factory at Macao, and the English at Canton. In most instances, factories have at first obtained the privilege of trading, and afterwards procured for the precinct assigned to them some exemption from the jurisdiction of the native courts. In this state of things the supreme government of the country whose subjects have established the factory prepare laws for its control and administration, and treat it in fact as if it were its dependency, though the sovereignty of the native government is undisputed, and to it belongs the right of legislation for the precinct of the factory, though it may not always have the power of resuming it. (Government of Dependencies. By George Cornewall Lewis, pp. 93 and 169.)

In its usual acceptation, the word factory is now employed to denote an establishment in which a considerable number of workmen or artisans are employed together for the production of some article of manufacture, most commonly with the assistance of machinery.

FACTORY. The word Factory,' according to the Factory Act (7 Vict. c. 15), means all buildings and premises wherein or within the close or curtilage of which steam, water, or any other mechanical power shall be used to move or work any machinery employed in preparing, manufacturing, or finishing, or in any process incident to the manufacture of cotton, wool, hair, silk, flax, hemp, jute, or tow, either separately or mixed together, or mixed with any other material or any fabric made thereof; and any room situated within the outward gate or boundary of any factory wherein children or young persons are employed in any process incident to the manufacture carried on in the factory, shall be taken to be a part of the factory, although it may not contain any machinery; and any part of such factory may be taken to be a factory within the meaning of the Act, 7 Vict. c. 15; but this enactment shall not extend to any part of such factory used solely for the purposes of a dwellinghouse, nor to any part used solely for the manufacture of goods, made entirely of any other material than those herein enumerated, nor to any factory or part of a factory used solely for the manufacture of lace,

of hats, or of paper, or solely for bleaching, dyeing, printing, or calendering. What is called the factory system owes its origin to the invention and skill of Arkwright; and it is probable that but for the invention of spinning machinery, and the consequent necessary aggregation of large numbers of workmen in cotton-mills, the name would never have been thus applied. It is in the cottonmills that the factory system has been brought to its highest state of perfection.

The first cotton-factory was established in 1771 by Arkwright in connection with Messrs. Need and Strutt, of Derby, and was situated at Cromford, on the river Derwent; and the first of these establishments erected in Manchester was built in 1780, and had its machinery impelled by an hydraulic wheel, the water for which was furnished by a single-stroke atmospheric pumping steam-engine. The progress of cotton-factories was so rapid that in 1787 there were 145 in England and Wales, containing nearly two millions of spindles, and estimated to produce as much yarn as could have been spun by a million of persons using the old domestic wheel. The number of cotton, wool, silk, and flaxspinning factories worked by steam or water-power in the United Kingdom, with the number of persons employed therein in the year 1835, was as follows:—

under :

800,246 The sex and age of persons employed in the cotton manufacture are given at COTTON MANUFACTURE AND TRADE, p. 696.

The

"In the woollen manufacture the number of adult males employed is three times as great as that of the adult females, while the number of either sex under twenty years of age is comparatively small: the same may be said of the hose, but in the flax and linen manufactures the preponderance is not quite so great. In silk the number of both sexes employed are nearly equal, the excess among adults being with the males, and under twenty with the females. manufacture of lace is the only one in which the number of females is very much greater than that of males." (Census Commissioners' Report.) In the Yorkshire district, which is under the superintendence of Mr. Saunders, the number of persons employed in factories in 1838 was 95,000, and in 1843 there were 106,500; but there was a positive decrease in the number of children, amounting to 2000. Mr. Howell, in spector of factories for Cheshire and the Midland Counties, states (Jan. 1844), that the few factories in which children under thirteen years of age are employed in his circuit are chiefly in isolated rural districts or in non-manufacturing towns.

