Children’s Employment Commission 1842
The following extracts are from the report by R F Franks to the Children’s Employment Commission on the East of Scotland District which was published in 1842.
Compiled by Euan Dunsmore.
These little vignettes came as I was looking into the history of Bathgate Academy. They came from a wide ranging review by the government of the day into the employment of children in the mines and factories of the industrial revolution.
No comments are needed. As a result of the report Acts were passed restricting children below the age of fourteen from being put to work and banning all females from the mines.
The employment age for children of fourteen lasted until well into the fifties. In 1954 on my 14th birthday my Dad introduced me to carrying coal. Before that I did shovel and load the lorry. This was at weekends and holidays only. I was paid five shillings for each weekend. But it was above ground and not underground as was my father’s introduction to hard physical labour down the pit.
From the Scottish National Dictionary:
Putt in Mining: to propel a loaded coal-hutch from the coal-face to the pit-bottom by means of a series of shoves or pushes. Hence (coal-)putter, a person who does this, “a man or boy who assists a drawer to take his hutch along a difficult part of a drawing-road”
Slype in mining: a curved wooden box on iron runners for taking coal away from the cutting-face
From the Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms:
Put – to haul by hand
Trapper – An employee, usually an apprentice, used to open and close mine doors
HARD HILL COLLIERY
parish of Bathgate, Linlithgowshire.- (Messrs. WARK and
WYLLIE, Proprietors.).
No.187 – Mr. Alexander Wark:-
We employ about 50 persons at present below ground; the number varies with demand; the collieries in this district are not very extensive, as the consumption is chiefly local and for limeworks; few factories or manufactories of any extent exist near to Bathgate. The colliers about this district change their places of labour frequently, which has a bad effect upon their children, as it entirely prevents any settled mode of instruction being given. If colliers would settle down in Bathgate so as to become residents for three years, they would be entitled to the same privileges as other inhabitants, viz. that of having their children gratuitously educated at Newland’s academy. Very few females work in the pits in this part of West Lothian. The men themselves seem to have a strong objection to their labouring below ground, not so much from the soreness of the work as from a notion they have that it cheapens their own labour. It equally applies to any young children and rarely will children be found except there be sickness or destitution. Collier people have an advantage over many others in respect to their families, as coal is in greater demand in winter than summer; so in the former is their labour and in the latter for the labour above ground for children in the fields.
No. 188 Margaret Harper, 13 years old, putter:
I work in Hard-hill Mine with sister Agnes, who is 11 years of age; we work 10 to 12 hours in the day; we get porridge before we gang, or it is sent down by mother.
We hurry the carts on the railroads by pushing behind; I frequently draw with ropes and chains as the horses do; it is dirty slavish work and the water quite covers our ancles.
I have never been much hurt; I knock my head against the roofs, as they are not so high as I am and they cause me to stoop, which makes my back ache.
Father gets 1s. a-day for our work, 6d. each; he would not have sent us down but is sore bad in his breath.
[The Father, who was in bed, stated that he was not yet 40 years of age and that the bad air in the mines had so injured his breath that he contemplated seeking employment above ground, as he felt that he could not hold out 12 months longer; necessity made him take his children down, having a large family. Was a member of the Total Abstinence Society and found great advantage; had been a great drinker. The two children read a little and were able to answer the first questions in the shorter Catechism.]
No.189. Thomas Brown, 10 years old, putter:
Wrought below four years; has not been long at Hard Hill; came from Bo’ness Mines with father and two brothers; we all work below.
I go down at three in the morning, and come up at four and sometimes six at night, and work 9 or 10 days in the fortnight; work very hard, as father is no strong the now, and mother is dead.
I hurry the hurlies [draw the carts] in harness; it is the practice here; we used only to push them at Bo’ness; never been much hurt, but often overworked.
I could read before going down; have forgotten all. [Had forgotten all; he could not tell one letter from another; and as to religious knowledge, he exemplified the awful neglect of too many in the district he came from.]
Barbauchlaw Colliery
parish of Bathgate, Linlithgowshire – (Mrs. M. Hervie, Lessee.)
