CONDITIONS OF CHILDREN'S WORK 781 
the over-fatigue of children were prevalent in the well- A aan 
managed, as well as in the badly-managed mills. 
For after all there were mills and mills; and though 
there was room for improvement in all of them, the crying 
avils were much more pronounced in some cases than in 
others. In every respect the small mills were decidedly the al 4 
worst’, they were carried on by men who had but comparatively ad a 
little capital, and who had to compete against the better Top 
machinery and better power of their neighbours? These ‘om 
smaller mills were in much greater need of supervision than 
the others. The cases where children were severely punished 
by the workmen they assisted were not so common as was 
popularly supposed, but it was clearly established that this 
practice was carried on by some of the slubbers?®, though on 
the whole the evil was abating in 18334 It does not seem 
that the connivance of the masters in such cruelties was 
proved, and in some cases they endeavoured to prevent them®, 
In fact this abuse appears to have been chiefly due to a few 
of the more dissipated workmen. In regard to matters of 
morality, too, the smaller mills had a bad reputation. They 
were carried on by men of a specially coarse type, who were 
particularly inclined to tyrannise over a class but slightly 
beneath them, yet completely in their power®; there had 
been some improvement, but in all respects the small 
factories were unfavourably distinguished’. In fact, it is 
obvious that the worst evils occurred, not where the capi- 
talist was so powerful that he could do as he liked, but 
in cases where the capitalist was struggling for his very 
existence, and was forced to carry on the trade in any way he 
sould. 
Similarly. the small factories were the worst places in 
regard to length of hours, as it was most difficult to enforce 
any limitations®. The old-fashioned mills were dependent on 
' Reports, 1833, xx. 25, 63. 3 Ib. xx. 20, 24, 1840; xx1IT. 248, 
* Ib. 1883, xx. 23, 28, 49. 4 Ib. 26. 8 Ib. 28. 6 1b. 20. 
i F. Engels, Condition of the Working Classes, p. 148. Reports, 1833. xx. 24. 
136, 145. 
8 An illustration of this difficulty occurs in the case of the girls who worked as 
Iressers in the manufacture of Brussels carpets at Kidderminster; the conditions 
of employment are thus described: ¢ The working honrs are extremely irregular.