withstanding this important admission, you are still resolved on adhering to your pre-adopted conclusion. This shows that your whole course of argument, instead of being general and true, is not only merely special, but false also.

“I have now shown you, on your own authority, that the extensive and important question of Absentee Expenditure, places a negative on your great general conclusions, and hence I have proved that it is, of itself, sufficient to subvert that entire fabric of reasoning which you have constructed, and which you have laboured to convince mankind is theoretically true. When I shall come, hereafter, to treat of this question affirmatively, instead of negatively, I shall be able to show, by the introduction of the ancient constitutional principle, or a law of just regulation, that the subject of Absentee Expenditure, which modern writers on political economy have made so intricate and perplexing, admits of a very simple and intelligible explication. By means of the great law of proportion, or the advancing and improving by DEGREES, the true policy will be made evident. It will be seen, that a community may safely permit such changes as the question itself implies, but only up to a certain amount, which an ount is indicated by the general well-being of the people. Let there be sufficient capital reserved in a country to keep those whose destiny it is to earn their subsistence by their daily labour, in the enjoyment of necessaries and comforts, and then with whatever surplus remains when this has been effected, general luxury may be indulged. Thus, it will be found, that the great rule which man is required to observe, is that of MODERATION in the gratification of his wishes, and the course which he has to avoid, is that of EXCESS; now between these two points of moderation on the one hand, and excess on the other, it necessarily follows, that degree or proportion must continue to operate. But these great and all-important points will require, on another opportunity, especial and most minute consideration.

"In my next letter, I will call your attention to very material evidence, having a direct and close bearing on the protective system of commerce, which evidence has been advanced by him who you acknowledge to be the chief scientific authority on your side, and it will show that the writer has been under the necessity of admitting, that the protective principle of commerce, in contradistinction to the free or the competitive, is right and good.

"I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

"16, Doughty Street, Dec. 20, 1811.”

WILLIAM ATKINSON."

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S PRESENTS.

THIS is the gay and jocund period, when the intercourse of Love and Friendship, from almost immemorial usage, is displayed by the exchange of gifts. If the kind judgment may be consulted in the choice of a Christmas or New Year's Gift, it will surely decide upon something which has for its object the promotion of PERSONAL COMFORT, HEALTH, and BEAUTY-of something which may CREATE, OF EFFECTUALLY preserve, a CHARM-a gratification which can only be obtained through the aid of Messrs. ROWLAND'S THREE GRAND DISCOVERIES for the Toilet. Experience has long sufficed to incontestibly prove their mild, innoxious, yet efficacious operation upon the Hair, Skin, and Teeth.

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WHITENESS,

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The KALYDOR and ODONTO have the Name and Address on the Government Stamp.
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THE

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JOHN PAVEY, 47, HOLYWELL STREET, STRAND,

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THESE Papers are principally intended for the perusal of the friends of Christianity and the Constitution; particularly the Clergy and the Aristocracy, and of all persons who are possessed of Property. The object of the writer will be to explain the reason for the present alarming state of English society, and the consequent insecurity of life and property; also, to offer some remarks upon the folly and wickedness of attempting to uphold our Institutions, particularly that of Private Property, by the unconstitutional means of Centralization, Commissioning, Espionage, and Force; finally, to state his own views on the best mode of restoring Peace, Contentment, Security, and Prosperity, to every rank of the people of England.

The author is perfectly aware of the fact, that every Parliamentary leader is now only attempting to legislate for the present moment-putting off the evil day -making laws" from hand to mouth," in the hope that some unforeseen, fortunate event may enable succeeding Statesmen to legislate for permanency. He is also convinced that there is a mode of successfully re-establishing our Institutions upon their original foundation-Christianity;-and that that is the only way to preserve them from the encroachments of political partisans, who are now paving the way to universal Ruin, Anarchy, and Despotism.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

"A TRADESMAN," next week, if possible.

