Factory Labour and Physical Deformaties
William Whatton was a doctor in Manchester whose work involved examining the workers at Peter Appleton's factory. He told a parliamentary committee in 1818 that child labour in factories "is so moderate it can scarecely be called labour at all; and under those circumstances I should not think there would be any injury from it." When he was asked: "Have you had, generally, an opportunity of observing whether you work of the children tends to produce bad health among them? Have you observed any particular symptoms of disease about the children." He answered: "No; I cannot say that I did." He was then asked: "Do you happen to know whether or not any particular effect is produced upon a child's frame that is kept standing longer than his strenth will permit, or rather, than he ought to be subjected to? He replied: "I am not aware of any effect."
However, another doctor, Michael Ward, argued before the committee: "The state of the health of the cotton-factory children is much worse than that of children employed in other manufactories.... Cotton factories are highly unfavourable, both to the health and morals of those employed in them. They are really nurseries of disease and vice."
On 16th March 1832 Michael Sadler introduced a Bill in Parliament that proposed limiting hours in all mills to 10 for persons under the age of 18. After much debate it was clear that Parliament was unwilling to pass Sadler's bill. However, in April 1832 it was agreed that there should be another parliamentary enquiry into child labour. Sadler was made chairman and for the next three months the parliamentary committee interviewed 48 people who had worked in textile factories as children.
Dr. Samuel Smith was one of those who gave evidence to Sadler's committee: "Up to twelve or thirteen years of age, the bones are so soft that they will bend in any direction. The foot is formed of an arch of bones of a wedge-like shape. These arches have to sustain the whole weight of the body. I am now frequently in the habit of seeing cases in which this arch has given way. Long continued standing has also a very injurious effect upon the ankles. But the principle effects which I have seen produced in this way have been upon the knees. By long continued standing the knees become so weak that they turn inwards, producing that deformity which is called knock-knees and I have sometimes seen it so striking, that the individual has actually lost twelve inches of his height by it."William Blizard was especially concerned about the impact of this work on young females: "At an early period the bones are not permanently formed, and cannot resist pressure to the same degree as at a mature age, and that is the state of young females; they are liable, particularly from the pressure of the thigh bones upon the lateral parts, to have the pelvis pressed inwards, which creates what is called distortion; and although distortion does not prevent procreation, yet it most likely will produce deadly consequences, either to the mother or the child, when the period."
Elizabeth Bentley, who came from Leeds, was another witness that appeared before the committee. She told of how working in the card-room had seriously damaged her health: "It was so dusty, the dust got up my lungs, and the work was so hard. I got so bad in health, that when I pulled the baskets down, I pulled my bones out of their places." Bentley explained that she was now "considerably deformed". She went on to say: "I was about thirteen years old when it began coming, and it has got worse since."
On 9th July 1832 Michael Sadler discovered that at least six of these workers had been sacked for giving evidence to the parliamentary committee. Sadler announced that this victimization meant that he could no longer ask factory workers to be interviewed. He now concentrated on interviewing doctors who had experience treating people who worked in textile factories. Several of these doctors expressed concerned about the number of textile workers who were suffering from physical deformities.
Benjamin Gomersal worked at a mill in Bradford: "I commenced working in a worsted mill at nine years of age." By the age of twenty-five he was severely disabled: "I was a healthy and strong boy, when I first went to the mill. When I was about eight years old, I could walk from Leeds to Bradford (ten miles) without any pain or difficulty, and with a little fatigue; now I cannot stand without crutches! I cannot walk at all! Perhaps I might creep up stairs. I go up stairs backwards every night! I found my limbs begin to fail, after I had been working about a year. It came on with great pain in my legs and knees. I am very much fatigued towards the end of the day. I cannot work in the mill now."
William Dodd was one of those who became deformed because of his work as a child in a factory: "In the spring of 1840, I began to feel some painful symptoms in my right wrist, arising from the general weakness of my joints, brought on in the factories. The swelling and pain increased. The wrist eventually measured twelve inches round and I was worn down to a mere skeleton. I entered St. Thomas's Hospital and on 18th July, I underwent the operation. The hand being taken off a little below the elbow. On dissection, the bones of the forearm presented a very curious appearance - something similar to an empty honeycombe, the marrow having totally disappeared."
However, Edward Baines argued in The History of the Cotton Manufacture (1835) that working in the factory was not the main reason for these deformaties: "The human frame is liable to an endless variety of diseases. Many of the children who are born into the world, and who attain the age of ten or twelve years, are so weakly, that under any circumstances they would die early. Such children would sink under factory labour, as they would under any circumstances they would die early."
Primary Sources
(1) Sir Samuel Smith worked as a doctor in Leeds. He was interviewed by Michael Sadler's House of Commons Committee on 16th July, 1832.
Question: Is not the labour in mills and factories "light and easy"?
Dr. Samuel Smith: It is often described as such, but I do not agree at all with that definition. The exertion required from them is considerable, and, in all the instances with which I am acquainted, the whole of their labour is performed in a standing position.
Question:What are the effects of this on the children.
