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THE

HISTORY

or

THE FACTORY MOVEMENT

FROM

THE YEAR 1802, TO THE ENACTMENT OF THE

TEN HOURS' BILL IN 1847.

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DEDICATION.

TO THE

RIGHT HON. LORD FEVERSHAM.

MY LORD,

"The highest humanity is the soundest policy." Your lordship, early in your political career, appreciated the truth and wisdom of this maxim.

A

quarter of a century has elapsed since, at a county meeting in the Castle-yard of York, by the bold expression of your sense of the responsibilities of the rich to the poor, and of the government to society, your lordship linked yourself to the hearts of the factory operatives. Your lordship has witnessed a protracted conflict between the supporters and opponents of factory regulation,-you have taken therein an important part; the social, moral, and educational advantages which have followed the passing of the Ten Hours' Bill, in 1847, cannot have failed to be gratifying to your heart, and, in some degree, to have rewarded you for your manifold exertions.

iv

When friends to the oppressed factory workers were few, your lordship stepped boldly forth, and, by your example, contributed to bring about a salutary change in public opinion. When public

opinion had undergone a desirable transition, and the mind of the legislature had become ripe for legislation; your lordship distinguished yourself by the earnestness with which, in your legislative capacity, you sealed the efforts of earlier years, with the approval of a majority of the House of Lords.

Because of early, consistent, and continuous exertions, on behalf of the interests of those engaged in factory labour, I esteem it a privilege to be allowed to dedicate "THE HISTORY OF THE FACTORY MOVEMENT," to your lordship.

I have the honour to be,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's humble and obedient servant,

ALFRED.

PREFACE.

CUSTOM has established the rule, that authors should state the reasons why they write books. Recent discussions in parliament, and the tone of a portion of the periodical literature of the time, have convinced the Author that the facts of the factories, as these existed prior to factory regulation by law, were either forgotten or misunderstood, and, that the

means

taken to change that condition have been frequently misapprehended; he, therefore, considers it to be a duty to present to the public and to statesmen a narrative, compiled from authentic sources, embodying these facts. The social condition of the working classes is a subject of growing influence; the number of persons, under the operation of the Factories' Regulation Acts, is, probably, not fewer than half a million, and is rapidly on the increase; the past history of the factory operatives, as a class, can scarcely fail to be of interest to many among themselves; the parliamentary records, of more than half a century, bear witness to the importance of the factory question in the eye of the legislature; as a subject

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