w*m i HD 9155 G72H5 1817 Hill A Plan for Reducing the Poor '8 Hate THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A PLAN FOR REDUCING THE POOR'S-RATE, BY GIVING PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT TO THE Ca&ourms Classes: WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLA* AND HEMP; AND AN ACCOUNT OF A NEW PROCESS FOR DRESSING AND PREPARING FLAX AND HEiMP, WITHOUT WATER- STEEPING OR DEW-ROTTING. BY SAMUEL HILL, ESQ. THE REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON THE MERITS OF THE INVENTION. * SECOND EDITION. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. HARDING, 36, ST. JAU^Bs's-STRERT ; By B. M'Millan , Bow -Street, Covent-Gardeiv. 1817. [Price One Shilling.] PREFACE. When an individual recommends the Public to adopt a measure which would be serviceable to himself, he has no right to complain, should his sincerity be suspected ; but I must beg it may be recollected, that I might easily have sheltered myself from this suspicion under an assumed name. Yet, as I can only expect success from the eligibility of the measure which I have to propose, I prefer openly avowing myself to be a Pro- prietor of the Machines, as well as the pro- poser of the Plan in which they are recom- mended ; and I am also induced to make this avowal, with a view to facilitate enquiries into a project, from the adoption of which I sincerely believe the most permanent advan- tages would result to the country. I am there- fore anxious to court investigation, and shall be glad to give any further explanation of my a 9464o IV PREFACE. Plan, and of the Machines, on which its pro- fitableness and fitness must depend. I have visited the numerous Poor-houses in London and its vicinity, and it was from personal observation of the situation of the Poor, both within and without those walls, that I became convinced of the expediency, and I may add, charity, of supplying them with easy and profitable employment. This opinion has since been confirmed, by the perusal of Baron Vpn Voght's excellent ac- count of the management of the Poor of Hamburgh, where, by means nearly similar to those I intend to propose, the state of the Poor, from being the worst, became the best regulated of any city in Europe. I have inserted a particular description of the Machines, and an estimate of the value and quantity of material which can be pro- duced by using them. They are now worked at a manufactory within the distance of a mile from London, where any one inclined to inspect them, may have an opportunity. PREFACE. V Several gentlemen of the highest respecta- bility have already taken that trouble ; they were twice shewn at the Royal Institution, and were again sent for, to be examined be- fore Lord Spencer, and a Select Committee assembled for the purpose. In every in- stance, I have been gratified by receiving the unqualified approbation of the inspectors. The Governors of the New Penitentiary have directed them to be used in that prison ; and they have been already ordered for the Poor-houses in several parishes. The Right Honourable President of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks, whose ex- perience and superior judgment in every branch of science and the useful arts, are sp universally acknpwledged, inspected the first Machines that were made, and I am autho- rized by his kind favor, to express his full and entire approbation of them. SAMUEL HILL. No. 1 3, Montague Street, Portman S 2S//* Apr \tague Street, -\ i Square, > Hi, 1817. * s \ PLAN, fyc. 8fc. X HAT the present distress of the Poor of these kingdoms arises from want of employ- ment, though a deplorable fact, is now uni- yersally admitted. To dwell upon the nume- rous causes which have concurred to produce this evil, would be unnecessary ; but a plan to remedy or alleviate suffering, is deserving the consideration of every humane and reflect- ing mind; and, as an individual who feels, in common with every Englishman, for the dis- tresses of his countrymen, I address myself without apology to His Majesty's Ministers, and the Members of the Legislature; feeling confident they will cheerfully give their atten- tion to any plan which may appear likely to restore internal comfort to the country : and trusting that their sanction will not be refused B 8 to the measures I may have to propose, it* found worthy of their support. I should indeed feel diffident in recom- mending an untried plan, but as a similar one has been practised at Hamburgh for years, with the completest success, and under circumstances of much greater difficulty, little apprehension of disappointment need be en- tertained. In England, much is already done ; age, sickness, infancy, all are provided for in the numerous and excellent Asylums, Hospi- tals, and Schools. Funds, much greater than what ought to be sufficient, are raised by the Poors-rate, but a better distribution of them is required. I beg