These are cold facts which seem to suggest that our system of free
education is capable of improvement.
It appears that all this district is a great centre of what is known
as 'sweating.' Thus artificial flowers, of which I was shown a fine
specimen, a marguerite, are made at a price of 1_s_. per gross, the
workers supplying their own glue. An expert hand, beginning at eight
in the morning and continuing till ten at night, can produce a gross
and a half of these flowers, and thus net 1_s_. 6_d_., minus the cost
of the glue, scissors, and sundries. The Officers of the Army find it
extremely difficult to talk to these poor people, who are invariably
too busy to listen. Therefore, some of them have learnt how to make
artificial flowers themselves, so that when they call they can join in
the family manufacture, and, while doing so, carry on their
conversation.
For the making of match-boxes and the sticking on of the labels the
pay is 2-1/2_d_. per gross. Few of us, I think, would care to
manufacture 144 matchboxes for 2-1/2_d_. I learned that it is not
unusual to find little children of four years of age helping their
mothers to make these boxes.
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