No.190.Mrs. Margaret Hervie, innkeeper:
I keep the Armadale Inn adjoining the colliery, both of which I rent from Mr. Alexander Dennistoun, of Glasgow; at the present moment I employ few colliers, as the trade is off.
No females work in the Baubauchlaw Pit, nor have they for many years; the colliers here are opposed to women working below ground; do not know their reasons, but suppose they arranged it amongst themselves; husband has been dead seven years, and females and very young lads had been discontinued long before his decease.
At present only five boys below; all read and write and live just near at hand.
No.191. Peter Williamson, 12 years old, putter:
I have worked below with father near two years; was born in the village; work about 12 and 14 hours and longer when needed; not much work just now.
The seams are 40 inches high, and the main-roads no higher; the coals are drawn on rails at parts; the flooring is flat, no dip and rise; the carts hold about 3cwt. of coal; the work is no guid; cannot get better.
After work always goes to Mr. Wilson’s night-school at Armadale, with brother; most of the collier boys go.
The pit is 16 fathoms deep; 16 fathoms are 32 yards=96 feet; twice 96=192. [Reads and writes very well; well informed.]
[Many of the boys were well educated. Living only two miles from the Bathgate, and being sons of parishioners, they had been instructed at the academy, which is one of the best conducted schools in Scotland.]
Colinshiel Colliery
– parish of Bathgate, Linlithgowshire. – (Messrs. Moore and Duncan, Leaseholders.)
No.192. Mr. Henry Duncan:
I am in partnership with Mr. Moore, a farmer, near by, in the Collinshield Coal-works, and we employ about 40 men, women and children at present; we consider the number employed few, as the work is limited at this season.
The roads are railed in our pits, and the ventilation produced by the two shafts – the shaft up which the coals are drawn, and that which the people descend by stairs.
The coal-seam is three feet high, and the roads are the same height. The carts contain 2 to 3cwt. of coal, which children and young persons draw on the railed roads.
Females did not work in mines at this part till lately, as some years since the men agreed amongst themselves to allow no females to labour below; but time and the want of assistance has caused many to neglect the regulations.
Masters in this part never advised or interfered with any moral regulations made by the colliers; but must admit that females and young children could be dispensed with; their exclusion now might cause the coal to rise.
I am quite aware that there is a very strong feeling hereabouts against employing females and children, but as they work below at the pleasure of parents how is it to be prevented? [The mines in this part are all badly managed, ill-ventilated and the consequence is that colliers rove much, and are speedily afflicted with bad breath.]
No.193. Ann Harris, 15 years old, putter:
Works 10 to 12 hours daily; has done so about four months; never was at coal-work before, and heartily hates it; could get no other profitable work or would not have gone down. “It is no woman’s work, nor is it good for anybody; am obliged to do the work, as father houks [hews] the coal below.”
[Reads pretty well; very ill informed; the cottage was most filthy, and the few seats and household necessaries were of the most wretched description. The houses are in a complete morass, and it was with difficulty that I could jump from one to the other.]
No.194. John Harris, collier (hews coal):
I am about 40 years of age and have, within the last 3, taken to hew coals, as I hope that it would be more profitable than my old trade, which was that of a candle-maker.
The work is very hard, and from bad air and limitation of output, rendered uncertain.
I can hew two tons per day, the quantity usually sent up by experienced workmen who hew in the narrow seams in these parts; was first down at Dykehead, near Airdrie.
I am rather disappointed, as I thought the work would have been more profitable; it is with difficulty that I can get average wage of 2s. 6d. a-day, after paying oil and tools.
No.195. John Baxter, age 15 years, coal-hewer:
I work from two in the morning till six at night; done so for five years. My adopted mother putts my coal, and we earn about 2s. a-day together. The work is gey sore for both of us, but the woman has been a real kind friend to me, as I lost my mother soon after my birth, and my father was murdered seven or eight years ago; he was thrown into the canal and the murderer was never sought after, as there was no talk about the death and therefore no inquiry. I was reading – [reads a little] – and was going to the writing but the night-school was dropped.
