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25
Female Labour.
Female labour is on a very unsatisfactory footing—
young women living at home with their parents, certainly
earn wages which contribute partly to their maintenance
; some married women work far below the fair
value of labour to supplement the wages of a husband
whose work is casual and uncertain, often from drunkenness
; female labour even attempts to compete with
manufacturing establishments ; some married women
again, who erroneously desire to utilize their spare
time in working for shops, neglect domestic duties, and
thus lower the price of female labour of single women.
The worst cases, however, are those of the solitary
sempstress, prolonging her hours of work in a small
close room, or working by candle light, far into the
night, bringing about some debilitating illness, chest
disease, failing sight, and premature death.
" It is sad to think," says Jules Simon, " That all
this elegance of female attire, gloves, lace, embroidery,
jewels, objects of the toilet, so necessary for our luxury
and pleasure, should represent such painful thoughts.
There is scarcely one of the fashionable and fancy
ornaments which have not a sad history. The wages
are not enough to clothe and nourish the body, they do
not even find bread." The vicious state of female labour
is, in fact, the root of half our prostitution.
The Workshop Regulation Act has already done
great service, it is, we believe, in future to be worked
as a part of the Factory Act, and no longer to be
permissive in its operation.