Mr. BOXER, Southwark.-His hints are thankfully received, and will be used in due course.
Mr. PERCEVAL, Kensington. His letter will be inserted as early as possible.
Thanks to an unknown friend for five Newcastle Journals.

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My correspondents will excuse the delay of the insertion of their kind communications, to make room for the following most important document.—R.O.

THE TEN HOURS' FACTORY QUESTION.

Interview with Sir Robert Peel, Bart., First Lord of the Treasury.

"The first visit of the deputation was to Sir Robert Peel, upon whom they waited by appointment, on Thursday the 28th of October, at his official residence. Downing-street. Sir Robert received the deputation in the most courteous manner, and after requesting them to be seated, awaited, in silence, their statement.

6

"The Deputation opened the business by saying, We have been deputed to wait upon you, Sir Robert, by the Short-time Committees of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in consequence of a letter from Lord Ashley, stating that Sir Robert Peel's opinions were not yet matured upon the Factory Question. We were in hopes that you would have come, by this time, to a satisfactory conclusion respecting the Ten Hours' Bill, and we now press upon your attention the necessity which exists for introducing such a bill at an early period of the ensuing session-a bill for the better regulation of labour in factories. In requesting this interference on the part of the Government and the Legislature, we wish to observe, that we have the sanction of precedent, inasmuch as this subject has already been repeatedly before both. Several acts have been already passed, and as these, owing to various causes, have not yet produced the effects which it is fair to presume the Legislature had in view in passing them.'

"Sir Robert here interposed, and said, Will you please first, to explain the nature of the bill you propose!' The Depatation explained, that the leading provisions they were anxious to seeenacted were

"1. A clause declaring that in future no person between 13 and 21 years of age, should be employed more than ten hours per day, in any mill or factory. The Deputation added, that it was more urgent now than ever to have a legislative protection for those above 13 years of age, owing to the immense increase in the proportion of females now working in factories.

2. That to insure the fulfilment of this clause, no young person should be permitted to stay or be found in the mills between six o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning. The mill-owner or manager infringing the law, to be subjected to the penalty of imprisonment.

3. The gradual withdrawal of all females from the factories.

The boxing off of all dangerous parts of machinery, under a heavy penalty, with a power of recovering compensation for any injury sustained through neglect of this provision."

Sir Robert said- The last point is a mere matter of detail; but don't you think there would be very great hardship in the proposal respecting female labour? Suppose a widow with two daughters, without any other means of support than her and their labour. Would it not be very unjust to step in between her and an honest employment, and say, you shall not be allowed to support yourselves by your own labour.'

"The Deputation.-There are certainly difficulties connected with this portion of the subject, and the one so strongly stated by you, is not the least. Such cases, however, would be the excep tion, not the rule; and it is the latter, not the former, to which all legislation is directed. Special cases might be provided for by special enactments. We do not believe that any evils which might arise from even a rigorous and entire prohibition of female labour could be compared with those which spring from the present system. The females employed in factories are generally the offspring of parents who have been similarly situated. They get little if any education worthy the name previous to entering the mills, and as soon as they enter them (generally at a very early age, in consequence of the connivance of parents, medical men, and factory owners, to evade the present law) they are surrounded by influences of the most vitiating and debasing nature. They grow up in total ignorance of all the true duties of woman. Home, its cares and its employments, is woman's true sphere, but these poor things are totally unfitted for attending to the one, or participating in the other. They neither learn, in the great majority of cases, to make a shirt, darn a stocking, cook a dinner, or clean a house. In short, both in mind and manners, they are altogether unfitted for the occupancy of a domestic position, as is evidenced by the fact, that the wealthy and middle classes very rarely engage any of this class as servants. Yet those who are thus considered unfit even to fill the office of menial to the rich, are the only parties among whom, ordinarily, the male factory labourer has a chance of obtaining a wife. They are married early. Many are mothers before 20. Thriftlessness and waste even of their small incomes, and consequent domestic discomfort and unhappiness, generally succeed. Through these means is engendered a vast amount of immorality and misery, and while such are its results as respects private life, the operation of the system is not less injurious in a national point of view. It throws the burden of supporting the family on the wife and the child, and compels the adult male, upon whose shoulders the duty ought rightfully to fall, to be reluctantly idle. It is an inversion of the order of nature and of Providence-a return to a state of barbarism, in which the woman does the work, while the man looks idly on. The consequence of throwing loose such a mass of partially informed men in such circumstances, cannot fail to be fraught with danger to the State. Disaffection and discontent must be engendered among parties so situated. If. therefore, such evils, both private and public, can be distinctly traced to this source, we think that it is the imperative duty of Government and the Legislature to step in and arrest their operation to the utmost practicable extent.'