leave to be per- mitted to point out some of the most obvious defects of the present system of Poor-houses, which render them, in many instances, an unmerited recompense, and an undeserved punishment. By the present Laws, the idle and profli- gate are as much entitled to relief, as the honest and industrious; and the salutary dread of starving, the only motive powerful enough to force such wretches to labour, is removed. On the other hand, how hard is the lot of those who ask only employment, and cannot obtain it ! Guilty of no crime, but poverty, they are driven from their humble cottages into the Parish Poor-house, to herd with the lowest and most disgraced of the human species ; and their children to contamination, by associating with vice ! What must be the sufferings of a spirit once independent ? It must soon break, or become callous to every virtuous and respectable feeling. If a plan can be devised to avert such misery, will not humanity rejoice, and promote it with ardour? Such a plan is not only prac- ticable, but easy, on that excellent princi- ple of sound policy and true charity that employment, and not alms, should be given to all who have any ability to work, however small their capability may be. On this admirable principle, I hope to be able to show, how the Poor may live at all times upon the earnings of their own in- dustry ; the worthless be prevented from preying in idleness upon a benevolent public; and the country be relieved from the heavy and almost insupportable weight of Poor's- rates. b2 \y 10 To effect these happy purposes, Parish Manufactories should be established 3 where all who ask employment, or relief, may be set to work. They should be in totally distinct Build- ings from the Parish Poor-houses, which ought to be appropriated solely to those who are incapable of doing any thing towards their maintenance. These Manufactories would be a certain resource to the labourer, at those seasons when other employment could not be had ; and after the labours of the day, he might then return to his fire-side, and to peaceful rest with his family. Those whose distresses arise only from a temporary want of employment, would be rescued from that degrading sense of dependence, which has fre- quently so injurious an effect upon the cha- racter, as to discourage any future attempt to become industrious and respectable. Thus is an useful member of society worse than lost ; he becomes a burthen, if not a scourge. The establishment I should think the best calculated, is a Manufactory for the purpose of dressing, and preparing Flax and Hemp, and spinning and weaving, the thread and yarn. My reasons for recommending it are, as follow : 1st, JThe growth of the materials, and the 11 manufacturing and consumption of them, are within our own country ; consequently th&f may always be procured, and are always sale- able. 2nd, All the processes previous to spinning, viz. breaking, rubbing, and hackling, are now rendered so simple, by the use of the patent machinery, as to require no instruction, and very little strength; therefore women, chil- dren, aged and infirm persons, incapable and unaccustomed to any other kind of labour, may thus be employed. 3rd, The remaining processes of spinning and weaving, are exactly adapted to that class of persons now most destitute ; the silk-weavers of Spitalfields, and the cotton- weavers in general. 4th, This sort of manufactory would require little trouble in overlooking and managing ; as the material may be weighed or measured to and from the labourer, and consequently there could be no fraud. 5th, Very little capital Would be required, the raw material being cheWp-^tiny vacant building might be rented for the purpose the hire of the Patent Machines is moderate', and looms and spinning-wheels may be had upon very reasonable terms. 12 6th, The profits are so considerable, that not only all those able to work, might be advantageously employed, but there would remain a considerable surplus in aid of the support of those who are incapable of labour. It is here necessary to give some account of the Patent Machines, which, by their intro- ducing a new mode of preparing Flax and Hemp, will not only render it a profitable and rapid trade to the manufacturer, and conse- quently reduce the price of those articles to the consumer, but the cultivation of these crops will become very beneficial to the Pro- prietor, as well as to the Occupier of the Soil. The machines are constructed to perform three progressive processes, so as to complete the material for the spinner, which may be worked by them into the finest state possible, equal to that used in France and the Ne- therlands for the finest lace and cambrick. The machines do not require fixing, and are light enough to be easily removed*. Six of these machines, viz. two breakers, two rubbers, and two for the purpose of hackling, may be so attached, that two men may turn them with great ease. The dimensions of the largest machine, are only three feet long by two feet wide, and four feet in height. 