It is understood, and it may confidently be expected, that the
Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners appointed to investigate the
employment of young persons employed in large numbers in other
manufactures than those now included in the provisions of the Factory
Act will investigate more closely than has hitherto been done the
sanitary condition of the labourers employed in the mines as well as in
other branches of industry. I take the following evidence respecting the
condition of the lodging-shops, obtained by _Dr. Mitchell_, one of the
Assistant Commissioners, in the course of his inquiries into the
condition of the labouring population engaged in working the mines in
Durham and Northumberland. He gives the following description of their
sleeping places:—
“Many of the miners, including young persons and boys, will go three
miles and upwards from their own homes in the morning to work in the
mines, or to wash the ore, and return again after their work at night.
Some miners, who are too far off to be able to go and come in this
way, find lodgings for the four nights in the week, and the washers
for five nights, at some houses not too far from the mines. The usual
price is 6_d._ a-week each, for which sum there is a bed between two
of them, leave to make their ‘crowdy’ on the fire in the morning, and
they have their potatoes boiled for them in the evening. They bring
their provisions in a wallet on the Monday mornings: the miners go
back on the Friday, and the washers of ore on the Saturday. But there
are many mines, and some of them very large, in remote situations in
the Fells, far away from all dwelling-houses, where lodgings might be
had, and the proprietors have erected for their miners and washers
buildings called ‘lodging-shops,’ which I now am about to describe:—
“The first one of them which I visited was about nine miles across the
Fell, south from Stanhope. It was a plain building, constructed of
sandstone, covered with a coarse slate; and all very substantial.
There was no opening or window at either end, nor at the back, nor on
the roof. On the front or south side was a door towards the west end,
and two windows, one a little above the other. On entering the door,
it was seen that the lower part was one room, lighted by one of the
windows, and had a great fire burning at the east end. By pacing the
floor the length was ascertained to be about 18 feet, and the breadth
about 15 feet. Along the one side, that next the window, was a deal
table, extending the whole length of the room, and alongside of it was
a form, and there were two other forms in the room. All along the
other side on the wall were little cupboards, 48 in number, in four
tiers above each other; six of the cupboards with the doors off, but
the most of the rest carefully locked with padlocks, and in which the
several miners had deposited their wallets with their provisions for
five days. Throughout the room, more particularly at the end furthest
from the fire, were hung from hooks and nails in the joists, miners’
trousers and jackets to be put on in case of the owners returning wet
from their work.
“In addition to the articles already named were the following:—
“One earthen pitcher to fetch water; one tea-kettle; one pan for
boiling potatoes; two pans for frying bacon; iron fender, a poker, and
shovel; a besom.
“There was a large box in the room secured by a padlock, said to
contain the clothes which the masters put on when they come to see the
mines.
“On ascending to the upper room by a ladder, it was seen to be a
sleeping-room. The dimensions of the floor were of course the same as
of the room below. There was no fire-place, which indeed was not
wanted, but neither was there any opening into a chimney to produce
circulation of air. Along one side of the room were three beds, each
six feet long by about four feet and a-half wide, the three beds
extending the length of the room; then there were three other beds on
the other side, and at the furthest end was a seventh bed extending
from the one line of beds to the other. Immediately over these seven
beds, and supported on posts, were seven other beds placed exactly in
the same way. Of course the person who slept in each of the six beds
of the upper tier next the wall could raise his head only a very
little way on account of the roof. Each of these 14 beds was intended
for two persons, when only few men were employed at the mines, but
they might be made to receive three men each, and, in case of need, a
boy might lie across at their feet. There was no opening of any sort
to let out the foul air, yet from 39 to 40 persons might have slept
there, the men perspiring from their work and inhaling the small dust
from their clothes floating in clouds. The beds were stuffed with
chaff. There were blankets but no sheets. The furniture of the
lodging-shops is supplied by the masters. The beds and blankets are
supplied by the miners themselves. They are taken home sometimes to be
washed. On Friday, when the miners leave, the beds are rolled up to
prevent damp. I visited the lodging-shop on Monday morning. The beds
had not been slept in for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights
preceding, yet was the smell most noxious. There was one excellent
thing connected with this lodging-shop: there was a small but
beautiful stream of water which was conducted across the Fell to this
spot, and came through an iron pipe near the door, so that the men had
an abundant supply of the pure element. I next went to see another
lodging-shop on a larger scale. On the ground-floor were five rooms.
