed) in about five-and-twenty numbers. It will be printed in large type, the page being of the same size as "London Labour," though, from the matter being neces- sarily of a less popular character and the sale consequently more circumscribed, sixteen pages instead of twenty-four will be given in each number. The order and arrangement of the work will be as follows: 1st. High and Low Wages; Fair and Unfair Wages; Good and Bad Wages; what is meant by them; and, is there an funiform set of circumstances regulating the sum paid as remuneration for labour? 2nd. What should regulate wages. 3rd. What does not regulate wages. Here will be discussed the Wage Law of Supply and Demand as propounded by Political Economists.! 4th. What does regulate Wages. 5th. Of a minimum Wage and of the difference of Wages. 6th. Of the causes of Low Wages in connection with large and small capitalists, and the different grades of employers and labourers. 7th. Of the means by which Low Wages are carried out. Here will be given a detail of the several tricks resorted to by employers to lower the ordinary rate of remuneration. 8th. Of the consequences of Low Wages. Here will be considered the causes of Crime and 'Pauperism. 9th. Of the remedies for Low Wages. Here the several plans proposed for the alleviation of the distress of the country will be dispassionately reviewed and discussed. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. No. 55. [PRICE THREEPENCE. SATURDAY, DEC. 27, 1851. $ No. X.-TH、CE THAT WILL NOT る ​WORK. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. *** Correspondents will be answered next weeck. MUTUAL PENSION SO- CIETY. Established to provide Pensions for Necessitous and Aged Members. Subscription, 5s. per Annum. TRUSTEES.-William Breynton, Esq.; Matthew Fors- ter, Esq. Chairman-Thomas Tyerman, Esq., Vice-Chair man— Horace Mayhew, Esq. 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Subscriptions and donations gratefully received by the Manager, who will feel great pleasure in giving any further information required. The Committee sincerely trust in the support of the provident to secure a harbour of refuge, if needed, when age or infirmity creeps on, and in the patronage of the wealthy, to aid those who are doing all in their power to prevent their being a burden on the com- munity in their old age. RIMMEL'S LIQUID HAIR DYE offers the guarantee of fifteen years' constant success to those who are daily disappointed with the numerous, inefficient, and often dangerous preparations sold under the name of Dyes. It is easily applied, free from smell, and gives Instantaneously a perma- nent and perfectly natural black or brown shade to the Hair, Whiskers, &c., without staining or injuring the skin. Price 5s. 6d. for brown, Gs. for black, including brushes for application. Sold by all Perfumers and Chemists; and by the Inventor, E. RIMMEL, Sole Proprietor of the Toilet Vinegar, &c., 39, Gerard-street, Soho, London; and at the Exposition, 58, Baker-street. INTERESTING FACT.-The following singular and authentic case of restoration of the Human Hair is worthy of observation, more particularly as it relates to an article of high and universal repute during the last half century. Mr. A. Hermann, of Queen-street, Soho, had been quite bald for some time past, and had tried He was then induced to try the various preparations for the recovery of his Hair, but without any beneficial result. effects of "Rowlands' Macassar Oil,” and after applying it for about two months, he, much to his gratifiation, had his Hair quite restored, and now possesses a beautiful Head of Hair. This fact speaks too strongly for itself to require comment.-Bell's Weekly Messenger. ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL, is celebrated throughout the world for its genial and nourishing qualities for the Human Hair. For Children it is especially recommended, as forming the basis of a Beautiful lead of Hair. Price 3s. 6d. and 7s.; family bottles (equal to four small), 10s. 6d.; and double that size, 21s. per bottle. ROWLANDS' KALYDOR, For improving and beautifying the Skin and Complexion, eradicating all Cutaneous Eruptions, Sunburn, Freckles, and Discolorations, and for rendering the Skin soft, clear, and fair. Price 4s. Gd. and 8s. Gil. per bottle. ROWLANDS' ODONTO, OR PEARL DENTIFRICE, For preserving and beautifying the Teeth, strengthening the Gums, and for rendering the Breath sweet and pure. Price 2s. 9d. per box. BEWARE OF SPURIOUS IMITATIONS. I The only GENUINE of each bears the name of "ROWLANDS'" preceding that of the Article on the Wrapper or Label, with their signature at the foot, in Red Ink, thus:- A. ROWLAND & SONS. Sold by them at 20, Hatton Garden, London, and by Chemists and Perfumers. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 125 and women danced naked before thousands of spectators at the worship of the goddess Doorga. The impurities originated usually with the priests. Many of the Brahmins persuaded their disciples to allow them to gratify their lust upon their young wives, declaring it was a meritorious sacrifice. At the temple of Juggernaut, during the great festivals, a number of females were paid to dance and sing before the god daily. These were all prostitutes. They lived in separate houses, not in the temple. The daughters of Brahmins, until eight years old, were declared by the religious code to be objects of worship, as forms of goddesses. Horrid orgies took place at the devotions paid them. Other women might be chosen as objects of adoration. A man must select from a particular class-his own wife or a prostitute: she must be stripped naked while the ceremony is per- formed, and this is done in a manner toc revolting to describe. The clothes of the prostitutes hired to dance before the idols are so thin that they may almost be said to have been naked. Thus the immorality of the Hindoos, as far as it extended, was encouraged by their religion. In another way some classes of Brahmins contributed to demoralize the people. A man of this profession would marry from three to 120 wives, in different parts of the country. Many, indeed, earned a living in this manner; for as often as they visited any woman, her father was obliged to make a present. Some go once after their mar- riage, and never go again; while others visit their wives once in three or four years. Some of the more respectable Brahmins never hold sexual intercourse with any of their wives, who dwell at home, but treat them with great respect. These neglected women often take to pros- titution. The brothels of Calcutta and other large cities are crowded with such cast-off mistresses of the Brahmins. They procure_abortion when pregnant. In the city of Bombay a whole quarter is inha- bited chiefly by prostitutes. Riding in the environs, the European resident is fre- quently assailed by men, or sometimes boys, who inquire by signs or words, whe- ther he desires a companion; should he assent, the woman is privately brought to his house in a close palanquin, or he is taken to a regular place of resort, in one of these vehicles, which are contrived for secrecy. Among the Nairs, on the coast of Ma- labar, the institution of marriage has never been strictly or completely introduced. Polyandrism is practised. A woman re- ceives four or five brothers as her husbands, and a slipper left at the door is a signal that she is engaged with one of them. The mother is thus the only parent known, and the children inherit the property of the family in equal divisions. In some cases the Nairs marry a particular woman, who never leaves her mother's home, but has intercourse with any men she pleases, sub- ject to the sacred law of caste. In the mountain community of Tibet the same custom prevails. It is to be regretted that our information on this subject is not more explicit and full. The venereal discase is known in most parts of Hindustan. Some, with little reason, suppose it was carried there after the discovery of America. Had it been so, its introduction would probably have been noticed in history or by some tradition. It is not, indeed, called by any Sanscrit word, but is known by a Persian name*. OF PROSTITUTION IN CEYLON. IN Ceylon the influence of Christianity, accompanied by the moral law of England, is working a reform in the manners of large classes among the people. Under the ori- ginal institutions of the Singhalese, they never licensed public prostitution; and whatever effect the Buddhist religion pro- duced, it produced in the cause of virtue. The temples were never made brothels; but the character of the people is naturally sensual, and the capital vices of society widely prevail among them. The Buddhist code, indeed, abounds with precepts incul- cating not only chastity, but rigid conti- Journey in the Mysore, &c.; Bishop Heber's Journal; Hamilton's Description of Hindustan; British Friend of India Magazine; Asiatic Re- searces; Hugh Murray's Account of India ; Conformité des Coutumes des Indes Orienteaux avec celles des Juifs; Tod's Travels in Western India; Tod's Annals of Rajasthan; Launcelot Wilkinson's Second Marriage of Widows in India; Papers presented to Parliament in 1803, on In- fanticide; Grant's Observations on Society and Morals among our Asiatic Subjects; Davidson's Travels in Upper India; Mayne's Continental India; Campbell's British India; Hough's Christianity in India; Abbé Dubois' Letters on Bevan's Thirty Years in India; Crawfurd's Re- the Hindus; Malcolm's Memoir on Central India: in India; Ward's Account of the Hindus; Mill's searches concerning India; Hoffmeister's Travel's History of British India, Notes by Wilson; Ferishta's Mohammedan History; Thornton's History; Penhoen's Empire Anglais; Xavier; Raymond; Jaseigny; L'Inde. *Hamilton's East India Gazetteer; Buchanan's L 126 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. nence. Profligacy, however, among the men, and want of chastity among the wo- men, are general characteristics of all classes, from the highest to the humblest caste. To this day the disregard of virtue is a crying sin of the women, even of those who profess Christianity. Murders often occur from the jealousy of husbands or lovers detecting their wives or mistresses with a paramour. In Ceylon, as in continental India, the division of castes is by the ancient and sacred law absolute, though custom some- times infringes the enactments of the holy code. Marriage from a higher into a lower caste is peremptorily forbidden; though occasionally it is tolerated, but never ap- proved, between a man of honourable and a woman of inferior rank. If a female of noble blood engage in a criminal intrigue with a plebeian, his life has on many occa- sions been sacrificed to wash out the stain, and formerly hers was also required to obliterate the disgrace. A recent and striking instance of this kind came to the knowledge of Mr. Charles Sirr. The daughter of a high-caste Kandian, enjoy- ing the liberty which in Ceylon is allowed to women of all grades, became attached to a young man of lower caste, and entreated her parent's consent to the match, begging them to excuse her for her affection's sake, and declaring she could not live unless permitted to fulfil the design on which her heart was set. They refused, and, though the petition was again and again renewed, remained obdurate in their denial. The girl was some time after found to have sacri- ficed her honour to the man whom she loved, but dared not wed. He was all the while willing and desirous to marry her, and would have married her then, but her parents were inexorable. To preserve the honour of the family, the father slew his daughter with his own hand. The English authorities at once arrested the murderer, brought him to trial, and condemned him to death. He resolutely asserted his right to do as he pleased with the girl, protest- ing against any judicial interference of the English with his family arrangements. He was, nevertheless, executed, as a warn- ing; and several of these examples have had a most salutary influence in restraining the passions of the natives in various parts of the island. It was undoubtedly the man's sense of honour that impelled him to murder his daughter; and she was thus the victim of caste prejudices, which in Ceylon are so rigid that a man could not force his slave to marry into a rank below him, whether free-born or otherwise. 66 In Ceylon, as in most other parts of Asia, marriages are contracted at a very early age. A man, by the law, attains his majority" when sixteen years old, and thenceforward is released from paternal control; all engagements, however, which he may form previous to that time, with- out the consent of his friends in authority, are null and void. A girl, as soon as she is marriageable according to nature, is marriageable according to law; and her parents, or, if she be an orphan, her nearest kindred, give a feast-grand or humble, according to their means-when she is in- troduced to a number of unmarried male friends. If she be handsome or rich, a crowd of suitors is sure to be attracted. Free as women are in Ceylon after their marriage, they are rarely consulted before- hand on the choice of a partner. That is settled for the girl. To this custom much of the immorality prevalent in the island, as well as in all parts of the East, may with- out a doubt be ascribed. Where the sexes are not free to form what lawful unions they please, it may be taken as an axiom that they will have recourse to irregular intrigues. When the feast is given at which a young girl is introduced as marriageable- a custom very similar in form and object to that which obtains in our own country- numerous young unmarried men of the same caste are invited to the house. In a short time after, a relative or friend of any young man who may desire to take the maiden as his wife, calls upon her family, and insinuates that a rumour of the in- tended union is flying abroad. If this be denied, quietly or otherwise, the match- maker loses no time in withdrawing; but if it is answered in a jocular bantering strain, he takes his leave, with many com- pliments, to announce his reception to the father of the bridegroom. This personage, after a day or two, makes his call, inquires into the amount of the marriage dowry, and carries the negotiation a few steps further. Mutual visits are exchanged, and all arrangements made, with great preci- sion. The mother of the young man, with several other matrons, take the girl into an inner room, where she is stripped, and her person examined, to see that it is free from any corporal defect, from ulcers, and from any cutaneous disease. Should this inves- tigation prove satisfactory, numerous for- malities succeed, and an auspicious day is fixed upon for the wedding. This takes place with much ceremony, the stars being in all things consulted. Should the bride- groom's horoscope refuse to agree with LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 127 that of the bride, his younger brother may wed her for him by a species of proxy. The whole is a tedious succession of formal observances, not so much the ordinance of religion as the details of an ancient ritual etiquette. This is the Buddhaical custom; but it is immensely expensive, and cannot be followed by the very poor classes. It is also forbidden to people of extremely low caste, even though they should be wealthy enough to afford, or sufficiently improvi- dent to risk it. Among the humble and indigent the marriage is confirmed by the mutual consent of the parents and the young couple passing a night together. One of the most remarkable features in the social aspect of Ceylon is the institu- tion of polyandrism, which among the Kan- dians is permitted and practised to a great extent. A Kandian matron of high caste is sometimes the wife of eight brothers. The custom is justified upon various. grounds. Sirr expressed to a Kandian chief of no mean rank his abhorrence of this revolting practice. The man was sur- prised at these sentiments, and replied that on the contrary it was an excellent custom. Among the rich it prevented litigation; it saved property from minute subdivision; it concentrated family influ- ence. Among the poor it was absolutely necessary, for several brothers could not each maintain a separate wife, or bear the expense of a whole family, which jointly they could easily do. The offspring of these strange unions call all the brothers alike their fathers, though preference is given to the eldest, and are equal heirs to the family property; should litigation, however, arise concerning the inheritance, they often all claim the senior brother as a parent, and the Kandian laws recognise this claim. Although, when a plurality of husbands is adopted, they are usually brothers, a man may, with the woman's consent, bring home another, who enjoys all the marital rights, and is called an associated husband. In fact, the first may, subject to his wife's pleasure, bring home as many strangers as he pleases, and the children inherit their property equally. It is rare, however, to meet one of these associated husbands among the Kandians of higher and purer caste, though two or more brothers con- tinually marry the same woman. This revolting custom is now confined to the province of Kandy, though some writers assert that it was formerly prevalent throughout the maritime districts. In these, however, monogamy is at present practised, except by the Mohammedans, who are polygamists. Statements to the contrary have been laid before us; but Sirr positively asserts that he never saw a Kandian or Singhalese who had acknow- ledged himself to have more than a single wife. The Muslims, though long settled in the island, preserve their peculiar cha- racteristics, their religion, habits, and man- ners, which they have not communicated to | the rest of the population. There are two kinds of marriage in Kandy, the one called "Bema," the other "Deega." In the first of these the husband goes to live at his wife's residence, and the woman shares with her brothers the family inheritance. He, however, who is married after this fashion, enjoys little respect from his bride's relations; and if he gives offence to her father, or the head of the household, may be at once ejected from the abode. In reference to this precarious and doubt- ful lodgement there is an ancient proverb still popular in Kandy. It says that a man wedded according to the Bema process should only take to his bride's dwelling four articles of property-a pair of sandals to protect his feet, a palm-leaf to shield his head from the fiery rays of the sun, a walking staff to support him if he be sick, and a lantern to illuminate his path should he chance to be ejected during darkness. He may thus be prepared to depart at any hour of the day or night. He Deega, the other kind of marriage, is that in which the wife passes from underneath the parental roof to dwell in her husband's own house. In this case she relinquishes all claim to a share in her family inheritance, but acquires a contingent right to some of her husband's property. The man's au- thority is, under this form of contract, far greater than under that of Bema. cannot be divorced without his own consent, while, in the other case, separation, as we have seen, is a summary piocess, entirely depending on the caprice of the woman or her family. In a country where the female population is considerably less numerous | than the male, and where women generally enjoy much freedom, a certain degree of indulgence will always be granted to the fickle quality in their character. In Ceylon this liberty in the one sex involves a certain kind of slavery in the other. Women fre- quently seek for divorces upon the most frivolous and trifling pretexts, and as these are too easily attainable by the simple return of the marriage gifts, they con- tinually occur. Should a child be born within nine months from the day of the final separation, the husband is bound to maintain it for the first three years of its 1 128 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. If man it is who thus asserts, his words you may believe; But all that woman says distrust-she speaks but to deceive." The adumbra is a species of fig-tree, and the natives assert that no mortal has ever seen its bloom. Under the native kings the Singhalese were forbidden to contract marriage with any one of nearer affinity than the second cousin; such an union was incestuous, and severely punished. Under the English government, however, many of these old restrictions have been modified. Among the Christian population, on the other hand Catholic as well as Protestant-many traces of their old idolatry are still dis- tinctly visible in the ceremony of marriage. The Buddhist law allows to every man, whatever his grade, only one wife; but the ancient Kandian princes, of course, broke this law and took as many wives or concu- bines as they pleased. life, after which it is considered sufficiently old to be taken from its mother. If, how- ever, while under the marriage pledge, the woman defiles herself by adultery, the husband, if with his own eyes he was the witness of her infidelity, might with his own hands, under the native law, take away the life of her paramour. Notwith- standing this terrible privilege, it is asserted with consistency by many authorities that, in all parts of Ceylon, from the highest to the lowest caste, the want of conjugal faith in the married, and chastity in the un- married people, is frightful to consider. When a man puts away his wife for adul- terous intrigue, he may disinherit her and the whole of her offspring, notwithstanding that he may feel and acknowledge them all to be his own children. When, however, he seeks a divorce from caprice, he renounces all claim to his wife's inheritance or actual property, and must divide with her what- ever may have been jointly accumulated during the period of their cohabitation. We have alluded to the numerical dif- The men of Ceylon do not always, however, ference between the sexes. The population exercise their privileges. They are gene- of Ceylon is about 1,500,000, and the males rally very indulgent husbands. Many of exceed the females by nearly a tenth. In them, indeed, are uxorious to an offensive 1814 it was 476,000; there were 20,000 extreme, and forgive offences which, by more males than females. In 1835 there most persons, are held unpardonable. A was a population of 646,000 males, and short time since a Kandian applied to the 584,000 females. At both these periods British judicial authorities to compel the the disparity was greatest in the poorest return to him and his children of an unfaith-places. In the fishing villages, where whole- ful wife, who had deserted her home for that some food abounded, there were more females of a paramour. The husband pleaded his than males. The same circumstance is true love for her, implored her for her children's at the present day. Some writers attribute sake to come back, and promised to forgive this to a gracious provision of Nature, which her offence; but she turned away from him, checks the increase of the people; but and coolly asked the judge if he could force Nature makes no provision against uuna- her to return. Ile answered that unfortu-tural things, and starvation is a monstrous nately he could not, but advised her to return to the home of her lawful partner, who was ready to forgive and embrace her. She disregarded equally the entreaties of the one and the exhortation of the other, and returned to her paramour, whom she shortly afterwards deserted for another. The numerous instances of this kind which happen in the island have encouraged a swarm of satirical effusions upon the faith- lessness of the female sex; but if the women were also poets, they might echo every note of the song. In illustration of the estimate formed of them, we may quote a few lines translated from the original by Sirr. They apply to the fraudulent disposition of women, and have become proverbial among the people. "I've seen the adumbra tree in flower, white plumage on the crow, And fishes' footsteps on the deep have traced through ebb and flow. thing in a fertile country. We may withi more safety assign as a cause the open or secret infanticide, which, under the old laws, was common. Female children, ex- cept the first bora, born under a malignant star, were sure to be sacrificed. It was hardly considered an offence; but being, under the British rule, denounced as mur- der, has been gradually abolished. easier means of life, which in Ceylon and throughout the rest of our Asiatic dominions are afforded to the people under English sway, take away the incentive of poverty to crime. The population has enormously increased, an unfailing sign of good govern- ment, if misery does not increase with it. The The social position of the Singhalese women is not so degraded as in many other parts of the East; the poor labouring hard, but as partners rather than as slaves. This superior condition does not, unhappily, elevate their moral character, for it is un- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 129 A accompanied by other essential circum- stances. Profligacy, we have said, is widely prevalent in Ceylon; yet prostitution, at least of the avowed and public kind, is not So. Under the Kandian dynasty it was peremptorily forbidden; a common harlot had her hair and ears cut off and was whipped naked. If, however, we accept the general definition of the word prostitu- tion as any obscene traffic in a woman's person, we shall find much of it clandes- tinely practised. The women are skilful in procuring abortion, and thus rid them- selves of the consequences which follow their intrigues. Of course, in the sea-port towns prostitution exists, but we have no account of it. It is fair, however, to notice the opinions of Sir Emerson Tennent, that the morals of the people in these and in all other parts of the islands are rapidly improving, and that marriage is becoming a more sacred tie*. OF PROSTITUTION IN CHINA. In the immense empire of China, the civi- lization of which has been cast in a mould fashioned by despotism, a general uni- formity of manners is prevalent. Singular as many of its customs are, they vary very little in the different provinces, for although the population be composed of a mixture of races, the iron discipline of the govern- ment forces all to bend to one universal fashion. The differences which are re- marked between the practice of the people in one district, and those of another, spring only from the nature of circumstances. It is more easy, therefore, to take an outline view of this vast empire, than it is to sketch many smaller countries, where the uniformity of manners is not so absolute. China affords a wide and interesting field for our inquiry. Were our information complete, there is perhaps no state in the world with reference to which so curious an account might be written as China, with its prostitution system. Unfortunately, however, the negligence or prudery of tra- vellers has allowed the subject to be passed over. We know that a remarkable system of this kind does exist, that prostitutes abound in the cities of the Celestial Empire, and that they form a distinct order; we know something of the classes from which * Sirr's Ceylon and the Singhalese; Pridham's History of Ceylon; Forbes' Eleven Years in Ceylon; Davy's Interior of Ceylon; Campbell's Excursions in Ceylon; Knox's Captivity in Ceylon; Knighton's History of Ceylon; Tennent's Christianity in Ceylon. they are taken, how they are procured, in what their education consists, where and in what manner they live, and how and by whom they are encouraged. But this information is to be derived, not from any full account by an intelligent and observing inquirer, but from isolated facts scattered through a hundred books which require to be connected, and then only form a rough of the subject. and incomplete view Statistics we have positively none, though ample opportunities must be afforded tra- vellers for arriving at something near the truth in such cities as Canton. However, from what knowledge we possess it is evident the social economy of the Chinese with respect to prostitution presents clear points of analogy with our own. In conformity with the plan of this in- quiry, we proceed first to ascertain the general condition of the female sex in China. Abundant information has been supplied us on this subject, as well by the written laws, and by the literature of the country, as by the travellers who have visited and described it. As in all Asiatic, indeed in all barbarous, countries, women in China are counted in- ferior to men. The high example of Con- character inclined them before, and was re- fucius taught the people-though their own character inclined them before, and was re- flected from him-that the female sex was created for the convenience of the male. The great philosopher spoke of women and slaves as belonging to the same class, and complained that they were equally difficult to govern. That ten daughters are not equal in value to one son is a proverb which strongly expresses the Chinese senti- ment upon this point, and the whole of their manners is pervaded by the same spirit. Feminine virtue, indeed, is severely guarded by the law, but not for its own sake. The well-being of the state, and the interest of the male sex, are sought to be protected by the rigorous enactments on the subject of chastity; but the morality, like the charity of that nation, is contained principally in its codes, essays, and poems, for in practice they are among the most demoralised on the earth. The spirit of the Salic law might na- turally be looked for in the political code of such a state. It is so. The throne can be occupied only by a man. An illegitimate son is held in more respect'than a legitimate daughter. The constitution provides that if the principal wife fail to bear male chil- dren, the son of the next shall succeed, and if she be barren also, of the next, and so on, according to their seniority, the son of each has a contingent claim to the sovereignty. M Į 130 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Thus in the most important department of | to release himself from the tie. Such in- their public economy the national sentiment is manifested. We may now examine the laws which regulate the intercourse of the sexes, and then inquire into the actual state of manners. It will be useful to re- member the truth, which has already been stated, that no language is so full of moral axioms and honourable sentiments as the Chinese, while no nation is more flagitious in its practice. The government of China, styled paternal because it rules with the rod, regulates the minutest actions of a man's career. He is governed in everything-in the temple, in the street, at his own table, in all the re- lations of life. The law of marriage, for instance, is full, rigid, and explicit. The young persons about to be wedded know little or nothing of the transaction. Parental authority is supreme, and alliances are contracted in which the man and wife do not see each others' faces until they occupy the same habitation and are mutually pledged for life. Match-making in China is a profession followed by old women, who earn what we may term a commission upon the sales they effect. When a union between two families is intended, its particulars must be fully ex- plained on either side, so that no deceit shall be practised. The engagement is then drawn and the amount of presents deter- mined, for in all countries where women hold this position, marriage is more or less a mercantile transaction. When once the contract is made, it is irrevocable. If the friends of the girl repent and desire to break the match, the man among them who had authority to give her away is liable to receive fifty strokes of the bamboo, and the marriage must proceed. Whatever other engagements have been entered into are null and punishable, and the original bride- groom has in all cases a decisive claim. If he, on the other hand, or the friend who represents and controls him, desire to dis- solve the compact, giving a marriage pre- sent to another woman, he is chastised with fifty blows, and compelled to fulfil the terms of his first engagement, while his second favourite is at liberty to marry as she pleases. If either of the parties is in- continent after the ceremony of betrothal, the crime is considered as adultery, and so punished. But if any deceit be practised, and either family represent the person about to marry under a false description, they become liable to severe penalties, and on the part of the man most strictly. The husband, finding that a girl had been palmed off on him by fraud, is permitted cidents, nevertheless, do occasionally occur. One of rather an amusing nature is alluded to by several writers. A young man who had been promised in marriage the youngest daughter of a large family was startled when, after the ceremony was complete, he unveiled his bride, to find the eldest sister, very ugly and deeply pitted with the small pox. The law would have allowed him to escape from such an union, but he sub- mitted, and soon afterwards consoled him- self with a handsome concubine. Although the girl, when once betrothed, is absolutely bound to the husband selected for her, he dare not, under pain of the bas- tinado, force her away before the specified time. On the other hand, her friends must not, under similar penalties, detain her after that time. Thus the law regulates the whole transaction, and the parents dis- pose as they will of their children. Occa- sionally, however, a young man, not yet emancipated from paternal authority, con- tracts a marriage according to his own in- clination, and if the rites have actually been performed, it cannot be dissolved ; but if he be only betrothed, and his parents have in the meanwhile agreed upon an al- liance for him, he must relinquish his own design and obey their choice. The Polygamy is allowed in China, but under certain regulations. The first wife is usually chosen from a family equal in rank and riches to that of the husband, and is affianced with as much splendour and cere- mony as the parties can afford. She ac- quires all the rights which belong to the chief wife in any Asiatic country. man may then take as many as he pleases, who are inferior in rank to the first, but equal to each other. The term inferior wife is more applicable than that of concu- bine, as there is a form of espousal, and their children have a contingent claim to the inheritance. The practice, however, brings no honour, if it brings no positive shame, though now sanctioned by long habit. Originally it appears to have been condemned by the stricter moralists, and it has been observed that the Chinese term to describe this kind of companion is, cu- riously enough, compounded of the words crime and woman. It is a derogatory posi- tion, and such as only the poor and hum- ble will consent to occupy. One of the na- tional sayings, and the feeling with many of the women, is, that it is more honourable to be a poor man's wife than the concubine of an emperor. A man cannot, under the penalty of a hundred blows, degrade his first wife to this position, or raise an infe- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 131 rior wife to hers-no such act is valid be- fore the law. None but the rich can afford, and none but the loose and luxurious will practise, polygamy except when the first wife fails to bear a son. Unless some such reason exists, the opinion of moralists is against it. Men with too many wives lose the Em- peror's confidence, since he accuses them of being absorbed in domestic concerns. In this case it is usual to take an inferior wife, who is purchased from the lower ranks for a sum of money, that an heir may be born to the house. The situation of these poor creatures is aggravated or softened accord- ing to the disposition of their chief, for they are virtually her servants, and are not allowed even to eat in her presence. They receive no elevation by her decease, but are for ever the mere slaves of their mas- ter's lust. At the same time their infe- rior position, and therefore inferior conse- quence, gains them some agreeable privi- leges. The principal wife is not allowed to indulge in conversation or any free inter- course with strangers-a pleasure which is sometimes enjoyed with little restraint by the others, as well as by the female domes- tics. Not much jealousy appears to be en- tertained by these women, who are easily to be procured. Their sons receive half as much patrimony as the sons of the mis- tress of the household. The social laws of China inculcate the good treatment of wives; but the main solicitude of the legislator has been with respect to the fixity of the law, and the rights of the male or supreme sex. Leav- ing her parents' home, the girl is trans- ferred into bondage. Some men, however, go to the house of their bride's father, which is contrary to the established form; but when once received across the threshold as a son-in-law, he cannot be ejected, and leaves only when he is inclined. A man may not marry within a certain period of his chief wife's death; but if he takes a woman who has already been his concubine, the punishment is two degrees milder. So also with widows, who cannot be forced by their friends to make any new engagement at all, but are protected by the law. Women left in this position have a powerful dissuasive against a fresh union, in the entire independence which they enjoy, and which they could enjoy under no other circumstances. With respect to the laws relating to con- sanguinity, the Chinese system is particu- larly rigid. The prohibited limits lie very widely apart. In this a change appears to have been effected under the Mantchus, for | among the traces of ancient manners which become visible at a remoter period, revealed only, however, by the twilight of tradition, a profligate state of public morals is indi- cated. We find parents giving both their daughters in marriage to one man, while the intercourse of the sexes was all but en- tirely unrestrained. The strictness of the modern law is attended with some inconve- nient results, for in China the number of family names is very small, while it en- acted that all marriages between persons of the same family names are not only null and void, but punishable by blows and a All such contracts between indivi- fine. duals previously related by marriage with- in four degrees, are denounced as inces- tuous. A man may not marry his father's or his mother's sister-in-law, his father's or mother's aunt's daughter, his son-in-law's or daughter-in-law's sister, his grandson's wife's sister, his mother's brother's or sis- ter's daughter, or any blood relations what- ever, to any degree, however remote. Such offences are punished with the bamboo. Death by strangling is enacted against one who marries a brother's widow, while with a grandfather's or father's wife it is more particularly infamous, and the criminal suffers the extreme disgrace of decapita- tion. These regulations apply to the first wife, similar offences with regard to the inferior being visited with penalties two degrees less severe. Not only, however, are the degrees of consanguinity strictly defined, but the union of classes is under restric- tion. An officer of government within the third order marrying into a family under his jurisdiction, or in which legal proceed- ings are under his investigation, is subject to heavy punishment. The family of the girl, if they voluntarily aid him, incur the chastisement also; but if they have sub- mitted under fear of his authority, they are exempt. To marry an absconded fe- male, flying from justice, is prohibited. To take forcibly as a wife a freeman's daugh- ter, subjects the offender to death by stran- gulation. An officer of government, or the son of any high functionary with heredi- tary honours, who takes as his first or infe- rior wife a female comedian or musician, or any member of a disreputable class, is pu- nished by sixty strokes of the bamboo. An equal punishment is inflicted on any priest who marries at all; and, in addition to this, he is expelled his order. If he delude a woman under false pretences, he incurs the penalty of the worst incest. Slaves and free persons are forbidden to intermarry. Any person, conniving at, or neglecting to { 132 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. denounce, such illegal contracts, are crimi- | nals before the law. The union after the betrothal must be completed; but it may also be broken. Seven causes, according to the law, justify a man in repudiating his first wife. These are-barrenness, lasciviousness, disregard of her husband's parents, talkativeness, thievish propensities, an envious suspicious temper, and inveterate infirmity. If, how- ever, any of the three legal reasons against divorce can be proved by the woman, she cannot be put away-first, that she has mourned three years for her husband's fa- mily; second, that the family has become rich after having been poor before and at the time of marriage; third, her having no father or mother living to receive her. She is thus protected, in some measure, from her husband's caprice. If she commit adultery, however, he dare not retain, but must dismiss her. If she abscond against his will, she may be severely flogged; if she commit bigamy, she is strangled. When a man leaves his home, his wife must re- main in it three years before she can sue for a divorce, and then give notice of her intention before a public tribunal. It is forbidden, under peremptory enactments, to harbour a fugitive wife or female ser- vant. concubines to their wealthier neighbours. Others prostitute them for gain; but these instances of profligacy usually occur in the large and crowded cities. Sometimes the woman consents, but sometimes also op- poses the infamous design. In 1832 a woman was condemned to strangulation for killing her husband by accident, while resisting an adulterer whom he had introduced for her to prostitute herself to him. These incidents occur only in the lowest class. Some men are as jea- lous as Turks, and maintain eunuchs to guard their wives. Under this system many restrictions are imposed on the women of China. They form no part of what is called society, en- joying little companionship, even with per- sons of their own sex. Those of the better class are instructed in embroidering and other graceful but useless accomplishments. They are seldom educated to any extent, though some instances have occurred of learned women and elegant poetesses, who have been praised and admired throughout the country. Fond of gay clothes, of gaudy furniture, and brilliant decoration, they love nothing so much as display; and though assuming a demure and timid air, cannot be highly praised on this account, for their bashfulness is, in such cases, more apparent than real. Still they are gene- rally described as faithful partners. Reli- gious services are performed for them in the temple, to which women are admitted. The wives of the poorer sort labour in the fields, and perform all the drudgery of the house, an occupation which is held as suited to their nature. "Let my daughter sweep your house" is the expression made use of in offering a wife. It should be mentioned, however, to relieve the dark- A man finding his wife in the act of adultery may kill her with her paramour, provided he does it immediately, but only on that condition. If the guilty wife adds to her crime by intriguing against her hus- band's life, she dies by a slow and painful execution. If even the adulterer slay her husband without her knowledge, she is strangled. The privilege of putting a wife to death is not allowed for any inferior offence. To strike a husband, is punishable by a hundred blows and divorce; to dis-ness of this picture, that husbands often able him, with strangulation. In all these circumstances the inferior wife is punished one degree more severely. Thus offences against them are less harshly, and offences by them more rigidly, chastised. In addi- tion to these legal visitations the bamboo is at hand to preserve discipline among the women. One of the laws of China exhibits a pe- culiar feature of depravity in the people. It is enacted, that whoever lends his wife or daughter upon hire is to be severely pu- nished, and any one falsely bargaining away his wife or his sister is to be similarly dealt with. All persons consenting to the transaction share the penalty. Nor is this an obsolete enactment against an unknown crime. Instances do not unfrequently occur of poor men selling their wives as present offerings at the temples, with prayers to the gods for the recovery of their sick wives. The idea may indeed suggest itself, that this is with a view to economy, as girls are costly purchases; but no man is the greater philosopher for asserting that a whole nation exists without the commonest sentiments of human na- ture. Indeed, many instances occur even in China of husbands and wives living as dear friends together, especially when poly- gamy has not been adopted in the dwell- ing. The obedience to old habits is not to be confounded with characteristic harsh- ness in the individual; nor does it seem impossible, when we examine the variety of manners in the world, to believe in a strong and tender attachment between a man and the woman whom, in adherence TABLE XV. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO BIGAMY. Average Marriages COUNTIES. for 10 years, from 1839-48. Total Number committed for Bigamy. 1341 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 Bedford Berks 925 1,294 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 Bucks 960 Cambridge 1,392 Chester 2,580 19 Cornwall 2,447 Cumberland 1,036 2 13 Derby 1,826 1 Devon 4,339 2 Dorset 1,174 Durham 2,885 Essex 2,114 Gloucester 3,459 Hereford 634 221 6 1 2 12 2 4314 5 Hertford 988 Hunts 452 Kent 4,047 Lancaster 17,034 13 Leicester 1,730 201 Lincoln 2,765 Middlesex 15,795 Monmouth 1,281 Norfolk 3,021 821 3 11 35 19 9 16 9 12 ::: : 17 1 Northampton 1,597 Northumberland 2,047 Nottingham 2,084 • 2 1 1 3 1 2 ེཐ ཨཐཝཎྜཐ Oxford 1,158 : • Rutland 158 Salop 1,590 Somerset 3,113 10 Southampton 2,884 Stafford 4,146. 1 3 1 Suffolk 2,369 Surrey 5,187 2 2 Sussex 2,134 Warwick 3,247 N 318 Ꮹ ; ය 215 N 9 5 19 2 ස 43 4 20 Westmorland 390 D 2 Wilts M 1,618 Worcester 2,769 3 York 1 3,332 6 6 8 4 9 27 North Wales 2,582 1 1 2 • South Wales 4,076 1 1 I 1 2 30101 12 9 13: 79 1 8 7 Total for 10 Years. Annual SEV KSR 22885383: : 8355232968: 22882285833: 33 Average. 2* :28-228-5998 :#23°5828°HA : 15&=9°32862%@55 * 50·9 17 * 71.2 46 * 22.0 * 86.4 + 401-7 * 67.8 † 5·1 Marriages. * 32 * 45.8 54 * 8.5 1 3 * 62.7 Counties below the Average. 11 6 2 2 12 6 8 67 +338.9 1 * 86*4 Chester 259 York 59 3 2 † 11.2 Cumberland 125 Berks 54 • · 124 Kent 52 6 33 * 44·1 3 14 32 * 45·8 97 Lincoln 51 ► 83 Westmorland 51 1 * 84.8 78 4 2 28 97 † 64.4 Stafford 46 65 Hunts 44 6 * 52.5 63 2 14 40 * 32.2 Worcester 43 • Warwick 62 Gloucester 40 4 63 + 6·8 Norfolk 39 *100-0 2 44 * 25.4 Northumberland 34 3 2 I 1 21 * 11.9 Derby 33 27 29 19 19 20 212 21.2 124 f110-2 Devon 32 Bedford 32 1 6 North Wales 31 2 3 2 14 51 10 11 102 65 Salop 31 2 10 78 † 32.2 Somerset 29 12 39 * 33·9 28 6 * 89.8 Nottingham 24 34 Cambridge 22 Sussex 19 24 South Wales 17 Southampton 17 Wilts 12 9 No. com- Percentage mitted An- above and below the Average. nually in every100,000 † denotes above. below. وو *100.0 LIST OF OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER RE- BY THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH GARD TO BIGAMY, AS SHOWN THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 100,000 MAR- RIAGES. Counties above the Average. Lancaster Durham Surrey Monmouth Middlesex Hereford * 89.8 * 13.6 + 10·2 Essex * 42·4 * 59 3 *100·0 *100-0 * 47.5 43 17 -* +* ***** Dorset Cornwall Suffolk Leicester Northampton. Bucks Hertford · * 13.6 * 79.7 * 27·1 Oxford Rutland * 47.5 * 71.2 Average for England and Wales 59 Total for England and Wales. 130,670 50 65 107 69 62 82 84 88 83 82 772 77.2 59 MAP No. XIII. I MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR BIGAMY IN EVERY 100,000 MARRIAGES, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Northumberland 34 Cumberland 125 Westmorlan 51 Durham 97 York. 59 ***The counties printed black are those in which the number committed for this offence is above the average. The counties left white are those in which the number committed for the same offence is below the average. The average is calculated for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850. Lincol اک Laite aster 124 Chester 33 25 Derby 31 Wales 46 31 Salop Stafford Worcester Hereford 43 63 S.Wales Warwick 62 Nottingham Luester 1.7 Moninonth 78 Cloucester) Oxford 6 24 Rutland Northamptony Ô Norfolk 39 Huntingt Cambridge === 22 Suffolk 28 Essex 0 Buckingham 32 Bedford Hertford Middles 2765. 0 0 4-0 54. Berks Wilts Somerset 12 20 Flants 17 Детоц Dorset 32 و Cornwall 8 SULT Kent 52 Sussex 19 The average for all England and Wales is 59 in every 100,000 Marriages. Chester (the highest) 259 " MAP No. XIV. MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR ABDUCTION IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE MALE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Northumberland 0 Cumberland Durhanc Westmorland Lancaster 8 York.0 ***The counties printed black are those in which the number committed for this offence is above the average. The counties left white are those in which the number committed for the same offence is below the average. The average is calculated for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850. N. Wales.0 Chester Salo p.0 S. Wales 0 Herefor Devon.0 Derby.0 10 Stafford Nottingham. 14 0 Lincola.0 Norfolk. 0 Incester Rutlan Warwick Gloucester 0 Worceste Munmoió Northamp Oxford 0 Suffolk.0 Hunting Bedford 0 Buckingham Hertford Middlesez Essex Kent.3 Somerset,0 Wilts.0 Berks 10 > Hants.0 Snasex. Dorset Cornwall The Average for all England and Wales is "> 3 in every 10,000,000 of the Male Population. Nottingham and Bucks (the highest) 14 cach >> { TABLE XVI. ! LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO ABDUCTION. Total Number committed for Abduction. 342 1843 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849, 1850 1 * : No. com- mitted An- nually in every 10,000,000 Males. Percentage above and below the Average. + denotes above. * دو LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO ABDUCTION, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OF- FENCE IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE MALE POPULATION. Counties above the Average. Nottingham Cambridge Stafford Counties below the Average. 14 Kent. 14 Middlesex • • 11, Bedford 10 Chester 3 2 below. *100'0 10 +233.3 •1 14 +366.7 .1 11 +266.7 *100'0 Bucks *100 0 *100*0 • { *100 0 Berks 10 Cornwall *100'0 Warwick 9 Cumberland *100*0 Lancaster 8 Derby *100*0 Northumberland. Devon 0 *100*0 Surrey Dorset 0 *100'0 Durham 0 *100'0 Essex 0 L • *100 0 Gloucester • 0 *100·0 3 Hereford. Hertford.. ❤ • 8 +166.7 *100·0 Hunts Leicester • • • ❤ • *100·0 • •2 * 33.3 · *100*0 *100 0 Lincoln Monmouth. Norfolk Northampton Oxford... Rutland Salop ❤ D COUNTIES. Average Male Population 1841-50. Bedford 58,372 Berks 97,055 Bucks 69,226 Cambridge 89,762 Chester 193,728 Cornwall 168,854 Cumberland 91,199 Derby 124,224 Devon 263,055 Dorset 82,998 * Durham 183,956 Essex 166,255 Gloucester 192,960 Hereford. 48,985 Hertford 83,264 Hunts 28,761 Kent 291,219 1 Lancaster 917,922 1. די Leicester 111,629 J Lincoln 189,768 Middlesex 815,107 Monmouth 85,564 D Norfolk 202,811 Northampton 102,853 Northumberland 139,028 1 Nottingham 138,413 12 Oxford 83,290 Rutland 11,937 Salop 121,316 Somerset 216,177 * Southampton 186,661 • · Stafford 294,120 1 Suffolk 159,561 Surrey Sussex 303,083 1 157,915 Warwick 217,569 1 Westmorland 28,680 Wilts 119,528 Worcester 119,808 York 835,816 North Wales 196,664 South Wales 279,818 Total for England and Wales 8,270,087 3 7 4 1 2 2 4 23 2.3 3 · *100'0 •1 +133.3 •2 14 +366.7 *100.0 *100.0 *100*0 *100'0 *100'0 .3 10 †233.3 *100.0 •2 +133.3 *100.0 1 9 +200.0 0 0 0 Somerset 0 Southampton Suffolk 0 Sussex Westmorland Q Wilts Worcester York North Wales 0 South Wales. 0 *100'0 *100*0 *100.0 *100*0 *100*0 *100*0 Average for England and Wales. 3 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 133 saw a boat full of men and women, with four infants. They landed and dug two pits, in which they were about to inter their living but feeble victims, when they were disturbed. They then made off rapidly, and passed round a headland, beyond which they, no doubt, accomplished their purpose without interruption. When the mission- ary Smith was in the suburbs of Canton, in 1844, he was presented by a native with a work written by a mandarin, and pub- to ancient usage, he would not allow to eat at the same table with himself. A privi- lege belongs to the female sex here which it enjoys in no other barbarian country. A strong authority is recognised in the widow over her son. She is acknowledged to have the right to be supported by him, and it is a proverbial saying, that “ a wo- man is thrice dependent-before marriage on her father, after marriage on her hus- band, when a widow on her son. From this view of the condition of wo-lished gratuitously at the expense of go- men, and the regulations of marriage, we proceed to an important part of the sub- ject-the infanticide for which China has been so infamously celebrated. It is im- possible to conceive a more contradictory confusion of statements, than we have seen put forward with reference to this ques- tion. Weighing the various authorities, however, we are inclined to adopt a moderate view, rejecting the extravagant pictures of one, and the broad denials of the other set of writers. Infanticide, it cannot be dis- puted, is practised in the country, and to a considerable extent; but it is, and always will be impossible, to acquire the exact sta- tistics, or even an approximation to the precise truth. Two causes appear to have operated in encouraging this practice-the poverty of the lower classes, and the severity of the law with respect to the illicit intercourse of the sexes. The former is the principal cause. There is a strong maternal feeling in the woman's breast, and children are only destroyed when the indigence of the parents allows no hope of rearing them well. It is invariably the female child which is, under these circumstances, slain; for the son can always, after a few years, earn his livelihood, and be an assistance, instead of a burden, to the family. The birth of a female child is regarded as a calamity, and brings mourning into the house. One of the national proverbs expresses this fact in a striking manner, exhibiting also the in- ferior estimation in which that sex is viewed. It says, that to a female infant a common tile may be given as a toy, while to a male a gem should be presented. When it is determined to destroy the offspring thus born under the roof of poverty, a choice of method is open. It may be drowned in warm water; its throat may be pinched; it may be stifled by a wet cloth tied over its mouth; it may be choked by grains of rice. Another plan is to carry the child, immediately after its birth, and bury it alive. Captain Collins, of the Plover sloop-of-war, relates that some of his company, while visiting the coast of China, At a vernment, to discourage the practice of infanticide. When questioned upon the actual prevalence of the custom, the native said that, taking a circle with a radius of ten miles from the spot they then occupied, the number of infanticides within the space thus included would not exceed five hun- dred in a year. It was confined to the very poor, and originated in the difficulty of rearing and providing for their female offspring. The rich never encouraged, and the poor were ashamed, of the practice. Ile knew men who had drowned their daughters, but would not confess the act, speaking of their children as though they had died of disease. In Fokien province, on the con- trary, infanticides were numerous. place called Kea-King-Chow, about five days' journey from Canton, there were computed to be 500 or 600 cases in a month. The comparative immunity of Canton from the contagion of this crime was the government foundling-hospital established there. About 500 female chil- dren, born of parents in poverty and want, were annually received, to have temporary provision and sustenance. From time to time, the more wealthy merchants and gentry visit the institution to select some of the children, whom they take home to educate as concubines or servants. The hospital has accommodation for at least 1000 infants, each of which is usually removed after three months, either to the house of some voluntary guardian, or to wet nurses in other districts. This is the only import- ant institution of the kind in the province. Infanticide is still, even by the most favour- able accounts, lamentably prevalent. The foundling-hospitals, of which there is one in every great town, do certainly oppose a check to the practice. That at Shanghae receives annually about 200 infants. The villagers in the neighbourhood of Amoy confessed that female infanticide was generally practised among them, and their statements were expressed in a man- ner which left no doubt that they considered it an innocent and proper expedient for lightening the evils of poverty. Two out 134 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. of every four, they said, were destroyed; | but rich people, who could afford to bring them up never resorted to, because they never needed, such a means of relief. Some killed three, four, or even five out of six; it depended entirely on the circumstances of the individual. The object was effected immediately after the infant's birth. If sons, however, were born in alternate suc- cession, it was regarded as an omen of happy fortune for the parents, and the daughters were spared. None of the vil- lagers denied to any of their questioners the generality of the custom, but few would confess personally to the actual fact. In some districts one-half was reported as the average destruction of the female popula- tion, and in the cities some declared the crime was equally prevalent, though we may take this as the exaggeration which always attends the loose statements of ignorant men, who, having little idea of figures, are required to furnish a number, and speak at random. Infanticide, however, is not wholly con- fined to the poor. It is occasionally re- sorted to by the rich to conceal their illicit | amours. In 1838 a proclamation against it was published, but the general perpetra- tion of the crime rendered its repression impossible, with such machinery as the Emperor has at his command. Abeel cal- culated that throughout a large district, the average was 39 per cent. of the female children. It is evident, however, from all these facts, that under an improved go- vernment, the crime might be altogether extinguished, not by severe enactments or vigilant police, but by rendering infanticide uunecessary in the eyes of the people. The second cause which induces parents to destroy their children is the stringency of the law against the illicit intercourse of unmarried people; its provisions are equally characteristic and severe. To render its enforcement easier, the separation of the sexes is rigidly insisted upon. Not only are servants, but even brothers and sisters, prohibited from mixing except under regu- Ïation. Intercourse by mutual consent is punished with 70 blows, while with married people the penalty varies from 80 to 100. Violation of a female, wedded or single, is punished by strangulation. An assault, with intent to ravish, by 100 strokes of the bambu and perpetual banishment to a remote spot. Intercourse with children under twelve years of age is treated as rape. Should a child be born from one of these unlawful intrigues, its support devolves on the father; but if the transaction be thus far concealed, this evidence of it is usually sunk in the river, or flung out by the way- side. An unmarried woman found pregnant is severely punished, whether her accom- plice can be discovered or not. The illicit intercourse of slaves with their masters' wives or daughters is punished with death; while officers of government, civil and military, and the sons of those who hold hereditary rank, if found indulging in criminal intrigues with females under their jurisdiction, are subjected to unmerciful castigation with the stick. One grace is accorded to the weaker sex in China. No woman is committed to pri- son, except in capital cases, or cases of adultery. In all others they remain, if married, in the custody of their husbands; if single, in that of their friends. No wo- man quick with child can be flogged, tor- tured, or executed, until a hundred days after her delivery. Women, however, of the poorer orders, whose friends do not care, or are unable, to be responsible for them, are lodged under the care of female wardens, and in reference to this we may instance a cu- rious fact illustrative of prison discipline in China. In 1805 one of the great officers of government made a report to the Empe- ror, that three female warders of the pri- son were in the habit of engaging with traders in an illicit and disgraceful inter- course with female servants, and hiring out the female prisoners, not yet sentenced or waiting for discharge, to gain money for them by prostitution. Sensual as the Chinese are, the punish- able breach of the moral law-the inter- course of unmarried persons—is checked by the system of early marriages. Children are often betrothed in the cradle. Men seldom pass the age of twenty, or girls that of fifteen, in celibacy. The Parsees, however, of all ages, are notorious for their abandoned mode of life. "Se- Prostitution, however, prevails to a pro- digious extent. There is throughout the country a regular traffic in females. duction and adultery," says Williams, “are comparatively unfrequent; but brothels and their inmates occur everywhere on land and water. One danger attending young girls going alone is, that they will be stolen for incarceration in these gates of hell." This is in allusion to a very extraordi- nary system prevalent in the great cities of China. In 1832 it was calculated there were between 8000 and 10,000 prosti- tutes having abodes in and about Canton. Of these the greater portion had been stolen while children, and compelled to LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 135 adopt that course of life. Dressed gaily, taught to affect happiness. and trained in seductive manners, they were examples of their class in Europe. Many young girls were carried away, forcibly violated, and then consigned to a brothel. Hundreds of kidnappers, chiefly women, swarmed in the city, gaining a livelihood by the traffic in young girls and children. Nor was this the only way in which such places were supplied. In times of general scarcity or individual want, parents have been seen leading their own daughters through the streets and offering them for sale. The selling of children, says Co. nyngham, one of the most recent visitors to Canton, is an every-day occurrence, and is on the whole a check upon infanticide. The little victims are seen constantly pass- ing on their way to the habitations of their purchasers gaily dressed out as though for some great ceremony or happy festival. Of these, indeed, some are disposed of as concubines, but many also are deliberately sold to be brought up as prostitutes. It is looked upon as a simple mercantile trans- action, the children being transferred at once to the brothels, whence they are hired out for the profit of their masters. Some of those who are deserted or exposed to perish are reserved by the agents for these places; but the principal supply is brought by kidnappers. Proclamation after procla- mation has been issued to complain of them, but with little effect. The system appears rather on the increase than other wise. The children thus purchased or picked up in the streets are educated with care, taught to play on various kinds of instru- ments, to dance, to sing, to perform in co- medies or pantomimes, and to excel in many graceful accomplishments, which render them agreeable. They are often richly clothed, and adorned in such a way as to render them most attractive to the roués of Canton and Peking. They do not often compress their feet, as it is a hindrance to their movements, but may be seen in the streets occasionally though not often-with painted faces, look- ing boldly at the strangers who pass along. Of the houses they frequent we have no particular description; but they probably resemble much similar places of resort in civilized countries. A peculiar feature of China, however, is displayed in the floating brothels, which are the chief habitations of the prostitutes. Licentious as the na- tive of that empire is in the general turn of his ideas, he makes a public display of his indulgence in those pleasures which in Europe men affect, at least, to conceal from general view. The floating brothels of the Pearl River are moored in conspi- cuous situations, and distinguished from the other boats by the superior style of their structure and decorations. The sur- face of the stream, indeed, is studded with beautiful junks, which are the first objects to attract the traveller's eye as he ap- proaches the provincial city of Canton. Comparatively few of the women parade the streets, except when they form part of a public procession, so that there is at least in the heart of the town an appear- ance of morality. Many of these brothel junks are called Flower Boats, and are resorted to by num- bers of the class. They form, indeed, whole streets in the floating city on the Pearl River, which is one of the most re- markable features of Canton. The prosti- tutes themselves, like all women of the same sisterhood, lead a life of reckless ex- travagance-plunging while they can into all the exciting pleasures which are offered by their particular mode of life, careless of the future, and eagerly snatching at any- thing which may release them from the change of dulness or time for reflection. Diseases are very prevalent among them, and cause much havoc among the men who frequent their boats or houses. They en- deavour to cure themselves by means of drugs and medicinal draughts, and by this means concentrate the malady upon some secret vital part, whence it shoots through the frame, but does not manifest itself until the victim is all but destroyed. With the exception of an unusual paleness and a heated appearance in the eyes, the prosti- tutes do not wear the aspect of disease; but they, indeed, paint themselves inordi- nately to mask the ravages of time or the maladies which afflict them. The prostitutes of Canton are usually congregated in companies or troops, each of which is under the government of a man who is answerable for their conduct- if they rob, or disturb the peace, or commit any gross offence against decency, or perpe- trate any other offence. National delicacy, however, has little to do with the prohibi- tions which restrain them from entering certain parts of the city, and forbid young men of rank and influence to hold inter- course with them. The brothel junks, of lofty build, brightly painted, and glitter- ing with gaudy variegated flags, float in squadrons on the water, are seen and known by all, and are resorted to by numbers of the citizens. Persons pass to and from them without an attempt at disguise or conceal- 136 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ment. Rich men, on festive occasions, make up a party of pleasure, embark in a gaily- decorated boat, send to one of the prosti- tute junks, engage as many of the women as they please, and spend the day in amuse- ment with them. It is openly done, and no disgrace attaches to it. The junks them- selves are fitted up in the interior-accord- ing to the class of prostitutes inhabiting them—with all the appurtenances of luxury, and on board them is a perpetual gala. It would be interesting to know how many of these boats are known to float on the Pearl River, with the average number of prostitutes in each. But this is not the only, or the most offensive form which prostitution assumes in China. An incident which occurred at Shensee a few years ago illustrates another system, which is clandestine, though appa- parently carried on to a considerable extent. A young widow resided there with her mother-in-law, supporting herself and her companion by the wages of prostitution. At length her occupation failed her; she was deserted by her associates, and could procure no more rice or money by the pur- suit of her vicious calling. The elder woman, however, would not hear of these excuses, ordered her daughter-in-law to obtain her usual supplies from the man she had last cohabited with, and on her declaring her inability, began to flog her. The prostitute defended herself, and at last, taking up a sickle, struck her relative dead. She was seized, tried, and con- demned to be cut in pieces for the crime; but as her mother-in-law had been guilty of an illegal act in forcing her to prostitute herself, the sentence was changed to decapi- tation. It is to be regretted that our sources of information on this subject are not more copious. Travellers have had opportunities of communicating more, but have refrained from doing so. We wait for a separate and full account of prostitution in China *. * Staunton, Tec Tsing Leu Lee, Code of Criminal Law; Davis, the Chinese; Guttzlaff's China Opened; Fortune's Wanderings in the North of China; Smith's Visits to the Consular Cities of China; Montgomery Martin's China; Forbes's Five Years in China; Williams's Survey of the Chinese Empire; Tradescant Lay's Chinese as they Are; Morrison's View of China; Meadow's Desultory Notes on China; The Chinese Re- pository; Hugh Murray's Description of China; Thornton's History of China; Abeel's Residence in China; Cunyngham's Recollections of Service; Abel's Embassy to China; Medhurst's State of China; Auguste Ilarpman, Revue des Deux Mondes; Langdon's China; De Guignes, Voyage à Peking. OF PROSTITUTION IN JAPAN. AMONG the innumerable islands scattered over the southern and eastern oceans there are none more curious in their social as- pects than Japan. We find there a kind of native civilization, influenced indeed by former intercourse with Europeans, but now complete within itself, and isolated from all other systems in the world. The mountainous, rocky, and arid country, has been fertilized from the centre to the sea by the persevering industry of a hardy race; they found it poor, and they have made it one of the richest agricultural regions in the globe. This fact serves to illustrate the national character. The Japanese, upon whose institutions much light has been thrown by the learned and laborious researches of Mr. Thomas Rundall, of the Hakluyt Society, may be described as a punctilious, haughty, vin- dictive, and licentious people; but there is nothing vulgar in their composition. Truth is held in reverence, hospitality is viewed as sacred, and the bonds of friend- ship are regarded with extraordinary earn- cstness. St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, declared "the Japans" to be the delight of his heart. There is, per- haps, more to admire than to love in their character. They are certainly elevated far above many of the nations who surround them, as well in the arts as in the ameni- ties of life. Virtue is a recognised prin- ciple, and this indicates phase of true civilization. The character of the male is reflected by the female sex. Intelligent and agreeable in their manners, affectionate in their family relations, and faithful to their mar- riage vows, the women of Japan breathe all the pride of virtue. The man who attempts the honour of a matron some- times encounters death in his adventure. In illustration of this characteristic, Mr. Rundall relates an interesting anecdote. A noble, going on a journey, left his wife at home, and another man of rank made infamous proposals to her. Her scorn and indignation only inflamed him to his pur- pose, which he effected in spite of her denial. When her husband returned she received him with much reserve, and when he asked why, bade him wait until the morrow, when a grand feast was to be given. Among the guests was the noble who had wronged her. They sat down on the terraced roof of the house, and the festival began. After the repast the wo- inan rose, declared the injury she had LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 137 suffered, and passionately entreated to be slain, as a creature unfit to live. The guests, the husband foremost, besought her to be calm; they strove to impress her with the idea that she had done no wrong, that she was an innocent victim, though the author of the outrage merited no less punishment than death. She thanked them all kindly; she wept on her husband's shoulder she kissed him affectionately then, suddenly escaping from his embraces, rushed precipitately to the edge of the terrace, and cast herself over the parapet. In the confusion that ensued, the author of the mischief, still unsuspected, for the hapless creature had not indicated the offender, made his way down the stairs. When the rest of the party arrived he was found weltering in his blood by the corse of his victim. He had expiated his crime by committing suicide in the national manner, by slashing himself across the ab- domen with two slashes in the form of a cross." The condition of women in Japan varies with different classes. Those of high rank have a separate suite of rooms assigned to them, beyond which they are seldom seen. Among the middle and lower orders they enjoy more liberty, though they are careful to seclude themselves, and are distinguished in general by extraordinary reserve. Men pay them a polite respect not common among semi-barbarians, as the Japanese will continue to be until they are forced to acknowledge the duty of intercourse with the rest of mankind. The marriage laws of Japan are curious, and vary in different classes. Among the wealthy they are occasions of extravagant parade and long ceremonies, in which the minutest detail is regulated by a peremp. tory law. A full description of all the marriage ceremonial would fill a small volume. A man can only take one wife; he is united to her in the temple. In addition, however, he may take as many concubines as he chooses, who are not de- graded by their position. He may separate from a woman when he pleases; but one who is known to have done so must pay a large sum for the daughter of any other person whom he may desire to have. Mar- riages are seldom contracted before the age of fifteen. The courtship and betrothal are conducted with much formality; but sufficient opportunity is allowed to the youth of the two sexes to become acquainted each with the other. The Japanese are not so jealous as many other Asiatics: "Indeed," says Captain Golovnin, "they are not more so than, considering the frailty of the sex, is rea- sonable." Nevertheless, a man may put his wife to death for whispering to a stranger; while adultery is always capitally punished, sometimes by the hand of the injured husband. In the northern parts, it is said, that in the beginning of the seventeenth century a curious custom prevailed. When a woman was convicted of infidelity, her head was shaved. Her paramour was exposed to an equally disgraceful, but more whimsical penalty. The friends of his victim, when- ever they met him, might strip him naked, and deprive him of his property. But the modesty with which youth are inspired from the cradle tends much to protect female virtue. The intercourse of the sexes, it will thus be seen, is regulated by very natural laws; the condition of the sex is somewhat high. Its virtues are prized by the men, and consequently are generally faithfully preserved. We have said, however, that the men of Japan are licentious; since, therefore, the wives and daughters of the respectable classes are difficult to corrupt, a numerous sisterhood of prostitutes is rendered neces- sary. Accordingly we find them from the earliest period associating with every rank of men. In one of William Adams's letters, published under the editorship of Mr. Run- dall, we find the king coming on board our countryman's vessel, bringing with him a number of female comedians. These formed large companies, and travelled from place to place, with a great store of apparel for the several parts they played. They be- longed to one man, who set a price upon their intercourse with others, above which he dared not charge under pain of death. It was left to his own discretion to set a value on a girl at first; but afterwards he could not raise, though he might abate his charge. All bargains were made with him, and the woman must go whither she was directed. Men of the highest rank, when travelling through the islands, and resting at houses of entertainment, sent, without shame, for companies of these prostitutes; but the pander was never received by them, however wealthy he might be; after death he was also consigned to infamy. Bridled with a rope of straw, he was dragged in the clothes he died in through the streets into the fields, and there cast upon a dung- hill for dogs and fowls to devour. In Kampfer's account of the city of Nangasaki we find a curious description of the prostitute system. The part of the town inhabited by these women was called "the bawdy-house quarter," and consisted 138 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. of two streets, with the handsomest houses each containing from three to seven pros- in Japan, situated on a rising hill. At Attitutes. The Japanese seldom passed one these places the poor people of the town of these " great storehouses of whores' sold their handsoine daughters while very without holding intercourse with some of young, that is, from ten to twenty years of these women. Kaempfer asserts, in con- age. Every bawd kept as many as she tradiction to Caras, who married a native, was able in one house; some had seven, that there was in his time scarcely one others 30, who were commodiously lodged, house of entertainment in the islands which taught to dance, sing, play on musical was not a brothel. When one inn had too instruments, and write letters. The elder many customers, it borrowed some girls ones taught the younger, who in return from a neighbour who had some to spare. waited on them; the most docile and ac- This profligate system is said, in the complished were most sumptuously treated. Japanese traditions, to have taken its rise The price of these women was regulated at a remote period, during the reign of a by law; and one wretched creature, having certain martial emperor. That monarch, passed through all the degrees of degrada- who was perpetually marching his armies tion, occupied a small room near the door, to and fro, feared lest his soldiers should where she acted as watch all night, and become weary of separation from their sold herself for a miserable coin. Others wives; he therefore licensed public and were set to this task as a punishment for private brothels, which multiplied to such ill behaviour. The infamy of this vile an extent that Japan came to be known profession attached justly, not so much to as the bawdy-house of China." This was the unhappy women themselves, as to their in allusion to a period when prostitution parents who educated them to it. Many, was made in that empire an unlawful as they grew up, changed their mode of calling, and suppressed by severe laws. life, and were received again among the The people, deprived of the resources they reputable and chaste. Generally well edu- had formerly enjoyed at home, made Japan cated and politely bred, they often procured the place of resort; so that its prostitution husbands, and passed from a life of daily system flourished far and wide. prostitution to one of unswerving fidelity. The pander and the tanner of leather occu- pied the same position in society; which shows that the prejudice of class, rather than the abhorrence of an infamous calling, ruled the Japanese. The historian classes the temples and brothels together, and not without justice. Prostitution was greatly encouraged by the priests. In their public spectacles, representing the adventures of gods and goddesses, young prostitutes, richly attired, were engaged to act. Their performances resembled those of the European ballet- dress, gesture, and action expressing that which in a drama language would repre- sent. Such was the prostitute system in the great cities; throughout the country a similar system prevailed. The houses of entertainment lining the main highways, with the tea-booths of the villages, were frequented by innumerable girls. These usually spent the morning in painting and dressing themselves, and about noon made their appearance standing before the door of the house, or sitting on benches, whence, with smiling face and coy address, they solicited the passengers. In some places their chattering and laughter were heard above all other sounds; two villages, called Akasaki and Goy, were celebrated on this account, all the houses being brothels, | These accounts appear extravagant, and doubtless are so in some degree; all writers, however, coincide in describing the prosti- tution system of Japan as very extensive and flagitious. The French historian, Charle- roix, repeats the statement of Kompfer. We have before us extracts from the auto- graph "diary of occurrants written by Captain Richard Cock, who was chief of the English factory at Firando, from the year 1613 to 1623. There are many pas- sages corroborative of the representations we have given. Of these some examples follow, which are also interesting as illus- trations of Japanese manners. "A.D. 1616, Sept. 8th (at Edo).