THE FACTORY REGULATIONS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 70, 29 August 1874, Page 5

THE FACTORY REGULATIONS.

The motion brought forward in the House of Representatives by Mr. Bradshaw, the hon. member for "Wakai, for the purpose of inducing the Government — while giving every encouragement to the establishment of industries — to make adequate provision for the health of the young of both sexes, is one which must carry with it the sympathies and good wishes of all classes of the community. It may be remembered that towards the close of last session a bill was introduced by the hon. member, which ultimately became law in wbich the hours of female labor in workshops and factories throughout the colony were regulated; and while the measure was under discussion a promise had been made that a clause would have been added, having for its object the prevention of the overworking of boys under similar circnmstances. The late stage of the Session, however, at which the measure reached the higher branch of the Legislature, and the very cogent reason that, were any alterations sought to be effected, the passage of the bill might have been endangered, prevented any effort being made to have the promised clause inserted. In bringing the matter under the attention of the House on the 30th ult., Mr. Bradshaw gave a brief history of the several Acts passed in the mother-country with a similar view ; and although it must be confessed that the monstrous abuses which made the passing of stringent regulations an absolute necessity in Great Britain, never had existence in these colonies, yet our march of progress has been such as to demand legislation in that direction. The rapidlyincreasing growth of industries and factories which call into requisition the services of children of tender years, makes it a matter of obligation that the State should not only regulate the hours and manner of employment, but also to see that such laws are carried into effect. The fact which was elicited before the Children's Employment Commission of 1862, that it was " unhappily apparent to a painful degree that against no person do the children of both sexes so much require protection as against their parents,", is, unfortunately, uot confined to Great Britain ; and we have fathers and mothers in our midst whose sense of duty to their offspring is so blunted, as to sacrifice the health and strength of their unfortunate children for a paltry pecuniary consideration. In the Annals of British Legislation, Mr. Longe, in speaking of the condition of things in the potteries and brickfields, said :—": — " In one yard at Moxley I found a girl of twenty-four making 2000 bricks a-day, and having two girls, one fifteen and the other sixteen years of age, to carry clay aad lay her bricks. These girls had to carry ten tons of clay, which she used in the day, up the slippery sides of the pit, from a depth of about ten yards, and over a distance of about seventy yards." Of course matters have not reached such a height in this colony, but it is a fact that we have boys of tender years employed at and for such hours as are calculated to undermine/the health and constitution, and sow the germs of disease, leading to physical suffering and decay. The Bon. the Minister of Public "Works, during the course of the debate, spoke most highly of the measure, awarding the ve«y

highest praise to the bon. member, and bearing testimony to the necessity which had arisen that such provision should be made ; promising, on the part of the Government, that the subject should receive their serious consideration, and that, if practicable, they would introduce n short bill to meet the deficiency, based upon the English Factory and Workshops "Regulations Act. Mr Thomson, in supporting the measure, stated that for some years past children had been employed at flax-mills, some even at the early age of seven years. Unfortunately, the flax industry had almost died out, and, consequently, the evil has been reduced, but the fact that it had ever existed, renders it necessary that there should be stringent legislation on the subject. But, although the evil has been reduced with regard to the flaxmills, another and more glaring one has been taking its place, and of which, possibly, neither Mr Thomson nor Mr Bratjshaw is aware. We have been informed, on an authority which defies contradiction, that in many of the offices in connection with the Northern daily journals, boy labor has usurped the place of men to such an extent, that the services of the latter are almost totally dispensed with. In these establishments it is no uncommon thing to see children, who have scarcely entered their teens, toiling night after night in a vitiated and unhealthy atmosphere, to the certain destruction of health and strength, and engendering ills that consign them to a premature grave or a life time of misery. It is well known that, even with strong men, whose constitutions have been thoroughly matured, so trying and unhealthy is the occupation in connection with the morning papers, that the greatest care is necessary to guard against colds, and other evil incidental to the transition from a heated and unwholesome room to the cold air of night. Here, then, we see the paramount necessity for tlie State, taking steps to counteract those baneful influences, resulting from too close a worship of mammon ; or else through lack of restrictive legislation on Sikt one hand, and the greed of parent and employer on the other, we may silently glide into that base and sordid traffic in the lives and strength of the rising population, which has been a blot upon the humanity of Great Britain. Even in the mother-country, where so many and so great abuses have been allowed to exist, the employment of boys, no matter how i mature their years, would not be for a moment tolerated on i morning papers, and we trust that the philanthropic and energetic member will make special provision, and take such steps as will effectually crush out this growing evil. Another very cogent reason why the Bill should be submitted next Session is to be found in the fact that new industries are either in prospective or in their infancy, and, by immediate legislation on the subject, those who may embark in manufactories, in which the labor of children of tender years will be utilised, will know exactly how far these services can be available, and the Government will thereby avoid any subsequent claims on it for tosses through interference with vested rights.