The first is a blacksmith’s shop. Next to it is the cooking and
eating-room of the washers of ore; from 20 to 30 men and boys, if so
many, were employed. It was locked up, and I did not see it. The upper
room, extended over the blacksmith’s shop and the cooking room, is the
sleeping-room of the washers, men and boys. The next room on the
ground-floor is a cooking and eating-room of the miners, exactly like
the room of the lodging-shop already described. Adjoining to it is a
room in which they hang up their wet clothes. At the end is a stable
for the horses which are employed to draw the waggons with ore from
the pits. By a ladder close to the wall between the cooking-room and
drying-room is an ascent to a room exactly like that in the
lodging-house already described, with the same number of beds. One
little pipe of about two inches diameter was the only communication
with the exterior air. Through the partition wall is an opening into a
bed-room, extending over the drying-room and the stable. Across this
room extended two beds, leaving a space for passing. Above these two
was a tier of other two beds: then at a short interval was a second
set of beds, four in number; and further on, a third set similarly
arranged, four in number. Thus in the space above the cooking-room,
drying-room, and stable, were 26 beds, each intended for two or three
men, as it might be, and perhaps more; and the same beds for sets of
miners in their turns, as one set came from their work and another
went off.
“Though the beds had not been occupied for the three preceding nights,
the smell was to me utterly intolerable. What the place must be in the
summer nights is, happily for those who have never felt it, utterly
inconceivable. The medical men are best able to give a judgment on
these matters, but for my own part I cannot but believe that these
lodging-houses are more destructive than the air of the mines. I
should think it no hardship to have to remain 24 hours in a mine, but
I should be terrified at being ordered to be shut up a quarter of an
hour in the bed-room of a lodging-shop.
“Many miners speak of the horrors of lodging-shops of former days; but
the only difference I could learn was, that at many mines there were
not now so many men and boys at work, and consequently the
lodging-shops were not so crowded. Some mines are not now wrought
which formerly had large lodging-shops; for example, Mannergill, of
which a miner stated to me that he was one of 120 who lodged in a
suite of rooms there; and he declared that the nuisance was much
aggravated by the great number.
“In such a dense accumulation of bodies, one man who might be ill was
a disturbance to all the rest. The coughing of a few interrupted the
sleep of others. Men coming from the mine at 12 o’clock at night, and
frying their bacon at the fire below, sent up an odour which added to
the already too suffocating smell of the sleeping-room above. The
great number was an aggravation of what is intolerable at best.
“The miners showed me a tank through which running water passed, in
which they had placed their bottles of milk which they had brought
with them for their coffee.
“There was an excellent supply of running water of the best quality,
and it was the only beverage which the men had; for they stated that
there was no public-house or beer-shop nearer than seven miles, and if
there were one, they durst not go into it for fear of being
discharged.
“The men all said that their lodging-shop was a fair sample of all the
lodging-shops in the country, the only difference being the greater or
less number of men lodging in them, which would depend entirely on the
state of the mine. I have, however, since seen one refinement of which
these men did not seem to be aware, and that was a lodging-shop in
which were not only the beds in tiers all round the room, but there
also was a bed suspended or swung from the top of the room, which
economically filled up a space which otherwise would have been
vacant.”
