(1) William Wilson was interviewed by Lord Kenyon's House of Lords Committee on 29th May, 1818.

Question: Did you, about the 18th of May last, visit any cotton-factories in Manchester?

Answer: Yes.

Question: How many did you visit?

Answer: Sixteen.

Question: What induced you to visit them at that time?

Answer: I was requested by Mr. Douglas. He is a merchant in Manchester, and chairman of the committee of cotton-spinners.

Question: How did the general health of those children you saw appear?

Answer: Very good.

Question: Out of the 428 children you examined, how many cases of distortion or lameness was there.

Answer: Eight.

Question: Boys or girls?

Answer: Both

Question: Were they slight or otherwise?

Answer: Very slight.

Question: Do you know from what they had arisen?

Answer: I cannot tell; some of them were ricketty cases, and others from disease.

Question: Did you as a medical man, see anything from which you could infer that the distortion had arisen from their employment in the cotton-factories?

Answer: I did not.

 

Childhood and Child Labour

Child Labour in Britain