Part 18
The following report from one of the superintendents to the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police describes the manner in which they appear to the police, their moral character, and the efficacy of the means of prevention:—
“With reference to the question of the Commissioners as to the means of subsistence of that portion of the population which at present exists by picking bones in the bye-lanes, &c., in the event of those places being properly cleansed, I am of opinion that they would be compelled to adopt some more laborious and useful means of obtaining a livelihood, such as field labour, &c. They are at present an idle, dissolute class, prowling about the stables, yards, backs of premises, and lanes, willing to commit petty felony wherever opportunity presents itself. While it would remove them, on the other hand, the instant removal of filth from the metropolis must prove beneficial to the health of the inhabitants.”
It will then be found to be an ultimately beneficial effect of the removal of the circumstances by the adoption of such modes of cleansing as diminish the prevalent amount of filth or filthy processes, that it will force a change to other occupations of a less degrading character, and diminish the number of persons “brought up” to them. Any provision of the nature of a poor law may be said to be badly constructed which does not allow the exercise of a discretionary authority to alleviate any severe inconveniences to the poorest classes from such changes. For the sake of preventing the growth of the like misery, it would probably be found a good civic economy to maintain the whole of the existing class in idleness, if idleness were not in itself a curse to them. I mention this, because the parish officers frequently oppose improved modes of paving and efficient cleansing, (as they generally opposed the new police on the ground that it diminished the means of subsistence of decrepit old men as watchmen,) for the avowed reason that it is expedient to keep the streets in their present state of filth in order to keep up the means of employing indigent persons as street-sweepers and sweepers of crossings in removing it.
It is found in the metropolis to be a beneficial result of the increase of the practice of removing night-soil by the self-acting process of water-closets communicating with the sewers, that it prevents the increase of the number of nightmen formerly requisite for the performance of that offensive and dangerous labour, and is in the metropolis diminishing the number.
Yet it should be borne in mind, that until more complete measures are adopted, even the services of such agents are an improvement, and in crowded cities are only neglected at the expense of the degradation of the whole mass of the labouring population. An example is to be found in the state of some districts mentioned by _Dr. Speer_, who in his account of the diseases of the lower orders in Dublin, given in the Dublin Hospital Reports, noticed the fact that the fever cases always came from the filthy districts; and he observes,
“We cannot wonder at the rapidity with which contagion often spreads. Both in and out of doors, it seems facilitated in every way; within doors every article of furniture and wearing apparel is disfigured with filth; every spot seems encrusted with its layers, and the foulest odours abound everywhere. Out of doors, at least in warm seasons, our churchyards, slaughter-houses, and the masses of filth and offal with which our streets and lanes are disgraced, contribute no less to the propagation of contagion. In the larger and better streets, the cleansing is very well attended to, but in the narrow and crowded ones, where the necessity of its removal is infinitely greater, the heaps of filth are truly disgraceful. In some of my visits I have been obliged to wade through masses of filth enough to sicken the stoutest and strongest—masses which have remained undisturbed for months, perhaps for years, and thus generating the most putrid effluvia. We know that vegetables are very dear in our markets. Why? Because our gardens are not sufficiently manured; this manure lies in our lanes and alleys, and only wants collecting; but what would this be compared with the benefits from the purification of our atmosphere which its removal would produce?”
The condition of large rural districts in the immediate vicinity of the towns, and of the poorest districts of the towns themselves, presents a singular contrast in the nature of the agencies by which the health of the inhabitants is impaired. Within the towns we find the houses and streets filthy, the air fœtid, disease, typhus, and other epidemics rife amongst the population, bringing, in the train, destitution and the need of pecuniary as well as medical relief; all mainly arising from the presence of the richest materials of production, the complete absence of which would, in a great measure, restore health, avert the recurrence of disease, and, if properly applied, would promote abundance, cheapen food, and increase the demand for beneficial labour. Outside the afflicted districts, and at a short distance from them, as in the adjacent rural districts, we find the aspect of the country poor and thinly clad with vegetation, except rushes and plants favoured by a superabundance of moisture, the crops meagre, the labouring agricultural population few, and afflicted with rheumatism and other maladies, arising from damp and an excess of water, which, if removed, would relieve them from a cause of disease, the land from an impediment to production, and if conveyed for the use of the town population, would give that population the element of which they stand in peculiar need, as a means to relieve them from that which is their own cause of depression, and return it for use on the land as a means of the highest fertility. The fact of the existence of these evils, and that they are removable is not more certain than that their removal would be attended by reductions of existing burdens, and might be rendered productive of general advantage, if due means, guided by science, and applied by properly qualified officers, be resorted to. The impediments arising from the existing state of the law and of its local administration, form a subject for separate representation.