The following is the account given by a miner himself of the
lodging-places:—
_William Eddy_, one of the miners, states;—
“I went to work in Greenside four years. Our lodging-rooms were such
as not to be fit for a swine to live in. In one house there was 16
bedsteads in the room up stairs, and 50 occupied these beds at the
same time. We could not always get all in together, but we got in when
we could. Often three at a time in the bed, and one at the foot. I
have several times had to get out of bed, and sit up all night to make
room for my little brothers, who were there as washers. There was not
a single flag or board on the lower floor, and there were pools of
water 12 inches deep. You might have taken a coal-rake and raked off
the dirt and potatoe peelings six inches deep. At one time we had not
a single coal. After I had been there two years, rules were laid down,
and two men were appointed by the master to clean the house up stairs
twice a-week. The lower apartment was to be cleaned twice a-day. Then
the shop floor was boarded, and two tables were placed in the shop.
After that two more shops were fitted up, but the increase of workmen
more than kept up with the increased accommodation. The breathing at
night when all were in bed was dreadful. The workmen received more
harm from the sleeping-places than from the work. There was one pane
of glass which we could open, but it was close to a bed-head.
“The mines at Greenside were well ventilated, and in that respect
there was nothing to complain of.
“In the winter time the icicles came through the roof, and within 12
inches of the people sleeping in bed. During a thaw, water dropped
plentifully into the beds. In the upper beds the person sleeping next
to the wall cannot raise his head or change his shirt.”
_Joseph Eddy_, another workman, states:—
“I consider the lodging-shops more injurious to the health of the
miners than their work itself. So many sleeping in the same room, so
many breaths, so much stour arising from their working-clothes, so
much perspiration from the men themselves, it is impossible to be
comfortable. Two miners occupy one bed, sometimes three. The beds are
shaken once a-week on the Monday morning, when the miners come. Some
miners make their beds every night. The rooms are in general very
dirty, being never washed, and very seldom swept, not over once
a-month. There is no ventilation, so that the air is very close at
night.”
It is observed of this particular class of men that they are worn out
soon after forty; but a large share of this result may also be ascribed
to their places of work. The following is a return of the ages of all
the miners who died during one year, including those who slept at their
own homes, with those who had been accustomed to sleep at the
lodging-shops.
STATEMENT of Deaths from Disease
and Accidents of Miners,
Colliers, and Pitmen, in the
Unions of Cumberland and
Westmoreland, and parts of the
Counties of Lancaster and
Northumberland (Population
Census of 1831, 338,273), during
the Year ended 31st December,
1839, as shown by the Mortuary
Registers.
┌──────────────┬───────┬───────┐
│ Periods of │Number │Average│
│ Age. │ of │ Age. │
│ │Deaths.│ │
├──────────────┼───────┼───────┤
│ Under 20│ 37│ 15│
│ 20 Under 30│ 39│ 23│
│ 30 Under 40│ 27│ 33│
│ 40 Under 50│ 27│ 44│
│ 50 Under 60│ 23│ 55│
│ 60 Under 70│ 32│ 64│
│ 70 Under 80│ 17│ 75│
│80 and upwards│ 10│ 86│
├──────────────┼───────┼───────┤
│ Total deaths │ 212│ 42│
└──────────────┴───────┴───────┘
The following is a summary view of the causes of death, from which it
will be seen that out of 212 deaths 69 fell from diseases of the
respiratory organs, and of these 52 died from consumption, whose average
age of death was no more than 36½, and that no less than 58 were
destroyed by accidents.