[A very steady lad; weakly, arising no doubt from over labour. Spoke with great feeling of the kindness he had experienced from his foster mother.]
Ballencrieff Colliery
parish of Bathgate, Linlithgowshire. – (John Johnson Esq., Proprietor,) Bathgate.
No.207. Alexander Turner, overseer of the Ballencrieff Colliery:
We employ few colliers at this season [April], as the demand decreases and our hill is full. Lime coal and coal for land consumption are chiefly our trade, consequently we lessen our hands at seasons.
Our colliers employ whom they please, males or females; and as our mine is entered by a bout gate [a private way generally along the level of the water to the hill side] the people work as they please.
No.208. Margaret Baxter, 50 years old, coal-hewer:
I hew the coal, have done so since my husband failed in his breath; he has been off work 12 years.
I have a son, daughter, and niece working with me below, and we have sore work to get maintenance; have had nine children, seven are in life, the youngest is 10 and has wrought below two years and more.
I go down early to hew the coal for my girls to draw; my son hews also; the work is not fit for women, and men could prevent it were they to labour more regular; indeed, men about this place don’t wish wives to work in mines, but the master’s seem to encourage it – at any rate, the master’s never interfere to prevent it. With my children I can make 2s. 6d. a-day, and the heavy family requires me at home; I often have to work night as well as day; been obliged to work when in family way till last hour.
No.210. Mary Baxter, 10 years old, putter:
Wrought below full two years; can read in the Testament; don’t know the names of the writers; God wrote the book; goes down with mother at four in the morning; mother leaves them at mid-day to do work at home, as father is bedridden. I cannot sew any as I am left-handed; sister Helen can sew her pit clothes and make letter on the paper. I was born two years after father ceased to work in the mines; a good many colliers have the same affliction about here.
Kipps Colliery
parish of Torphichen, Linlithgowshire. – (Messrs. Heming & Witherspoon, Leaseholders.)
No.211. Mr. Magnus Aitkin, manager of Kipps Colliery:
I was formerly partner in the colliery which I now am manager to – the works requiring an increase of capital they have passed into new hands. New seams have been discovered, and machinery and preparations are nearly complete for very extensive coal and iron-stone operations.
Heads of families take down whom they please into the mines, wives, daughters, or strangers; very young children are taken below and are often left to do the work of idle parents.
The coal-work can be much better done by men and stout lads than any forced assistance of wives and infants, and it is a folly to suppose that colliers cannot do without such auxiliary labourer when they who work moderately can carry away 4s. and 5s. a-day.
No.212. Margaret Chirce, 12 years old, putter:
I shute the carts with sister, who is much older than me, in the Kipps Pit. I do not know my sister’s age, am sure she is much older, as she is a big bit bigger than me; after shuting [pulling and drawing through the unrailed part of the seam] up the brae, I throw the coals over with a shovel into the hurley, which is pushed to pit bottom.
I do not like the work so well as what I did before my father forced me down; my work was that of a herd-kye [cowherd] at Whiteside, where I was much better fed and clothed. Father has the dropsy from sitting in wet work, and frequent attacks of bad breath; mother has a large family dependant on our labour.
[Reads very badly; very ignorant.]
No.213. Thomas Smith, coal-hewer:
Can’t say what age I am, nor what place was born in – I may be 12 or 14. Father who I work with first took me down at Airdrie, four years ago.
I work 12 to 14 hours daily at houking the coal [cutting or picking] with father; sometimes I draw or push the carts; the carts hold four hutchies, which is equal to 14cwt. – this is the usual weight drawn and pushed by girls and boys.
Mother used to work below; will not do so now as the roads are too low for her, and the work o’er sore; never slept over the work, as have not time; cannot read at all, does not know the letters; has been to kirk, does not know what he went for; was told he might gang to it.
Redding Collieries, Stirlingshire
No.224. James Watson, 9 years old, coal-filler
Worked below five months; throws over father’s coal; never goes down the shaft in a basket, always by the trap-stair with the women; the pit is “an awful frightsome place;” “is gai dark;” works from eight in the morning till six at night; when I do not play I gang to the night-school; knows a few short sentences in the penny-book.