-We dyned or rather supped at a merchant's house called Neyem Dono, where he pro- vided caboques, or women players, who danced and sung; and when we returned home he sent every of them to lie with them that would have them all night. "October 24 (at Yuenda, between Edo and Firando.)—We went to bed, and paid 3500 gins; and to the servants, 300 gins; and to the children, 200 gins, or about 2001. This extraordinary charge was for that we had extraordinary good cheer, being brought hither by a merchant of Edo, our friend, called Neyemon Edo, and every one a wench sent to him that would have her. I gave one of them an ichebo, but would not have her company. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 139 "1617-18, January 27th (at Firando). Skiezazon Dono set the masts of his junk this day, and made a feast in Japan fashion. 29th. Škiezazon Dono and his consorts had the feast of Baccus for their junk this day, dancing through the streets with caboques or women players, and entered into an English house in that order, most of their heads being heavier than their heels, that they could not find their way home without leading. "March 29th (at Firando).-The kyng and the rest of the noblemen came to dyner (at the English house), and, as they said, were entertained to their own content, and had the dancing beares or caboques to fill their wine; Nifon Catanges, with a blind fiddler to sing, ditto. July 11th.-There came a company of players, or caboques, with apes and babons, sent from the tono, or king, to play at our house. "December 6th (at Meaco).-Our host, Meaco's brother-in-law, invited us to dyner to a place of pleasure without the city, where the dancing girls or caboques were with a great feast; and there came an antick dance of satyrs or wild men of other Japons, until whom I gave 1000 gins (about 10s.), and a bar of plate to the good man of the house, value about 17. 1s. 6d. So the dancing girls were sent home after us." As not altogether inapplicable to the subject, the following passage, which shows how the courtezans of Japan proceed to- wards such as would cheat them, may be cited: "The caboques took Tane, an inter- preter, prisoner, for fifteen tares (about 37. 15s.) he owed them for lichery, and, not having to pay, set his body for sale, no one having the money for him." It would appear that in obtaining pos- session of a female of this class by clan- destine means tragical consequences may cnsue; while, if done fairly, considerable expense may be involved. Mr. Wickham, one of the English factors stationed at Mesco, writing on the 15th of April, 1616, to his chief, Captain Cock, gives an account of a soldier of high reputation who ran away with a prostitute, and, fearing she would be reclaimed, was seized with a fit of frenzy, during which he first cut the throat of the girl, and afterwards ripped himself up. The writer then communi- cates a piece of news:-"Micaonacamo, the nobellman that gave me my cattan or sword, hath carried away a caboque, and hath payed her master 10,000 tares (25007.). I would I had the money, and it makes no matter who hath the woman." Replying to this communication, Captain Cock quaintly observes on one point, "Yf some will be so foolish as to cut their bellies for love (or rather lust) of whores, the worst end of the staff will be their owne;" and on the other point he agrees with his correspondent that he "had rather have the money than the ware.” Vice of a more brutal kind is systemati- cally practised by many of the Japanese nobility, as well as by the meanest orders; and houses are kept for this purpose similar to those inhabited by prostitutes. Some parents apprentice out their daugh- ters for a term of years to this abominable profession, and the girls then return to honourable life. The houses they frequent continually resound with music. At Jeddo, a later traveller was informed there was one brothel, or rather temple of prostitu- tion, where 600 women were maintained. Notwithstanding this number, young men were nightly refused admittance, from the over-crowded state of the rooms. Passing through the streets of the brothel quarter Golovnin saw groups Golovnin saw groups of girls standing about the doors; some of them were in the bloom of youth, and so handsome that they appeared fascinating even to the Eu- ropean eye. Thus the system of professional prosti- tution flourishes more in Japan than in any other part of insular Asia; yet the women of other classes appear to hold a higher position, and to enjoy more respect from the men. It is remarked, however, by all writers, that the profligacy of the female sex is confined to those who are so by profession; but the male is generally licentious throughout the empire. OF PROSTITUTION IN THE ULTRA- GANGETIC NATIONS. In this division we include what are com- monly called the Hindu-Chinese nations, or the inhabitants of that immense tract lying between Hindustan and China. Geo- graphy makes several sections of them, and they present, it is true, some variety in laws, customs, and degrees of progress. these are not more distinct than may be observed in every large country, whether called by one name or many. The same physical type is marked upon them all; and, speaking in general terms, their man- ners are uniform. But In one respect they are all similar. The condition of women is extremely low. A curious phenomenon is observable in rela- tion to this subject. The Buddhists of the ultra-Gangetic countries, uninfluenced by the jealous spirit of the Hindu and Mo- 140 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. hammedan codes, allow to the female sex great liberty; yet assign it less respect than it enjoys either in Hindustan or China, to both of which they are inferior in civilization. The freedom thus conceded to women fails to elevate them. They are held in contempt, they are taught to abase themselves in their own minds, and they employ their licence in degrading them- selves still further. In few parts of the world is the effect of Asiatic despotism more plainly visible than in the countries lying between Hindustan and China. The peculiar system of government renders every one the king's serf. The men labour for the benefit of their master, having no opportunity to profit themselves by their own industry. Their support, therefore, naturally devolves on the women, who in Cochin China especially, plough, sow, reap, fell wood, build, and perform all the offices which civilization assigns to the abler sex. The marriage contract is a mere bargain. A man buys his wife from her parents. The first is usually the chief, but he may have as many others as he chooses to chase. A simple agreement before wit- nesses seals the union. The band thus easily formed is as easily dissolved. Cochin China a pair of chopsticks or a porcupine quill is broken in two before a third person, and the divorce is complete. When only one desires a separation it is more difficult, but the law allows a man to sell his inferior wives. pur- In The unmarried women of this region are proverbially and almost universally un- chaste. They may prostitute themselves without incurring infamy or losing the chance of marriage. A father may yield his daughter to a visitor whom he desires specially to honour, or he may hire her out for a period to a stranger who may reside for a short time in his neighbourhood. The girl has no power to resist the con- summation of this transaction, though she cannot be married without her own con- seut. The wife, however, is considered sacred, but rather as the property of her husband than for the sake of virtue. A man's harem cannot be invaded, even by the king him- self. This, at least, is the theory of the law; but absolutism never respects the high principles of a code which opposes its desires. Adultery is punished in Siam with a fine, in Cochin China with death. In Birmah, executions are very rare among females. "The sword," they say, was not made for women. In all parts of the region, however, the bamboo is in requisi- tion to discipline the women; and husbands 66 are sometimes seen to fling their wives down in the open street, lay them on their faces, and flog them with a rattan. It will thus be seen that, lying between two regions, in each of which a form of civilization has been introduced, the ul- tra-Gangetic, or Hindu-Chinese nations, differ from them both. Since no unmarried woman is required to be chaste, professional prostitutes do not form so large a class as might be expected. They do exist, however, and in considerable numbers. In Siam a common prostitute is incapable of giving evidence before a country justice, but this is by no means on account of her immo- rality. It is from other prejudices. The same disability attaches to braziers and blacksmiths*. OF PROSTITUTION IN EGYPT. EGYPT, as the seat of a civilization among the most ancient and remarkable that have flourished on the earth, calls for particular have in all ages been directed as well to its attention. The inquiries of the curious people as to its monuments. It has, indeed, been the subject of infinite investigation. Travellers innumerable have explored its beautiful valley; year after year adds to their number, and countless reports have been made to us of the ruins, the antiqui- the the condition, the ties, the resources, scenery, and the manners of Egypt. In all, consequently, except statistics, our knowledge is very considerable, though the inexhaustible interest of that cele- brated country still leaves an open field climate is supposed to influence the cha- for the romantic traveller. The dry hot racter of the people. A remarkable sys- tem of politics also modifies the national features, so that we examine our subject, in reference to Egypt, with peculiar cu- riosity. The The population of Egypt is various, being composed of the four Mohammedan sects, of the Copts, the Greeks, the Arme- nians, Maronites, and Levantines. mass, however, is formed of Arabs, while the general plan of manners has originated, in a great measure, from the spirit of the prophets' civil and religious code. Of the system with respect to the female sex this is more especially true; but the history of manners before Mohammed's age is too in- complete for us to know precisely how * Craufurd's Embassy to Siam ; Craufurd's Embassy to Avar; Tomkin's Journals and Let- ters; Finlayson's Mission; White's Journey; Latham's Natural History of the Varieties of Man. A Now publishing, with Twenty-six Illustrations, price 5s. 6d., A RE-ISSUE OF VOL. I. OF LONDON LABOUR THE AND LONDON A CYCLOPÆDIA OF THE POOR, CONDITION AND EARNINGS OF (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; AND (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE STREET-FOLK. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE LONDON COSTERMONGERS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. THE STREET IRISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF GAME AND POULTRY. THE STREET-SELLERS OF TREES, SHRUBS, FLOWERS, AND ROOTS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF EATABLES AND DRINKABLES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF STATIONERY, LITERATURE, AND THE FINE ARTS. THE LOW LODGING-HOUSES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. THE FEMALE STREET-SELLERS. THE CHILDREN STREET-SELLERS. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000%. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Also, in Numbers, price TwoPENCE, every alternate week, a continuation of the above. On the 23rd of August was commenced (and continued every alternate week, in Numbers, price THREEPENCE each) that portion of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR RELATING TO THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK; COMPRISING Prostitutes, Thieves, Cheats, Vagrants, Professional Beggars, and their several Dependents. Monthly Parts, price 11d. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. NOW READY. THE FIRST PART (PRICE NINEPENCE) OF A NEW WORK, TO BE CONTINUED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE TWO-PENCE, ENTITLED LOW WAGES: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM; CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW, Author of "London Labour and the London Poor;" "What to Teach, and How to Teach it;" &c., &c., &c. *Mr. Mayhew has found, from the commencement of his investigations into the condition of the working men of the Metropolis, that the received doctrines of Political Economy are insufficient, either to explain or remedy the evils of unrequited labour, and he has been long engaged in generalising the facts he has collected in the course of his inquiries, and in making deductions therefrom, with a view to the better understanding of the "perils of the nation." Some of the articles on the "Labour Question" which have been printed on the wrappers of "London Labour" will be inserted in the present volume, which, being of a speculative character, it is thought advisable to issue in a distinct form, so that the facts collected by the Author may exist separately from the opinions engendered by them in his mind. The work will be published in weekly instalments, so as to bring it within the means of the working classes, and will be completed (it is believed) in about five-and-twenty numbers. It will be printed in large type, the page being of the same size as "London Labour," though, from the matter being neces- sarily of a less popular character and the sale consequently more circumscribed, sixteen pages instead of twenty-four will be given in each number. The order and arrangement of the work will be as follows: 1st. High and Low Wages; Fair and Unfair Wages; Good and Bad Wages; what is meant by them; and, is there an uniform set of circumstances regulating the sum paid as remuneration for labour? 2nd. What should regulate wages. 3rd. What does not regulate wages. Here will be discussed the Wage Law of Supply and Demand as propounded by Political Economists. 4th. What does regulate Wages. 5th. Of a minimum Wage and of the difference of Wages. 6th. Of the causes of Low Wages in connection with large and small capitalists, and the different grades of employers and labourers. 7th. Of the means by which Low Wages are carried out. Here will be given a detail of the several tricks resorted to by employers to lower the ordinary rate of remuneration. 8th. Of the consequences of Low Wages. Here will be considered the causes of Crime and Pauperism. 9th. Of the remedies for Low Wages. Here the several plans proposed for the alleviation of the distress of the country will be dispassionately reviewed and discussed. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. No. 56. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, JAN. 3, 1852, OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLNGTON STREET, STRAND. ONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. WCMEON OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. According to promise I return to the considera- | trouble of doing the least thing for themselves. But tion of the opinions which have been forwarded to me by several correspondents in favour of ma- chinery as applied to the purposes of manufac- | ture in general. These are as follows:- 1. That if we can discover the means of doing a given quantity of work with fewer hands, to employ a greater number is to employ them as fruitlessly and unprofit- ably as if we were to set them to dig holes and fill them up again. 2. That machinery admits of the market being extended. 3. That in the cotton trade the wages of the hand-loom weavers alone have been de- creased, while those of the "power" opera- tives have been raised. 4. That machinery increases the foreign trade of the country, or "enables the large capitalist to compete with other countries.' 11 5. That the capital required for the purpose of constructing machines is not taken from the Wage Fund. 6. That the capital which is saved in wages in one trade must go to increase employ- ment in another. 7. That labour is a curse, and consequently the saving of it must be a blessing. 8. That machinery, by diminishing the cost of production, admits of the labourer ob- taining an increased supply of commodities for less money, so that even if his wages be decreased by it, he cannot be said to be a loser. This surely is a full and fair statement of the *question. The above arguments may be grouped into three classes: the first including those which uphold machinery in the abstract, on the ground that, since labour is an evil, the economy of it must be a good, and that to employ labour which can be done without is to employ it uselessly; the second class are those which uphold ma- chinery not so much for itself as for its results, saying that it admits of the market being ex- tended, of the increase of our foreign trade, and of the labourer obtaining increased comforts for less money; while the third class comprises those which are of a negative character, denying what has been asserted, and declaring that the capital applied to the construction of machinery is not drawn from the funds devoted to the payment of the labourers, and that the wages which are saved by mechanical appliances in one trade, go to increase employment in some other; and lastly, that the wages in the cotton trade, in particular, have not been diminished by it. Let us first deal with the arguments which refer to machinery in the abstract. There cannot be the least doubt that labour is an evil, since it is that which all the world pays to avoid, and which to undergo all people require a reward of some kind as an inducement. Were toil, rather than ease, a pleasure, gentlemen would give a certain sum to be allowed to work, instead of parting with a por- tion of their wealth to servants to save them the if labour be a curse, at least it is the means of living-" in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread;" and the majority of the people-the community, indeed-have no other means of sub- sistence. In all primitive states this is the sole means of continuing existence; nature supplies the wealth, and man has to collect it; the seek- ing and the gathering being then the only labour that he is called upon to perform. For this little. or no capital or saving is required, provided the spontaneous productions of the earth are sufficient to enable a man in the course of each day to find and collect enough to maintain himself till the morrow. In other conditions of society, however, when or where the earth, in the common course of nature, does not yield sufficient for the support of the people located upon it, other forms of labour are obliged to be adopted, and, instead of collection, men then have to resort to produc- tion (and extraction, for the purpose of obtaining the minerals essential for the perfection of the productive process). Now the difference between these several forms of labour lies in the time required for a return to the industry; in collection the return is almost immediate, the labour of each day generally yielding sufficient food for the performance of the next day's labour. In production, however, the labourer has to remain some considerable time unrewarded; he must wait until the seasons return before his exertions can meet with the least reward. But during this time he must live; hence in all productive states saving is necessary; for since the return to the labour is not immediate, and the necessity for food is con- tinually recurring at short intervals, it is evi- dent that without a stock of provisions suffi- cient to keep him until the earth yields him the produce of his industry, the labourer will be unable to protract his existence. But imme- diately society passes from a state of collection or immediate returns to industry, to a state of pro- duction or deferred returns, it necessarily changes from the condition of mere labour to one of labour and capital-for capital is simply saving with a view to production; that is to say, in the latter condition not only labour, but a sufficient stock of provisions, stock of provisions, is required to keep the indi- vidual while labouring. vidual while labouring. And since this stock could only have been obtained by the ab- stinence of some of the labourers, that is to say, by their living on less than they had pre- viously acquired, and since all men are not equally provident, it follows that some would possess such a stock, while others would be without the means of supporting themselves in the intervals of pro- duction; hence society in such a state would ne- cessarily divide itself into two distinct classes: that of the capitalists or possessors of the stock necessary for the performance of the labour; and the mere labourers deficient of all provision for the future. The consequence, of course, would be, of since the capitalists possessed the sole means obtaining the future produce, and without which the others could not possibly prosecute their la- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON poor. 343 is reason to believe that it can be effected in a very high degree." Dr. Ure also thought that to extend any smoke enactment to private dwellings might be tyranni- cal in the present state of the chimneys, but he had no doubt that smoke might be consumed in fires in private dwellings. Such, then, are the causes and remedies for smoke, and consequently of soot, for smoke, or rather opaque smoke, consists, as we have seen, of merely the gases of combustion with minute particles of carbon diffused throughout them and as smoke is the result of the imperfect burning of our coals, it follows that chimney- sweepers are but a consequence of our ignorance, and that, as we grow wiser in the art of econo- mising our fuel, we shall be gradually displacing ; this branch of labourers-the means of prevent- ing smoke being simply the mode of displacing the chimney-sweepers-and this is another of the many facts to teach us that not only are we dou- bling our population in forty years, but we are likewise learning every year how to do our work with a less number of workers, either by invent- ing some piece of mechanism that will enable one "hand" to do as much as one hundred, or else doing away with some branch of labour altoge- ther. Here lies the great difficulty of the time. A new element-science, with its offspring, steam-has been introduced into our society within the last century, decreasing labour at a time when the number of our labourers has been increasing at a rate unexampled in history; and the problem is, how to reconcile the new social element with the old social institutions, doing as little injury as possible to the community. Suppose, for instance, the "smoke nuisance" entirely prevented, and that Professor Faraday's prophecy as to the great reduction of the smoke from coal fires in houses were fulfilled, and that the expectations of the sanguine and intense Committee, who tell us that they have "received the most gratifying assurances of the confident hope entertained by several of the highest scientific authorities, that the black smoke proceeding from fires in private dwellings and all other places may be eventually entirely prevented,"-suppose that these expectations, I say, be realized (and there appears to be little doubt of the matter), what is to become of the 1000 to 1500 "sweeps" who live, as it were, upon this very smoke? Surely the whole community should not suffer for them, it will be said. True; but unfortunately the same argument is being applied to each particular section of the labouring class, and the labourers make up by far the greater part of the community. If we are daily displacing a thousand labourers by the annihilation of this process, and another thousand by the improvement of that, what is to be the fate of those we put on one side? and where shall we find employment for the hundred thousand new "hands" that are daily coming into existence among us? This is the great pro- blem for earnest thoughtful men to work out! But we have to deal here with the chimney- No. XLVI. sweepers as they are, and in a more scientific age. quantity of soot annually the London chimneys. not as they may be And, first, as to the deposited at present in The quantity of soot produced in the metro- polis every year may be ascertained in the fol- lowing manner :— The larger houses are swept in some instances once a month, but generally once in three months, and yield on an average six bushels of soot per year. A moderate-sized house, belonging to the "middle class," is usually swept four times a year, and gives about five bushels of soot per and poorer classes are seldom swept more than annum; while houses occupied by the working twice, and sometimes only once, in the twelve- month, and yield about two bushels of soot annually. of The larger houses the residences of no- blemen and the more wealthy gentry-may, then, be said to produce an average of six bushels of soot houses soot annually; the the more prosperous tradesmen, about five bushels; while those of the humbler classes appear to yield only two bushels of soot per There are, according to the last returns, present in the metropolis, and these, from the in round numbers, 300,000 inhabited houses at be said to consist, as regards the average rentals, "reports" of the income and property tax, may of the proportions given in the next page. annum. Here we see that the number of houses whose average rental is above 507. is 53,840; while those whose average rental is above 30%., and below 50%., are 90,002 in number; and those whose rental is below 30l. are as many as 163,880; the average rental for all London, 407. proportionate yield of soot from each of these Now, adopting the estimate before given as to the three classes of houses, we have the following items :- 53,840 houses at a yearly rental above 50l., producing 6 bushels of soot each per annum 90,002 houses at a yearly rental above 30l. and below 501., producing 5 bushels of soot each per annum 163,880 houses at a yearly rental below 30%., producing 2 bushels of soot each per annum Total number of bushels of soot an- Bushels of Soot per Annum. 323,040 450,010 327,760 nually produced throughout London. 1,100,810 rect if tried by another mode. The quantity of soot This calculation will be found to be nearly cor- depends greatly upon the amount of volatile or bituminous matter in the coals used. By a table given at p. 169 of the second volume of this work it will be seen that the proportion of volatile matter contained in the several kinds of coal are as follows:- Cannel or gas coals contain 40 to 60 per cent. of volatile matter. X | 344 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Average Rental. Number of Houses. TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF HOUSES, AT DIFFERENT AVERAGE RENTALS, THROUGHOUT THE METROPOLIS. NUMBER OF HOUSES WH WHOSE NUMBER OF HOUSES WHOSE NUMBER AVERAGE RENTAL IS ABOVE £50. OF HOUSES WHOSE AVERAGE RENTAL IS ABOVE AVERAGE RENTAL IS BELOW £30 AND BELOW £50. £30. Average Rental. Number JO Houses. 43 £ £ Hanover-square, May Fair St. James's St. Martin's London City Marylebone Strand. West London St. Giles's. Holborn • • Poplar 150 8,795 Pancras 128 3,460 Hampstead 119 2,323 Kensington 117 7,329 Clerkenwell 71 15,955 East London 66 3,938 St. Saviour's 65 2,745 Westminster 60 4,778 St. Olave's 52 4,517 ||Islington St. George's - in the-East 53,840 35 13,558 St. George's, South- 44 6,882 Chelsea 29 7,629 41 18,731 Wandsworth 29 8,290, 40 1,719 St. Luke's 28 6,421 40 17,292 Lambeth 28 20,520 38 7,259 Lewisham 27 5,936, 38 · 4,785 Whitechapel 26 8,832 36 • 4,613 Hackney 25 9,861 36 6,647 Camberwell 25 9,417 • 35 2,365 Rotherhithe 23 2,834 32 6,151 wark Newington Greenwich • • 2 2 N 22 7,005 22 10,468 22 14,423 90,002 Shoreditch Stepney 20 15,433 20 16,346 Bermondsey 18 • 7,095 Bethnal Green. 9 13,370 163,880 Newcastle or "house" coals, about 37 per cent. Lancashire and Yorkshire coals, 35 to 40 per cent. South Welsh or cent. (C steam" coals, 11 to 15 per domestic consumption at one ton per head, men, women, and children; and since the number of persons to each house in London is 7.5, this would give nearly the same result. Estimating the yield of soot to be three-eighths of a bushel per ton, we have, in round numbers, 1,000,000 bushels of soot as the gross quantity deposited in the metropolitan chimneys every year. tropolis at 2,500,000 tons yearly, which, for 300,000 houses, would give eight tons per house. And when we remember the amount used in large houses and in hotels, as well as by the smaller houses, where each room often contains a Anthracite or stone" coals, none. different family, this does not appear to be too The house coals are those chiefly used through-high an average. Mr. M'Culloch estimates the out London, so that every ton of such coals contains about 800 lbs. of volatile matter, a considerable proportion of which appears in the form of smoke; but what proportion and what is the weight of the carbonaceous particles or soot evolved in a given quantity of smoke, I know of no means of judging. I am informed, however, by those prac- tically acquainted with the subject, that a ton of ordinary house coals will produce between a fourth and a half of a bushel of soot*. Now there are, say, 3,500,000 tons of coal consumed annually in London; but a large proportion of this quantity is used for the purposes of gas, for factories, breweries, chemical works, and steam-boats. The consumption of coal for the making of gas in London, in 1849, was 380,000 tons; so that, including the quantity used in factories, breweries, &c., we may, perhaps, estimate the domestic consumption of the me- The quantity of soot deposited depends greatly on the length, draught, and irregular surface of the chim- ney. The kitchen flue yields by far the most soot for an equal quantity of coals burnt, because it is of greater length. The quantity above cited is the average yield from the several chimneys of a house. It will be seen hereafter that the quantity collected is only 800,000 bushels; a great proportion of the chimneys of the poor being seldom swept, and some cleansed by themselves. Or, to check the estimate another way, there are 350 master sweepers throughout London. A master sweeper in a "large way of business" collects, I am informed, one day with another, from 30 to 40 bushels of soot; on the other hand, small master, or "single-handed" chimney-sweeper is able to gather only about 5 bushels, and scarcely that. One master sweeper said that about 10 bushels a day would, he thought, be a fair average quantity for all the masters, reckoning one day with another; so that at this rate we should have 1,095,500 bushels for the gross quantity of soot annually collected throughout the metropolis. We may therefore assume the aggregate yield of soot throughout London to be 1,000,000 bushels per annum. Now what is done with this immense mass of refuse matter? Of what use is it? The sool is purchased from the masters, whose Average Rental. Number of Houses. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 345 perquisite it is, by the farmers and dealers. It is used by them principally for meadow land, and frequently for land where wheat is grown; not so much, I understand, as a manure, as for some quality in it which destroys slugs and other insects injurious to the crops *. Lincolnshire is one of the great marts for the London soot, whither it is transported by railway. In Hertfordshire, Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent, however, and many other parts, London soot is used in large quantities; there are persons who have large stores for its reception, who purchase it from the master sweepers, and afterwards sell it to the farmers and send it as per order, to its desti- nation. These are generally the manure-merchants, of whom the Post-Office Directory gives 26 names, eight being marked as dealers in guano. I was told by a sweeper in a large way of business that he thought these men bought from a half to three- quarters of the soot; the remainder being bought by the land-cultivators in the neighbourhood of London. Soot is often used by gardeners to keep down the insects which infest their gardens. The value of the Soot collected throughout London is the next subject to engage our atten- tion. Many sweepers have represented it as a very curious fact, and one for which they could advance no sufficient reason, that the price of a bushel of soot was regulated by the price of the quartern loaf, so that you had only to know that the quartern loaf was 5d. to know that such was the price of a bushel of soot. This, however, is hardly the case at present; the price of the quartern loaf (not regarding the "seconds," or inferior bread), is now, at the end of December, 1851, 5d. to 6d. according to quality. The price of soot per bushel is but 5d., and sometimes but 4 d., but 5d. may be taken as an average. Now 1,000,000 bushels of soot, at 5d., will be found to yield 20,8331. 6s. 8d. per annum. But the whole of this quantity is not collected by the chimney-sweepers, for many of the poorer persons seldom have their chimneys swept; and by the table given in another place, it will be seen that not more than 800,000 bushels are obtained in the course of the year by the London "sweeps." Hence we may say, that there are 800,000 bushels of soot annually collected from the London chimneys, and that this is worth not less than 16,500l. per annum. The next question is, how many people are em- ployed in collecting this quantity of refuse matter, and how do they collect it, and what do they get, individually and collectively, for so doing? To begin with the number of master and journeymen sweepers employed in removing these 800,000 bushels of soot from our chimneys: according to the Census returns, the number of "sweeps" in the metropolis in the years 1841 and 1831 were as follows:- *Soot of coal is said, by Dr. Ure, in his admirable Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures, to contain "sul- phate and carbonate of ammonia along with bituminous matter." + Chimney-sweepers. Increase in ten 1841. 1831. years. 421 198 370 no returns. Males, 20 years and upwards 619 under 20 years Females, 20 years & upwards '44 "" 1033 But these returns, such as they are, include both employers and employed, in one confused mass. To disentangle the economical knot, we must endeavour to separate the number of master sweepers from the journeymen. According to the Post-Office Directory the master sweepers amount to no more than 32, and thus there would be one more than 1000 for the number of the metropoli- tan journeymen sweepers; these statements, how- ever, appear to be very wide of the truth. In 1816 it was represented to the House of Commons, that there were within the bills of mortality, 200 masters, all-except the "great gentlemen," as one witness described them, who were about 20 in number-themselves working at the business, and that they had 150 journeymen and upwards of 500 apprentices, so that there must then have been 850 working sweepers alto- gether, young and old. These numbers, it must be borne in mind, were comprised in the limits of the bills of mortality 34 years ago. The parishes in the old bills of mortality were 148; there are now in the me- tropolis proper 176, and, as a whole, the area is much more densely covered with dwelling-houses. Taking but the last ten years, 1841 to 1851, the inhabited houses have increased from 262,737 to 307,722, or, in round numbers, 45,000. Now in 1811 the number of inhabited houses in the metropolis was 146,019, and in 1821 i# was 164,948; hence in 1816 we may assume the inhabited houses to have been about 155,000; and since this number required 850 working sweepers to cleanse the London chimneys, it is but a rule of three sum to find how many would have been required for the same purpose in 1841, when the inhabited houses had increased to 262,737; this, according to Cocker, is about 1400; so that we must come to the conclusion | either that the number of working sweepers had not kept pace with the increase of houses, or that the returns of the census were as defective in this respect as we have found them to be con- cerning the street-sellers, dustmen, and scavagers. Were we to pursue the same mode of calculation, we should find that if 850 sweepers were required to cleanse the chimneys of 155,000 houses, there should be 1687 such labourers in London now that the houses are 307,722 in number. But it will be seen that in 1816 more than one- half (or 500 out of 850) of the working chimney- sweepers were apprentices, and in 1841 the chimney-sweepers under 20 years of age, if we are to believe the census, constituted more than one-third of the whole body (or 370 out of 1033). Now as the use of climbing boys was prohibited. in 1842, of course this large proportion of the 346 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. trade has been rendered useless; so that, estimat- ing the master and journeymen sweepers at 250 in 1816, it would appear that about 500 would be required to sweep the chimneys of the metropolis at present. To these, of course, must be added the extra number of journeymen necessary for managing the machines. And considering the journeymen to have increased threefold since the abolition of the climbing boys, we must add 300 to the above number, which will make the sum total of the individuals employed in this trade to amount to very nearly 800. By inquiries throughout the several districts of the metropolis, I find that there are altogether 350 master sweepers at present in London; 106 of these are large masters, who seldom go out on a round, but work to order, having a regular custom among the more wealthy classes; while the other 244 consist of 92 small masters and 152 "single- handed" masters, who travel on various rounds, both in London and the suburbs, seeking custom. Of the whole number, 19 reside within the City boundaries; from 90 to 100 live on the Surrey side, and 235 on the Middlesex side of the Thames (without the City boundaries). A large mnaster employs from 2 to 10 men, and 2 boys; and a small one only 2 men or sometimes 1 man and a boy, while a single-handed master employs no men nor boys at all, but does all the work him- self. The 198 masters employ among them 12 fore- men, 399 journeymen, and 62 boys, or 473 hands, and adding to them the single-handed master-men who work at the business themselves, we have 823 working men in all; so that, on the whole, there are not less than between 800 and 900 persons employed in cleansing the London chimneys of their soot. The next point that presents itself in due order to the mind is, as to the mode of working among the chimney-sweepers; that is to say, how are the 800,000 bushels of soot collected from the 300,000 houses by these 820 working sweepers? But this involves a short history of the trade. OF THE SWEEPERS OF OLD, AND THE CLIMBING Boys. FORMERLY the chimneys used to be cleansed by the house servants, for a person could easily stand erect in the huge old-fashioned constructions, and thrust up a broom as far as his strength would permit. Sometimes, however, straw was kindled at the mouth of the chimney, and in that way the soot was consumed or brought down to the ground by the action of the fire. But that there were also regular chimney-sweepers in the latter part of the sixteenth century is unquestionable; for in the days of the First James and Charles, poor Piedmontese, and more especially Savoyards, resorted to England for the express purpose. How long they laboured in this vocation is un- known. The Savoyards, indeed, were then the general showmen and sweeps of Europe, and so they are still in some of the cities of Italy and France. As regards the first introduction of English. children into chimneys-the establishment of the use of climbing boys-nothing appears, according to the representations made to Parliament on several occasions, to be known; and little atten- tion seems to have been paid to the condition of these infants-some were but little better-until about 1780, when the benevolent Jonas Han- way, who is said, but not uncontradictedly, to have been the first person who regularly used an umbrella in the streets of London, called public attention to the matter. In 1788 Mr. Hanway and others brought a bill into Parliament for the better protection of the climbing boys, requiring, among other provisions, all master sweepers to be licensed, and the names and ages of all their apprentices registered. The House of Lords, however, rejected this bill, and the 28th George III., c. 48, was passed in preference. The chief alterations sought to be effected by the new Act were, that no sweeper should have more than six apprentices, and that no boy should be appren- ticed at a tenderer age than eight years. viously there were no restrictions in either of those respects. Pre- These provisions were, however, very generally violated. By one of those "flaws" or omissions, so very common and so little creditable to our legislation, it was found that there was no prohi- bition to a sweeper's employing his own children at what age he pleased; and some," or "several," for I find both words used, employed their sons, and occasionally their daughters, in chimney climbing at the ages of six, five, and even between four and five years! The children of others, too, were continually being apprenticed at illegal ages, for no inquiry was made into the lad's age beyond the statement of his parents, or, in the case of parish apprentices, beyond the (in those days) not more trustworthy word of the overseers. boys of six were apprenticed-for apprenticeship was almost universal-as boys of eight, by their parents; while parish officers and magistrates consigned the workhouse orphans, as a thing of course, to the starvation and tyranny which they must have known were very often in store for them when apprenticed to sweepers. Thus The following evidence was adduced before Par- liament on the subject of infant labour in this trade: Mr. John Cook, a master sweeper, then of Great Windmill-street and Kentish-town, the first who persevered in the use of the machine years before its use was compulsory, stated that it was common for parents in the business to employ their own children, under the age of seven, in climbing; and that as far as he knew, he himself was only between six and seven when he " came to it;" and that almost all master sweepers had got it in their bills that they kept "small boys for register-stoves, and such like as that." Mr. T. Allen, another master sweeper, was be- tween four and five when articled to an uncle. Mr. B. M. Forster, a private gentleman, a mem- ber of the "Committee to promote the Superseding of Climbing Boys," said, "Some are put to the LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 347 $ employment very young; one instance of which occurred to a child in the neighbourhood of Shore- ditch, who was put to the trade at four and a The father of a quarter years, or thereabouts. child in Whitechapel told me last week, that his son began climbing when he was four years and eight months old. I have heard of some still younger, but only from vague report." This sufficiently proves at what infantine years children were exposed to toils of exceeding pain- fulness. The smaller and the more slenderly formed the child, the more valuable was he for the sweeping of flues, the interior of some of them, to be ascended and swept, being but seven inches square. I have mentioned the employment of female children in the very unsuitable labour of climb- ing chimneys. The following is all the informa- tion given on the subject. Mr. Tooke was asked, "Have you ever heard of female children being so employed?" and replied, "I have heard of cases at Hadley, Bar- net, Windsor, and Uxbridge; and I know a case at Witham, near Colchester, of that sort." Mr. B. M. Foster said, "Another circumstance, which has not been mentioned to the Committee, is, that there are several little girls employed; there are two of the name of Morgan at Windsor, daughters of the chimney-sweeper who is em- ployed to sweep the chimneys of the Castle; ano- ther instance at Uxbridge, and at Brighton, and at Whitechapel (which was some years ago), and at Headley near Barnet, and Witham in Essex, and elsewhere." He then stated, on being asked, "Do you not think that girls were employed from their physical form being smaller and thinner than boys, and therefore could get up narrower flues ?"The reason that I have under- stood was, because their parents had not a suffi- cient number of boys to bring up to the business." Mr. Foster did not know the ages of these girls. "} The inquiry by a Committee of the House of Commons, which led more than any other to the prohibition of this infant and yet painful labour in chimney-sweeping, was held in 1817, and they recommended the "preventing the further use of climbing boys in sweeping of chimneys;" a re- commendation not carried into effect until 1832. The matter was during the interval frequently agitated in Parliament, but there were no later investigations by Committees. I will adduce, specifically, the grievances, ac- cording to the Report of 1817, of the climbing boys; but will first present the following extract from the evidence of Mr. W. Tooke, a gentleman who, in accordance with the Hon. Ilenry Grey Bennet, M.P., and others, exerted himself on the behoof of the climbing boys. When he gave his evidence, Mr. Tooke was the secretary to a society whose object was to supersede the necessity of employing climbing boys. He said :- In the year 1800, the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor took up the subject, but little or nothing appears to have been done upon that occasion, except that the most respectable master chimney-sweepers entered into an associa | tion and subscription for promoting the cleanliness and health of the boys in their respective services. The Institution of which I am treasurer, and which is now existing, was formed in February, 1803. In consequence of an anonymous adver- tisement, a large meeting was held at the London Coffee House, and the Society was established; immediate steps were then taken to ascertain the state of the trade; inspectors were appointed to give an account of all the master chimney- sweepers within the bills of mortality, their general character, their conduct towards their apprentices, and the number of those apprentices. It was ascertained, that the total number of master chimney-sweepers, within the bills of mortality, might be estimated at 200, who had among them 500 apprentices; that not above 20 of those masters were reputable tradesmen in easy circumstances, who appeared generally to conform to the provisions of the Act; and which 20 had, upon an average, from four to five apprentices each. We found about 90 of an inferior class of master chimney-sweepers who averaged three apprentices each, and who were extremely negli- gent both of the health, morals, and education of those apprentices; and about 90, the remainder of the 200 masters, were a class of chimney- sweepers recently journeymen, who took up the trade because they had no other resource; they picked up boys as they could, who lodged with themselves in huts, sheds, and cellars, in the out- skirts of the town, occasionally wandering into the villages round, where they slept on soot-bags, and lived in the grossest filth.' The grievances I have spoken of were thus summed up by the Parliamentary Committee. After referring to the ill-usage and hardships sus- tained by the climbing boys (the figures being now introduced for the sake of distinctness) its stated:- "It is in evidence that (1) they are stolen from" [and sold by] "their parents, and in- veigled out of workhouses; (2) that in order to conquer the natural repugnance of the infants to ascend the narrow and dangerous chimneys to clean which their labour is required, blows are used; that pins are forced into their feet by the boy that follows them up the chimney, in order to compel them to ascend it, and that lighted straw has been applied for that purpose; (3) that the children are subject to sores and bruises, and wounds and burns on their thighs, knees, and elbows; and that it will require many months before the extremities of the elbows and knees become sufficiently hard to resist the excoriations to which they are at first subject.” 1. With regard to the stealing or kidnapping of children for there was often a difficulty in procuring climbing boys-I find mention in the evidence, as of a matter, but not a very frequent matter, of notoriety. One stolen child was sold to a master sweeper for 81. 8s. Mr. G. Revely said :— "I wish to state to the Committee that case in particular, because it comes home to the better sort of persons in higher life. It seems that the 348 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. child, upon being asked various questions, had been taken away: the child was questioned how he came into that situation; he said all that he could recollect was (as I heard it told at that time) that he and his sister, with another brother, were toge- ther somewhere, but he could not tell where; but not being able to run so well as the other two, he was caught by a woman and carried away and was sold, and came afterwards into the hands of a chimney-sweeper. He was not afterwards restored to his family, and the mystery was never unravelled; but he was advertised, and a lady took charge of him. "This child, in 1804, was forced up a chimney at Bridlington in Yorkshire, by a big boy, the younger boy being apparently but four years old. He fell and bruised his legs terribly against the grate. The Misses Auckland of Boynton, who had heard of the child, and went to see him, became interested by his manners, and they took him home with them; the chimney-sweeper, who perhaps got alarmed, being glad to part with him. "Soon after he got to Boynton, the seat of Sir George Strickland, a plate with something to eat was brought him; on seeing a silver fork he was quite delighted, and said, Papa had such forks as those.' He also said the carpet in the drawing-room was like papa's; the housekeeper showed him a silver watch, he asked what sort it was- -Papa's was a gold watch;' he then pressed the handle and said, Papa's watch rings, why does not yours?' Sir George Strickland, on being told this circum- stance, showed him a gold repeater, the little boy pressed the spring, and when it struck, he jumped about the room, saying, 'Papa's watch rings so.' At night, when he was going to bed, he said he could not go to bed until he had said his prayers; he then repeated the Lord's Prayer, almost per- fectly. The account he gave of himself was that he was gathering flowers in his mamma's garden, and that the woman who sold him to the sweeper, came in and asked him if he liked riding? He Yes,' and she told him he should ride with her. She put him on a horse, after which they got into a vessel, and the sails were put up, and away we went.' He had no recollection of his name, or where he lived, and was too young to think his father could have any other name than that of papa. He started whenever he heard a servant in the family at Boynton called George, and looked as if he expected to see somebody he knew; on inquiry, he said he had an uncle George, whom he loved dearly. He says his mamma is dead, and it is thought his father may be abroad. From many things he says, he seems to have lived chiefly with an uncle and aunt, whom he invariably says were called Mr. and Mrs. Flembrough. From various circumstances, it is thought impossible he should be the child of the woman who sold him, his manners being 'very civilized,' quite those of a child well educated; his dialect is good, and that of the south of Eng- land. This little boy, when first discovered, was conjectured to be about four years old, and is described as having beautiful black eyes and eye- lashes, a high nose, and a delicate soft skin." said, Mr. J. Harding, a master sweeper, had a fellow apprentice who had been enticed away from his parents. "It is a case of common occurrence," he said, "for children stolen, to be employed in this way. Yes, and children in particular are enticed out of workhouses: there are a great many who come out of workhouses." The following cases were also submitted to the Committee :- "A poor woman had been obliged by sickness to go into an hospital, and while she was there her child was stolen from her house, taken into Staf- fordshire, and there apprenticed to a chimney- sweeper. By some happy circumstance she learned his fate; she followed him, and succeeded in rescuing him from his forlorn situation. Another child, who was an orphan, was tricked into follow- ing the same wretched employment by a chimney- sweeper, who gave him a shilling, and made him believe that by receiving it he became his appren- tice; the poor boy, either discovering or suspecting that he had been deceived, anxiously endeavoured to speak to a magistrate who happened to come to the house in which he was sweeping chimneys, but his master watched him so closely that he could not succeed. He at last contrived to tell his story to a blind soldier, who determined to right the poor boy, and by great exertions succeeded in procuring him his liberty." It was in country places, however, that the stealing and kidnapping of children was the most frequent, and the threat of "the sweeps will get you" was often held out, to deter children from wandering. These stolen infants, it is stated, were usually conveyed to some distance by the vagrants who had secured them, and sold to some master sweeper, being apprenticed as the child of the vendors, for it was difficult for sweepers in thinly- peopled places to get a supply of climbing boys. It was shown about the time of the Parliamentary inquiry, in the course of a trial at the Lancaster assizes, that a boy had been apprenticed to a sweeper by two travelling sweeper by two travelling tinkers, man and woman, who informed him that the child was stolen from another "traveller," 80 miles away, too fond of it to make it a sweep. who was The price of the child was not mentioned. "" Respecting the sale of children to be appren- tices to sweepers, Mr. Tooke was able to state that, although in 1816, the practice had very much diminished of late, parents in diminished of late, parents in many instances still sold their children for three, four, or five guineas. This sum was generally paid under the guise of an apprentice fee, but it was known to be and was called a "sale," for the parents, real or nominal, never interfered with the master subse- quently, but left the infant to its fate. 2. I find the following account of the means resorted to, in order to induce, or more frequently compel, these wretched infants to work. The boy in the first instance went for a month, or any term agreed upon, "on trial," or to see how he would suit for the business." During this period of probation he was usually well treated and well fed (whatever the character of the master), with little to do beyond running " A and so on. LONDON LABOUR and the london poor. errands, and observing the mode of work of the experienced climbers. When, however, he was "bound" as an apprentice, he was put with another lad who had been for some time at the business. The new boy was sent first up the chimney, and immediately followed by the other, who instructed him how to ascend. This was accomplished by the pressure of the knees and the elbows against the sides of the flue. By pressing the knees tightly the child managed to raise his arms some- what higher, and then by pressing his elbows in like manner he contrived to draw up his legs, The inside of the flue presented a smooth surface, and there were no inequalities where the fingers or toes could be inserted. Should the young beginner fall, he was sure to light on the shoulders of the boy beneath him, who always kept himself firmly fixed in expectation of such a mishap, and then the novice had to commence anew; in this manner the twain reached the top by degrees, sweeping down the soot, and descended by the same method. This practice was very severe, especially on new boys, whose knees and elbows were torn by the pressure and the slipping down continually-the skin being stripped off, and frequently breaking out in fright- ful sores, from the constant abrasions, and from the soot and dirt getting into them. In his evidence before Parliament in 1817 (for there had been previous inquiries), Mr. Cook gave an account of the training of these boys, and on being asked:-"Do the elbows and knees of the boys, when they first begin the business, become very sore, and afterwards get callous, and are those boys employed in sweeping chimneys during the soreness of those parts?" answered, "It depends upon the sort of master they have got; some are obliged to put them to work sooner than others; you must keep them a little at it, or they will never learn their business, even during the sores." He stated further, that the skin broke generally, and that the boys could not ascend chimneys during the sores without very great pain. The way that I learn boys is," he continued, "to put some cloths over their elbows and over their knees till they get the nature of the chimney-till they get a little used to it: we call it padding them, and then we take them off, and they get very little grazed indeed after they have got the art; but very few will take that trouble. Some boys' flesh is far worse than others, and it takes more time to harden them." He was then asked "Do those persons still continue to employ them to climb chimneys?" and the answer was: "Some do; it depends upon the character of the master. None of them of that class keep them till they get well; none. They are obliged to climb with those sores upon them. I never had one of my own apprentices do that." This system of padding, however, was but little practised; but in what proportion it was prac- tised, unless by the respectable masters, who were then but few in number, the Parliamentary papers, the only information on the subject now attain- able, do not state. The inference is, that the majority, out of but 20 of these masters, with | | 349 some 80 or 100 apprentices, did treat them well, and what was so accounted. The customary way of training these boys, then, was such as I have described; some even of the better masters, whose boys were in the comparison well lodged and fed, and "sent to the Sunday school" (which seems to have comprised all needful education), con- be" sidered "padding and such like" to be "new- fangled nonsense. "" I may add also, that although the boy carried up a brush with him, it was used but occasionally, only when there were "turns" or defects in the chimney, the soot being brought down by the ac- The climber tion of the shoulders and limbs. wore a cap to protect his eyes and mouth from the soot, and a sort of flannel tunic, his feet, legs, and arms being bare. Some of these lads were surprisingly quick. One man told me that, when in his prime as a climbing boy, he could reach the top of a chimney about as quickly as a person could go up stairs to the attics. The following is from the evidence of Mr. Cook, frequently cited as an excellent master :— "What mode do you adopt to get the boy to go up the chimney in the first instance ?-We per- suade him as well as we can; we generally practise him in one of our own chimneys first; one of the boys who knows the trade goes up behind him, and when he has practised it perhaps ten times, though some will require twenty times, they generally can manage it. The boy goes up with him to keep him from falling; after that, the boy will manage to go up with himself, after going up and down several times with one under him: we do this, because if he happens to make a slip he will be caught by the other. "Do you find many boys show repugnance to go up at first?-Yes, most of them. "And if they resist and reject, in what way do you force them up?-By telling them we must take them back again to their father and mother, and give them up again; and their parents are generally people who cannot maintain them. "So that they are afraid of going back to their parents for fear of being starved?—Yes; they go through a deal of hardship before they come to our trade. "Did you use any more violent means?-Some- times a rod. "Did you ever hear of straw being lighted under them?—Never. "You never heard of any means being made use of, except being beat and being sent home?-No; no other. "You are aware, of course, that those means being gentle or harsh must depend very much upon the character of the individual master ?—It does. "Of course you must know that there are per- sons of harsh and cruel disposition; have you not often heard of masters treating their apprentices with great cruelty, particularly the little boys, in forcing them to go up those small flues, which the boys were unwilling to ascend?—Yes; I have forced up many a one myself. E "By what means?-By threatenings, and by giving them a kick or a slap." 350 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } 1 It was also stated that the journeymen used the boys with greater cruelty than did the masters -indeed a delegated tyranny is often the worst- that for very little faults they kicked and slapped the children, and sometimes flogged them with a cat, "made of rope, hard at each end, and as thick as your thumb." Mr. John Fisher, a master chimney-sweeper, said: Many masters, are very severe with their children. To make them go up the chimneys I have seen them make them strip themselves naked; I have been obliged myself to go up a chimney naked." As respects the crueltics of driving boys up chimneys by kindling straw beneath their feet, or thrusting pins into the soles of their feet, I find the following statements given on the authority of B. M. Forster, Esq., a private gentleman residing in Walthamstow:- "A lad was ordered to sweep a chimney at Wandsworth; he came down after endeavouring to ascend, and this occurred several times before. he gave up the point; at last the journeyman took some straw or hay, and lighted it under him to drive him up when he endeavoured to get up the last time, he found there was a bar across the chimney, which he could not pass; he was obliged in consequence to come down, and the journeyman beat hin so cruelly, to use his own expression, that he could not stand for a fortnight. "In the whole city of Norwich I could find only nine climbing boys, two of whom I questioned on many particulars; one was with respect to the manner in which they are taught to climb; they both agreed in that particular, that a larger boy was sent up behind them to prick their feet, if they did not climb properly. I purposely avoided mentioning about pricking them with pins, but asked them how they did it; they said that they thrust the pins into the soles of their feet. A third instance occurred at Walthamstow; a man told me that some he knew had been taught in the same way; I believe it to be common, but I cannot state any more instances from authority." 3. On the subject of the sores, bruiscs, wounds, burns, and diseases, to which chimney-sweepers in their apprenticeships were not only exposed, but, as it were, condemned, Mr. R. Wright, a sur- geon, on being examined before the Committee, said, "I shall begin with Deformity. I am well per- suaded that the deformity of the spine, legs, arms, &c., of chimney-sweepers, generally, if not wholly, proceeds from the circumstance of their being obliged not only to go up chimneys at an age when their bones are in a soft and growing state, but likewise from their being compelled by their too merciless masters and mistresses to carry bags of soot (and those very frequently for a great length of distance and time) by far too heavy for their tender years and limbs. The knees and ancle joints mostly become deformed, in the first instance, from the position they are obliged to put them in, in order to support themselves, not only while climbing up the chimney, but more particularly so in that of coming down, when they rest solely on the lower extremities. "Sore eyes and eyelids, are the next to be con- sidered. Chimney-sweepers are very subject to inflammation of the eyelids, and not unfrequently weakness of sight, in consequence of such inflam- mation. This I attribute to the circumstance of the soot lodging on the eyelids, which first pro- duces irritability of the part, and the constantly rubbing them with their dirty hands, instead of alleviating, increases the disease; for I have ob- served in a number of cases, when the patient has ceased for a time to follow the business, and of course the original cause has been removed, that with washing and keeping clean they were soon got well. << Sores, for the same reasons, are generally a long time in healing. "Cancer is another and a most formidable dis- ease, which chimney-sweepers in particular are liable to, especially that of the scrotum; from which circumstance, by way of distinction, it is called the chimney-sweeper's cancer.' Of this sort of cancer I have seen several instances, some of which have been operated on; but, in general, they are apt to let them go too far before they apply for relief. Cancers of the lips are not so general as cancers of the scrotum. I never saw but two instances of the former, and several of the latter. "" " | The chimney-sweep's cancer” was always lectured upon as a separate disease at Guy's and Bartholomew's Hospitals, and on the question being put to Mr. Wright: "Do the physicians who are intrusted with the care and manage- ment of those hospitals think that disease of such common occurrence, that it is necessary to make it a part of surgical education ?"-he replied: "Most assuredly; I remember Mr. Cline and Mr. Cooper were particular on that subject; and having one or two cases of the kind in the hos- pital, it struck my mind very forcibly. With the permission of the Committee I will relate a case that occurred lately, which I had from one of the pupils of St. Thomas's IIospital; he informed me that they recently had a case of a chimney- sweeper's cancer, which was to have been operated on that week, but the man brushed' (to use their expression) or rather walked off; he would not submit to the operation: similar instances of which I have known myself. They dread so much the knife, in consequence of foolish persons telling them it is so formidable an operation, and that they will die under it. I conceive without the operation it is death; for cancers are of that nature that unless you extricate them entirely they will never be cured." Of the chimney-sweeper's cancer, the following statement is given in the Report: "Mr. Cline informed your Committee by letter, that this dis- ease is rarely seen in any other persons than chimney-sweepers, and in them cannot be con- sidered as frequent; for during his practice in St. Thomas's hospital, for more than 40 years, the number of those could not exceed 20. But your Committee have been informed that the dread of the operation which it is necessary to perform, deters many from submitting to it; and from the 1 LONDON LABOUR ANd the london poor. 351 1 evidence of persons engaged in the trade, it appears to be much more common than Mr. Cline seems to be aware of. Cough and Asthma.-Chimney-sweepers are, from their being out at all hours and in all weathers, very liable to cough and inflammation of the chest. "Burns. They are very subject to burns, from their being forced up chimneys while on fire, or soon after they have been on fire, and while over- heated; and however they may cry out, their in- human masters pay not the least attention, but compel them, too often with horrid imprecations, to proceed. "Stunted growth, in this unfortunate race of the community, is attributed, in a great measure, to their being brought into the business at a very early age.' To accidents they were frequently liable in the pursuit of their callings, and sometimes these accidents were the being jammed or fixed, or, as it was called in the trade, "stuck," in narrow and heated flues, sometimes for hours, and until death. Among these hapless lads were indeed many deaths from accidents, cruelty, privation, and ex- haustion, but it does not appear that the number was ever ascertained. There were also many narrow escapes from dreadful deaths. I give in- stances of each :- Į I tended, and after knocking down part of the brick- work of the chimney, just above the fire-place, made a hole sufficiently large to draw him through. A surgeon attended, but all attempts to restore life were ineffectual. On inspecting the body, various burns appeared; the fleshy part of the legs, and a great part of the feet more particularly, were injured; those parts, too, by which climbing boys most effectually ascend or descend chimneys, viz., the elbows and knees, seemed burnt to the bone; from which it must be evident that the unhappy sufferer made some attempts to return as soon as the horrors of his situation became ap- parent." "In the improvement made some years since by the Bank of England, in Lothbury, a chimney, belonging to a Mr. Mildrum, a baker, was taken down, but before he began to bake, in order to see that the rest of the flue was clear, a boy was sent up, and after remaining some time, and not answering to the call of his master, another boy was ordered to descend from the top of the flue and to meet him half-way; but this being found impracticable, they opened the brick work in the lower part of the flue, and found the first-men- tioned boy dead. In the mean time the boy in the upper part of the flue called out for relief, saying, he was completely jammed in the rubbish and was unable to extricate himself. Upon this a bricklayer was employed with the utmost expe- dition, but he succeeded only in obtaining a life- less body. The bodies were sent to St. Margaret's Church, Lothbury, and a coroner's inquest, which sat upon them, returned the verdict-Accidental Death." "On Monday morning, the 29th of March, 1813, a chimney-sweeper of the name of Griggs, attended to sweep a small chimney in the brew- house of Messrs. Calvert and Co., in Upper Thames-street; he was accompanied by one of his boys, a lad of about eight years of age, of the "In the beginning of the year 1808, a chimney- name of Thomas Pitt. The fire had been lighted sweeper's boy being employed to sweep a chimney as early as two o'clock the same morning, and was in Marsh-street, Walthamstow, in the house of burning on the arrival of Griggs and his little Mr. Jeffery, carpenter, unfortunately, in his at- boy at eight; the fire-place was small, and an tempt to get down, stuck in the flue and was iron pipe projected from the grate some little dis- unable to extricate himself. Mr. Jeffery, being tance, into the flue; this the master was ac- within hearing of the boy, immediately procured quainted with (having swept the chimneys in the assistance. As the chimney was low, and the top brewhouse for some years) and therefore had a tile of it easily accessible from without, the boy was or two taken from the roof, in order that the taken out in about ten minutes, the chimney-pot boy might descend the chimney. He had no and several rows of bricks having been previously sooner extinguished the fire than he suffered the removed; if he had remained in that dreadful lad to go down; and the consequence, as might be situation many minutes longer, he must have expected, was his almost immediate death, in a died. His master was sent for, and he arrived state, no doubt, of inexpressible agony. The flue soon after the boy had been released; he abused was of the narrowest description, and must have him for the accident, and, after striking him, sent retained heat sufficient to have prevented the him with a bag of soot to sweep another chimney. child's return to the top, even supposing he had The child appeared so very weak when taken out not approached the pipe belonging to the grate, that he could scarcely stand, and yet this wretched which must have been nearly red-hot; this, how-being, who had been up ever since three o'clock, ever, was not clearly ascertained on the inquest, though the appearance of the body would induce an opinion that he had been unavoidably pressed against the pipe. Soon after his descent, the master, who remained on the top, was apprehen- sive that something had happened, and therefore desired him to come up; the answer of the boy was, 'I cannot come up, master; I must die here.' An alarm was given in the brewhouse, imme- diately, that he had stuck in the chimney, and a bricklayer who was at work near the spot at- | had before been sent by his master to Wanstead, which with his walk to Marsh-street made about five miles." "In May, 1817, a boy employed in sweeping a chimney in Sheffield got wedged fast in one of the flues, and remained in that situation near two hours before he could be extricated, which was at length accomplished by pulling down part of the chimney." On one occasion a child remained above two hours in some danger in a chimney, rather than 352 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. venture down and encounter his master's anger. The man was held to bail, which he could not procure. As in the cases I have described (at Messrs. Calvert's, and in Lothbury), the verdict was usually "Accidental Death," or something equi- valent. It was otherwise, however, where wilful cruelty was proven. The following case was a subject of frequent comment at the time :- "On Friday, 31st May, 1816, William Moles and Sarah his wife, were tried at the Old Bailey for the wilful murder of John Hewley, alias Haseley, a boy about six years of age, in the month of April last, by cruelly beating him. Under the direction of the learned judge, they were acquitted of the crime of murder, but the husband was detained to take his trial as for a misdemeanor, of which he was convicted upon the fullest evidence, and sentenced to two years' im- prisonment. The facts, as proved in this case, are too shocking in detail to relate the substance of them is, that he was forced up the chimney on the shoulder of a bigger boy, and afterwards violently pulled down again by the leg and dashed upon a marble hearth; his leg was thus broken, and death ensued in a few hours, and on his body and knees were found scars arising from wounds of a much older date.' "} This long-continued system of cruelties, of vio- lations of public and private duties, bore and ripened its natural fruits. The climbing boys grew up to be unhealthy, vicious, ignorant, and idle men, for during their apprenticeships their labour was over early in the day, and they often passed away their leisure in gambling in the streets with one another and other children of their stamp, as they frequently had halfpence given to them. They played also at " chuck and toss" with the journeymen, and of course were stripped of every farthing. Thus they became indolent and fond of excitement. When a lad ceased to be an apprentice, although he might be but 16, he was too big to climb, and even if he got employ- ment as a journeyman, his remuneration was wretched, only 2s. a week, with his board and lodging. There were, however, far fewer com- plaints of being insufficiently fed than might have been expected, but the sleeping places were ex- ecrable: "They sleep in different places," it was stated, sometimes in sheds, and sometimes in places which we call barracks (large rooms), or in the cellar (where the soot was kept); some never sleep upon anything that can be called a bed; some do." Mr. T. Allen, a master sweep for 22 years, gave the Committee the following account of the men's earnings and (what may be called) the General Perquisites of the trade under the exploded system: "If a man be 25 years of age, he has no more than 2s. a week; he is not clothed, only fed and lodged in the same manner as the boys. The 2s. a week is not sufficient to find him clothes and other necessaries, certainly not; it is hardly enough to find him with shoe-leather, for they walk over a deal of ground in going about the streets. The journeyman is able to live upon those wages, for he gets halfpence given him supposing he is 16 or 20 years of age, he gets the boys' pence from them and keeps it; and if he happens to get a job for which he receives a ls., he gets 6d. of that, and his master the other 6d. The boys' pence are what the boys get after they have been doing their master's work; they get a ld. or so, and the journeyman takes it from them, and 'licks' them if they do not give it up." [These "jobs," after the master's work had been done, were chance jobs, as when a journeyman on his round was called on by a stranger, and unexpectedly, to sweep a chimney. Sometimes, by arrangement of the journeyman and the lad, the proceeds never reached the master's pocket. Sometimes, but rarely, such jobs were the journeyman's rightful perquisite.] Men," proceeds Mr. Allen, who are 22 and 23 years of age will play with the young boys and win their money. That is, they get half the money from them by force, and the rest by fraud. They are driven to this course from the low wages which the masters give them, because they have no other means to get anything for themselves, not even the few necessaries which they may want; for even what they want to wash with they must get themselves. As to what be- comes of the money the boys get on May-day, when they are in want of clothes, the master will buy them, as check shirts or handkerchiefs. These masters get a share of the money which the boys collect on May-day. The boys have about 1s. or 1s. 6d. ; the journeyman has also his share; then the master takes the remainder, which is to buy the boys' clothes and other necessaries, as they say. I cannot exactly tell what the average amount is that a boy will get on the May-day; the most that my boy ever got was 5s. But I think that the boys get more than that; I should think they get as much as 9s. or 10s. apiece. The Christmas- boxes are generally, I believe, divided among themselves (among the boys); but I cannot say rightly. It is spent in buying silk handkerchiefs, or Sunday shoes, I believe; but I am not per- fectly sure. "" Of the condition and lot of the operatives who were too big to go up chimneys, Mr. J. Fisher, a master-sweeper, gave the following account :- They get into a roving way, and go about from one master to another, and they often come to no good end at last. They sometimes go into the country, and after staying there some time, they come back again; I took a boy of that sort very lately and kept him like my own, and let him go to school; he asked me one Sunday to let him go to school, and I was glad to let him go, and I gave him leave; he accordingly went, and I have seen nothing of him since; before he went he asked me if I would let him come home to see my child buried; I told him to ask his school- master, but he did not come back again. I cannot tell what has become of him; he was to have served me for twelve months. I did not take him ། ་་་ ނ FLUSHING THE SEWER S. (Partly from a Daynerviotype ly BEARD, and partly from a Skiteh kindly lent by MR. WHITING ) LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOP. 353 from the parish; he came to me. He said his parents were dead. The effect of the roving habit of the large boys when they become too large to climb, is, that they get one with another and learn bad habits from one another; they never will stop long in any one place. They frequently go into the country and get various places; perhaps they stop a month at each; some try to get masters themselves, and some will get into bad company, which very often happens. Then they turn thieves, they get lazy, they won't work, and people do not like to employ them lest they should take anything out of their houses: The generality of them never settle in any steady business. They generally turn loose characters, and people will not em- ploy them lest they should take anything out of the house.' "" The criminal annals of the kingdom bear out the foregoing account. Some of these boys, indeed, when they attained man's estate, became, in a great measure, through their skill in climbing, expert and enterprising burglars, breaking into places where few men would have cared to ven- ture. One of the most daring feats ever at- tempted and accomplished was the escape from Newgate by a sweeper about 15 years ago. He climbed by the aid of his knees and elbows a height of nearly 80 feet, though the walls, in the corner of the prison-yard, where this was done, were nearly of an even surface; the slightest slip could not have failed to have precipitated the sweep- er to the bottom. He was then under sentence of death for highway robbery. "His name was Whitehead, and he done a more wonderfuller thing nor that," remarked an informant, who had been his master. "We was sweeping the bilers in a sugar-house, and he went from the biler up the flue of the chimney, it was nearly as high as the Monument, that chimney; I should say it was 30 or 40 feet higher nor the sugar-house. He got out at the top, and slid down the bare brick work on the outside, on to the roof of the house, got through an attic window in the roof, and managed to get off without any one knowing what became of him. That was the most wonderfullest thing I ever knowed in my life. I don't know how he escaped from being killed, but he was always an oudacious feller. It was nearly three months after afore we found him in the country. I don't know where they sent him to after he was brought back to Newgate, but I hear they made him a turnkey in a prison somewhere, and that he's doing very well now." The feat at the sugar-house could be only to escape from his apprenticeship. In the course of the whole Parliamentary evidence the sweepers, reared under the old climbing system, are spoken of as a "short-lived" race, but no statistics could be given. Some died Some died old men in middle age, in the workhouses. Many were mere vagrants at the time of their death. I took the statement of a man who had been what he called a "climbing" in his childhood, but as he is now a master-sweeper, and has indeed gone through all grades of the business, I shall give it in my account of the present condition of the sweepers. Climbing is still occasionally resorted to, espe- cially when repairs are required, "but the climb- are now men." These ing boys," I was told, are slight dwarfish men, whose services are often in considerable request, and cannot at all times be commanded, as there are only about twenty of them in London, so effectually has climbing been suppressed. These little men, I was told, did pretty well, not unfrequently getting 2s. or 2s. 6d. for a single job. As regards the labour question, during the ex- istence of the climbing boys, we find in the Report the following results:- The nominal wages to the journeymen were 2s. a week, with board and lodging. The appren- tices received no wages, their masters being only required to feed, lodge, and clothe them. The actual wages were the same as the nominal, with the addition of 1s. as perquisites in money. There were other perquisites in liquor or broken meat. In the Reports are no accounts of the duration of labour throughout the year, nor can I obtain from master-sweepers, who were in the business during the old mode, any sufficient data upon which to found any calculations. The employ- ment, however, seems to have been generally con- tinuous, running through the year; though in the course of the twelvemonth one master would have four and another six different journeymen, but only one at a time. The vagrant propensities of the class is a means of accounting for this. on The nominal wages of those journeymen who resided in their own apartments were generally 14s. a week, and their actual about 2s. 6d. extra in the form of perquisites. Others resided " the premises." having the care of the boys, with board and lodgings and 5s. a week in money nominally, and 7s. 6d. actually, the perquisites being worth 2s. 6d. Concerning the general or average wages of the whole trade, I can only present the following com- putation. Mr. Tooke, in his evidence before the House of Commons, stated that the Committee, of which he was a member, had ascertained that one boy on an average swept about four chimneys daily, at prices varying frein 6d. to 1s. 6d., or a medium return of about 10d. per chimney, exclusive of the soot, then worth Sd. or 9d. a bushel. "It appears," he said, "from a datum I have here, that those chimney-sweepers who keep six boys (the greatest number allowed by law) gain, on an average, nearly 2701.; five boys, 2251.; four boys, 1801.; three boys, 1357.; two boys, 901. ; and one boy 457. (yearly), exclusive of the soot, which is, I should suppose, upon an average, from half a bushel to a bushel every time the chimney is swept." "Out of the profits you mention," he was then asked, "the master has to maintain the boys?". "Yes," was the answer, "and when the expenses of house and cellar rent, and the wages of jour- neymen, and the maintenance of apprentices, are 1 354 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. f taken into the account, the number of master chimney-sweepers is not only more than the trade will support, but exceeds, by above one-third, what the public exigency requires. The Com- mittee also ascertained that the 200 master chimney-sweepers in the metropolis were sup- posed to have in their employment 150 journey- men and 500 boys.” The matter may be reduced to a tabular form, expressing the amount in money-for it is not asserted that the masters generally gained on the charge for their journeymen's board and lodging -as follows:- EXPENDITURE OF MASTER CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS UNDER THE CLIMBING-BOY SYSTEM. 