1797. ] 
low the goods to furnifh, in their paffage, 
a confiderable revenue to the govern- 
ment. And although they do, undoubr- 
edly, on their firft introduétion, throw 
fome perfons out of employ, by changing 
the nature and courfe of bufinefs, they 
almoft immediately make up for the in- 
convenience by aftonifhingly multiplying 
the abfolute quantity of employment. If 
they take. away their work from carders 
and fpinners,they return it them back ten- 
fold as winders, warpersy weavers, dreff- 
ers, dyers, bleachers, printers, &c. Xc. 
On the other hand, may it not bea 
fubjeét of reafonable apprehenfion, whe- 
ther our manufacturers may not be much 
more eafily and {peedily removed into 
foreign countries, by the tranfplantation 
of our machines, than of our workimen ? 
They haye no prejudices to conquer, no 
relations or friends to leave, no old ha- 
bits to break, no new language to learn, 
no rooted attachment to their native foil. 
They are at once naturalized in any 
country, and will enable the inhabitants 
of any country, that can. procure them, 
immediately to rival thofe in which they 
were originally produced. But this isa 
confideration for the inhabitant of a par- 
ticular country: the moralifi, and the 
friend of mankind, wil! be more affeéted 
by fuch confiderations as the follow- 
ADs, 
It is greatly to be feared, that whoever, 
unbiaffed by intereft or prejudice, and 
under the influence of no motives but a 
regard to the welfare of his fellow-crea- 
tures, examines thefe eftablifnments, will 
be ftrongly inclined to doubt whether 
they are, upon the whole, of real advan- 
tage tothe bulk of the perfons employed 
in them, and, .of courfe, to fociety at 
large. It has been commonly, and J fear, 
too jufily, remarked, that wherever the 
labouring part of mankind have been col- 
leéted in large bodies, they have always, 
more or lefs, corrupted each other; and, 
Tam fure, it will not require any very 
acute talent for obfervation, to difcover a 
fenfible change in the manners of the 
people in the neighbourhood of thefe 
great faétorics. But, it is not this cir- 
cumftance merely, connected with thefe 
eflablifhments, of which the friends to 
the improvement of their fpecies have 
juft caufe tocomplain. An ingenious di- 
vifion has fometimes been meade of the 
day, into three parts, one for labour, one 
for meals and recreation, and one for reft ; 
and alfo of the life, into one for learning, 
one for working, and one for enjoyment 
' ahd repofe. Wething like either of thefe 
Northern Tour.—-Ufe of Machines. 255 
propofitions is at all attended to here. I 
know, it has ufually been boafted of, asa 
great advantage to thefe machines, that 
they encourage population, by rendering 
children valuable to their parents at an 
early period of their lives. I confefs, that 
I am of a different opinion. Childhood 
and youth are the proper feafon for en- 
couraging both the body andthe mind to 
unfold themfelves; the one by air and 
active exercife ; the other, by allowing it 
leifure for obfervation, and by affifting it 
with {uch inftruétion as is fuled to the 
particular capacity and ftation in life. 
But when children are fet to work almoft 
as foon as they can walk 3 when, from fix 
years of ege, they are confined in clofe 
rooms ten hours in the day, to give no-~ 
tice of the breaking of a thread; what 
muft become ‘of thofe bodily powers, 
which, at this important period of. life, 
ought to be kept in full play? how fhould 
thofe intelligent faculties expand which 
are confined to fuch minute objeéts? or 
what moral ftruéture can we expect 
fhould be built on fuch foundations ; 
where nothing is heard in converfation 
between thofe of the fame fex, but pro- 
fanenefs, and between thofe of a diffe- 
rent, but ob{cenity —So that the real 
{tare of the cafe appears rather to be thas; 
that parents are tempted to defraud their 
children of the exercife neceflary to their 
health, of the education neceffary to their 
ufefulnefs, and of their morals by evil 
company, in order to fecure for them- 
felves, as the price of thefe facrifices, 
fome paltry fourpence or fixpence a day ; 
which is, befides, too frequently pervert- 
ed into the means of their own encreafed 
intemperance. If this be true, popula- 
tion is difcouraged by thefe machines, 
both among the old and the young. 
But this is not all: where parents are 
employed along with their children, it is 
poflible, may we not fay probable, that 
natural affegtion, and a regard to their 
own intereft, will induce them ftill to pay 
fome attention to the behaviour of their 
children ; anéthat the hope of their im- 
provement, or the dread of being charge- 
able with having contributed to corrupt 
them, will alfo have fome effeét as a 
chetk upon their own conduét. But 
what fhall we fay of thofe eftablithments 
which hire, by wholefale, for a term of 
years, the pauper-children of a diftant 
parifh, and thus break all the ties of pa- 
rental and filial affeétions, and deftroy all 
the motives to a virtuous conduét, which 
they may be expected,to fuggeft > When > 
the owners of a great faétory take three 
Lila hundred 
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