13 The two breakers require the attention of two boys or women to each machine. One boy or woman can supply two rubbing ma- chines, and one boy or woman can attend two hackling machines ; in all, eight persons, who with these six machines, which are adapted to take the work from each other in succession, would be able to complete one ton of the stem of Flax from the field, fit for the use of the spinner, in five days. First Cost of a Toil of Stem of Flax, and Expenses in Working, by the New Process. One ton purchased at 5/. 5s. which price) ^- K n will allow an ample profit to the grower, 5 Hire of two pair of machines, at 10s. per day, 2 10 Hire of two hackling-machines, ... 15 Wages of two men, at Is. 6d. each per day, 15 Wages of six boys, at 10 Profit, 12 16 6 As the processes of spinning and weaving linen cloth are generally known, it is only necessary for me to state, that 5 cwt. of the fibre of flax, prepared according to the esti- mate, into flax and tow, will spin into 560 lbs. of yarn, which, when woven (the average calculation being half a pound of yarn to one \;rd of linen), will make 1120 yards of yard- wide linen of good strong quality, worth 2s. per yard in the shops. The value of a pound of the flax is generally allowed for spinning a pound pf yarn, and 6d. per yard is the average price of weaving. The account of 15 the expenses and profit, when spun and woven, will therefore be as follows : Expenses* Spinning 3731bs. of flax, at Is. per pound*, 18 13 Spinning 187 lbs. of tour, at 8rf. 6 4 8 Weaving 1 120 yards of linen, at 6d. per^ 93 q o yard> * 52 17 8 Add the first cost of one ton of s(cm, and % the expenses in working, as per former > 10 10 statement, ..,........* 63 7 8 Value of Produce when Spun and Woven. 1 120 yards of linen cloth , at 2s. per yard, 1 12 Deduct the cost of material and labour, 1 fi* 7 e as above i as above, Clear profit, 48 12 It appears then, that the manufacturing of a single ton of flax from the stem, will produce a clear profit of 48/. 12s. 4>d. besides expend- ing 54/. 17*. Sd. in labour. * The price allowed for spinning and weaving are sufficiently ample to include the expense of washing with soap and water, which will render the yarn and linen perfectly white, without bleaching, C 16 The advantages of such employment will be still more evident, and the enormous amount of Poor's- rates seem less extraordi- nary, when it is understood that the general rate of earnings in Poor-houses, do not ex- ceed one halfpenny per daj T . One hundred and fifty persons capable of labour, in St. Giles's Poor-house (as appears from the books), earned by picking oakum, in the year ending at Lady-day 1817, 1^1 4s. 6d. which, after deducting the per centage of the Master of the Poor-house, and the wajjes of the Over- looker, would not amount to one halfpenny per day for each person. The majority of the inhabitants of Poor- houses are capable of supporting themselves, and could the system 1 have been endea- vouring to recommend, be acted upon, the Poor's-rates in all probability would soon be unnecessary. The calculation of the profits which would arise, appears to be incredible, until the difference of the produce, and other advantages of the new process, are compared with the old methods of dressing and prepar- ing flax and hemp. 17 The Old Process. . t The old methods of dew-rotting and wa- ter-steeping, which prepare the fibre for separation by fermentation and decay, de- stroy the useful qualities of every other par- ticle of the plant. Neither sustenance for animals is afforded, nor return of manure made to the soil. On this account, crops of flax or hemp are frequently prohibited by Landed Proprietors. The effects of these processes are also so injurious to the fibre, that only one-tenth or eleventh part of ser- viceable flax can be obtained from a ton of the stem, half of which becomes tow when hackled, and the expense of preparing it for the spinner, including hackling, is 1/. 17s. 4d. per cwt. The loss of time is another objec- tion: these processes cannot be completed under two or three months. Five or six weeks more are wasted in the operation of bleaching, a process very detrimental to the strength of the linen, (from the chemical acids generally used), but which is necessary to re- move the dark gray stain which the flax ac- quires from the moisture and decay to which c 2 IS the plant is exposed. The expense of bleach- ing is also very heavy. The New Process. The new Patent Machines separate the fibre without wasting any part of the plant, which may be ascertained by weighing; the land will therefore be as much benefited by this crop as any other, the chaff (gluten and woody parts of the plant) is an excellent food for cattle, and from its oily nature, is even in itself a good