20 journeymen at individual wages, 14s. each weekly 30 ditto, say 12s. weekly 100 ditto, 10s. ditto 500 boys, 4s. 6d. weekly Rent, 20 large traders, 10s. • • • Board, Lodging, and Clothing of Do. 30 others, 7s. . Do. 150 do., 3s. 6d. 20 horses (keep), 10s. General wear and tear • Yearly. £780 936 2,600 5,850 520 546 1,365 520 200 £13,317 It appears that about 180 of the master chim- ney-sweepers were themselves working men, in the same way as their journeymen. The following, then, may be taken as the- YEARLY RECEIPTS OF THE MASTER SWEEPERS UNDER THE CLIMBING-BOY SYSTEM. Yearly. Payment for sweeping 624,000 chimneys (4 daily, according to evi- dence before Parliament, by each of 500 boys), 10d. per chimney, or yearly £26,000 Soot (according to same account), say 5d. per chimney Total Yearly expenditure Yearly profit 13,000 • £39,000 13,317 • £25,683 This yielded, then, according to the informa- tion submitted to the House of Commons Select Committee, as the profits of the trade prior to 1817, an individual yearly gain to each master sweeper of 1287.; but, taking Mr. Tooke's average yearly profit for the six classes of tradesmen, 2701., 225l., 1807., 135l., 907., and 451. respec- tively, the individual profit averages above 1577. The capital, I am informed, would not average above two guineas per master sweeper, nothing being wanted beyond a few common sacks, made by the sweepers' wives, and a few brushes. Only about 20 had horses, but barrows were occasion- ally hired at a busy time. In the foregoing estimates I have not included any sums for apprentice fees, as I believe there would be something like a balance in the matter, the masters sometimes paying parents such pre- | miums) for the use of their children as they re- ceived from the parishes for the tuition and main- tenance of others. Of the morals, education, religion, marriage, &c., of sweepers, under the two systems, I shall speak in another place. It may be somewhat curious to conclude with a word of the extent of chimneys swept by a climbing boy. One respectable master-sweeper told me that for eleven years he had climbed five or six days weekly. During this period he thought he had swept fifteen chimneys as a week's ave- rage, each chimney being at least 40 feet in height; so traversing, in ascending and descending, 686,400 feet, or 130 miles of a world of soot. This, however, is little to what has been done by a climber of 30 years' standing, one of the little men of whom I have spoken. My informant entertained no doubt that this man had, for the first 22 years of his career, climbed half as much again as he himself had; or had tra- versed 2,059,200 feet of the interior of chimneys, or 390 miles. Since the new Act this man had of course climbed less, but had still been a good deal employed; so that, adding his progresses for the last 9 years to the 22 preceding, he must have swept about 456 miles of chimney interiors. OF THE CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS OF THE PRESENT DAY. THE chimney-sweepers of the present day are distinguished from those of old by the use of machines instead of climbing boys, for the purpose of removing the soot from the flues of houses. The chimney-sweeping machines were first used in this country in the year 1803. They were the invention of Mr. Smart, a carpenter, residing at the foot of Westminster-bridge, Surrey. On the earlier trials of the machine (which was similar to that used at present, and which I shall shortly describe), it was pronounced successful in 99 cases out of 100, according to some accounts, but failing where sharp angles occurred in the flue, which arrested its progress. "Means have been suggested," said Mr. Tooke, formerly mentioned, in his evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, "for ob- viating that difficulty by fixed apparatus at the top of the flue with a jack-chain and pulley, by which a brush could be worked up and down, or it could be done as is customary abroad, as I have repeatedly seen it at Petersburgh, and heard of its being done universally on the Continent, by letting down a bullet with a brush attached to it from the top; but to obviate the inconvenience, which is considerable, from persons going upon the roof of a house, Mr. John White, junior, an eminent sur- veyor, has suggested the expediency of putting iron shutters or registers to each flue, in the roof or cockloft of each house; by opening which, and working the machine upwards and downwards, or letting down the bullet, which is the most com- pendious manner, the chimney will be most effect- ually cleansed; and, by its aperture at bottom being kept well closed, it would be done with LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 355 the least possible dirt and inconvenience to the family." The opposition in Parliament, as I have inti- mated, continued. One noble lord informed the House of Peers that he had been indisposed of late and had sought the aid of calomel, the curative influence of which had pervaded every portion of his frame; and that it as far surpassed the less searching powers of other medicines, as the brush of the climbing boy in cleansing every nook and corner of the chimney, surpassed all the power of the machinery, which left the soot unpurged from those nooks and corners. the natural result of that permission would be the continuance of those miseries which the Legislature had sought, but which it had failed, to put an end to; and they therefore recommended that the use of climbing boys should be prohibited altogether; and that the age at which the apprenticeship should commence should be extended from eight to fourteen, putting this trade upon the same footing as others which took apprentices at that age. The em- This resolution became law in 1829. ployment of climbing boys in any manner in the interior of chimneys was prohibited under penal- ties of fine and imprisonment; and it was enacted that the new measure should be carried into effect in three years, so giving the master sweepers that period of time to complete their arrangements. During the course of the experiments and inquiry, the sweepers, as a body, seem to have thrown no obstacles, or very few and slight obstacles, in the way of the "Committee to promote the Superseding of the Labour of Climbing Boys;" while the most respectable of the class, or the majority of the respectable, aided the efforts of the Committee. The society for the supersedence of the labour of climbing boys promoted the adoption of the machines by all the means in their power, pre- senting the new instrument gratuitously to several master sweepers who were too poor to purchase it. Experiments were made and duly published as to the effectual manner in which the chimneys at Guildhall, the Mansion House, the then new Custom House, Dulwich College, and in other public edifices, had been cleansed by the machine. The House of Commons, however, had expressed But these statements seem to have produced little its conviction that as long as master chimney- effect. People thought, perhaps, that the mechani-sweepers were permitted to employ climbing boys, cal means which might very well cleanse the chimneys of large public buildings-and it was said that the chimneys of the Custom House were built with a view to the use of the machine- might not be so serviceable for the same purposes in small private dwellings. Experiments continued to be made, often in the presence of architects, of the more respectable sweepers, and of ladies and gentlemen who took a philanthropic interest in the question, between the years 1803 and 1817, but with little influence upon the general public, for in 1817 Mr. Smart supposed that there were but 50 or 60 machines in general use in the metropolis, and those, it appeared from the evidence of several master sweepers, were used chiefly in gentlemen's houses, many of those gentlemen having to be authoritative with their servants, who, if not con- trolled, always preferred the services of the climb- ing boys. Most servants had perquisites from the master sweepers, in the largest and most profitable ways of business, and they seemed to fear the loss of those perquisites if any change took place. The opposition in Parliament, and in the general indifference of the people, to the efforts of "the friends of the climbing boy" to supersede his painful labours by the use of machinery, was formidable enough, but that of the servants appears to have been more formidable still. Mr. Smart showed this in his explanations to the Committee. The whole result of his experience was that servants set their faces against the introduction of the machine, grumbling if there were not even the appearance of dirt on the furniture after its use. "The first winter I went out with this machine," said Mr. Smart, "I went to Mr. Burke's in Token- house Yard, who was a friend of mine, with a man to sweep the chimneys, and after waiting above an hour in a cold morning, the housekeeper came down quite in a rage, that we should presume to ring the bell or knock at the door; and when we got admittance, she swore she wished the machine and the inventor at the devil; she did not know me. We swept all the chimneys, and when we had done I asked her what objection she had to it now; she said, a very serious one, that if there was a thing by which a servant could get any emolument, some d-d invention was sure to take it away from them, for that she received perquisites." This avowal of Mr. Burke's housekeeper, as brusque as it was honest, is typical of the feelings of the whole class of servants. ❘ This manifestation of public feeling probably modified; the opposition of the sweepers, and un- questionably influenced the votes of members of Parliament. The change in the operations of the chimney-sweeping business took place in 1832, as quietly and unnoticedly as if it were no change at all. The machine now in use differs little from that invented by Mr. Smart, the first introduced, but lighter materials are now used in its manufacture. It has not been found necessary, however, to com- plicate its use with the jack-chain and pulley, and bullet with a brush attached, and the iron shutters or registers in the roof or cockloft, of which Mr. Tooke spoke. The machine is formed of a series of hollow rods, made of a supple cane, bending and not breaking in any sinuosity of the flues. This cane is made of the same material as gentlemen's walking-sticks. The first machines were made of wood, and were liable to be broken; and to en- able the sweeps on such occasions to recover the broken part, a strong line ran from bottom to top through the centre of the sticks, which were bored for the purpose, and strung on this cord. The cane machine, however, speedily and effec- tually superseded these imperfect instruments; and there are now none of them to be met with. To 356 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the top tube of the machine is attached the "brush," cailed technically "the head," of elastic whalebone spikes, which "give" and bend, in accordance with the up or down motion commu- nicated by the man working the machine, so sweeping what was described to me as "both ways," up and down. | Some of these rods, which fit into one another by means of brass screws, are 4 feet 6 inches long, and diminish in diameter to suit their adjustment. Some rods are but 3 feet 6 inches long, and 4 feet is the full average length; while the average price at the machine maker's is 2s. 6d. a rod, if bought separately. The head costs 10s., on au average, if bought separately. It is seldom that a machine is required to number beyond 17 rods (extending 68 feet), and the better class of sweepers are generally provided with 17 rods. The cost of the entire machine, for every kind of chimney-work, when purchased new, as a whole, is, when of good quality, from 30s. to 51., accord- ing to the number of rods, duplicate rods, &c. | Mr. Smart stated, in 1817, that the average price of one of his machines was then 24. 3s. The sweepers who labour chiefly in the poorer localities and several told me how indifferent many people in those parts were as to their chim- neys being swept at all-rarely use a machine to extend beyond 40 feet, or one composed of 10 or 11 rods; but some of the inferior class of sweepers buy of those in a superior way of trade worn machines, at from a third to a half of the prime cost. These machines they trim up themselves. One portion of the work, however, they cannot repair or renew-the broken or worn-out brass screws of the rods, which they call the "ferules." These, when new, are 1s. each. There were, when the machine-work was novel, I was informed, street-artizans who went about repairing these screws or ferules; but their work did not please the chimney-sweepers, and this street-trade did not last above a year or two. the opinion of all the sweepers I saw according on the subject-a head (it is rarely called brush in the trade) of 18 inches diameter is insufficient, yet they are seldom used larger. One intelligent master sweeper, speaking from his own knowledge, told me that in the neighbourhood where he worked numbers of houses had been built since the introduction of the machines, and the chim- neys were only 9 inches square, as regards the interior; the smaller flues are sometimes but 7. These 9-inch chimneys, he told me, were fre- quent in scamped" houses, houses got up at the lowest possible rate by speculating builders. This was done because the brickwork of the chimneys costs more than the other portions of the masonry, and so the smaller the dimensions of the chimneys the less the cost of the edifice. The machines are sometimes as much crippled in this circum- scribed space as they are found of insufficient di- mensions in the old-fashioned chimneys; and so the "scamped" chimney, unless by a master hav ing many "heads," is not so cleanly swept as it might be. Chimneys not built in this manner are now usually 9 inches by 14. In cleansing a chimney with the machine the sweep stands by, or rather in, the fire-place, having first attached a sort of curtain to the mantle to confine the soot to one spot, the operator standing inside this curtain. He first introduces the head," attached to its proper rod, into the chimney, "diving" it forward, then screws on the next rod, and so on, until the head has been driven to the top of the chimney. The soot which has fallen upon the hearth, within the curtain, is collected into a sack or sacks, and is carried away on the men's backs, and occasionally in carts. The whalebone spikes of the head are made to extend in every direction, so that when it is moved no part of the chimney, if the surface be even, escapes contact with these spikes, if the work be carefully done, as indeed it gene- rally is; for the cleaner the chimney is swept of course the greater amount of soot adds to the profit of the sweeper. One man told me that he thought he had seen in some old big chimneys, a long time unswept, more soot brought down by the machine than, under similar circumstances as to the time the chimney had remained uncleansed, would have been done by the climbing boy. All the master sweepers I saw concurred in the opinion that the machine was not in all respects so effective a sweeper as the climbing boy, as it does not reach the recesses, nooks, crannies, or holes in the chimney, where the soot remains little disturbed by the present process. This want is felt the most in the cleansing of the old-fashioned chimneys, especially in the country. The rods of the machine, when carefully at- tended to, last a long time. One man told me that he was still working some rods which he had worked since 1842 (nine years), with occasional renewal of the ferules. The head is either in- The head is either in jured or worn down in about two years; if not well made at first, in a year. The diameter of this head or brush is, on the average, 18 inches. One of my informants had himself swept a chim- ney of 80 feet, and one of his fellow-workers had said that he once swept a chimney of 120 feet high; in both cases by means of the machine. My informant, however, thought such a feat as the 120-feet sweep was hardly possible, as only one man's strength can be applied to the machine; and he was of opinion that no man's muscular Mr. Cook, in 1817, stated to the Committee powers would be sufficient to work a ma- that the cleansing of a chimney by a boy or by a chine at a height of 120 feet. The labour is machine occupied the same space of time; but I sometimes very severe; "enough," one strongly-find the general opinion of the sweepers now to be built man told me, that it is only the small and straight chimneys and heart ache." which can be swept with as great celerity by a machine as by a climber; in all others the lad was quicker by about 5 minutes in 30, or in that to make your arms, head, The old-fashioned chimneys are generally 12 by 14 inches in their dimensions in the interior; and for the thorough sweeping of such chimneys- | proportion. 1 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 357 I heard sweepers represent that the passing of the Act of Parliament not only deprived them in many instances of the unexpired term of a boy's apprenticeship in his services as a climber, but "threw open the business to any one." The business, however, it seems, was always "open to any one." There was no art nor mystery in it, as regarded the functions of the master; any one could send a boy up a chimney, and collect and carry away the soot he brought down, quite as readily and far more easily than he can work a machine. Nevertheless, men under the old system could hardly (and some say they were forbidden to) embark in this trade unless they had been apprenticed to it; for they were at a loss how to possess themselves of climbing boys, and how to make a connection. When the machines were introduced, however, a good many persons who were able to raise the price" of one started in the line on their own account. These men have been called by the old hands "lecks" or green 'uns," to distinguish them from the regu- larly-trained men, who pride themselves not a little on the fact of their having served seven or eight years, "duly and truly," as they never fail to express it. This increase of fresh hands tended to lower the earnings of the class; and some masters, who were described to me as formerly very "comfortable," and some, comparatively speaking, rich, were considerably reduced by it. The number of "leeks" in 1832 I heard stated, with the exaggeration to which I have been accustomed when uninformed men, ignorant of the relative value of numbers, have expressed their opinions, as 1000! The several classes in the chimney-sweeping trade may be arranged as follows:- The Master Chimney-Sweepers, called sometimes "Governors" by the journeymen, are divisible into three kinds:- The "large" or "high masters," who employ from 2 to 10 men and 2 boys, and keep sometimes 2 horses and a cart, not particularly for the con- veyance of the soot, but to go iuto the country to a gentleman's house to fulfil orders. The "small" or "low masters," who employ, on an average, two men, and sometimes but one man and a boy, without either horse or cart. The single-handed master-men," who employ neither men nor boys, but do all the work them- selves. Of these three classes of masters there are two subdivisions. "" The "leeks or "green-uns," that is to say, those who have not regularly served their time to the trade. The "knullers" or "queriers," that is to say, those who solicit custom in an irregular manner, by knocking at the doors of houses and such like. Of the competition of capitalists in this trade there are, I am told, no instances. "We have our own stations," one master sweeper said, and if I contract to sweep a genelman's house, here in Pancras, for 25s. a year, or 10s., or anythink, my nearest neighbour, as has men and machines fit, is in Marrybun; and it wouldn't pay to send his men a mile and a half, or on to two mile, and work at what I can let alone less. No, sir, I've known bisness nigh 20 year, and there's nothink in the way of that underworking. The poor creeturs as keeps theirselves with a machine, and nothing to give them a lift beyond it, they'd undertake work at any figure, but nobody em- ploys or can trust to them, but on chance." The contracts, I am told, for a year's chimney-sweeping in any mansion are on the same terms with one master as with another. As regards the Journeymen Chimney-Sweepers there are also three kinds :- The "foreman" or "first journeyman" sweeper, who accompanies the men to their work, super- intends their labours, and receives the money, when paid immediately after sweeping. The "journeyman" sweeper, whose duty it is to work the machine, and (where no under-journey- man, or boy, is kept) to carry the machine and take home the sout. The "under-journeyman" or "boy," who has to carry the machine, take home the soot, and work the machine up the lower-class flues. There are, besides these, some 20 climbing men, who ascend such flues as the machines cannot cleanse effectually, and, it must, I regret to say, be added, some 20 to 30 climbing boys, mostly under eleven years of age, who are still used for the same purpose on the sly." Many of the masters, indeed, lament the change to machine- sweeping, saying that their children, who are now useless, would, in the good old times," have been worth a pound a week to them. It is in the suburbs that these climbing children are mostly employed. The hours of labour are from the earliest morning till about midday, and sometimes later. There are no Houses of Call, trade societies, or regulations among these operatives, but there arc low public-houses to which they resort, and where they can always be heard of. When a chimney-sweeper is out of work he merely inquires of others in the same line of busi- ness, who, if they know of any one that wants. a journeyman, direct their brother sweeper to call and see the master; but though the chimney- sweepers have no trade societies, some of the better class belong to sick, and others to burial, funds. The lower class of sweepers, however, seem to have no resource in sickness, or in their utmost need, but the parish. There are sweepers, I am told, in every workhouse in London. There are three modes of payment common among the sweepers :- 1, in money; 2, partly in money and partly in kind; and 3, by perquisites. The great majority of the masters pay the men they employ from 2s. to 3s., and a few 4s. and 6s. per week, together with their board and lodging. It may seem that 3s. per week is a small supi, but it was remarked to me that there are few working men who, after supporting themselves, are able to save that sum weekly, while the sweepers have many perquisites of one sort or א . 358 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. other, which sometimes bring them in 1s., 2s., 3s., 4s., and occasionally 5s. or 6s., a week additional -a sufficient sum to pay for clothes and washing. The journeymen, when lodged in the house of the master, are single men, and if constantly em- ployed might, perhaps, do well, but they are often unemployed, especially in the summer, when there are not so many fires kept burning. As soon as one of them gets married, or what among them is synonymous, "takes up with a woman,' which they commonly do when they are able to purchase some sort of a machine, they set up for themselves, and thus a great number of the men get to be masters on their own account, without being able to employ any extra hands. These are generally reckoned among the "knullers;" they do but little business at first, for the masters long established in a neighbourhood, who are known to the people, and have some standing, are almost always preferred to those who are strangers or mere beginners. It was very common, but perhaps more common in country towns than in London, for the journey- men, as well as apprentices, in this and many other trades to live at the master's table. But the board and lodging supplied, in lieu of money-wages, to the journeymen sweepers, seems to be one of the few existing instances of such a practice in London. Among slop-working tailors and shoe- makers, some unfortunate workmen are boarded and lodged by their employers, but these em- ployers are merely middlemen, who gain their living by serving such masters as " do not like to drive their negroes themselves." But among the sweepers there are no middlemen. It is not all the journeymen sweepers, however, who are remunerated after this manner, for many receive 12s., and soine 14s., and not a few 18s. weekly, besides perquisites, but reside at their own homes. Apprenticeship is now not at all common among the sweepers, as no training to the business is needed. Lord Shaftesbury, however, in July last, gave notice of his intention to bring in a bill to prevent persons who had not been duly appren- ticed to the business establishing themselves as sweepers. The Perquisites of the journeymen sweepers are for measuring, arranging, and putting the soot sold into the purchasers' sacks, or carts; for this is considered extra work. The payment of this per- quisite seems to be on no fixed scale, some having 1s. for 50, and some for 100 bushels. When a chimney is on fire and a journeyman sweeper is employed to extinguish it, he receives from 1s. 6d. to 5s. according to the extent of time consumed and the risk of being injured. "Chance sweep- ing," or the sweeping of a chimney not belonging to a customer, when a journeyman has completed his regular round, ensures him 3d. in some employ- ments, but in fewer than was once the case. The beer-money given by any customer to a journey- man is also his perquisite. Where a foreman is kept, the "brieze," or cinders collected from the grate, belong to him, and the ashes belong to the journeyman; but where there is no foreman, the | brieze and ashes belong to the journeyman solely. These they sell to the poor at the rate of 6d. a bushel. I am told by experienced men that, all these matters considered, it may be stated that one-half of the journeymen in London have per- quisites of 1s. 6d., the other half of 2s. 6d. a week. The Nominal Wages to the journeymen, then, are from 12s. to 18s. weekly, without board and lodging, or from 2s. to 6s. in money, with board and lodging, represented as equal to 7s. The Actual Wages are 2s. 6d. a week more in the form of perquisites, and perhaps 4d. daily in beer or gin. The wages to the boys are mostly 1s. a week, but many masters pay 1s. 6d. to 2s., with board and lodging. These boys have no perquisites, except such bits of broken victuals as are given to them at houses where they go to sweep. The wages of the foreman are generally 18s. per week, but some receive 14s. and some 20s. without board and lodging. In one case, where the foreman is kept by the master, only 2s. 6d. in money is given to him weekly. The perquisites of these men average from 4s. to 5s. a week. The The work in the chimney-sweeping trade is more regular than might at first be supposed. sweepers whose circumstances enable them to em- ploy journeymen send them on regular rounds, and do not engage "chance" hands. If business is brisk, the men and the master, when a working inan himself, work later than ordinary, and some- times another hand is put on and paid the cus- tomary amount, by the weck, until the brisk- ness ceases; but this is a rare occurrence. There are, however, strong lads, or journeymen out of work, who are occasionally employed in "job- bing," helping to carry the soot and such like. >> The labour of the journeymen, as regards the payment by their masters, is continuous, but the men are often discharged for drunkenness, or for endeavouring to "form a connection of their own among their employers' customers, and new hands are then put on. Chimneys won't wait, you know, sir," was said to me, "and if I quit a hand this week, there's another in his place next. I If discharge a hand for three months in a slack time, I have two on when it's a busy time." Perhaps the average employment of the whole body of operatives may be taken at nine months' work in the year. When out of employment the chief resource of these men is in night-work; some turn street-sellers and bricklayers' labourers. I am told that a considerable sum of money was left for the purpose of supplying every climb- ing-boy who called on the first of May at a certain place, with a shilling and some refreshment, but I have not been able to ascertain by whom it was left, or where it was distributed; none of the sweepers with whom I conversed knew anything about it. I also heard, that since the passing of the Act, the money has been invested in some securities or other, and is now accumulating, but to what purpose it is intended to be applied I have no means of learning. Let us now endeavour to estimate the gross yearly income of the operative sweepers. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 359 There are, then, 399 men employed as journey- men, and of them 147 receive a money wage weekly from their masters, and reside with their parents or at their own places. The remaining 252 are boarded and lodged. This board and lodging are generally computed, as under the old system, to represent 8s., being 1s. a day for board and 1s. a week for lodging. But, on the | average, the board does not cost the masters 7s. a week, but, as I shall afterwards show, barely 6s. The men and boys may be said to be all fully employed for nine months in the year; some, of course, are at work all the year through, but others get only six months' employment in the twelve months; so that taking nine months as the average, we have the following table of WAGES PAID TO THE OPERATIVE SWEEPERS OF LONDon. JOURNEYMEN. Money wages for nine months. Without board and lodging. £ S. d. 30 Journeymen employed by 3 masters, at 18s. per week 1053 0 0 14 5 16s. 436 16 0 "" 6 3 15s. 175 10 0 "" 27 "" "1 63 23 "" "" co co co 8 143. 737 2 20 " 12s. 1474 4 0 3 "J "" 33 35 10s. 136 10 0 "" "" "" 147 45 With board and lodging. 3 Journeymen employed by 1 master, at 8s. Od. per week 17 1 41 4013 2 2 0 5 6s. Ød. 46 16 198 18 0 Value of board and lodging for nine months estimated at 7s. a week. £ s. d. 40 19 0 0 232 1 0 1 5s. Od. 9 15 0 13 13 0 " "" 14 4s. Od. 319 16 0 559 13 0 وو 3 "" 34 80 14 53 3 1 39 26 3s. 6d. 20 9 6 40 19 0 3s. Od. 468 0 0 1092 0 0 "" 2s. 6d. 258 7 6 723 9 0 "" "} 44 31 2s. Od. 171 12 0 600 9 8 "" "" "" "" ∞∞ 8 4 1s. 6d. 234 0 0 109 4 0 2 " ☺ ☺ "" "" "" 1 1s. Od. 3 18 0 27 6 0 33 " 252 1731 12 0 3439 13 8 123 FOREMEN. Without board and lodging. 2 Foremen employed by 1 master, at 20s. per week 6 1 ور 2 "" 11 1 4 25 1 185. 16s. 78 0 0 210 12 0 "" " "1 2 14s. رو J7 " 8 0 374 8 0 31 4 0 54 12 With board and lodging. "" 1 Boys. 2s. 6d. 4 17 6 "" "" 13 13 0 Without board and lodging. 2 Boys employed by 1 master, at 10s. per week With board and lodging. 39 0 0 1 1 3s. Od. "" "" 5 17 0 1 1 2s. 6d. " 9 8 2s. Od. "" "" "" 4 17 6 35 2 0 Board and lodging estimated at 6s. a week. 11 14 0 11 14 0 14 14 1s. 6d. 40 19 0 "" 105 6 163 16 0 0 30 28 1s. Od. " "" 1 1 Os. 9d. " ") " "" 58 10 0 1 9 3 351 0 0 11 14 0 4 2 Os. Od. دو "" 13 46 16 0 62 54 146 14 9 702 0 0 Total earnings Total for board, lodging, &c. Grand Total 6309 14 4155 6 со со 3 8 10,465 0 11 360 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Thus we find that the constant or average casual wages of the several classes of operative chimney- sweepers may be taken as follows:- Journeymen without board and lodg- ing, and with perquisites averaging 2s. a week • Journeymen with board and lodging and 2s. a week perquisites · Foreman, without board and lodging, at 2s. 6d. a week perquisites Boys, with board and lodging • s. d. 12 6 9 10/12 15 7 5 3 The general wages of the trade, including fore- man, journeymen, and boys, and calculating the perquisites to average 2s. weekly, will be 10s. 6d. a week, the same as the cotton factory operatives. But if 10,500l. be the income of the opera- tives, what do the employers receive who have to pay this sum? chimneys in the public and official edifices, and The charge for sweeping one of the lofty in the great houses in the aristocratic streets and squares, is 2s. 6d. and 3s. 6d. The chimneys of moderate-sized houses are swept at 1s. to 1s. 6d. each, and those of the poorer classes are charged generally 6d.; some, however, are swept at 3d. and 4d.; and when soot realized a higher price (some of the present master sweepers have sold it at 1s. a bushel), the chimneys of poor persons were swept by the poorer class of sweeps merely for the perquisite of the soot. This is some- times done even now, but to a very small extent, by a sweeper, on his own hook," and in want of a job, but generally with an injunction to the person whose chimney has been cleansed on such easy terms, not to mention it, as it "couldn't be made a practice on." Estimating the number of houses belonging to the wealthy classes of society to be 54,000, and these to be swept eight times a year, and the charge for sweeping to be 2s. 6d. each time; and the number of houses belonging to the middle classes to be 90,000, and each to be swept four times a year, at 1s. 6d. each time; and the dwell- ings of the poor and labouring classes to be swept once a year at 6d. each time, and the number of such dwellings to be 165,000, we find that the total sum paid to the master chimney-sweepers of London is, in round numbers, 85,000l. The sum obtained for 800,000 bushels of soot collected by the master-sweepers from the houses of London, at 5d. per bushel, is 16,5007. Thus the total annual income of the master- sweepers of London is 100,000. Out of this 100,000l. per annum, the expenses of the masters would appear to be as follows:~~ Yearly Expenditure of the Master-Sweepers. Sum paid in wages to 473 journey- Keep of 25 horses, 7s. weekly each Wear and tear of 25 carts and har- £455 25 Interest on capital at 10 per cent. • 450 ness, ll. each. • Total yearly expenditure of master- sweepers employing journeymen • £16,736 The rent here given may seem low at 127. a year, but many of the chimney-sweepers live in parlours, with cellars below, in old out-of-the-way places, at a low rental, in Stepney, Shadwell, Wapping, Bethnal-green, Hoxton, Lock's-fields, Walworth, Newington, Islington, Somers-town, Paddington, &c. The better sort of master-sweep- ers at the West-end often live in a mews. The gains, then, of the master sweepers are as under :- Annual income for cleansing chim- and tear, keep of horses, &c., neys and soot . Expenditure for wages, rent, wear, say Annual profit of master chimney- sweepers of London £100,000 • 20,000 £80,000 This amount of profit, divided among 350 masters, gives about 2307. per annum to each individual; it is only by a few, however, that such a sum is realized, as in the 100,000l. paid by the London public to the sweepers' trade, is included the sum received by the men who work single-handed, "on their own hook," as they say, employing no journeymen. Of these men's earn- ings, the accounts I heard from themselves and the other master sweepers were all accordant, that they barely made journeymen's wages. They have the very worst-paid portion of the trade, receiving neither for their sweeping nor their soot the prices obtained by the better masters; indeed they very frequently sell their soot to their more prosperous brethren. Their general statement is, that they make "eighteen pence a day, and all told." Their receipts then, and they have no perquisites as have the journeymen, are, in a slack time, about 1s. a day (and some days they do not get a job); but in the winter they are busier, as it is then that sweepers are employed by the poor; and at that period the "master-men" may make from 15s. to 20s. a week each; so that, I am as- sured, the average of their weekly takings may be estimated at 12s. 6d. Now, deducting the expenditure from the receipts of 100,000l. (for sweeping and soot), the balance, as we have seen, is 80,000l., an amount among the of profit which, if equally divided three classes of the trade, will give the following sums:- Yearly, each. Yearly, total. Profits of 150 single- handed master-men. £ S. £ 4,940 32 10 Do. 92 small masters 200 O 18,400 Do. 106 large masters 500 O 53,000 • men £10,500 Rent, &c., of 350 houses or lodg ings, at 121. yearly each. 4,200 Wear and tear of 1000 machines, £76,340 17. each yearly 1,000 Ditto 2000 sacks, at 1s. each yearly 100 Nor is this estimate of the masters' profits, I ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. bour, that the labourers would gladly consent to allow the capitalists to share in the proceeds of their industry, provided the capitalists would allow them to share in the proceeds of their abstinence; and hence we arrive by easy gradations at the state of employer and employed, in which the capitalists possess everything, and the labourers have no- thing but their labour to give in exchange for a portion of the savings of the others. that is to say, that the whole year's produce of provisions, clothes, furniture, implements, convey- ances, ornaments, &c., &c., is altogether worth that amount of money, and let us say that 100,000,000l. were paid to 4,000,000 labourers while engaged in producing the wealth; that another 100,000,0007. expressed the value of the materials the seed, the cotton, the wool, the hides, the wood, the iron-used in the production Now, the capitalists being, in such an arrange- of the various commodities. The whole of the ment of society, the possessors of all the wealth, 300,000,000l. then would, of course, belong en- and requiring the services of the labourers to tirely to the capitalists; 200,000,0001. going to operate on the materials of the future productions replace the capital employed in production, and -whether seed to convert into crops, or wool into 100,000,000l. being the profits on the transac- cloth and coats, or hides into leather and shoes, or tion. The labourers own not one brass farthing of cotton into calicoes and shirts, or wood into ships the produce; they have been paid for their labour and houses and furniture, or iron into tools, wea- in obtaining it, and are held to have no further pons, and machines; of course it follows that the claim upon it. Now let us suppose that by the less they part with to the labourers for so doing, invention of a certain machine the capitalists are the greater will be their gain, that is to say, the enabled to convert the materials of the next year's more commodities they will obtain from their mate- produce into commodities with a less amount of rials at less cost. The labourers, however, having labour, and consequently with fewer labourers, say nothing to depend upon but what they receive in with one-half, what must be the inevitable con- exchange for their labour, it equally follows, that sequence? The result, of course, will be that the less they obtain for their work the worse will only one-half the number of labourers being re- be their condition. The smaller the quantity of quired, one-half less would be expended in wages, labour, therefore, that is required, or what is the even supposing the same rate of remuneration to same thing, the fewer the labourers that are be paid to each (though, of course, wages would needed to make up the materials of wealth into fall from the competition of those displaced), and commodities, the less stock the capitalists will thus the capitalists would have only 50,000,0007. have to part with, and the more commodities they to pay for the labour of the work people, while the will obtain; for what they save in labour they can, workpeople, of course, would have 50,000,0007, of course, exchange for a greater quantity of ma- less to live upon. But what, it may be asked, terials, and so get a greater number of commodi- would be done with the 50,000,000l. saved? Why ties at a less expense; hence any thing which tends either it would go to increase the profits and en- to make each of the workmen do the work of one joyments of the capitalists, or else it would be de- hundred must necessarily tend to increase the voted to the purchase of an extra quantity of mate- gains of the capitalists as much as it does to de- rials—of cotton, of wool, of silk, of wood, or what crease the income of the labourers in the aggre- not, with the view of increasing the gross quantity gate, and to give the possessors of the stock or of the future produce. Let us suppose the latter Iuaterials one-hundred fold more articles of utility course to be adopted: then it follows that a certain or enjoyment for the same outlay, while there portion of those whose labour had been superseded must necessarily be one-hundred fold less employ-by the machine might be re-employed, and granting ment for the labourers. It should be borne in mind, that the stock possessed by the capitalists is the result of saving out of the past produce, and consequently cannot possibly be increased till the next year's returns are obtained; hence this is the whole that in the interval of production can be used for the enjoyment of the capitalists, the supply of materials, and the maintenance of the labourers; so that the increase of the funds re- quired for either of these results necessarily in- volves the decrease of those needed for the others, that is to say, if a larger portion of the stock be devoted to materials for the future produce, there will be less left for the maintenance of the labour- ers; hence it follows that to enable the workmen to convert more materials into products in the same time, is to cause a greater proportion of the stock of the capitalists to be devoted to materials, and a correspondingly less proportion to be devoted to the maintenance of the labourers. To put this clearly to those who are unused to such speculations, let us say that the national income of this country amounts to 300,000,0007,. the same relation between the sum devoted to the purchase of materials and that devoted to the payment of labour, to hold good, about 17,000,0007. more might be paid for labour, and about 650,000 more labourers set to work, while the remaining 33,000,000l. would be required to obtain an extra supply of materials. Then how would the matter stand? Why, as 100,000,000l. worth of materials yielded a number of commodities which were equal in value to 300,000,000l., increasing three- fold, of course 133,000,000l. expended in the same manner, would yield such an extra number of commodities as, monetarily expressed, would be equal to 399,000,000l.; but the workpeople would have received only 67,000,000l. for their labour in producing them, so that the capitalists would have had their commodities and profits increased to the extent of 99,000,000l., while the workmen would have had their income decreased to the extent of 33,000,000l., and 1,350,000 of them would have been altogether deprived of their means of living. To employ these 1,350,000 people, a still further supply of materials must be obtained, and this could ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. + | or, to state the matter arithmetically, we may say let C (the gross capital of the (the gross capital of the = 200,000,000%., country) and M (the gross sum spent on materials). • = 50,000,000%., and W (the gross sum spent 150,000,000%., on labour) then, because 200,000,000. 50,000,000 + 150,000,0007., therefore 200,000,000l. 50,000,000%. 150,000,000Z.; = = 150,000,000l. 50,000,0002. Hence as much as you increase the materials for labour, just so much must you decrease the wages of labour. So, again, the increase of the rate of working or causing one hand to do the work of many, may be demonstrated to necessitate either the expenditure of a greater sum upon materials or the employment of a smaller number of operatives, thus:—since 0, the O, gross number of operatives employed, must be regulated by M, the gross quantity of materials on which to employ them divided, R, the ordinary rate of working or quantity that each hand can manufacture in an hour, multiplied by D, the duration of the work or total number of hours employed, then be done solely by further drafts upon the stock set aside for the payment of the labourers generally; so that work could be found for the unemployed workpeople solely by decreasing the remuneration of those already employed. But since, by the assumption, 100,000,000l. worth of materials are from the economy of labour rendered sufficient to give employment to only 2,000,000 people instead of double the number, it follows that to fully occupy the 4,000,000 labourers, 200,000,000/. worth of materials would be required; but this is the whole capital of the country (the other and therefore 200,000,0007. — 50,000,0007. × 2 100,000,000l. being profits); so that there would, in such a case, be nothing left wherewith to pay the labourers. The workers, however, must live in order to do their work; hence wages might and would be driven down to the point of mere sub- sistence, but could not possibly go lower. All gained by the reductions to this extent might be devoted to procuring an additional quantity of materials; still the result would be that while those who were in work got merely sufficient for the protraction of their existence from their labour, numbers would remain unemployed, and those, of course, the capitalists would have to keep either as beggars or thieves; for since it would be impossible for the displaced labourers to subsist by their la- hour, which would be then no longer required, and since you could not exactly do with them as Mr. Carlyle humanely recommends, "shoot them and sweep them into the dustbin," why, it follows, that an armed body of police must be instituted to keep watch day and night over the possessions of the rich, lest those who had no means of sustenance but their labour, and who could find no employment for that, sought to steal the food they could not earn. Then, as a means of decreasing the expense of keeping those who were less daring, and preferred entering the workhouse to braving a prison, a mini- mized and terrible poor law must be established under which the relief given might be just suffi- cient to "ward off death from starvation." The curse was, formerly, that man should get his bread by labour, but nowadays the curse is, that men can get scarcely a mouthful of bread by labouring; so that what was once considered a curse would now be looked upon as a blessing, were it possible for the very poor to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. because therefore M RX D M 2 R XD. 2 M 2 R X D 0, 2' 0; M = W, == W - M. and therefore and because C therefore C 2 M or, reduced to figures, we should say let O (the number of operatives) (the rate of working or quantity of materials made up by each opera- tive per week R and D (the duration of the labour, or number of weeks' work done in the course of the year then because therefore 1,000,000, 1l., 50; 50,000,000l. 1l. X 50 50,000,000%. (17. X2) × 50 =1,000,000l., 1,000,000 2 500,000, 1,000,000, 50,000,000 × 2 (17. × 2) × 50 and because 200,000,0007. — 50,000,000%. 150,000,000l., = Those who maintain that machinery in the present state of our social arrangements is a good to the labourer are urged to reflect well upon and therefore what is here stated, for it is believed that this one simple fact must force itself upon all un- prejudiced minds-as you save in labour you must either employ a smaller number of labourers or else reduce wages, so as to obtain a greater quantity of materials, and give employment to the same number. To reduce the matter to a for- mula, let C represent the capital of the country, and let this equal M, the gross sum spent on mate- rials, and W the gross sum devoted to the pay- ment of the labourers, then it follows that— M + W, W₂ because C therefore C and therefore C M = 2 M = W M: = therefore 200,000,000%. 50,000,000l. × 2 150,000,000. 50,000,000/ IIence we see, that as the rate of working is increased so must either workmen be thrown out of employment or more money be spent on materials, and the more money there is spent on materials the less there must be left to pay the labourers. I shall return to this subject in the next number of this portion of "LONDON LABOUR," for the economy of labour is the main difficulty of the time. No. 57. [PRICE THREEPENCE SATURDAY, JAN. 10, 1852. No. XI-THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. WGILFON OFFICE, No. 16, & LAIKIS NOLONITIIM YIddn STRA ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. THE whole of the back numbers are now re- printed, and may be had of any newsman or be had of any newsman or bookseller. Some correspondents complain that they occasionally do not obtain their copies of "London Labour" till three weeks after the date. The fault lies with the bookseller or newsman master of the Sabloniere Hotel, Leicester-square, brought over six nuns from Brittany, and hired a they received a few poor old women, whom they house at Brook-green, Hammersmith, in which supported by soliciting food and clothing from the charitable. The establishment has since been transferred to Great Windmill-street, Golden- serving them, as the numbers are invariably pub- square, as larger premises became needful. lished on the day of their date. On the 1st of January, 1852, an extra part was published; so that the subscribers who re- ceive their copies monthly may be supplied up to the current number. This is a necessity of the difference between the lunar and the calendar month; and were any other plan adopted, the price of the parts would be continually varying. Several inquiries have been made for the index Several inquiries have been made for the index and title-page of Volume II.; but it will be seen, on reference to the paging of the alternate num- bers of "London Labour," that two distinct volumes are in the course of publication. Neither of these will be completed for some weeks yet, when the proper titles, indices, and directions to the binder, will be issued. It is proposed to pub- lish, as soon as convenient, an extra part in con- "I should feel greatly delighted if, when your present labours terminate, you would take up the lications of the Society for promoting the welfare cause of the Agricultural Labourers. The pub- of the industrious poor (The Labourers' Friend Society) give ample details of the means by which crime and pauperism have been propagated in the rural districts; but we still want some popular serials on the subject. "The educational establishments and charities of the Moravians, Quakers, and Roman Catholics, and the co-operative industry of the Moravians at Fulneck, Ockbrook, &c., are worthy of notice. "Trusting you will excuse this liberty, "I have the honour to be, "Sir, "Your most obedient Servant, "JNO. A. W." ! Mr. MAYHEW purposes an inquiry into the condition of the Agricultural Labourers at the earliest opportunity. "Sir, "I have lately met with a passage in Jeremy nection with each subject, so that the respective Taylor's Holy Living,' the introduction to the volumes may be made up with as little delay as possible. The following letters, requiring no comment, are printed verbatim, with the grateful acknow- ledgments of the Editor :- "Sir, chapter on Chastity, which seems to me so well suited to be a motto to your publication on Prostitution, that I cannot forbear calling your attention to it. As you may not have the book at hand, I will transcribe the sentences I refer to on the other side. "I am, Sir, "Your attentive Reader and obliged humble Servant, Lincoln's-inn, "Dec. 26, 1851. 'Although brought up, in early life, in the school of Irish Orangeism, and sincerely opposed to many doctrines of the Church of Rome, as I am still more to the nondescript doctrines of the Tractarian party, a sense of justice constrains me to say I think many very unjust charges have Reader, stay, and read not the advices of the been preferred against the English Roman following section unless thou hast a chaste spirit, Catholics; and I am pleased to find you do or desirest to be chaste, or at least art apt to justice, in your work on 'London Labour and the consider whether you ought or no. ih For there London Poor,' both to their zeal and charity, and are some spirits so atheistical, and some so wholly the sense of religion and chastity, which, with all possessed with a spirit of uncleanness, that they their many faults, the poor Irish Roman Catholics turn the most prudent and chaste discourses into for the most part evince in the metropolis. dirt and filthy apprehensions; like choleric sto- machs, changing their very cordials and medicines into bitterness, and, in a literal sense, turning the grace of God into wantonness. They study cases of conscience in the matter of carnal sins, not to avoid, but to learn ways how to offend God and pollute their own spirits; and search their houses. with a sunbeam, that they may be instructed in all the corners of nastiness. I have used all the care I could in the following periods, that I might neither be wanting to assist those that need it, nor yet minister any occasion of fancy or vainer thoughts to those that need them not. man will snatch the pure taper from my hand, "At Hammersmith, the nuns of the Convent of the Good Shepherd, twenty in number, take charge of about eighty professed female penitents, and endeavour to train them in habits of virtue, order, and industry. Of course they sometimes, as may be expected, fail, and meet ingratitude and calumny; but this can only cause surprise to such as are utterly ignorant of the depravity of the poor unfortunates whom they seek to reclaim. I believe the Convent of the Good Shepherd originated some 20 or 25 years ago, with two wealthy French ladies. "Not very long since, Signor Palliano, formerly If any / LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 141 much was originated, and how much was adopted by him. Had his scheme opposed itself wholly to the previous habits of the East, it would never have been so univer- sally or so readily accepted. It is one characteristic of Asiatic countries that wo- men exercise less influence on manners than in Europe. The laws made by men would, in fact, isolate them within a sphere of their own; but agencies which are irresistible counteract this ef- fort. The tendency of social legislation is to shut them out from a share in the go- vernment of society; but the tendency of nature is in the contrary direction. The women of Egypt are naturally adapted for the position in which they are placed-unless we suppose that long disci- pline has subdued them to the level of their condition. They display every at- traction for Mohammedans, with few of the characteristics which fascinate an Eu- ropean. In youth many of them are pos- sessed of every charm-the bosom richly developed, the whole form gracefully rounded, the face full of bloom, and the eyes overflowing with brilliance; but all these beauties speedily fade, and nowhere is old age so unsightly. The figure ap- proaches maturity at the ninth or tenth year, and at fifteen or sixteen has reached the perfection of the Oriental ideal. With rare exceptions they have passed the flower of their lives at 24, and in this short-lived loveliness we may find one cause of polygamy and frequent divorce, among a people with whom women are the mere unspiritual ministers to the senses of The Mohammedan peoples even his heaven with feminine creations destined for his animal gratification. When, there- fore, we find religion itself thus impreg- nated with a gross element, we can only expect to find the female sex regarded in a degrading point of view. The opinion pre- vails with some Muslims, that Paradise has no place reserved for women; but this is by no means the universal idea among them. man. Though by their tame spirits and submis- sive humility the women of Egypt appear moulded to suit the system in which they move, their character has not, on the whole, been entirely vitiated by the process. Mo- desty and virtue are frequent ornaments of the harem, and distinguish the sex through- out the valley. Even among the lower or labouring orders, though the maidens may sometimes be seen bathing in the Nile, or hurrying from hovel to hovel naked, and at all times with a light and scanty gar- ment, a demure and retiring demeanour is | general. Chastity is a very prevalent vir- tue, except in the cities, where a crowded population is immersed in that profligacy surely bred by despotism. With respect to their modesty, travellers appear to have been led astray by their prejudices. Many of them appear to carry among the neces- saries for their journey an English measure of propriety, which they invariably apply to all nations with which they come in contact. Thus the remark is commonly made, that women in Egypt hide their faces in obedience to habit, but care not what other part of the person they expose. Consequently, it is inferred they are devoid of modesty. But this by no means follows. Custom, which is one of the most powerful among the laws which regulate society, has taught them that to display the features is disgraceful, but has made no regulation for more than that. Unless, therefore, we ac- cept the doctrine of innate ideas-which meets a refutation in every quarter of the globe-we must not cite the women of Egypt before the tribunal of our own opi- nions, and condemn them on that charge. On the contrary, we must confess that they are naturally a virtuous race, though the influences of their government are suffi- ciently injurious. Any, indeed, but an ex- cellent people would long ago have been irredeemably depraved. There are, in Egypt, only two classes of females-those whose opulence allows them to be wholly indolent, and whose life is en- tirely dreamed away in the luxury of the harem; and those to whom poverty gives freedom, with the obligation of labour. To see the wife of a bey, to examine her tastes, her conduct, her private pleasures, and daily occupations, you have the beau ideal of a voluptuous woman literally cra- dled in one long childhood, with all the ease, the indulgence, and the trifling of in- fancy. Enter the habitation of a fellah or artizan, and the hardship of the man's lot is exceeded by that of his wife. She has to do all that he can do; but if he be per- sonally kind, her situation is morally supe- rior to that of the petted toy nursed on the cushions of the harem. The same weak- ness, however, is paramount over both. The indolent lady satisfies herself with rich Eastern silks and shawls, and gems of fine water; while the poor drudge of the field adds to her toil, and stints herself in food, to purchase decorations for her person. The polygamy which is practised in Egypt has, more than in many other coun- tries, tended to the degradation of the fe- male sex. It seems to be encouraged in AI 1 } 142 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. some degree by the rigid separation of the sexes before marriage. A man takes with less scruple a wife whom he has never seen when he knows that if she disappoint him he may take another. The law allows four wives, with an unrestricted number of con- cubines. The Prophet, his companions, and the most devout of his descendants, so indulged themselves; but the idea is vulgar which supposes that Mohammed introduced the practice. On the contrary, he found it universal, and was the first to put a check upon it. Some of the higher moralists contend, that as four wives are sufficient for one man, so are four concubines; but few of the rich men who can afford to keep more allow themselves to be influenced by this opinion. The Muslim lawgiver was wiser than the priestly legislators of India; for he in- sulted nature with less peremptory pro- hibitions against the union of sects. A Mohammedan may marry a Jewish or a Christian woman, when he feels excessive love for her, or cannot procure a wife of the true faith; but she does not inherit his property or impart her religion to her off- spring. The children of a Jewish woman, if they are not educated to the Moham- medan, must embrace the Christian creed, which is considered better than their own. In this we find a privilege reserved by the male sex to itself, for a woman of the Pro- phet's faith dare not marry an infidel, unless compelled so to do by actual force. This This has given rise to many apostasies, which form the subject of numerous romances. The degrees of consanguinity within which marriage is prohibited are strictly marked. A man may not marry his mother or any other relative in a direct ascending line; his daughter or any descendant; his sister, or half-sister; his aunt, his niece, or his foster-mother. The Hanafee code enacts that a man shall not take as his wife any woman from whose breast he has received a single drop of milk; but E. Shafæce allows it unless he has been suckled by her five times within the course of the first two years. Nature, in this re- spect, is the principal guardian of the law, for as women in Egypt age very quickly, the men endeavour to obtain more youthful brides. A man may not marry the mother, or daughter of his wife, or his father's or his son's wife; his wives must not be sisters, or his own unemanci- pated slaves-if he already have a free wife. Those women whom the Muslim is forbidden to marry it is lawful for him to see, but no others except his own wives or female servants. | The marriage engagement is merely a civil transaction. The man and woman having declared in the presence of two witnesses their mutual willingness, and part of the dowry being paid, their union is legal. The bride usually signifies her consent through a deputy. If, however, she be under the age of puberty, her assent is not necessary, and she is in the hands of her friends. A boy may also be thus disposed of; but he may divorce his wife if he be not contented with her. Usually, if rich, he neglects the first, and takes a second by way of solace after his disappointment. In one feature of its manners, modern Egypt resembles the States of ancient Greece. The character of a bachelor is ridiculous, if not disreputable. As soon as a youth has attained a proper age, with sufficient means, his friends advise him to marry. His mother, or a professional match-maker, is usually left to choose the bride. When a girl has been fixed upon with his approval, some one goes to her father to effect an arrangement. The price is fixed, with the amount of dowry, and the future ceremonials depend on the resources of the two families. Sometimes a profusion of rites is insisted upon; some- times the simplest agreement is all that is required, for the law exacts nothing but the plain convention we have before de- scribed. The giving of a dowry is, how- ever, indispensable. With all who can afford it, also, the sanction of religion and the witness of the law add solemnity to the occasion. The rich choose it as an opportunity to display the pride of wealth, and the poor to indulge in a little show, with that idleness which is so essential to the happiness of most Asiatics. The condition of wives in Egypt has been much misrepresented by some popu- lar writers, to whom the imprisonment and slavery of women offer a fertile theme for declamation. The word harem, or harim, indeed, meaning sacred or prohibited, applies to the women as well as to the apartments in which they dwell; but considerable liberty is allowed them. Those of the upper classes are secluded, and go veiled in the streets. They are seldom seen on foot in public, and their costume is indi- cative of this detail in their manners. Though, however, they have a suite of apartments assigned to them, they are not prisoners. A few Turks, jealous to exag- geration, may immure the inmates of the harem, and shut them altogether from contact with the world; but, generally, they are allowed to go out, pay visits, and LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR.