258 
THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  SALT. 
are  required  to  each  pan,  who  are  paid  by  the  men  in  charge  of 
it  out  of  their  receipts  for  the  salt  manufactured.  Much  of  the 
work  can  be  done  by  boys  and  girls,  and  a  father,  by  taking  his 
children  as  his  assistants,  could  make  a  considerable  addition  to 
his  wages.  A  strong  inducement  is  thus  held  out  to  parents  to 
employ  their  children  in  such  a  manner  as  wholly  to  preclude 
their  chance  of  obtaining  any  education,  although  at  Stoke  the 
inducement  no  longer  exists  in  the  case  of  girls.  All  the  work 
is  paid  by  the  piece,  and  even  in  processes  apparently  so  simple, 
an  amount  of  judgment,  experience,  tact,  and  dexterity  is  re- 
quired which  makes  a  wide  difference  between  the  wages  of  a 
good  and  a  bad  workman.  A  fair  workman,  on  an  average,  at 
2s.  per  ton,  can,  it  is  calculated,  make  about  28s.  per  week. 
Each  head  of  a  pan  is  paid  22s.  weekly  on  account,  and  the 
balance  is  settled  monthly,  the  work  being  appraised  by  the 
foreman  of  the  salt  works,  who  rejects  or  reduces  the  allowance 
for  work  in  any  way  faulty  or  imperfect.  About  500  hands  are 
employed  at  Stoke  Works,  and  the  average  amount  of  salt  of  all 
kinds  manufactured  is  about  3000  tons  per  week,  with  a  con- 
sumption of  from  1500  to  2000  tons  of  fuel. 
"Previous  to  1823,  when  the  duty  on  salt,  then  as  high  as 
15s.  per  bushel,  was  repealed,  the  entire  annual  produce  of  Droit- 
wich  did  not  amount  to  more  than  9000  tons,  the  entire  produce 
of  Worcestershire  being  now  about  200,000  tons  per  annum. 
The  Cheshire  salt  works  are  capable  of  producing  1,000,000  tons 
per  annum,  but  the  supply  being  immensely  in  excess  of  the  de- 
mand, many  works  are  always  standing  still,  both  in  the  Cheshire 
and  Worcestershire  districts.  The  export  trade  of  Worcestershire 
is  about  50,000  tons  annually;  that  of  Cheshire  about  650,000 
tons. 
"  The  price  of  salt  for  many  years  has  ranged  within  very 
narrow  limits.  Monthly  meetings  are  held  by  the  manufacturers, 
as  in  other  trades,  and  arrangements  are  made  as  to  the  rate  of 
wages,  the  prices  to  be  charged,  and  other  matters  affecting  their 
common  interests.  The  number  of  1  small  masters  '  in  the  trade, 
however,  renders  any  effective  combination  among  the  manufac- 
turers as  difficult  as  the  introduction  of  any  substantial  reform 
iu  the  habits  and  condition  of  the  workpeople.    A  large  portion 