manure. All the fibre which the plant contains, about one-fourth of the whole substance, is preserved with its natural strength unim- paired; one-fourth, or 5 cwt. of fibre be- ing obtained from a ton of the stem, which can be prepared and hackled for the spinner at 21s. per cwt. including the hire of the Patent Machines. The process of hackling separates the fibre into two-thirds of flax and only one-third ot tow. The several processes, from the time the plant is harvested to the delivery of the flax to the spinner, may be completed in a few hours. No bleaching is required, for the yellow ap- 19 pearance of the flax, which is merely gluten, is easily removed by soap and water. This comparison shews, that nearly three times more fibre is gained by the new process than by the old method, and at less than half the expense. From returns made, it appears that 93,000 acres of flax and hemp were last year grown in Ireland, and 1 6,500 acres in Scotland. The number of acres cultivated for these pur- poses in England, cannot be exactly ascer- tained ; but it may not be unreasonable to estimate them at 10,500 statute acres, mak- ing in the whole 120,000 acres. As the Irish and Scotch acre is considerably larger than the English, the average produce of an acre may be calculated at three tons of stem per acre ; the total quantity of flax produced will be 360,000 tons. From this quantity of stem there would only be obtained, by the old method of preparation, one-eleventh part of the fibre, or 32,727 tons ; while, by the new process, one-fourth part is obtained, amounting to 90,000 tons. The- difference of 57?273 tons of fibre, saved by the new pro- cess, would produce an increase of 256,583,040 yards of linen, which, valued at an average of 20 L 2s. per yard, would be a clear profit to the country of 25,658,304/. from the same num- ber of acres employed ; and the manufactur- ing of the additional quantity of material, would give employment to 781,622 persons, averaging their wages at Is. per day, as two- thirds of them would he women and boys. This increase of wealth to the country, and employment to the people, would result from the land at present under the cultivation of flax and hemp ; and when it is considered that our population are asking employment, while large tracts of our lands are lying barren, and Foreigners are enriching themselves in our markets, by cultivating and manufacturing a plant so well calculated to be grown on our own soil, is it unreasonable to suppose that our Government will gladly encourage and protect such a plan ? The necessary encouragement I conceive would be given, on the exclusion of foreign flax, hemp, and linen from our ports ; by imposing additional duties, (the present duty on flax is \Qiy small), and by inducing individuals to take into cultivation those parts of our exten- sive navies which are well adapted to tho growth of flax and hemp. Great profit might 21 also be derived to Government from cultivat- ing these crops upon the Crown Lands, for the service of the Navy. The discovery of a simple method of pre- paring our raw materials, so as to enable us to rival the fkiest and most durable fab ricks of the Continent, again offers us that extensive trade and commerce which a change from War to Peace has diminished. We have an immense consumption within our own coun- try, and in our Colonies : we may now pro- vide our ships with the best canvas and cor- dage, and be no longer dependent on a foreign nation for our maritime supplies. So many able pens have been engaged in recommending employment, as the only judi- cious mode of relieving the difficulties which every class of the community suffer, that I should not have obtruded my opinions, did I not believe that the Plan which I have sug- gested, would afford permanent relief. And when I reflect upon the exertions which have been made by the higher ranks of society, to alleviate the wants of the people, and 'the anxiety with which the Representatives of the Country are now endeavouring to establish a mode of permanent relief, I am encouraged to think that a Plan, formed upon much ob- 22 serration and reflection, and the estimates, winch have been made with great care and every possible exactness, may not be unac- ceptable. On the Cultivation of Flax and Hemp. To a few observations on these crops, I beg to call the attention of the Landed Pro- prietor, whose interest will be more bene- fited by promoting the cultivation of them, than any other member of the community, both, as the possessor of the soil, and as a contributor to the Poor's-rates, which I have endeavoured to shew, may be much reduced by the employment which these crops would aflbrd. And if the new process of preparing the fibre, renders them more productive in value, and more beneficial in their effects to the soil, than crops generally cultivated, they con- sequently must increase the value of the land, and the Parmer will be able to afford a better rent. 1* lax and hemp remain so short a time in the ground, that they cannot be very exhaust- ing; and from their rapid growth, they quickly cover the surface and keep down the weeds. 