第21章

TheCommitteeoftheEnglishGovernment，whichGovernment，inIreland，isarmedtotheteeth，andgenerallyknowshowtoshowit，remonstratesinmild，thoughfunereal，toneswiththeimplacablemasterbakersofDublin，Limerick，Cork，&c。:"TheCommitteebelievethatthehoursoflabourarelimitedbynaturallaws，whichcannotbeviolatedwithimpunity。Thatformasterbakerstoinducetheirworkmen，bythefearoflosingemployment，toviolatetheirreligiousconvictionsandtheirbetterfeelings，todisobeythelawsoftheland，andtodisregardpublicopinion（thisallreferstoSundaylabour），iscalculatedtoprovokeill—feelingbetweenworkmenandmasters，……andaffordsanexampledangeroustoreligion，morality，andsocialorder……TheCommitteebelievethatanyconstantworkbeyond12hoursa—dayencroachesonthedomesticandprivatelifeoftheworking—man，andsoleadstodisastrousmoralresults，interferingwitheachman’shome，andthedischargeofhisfamilydutiesasason，abrother，ahusband，afather。Thatworkbeyond12hourshasatendencytounderminethehealthoftheworkingman，andsoleadstoprematureoldageanddeath，tothegreatinjuryoffamiliesofworking—men，thusdeprivedofthecareandsupportoftheheadofthefamilywhenmostrequired。"[53]

Sofar，wehavedealtwithIreland。Ontheothersideofthechannel，inScotland，theagriculturallabourer，theploughman，protestsagainsthis13—14hours’workinthemostinclementclimate，with4hours’additionalworkonSunday（inthislandofSabbatarians！），[54]whilst，atthesametime，threerailwaymenarestandingbeforeaLondoncoroner’sjury？aguard，anengine—driver，asignalman。Atremendousrailwayaccidenthashurriedhundredsofpassengersintoanotherworld。Thenegligenceoftheemployeeisthecauseofthemisfortune。Theydeclarewithonevoicebeforethejurythattenortwelveyearsbefore，theirlabouronlylastedeighthoursa—day;Duringthelastfiveorsixyearsithadbeenscrewedupto14，18，and20hours，andunderaspeciallyseverepressureofholiday—makers，attimesofexcursiontrains，itoftenlastedfor40or50hourswithoutabreak。Theywereordinarymen，notCyclops。

Atacertainpointtheirlabour—powerfailed。Torporseizedthem。Theirbrainceasedtothink，theireyestosee。Thethoroughly"respectable"

Britishjurymenansweredbyaverdictthatsentthemtothenextassizesonachargeofmanslaughter，and，inagentle"rider"totheirverdict，expressedthepioushopethatthecapitalisticmagnatesoftherailwayswould，infuture，bemoreextravagantinthepurchaseofasufficientquantityoflabour—power，andmore"abstemious"，more"self—denying，’more"thrifty，"

inthedrainingofpaidlabour—power。[55]

Fromthemotleycrowdoflabourersofallcallings，ages，sexes，thatpressonusmorebusilythanthesoulsoftheslainonUlysses，onwhom？withoutreferringtotheBluebooksundertheirarms？weseeataglancethemarkofover—work，letustaketwomorefigureswhosestrikingcontrastprovesthatbeforecapitalallmenarealike？

amillinerandablacksmisp;

InthelastweekofJune，1863，alltheLondondailypaperspublishedaparagraphwiththe"sensational"heading，"Deathfromsimpleover—work。"

