remembered that all the Factory legislation
previous to 1860 was confined to textile factories--cotton, woollen,
silk, or linen. In 1860, bleaching and dyeing works were brought within
the Factory Acts, and several other detailed extensions were made
between 1861 and 1864, in the direction of lace manufacture, pottery,
chimney-sweeping, and other employments. But not until 1867 were
manufactories in general brought under Factory legislation. This was
achieved by the Factory Acts Extension Act, and the Workshops Regulation
Act. For several years, however, the beneficial effects of this
legislation was grievously impaired by the fact that local authorities
were left to enforce it. Not until 1871, when the regulation and
enforcement was restored to State inspectors, was the legislation really
effectual. The Factory and Workshop Act of 1878, modified by a few more
recent restrictions, is still in force. It makes an advance on the
earlier legislation in the following directions. It prohibits the
employment in any factory or workshop of children under the age of
eleven, and requires a certificate of fitness for factory labour under
the age of sixteen. It imposes the half-time system on all children,
admitting, however, two methods, either of passing half the day in
school, and half at work, or of giving alternate days to work and
school. It recognizes a distinction between the severity of work in
textile factories and in non-textile factories, assigning a working week
of about fifty-six and a half hours to the former, and sixty hours to
the latter. The exceptions of domestic workshops, and of many other
forms of female and child employment, the permission of over-time within
certain limitations, and the inadequate provision of inspection,
considerably diminish the beneficial effects of these restrictive
measures.

In 1842 Lord Ashley secured a Mining Act, which prohibited the
underground employment of women, and of boys under ten years. In 1850
mine inspectors were provided, and a number of precautions enforced to
secure the safety of miners. In 1864 several minor industries, dangerous
in their nature, such as the manufacture of lucifer-matches, cartridges,
etc., were brought under special regulations. To these restrictive
pieces of legislation should be added the Employers' Liability Act,
enforcing the liability of employers for injuries sustained by workers
through no fault of their own, and the "Truck" legislation, compel