Finding That A Strenuous
Effort Was In Progress To Promote Their Physical And Moral Welfare,
And That Increased Industry On
Their part would be rewarded by
diminished hours of work, the assistants have become more attentive,
the workrooms are better
Managed, and both parties, relieved from a
system which was oppressive to all and really beneficial to none, have
recognized the fundamental truth, that in no industrial pursuit is
there any real incompatibility between the interests, rightfully
interpreted, of the employer and the employed. Although not generally
known, evils scarcely less serious than those formerly prevalent in
the metropolis were not uncommon in the manufacturing towns and
fashionable watering-places. It is obviously impracticable to
ascertain to what extent the efforts of the association have been
attended with success in the provinces; but a rule has been
established that in no instance shall the cooperation of the office,
in providing assistants, be extended to any establishment in which the
hours of work are known to exceed those laid down by the association.
On these conditions the principals of many country establishments have
for several years been supplied; latterly, indeed, owing to the great
efficiency of the manager, Miss Newton, and to the general
satisfaction thus created, these applications have so much increased
as to constitute a principal part of the business of the office; and
with the increase the influence of the association has been
proportionally extended."
This, as you perceive, was the report for 1851. Lord Shaftesbury has
kindly handed me the first proof of the report for 1853, from which I
will send you a few extracts.
After the publication of the letter from the ladies of England to the
ladies of America, much was said in the Times and other newspapers
with regard to the condition of the dressmakers. These things are what
are alluded to in the commencement of the report. They say, -
"In presenting their annual report, the committees would in the first
place refer to the public notice that has lately been directed to the
mode in which the dressmaking and millinery business is conducted:
this they feel to be due both to the association and to those
employers who have cooperated in the good work of improvement. It has
been stated in former reports, that since the first establishment of
this society, in the year 1843, and essentially through its influence,
great ameliorations have been secured; that the inordinate hours of
work formerly prevalent had, speaking generally, been greatly reduced;
that Sunday labor had been abolished; that the young people were
rarely kept up all night; and that, as a consequence of these
improvements, there had been a marked decrease of serious sickness.
"At the present moment, in consequence of the statements that have
appeared in the public journals, and in order to guard against
misconceptions, the committees are anxious to announce that they
perceive no reason for withdrawing any of their preceding statements -
the latest, equally with former investigations, indicating the great
improvement effected in recent years.
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