} 143 control the household. The theory of the ably wrapped in a veil. The utmost kind- Muslims is more rigid than their practice, ness, even in the indulgence of their most which, were it consistent in all its features, trifling whims, is shown to pregnant women. would swathe the female sex with conven- The absence of that sentiment which, ac- tion, as the ancient inhabitants used to cording to English notions, should attach swathe their mummies-until the form of a wife to her husband, is made up by the humanity is lost amid the very devices stronger bond which binds a mother to her which seek to preserve it. To such an extra- child. Upon this all the wealth of her affec- vagant height do some of them carry their tion is bestowed, and in that precious charge ideas of the sanctity of the female sex, that all her soul is centred. This feeling-the their tombs are closed against strangers, most pure and true of any that grow in while others will not permit a man and a the human breast-stands to the woman of woman to be buried in the same grave. Egypt in place of every other. A prover- Generally, however, husbands do not object bial saying expresses the national philo- to their wives mingling with the public sophy upon this subject: "A husband is throng so as they religiously veil their a husband; if one is lost another is to be faces. The lower orders are, of course, the got; but who can give me back my child?" least restrained. Those of the wealthiest To be childless is regarded as a signal mis- and proudest men are most strictly se- fortune, and with those who happen to be cluded; but the interchange of visits barren many devices are employed to re- between the harems is constant. With move the curse. Among these, one of the this degree of freedom the Egyptian most curious is to wash the skin with women are content. Time has trained the blood of an executed criminal. Her them to their situation, until a relaxation fecundity, with her parental care, might in their discipline is viewed less as an be expected to prove itself by a flourishing indulgence than a right. The wife who population; but the blind rapacity and is allowed too much liberty imagines she profligate contempt of human life exhi- is neglected, and, if others are more nar-bited by the tyrants who, in succession, rowly watched, is jealous of the superior have ruled Egypt, have been more than solicitude bestowed on them. Among enough to neutralise the liberality of the rich the harem supplies all the de- nature. lights of life. Rose-water, perfumes, sher- bet, coffee, and sweatmeats, constitute the supreme joys of existence, with precious silks, muslins, and jewels. Among the poor, though reduced to beasts of burden, their buoyant hearts are not depressed under the load, and they sing from in- fancy to old age. Nevertheless their lives are full of misery, but it is the misery of a class, not only of one sex. The Mohammedan is essentially an Epi- curean. In him the object of nature appears perverted. Instead of the animal being made subservient to the intellectual man, the mind is devoted to gratifying the sense. His life is divided between praying, bath- ing, smoking, lounging, drinking coffee, and the gratification of the various appe- tites. Voluptuary as he is, therefore, the opulent Egyptian does not rest content The Muslim woman is proud of her with the four wives allowed him by the husband, and fond of her children. Ex-law. He takes as many concubines as he ceptions undoubtedly occur, in which the warmth of the Oriental temperament takes the form of refined and spiritual love; but these are rare. In their offspring they find the chief resource of their lives. They may become mothers at twelve years of age, and at fifteen commonly do so. They give proof of astonishing fecundity, bear- ing numbers of children, though ceasing at an earlier period than among Euro- peans. That is the critical occasion of their lives, but they who pass it safely often survive to an extreme old age. The manners of the country, render it necessary that midwives only should attend at the accouchement, which is usually easy. When a physician is called in, he must feel his patient's pulse through the sleeve of her garment, while her face is almost invari- can afford. They are all slaves, and are absolutely at the disposal of their master, who may handle, whip, or punish them otherwise as he pleases, and incurs very slight danger by killing one of them. The same regulations as to blood affinity apply to them as to free women. A man when he takes a female slave must wait three months before he can make her his con- cubine. If she bear him a child which he acknowledges to be his own, it is free. Otherwise it is the inheritor of its mother's bonds. She herself cannot afterwards be sold or given away, but is entitled to eman- cipation on the death of her lord. He is not, however, obliged to free her at once, though, if he have not already four wives, it is considered honourable to do so. wife sometimes brings to the establishment A 144 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. a few handmaidens. Over these she has control, and need not, unless she pleases, allow them to appear unveiled in their master's presence; but occasionally we find a wife presenting her husband with a beau- tiful slave damsel, as Sarah presented her bondwoman Hagar to Abraham. Rich men often purchase handsome white girls. Those of the humbler class are usually brown Abyssinians, for the blacks are generally employed in menial offices. Neither the concubine nor the wife is permitted to eat with the lord of the house. On the contrary, they are required to wait on him, and frequently, but not always, to serve as domestics. In conse- quence of this system, a great gulf lies between man and wife. His presence is viewed as a restraint in the harem, which, from all we can learn, is mostly lively and loquacious. Nor is this surprising, when we consider that the harems of aged men are so frequently filled with young girls in the fresh bloom of life, who can never learn to be fond of their husbands. The Egyptian proverb in reference to this is peculiarly apt. It describes an ugly old Turk with some beautiful youthful wives as A paradise in which hogs feed." Ibrahim Pasha introduced into his private apart- ments the amusement of billiards, which at once became a favourite recreation. divorce thee," and returns his wife about one-third of the dowry, with the effects. which she brought at her marriage. He may do this through sheer caprice, without assigning or proving any reason; but when a woman desires to put away her husband, she must show herself to have suffered serious ill-treatment or neglect, lose the share of her dowry, and often go into a court of justice to prove her claim. With the man this is never required, as is indi- cated by the common proverb: "If my husband consents, why should the Kadi's consent be necessary? A widow must wait three months, and a divorced woman three months and ten days, or, if pregnant, until delivery, before marrying again. The latter, in this case, must also wait an additional forty days before she can receive her new husband. Meanwhile her former proprietor must support her, either in his own house or in that of her parents. If he divorce her before the actual consummation of the marriage, he must provide for her more liberally. In case, however, of a wife being rebellious, and refusing to recognise the lawful authority of her husband, he may prove her to have offended, before a Kadi, and procure a certificate exempting him from the obligation to clothe, lodge, or maintain her. Thus she is desolate Though polygamy is not only licensed and without resource, for she dare not go but esteemed, and concubinage unlimited, to another home; but if she formally pro- few Egyptians have more than one wife, mise to be obedient in future, her husband or one female slave. Not more, indeed, must support or divorce her. When a wife than one in twenty, it is said, indulge in desires to be freed from any man's restraint this kind of pluralism, and it is probable and is unable to dissolve the union alto- that concubinage might be almost altoge-gether, she may make a complaint and ther abolished by the suppression of the slave trade. At present the markets are continually supplied with girls kidnapped in various countries, and these are some- times stripped and exposed naked to the purchaser's inspection. Satisfied as he generally is with one wife, the Egyptian Mohammedan is not by any means remarkable for continence. He may content himself with a single woman, but he may change her as often as he pleases, a privilege which is contin- ually abused. The facility of divorce has had a most demoralising effect upon Egyp- tian manners. A man may twice put away his wife and take her back without ceremony. If, however, he divorces her a third time, or deliberately unites in one act the effect of three, he cannot take her again until she has been married and divorced by another husband. The manner of divorce is suf- ficiently simple. The husband says, "I || obtain a licence to go to her father's house. In that case he, through sheer spite, generally persists in refusing to divorce her. Sometimes a man with a disagreeable mother-in-law quartered upon him, puts away his wife in order to be rid of both. The slightness of the marriage tic, and the case with which it may be severed, leads, as we have said, to a profligate abuse of the power thus assumed by the male sex. Numbers of men have, in the course of their lives, 10, 20, 30, or even 40 wives. Women, also, have as many as a dozen partners in succession. Some profligates have been known to marry a woman almost every month. A man without property may pick up a handsome young widow, or divorced woman, for about 10s., which he pays as dowry. He lives with her a few days or weeks, and then divorces her with the payment of about 20s., to support her in the interval during which she is prohi- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 145 other intoxicating liquor, they soon laid aside even the affectation of modesty, and scenes took place like those with which the priests defiled the temples of India. Many of the women who thus degrade themselves are exceedingly beautiful. As a class, indeed, they are described as the handsomest in Egypt. They are distin- guished, by the peculiar caste of their countenances, from all other females in the country, and there can be little doubt that they spring from a distinct race. They boast themselves of the Barmecide descent, but this is impossible to be proved. It has been conjectured that they are the bited from marrying again. Such conduct,, however, is regarded as disreputable, so that few respectable families will trust a girl with any man who has put away many wives. The crime of adultery is laid down by the law as worthy of severe punishment. Four eye-witnesses, however, are necessary to prove the fact, and the woman may then be stoned to death. From the secluded nature of their lives,' and from the nature of the offence itself, it is rarely that such testimony is to be had. Cases, therefore, scarcely ever occur before the public courts. Heavy and ignominious penalties are denounced against witnesses who make these charges and fail in the proof. Un-lineal, as well as the professional descend- married persons convicted of fornication may be punished by the infliction of one hundred stripes, and, under the law ac- knowledged by the Sumrh sect, may be banished for a whole year. Egypt has in all times been famous for its public dancing girls, who were all pros- titutes. The superior classes of them formed a separate tribe or collection of tribes, known as the Ghawazee. A female of this community is called Ghazeeyeh, and a man Ghazee. The common dancing girls of the country are often erroneously confounded with the Almeh-Awalim in the singular-who are properly female singers; though, whatever some authorita- tive writers may assert, they certainly practise dancing, as well as prostitution, especially since the exile of the Ghawazee. They perform at private entertainments, and are sometimes munificently rewarded. The Ghawazee, on the other hand, were accustomed to put aside their veils and display their licentious movements in public, before the lowest audience. The evolutions with which they were accus- tomed to amuse their patrons were com- monly the reverse of elegant. Commencing with decency enough, they soon degene- rated into obscenity, the women contorting their bodies into the most libidinous pos- tures. The dress was graceful, but exposed a large portion of the bosom, and was fre- quently half thrown aside. The Ghawazee sometimes performed in the court of a house or in the open street; but were not admitted into the harems of respectable families. A party of men often met in a house, and sent for the dancers to amuse them. Their performances, on such occa- sions, were more than usually licentious, and their dresses less decent. A chemise of transparent texture, which scarcely hid the skin, and a pair of full trousers, was frequently all that covered them. Drink- ing copious draughts of brandy or some ants of those licentious dancers who exhibited naked-as these sometimes do— before the Egyptians in the age of the Pharaohs. Some imagine that the dancers of Gade, or Cadiz, ridiculed by Juvenal, were the prototypes of the modern Gha- wazee; but it has been supposed, with more reason, that the Phoenicians intro- duced the practice thither from the East, where profligacy flourished at the earliest period. It has been the pride of the Ghawazee tribes to preserve themselves distinct from all other classes of the population, to intermarry, and thus to perpetuate their blood unmingled. A few have re- pented their mode of life, and married respectable Arabs; but this has not often occurred. They never among themselves took a husband until they had entered on a course of prostitution. To this vena call- ing they were all trained from childhood, though all were not taught to dance. In this community of harlots, it is singular to find that the husband was inferior to the wife; indeed he was subject to her, per- forming the double office of servant and procurer. If she was a dancer he was generally her musician, and sat by quietly tinkling upon a stringed instrument, while she, his wife, exposed her person in the most indecent attitudes, and by every voluptuous artifice endeavoured to seduce the spectator. Profligacy never assumed a more infamous form than that of the husband assisting at the daily adultery of his wife. Some of the men earned a liveli- hood as blacksmiths or tinkers. Many of them, however, were rich, and the women, especially, were possessed of costly dresses and ornaments. The Ghawazee generally followed the kind of life led by our gipsies, whom some, indeed, have traced to an Egyptian origin. Many, but not all, of the wanderers of this nation in the Valley of the Nile, ascribe Į 146 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 A f to themselves a descent from a branch of the same family from which the Ghawazee claim to have sprung; but both traditions rest on doubtful testimony. The ordinary language of the Ghawazee is similar to that in use among the rest of the Egyptian population; but like all other unsettled, wandering tribes, they have a peculiar dialect, a species of slang, only intelligible to themselves. Most of them profess the Mohammedan faith, and they were accus- tomed to follow in crowds the pilgrim caravans to the sacred shrine at Mecca. Every considerable town in Egypt for- merly harboured a large body of the Gha- wazee, who occupied a distinct quarter, allotted entirely to prostitutes and their companions. Low huts, temporary sheds, or tents, formed their usual habitations, since they were in the habit of frequently transplanting themselves from one district to another. Others, however, occupied and furnished handsome houses, trading also in camels, asses, and grain; possessing nume- rous female slaves, upon whose prostitu- tion they also realized much profit. They crowded the camps and attended the great religious festivals, and on these occasions the Ghawazee tents were always conspicu- ous. Some joined the accomplishment of singing with that of the dance. The inferior Ghawazee women resembled in their attire the common prostitutes of other classes, which also swarmed in Egypt. Many of these also, who were not Ghawa- zees, took the name, in order to increase the gains of their calling. | the whole male population of Egypt. The Ghazeeyeh made it a rule never to refuse the offer of a person who could pay any- thing. The fashionable dancer, therefore, at country fairs, though glittering with golden ornaments, and arrayed in all the beauties of the eastern loom, would admit the visit of any rough and ragged peasant for a sum not exceeding twopence. In this manner, by seizing whatever was offered to them, they often accumulated wealth, dressed in superb attire, rich embroidery of gold, with chains of golden coins, and solid bracelets of the same costly metal. In many instances, when the Ghazeeyeh had lost or divorced her former husband, and become opulent upon the profits of her venal calling, she married some village Sheikh, who was proud of his acquisition. A virgin Ghazeeyeh was never induced to forsake her hereditary profession; but when she formed such an alliance, she made a solemn vow on the tomb of some saint, to be true to her new partner, sacri- ficed a sheep, and was generally faithful to her sacred engagement. It was not only in the more populous cities and districts of Lower Egypt that the Ghawazee pursued their double call- ing of dancer and prostitute. Those in the Upper country were equally addicted to that immoral calling, and were, in pro- portion, equally encouraged. Even in the small villages a company of them was usually to be found, glittering in finery of gaudy colours, unveiled, and clothed only in those light transparent garments in which the members of the same sisterhood are represented on the monuments—a loose chemise of gauze, a scarf negligently hung about the loins, and loose trousers of the most delicate texture. Their dances were exhibitions of unrestrained indecency, attitude, look, and movement being equally lascivious. They also sang and played on the viol, lute, tambour, lyre, or casta- net. The common prostitutes of the meaner class excelled them, at least in the affectation of modesty. Many of the Ghawazee, however, appear sensible of the degradation to which they are consigned. The system of marriage, to which we have slightly alluded, is worthy of more particular notice. The man who married à Ghazeeyeh was a low and despised crea- ture. The saying is proverbial in Egypt, that "the husband of a harlot is a base wretch by his own testimony." The law among the Ghawazee was, that a girl as soon as marriageable must prostitute her- self to a stranger and then take a husband. He is constantly employed in looking for persons to bring to her, himself cohabiting with her only by stealth, for she would be exposed to shame and made the object of ridicule were it known that she had ad- The dance of the Ghawazee was, to the mitted her own husband to her embraces. Egyptians, what an opera ballet is in Eng- Polygamy is unknown among the Ghawa-gland-the representation of some episode, zee. In that community, indeed, as it existed previously to the edict of 1835, we find a system exactly the reverse of that in the midst of which it existed. The birth of a male child was looked upon as a mis- fortune, since he was of no value to the tribe. Women, on the contrary, were precious, because they were sought after by nearly generally of love. Formerly there was, near Cairo, a little village called Shaarah, the Eleusis of modern Egypt, where the mystical rites of Athor were, until re- cently, celebrated. It was a collection of small mud huts, distinguished from those of the common people by superior cleanli- ness and comfort. Numbers of the Ghawa- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR, 147 zee dwelt here, and when Mr. J. A. St. John visited their abode, came out to meet him, dressed in elegant attire, with a profusion of ornaments. All were young -none were more than twenty, many not more than ten years of age. Some were exceedingly handsome, while others, to an European judge, appeared quite the reverse. In this village lived a considerable number of the Ghawazee. The greater part of their lives was passed in the coffee-house, where they lounged all day on cushions, sipping coffee, singing, and indulging in licentious conversation. In the great room a hundred might assemble, and here they were visited by the profligates of Cairo, to whom the village of Shaarah was a regular place of resort. In the towns they frequented the common coffee-houses, and in the smaller hamlets up the valley, they wandered all day among the dwellings, or reclined on benches in the open air until a boat with travel- lers appeared on the Nile, when they im- mediately hurried down to the shore and commenced their lascivious songs. The Arabs have the reputation of being ex- tremely profligate, and when on their journeys never visited a city or village without paying a visit to the Ghawazee quarter. Indeed, the manners of the popu- lation have been debased under every vicious influence. A despotic government, an epicurcan religion, and the spirit of indolence thus engendered, have encou- raged among the men every species of crime against nature. The corruption which brought a curse on the Cities of the Plain is emulated in the cities of Egypt. When Burckhardt wrote, about 1830, the number of males and females of the Gha- wazee nation in Egypt was estimated at from 6000 to 8000. Their principal settle- ments were in the towns of the Delta in Lower Egypt, and, in the upper country, at Kenneh, where a colony of at least 300 generally resided. The scattered companies generally formed a great concourse at Tanta, in the Delta, at the three annual festivals, when a vast multitude was col- lected from all parts of the valley. Six hundred Ghawazee have on such occasions pitched their tents near the town. During the reign of the Memlooks, the influence of these women was, in the open country, very considerable. Many respectable per- sons courted their favour. They were accustomed to dwell in the towns until the brutality of the soldiers-who some- times killed one in a fit of jealousy-drove them into the rural parts. At each of their chief places of sojourn one was in- vested with the title of Emir, or chief of | | In the settlement. She was entitled to no authority over the rest, yet exercised much influence by virtue of her dignity. Cairo itself their number was small, and they inhabited a spacious Khan, or hotel, "In a city," says overlooked by the castle. Burckhardt, "where among women of every rank chastity is so rare as at Cairo, it could not be expected that public prostitution should thrive." This is a harsh judgment on the character of the Caireen females, and, according to the accounts of most travellers, it is unjust. Before Mohammed Ali, instigated by the priests, made his awkward crusade against the Ghawazee tribes, the public prostitutes were put under the jurisdiction of a magis- trate an aga, or captain of the dancing girls. He kept a list of them, and exacted from each a sum of money by way of tax. He also acted as a censor on the general morality of the people. One of these agas took upon himself an extension of his ju- risdiction, and whenever he found a woman, no matter of what class, who had been guilty of a single act of incontinence, he added her name to the list of common pros- titutes, and extorted the tax from her, unless she could offer him a sufficient bribe, and thus escape the infamy. Nor was this all. To gratify private revenge, he sometimes inserted in his list the names of respectable ladies; but was at length detected and punished with death. When- ever a party of Ghawazee was engaged, they had to pay to their chief a sum of money and procure his permission to dance. This practice was pursued by persons who farmed the tax, until Mohammed Ali was smitten by a sudden reverence for morals, and made an attempt, characteristic of his vulgar genius, to abolish the profligacy of Egypt. In June, 1834, a law was pub- lished compelling the Ghawazee throughout the country to retire from their profession. It is said that the Moolahs, or Muslim bishops, objected to them, not on account of the impurities they practised, but be- cause it was a scandal that women belong- ing to the race of true believers should expose their faces to infidels for hire. An agitation was raised on the subject; a storm of sacerdotal rage assailed the pa- lace; and the viceroy, priest-ridden, ba- nished all the dancers to Esneh, 500 miles up the Nile. There they were herded toge- ther, with a small stipend from govern- ment to keep them from starvation. The effect of this truly barbarian device was just what might have been expected. The profligacy, which had been chiefly confined to them, broke out in other classes, and 148 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } demoralization advanced several steps fur- ther. It is said that the Moolahs repent their policy, since some additional burdens have been laid on them to make up for the loss of revenue. Under the old system, when all the known prostitutes paid a tax, the amount contributed by those of Cairo alone was SOO purses, or 40007., which was a tenth of the income-tax on the whole popu- lation. This will suggest an idea of the numbers in which they existed. The Ghawazee formed the chief element in this system of prostitution, and Mohammed Ali imagined that with one stroke of the pen he could obliterate this blot on the social aspect of Egypt-he who had so worn him- self out with licentious pleasures that his physicians had to persuade him to disband an army of concubines which he had kept | at the expense of his miserable people. At once prostitution was denounced as a crime. The Ghazeeyeh daring to infringe the new law was condemned to fifty stripes for the first, and imprisonment with severe labour for the second, offence. The punishments of these and of all other women were illegal, according to the code of the Prophet. It has, however, been a blessing to the Mo- hammedan population of the East that their great lawgiver left his frame of legis- lation, for, invested with the authority of religion, it has been some check on the caprice of tyrants. kind is given, it is usual to choose for the scene a lonely house in the outskirts of the city, surrounded by a garden with a high wall. There, with the windows veiled, par- ties meet, and the dancers are introduced. Women with children at the breast come sometimes to take part in these abominable orgies; but do not usually, unless excited by the men, develop all their powers of licentious expression. Occasionally a party of soldiers breaks in on the forbidden revel, and the girls are carried off to prison, where stripes, or, perhaps, sentences of ba- nishment, await them. There are, however, in Egypt consider- able classes of women solely devoted to prostitution, who practise none of the ac- complishments in which the Almeh and Ghawazee excel. Among them is a pecu- liar tribe called the Halekye, whose hus- bands are tinkers or horse and ass doctors. They wander about the country like gip- sies, and most of the women engage in prostitution. Prostitutes of the common order swarm in all the cities and towns of the valley. In and about Cairo they are par- ticularly numerous, whole quarters being inhabited exclusively by them. Legisla- tion is powerless to suppress their calling. Their dress differs from that of the other sorts of women only in being more gay and less disguising. Some even wear the veil and affect all the airs of modesty. Many are divorced women, or widows, or The men, also, who were detected encou- wives of men whose business has obliged raging the Ghawazee were made liable to them to go abroad. The wives of many of the punishment of the bastinado. Legal the Arabs, if neglected for a short time, enactments, however, cannot purify the slide easily into prostitution. When Ibra- morals of a whole community. Prostitu-him Pasha was away on the expedition to tion was abolished by law, but remained in practice as flagrant as ever. The Egyp- tians borrowed a device from the Persians. When a man desires to have intercourse with a woman of the prostitute class, he marries her in the evening and divorces her in the morning. The dowry he pays her is no more than she would receive were this transaction not to take place. She dare not apply for the usual stipend to maintain her afterwards. Even these con- nections are often kept entirely secret. The dancing has been more successfully suppressed, for many of the performances were public; but the Europeans, as well as the rich natives, frequently indulge by stealth in the prohibited amusement. The Almehs, at least since the banish- ment of the Ghawazee, dance, and prosti- tute themselves, as well as sing-though their name implies neither practice, mean- ing simply "learned or accomplished wo- men." When an entertainment of the Syria, it was said that on his return the soldiers would find all their wives cour- tezans; but this, of course, was a satire. Numbers of the common prostitutes in Cairo have been accustomed to sell pigeons and other birds in the different bazaars. Hence has arisen a proverb, that a person who marries in the bird-market must di- vorce his wife next morning. We find in these popular sayings many indications of the features which mark the system in Egypt. We have some in allusion to the shouts and disorderly conduct of persons issuing from the brothels in the morning, and others describing the career of the prostitutes themselves. "The public wo- man who is liberal of her favours does not wish for a procuress.' "If a harlot repent she becomes a procuress.' "" One reason assigned for the practice of early marriages is, the proneness of the young men to be seduced by prostitutes. It is only just, however, to observe, that in TABLE XVII. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE AMOUNT OF FEMALE AND MALE CRIMINALITY IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. † denotes above the average, * below it. COUNTIES. Average Female Popula- Number of Female Criminals in each year. Cambridge Bedford Berks... Bucks Chester tion, 1841-50). 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 Criminals in Ten Years. Female Criminals per year, 1841-50. Male Criminals a Average No. of per year, 1841-50. Average No. of every 100,000 of No. of Female Female Popula- Criminals in Total Female tion. No. of Male Cri- minals in every 100,000 Population. of Male Percentage above Average of Fe- male Criminals. Percentage above and below the and below the Average of Malc Criminals. Percentage above and below the male to Male Criminals. No. of Female every 100 Male Criminals to Criminals. Average of Fe- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMI- NALITY AMONGST MALES, AS SHOWN FE- BY THE NUMBER OF FEMALE CRIMINALS IN EVERY Cornwall Cumberland Derby Devon Dorset D Durham Essex.... Gloucester Hereford Hertford Hunts Kent Lancaster Leicester Lincoln. Middlesex Monmouth Norfolk Northampton Northumb.-.. Nottingham 49 Oxford • Rutland Salop Somerset Southampton .. Stafford Suffolk Surrey Sussex Warwick Westmorland Wilts..... 65 . Worcester. • York North Wales ·· South Wales .. 11 62,711 36 22 201 15) 201 21 17 22 97,708 45 55 43 44 42 55 37 43 521 39 455 45.5 268 71,732 20 23 31 17 25 21 22 21 27 16 223 22.3 266 90,985 29 33 28 42 34 20 44 32 34 441 202,190 195 171 170 147 139 183 197 209 169 184 181,137 61 67 75 56 62 67 78 68 69 46 95,503 39 39 38 401 37 36 37 341 36 43 126,025 21 26) 34 33 28 47 24 25 27 25 291,683 171 194 177 151 184 184 206 226 224 193 89,738 46 34 42 41 331 35 51 53 61 38 184,931 46 57 58 65 40 55 61 72 45 82 166,108 82 85 99 89 75 89 65 75 641 64. 214,544 193 221 224 198 178 190 204 188) 188) 148] 48,828 64 49 45 38 39 34 52 52 44 45 84,914 35 34 24 27 301 21 28 30 29 231 29,181 7 8 10 15 19 14 12 18 15) 10 294,029 161 183 147 156 151 161 171 182 200 167 963,338 927 947 847 689 698 826 882 902 819 950 115,991 56 69 55 56) 30 61 49 37 38 41 188,477 74 100 86 92 71 78 106 87 91 72 926,007 869 989 980 948,1102 1118 1176 1223 945 882 78,528 63 51 53 77 41 46 67 64 78 97 216,652 112 127 117 127 101 120 143 78 100 89 103,642 45 25 38 341 47 41 321 38 24 38 145,749 54 52 66 77 46 43 50 44 61 83 579 57.9 144,171 38 43 51 42 45 64 33 37 31 436 43.6 82,461 46 48 52 37 441 43 41 35 34 31 411 41.1 256 11,774 6 4 7 3 3 4 7 10: 4 2 122,035 80 75 89 841 73 48 62 65 61 236,337 172 166 136 160 143] 150 141 145 159 134 190,379 102 127 124] 93 115 94 137 115 120 120 285,566 179 190 197 175 161 188 221 176 189 193 165,775 77 801 68 92 66 77 82 57 76 76 74 332,838 212 236 177 194 215 200 316 278 275 237 163,028 61 81 83 69 86 93 83 92: 101 83 226,989 168 157 177 119 144 119 144 163 179 199 142 162 28,814 9 91 10 6 7 8 4 6 9 8 122,359 65 57 57 52 60 86 124,766 75 102 104) 87 121 105 128 116 112 109 850,625 331 380 375| 323 290 294 351] 344 347 321 200,096 60 56 48] 45 49 47 68] 65 63 62 288,612 93 79 84 117 84| 91 127 145 134 151 203 19 20.3 166 32 284 *48.4 4.4 11 *52.2 100,000 OF THE FEMALE 47 276 *24.2 † 1.5 17 *26.1 POPULATION. 31 384 *50'0 +41.2 8 *65*2 Counties above Counties below 340 34.0 232 37 258 *40·3 * 5.2 14 *39·1 1764 1764 722 87 373 +40'3 +37.1 23 * the Average. 649 64.9 217 35 128 *43'6 *52.9 27 +17.4 Middlesex.. 110 3791 37.9 95 40 104 *35.5 *61.8 38 +65.2 Hereford. 94 Kent 290 29.0 235 23 189 *62.9 *30.5 12 *47.8 Gloucester 90 the Average. Southamp. Salop... 60 1910 191-0 596 31 227 *50*0 *16 5 14 *39·1 Lancaster 88 Sussex 4 • 434 43.4 210 48 253 *22.6 * 7·0 19 *17.4 Chester 87 Norfolk. 581 58.1 232 31 126 *50*0 *53*7 25 + 8.7 Worcester.. 85 Wilts... 787 78-7 559 48 336 *22.6 +23.5 14 *39-1 Monmouth 81 Oxford 50 1932 193*2 875 90 453 +45.2 +66.6 20 *13.0 Warwick 71 Essex... 48 462 46.2 187 94 382 +51.6 740·4 24 † 4·4 281 28.1 267 33 321 *46*8 +18.0 10 128 12.8 69 45 240 *27.4 *11.8 1679 167.9 792 57 272 * 8·1 8487 848-7 2635 88 287 +41.9 † 5.5 31 492 49.2 342 42 306 *32*3 +12.5 857 85.7 398 46 210 *25*8 *22.8 10232 1023-2 3244 110 398 +77.4 +46.3 12227228 Surrey 70 Dorset 48 *56.5 Stafford 65 Berks · ► J 19 *17·4 Somerset 61 Lincoln 46 • * 8.7 +34.8 Suffolk Hunts. D 14 *39.1 * 44 +21.7 637 63.7 232 81 271 +30 6 * 0·4 30 +30.4 1114 111*4 607 51 299 *17.7 + 9.9 17 *26.1 362 36.2 259 35 252 *43'6 * 7·4 14 *39.1 177 40 127 *35.5 *53.3 31 +34.8 289 31 209 *50*0 *23.2 15 *34.8 Leicester Rutland.. York .... Northumb. Cumberland 40 S. Wales ... Cambridge Cornwall SAS88AAAAAAUPANJS 45 45 42 40 38 37 35 50 307 *19'4 +12.9 16 *30*4 Northamp. 35 50 5.0 28 42 235 *32.3 *13.6 18 *21.7 Hertford 33 59 696 69.6 293 57 242 * 8·1 *11.0 24 + 4·4 Bedford 32 1506) 150 G 751 64 347 + 3.2 †27.6 18 *21.7 Devon 31 1147 114.7 555 60 297 * 3·2 † 9.2 20 *13.0 1869 186.9 851 65 289 749 74.9 436 45 273 £27·4 4.8 † 6.2 22 * 4·4 *27.4 † 0.4 16 *30.4 Durham Bucks. 31 Nottingham 31 31 2340 2340 806 70 266 +12.9 * 2.2 26 +13.0 N. Wales 28 832 83.2 409 52 259 *16.1 * 4.8 20 *13·0 1610 161.0 799 71 367 +14.5 +34.9 19 *17.4 Westinor. Derby 28 23 76 7.6 39 28 136 *54.9 *50*0 21 * 8.7 59 78 47 626 62.6 394 51 330 *17.7 +21.3 15 *34.8 1059 105.9 506 85 422 +37.1 +55.1 20 *13.0 3356 335.6| 1587 40 190 *35.5 *30.1 21 * 8.7 563 56.3 233 28 119 *54.9 *56.3 13 *43.5 1105 110.5 368 38 132 *38'7 *51.5 29 †26.1 Average for England and Wales 62 |5200|5569|53404993 land & Wales 52575930 401/5265 Total for Eng-8,648,371 5200 5569 5340 4993 4962 5257 5930 5763 5401 5265 53680 5368 0 22474 ■ The average number of Male Criminals has been arrived at in the same manner as that for Female Criminals, but the table itself is reserved for another place. 62 272 23 MAP No. XV. MAP SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF FEMALES IN EVERY 100,000 OF THE FEMALE POPULATION, IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Northumberland 40 Cumberland 40 28 Durham 31 Westmord DI *** The counties printed black are those in which the number of Criminal Females is above the average. The counties left white are those in which the number of Criminal Females is below the average. The average is taken for the last 10 years. Somerset 64 Devon Salop Stafford 57 94 S,Wales Hereford 38 81 Monr 8 Worces 90 VizWarwick Gloucester 50 Oxford Leicester 42 (12 Rutland Northampton 35 Bedford 32 N.Wale's 28 8.8- Lancaster York.40 Chester 87 Derby 23 65 31 Nottingham Lincoln 46 31 Bucking Hertford Norfolk,51 Cambridge 33 37 45 Suffolk 48 Essex { Wilts 51 Berks 47 110: Middlese 31 Hants 60 70 Surrey Kent 57 Dorset 48 Sussex. 52 Cornwall .35 The Average for all England and Wales is 62 in every 100,000 of the Female Population. " >> "} Middlesex (the highest) Derby (the lowest), 110. 23 " CHINESE WOMAN (PROSTITUTE), ACCUSED OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT BEFORD A JUDGE. (From ALEXANDER's Illustrations of China.) } י LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 149 Alexandria, though it is considered the refu- gium peccatorum of the Mediterranean, the European community has preserved itself to an unusual degree uncontaminated by the general corruption of the male population. The women of Egypt, as we have already observed, are, in point of morals, far supe- rior to the men. They are generally silly and childish, because they are treated as soulless creatures and children; but, on the whole, their character is not so de- graded by unnatural vices as that of their male rulers. These generally are coarse voluptuaries, in whom little except the animal appetite is developed. We perceive in Egypt the illustration of some signal truths. We find there the proper fruits of Oriental despotism; we see the results of a vulgar barbarian attempt to reform public morals. We witness also the influence of its position upon the character of the female sex. Women in Egypt have been made by their social laws what the originator of those laws considered them to be the mere servitors of man. In the prostitute system of the country we discover some singular features, which contribute to render modern Egypt, in relation to our actual subject, one of the most interesting regions in the East. The Christian population we do not notice, be- cause it is composed of fragments of races which will be noticed in their proper countries*. OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE STATES OF NORTHERN AFRICA. A VERY brief notice is all that is required by the other States of northern Africa. They are distinguished from the barbarous communities of that region by having assumed the forms of regular society, which places them under a separate head, but, in relation to our subject, they present little that is characteristic. In describing the condition and morality of the female sex in other Mohammedan countries we | shall meet with nearly all the features offered by Algiers, Barca, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli. Nevertheless, on account of the extraordinary mixture of the popula- tion, some curious details are observed. Turks, Christians, Arabs, Jews, Berbers, and Moors mingle in the cities of those States. The last, however, form the mass, and it is to them our remarks must apply. The Moors of northern Africa possess all the vices, and scarcely any of the virtues, of the Mohammedans of the East. They are proud, ignorant, sensual, and depraved, without any of that high spirit of honour which often, in the oriental Muslim, half redeems his character. The treatment of women among the Moors answers exactly to this view. They are regarded as the mere material instru- ments of man's gratification. Accordingly their whole education is modelled so as to render them fit to serve the lust of a gross sensualist. Among the more elevated na- tions of Asia, men sometimes tire of their wives' company, because they are simple beauties, without animation of mind, seek- ing the society of educated courtezans, more for their wit and vivacity than for their meaner and more material accom- plishments. But, with the Moors, the animal appetite is all that they seek to satisfy. A woman with daughters does not train them in seductive arts; she feeds them into a seductive appearance pigeons and doves are fed in certain parts of Italy. They are made to swallow daily a number of balls of paste, dipped in oil, and the rod enforces their compliance. This practice is adopted as well by the inmate of the rich man's harem as by the courtezan; for to be plump, sleek, and fair, are the objects of their common ambition. A girl who is a camel's load is the perfec- tion of Moorish beauty. Thus intellect and sentiment are not the possessions to recommend her, but fat. as It is strange that the woman's character does not correspond altogether with her mode of life. Heavy, corpulent, and sen- sual, she is, nevertheless, alive to the keenest feeling. Hot impulses, untame- able in their outbreak, characterize her Album ; sex. * Lane's Modern Egyptians; Poole's English- woman in Egypt; Yates's Egypt; St. John's Egypt and Mohammed Ali; St. John's Egypt and Nubia; St. John's Oriental Cadalvene and Breuvery, l'Égypte; Mugin's Histoire de l'Égypte; Burckhardt's Arabic Pro- verbs; Expédition Française à l'Égypte; Niebuhr's Travels in Egypt, &c.; Thackeray's From Corn- hill to Cairo; Warburton's Crescent and the Cross; Bayle St. John's Levantine Family; Henniker's Travels; Minutoli's Recollections of Egypt; Boaz's Modern Egypt; Clot Bey's Aperçu Général sur l'Égypte ; Pueckler Muskau's Egypt and Mehemet Ali. veins of the women were full of milk; but Rivarol once said, that in Paris the in Berlin, of pure blood. Pananti says that in the Moorish woman fire is the cir- culating fluid. Fiery hearts, indeed, are general among the women of the East; and are as remarkable in Egypt as in Morocco, where Oriental passions seem to spring from African soil. Immured as the wives of rich men are 150 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } } in splendid harems, and rigidly excluded from intercourse with the other sex, they seek their whole enjoyment in the gratifi- cation of their passions or their senses. Their time is spent at home, or at the bath, lounging on cushions, sipping coffee, smoking, gossiping, or multiplying the devices of the toilette. The Moors are extravagantly jealous. Some have been known to slay their women before proceeding on a long journey; others have forbidden them to name even an ani- mal of the masculine gender. They are, therefore, entirely shut up within the walls of the harem; muffled under mountains of ungraceful black drapery as they move along the streets; or secluded from the sight of the world in the impenetrable recesses of the bath. There they exhaust all the inge- nuity they can command in the perfuming and decoration of their persons. Many have wondered why women thus prevented from displaying themselves should be so untiring in the offices of vanity. The reason, however, is clear. In the Moorish harem all that a wife or con- cubine has to look to is the favour of her lord. If she succeed in charming him, her lot is far more happy than under any other circumstances. Besides, it is not only to please him that she labours. The morti- fication of her rivals is an additional source of triumph, for in the narrow sphere of the harem, where the nobler qualities of the mind have no room for development, the meanest naturally flourish most profusely. The marriage laws of Mohammedan countries in general prevail in the Barbary States, with slight modifications. The husband has more absolute control over the wife. Few take more than one, though polygamy is universally allowed. Opulent men, however, sometimes indulge in the full complement of four, besides a number of concubines. Though the betrothal usually takes place at an extremely early age, the actual union seldom takes place until the bride is twelve or thirteen, when, as a poet of Barbary expresses it, "The rose-bud expands to imbibe the vivifying rays of love. An extensive system of professional prostitution prevails in all the cities of these States. In Algiers and Morocco they are particularly numerous. The low drink- ing shops are crowded with men, and the loose characters of the town have each a companion who is a harlot. The public dancers all belong to this sisterhood. They exist in large numbers and are very much encouraged by both sexes. The women in the baths, after steeping their bodies in | warm water until every nerve is relaxed, and all their limbs are softened into a voluptuous languor, lie on cushions and sip coffee, while dancers, attired in a slight costume, display their licentious arts, and Almeh sing songs equally lascivious. These prostitutes are of various classes, from the low vulgar wretches, encouraged by the French soldiers in Algiers, to the wealthy courtezans who live amid luxury and splendour. A late traveller was introduced by a friend to “ a Moorish lady." She occupied a fine house, situated, however, in a narrow and retired street. Its architecture was rich, and on the door being opened, signs of wealth became everywhere apparent. The visitor was ushered into a spacious apart- ment, roofed with graceful arches, and hung with rich-coloured silks. A lamp burning amid piles of freshly-gathered flowers, stood on the table. Reclining on a luxu- rious divan, with a tiger-skin spread at her feet, was a woman of extreme loveliness, attired in a superb costume. Though of a fair and brilliant complexion, her hair was jet black, braided with curious art and bound up with strings of pearl. Its heavy tresses were partly concealed by a tiara of crimson, figured with gold. Diamond drops hung from her ears; corals and gems sparkled round her neck. A garment, of a fabric almost transpa- rent, was folded over her bosom, and fas- tened with a golden ornament. A loose pelisse of blue brocade, confined at the waist with a cymar of embroidered silk, displayed the contour of her figure, and full trousers of muslin were furled about her limbs. Her cheek was tattooed with a blue star, and her nails were stained pink with henna. She was waited upon by a negro girl wearing a white muslin turban ornamented with a rose, the leaves and stem of which were gilded. Elegant in her manners, easy in her mode of address, this woman appeared to the uninitiated traveller the model of feminine grace. When he took his leave, however, his friend unde- ceived him, with an apology, and he dis- covered that he had been conversing with a Moorish prostitute. This sketch of a woman, belonging to the class, may serve to show the extent to which some of them are encouraged. In- deed the society of the dancers, who are all prostitutes, is a favourite recreation with the Moors of all classes. The women, as we have said, belong to various grades, from those who debase themselves by their obscene postures in the low coffee-houses, to those who display their more elegant LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 151 licentiousness to amuse the wealthy. A man, entertaining a party of friends, sends for a company of dancers to enliven them in his kiosk or pavilion. There, amid the fumes of tobacco, and sometimes of strong liquors (for the precepts of the Koran are often disregarded), these unhappy women descend from ordinary immodesty to the most de- grading obscenity, until the orgies become such as no pen could describe. When the master of the feast is particularly delighted with the beauty or the dexterity of any girl, he performs a favourite act of gallantry by dropping a few golden coins into her bosom. The whole company is liberally rewarded *. OF PROSTITUTION IN ARABIA, SYRIA, AND ASIA MINOR. IN whatever countries the Mohammedan religion has been established, to describe the condition of women would be generally to repeat the accounts already given. Their character varies in different populations, but everywhere the laws to which they are subject are substantially the same. In Syria and Asia Minor the marriage code is, among the Muslims, precisely simi- lar to that of Egypt and Turkey, and so also in Arabia. In Natolia, especially, the influence of the Prophet's law is powerful, and the comparative simplicity of its in- habitants leads them to respect the boun- daries laid down to their indulgences. Possessing within their own country all the materials of prosperity, they might, with virtue and industry, become once more a powerful and wealthy race; but misgovernment adds yearly to the mass of their corruption, and they perish in misery and servitude. In such countries ambition sees no path but that of reckless crime, and mental ac- tivity only stimulates to sensual pursuits. Accordingly profligacy flourishes in the cities of Asia Minor, though in the thinly- peopled tracts there is perhaps more purity of manners than in any other Mohammedan country, except Arabia. Polygamy, per- mitted as it is by the law, is far from being generally adopted. In 1830, the extensive city of Brussa contained only a single man who had more than one wife. Women are secluded to some extent, but enjoy great freedom. Loved and indulged they are, but not respected; and, consequently, their * See Kennedy's Algeria and Tunis in 1845; Russel's Barbary States; Jackson's Account; St. Marie's Visit to Algeria; Pananti's Narrative; Beechey, Blaquière, &c. morals are inferior to those of the Bedouin wives. The Christians, who are so freely tole- rated among the Mohammedan population of Asia Minor, preserve very much the customs of Europe, except in the lesser details of their life. In the rich provinces of Syria, Arabs, Greeks, and Ottomans have mingled, bringing each some characteristic habits to modify the general social scheme. The pastoral and the Christian tribes are by far the most moral. Among the Maronites of Lebanon, who hold our faith, a rigid code exists, with purity of manners; but, as among the ancient Germans, the severe law is only the moral influence in action. The law, without the feeling which upholds it, would be powerful; which constitutes the differ- ence between a community which frames its own code according to its own spirit, and that which receives decrees from the caprice of a ruler. If a man among the Maronites seduce a girl, he must marry her; should he refuse, fasts, imprisonments, and even blows are employed, which force him to submit. The illicit intercourse of the sexes, married or unmarried, is repro- bated by the sense of the community, and the profession of prostitution is unknown. On the whole, this may be described as a simple and comparatively innocent race, removed above the profligacy which fer- ments around them. The Druses, also, are distinguished by the same characteristics; they do not per- mit polygamy, and marry very young. A man may divorce his wife, however, by only saying, "Go;" or if she ask permission to visit her relatives, and he concede it, with- out enjoining her to return, she must con- sider herself put away. In spite of this facility such separations scarcely ever occur. An adulteress is mercilessly put to death by the hands of her friends. One who commits fornication suffers a similar punishment, but in this case the father may pardon her if he choose. The tender- ness of the parent sometimes induces him to spare his child, though her guilt may stain the honour of his house; but brothers, it is said, never relent, visiting the sin of their sister with unsparing sternness. Prostitutes and dancing girls are com- mon in all the cities and towns of Syria, but they are never met with among any of the pastoral or nomade tribes. In Asia Minor and Palestine the same circumstance is to be observed. There is little to remark upon in the habits or characteristics of the class, which is similar to others of the same sisterhood 152 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 ! 1 in Egypt, Turkey, and other parts of the East Since, therefore, little could be gained by dwelling at length upon these countries, we quit them, and pass to a region which, if the spirit of romance still remains on earth, may be described as its chosen home. In Arabia we find a system of manners at once unique and beautiful. In saying this, however, we allude to the Bedouins, or representatives of the true Arab race, who preserve their original simplicity in the rainless plains of their ancient country. In the cities of the coast, and wherever the fertility of the soil has attracted a crowded population, vice has introduced itself, and the graces of the shepherd state have quickly disappeared. În surveying the civilization of “Arabia this distinction must always be held in view. Many natural circumstances combine to influence the natural character of the Arabs in their native region. A country whose sunny and sandy plains alternate with tracts of hills and valleys of the richest bloom, has been their home. In the mountains of Yemen wet and dry seasons alternate, but over the desert hangs a sky of perpetual blue,-bright, dry, and warm; while, during the summer solstice, a sun almost vertical floods the waste of rock and sand with insufferable light, parching the face of all nature. In this extraordinary region the Arabs live; some, as we have said, in cities or villages, some in separate families, under tents. An independent patriarchal form of government has been preserved in com- plete unity with their simple system of manners. Their religion is that of Mo- hammed, though various interpretations of his law have divided them into numerous sects. Differing, as they do, in their scheme of education from Europeans, it is difficult for us to understand their character. The boy grows up until five years old under his mother's care; then, without a graduation, he is taken to his father's side. From the companionship of women and children he passes at once into the society of men. The Arabs hold the female sex in high estimation. They exclude women, indeed, from all public assemblies, preclude them from the use of strong liquors, and hold them from infancy to womanhood under tutelage; but they restrain themselves as * The most valuable body of information on the Turkish Empire ever published was collected by the Rev. Robert Walpole, whose acquirements as a scholar are equalled by his accomplishments as a writer and a preacher. well, and their general demeanour is mo- dest, sober, and grave. Those in the fertile province of Yemen are more vivacious than those of the sterile plains. Nevertheless the men love society. Every village has its coffee-house full of gossipers, and every camp its place of rendezvous. The women of the family occupy the interior of the house or tent; they are secluded to some extent, but not in the extravagant degree described by some writers. A man will not salute one in public, or fix his eyes upon her. Strangers, in general, are not allowed to converse with them, and they are expected to pay great deference to the ruling sex, but they are neither disguised nor immured. Veils they wear, but do not hide their faces with that religious care considered indispensable in some countries. Among many of the tent-dwellers, women drink coffee with strangers; and in some of the communities towards the south they are allowed to en- tertain a guest in their husband's absence. Indeed it may be said, that they are in Arabia more free than anywhere else in Islam, and proverbially abstemious in the gratification of all their appetites. All the household duties are performed by them. They fetch water, drive flocks, and wait on the men; but they are loved and respected, notwithstanding, and no claim is held so sacred as that by which a mother exacts duty from her son. There is, indeed, some- thing admirable in the simplicity of these desert tribes, where the wife sits within her husband's tent, weaving her own gar- ments from the wool of his flocks. Where several families are congregated, the females visit each other, assemble toge- ther, and exchange every pleasant service. They meet in the evening to sing to the young men of the tribe, and many romantic assignations are kept in the little secluded valleys in which Arabia abounds. The well is the favourite spot of rendezvous. The dances of the Arab girls, who per- form before the men, are not only decent but elegant and romantic-totally in con- trast to those of the Ghawazee. These amuse- ments are as much for their own gratification as that of the other sex, for sometimes no males are present. Nor are they forced to exhibit when disinclined. Sometimes when the young men have offended the maidens of a tribe, they assemble night after night, but no damsels appear to dance or sing. All this indicates considerable purity of manners. The Mohammedan marriage law prevails among all the Arabs of the peninsula, though its details are modified by their system of manners. A man is LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 153 ५ expected, though not compelled, to take | the widow of his deceased brother. A man has an exclusive right to the hand of his cousin, but is not compelled to marry her. He, however, must finally renounce his claim before she can be taken by any one else. Each may have four wives and as many concubines as he pleases. Two sisters may not be had at once; but one being divorced, the other may be taken. The disparity between the sexes in point of number, which has been asserted by some travellers, does not appear to exist. Poly- gamy, a privilege of the rich, is seldom practised even by them. Many wealthy Bedouins, who could well maintain a harem, declare they could not be happy with more than one companion. The law obliges a man to pass at least one night in every week with each of his wives, and this has assisted in checking the practice. The Mohammedans of Arabia are accused of selling their daughters; but they do not often bargain them away for profit. They naturally prefer a wealthy before a poor son-in-law, and receive a bounty from him; but they richly portion out the bride. She is further endowed by her husband. The contract drawn up before the Kadi stipulates not only what she is to receive upon her marriage, but what she may claim in case of a divorce. In many cases a sheikh of substantial fortune takes a poor son-in-law, gives him the sum necessary to be paid before the judge, and exacts from him in return only a pledge of such an amount, in the event of repudiation, that it can never take place. The wife, not being compelled to vest all her property in him, is, in some measure, free from his authority. She is, indeed, more supreme in the house- hold than in most countries, and is even more happy, because she can insist upon a divorce if ill-used. Some men, indeed, take two wives, and some even three, but these instances are so few that, though the sexes are numerically equal, almost every man may have a wife. In the towns, soldiers and domestics are more frequently married than in Europe. No insult wounds an Arab woman more than to compare her to a fruitless tree. In this way the evils of polygamy, in the cities, are counteracted. A maiden past the marriageable age is ashamed of her virginity, and a widow without children is miserable until she finds a new partner. There are no retreats whither celibacy may fly for refuge from the taunts of the world. Every woman, consequently, is desirous to marry; but those who are taken by pluralists bear fewer children than those who have no rival under the roof. In the house of a polygamist, each woman, feeling she has to contend for favour, seeks by unnatural means to increase her own attractions, to seem more voluptuous than she is, and thus injures her natural powers. Concubinage is more common than polygamy. The sheriff of Mecca has numerous female slaves, and his high example is followed by many wealthy men in the luxurious and corrupt populations of the cities. In the desert it is more rare, and, indeed, scarcely ever practised, except where a father pre- sents his son with a beautiful bondmaid, that he may be satisfied with her, and not | enter the towns in search of prostitutes. In Mecca, the sacred city of the Moham- medan faith, nearly all the wealthy men maintain concubines, but, if they bear children, must, unless their complement of four wives be already complete, marry them or incur public reproach. Some of these voluptuaries, who look on women only as a means to gratify their animal appetites, marry none but Abyssinian wives, because they are more servile, obsequious, and voluptuous than those of pure Arabian blood. Foreigners arriving at that city with the caravan bargain for a female slave, intending to sell her at their departure, unless she bear offspring, in which case she is elevated to the position of a wife. Under any circumstances, to sell a concubine slave, is by the respectable part of the com- munity, regarded as disreputable. Specu- lators, however, sometimes buy young girls, indulge their sensuality upon them, train them up, educate them, and sell them at a profit. No distinction is made among the children, of whichever class of mothers they are born. It is one sign of pure manners among the simple communities of Arabia, that chastity is highly prized. When the young Arab marries a girl, he sometimes stipulates in the contract that she must be a virgin. Of this he desires to assure himself by examination. If the outward signs are wanting, the bride's father has to prove the circumstance accidental; should he fail in this, the fame of her innocence may be destroyed, and she may be driven from home overwhelmed with shame. In many of the nomade communities it is the inva- riable rule to put away a bride immediately after the discovery of any suspicious sign, and in the hills of Yemen the laws are equally severe. The man who marries a woman disgraced by incontinence shares her infamy unless he send her back to her father. The dwellers in towns, estimating less 154 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. >> highly the worth of feminine virtue, laugh at a man who dishonours his family on account of such a circumstance. A man finding that his bride is not a virgin de- mands compensation from her father, keeps her a short time, and then puts her away privily, as Joseph was minded to do with the mother of Jesus. Many also under- stand that nature has refused the sign to some females, and that it is unjust to condemn a woman on the strength of a circumstance which a hundred accidents may have caused. If adultery be com- mitted by the wife, the law condemns her to have her throat cut by the hand of her brother or father; but in general humanity prevails against the written code, and this horrible punishment is seldom inflicted. The usual manner of visiting such an offence is by summary divorce, which is indeed easily to be obtained for trivial causes, or for no cause at all. In towns an agreement before the Kadi, in the desert a lamb slaughtered before the door of the tent, is all the ceremony needed. The simple pronunciation of the word "Go is, in many parts, sufficient. Men of violent passions abuse this privilege, and it is said that some, not more than 40 years of age, have had as many as 50 wives; but it is utterly untrue to say that such instances are frequent. The existence of the pure and true sentiment of love, which is so rare in Mohammedan countries, is admitted to prevail in Arabia; the natural jealousy of the male sex, the superior wisdom of their regulations respecting the intercourse of the sexes prior to marriage, the indepen- dence of the women, and the lofty system of morals distinguishing the Bedouins of the desert, are totally incompatible with such a flagrant profligacy in the use of divorce. Were it the case, the com- plete confusion of society would ensue; whereas no region in the world presents spectacles of happier homes than the plains of Arabia, with their tents and wandering tribes. Women are comparatively free, being tolerated even in religious dif- ferences, which implies a high estimate of their intellectual qualities. The repub- lican spirit of the desert assigns them, in- deed, their natural position, and, though much is required from them as modest women, little is exacted from them as an inferior sex. Some of the peculiar customs among the various communities of Arabia are curious enough to require notice. Before the Wahaby Conquest it was customary among the Deyr Arabs for a man to take his daughter, when marriageable, to the market-place-where all such engage- ments were formed-and proclaim her for disposal, crying aloud, “Who will buy the virgin?" The Bedouins of Mount Sinai still adhere to their singular practices. A man desiring matrimony makes a bar- gain with some one who has an unmarried daughter, and if able to settle it, sticks in his turban a sprig of green, which signi- fies that he is wedded to a virgin. The bride's inclinations are not beforehand consulted. She must go home with her husband, and submit for one night to his embraces. If she be not pleased, however, she may in the morning go home, when the contract is dissolved. Among the wealthier tribes of the East, no price is paid, and every girl is free to choose a partner. Modesty, with them, is regarded as the finest grace of the sex. It is genuine and unassailable. The bride even is some- times so coy, that her husband is obliged to tie her up and whip her before she will yield to him. A widow's marriage is dis- reputable, and assailed with every demon- stration of disrespect. This proves that divorce among them is unfrequent. Among the Nazyene, a tribe on the peninsula of Sinai, a girl, when given in marriage, flies and takes refuge among the hills, where she is supplied with food by her relations. The bridegroom goes in search, and when he finds his bride, must pass the night with her in the open air. She may repeat the flight several times, and indeed is not expected to live with her husband until a whole year has elapsed or she has become pregnant. Various other customs characterise different tribes; but in every feature of Arabian manners we discover a simplicity and purity as admirable as it is rare. Conjugal infidelity is rare in the desert. Fornication scarcely ever happens, and common prostitutes are unknown. In the crowded towns on the coast, however, there are numbers of professional prosti- tutes, licensed to carry on their calling, who pay considerable sums to the magis- trates for the enjoyment of their privileges. In Mecca they are extremely numerous, and for the most part inhabit the poorest quarter of the city. In Dhyrdda, also, they are extremely numerous, but the population of that place is almost exclu- sively foreign. These women bear scarcely any children. When, during the early years of their vocation, they are capable of producing offspring, they employ arti- ficial means to ensure abortion. The seeds of the tree whence is obtained the balm of Mecca, are used for that purpose. In the mosques of the sacred city, pros- 4 155 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. titutes collect in great numbers, and are connections, since they offer to bear to largely encouraged by the Moolah or priestly wealthy pilgrims children, who are con- class, who find them a source of profit.sidered as born under a fortunate auspice. Those of the more indigent description in- habit a particular quarter, but the others are dispersed amid the general mass of the population. They are more decent in their outward demeanour than the same class in the East and in Europe, and it requires a practised eye to detect, amid the throng of veiled women circulating in the streets and bazaars, those of the venal sisterhood. Con- trary, however, to the rule which prevails in England, they are almost the only females who frequent places of worship, which is on account not of their devotion, but of their effrontery, the prejudices of Mohammedans being against it. The Bedouins near cities sometimes frequent the brothels in their neighbourhood; but these belong to the class the manners of which have been vitiated by intercourse with strangers. In what numbers the prostitutes of the Arabian cities are found we know not, nor do we discover anything remarkable in their manners or modes of life. It would, con- sequently, be unprofitable to dwell on them. We have to notice, however, in connection with Arabia, two remarkable customs, one of which exhibits to us a class of male prostitutes, if such a term may be allowed, and the other a species of hospitality, now very rare, except among the grossest com- munities. In the Arabian province of Hedjaz no unmarried woman may pass within the boundary or enter the mosque. As, how- ever, many rich old widows and persons whose husbands have died by the way arrive with every pilgrim caravan, some device is necessary to procure them admis- sion without breaking the law. A number of men, therefore, live in the frontier towns, who, upon the arrival of every concourse, hire themselves out to the women, marry them, live with them while they pass through the sacred territory, receive a munificent sum for their services, and are then divorced. If one of these individuals chooses to insist on keeping the wife he has procured, she cannot help it; but such an act would be attended with great discredit and the loss of a very profitable occupation. Eight hundred men are sometimes employed as temporary husbands, and a number of boys are continually trained that they may inherit the calling. On the various roads to the shrine of Mecca congregate a num- ber of women, with somewhat of a sacred character attached to them. They are prostitutes, but not indiscriminate in their Among the Merehedes, on the frontiers of Yemen, a custom far more revolting has existed from ancient time, and still prevails. A stranger arriving as a guest is com- pelled to pass the night with the wife of his host, whatever her age or condition. Should he succeed in pleasing her he is honourably treated. If not, she cuts off a piece of his garment, turns him out into the village, and leaves him to be driven away in disgrace. When the Wahabis conquered the Merehedes, they forced them to abandon this odious practice; but some misfortunes ensuing to the tribe, they were all imputed to this sacrilegious infringe- ment of an ancient law. The custom was therefore restored. Some other female of the family, may, however, be substituted for the wife, but young virgins are never sacrificed to this barbarous hospitality *. OF PROSTITUTION IN TURKEY. In THERE is one general system of manners pervading the Mohammedan world. examining, therefore, the moral aspects of the various countries in which the religion of the Prophet is established, we find little in each to distinguish it from the rest. In Turkey exists the same civilization as in Egypt, though its population is more cor- rupt. 25,000,000 souls inhabit a region which would support twice as many, and yearly the work of decay is going on. The Osmanlis, a race of Scythian extrac- tion, have held Turkey during 400 years, re- ceiving, however, large infusions of Persian and Mongolian blood. The wealthier people their harems with the beauties of Georgia and Circassia; the humbler intermarry with Servians, Bulgarians, Albanians, and Greeks, so that the original physical characteristics of the race have been greatly modified. Their moral nature has changed also, but in a less degree. Proud, sensual, and depraved in their tastes, they are too indo- lent to acquire even the means of gratify- ing their most powerful cravings. Their pride is satisfied with the recollection of hardt's Travels in Arabia; Burckhardt's Notes on * Niebuhr's Description de l'Arabie; Burck- the Bedouins, &c.; Chesney's Euphrates Expe- dition; Farren's Letters to Lord Lindsay; Perrier's Syrie sous Mehemet Ali; Skinner's Overland Journey; Kinnear's Cairo, Petra, and Damascus; Kelly's Syria and the Holy Land; Walpole's Memoirs; Poujolat's Voyage en Orient; Ainsworth's Travels in Asia Minor; Blondel's Deux Ans en Syrie. 156 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. former glories; their lust looks forward to the enjoyments of paradise, crowded, as they believe, with celestial creatures de- voted to the delight of their senses. Im- mersed in an atmosphere of epicurean speculation, the Turk whom poverty does not compel to labour for his bread passes the day in lounging on cushions, smoking, sipping coffee, winking with half-closed eyes on the landscape, dreamily indifferent to all external objects. Even the poor indulge in this idleness. They measure out the amount of labour sufficient to keep them from want, and spend the rest of their lives drowsily awaiting the sensual bliss promised them by their prophet in heaven. During this lethargy passions more violent than are known to Europeans sleep in their breasts, and when these are excited, the Turk cannot be surpassed for brutal fury. All his ideas are gross. He is able to imagine no authority not armed with whip or sword. Moral power is to him an incom- prehensible idea. It is, perhaps, for this reason that the Osmanlis have conquered so much, and possessed so little talent for governing what they acquired. This notice of the Turkish character is necessary, because it corresponds exactly with their estimation of the female sex. The person alone is loved. Intellect in a Turkish woman is a quality rarely deve- loped, because never prized. It is no part of her education to learn to read or write. To adorn herself, to dress in charming attire, to beautify her face, to perfume her hair, and soften her limbs in the bath or with fine ointments, is the object to which she applies her mind; and when, thus deco- rated, she lounges on a pile of cushions in the full splendour of her costume, her delight is some spectacle which will stimu- late her passions and intoxicate her with excitement. Turkey is thus the empire of the senses. Polygamy, authorized by the Prophet's code, is not now so frequently resorted to as formerly. It is growing into disrepute, and the female sex, upon which the laws re- lating to property have conferred much independence, are generally averse to it. Men marrying wives equal in rank to them- selves frequently engage in their first marriage contract not to form a second, and the breach of this agreement is viewed as a profligate abuse of manners. The practice of polygamy was once, however, very prevalent among the higher orders, and contributed much to corrupt as well as to diminish the population. In the families of those Mohammedans who indulge in a plurality of wives, the children are fewer | than in those of the Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, to whom polygamy is not permitted. The offspring of married women, also, in the middle ranks of life is more numerous than in the wealthier harems. Indeed, the sex in Turkey is naturally prolific; but the growth of the nation has been checked by this among other causes. To account for the origin of the practice in Turkey many ingenious theories have been framed. It appears easy, however, to find its origin. The men are naturally sensual, and have never been accustomed to respect the fe- male sex. When, therefore, an individual's wealth allowed him, he naturally made use of it to multiply the sources of that animal enjoyment, dearer to him than any other earthly pleasure. Some have supposed that polygamy was necessitated by the nu- merical disparity of the sexes; but this does not seem the case. In those cities and towns where the women are in greater numbers than the men, we find that they are purchased in large numbers from the neighbouring villages or in the markets, to furnish the harems of the opulent. The social code of Turkey requires a woman to preserve herself in strict seclu- sion. The privacy of her apartments is so great that, unless on very rare occasions, no male is allowed to enter them except the master of the house. There are only certain days of the year in which a bro- ther, an uncle, or a father-in-law can be admitted, or on festive occasions, such as a birthday or ceremony of circumcision. The usages of the country do not even permit a man to see his wife before mar- riage. In this respect the Turks are more jealous than their written law, for the Prophet advised his friend to obtain a glimpse of the woman whom he designed to receive into his bed. She may gratify her curiosity by seeing him, but such an occurrence is not frequent. This severe separation of the sexes has given employ- ment to a class of professional match- makers, who, as in China, make consider- able profits by their calling, and often gain money under fraudulent pretences. beauty and temper of the woman are ex- aggerated to the man, who, on the other hand, is described to the lady as possessed of every heroic qualification. They are mutually deceived; they rush into a mar- riage, and perhaps in a few days a divorce is required. Children of three or four years are sometimes betrothed, and married when they are fourteen. This interference of the parents leads often to evil results, for the youth, who is forced to accept his father's choice, sometimes hates his bride > The ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. and hold it to the devil, he will only burn his own fingers, but shall not rob me of the reward of my care and good intention.' JEREMY TAYLOR." The following contains much truth, and evidences not only good feeling, but nice observation :- “Sir, "Considering it the duty of every well-dis- posed person to render you every assistance in their power, however trifling that may be, in your endeavour to investigate the habits and mode of life of the prostitute class, with a view to the mitigation of this giant social evil, I take the liberty of mentioning a few facts which have come under my own observation, as a young man living in London, and having for some ten years seeu more or less of the class in question. < "We must all agree with your remarks on the letter of W. G., Jun., published in No. 47. He saw and heard nothing more than what every man who walks the streets of this town after dark must see and hear, but I fear much, even from his own narrative of the girl's story, that he was imposed upon. The tale is an old one, and what in the slang of the fast men would be called the officer dodge,' and I think had W. G. made the same inquiries of a dozen different women in the Casino, he would have heard the same story repeated, of course with variations, several times; at least I have myself; but it is quite impossible to place reliance on one word these women say, at all events until you have known them for some time, and had the opportunity of judging for your- self what degree of confidence can be placed upon their word. I have found them, without a solitary exception, utterly regardless of the truth in their assertions; but this cannot be wondered at. < "While on the subject of W. G.'s letter, I would call attention to the girl's words, I have had no Bible these four years,' merely to remark that I have been surprised at the number of cases in which I have found Bibles, Prayer Books, and other serious works in their rooms, and I may say the almost total absence of indecent prints and books. It is true some of the dress lodgers' and French women' make use of the allurement of pretty pictures,' &c., to induce young men to accompany them home; but I believe, in most cases, they would be disappointed when they got there, as none would be forthcoming. Lying, swearing, and drinking, are the three common vices of the prostitute, and from these or some of them none of the class are altogether free; they begin with their first fall, and lead to every other vice; but obscenity or indecency of language or action I do not think, on the whole, general amongst them, and kindliness of feeling and atten- tion to one another in case of illness exist, I think, to a considerable extent, where not interrupted by jealousy, or the ill-will springing from a sense of rivalry. "I am led to think that superstitious ideas are more than usually prevalent amongst them, and that they are, in a great measure, the support of the fortune-tellers and so-called astrologers, who haunt the low neighbourhoods in and about London. "A woman to whom I recently spoke on the subject, told me she had been to most of these fortune-tellers of any 'note,' either alone or with other women, and had seen as many as a dozen 'gay women' waiting to have their for- tunes told; that cards were usually used for the purpose, and the fee varied from 1s. to 2s. 6d. Others have told me much to the same effect, generally adding that they did not believe a word told them, but still-sometimes something came true, and—in short, they went again. "If I recollect rightly, there is in the then rather celebrated Tom and Jerry; or, Life in London,' published many years back, a print of two courtezans having their fortunes told by an old woman. "If this be so, what reason can be given? Is it that these poor creatures, their hearts not entirely deadened, seeking for some hope in the future, take refuge in the miserable tissue of falsehoods and absurdities uttered by these women? "I have already trespassed too long on your time, and can only plead as an excuse, the wish to be of the slightest use to you; and if the publication of any part of this letter on the wrapper of your periodical induces other young men to communicate to you the results of their observations, I think it may be of some little service, as it is the experience of those by whom the class is supported, and by the majority of whom, I verily believe, the system is as much detested as it is by, Sir, "Your obedient Servant, "E. J. B." The next treats of the causes and remedies of prostitution. - "Sir, "In whatever light we may view the fearful increase of female criminality, we are equally baffled in our endeavours to find a remedy for so overwhelming an evil. The refined morality of the present day is not calculated to arouse and set in motion the higher and more virtuous feelings of human nature, but rather to produce a lethargic and inactive spirit of false pride and exclusiveness inimical to the best interests of humanity. If we look at the social position of women, the estima- tion in which they are held by the opposite sex, their treatment and helpless condition from infancy upwards, the limited choice of a profession, and the scandalous remuneration for their services, and last, but not least, the almost worthless educa- tion they receive, so ill-adapted to the requirements and bitter realities of every-day life,—how many of us, with natures less susceptible and confiding, placed in their position, would have fallen! To mitigate this crying evil we must raise women socially and physically, we must find a legitimate sphere of action adapted to their moral and physical capacities, and remove every obstacle and* unjust oppression, in the unjust oppression, in the way of living honourably and respectably in their several callings or pursuits. For we must bear in mind that few would choose ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. a life that must bring ruin and disgrace upon them, and be but of short duration, were they not impelled to it as a last resource to escape aggra- vated distress and sometimes utter destitution. "I am, sir, with much esteem, "Yours respectfully, "A. C." The subjoined is from a former correspondent, treating of the same subject :- Sir, CC London, Nov. 14, 1851, "I have been encouraged to accept your kind request to hear again from me (see your remark upon my letter of the 6th inst., published in No. 49 of your excellent work upon London Labour,') in | the hope that it may induce others, more able than myself, to take up the various branches of the causes of prostitution, and thereby contribute to the suppression of that evil which it is the purpose of your work to expose and put down. In my last I attributed dress and love of gaiety' as some of the antecedents on seduction, and I quoted the frequenting of casinos and theatres, &c., as giving openings for the seduction of the daughters of small tradesmen and of me- chanics of the better sort. "It is quite true, as you say, that girls fre- quenting casinos must either have been seduced or be of a seducible disposition: with regard to the latter, too many are to be found amongst the class I then alluded to, and can it be wondered at! Children of small tradesmen and mechanics are generally comparatively uneducated, and their religious duties are very little impressed upon them. Now in my opinion nothing tends more to form a seducible disposition' than the want of moral education, and if parents allow their unedu- cated daughters to walk out with 'sweethearts,' or 'young men,' as they are called, and attend such places, it is, I think, not at all surprising that they fall a prey to the seducer. my "I may instance a case which came within own knowledge, of two sisters, aged then about 16 and 17 years of age respectively, who were allowed to go out in the way before described. They some years ago went to one of those nui- sances called a fair, near Camberwell, entered a dancing booth with their 'young men,' and what between dancing, refreshments, and amorous dal- liance, when they left the fair they did not return to their parents' house till after they had been persuaded to sojourn on the way, viz., at a brothel. One of these girls keeps a brothel now, and the other is in 'splendid misery,' living with a gentleman. Now, in this case had the parents done their duty (and they could afford to look after their girls), such a misfortune would not, perhaps, have occurred; and if there were not such openings as dancing-rooms, fairs, &c., permitted, many girls in a similar class as the two above alluded to might be in a respectable position in society, and, instead of being the seducers of youth and inex- perience, might have been the promoters of virtue and honour. “I fear that I have intruded too much upon your patience at this time, and shall conclude by wishing you every success in your endeavours to expose and lessen the prostitution in London. "J. B." The last communication tells one a tale of deep suffering and misery. Mr. Mayhew will be happy to furnish any subscriber who may desire a tutor for the French, German, or Dutch languages with the name of the writer of the following:- 'Sir, a “A young man, of highly respectable family, takes the liberty to address you a few lines. Perhaps you may consider it bold of me, respected Sir, I am so free to write to you, but the most dreadful distress makes me resolve to use those means. I am a native of Holland, and am born of Jewish parents. I had the privilege to get a most excellent education, and it pleased the Lord to let me come, eight year ago, to the conviction of the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world. I was baptized February 17th, 1850, at Liverpool. I returned March 4th, 1850, to Holland, but was there so dreadfully persecuted by all my relations and the whole mass of the Jews, that I was obliged to fly, so that I went to New York. There I was till December 4th of last year, but I suffered also there the most dreadful privations. I arrived December 26th at Liverpool, and February 28th at London, and should have undoubtedly been admitted into the Hebrew College or Jewish Operative Con- verts' Institution, but for illness. I am now established as Professor of Languages, but all my endeavours have till this time shipwrecked in getting a living. I am literally without bread, and exposed to the most dreadful hunger and cold. cold. I am every day on the point of being turned out by my landlord, as I owe this gentle- man already 17. 