Itdealtwiththedeathofthemilliner，MaryAnneWalkley，20yearsofage，employedinahighly—respectabledressmakingestablishment，exploitedbyaladywiththepleasantnameofElise。Theold，often—toldstory，[56]wasoncemorerecounted。Thisgirlworked，onanaverage，161/2hours，duringtheseasonoften30hours，withoutabreak，whilstherfailinglabour—powerwasrevivedbyoccasionalsuppliesofsherry，port，orcoffee。Itwasjustnowtheheightoftheseason。Itwasnecessarytoconjureupinthetwinklingofaneyethegorgeousdressesforthenobleladiesbiddentotheballinhonourofthenewly—importedPrincessofWales。MaryAnneWalkleyhadworkedwithoutintermissionfor261/2hours，with60othergirls，30inoneroom，thatonlyafforded3ofthecubicfeetofairrequiredforthem。Atnight，theysleptinpairsinoneofthestiflingholesintowhichthebedroomwasdividedbypartitionsofboard。[57]AndthiswasoneofthebestmillineryestablishmentsinLondon。MaryAnneWalkleyfellillontheFriday，diedonSunday，without，totheastonishmentofMadameElise，havingpreviouslycompletedtheworkinhand。Thedoctor，Mr。Keys，calledtoolatetothedeath—bed，dulyborewitnessbeforethecoroner’sjurythat"MaryAnneWalkleyhaddiedfromlonghoursofworkinanover—crowdedwork—room，andatoosmallandbadlyventilatedbedroom。"Inordertogivethedoctoralessoningoodmanners，thecoroner’sjurythereuponbroughtinaverdictthat"thedeceasedhaddiedofapoplexy，buttherewasreasontofearthatherdeathhadbeenacceleratedbyover—workinanover—crowdedworkroom，&c。""Ourwhiteslaves，"criedtheMorningStar，theorganoftheFree—traders，CobdenandBright，"ourwhiteslaves，whoaretoiledintothegrave，forthemostpartsilentlypineanddie。"[58]

"Itisnotindressmakers’roomsthatworkingtodeathistheorderoftheday，butinathousandotherplaces;ineveryplaceIhadalmostsaid，where’athrivingbusiness’hastobedone……Wewilltaketheblacksmithasatype。Ifthepoetsweretrue，thereisnomansohearty，somerry，astheblacksmith;herisesearlyandstrikeshissparksbeforethesun;

heeatsanddrinksandsleepsasnootherman。Workinginmoderation，heis，infact，inoneofthebestofhumanpositions，physicallyspeaking。Butwefollowhimintothecityortown，andweseethestressofworkonthatstrongman，andwhatthenishispositioninthedeath—rateofhiscountry。InMarylebone，blacksmithsdieattherateof31perthousandperannum，or11abovethemeanofthemaleadultsofthecountryinitsentirety。Theoccupation，instinctivealmostasaportionofhumanart，unobjectionableasabranchofhumanindustry，ismadebymereexcessofwork，thedestroyeroftheman。Hecanstrikesomanyblowsperday，walksomanysteps，breathesomanybreaths，producesomuchwork，andliveanaverage，sayoffiftyyears;heismadetostrikesomanymoreblows，towalksomanymoresteps，tobreathesomanymorebreathsperday，andtoincreasealtogetherafourthofhislife。Hemeetstheeffort;

theresultis，thatproducingforalimitedtimeafourthmorework，hediesat37for50。"[59]

SECTION4DAYANDNIGHTWORK。THERELAYSYSTEM。

Constantcapital，themeansofproduction，consideredfromthestandpointofthecreationofsurplus—value，onlyexisttoabsorblabour，andwitheverydropoflabouraproportionalquantityofsurplus—labour。Whiletheyfailtodothis，theirmereexistencecausesarelativelosstothecapitalist，fortheyrepresentduringthetimetheyliefallow，auselessadvanceofcapital。Andthislossbecomespositiveandabsoluteassoonastheintermissionoftheiremploymentnecessitatesadditionaloutlayattherecommencementofwork。Theprolongationoftheworking—daybeyondthelimitsofthenaturalday，intothenight，onlyactsasapalliative。Itquenchesonlyinaslightdegreethevampirethirstforthelivingbloodoflabour。Toappropriatelabourduringallthe24hoursofthedayis，therefore，theinherenttendencyofcapitalistproduction。Butasitisphysicallyimpossibletoexploitthesameindividuallabour—powerconstantlyduringthenightaswellastheday，toovercomethisphysicalhindrance，analternationbecomesnecessarybetweentheworkpeoplewhosepowersareexhaustedbyday，andthosewhoareusedupbynight。Thisalternationmaybeeffectedinvariousways;

