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Social and economic conditions in the Belfast linen industry 1850-1900

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

D. L. Armstrong
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Extract

The scope of this study may be briefly indicated. The central subject is the conditions of labour in the spinning mills and weaving factories of the Belfast linen industry during the period 1850—1900. This involves a consideration of such questions as the number of hours worked, the dangers to health and life associated with the character of the processes, and state and private attempts directed towards the amelioration of conditions. As an account of working conditions would be unreal without some reference to earnings, an attempt has been made to indicate the course of monetary and real wages during the period. As some knowledge of the general development of the industry is essential to an understanding of the problems investigated, the paper begins with an outline of this development.

Though the organisation of the linen industry was affected by the advent of capitalism before the end of the eighteenth century, it was not until 1829 that there was any fundamental change in technique. In that year Mulholland of Belfast, inspired by John Hinds, substituted the manufacture of linen for that of cotton and applied steam power to flax spinning, by the wet process.1 This individual act of enterprise was the prelude to a half century of rapid development. Another decide elapsed before any attempt was made to apply steam power to linen weaving and even then progress was slow.

Type
Articles
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 7 , Issue 28 , September 1951 , pp. 235 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1951

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References

1 ‘ Belfastiensis ‘ [I. W Ward], Power loom pioneers, in Marshall's, J. J. collection of newspaper cuttings in the Linenhall library, Belfast, ii. 187;Google Scholar Gill, C., Rise of the Irish linen industry (1925), p. 318.Google Scholar

2 From its beginning the Irish linen industry was localised in the north-eastern counties, and at the close of the eighteenth century it was of trifling importance outside this area. In 1850 eighty per cent. of the total number employed in power spinning and weaving were in factories in the six north-eastern counties: in 1870 nearly all the power looms and over ninety per cent. of the spindles were in factories and mills in this region. The introduction of steam power brought about a further concentration within this area. Ten years after the first spinning mill had begun operations in 1829, Belfast was the centre of the industry and by 1870 over eighty per cent. of the total number of spindles and seventy per cent. of the power looms were in Belfast and its environs. During the last quarter of the century there was little change in the location of the industry. Gill, Rise of the Irish linen industry, pp. 21, 321; Green, E. R. R., The Lagan valley, 1800-50 (1949), p. 62 Google Scholar; O'Brien, G., Econ. hist. Ire., union to famine (1921), p. 329;Google Scholar Thorn's Directory of Ireland (1873), p. 857.

3 O'Brien, , Econ. hist. Ire. union to famine, p. 327; Gill, Rise of the Irish linen industry, pp. 319, 329;Google Scholar Crawford, W, Irish linen and some features of its production (1910), p. 6;Google Scholar Smith, F W, Irish linen trade handbook and directory (1876), p. 85;Google Scholar Flax Supply Association, Annual Reports, 1868-1900.

4 Smith, , op. cit., p. 94, Belfast News-Letter, 2 M ar. 1855.Google Scholar

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7 Reports of the shortage of hand loom weavers appear frequently in the Belfast newspapers of the period, see e.g. Northern Whig, 9 Apr. 1853. See also Smith, F W, op. cit., p. 91.Google Scholar

8 See e.g. Belfast News-Letter, 2 Jan. 1861.

9 Smith, , Irish linen trade hand-book, p. 103, Belfast News-Letter 5 Feb., 12 March, 30 March, 16 May, 1 Oct. 1861.Google Scholar

10 Smith, op. cit., pp. 104 ff. See also the Belfast News-Letter and the Linen Trade Circular for the years 1862—7 (The Linen Trade Circular, now published weekly by H. R. Carter Publications Ltd, Belfast, was first issued in 1852 by a committee of the Belfast linen trade with the support of the Belfast chamber of commerce.) The extent to which the industry expanded during the period may be gauged from the increase in the number of spindles from 651,000 in 1859 to 902,000 in 1868 (Smith, , op. cit., pp. 99, 129).Google Scholar

11 The fall in supply was such that the price of ‘ middling Orleans ‘ cotton rose from an average of 9d. per lb. in 1861 to 24½d. per lb. in 1863 (Henderson, W O., The cotton famine (1934), p. 122).Google Scholar

12 Quoted in Smith, op. cit., p. 128.

13 Ibid., p. 129.

14 Clapham, J., The Bank of England (1944), ii. 262 ff.;Google Scholar Econ. hist, of modern Britain: free trade and steel, 1850-1886 (1932), pp. 375 ff.

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18 The number of spindles declined from 925,000 in 1875 to 828,000 in 1900. (Flax Supply Association, Annual Reports, 1868-1900; Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Annual Reports, 1878-1902; Linen Merchants’ Association, Annual Reports, 1868-1900; Belfast News - Letter; W Crawford, Irish linen and some features of its production (1910), PP. 8, 9.)