14s. I happened to see your work' London Labour and the London Poor, and as I saw how much you do for suffering mankind, I made bold enough to address you those lines. Believe me, highly respected Sir, no trouble will be too great for me to get an honest living, and wherever you might think fit to place me in, all will be accepted by me with a thankful heart, and I shall always remember you have saved me from my ruin. In name of humanity, in name of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and beseech you to help me in the one or other way, and you will not only have the satisfaction of having saved an unhappy young man of starv- ation, but also of having rendered him to human society. In the hope you may do something for me in the one or other way, I sign most respectfully, "Your obedient Servant, "S. M. B." "I am ready to furnish very high references, if required." The letters of the "City Clerk City Clerk" and the "Commanding Officer" will be printed in the next number of "Those that Will Not Work." Letters from A. B. (on Garden Allotments) and G. H. (Lincolnshire) have been received, and shall be printed as soon as possible. No. 58. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, JAN. 17, 1852. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. G VE MEGN OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. } I RETURN to the consideration of the effects of machinery, or economy of labour, upon the condi- tion of the labourers. In No. 56 it was demonstrated that in the present arrangement of society it was physically impossible that machinery in the abstract could benefit the labourer. To perceive this clearly and unmistakeably, we have but to imagine the mechanical appliances carried out to the utmost, and all manual labour super- seded, with the exception of such as is needed to keep the machines in repair and construct new ones, for even the tending of them appears to be an imperfection which superior science may ultimately remove, as we have already had self-acting steam-engines which supplied their own boilers and fed their own fires. All that the labourers are at present required to do, is to convert the capitalists' materials into commodities; and if this can be done by mechanical power instead of manual, surely there can be no necessity for work- men; and when human operatives are rendered obsolete, will capitalists consent to feed them any more than they feed horses when displaced by the railway? A new element has been introduced into society within the last century—a labourer of brass and iron, one that knows no fatigue, and, consequently, requires no rest; one that cannot possibly strike," or refuse to do his master's bidding; one that requires only coals and water, instead of bread and beer, to set him working. Six hundred millions of these steam-labourers have been created within the last 75 years; they have been made to compete with creatures of flesh and blood, and the consequence is, that the human labourer is being driven out of the field. The steam-engine gets his share of the wage- fund, it should be remembered; the capital that formerly went to find the muscular man and his family in bread, and to reinvigorate his frame, now goes to supply the steam man with fuel, and to pay for wear and tear. Those who are pleased with puzzles can amuse themselves by inventing some form of society in which the steam-engine and other mechanical contrivances for superseding human labour shall confer an equal amount of benefit upon the labourer as upon the capitalists. This is the great problem that requires to be solved. A Liverpool correspondent justly observes, that by the invention of a particular machine a vast amount of labour, which was formerly profitable to the community, becomes unprofitable, and therefore is not employed, and we consequently might just as well employ the labourers in digging holes and filling them up again, or build- ing houses and knocking them down again, or any other useless occupation, so long as the same wages were paid for the unprofitable as for the profitable employment. If we can, by means of a machine, sweep the streets with 100 instead of 400 men, then, argues he, to employ the extra 300 is to waste so much labour. There is no gainsaying this point. But surely this wasting of labour regards only the capitalists, or the possessors of the entire stock of the country; to get this stock converted into commodities with as little / The "Are labour as possible, and, consequently, at as little cost as possible, is the greatest possible good to them, seeing that the same capital under such circumstances yields them a greater number of products. But how about the labourers? That which is the greatest good to the possessors of the stock is the greatest evil to the labouring class-—— those who possess nothing, and merely live by working up the materials of the others. less labour there is required, and the less that is paid for it, the less, of course, they have to live upon. Hence we perceive that the unpro- fitable employment of workmen who would other- wise be unemployed, though the greatest evil to the capitalist class, is no evil at all to the labour- ing class, seeing that without it they could obtain no portion of the riches of the country. you," says T. A. of Liverpool, "in favour of the community finding unprofitable employment for the surplus labourers, and paying them for the same?" Here we see that the general term com- munity is used simply for the capitalist portion. of it, and, consequently, the unprofitable em- ployment of the surplus labourers must be ad- mitted to be an evil, if regarded solely in that light; but it must also be admitted to be a good if con- sidered with regard to the labourer; seeing that if it does not tend to increase the stock of riches, at least it does to distribute them, and distribution is often as great a good as production. But what moral right have we to deprive a number of labourers of their only means of living? The good of the community, is the "economical" answer. But in the case of railways, and improvements which are regarded as national benefits, we do not allow a private wrong to be done for a public good. Com- pensation is required to be made to every indivi- dual injured by the improvement. In the case of labour, however, we know no "rights of property." A man may have been all his life acquiring a cer- tain kind of skill which a particular mechanical contrivance may render utterly valueless, and what recompense has he? Did he possess a park, a house, or even a business, and this had been in the least damaged by some projected public benefit, the amount of injury done would be valued by a jury of conscientious men, and adequate recompense awarded. The labourer, however, is beggared without a single voice being raised in his favour. His labour has, in the struggle to live, been rendered superfluous, and he may maintain himself as best he can. There is the workhouse open, for as yet economists do not admit the right of the " 'community" to wring the necks of the superseded labourers; and since the law of the kingdom still declares that every man, if unable to maintain himself by his own industry, is entitled to live upon the wealth of others, it is clear, if you deprive a la- bourer of the power of living by his labour, you must be prepared to keep him as a pauper. But supposing every inventor of a machine that super- seded a particular class of labourers was bound to make the displaced workmen a yearly allow- ance out of the profits, by way of compensation to them-even if such an arrangement were in any LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POORpoor361 . . (C am assured, extravagant. One of the smaller sweepers, but a prosperous man in his way, told me that he knew a master sweeper who was as rich as Croeser, had bought houses, and could not write his own name.' 11 We have now but to estimate the amount of capital invested in the chimney-sweepers' trade, and then to proceed to the characteristics of the men. 1200 machines, 27. 10s. each (pre- sent average value) 3000 sacks, 2s. 6d. each 25 horses, 201. each 25 sets of harness, 21. each 25 carts, 121. each • Bnt masters, and from 2d. to 3d. by the single-handed sweepers in some cases; indeed, the poorest class will sweep a flue for the soot only. the prices charged for sweeping chimneys differ in the different parts of the metropolis. I subjoin a list of the maximum and minimum charge for the several districts. Kensington and d. s. d. Hammersmith 4 to 3 0 434 London City Shoreditch d. s. d. 6 to 2 6 863 Bethnal Green.. 3 Whitechapel.... 4 و, 1 0 * £ Westminster 20 ( 3000 Chelsea ... 2 6 1 6 385 St. George's, St. George's in Hanover-sq. 6 3 6 the East and 500 St. Martin's and Limehouse 3 1 0 50 St. Ann's... 4 26 Stepney. 3 1 6 St. James's, West- 4 2 U 300 minster... 3 "> 26 Marylebone • 3 2 0 · ** "" £4235 It may be thought that the sweepers will require the services of more than 25 horses, but I am assured that such is not the case as regards the soot business, for the soot is carted away from the sweepers' premises by the farmer or other pur- chaser. It would appear, then, that the facts of the chimney-sweepers' trade are briefly as under :- The gross quantity of soot collected yearly throughout London is 800,000 bushels. The value of this, sold as manure, at 5d. per bushel, is 16,500l. There are 800 to 900 people employed in the trade, 200 of whom are masters employing jour- neymen, 150 single-handed master-men, and 470 journeymen and under journeymen. The annual income of the entire number of journeymen is 10,500l. without perquisites, or 13,000l. with, which gives an average weekly wage to the operatives of 10s. 6d. The annual income of the masters and leeks is, for sweeping and soot, 100,0002. The annual expenditure of the masters for rent, keep of horses, wear and tear, and wages, is 20,000l. The gross annual profit of the 350 masters is 80,000l., which is at the rate of about 351. per annum to each of the single-handed men, 2007. to each of the smaller masters employing journeymen, and 500l. to each of the larger masters. The capital of the trade is about 50007. The price charged by the "high master sweepers" for cleaning the flues of a house rented at 1507. a year and upwards, is from 1s. to 3s. 6d. (the higher price being paid for sweeping those chimneys which have a hot plate affixed). A small master, on the other hand, will charge from 1s. to 3s. for the same kind of work, while a single-handed man seldom gets above "a 2s. job," and that not very often. The charge for sweeping the flues of a house rented at from 50l. to 150l. a year, is from 9d. to 2s. 6d. by a large master, and from 8d. to 2s. by a small master, while a single- handed man will take the job at from 6d. to 1s. 6d. The price charged per flue for a house rented at from 201. a year up to 50l. a year, will average 6d. a flue, charged by large masters, 4d. by small No. XLVII. Paddington Hampstead St. Pancras Islington Hackney Homerton St. Giles's St. George's, Bloomsbury Strand Holborn... • 4 2 6 3 1 6 4 Poplar St. George's, St. Olave's, and St. Saviour's, Southwark . 30 Bermondsey 1 6 * Walworth and Newington 20 Wandsworth Lambeth. .... وو 33 4444 *** 1 6 [] 0 9 3 and ,, 1 6 .... 3 1 6 and 3 1 0 "" Camberwell 2 0 3 "" 30 Clapham, Brix- 4 26 ton, and Toot- 26 " ing.. 2 6 1 6 Rotherhithe · 1 6 1 0 Greenwich 1 6 • 1 6 4 * 2 6 Woolwich . Lewisham. 2 6 6 3 0 Clerkenwell.. St. Luke's. East London West London + 03 03 03 14 A CO 43334 N.B-The single-handed and the knullers generally charge a penny less than the prices above given. There are three different kinds of soot:-the best is produced purely from coal; the next in value is that which proceeds from the combustion of vegetable refuse along with the coal, as in cases where potato peelings, cabbage leaves, and the like, are burnt in the fires of the poorer classes; while the soot produced from wood fires is, I am told, scarcely worth carriage. Wood- soot, however, is generally mixed with that from coal, and sold as the superior kind. Not only is there a difference in value in the various kinds of soot, but there is also a vast difference in the weight. A bushel of pure coal soot will not weigh above four pounds; that pro- duced from the combustion of coal and vegetable refuse will weigh nearly thrice as much; while that from wood fires is, I am assured, nearly ten times heavier than from coal. I have not heard that the introduction of free trade has had any influence on the value of soot, or in reducing the wages of the operatives. The same wages are paid to the operatives whether soot sells at a high or low price. OF THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORKING CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS. THERE are many reasons why the chimney- sweepers have ever been a distinct and pecu- liar class. They have long been looked down upon as the lowest order of workers, and treated with contumely by those who were but little better than themselves. The peculiar nature of their work giving them not only a filthy appear- ance, but an offensive smell, of itself, in a manner, prohibited them from associating with other work- ing men; and the natural effect of such proscrip- Y 362 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF MASTER CHIMNEY SWEEPERS RESIDING IN THE SEVERAL DISTRICTS OF THE METROPOLIS, THE NUMBER OF FORE- MEN, OF JOURNEYMEN, AND UNDER JOURNEYMEN AND UNDER JOURNEYMEN EMPLOYED IN EACH DISTRICT DURING THE YEAR, AS WELL AS THE WEEKLY WAGES OF EACH CLASS. DISTRICTS. No. of Master Sweepers in each District. No. of Foremen em- ployed. No. of Journeymen em- ployed in the brisk season. No. of Journeymen em- ployed in the slack season. No. of Under Journey- men, or Boys, employed. No. of Bushels of Soot collected Weekly. WEST DISTRIOTS. Kensington and Hammer- 11 smith. Westminster Weekly Wages of each Foreman. Weekly Wages of each Journeyman. 2 25 16 2 695 18s. 7 at 16s. 6 15s. >> 10 14s. "" 1 12s. "" 13 1 26 18 1 735 14s. 5 at 18s. 10 12s. Chelsea... 22 13 11 2 670 ... St. George's, Hanover-sq.... 10 5 27 25 890 4 at 18s. 1 16s. >> St. Martin's and St. Ann's 9 16 15 1 415 ... St. James's, Westminster 7 1 9 6 355 14s. ... NORTH DISTRICTS. "" 3 4s. "" 4 3s. b 4 28. "" 1 16s. "" 3 12s. 4 3 1 "" "" 1 "" 10s. 3s. 2s. 6dyb 2s. 5 at 18s. } 132 OTT 16s. "" 15s. 23 9 14s. 7 12s. "" "" 1 6s. b 7 at 6s. 6 4s. "" 2 3s. 5 at 12s. 1 10s. 1 at 3s. 6d. b Weekly Wages of each Under Journeyman. 10s. 3s. b 1 at 2s. b 1 e 2s. b ... Marylebone Paddington ... 18 10 21 17 010 16 10 : со 775 18s. 495 18s. 1 at 14s. Hampstead Islington 2 2 2 2 60 ... ... 9 13 12 co 3 425 3 at 4s. 1 10s. 2 8 1 2 + " "" "" وو 4s. 3s. 6d 2s. 6d 1s. 1 at 3s. 1 2s. ...... 2 at 2s. 1 "" Bd} 1s. 6d 1 at 1s 6d 1 1s. "" } 1s. 6d. b ... 2 3s. St. Pancras ... 18 33 21 6 920 2 at 14s. 13 at 2s. 6 12s. 2 1s. 6d b "" "> 1 1s. "} Hackney and Homerton 13 3 Co 3 4 290 3 "} 4 10s. 6 4s. " 3 3s6d 11 T & " 3s. >> 2s6d 1 2s. "" 28. b 1s. 6d. b LONDON LABOUR and the lonDON POOR. 363 DISTRICTS. Į No. of Master Sweepers in each District. No. of Foremen em- ployed. No. of Journeymen em- ployed in the brisk season. No. of Journeymen em- CENTRAL DISTRICTS. St. Giles's and St. George's, 12 Bloomsbury. Strand... Holborn 10 ployed in the slack season. men, or Boys, employed. No. of Under Journey- No. of Bushels of Soot collected Weekly. Weekly Wages of each Foreman. Weekly Wages of each Journeyman. Weekly Wages of each Under Journeyman. 9 7 10 5 435 : 5 11 8 2 350 : 6 2 11 10 435 20s. Clerkenwell 6 9 9 1 310 : St. Luke's 6 4 3 2 175 ... East London 8 10 8 455 West London 5 9 6 205 : London City 6 12 10 2 415 ... EAST DISTRICTS. Shoreditch 13 Bethnal Green.. Whitechapel St. George's-in-the-East and 14 Limehouse. 6 102 62 CO CO 6 11 2 1 ... 14 10 10 ☺☺ co 5 1 380 150 3 330 ... 3 650 Stepney Poplar.. ... 94 ... 31 3 2 275 1 110 :: : : SOUTH DISTRICTS. Southwark Bermondsey ... Walworth and Newington 9 Wandsworth.. 17 : : 8 4 6 6 6 Lambeth 16 9 9 Camberwell 8 со 8 བ Clapton, Brixton, and 11 Tooting Rotherhithe Greenwich Woolwich.. 7 3247 767 13 8 at 12s. 1,, 3s. b 4s. V 2 at 18s. 3 8s. 4 4s. 2 "" "" "" 8 at 3s. "" 3s. bd. } 1 2s 6d. 2s. b 3s. b 3 at 4s. 6 3s. 6 at 6s. 6 4s. دو :} 1s. b 1 at 2s. 1 ور 1s. 18. b Ъ :} } 1s. b Ъ } 28. b 2s. V Is. U 1 at 5s. 1 2s. b 3 at 3s. 347 17 "" دو 2s. b 3s. C 1 at 1s. 6d b 2s. 6d b 2,, 1s. 28. 3s. b 28. b 1s. 64. U 41 445 385 220 330 2s. b 18. b 2s. b 1s. b 240 3 at 3s. 1s. b >> 10 5 560 ... 6 3 2s. 6d 3 at 3s. 2s. 6d Ъ 4 1s. 1 at 1s. 6d} }0 7 1 315 2s. 6d. b 1s. b 1 410 2s. 6d. b 1s. b ... 242 170 195 2s. b ... 1s. 6d. b 1s. b 17 12 3 515 13 at 2s. 6d. 4 1s. 6d. " 2s. b 18s. 2 at 1s. 1 9d. 1s. b ور } Lewisham 2 ... Ramoneur Company 18 1000 5 18 10 00 5 1 160 450 TOTAL 350 12 399 313 62 15350 NOTE. b means board and lodging as well as money, or part money and part kind; e stands for everything found or paid all in kind. These returns have been collected by personal visits to each district :-the name of each master throughout London, together with the number of Foremen, Journeymen, and Under Journeymen employed, and the Wages received by each, as well as the quantity of soot collected, have been likewise obtained; but the names of the masters are here omitted for want of space, and the results alone are given. 364 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. tion has been to compel them to herd together apart from others, and to acquire habits and pe- culiarities of their own widely differing from the characteristics of the rest of the labouring classes. Sweepers, however, have not from this cause generally been an hereditary race-that is, they have not become sweepers from father to son for many generations. Their numbers were, in the days of the climbing boys, in most intances in- creased by parish apprentices, the parishes usually adopting that mode as the cheapest and easiest of freeing themselves from a part of the burden of juvenile pauperism. The climbing boys, but more especially the unfortunate parish apprentices, were almost always cruelly used, starved, beaten, and over-worked by their masters, and treated as outcasts by all with whom they came in con- tact: there can be no wonder, then, that, driven in this manner from all other society, they gladly availed themselves of the companionship of their fellow-sufferers; quickly imbibed all their habits. and peculiarities; and, perhaps, ended by becoming themselves the most tyrannical masters to those who might happen to be placed under their charge. Notwithstanding the disrepute in which sweepers have ever been held, there are many classes of workers beneath them in intelligence. All the tribe of finders and collectors (with the exception of the dredgermen, who are an observant race, and the sewer-hunters, who, from the danger of their employment, are compelled to exercise their intellects) are far inferior to them in this respect; and they are clever fellows compared to many of the dustmen and scavagers. The great mass of the agricultural labourers are known to be almost as ignorant as the beasts they drive; but the sweepers, from whatever cause it may arise, are known, in many instances, to be shrewd, intelli- gent, and active. But there is much room for improvement among the operative chimney-sweepers. Speaking of the men generally, I am assured that there is scarcely one out of ten who can either read or write. One man in Chelsea informed me that some ladies, in connec- tion with the Rev. Mr. Cadman's church, made an attempt to instruct the sweepers of the neigh- bourhood in reading and writing; but the master sweepers grew jealous, and became afraid lest their men should get too knowing for them. When the time came, therefore, for the men to prepare for the school, the masters always managed to find out some job which prevented them from attending at the appointed time, and the consequence was that the benevolent designs of the ladies were frustrated. The sweepers, as a class, in almost all their habits, bear a strong resemblance to the coster- mongers. The habit of going about in search of their employment has, of itself, implanted in many of them the wandering propensity pecu- liar to street people. Many of the better-class costermongers have risen into coal-shed men and greengrocers, and become settled in life; in like manner the better-class sweepers have risen to be masters, and, becoming settled in a locality, have gradually obtained the trade of the neighbourhood; then, as their circumstances improved, they have been able to get horses and carts, and become nightmen; and there are many of them at this moment men of wealth, comparatively speaking. The great body of them, however, retain in all their force their original characteristics; the masters themselves, although shrewd and sensible men, often betray their want of education, and are in no way particular as to their expressions, their lan- guage being made up, in a great measure, of the terms peculiar to the costermongers, especially the denominations of the various sorts of money. I met with some sweepers, however, whose language was that in ordinary use, and their manners not vulgar. I might specify one, who, although a workhouse orphan and apprentice, a harshly- treated climbing-boy, is now prospering as a sweeper and nightman, is a regular attendant at all meetings to promote the good of the poor, and a zealous ragged-school teacher, and teetotaller. When such men are met with, perhaps the class cannot be looked upon as utterly cast away, although the need of reformation in the habits of the working sweepers is extreme, and especially in respect of drinking, gambling, and dirt. The journeymen (who have often a good deal of leisure) and the single-handed men are-in the great majority of cases at least-addicted to drink- ing, beer being their favourite beverage, either because it is the cheapest or that they fancy it the most suitable for washing away the sooty particles which find their way to their throats. These men gamble also, but with this proviso-they seldom play for money; but when they meet in their usual houses of resort-two famous ones are in Back C— lane and S street, White- chapel-they spend their time and what money they may have in tossing for beer, till they are either drunk or penniless. Such men pre- sent the appearance of having just come out of a chimney. There seems never to have been any attempt made by them to wash the soot off their faces. I am informed that there is scarcely one of them who has a second shirt or any change of clothes, and that they wear their garments night and day till they literally rot, and drop in frag- ments from their backs. Those who are not em- ployed as journeymen by the masters are fre- quently whole days without food, especially in summer, when the work is slack; and it usually happens that those who are what is called "" knocking about on their own account seldom or never have a farthing in their pockets in the morning, and may, perhaps, have to travel till evening before they get a threepenny or sixpenny chimney to sweep. When night comes, and they meet their companions, the tossing and drinking again commences; they again get drunk; roll home to wherever it may be, to go through the same routine on the morrow; and this is the usual tenour of their lives, whether earning 5s. or 20s. a week. The chimney-sweepers generally are fond of drink; indeed their calling, like that of dustmen, is one of those which naturally lead to it. The 14 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 365 men declare they are ordered to drink gin and smoke as much as they can, in order to rid the stomach of the soot they may have swallowed dur- ing their work. Washing among chimney-sweepers seems to be much more frequent than it was. In the evi- dence before Parliament it was stated that some of the climbing-boys were washed once in six months, some once a week, some once in two or three months. I do not find it anywhere stated that any of these children were never washed at all; but from the tenour of the evi- dence it may be reasonably concluded that such was the case. A master sweeper, who was in the habit of bathing at the Marylebone baths once and some- times twice a week, assured me that, although many now eat and drink and sleep sooty, wash- ing is more common among his class than when he himself was a climbing-boy. He used then to be stripped, and compelled to step into a tub, and into water sometimes too hot and sometimes too cold, while his mistress, to use his own word, scoured him. Judging from what he had seen and heard, my informant was satisfied that, from 30 to 40 years ago, climbing-boys, with a very few exceptions, were but seldom washed; and then it was looked upon by them as a most dis- agreeable operation, often, indeed, as a species of punishment. Some of the climbing-boys used to be taken by their masters to bathe in the Ser- pentine many years ago; but one boy was un- fortunately drowned, so that the children could hardly be coerced to go into the water afterwards. The washing among the chimney-sweepers of the present day, when there are scarcely any climbing-boys, is so much an individual matter that it is not possible to speak with any great degree of certainty on the subject, but that it increases may be concluded from the fact that the number of sweeps who resort to the public baths increases. The first public baths and wash houses opened in London were in the "north-west district," and situated in George-street, Euston-square, near the Hampstead-road. This establishment was founded by voluntary contribution in 1846, and is now self-supporting. There are three more public baths: one in Goulston-street, Whitechapel (on the same prin- ciple as that first established); another in St. Martin's, near the National Gallery, which are parochial; and the last in Marylebone, near the Yorkshire Stingo tavern, New-road, also paro- chial. The charge for a cold bath, each being secluded from the others, is 1d., with the use of a towel; a warın bath is 2d. in the third class. The following is the return of the number of bathers at the north-west district baths, the esta- blishment most frequented:- Bathers Washers, Drycts, Ironers, &c. Individuals Washed for 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 96,597 110,940 111,788 96,726 39,418 61,690 65,934 73,023 137,672 246,760 263,736 292,092 I endeavoured to ascertain the proportion of sweepers, with other working men, who availed themselves of these baths; but there are unfor- tunately no data for instituting a comparison as to the relative cleanliness of the several trades. When the baths were first opened an endeavour was made to obtain such a return; but it was found to be distasteful to the bathers, and so was discontinued. We find, then, that in four years The following there have been 406,051 bathers. gives the proportion between the sexes, a portion of 1846 being included :— Bathers-Males "> Females Total bathers 417,424 47,114 464,538 The falling off in the number of bathers at this establishment is, I am told, attributable to the opening of new baths, the people, of course, re- sorting to the nearest. I have given the return of washers, &c., as I endeavoured to ascertain the proportion of wash- ing by the chimney-sweeper's wives; but there is no specification of the trades of the persons using this branch of the establishment any more than there is of those frequenting the baths, and for the same reason as prevented its being done among the bathers. One of the attendants at these washhouses told me that he had no doubt the sweepers' wives did wash there, for he had more than once seen a sweeper waiting to carry home the clothes his wife had cleansed. As no questions concerning their situation in life are asked of the poor women who resort to these very excellent institutions (for such they appear to be on a cursory glance) of course no data can be supplied. This is to be somewhat regretted; but a regard to the feelings, and in some respects to the small prejudices, of the industrious poor is to be commended rather than otherwise, and the managers of these baths certainly seem to have manifested such a regard. I am informed, however, by the secretary of the north-west district institution, that in some weeks of the summer 80 chimney-sweepers bathed there; always having, he believed, warm baths, which are more effective in removing soot or dirt from the skin than cold. Summer, it must be remembered, is the sweep's "brisk" season. In a winter week as few as 25 or 20 have bathed, but the weekly average of sweeper-bathers, the year through, is about 50; and the number of sweeper-bathers, he thought, had increased since the opening of the baths about 10 per cent. yearly. As in 1850 the average number of bathers of all classes did not exceed 1646 per week, the proportion of sweepers, 50, is high. The number of female bathers is about one-ninth, so that the males would be about 1480; and the 50 sweepers a week constitute about a thirtieth part of the whole of the third-class bathers. The number of sweep-bathers was known because a sweep is known by his appearance. I was told by the secretary that the sweepers, the majority bathing on Saturday nights, usually 366 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. carried a bundle to the bath; this contained their "clean things." After bathing they assumed their Sunday clothes;" and from the change in their appearance between ingress and egress, they were hardly recognisable as the same indi- viduals. In the other baths, where also there is no specification of the bathers, I am told, that of sweepers bathing the number (on computation) is 30 at Marylebone, 25 at Goulston-street, and 15 (at the least) at St. Martin's, as a weekly average. In all, 120 sweepers bathe weekly, or about a seventh of the entire working body. The in- crease at the three baths last mentioned, in sweepers bathing, is from 5 to 10 per cent. Among the lower-class sweepers there are but few who wash themselves even once throughout the year. They eat, drink, and sleep in the same state of filth and dirt as when engaged in their daily avocation. Others, however, among the better class are more cleanly in their habits, and wash themselves every night. Between the appearance of the sweepers in the streets at the present time and before the aboli- tion of the system of climbing there is a marked difference. Charles Lamb said (in 1823):— "I like to meet a sweep-understand me, not a grown sweeper-old chimney-sweepers are by no means attractive-but one of those tender novices blooming through their first nigritude, the maternal washings not quite effaced from the cheek-such as come forth with the dawn, or somewhat earlier, with their little professional notes sounding like the peep peep of a young sparrow; or liker to the matin lark should I pronounce them, in their aerial ascents not seldom anticipating the sunrise ?" Throughout his essay, Elia throws the halo of poetry over the child-sweepers, calling them "dim specks," "poor blots," "innocent blacknesses," "young Africans of our own growth;" the natural kindliness of the writer shines out through all. He counsels his reader to give the young innocent 2d., or, if the weather were starving, "let the demand on thy humanity rise to a tester" (6d.). The appearance of the little children-sweepers, as they trotted along at the master's or the journey- man's heels, or waited at "rich men's doors" on a cold morning, was pitiable in the extreme. If it snowed, there was a strange contrast between the black sootiness of the sweeper's dress and the white flakes of snow which adhered to it. The boy-sweeper trotted listlessly along; a sack to contain the soot thrown over his shoulder, or disposed round his neck, like a cape or shawl. One master sweeper tells me that in his appren- ticeship days he had to wait at the great man- sions in and about Grosvenor-square, on some bitter wintry mornings, until he felt as if his feet, although he had both stockings and shoes-and many young climbers were barefoot-felt as if frozen to the pavement. When the door was opened, he told me, the matter was not really mended. The rooms were often large and cold, and being lighted only with a candle or two, no doubt looked very dreary, while there was not a fire in the whole house, and no one up but a yawning servant or two, often very cross at having been disturbed. The servants, however, in noblemen's houses, he also told me, were frequently kind to him, giving him bread and butter, and sometimes bread and jam; and as his master generally had a glass of raw spirit handed to him, the boy usually had a sip when his employer had "knocked off his glass." His employer, indeed, sometimes said, "O, he's better without it; it'll only larn him to drink, like it did me;" but the servant usually answered, "O, here, just a thimblefull for him." The usual dress of the climbing-boy-as I have learned from those who had worn it themselves, and, when masters, had provided it for their boys-was made of a sort of strong flannel, which many years ago was called chimney-sweepers' cloth; but my informant was not certain whether this was a common name for it or not, he only remembered having heard it called so. He re- membered, also, accompanying his master to do something to the flues in a church, then (1817) hung with black cloth, as a part of the national mourning for the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and he thought it seemed very like the chimney- sweepers' cloth, which was dark coloured when new. The child-sweep wore a pair of cloth trowsers, and over that a sort of tunic, or tight fitting shirt with sleeves; sometimes a little waistcoat and jacket. This, it must be borne in mind, was only the practice among the best masters (who always had to find their apprentices in clothes); and was the practice among them more and more in the later period of the climbing process, for householders began to inquire as to what sort of trim the boys employed on their premises appeared in. The poorer or the less well-disposed masters clad the urchins who climbed for them in any old rags which their wives could piece together, or in any low-priced garment "picked up" in such places as Rosemary- lane. The fit was no object at all. These ill-clad lads were, moreover, at one time the great majority. The clothes were usually made "at home" by the women, and in the same style, as regarded the seams, &c., as the sacks for soot; but sometimes the work was beyond the art of the sweeper's wife, and then the aid of some poor neighbour better skilled in the use of her scissors and needle, or of some poor tailor, was called in, on the well- known terms of "a shilling (or 1s. 6d.) a day, and the grub." The cost of a climbing-boy's dress, I was in- formed, varied, when new, according to the mate- rial of which it was made, from 3s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. independently of the cost of making, which, in the hands of a tailor who "whipped the cat" (or went out to work at his customer's houses), would occupy a day, at easy labour, at a cost of 1s. 6d. (or less) in money, and the " whip-cat's" meals, perhaps another 1s. 6d., beer included. the cost of a sweeper's second-hand clothing it is useless to inquire; but I was informed by a now As to LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 367 thriving master, that when he was about twelve years old his mistress bought him a werry tidy jacket, as seemed made for a gen'leman's son," in Petticoat-lane, one Sunday morning, for 1s. 6d.; while other things, he said, were "in propor- tionate." Shoes and stockings are not included in the cost of the little sweeper's apparel; and they were, perhaps, always bought second-hand. A few of the best masters (or of those wishing to stand best in their customers' regards), who sent their boys to church or to Sunday schools, had then a non-working attire for them; either a sweeper's dress of jacket and trowsers, unsoiled by soot, or the ordinary dress of a poor lad. The street appearance of the present race of sweepers, all adults, may every here and there bear out Charles Lamb's dictum, that grown sweepers are by no means attractive. Some of them are broad-shouldered and strongly-built men, who, as they traverse the streets, sometimes look as grim as they are dingy. The chimney-scavager carries the implement of his calling propped on his shoulder, in the way shown in the daguerreo- type which I have given. His dress is usually a jacket, waistcoat, and trowsers of dark-coloured corduroy; or instead of a jacket a waistcoat with sleeves. Over this when at work the sweeper often wears a sort of blouse or short smock-frock of coarse strong calico or canvas, which protects the corduroy suit from the soot. In this descrip- tion of the sweeper's garb I can but speak of those whose means enable them to attain the comfort of warm apparel in the winter; the poorer part of the trade often shiver shirtless under a blouse which half covers a pair of threadbare trowsers. The cost of the corduroy suit I have mentioned varies, I was told by a sweeper, who put it tersely enough," from 20s. slop, to 40s. slap." The average runs, I believe, from 28s. to 33s., as regards the better class of the sweepers. The diet of the journeymen sweepers and the apprentices, and sometimes of their working em- ployer, was described to me as generally after the following fashion. My informant, a journeyman, calculated what his food "stood his master," as he had once kept hisself." Bread and butter and coffee for break- fast A saveloy and potatoes, or cabbage; or a "fagot," with the same vegetables; or fried fish (but not often); or pudding, from a pudding shop; or soup (a twopenny plate) from a cheap eating-house; average from 2d. to 3d. Tea, same as breakfast (C Daily. s. d. 0 2 22 02 0 2 06 On Sundays the fare was better. They then sometimes had a bit of "prime fat mutton" taken to the oven, with "taturs to bake along with it;" fry of liver, if the old 'oman was in a good humour," and always a pint of beer apiece. Hence, as some give their men beer, the average amount of 5s. or 6s. weekly, which I have given or a as the cost of the "board" to the masters, is made up. The drunken single-handed master- men, I am told, live on beer and "a bite of any- thing they can get." I believe there are few complaints of inefficient food. The food provided by the large or high master sweepers is generally of the same kind as the master and his family partake of; among this class the journeymen are tolerably well provided for. In the lower-class sweepers, however, the food is not so plentiful nor so good in kind as that pro- vided by the high master sweepers. The expense of keeping a man employed by a large master sometimes ranges as high as 8s. a week, but the average, I am told, is about 6s. per week; while those employed by the low-class sweepers average about 5s. a week. The cost of their lodging may be taken at from 1s. to 2s. a week extra. The sweepers in general are, I am assured, fond of oleaginous food; fat broth, fagots, and what is often called "greasy" meat. They are considered a short-lived people, and among the journeymen, the masters the masters "on their own hook," &c., few old men are to be met with. In one of the reports of the Board of Health, out of 4312 deaths among males, of the age of 15 and upwards, the mortality among the sweepers, masters and men, was 9, or one in 109 of the whole trade. As the calculation was formed, however, from data supplied by the census of 1841, and on the Post Office Directory, it supplies no reliable information, as I shall show when I come to treat of the nightmen. Many of these men still suffer, I am told, from the chimney-sweeper's cancer, which is said to arise mainly mainly from from uncleanly habits. Some sweepers assure me that they have vomited balls of soot. As to the abodes of the master sweepers, I can supply the following account of two. The soot, I should observe, is seldom kept long, rarely a month, on the premises of a sweeper, and is in the best "concerns" kept in cellars. The localities in which many of the sweepers reside are the "lowest" places in the district. Many of the houses in which I found the lower class of sweepers were in a ruinous and filthy con- dition. The "high-class" sweepers, on the other hand, live in respectable localities, often having back premises sufficiently large to stow away their soot. I had occasion to visit the house of one of the persons from whom I obtained much information. He is a master in a small way, a sensible man, and was one of the few who are teetotallers. His habitation, though small-being a low house only one story high- -was substantially furnished with massive mahogany chairs, table, chests of drawers, &c., while on each side of the fire-place, which was distinctly visible from the street over a hall door, were two buffets, with glass doors, well filled with glass and china vessels. It was a wet night, and a fire burned brightly in the stove, by the light of which might be seen the master of the establishment sitting on one side, while his 368 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. me to let to lodgers of his own class, making something by so doing; though, if his own ac- count be correct, I'm at a loss to imagine how he contrived even to get his rent. From him I obtained the following statement:— wife and daughter occupied the other; a neighbour | people, he had taken the house he had shown sat before the fire with his back to the door, and altogether it struck me as a comfortable-looking evening party. They were resting and chatting quietly together after the labour of the day, and everything betokened the comfortable circum- stances in which the man, by sobriety and in- dustry, had been able to place himself. Yet this man had been a climbing-boy, and one of the unfortunates who had lost his parents when a child, and was apprenticed by the parish to this business. From him I learned that his was not a solitary instance of teetotalism (I have be- fore spoken of another); that, in fact, there were some more, and one in particular, named Brown, who was a good speaker, and devoted himself during his leisure hours at night in advocating the principles which by experience he had found to effect such great good to himself; but he also informed me that the majority of the others were a drunken and dissipated crew, sunk to the lowest degree of misery, yet recklessly spending every farthing they could earn in the public-house. "> Different in every respect was another house which I visited in the course of my inquiries, in the neighbourhood of H-street, Bethnal-green. The house was rented by a sweeper, a master on his own account, and every room in the place was let to sweepers and their wives or women, which, with these men, often signify one and the same thing. The inside of the house looked as dark as a coal- pit; there was an insufferable smell of soot, always offensive to those unaccustomed to it; and every person and every thing which met the eye, even to the caps and gowns of the wo- men, seemed as if they had just been steeped in Indian ink. In one room was a sweep and his woman quarrelling. As I opened the door I caught the words, "I'm d -d if I has it any longer. I'd see you b y well d -d | d first, and you knows it. The savage was intoxicated, for his red eyes flashed through his sooty mask with drunken excitement, and his matted hair, which looked as if it had never known a comb, stood out from his head like the whalebone ribs of his own machine. "By Bet," as he called her, did not seem a whit more sober than her man; and the shrill treble of her voice was distinctly andible till I turned the corner of the street, whither I was accompanied by the master of the house, to whom I had been re- commended by one of the fraternity as an intel- ligent man, and one who knew "a thing or two." "You see," he said, as we turned the corner, "there isn't no use a talkin' to them ere fellows they're all tosticated now, and they doesn't care nothink for nobody; but they'll be quiet enough to-morrow, 'cept they yarns somethink, and if they do then they'll be just as bad to-morrow night. They're a awful lot, and nobody il niver do anythink with them." This man was not by any means in such easy circumstances as the master first mentioned. He was merely a man working for himself, and unable to employ any one else in the business; as is customary with some of these "Yes, I was a climbing-boy, and sarved a rigler printiceship for seven years. I was out on my printiceship when I was fourteen. Father was a silk-weaver, and did all he knew to keep me from being a sweep, but I would be a sweep, and nothink else.' nothink else." [This is not so very uncommon a predilection, strange as it may seem.] "So father, when he saw it was no use, got me bound prin- tice. Father's alive now, and near 90 years of age. I don't know why I wished to be a sweep, 'cept it was this-there was sweeps always lived about here, and I used to see the boys with lots of money a tossin' and gamblin', and wished to have money too. You see they got money where they swept the chimneys; they used to get 2d. or 3d. for theirselves in a day, and sometimes 6. from the people of the house, and that's the way they always had plenty of money. I niver thought anythink of the climbing; it wasn't so bad at all as some people would make you believe. There are two or three ways of climbing. In wide flues you climb with your elbows and your legs spread out, your feet pressing against the sides of the flue; but in narrow flues, such as nine-inch ones, you must slant it; you must have your sides in the angles, it's wider there, and go up just that way." [Here he threw himself into position-placing one arm close to his side, with the palm of the hand turned outwards, as if pressing the side of the flue, and extending the other arm high above his head, the hand appa- rently pressing in the same manner.] There," he continued, he continued, "that's slantin'. You just put yourself in that way, and see how small you make yourself. I niver got to say stuck myself, but a many of them did; yes, and were taken out dead. They were smothered for want of air, and the fright, and a stayin' so long in the flue; you see the waistband of their trowsers sometimes got turned down in the climbing, and in narrow flues, when not able to get it up, then they stuck. I had a boy once-we were called to sweep a chimney down at Poplar. When we went in he looked up the flues, 'Well, what is it like?' I said. Very narrow,' says he, 'don't think I can get up there;' so after some time we gets on top of the house, and takes off the chimney-pot, and has a look down-it was wider a' top, and I thought as how he could go down. "You had better buff it, Jim,' says I. I suppose you know what that means; but Jim wouldn't do it, and kept his trowsers on. So down he goes, and gets on very well till he comes to the shoulder of the flue, and then he couldn't stir. He shouts down, I'm stuck.' I shouts up and tells him what to do. 'Can't move,' says he, 'I'm stuck hard and fast.' Well, the people of the house got fretted like, but I says to them, 'Now my boy's stuck, but for Heaven's sake don't make a word of noise; don't say a word, good or bad, and I'll C C LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 369 see what I can do.' So I locks the door, and, buffs it, and forces myself up till I could reach him with my hand, and as soon as he got his foot on my hand he begins to prize himself up, and gets loosened, and comes out at the top again. I was stuck myself, but I was stronger nor he, and I manages to get out again. Now I'll be bound to say if there was another master there as would kick up a row and a-worrited, that ere boy 'ud a niver come out o' that ere flue alive. There was a many o' them lost their lives in that way. Most all the printices used to come from the House' (workhouse.) There was nobody to care for them, and some masters used them very bad. I was out of my time at fourteen, and began to get too stout to go up the flues; so after knockin' about for a year or so, as I could do nothink else, I goes to sea on board a man-o'-war, and was away four year. Many of the boys, when they got too big and useless, used to go to sea in them days-they couldn't do nothink else. Yes, many of them went for sodgers; and I know some who went for Gipsies, and others who went for play actors, and a many who got on to be swell- mobsmen, and thieves, and housebreakers, and the like o' that ere. There ain't nothink o' that sort a-goin' on now since the Ack of Parliament. When I got back from sea father asked me to larn his business; so I takes to the silk-weaving and larned it, and then married a weaveress, and worked with father for a long time. Father was very well off-well off and comfortable for a poor man-but trade was good then. But it got bad afterwards, and none on us was able to live at it; so I takes to the chimney-sweeping again. A man might manage to live somehow at the sweeping, but the weaving was o' no use. It was the furrin silks as beat us all up, that's the whole truth. Yet they tells us as how they was a-doin' the country good; but they may tell that to the marines-the sailors won't believe it-not a word on it. I've stuck to the sweeping ever since, and sometimes done very fair at it; but since the Ack there's so many leeks come to it that I don't know how they live-they must be eatin' one another up. Well, since you ask then, I can tell you that our people don't care much about law; they don't understand anythink about politics much; they don't mind things o' that ere kind. They only minds to get drunk when they can. Some on them fellows as you seed in there niver cleans theirselves from one year's end to the other. They'll kick up a row soon enough, with Chartists or anybody else. I thinks them Chartists are a weak-minded set; they was too much a frightened at nothink, -a hundred o' them would run away from one blue-coat, and that wasn't like men. I was often at Chartist meetings, and if they'd only do all they said there was a plenty to stick to them, for there's a somethink wants to be done very bad, for every- think is a-gettin' worser and worser every day. I used to do a good trade, but now I don't yarn a shilling a day all through the year (?). I may walk at this time three or four miles and not get a | I'm chimney to sweep, and then get only a sixpence It's a or threepence, and sometimes nothink. starvin', that's what it is; there's so much querying' a-goin' on. Querying? that's what we calls under-working *. If they'd all fix a riglar price we might do very well still. 50 years of 50 years of age, or thereabouts. I don't know much about the story of Mrs. Montague; it was afore my time. I heard of it though. I heard my mother talk about it; she used to read it out of books; she was a great reader-none on 'em could stand afore her for that. I was often at the dinner-the masters' dinner-that was for the boys; but that's all done away long ago, since the Ack of Parliament. I can't tell how many there was at it, but there's such a lot it 's impos- sible to tell. How could any one tell all the sweeps as is in London? I'm sure I can't, and I'm sure nobody else can." "chum- Some years back the sweepers' houses were often indicated by an elaborate sign, highly coloured. A sweeper, accompanied by a my" (once a common name for the climbing- boy, being a corruption of chimney), was de- picted on his way to a red brick house, from the chimneys of which bright yellow flames were streaming. Below was the detail of the things undertaken by the sweep, such as the ex- tinction of fires in chimneys, the cleaning of smoke-jacks, &c., &c. A few of these signs, greatly faded, may be seen still. A sweeper, who is settled in what is accounted a genteel neigh- bourhood," has now another way of making his calling known. He leaves a card whenever he hears of a new comer, a tape being attached, so that it can be hung up in the kitchen, and thus the servants are always in possession of his address. The following is a customary style :- "Chimneys swept by the improved machine, much patronized by the Humane Society. "W. H., Chimney Sweeper and Nightman, 1, Mews, in returning thanks to the inha- bitants of the surrounding neighbourhood for the patronage he has hitherto received, begs to in- form them that he sweeps all kinds of chimneys and flues in the best manner. "W. H., attending to the business himself, cleans smoke-jacks, cures smoky coppers, and ex- tinguishes chimneys when chimneys when on fire, with the greatest care and safety; and, by giving the strictest personal attendance to business, performs what he undertakes with cleanliness and punc- tuality, whereby he hopes to ensure a continuance of their favours and recommendations. "Clean cloths for upper apartments. Soot- doors to any size fixed. Observe the address, Mews, near 1, At the top of this card is an engraving of the machine; at the foot a rude sketch of a night- man's cart, with men at work. All the cards I saw reiterated the address, so that no mistake might lead the customer to a rival tradesman. As to their politics, the sweepers are somewhat *Querying means literally inquiring or asking for work at the different houses. The "queriers" among the sweeps are a kind of pedlar operatives. 370 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. A similar to the dustmen and costermongers. fixed hatred to all constituted authority, which they appear to regard as the police and the "beaks," seems to be the sum total of their principles. Indeed, it almost assumes the character of a fixed law, that persons and classes of persons who are themselves disorderly, and to a certain extent lawless, always manifest the most supreme con- tempt for the conservators of law and order in every degree. The police are therefore hated heartily, magistrates are feared and abominated, and Queen, Lords, and Commons, and every one in authority, if known anything about, are con- sidered as natural enemies. A costermonger who happened to be present while I was making in- quiries on this subject, broke in with this remark, "The costers is the chaps-the government can't do nothink with them-they allus licks the govern- ment." The sweepers have a sovereign contempt for all Acts of Parliament, because the only Act that had any reference to themselves "threw open," as they call it, their business to all who were needy enough and who had the capability of availing themselves of it. Like the "dusties" they are, I am informed, in their proper element in times of riot and confusion; but, unlike them, they are, to a man, Chartists, understanding it too, and approving of it, not because it would be calculated to establish a new order of things, but in the hope that, in the transition from one system to the other, there might be plenty of noise and riot, and in the vague idea that in some indefinable manner good must necessarily accrue to them- selves from any change that might take place. This I believe to be in perfect keeping with the sentiments of similar classes of people in every country in the world. The journeymen lay by no money when in work, as a fund to keep them when incapacitated by sickness, accident, or old age. There are, however, a few exceptions to the general impro- vidence of the class; some few belong to sick and benefit societies, others are members of burial clubs. Where, however, this is not the case, and a sweeper becomes unable, through illness, to con- tinue his work, the mode usually adopted is to make a raffle for the benefit of the sufferer; the same means are resorted to at the death of a member of the trade. When a chimney-sweeper becomes infirm through age, he has mostly, if not invariably, no refuge but the workhouse. The chimney-sweepers generally are regardless of the marriage ceremony, and when they do live with a woman it is in a state of concubinage. These women are always among the lowest of the street-girls-such as lucifer-match and orange girls, some of the very poorest of the coster girls, and girls brought up among the sweepers. They are treated badly by them, and often enough left without any remorse. The women are equally as careless in these matters as the men, and exchange one paramour for another with the same levity, so that there is a promiscuous intercourse con- tinually going on among them. I am informed that, among the worst class of sweepers living with women, not one in 50 is married. To these couples very few children are born; but I am not able to state the proportion as compared with other classes. There are some curious customs among the London sweepers which deserve notice. Their May- day festival is day festival is among the best known. The most intelligent of the masters tell me that they have taken this "from the milkmen's garland" (of which an engraving has been given). Formerly, say they, on the first of May the milkmen of London went through the streets, performing a sort of dance, for which they received gratuities from their customers. The music to which they danced was simply brass plates mounted on poles, from the circumference of which plates depended numerous bells of different tones, according to size; these poles were adorned with leaves and flowers, indicative of the season, and may have been a relic of one of the ancient pageants or mummeries. The sweepers, however, by adapting themselves more to the rude taste of the people, appear to have completely supplanted the milkmen, who are now never seen in pageantry. In Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," I find the following with reference to the milk-people:- "It is at this time," that is in May, says the author of one of the papers in the Spectator, "we see brisk young wenches in the country parishes. dancing round the Maypole. It is likewise on the first day of this month that we see the ruddy milkmaid exerting herself in a most sprightly manner under a pyramid of silver tankards, and, like the Virgin Tarpeia, oppressed by the costly ornaments which her benefactors lay upon her. These decorations of silver cups, tankards, and salvers, were borrowed for the purpose, and hung round the milk-pails, with the addition of flowers and ribands, which the maidens carried upon their heads when they went to the houses of their cus- tomers, and danced in order to obtain a small gratuity from each of them. In a set of prints, called Tempest's Cries of London,' there is one called the Merry Milkmaid,' whose proper name was Kate Smith. She is dancing with the milk- pail, decorated as above mentioned, upon her head. Of late years the plate, with the other decorations, were placed in a pyramidical form, and carried by two chairmen upon a wooden horse. The maidens walked before it, and per- formed the dance without any incumbrance. I really cannot discover what analogy the silver tankards and salvers can have to the business of the milkmaids. I have seen them act with much more propriety upon this occasion, when, in place of these superfluous ornaments, they substituted a COW. The animal had her horns gilt, and was nearly covered with ribands of various colours. formed into bows and roses, and interspersed with green oaken leaves and bunches of flowers." With reference to the May-day festival of the sweepers the same author says:-"The chimney- sweepers of London have also singled out the first of May for their festival, at which time they parade the streets in companies, disguised in various manners. Their dresses are usually deco- THE RAT-CATCHERS OF THE SEWERS. [From a Daguerreotype by BEARD.] ! LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR, 371 rated with gilt paper and other mock fineries; they have their shovels and brushes in their hands, which they rattle one upon the other; and to this rough music they jump about in imitation of dancing. Some of the larger companies have a fiddler with them, and a Jack in the Green, as well as a Lord and Lady of the May, who follow the minstrel with great stateliness, and dance as occasion requires. The Jack in the Green is a The Jack in the Green is a piece of pageantry consisting of a hollow frame of wood or wicker-work, made in the form of a sugar-loaf, but open at the bottom, and sufficiently large and high to receive a man. The frame is covered with green leaves and bunches of flowers, interwoven with each other, so that the man within may be completely concealed, who dances with his companions; and the populace are mightily pleased with the oddity of the moving pyramid." Since the date of the above, the sweepers have greatly improved on their pageant, substi- tuting for the fiddle the more noisy and appro- priate music of the street-showman's drum and pipes, and adding to their party several diminu- tive imps, no doubt as representatives of the climbing-boys, clothed in caps, jackets, and trowsers, thickly covered with party-coloured shreds. These still make a show of rattling their shovels and brushes, but the clatter is un- heard alongside the thunders of the drum. In this manner they go through the various streets for three days, obtaining money at various places, and on the third night hold a feast at one of their favourite public-houses, where all the sooty tribes resort, and, in company with their wives or girls, keep up their festivity till the next morning. I find that this festival is beginning to disappear in many parts of London, but it still holds its ground, and is as highly enjoyed as ever, in all the eastern localities of the metropolis. It is but seldom that any of the large masters go out on May-day; this custom is generally con- fined to the little masters and their men. The time usually spent on these occasions is four days, during which as much as from 27. to 47. a day is collected; the sums obtained on the three first days are divided according to the several kinds of work performed. But the proceeds of the fourth day are devoted to a supper. The average gains of the several performers on these occasions. are as follows: My lady, who acts as Columbine, and receives. 1 My lord, who is often the master himself, but usually one of the journeymen Clown Drummer • • Jack in the green, who is often an individual acquaintance, and does not belong to the trade And the boys, who have no term term applied to them, receive from 2s. per day. 3s. • 3s. 4s. 個 ​38. * 1s. to 1s. 6d. وو A 3 >> The share accruing to the boys is often spent in purchasing some article of clothing for them, but the money got by the other individuals is mostly spent in drink. The sweepers, however, not only go out on May-day, but likewise on the 5th of November. On the last Guy-Fawkes day, I am informed, some of them received not only pence from the "It was quite a public, but silver and gold. harvest," they say. One of this class, who got up a gigantic Guy Fawkes and figure of the Pope on the 5th of November, 1850, cleared, I am informed, 107. over and above all expenses. For many years, also, the sweepers were in the habit of partaking of a public dinner on the 1st of May, provided for every climbing-boy who thought proper to attend, at the expense of the Hon. Mrs. Montagu. The romantic origin of this custom, from all I could learn on the subject, is this:The lady referred to, at the time a widow, lost her son, then a boy of tender years. Inquiries were set on foot, and all London heard of the mysterious disappearance of the child, but no clue could be found to trace him out. It was supposed that he was kidnapped, and the search at length was given up in despair. A long time afterwards a sweeper was employed to cleanse the chimneys of Mrs. Montagu's house, by Portman- square, and for this purpose, as was usual at the time, sent a climbing-boy up the chimney, who from that moment was lost to him. The child did not return the way he went up, but it is sup- posed that in his descent he got into a wrong flue, and found himself, on getting out of the chimney, in one of the bedrooms. Wearied with his labour, it is said that he mechanically crept between the sheets, all black and sooty as he was. In this state he was found fast asleep by the housekeeper. The delicacy of his features and the soft tone of his voice interested the woman. She acquainted the family with the strange circumstance, and, when introduced to them with a clean face, his voice and appearance reminded them of their lost child. It may have been that the hardships he endured at so early an age had impaired his memory, for he could give no account of himself; but it was evident, from his manners and from the ease which he exhibited, that he was no stranger to such places, and at length, it is said, the Hon. Mrs. Montagu recognised in him her long-lost son. The identity, it was understood, was proved beyond doubt. He was restored to his rank in society, and in order the better to commemorate this singular restoration, and the fact of his having been a climbing-boy, his mother annually provided an entertainment on the 1st of May, at White Conduit House, for all the climbing-boys of London who thought proper to partake of it. This annual feast was kept up during the lifetime of the lady, and, as might be expected, was numerously attended, for since there were no ques- tion asked and no document required to prove any of the guests to be climbing-boys, very many of the precocions urchins of the metropolis used to blacken their faces for this special occasion. This annual feast continued, as I have said, as long as the lady lived. Her son continued it 372 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. only for three or four years afterwards, and then, I am told, left the country, and paid no further attention to the matter. Of the story of the young Montagu, Charles Lamb has given the following account: (C • | more probable version; and to the minds of many is shown to be conclusively authentic, as I under- stand that, when Arundel Castle is shown to visitors, the bed in which the child was found is pointed out; nor is it likely that in such a place the story of the ducal bed and the little climbing- boy would be invented. The following account was given by the wife of a respectable man (now a middle-aged woman) and she had often heard it from her mother, who passed a long life in the neighbourhood of Mrs. Montagu's residence :— ( Lady M. had a son of tender years, who was supposed to have been stolen for the sake of his clothes. Some time after, there was an occasion when the sweeps were necessary at Montagu House. A servant noticed one of the boys, being at first attracted by his superior manner, and her curiosity being excited fancied a resemblance in him to the lost child. She questioned his master respecting him, who represented that he had found him crying and without a home, and thereupon took him in, and brought him up to his trade. The boy was questioned apart from his master, as to the treatment he received; his answers were favourable; and the consequence was, a compensa- tion was given to the tion was given to the man, and the boy was re- tained. All doubt was removed as to his identity." "In one of the state-beds at Arundel Castle, a few years since-under a ducal canopy (that seat of the Howards is an object of curiosity to visitors, chiefly for its beds, in which the late duke was especially a connoisseur)-encircled with curtains of delicatest crimson, with starry coronets interwoven-folded between a pair of sheets whiter and softer than the lap where Venus lulled Ascanius-was discovered by chance, after all methods of search had failed, at noon-day, fast asleep, a lost chimney-sweeper. The little creature having somehow confounded his passage among the intricacies of those lordly chimneys, by some unknown aperture had alighted upon this magnificent chamber, and, tired with his tedious explorations, was unable to resist the delicious invitement to repose, which he there saw exhibited; so, creeping between the sheets very quietly, he laid his black head on the pillow and slept like a young Howard." "A high instinct," adds Lamb, was at work in the case, or I am greatly mistaken. Is it probable that a Is it probable that a poor child of that description, with whatever weariness he might be visited, would have ven- The annual feast at "White Condick," so tured under such a penalty as he would be taught agreeable to the black fraternity, was afterwards to expect, to uncover the sheets of a duke's bed, continued in another form, and was the origin and deliberately to lay himself down between of a well-known society among the master them, when the rug or the carpet presented an sweepers, which continued in existence till the obvious couch still far above his pretensions,?-is abolition of the climbing-boys by Act of Parlia- this probable, I would ask, if the great power of ment. The masters and the better class of men nature, which I contend for, had not been mani-paid a certain sum yearly, for the purpose of binding fested within him, prompting to the adventure? Doubtless, this young nobleman (for such my mind misgives me he must be) was allured by some memory not amounting to full conscious- ness of his condition in infancy, when he was used to be lapt by his mother or his nurse in just such sheets as he there found, into which he was now but creeping back as into his proper incubation (incunabula) and resting place. By no other theory than by his sentiment of a pre- existent state (as I may call it) can I explain a deed so venturous.' " There is a strong strain of romance throughout the stories of the lost and found young Montagu. I conversed with some sweepers on the subject. The majority had not so much as heard of the occur- rence, but two who had heard of it-both climb- ing-boys in their childhood-had heard that the little fellow was found in his mother's house. In a small work, the Chimney-Sweepers' Friend," got up in aid of the Society for the Supersedence of Climbing Boys, by some benevolent Quaker ladies and others (the Quakers having been among the warmest supporters of the suppression of climbers), and "arranged" (the word "edited" not being used) by J. Montgomery, the case of the little Montagu is not mentioned, excepting in two or three vague poetical allusions. The account given by Lamb (although pro- nounced apocryphal by some) appears to be the the children of the contributors to other trades. In order to increase the funds of this institution, as the dinner to the boys at White Conduit House was an established thing, the masters continued it, and the boys of every master who belonged to the society went in a sort of state to the usual place of entertainment every 1st of May, where they were regaled as formerly. were in the habit of flocking on this day to White Conduit House to witness the festivities of the sweepers on this occasion, and usually contri- buted something towards the society. As soon, however, as the Act passed, this also was discontinued, and it is now one of the legends connected with the class. Many persons SWEEPING OF THE CHIMNEYS OF STEAM-VESSELS. THE sweeping of the flues in the boilers of steam- boats, in the Port of London, and also of land boilers in manufactories, is altogether a distinct process, as the machine cannot be used until such time as the parties who are engaged in this busi- ness travel a long way through the flues, and reach the lower part of the chimney or funnel where it communicates with the boilers and re- ceives the smoke in its passage to the upper air. The boilers in the large sea-going steamers are of curious construction; in some large steamers there are four separate boilers with three furnaces LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 373 in each, the flues of each boiler uniting in one beneath the funnel; immediately beyond the end of the furnace, which is marked by a little wall constructed of firebrick to prevent the coals and fire from running off the 'firebars, there is a large open space very high and wide, and which space after a month's steaming is generally filled up with soot, somewhat resembling a snow drift collected in a hollow, were it not for its colour and the fact that it is sometimes in a state of ignition; it is, at times, so deep, that a man sinks to his middle in it the moment he steps across the firebridge. Above his head, and immediately over the end of the furnace, he may perceive an opening in what otherwise would appear to be a solid mass of iron; up to this opening, which resembles a doorway, the sweeper must clamber the best way he can, and when he succeeds in this he finds himself in a narrow passage completely dark, but with so strong a current of air rushing through it from the fur- naces beneath towards the funnel overhead that it is with difficulty the wick lamp which he carries in his hand can be kept burning. This passage, between the iron walls on either side, is lofty enough for a tall man to stand upright in, but does not seem at first of any great extent; as he goes on, however, to what appears the end, he finds out his mistake, by coming to a sharp turn which conducts him back again towards the open space in the centre of the boiler, but which is now hid from him by the hollow iron walls which on every side surround him, and within which the waters boil and seethe as the living flames issuing from the furnaces rush and roar through these winding passages; another sharp turn leads back to the front of the boilers, and so on for seven or eight turns, backwards and forwards, like the windings in a maze, till at the last turn a light suddenly breaks upon him, and, looking up, he perceives the hollow tube of the funnel, black and ragged with the adhering soot. : Here, then, the labour of the sweeper com- mences he is armed with a brush and shovel, and laying down his lamp in a space from which he has previously shovelled away the soot, which in many parts of the passage is knee deep, he brushes down the soot from the sides and roof of the passage, which being done he 'shovels it before him into the next winding; this process he repeats till he reaches, by degrees, the opening where he ascended. Whenever the accumulation of soot is so great that it is likely to block up the passage in the progress of his work, he wades through and shovels as much as he thinks neces- sary out of the opening into the large space behind the furnaces, then resumes his work, brushing and shovelling by turns, till the flues are cleared; when this is accomplished, he descends, and the fire bars being previously removed, he shovels the soot, now all collected together, over the firebridge and into the ashpit of the furnace; other persons stand ready in the stoke-hole armed with long iron rakes, with which they drag out the soot from the ash- pits; and others shovel it into sacks, which they make fast to tackle secured to the upper deck, by which they "bowse" it up out of the engine-room, and either discharge it overboard or put it into boats preparatory to being taken ashore. In this man- ner an immense quantity of soot is removed from the boilers of a large foreign-going steamer when she gets into port, after a month or six weeks' steaming, having burned in that time perhaps 700 or 800 tons of coal: this work is always performed by the stokers and coal-trimmers in the foreign ports, who seldom, if ever, get anything extra for it, although it is no uncommon thing for some of them to be ill for a week after it. In the port of London, however, the sweeper comes into requisition, who, besides going through the process already described, brings his machine with him, and is thus enabled to cleanse the funnel, and to increase the quantity of soot. Some of the master sweepers, who have the cleansing of the steam-boats in the river, and the sweeping of boiler flues are obliged to employ a good many men, and make a great deal of money by their busi- ness. The use of anthracite coals, however, and some modern improvements, by which air at a certain temperature is admitted to certain parts of the furnace, have in many instances greatly les- sened, if they have not altogether prevented, the accumulation of soot, by the prevention of smoke; and it seems quite possible, from the statements made by many eminent scientific and practical men who were examined before a select committee of the House of Commons, presided over by Mr. Mackinnon, in 1843, that by having properly- constructed stoves, and a sufficient quantity of pure air properly admitted, not only less fuel might be burned, and produce a greater amount of heat, but soot would cease to accumulate, so that the necessity for sweepers would be no longer felt, and there would be no fear of fires from the igni- tion of soot in the flues of chimneys; blacks and smoke, moreover, would take their departure toge- ther; and with them the celebrated London fog might also, in a great measure, disappear. The funnels of steamers are generally swept at from Sd. to 1s. 6d. per funnel. The Chelsea steamers are swept by Mr. Allbrook, of Chelsea ; the Continental, by Mr. Hawsey, of Rosemary- lane; and the Irish and Scotch steamers, by Mr. Tuff, who resides in the East London district. OF THE "RAMONEUR" COMPANY. THE Patent Ramoneur Company demands, perhaps, a special notice. It was formed between four and five years ago, and has now four stations: one in Little Harcourt-street, Bryanstone-square; an- other in New-road, Sloane-street; a third in Charles-place, Euston-square; and the fourth in William-street, Portland-town. "This Company has been formed," the pro- spectus stated, "for the purpose of cleansing chimneys with the Patent Ramoneur Machine, and introducing various other improvements in the business of chimney sweeping. Chimneys are daily swept with this machine where others have failed." The Company charge the usual prices, and all 374 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. the men employed have been brought up as sweepers. The patent machine is thus de- scribed:- "The Patent Ramoneur Machine consists of four brushes, forming a square head, which, by means of elastic springs, contracts or expands, according to the space it moves in; the rods attached to this head or brush are supplied at intervals with a universal spring-joint, capable of turning even a right angle, and the whole is sur- mounted with a double revolving ball, having also a universal spring-joint, which leads the brush with certainty into every corner, cleansing its route most perfectly." The recommendation held out to the public is, that the patented chimney-machine sweeps cleaner than that in general use, and for the reasons assigned; and that, being constructed with more and better springs, it is capable of "turning even a right angle," which the common machine often leaves unswept. This was and is commonly said of the difference between the cleansing of the chimney by a climbing-boy and that effected by the present mechanical appliances in general use -the boy was "better round a corner. | -the trades, the sweepers' trade also has its slackness and its briskness, and from the same cause difference in the seasons. The seasons affecting the sweepers' trade are, however, the natural seasons of the year, the recurring summer and winter, while the seasons influencing the employ- ment of West-end tailors are the arbitrary seasons of fashion. The chimney-sweepers' brisk season is in the winter, and especially at what may be in the respective households the periods of the resump- tion and discontinuance of sitting-room fires. The sweepers' seasons of briskness and slack- ness, indeed, may be said then to be ruled by the thermometer, for the temperature causes the in- crease or diminution of the number of fires, and consequently of the production of soot. The thermometrical period for fires appears to be from October to the following April, both inclusive (seven months), for during that season the tem- perature is below 50°. I have seen it stated, and I believe it is merely a statement of a fact, that at one time, and even now in some houses, it was customary enough for what were called " great families to have a fixed day (generally Michael- mas-day, Sept. 29) on which to commence fires in the sitting-rooms, and another stated day (often May-day, May 1) on which to discontinue them, no matter what might be the mean temperature, whether too warm for the enjoyment of a fire, or too cold comfortably to dispense with it. Some wealthy persons now, I am told-such as call themselves "economists," while their servants and dependants apply the epithet "mean"-defer fires until the temperature descends to 42°, or from November to March, both inclusive, a season of only five months. As this question of the range of the ther- mometer evidently influences the seasons, and therefore, the casual labour of the sweepers, I will give the following interesting account of the changing temperature of the metropolis, month by month, the information being derived from the observations of 25 years (1805 to 1830), by Mr. Luke Howard. The average temperature appears to be :- The patent machines now worked in London are fifteen in number, and fifteen men are thus employed. Each man receives as a weekly wage, always in money, 14s., besides a suit of clothes yearly. The suit consists of a jacket, waistcoat, and trousers, of dark-coloured corduroy; also a "frock" or blouse, to wear when at work, and a cap; the whole being worth from 35s. to 40s. This payment is about equivalent to that re- ceived weekly by the journeymen in the regular or honourable trade; for although higher in nominal amount as a weekly remuneration, the Ramoneur operatives are not allowed any per- quisites whatever. The resident or manager at each station is also a working chimney-sweeper for the Company, and at the same rate as the others, his advantage being that he lives rent-free. At one station which I visited, the resident had two comfortable-looking up-stairs-rooms (the stations being all in small streets), where he and his wife lived; while the "cellar," which was indeed but the ground floor, although somewhat lower than the doorstep, was devoted to business January purposes, the soot being stored there. It was February boarded off into separate compartments, one being | March at the time quite full of soot. All seemed as clean and orderly as possible. The rent of those two rooms, unfurnished, would not be less than 4s. or 5s. a week, so that the resident's payment may be put at about 501. a year. The patent- machine operatives sweep, on an average, the same number of chimneys each, as a master chimney- sweeper's men in a good way of business in the ordinary trade. OF THE BRISK AND SLACK SEASONS, AND THE CASUAL TRADE AMONG THE CHIMNEY- SWEEPERS. As among the rubbish-carters in the unskilled, and the tailors and shoemakers of the skilled • Degrees. 