Before stating the cost in life and money attributable to the noxious causes external to the dwelling, it is desirable to notice other noxious causes, within the recognised province of legislative interference, that appear to be similarly under control, namely, the overcrowding of places where large numbers are assembled together, such as the overcrowding of places of work.
III.—CIRCUMSTANCES CHIEFLY IN THE INTERNAL ECONOMY AND BAD VENTILATION OF PLACES OF WORK; WORKMEN’S LODGING-HOUSES, DWELLINGS, AND THE DOMESTIC HABITS AFFECTING THE HEALTH OF THE LABOURING CLASSES.
The evils arising from the bad ventilation of places of work will probably be most distinctly brought to view, by the consideration of the evidence as to its effects on one particular class of workpeople.
The frequency of cases of early deaths, and orphanage, and widowhood amongst one class of labourers, the journeymen tailors, led me to make some inquiries as to the causes affecting them; and I submit the following evidence for peculiar consideration, as an illustration of the operation of one predominant cause;—bad ventilation or overcrowding, and the consequences on the moral habits, the loss of healthful existence and happiness to the labourer, the loss of profit to the employer, and of produce to the community, and the loss in expenditure for the relief of the destitution, which original cause (the bad ventilation) we have high scientific authority for stating to be easily and economically controllable.
_Mr. Thomas Brownlow_, tailor, aged 52:—
“It is stated that you have been a journeyman tailor, and now work for yourself. At what description of places have you worked?—I have always worked at the largest places in London; one part of my time I worked at Messrs Allen’s, of Old Bond-street, where I worked eight years; at another part of my time I worked at Messrs. Stultze’s, in Clifford-street, where I worked four years. At Messrs. Allen’s they had then from 80 to 100 men at work; at Messrs. Stultze’s they had, when I worked there, about 250 men.
“Will you describe the places of work, and the effects manifested in the health of the workmen?—The place in which we used to work at Messrs. Allen’s was a room where 80 men worked together. It was a room about 16 or 18 yards long, and 7 or 8 yards wide, lighted with skylights; the men were close together, nearly knee to knee. In summer time the heat of the men and the heat of the irons made the room 20 or 30 degrees higher than the heat outside; the heat was then most suffocating, especially after the candles were lighted. I have known young men, tailors from the country, faint away in the shop from the excessive heat and closeness; persons, working-men, coming into the shop to see some of the men, used to complain of the heat, and also of the smell as intolerable; the smell occasioned by the heat of the irons and the various breaths of the men really was at times intolerable. The men sat as loosely as they possibly could, and the perspiration ran from them from the heat and the closeness. It is of frequent occurrence in such workshops that light suits of clothes are spoiled from the perspiration of the hand, and the dust and flue which arises darkening the work. I have seen 40_l._ or 50_l._ worth of work spoiled in the course of the summer season from this cause.
“In what condition are these work-places in winter?—They are more unhealthy in winter, as the heat from the candles and the closeness is much greater. Any cold currents of air which come in give annoyance to those who are sitting near the draught. There is continued squabbling as to the windows being opened; those who are near the windows, and who do not feel the heat so much as the men near the stoves, objecting to their being opened. The oldest, who had been inured to the heat, did not like the cold, and generally prevailed in keeping out the cold or the fresh air. Such has been the state of the atmosphere, that in the very coldest nights large thick tallow candles (quarter of a pound candles) have melted and fallen over from the heat.
“What was the effect of this state of the work-places upon the habits of the workmen?—It had a very depressing effect on the energies; that was the general complaint of those who came into it. Many could not stay out the hours, and went away earlier. Those who were not accustomed to the places generally lost appetite. The natural effect of the depression was, that we had recourse to drink as a stimulant. We went into the shop at six o’clock in the morning; but at seven o’clock when orders for the breakfast were called for, gin was brought in, and the common allowance was half-a-quartern. The younger hands did not begin with gin.
“Was gin the first thing taken before any solid food was taken?—Yes, and the breakfast was very light; those who took gin generally took only half-a-pint of tea and half a twopenny loaf as breakfast.
“When again was liquor brought in?—At eleven o’clock.
