HC Deb 03 July 1895 vol 35 cc139-41

"(1.) A child shall not, except during the period of employment, be employed in the business of a factory or workshop outside the factory or workshop on any day during which the child is employed in the factory or workshop.

"(2.) A young person or woman shall not, except during the period of employment, be employed in the business of a factory or workshop outside the factory or workshop on any day during which the young person or woman is employed in the factory or workshop both before and after the dinner hour.

"(3.) For the purposes of this section a child, young person, or woman to or for whom any work is given out, or who is allowed to take out any work to be done by him or her outside a factory or workshop, shall be deemed to be employed outside the factory or workshop on the day on which the work is so given or taken out.

"(4.) If a young person or woman is employed by the same employer on the same day both in a factory or workshop and in a chop, the whole period of employment of that young person or woman shall not exceed the number of hours permitted by the Factory Acts for his or her employment in the factory or workshop.

"(5.) The principal Act shall apply as if any child, young person, or woman employed in contravention of this section were employed in a factory or workshop contrary to the provisions of that Act."

COLONEL SAUNDERSON (Armagh, N.) moved in page 7, line 22, to add the following:— (6.) Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that the customs or exigencies of the trade carried on in any class of non-textile factories or workshops, or parts thereof, either generally or situate in any particular locality, require that such trade should be exempted from the operation of this section, he may by order grant to such class of factories or workshops, of parts thereof, such special exemption as may be necessary. The object of the subsection, which he hoped would be agreed to, as it was in no way contentious, was to meet a felt want in the linen workers' trade in Ulster. If this Bill passed in its present form the 16th clause would interfere prejudicially with the wage-earning powers of a very considerable class in that part of Ireland with which he was connected. The class to which he referred was one of the most law-abiding sections of the population there. He had no doubt if the Amendment which he proposed were adopted it would prove very beneficial to a large wage-earning class—a class which, in fact, received in wages,£ 200,000 a year. He was anxious that nothing in this Bill should tend to destroy or interfere with this industry, and therefore he moved to add this subsection.

SIR E. HARLAND (Belfast, N.)

seconded the Amendment.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN,) Birmingham, W.

suggested that the Amendment was too restrictive.

MR. ASQUITH

said, he was about to make that remark, for as it stood the Amendment would be absolutely inoperative. He suggested that the Amendment should be amended by leaving out "non-textile."

* SIR C. DILKE

said, he was not going into the point raised, but he was very much afraid of the word "customs." There were cases where the word covered a good deal, particularly in the case of female workers in the printing trade, where the women were employed at night, after printing all day, to wheel to other places, and there to fold, the stuff printed by them.

Amendment, with the words "non-textile," struck out, agreed to.

Clause 18:—