35.1 July Degrees. 63.1 · 38.9 August 57.1 • 42.0 September 50.1 April 47.5 October 42.4 • May 51.9 59-6 November. December. 41.9 • 38.3 June London, I may further state, is 2 degrees warmer than the country, especially in winter, owing to the shelter of buildings and the multi- plicity of the fires in the houses and factories. In the summer the metropolis is about 14 degree hotter than the country, owing to want of free air in London, and to a cause little thought about In -the reverberations from narrow streets. spring and autumn, however, the temperature of both town and country is nearly equal. In London, moreover, the nights are 11.3 degrees colder than the days; in the country they LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 375 are 15.4 degrees colder. The extreme ranges of the temperature in the day, in the capital, are from 20° to 90°. The thermometer has fallen below zero in the night time, but not frequently. In London the hottest months are 28 degrees warmer than the coldest; the temperature of July, which is the hottest month, being 63.1; and that of January, the coldest month, 35-1 degrees. The month in which there are the greatest number of extremes of heat and cold is January. In February and December there are (generally speaking) only two such extreme variations, and five in July; through the other months, how- ever, the extremes are more diffused, and there are only two spring and two autumn months (April and June-September and November), which are not exposed to great differences of temperature. The mean temperature assumes a rate of in- crease in the different months, which may be represented by a curve nearly equal and parallel with one representing the progress of the sun in declination. Hoar-frosts occur when the thermometer is about 39', and the dense yellow fogs, so peculiar to London, are the most frequent in the months of November, December, and January, whilst the temperature ranges below 40°. The busy season in the chimney-sweepers' trade commences at the beginning of November, and continues up to the month of May; during the remainder of the year the trade is "slack." When the slack season has set in nearly 100 men are thrown out of employment. These, as well as many of the single-handed masters, resort to other kinds of employment. Some turn costermongers, others tinkers, knife-grinders, &c., and others migrate to the country and get a job at hay- making, or any other kind of unskilled labour. Even during the brisk season there are upwards of 50 men out of employment; some of these occasionally contrive to get a machine of their own, and go about knulling,"— getting a job where they can. Many of the master sweepers employ in the summer months only two journeymen, whereas they require three in the winter months; but this, I am informed, is not the general average, and that it will be more correct to compute it for the whole trade, in the proportion of two and a half to two. We may, then, calculate that one-fourth of the entire trade is displaced during the slack season. This, then, may be taken as the extent of casual labour, with all the sufferings it entails upon im- provident, and even upon careful working-men. A youth casually employed as a sweeper gave the following account:-"I jobs for the sweeps sometimes, sir, as I'd job for anybody else, and if you have any herrands to go, and will send me, I'll be unkimmon thankful. I haven't no father and don't remember one, and mother might do well but for the ruin (gin). I calls it ruin' out of spite. No, I don't care for it myself. I like beer ten to a farthing to it. "She's a ironer, sir, a stunning good one, but I don't like to talk about her, for she might yarn a hatful of He was a browns-3s. 6d. a day; and when she has pulled up for a month or more it's stunning is the difference. I'd rather not be asked more about that. Her great fault against me is as I won't settle. I was one time put to a woman's shoe- maker as worked for a ware'us. relation, and I was to go prentice if it suited. But I couldn't stand his confining ways, and I'm sartain sure that he only wanted me for some tin mother said she'd spring if all was square. was bad off, and we lived bad, but he always pre- tended he was going to be stunning busy. So I hooked it. I'd other places-a pot-boy's was one, but no go. None suited. He Well, I can keep myself now by jobbing, leastways I can partly, for I have a crib in a corner of mother's room, and my rent's nothing, and when she's all right I'm all right, and she gets better as I grows bigger, I think. Well, I don't know what I'd like to be; something like a lamp-lighter, I think. Well, I look out for sweep jobs among others, and get them sometimes. I don't know how often. Sometimes three morn- ings a week for one week; then none for a month. Can any one live by jobbing that way for the sweeps? No, sir, nor get a quarter of a living; but it's a help. I know some very tidy sweeps now. I'm sure I don't know what they are in the way of trade. O, yes, now you ask that, I think they're masters. I've had 6d. and half-a- pint of beer for a morning's work, jobbing like. I carry soot for them, and I'm lent a sort of jacket, or a wrap about me, to keep it off my clothes-though a Jew wouldn't sometimes look at 'em at 'em-and there's worser people nor sweeps. Sometimes I'll get only 2d. or 3d. a day for helping that way, a carrying soot. I don't know nothing about weights or bushels, but I know I've found it heavy. I "The way, you see, sir, is this here: I meets a sweep as knows me by sight, and he says, Come along, Tom's not at work, and I want you. have to go it harder, so you carry the soot to our place to save my time, and join me again at No. 39.' That's just the ticket of it. Well, no; I wouldn't mind being a sweep for myself with my own machine; but I'd rather be a lamp-lighter. How many help sweeps as I do? I can't at all say. No, I don't know whether it's 10, or 20, or 100, or 1000. I'm no scholard, sir, that's one thing. But it's very seldom such as me 's wanted by them. I can't tell what I get for jobbing for sweeps in a year. I can't guess at it, but it's not so much, I think, as from other kinds of job- bing. Yes, sir, I haven't no doubt that the t'others as jobs for sweeps is in the same way as me. I think I may do as much as any of 'em that way, quite as much.” OF THE "LEEKS AMONG THE CHIMNEY- SWEEPERS. THE Leeks are men who have not been brought up to the trade of chimney sweeping, but have adopted it as a speculation, and are so called from their entering green, or inexperienced, into the 376 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. business. There are I find as many as 200 leeks altogether among the master chimney-sweepers of the metropolis. Of the "high masters the greater portion are leeks-no less than 92 out of 106. I was informed that one of this class was formerly a solicitor, others had been ladies' shoe- makers, and others master builders and brick- layers. Among the lower-class sweepers who have taken to this trade, there are dustmen, scavagers, bricklayers' labourers, soldiers, coster- mongers, tinkers, and various other unskilled labourers. necessary for the work, as well as the subsistence of the workmen, in the form of wages and ap- propriating the proceeds of the labour, while the employed are those who, for the sake of the present subsistence supplied to them, undertake to do the requisite work for the employer. In some few trades these two functions are found to be united in the same individuals. The class known as peasant proprietors among the culti- vators of the soil are at once the labourers and the owners of the land and stock. The cot- tiers, on the other hand, though renting the land of the proprietor, are, so to speak, peasant farmers, tilling the land for themselves rather than doing so at wages for some capitalist tenant. In handi- crafts and manufactures the same combination of functions is found to prevail. In the clothing districts the domestic workers are generally their own masters, and so again in many other branches of production. These trading operatives are The leeks are regarded with considerable dis- like by the class of masters who have been regu- larly brought up to the business, and served their apprenticeships as climbing-boys. These look upon the leeks as men who intrude upon, or interfere with, their natural and, as they account it, legal rights declaring that only such as have been brought up to the business should be allowed to establish themselves in it as masters. The chimney-known by different names in different trades. In sweepers, as far as I can learn, have never pos- sessed any guild, or any especial trade regulations, and this opinion of their rights being invaded by the leeks arises most probably from their know- ledge that during the climbing-boy system every lad so employed, unless the son of his employer, was obliged to be apprenticed. This jealousy towards the leeks does not at all affect the operative sweepers, as some of these leeks are good masters, and among them, perhaps, is to be found the majority of the capitalists of the chimney-sweeping trade, paying the best wages, and finding their journeymen proper food and lodging. Into whatever district I travelled I heard the operative chimney-sweepers speak highly in favour of some of the leeks. Many of the small masters, however, said "it were a shame" for persons who had never known the horrors of climbing to come into the trade and take the bread out of the mouths of those who had undergone the drudgery of the climbing system; and there appears to be some little justice in their remarks. Since the introduction of machines into the chimney-sweeping trade the masters have in- creased considerably. In 1816 there were 200 masters, and now there are 350. Before the ma- chines were introduced, the high master sweepers or "great gentlemen," as they were called, num- bered only about 20; their present number is 106. The lower-class and master-men sweepers, on the other hand, were, under the climbing system, from 150 to 180 in number; but at present there are as many as 240 odd. The majority of these fresh hands are "leeks," not having been bred to the business. 14 OF THE INFERIOR CHIMNEY SWEEPERS-THE "KNULLERS AND "QUERIERS." "> THE majority of occupations in all civilized com- munities are divisible into two distinct classes, the employers and the employed. The employers are necessarily capitalists to a greater or less extent, providing generally the materials and implements the shoe trade, for instance, they are called "chamber-masters," in the "cabinet trade" they are termed " are termed "garret-masters," and in "the cooper's trade" the name for them is "small trading- masters." Some style them "master-men," and others, "single-handed masters.” In all occupa- tions, however, the master-men are found to be es- pecially injurious to the interests of the entire body of both capitalists and operatives, for, owing to the limited extent of their resources, they are obliged to find a market for their work, no matter at what the sacrifice, and hence by their excessive com- petitions they serve to lower the prices of the trade to a most unprecedented extent. I have as yet met with no occupation in which the existence of a class of master-men has worked well for the in- terest of the trade, and I have found many which they have reduced to a state of abject wretched- ness. It is a peculiar circumstance in connection. with the master-men that they abound only in those callings which require a small amount of capital, and which, consequently, render it easy for the operative immediately on the least dis- agreement between him and his employer to pass from the condition of an operative into that of a trading workmen. When among the fancy cabinet- makers I had a statement from a gentleman, in Aldersgate-street, who supplied the materials to these men, that a fancy cabinet-maker, the manufac- turer of writing-desks, tea-caddies, ladies' work- boxes, &c., could begin, and did begin, business on less than 3s. 6d. A youth had just then bought materials of him for 2s. 6d. to "begin on a small desk," stepping at once out of the trammels of apprenticeship into the character of a master-man. Now this facility to commence business on a man's own account is far greater in the chimney-sweepers' trade than even in the desk-makers,' for the one needs no previous training, while the other does. Thus when other trades, skilled or unskilled, are depressed, when casual labour is with a mass of workpeople more general than constant labour, they naturally inquire if they cannot do better at something else," and often resort to such trades as the chimney-sweepers'. It is open to LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 377 f all, skilled and unskilled alike. Distress, a de- | all to be found among the lower class chimney- sire of change, a vagabond spirit, a hope to "better themselves," all tend to swell the ranks of the single-handed master chimney-sweepers; even though these men, from the casualties of the trade in the way of "seasons," &c., are often &c., are often exposed to great privations. There are in all 147 single-handed masters, who are thus distributed throughout the metro- polis Southwark (17), Chelsea (11), Marylebone, Shoreditch, and Whitechapel (each 9), Hackney, Stepney, and Lambeth (each 8), St. George's-in- the-East (7), Rotherhithe (6), St. Giles' and East London (each 5), Bethnal-green, Bermond- sey, Camberwell, and Clapham (each 4), St. Pancras, Islington, Walworth, and Greenwich Walworth, and Greenwich (each 3), St. James's (Westminster), Holborn, Clerkenwell, St. Luke's, Poplar, Westminster, West London, City, Wandsworth, and Wool- wich (each 1); in all, 117. Thus we perceive, that the single-handed masters abound in the suburbs and poorer dis- tricts; and it is generally in those parts where the lower rate of wages is paid that these men are found to prevail. Their existence appears to be at once the cause and the consequence of the depreciation of the labour. Of the single-handed masters there is a sub-class known by the name of "knullers" or "queriers." The knullers were formerly, it is probable, known as knellers. The Saxon word Cnyllan is to knell (to knull properly), or sound a bell, and the name "knuller" accordingly implies the sounder of a bell, which has been done, there can be no doubt, by the London chimney-sweepers as well as the dustmen, to announce their presence, and as still done in some country parts. One in- formant has known this to be the practice at the town of Hungerford in Berkshire. The bell was in size between that of the muffin-man and the dustman. The knuller is also styled a "querier," a name derived from his making inquiries at the doors of the houses as to whether his services are required or are likely to be soon required, calling even where they know that a regular resident chimney- sweeper is employed. The men go along calling "sweep," more especially in the suburbs, and if asked "Are you Mr. So-and-So's man?" answer in the affirmative, and may then be called in to sweep the chimneys, or instructed to come in the morning. Thus they receive the full charge of an established master, who, for the sake of his character and the continuance of his custom, must do his work properly; while if such work be done by the knuller, it will be hurriedly and therefore badly done, as all work is, in a general way, when done under false pretences. Some of the sharpest of these men, I am told, have been reared up as sweepers; but it appears, although it is a matter difficult to ascertain with precision, the majority have been brought up to some generally unskilled calling, as scavagers, costermongers, tinkers, bricklayers' labourers, soldiers, &c. The knullers or queriers are almost sweepers. There are, from the best information. to be obtained, from 150 to 200 of them. Not only do they scheme for employment in the way I have deseribed, but some of them call at the houses of both rich and poor, boldly stating that they had been sent by Mr. to sweep the flues. I was informed by several of the master sweepers, that many of the fires which happen in the metropolis are owing to persons employing these "knullers," "for," say the high masters, "they scamp the work, and leave a quantity of soot lodged in the chimney, which, in the event of a large fire being kept in the range or grate, ignites." This opinion as to the fires in the chimneys being caused by the scamped work of the knullers must be taken with some allowance. Tradesmen, whose established business is thus, as they account it, usurped, are naturally angry with the usurpers. There is another evil, so say the regular masters, resulting from the employment of the knullers-the losses accruing to persons employ- ing them, as they take anything they can lay their hands upon." This, also, is a charge easy to make, but not easy to refute, or even to sift. One master chim- ney-sweeper told me that when chimneys are swept in rich men's houses there is almost always some servant in attendance to watch the sweepers. If the rich, I am told, be watchful under these circumstances, the poor are more vigilant. The distribution of the knullers or queriers is as follows :-Southwark (17), Chelsea and St. Giles' (11 each), Shoreditch and Whitechapel (10 each), Lambeth (9), Marylebone, Stepney and Walworth (8 each), St. George's in the East and Woolwich (7 each), Islington and Hackney (6 each), East London, Rotherhithe, and Greenwich (5 each), Paddington, St. Pancras, East London, Retherhithe and Greenwich (5 each), Paddington, St. Pancras, Bethnal Green, Bermondsey, and Clapham (4 each), Westminster, St. Martin's, Holborn, St. Luke's, West London, Poplar, and Camberwell (3 each); St. James's (Westminster), Clerkenwell, City of London, and Wandsworth (2 each), Kensington (1); in all, 183. Like the single-handed men the knullers abound in the suburbs. I endeavoured to find a knuller who had been a skilled labourer, and was referred to one who, I was told, had been a working plumber, and a "good hand at spouts." I found him a doggedly ignorant man; he saw no good, he said, in books or newspapers, and "wouldn't say nothing to me, as I'd told him it would be printed. He wasn't a going to make a holy- show [so I understood him] of is-self." Another knuller (to whom I was referred by a master who occasionally employed him as a jour- neyman) gave me the following account. He was doing just middling" when I saw him, he said, but his look was that of a man who had known privations, and the soot actually seemed to bring out his wrinkles more fully, although he told me he was only between 40 and 50 years old; he bc- lieved he was not 46. 378 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. "I was hard brought up, sir," he said; "ay, them as 'll read your book-I mean them readers as is well to do-cannot fancy how hard. Mother was a widow; father was nobody knew where; and, poor woman, she was sometimes distracted that a daughter she had before her marriage, went all wrong. She was a washerwoman, and slaved herself to death. She died in the house [work- house] in Birmingham. I can read and write a little. I was sent to a charity school, and when I was big enough I was put 'prentice to a gun- smith at Birmingham. I'm master of the business generally, but my perticler part is a gun lock-filer. No, sir, I can't say as ever I liked it; nothing but file file all day. I used to wish I was like the free bits o' boys that used to beg steel filings of me for their fifth of November fireworks. I never could bear confinement. It's made me look older than I ought, I know, but what can a poor man do? No, I never cared much about drinking. I worked in an iron-foundry when I was out of my time. I had a relation that was foreman there. Perhaps it might be that, among all the dust and heat and smoke and stuff, that made me a sweep at last, for I was then almost or quite as black as a sweep. gent that hadn't no other change, and a poor woman as I was going away slipt a couple of trotters into my hand. "I slept at a lodging-house, then, in Baldwin's- gardens when I had money, and one day in Gray's inn-lane I picked up an old gent that fell in the middle of the street, and might have been run over. After he'd felt in all his pockets, and found he was all right, he gave me 5s. I knew a sweep, for I sometimes slept in the same house, in King-street, Drury-lane; and he was sick, and | was going to the big house. And he told me all about his machines, that's six or seven years back, and said if I'd pay 2s. 6d. down, and 2s. 6d. a week, if I couldn't pay more, I might have his machine for 20s. I took it at 17s. 6d., and paid him every farthing. That just kept him out of the house, but he died soon after. "Yes, I've been a sweep ever since. I've had to shift as well as I could I don't know that I I'm what you call a Null.r, or a Querier. Well, if I'm asked if I'm any body's man, I don't like to say no,' and I don't like to say 'yes' so I says nothing if I can help it. Yes, I call at houses to ask if anything 's wanted. I've got a job that way sometimes. If they took me for anybody's man, I can't help that. I lodge with another sweep which is better off nor I am, and pay him 2s. 9d. a week for a little stair-head place with a bed in it. I think I clear 7s. a week, one week with another, but that's the out- side. I never go to church or chapel. I've never got into the way of it. Besides, I wouldn't be let in, I s'pose, in my togs. I've only myself. I can't say I much like what I'm doing, but what can a poor man do?" "Then I come up to London; ay, that must be more nor 20 years back. O, I came up to better myself, but I couldn't get work either at the gun-makers-and I fancy the London masters don't like Birmingham hands-nor at the iron- foundries, and the iron-foundries is nothing in London to what they is in Staffordshire and Warwickshire; nothing at all, they may say what they like. Well, sir, I soon got very bad off. My togs was hardly to call togs. One night-and it was a coldish night, too-I slept in the park, and was all stiff and shivery next morning. As I was wandering about near the park, I walked up a street near the Abbey-King-street, I think it is and there was a picture outside a public- house, and a writing of men wanted for the East India Company's Service. I went there again in the evening, and there was soldiers smoking and drinking up and down, and I listed at once. I was to have my full bounty when I got to the depôt-Southampton I think they called it. Some- how I began to rue what I'd done. Well, I hardly can tell you why. O, no; I don't say I was badly used; not at all. But I had heard of snakes and things in the parts I was going to, and I gently hooked it. I was a navvy on different rails after that, but I never was strong enough for that there work, and at last I couldn't get any more work to do. I came back to London; well, sir, I can't say, as you ask, why I came to London 'stead of Birmingham. I seemed to go natural like. I could get nothing to do, and Lord! what I suffered! I once fell down in the Cut from hunger, and I was lifted into Watchorn's, and he said to his men, 'Give the poor fellow a little drop of brandy, and after that a biscuit; the best things he can have.' He saved my life, sir. The people at the bar-they see'd it was no humbug-zation. gathered 7d. for me. A penny a-piece from some of Maudslay's men, and a halfpenny from a OF THE FIRES OF LONDON. These CONNECTED with the subject of chimney sweeping is one which attracts far less of the attention of the legislature and the public than its importance would seem to demand I mean the fires in the metropolis, with their long train of. calamities, such as the loss of life and of property. calamities, too, especially as regards the loss of property, are almost all endured by the poor, the destruction of whose furniture is often the destruction of their whole property, as insurances are rarely effected by them; while the wealthier classes, in the case of fires, are not exposed to the evils of houselessness, and may be actually gainers by the conflagration, through the sum for which the property was insured. "The daily occurrence of fires in the metro- "their extent, polis," say the Board of Health, the number of persons who perish by them, the enormous loss of property they occasion, the pre- valence of incendiarism, the apparent apathy with which such calamities are regarded, and the rapidity with which they are forgotten, will here- after be referred to as evidence of a very low social condition and defective administrative organi- These fires, it was shown nearly a cen- tury ago, when the subject of insurance was de- bated in Parliament, were frequently caused from ។ ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. way practicable-what kind of compensation | Some conversation, of course, was necessary, and could possibly be made to the future children of the labouring class-those who are born with no spoons at all, instead of silver ones, in their mouths, and have nothing to look forward to but their own labour as their means of life? How could they be recompensed-save by the work- house? If there were no labourers and labourers' children to keep, then machinery and economy of labour might be a national blessing, but so long as society will permit labourers to have children--so 13 long as the " 'painless extinction of every poor man's child, as soon as born, which Mr. Carlyle ad- vocates "in in grim earnest!" is not part and parcel of the law of the land-so long must the invention so long must the invention of machinery and the economy of labour be a national curse instead of a blessing-that is to say, if the capitalists have been in the habit of paying 150,000,000l. a year as wages for the conversion of the materials of wealth into com- modities, and they are ultimately enabled, by mechanical contrivances or otherwise, to do with two-thirds less labour, and consequently to reduce the sum spent in wages from 150,000,000l. to 50,000,000l.-surely it must be apparent to all but those who mistake the welfare of this one class for the welfare of the whole country, that the ma- jority, or indeed the people generally, cannot have benefited by the change? And if we can conceive the economy of labour to extend thus far, why not much farther, till the sum spent in wages is reduced to a mere fraction, and the whole of the quondam working classes have become inmates of either our workhouses or our prisons. "By the year 2000," says an American paper, "it is probable that manual labour will have utterly ceased under the sun, and the occupation of the adjective 'hard-fisted' will have gone for ever. They have now, in New Hampshire, a potato-digging machine which. drawn by horses down the rows, digs the potatoes, separates them from the dirt, and loads them up into the cart, while the farmer walks alongside, whistling Hail, Columbia,' with his hands in his pockets.' ( In the next number I shall speak of the special application of machinery in connection with the cotton and other trades. The following communication makes known a gross wrong :- "I was last year employed as a canvasser for signatures to a petition to Parliament in respect of the total abolition of the duty on paper. The secretary of the 'Association,' who is also secre- tary of a Freehold Land Society, not far from Beaufort-buildings, Strand, gave as a return for that labour 2s. a day, the enormous sum of 12s. a week. Most of the canvassers were married men, and all highly respectable, and of course of good address and good appearance, otherwise they would not have been eligible for the employment. For that paltry sum I had to obtain at least 30 or 40 signatures, genuine ones of course. You are aware how long it would take to obtain that num- ber of respectable business men's signatures. business men's signatures. | knowledge of the subject; and, therefore, the illiterate and uneducated would have been useless. This, in the absence of all other chance of work, I performed for that sum of 12s. weekly. That being finished, this kind, humane individual said he would give me further employment in the office. I, of course, having a family, was forced to accept of it. But as he was now employing me as a clerk, I of course never thought but that I should have 11. a week at the least. "But no, although employed in writing letters, circulars, &c., from nine till seven, he, at the end of the week, put down half-a-sovereign and 2s. 6d., telling me to return the 6d. on the Monday. I ask did that man deserve to be treated honestly? I answer, certainly not. I remained there about six weeks, of course. Although obliged to have a respectable exterior, I was, respectable exterior, I was, with my wife and family, starving and getting into debt. Now, sir, is not such treatment as this calculated to arouse feelings of hatred and contempt for those who will so inhumanly oppress their fellow man? But, in conclusion, I must inform you that this gentlemen (so he terms himself) was merely paying me and others out of a fund cnotributed for the purpose, receiving a good salary himself, and expected by the committee to properly and adequately pay those he employed. C "Of course he charged them with about 4s. a day, and paid me 2s. O tempora! O mores! I consider, sir, consider, sir, this man robbed me and mine. Any one would think so. But I had almost for- gotten this cruel treatment, had it not been that I called there the other day looking for employ- ment, when this sage, sagacious, and humane gentleman,' in answer to my question, replied, No; all those who were employed last year on the paper duty must go and help the Kaffirs; they want all the money.' There was a kind, con- siderate reply to a man soliciting employment- a man, who although now brought low and in poverty, had been brought up in a sphere of life and received an education far superior to his own. to "I should greatly wish to expose this heartless robber of the poor and industrious. Should this be unfit or too long for your publication, perhaps you would be kind enough to intimate to me how I could best publicly hold up this gentleman' to shame. "I am, Sir, • "Yours respectfully, "J. R." "P.S. I am at present out of employment, with good reference." The following corroborates Wortenkrammer's derivation of Haberdasher --- ،، Sir, "If I am not too late I gladly forward you the following solution (if it is one) of a controversy about the word 'Haberdasher,' that I read in your excellent papers of London Labour and London Poor.' It is extracted from the People's Advo- C ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. cate, a New South Wales (Australia) Paper, of the date Feb. 1st, 1851- "A" Berdash" was a name given anciently in England to a sort of neck-dress, and the person who made or sold such neck-dresses was called a Berdasher," now corrupted into "Haber- dasher." "As to the origin of the word 'berdash,' I am quite ignorant. Hoping the enclosed may prove useful to your correspondents on that head, and wishing you every possible success. "I am, Sir, "Yours most respectfully, "LEWIS M. B." NOW READY. The First and Second Parts (PRICE NINEPENCE) OF A NEW WORK, TO BE CONTINUED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE TWOPENCE, LOW ENTITLED WAGES: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM; CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW, Author of "London Labour and the London Poor;" "What to Teach, and How to Teach it," &c., &c., &c. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. On Monday, July 28th, was published, Volume I. (price 5s. 6d.) of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ▲ Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings of (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE that CannOT WORK; and (3) THOSE THAT WILL Not Work. THE STREET-FOLK. The London Costermongers. The Street-Sellers of Fish. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF The Street-Sellers of Fruit and Vegetables. The Street Irish. The Street-Sellers of Game and Poultry. The Street-Sellers of Trees, Shrubs, Flowers, and Roots. The Street-Sellers of Eatables and Drinkables. The Street-Sellers of Stationery, Literature, and the Fine Arts. The Low Lodging-houses. The Street-Sellers of Manufactured Articles. The Female Street-Sellers. The Children Street-Sellers. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,0007. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Office, 16, Upper Wellington-street, Strand. No. 59. [PRICE THREEPENCE. SATURDAY, JAN. 24, 1852. No. XII. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. PARSONS LIBRARY University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. *** Correspondents will be answered next weeek. Now publishing, with Twenty-six Illustrations, price 5s. 6d., A RE-ISSUE OF VOL. I. OF LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR, A CYCLOPEDIA OF THE CONDITION AND EARNINGS OF (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; AND (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE STREET-FOLK. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE LONDON COSTERMONGERS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. THE STREET IRISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF GAME AND POULTRY. THE STREET-SELLERS OF TREES, SHRUBS, FLOWERS, AND ROOTS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF EATABLES AND DRINKABLES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF STATIONERY, LITERATURE, AND THE FINE ARTS. THE LOW LODGING-HOUses. THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. THE FEMALE STREET-SELLERS. THE CHILDREN STREET-SELLERS. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000%. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Also, in Numbers, price TwoPENCE, every alternate week, a continuation of the above. On the 23rd of August was commenced (and continued every alternate week, in Numbers, price THREEPENCE each) that portion of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR RELATING TO THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK; COMPRISING Prostitutes, Thieves, Cheats, Vagrants, Professional Beggars, and their several Dependents. Monthly Parts, price 11d. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 157 before he sees her, and resolves to take a | concubine as soon as circumstances permit. Each family deputes an agent to pro- mote the satisfactory settleinent of the transaction, while the girl herself, under her cloudy veil, sits in her harem to await her fate. To expose her face to a strange inan's gaze would be regarded as a species of prostitution. Her fortune is, therefore, decided for her. The terms of the con- tract are laid down in a document, which is signed by witnesses, and the woman is then called " a wife by writing." This is concluded some days before the actual rite of wedding; but the whole interval is oc- cupied with ceremonies, rejoicing, and liberal displays of hospitality. A man in Constantinople usually reckons on spend- ing a year's income on the occasion of his marriage. The average of this, in the middle ranks, is from 2000 to 2500 piastres. On the appointed day the union, which is a mere civil contract, though blessed by religious rites, is concluded. The bride- groom is conducted by an Imaum, or priest, to the entrance of the bride's cham- ber, and there a prayer is uttered, to which all his friends make response. He is then left alone, standing outside the door. He knocks three times. A slave- maid admits him, going out herself to fetch a table with a tray of viands. While she is gone the husband endeavours to uncover his wife's face, in which, after the usual coy resistance prescribed by custom, he, of course, succeeds. Meanwhile the damsel returns, and they eat together. The meal is very quickly dispatched, and a bridal couch is spread on the floor. Then the bride is taken into a neighbouring room, where she is undressed by her mother and her friends, after which the newly-married pair are left alone. Among the most popu- lar stories connected with Ottoman man- ners, is that of the sultan throwing his handkerchief to the woman he chooses as the companion of his pillow, and the imi- tation of this practice by great men in their harems. This, however, is a fanciful invention, repeated by some travellers who desired the world to suppose they were in- timate with the secrets of the seraglio. When the sultan chooses any one of his women to pass the night with, he sends an eunuch with a present to inform her of the intended honour. She is taken to a bath, perfumed, attired in beautiful garments, and then placed in bed. The story of her creeping in at the foot of the couch is also a fable. The first chosen is the chief in rank. The first of these fanciful accounts was probably suggested by a custom still prac- tised among some of the Bosnian commu- nities in western Turkey, where manners are more simple than in the eastern pro- vinces. The young Muslim girls are there permitted to walk about in the daytime with uncovered faces. A man inclined to matrimony who happens to be pleased with the appearance of one of these maidens throws an embroidered handkerchief, or some part of his dress, over her head or neck. She then returns to her home, con- siders herself betrothed, and never again exposes her features in public. This is the usual preliminary to marriage; but it is probable that the lover has more than one look at his mistress before he makes the sign. Even the sultan's concubines are pur- chased slaves, since no free Turkish wo- man can occupy that position. Occasion- ally he gives one away to a favourite pasha, who looks with pride upon the ac- quisition, and glories in the refuse of a palace. Little girls, about seven years of age, are much prized as slaves, and are often sold for upwards of a hundred gui- neas. Life in the harems of Constantinople is similar to that in those of Cairo. It is a round of sensual enjoyment, in which vanity is almost the only relief to the grosser appetites of humanity. The bath is the favourite place of resort. Lady Wortley Montague has left a celebrated description of one of these palaces of indo- lence. The ladies, perfectly naked, walked up and down, or reclined in various atti- tudes on heaps of cushions, attended by pretty slaves, who handed them coffee or sherbet. They delighted in the voluptuous movements of the female dancers, of which the public class in Turkey, as in Egypt, is composed of prostitutes. It struck them with surprise and disappointment that Lady Mary did not take off her clothes as they did; but she showed them how she was cased up in her stays, so that she could not strip, which they imagined was an ingenious device of her jealous husband. The morals of the Turkish women in general are described by most writers as very loose. The veils which were invented to preserve their virtue, favour their in- trigues to dispose of it. The most watchful husband may pass his wife in the street without knowing her. Thus they live in perpetual masquerade. The places of as- signment are usually at Jews' shops, where they meet their paramours, though very seldom letting them know who they are. "You may easily imagine," said Lady N 158 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. T Montague, "the number of faithful wives to be very small in a country where they have nothing to fear from a lover's indis- cretion." This may be taken, however, as an exaggerated view, for her ladyship was accustomed to breathe the impure moral atmosphere of courts, and cared little for the character of her sex in any part of the world. The wife in Turkey holds this check upon the caprice of her husband-her property belongs to herself, and if she be divorced she may take it away. The widow, also, is inviolable in her harem, not only against private intrusion, but against the officers of the law. If a woman's husband neglect her, that is, if he fail to visit her once a week, she may sue for a separation, which may be easily effected before a Kadi. If she commit adultery, he may also sue; but if the divorce takes place by mutual consent no formality whatever is required. As in Egypt, a man may marry a woman twice after divorcing her; but the third time he must not take her again, until she has been had and put away by another person. Women, in Turkey, regard as an object more pitiable than any other the childless wife. With them to be barren after mar- riage is viewed as more disgraceful than with us to be fruitful before. All sorts of quackeries are resorted to by them to pro- long and increase their powers of child- bearing, so that many kill themselves by the dangerous devices they employ. It is common to see a woman who has borne thirteen or fourteen children; some in the middle ranks bear from 25 to 30. They pray for the birth of twins, and are usually good mothers, though some have expressed themselves indifferent whether all their children lived or half of them were swept off by the plague. The single instance of superior refinement observable in Egypt is also remarkable here. Midwives only attend the bed of child-birth. There are no accoucheurs. Female practitioners also cure diseases; though an European phy- sician is sometimes admitted to feel a pulse or even to see a patient's face. Among the humbler classes the condition of the women resembles very nearly that of our own country. Their morality is generally superior to that of those wealthier inmates of the harems whose indolence seduces them into vice. The dancing girls of the public class of Turkey resemble, in all respects, those of Egypt. They are prostitutes by profession; but they do not appear to be so numerous in that country as formerly. Their per- formances, however, are prized by all classes, and they dance as lasciviously in the harem before women, as in the Kiosk before a party of convivial men. Those who per- form in public indulge in every obscenity, and vie with each other in their indecent exhibitions. Their costume is exceedingly rich both in colour and in material. Fre- quenting the coffee-houses by day, they pick up companions, whom they entertain with songs, or tales, or caresses until night- fall, when preliminary orgies take place, and they disperse, with their patrons, to houses in various parts of the city, gene- rally in the more narrow, tortuous, and remote streets. The outsides of these habi- tations are usually of a forbidding, cheer- less, dirty aspect, but the interior of those belonging to the wealthier chiefs of the dancing girls are fitted up with every appurtenance of luxury. One of the most extraordinary features in the social institutions of Turkey is the temporary union, or marriage of conveni- ence, which is adopted by many. It is, indeed, strictly speaking, simple prostitu- tion. A man going on a journey, and leaving his wife behind, arrives in a strange city, where he desires to make some stay. He immediately bargains for a girl to live with him while he remains in the neigh- bourhood; a regular agreement is drawn up, and he supports her, and pays her friends, while he has her in his possession. The Moolahs declare this to be one valu- able privilege of the male sex in Turkey; but the engagement does not appear to be valid before the law, if contracted expressly as a temporary union. But this is not necessary. The facility of divorce renders all such precaution useless. therefore, takes the girl, nominally as his wife, but virtually as his mistress, until he is tired of her, or wishes to depart, when she returns to her friends and waits the occasion of a new engagement. The man, Such is, in outline, the social system of Turkey with reference to the female sex*. OF PROSTITUTION IN CIRCASSIA. | A PECULIAR interest attaches to the nation. inhabiting that isthmus, with its stupend- * Walpole's Memoirs of Turkey; Deux Années of Turkey by an American; Castellan's Mœurs à Constantinople; Walpole's Travels; Sketches des Ottomanes; Macfarlane's Constantinople in 1828; Porter's Philosophical Transactions; Lady M. W. Montague's Letters; St. John's Notes; Thornton; Walsh; Slade's Travels; Marshall; Marmont's Turkey; Arvieux's Voyages; Russel's Aleppo, &c. London Labour and the london poor. 159 ous mountains, which forms the natural barrier between Asia and Europe; and is, perhaps, still the least known region in the ancient world. The Western Caucasus comprehends an immense district com- mencing at the middle Kuban, and ter- minating with Georgia. It is peopled by various tribes, claiming a common descent, and governed by princes, elders, and nobles. The Circassians are a brave and civilized, hospitable and courteous, race, resembling the ancient Swiss; and they present a singular system of manners varying con- siderably with the different tribes. There is a race, known as the Abassians, which is considered the aboriginal nation of the Caucasus,-described by Strabo as a predatory people,-pirates at sea, robbers on land; characteristics which they have to this day preserved. They are, however, in other respects, virtuous, dwelling in fixed habitations, strangers to the worst vices of civilized life, and humble in their desires. Their religion, a compound of Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism, per- mits polygamy; but, as a wife is expen- sive, they are usually contented with one, who is more the companion than the menial of her husband. The women are exceed- ingly industrious; employing themselves in a variety of pursuits, and tasking them- selves far more than is essentially necessary in order to procure ornamental clothes. To reward them for this they are allowed full liberty, are free in their social intercourse, and, if they wear a veil, wear it only to screen their complexions from the sun. Their costume is highly elegant, and their state is indicated by the colour of their trowsers-white being that for the virgin, red for the wife, and blue for the widow. The laws these people have made to pro- tect their own morals, have, in some de- gree, answered their purpose. Illegitimate children have no claim to a share of the patrimony, and can legally claim no re- lationship with any one. Should they be sold as slaves there is no one bound to ransom; should they be assassinated there is no relative expected to avenge their death. Nevertheless the inherent kindness of the Abassians mitigates the effect of these harsh laws. Illegitimate children are rarely treated ill, and their legitimate brothers often make with them a voluntary partition of property. But when a man marries a barren woman, he is allowed to take a concubine, whose children inherit no disability on this ac- count. When a man dies, be his rank what it may, the social law confers on his wife the superintendence of the household, and she administers the property without division until her death, when it is divided among the sons. Should any of the daughters remain unmarried, their eldest brother is bound to support them until a suitor ap- pears, when he may make as good a bargain as he can. Severe laws have been enacted against immorality. The man detected in illicit intercourse with a married or unmarried woman is tried before the elders of the community, who rarely fail to punish him, either by a fine or by perpetual banish- ment. The dishonoured wife is returned to her parents, as well as the girl, and sold as a slave. The dowry which her husband had given for her is returned to him. If the guilt have happened in the family of a prince, it can only be washed out by the blood of one, if not both, of the criminals. So bitter, indeed, is the shame which such an occurrence brings upon a house, that they who have been so disgraced often retire to some desolate part of the Caucasus, there to hide themselves from the obloquy which ever afterwards attaches to their name. When a man desires to divorce his wife, he must declare before a council of elders the reasons for such a step; and if these be not perfectly satisfactory he is obliged to pay the parents of the women a suffi- cient amount to recompense them for the burden thus thrown upon their hands. Should the woman, however, marry again before two years have expired, this sum is returned. Frequently a maiden having formed some romantic attachment, and hating the man chosen as her husband by her parents, flies alone into the woods, and hides until her friends proclaim themselves willing to concede her desires. Occasion- ally, also, two warriors select the same girl to marry, and in this case a duel is fought -sometimes with fire-arms-the victor car- rying off the prize. Similar laws and usages prevail among the Circassians, ex- cept that the wealthier men among them seclude their wives, and are altogether more Turkish in their manners. On the whole, however, the patriarchal institutions of this singular and romantic people are admirable for the effect they produce, since the Circassians and Abassians are exceedingly pure in their morality. Among the Circassians themselves, with the exception of the prouder nobles, women are not secluded. The wives and daughters of a house are often introduced to the traveller, and unmarried girls are fre- quently seen at public assemblies. One * 160 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. singular custom, however, is observed, which is that the husband never appears abroad with his wife, and scarcely ever sees her during the day. This is not from neglect or scorn, but in accordance with ancient habits, and a desire to prolong the first sentiments with which the bridegroom ap- proaches his bride. All Circassian women wear, until they are married, a tight corset of leather, which makes their complexion sallow, and hurts the figure, as all unnatural compression does. The consequence is that the young wives are infinitely more beautiful than the maidens; and the charms of the women of this race are celebrated throughout the world. The reason assigned for this strange custom is, that it is shameful for a virgin to have a full bosom. When a girl has been chosen and purchased, her future husband comes to the house, places her on horseback, gallops away, and conveys her home. Then, when all the people are sup- posed to be asleep, the bridegroom first unlooses the abominable ligatures which confine the bosom of his bride. He does not, until some time has passed, live with her openly. An idea prevails among the vulgar in Europe, that the Circassians sell their daughters as slaves to any Turk or Per- sian who may desire to buy them. This is not correct. They are particularly careful as to the position and birth of the individual who desires to intermarry with them, and the sale is no more than takes place among their own people, as well as among all the nations inhabiting the Caucasus. Great precautions are taken to secure the happiness of the girls, and long negotiations frequently produce no bargain. It is true that in the bazaars of Constantinople, and the principal towns of Asia Minor and Persia, numerous girls are sold under the name of Circassians, but they are mostly Abassians, or the children of Circassian peasants, or children ravished from the neighbouring Cossacks, or slaves procured from those base Cir- cassian traders who have given in their adhesion to Russia. Many of the girls, being trained to such ideas from child- hood, prefer the Turkish harem to the life they follow among their native hills. Some come back after having obtained their liberty, and bring accounts, in the most fluent language, of the voluptuous joys they have indulged in in their luxuri- ous prisons; but generally the race is dearly attached to its freedom. Throughout the Caucasus we have found a high scale of manners. Prostitution, as | a profession, is unknown. In one of the simple tribes, still under patriarchal rule, a girl who took up such a calling would be so shunned and abhorred by the rest of her country-women, that she would speedily be compelled to fly beyond the bounds of their territory, that is, if she escaped being sold as a slave or put to death by her in- dignant friends. The parental authority, more moral than legal, more moral than legal, is a great check upon profligacy, since a man of whatever age, if he have a father living, pays obe- dience to him, and fears to incur his re- proof. It is therefore delightful to point out a country surrounded by gross and profligate nations, where simplicity of manners still prevails, and where the female sex is as happy and as highly es- teemed as it is modest, chaste, and vir- tuous *. OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE TARTAR RACES. THE immense region of Central Asia, little known and seldom visited, has been the cradle of great nations, which have exer- cised a mighty influence on the fortunes of the world, and may again become con- spicuous in history. It is, therefore, inte- resting, as well as important, to inquire into the characteristics of the populations which still cling to its soil. They are di- vided under many names, and among the most remarkable are the hordes of Kirghiz Kazaks, who wander between the borders of the Caspian Sea on the west, and the fortified line which forms the southern frontier of the Russian Empire. On the east it is divided by a similar chain of posts from the Chinese dominions, but to- wards the south the limits of their wan- derings are unknown. Over this vast steppe a various climate prevails; but the whole is particularly marked by extremes of heat and cold, while the soil is com- posed of alternate deserts of sand and pasture, where rain during the greater part of the year is exceedingly scanty. A short and delicious spring, a burning and dry summer, a short and miserable au- tumn, which speedily darkens into a long, bitter, and gloomy winter-such are the in- fluences to which these hordes are subject. Forests, patches of green, salt lakes, springs and rivers of fresh water, a few rich valleys, and some rocky hills, vary the aspect of the wilderness which is their * Spenser's Western Caucasus; Klaproth's Voyages dans le Caucase; Spenser's Travels in Circassia; Wilbraham's Travels; Marigny's Three Voyages. 1 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 161 home; but generally it is a blank and mo- | ertion, occupying themselves, as much notonous waste. All these circumstances from inclination as from necessity, with are enumerated, as they may be supposed the affairs of the household, with attend- to have formed, or at least to have modi- ance on the flocks, and with the manufacture Their recompense is to be fied, the character of the Kirghiz Kazaks. of garments. They are divided into three principal treated as servitors by masters who are hordes the Great, the Lesser, and the sometimes proud and harsh; but the la- Little-amounting altogether to from bour of the women is not compulsory, nor 2,000,000 to 2,400,000 souls. Engaged per- are they shut up in barems, or forbidden to The seclusion of petually in wandering from place to place, mix with the other sex. they have nevertheless certain spots, be- females, indeed, is not a custom. Their longing by prescriptive rights to particular manner of living exposes them to every tribes, where they encamp for the coldest temptation; jealousy has little power to months of the winter. Their manners watch, and the wife's virtue is, for the afford a faithful picture of the ancient pa- most part, left to guard itself. triarchal life, not, indeed, the poetical life of Arcadia and the pastures of Israel, but that of the Scythians, as represented by Herodotus, or the Bedouins in their origi- nal simplicity. Forming a nation of shep- herds, they appear to live only on and for their flocks, accustoming themselves little to the use of arms, and, though perpetually on horseback, seldom engaging in the chase. They dwell in huts or temporary habita- tions of strong wickerwork, covered in with fleeces; and in the interior of these singular habitations much comfort, ele- gance, and even sumptuous luxury may often be found. Nevertheless they are a robust, hardy race, possessing very indis- tinct ideas of property, and, though ad- dicted to sensual enjoyments, long lived, and seldom visited by epidemic diseases, except when the small-pox is brought among them from Siberia. Their manners with respect to the cha- racter and treatment of the female sex are simple, but, in comparison with other pas- toral races, somewhat coarse. In costume the woman differs little from the man. Both men and women adorn themselves with ornaments of silver, gold, or coral, or even pearls and other gems, and in this reciprocal display of vanity we discover a token of equality between the sexes. It is difficult to ascertain the religion of these hordes, but it is apparently a crude mix- ture of Mohammedanism and Paganism. The Muslims have attempted to dissemi- nate their doctrines widely, but few of the Prophet's laws have been accepted so rea- dily as that which allows a plurality of wives-which the Kirghiz indulge in whenever they can afford the amount to be paid for a bride according to the usages of their nation. The Kirghiz are immoderately addicted to voluptuous pleasures, and are extremely idle. It is curious to remark, however, that while the men are distinguished by their indolence, the women are fond of ex- Though, as we have said, the Kirghiz, when they are rich enough, eagerly avail themselves of the privilege of polygamy, few possess wealth enough to enable them This cir- to marry more than one wife. cumstance prevents them from indulging in that pride which impels a man to shut up the partner of his pillow from every eye but his own. They who have seraglios must follow a steady and uniform course of life. The Tartar's tent offers few obstacles to curiosity or intrigue. Turks and Per- sians who keep a harem usually possess slaves also, whose labour permits their mistresses to lounge idly on silken cush- ions; but as the Kirghiz loves to be indo- lent, he is constrained to let his wife be as active as she pleases, and is never so happy as when she saves him the trouble of moving from his couch, by going every- where and doing everything herself. But on horseback he is proud of motion, which accounts partly for the migratory habits of the hordes, though the nature of their country is the chief cause of their nomade manner of life. Women consequently enjoy their liberty, and to their love of industry they join a goodness of heart and a warmth of affection which extort praises from many travellers. The great check upon polygamy is, as we have noticed, the cost of the Kalyms, which is to be paid for every woman. This price varies in amount, from five or six sheep, and occasionally less among the poor, to 200 or 500 or even 1000 horses among the rich. To these are added differ- eut household effects, with, on rare occa- sions, a few slaves, male or female. Out of these payments a considerable share goes to the Mohammedan Moolahs who frequent the steppes, and who are attracted thither, no less by their profitable occupation of marrying the people than by religious zcal. The Kalym increases with the number of wives. The second costs more than the first, and the third than the second, and so 162 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. forth, which enables none but a very wealthy | man to keep a harem. The khan of the Little Horde, who was lord over nearly 1,000,000 men, had sixteen or seventeen wives, besides fifteen concubines, whose offspring, however, were all on an equality. This patriarch had 42 sons and about 34 daughters. Young men usually take their first wife not according to their own choice, but under their father's direction. As to girls they are always under their parents' control, and many are affianced during infancy. The first arrangement made when a marriage is in contemplation is to fix the amount of the kalym, and the date on which it is to be paid. These preliminaries concluded, the Moolah consecrates the transaction by asking three times of the parents of the bride and those of the bride- groom, "Do you consent to the union of your children?" and reading prayers for the happiness of the married couple. Wit- nesses and arbitrators are then chosen, who may decide future disputes, should any such arise, and the nuptials are terminated by a feast and various kinds of merry- making. The man then begins to pay a kalym, or else his father does this on his behalf; and the parents of the girl occupy themselves with getting ready a trousseau for their daughter-among the articles of which it is essentially requisite to include the tent which the bride is to occupy when she is finally delivered over to her husband. While the kalym remains unpaid the marriage is suspended; though the bride- groom may pay visits to the maiden he has chosen, and even live with her, pro- vided he engages not to take away her chastity. Among some tribes these preliminary meetings are conducted with much cere- mony; in all they are often the first inter- views which the husband has with the woman who is to be his wife. When once, however, a part of the required amount is paid, neither can retract without disgrace. Ruptures, indeed, rarely, if ever, take place; partly because no young girl dare to assert a will of her own, and partly because the man does not care to rebel against a union which he is free to break when he desires. Frequently, however, the bride and bride- groom, during their preliminary visits, an- ticipate the final nuptial ceremony; in which case this is usually hastened, though the whole amount of kalym may not have been paid. They are led, richly clothed if possible, into a tent, where various rites are performed. The husband then departs, | but immediately comes again on horseback and demands his wife. Her parents refuse to yield her, when he enters, bears her off by force, places her across his saddle, and gallops away to his tent, which during many hours after is sacred against all intruders. This custom, however, is not universal. If a man finds his wife not to be a virgin, he may disgrace her, send her home, and demand from her father the restitution of the kalym, or one of his other daughters who happens to be chaste, without pay- ment. As every woman brings with her dowry a new tent, so each wife, when a man has more than one, dwells in a separate habita- tion. The first is styled the "rich wife," and exercises superior authority over all the rest. Though she may have disgusted her husband, he is bound to distinguish her by respect; while the others, entirely equal among themselves, remain always in a certain dependence on her. Prudent husbands divide even the flocks belonging to the different women, that the children of each may justly inherit her property. The chief wife may quit her husband, if she can show any grave cause for separa- tion, and return to her parents, but the others have not that privilege. The manners of the Kirghiz women are in general simple and courteous; and the conduct of the men towards them, though often rude, gross, and contemptuous, is frequently also polite and deferential. The love songs of the desert are some of them exceedingly poetical; and the pic- tures drawn by Tartar improvisatoris of their mistresses are full of passion and adulation. A man may kill his wife if he find her actually committing adultery, but not otherwise. A fine is the usual punishment of the adulterer; while the woman may be divorced, or chastised in various ways. Generally the morals of the Kirghiz Kazaks are good. Chastity in their women is highly prized-its loss entailing disgrace; but as numbers of the men are extremely sensual, many prostitutes may usually be found in each camp, though not so many as some appear to imagine. They live usually in companies, resembling the class of suttlers in European armies; though some of superior fortune inhabit separate tents, and live in ease and plenty. Among the Nogay Tartars, who are also nomades, the custom prevails of a man serving his father-in-law for a certain num- ber of years. ber of years. With them the weaker is absolutely the property of the stronger LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 163 the sons. The Russians have introduced into the country certain virulent diseases, which aid rapidly to thin the people, who them- selves have lost much in morality. Wher- ever they have large encampments, and settle for the winter, numbers of prostitutes spring up among them, not indeed entirely addicted and altogether destined to that calling, but employing it as a means of gain, and living on its wages for a shorter or a longer period. Prostitution, which is unknown among the pastoral tribes of Arabia, is, in fact, very prevalent among some of the shepherd communities inhabiting the Tartar steppes. There are two classes of women who betake sex, and all contracts are transactions of sale. The father sells his daughter, the bro- ther his sister, and girls are considered part of an inheritance as much as flocks and herds, and are equally divided among The value of a woman is mea- sured in cows; five being the cost of an inferior, and thirty of a superior one. The man, however, though obliged to buy, is not allowed to sell his wife. If she trans- gress beyond his patience he turns her out of the dwelling, and she returns to her parents, who seldom fail to receive her kindly. Divorce is permitted, but is so costly that few resort to it. When a wife leaves her husband against his consent he may demand her back; but if she mean-themselves to it-widows and divorced wo- while commit adultery or theft, her parents men—who, having no independent means must restore the kalym which was origi- of subsistence, hire out their persons under nally paid for her, and she becomes so infa- a sort of necessity, and linger through a mous that only the poorest man will buy her. miserable remnant of life, in dirt, rags, The rich are polygamists; and as the and contempt; and a few who addict them- sexes are about equal in point of numbers, selves to prostitution simply under the many of the poor cannot get a wife of any impulse of a profligate disposition. kind. The woman is not allowed to eat the whole, however, the morality of Tartars with her husband; and if she expect para- is of a superior character *. dise, it is with the understanding that she is to dwell there as a servitor. Marriages are not fruitful, and the population is regularly decreasing. On * Levchine's Les Kirghiz Kazaks; Spencer's Travels; Klaproth's Travels, &c., &c. OF THE MIXED NORTHERN INTRODUCTORY. PURSUING our inquiries among the northern races, to the very extreme of Polar cold, we discover many interesting peculiarities. Perhaps, however, the most important result of our research is the establishment of the fact, that the popular idea is in great measure erroneous, of hot countries having the most licentious population. Climate, indeed, may by fine degrees influence the temperament of men; but the conspicuous truth evolved from all our investigations has been that the manners of nations are regulated by their moral education, and not by the thermometer. In Egypt, India, Persia, and the other hot regions of the African and Asiatic continents, there prevails a voluptuous spirit; but in Russia, in Siberia, among the Greenlanders, and the tribes of the snowy deserts in the utmost north, equal sensuality is to be discovered. In the warm and happy plains NATIONS. of Arabia, in the sultry champagnes of various parts of the East, we find shepherd communities with manners most pure and simple, and we find the same among many roving nations in the cold of Tartary and Siberia. The languor and indolence engen- dered by a fervent climate may, indeed, induce a thirst for exciting pleasure; but the rigour and inclemency of the north appear equally to dispose men to take refuge in sensual gratification. Ispahan was never more licentious than St. Petersburgh 50 years ago; nor are the debauchees in the burning atmosphere of Africa more gross and indiscriminate in their pursuit of animal delights than many tribes of Esquimaux, buried though they be among the frosts of an eternal winter. Thus climate appears to exert, at least, far less influence than is popularly im- agined. The horrible orgies of the Areois, in the voluptuous islands of the Pacific, were rivalled and surpassed by the Physical 164 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Societies of Moscow; nor are the revels of Southern India more profligate than those enacted among the snowy solitudes of Siberia. Indeed, among the Hindus, we have never found perpetrated, even by the lowest class, depravities more vile than those we have discovered among tribes in Kamschatka and other parts of the Arctic regions. One circumstance, however, appears to be undeniable. The temperament of Asiatics is more easily inflamed than that of northern races. Their mind is more active, their fancy more busy, their imagination more creative. They give even to their vices a picturesque colour, quality, and configura- tion, whereas the voluptuaries of cold coun- tries are dull and drowsy sensualists, without a tinge of poetry in their composi- tion. For this reason the ardent passions of the East have been celebrated in romance and history, while the slothful sensuality of the North has been neglected and forgotten. The world consequently has heard much of the one, and little or nothing of the other; and in course of time, by a very natural process, has imagined that the burning climates of Asia represent the passions of its inhabitants, while the snows of the opposite regions of Polar cold are characteristic of their purity and free- dom from the dross of vice. This idea, which we confess we once shared with the rest of the public, has been dissi- pated in our minds by the inquiries we have made. The sensuality of the East is more striking, more conspicuous, more celebrated, because it has been dressed by history and fable in more attractive forins, while that of the North is forgotten, because it has presented no theme for declamation or romance. But the people of the one re- semble very much the people of the other; and even in the South, among the old and decaying nations of Europe, the same truth is discovered. Spain and Italy are supposed to be the cradles of voluptuous sentiment; but history shows how they have, in the manners of their people, passed from grada- tion to gradation, from variety to variety, while their climate has remained perpe- tually the same. Nature alters in nothing, but civilization is in continual change; and Rome, which was the sanctuary of female virtue in the heroic times of the Republic, is now, like Babylon, a city where adultery is licensed, and profligacy has the encourage- ment of the law. Manners in Russia appear also to have passed through a considerable change since the days of the Empress Catherine. When it becomes civilized, it will, probably, im- prove still further. Its manners are now gross and profligate in the extreme, which in servile populations is invariably the case; but they have undergone considerable ameliorations since the close of the last century. In the neighbouring and kindied regions of Siberia, alterations appear only in those parts where a congregation of tribes has taken place, and the ruder are giving way to the more refined forms of society. Throughout the North, indeed, as much variety appears as in the East, and communities dwelling under the same tem- perature, present a perfect contrast in their morals and customs. In Finland a very extraordinary state of manners still prevails. A recent traveller affords a curious illustration of this, show- ing how the ideas of decency in various countries are modified by habit. He went to a bath, and when conducted into a pri- vate chamber, found to his astonishment a tall handsome girl ready to attend him. She exhibited the utmost coolness and indifference, stripped off all his clothes, and rubbed him with herbs from head to foot as though he had been a mere log of wood, bathed him, laid him on his face, scourged him with a bundle of twigs, until he broke out into copious perspiration, dried him with towels, and all the while appeared utterly unconscious that her task was in- consistent with modesty or decent manners. In many parts of the North it is customary, as in some places in the East, and in the heroic ages in Greece, for the maidens of the house to attend a guest to his bed- chamber, and assist in disposing him in comfort for the night. These practices do not in all countries, and at all times, illus- trate the same national characteristics. They belong on the contrary to two extremes of social development. They indicate either a perfect simplicity or a total cor- ruption of manners. It was genuine purity of mind and unsuspecting innocence of character that is represented in the virgin who attended Ulysses to the bath; but it was the vilest sensuality and brutality of manners that allowed the Roman Emperor of later days to be bathed and dressed by women. Consequently in passing from the semi- civilized nations, through the races of the North, to the educated communities of Christendom, we proceed without the theory of measuring a country's manners by its geographical position. If it be civi- lized, it will be moral; but civilization is a false name when it is applied to a cor- rupt and enervated society. Art and luxury are not its highest evidences; but virtue LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 165 and obedience to the exalted maxims of it is the independence of neglect. They ethical philosophy. OF PROSTITUTION IN RUSSIA. RUSSIA, included by courtesy among civi- lized states, retains strong traces of its original barbarism. Resembling China in its system of government, it resembles it also in manners. What is admirable in its social characteristics arises from the na- tural good qualities of the people, who, notwithstanding a despotism which has wanted no feature to degrade them, please the traveller by a display of many signs of good disposition. Russia resembles Asia in the indolence and apathy of its population. In the one region nations appear to have been ener- vated by heat, in the other benumbed by cold into a torpid submission to power. This is evident from the state of public manners. In Russia the inquiry is not what is essentially wrong, but what is wrong according to the police; and nothing else is condemned. Abject towards their rulers, they assume towards others the arrogance of slaves, so that a succession of tyrants may be said to exist from the em- peror who tramples down sixty millions, to the peasant who oppresses liis serving- boy. No more striking proof could be men- tioned of the fact that the condition and character of women form an infallible measure of civilization, than the state of the sex in Russia. It is true that our' knowledge is very incomplete. Most tra- vellers who have written on that country complain how difficult it is to describe it well, and they have generally verified their remark; still we learn enough from various authorities to enable us to judge in a general way of its characteristics. Among the higher classes women affect and study a polish and refinement of man- ners, but this relates chiefly to the for- malities of life. They dare not, under their own social code, make an inelegant salutation, transgress a point of etiquette, ride in an unfashionable equipage, or con- verse in a vulgar tone; but they may break the most sacred moral laws, may speak openly of indecent subjects, and may act and talk in a way which a modest