“What was taken then?—Some took beer, some took gin again. In a general way, they took a pint of porter at eleven o’clock. It was seldom the men took more than the half-quartern of gin.
“When again was liquor brought in?—At three o’clock, when some took beer and some gin, just the same as in the morning. At five o’clock the beer and gin came in again, and was usually taken in the same quantities. At seven o’clock the shop was closed.
“After work was there any drinking?—Yes; nearly all the young men went to the public-house, and some of the others.
“What were the wages they received?—Sixpence per hour, which, at the full work, made 6s. a-day, or 36s. a-week.
“Did they make any reserves from this amount of wages?—No; very few had anything for themselves at the end of the week.
“How much of the habit of drinking was produced by the state of the work-place?—I should say the greater part of it; because when men work by themselves, or only two or three together, in cooler and less close places, there is scarcely any drinking between times. Nearly all this drinking proceeds from the large shops, where the men are crowded together in close rooms: it is the same in the shops in the country, as well as those in the town. In a rural place, the tailor, where he works by himself, or with only two or three together, takes very little of the fermented liquor or spirits which the men feel themselves under a sort of necessity for doing in towns. The closer the ventilation of the place of work, the worse are the habits of the men working in them.
“You referred to the practice of one large shop where you worked some time since; was that the general practice, and has there been no alteration?—It was and is now the general practice. Of late, since coffee has become cheaper, somewhat more of coffee and less of beer has been bought in; but there is as much gin now brought in between times, and sometimes more.
“What would be the effect of an alteration of the place of work—a ventilation which would give them a better atmosphere?—It would, without doubt, have an immediately beneficial effect on the habits. It might not cure those who have got into the habit of drinking; but the men would certainly drink less, and the younger ones would not be led into the habit so forcibly as they are.
“What is the general effect of this state of things upon the health of the men exposed to them?—Great numbers of them die of consumption. “A decline” is the general disease of which they die. By their own rules, a man at 50 years of age is superannuated, and is thought not to be fit to do a full day’s work.
“What was the average of the ages of the men at work at such shops as those you have worked at?—Thirty-two, or thereabouts.
“In such shops were there many superannuated men, or men above 50 years of age?—Very few. Amongst the tailors employed in the shops, I should say there were not 10 men in the hundred above 50 years of age.
“When they die, what becomes of their widows and children, as they seldom make any reserve of wages?—No provision is made for the families; nothing is heard of them, and, if they cannot provide for themselves, they must go upon the parish.
“Are these habits created by the closeness of the rooms, attended by carelessness as to their mode of living elsewhere?—I think not as to their lodgings. The English and Scotch tailors are more careful as to their places of lodging, and prefer sleeping in an open place. The men, however, who take their pint of porter and their pipe of tobacco in a public-house after their hours of work, take it at a place which is sometimes as crowded as a shop. Here the single men will stay until bedtime.
“Are gin and beer the only stimulants which you conceive are taken in consequence of the want of ventilation and the state of the place of work when crowded?—No: snuff is very much taken as a stimulant; the men think snuff has a beneficial effect on the eyes. After going into these close shops from the open air, the first sensation experienced is frequently a sensation of drowsiness, then a sort of itching or uneasiness at the eye, then a dimness of the sight. Some men of the strongest sight will complain of this dimness; all eyes are affected much in a similar manner. Snuff is much used as a stimulant to awaken them up; smoking in the shops is not approved of, though it is much attempted; and the journeymen tailors of the large shops are in general great smokers at the public-houses.
“Do the tailors from villages take snuff or smoke as well as drink so much as the tailors in the large shops in the towns?—They neither take so much snuff nor tobacco, nor so much of any of the stimulants, as are taken by the workmen in the crowded shops of the towns.
“Do their eyes fail them as soon?—No, certainly not.
“With the tailors, is it the eye that fails first?—Yes; after long hours of work the first thing complained of by the tailors is that the eyes fail; the sight becomes dim, and a sort of mist comes between them and their work.
“Judging from your own practical experience, how long do you conceive that a man would work in a well-ventilated or uncrowded room, as compared with a close, crowded, ill-ventilated room?—I think it would make a difference of two hours in the day to a man. He would, for example, be able, in an uncrowded or well-ventilated room, to do his twelve hours’ work in the twelve hours; whereas in the close-crowded room he would not do more than ten hours’ work in the twelve.
