FACTORY REFORM

Barriers to working reform

• Capitalism thrive at exploitative low wages

• Adam Smith’s free market

• Orphans pay for themselves

• Class divide

• Communication - 16h workers have no way of complaining

WIlliam Cobbett

1809: Attacked use of German troops to put down murity in Ely → 2 years imprisoned
1816: Publish the political register - read by working class: 40,000 copies - made him dangerous
1821: tour Britain on horseback - publish controversial material
1831: Charge for seditious libel for supporting Swing Riots

Robert Owens

Wrote several books (ie. Formation of Character 1813)
1815: Sent detailed proposals to Parliament on Factory Reform - appear before parliament April 1816
Toured Britain, speeches + pamphlets. spent £4,000 publicising activities - “New Moral World”
Advancement of educational thought widely acknowledged - explored other aspects of society/issues

Other individuals…

1. Lord Shaftesbury - Politician. 1833 10 hour a day for kids → House of Lords.
   1833 Factory Act made law - no under 9 employed. Education 2h a day. 1842 Mine act

2. Michael Sadler - PM. Wrote 1833 report about working conditions - 16th March 1852 to limit 18- to 10hr or below a day

3. Robert Peel - made legislation to ban kids under 10. Failed, continue campaign. Led to pass of Cotton Mill Act 1819

4. Protest movements - Luddite/Swing - fictional leaders, stem from agriculture. National fear, easily dealt with by authority - condemned/hung etc.

1815-1820 “Period of unrest” - Corn Laws

Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815: Wheat prices raise (1810-14 = 102.45 shillings a quarter, usually 49.57 a quarter) - meant to be a food for the poor.
Farmers worried, pass Corn Laws to stop flood of foreign wheat. Artificially high prices
[POLITICIAL, ECONOMIC]

1815-1820 “Period of unrest” - Unemployment

Wheat prices did fall to 57 shillings a quarter in 1820-4 due to overproducing. Loss of jobs in rural areas ie. Kent and East Anglia.
Harsh punishments for poaching e.g death penalty for stealing rabbit
Investments of machines led to unemployment of the rural poor
Napoleonic wars in 1815 400,000 demobilised
[POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC]

1815-1820 “Period of unrest” - Urbanisation

Population doubled from 135,000 in 1821 to 235,000 in 1841 - attracted the young with the prospect of stable jobs.
Despite the rapid growth of industry, until 1851, most people continued to live and work on the land
250,000 hand loomers lost their jobs in 1825
1820 14,000 power looms in operation

Why governments would now act

→ Peoples increasing confidence to protest
→ Growing maturity of working class - moderate protest
→ Growing importance of working class in industrial Britain

Why would reform be difficult to achieve?

→ Capitalist society thrive on low wages
→ Adam Smith’s free market
→ Class divide
→ Factory owners who believe quamntity>quality
→ Governments who profit off of this labour

Nassau Senior

Economist who believed increased costs would ruin the industry, major contribution to the wealth of this country
(Later proved wrong: well fed/rested workers productivity raised)

Titus Salt

Titus Salt - largest employer in Bradford - 5 mills. Rodda Smoke burners to stop pollution, new industrial community 1850 stop sound pollution by noise reduction underground
Believed it was better for a child to work in a factory and earn a wage that provided food and clothes than forced to stay outside and freeze to death. Less difficult in factories, less difficult than manual work

Boundaries preventing factory reform

Some people argued that the workers would only spend extra time and money in drunkenness and crime

Discipline was necessary: domestic workers were not used to the needs of the factory and had to be trained

How did individuals like Titus Salt help pave the way for reform?

1829: Titus Salt prospers, 1840s ‘Multi-millionaire’ with 5 mills.
Bradford was one of the most polluted cities,.
Rejected at first, too expensive. Sold his mills in Bradford, built new industrial town for his 4,500 workers - salt air
Vision of perfect human society, education for the children, no beer shops.
Profit through mutual endeavour
Security of employment, fair wages/conditions, light/windows, smoke-consuming boilers.

POLITICAL CONTEXT

New industrial cities had no mps → reform act first major reform to franchise - hard to pass.
Replaced by Early Gray; Whigg who was pro-reform
ATTEMPT 1: 1831, too few people - 201 v 302
ATTEMPT 2: Lords, landslide victory, 8th October
ATTEMPT 3: Threat of social reject, Oct 1831, Lords mended it - elongated social unrest until May 1832
Main success → give 57 seats, lose 57 rotten burroughs, 67 new constituencies created

Factory Reform Act 1833 Key Features

• No child under the age of 9 was allowed to be employed

• Children between the ages of 9-13 could only work a 48-hour week

• Children between 13-18 could only work 12h days

• 2h a day education for those under 13

Significance of 1833 Factory Act

Measures introduced to enforce them - inspector of factories 4 per team. Inspect 4,000 mills
Left open the prospect of additional reform - not perfect.
BUT… reform spirit: had flaws, industrial enterprise
Effort to secure additional reform showed a changing attitude in industrialisation and factories. Reform after 1844 shows the cons of success
Only applied to textile work, other work w/ children uninspected