English lady would blush to think of. The position they hold in society is in accordance with this view. Formerly mar- riage was little more than a bond between master and slave; but the relation has been, in that respect, improved. Women are to a certain degree independent, but | lead, in a word, a life very nearly resem- bling that of fashionable persons in our own metropolis, but their morals are not to be compared. Little need be said of the marriage con- tract in Russia, since it is under the laws of the Christian church. It is, however, necessary to mention that few engagements occur between persons mutually united by affection. Interest is the usual tie; and frequently a girl is taken to the altar, where her appointed husband stands be- fore her, all but an utter stranger. The ceremony is so theatrical that it wears no solemnity whatever. It is a drawing-room scene, directed by priests; so that the very seal of matrimony is of such a kind as to impress the woman with no idea of a holy union. The wives of the Russian nobles have accordingly little reputation for fidelity to their husbands; a characteristic observed by Clarke, long ago, as he tra- velled, and confirmed by Mr. Thompson, who wrote a year or two since, as well as by many other writers. Immorality and intrigue are of universal prevalence, from the palace to the private house. In a so- cial sense they are scarcely looked upon as offences. The husband and wife, united by a bond, not of affection but of policy, look on each other from the first with coldness and indifference. Gradually each withdraws in a separate circle of life, and at length one looks without much care upon the guilt of the other. Before mar- riage the sexes are divided by etiquette, after marriage by mutual repulsion. The women, inferior in personal attractions, but superior in manner and acquirements to the men, receive from them little respect; and thus society, poisoned in its very springs, becomes yearly more dissolute and melancholy. None will require to be reminded that numerous exceptions occur; that pure and strong family attachments exist in Russia; that young persons marry sometimes in- fluenced by reciprocal feelings of affection; but from the accounts of all the writers we know who have described Russia, no other picture of its society could fairly be drawn. There is in that state licence for every crime which does not offend the government; and the more the nation is absorbed in its sensual enjoyments, the less will it be disposed to weary of ser- vitude. Among the peasantry sensuality is equally prevalent. They generally marry very young, but it is by no means essen- tial that the bride should be a virgin. On 166 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. } the contrary, numbers of women never marry until they have had an intrigue with some other lover. St. Petersburgh, it is said, is a city of men, there being, in a population of about 500,000, 100,000 more males than females. The native Russians are less handsome and sooner faded than the women of Germany, Finland, Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland -countries which supply the state with prostitutes. Such are the manners of the city that no woman may walk out unless accompanied by a man, not even on the great promenades, in the broad light of day. In ten years, from 1821 to 1831, the deaths in St. Petersburgh were 61,616, being 24,229 more than the births; and during the same period there were 11,429 marriages. The native Russian women are remarkable for the case with which they bring forth children, while the foreigners in that country are precisely the reverse. Of the former, 15 in 1000; and of the latter, 25 is the average of those who die in childbed. The average of 20 years gives 6 still-born infants out of every 1000. The foundling hospitals of Russia, mag- nificent as they are, cannot but be regarded as a premium upon immorality. Those of St. Petersburgh alone cost from 600,000,000 to 700,000,000 of rubles annually; sup- porting from 25,000 to 30,000 children, who are received at the rate of 7000 or 8000 a year. They are called "houses of education," because a prejudice attaches to their proper name. They are not, how- ever, intended for infants who are picked up in the streets. There is never a case of such exposure. Women who have chil- dren of which they desire to be rid, bring them usually in the twilight, and they are taken in without any questions being asked. No one can tell whether they are legitimate or illegitimate-whether the offspring of poverty, adultery, or prostitu- tion. In cases where fear or shame might in other countries induce a woman to murder or abandon her child, the mothers bring them to the hospital, and impenetra- ble obscurity remains over the previous part of the transaction. It is questionable whether the crimes thus prevented would make up an amount of evil equal to that caused by the profligacy to which the licence of impunity and encouragement is thus afforded. Violence committed on a woman, married or single, is, in Russia, punishable by the knout; but this is almost the only check which the law, written or social, imposes on immorality. It is said that judges some- times compound with a female criminal who happens to possess beauty, and pardon her at the price of her virtue. When a French writer, many years ago, astonished the civilized countries of Europe by the description of a private institution in Russia known as the Physical Club, his report was rejected by the majority of per- sons as one of those travellers' tales which had their origin in a man's impudence or credulity. Lyall, however, made extensive inquiries upon the subject, and found that there did actually exist at Moscow a society called the Physical Club, the ob- ject of which exhibited, perhaps, more depravity of manners than could be found in any other part of the world, except among the Areois of the Pacific. This club was originated by eight men and women of high rank, who agreed to hold common intercourse with each other, and for that purpose established a society. Its members all belonged to the nobility, and they sought to exclude all but beau- tiful women with the bloom of youth still upon them. Admittance was very difficult to be procured. A person before being initiated was sworn to secrecy, so that the names of the members remained unknown. At stated intervals the members of the club assembled at a large house, where, in a magnificent saloon, brilliantly lighted up, they indulged in every kind of licen- tious amusements, inflaming themselves with strong potations, and preparing for the hideous orgies which were to follow. Suddenly all the candles were put out, each man chose a companion, and a scene of in- describable debauch ensued. On other occasions tickets were drawn by lot, and the company paired off to bedchambers prepared for this libidinous festival. This horrible institution, transferring its pesti- lential influence through every circle of society in Moscow, was abolished by Catherine the Second, who hated to see the reflection of her own vices-for it is matter of history that she was a vulgar prostitute herself. Of the prostitute system in Russia our accounts are the most scanty possible. They exist in large numbers in every city and almost in every village; and a traveller remarks that they have the character of demanding to be paid beforehand, and re- fusing afterwards to remain with their companion. They do not form so distinct and conspicuous a class as in some coun- tries, for the virtue of married women and young girls in the various ranks of life is not so inaccessible as to distinguish the professional prostitute so broadly from the へし ​that I GIRLS OF NUBIA OF NUBIA (MAKING POTTERY). [From ST. JOHN's Oriental Album.] LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 167 other classes, as in a society whose manners are less corrupt. They are, in the cities, under the perpetual surveillance of the police. In the rural districts numbers of young women, belonging to the village populations, addict themselves to prostitu- tion for gain-some permanently, others only until they have a chance of marriage. There is apparently no check upon this calling, unless the women become afflicted by disease. When this is discovered the prostitute is forced to discontinue for awhile her dissolute course of life, and re- main in a hospital until cured. When, as very frequently happens, the wife of soldier takes to this occupation, and be- comes tainted, she is delivered to her husband, who is obliged to sign a bond, engaging for the future to restrain her from profligacy. The wives of serfs are also delivered up to their husbands, who must pay the expenses of their cure at the hospitals. If they refuse to do this, and to answer for the future conduct of their partners, the women are sent, without further ceremony, to Siberia. a Another peculiarity in the civilization of Russia is exhibited in the market of wives, which is annually held in St. Petersburgh. It is one of those things which many per- sons exercise their philosophy by refusing to believe; but its existence is undoubted. It is still practised, even among the upper orders, while among the humbler classes it is extremely popular. Every year, on the twenty-sixth day of May, numbers of young women assemble in a particular part of the City Summer Garden, where they are ex- hibited in a formal "bride-show." Decked with an Oriental profusion of ornaments, all the marriageable girls are arranged in lines along the shady alleys, while some friends and professional match-makers stand in attendance on each group. The men who are inclined to matrimony visit the garden, pass along the rows of maidens, inspect them leisurely, enter into conver- sation, and, if pleased, enter into a prelimi- uary, but conditional, contract. Numerous matches are thus formed; but very fre- quently the engagement here concluded, has long, between the youthful couple, been a matter of contemplation. Those who do not possess sufficient beauty or fascination are sometimes loaded with the signs of property to induce men to take them. A mother once, desiring to match her daughter to a man of substance, hung about her neck a massive chain of gold, to which was attached six dozen silver-gilt tea-spoons, and three dozen table-spoons, besides two heavy punch-ladles of the same | | metal, which soon attracted the attention In the towns, indeed, of the young men. we are told that marriages among all classes are generally settled by interest. In the rural parts this is also the case, but in a less degree. There it is the custom- among the peasantry-for the bride and bridegroom to enter the church door side by side, which they take care to do with the utmost regularity, since the super- stitious idea prevails, that the one who plants a foot first inside the threshold of the edifice, will be supreme over the other, and become a tyrant in the family. The serfs cannot marry without the consent of their masters. In all parts of Russia the marriage of a felon is dissolved by the sen- tence which condemns him; but if he be pardoned before his wife has married again, he can recover her. It will, from this account, be seen that the manners and morals of the Russians are dissolute in an extraordinary degree. There is, perhaps, no part of Europe where the people, as a race, are so profligate. This does not imply that the society of St. Petersburgh or Moscow is not distinguished by many virtuous fami- lies; but, on the whole, all travellers con- cur in showing the facts upon which we have based our estimate of the national character with respect to morality *. រ OF PROSTITUTION IN SIBERIA. FROM Russia the transition is natural to the contiguous and kindred region of Siberia. Thence we may, without any apology, extend our inquiries to the remotest north-for the Arctic countries do not present themselves with sufficient prominence to occupy a separate account, and to none could they be added as a sup- plement more fitly than to the snowy wilderness which spreads on one side to the shores of the Frozen Sea, and on the other to the frontiers of the Chinese Empire. It may appear anomalous to include any of these tracts under the head of civilized countries; but we place them as an ap- pendage of Russia, to which, indeed, they form an appropriate companion. The state of manners at which the po- * Kohl's Russia and the Russians; La Russie en 1844-par un Homme d'État; Russia under Nicolas I.; Clarke's Travels; Lyall's Character of the Russians; Voyages des Deux Français ; Granville's Travels; Golovine's Russia under the Autocrat; Venables' Domestic Manners of the Russians; Bourke's St. Petersburgh and Moscow; Thompson's Life in Russia; Jesse's Notes by a Half-Pay; Erman's Travels. 168 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. pulation of these snowy tracts have arrived | is extremely low. Nature has taught them many rude arts; but their civilization has not advanced far beyond its crudest ele- ments. The severe rigours to which they are exposed have produced pressing wants, which they have ingenuity enough to satisfy, and further than this their educa- tion does not appear to go. They are rude, | ignorant, and gross. Some remain with none but the faintest idea of a Deity; others preserve the ancient heathen belief of the Shamans; others have accepted a form of Christianity; but in few of them has a variation in their religious ideas resulted in a change of manners. In fact, the form, and not the spirit of our creed has been introduced among them. gossip, and enjoy themselves, while the youths mix with the maidens-each se- lecting the partner he likes the best. It is at this time of the year that the prin- cipal matches are arranged. In all parts it is customary to pay a certain amount to the girl's parents to buy the privilege of marrying her. Should a man not be rich enough to offer the sum required, he hires himself to her father, who tasks him some- times very heavily, and continues in servi- tude for three, five, seven, or ten years, according to the agreement made before- hand. At the end of that period he takes his bride, is redeemed from his servile con- dition, and enters the family with all the dignities and rights of a son-in-law. Among the Ostyaks it is regarded as very disgraceful to marry a brother's widow, a mother-in-law, or, indeed, any person connected in an ascending or descending line with the wife; but it is reckoned honourable to marry several sisters. The sister of a deceased wife is considered a particular acquisition, and, indeed, is at- Throughout the immense tracts of Siberia we find numerous tribes, and even nations, classed under various denominations; but all, in their general manners, very much resembling each other. The condition and character of the female sex among them is low; but it is not treated with that harsh- ness or contumely which it experiences intended with a solid advantage, for a man some savage races. Although the rude Ostyak, for instance, considers his wife as no more than a domestic drudge, seldom thinks of giving her a cordial word, and loads her with tasks, he does not use her with posi- tive severity. Among the Samoyedes, wo- men are much less happy and more harshly treated. In the perpetual migrations of the tribes they are charged with the prin- cipal burdens, and drag after the men like a train of slaves. The wife is viewed as a necessary but almost disgusting appendage to a man's household. She is regarded as unclean under many circumstances-espe- cially childbirth, after which her husband will not approach her for two months. When about to be delivered she expe- riences, instead of the kind, considerate usage which some, even of the wildest savages pay to their women in such situa- tions, a scorn and indignity to which, by long custom, she has thoroughly learned to bend. In many parts of Siberia, however, a better prospect is presented, and the sexes appear more on an equality. Towards the centre, away from the sea on one hand, and Russia on the other, the tribes enjoy a very independent existence, being, indeed, the most free among the subjects of the Czar. In the winter time, when the rivers are completely frozen, the young girls as- semble on their snowy borders, taking care to deck themselves out with every sort of finery they can procure. Their friends also congregate, forming groups, | taking the second daughter of a house pays to her father a sum only equal to half of that which he paid for the first. No one can marry a person of the same family name; but this 'seems to apply to men alone, for a woman under this description who enters another household, and bears a daughter, may bestow her upon her brother. In a word, every union is lawful provided the father of the bridegroom and the father of the bride are of different families- though custom makes other distinctions, which are generally observed with as much strictness as those marked by the tradi- tionary law. When an Ostyak desires to marry he selects from among his companions or rela- tives a mediator. IIe then goes with a train of friends, as numerous as his in- fluence enables him to collect, and stands before the door of the house in which the girl whom he has fixed upon resides. Her father easily guesses, on the arrival of such a cavalcade, what the object of it is, and consequently asks no questions, but invites the company in and welcomes them with a feast. Then, retiring with the mediator into another hut, he enters into a negotia- tion about the amount which he is to receive for his daughter. These things are quietly arranged, though the spirit of bargaining is generally active on both sides. It is not necessary to pay down the whole amount at once, but this must be done before the nuptials can take place. Sometimes, however, a man snatches away LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 169 his bride before he has fully discharged | his debt. In that case her father waits for an opportunity to seize her, carries her home, and keeps her in pledge until the amount be faithfully paid. Similar customs prevail among the Sa- moyedes, who are polygamists, though they prefer the changing one wife for another, according to the changes in their inclina- tion, to having two or three at once. The Tungueses, however, often keep as many as five, but even among them the majority of men marry no more than one at a time. They enter into matrimony at a very early age. It is common to see a husband fifteen years old, and a wife, or even a widow, of twelve. There is with them no feast or ceremony of any kind. The bargain is made and ratified, and the young couple proceed forthwith to their nuptial couch. The Bulwattes, who are also polygamists, treat their women well. Among them one curious observance is, that the consum- mation of every marriage must take place in a newly-built hut, where, as they say, no impure things can have been. This is, at any rate, a poetical and a somewhat refined idea. Certain feasts are essential before the union is contracted. The Tchoutkas, beyond Nigri Kolinsk, have been baptized in large numbers. Their Christianity, however, does not incline them to remove polygamy, for they have in most cases a plurality of wives, whom they marry for a certain period-long or short, as circumstances may determine. It sometimes happens in one of these house- holds that the wife obtains sufficient as- cendancy over her husband to bind him to her, and a convention, intended from the first to be only temporary, becomes perma- The woman who accomplishes this achievement is honoured by the rest of her sex, and is thenceforward supreme in the family. Generally speaking the women of this tribe are more happy and free than in any other part of Siberia. nent. Among the Tschuwasses it is customary on the occasion of a betrothal to offer a sacrifice of bread and honey to the sun, that he may look down with favour on the union. On the appointed day, while the guests are assembling, the bride hides herself behind a screen. Then she walks round the room three times, followed by a train of virgins bearing honey and bread. The bridegroom entering, snatches over her veil, kisses her, and exchanges rings. She then distributes refreshments to her friends, who salute her as "the be- trothed girl," after which she is led behind the screen to put on a matron's cap. One of the concluding rites performed is that of the bride pulling off her new husband's boots-a ceremony to symbolise her pro- mise of obedience to him. When, how- ever, he on his part takes the cap from her head, she is divorced, and goes home to her parents. Still more degrading is the custom of the Tchemerisses. A man, representing the girl's father, presents to her husband a whip, which he is allowed freely to use. There is only one occasion during the year when men permit their wives to eat with them. The Morduans betroth their chil- dren while very young; but the youth does not know his bride until he marries her. She is then brought to him, placed on a mat, and consigned to his charge with these words, "Here, wolf, take thy lamb." Still more singular is the custom of the Wotyahe tribes. With them it is usual for the young wife, a few days after the wedding, to go back to her father's house, resume her virgin costume, and remain sometimes during a whole year. At the end of that period the husband goes to fetch her, when she feigns reluctance, and exhibits every sign of bashfulness and modesty. The women of this community are habitually chaste and decorous in their behaviour. The usual occupations of the men in Siberia are hunting, fishing, smoking, drinking, and bartering with the Russian traders. Those of the women are far more numerous and wearisome. They build the huts, they tend the cattle, they prepare the sledges, they harness the reindeer when their husbands are away, and drive them also occasionally; they weave mats, bas- kets, and cloth; they dye worsted for em- broidery; they tan hides, make garments, cook the food, and, in some tribes, assist in catching fish. While they perform these varied and harassing offices without a mur- mur, as they usually do, their life is one of peace; but if they repine they are sure to be harshly reproved, if not severely pun- ished. In some communities the husband is permitted the free use of his whip; but in others, as that of the Ostyaks, a hus- band dare not flog his wife without the consent of her father, and on account of some grievous fault. If he does she has the privilege of flying home, when her dowry must be restored, and she has her liberty complete. Jealousy is a sentiment little known among the Ostyaks, or, indeed, any of the Siberian races. Sometimes the women wear veils, but not with that strictness observ- able with some nations, and more to save 170 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. their eyes from the effect of the snow glare than from any other motive. Modesty, indeed, is by no means one of their cha- racteristics. Nor is chastity very highly prized. When a Samoyede woman is about to be delivered, she is obliged to confess, in presence of her husband and a midwife, whether she has engaged in any criminal | intrigue. If she tell an untruth, the national superstition is that death will assail her amid the pangs of childbirth. Should she declare herself guilty, the hus- band contents himself with going to the person whom her confession has accused, and exacting from him a small fine by way of compensation-for having, "without permission," carried on intercourse with a stranger's wife. The barbarous manners of Siberia do not allow us, indeed, to expect any refined modesty among its women. Wrangell was introduced into the family of a rich and influential man-the head of a tribe. Within a low-roofed but spacious habita- tion he found five or six women-wives and daughters, of various ages, all completely naked. They roared with laughter when their visitor entered, and appeared exces- sively amused at being discovered in that condition. The dancing women of these tribes wear clothing while they display their skill, but otherwise they are as indecent as possible. Obscene and degrading postures, indeed, make up the chief merit of their performances. A late traveller, hearing of these dancers, desired some women to per- form, but they appeared so modest, bashful, and diffident, that he feared to urge them. However, after considerable solicitation they consented, when he was disgusted at seeing them fling themselves with mar- vellous rapidity into a hundred disgraceful attitudes. Infanticide is not practised in Siberia, except on those children who are born with deformities. These are, it is said, invariably destroyed. There is, in fact, little induce ment to the crime, for the whole region is but scantily peopled, and marriages are not at all prolific. reprobrated by the other classes of the population, and the young men who do not wish to marry, or cannot afford to pro- cure a wife, as well as widowers, resort to them continually. The process, in fact, which educates a Siberian prostitute to her calling, appears to be this. A young girl, in a community where general licen- tiousness of manners prevails, is brought up from her mother's breast with the most loose ideas. She is not taught to prize her chastity, though told that marriage is the destiny to which she must look, and warned that her husband will require her to be faithful to him. Meanwhile, how- ever, there is little in her own mind, or in the care of her friends, to protect her virtue. She forms acquaintances, and is seduced, first by one, and then by another, until her profligacy becomes so flagrant and so public that no one will purchase her as a wife. Accordingly she follows as a means of livelihood that which she has hitherto resorted to only as a means of in- dulging her vicious appetite. Thousands of prostitutes are thus made, especially amid the crowded communities. In some of the small wandering tribes, the women are comparatively chaste; but on the whole the refined sentiments of virtue are unknown, and prostitution extremely pre- valent. This appears strange to those who are accustomed to believe that a warm climate is essential to form a sensual race. It seems, on the contrary, that one ex- treme of temperature is accompanied with influences as demoralising as another, for it is certain that nations dwelling in the temperate zone are more moderate in their passions, and more abstemious in the gra- tification of them. For the races inhabiting the Arctic regions, the Esquimaux may be taken as a proper type. As a race, they are dirty, poor, and immoral, but not so grovelling as the tribes of Western Africa. Though their ideas of beauty and grace are totally at variance with ours, it is wrong to sup- pose that they have none, for the Esqui- maux woman, who tattooes her skin to charm a lover, exhibits undeniably one of those characteristics in human nature which allow opportunities to civilize in- The morals of the Siberian races are universally low. A licentious intercourse is carried on between the sexes long before marriage, early as this takes place. Individuals and nations. They are an in- the great city of Yehaterinbourgh, where re- ligious dissensions are extremely bitter, profligacy is still more powerful, and women, from sheer lust, prostitute them- selves to men of all sects, with whom, how- ever, they would rigidly refuse to cat or drink. In all the towns numbers of pro- stitutes reside. They are scarcely, if at all, genious industrious people, understanding well how to make use of those conveni- ences and appliances of life which have been placed by nature at their disposal; and they who make themselves comfort- able and happy in the coldest and most desolate parts of the earth, must possess a certain amount of that genius which, 1 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 171 properly developed, flourishes in civiliza- | tion. The estimation in which women are held among the Esquimaux is somewhat greater than is usual among savages. They are by no means abject drudges, those cares only being assigned to them which are purely domestic, and which are apportioned to the females among the humbler classes in all European countries. The wife makes and tends the fire, cooks the food, watches the children, is sempstress to the whole family, and orders all the household ar- rangements, while her husband is labour- ing abroad for her subsistence. When a journey is to be performed, they, it is true, bear a considerable share of the burdens, but not more than among many of the poor fishing populations of civilized coun- trics in Europe, in some of which the man's occupation ceases when his boat touches the shore. It is a division of labour, not so much imposed as shared, and the toil is not by any means hateful to them. During the stationary residence in the winter, the life led by the women is in fact one of ease, indolence, and pleasure, for they sit at home, cross-legged on their couches, almost all the day, enjoying them- selves as they please, with a fire to warm the habitation, which it is a pleasant task to attend. The Esquimaux women are not are not very prolific, few bearing more than three or four children. They generally suckle them themselves, but it is not uncommon for one woman to nurse at her breast the infant of another who may be closely oc- cupied at the time. They are more de- sirous of bearing male than female off- spring, for parents look to their sons in old age as a means of support. The Esquimaux are permitted by their social and hereditary law to have two wives, but the custom is by no means general. Parry describes a tribe of 219- 69 being men, 77 women, and the rest children-among whom there were only twelve men who had two wives, while a few were doubly betrothed. Two instances occurred of a father and son being married to sisters. Children are usually plighted during infancy-that is, from three to seven years of age, and the boy sometimes plays with his future bride, calling her wife. When a man has two wives, there is usually a difference of six or seven years between their ages, and the senior being mistress, takes her station by the principal fire, which she entirely superin- tends. Her position is in every respect one of superiority; but this is seldom as- | serted, as the two generally live in the most perfect harmony. The marriage con- tract has nothing of a sacred character about it, being merely a social arrange- ment which may be with great facility dissolved. A man can without any cere- mony repudiate his wife, to punish her for a real or supposed offence, but this is rarely done. The husband, who is usually older by many years than his partner, chastises her himself when she irritates him, though caring comparatively little for her fidelity. Absolute in his authority, according to the laws of the Esquimaux, he is sometimes, nevertheless, ruled by the women. Usually, however, he upholds his prerogative, and punishes any infringe- ment of it in a very summary manner; but the utmost harshness commonly em- ployed is to make the delinquent lead her master's reindeer while he rides comfort- ably in his sledge. Women are very care- ful of their husbands, partly no doubt from natural sentiments of affection, but partly also, we may believe, from know- ledge of the fact that widows are not half so happy as wives, being dirty and ragged, unless they have friends willing to support them, or sufficient attractions to enable them to gain a livelihood by regular pro- stitution. In- Respecting the virtue of the Esquimaux women and the morality of the men, little of a favourable nature is to be said. Hus- bands have continually offered their wives to strangers for a knife or a jacket. Some of the young men told Parry, that when two of them were about to be absent for any length of time on whaling expedi- tions, they often exchanged wives as a matter of temporary convenience. stances of which have been noticed by the voyager-in some cases merely because one woman was pregnant and unable to bear the hardship of a journey. The same writer' affirms that in no country is pro- stitution carried to a greater length. The behaviour of most of the women while the men are absent, causes a total disregard of connubial fidelity. Their departure, in fact, is usually a signal to cast aside all restraint, and, as the last excess of pro- fligacy, children are sent out by their mothers to keep watch lest the husband should return while his habitation is oc- cupied by a stranger *. * Wrangell's Nord de la Siberie; Cottrell's Recollections of Siberia; Dobell's Travels; Holl- man's Travels; Erman's Travels; Parry's Three Voyages; Bache's Narrative; Bache's Land Expe- dition; King's Journey to the Arctic Ocean; 172 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. ! ICELAND AND GREENLAND. ICELAND and Greenland, differing in their people, their fortunes and their civilization, may, nevertheless, be classed together, for both belong geographically to the western world, while both present intimate relations with Europe. Iceland, a lonely, gloomy, and extensive country, is inhabited by a serious, humble, and quiet people, number- ing about 55,000. Isolated from the rest of the world by dreary and tempestuous seas spreading far around it on every side, its inhabitants remain to this day almost in their primitive condition. Nine cen- turies have produced little change in their language, costume, or modes of life. For merly, indeed, they were heathens, and have now been converted to Christianity. Modi- fications have also occurred in their manners. At one period, for instance, the law allowed the exposure of such children as their parents desired to be rid of, and the unna- tural sacrifice was common. It originated with the men, and the women appear never to have become reconciled with the usage, which has now been entirely abolished, though infants perish in large numbers from insufficient and unskilful nursing. On the whole, however, the original manners of the Icelanders remain unchanged. We refer, of course, to a period since what has been termed the heroic age, when a system of society prevailed, which has been entirely swept away by a new and victorious civi- lization. In those ancient times, when Iceland was a republic, with institutions of Iceland was a republic, with institutions of a most remarkable nature, the treatment of the female sex there, and among the Scan- dinavian nations generally, was unequalled by any other heathen communities, except the polished state of Greece. Polygamy, though not forbidden by their religious code, was exceedingly rare. Their manners, indeed, are, in several other respects, superior to their enacted laws. Fathers, or other near male relatives, possessed unlimited power to dispose of the young girls as best suited their convenience or caprice, but ever exercised this invidious ever exercised this invidious prerogative, leaving them rather to their own choice. With mild advice, indeed, they persuaded them to prudent unions, but with no harsh, inconsiderate authority. The daughter received, on her marriage, a dowry from her parents besides a present from her husband. These acquisitions formed a property which remained abso- Fisher's Voyage of Discovery; Barrow's Voyage; Shillinglau's Arctic Discoveries; Snow's Arctic Regions; Scoresby's Arctic Countries, &c., &c. seldom or lutely her own, and constituted her provi- sion in the event of a divorce. This could take place whenever she chose to express before certain prescribed witnesses her desire for such separation. A harsh word, any ill-usage, or a hasty blow, might be pleaded as sufficient reason for her resolve; and by a liberal use of this prerogative the wives of Iceland obtained high authority over their husbands. They occasionally accompanied them to the public assemblies, which were convened in conformity with their popular institutions, and were always present at the great festivals. Sometimes they assembled in rooms assigned exclu- sively to them, and made merry among themselves; sometimes they mingled with the general company. With the exception of a few, whom the fearful superstition of that age condemned to death as witches, no women suffered very severe punishment. The warriors of the island delighted to celebrate their praises, and terms expressing the high qualities of the female sex were abundant in the Icelandic language, and present the condition of the sexes is some- profusely employed in its literature. At what equal. The men of the humbler but do not oppress them with any of the classes divide their labours with the women, taskmaster's tyranny. Both are alike filthy and coarse in their habits. Among the wealthy, as well as in the middle orders, it is customary for ladies to wait at table when strangers are present; but this is considered as an employment by no means menial. The hospitality of the Icelanders, indeed, assumes some very singular forms. Their women often salute the stranger with of their uncleanliness he is generally de- a cordial embrace, from which on account sirous to escape as quickly as possible. When Henderson, the missionary, resided there, he visited, during his travels, the house of a respectable man, where he was liberally treated. At night, when he retired to his bedroom, the eldest daughter of the family attended him, and assisted him to undress by pulling off his stockings and pantaloons. He was unwilling to accept such services, to which he was wholly un- accustomed; but she imputed his refusal to politeness, and insisted on performing the office, declaring it was the invariable custom of her country. It is the task of the sandals or latchets of their husband's women, almost always, to unloose the shoes. The intercourse of the sexes in Iceland is regulated by few absolute laws; but Christianity has abolished polygamy, while public opinion holds a strong check upon LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 173 illicit communication. With the exception | of those seaport populations, which have been corrupted by an influx of Danes and other foreigners, generally of disreputable character, they are, as a nation, moral. These exceptions contribute very consi- derably to the number of bastard children. In 1801, the population was 46,607 —; 21,476 males and 25,131 females, or in the proportion of thirteen to fifteen of men to women. The average marriages during a period of ten years, were 250, or one out of 188 of the population; the births 1350, or one in 35, and the deaths 1250. One child out of nine was illegitimate. In 1821 one out of seven was illegitimate, and in 1833 the proportion remained the same. Men usually marry between the ages of 25 and 32, women between those of nine- teen and 30. | maux, who have, however, a system of manners not identical with that of the tribes we have already noticed. They are a vain and indolent, but not a very sensual, people. What virtue they possess consists rather in the negation of active vice, than in any positive good qualities. Their women occupy an inferior, yet not a de- graded, position. They take charge, indeed, of all domestic concerns, make clothes, tools and tents, build huts and canoes, prepare leather, carry home the game, clean and dry the garments, and cook the food, while their husbands catch seals; but the men often assist their wives in these occupations. Marriage is essentially a contract for mutual convenience, to be dissolved when it ceases to be agreeable to both. The woman looks out for a skilful hunter, the man for an industrious house- wife. She brings him little dowry, possess- ing usually no more than a kettle, a lamp, some needles, a knife, and a few clothes. Parents seldom interfere with the matches of their children. It is considered proper for a girl, when a man comes to request her in marriage, to fly away and hide among the hills, whence she is dragged, with a show of violence, by her suitor. He takes her home, and if her aversion be real, she runs away again and again, until he is weary of pursuit. Formerly, it was the custom to make incisions in the soles of a bride's feet, as some tribes in Siberia and Borneo are accustomed to do to the cap- tives, to prevent their escaping. When a woman is courted by a man whom she detests, she cuts off her hair, which is a sign of great horror and grief, and usually rids her of her suitor. Among the heathen tribes polygamy is allowed, though seldom practised. Divorces sometimes take place. All the man has to do is to assume a stern expression of countenance, and quit the home for a few days without saying when he intends to return. The woman takes the hint, packs up her few effects, and goes with her children to the house of her parents or some friend. Generally, how- ever, they lead a reputable life, the women being docile, and the men indulgent. If, however, we give credit to a scandal- ous anecdote related by Lord Kames, in his "Sketches of Man," we must impute to the Icelanders, of a century and a half ago, a very profligate disposition. In 1707, it is said, a contagious distemper having cut off nearly all the people, the King of Denmark fell on an ingenious device to repeople the country. He caused a law to be promulgated that every young woman in Iceland might bear as many as six illegitimate children without injuring her reputation; but, says the gossipping philo- sopher, the young women were so zealous to repeople the country, that after a few years it was found necessary to abrogate the law. Little dependance is to be placed on such stories, though the number of illegitimate children born does certainly contradict the panegyrics on the pure morality of the Icelanders, in which some writers are fond of indulging. About one person in seven is married; but it is the custom among the poor for persons of both sexes to sleep promiscuously in small close cabins, which cannot but corrupt their manners. In the fishing towns, especially, where numerous foreigners have congre- gated, there are many prostitutes, who usually gain only part of their livelihood by that profession. What their numbers are it is impossible to tell; but it seems that the crews of the fishing-vessels, as well as the traders who frequent the ports from time to time, generally resort to the com- pany of prostitutes, who present them- selves in any numbers that may be re-affinity. It is not considered reputable for quired. Extending our observations to the re- mote and desolate coast of Greenland, we find a population partly composed of European colonists and partly of Esqui- Considering themselves, as they do, the only civilised people in the world, the Greenlanders feel a pride in observing the outward shows of decorum. They do not allow marriages within three degrees of persons, though not related, who have been educated in the same house, to marry. Sometimes a man takes two sisters, or a mother and her daughter, but this is viewed with general reprobation. The 174 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. marriage contract is, on the whole, very strictly observed, few divorces taking place, except between the young. "The most detestable crime of polygamy," as a Danish writer terms it, produced, where it was practised, little of that jealousy which might be expected among the wives, until the arrival of the missionaries, who preached against it, and speedily won the female sex to support their doctrine. There was formerly in Greenland a so- ciety resembling very closely the Physical Club of Moscow, but still more obscene in its practices. This, however, has dis- appeared. Prostitution, nevertheless, pre- vails to a considerable degree, widows and divorced women almost invariably adopting it, as the only means of life, in- deed, to which they can resort. There are numerous habitations in the larger com- munities, which can only be described as brothels; but the profession entails the worst odium on those who follow it *. OF PROSTITUTION IN LAPLAND AND SWEDEN. A NOTICE of the Scandinavian populations would be incomplete, unless we touched particularly on the Laplanders; especially as they contrast very strongly with their neighbours the Swedes, notwithstanding that these are far more inflated with the pride of civilization. Forming a nomade race, known in their own region as Finns, they occupy a country little favoured by the prodigality of nature. Nevertheless, where they have settled into fixed commu- nities, we find them adopting many forms of luxury, polishing their manners, and pursuing wealth with eagerness. But these scarcely belong to the body of the Lap- landers, and it is only necessary to say of them that they are a happy, virtuous people, distinguished by the affection and harmony existing between men and women. The genuine Laplander, among his free rocks and snows, lives partly in a tent, partly in a hut; but, whichever tenement he inhabits, he is content with the most simple economy. During the summer he wanders, and is equally industrious and frugal; during the winter he remains in one place, enjoying the fruits of his labour in ease * Henderson's Residence in Iceland; Trail's Letters on Iceland; Kames' Sketches of Man; Gaimard's Voyages en Islande; Hooker's Tour in Iceland; Crantz's History of Greenland; Account of Greenland, Iceland, &c.; Dillon's Winter in Greenland; Barrow's Visit to Iceland; Egede's Descriptions of Greenland; Graah's Voyage to Greenland. and idleness. This is a peculiar mode of life, and has much influence on the manners of the people; for, during their leisure months, they invent many pleasures, few of which are indulged in by one sex apart from the other. The Lapland families are generally small; three or four children being the largest number habitually seen; but what they do bring forth, the women bring forth casily; scarcely ever requiring help, and speedily leaving their couch to fulfil their usual tasks. The general character of the Lapland race is good. From whatever cause the circumstance proceeds, it is certain that their morals are strict and virtuous. Few strong passions of any kind prevail among them, and they are more especially distin- guished by their continence. The priest of a large parish assured one traveller that there had been but one instance of an illegitimate birth during twenty years, and that illicit intercourse between the sexes was almost unknown. Old travellers have amused their readers with accounts of the conjugal infidelity common in Lapland, and asserted that the to strangers: this appears to be wholly men are in the habit of offering their wives untrue. So far from truth is it, indeed, that adultery is a crime almost unknown among them; they are, in fact, rather The intercourse of the sexes, nevertheless, jealous than otherwise of their women. is free and agreeable; their marriages are contracted, sometimes according to the that of their parents. Prostitution is un- choice of the young people, sometimes by known among them, except in the fishing taken to that mode of life; but, on the towns, where a few wretched women have whole, they are a chaste and virtuous race. tutions of Norway and those of Sweden The great difference between the insti- consist in this-that in the former, man- law attempts to regulate every detail of ners influence the law; while in the latter, public manners. attain their majority at the age of 21 Men, says the public law of Sweden, ing the whole period of their lives, unless years, but women remain in tutelage dur- the king grants a privilege of exemption: widows, however, are excepted. Men can- not legally marry before the age of 21. Even to this rule there is an exception, for among the peasants of the north it is law- ful for a youth of eighteen to take a wife -a device adopted to increase the popula- tion of those thinly-inhabited provinces. Women may marry immediately after their MUTUAL PENSION SO- CIETY. Established to provide Pensions for Necessitous and Aged Meinbers. Subscription, 5s. per Annum. TRUSTEES.-William Breynton, Esq.; Matthew Fors- ter, Esq. Chairman-Thomas Tyerman, Esq., Fice-Chai, man- Horace Mayhew, Esq. MANAGER AND HONORARY SECRETARY. John Howden, Esq., 11, Chesterfield-street, Argyle-square. All persons subscribing 5s. per annum to be members, or a donation of 5. to constitute a member for life. Minors and females can be members. When the interest on the invested capital amounts to 501. per annum, an election of pensioners to take place as follows: To such necessitous persons who have been members for 5 years a pension of £5 per annum. Ditto ditto 8 Ditto ditto 10 Ditto dilto 15 Ditto ditto 20 Ditto ditto 25 ,, €10 £15 €20 J £25 £30 وو The pensioners to be elected by ballot, and all mem- bers to have one vote for each pensioner to be elected for every 5s. per annum, or £5 subscribed by them, with liberty to give the whole of their votes to one can- didate, or divide thern as they please. The affairs of the Society are managed by a Com- mittee, consisting of not less than twelve members, the Trustees, and Manager. Subscriptions and donations gratefully received by the Manager, who will feel great pleasure in giving any further information required. The Committee sincerely trust in the support of the provident to secure a harbour of refuge, if needed, when age or innimity creeps cn, and in the patronage of the wealthy, to aid those who are doing all in their power to prevent their being a burden on the com- inunity in their old age. THE MUTUAL INVESTMENT INVESTMENT SOCIETY. ESTABLISHED A.D. 1845. Enrolled pursuant to Act of Parliament, 6 & 7 Wm. IV., cap. 32, for the following purposes: FIRSTLY, To enable such of its Members as desire it, to purchase FREEHOLD or LONG LEASEHOLD PROPERTY; SECONDLY, To afford to the Industrious a secure Investment for their Savings, payable at any time, with Interest at the rate of £5 per cent. per annum ; MEETS ON THE FIRST WEDNESDAY IN EVERY MONTH, AT SEVEN O'CLOCK IN THE EVENING, IN EXETER HALL. Trustees-H. MUGGERIDGE, Esq., St. Andrew's Hill, Doctors' Commons. LEOFRIC TEMPLE, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, Temple. Directors:-CHAIRMAN-Mr. H. GRAY, Earl Street, Blackfriars. VICE-CHAIRMAN-Mr. J. ELLIS, Ludgate Hill. Mr. H. PRITCHARD. Mr. S. COLLINS. Mr. W. GOODYER. Mr. M. FORSTER. Mr. J. STAFF. Mr. S. STANDBROOK. Mr. HORACE MAYHEW. Mr. J. WHEELER. Mr. GEO. HUNT. Mr. W. DAVENPORT. Mr. W. MORLEY. Mr. R. WHENMAN. Mr. A. LINES. Mr. P. BARFOOT. Mr. J. CULVERWELL. Managing Director:--Mr. J. HOWDEN, 11, Chesterfield Street, Argyle Square. Solicitor:-W. H. RYMER, Esq., Chancery Lane. Surveyor:-T. TYERMAN, Esq., 14, Parliament Street. Bankers:-Messrs. BARCLAY, BEVAN, TRITTON, and Co. SHARES, £100.-SUBSCRIPTIONS, 10s. PER MONTH. No Entrance Fees or Fines to Depositors! No Arrears on Entrance!! No Fines on Withdrawal ! ! ! 1 NOW READY. The FIRST TWO PARTS (PRICE NINEPENCE) OF A NEW WORK, To be continued in Weekly Numbers, Price TWOPENCE, LOW ENTITLED WAGES: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM; CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW, Author of "London Labour and the London Poor;" How to Teach it," &c., &c., &c. What to Teach, and * MR. MAYHEW has found, from the commencement of his investigations into the condition of the working men of the Metropolis, that the received doctrines of Political Economy are insufficient either to explain or remedy the evils of unrequited labour, and he has been long engaged in generalising the facts he has collected in the course of his inquiries, and in making deductions therefrom, with a view to the better understanding of the "perils of the nation." Some of the articles on the "Labour Question" which have been printed on the wrappers of "London Labour" will be inserted in the present volume, which, being of a speculative character, it is thought advisable to issue in a distinct form, so that the facts collected by the Author may exist separately from the opinions engendered by them in his mind. The work is published in weekly instalments, so as to bring it within the means of the working classes, and will be completed (it is believed) in about five-and-twenty numbers. It will be printed in large type, the page being of the same size as "London Labour," though, from the matter being neces- sarily of a less popular character, and the sale consequently more circumscribed, sixteen pages instead of twenty-four will be given in each number. The order and arrangement of the work will be as follows: 1st. High and Low Wages; Fair and Unfair Wages; Good and Bad Wages; what is meant by them; and is there an uniform set of circumstances regulating the sur paid as remuneration for labour. 2nd. What should regulate wages. 3rd. What does not regulate wages. Here will be discussed the Wage Law of Supply and Demand as propounded by Political Economists. 4th. What does regulate Wages. 5th. Of a minimum Wage and of the difference of Wages. 6th. Of the causes of Low Wages in connection with large and small capitalists, nd the different grades of employers and labourers. 7th. Of the means by which Low Wages are carried out. Here will be given a detail of the several tricks resorted to by employers to lower the ordinary rate of remuneration. Sth. Of the consequences of Low Wages. Here will be considered the causes of Crime and Pauperism. 9th. Of the remedies for Low Wages. Here the several plans proposed for the alleviation of the distress of the country will be dispassionately reviewed and discussed. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. No. 60. [PRICE TWOPENCE. SATURDAY, JAN. 31, 1852, OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. PARSONS LIBAT.IT University of MICHIGAN LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR BY HENRY MAYHEW. INCHINSON ¢ OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. *** Correspondents will be answered next weeek. Now publishing, with Twenty-six Illustrations, price 5s. 6d., A RE-ISSUE OF VOL. I. OF LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR, A CYCLOPEDIA OF THE CONDITION AND EARNINGS OF (1) THOSE THAT WILL WORK; (2) THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK; AND (3) THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE STREET-FOLK. BOOK THE FIRST.-CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE LONDON COSTERMONGERS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. THE STREET IRISH. THE STREET-SELLERS OF GAME AND POULTRY. THE STREET-SELLERS OF TREES, SHRUBS, FLOWERS, AND ROOTS. THE STREET-SELLERS OF EATABLES AND DRINKABLES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF STATIONERY, LITERATURE, AND THE FINE ARTS. THE LOW LODGING-HOUSES. THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. THE FEMALE STREET-SELLERS. THE CHILDREN STREET-SELLERS. Including altogether upwards of FORTY THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, whose gross yearly takings in the London Streets amount to more than 2,500,000l. BY HENRY MAYHEW. Also, in Numbers, price TwoPENCE, every alternate week, a continuation of the above. On the 23rd of August was commenced (and continued every alternate week, in Numbers, price THREEPENCE each) that portion of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR RELATING TO THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK; COMPRISING Prostitutes, Thieves, Cheats, Vagrants, Professional Beggars, and their several Dependents. Monthly Parts, price 11d. OFFICE, No. 16, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 379 Houses.. not having chimneys swept in proper time." I am informed that a chimney may be on fire for many days, unknown to the inmates of the house, and finally break out in the body of the building Contents by its getting into contact with some beam or wood-work. The recent burning of Limehouse, Church was occasioned by the soot collected in the flue taking fire, and becoming red hot, when it ignited the wood-work in the roof. The flue, or pipe, was of iron. From a return made by Mr. Braidwood of the houses and properties destroyed in the metro- polis in the three years ending in 1849 inclusive, it appears that the total number was 1111: of contents destroyed (which, being generally insured separately, should be kept distinct) there were 1013. The subjoined table gives the particulars as to the proportion insured and uninsured :— Insured. Uninsured. Total. 914 197 1111 609 404 1013 1523 601 2124 "The proportion per cent. of the uninsured to the insured, would be- Insured. Uninsured. Total. Per Cent: Per Cent. Houses Contents 1111 82.3 17.7 100 • 1013 60:1 39.9 100. 2124 71.7 28.3 100 The following table gives the total number of fires in the metropolis during a series of years: ABSTRACT OF CAUSES OF FIRE IN THE METROPOLIS, FROM 1833 to 1849, INCLUSIVE. COMPILED BY W. BADDELEY. Accidents of va- 1 1848 Total. 18331 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 Total. Average 1836 1837 accidents with . 56 146 110 157 125 132 128 169 184 189 166 205 165 229 237 237 241 rious kinds, for the most part un- avoidable 83 40 14 13 Apparel ignited on the person : 7 17 7 36 25 26 26 44 19 11 17 29 20 19 13 452 27 5 Candles, various : ⇨ 3 12 LO 5 9 5 10 4 3 3 3 1 2 69 4 2876 169 Carelessness, pal- 19 18 7 17 14 24 25 19 27 15 14 15 20 23 24 309 18 :: LO CO 5 6 18 5 3 2 LO SH 4 12 21 18 16 6 5 20 23 19 25 5 11 6 9 27 16 19 15 238 14 9 5 3 7 84 5 pable instances of 28 Children playing with fire or can- dles Drunkenness Fire-heat, appli- cation of, to va- rious hazardous manufacturing processes.. Fire-sparks Fire-works Fires kindled on hearths and other improper places Flues, foul, defec- tive, &c. Fumigation, cautious N ය: ය 31 24 : :: 39 34 22 40 26 29 10 7 225 12 2233 98 G1 22223 229 01803 28- 9 17 5 1 36 16 23 13 7 4 14 21 17 25 16 22 23 440 27 24 32 65 63 40 359 21 2223 26 5 3 10 6 8 70 4 7 9 5 5 15 87 8 9 9 69 71 65 72 53 5858 89 83 90 105 84 78 8 12 7 3 4 56 86 78 4 120 7 78 | 1273 75 1 in- 3 7 5 2. 1 5 3 2 ༡ 1 1 3 4 4 4 2 49 3 38 48 9 12 15 20 15 12 23 19 17 29 31 42 72 28 14 16 21 263 48 52 40 33 54 53 63 65 57 780 3 1 2 1 2 4 3 4 3 9 282 2 805 16 46. 13 11 Furnaces, kilns, &c., defective or over-heated Gas... Gunpowder • W • Hearths, defec- tive, &c... Hot cinders put away. Lamps • Lime, slaking of. Linen, drying, air- ing, &c. Lucifer-matches. Ovens.. · Reading, work- ing, or smoking in bed Shavings, loose, ignited... Spontaneous com- bustion. Stoves, defective, 12 11 20 25 3 3 :25 : • D . : • 3 28: 39 : A.. 2:: : 2001 • 1013 Q: woo: wo 42 12095 9 4 2 32 26 25 2226 Whey Now! 2008: : 22 3: 20- 3 1 3 5 2 374 11040 2223 10 2 322 323 763 199 10 : CE 8ª 9 8: ∞+7 8+∞ *32 925 *** :85 LO OD LO 5 11 17 5 3 3 889 HAM GAN 2 3 4 3. 22 31 48 27 41 33 45 30 39 34 36 40 509 30 8 9 17 18 16 17 14 19 12 14 9 23 12 188 11 6 3 11. 4 13 13 13 10 10 8 8 2 2 117 JE♡ AOTCO 1 2 5 2 3 3 1 1 1 22 11 6 9 13 8 7 2 5. 4 4 17 5 8 27 35 37 27 21 339 20 13 11 22 15 19 228 13 11 6 4 1 28 36 31 3 24 48 54 32 58 44 51 43 37 48 43 626* 37 4 11 9 17 14 21 19 18 37 24 7 8 6 11 16 7 9 17 239 10 125 14 • • 3 9 6 125114 8 5 6 7 9 13 11 14 19 17 25 19. 211 91 96 57 45 67 39 23 32. 60 74 32 39 72 38 76 1080 74728 12 63 over-heated, &c. | 18 20 Tobacco smoking Suspicious Wilful Unknown. 1 : 2 2 722R 2 2 NON 31 35 18 25 23 34 19 18 5 2 81228 : * 2 72°12 : : * #22 5 A MONEª = 92798 TOMER No. XLVIII. Z 380 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. Here, then, we perceive that there are, upon an average of 17 years, no less than 770 "fires" per annum, that is to say, 29 houses in every 10,000 are discovered to be on fire every year; and about one-fourth of these are uninsured. In the year 1833 the total number of fires was only 458, or 20 in every 10,000 inhabited houses, whilst, in 1849, the number had gradually progressed to 838, or 28 in every 10,000 houses. We have here, however, to deal more particu- larly with the causes of these fires, of which the following table gives the result of many years' va- luable experience :— TABULAR EPITOME OF METROPOLITAN FIRES, FROM 1833 to 1849. BY W. BADDELEY, 29, ALFRED STREET, ISLINGTON. 211 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 Total. Average Slightly damaged 292 338 315 397 357 383 402 451 438 521 489 502 431 576 536 509 582 6,574 470 Seriously damaged 135 116 125 134 122 152 165 204 234 224 231 237 244 238 273 269 228 2,955 Totally destroyed 31 28 31 33 22 33 17 26 24 24 29 23 32 20 27 27 281 365 26 Total No. of Fires 458 482 471 564 501 568 584 681 696 769 749 762 707 834 836 805 838 9,894 False Alarms .... 59 63 66 66 89 80 70 84 67 61 79 70 81 119 88 120 76 1,150 Alarms 75 106 106 126 127 107 101 98 92 82 83 94 87 69 Total No. of Calls 592 651 643 756 717 755 755 863 855 912 911 926 875 1022 Insuran. on Build- from Chimneys on Fire ing and Contents Insurances on Building only Insurances on Contents only.. Uninsured • : : : : : • 770 82 94 882 66 86 89 1,307 990 1011 1003 12,351 169 173 161 169 237 343 321 276 313 313 302 263 310 368 3,718 266 59 73 47 58 108 92 149 116 124 138 107 137 125 120 163 1,508| 104 76 128 115' 104] 52 112 107 94 73 125 157 134| 72 1,453 104 218 205 220¹ 242 248′ 152 220)| 242| 217| 214' 270' 291| 241| 235 3,215 230 Thus we perceive that, out of an average of 665 fires per annum, the information being de- rived from 17 years' experience, the following were the number of fires produced by different causes: Candles, various accidents with . Flues, foul, defective, &c. ❤ Average No. of Fires per Anuum. • 169 75 Unknown 63 Gas 46 Stoves over-heated 37 Linen, drying, airing, &c. 30 • Accidents of various kinds, for the most part unavoidable . 27 Fire sparks Fire heat, application of, to various ha- zardous manufacturing processes Shavings, loose, ignited Carelessness, palpable instances of Furnaces, kilns, &c., defective or over- heated' 26 • 21 • 20 18 • 16 Children playing with fire or candles Tobacco smoking 14 14 Spontaneous combustion 13 + Wilful 12 Lucifer-matches 11 Ovens • Fires, kindled on hearths and other improper places Lamps Drunkenness Suspicious 217 775544 Lime, slaking of Apparel, ignited on the person . Fireworks 4 Hot cinders put away 3 Incautious fumigation 3 Reading, working, or smoking in bed. 1.33 Hearths defective 1.25 665 Here, then, we find that while the greatest pro- portion of fires are caused by accidents with candles, about one-ninth of the fires above mentioned arise from foul flues, or 75 out of 665, a circumstance which teaches us the usefulness of the class of la- bourers of whom we have been lately treating. It would seem that a much larger proportion of the fires are wilfully produced than appear in the above table. The Board of Health, in speaking of incen- diarism in connection with insurance, report :- Inquiries connected with measures for the im- provement of the population have developed the operation of insurances, in engendering crimes and calamities; negatively, by weakening natural responsibilities and motives to care and fore- thought; positively, by temptations held out to the commission of crime in the facility with which insurance money is usually obtainable. "The steady increase in the number of fires in the metropolis, whilst our advance in the arts gives means for their diminution, is ascribable mainly to the operation of these two causes, and to the division and weakening of administrative authority. From information on which we can rely, we feel assured that the crime of incen- diarism for the sake of insurance money exists to a far greater extent than the public are aware of." Mr. Braidwood has expressed his opinion that only one-half of the property in the metropolis is insured, not as to numbers of property, but as to value; but the proportion of insured and unin- sured houses could not be ascertained. Mr. Baddeley, the inspector to the Society for the Protection of Life from Fire, who had given attention to the subject for the last 30 years, gave the Board the following account of the increase of fires:- LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 381 Fires per Annum of Houses and Of which were Totally Properties. Uninsured. Proportion per Cent. of Insured Houses and Properties Burnt. In the first seven years there were on an average 623 215 In the second seven years . 790 244 65.15 69.3 During this period there has been a great in- crease in the number of dwellings, but this has been chiefly in suburban places, where fires rarely occur. "The frequency of fires," it is further stated, "led Mr. Payne, the coroner of the City of London, to revive the exercise of the coroner's function of inquiring into the causes of fires; most usefully. Out of 58 inquests held by him (in the City of London and the borough of Southwark, which comprise only one-eighteenth of the houses of the metropolis) since 1845, it appears that, 8 were proved to be wilful; 27 apparently accidental'; and 23 from causes un- known, including suspicious causes. The propor- tion of ascertained wilful fires was, therefore, 23 per cent.; which gives strong confirmation to the indications presented by the statistical returns as to the excess of insured property burnt above un- insured." The at once mean and reckless criminality of arson, by which a man exposes his neighbours to the risk of a dreadful death, which he himself takes measures to avoid, has long, and on many occasions, gone unpunished in London. The insurance companies, when a demand is made upon them for a loss through fire, institute an inquiry, carried on quietly by their own people. The claimant is informed, if sufficient reasons for such a step appear, that from suspicious circumstances, which had come to the knowledge of the com- pany, the demand would not be complied with, and that the company would resist any action for the recovery of the money. The criminal becomes money. The criminal becomes alarmed, he is afraid of committing himself, and so the matter drops, and the insurance companies, not being required to pay the indemnification, are satisfied to save their money, and let the incen- diarism remain unnoticed or unpunished. Mr. Payne, the coroner, has on some occasions strongly commented on this practice as one which showed the want of a public prosecutor. A few words as regards the means of extinc- tion and help at fires. Upwards of two years ago the Commissioners of Police instructed their officers to note the time which elapsed between the earliest alarm of fire and the arrival of the first engine. Seventeen fires were noted, and the average duration of time before the fire-brigade or any parochial or local fire-engine, reached the spot, was 36 minutes. Two or three of these fires were in the suburbs; so that in this crowded city, so densely packed with houses and people, fifteen fires raged unchecked for more than half-an-hour. There are in the metropolis, not including the more distant suburbs, 150 public fire stations, with engines provided under the management of the parochial authorities. The fire-brigade has but seventeen stations on land, and two on the river, which are, indeed, floating engines, one being usually moored near Southwark-bridge, the other having no stated place, being changed in its locality, as may be considered best. In the course of three years, the term of the official inquiry, the engines of the fire-brigade reached on the average the place where a fire was raging thirty- five times as the earliest means of assistance, when the parochial engines did the same only in the proportion of two to the thirty-five. Mr. Braidwood, the director of the fire-brigade, stated, when questioned on the subject with a view to a report to be laid before Parliament, that "the average time of an engine turning out with horses was from three to seven minutes." The engines are driven at the rate of ten miles an hour along the streets, which, in the old coaching days, was considered the "best royal mail pace." Indeed, there have been frequent complaints of the rapidity with which the fire-engines are driven, and if the drivers were not skilful and alert, it would really amount to recklessness. "Information of the breaking out of a fire," it is stated in the report, "will be conveyed to the station of the brigade at the rate of about five miles an hour: thus in the case of the occurrence of a fire within a mile of the station, the intelligence may be conveyed to the station in about twelve minutes; the horses will be put to, and the engine got out into the street in about five minutes on the average; it traverses the mile in about six minutes; and the water has to be got into the engine, which will occupy about five minutes, making, under the most favourable cir- cumstances for such a distance, 28 minutes, or for a half-mile distance, an average of not less than 20 minutes." The average distance of the occurring fires from a brigade station were, however, during a period of three years, terminating in 1850, up- wards of a mile. One was five miles, several four miles, more were two miles, and a mile and a half, while the most destructive fires were at an average distance of a mile and three quarters. Thus it was impossible for a fire-brigade to give assistance as soon as assistance was needed, and, under other circumstances, might have been ren- dered. And all this damage may and does very often result from what seems so trifling a neglect as the non-sweeping of a chimney. Mr. W. Baddeley, an engineer, and a high authority on this subject, has stated that he had attended fires for 30 years in London, and that, of 838 fires which took place in 1849, two-thirds might have been easily extinguished had there been an immediate application of water. In some places, he said, delay originated from the turn- cocks being at wide intervals, and some of the 382 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. companies objecting to let any but their own | occurred, where, upon the fire being extinguished, servants have the command of the main-cocks. The Board of Health have recommended the formation of a series of street-water plugs within short distances of each other, the water to be con- stantly on at high pressure night and day, and the whole to be under the charge of a trained body of men such as compose the present fire-brigade, provided at appointed stations with every necessary appliance in the way of hose, pipes, ladders, &c. "The hose should be within the reach," it is urged in the report, "fixed, and applied on an average of not more than five minutes from the time of the alarm being given; that is to say, in less than one-fourth of the time within which fire- engines are brought to bear under existing ar- rangements, and with a still greater proportionate diminution of risks and serious accidents." Nor is this mode of extinguishing fires a mere experiment. It is successfully practised in some of the American cities, Philadelphia among the number, and in some of our own manufacturing towns. Mr. Emmott, the engineer and manager of the Oldham Water-works, has described the practice in that town on the occurrence of fires :- "In five cases out of six, the hose is pushed into a water-plug, and the water thrown upon a building on fire, for the average pressure of water in this town is 146 feet; by this means our fires are generally extinguished even before the heavy engine arrives at the spot. The hose is much preferred to the engine, on account of the speed with which it is applied, and the readiness with which it is used, for one man can manage a hose, and throw as much water on the building on fire as an engine worked by many men. On this account we very rarely indeed use the engines, as they possess no advantage whatever over the hose. When the city of Hamburgh was rebuilt two or hree years back, after its destruction by fire, it was rebuilt chiefly under the direction of Mr. W. Lindley, the engineer, and, as far as Mr. Lindley could accomplish, on sanitary principles, such as the abolition of cesspools. The arrange- ments for the surface cleansing of the streets by means of the hose and jet and the water-plugs, are made available for the extinction of fires, and with the following results, as communicated by Mr. Lindley - "Have there been fires in buildings in Ham- burgh in the portion of the town rebuilt? Yes, repeatedly. They have all, however, been put out at once. If they had had to wait the usual time for engines and water, say 20 minutes or half an hour, these might all have led to exten- sive conflagrations. "What has been the effect on insurance? The effect of the rapid extinction of fires has brought to light to the citizens of Hamburgh, the fact that the greater proportion of their fires are the work of incendiaries, for the sake of the in- surance money. A A person is absent; smoke is seen to exude; the alarm of fire is given, and the dcor is forced open, the jet applied, and the fire extinguished immediately. Case after case has the arrangements for the spread of the fire are found and made manifest. Several of this class of incendiaries for the insurance money are now in prison. The saving of money alone, by the prevention of fires, would be worth the whole ex- pense of the like arrangement in London, where it is well known that similar practices prevail ex- tensively." The following statement was given by Mr. Quick, an engineer, on this subject:— "After the destruction of the terminus of the South Western Railway by fire, I recommended them to have a 9-inch main, with 3-inch outlets leading to six stand-pipes, with joining screws for hose-pipes to be attached, and that they should carry a 3-inch pipe of the same description up into each floor, so that a hose might be attached in any room where the fire commenced. "In how many minutes may the hose be attached?There is only the time of attaching the hose, which need be nothing like a minute. I have indeed recommended that a short length of hose with a short nozzle or branch should be kept attached to the cock, so that the cock has only to be turned, which is done in an instant. "It appears that fire-engines require 26 men to work each engine of two 7-inch barrels, to pro- duce a jet of about 50 feet high. The arrange- ment carried out, at your recommendation, with six jets, is equivalent to keeping six such engines, and the power of 156 men, in readiness to act at all times, night and day, at about a minute's notice, for the extinction of fires ?-It will give a power more than equal to that number of men; for the jets given off from a 20-inch main will be much more regular and powerful, and will deliver more water than could be delivered by any engine. The jets at that place would be 70 feet high." The system of roof-cisterns, which was at one time popular as a means of extinction, has been found, it appears, on account of their leakage and diffusion of damp, to be but sorry contrivances, and have very generally been discontinued. Mr. Holme, a builder in Liverpool, gives the follow- ing, even under the circumstances, amusing ac- count of a fire where such a cistern was pro- vided:- "The owner of a cotton kiln, which had been repeatedly burnt, took it into his head to erect a large tank in the roof. His idea was, that when a fire occurred, they should have water at hand; and when the fire ascended, it would burn the wooden tank, and the whole of the contents being discharged on the fire like a cataract, it would at once extinguish it. Well, the kiln again took fire; the smoke was so suffocating, that nobody could get at the internal pipe, and the whole building was again destroyed. But what became of the tank? It could not burn, because it was filled with water; consequently, it boiled most admirably. No hole was singed in its side or bottom; it looked very picturesque, but it was utterly useless." +1 The necessity of almost immediate help is LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 383 1 shown in the following statement by Mr. Braid- wood, when consulted on the subject of fire- escapes, which under the present system are not considered sufficiently effective — "Taking London to be six miles long and three miles broad, to have anything like an cfficient system of fire-escapes, it would be neces- sary to have one with a man to attend it within a quarter of a mile of each house, as assistance, to be of any use, must generally be rendered within five minutes after the alarm is given. To do this the stations must be within a quarter of a mile of each other (as the escapes must be taken round the angles of the streets): 253 stations would thus be required and as many men. "At present scaling ladders are kept at all the engine stations, and canvas sheets also at some of them; several lives have been saved by them; but the distance of the stations from each other renders them applicable only in a limited number of instances." The engines of the fire-brigade throw up about 90 gallons a minute. Their number is about 100. The cost of a fire-engine is from 60%. to 1007., and the hose, buckets, and general appa- ratus, cost nearly the same amount. OF THE SEWERMEN AND NIGHTMEN OF LONDON. WE We now come to the consideration of the last of the several classes of labourers engaged in the removal of the species of refuse from the metro- polis. I have before said that the public refuse of a town consists of two kinds :— I. The street-refuse. II. The house-refuse. Of each of these kinds there are two spe- cies:- A. The dry. B. The wet. The dry street-refuse consists, as we have seen, of the refuse earth, bricks, mortar, oyster-shells, potsherds, and pansherds. And the dry house-refuse of the soot and ashes of our fires. The wet street-refuse consists, on the other hand, of the mud, slop, and surface water of our public thoroughfares. And the wet house-refuse, of what is familiarly known as the "slops" of our residences, and the liquid refuse of our factories and slaughter- houses. We have already collected the facts in connec- tion with the three first of these subjects. We have ascertained the total amount of each of these species of refuse which have to be annually re- moved from the capital. We have set forth the aggregate number of labourers who are engaged in the removal of it, as well as the gross sum that is paid for so doing, showing the individual earn- ings of each of the workmen, and arriving, as near as possible, at the profits of their employers, as well as the condition of the employed. This has been done, it is believed, for the first time in this country; and if the subject has led us into longer discussions than usual, the importance of the matter, considered in a sanitary point of view, is such that a moment's reflection will convince us of the value of the inquiry-especially in connection with a work which aspires to embrace the whole of the offices performed by the la- bourers of the capital of the British Empire. It now but remains for us to complete this novel and vast inquiry by settling the condition and earnings of the men engaged in the removal of the last species of public refuse. I shall consider, first, the aggregate quantity of wet house-refuse that has to be annually removed; secondly, the means adopted for the removal of it; thirdly, the cost of so doing; and lastly, the number of men engaged in this kind of work, as well as the wages paid to them, and the physical, intellectual, and moral condition in which they exist, or, more properly speaking, are allowed to remain. OF THE WET HOUSE-REFUSE OF LONDON. ALL house-refuse of a liquid or semi-liquid cha- racter is wet refuse. It may be called semi-liquid when it has become mingled with any solid sub- stance, though not so fully as to have lost its pro- perty of fluidity, its natural power to flow along a suitable inclination, Wet house-refuse consists of the " slops" of a household. It consists, indeed, of all waste water, whether from the supply of the water companies, or from the rain fall collected on the roofs or yards of the houses; of the "suds" of the washerwomen, and the water used in every department of scouring, cleansing, or cooking. It consists, moreover, of the refuse proceeds from the several factories, dye-houses, &c.; of the blood and other refuse (not devoted to Prussian blue manufacture or sugar refining) from the butchers' slaughter-houses and the knackers' (horse slaugh- terers') yards; as well as the refuse flid from all chemical processes, quantities of chemically impregnated water, for example, being pumped, as as exhausted, from the tan-pits of Ber- mondsey into the drains and sewers. From the great hat-manufactories (chiefly also in Ber- mondsey and other parts of the Borough) there is a constant flow of water mixed with dyes and other substances, to add to the wet refuse of London. It is evident, then, that all the water consumed or wasted in the metropolis must form a portion of the total sum of the wet refuse. There is, however, the exception of what is used for the watering of gardens, which is ab- sorbed at once by the soil and its vegetable pro- ducts; we must also exclude such portion of water as is applied to the laying of the road and street dust on dry summer days, and which forms a part of the street mud or "mac" of the scava- ger's cart, rather than of the sewerage; and we must further deduct the water derived from the street plugs for the supply of the fire-engines, which is consumed or absorbed in the extinction of the flames; as well as the water required for the victualling of ships on the eve of a voyage, 384 LONDON LABOUR AND The London POOR.】 when such supply is not derived immediately from | the Thames. The quantity of water required for the diet, or beverage, or general use of the population; the quantity consumed by the maltsters, distillers, brewers, ginger-beer and soda-water makers, and manufacturing chemists; for the making of tea, coffee, or cocoa'; and for drinking at meals (which is often derived from pumps, and not from the supplies of the water companies); the water which is thus consumed, in a prepared or in a simple state, passes into the wet refuse of the metropolis in another form. Now, according to reports submitted to Parlia- ment when an improved! system of water-supply was under consideration, the daily supply of water to the metropolis is as follows:- From the Water Companies }) "" وو Artesian Wells land spring pumps rain-water would soak into the earth. We have, then, only two-tenths of the gross rain-fall, or 7,700,000,000 gallons, that could possibly appear in the sewers, and calculating one-third of this to be absorbed by the mud and dust of the streets, we come to the conclusion that the total quantity of rain-water entering the sewers is, in round numbers, 5,000,000,000 gallons per annum. Reckoning, therefore, 5,000,000,000 gallons to be derived from the annual rain-fall, it ap- pears that the yearly supply of water, from all sources, to be accounted for among the wet house- refuse is, in round numbers, 24,000,000,000 gallons. The refuse water from the factories need not be calculated separately, as its supply is included in the water mechanically supplied, and the loss from evaporation in boiling, &c., would be per- 44,383,329 fectly insignificant if deducted from the vast 8,000,000 annual supply, but 350,000,000 gallons have been 3,000,000 allowed for this and other losses. Gallons. 