STATEMENT of the Causes of Death amongst Miners in the Unions of
Cumberland and Westmoreland and parts of the Counties of Lancaster and
Northumberland, during the Year ended 31st December, 1839, as shown by
the Mortuary Registers.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────┐
│ Cause of Death. │No. of Deaths.│
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────┤
│Disease of Respiratory Organs:— │ │
│ Consumption │ 52│
│ Other Diseases │ 17│
│Epidemic and Contagious Disease │ 20│
│Accidents:— │ │
│ In Mine │ 37│
│ Not stated to be in Mine│ 21│
│Diseases of the Brain and Nerves │ 12│
│Diseases of the Digestive Organs │ 10│
│Disease of the Heart │ 2│
│Other Causes of Disease │ 22│
│Natural Decay and Old Age │ 19│
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────┤
│ Total Deaths │ 212│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────┘
In a subsequent portion of this report I shall advert to the state of
the health of the miners in Cornwall, as compared by Dr. Barham with the
state of the agricultural labourers in the immediate vicinity of the
mines.
I would here request attention to a suggestion which appears to me to
arise from a consideration of the evils above displayed, (and that will
receive further corroboration in the course of this report,) that if
there were a regular system of periodical inspection of the places of
work or places of large assemblage, it would be attended with great
advantage to the lower orders of the community, in which the other
classes could not fail to participate.
One most important result of such investigations would be to disabuse
the popular mind of much prejudice against particular branches of
industry arising from the belief that causes of ill health really
_accidental_ and removable, and sometimes unconnected, are _essentials_
to the employment itself. By pointing out the real causes, warning will
be given for their avoidance, and indications extended for the
application of more certain remedies. Medical men who see only a few
patients of the same occupation at distant intervals; who see them in
their own dispensaries or in the hospitals, and who have no
opportunities of observing such patients under the varied circumstances
in which the disease may have been contracted, are left to mere guesses
as to its cause. A working person of any of the classes whose condition
I have described, presenting himself with the symptoms of a consumption,
the medical man has no means of detecting _the_ one of many causes by
which it may have been occasioned, and the individual patient himself is
more likely to mislead than to inform him. Unless his attention were
accidentally directed to it, or unless the medical investigator had
himself the means of observing the different personal condition of the
different sets of persons following the same occupation in town and in
country, it is highly probable that the evidence that the disease is not
essential to the occupation would escape him. Thus, between different
sets of workmen who work at the same descriptions of work during the
same hours, and in the same town, but in well or in ill-ventilated
factories a marked difference in the personal condition and general
health of the workpeople has been perceived. Great differences are
perceptible in the general personal condition of persons working during
the same hours in cotton-mills in town, and in cotton-mills in rural
districts, where they have not only a purer atmosphere, but commonly
larger and more commodious places of abode. The factory superintendents
generally state that the workers in the country mills are
distinguishable at sight by their more healthy appearance, and by the
increased proportions amongst them who have florid complexions. Very
lately the attention of the Austrian government was called to the labour
of the persons working in the cotton-factories in the neighbourhood of
Vienna.[14] One half, perhaps, of the mills are of the ordinary
construction of the cotton-mills in England of from thirty to forty
years’ date, and they work on the average as much as fifteen hours per
diem. But it appears that the houses in which the workers live belong to
the capitalists who own the mills, many of whom have displayed a desire
to ensure, as far as the state of the private residences can ensure, the
comfort of those whom they employ, and they have accordingly built for
them a superior description of tenements. It is stated that the result
of the inquiry conducted by the government physicians was, that the
average health enjoyed by the workers in those mills is greater than
that of any other class of workpeople in the neighbourhood where the
mills are situate, and where the general condition of the population is
deemed good; the difference in the general health of the two classes
(indicated by the proportions of death—of 1 in 27 of the general
population, and 1 in 31 of the manufacturing population), was ascribed
to the difference of the residences. My colleagues and myself of the
central board of the Factory Commission of Inquiry were fully sensible
that the effect of one cause on the health of the working population
could not fairly be judged of unless its operation was observed under
various circumstances, and unless amongst them the influence of the
domestic circumstances, as well as the nature of the work and the place
of work, were duly examined. We could not but deem it important that the
state of the dwellings of the workpeople, who were the subject of
inquiry, should also be investigated; and we gave instructions with that
view to the district medical commissioners; but the limited time allowed
by Parliament for the investigation, prevented its being made as we
desired, a circumstance that, for the sake of the workpeople, is much to
be regretted, as great injury is done to them by attention being
diverted, as it commonly has been, from the real means of
prevention.[15]
M. Parent Du Châtelet and M. d’Arcet having presented to the Board of
Health of Paris a report on an investigation with a view to discover the
physical or medical means by which particular sorts of work might be
ameliorated, observe—
“Perhaps it will be said that the task has been already performed, and
that several celebrated men, whose works are in the hands of all the
world, have preceded us in this career, without leaving to their
successors the hope to add anything to what they have published.