19 The import of linen yarn into the U.K. in 1875 was 3,487,000 lbs.; in 1900 it was 25,479,000 lbs. (See Flax Supply Association, Annual Reports. 1875-1900.)

20 Though these statistics and those given on p. 241 below relate to Ireland they are substantially correct for the six north-eastern counties,

21 O'Brien, , Econ. hist. Ire. union to famine; Flax Supply Association, Annual Reports, 1850-1904;Google Scholar Thom's Directory of Ireland; Thorns Statistics of Ireland ; Clark, W A. G., Linen, jute and hemp industries in the United Kingdom (1913).Google Scholar

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24 Ibid.

25 Ibid., pp. 96 ff.

26 37 &38 Vict. c. 44.

27 Belfast News-Letter, July 1874.

28 Robert Lloyd-Patterson (1836-1906) was a member of the council of the Belfast chamber of commerce for many years and was president in 1880 and 1895. He founded the business of R. L. Patterson & Co., flax, tow and yarn merchants, in 1858 and retired in 1886 after a successful career. He had many interests outside his business : he was a fellow of the Linnaean Society, a member of the British Ornithologists' Union and the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society. He was knighted in August, 1902. (See The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, Centenary volume, ed. Deane, A. (1924), p. 96; Modern Ireland, Men of the period, p. 147.Google Scholar)

29 Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Annual Report for year ending 15 Feb. 1879.

30 Preston, John, principal of the firm of John Preston & Co., linen yarn merchants, was knighted in 1878 while mayor of Belfast. He was a member of the council of the Belfast chamber of commerce. (See Northern Whig.. 9 Jan. 1878 Google Scholar; Shaw, W. A., The knights of England (1905), ii. 370.)Google Scholar

31 Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Annual Report, 15 Feb. 1881.

32 Ibid., Annual Report, 15 Feb. 1882.

33 See p. 256 below

34 Linen Trade Circular, xxiv, no. 7, 14 Jan. 1948; xxxv, no. 7, 19 Feb. 1949.

35 Irish Times, 12 July 1862.

36 Clark, W A. G., Linen, jute and hemp industries in the U.K., PP- 72, 73.Google Scholar

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41 Purdon, C. D., Sanitary state of the Belfast factory district, p. 12.Google Scholar

42 Ibid., p. 13.

43 Ibid., p. 6.

44 Ibid., p. 6.

45 Ibid., p.14.

46 Ibid., p. 5.

47 Ibid., p. 13.

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49 Ibid., p. 5.

50 Moore, J., Influence of flax spinning on the health of mill workers, p. 510.Google Scholar

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52 Moore, J., op. cit., p. 510.Google Scholar

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54 Ibid., p. 7.

55 Ibid., pp. 7, 15.

56 Purdon, H. S., in Dangerous trades (ed. Oliver, , 1902), p. 699.Google Scholar

57 Sec p. 253 below

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61 Ibid., p. 39.

62 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p. 696.Google Scholar

63 Ibid., p. 693.

64 Ibid., p. 694.

65 Marshall, L. C., Practical flax spinner (1885), p. 118.Google Scholar

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67 7 Vict. c. 15.

68 Regulations, 1906, no. 177.

69 Belfast Health Commission, Report to the local government board, for Ireland (1908), p. 95.

70 See Northern Whig, 25 May 1850.

71 Purdon, C. D., Sanitary state of the Belfast factory district, PP. 5;37.Google Scholar

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76 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., pp. 698, 700.Google Scholar

77 Crawford, , op. cit., p. 14.Google Scholar

78 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p 699.Google Scholar

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80 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., pp. 693, 696.Google Scholar

81 Moore, , Influence of flax spinning upon the health of mill workers, P- 510.Google Scholar

82 7 Vict. c. 15.

83 19 & 20 Vict. c. 38; Hutchins and Harrison, op. cit., p. 118.

84 41 Vict. c. 16, secs. 5, 9, 31, 82.

85 60 & 61 Vict. c. 37.

86 Belfast News-Letter, 8 Sept., 27 Oct. 1854.

87 Hutchins, and Harrison, , op. cit., p. 116.Google Scholar

88 Belfast News-Letter, 19 Mar. 1855.

89 Hutchins, and Harrison, , op. cit., p. 118.Google Scholar

90 Belfast News-Letter, 3 Dec. 1900.

91 The manufacturers of industrial machinery contributed to the frequency of accidents by careless design. For example, lock screws were generally left projecting instead of being countersunk and accidents were frequently caused by the clothing of workers being caught in the projecting heads of the screws. Even at the end of the century safety considerations did not receive sufficient weight in the design of machinery. (Richmond, H. S., ‘ The safe-guarding of machinery‘, in Dangerous trades (ed. Oliver, , 1902.)Google Scholar

92 That it was want which forced this degradation upon the workers is shown by the fact that the wives and children of the better-paid workers did not usually labour in the mills. (See Purdon, C. D., Sanitary state of the Belfast factory district, p. 16.)Google Scholar

93 Belfast Health Commission, Report to the local government board for Ireland, p. 96.

94 Purdon found that the sale of these syrups and opium preparations in general was enormous and increasing in Belfast at this time. ( Purdon, C. D., op. cit., p. 17.)Google Scholar

95 Ibid., p. 25.

96 Purdon, C. D., op. cit., p. 33.Google Scholar

97 Ibid., pp. 16, 18.

98 54 & 55 Viet. c. 75, sec. 17.