Sir Robert Peel. I still see great ditheulties in the way, admitting all you have stated. I believe that female and youthful labour is preferred, in consequence of its greater cheapness; is it not? And also, because it is, in some departments, better adapted for the purpose in view than

adult labour.'

"The Deputation.-'You are right as respects the cheapness, Sir; hut the other point may admit of doubt. For instance, it is objected that adults could not stoop to the machinery, to the

height of which children are perfectly adapted. But this objection could easily be obviated by having the mules raised, and other machinery fixed a little higher from the ground. And as to dexterity of fingers, you must be aware that the utmost fineness of touch and quickness of movement may be acquired and retained by constant practice.'.

"Sir R. Peel. It is evident that the course you propose would have the effect, if adopted, of compelling the employment of a greater number of adults, and consequently higher priced labourers and the result of that would be to raise the price of British manufactures, and thus place our manufacturers under greater disadvantages in foreign markets than at present. Now, the com plaint of our manufacturers is, that the competition in those markets is already so great, that it is with the utmost difficulty they can maintain a footing in them. I feel deeply for the working classes of this country, and I am sure that if any measures could be devised by which the deep distress they now suffer could be alleviated, it would be the duty of the Government immediately to adopt them. But we have not only their case to consider, but also the effect which such measures would have upon the employment of capital, and the interests of those classes who have invested their capital in these pursuits.'

The Deputation. Hitherto, Sir Robert, the interests of the capitalists have been attended to almost exclusively; and the consequence is, that the introduction of self-acting machinery, and machinery requiring the attendance of women, and children only, together with intense competition between our own merchants, has thrown vast numbers out of work, and reduced the wages of those who are employed to the barest pittance which can support existence. This evil is likely to be still further aggravated by the immense increase of machinery abroad. The policy of the late Government had been to allow that it should be freely exported. Of late years machinery has been extensively introduced on the continent. Belgium, Saxony, Prussia, and other places have, instead of taking our goods, succeeded in their primary object that of supplying their own markets; in some instauces they have gone further, and now compete successfully with us in neutral markets; and in some articles even come into direct competition with us in our own markets. Above all, America is a rival that threatens ultimately to destroy one of the staple manufactures of this country-cotton. It can be shown, that, in consequence of the American manufacturer possessing the advantage of having the raw material almost at his own door, he is enabled, notwithstanding a higher price of labour, inferior machinery, and less economical processes of management, which give an advantage to the British manufacturer of 17 per cent.. the American is yet enabled, with his water-power and cheaper raw material, in all fabrics in which quantity is more a matter of consideration than quality, to beat us in the end by a small per centage. Now, the disparity at present existing between us as respects machinery, cheap labour, and superior management, must, in the nature of things, be continually lessening, and a closer approximation take place. The population of the United States of America, by natural increase, aided by immigration, will lower the cost of labour; improvements will be daily introduced in the machinery, effecting more with less expenditure of power, and experience will improve their modes of management, until at length they will be on a par with us in all these points, while the substantial and permanent drawback of having to send to America for our raw material, bring it home, and retransport it for sale in its manufactured state, will still press upon us.'