Dr. Samuel Smith: Up to twelve or thirteen years of age, the bones are so soft that they will bend in any direction. The foot is formed of an arch of bones of a wedge-like shape. These arches have to sustain the whole weight of the body. I am now frequently in the habit of seeing cases in which this arch has given way. Long continued standing has also a very injurious effect upon the ankles. But the principle effects which I have seen produced in this way have been upon the knees. By long continued standing the knees become so weak that they turn inwards, producing that deformity which is called "knock-knees" and I have sometimes seen it so striking, that the individual has actually lost twelve inches of his height by it.
Question: Are not the females less capable of sustaining this long labour than males.
Dr. Samuel Smith: Yes. In the female the pelvis is considerably wider than the male. When having to sustain the upright posture for long periods, the pelvis is prevented from being properly developed; and, in many of those instances, instead of forming an oval aperture, it forms a triangular one, the part supporting the spine being pressed downwards, and the parts receiving the heads of the thigh-bones being pressed inwards. When they are expecting to become mothers, sometimes because of the development of the bones of the pelvis, there is not actually space for the exit of the child which is within the womb. Under these circumstances, it is often the painful duty of the surgeon to destroy the life of the child in order that he may preserve the more valuable one of the mother. I have seen many instances of this kind, all of which, with one exception, have been those of females who have worked long hours at factories. I believe if horses in this country were put to the same period of labour that factory children are, in a very few years the animal would be almost extinct among us. Every gentleman who is in the habit of using horses well knows the effect produced upon them by too long continued labour; you may give them what corn you please, but nothing will counteract the effects of too long continued labour.
(2) Sir William Blizard worked for twenty years as a lecturer on surgery and anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons. Sir William Blizard was interviewed by Michael Sadler's House of Commons Committee on 21st May, 1832.
Question: Is not the female constitution particularly liable to present and permanent injury, by undue exertion or improper treatment at that particular period?
Dr. William Blizzard: No doubt of it; it is admitted that at an early period the bones are not permanently formed, and cannot resist pressure to the same degree as at a mature age, and that is the state of young females; they are liable, particularly from the pressure of the thigh bones upon the lateral parts, to have the pelvis pressed inwards, which creates what is called distortion; and although distortion does not prevent procreation, yet it most likely will produce deadly consequences, either to the mother or the child, when the period.
(3) William Dodd wrote about the disabilities he suffered from his time as a child worker in his pamphlet A Narrative of a Factory Cripple (1841)
In the spring of 1840, I began to feel some painful symptoms in my right wrist, arising from the general weakness of my joints, brought on in the factories. The swelling and pain increased. The wrist eventually measured twelve inches round and I was worn down to a mere skeleton. I entered St. Thomas's Hospital and on 18th July, I underwent the operation. The hand being taken off a little below the elbow. On dissection, the bones of the forearm presented a very curious appearance - something similar to an empty honeycombe, the marrow having totally disappeared.
(4) Elizabeth Bentley was interviewed by Michael Sadler and his House of Commons Committee on 4th June, 1832.
Question: Suppose you flagged a little, or were late, what would they do?
Answer: Strap us.
Question: What work did you do?
Answer: A weigher in the card-room.
Question: How long did you work there?
Answer: From half-past five, till eight at night.
Question: What is the carding-room like?
Answer: Dusty. You cannot see each other for dust.
Question: Did working in the card-room affect your health?
Answer: Yes; it was so dusty, the dust got up my lungs, and the work was so hard. I got so bad in health, that when I pulled the baskets down, I pulled my bones out of their places.
Question: You are considerably deformed in your person in consequence of this labour?
Answer: Yes, I am.
Question: At what time did it come on?
Answer: I was about thirteen years old when it began coming, and it has got worse since. When my mother died I had to look after myself.
Question: Where are you now?
Answer: In the poor house.
(5) Edward Baines, The History of the Cotton Manufacture (1835)
The human frame is liable to an endless variety of diseases. Many of the children who are born into the world, and who attain the age of ten or twelve years, are so weakly, that under any circumstances they would die early. Such children would sink under factory labour, as they would under any circumstances they would die early.
(6) William Whatton was interviewed by Lord Kenyon's House of Lords Committee on 25th May, 1818.
Question: How long have you been a surgeon in Manchester?
Answer: Three years.
Question: Have you had, generally, an opportunity of observing whether you work of the children tends to produce bad health among them? Have you observed any particular symptoms of disease about the children.
Answer: No; I cannot say that I did.
Question: If a child was of a delicate constitution, would you think twelve hours was too long to keep him at work?
Answer: The labour is so moderate it can scarecely be called labour at all; and under those circumstances I should not think there would be any injury from it.
Question: Do you happen to know whether or not any particular effect is produced upon a child's frame that is kept standing longer than his strenth will permit, or rather, than he ought to be subjected to?
Answer: I am not aware of any effect.
Question: If a child is kept standing longer than his strength will permit, it will produce a diseased affection of the sinews of the knee?
Answer: I have never seen that?
Question: Take the instance of a young person of eight years of age; would not the instance of a young person of eight years old, kept standing for twelve hours during the day, be likely to produce a ricketty appearance?
Answer: No.
