Stveeping of Chiinneys ivith Machinery, Sfc. 227 



other master cliimnej -sweepers, one of 

 whom produced his own sou, who, on 

 being stripped, appeared evidently to 

 have been once in the same state. If 

 tiien boys, who arc of necessity subject to 

 sucli suflerings, do not complain of their 

 lot, it caimot he because they have no 

 cause for comi>iaint.* The a|)prentiec 

 whom this boy was to replace had died 

 a little while before in the workhouse, 

 the master of which attended to j)rove, 

 that his death was coiisideted as being- 

 caused by the hardsiiips \\ hieli he had un- 

 dergone in practising his calling. 



A very serious and important ques- 

 tion is. What becomes of all the climbhig' 

 boys? On an average, perhaps, each 

 master may have at one time lour ap- 

 prentices: during his life, (as but Ihw, I 

 conceive, serve their time out,) each 

 master may have upwards of twenty. 

 Now, what becomes of the nineteen ? 

 One only will be wanted to succeed the 

 master, tiiere having long been a .sufli- 

 cient supi)ly. W. N. says, that he is 

 told, that they all become coachmen. I 

 should as soon have expected to have 

 heard that they became dancing-masters, 

 lew, I believe, live to ehuse a new trade. 

 We had once all the masters here before 

 the magistrates, to endeavour to induce 

 them to agree to certain regulations 

 (which they did, and broke thoin the first 

 opportunity) : one of the masters, I re- 

 collect, then staled, as a pioof of his 

 kidd treatment of his boys, that iiino of 

 them hatl g(jne for siddieis! He meant 

 to pro\e that he had not cri[)j>led tliem. 



Once a year (un Easter iSloiiilay), (he 

 committee here have all the eiiinbing 

 boys to dine with them, at the Cutlers* 

 Ilidl. 'I'hey have endeavonretl, by 

 giving them :iOoksaiiil good advice, and 

 by inducing them to go rcgidarly to Sun- 

 da)' Schools, to render them less de- 

 praved. They, how ever, Ihul, after many 

 years' experience, that ail they can do 

 produces but little ellect in eoujileracling 

 the baneful inlluciice of tiieir lameiitublt; 

 situation. 



I'rom the way in vvliieh the subjecl is 

 now taken up in the metropolis, I am 

 not without hopes that the abolition of 

 this species of slavery may be efieeted 

 by parliamentary interfeicnee ; for, 1 re- 

 peat, it is oin- linn ecnvietion here, that 

 by no other means can it lie abulished. 

 S/ir.ffiild ; Aiiff. 14, IHIO. S. 1{. 



1S16.] 



sweeping it is easily removed. I have 

 for several years used the machines, but, 

 kj)owing that they could not remove 

 this hard soot, I have sent up a man on 

 the outside, two or three times a jear, 

 vho, with a eonnnon hay-fork, easily 

 scrapes it olf; a eousideralile quantify al- 

 ways laiiing down the chinuiey. A nmcli 

 better instrument might of course be 

 found, but the fork is always at hand, 

 and it answers the purpose. Till I tried 

 this method the chimneys were always 

 lia'ile to smoke; tliey now rarely do so, 

 imless they have been iong neglected. 



I am not aware that the earthen-ware 

 pi()es on the toj)s of the chimneys would 

 oppose much obstacle to sweeping from 

 above; but I think them, on every ac- 

 count, except raising the chimriey higher, 

 prejudicial: they of course contrac. t!ie 

 jnouths of the chiuniey, which cannot be 

 kept too open. 



He seems to think, that it may af- 

 ford some consolation to the feeling 

 mind to be informed, tliat three or lour 

 of the climbing boys, wliom he ques- 

 tioned, did not express any discontent 

 at their condition. How dreadfullj lost 

 in ignorance and to hope nmst such ])oor 

 infants be! We know that, generally 

 speaking, they are, in those tender years, 

 exposed to almost every privation and 

 species of suflerings that hinwan nature 

 is liable to ; and yet so totally are they 

 imaequainled with any thing better, that 

 they express no dissatisfaction at their 

 miserable lot! I have, however, heard 

 them express very dilferent sentiments 

 on the subject. 



Myseli and another member of the 

 eommiltce, here, for the superseding of 

 climbing boys, were sent for, by the nn- 

 clc of a eliimney-swce|)er boy; he had, 

 by advice of a medical man, taken him 

 away from his master. We lour.d the 

 boy unable to tnrn himself in lied, beuig 

 apparently reduced to the last stage of a 

 consunq>tion: his shoulders, back, and 

 kMcesi, were dreadfully lacerated ; some 

 of his toe-nails aiisolutely torn olf; yet in 

 tills state he had been compelled to go 

 up the chinniCNS. As soon as the boy 

 was, by great care, in some measure n - 

 covered, the uncle took him with the 

 master beluie a magistrate, toendeav(jur 

 to have his indentures ean< elled. ('I ho 

 b(i> hail brcn .'(jld by his mother, who had 

 abandoned him.) 'i'he defence set up 

 by the master was, the inq)Ossibility of 

 leuehing any child to become aelimbiug 

 bov without being atlirst thus lacerated. 

 'Jouslabljsh this Ureadliil fact he brought 



* This boy was m aiionies when the pos- 

 sibility of Ins beinu sent bnck to his niustpi' 

 was iutirnutcd to liini. 



G g 2 Tif 