"Sir Robert Peel. Well, but do you not think that, according to your own admissions, the arguments against any interference which might aid the process which you have so clearly and strongly described as now going on, are very much strengthened?'

..

The Deputation. Pardon us, Sir Robert, such is not the case according to the light in which we view the subject. It is an axiom in political economy, that price is dependent upon supply and demand. If an article is scarce in the market, however small the deficiency may be, the price of all the stock in the market is raised. In like manner, if there be a surplus, however small that surplus may be, it affects not merely the surplus, but the whole of the commodity, which is thereby reduced in price. Now, we can show, by statistical facts and irrefutable documents, that since the year 1815, there has been a constant introduction of self-acting machinery, or machinery which imposed greater labour on the smaller number of adult operatives retained; thus cheapening the cost, and increasing the amount of production. And what has been the consequeuce? Why, exactly in proportion as this has taken place, the profits of the capitalist and the wages of the labourer have regularly decreased! until at length, in 1832, we received no more money for three times the amount of raw material manufactured, than we received in 1815 for the one third. This result, in our opinion, is clearly traceable to the unregulated use and extensive introduction of machinery, which has either superseded adult labour entirely, or replaced it by the cheaper labour of women and children. What is now the consequence? Throughout the manufacturing districts the mills are nearly closed. The capitalists and middle classes are in difficulties insolvent or bankrupt; while the operatives are in a state of destitution which must make every heart bleed, and which arises from causes over which they themselves have no controul. Now if this insane course had been checked-if over-production had been discouraged by wise laws, and a prudent system of trade pursued, wages and profits would have been better, and employment more permanent and more equally diffused over the year. We should not have had flushes of prosperity, succeeded by long periods of depression; a continual recurrence of gluts and panics, each crisis following the other at shorter intervals, and finding us less prepared to bear it than its predecessor. For these reasons, Sir Robert, we believe that the dictates of sound political wisdom coincide with the dictates of humanity, morality, and religion, in calling upon us to re-trace our steps, and arrest the progress of a system which is spreading disease, disorganization, and disaffection, in the factory districts. As a proof that we are not overstating the facts, we beg to present you, Sir Robert, with one illustration out of many which might be offered. It is a printed copy of the report of the Unemployed Operatives' Enumeration Committee of Leeds, iu which a detailed statement of the condition of the operatives in the several wards of that town, the emporium of the woollen district, is given. The summary of that appalling statement is, that nearly 20,000 human beings are now living upon an average weekly income of 114d. per head. We leave to your own judgment what must be the ultimate end of such a state of things."

"Sir Robert, taking the document, said, 'I am sorry to say that I have already seen this melancholy statement in manuscript, through the kindness of Sir James Graham, to whom it was presented by Mr. Beckett. I am deeply grieved by the knowledge of such an amount of suffering, and sympathize most sincerely with the condition of the people as there described. It is, indeed, very distressing, and some efficient remedy is most desirable.'

"The Deputation.-The acquirements of humanity imperatively demand it. No system which entails upon the great bulk of the community such suffering ought to be permitted to exist; such a baneful influence ought not to go unchecked, whatever reasons, political or economical, may be adduced in its behalf. We beg also to present you with a synopsis of the evidence of Mr. Joseph Henry Green, a medical gentleman of the highest eminence. (The Deputation here delivered in a paper, for a copy of which see Vol. I. No. 46, pp. 365–367.) This evidence,' said the Deputa tion, is corroborated by many other witnesses of the highest standing in the medical profession; and we have also much pleasure in reminding you of the unequivocal opinion of your father, the late Sir Robert Peel, in favour of a ten hours bill. He was conspicuous among the earliest advocates of the regulation of factory labour; and as one of the most extensive employers in England, and a practical man, his opinions are entitled to the utmost deference. The following were his words:~~~ Such indiscriminate and unlimited employment of the poor, consisting of a great proportion of the inhabitants of trading districts, will be attended with effects to the rising generation so serious and alarming, that I cannot contemplate them without dismay; and thus that great effort of British ingenuity, whereby the machinery of our manufactures has been brought to such perfection, instead of being a blessing to the nation, will be converted into the bitterest curse.'