55,383,329 The yearly rain-fall throughout the area of the metropolis is 172,053,477 tons, or 33,589,972,120 gallons, 2 feet deep of rain falling on every square inch of London in the course of the year. yearly total of the water pumped or falling into the metropolis is as follows:- Yearly mechanical supply natural ditto The • • Gallons. 19,215,000,000 38,539,972,122 57,754,972,122 There is still another source of the supply of wet house-refuse unconnected either with the rain-fall or the mechanical supply of water-I from the butchers' and knackers' premises as is mean such proportion of the blood or other refuse washed into the sewers. Official returns show that the yearly quantity of animals sold in Smithfield is— Horned cattle Sheep Calves. Pigs 224,000 1,550,000 27,300 40,000 1,841,300 The reader will find the details of this subject at p. 203 of the present volume. I recapitulate The blood flowing from a slaughtered bullock, the results here to save the trouble of reference, whether killed according to the Christian or the and briefly to present the question under one head. Jewish fashion, amounts, on an average, to 20 Of course the rain which ultimately forms a quarts; from a sheep, to 6 or 7 quarts; from a portion of the gross wet refuse of London, can be pig, 5 quarts; and the same quantity from a calf. only such as falls on that part of the metropo- The blood from a horse slaughtered in a knackers' litan area which is occupied by buildings or or yard is about the same as that from a bullock. streets. What falls upon fields, gardens, and all This blood used to bring far higher prices to the open ground, is absorbed by the soil. But a large butcher than can be now realized. proportion of the rain falling upon the streets, is either absorbed by the dry dust, or retained in the form of mud; hence that only which falls on the house-tops and yards can be said to contribute largely to the gross quantity of wet refuse poured into the sewers. The streets of London appear to occupy one-tenth of the entire metropolitan area, and the houses (estimating 300,000 as occupying upon an average 100 square yards each *) another tithe of the surface. The remaining 92 square miles out of the 115 now included in the Regis- trar-General's limits (which extend, it should be remembered, to Wandsworth, Lewisham, Bow, and Hampstead), may be said to be made up of suburban gardens, fields, parks, &c., where the * 1n East and West London there are rather more than 32 houses to the acre, which gives an average of 151 square yards to each dwelling, so that, allowing the streets here to occupy one-third of the area, we have 100 square yards for the space covered by each house. In Lewisham, Hampstead, and Wandsworth, there is not one house to the acre. The average number of houses per acre throughout London is 4. In the evidence taken by a Select Committee of the House the House of Commons in 1849, concerning Smithfield-market, Mr. Wyld, of the Fox and Knot-yard, Smithfield, stated that he slaughtered about 180 cattle weekly. "We have a sort of well made in the slaughterhouse," he said, "which receives the blood. I receive about 17. a week for it; it goes twice a day to Mr. Ton's, at Bow Common. We used to receive a good deal more for it." Even the market for blood at Mr. Ton's, is, I am informed, now done away with. He was a manufacturer of artificial manure, a preparation of night-soil, blood, &c., baked in what may be called "cakes," and exported chiefly to our sugar- growing colonies, for manure. His manure yard has been suppressed. I am assured, on the authority of experienced butchers, that at the present time fully three- fourths of the blood from the animals slaughtered in London becomes a component part of the wet refuse I treat of, being washed into the sewers. LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 385 The more wholesale slaughterers, now that blood is of little value (9 gallons in Whitechapel-market, the blood of two beasts-less by a gallon-can be bought for 3d.), send this animal refuse down the drains of their premises in far greater quantities than was formerly their custom. Now, reckoning only three-fourths of the blood from the cattle slaughtered in the metropolis, to find its way into the sewers, we have, according to the numbers above given, the following yearly supply:- From horned cattle sheep pigs calves Gallons. The Gross Quantity of the Wet House-Refuse of the Metropolis. "Slops" and unab- sorbed rain-water... Blood of beasts. horses. JJ Excreta + * Dung of slaugh- tered cattle Total Gallons. Lbs. 24,000,000,000 ≈ 240,000,000,000 2,646,000 = 26,000 = 26,460,000 260,000 219,000,000 17,400,000 24,002,657,000 = 240,263,120,000 Hence we may conclude that the more fluid portion of the wet house-refuse of London amounts 840,000 to 24,000,000,000 gallons per annum; and that 1,743,000 altogether it weighs, in round numbers, about 37,500 240,000,000,000 lbs., or 100,000,000 tons. 25,590 2,646,090 This is merely the blood from the animals sold in Smithfield-market, the lambs not being included in the return; while a great many pigs and calves are slaughtered by the London tradesmen, without their having been shown in Smithfield. The ordure from a slaughtered bullock is, on an average, from to cwt. Many beasts yield one cwt.; and cows "killed full of grass," as much as two cwt. Of this excrementitious matter, I am informed, about a fourth part is washed into the sewers. In sheep, calves, and pigs, however, there is very little ordure when slaughtered, only 3 or 4 lbs. in each as an average. Of the number of horses killed there is no official or published account. One man familiar with the subject calculated it at 100 weekly. All the blood from the knackers' yards is, I am told, washed into the sewers; consequently its yearly amount will be 26,000 gallons. But even this is not the whole of the wet house- refuse of London. There are, in addition, the excreta of the inhabitants of the houses. These are said to average lb. daily per head, including men, women, and children. It is estimated by Bousingault, and confirmed by Liebig, that each individual produces lb. of solid excrement and 14 lb. of liquid excrement per day, making 1 lb. each, or 150 lbs. per 100 individuals, of semi-liquid refuse from the water- closet. But," says the Surveyor of the Me- tropolitan Commission of Sewers, "there is other refuse resulting from culinary operations, to be conveyed through the drains, and the whole may be about 250 lbs. for 100 persons." ( The more fluid part of this refuse, however, is included in the quantity of water before given, so that there remains only the more solid excremen- titious matter to add to the previous total. This, then, is lb. daily and individually; or from the metropolitan population of nearly 2,500,000 a daily supply of 600,000 lbs., rather more than 267 tons; and a yearly aggregate for the whole metropolis of 219,000,000 lbs., or very nearly about 100,000 tons. From the foregoing account, then, the following is shown to be As these refuse products are not so much matters of trade or sale as other commodities, of course less attention has been given to them, in the commercial attributes of weight and admea- surement. I will endeavour, however, to present an uniform table of the whole great mass of me- tropolitan wet house-refuse in cubic inches. The imperial standard gallon is of the capacity of 277 274 cubic inches; and estimating the solid excrement spoken of as the ordinary weight of earth, or of the soil of the land, at 18 cubic feet the ton, we have the following result, calculating in round numbers :- Wet House-Refuse of the Metropolis. Liquid.. 24,000,000,000 gal. = 6,600,000,000,000 cub. in. Solid.... 100,000 tons = 3,110,400,000 2) Thus, by this process of admeasurement, we find the WET HOUSE-REFUSEĮ OF LONDON... 6,603,110,400,000 cubic in., or 3,820,000,000 cubic fect. Figures best show the extent of this refuse, " inexpressible" to common appreciation "by numbers that have name. " OF THE MEANS OF REMOVING THE WET HOUSE-REFUSE. WHETHER this mass of filth be, zymotically, the cause of cholera, or whether it be (as cannot be be questioned) a means of agricultural fertility, and therefore of national wealth, it must be re- moved. I need not dilate, in explaining a necessity which is obvious to every man with uncorrupted physical senses, and with the common moral sense of decency. "Dr. Paley," it is said, in a recent Report to the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, gave to Burckhardt and other travellers a set of instruc- tions as to points of observation of the manners and conditions of the populations amongst whom they travelled. One of the leading instructions was to observe how they disposed of their excreta, for what they did with that showed him what men were; he also inquired what structure they had to answer the purpose of a privy, and what were their habits in respect to it. This informa- tion Dr. Paley desired, not for popular use, but for himself, for he was accustomed to say, that the facts connected with that topic gave him more 386 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 1 information as to the real condition and civilisation of a population than most persons would be aware of. It would inform him of their real habits of cleanliness, of real decency, self-respect, and con- nected moral habits of high social importance. It would inform him of the real state of police, and of local administration, and much of the general government. "The human ordure which defiles the churches, the bases of public edifices and works of art in Rome and Naples, and the Italian cities, gives more sure indications of the real moral and social position of the Italian population than any im- pressions derived from the edifices and works of art themselves. "The subject, in relation to which the Jewish lawgiver gave most particular directions, is one on which the serious attention and labour of public administrators may be claimed." The next question, is- How is the wet house- refuse to be removed? There are two ways:- 1. One is, to transport it to a river, or some powerfully current stream by a series of ducts. 2. The other is, to dig a hole in the neigh- bourhood of the house, there collect the wet refuse of the household, and when the hole or pit becomes full, remove the contents to some other part. In London the most obvious means of getting rid of a nuisance is to convey it into the Thames. Nor has this been done in London only. In Paris the Seine is the receptacle of the sewage, but, comparatively, to a much smaller extent than in London. The faecal deposits accumulated in the houses of the French capital are drained into "fixed" and "moveable" cesspools. The contents of both these descriptions of cesspools (of which I shall give an account when I treat of the cesspool system) are removed periodically, under the direc- tion of the government, to large receptacles, called voiries, at Montfaucon, and the Forest of Bondy, where such refuse is made into portable manure. The evils of this system are not a few; but the river is spared the greater pollution of the Thames. Neither is the Seine swayed by the tide as is the Thames, for in London the very sewers affected by the tidal influence, and are not to be entered until some time before or after high-water. I need not do more, for my present inquiry, than allude to the Liffy, the Clyde, the Humber, and others of the rivers of the United Kingdom, being used for purposes of sewerage, as channels to carry off that of which the law prohibits the retention. are Of the folly, not to say wickedness, of this principle, there can be no doubt. The vegetation which gives, demands food. The grass will wither without its fitting nutriment of manure, as the sheep would perish without the pasturage of the grass. Nature, in temperate and moist climates, is, so to speak, her own manurer, her own re- storer. The sheep, which are as wild and active as goats, manure the Cumberland fells in which they feed. In the more cultivated sheep-walks | (or, indeed, in the general pasturage) of the northern and some of the midland counties, women, with a wooden implement, may be conti- nually seen in the later autumn, or earlier and milder winter, distributing the stercoraceous treasure," as Cowper calls it, which the animals, to use the North Yorkshire word, have "dropped," as well as any extraneous manure which may have been spread for the purpose. As population and the demand for bread increase, the need of extraneous manures also increases; and Nature in her beneficence has provided that the greater the consumption of food, the greater shall be the promoters of its reproduction by what is loath- some to man, but demanded by vegetation. Lie- big, as I shall afterwards show more fully, contends that many an arid and desolate region in the East, brown and burnt with barrenness, became a deso- lation because men understood not the restoration which all nature demands for the land. He de- clares that the now desolate regions of the East had been made desolate, because "the inhabitants did not understand the art of restoring exhausted soil." It would be hopeless now to form, or attempt to form, the "hanging gardens," or to display the rich florescence "round about Baby- lon," to be seen when Alexander the Great died in that city. The Tigris and Euphrates, before and after their junction, Liebig maintains, have carried, and, to a circumscribed degree, still carry, into the sea "a sufficient amount of manure for the reproduction of food for millions of human beings." It is said that, "could that matter only be arrested in its progress, and converted into bread and wine, fruit and beef, mutton and wool, linen and cotton, then cities might flourish once more in the desert, where men are now dig- ging for the relics of primitive civilization, and discovering the symbols of luxury and ease beneath the barren sand and the sunburnt clay." This is one great evil; but in our metropolis there is a greater, a far greater, beyond all in degree, even if the same abuse exist elsewhere. What society with one consent pronounces filth-the eva- cuations of the human body-is not only washed into the Thames, and the land so deprived of a vast amount of nutriment, but the tide washes these eva- cuations back again, with other abominations. The water we use is derived almost entirely from the Thames, and therefore the water in which we boil our vegetables and our meat, the water for our coffee and tea, the water brewed for our consumption, comes to us, and is imbibed by us, impregnated over and over again with our own animal offal. We import guano, and drink a solution of our own fæces: a manure which might be made far more valuable than the foreign guano. Such are a few of the evils of making a com- mon sewer of the neighbouring river. The other mode of removal is, to convey the wet house-refuse, by drains, to a hole near the house where it is produced, and empty it periodi- cally when full. The house-drainage throughout London has two characteristics. By one system all excrementitious and slop refuse generally is carried usually along LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 387 is drained into the public sewer, the cesspool May 4 system being thereby abolished. All the houses built or rebuilt since 1848 are constructed on the last-mentioned principle of drainage. The first of these modes is cesspoolage. The second is sewerage. I shall first deal with the sewerage of the me- tropolis. brick drains from the water-closets, privies, sinks, lavatories, &c.,, of the houses into the cesspools, where it accumulates until its removal (by manual labour) becomes necessary, which is not, as an average, more than once in two years. By the other, and the newer system, all the house-refuse NORTHUMBERLAND STREET. Quantity discharged Date. Velocity per second. per second. Feet. 4-600 Cubic Feet. 10-511000 9 4.000 6.800000 June 5 4.000 6.800000 10 4.600 10.350000 • "" 11 4.920 12.300000 • 16 3.600 5-940000 J1 July 12 2.760 3.394800 56.095800 Being Mean Discharge per second 8.013685 Ditto per 24 hours 692382- KING STREET. May 4 •147 •021756 9 •333 *079920 June 5 •170· •020400 10 -311 ·064688 "" 11 •300 •048000 16 •101 •004040 •103 •008240 • •247044 ⚫035292 3049 OF THE QUANTITY OF METROPOLITAN SEWAGE. HAVING estimated the gross quantity of wet house- refuse produced throughout London in the course of the year, and explained the two modes of re- moving it from the immediate vicinity of the house, I will now proceed to set forth the quantity of wet house-refuse matter which it has been ascertained is removed with the contents of Lon- don sewers. Ditto per 24 hours An experiment was made on the average dis- July 12 charge of sewage from the outlets of Church- lane and Smith-street, Chelsea, Ranelagh, King's Scholar's-pond, Grosvenor-wharf, Horseferry-road, Mean Discharge per second Wood-street, King-street, Northumberland-street, Durham-yard, Norfolk-street, and Essex-street (the four last-mentioned places running from the Strand). The experiments were made "under ordinary and extraordinary circumstances,", in the months of May, June, and July, 1844, but the system is still the same, so that the result in the investigation as to the sewage of the year 1844 may be taken as a near criterion of the present, as regards the localities specified and the general quantity. The surface drained into the outlets before enumerated covers, in its total area, about 7000 acres, of which nearly 3500 may be classed as urban. The observations, moreover, were made generally during fine weather. Here we find that the mean discharge per second was, from the Northumberland-street sewer, 692,382 cubic feet per 24 hours, and from the King-street sewer, 3049 cubic feet per 24 hours. The discharge from the principal outlets in the Westminster district "being the mean of seven observations taken during the summer,' was 1,798,094 cubic feet in 24 hours; the number of acres drained was 7006. The mean discharge per acre, in the course of 24 hours, was found to be about 256 cubic feet, comprising the urban and suburban parts. The sewage, from the discharge of which this calculation was derived-and the dryness of the weather must not be lost sight of-may be (C I cannot do better by way of showing the reader the minuteness with which these observa- tions were made, than by quoting the two follow-fairly assumed as derived (in a dry season) almost ing results, being those of the fullest and smallest discharges of twelve issues into the river. I must premise that these experiments were made on seven occasions, from May 4 to July 12 inclusive, and made at different times, but generally about cight hours after high water. In the Northumber- land-street sewer, from which was the largest issue, the width of the sewer at the outlet was five feet. In the King-street sewer (the smallest discharge, as given in the second table) the width of the sewer was four feet. The width, however, does not affect the question, as there was a greater issue from the Norfolk-street sewer of two feet, than from the King-street sewer of four feet in width. entirely from artificial sources or house drainage, as there was no rain-fall, or but little. Sup- posing, therefore," the Report states, "the entire surface to be urban, we have 540 cubic feet as the mean daily discharge per acre. If, however, the average be taken of the first eight outlets, viz., from Essex-street to Grosvenor-wharf in- clusive, which drain a surface wholly urban, the result is 1260 cubic feet per acre in the 24 hours. This excess may be attributed to the number of manufactories, and the densely-populated nature of the locality drained; but, as indicative of the general amount of sewage due to ordinary urban districts, the former ought perhaps to be con- sidered the fairer average." 388 1 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. It is then assumed-I may say officially-that the average discharge of the urban and suburban sewage from the several districts included within an area of 58 square miles, is equal to 256 cubic feet per acre. Sq. Miles. The extent of the jurisdiction included within this area is, on the north side of the Thames And on the Surrey and Kent side The ordinary daily amount of sewage discharged into the river on the north side is, therefore And on the south side. Making a total of • • • 43 15 Cubic Feet. 7,045,120 2,457,600 9,502,720 Or a quantity equivalent to a surface of more than 36 acres in extent, and 6 feet in depth. This mass of sewage, it must be borne in mind, is but the daily product of the sewage of the more populous part of the districts included within the jurisdiction of the two commissions of sewers. The foregoing observations, calculations, and deductions have supplied the basis of many scientific and commercial speculations, but it must be remembered that they were taken between seven and eight years ago. The observations were made, moreover, during fine summer weather, generally, while the greatest discharge is during rainy weather. There has been, also, an increase of sewers in the metropolis, because an increase of streets and inhabited houses. The approximate proportion of the increase of sewers (and there is no precise account of it) is pretty nearly that of the streets, lineally. Another mattter has too, of late years, added to the amount of sewage- the abolition of cesspoolage in a considerable de- greee, owing to the late Building and Sanitary Acts, so that fœcal and culinary matters, which were drained into the cesspool (to be removed by the nightmen), are now drained into the sewer. Altogether, I am assured, on good authority, the daily discharge of the sewers extending over 58 square miles of the metropolis may be now put at 10,000,000 cubic feet, instead of rather more than nine and a half millions. And this gives, as The annual amount of discharge from the sewers. • • The total amount of wet house- refuse, according to the calculation before given, is. Hence there remains • Cubic Feet. same time, to that part of London which is the most crowded with houses, and since, in the suburbs, the buildings average about 2 to the acre, and, in the densest parts of London, about 30, it is but fair to assume that the refuse would be, at least, in the same proportion, and this is very nearly the fact; for if we suppose the 58 miles of the suburban districts to yield twenty times less sewage than the 58 miles of the urban districts, we shall have 182,500,000 cubic feet to add to the 3,650,000,000 cubic feet before given, or 3,832,500,000 for the sewage of the entire metropolis. It does not appear that the sewage has ever been weighed so as to give any definite result, but calculating from the weight of water (a gal- lon, or 10lbs. of water, comprising 277.274 cubic inches, and 1 ton of liquid comprising 36 cubic feet) the total, from the returns of the investiga- tion in 1844, would be Quantity of sewage daily emptied into the Thames Ditto Annually Tons. 278,000 101,390,000 In September, 1849, Mr. Banfield, at one time a Commissioner of Sewers, put the yearly quantity 45,000,000 tons; but this is widely at variance of sewage discharged into the Thames at with the returns as to quantity. OF ANCIENT SEWERS. THE traverser of the London streets rarely thinks, perhaps, of the far extended subterranean architecture below his feet; yet such is indeed the case, for the sewers of London, with all their imperfections, irregularities, and even absurdities, are still a great work; certainly not equal, in all respects, to what once must have existed in Rome, but second, perhaps, only to the giant works of sewerage in the eternal city. The origin of these Roman sewers seems to be of the city itself. The statement of the Roman his- wrapped in as great a mystery as the foundation torians is that these sewers were the works of the elder Tarquin, the fifth (apocryphal) king of Rome. Tarquin's dominions, from the same accounts, did not in any direction extend above sixteen miles, and his subjects could be but banditti, foragers, and shepherds. One conjecture is, that Rome stands on the site of a more ancient city, and that to its earlier possessors may be attributed the work of the sewers. To attribute them to the 3,820,000,000 rudeness and small population of Tarquin's day, it is contended, is as feasible as it would be to 170,000,000 attribute the ruins of ancient Jerusalem, or any Sq. Miles. others in Asia Minor, to the Turks, or the ruins of Palmyra to the Arabs, because these people enjoy the privilege of possession. 3,650,000,000 Now it will be seen that the total area from which this amount of sewage is said to be drained is But the area of London, according to the Registrar-General's limits, is · • 58 115 So that the 3,650,000,000 cubic feet of sewage annually removed from 58 square miles of the metropolis refer to only one-half of the entire area of the true metropolis; but it refers, at the | The main sewer of Rome, the Cloaca Maxima, is said to have been lofty and wide enough for a waggon load of hay to pass clear along it. An- other, and more probable account, however, states that it was proposed to enlarge the great sewer to these dimensions, but it does not appear to have been so enlarged. Indeed, when Augustus "made THE SEWER-HUNTER. [From a Daguerreotype by BEARD.] HENNING S { LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 389 Rome marble," it was one of his great works also, under the direction of Agrippa, to reconstruct, im- prove, and enlarge the sewers. It was a project in the days of Rome's greatness to turn seven navigable rivers into vast subterraneous passages, larger sewers, along which barges might pass, carrying on the traffic of Imperial Rome. In one year the cost of cleansing, renewing, and repairing the sewers is stated to have been 1000 talents of gold, or upwards of 192,000l. Of the average yearly cost we have no information. Some ac- counts represent these sewers as having been re- built after the irruption of the Gauls. In Livy's time they were pronounced not to be accommo- dated to the plan of Rome. Some portions of these ancient structures are still extant, but they seem to have attracted small notice even from pro- fessed antiquarians; their subterranean character, however, renders such notice little possible. In two places they are still kept in repair, and for their original purpose, to carry off the filth of the city, but only to a small extent. Our legislative enactments on the subject of sewers are ancient and numerous. The oldest is that of 9 Henry III., and the principal is that of 23 Henry VIII., commonly called the "Statute of Sewers." These and many subsequent statutes, however, relate only to watercourses, and are silent as regards my present topic-the Refuse of London. It is remarkable how little is said in the Lon- don historians of the sewers. In the two folio volumes of the most searching and indefatigable of all the antiquarians who have described the old metropolis, John Stow, the tailor, there is no account of what we now consider sewers, inclosed and subterranean channels for the conveyance of the refuse filth of the metropolis to its destination the Thames. Had covered sewers been known, or at any rate been at all common, in Stow's day, and he died full of years in 1604, and had one of them presented but a crumbling stone with some heraldic, or apparently heraldic, device at its out- let, Stow's industry would certainly have ferreted out some details. Such, however, is not the case. This absence of information I hold to be owing to the fact that no such sewers then existed. Our present system of sewerage, like our present sys- tem of street-lighting, is a modern work; but it is not, like our gas-lamps, an original English work. We have but followed, as regards our arched and subterraneous sewerage, in the wake of Rome. As I have said, the early laws of sewers relate to watercourses, navigable communications, dams, ditches, and such like; there is no doubt, how- ever, that in the heart of the great towns the filth of the houses was, by rude contrivances in the way of drainage, or natural fall, emptied into such places. Even in the accounts of the sewers of ancient Rome, historians have stated that it is not easy, and sometimes not possible, to distin- guish between the sewers and the aqueducts, and Dr. Lemon, in his English Etymology, speaks of sewers as a species of aqueducts. So, in some of our earlier Acts of Parliament, it is hardly possible to distinguish whether the provisions to be ap- plied to the management of a sewer relate to a ditch to which house-filth was carried to a channel of water for general purposes-or to an open channel being a receptacle of filth and a navigable stream at the same time. That the ditches were not sewers for the con- veyance of the filth from the houses to any very great, or rather any very general extent, may very well be concluded, because (as I have shown in my account of the early scavagers) the excremen- titious matter was deposited during the night in the street, and removed by the proper function- aries in the morning, or as soon as suited their convenience. Though this was the case generally, it is evident that the filth, or a portion of it, from the houses which were built on the banks of the Fleet River (as it was then called, as well as the Fleet Ditch), and on the banks of the other brooks," drained into the current stream. The Corporation accounts contain very frequent mention of the cleansing, purifying, and "thorough" cleans- ing of the Fleet Ditch, the Old Bourne (Holborn Brook), the Wall Brook, &c. Of all these streams the most remarkable was Fleet Ditch, which was perhaps the first main sewer of London. I give from Stow the follow- ing curious account of its origin. It is now open, but only for a short distance, offending the air of Clerkenwell. At one period it was to afford a defence to the City as the Tower-moat was a defence to the Tower, and fortress. "The Ditch, which partly now remaineth and compassed the Wall of the City, was begun to be made by the Londoners, in the year 1211, and finished 1213, the 15th of K. John. This Ditch being then made of 200 foot broad, caused no small hindrance to the Canons of the Holy Trinity, whose Church stood near Ealdgate, for that the said Ditch passed through their Ground from the Tower unto Bishopsgate. "The first Occasion of making a Ditch about the City seems to have been this: William, Bishop of Ely, Chancellor of England, in the Reign of King Richard I., made a great Ditch round about the Tower, for the better Defence of it against John the King's Brother, the King being then out of the Realm. Then did the City also begin a Ditch to encompass and strengthen their Walls [which happened between the Years 1190 and 1193.] So the Book Dunthorn. Yet the Register of Bermondsey writes that the Ditch was begun, Oct. 15, 1213, which was in the Reign of King John that succeeded to Richard. "This Ditch being originally made for the Defence of the City, was also a long time together carefully cleansed and maintained, as Need re- quired; but now of late neglected, and forced either to a very narrow, and the same a filthy Channel. "In the Year of Christ, 1354, 28 Ed. 3, the Ditch of this City flowing over the Bank into the Tower-ditch, the King commanded the said. Ditch of the City to be cleansed, and so ordered, that the overflowing thereof should not force any Filth into the Tower-ditch. Anno, 1379, John Philpot, Maior of London, 1 390 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. caused this Ditch to be cleansed, and every Houshold to pay 5d., which was a Day's Work toward the Charges thereof. "Ralph Joseline, Maior, 1477, caused the whole Ditch to be cast and cleansed.. In 1519, the 10th of Henry 8, for cleansing and scouring the common Ditch, between Aldgate, and the Postern next the Tower-ditch; the chief Ditcher had by the day 7 d., the Second Ditcher, 6d, the other Ditchers, 5d. And every Vagabond (for as they were then termed) 1d. the Day, Meat and Drink, at the Charges of the City. Sum 951. 3s. 4d. "Fleet Ditch was again cleansed in the Year 1549," Stow continues, "IIenry Ancoates being Maior, at the Charges of the Companies. And again 1569, the 11th of Queen Elizabeth; for cleansing the same Ditch between Ealdgate and the Postern, and making a new Sewer and Wharf of Timber, from the Head of the Postern into the Tower-ditch, 8147. 15s. 8d. (was disbursed). Before the which Time the said Ditch lay open, without either Wall or Pall, having therein great Store of very good Fish, of divers Sorts, as many men yet living, who have taken and tasted them, can well witness. But now no such matter, the Charge of Cleansing is spared, and great Profit made by letting out the Banks, with the Spoil of the whole Ditch." The above information appeared, but I am un- able to specify the year (for Stow's works went through several editions, though it is to be feared he died very poor) between 1582 and 1590. So did the following :— "At this Day there be no Ditches or Boggs in the City except the said Fleet-ditch, but instead thereof large common Dreins and Sewers, made to carry away the water from the Postern-Gate, between the two Tower-hills to Fleet-bridge with- out Ludgate." "} Great, indeed, is the change in the character of the capital of England, from the times when the Fleet Ditch was a defence to the city (which was then the entire capital); and from the later era, when "great store of very good fish of divers sorts,' rewarded the skill or the patience of the anglers or netters; but this, it is evident, was in the parts near the river (the Tower postern, &c.), and at that time, or about that time, there was salmon- fishing in the Thames, at least as far up as Hun- gerford Wharf. The Fleet Ditch seems always to have had a sewery character. It was described, in 1728, as "The king of dykes! than whom no sluice of mud With deeper sable blots the silver flood-” the silver flood being, in Queen Anne's and the First George's days, the London Thames. This silver has been much alloyed since that time. Until within these 40 or 50 years, open sewer- ditches, into which drains were emptied, and ordure and refuse thrown, were frequent, espe- cially in the remoter parts of Lambeth and New- ington, and some exist to this day; one especially, open for a considerable distance, flowing along the back of the houses in the Westminster-road, on the right-hand side towards the bridge, into which the neighbouring houses are drained. The "Black Ditch," a filthy sewer, until lately was open near the Broadwall, and other vicinities of the Blackfriars-road. The open ditch-sewers of Norwood and Wandsworth have often been spoken of in Sanitary Reports. Indeed, some of our present sewers, in addition to Fleet River and Wall Brook, are merely ditches rudely arched over. The first covered and continuous street sewer was erected in London-I think, without doubt- when Wren rebuilt the capital, after the great fire of 1666. Perhaps there is no direct evidence of the fact, for, although the statutes and Privy Council and municipal enactments, consequent on the rebuilding of the capital, required, more or less peremptorily, "fair sewers, and drains, and water- courses," it is not defined in these enactments what was meant by a out. sewer;" nor were they carried I may mention, as a further proof that open ditches, often enough stagnant ditches also, were the first London sewers, that, after 1666, a plan, originally projected, it appears, by Sir Leonard Halliday, Maior, 60 years previously, and stre- nuously supported at that time by Nic Leate, "a worthy and grave citizen," was revived and re- considered. This project, for which Sir Leonard and Nic Leate "laboured much," was "for a river to be brought on the north of the city into it, for the cleansing the sewers and ditches, and for the better keeping London wholesome, sweet, and clean." An admirable intention; and it is not impossible nor improbable that in less than two centuries hence, we, of the present sanitary era, may be accounted, for our sanitary measures, as senseless as we now account good Sir Leonard Halliday and the worthy and grave Nic Leate. These gentlemen cared not to brook filth in their houses, nor to be annoyed by it in the nightly pollution of the streets, but they advocated its in- jection into running water, and into water often running slowly and difficultly, and continually under the eyes and noses of the citizens. We, I apprehend, go a little further. We drink, and use for the preparation of our meals, the befouled water, which they did not; for, more than seven- eighths of our water-supply from the companies is drawn from the Thames, the main sewer of the greatest city in the world, ancient or modern, into which millions of tons of every description of refuse are swept yearly. OF THE KINDS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SEWERS. THE sewers of London may be arranged into two distinct groups-according to the side of the Thames on which they are situate. Now the essential difference between these two classes of sewers lies in the elevation of the several localities whence the sewers carry the refuse to the Thames. The chief differences in the circumstances of the people north and south of the river are shown LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 391 in the annexed table from the Registrar-General's homely expression of the difficulties attending the Surrey sewerage. returns:- North side of London. the River. South side of the River. 10 5 Elevation of the ground, in feet, above Trinity high-water mark 39 51 Density, or number of persons to an acre, 1849 30 52 14 Deaths from Cholera to 10,000 persons living, in 60 weeks, ending Nov. 24, 1849 66 44 127 Deaths from all causes annually to 10,000 persons (5000 males, • 5000 females) living, during the 7 years, 1838-44 . . 252 251 257 Here, it will be seen, that while the houses on the north side of the river stand, on an average, 51 feet above the high-water mark of the Thames, those on the south side are only 5 feet above it. The effect of this is shown most particularly in the deaths from cholera in 1849, which were nearly three times as many on the south as on the north side of the Thames. It is said, officially, that "of the 15 square miles of the Urban district on the south side of the river Thames, three miles are from six to seven feet below high- water mark, so that the locality may be said to be drained only for four hours out of the twelve, and during these four hours very imperfectly When the tide rises above the orifices of the sewers, the whole drainage of the district is stopped until the tide recedes again, rendering the whole system of sewers in Kent and Surrey only an articulation of cesspools." • That this is but the fact, the following table of the elevation in feet above the Trinity high-water mark, as regards the several districts on the Surrey side of the Thames, may be cited as evidence. Lewisham. Wandsworth Greenwich. Camberwell Lambeth • • Eleva- tion. Eleva- tion. 28 St. Olave 2 • 22 Bermondsey 0 • 8 Rotherhithe 0 4 3 0 2 Сона • St. George's (South- wark) St. Saviour (South- Newington (below wark) high water) 2 From these returns, made by Capt. Dawson, R.E., the difficulty, to use no stronger word, attending the sewerage of the Surrey district is shown at once. There is no flow to be had, or- the word more generally used, no run for the sewage. In parts of the north of England it used to be a general, and still is a partial, saying saying among country-people who are figuratively de- scribing what they account impossible. "Ay, When water runs up bank." This is a when? no There is, as regards these Surrey, more than the Kent, sewers, another evil which promotes the "articulation of cesspools." Some of these sewers have "dead-ends," like places which in the streets (a parallel case enough) are known as thoroughfare," and in these sewers it is seldom, in any state of the tide, that flushing can be re- sorted to; consequently these cesspool-like sewers remain uncleansed, or have to be cleansed by manual labour, the matter being drawn up into the street or road. The refuse conduits of the metropolis are of two kinds :- 1. Sewers. 2. Drains. These two classes of refuse-charts are often official confounded, even in some the papers, sewer being there designated the "main drain." All sewerage is undoubtedly drainage, but there is a manifest distinction between a sewer and a drain. The First-Class Sewers, which are generally termed "main sewers," and run along the centres of the first-class streets (first-class alike from the extent or populousness of such streets), may be looked upon as underground rivers of refuse, to which the drains are tributary rivulets. No sewer exists unconnected with the drains from the streets and houses; but many house-drains are constructed apart from the sewers, communicating only with the cesspools. Even where houses are built in close contiguity to a public sewer, and built after the new mode without cesspools, there is always a drain to the sewer; no house so situated can get rid of its refuse except by means of a drain; unless, indeed, the house be not drained at all, and its filth be flung down a gully- hole, or got rid of in some other way. These drains, all with a like determination, differ only in their forms. They are barrel-shaped, made of rounded bricks, or earthenware pipeage, and of an interior between a round and an oval, with a diameter of from 2 to 6 inches, although only a few private houses, comparatively, are so drained. The barrel drain of larger dimen- sions, is used in the newer public buildings and larger public mansions, when it represents a sort of house or interior sewer as well as a house main drain, for smaller drains find their issue into the barrel-drain. There is the barrel-drain in the new Houses of Parliament, and in large places which cover the site of, and are required for the purposes of several houses or offices. The tubular drain is simply piping, of which I have spoken fully in my account of the present compulsory mode of house drainage. The third drain, one more used to carry refuse to the cesspool than the sewer, but still carrying such refuse to the sewers, is the old- fashioned brick drain, generally 9 inches square. I shall first deal with the sewerage, and then with the house and street drainage. The sewer is a twofold receptacle of refuse; into it are conveyed the wet refuse not only of many of the houses, but of all the streets. 392 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. The slop or surface water of the streets is con- veyed to the sewer by means of smaller sewers or street-drains running from the "kennel" or channel to the larger sewers. In the streets, at such uncertain distances as the traffic and circumstances of the locality may require, are gully-holes. These are openings into the sewer, and were formerly called, as they were, simply gratings, a sort of iron trap-doors of grated bars, clumsily made, and placed almost at random. On each side of the street was, even into the present century, a very formidable channel, or kennel, as it was formerly written, into which, in heavy rains, the badly-scavaged street dirt was swept, often demanding a good leap from one who wished to cross in a hurry. These "kennels" emptied themselves into the gratings, which were not un- frequently choked up, and the kennel was then an utter nuisance. At the present time the channel is simply a series of stone work at the edge of the footpaths, blocks of granite being sloped to | meet more or less at right angles, and the flow from the inclination from the centre of the street to the channel is carried along without impedi- men or nuisance into the gully-hole. The gully-hole opens into a drain, running, with a rapid slope, into the sewer, and so the wet refuse of the streets find its vent. In many courts, alleys, lanes, &c., inhabited by the poor, where there is imperfect or no drainage to the houses, all the slops from the houses are thrown down the gully-holes, and frequently enough blood and offal are poured from butchers' premises, which might choke the house drain. There have, indeed, been instances of worthless street dirt (slop) collected into a scavager's vehicle being shot down a gully-hole. The sewers, as distinct from the drains, are to be divided principally into three classes, all devoted to the same purpose-the conveyance of the un- derground filth of the capital to the Thames-and all connected by a series of drains, afterwards to be described, with the dwelling-houses. The first-class sewers are found in the main streets, and flow at their outlets into the river. The second-class sewers run along the second- class streets, discharging their contents into a first-class sewer; and The third-class sewers are for the reception of the sewage from the smaller streets, and always communicate, for the voidance of their contents, with a sewer of the second or first description. As regards the destination of the sewers, there is no difference between the Middlesex and Surrey portions of the metropolis. The sewage is all floated into the river. The first-class sewers of the modern build rarely exceed 50 inches by 30 in internal dimen- sions; the second class, 40 inches by 24; the third, 30 inches by 18. Smaller class or branch sewers, from No. 4 to No. 8 inclusive, also form part of the great sub- terranean filth-channels of the metropolis. It is only, however, the three first-mentioned classes which can be described as in any way principal sewers; the others are in the capacity of branch | sewers, the ramifications being in many places very extensive, while pipes are often used. The dimensions of these smaller sewers, when pipes are not used, are No. 4, 20 inches by 12; No. 5, 17½ inches by 10; No. 6, 15 inches by 9; No. 7, 12 inches by 7; and No. 8, 9 inches by 6. These branch sewers may, from their circum- scribed dimensions, be looked upon as mere channels of connection with the larger descrip- tions; but they present, as I have intimated, an important part of the general system. This may be shown by the fact, that in the estimates for building sewers for the improvement of the drainage of the city of Westminster (a plan, how- ever, not carried out), the estimated, or indeed surveyed, run of the first class was to be 8118 feet; of the second class, 4524 feet; of the third, but 2086 feet; while of the No. 5 and No. 6 description, it was, respectively, 18,709 and 53,284 feet. The branch sewers may, perhaps, be represented in many instances as public drains connecting the sewer of the street with the issue from the houses, but I give the appellation I find in the reports. The dimensions I have cited are not to be taken as an average size of the existing sewers of the metropolis on either side of the Thames, for no average size and no uniformity of shape can be adduced, adduced, as there has been no uniformity ob- served. The sewers are of all sizes and shapes, and of all depths from the surface of the streets. I was informed by an engineering authority that he had often seen it asserted that the naval authorities of the kingdom could not build a war- steamer, and it might very well be said that the sanitary authorities of the metropolis could not build a sewer, as none of the present sewers could be cited as in all respects properly fulfilling all the functions required. But it must be remem- bered that the present engineers have to contend with great difficulties, the whole matter being so complicated by the blunderings and mismanage- ment of the past. The dimensions I have cited (because they appear officially) exceed the medium size of the newer sewerage, the average height of the first class being in such sewers about 3 feet 9 inches. Of the width of the sewers, as of the height, no precise average can be drawn. Perhaps that of the New Palace main, or first-class sewer, 3 feet 6 inches, may be nearest the average, while the smaller classes diminish in their width in the proportions I have shown. The sewers of the older constructions nearly all widen and deepen as they near the outlet, and this at no definite distance from the river, but from a quarter of a mile or somewhat less to a mile and more. Some such sewers are then 14 feet in width; some 20 feet, and no doubt of proportionate height, but I do not find that the height has been ascertained. For flushing purposes there are recesses of greater or less width, according to the capacity of the sewer, where sluice-gates, &c., can be fixed, and water accumulated. Under the head of "Subterranean Survey of LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 393 2 the Sewers," will be found some account of the different dimensions of the sewers. The form of the interior of the sewers (as shown in the illustrations I have given) is irregularly elliptical. They are arched at the summits, and more or less hollowed or curved, internally, at the bottom. The bottom of the sewer is called the "invert," from a general resemblance in the con- struction to an inverted" arch. The best form of invert is a matter which has attracted great engineering attention. It is, indeed, the impor- tant part of the sewer, as the part along which there is the flow of sewage; and the superior or inferior formation of the invert, of course, facilitates or retards the transmission of the con- tents. A few years back, the building of egg-shaped, or "oviform" sewers, was strongly advocated. It was urged that the flow of the sewage and the sewer-water was accelerated by the invert (espe- cially) being oviform, as the matter was more condensed when such was the shape adopted, while the more the matter was diffused, as in some of the inverts of the more usual form of sewers, the less rapid was its flow, and conse- quently the greater its deposit. What extent of egg-shaped sewers are now, so to speak, at work, I could not ascertain. One informant thought it might be somewhere about 50 miles. The following interesting account of the velo- cities of streams, with a relativeness to sewers, is extracted from the evidence of Mr. Phillips "The area of surface that a sewer will drain, and the quantity of water that it will discharge in a given time, will be greater or less in proportion as the channel is inclined from a horizontal to a vertical position. The ordinary or common run of water in each sewer, due from house drainage alone, and irrespective of rain, should have suffi- cient velocity to prevent the usual matter dis- charged into the sewer from depositing. For this purpose, it is necessary that there should be in each sewer a contant velocity of current equal to 2 feet per second, or 1 mile per hour." Mr. Phillips then states that the inclinations of all rivulets, &c., diminish as they progress to their outfalls. "If the force of the waters of the river Rhone," he has said, "were not absorbed by the operation of some constant retardation in its course, the stream would have shot into the Bay of Marseilles with the tremendous velocity of 164 miles every hour. Even if the Thames met with no system of impediments in its course, the stream would have rushed into the sea with a velocity of 80 feet per second, or 54 miles in an hour. The inclinations of the sewers of a natural district should be made to diminish from their heads to their outfalls in a correspond- ing ratio of progression, so that as the body of water is increased at each confluence, one and the same velocity and force of current may be kept up throughout the whole of them." Mr. Phillips advocates a tubular system of sewerage and drainage. The main sewer, which has lately called forth | the most public attention and professional con- troversy, is that connected with the new Houses of Parliament, or as they are called in divers reports and correspondence, the "New Palace at West- minster." The workmanship in the building of the sewers is of every quality. The material of which some of the older sewers are constructed is a porous sort of brick, which is often found crumbling and broken, and saturated with damp and rottenness, from the exhalations and contact of their contents. The sewers erected, however, within the last twenty, and more especially within the last ten years, are sometimes of granite, but generally of the best brick, with an interior coating of endur- ing cement, and generally with concrete on their exterior, to protect them from the dampness and decaying qualities of the superincumbent or la- teral soil. The depth of the sewers-I mean from the top of the sewer to the surface of the street-seems to vary as everything else varies about them. Some are found forty feet below the street, some two feet, some almost level! These, how- ever, are exceptions; and the average depth of the sewers on the Middlesex side is from twelve to fourteen feet; on the Surrey side, from six to eight feet. The reason is that the north shores of the metropolis are above the tide level, the south shores are below it. An authority on the subject has said, "The Surrey sewers are bad, owing principally to the land being below tide level. They were the most expensively constructed, because, perhaps, in that Commission the surveyors were paid by percent- age on the cost of works. When it was proposed, in the Westminster Commission, to effect a reduc- tion of four-fifths in the cost, it was like a propo- sition to return the officers' salaries to that extent, if they had been paid in that way." The reader may have observed that the official intelligence I have given all, or nearly all, refers to the "Westminster and part of Middlesex" Commission, and to that of the "Surrey and Kent." This is easily accounted for. In the metropolitan districts, up to 1847, the only Com- mission which published its papers was the West- minster, of which Mr. L. C. Hertslet had the charge as clerk; when the Commissions were con- solidated in 1847, he printed the Westminster and Surrey only, the others being of minor import- ance. I may observe that one of the engineers, in showing the difficulty or impossibility of giving any description of a system of sewerage, as to points of agreement or difference, represents the whole mass as but a "detached parcel of sewers.” The course of the sewers is in no direct or uniform line, with the exception of one character- istic-all their bearings are towards the river as regards the main sewers (first-class), and all the bearings of the second-class sewers are towards the main sewers in the main streets. The smaller classes of sewers fill up the great area of London sewerage with a perfect network of intersection and connection, and even this network is increased 394 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. manyfold by its connection with the house-teristics of the underground London of the sewers. drains. The subterranean surveys were made after the commissions were consolidated. " There is no map of the general sewerage of the metropolis, merely sections and “ plans" of improvements making or suggested, in the reports of the surveyors, &c., to the Commissioners; but did a map of subterranean London exist, with its lines of every class of sewerage and of the drain- age which feeds the sewers; with its course, moreover, of gas-pipes and water-pipes, with their connection with the houses, the streets, the courts, &c., it would be the most curious and skeleton- like map in the world. IN OF THE SUBTERRANEAN CHARACTER OF THE SEWERS. In my inquiries among that curious body of men, the "Sewer Hunters," I found them make light of any danger, their principal fear being from the attacks of rats in case they became isolated from the gang with whom they searched in common, while they represented the odour as a mere no- thing in the way of unpleasantness. But these men pursued only known and (by them) beaten tracks at low water, avoiding any deviation, and so becoming but partially acquainted with the character and direction of the sewers. And had it been otherwise, they are not a class competent to describe what they saw, however keen-eyed after silver spoons. The following account is derived chiefly from official sources. I may premise that where the deposit is found the greatest, the sewer is in the worst state. This deposit, I find it repeatedly stated, is of a most miscellaneous character. Some of the sewers, indeed, are represented as the dust-bins and dung-hills of the immediate neigh- bourhood. The deposit has been found to com- prise all the ingredients from the breweries, the gas-works, and the several chemical and mineral manufactories; dead dogs, cats, kittens, and rats; offal from slaughter-houses, sometimes even in- cluding the entrails of the animals; street-pave- ment dirt of every variety; vegetable refuse; stable-dung; the refuse of pig-styes; night-soil; ashes; tin kettles and pans (pansherds); broken stoneware, as jars, pitchers, flower-pots, &c.; bricks; pieces of wood; rotten mortar and rub- bish of different kinds; and even rags. Our criminal annals of the previous century show that often enough the bodies of murdered men were thrown into the Fleet and other ditches, then the open sewers of the metropolis, and if found washed into the Thames, they were so stained and disfigured by the foulness of the con- tents of these ditches, that recognition was often impossible, so that there could be but one verdict returned-" Found drowned." Clothes stripped from a murdered person have been, it was authenticated on several occasions in Old Bailey evidence, thrown into the open sewer ditches, when torn and defaced, so that they might not supply evidence of identity. So close is the connection between physical filthiness in public matters and moral wickedness. The following particulars show the charac- | "An old sewer, running between Great Smith- street and St. Ann-street (Westminster), is a curiosity among sewers, although it is probably only one instance out of many similar construc- tions that will be discovered in the course of the subterranean survey. The bottom is formed of planks laid upon transverse timbers, 6 inches by 6 inches, about 3 feet apart. The size of the sewer varies in width from 2 to 6 feet, and from 4 to 5 feet in height. The inclination of the bottom is very irregular: there are jumps up at two or three places, and it contains a de- posit of filth averaging 9 inches in depth, the sickening smell from which escapes into the houses and yards that drain into it. In many places the side walls have given way for lengths of 10 and 15 feet. Across this sewer timbers have been laid, upon which the external wall of a workshop has been built; the timbers are in a decaying state, and should they give way, the wall will fall into the sewer." From the further accounts of this survey, I find that a sewer from the Westminster Workhouse, which was of all shapes and sizes, was in so wretched a condition that the leveller could scarcely work for the thick scum that covered the glasses of the spirit-level in a few minutes after being wiped. At the outfall into the Dean- street sewer, it is 3 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 8 inches for a short length. From the end of this, a wide sewer branches in each direction at right angles, 5 feet 8 inches by 5 feet 5 inches. ceeding to the eastward about 30 feet, a chamber is reached about 30 feet in length, from the roof of which hangings of putrid matter like stalac- tites descend three feet in length. At the end of this chamber, the sewer passes under the public privies, the ceilings of which can be seen from it. Beyond this it is not possible to go." Pro- "In the Lucas-street sewer, where a portion of new work begins and the old terminates, a space of about 10 feet has been covered with boards, which, having broken, a dangerous chasm has been caused immediately under the road." "The West-street sewer had one foot of de- posit. It was flushed while the levelling party was at work there, and the stream was so rapid that it nearly washed them away, instrument and all." There are further accounts of "deposit," or of stagnant filth," in other sewers, varying from 6 to 14 inches, but that is insignificant compared to what follows. The foregoing, then, is the pith of the first authentic account which has appeared in print of the actually surveyed condition of the subter- ranean ways, over which the super-terranean tides of traffic are daily flowing. The account I have just given relates to the (former) Westminster and part of Middlesex dis- trict on the north bank of the Thames, as ascer- tained under the Metropolitan Commission. I now give some extracts concerning a similar LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. 395 survey on the south bank, in different and distant directions in the district, once the "Surrey and Kent." The Westminster, &c., survey took place in 1848; the Kent and Surrey in 1849. In the one case, 72 miles of sewers were surveyed; in the other, 69 miles. "The surveyors (in the Surrey and Kent sewers) find great difficulty in levelling the sewers of this district (I give the words of the Report); for, in the first place, the deposit is usually about two feet in depth, and in some cases it amounts to nearly five feet of putrid mat- ter. The smell is usually of the most horrible description, the air being so foul that explosion and choke damp are very frequent. On the 12th January we were very nearly losing a whole party by choke damp, the last man being dragged out on his back (through two feet of black foetid deposits) in a state of insensibility. men of one party had also a narrow escape from drowning in the Alscot-road sewer, Rotherhithe. "The sewers on the Surrey side are very irre- gular; even where they are inverted they fre- quently have a number of steps and inclinations the reverse way, causing the deposit to accumulate in elongated cesspools. • Two "It must be considered very fortunate that the subterranean parties did not first commence on the Surrey side, for if such had been the case, we should most undoubtedly have broken down. When compared with Westminster, the sewers are smaller and more full of deposit; and, bad as the smell is in the sewers in Westminster, it is infi- nitely worse on the Surrey side.' Several details are then given, but they are only particulars of the general facts I have stated. The following, however, are distinct facts con- cerning this branch of the subject. In my inquiries among the working scavagers I often heard of their emptying street slop into sewers, and the following extract shows that I was not misinformed:- "The detritus from the macadamized roads frequently forms a kind of grouting in the sewers so hard that it cannot be removed without hand labour. "One of the sewers in Whitehall and another in Spring-gardens have from three to four feet of this sort of deposit; and another in Eaton-square was found filled up within a few inches of the 'soffit,' but it is supposed that the scavengers (scavagers) emptied the road-sweepings down the gully-grate in this instance;" and in other in- stances, too, there is no doubt-especially at Charing Cross, and the Regent Circus, Piccadilly. Concerning the sewerage of the most aris- tocratic parts of the city of Westminster, and of the fashionable squares, &c., to the north of Ox- ford-street, I glean the following particulars (reported in 1849). They show, at any rate, that the patrician quarters have not been unduly favoured; that there has been no partiality in the construction of the sewerage. In the Belgrave and Eaton-square districts there are many faulty places in the sewers which abound with noxious matter, in many instances stopping up the house drains and "smelling horribly." It is much the same in the Grosvenor, Hanover, and Berkeley- square localities (the houses in the squares them- selves included). Also in the neighbourhood of Covent-garden, Clare-market, Soho and Fitzroy- squares; while north of Oxford-street, in and about Cavendish, Bryanstone, Manchester, and Portman-squares, there is so much rottenness and decay that there is no security for the sewers standing from day to day, and to flush them for the removal of their "most loathsome deposit" might be " to bring some of them down alto- gether." One of the accounts of a subterranean survey concludes with the following rather curious state- ment :-"Throughout the new Paddington dis- trict the neighbourhood of Hyde Park Gardens, and the costly squares and streets adjacent, the sewers abound with the foulest deposit, from which the most disgusting effluvium arises; in- deed, amidst the whole of the Westminster Dis- trict of Sewers the only little spot which can be mentioned as being in at all a satisfactory state is the Seven Dials." I may point out also that these very curious and authenticated accounts by no means bear out the zymotic doctrine of the Board of Health as to the cause of cholera; for where the zymotic influences from the sewers were the worst, in the patrician squares of what has been called Bel- gravia and Tyburnia, the cholera was the least destructive. This, however, is no reason what- ever why the stench should not be stifled. OF THE HOUSE-DRAINAGE OF THE METROPOLIS AS CONNECTED WITH THE SEWERS. EVERY house built or rebuilt since the passing of the Metropolitan Sewers Act in 1848, must be drained, with an exception, which I shall specify, into a sewer. The law, indeed, divested of its technicalities is this: the owner of a newly- erected house must drain it to a sewer, without the intervention of a cesspool, if there be a sewer within 100 feet of the site of the house; and, if necessary, in places but partially built over, such owner must continue the sewer along the pre- mises, and make the necessary drain into it; all being done under the approval of the proper officer under the Commissioners. If there be, however, an established sewer, along the side, front, or back of any house, a covered drain must be made into that at the cost of the owner of the premises to be drained. Where a sewer," says the 46th section of the Act, "shall already be made, and a drain only shall be required, the party is to pay a contribution towards the original expense of the sewer, if it shall have been made within thirty-five years before the 4th of Septem- ber, 1848, the contribution to be paid to the builder of the sewer."..... "In cases where there shall be no sewer into which a drain could be made, the party must make a covered drain to lead into a cesspool or other place (not under a house) as the Commissioners may direct. If the parties infringe this rule, the Commissioners may 396 LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON ROOR. do the work and throw the cost on them in the nature of an improvement rate, or as charges for default, and levy the amount by distress." I mention these circumstances more particularly to show the extent, and the far-continued ramifica- tion, of the subterranean metropolis. I am assured by one of the largest builders in the western district of the capital that the new regu- lations (as to the dispensing with cesspools) are readily complied with, as it is a recommendation which a house agent, or any one letting new pre- mises, is never slow to advance ("and when it 's the truth," he said, "they do it with a better grace"), that there will be in the course of occupancy no annoyance and no expense incurred in the clear- ing away of cesspoolage. I shall at present describe only the house- drainage, which is connected with the public sewerage. The old mode of draining a house separately into the cesspool of the premises will, of course, be described under the head of cess- poolage, and that old system is still very pre- valent. At the times of passing both general and local Acts concerning buildings, town improvements and extensions, the erection of new streets and the removal of old, much has been said and written concerning better systems of ventilating, warming, and draining dwelling-houses; but until after the first outbreak of cholera in England, in 1832, little public attention was given to the great drainage of all the sewers. However, on the passing of the Building and Sanitary Acts gene- rally, the authorities made many experiments, not so much to improve the system of sewerage as of house-drainage, so as to make the dwelling- houses more wholesome and sweet. 1 lar," and "pipe" house-drainage, and all with the object of carrying off all. fæces, soil water, cess- pool matter, &c., before it has had time to accu- mulate. It is not by brick or other drains of masonry. that the system is carried out or is re- commended to be carried out, but by means of tubular earthenware pipes; and for any efficient carrying out of the projected improvement a system of constant, and not as at present inter- mittent, supply of water from the several com- panies would be best. These pipes communicate with the nearest sewer. The pipes in the tubular drainage are of red earthenware or stone- ware (pot). << Mr. The use of earthenware, clay, or pot pipes for the conveyance of liquids is very ancient. Stirrat, a bleacher in Paisley, in a statement to the Board of Health, mentioned that clay pipes were used in ancient times. King Hezekiah (2nd Book of Kings, chap. 20, and 2nd Book of Chronicles, chap. 32) brought in water from Je- rusalem. "His pool and conduit," said Mr. Stirrat, are still to be seen. The conduit: is three feet square inside, built of freestone, strongly cemented; the stone, fifteen inches thick, evidently intended to sustain a considerable pres- sure; and I have seen pipes of clay, taken by a friend from a house in the ruins of the ancient city, of one inch bore, and about seven inches in diameter, proving evidently, to my mind, that ancient Jerusalem was supplied with water on the principle of gravitation. The pools or re- servoirs are also at this day in tolerably good order, one of them still filled with water; the other broken down in the centre, no doubt by some besieging enemy, to cut off the supply to the city." To effect this, the great object was the aboli- The new system to supply the place of the tion of the cesspool system, under which filth cesspools is a combined, while the old is princi- must accumulate, and where, from scamped build-pally a separate, system of house-drainage; but ings or other causes, evaporation took place, the the new system is equally available for such effects of the system were found to be vile and separate drainage. offensive, and have been pronounced miasmatic. Having just alluded to these matters, I proceed to describe the modernly-adopted connection of house-drainage and street-sewerage. Experiments, as I have said, were set on foot under the auspices of public bodies, and the opinions of eminent engineers, architects, and surveyors were also taken. Their opinions seem really to be concentrated in the advocacy of one remedy-improved house-drainage; and they appear to have agreed that the system which is at present adopted is, under the circumstances, the best that can be adopted. I was told also by an eminent practical builder, perfectly unconnected with any official or public body, and, indeed, often at issue with surveyors, &c., that the new system was unquestionably a great improvement in every respect, and that some years before its adoption as at present he had abetted such a system, and had carried it into effect when he could properly do so. I will first show the mode and then the cost of the new system. | As regards the success of this system the re- ports say experiments have been tried in so large a number of houses, under such varied and, in many cases, disadvantageous circumstances, that no doubts whatsoever can remain in the minds of competent and disinterested persons as to the efficient self-cleansing action of well-adjusted tubular drains and sewers, even without. any addi- tional supplies of water. Mr. Lovick said :- 'A great number of small 4-inch tubular drains have been laid down in the several districts, some for considerable periods. They have been found to keep themselves clear by the ordinary soil and drainage waters of the houses. I have no doubt that pipes of this kind will keep themselves clear by the ordinary discharge of house-drainage ; assuming, of course, a supply of water, pipes of good form, and materials properly laid, and with fair usage." "One of the earliest illustrations of the tubular system," it is stated in a Report of the Board of Health, was given in the improved drainage of a I find it designated "back," "front," "tubu- block of houses in the cloisters of Westminster, MUTUAL PENSION SO- CIETY. Established, to provide Pensions for Necessitous and Aged Members. Subscription, 5s. per Annum. TRUSTEES.-William Breynton, Esq.; Matthew Fors- ter, Esq. Chairman-Thomas Tyerman, Esq., Vice-Chairman- Horace Mayhew, Esq. Song MANAGER AND HONORARY SECRETARY. John Howden, Esq., 11, Chesterfield-street, Argyle-square. All persons subscribing 5s. per annum to be members, or a donation of 51. to constitute a member for life. Minors and females can be members. 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The FIRST TWO PARTS (PRICE NINEPENCE) OF A NEW WORK, To be continued in Weekly Numbers, Price TWOPENCE, LOW ENTITLED WAGE S: THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THEM; THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY ARE CARRIED OUT; AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO FREE TRADE, PROTECTION, OVER-POPULATION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, EMIGRATION, HOME COLONIZATION, MACHINERY, FINANCIAL REFORM, TRADES' UNIONS, CHARTISM, AGRARIANISM, SOCIALISM, AND COMMUNISM: BY HENRY MAYHEW, Author of “London Labour and the London Poor;" How to Teach it," &c., &c., &c. What to Teach, and ** MR. MAYHEW has found, from the commencement of his investigations into the condition of the working men of the Metropolis, that the received doctrines of Political Economy are insufficient either to explain or remedy the evils of unrequited labour, and he has been long engaged in generalising the facts he has collected in the course of his inquiries, and in making deductions therefrom, with a view to the better understanding of the "perils of the nation." Some of the articles on the "Labour Question" which have been printed on the wrappers of "London Labour" will be inserted in the present volume, which, being of a speculative character, it is thought advisable to issue in a distinct form, so that the facts collected by the Author may exist separately from the opinions engendered by them in his mind. The work is published in weekly instalments, so as to bring it within the means of the working classes, and will be completed (it is believed) in about five-and-twenty numbers. It will be printed in large type, the page being of the same size as "London Labour," though, from the matter being neces- sarily of a less popular character, and the sale consequently more circumscribed, sixteen pages instead of twenty-four will be given in each number. The order and arrangement of the work will be as follows: 1st. High and Low Wages; Fair and Unfair Wages; Good and Bad Wages; what is meant by them; and is there an uniform set of circumstances regulating the sum paid as remuneration for labour. 2nd. What should regulate wages. 3rd. What does not regulate wages. Here will be discussed the Wage Law of Supply and Demand as propounded by Political Economists. 4th. What does regulate Wages. 5th. Of a minimum Wage and of the difference of Wages. 6th. Of the causes of Low Wages in connection with large and small capitalists, and the different grades of employers and labourers. 7th. Of the means by which Low Wages are carried out. Here will be given a detail of the several tricks resorted to by employers to lower the ordinary rate of remuneration. 8th. Of the consequences of Low Wages. Here will be considered the causes of Crime and Pauperism. 9th. Of the remedies for Low Wages. Here the several plans proposed for the alleviation of the distress of the country will be dispassionately reviewed and discussed. Published at the Office of "London Labour," 16, Upper Wellington Street, Strand. ク ​ *