“Of two men beginning at 20 years of age, what would be the difference in extent of labour performed by them in town shops or in the country?—A man who had begun at 20 in these crowded shops would not be so good a man at 40 as a man working to 50 in a country village; of the two, the country tailor would be in the best condition in health and strength: in point of fact he is so. The difference may be set down as a gain of 10 years’ good labour. There are very few who can stand such work as the town shops 20 years.
“The eyes then become permanently injured, as well as fail during the day, in these crowded shops?—Yes, they do. After 45 years of age, the eyes begin to fail, and he cannot do a full day’s work.
“Supposing a workman to work in a well-ventilated room, and to be freed from the nervous exhaustion consequent on the state of the place, might he not save at least all that he drinks in the times between his meals, or be enabled to apply it better, if he were so disposed; and, perhaps, the value of the two hours’ extra work in the 12, when he is working piece-work?—Yes, certainly he might.
“Taking your account of the average loss by nervous exhaustion and bad habits to be two hours’ work for 20 years, and 12 hours daily work for 10 years in addition, supposing him to be employed full time, it would be a loss of the value of 50,000 hours of productive labour (of the value at 6_d._ per hour, 1,250_l._); or, if he were only in work half a-year, at a loss of 25,000 hours; so that if he were employed the half time at the full wages, or full time at the half wages, such workmen will have lost the means of putting by a sum of not less than 600_l._ to maintain him in comfort when he is no longer able to work?—Yes, I think that would be found to be correct. Very few do save; but I have known some save considerable sums. I knew one man, of the name of John Hale, who saved about 600_l._ He was not one of the most sober men, but he was in constant employment, sometimes at Allen’s and sometimes at Weston’s, and he was very careful; but he died when he was about 45. I knew another man, whose name was Philip Gray, who used to prefer the smaller shops. He was a man of a very good constitution, and he lived until he was about 70. He was a journeyman all his life, and he had, when he died, more than 1,500_l._, all saved by London journey work. He used to live in a baker’s shop in Silver-street, Golden-square.
“Was he of a penurious disposition?—He associated less with the men than others, and they knew little about him. He was dressed much the same as the rest, but he was much more clean in his person: he was remarkable for his cleanliness, and he was very neat in his person. Both he and Hale were single men.
“Can you doubt that, under favourable sanitary circumstances, such instances would become frequent?—It cannot be doubted. I have known other instances of saving, but those were not of men working on the board: they were mostly of men who had situations in the cutting-rooms.”
_Mr. John Fowler_:—
“You are a tailor, are you not?—I have been all my life a journeyman tailor, and worked in the metropolis; but I have long been superannuated, and now act as collector to the Benevolent Institution for the Relief of Aged and Infirm Tailors.
“That is supported by the masters, is it not?—Yes; the journeymen tailors subscribe, but it is principally supported by masters, who subscribe to it most liberally. Mr. Stultze, for example, has subscribed 795_l._ in money, and is a yearly subscriber of 25 guineas. He has made a present to the institution of the ground for the erection of almshouses, worth about 1000_l._, and has undertaken to build six houses at his own expense, for the reception of 20 poor pensioners. The funds are about 11,000_l._, principally subscribed by the masters.
“Have you belonged to any other society?—I was clerk to a trade society, consisting of upwards of 500 men.
“Have you worked in the more crowded shops?—I have worked at Mr. Allen’s, and Mr. William’s, of Conduit-street, which was a shop containing about as many men as Mr. Allen’s. I have worked at other shops, not so large as Mr. Allen’s.
“Have you read Mr. Brownlow’s evidence?—Yes, I have.
“How far do the facts generally coincide with your own observations?—Generally they do. I agree with him as to the effects of work in close workshops, and as to the time a man would last as a workman, under the most favourable circumstances, in a well-ventilated place. I do not think the drinking of gin was general, to the extent he mentions; and I think the improvement as to drinking beer, as well as spirits, is now very great; particularly in spirits, since tea and coffee have been so much drank. Of late, as far as my knowledge extends, there is very little beer-drinking in the afternoon. I knew the individuals he mentions as having saved money, and I have known many others do so too. Some of them have become opulent and respectable masters, who were fellow-shopmen with me. I conceive that the establishment of coffee-shops has been of great benefit to the health and morals of the men: it has taken them from the public-house. I have known a very large proportion of men carried off young, and in middle life, by consumption; but, in general, irregular habits were mixed up with the effects of the work in close places. The crowding of the large shops must be considered as occurring only in the season.”
The following is the examination of a tailor in Marlborough, taken by Mr. Grainger:—
_Charles Dobson_, 58 years old,—