"Sir R. Peel then directed the conversation to the broad question of machinery, which he said was one deserving of the gravest consideration. The deputation said, We will not attempt to con real from you, Sir Robert, that, in our opinion, in order to meet the case fully and fairly, the enactment of other and more comprehensive measures is indispensably necessary. A ten hours bill ten years ago might and would have produced much more benefit than it can now produce. In the interval a vast amount of automaton power has been called into existence. It appears by the reports of the factory inspectors that between the years 1835 and 1839 the horse-power increased at least onehalf, while, so far from the new machinery calling new manual labour into exercise, the fact was that the number of spinners in Manchester required to work the enlarged and increased machinery was not more than one-third of the number previously employed. For such a state of things it would be very unwise, and a concealment of the truth, to say that a ten hours' bill would be a con plete and perfect remedy; but it would, at least, be a step in the right road. It would be an earnest to the operative classes that the Government sympathizes with them, has its attention directed to their condition, and is anxious to do what lies in its power to ameliorate it. The subject, as we have already stated, is not a new one. The ten hours' question has been discussed over and over again in the Legislature. Several committees have taken voluminous evidence upon it-evidence which is conclusive of the justice, the humanity, and the sound policy of the measure. The question, in those districts where it is best understood, has long ceased to be a matter of dispute among the working classes; even the master class, who formerly thought it their interest to oppose it, have been taught by experience of a painful description to abate that opposition, and many of them are how favourable to the enactment which we seek. Public opinion, therefore, will be with the Government, should it resolve upon proposing this measure to the ensuing Parliament. But to in sure effective relief from the dangers and evils by which we are now surrounded, bolder and more comprehensive measures most assuredly are requisite, and if you, Sir R. Peel, will excuse us for stepping beyond the legitimate boundaries of our mission, we will tell you our opinions as to those measures, We have come to you in the spirit of friendship-not to dictate or dogmatize neither have we come to find fault, without suggesting such a remedy as appears to us capable of allevi ating the evil; and we also come free from all party feeling or prejudices. We are sick of party nicknames, and party contests, for party purposes. We are sick of the everlasting confusion and bad feeling arising from these contests, and are prepared to award our confidence, support, and gratitude, to any Government, or set of men (no matter what their party name may be), who will show by their actions that they sympathize with our wrongs and our sufferings, and are honestly desirous of removing them. We approve of the course you have pursued since your accession tơ power; and especially in your resolution to take time for the consideration and maturing of the measures on which you may resolve. We have had too much of legislation which can only be fitly characterized as being from hand to mouth,' and we are, therefore, willing that you should have all the time which may be requisite to enable you to decide both what measures are necessary, and how they may be most beneficially carried into effect. But, perfectly willing that such time should be accorded to you, we shall expect, Sir, that measures of real substantial justice will be the result. In order to aid this object, we now respectfully contribute our small quota of information and advice. We venture to recommend, for the reason laid before you at length, the passing of the ten hours' bill, and to accompany it, either by the total repeal of the New Poor Law, or by such an alteration of it as will render it applicable to the manufacturing districts, in which it is at this moment prac tically inoperative, and in which we defy any Government ever to enforce it. These preliminary measures would give confidence to the working classes and their friends, insure to the Government the support of the well disposed and humane of all classes, and clear the way for an equally im portant, and not less imperative measure-namely, the appointment at an early period of the session of a committee of experienced, practical, moderate men of all parties, to inquire into the causes of existing distress, and especially into the workings of machinery at home and abroad since the close of the war in 1815, with a view to the adoption of a comprehensive and efficient remedy. "Sir R. Peel, who had been sitting with his head bent down, in a manner expressive of very deep thought and attention, here raised it, and seemed favourably impressed with the suggestion. (To be continued.)

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