Source 1

Extract from a Factory Inspectors report – British Parliamentary Papers (1836) p. 353

Transcript

My Lord, in the case of Taylor, Ibbotson & Co.  I took the evidence from the mouths of the boys themselves.  They stated to me that they commenced working on Friday morning, the 27th of May last, at six A.M., and that, with the exception of meal hours and one hour at midnight extra, they did not cease working till four o’clock on Saturday evening, having been two days and a night thus engaged.  Believing the case scarcely possible, I asked every boy the same questions, and from each received the same answers.  I then went into the house to look at the time book, and in the presence of one of the masters, referred to the cruelty of the case, and stated that I should certainly punish it with all the severity in my power.  Mr Rayner, the certificating surgeon of Bastile, was with me at the time.

 

« Return to 1833 Factory Act

1. This is an extract from a Factory Inspectors Report (1836).

  • Who gave the evidence to the factory inspector?
  • Work out how many hours (not including breaks), the boys are reported to have worked without stopping
  • Which parts of the new Factory Act have been broken?
  • What does the tone of the letter tell us about what the factory inspectors thought about the firm Taylor, Ibbotson & Co?
  • Having studied this source, would you be right to conclude that the 1833 Factory Act did nothing to solve the problems of child workers? Explain your answer