23 All overshadowing vegetables, by prevent- ing the moisture of the earth from being eva- porated by the heat of the sun, are known from experience to render it more fertile ; and that flax and hemp are really not impoverish- ing crops, is still better proved by the prac- tice in every country where they are grown, of sowing wheat after them. It is the com- mon husbandry on the banks of the Garonne, and in the Bolognese, as well as in our own counties of Suffo 11 ., Lincolnshire, and York- shire. Yet as the old methods of separating the fibre, by dew-rotting and water-steeping, destroy the nutritive qualities of the plant, as food for cattle, the consequent loss of manure to the soil, justified the Landlord in discou- raging the cultivation. The new process has, however, completely -removed these objections, for as the fibre is separated from the plant by the Machines in the same state of freshness as it comes from the field, the nutritious qualities of the chaff cannot be impaired ; and with the seed, as much and as valuable food for cattle is ob- tained, as from a crop of oats; therefore the quantity of nutriment will not be diminished, however extended the culture of flax and hemp may become; but, on the contrary, D 24 increased, as the cleanness of the cultivation enables the Farmer to follow it with wheat, the next most profitable crop, which cannot be sown with success after oats or barley. Those lands which are calculated for oats or barley, are well suited to flax : the time of sowing is from the middle of March to the latter end of April. When the soil is well ploughed and made fine by harrowing and rolling, the seed should then be sown broad- cast; and as the finest stems produce the most valuable fibre, it is advisable to sow the seed thick ; the usual quantity is two and a half or three bushels per acre. The crop should be kept perfectly clean by weeding, until the plants are five or six inches high, but should not afterwards be disturbed, nor will it be necessary, as the plants are then strong enough to prevent the growth of weeds. About August, the stem generally turns yellow, the seed is formed in the pods, and it is then ready to be harvested. The plants should be pulled up and laid upon the ground, in bundles as large as can be grasped in both hands, where they should re- main until the upper part of the stems are dry, which they will be in fine weather in a couple 23 of days. The bundles, with the root ends of the plants laid even, should then be made up, and set in shocks of ten bundles each (with the dry ends of the plants turned to the in- side) until the pods and every part of the stem are perfectly dry. They will then be ready to be worked, housed, or stacked ; if stacked, the root ends should be placed on the outside, and the stack should be well thatched. Hemp requires a stronger and richer soil ; but the management and profits of the crop are nearly the same. Both these crops are well suited to new soils, and the Farmer's expense in cultivating them, upon such wastes as are worth enclosing, will be well repaid. An acre generally yields two tons and a half of stem, which will contain about fourteen bushels of seed ; the present value of a ton of stem, is 5L 5s. and the seed is worth 10s. 6d. per bushel. Two tons and a half of stem, at 5/. 5s. per 7 .<, an ton, M i, 5 Fourteen bushels of seed, at 10s. 6rf. per > - bushel, ., > ,20 9 6 m V J>2 26 The new mode of preparing flax, is as sim- ple, and may be as easily understood, as the preparation of wheat for the mill. The Farmer would find it extremely advantageous to adopt this process, as it will leave the chaff and re- fuse to be consumed upon his form, and give employment to his men, when the weather will not permit their labours in the field. The profits will amply repay his trouble and ex- pense, as exhibited in the annexed Table. 27 8 CO 5 -8 ^ O' fcj) o o o r-t CO n -1 N. Si t o. a- O, 2 - o. oooooooo r>0 OOO'* o c* t- -i r* i"H t-, ri ri C*OOnOr^oO <0 CO i2 oy a. i t * S5 -^^ 8 .3 SP-O tl .3 4< ** "3 > u ^- o _ O "3 08 "O COT 8 3 Ml * S-s $x> Rent, Ploug Harro Three i i * - o. 1 -35 3 ~< *-> u C3 ' 1 Q. -Si w 3 1 i ti ti o 3 (j p-a i , V 4- ' oj c OT Oj "- ti O 3 ~ o< 3 . U-, 4) O ' i '1- 3 3 -a J< 3 i-l ^ .9 M ~faC far. 3 4, t=3 i T3 C ^3 jR-a t 3 ; > > 3 JS A u 4 to 3 4j o S 3 O 3i b a? 5 u 3 "- ^ rt '0,3 13 bli s-a.a 5 3 > - a 3 O. * M 0> 3 9. Brfs S H . r fai)-3 - C O JO J t3* J; oj U *J * 2 F >> e << > H> li s tJ it 28 PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, AND REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON IT. Lnna>, 12 die Mali, 1817. A Petition of Samuel Hill and William