e。g。，itmaybesoarrangedthatpartoftheworkersareoneweekemployedonday—work，thenextweekonnight—work。Itiswellknownthatthisrelaysystem，thisalternationoftwosetsofworkers，heldfullswayinthefull—bloodedyouth—timeoftheEnglishcottonmanufacture，andthatatthepresenttimeitstillflourishes，amongothers，inthecottonspinningoftheMoscowdistrict。This24hours’processofproductionexiststo—dayasasysteminmanyofthebranchesofindustryofGreatBritainthatarestill"free，"intheblast—furnaces，forges，plate—rollingmills，andothermetallurgicalestablishmentsinEngland，Wales，andScotland。Theworking—timehereincludes，besidesthe24hoursofthe6working—days，agreatpartalsoofthe24hoursofSunday。Theworkersconsistofmenandwomen，adultsandchildrenofbothsexes。Theagesofthechildrenandyoungpersonsrunthroughallintermediategrades，from8（insomecasesfrom6）to18。[60]

Insomebranchesofindustry，thegirlsandwomenworkthroughthenighttogetherwiththemales。[61]

Placingononesidethegenerallyinjuriousinfluenceofnight—labour，[62]thedurationoftheprocessofproduction，unbrokenduringthe24hours，offersverywelcomeopportunitiesofexceedingthelimitsofthenormalworking—day，e。g。，inthebranchesofindustryalreadymentioned，whichareofanexceedinglyfatiguingnature;theofficialworking—daymeansforeachworkerusually12hoursbynightorday。Buttheover—workbeyondthisamountisinmanycases，tousethewordsoftheEnglishofficialreport，"trulyfearful。"[63]

"Itisimpossible，"thereportcontinues，"foranymindtorealisetheamountofworkdescribedinthefollowingpassagesasbeingperformedbyboysoffrom9to12yearsofage……withoutcomingirresistiblytotheconclusionthatsuchabusesofthepowerofparentsandofemployerscannolongerbeallowedtoexist。"[64]

"Thepracticeofboysworkingatallbydayandnightturnseitherintheusualcourseofthings，oratpressingtimes，seemsinevitablytoopenthedoortotheirnotunfrequentlyworkingundulylonghours。Thesehoursare，indeed，insomecases，notonlycruellybutevenincrediblylongforchildren。Amongstanumberofboysitwill，ofcourse，notunfrequentlyhappenthatoneormorearefromsomecauseabsent。Whenthishappens，theirplaceismadeupbyoneormoreboys，whoworkintheotherturn。Thatthisisawellunderstoodsystemisplain……fromtheanswerofthemanagerofsomelargerolling—mills，who，whenIaskedhimhowtheplaceoftheboysabsentfromtheirturnwasmadeup，’Idaresay，sir，youknowthataswellasIdo，’andadmittedthefact。"[65]

"Atarolling—millwheretheproperhourswerefrom6a。m。to51/2

p。m。，aboyworkedaboutfournightseveryweektill81/2p。m。atleast……andthisforsixmonths。Another，at9yearsold，sometimesmadethree12—hourshiftsrunning，and，when10，hasmadetwodaysandtwonightsrunning。"Athird，"now10……workedfrom6a。m。till12p。m。threenights，andtill9p。m。theothernights。""Another，now13，……workedfrom6

p。m。till12noonnextday，foraweektogether，andsometimesforthreeshiftstogether，e。g。，fromMondaymorningtillTuesdaynight。""Another，now12，hasworkedinanironfoundryatStavelyfrom6a。m