584 Population of Great Britain and Irclmd [DEC 



earnings to be 5s. 6d. per week, deducting all necessary expenses of loom rent, 

 candles, tackling, &c. 



" 2834. How many hours a day must a man work to obtain those wages ? 

 From fourteen to sijteen. 



" 2835. Is that rate of wages on the decline, or on the increase? On the 

 decline. 



" 2836. Within how short a period has a reduction taken place ? Within the 

 last week. 



" 2837. Can you describe to the Committee the diet on which this population 

 now subsist ? I should think principally upon potatoes, and perhaps a little butter- 

 milk and herrings. 



" 2838. Do you happen to know, of your own knowledge, if they are in arrear 

 of rent for the houses they occupy ? I believe nearly the whole of them. 



" 2839. How much rent do they owe, generally speaking, in Carlisle? A year, 

 I may say confidently, but in many instances more. 



" 2840. Do they generally occupy a single room ? Yes. 



" 2841. What is the rent they pay for a room ? They generally take them 

 with a weaving-shop, with four or more looms attached ; that is, a shop for four 

 workmen ; and the price varies of course I believe from 6/. to 8/. a year. 



" 2842. Then, in point of fact, they are at the mercy of their landlords, and 

 may be ejected at any time ? Completely so. 



" 2843. Have they their furniture pledged in many cases ? I dare say the most 

 valuable articles have been pledged for twelve months past. 



" 2844. Has the power-loom machinery been progressive lately, or can it 

 manufacture a species of goods, particularly checks, which it could not within a 

 very short time ? They are making the attempt, though they have not succeeded 

 to a great extent yet : I have no doubt they will ultimately be enabled to manu- 

 facture checks by power looms. At present, they certainly excel in plain 

 cloths. 



" 2845. Is the fabric woven by the power-looms superior to that woven by 

 hand ? They are obliged to use a better quality of yarns. 



" 2846. You being conversant with the trade, and knowing the facilities that 

 the power-loom gives for the manufacture of these articles, do you entertain a 

 reasonable doubt, even if the demand for manufactures increased, that the power- 

 loom could supply it, without the aid of hand loom weaving? From the rate at 

 which it has increased of late years, I infer that it may certainly become equal to 

 the full supply of all the plain cloths, and probably, in a short time, to checks 

 likewise; that is,, to two-coloured patterns. 



" 2847. From your knowledge of Carlisle and its neighbourhood, are there any 

 other means of profitable employment open to hand-loom weavers, if they cease 

 to weave? None whatever at present 



" 2848. Is not the rate of wages generally on the decline in that neighbourhood, 

 whether agriculture or manufactures? I believe labourers' wages have been 

 reduced, in consequence of the number of hands thrown out of employ among the 

 weavers*" 



In conclusion, this witness puts in a table of wages and expenses ; from which 

 it appears that the best hand-loom weavers in his employment are only able to 

 earn 5s. 6d. a week. 



The witnesses who are examined as to the state of the English agri- 

 cultural population, state that the field labourers are in as bad a condition 

 as the manufacturers. The Bishop of Chester, in one part of his evidence, 

 intimates that their state is still worse. He says (p. 211) 



" Q. 2297. Has your lordship turned your attention to the subject of emigra- 

 tion, as connected with the condition of the labouring poor of this kingdom ? I 

 cannot say that I have; but another subject has been forced upon me since I have 

 become acquainted with the manufacturing districts; namely, the enormous dispro- 

 portion between the wages of the manufacturing and agricultural classes. 



" 2298. Could your lordship state to the Committee the great disproportion 

 that appears to exist between the two rates of wages ? Yes. In the agricultural 

 districts, towards the east of England, it is considered that if a man and his wife 



