Child labour

Source A and B- R F Franks Children’s Employment Commission 1842 (1842) [online].

Available from: http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/89.html [Accessed: 9 Sept 2019].
Source A is a quotation from James Grier, the manager of mines owned by the Earl of Elgin.
The source talks about how of the 420 people working in the Elgin pit 91 are under the age
of 18 and 29 are under the age of 13 with some of the children being as young as 9 “the
youngest female child is nine years and four months old, and the youngest boy nine years
and eight months: they have wrought only four and six months below” (James Grier, 1842).
Additionally, the source discusses the working hours of the children which at the Elgin
Colliery was 16 hours a day in that time workers would earn on average 42s in 11 days and
women would earn on average 12s in the same amount of time. According to this source
workers who earned a full men’s wage had to contribute 1d per week to the school fund
and 1 and 1/2 d per week for every child education between 5 and 10 years old According to
James Grier education has had a huge effect on the workers of the colliery and that now the
workers act in a professional dignified manner with some even taking up instruments and
regularly paying for lessons. Finally, the source discusses the establishment of a medical and
sick fund for injured or sick miners. This source is useful as historical evidence as it is a
primary source meaning that the information given is more likely to be accurate,
additionally the source is made more useful as the give a more complete picture of the
events that took place as opposed to someone who did not actually witness the events.
However, the source is limited as it is the account of just one person and is more likely to be
biased meaning that the source cannot be used as well as the information given may have
been manipulated to suit the person agenda. The source is also further limited as it does not
discuss the conditions faces by the child labourers in the mines meaning it does not give a
full view into the life of a child labourer working in a coal mine.
Source B is an extract from an interview with Mr. A. F. Hopper, a manager at the Townhill
and Appin Colliery. This source talks about the number of children working at this mine,
which according to the source is 33 children out of a total of 84 workers with 21 of them
being girls, the source also discusses the jobs these children would do which was mostly
wheeling the carts of coal to where the needed to go and operating the trap doors usually
working for 12 hours a day, Mr. A. F. hopper also discusses how he thinks boys under 13
should not work in the mines and that when the do they should work for a limited time and
that he believes this will improve the moral and conditions of the mines. Finally, the source
discusses how they have set up a school, paying the teachers with fees drawn from the
miner’s wages. This source is useful because it is a primary source meaning it gives a much
fuller picture of the events that took place when compared to a secondary source as the
person reporting actually witnessed the events, however the source is limited as it fails to
mention some information about child labour at this time, specifically the wages of the
children meaning it cannot be used to discuss all aspects of the topic at hand additionally
the source has an element of opinion to it meaning that the is a higher chance of being
biased and is therefore less useful.
Source C- Parliament. (2019) [online] Available from
https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/
19thcentury/overview/coalmines/ [Accessed 21 Sept 2019]
Source C is an article discussing a report published in 1842, according to the source this
report caused widespread public concern over the conditions faced by women and children
in the mines as well as condemning the apparent lack of concern the owners of the mine
had for the welfare of their workers. The source explains that it was common for children as
young as 8 or even less to be employed at these mines, the source then goes on to discuss
the government response to these concerns' which took the form of the Mines and
Collieries Bill passed by parliament in 1842, according to the source the bill prevented all
underground work of women and girls of all ages and for boys under 10, later legislation
passed in 1850 would address the rates of accidents and by 1860 inspectors working under
the Home office had been set up and the age for boys to go underground was raised to 12,
the source that continues to discuss further reforms up to 1881 which did much to reduce
the dangers of the mines. This source is made more useful as it takes a more objective view
of mining reform in this period meaning that it is far less likely to be biased making it more
useful, however this source is made less useful as it is a secondary source it is not written by
someone who witnessed these events meaning that it is more likely to be less accurate and
therefore less useful as a source.
Source D- Economic History Association [online] Available from:
http://eh.net/encyclopedia/child-labor-during-the-british-industrial-revolution/ [Accessed
21 sept 2019]
Source D is an article discussing child labour in the UK from its early pre-industrial role to its
eventual decline after public outcry for reform. According to the source Child labour in the
UK took many forms, but one of the most prominent was children working in textile mills.
There were many mills in the UK at this time and according to the source all of them
employed child labour. The source also discusses the conditions faced by child labourers and
that injuries and even deaths were commonplace in these factories. The source then goes
on to discuss the various factory acts which set out rules and regulations on child labourers
such as a maximum working day of 12 hours and a minimum working age of 10. The source
continues by talking about the eventual decline of child labour claiming that rising standards
of living and new technology allowed parents to keep their children at home and did not
need to send them to work in the factories. This source is useful as it gives a very full picture
of the topic it is discussing as well as taking an objective point of view making it more
reliable. However, this source is made less useful as it does not contain any first-hand
information and is there for more likely to be less accurate.