128  BRUNSWICK.,
tins  in  which  the  vegetables  are  packed  after  being  cooked  are^made  in  local
factories  which  employ  several  hundreds  of  men.
The  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  is  likewise  an  industry  in  which  the  duchy
as  well  as  the  town  of  Brunswick  is  interested.  The  total  number  of  factories
in  the  whole  duchy  is  35  and  the  workpeople  employed  number  over  4,000,
while  in  the  town  of  Brunswick  there  are  live  concerns  with  nearly  800
employees,  most  of  them  men.  Except  in  the  case  of  the  refineries,  this,  too,
is  a  seasonal  industry,  commencing  in  September  as  soon  as  the  beet  crop  is
ready  and  lasting  until  about  the  end  of  December.  Between  seasons  the
unskilled  labourers  find  employment  in  the  brickfields,  or  in  the  building
trade.
The  brewing  of  beer  is  also  carried  on  extensively,  and  in  1905  a  wages
agreement  affecting  all  the  classes  of  workmen  engaged  in  the  breweries  was
signed  by  five  local  companies  and  one  private  firm.  The  textile  industry  is
represented  by  one  large  jute  spinning  factory  employing  over  1,800  hands,
two-thirds  of  whom  are  women  and  girls.  In  addition  there  are  a  number  of
small  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  chemicals,  of  soap  and  oil,  of  paper
goods,  brushes,  and  cigars,  employing  altogether  about  850  workpeople.
One  striking  feature  of  the  industrial  life  of  Brunswick  is  the  large  amount
of  female  labour  which  is  employed.  Of  a  total  of  18,557  adult  workers  in
establishments  which  come  under  the  factory  regulations,  5,493  or  29  per  cent,
are  females.  The  majority  of  these  find  employment  in  the  canning  industry
and  in  the  spinning  of  jute,  the  former  with  2,256  and  the  latter  with  1,161.
The  clothing  trade  also  employs  879  women  besides  273  girls,  whilst  the
remainder  are  mainly  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  paper  goods  and  cigars,
and  in  several  branches  of  metal  working,  such  as  the  making  of  tins  for
the  canning  factories,  work  in  which  the  principle  of  division  of  labour  is
carried  to  a  high  degree,  so  that  the  management  of  certain  machines  can  be
well  entrusted  to  women.  A  large  number  of  women  are  also  engaged  in  their
own  homes  in  connection  with  the  jute  spinning  and  canning  industries,  making
sacks  of  the  woven  jute  in  the  one  case,  and  preparing  the  vegetables  for  the
preliminary  process  of  boiling  in  the  other.  The  former  by  working  10  hours
can  sew  120  sacks  daily  on  an  average,  for  which,  after  deducting  the  price  of
the  sewing  yam,  they  earn  Is.  10d.,  whereas  the  latter,  according  to  a  report
issued  by  the  Factory  Workers’  Union,  are  able  to  earn  from  9s.  to  18s.  per
week,  the  higher  rates  being  probably  earned  where  other  members  of  the
family  assist  in  the  work.
During  the  canning  season  enormous  consignments  of  vegetables  pour  into
Brunswick  by  rail,  and  in  order  to  dispose  of  them  whilst  they  are  fresh,  long
hours  are  worked  in  the  factories,  and,  in  addition,  employers  are  compelled  to
engage  out-workers,  who  carry  the  vegetables  to  and  from  the  factories  in
baskets  on  their  backs.  An  investigation  conducted  by  the  Factory  Workers’
Union  in  1905,  into  the  condition  of  the  workers  in  this  industry,  brought  a
number  of  abuses  to  light.  According  to  the  published  report  of  this  inquiry,
women  and  girls  were  frequently  compelled  to  work  more  than  13  hours  a  day
—the  maximum  number  allowed  by  law  in  this  industry,  except  on  Saturday,
when  -work  must  cease  at  5.30  p.m.—and  in  some  cases  even  18  hours
Were  spent  in  one  day  in  the  factory.  As  a  result  of  this  exposure  the  Government ­
  notified  the  local  Chamber  of  Commerce  that  the  police  would  be
instructed  to  see  that  in  future  all  infringements  of  the  law  in  this  respect  were
promptly  punished.  The  report  further  complained  that  these  long  hours  were
spent  in  rooms  the  atmosphere  of  which  was  excessively  warm  and  heavily
charged  with  moisture,  and  also  that  the  remuneration  for  such  work  was  very
inadequate,  as  the  wages  paid  to  females  usually  ranged  from  1  \d.  to  2\d.  per
hour,  and  rarely  amounted  to  2f<A  The  inquiry  also  elicited  the  fact  that  even
on  Sundays  work  was  sometimes  carried  on  for  10  and  more  hours.  The
earnings  of  home-workers  were  found  to  be  less  than  those  paid  in  the  factories,
and  consequently  the  children  were  employed  in  the  evenings.
The  distribution  of  the  industrial  population  of  Brunswick  amongst  the
various  trades  and  industries  in  1906  is  shown  in  the  following  table  :—