Michael
Sadler,
the youngest son
of James Sadler, was born in Snelston, Derbyshire on 3rd January 1780.
His family, though members of the Church of England, were in sympathy
with the Methodist movement. At the age of seventeen Sadler published
a pamphlet, An Apology for the Methodists
(1797).
In
1800 Sadler moved to to
Leeds
where he worked for his father. In 1810 Sadler joined with his brother,
Benjamin Sadler, to establish a company importing Irish
linen. He also served as honorary treasurer of the poor rates. During
this period Sadler became concerned about the condition of children
working in local factories.
Sadler
became increasing worried about the suffering of the poor. He argued
that in a "society in which persons enjoyed unequal measures
of economic freedom, it was not true that the individual pursuit of
self-interest would necessarily lead to collective well-being."
He added that "individual effort needed to be restrained and
guided by the conscience of the community acting through the organisation
of the state."
In
1829 the Duke of Newcastle offered Sadler the seat of Newark in the
House
of Commons.
Elected with a majority of 214 votes, Sadler soon established himself
as one of the best parliamentary speakers of the day. In 1831 Sadler
moved to the safer seat of Aldborough in Yorkshire.
Pamphlets
published by Sadler included The State and
Prospects of the Country (1829), The
Factory Girl's Last Day (1830), On
Poor Laws for Ireland (1830), On
Ministerial Plan of Reform (1831) and On
the Distress of the Agricultural Labourers (1831).
In
October 1831 Sadler began his campaign to improve the condition of
the agricultural labourers in Britain. He proposed: (1) the erection
of suitable cottages by the parish authorities; (2) the provision
of allotments large enough to feed a cow; (3) the provision of gardens
to encourage horticulture among the labourers; (4) the provision of
parish land for unemployed labourers.
On 16th March 1832 Sadler
introduced legislation
that proposed limiting the hours of all persons under the age of 18
to ten hours a day. He described in detail the suffering of children
in factories but after much debate it was clear that Parliament was
unwilling to pass his bill. However, in April 1832 it was agreed that
there should be another parliamentary enquiry into child
labour. Sadler was made chairman and for the next three months
a parliamentary committee, that included John
Cam Hobhouse,
Charles
Poulett Thompson,
Robert
Peel,
Lord
Morpeth,
and Thomas
Fowell Buxton interviewed
89 witnesses.
On 9th July Michael Sadler discovered that at least six of these workers
had been sacked for giving evidence to the parliamentary committee.
Sadler announced that this victimisation meant that he could no longer
ask factory workers to be interviewed. He now concentrated on interviewing
doctors who had experience treating people who worked in textile factories.
Sadler
was one of the chief speakers at the meeting organised by Richard
Oastler at
York on 24th April 1832. Later that year
16,000 people assembled in Fixby Park, near Huddersfield, to thank
him for his work on behalf of child workers.
In the 1832 General Election, Sadler's opponent
was John Marshall, the Leeds
flax-spinning magnate. Marshall used his considerable influence to
win the election and Sadler was now without a seat in the House
of Commons.
Sadler's
report was published in January 1833. The information in the report
shocked the British public and Parliament came under increasing pressure
to protect the children working in factories. Lord
Ashley, son and heir of the 6th Earl of Shaftesbury, agreed to
take over from Sadler as the leader of the factory reform movement
in Parliament.
Michael Sadler died in Belfast on 29th
July 1835.
Child
Labour Debate Activity (International School of Toulouse)
Child
Labour Simulation (Spartacus Educational)
(1)
Michael Sadler, speech in the House of Commons, 16th March 1832.
The parents rouse them
in the morning and receive them tired and exhausted after the day
has closed; they see them droop and sicken, and, in many cases, become
cripples and die, before they reach their prime; and they do all this,
because they must otherwise starve. It is a mockery to contend that
these parents have a choice. They choose the lesser evil, and reluctantly
resign their offspring to the captivity and pollution of the mill.
(2)
Lord Ashley, personal memorandum, February
1833.
In
the autumn and winter of 1832 I read in The Times some extracts
from the evidence taken before Sadler's Committee. I was astonished
and disgusted by what I read. I wrote to Sadler offering my services.
In February the Rev. George Bull asked me to take up the question
that Sadler had been forced to drop. I can perfectly recollect my
astonishment, and doubt, and terror, at the proposition.
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