working life of women seventeenth century - School of Economics ...

TEXTILES TEXTILES I37hours in four and twenty, and had much rather doit than be idle.'The work developed until " He enlyloyed in thismanufacture some times 1600, some times 1700Spinners, besides Dressers of flax, Weavers and others.Because he found that his Poor must work sixteenhours in the day to earn sixpence, and thought theirnecessities and labour -were not sufficiently suppliedor recompensed by these earnings ; therefore he waswont to distribute Charity among them . . .without which Charity some of them had perishedfor want, when either they or their children fell ill. . . . Whoever of the Spinners brought in twopound of Yarn might take away with 'em a Peckof Coals. Because they soiled themselves by carryingaway Coals in their Aprons or Skirts . . . . hegave 'em canvass bags. By the assistance and orderof his Friends he gave to Men, Women and Children3,000 Shirts and Shifts in two years."'laid out the last Year, reckning" In above E~OOO,I-louse-rent, Servants wages, Loss by Learners, withthe interest of the Money, there was not above E200lost, one chief reason of which was the kindness ofseveral Persons, who took off good quantities . at the price they cost me to spin and weave . . . .and . . . . the East India Co., gave en-couragement to make their bags."But the lossincreased as time went on . . . . " In 1699 hisdesign of employing the poor to spin flax was takenup by the Patentees of the Linen Manufacture,who made the Poor and others, whom they employed,to work cheaper ; yet that was not sufficient toencourage them to continue the manufacture . .The poor spinners, being thus deserted, Mr. Firminreturned to 'em again; and managed that trade asl Firmin, Thomas, L*, pp. 31-32? 1698.' Ibid, pp 31-2, 1698.he was wont ; But so, that he made it bear almostits own Charges. But that their smaller Wagesmight be comfortable to them he was more Charitableto 'em, and begged for 'em of almost all Persons ofRank with whom he had intimacy, or so much asFriendship. He would also carry his Cloth to divers,with whom he scarce had any acquaintance, telling'em it war the Poor's cloth, which in conscience theyought to buy at the Price it could be aforded."' . . .Finally, " he was persuaded by- some, to make trialof the Woollen Manufactz~re; because at this, the Poormight make better wages, than at Linen-work.But the price of wool advancing very much, and theLondon-Spinsters being almost wholly unskilful atDrawing a Woollen-Thread, after a considerable. . . . and 29 months trial he gave offlossthe proje~t."~Firmin's experiment, corroborating as it does theresults of other efforts at poor relief, shows that atthis time women could not maintain themselves bythe wages of flax spinning; still less could they,when widows, provide for their children by thismeans.But though the spinster, when working for wagesreceived so small a return for her labour, it must notbe forgotten that flax spinning was chiefly a domesticart, in which the whole value of the woman's labourwas secured to her family, unaffected by the rateof wages. Therefore the value of women's labourin spinning flax must not be judged only accordingto the wages which they received, but was more trulyrepresented by the quantity of linen which theyproduced for household use.' Firmin (Thomas) Life, pp. 33-6.Ibid, pp. 39-10.