Bundy, of Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex, joint Proprietors of certain Ma- chines for preparing Flax and Hemp in the dry state from the stem, without undergoing the usual long process of dew-rotting or water- steeping, for which the said parties have ob- tained His Majesty's Letters Patent, was pre- sented and read ; setting forth, that the Peti- tioners, after great expense and much labour, have discovered a process, by rendering certain ^Machinery subservient to manual labour, of breaking and preparing Flax and Hemp in a dry state from the stems of the said plants, su- perseding the necessity of dew-rotting or water- steeping, and that by these means nearly three times more of the fibrous parts, uninjured by fermentation and decay, are obtained from the 29 same produce per acre, at half the expense, and in a less number of hours, than has hither- to required weeks by the old method ; that, to effect this purpose, the stems of Flax and Hemp, when dry from the field or stack, are passed through two Machines, the first called a Breaker, the second a Rubber, after which it is completed for spinning by a third, which performs the operation of heckling, all which being of a portable construction, the largest requiring the space of three feet by four only, are well calculated for giving employment to cottagers, and the lower orders of the people at their own homes, as also to the labour of paupers in workhouses, and convicts in prisons, and penitentiaries, and houses of correction; that by the Petitioners' improved process, much time and expense are saved, while the deterio- rating effects of bleaching are obviated, as Flax, Hemp, and Tow, thus prepared, are ren- dered equally white and fit for use, by washing in soap and water only ; that, from the Peti- tioners' improved mode of preparation, the ad- ditional quantity of Flax, Hemp, and Tow, which would be procured from the 120,000 acres supposed to be employed in the cultiva- tion of these crops in Ireland, Scotland, and England, would afford an increase of employ- ment in the several operations of preparing, 30 spinning, weaving, and washing, to upwards of 700,000 persons, and an additional annual return of 25,000,000/. when manufactured into Linen ; that besides these advantages derivable by the Farmer and the Manufacturer, the ge- neral prejudice entertained by the landholders against the growth of these crops would be removed, as the chaff produced in the opera- tions of breaking and rubbing, is found to be excellent food for cattle, and would conse- quently, like that of other crops, make a due return to the soil in the shape of manure ; that the Petitioners humbly presume to be of opi- nion, that a general adoption of their process would greatly increase the produce of the crops of Flax and Hemp, aud consequently the value of the land in Great Britain, and particu- larly in Ireland, and in the course of a few years, render the country wholly independent of Foreign States for these Naval Supplies ; and the Petitioners humbly conceive that their invention may be of great National importance, in the cultivation of waste lands by the plough or the spade, and of great domestic relief, in af- fording constant employment to many thousands of the labouring classes, at that season of the year when out-door work is 'difficult to be pro- cured ; and they humbly request, that the House will be pleased to afford them an oppor- 31 tunity of proving these their allegations, before a Select Committee of the House appointed for that purpose, in order that the attention of the Nation may be called to an object of such in- ternal political consequence. REPORT From Committee on Petitions relating to Ma- chinery for Manufacturing of Flax. The Committee to whom the Petition of Samuel Hill and William Bund) 7 , and also the Pe- tition of James Lee, were referred ; to re- port the same, with their Observations there- upon, to the House ; have examined several Witnesses in support of the Allegations of the said Petitions ; and agreed upon the fol- lowing Report : " Your Committee, in obedience to the di- rections of the House, proceeded to take into consideration the Petition of Messrs. Hill and Bundy, on their improved method of prepar- ing Flax and Hemp, in a dry state, from the stem, without undergoing the former process of water-steeping or dew-rotting. E 32 ce Your Committee received satisfactory proof, that the preparing Flax and Hemp, in a dry state, for Spinning, answered most com- pletely, and was likely to prove a great and valuable improvement, both to the grower and manufacturer ; the cost of preparing being less; avoiding the risk of steeping, which is consi- derable ; a great saving also in time and ma- terial. " It was proved also to your Committee, that the strength and quality of Cloth manufac- tured from Flax thus prepared, are much su- perior to that produced from Flax which has been water-steeped or dew-rotted.