322 " EEPORT— 1903. 



Section II. — Influence of Restriction of Women's Hours on the Hours 



worked by other persons. 



In the cotton industry of Lancashire there seems no doubt that the 

 hours of non-protected persons are determined ahnost entirely by those of 

 protected persons ; but it is not possible to say to what extent they have 

 been influenced specially by the restrictions on the work of adult women, 

 for the work of young persons and children is also of the greatest import- 

 ance (Lanes.). 



In the wool industry of Yorkshire a great number of the men 

 work the hours allotted to the women, and it is common for the 

 engines to run only during those hours ; on the other hand, several 

 instances are given where the men's hours are quite ditferent from the 

 women's, and hardly influenced by them ; while in a third group are found 

 cases where the men continue women's work at hours prohibited to 

 women (Yorks.). 



In the carpet industry of Kidderminster the hours of work were 

 brought down to 56^ in 1875, and 55^ in 1902, in consequenceof the Acts. 

 ' As the work of the men is mostly dependent on protected assistants, 

 their hours would px'obably have been reduced even if the rules of the 

 Power Loom Weavers' Association had not necessitated that the weavers, 

 at least, should reduce their hours when those of the women itc. were 

 reduced.' The Acts also hinder men working overtime, except in rare 

 cases where it is worth while to pay men for doing women's work. 



In the Potteries women's work is so involved with men's that the 

 greater regularity of the former necessitates the same for the latter ; and 

 a similar remark applies to those men who, through custom or necessity 

 of processes, woi'k the same hours as women, in those industries whose 

 increasing regularity was pointed out in the last Section. 



It is open to question, however, whether without the Acts the hours 

 for men might not be shorter ; for in the majority of trades, where the 

 hours are decided by agreements with trade unions, the hours are below 

 the legal maximum in regulated trades ; and it is possible that in the 

 textile industries the men, if not aided or foi'estalled by the Legislature, 

 would by this time have obtained a 54 hours' week in Lancashire and 

 Yorkshire. This consideration makes it impossible to decide to what 

 extent the shortening of hours is to be attributed to the Acts, and to what 

 extent to the general tendency to amelioration of conditions. From the 

 evidence already given, however, it seems in the highest degree probable 

 that the hours would have been longer and much less regular in most 

 factories and workshops affected, but for legislation. 



Section III. — Effect on Factories and Workshops of different sizes, and 

 on the Prevalence of Out-work. 



The Factory Acts, as a whole, exert a steady influence in favour of 

 firms with large capital and efiicient management, as soon as regulation 

 becomes thorough and universal. The clauses relating to safety and sani- 

 tation have probably the greatest influence in this way, and do not con- 

 cern us here ; but those relating specially to women have also this eflect. 

 We may first notice that in general the Acts have made compulsory 

 throughout an industry those arrangements of hours making for the 

 efliciency both of the employees and the machines, which the more 



