862 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



liaps, exactly observing the forms 

 prescribed by the Society. The 

 same considerations which have so 

 frequently pressed themselves upon 

 the notice of the Society, respect- 

 ing boys employed by chimney- 

 sweepers as climbers, operated on 

 the minds of many individuals in 

 this town, and upwards of two 

 years ago gave rise to a general 

 meeting, which appointed a com- 

 mittee for the purpose of endea- 

 vouring to improve their situation, 

 and of superseding the necessity of 

 employing them at all, by substi- 

 tutmg machines for that purpose. 

 This committee procured by sub- 

 scription a sum, which, though not 

 large, has hitherto served to de- 

 fray those expenses necessarily in- 

 curred in the prosecution of the 

 object for the attainment of which 

 they were appointed. The com- 

 mittee then procured one of the 

 machines from Mr. Smart, and en- 

 gaged a clever, active man to under- 

 take the working of it (having first 

 offered it to all the regular sweep- 

 ers, who refused it). The com- 

 mittee then endeavoured, by pub- 

 lic and private application, to 

 induce as many of the inhabitants 

 as they could to encourage the use 

 of the machine ; in which endea- 

 vour they were as successful as 

 could have been reasonably ex- 

 pected. As all the regular chim- 

 ney-sweepers have endeavoured by 

 every means in their power to im- 

 pede the use of the machine, the 

 committee found it necessary to 

 procure a boy to assist the man 

 with the machine, and in cases 

 where necessity required it, to go 

 up the chimney, because the regu- 

 lar chimney-sweepers refused to 

 suffer their boys to complete the 

 sweeping of those chimneys where 



the machine had failed. The brush 

 procured from Mr. Smart being 

 found rather difficult to work, and 

 liable to be out of order, the com- 

 mittee made, and caused to be 

 made, many experiments for the 

 purpose of improving it. Thoso 

 of which they have sent drawings 

 seems to them the most simple, the 

 most easy to work, the most dur- 

 able, and the most efficacious of any 

 which they have tried or seen. The 

 result of all the experience which 

 the committee have now had is, 

 that though probably nine-tenths 

 of the chimneys in this town, as 

 they now are, might be swept 

 with the machines, yet that not 

 one in ten of those will voluntarily 

 be permitted to be swept by them, 

 however much the committee may 

 exert themselves, because it pro- 

 bably will always take up some 

 more time in the operation, and 

 there is some risk in the first in- 

 stance that the chimney may not 

 admit of being swept by the ma- 

 chine, and because the ordering of 

 it is generally left to servants, in- 

 different to the object, and inimi- 

 cal to new experiments, which 

 might cause them more trouble. 

 It is very possible, by stating strik- 

 ing and recent cases of oppression 

 and suffering, to arouse humanity 

 to expressions of sorrow and com- 

 miseration, but not often to great 

 and continued efforts to assist, 

 especially if it require any sacri- 

 fices, however trivial. It there- 

 fore follows, that, unless the me- 

 thod of sweeping chimneys with 

 machines can be rendered less ex- 

 pensive and less inconvenient than 

 by boys (a thing not to be ex- 

 pected), the practice will never 

 voluntarily become so extensively 

 adopted as to diminish, in any con- 

 siderable 



