R.
W. Cooke-Taylor, the author of The Factory System was also
an Inspector of Factories. In his book he explained the 1844 Factory
Act.
The
Factory Act of 1844 is an extremely important one in the history
of family legislation. The Act reduced the hours of work for children
between eight and thirteen to six and a half a day, either in the
morning or afternoon, no child being allowed to work in both on
the same day, except on alternate days, and then only for ten hours.
Young persons and women (now included for the first time) were to
have the same hours, i.e. not more than twelve for the first five
days of the week (with one and a half out for meals), and nine on
Saturday.
Certificates of age were to be granted in future only by surgeons
appointed for the purpose. Accidents causing death or bodily injury
were to be reported to these surgeons, who were to investigate their
cause and report the result to the inspector. The factory was to
be thoroughly washed with lime every fourteen months. A Register
was likewise to be kept; in which were to be entered the names of
all children and young persons employed, the dates of the lime-washing,
and some other particulars. Certificates of school attendance were
to be obtained in the case of children.
Eyre Crowe, Mill Workers in Wigan (1874)