The legislature has interfered to prevent children in factories being tasked beyond their strength, to the permanent injury of their constitutions. This abuse was the more to be apprehended, because a large proportion of the children engaged in cotton-spinning are not directly employed by the masters, but are under the control of the spinners, a highly-paid class of workmen, whose earnings depend greatly upon the length of time during which they can keep their young assistants at work. A parliamentary committee sat for the investigation of this sub

taining, by examinations at the factories themselves, the kind and degree of abuses that prevailed, and for suggesting the proper remedies. In consequence of these inquiries, an act was passed in 1833 (3 & 4 Wm. IV., c. 103) for regulating factories. This act has been amended by 7 Vict. c. 15; but in order to show the course of recent legislation on this subject, we shall first give some of the main enactments of the first act.

The act 3 & 4 Wm. IV. provided, that after the 1st of January, 1834, no person under the age of eighteen years should work in any cotton, woollen, flax, or silk factory worked by the aid of steam or water-power, between the hours of halfpast eight in the evening and half-past five in the morning; that no person under eighteen years of age should work more than twelve hours in any one day nor more than sixty-nine hours in the week. Except in silk-mills, no children under nine years of age were to be employed. Children under eleven years old were not to be worked more than nine hours in any one day, nor more than forty-eight hours in one week. This clause came into operation six months after the passing of the act. At the expiration of another twelve months its restriction was applied to children under twelve years old; and when thirty months from the passing of the act had elapsed, the restriction was applied to all children under thirteen years old. This clause came into operation on the 1st of March, 1836. In silk-mills, children under thirteen years of age were allowed to work ten hours per day. It was made illegal for any other mill-owner to have in his employ any child who had not completed eleven years of age without a certificate by a surgeon or physician "that such child is of the ordinary strength and appearance of children of or exceeding the age of nine years." In eighteen months from the passing of the act this provision was made to apply to all children under twelve years of age; and upon the 1st of March, 1836, the provision was made to include all children under the age of thirteen. Four persons were appointed

46

66

the morning; nor more than twelve hours | in one day; nor more than sixty-nine hours in any one week (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 103, § § 1, 2). Females above the age of eighteen can only be employed for the same time and in the same manner as young persons;" an arrangement introduced for the first time by the amending act. No "child" is to be employed more than six hours and a half in any one day, unless when the dinner-time of the young persons" begins at one o'clock in the afternoon, in which case children who begin to work in the morning may work for seven hours in one day. Children must not be employed after one o'clock in the afternoon, except when they work on alternate days; but in silk-factories, children, if above eleven, may be employed solely in the winding and turning of raw silk for any time not exceeding ten hours on any working day, but not after half-past four P.M. on any Saturday, and such children are not required to produce a certificate of school attendance. Under the former factory act children of any age might be employed in silk-mills. Again, as to silk-mills, children between eight and eleven can only be employed half a day, and are required to attend school.

When the labour of "young persons" is restricted to ten hours a-day, any "child" may be employed ten hours on alternate days; but the occupier of the factory must give notice to the inspector of this arrangement with regard to the children. No child or young person is to be employed for any purpose in any factory after halfpast four on Saturdays. The time for meals is regulated both by the act of 3 & 4 Wm. IV. and that of 7 Vict. At least one hour and a half must be allowed for meals to every young person between half-past seven in the morning and half-past seven in the evening. One hour is to be given before three o'clock in the afternoon. No child or young person is to be employed before one o'clock in the afternoon without an interval of thirty minutes for meal time. During meal times no child or young person is to be in any room wherein any manufacturing process is then carried on. All young persons are to have time for meals at the same period of the day, unless for special

cause to be allowed in writing by an inspector.

Holidays are fixed by both acts, which in England or Ireland are Christmas-day and Good Friday; and in Scotland the days set apart as fast-days. All children and young persons are besides to have eight half-holidays yearly, and at least four must be allowed between the 15th of March and 1st of October. No cessation from work is deemed a half-holiday unless notice thereof has been fixed up the previous day in the factory.

In making up time lost by accident, provisions are carefully introduced to prevent any unnecessary infringement on the ordinary working hours. Notice must be sent by post to the sub-inspector of factories, stating the intention to recover lost time, and a notice to the same effect must be previously fixed up at the entrance of the factory.