“We are assured beforehand that this objection will not be made by our
colleagues, who have penetrated into manufactures and have studied
their influence with a mind free from prejudice. It is because we have
studied the works which treat of the maladies of artisans, and have
seen a great number of these workmen in their shops; it is because we
have compared books with actual observation; it is, finally, because
we have not believed authors on their word, and have subjected them
all to a severe verification, that we have seen the insufficiency, nay
more, the inaccuracy of the greater part of their assertions.
“This method of proceeding has demonstrated to us that the works of
which we speak, far from being the fruit of long observation, have
been composed in the silence of the cabinet by men who have only had a
casual view of artisans and manufactures; and who, generalizing a few
facts presented to them by accident, have singularly exaggerated the
inconveniencies of some professions, and attributed to others
influences which they are far from exercising.”—_Mémoire sur les
Véritables Influences du Tabac sur la Santé des Ouvriers._ Par M.
Parent Du Châtelet.
They give, as an illustration, the exaggerated accounts of the
manufacture of tobacco, of which the supposed evils are proved to be
entirely fictitious, or at best an erroneous application to the
manufacture,—of effects which, though incidentally met with in the
workmen, were equally common to others of their station. In an abstract
of their paper, inserted in the Appendix, there is even an enumeration,
by eminent physicians, of specific cases of death from the fancied
agency of tobacco, but they only show the extent of error produced in
this and kindred instances by the previous conviction of the noxious
influence of particular circumstances, and by referring all existing
maladies to these without further inquiry. If I might add my testimony
on this point, derived from my own observations on two of the
commissions of inquiry on which I have had the honour to serve, it would
be entirely in corroboration of the above statement. On comparing the
actual condition of workmen with the medical descriptions of these
diseases, and the causes, we commonly found that the results of a
cluster of causes are commonly ascribed to one; and in respect to
several classes of workmen the real cause, the invariable antecedent,
such as defective ventilation, is unnoticed. No persons were frequently
more surprised than the intelligent workmen, by the frequent exaggerated
accounts of the operations of particular causes upon them, and the
erroneous association of effects to causes with which they were known to
have no real connexion. For example, in the work of M. Patissier, one
which is the chief work, and of European authority, on the diseases of
artisans, he adverts to the diseases of tailors. His description was
read to _Mr. Brownlow_, the tailor, examined upon the subject of the
overcrowding of places of work, and the observations of that witness on
the statement of M. Patissier are given in answer:—
_M. Patissier._ “The employment of tailor is one of the most
sedentary: seated constantly on a board, his legs crossed, his body
stooping forward, this class of labourers exercises not part of the
body but the arms, and that only the right one.”
_Witness._ “That is not so: there is a good deal of action with the
left arm in holding and sewing: in using the iron also there is a good
deal of action with the arms and knees, and with the rest of the body.
Journeymen tailors are remarked as being full breasted, as compared
with other workmen; they carry themselves higher, and the chest is
more fully developed; so that the labour has, as compared with much
other labour, the effect of opening the chest.”
_M. Patissier._ “Their position is particularly injurious to the
functions of the viscera of the abdomen and chest. It produces
difficulty of digestion, injures the gastric juices, brings on
constipation, hemorrhoides, chronic catarrhs of the bladder, and
obstructions of the bowels.”