The investigation of a Parliamentary Committee on child labour in British factories.
Interview #1 - William, a worker, age 19
| Where do you live?........................... | At Leeds |
| Are your mother and father living?................ | No, they are dead. |
| What age did you begin work at a mill?.............. | When I was six year olds. |
| What were the hours of work?......................... | We used to start at five and work until nine at night. |
| What time had you for dinner?.......................... | Half an hour. |
| What time for breakfast and drinking?.................. | A quarter of an hour at each end of the day |
| Have were you able to keep up to your work at each end of the day............ | The overlooker used to come with a strap, and give us a rap or two, if they caught us asleep they would give us a pinch of snuff till we sneezed, they would give us a slap with a strap if we did not mind our work. |
| Was the strap an instrument capable of hurting you badly?............ | It was a heavy strap with a small handle. |
| Where did they strike you with it?............... | Generally in the small of the back, and over the head. |
The interview was conducted when William was 19. After 13 years factory work he looked like an old man. He was only four feet nine inches tall, his limbs were deformed from the long hours of work and his eyesight was failing from working at night by poor gas lighting.
Interview #2 - William Henden, a factory representative
"…I have visited many factories, both in Manchester and in the surrounding districts, during a period of several months, entering the spinning rooms, unexpectedly, and often alone at different times of the day, and I never saw a single instance of corporal chastisement (punishment) inflicted on a child, nor indeed did I ever see children in ill-humour. They seemed to be always cheerful and alert, taking pleasure in the light play of their muscles, enjoying the mobility natural to their age."
"…As to the exhaustion by the day's work, they evinced no trace of it on emerging from the mill in the evening, for they immediately began to skip about any neighbouring play ground, and to commence their little amusements."
Interview #3 - Betty Harris, a young girl, mine worker
This is an account by a girl named Betty Harris. She drew (pulled) a wagon that hauled coal down a mine from six in the morning until six at night.
"I have a belt round my waist, and a chain passing between my legs, and I go on my hands and feet…the pit is wet where I work, and the water comes up over our clog-tops always, and I have seen it up to my thighs...my clothes are wet through almost all day long…I have drawn till I have had the skin off me…the belt and chain is worse when we are in the family way."
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Your country was ruled by an Emperor and his family. He and his personally chosen ministers made all the decisions for the nation. This family has been in power for 400 years. One recent decision made by the Emperor was to go to war with a powerful neighbouring nation.
The war went badly:
A revolution has taken place-the nation is now a democracy. You are a member of this society. Now you have to make serious decisions about future plans and changes to your country.
Conservatives want only a little change. They believe that slow careful change is best, and believe that new ideas must be carefully evaluated as they are brought into the country.
You are members of the aristocracy that has always had power in the country. You were willing for the Emperor to resign, but you would like the monarchy to continue with the Emperor's son. You think that the war should go on because you must be loyal to your allies. You think that the country needs to become modern and industrialized, and believe that the best way to achieve this is through private businesses and loans from your allies after the war. You also think that the landowners should continue to be private because they have the most experience. You think that too much democracy at this stage would be dangerous. It would not be right for peasants to have the vote yet because they are uneducated and unable to understand the affairs of government.
Liberals want moderate change. They believe this is best because many old ideas need to be dismissed and new ideas brought in.
You are the middle class people of the country. You are well educated. You think that there should not be a monarchy because it is too traditional and is not willing to change. You think that the country should be ruled by a parliament. You also think that the war should go on. You feel that the country needs to become modern and industrialized, and think that this would be best accomplished through private business. You think that farms should stay private, but that the government should make laws to ensure that factories and farms are run by regulations to make sure that people have fair wages and treatment. You want other changes such as freedom of speech, equal rights, the vote for everyone over 21 and self-government for local areas.
Radicals want major changes and they believe it must happen quickly. They consider this approach best for the country because all the bad systems and ideas should be gotten rid of as soon as possible. Radicals believe that only considerable and rapid change can improve a nation as backward as this one.
You are the middle class and the working class people of the country. You are well educated. You have worked for a long time for a revolution. You did not expect it to come so soon. Now it is here, and now that there is no Emperor, you want even more dramatic changes. You want a complete end to monarchy. You think that the war must end now because too many people have died. If the war went on, the country would lose because it is not modern enough to win. You want the state to run all business. You believe that there should not be any privately owned factories because these run for profit and are not in the interest of the workers. You believe that the government should plan what to produce, and should educate and train the peasants to be good workers. You think that there should be no more private farms, and that the government should run the farms and employ the workers to work the land. You believe that the government is in the best position to buy modern machinery to work the farms more efficiently. It is your opinion that there should not be a complete democracy yet, and instead special councils of ministers should be chosen from the people to make all decisions. This central planning will make the country more efficient. You think that the revolution is not complete and that all the land and business of the aristocracy should go to the state.