No.225. David Guy, 7 years old, trapper:
I gang at half five [half-past four] in the morning and come up at half six at night.
I open an air-door below; it is no very hard work, but unco long, and I canna hardly get up the stair-pit when work is done.
Sister and brother work below and we all work for mother, as father was killed a wee while since [nine months ago] by a stone from the roof.
[Cannot read; has not been to school since down, near nine months.]
No.226. Catherine Thomson, 11 years old, putter:
Wrought below one year; works with sister, who is 13 years of age; starts to work at six in morning, and return six at night.
We both work on father’s account and draw his coal; the hutchies hold 8cwt., which we have first to fill before we draw; the distance we draw is said to be full 1000 yards.
I suffer much from pains in my knee, which was crushed some time ago by a hutchie [cart] below; when injured, was off idle many weeks – [the knee appeared much inflamed, and slightly contracted] – I can scarcely stand after I have been running and pushing all day.
Dr. Graham, of Polmont, attended me and opened the knee; much standing always causes me to suffer great pain.
When work is full we draw six and seven hutchies daily.
Am rather deaf, as had my ear injured five years ago, by a caning across the head when at school and father does not choose to send us in consequence.
[Has very little knowledge of reading; is very delicate; scarcely any scriptural information.]
Stoney Rigg Colliery
No.233. Margaret Hipps, 17 years old, putter:
On short shifts I work from eight in the morning till six at night; on long ones until 10 at night; occasionally we work all night. When at night-work, from six at night till eight and ten in the morning.
Only bread is taken below; and the only rests we have are those we have to wait upon the men for while picking the coal.
My employment, after reaching the wall-face, is to fill a bagie, or slype, with 2 1/2 to 3 cwt. of coal. I then hook it on to my chain and drag it through the seam, which is 26 to 28 inches high, till I get to the main-road – a good distance, probably 200 to 400 yards. The pavement I drag over is wet, and I am obliged at all times to crawl on hands and feet with my bagie hung to the chain and ropes.
I turn the contents of the bagies into the carts till they are filled; and then run them upon the ironrails to the shaft a distance of 400 to 500 yards.
It is sad sweating and sore fatiguing work, and frequently maims the women. My left hand is short of a finger, which laid me idle four months.
[Reads and writes. Very ill-informed. Is a fine personable woman, above the middle Stature and rather stout.
It is almost incredible to believe that human beings can submit to such employment, crawling on hands and knees, harnessed like horses, over soft slushy floors more difficult than dragging the same weights through our lowest common-sewers, and more difficult in consequence of the inclination, which is frequently one in three to one in six.]
No.237. Agnes Marshall, 10 years old, putter:
Draws with ropes and chains the bagies through the 27-inch seams; and sister, who is eight years and a few months old, assists: she pulls and shovels the small coal and lifts the big pieces at top of the hutchies. Brother, who is seven the 24th of next May, assists us to push.
We do not like the pit, nor the work, it is so sore crushing; but father says we shall like it when we are used to it, I was in the big-spell when at school: not been since below, which is six months.
Mother has not worked the last two months, as she nurses the baby: she had it soon after she left the pit.
No.239. Ann Waugh, 16 years old, putter:
Wrought below eight years. Works on the long days 15 and 16 hours: two in the morning till five and six at night. On the lay days [short days] only eight hours, as the gin only works three days a-week.
I draw in harness and sister hangs on and pushes behind. The work is gai sair, and we often get knocked down as the cart descends the brae. The cart holds 5cwt. of coal.
I can only read – [Reads very little] – as father took me down o’er early.
End note by Euan Dunsmore:
These are only some of the reports and only of coal mining and only of Bathgate and district. The report covered the British Isles and some of the stories are even more horrific than these few. All other manufactories were covered and it is to the credit to the middle class folk that carried out the work of interviewing and recording the facts. All in all it is a sorry story indeed.
In the world today slavery has not yet been wiped out and neither has the use of small children. We sometimes berate Victorian Values but this work rather undermines the argument. In Britain today the same sort of ethos that allowed such working conditions is not so far from the surface of the minds of big business.
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Bathgate Old Times 