99 Hutchins, and Harrison, , op. cit., p. 211.Google Scholar

100 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p. 701.Google Scholar The evils found by Dr Purdon, C. D. still existed at the beginning of the twentieth century. (See Report on the health of the county borough of Belfast (1907), pp. 85, 86.)Google Scholar

101 Hutchins, and Harrison, , op. cit., p. 41 Google Scholar

102 7 Vict. c. 15. The minimum age of employment was lowered to eight years as a concession to the employers. (Ibid., p. 85.)

103 37 & 38 vict . c. 44, sec. 13.

104 54 & 55 Viet. c. 75, sec. 18.

105 Hutchins, and Harrison, , op. cit., p. 271 Google Scholar

106 See Crawford, Irish linen and some features of its production, p. 8.

107 Northern Whig, 16 Apr. 1864.

108 The number of children under thirteen employed declined from 5,856 in 1890 to 4,682 in 1895. See Clark, W. A. G., Linen, jute and hemp industries, p. 63.Google Scholar

109 Purdon, C. D., Sanitary state of the Belfast factory district, pp. 6, 10, 12.Google Scholar

110 Ibid., p. 15; Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p. 699.Google Scholar

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112 Clark, Linen, jute and hemp industries, p. 63; A. S. Moore, Linen, p. 124. The practice of fining caused strikes on one or two occasions. (See Northern Whig, 4 July 1881, 22 Jan. 1897.)

113 The truck acts of 1831-96 did not make fining illegal, but they did define the defaults for which fines could be levied and limited the amount of the deductions which could be made. (See Redgraves, , Factory acts (14th ed., 1931), pp. 337 ff.)Google Scholar

114 This table was constructed from material published in : Doyle, J. B., Tours in Ulster (1855);Google Scholar Marshall, L. C., Practical flax spinner; Belfast News-Letter; Report of the select committee on industries (Ireland), H.C. 1885 (235);Google Scholar W A. G. Clark, Linen, jute and hemp industries; Board of Trade. Wages and hours of labour, 1896 (C. 8444), 1897 (C. 8975), 1899 (Cd. 309), 1900 (Cd. 688). 116 11“

115 Report of the select committee on industries (Ireland), H.C. (235), P. 632.

116 Belfast News-Letter, 11 July 1874, and following days.

117 Belfast News-Letter, 5 Apr, 1881, and following days.

118 Report of the select committee on industries (Ireland), as above, P. 632.

119 Clark, , Linen, jute and hemp industries, p. 61.Google Scholar

120 See table on p. 264 above.

121 Belfast ‘News-Letter, 7 July 1874.

122 See p. 237 above.

123 See p. 238 above. 125

124 Smith, F W., Irish linen trade handbook and directory, pp. 131 ff.Google Scholar

125 125 See p. 239 above.

126 See p. 239 above.

127 See pp. 240-2 above.

128 Linen Merchants’ Association, Annual Report, 1894.

129 These prices were obtained from the invaluable reports of current commodity prices which may be found in the Belfast News-Letter and the Northern Whig.

130 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p. 699.Google Scholar

131 See O'Hanlon, W M., Walks among the poor of Belfast (1853);Google Scholar Purdon, C. D., Sanitary state of the Belfast factory district, pp. 20 ff.;Google Scholar Report of the select committee of industries (Ireland), p. 631; Belfast Health Commission, Report to the local government board for Ireland (1908), pp. 4, 79; Browne, S., The progress of sanitary enquiry in Belfast (Transactions of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, 1867), PP. 477 ff.;Google Scholar Owen, D. J., History of Belfast (1921), ch. xxv.Google Scholar

132 Tyrell, W E., History of the Belfast Savings Bank (1946), pp. 118, 119.Google Scholar

133 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p. 697 Google Scholar; Moore, A. S., Linen, p. 130;Google Scholar Bailie, H. W, Report on the health of the county borough of Belfast for the year 1906, p. 93 Google Scholar; Belfast Health Commission, Report to the local government board for Ireland, p. 96. It may be mentioned that the only flesh which was anyway commonly consumed by the workers was bacon. This was made possible by the huge import of cheap inferior American bacon into Belfast and other Irish ports during the last quarter of the century

134 Purdon, H. S., op. cit., p. 697,Google Scholar Belfast Health Commission, Report, as above, pp. 77. 78. A major cause of overcrowding was the desire of

135 Chapman, S. J., The Lancashire cotton industry (1904), ch. VI.Google Scholar