Your country is ruled by an Emperor. He is the member of a family that has ruled for over 400 years. Your country is one of mostly peasants that work the land and at the top there is the family of the Emperor and other members of the aristocracy.
Your country is very ancient and proud. Different royal families called dynasties have ruled for thousands of years. Most people in the nation make their living through agriculture. There is almost no industry. You were once proud and felt that your nation needed nothing from other nations. Now, more powerful nations than yours, with their industry and powerful steam ships, have forced your country to trade with them. Foreigners are now running your country.
The Emperor can now no longer rule. There is hunger everywhere. The government is weak. A new leader named Sun has emerged. He wants to end the rule of the Emperor. He also wants many changes such as:
The leader of the Imperial Army has joined the rebels and your country is now a republic. The nation has, however, divided into regions, each ruled by a powerful man with his own army. The poverty and hunger continues.
The first leader, Sun, has died and a new leader, Chiang, is now trying to unite the country. He has decided to fight against the regional rulers. There is much fighting. To make things worse, another nation, Japan, has invaded yours.
Now another leader, Mao, has emerged. This leader wants a complete revolution in which the peasants would rule. The armies of the two leaders are fighting each other. Mao is trapped and has decided to escape by taking a long march into the hills. A hundred thousand followers march with him. The distance of the long trek is over 9,700 kilometres, and later becomes known as the "long march."
You are for gradual change. Even the end of rule by emperors is enough of a change for now. You support Chiang. He has the most powerful army. Under Chiang, the new country would not be so changed. With the Emperor gone life might be better. Chiang has the support of powerful western nations. Your country could become a new modern democracy. Mao's ideas frighten you. If the state takes control and runs the economy will you be free, or will the government control the land and make you work it? Even though you are poor, you like the idea of your own plot of land.
You are for a major change. You believe that the Emperor being gone does not mean that life is really going to get better. The ordinary people must have more say. You support Mao. You are suspicious of Chiang because he seemed to prefer to fight Mao, a person from the same country, rather than the enemy invaders. You do not think that your people should fight each other. You admire the way the people of Mao marched for so long. You like the idea of a complete change, with the peasants having land and making decisions. If peasants organize together into groups and make larger farms, you might raise more food. The generals and advisors of Chiang have been known to use their power to get wealth for themselves. Mao seems like one of the people in his lifestyle and dress.
You are the peasants that have been watching the changes in Chinese society. Both leaders want your support. You now have to make serious decisions about whose side to take. Should you:
Canada, in 1878, is very large and most of the nation is unsettled by Europeans. The eastern part of Canada has four coastal regions (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland). They specialize in trading fish and forest products. Most of this trade has gone across the ocean to Great Britain, from where most people have emigrated. For years, Canada has been a colony of Britain, a powerful industrial and trading nation. Britain has decided that it no longer wishes to send industrial goods in exchange for resources. But there are still excellent ports for trade to the nations across the sea, and the farmers, lumbermen and merchants depend upon this trade for their livelihood. If this trade is ended, they will become very poor.
Next, towards the west, are two more regions: Quebec and Ontario. These are both highly populated with large cities. There is already some small industry in these regions. The St. Lawrence is a great river from the east coast that ships can use to reach Montreal and Toronto, directly by-passing the four regions to the east.
Further west, for nearly two thousand miles, the land is sparsely settled by Europeans. There are many Aboriginal cultures, and in the centre is a small settlement of Aboriginal, European and Métis traders called Batoche. Most of these people trade for furs. The Métis have a profitable fur and hunting trade that needs the open plains. They would like to see the plains left alone so the great herds of buffalo would continue to supply food and furs.
This vast area also has great potential for farming, and the government of Canada would like to encourage thousands of people to move there and build farms, which would produce more food that could be traded with other countries and with eastern Canada. For this to happen, there must be a transportation system which can move people and goods back and forth over the Canadian Shield.
To the far west, on the coast, there is another community of settlers from Great Britain. This community also specializes in fish and lumber and needs some way of transporting its resources to markets where they can be sold.
To the north is a vast region rich in mineral wealth.
To the south is a very powerful trading and industrial nation called the United States of America. The population here is twenty times that of Canada. Goods can be bought from there cheaply. This nation has also expressed some interest in taking over western Canada. It recently bought Alaska for seven million dollars.
Canada's Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, has decided upon the following plan:
After reading Student Handout #17, complete the chart to identify the pros and cons of Prime Minister Macdonald's plan to change Canada by constructing a railway across the nation. The issues that he had to consider included those listed on the chart.
| Issues | Pros of Building a National Railway | Cons of Building a National Railway |
| Defence | ||
| Trade | ||
| Tariffs | ||
| Interdependence | ||
| US Relations |