The act contains provisions for painting and whitewashing, or cleaning with soap and hot water the interior of factories; also various regulations for the prevention of accidents and for protecting the workers from discomforts. No child or young person is to be employed where the wet spinning of flax is carried on, unless sufficient means are used for protecting the workers from being wetted, and, when hot water is used, for preventing the escape of steam into the room occupied by them. No child or young person is allowed to clean any shaft or any wheel, drum, or pulley while the same is in motion, nor to work between the fixed and traversing part of any selfacting machine in motion. Such parts of the machinery as are dangerous, and near to which children or young persons are liable to pass, are to be securely fenced. In case of accident to any of the workers, the occupier of the factory must give notice of the same to the certifying surgeon of the district, and he is required to investigate it and to report thereon to the inspector, for which purpose the surgeon has the same powers and authority as an inspector. The Secretary of State, on the report of one of the inspectors of factories, may empower him to direct an action to be brought in the name and on behalf

of the person injured for recovery of damages.

By the first Factory Act every child employed in a factory was required to attend school two hours daily; but by the amending act the time is extended to three hours, between eight in the morning and six in the evening, on every working day except Saturday. When the children work on alternate days, they are required to attend school on the other days for five hours each day. The occupier of a factory must obtain every Monday a certificate from the schoolmaster that each child has attended school as required by the act, and such certificates must be kept for six months after the date thereof, and be produced during this period when required by either an inspector or subinspector. The inspector may require a sum not exceeding twopence per week to be paid by the occupier of a factory to the schoolmaster towards the expenses of instructing any child employed in the same, and any such sum thus required may be deducted from the child's wages. If an inspector, on his personal examination, or on the report of a sub-inspector, shall be of opinion that any schoolmaster who grants certificates of the school attendance of children employed in a factory is unfit to instruct children, by reason of his incapacity to teach them to read and write, from his gross ignorance, or from his not having the books and materials necessary to teach them reading and writing, or because of his immoral conduct, or of his continued neglect to fill up and sign the certificates of school attendance required by the act, the inspector may annul any certificate granted by such disqualified schoolmaster, by a notice in writing addressed to the occupier of the factory in which the children named in the certificates are employed, setting forth the grounds on which he deems such schoolmaster to be unfit. After the date of such notice no certificate of school attendance granted by such schoolmaster shall be valid for the purposes of this act, unless with the consent in writing of the inspector. When an inspector annuls a schoolmaster's certificate, he is required to name some other school within two miles of

the factory from the master of which he will receive certificates. The schoolmaster and the occupier of a factory may appeal to the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the case of annulling certificates; and the inspector is required to report (but the act says annually only, although the inspectors make half-yearly reports) each case of annulment, and the reasons for it to the Secretary of State. By a clause in the first Factory Act it is enacted that whenever it appears necessary to any inspector that a new or additional school is required, such inspector is authorized to establish or procure the establishment of such school.

By the limitations of the working time for children under thirteen to half a day, they are enabled to attend school: those children who work in the morning go to the afternoon schools, and those who work in the afternoon have been to school in the morning. In many factories a change is made at the end of each month, and the children who were employed in the morning attend school and work in the afternoon.

When the Factories Bill (7 Vict. c. 15) was introduced into the House of Commons there was a large party in favour of a greater diminution in the hours of labour than the bill proposed. Lord Ashley moved that the word "night" be construed to mean from six in the evening to six in the morning, and the word "meal-time" to be two hours' cessation from labour. This would have left only ten hours as the time for actual work. This amendment was resisted by ministers, who contended that it would have the effect of reducing wages; or that, if it had not this result, it would affect that portion of our manufactures connected with the export trade (35,000,000l. out of 44,000,000l.) which had already, in many instances, to endure a severe competition in the markets of the world. The amendment (a ten hours' clause) was however carried by 179 against 170 for the original motion (twelve hours). On the following night Lord Ashley stated the plan by which he proposed to carry out the vote of the House: after October, 1844, he would restrict the daily hours of labour to eleven; and two years after, the restriction to ten hours would come into