212 



REPORT 1861. 



Proportion of each class of Adults and Children in a Lancashire Cotton-Mill of 500 

 Workers, and their average Weekly Wages in 1860. 



Mr. Chadwick then referred to his recent investigations and report on the rate of 

 wages in England in 200 trades and branches of laboui- (see ' Journal of the Statis- 

 tical Society of London,' March 1860), and stated that the advance of wages in the 

 various branches of the cotton trade, diu-ing the last 20 years, had been from 10 to 

 25 per cent. ; in the silk ti'ade, about 10 per cent. ; in the building-trades, fi-om 11 

 to 32 per cent. ; in the mechanical trades, from 10 to 45 per cent. Reductions had 

 been made in many branches of trade where the skill of the workmen was no longer 

 required by the improvements in machinery. 



In 1840 the labour in the cotton-mills was 69 hours per week, and in 1860 it was 

 only 60 hours per week. 



Whilst the wages of the operatives have materially increased, the cost of food and 

 clothing has been greatly reduced, as shown by the following Table (p. 213) : — 



Mr. Chadwick here contended for the pi-osperity of Livei-pool and other places 

 having been largely dependent upon and promoted by the extraordinary extension 

 of the cotton trade of the manufacturing portions of Lancashire ; and then simi- 

 marized his paper thus far, asking, first, whether the increase of popidatiou in 

 manufacturing towns was a healthy sign and likely to continue ; second, whether 

 the trade was not imdidy stimulated, or was generally sound and healthy ; third, 

 could we expect a continuance of the present demand for cotton goods, &c., so as 

 to justify the anticipation that the increase would continue in the same proportion 

 as heretofore ; and foiu'th, whether a sufficient supply of the raw material, cotton, 

 could be found to meet the yearly increasing demand. 



The local government of Manchester and Salford, their corporations, police, 

 sanitary, charitable, provident, educational, and other institutions were then re- 

 ferred to. The progress of Manchester was traced fi'om 1301, and the neighbouring 

 borough from 1230 ; each being mimicipally governed by 16 aldermen and 48 

 coimcillors. In Manchester, in 1839, the assessable value of property was £669,934, 

 and the total borough-rate £33,515 ; whilst in 1860 the amounts were £1,203,505 

 and £68,147 respectively. In Salford, the assessable value of property, in 1844, 



