Report Of The Commissioners Appointed To Inquire Into The Working Of The Factory And Workshops Acts

Originally published in 1876, this report was one of the first comprehensive studies of labor regulation in the United Kingdom. It includes detailed analysis of the Factory and Workshops Acts, which set minimum standards for working conditions and child labor laws in factories and workshops. Along with the text of the acts themselves, the report also includes minutes of evidence from workers, employers, and other stakeholders, making it an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of labor regulation. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This book is the first in-depth study of occupational health in nineteenth and early-twentieth century Britain. As such it is an important contribution to the burgeoning literature on the history of health in the workplace. It focuses on the first four diseases to receive bureaucratic and legislative recognition: lead, arsenic and phosphorus poisoning and anthrax. As such it traces the emergence of medical knowledge and growth in public concern about the impact of these diseases in several major industries including pottery manufacture, matchmaking, wool-sorting and the multifarious trades in which arsenic was used as a raw material. It considers the process of state intervention taking due account of the influence of government inspectors, ‘moral entrepreneurs’ and various interest groups.

In early Victorian England, there was an intense debate about whether government involvement in the provision of popular elementary education was appropriate. Government did in the end become actively involved, first in the administration of schools and in the supervision of instruction, then in establishing and administering compulsory schooling laws. After a century of stagnation, literacy rates rose markedly. While increasing government involvement would seem to provide the most obvious explanation for this rise, David F. Mitch seeks to demonstrate that, in fact, popular demand was also an important force behind the growth in literacy. Although previous studies have looked at public policy in detail, and although a few have considered popular demand. The Rise of Popular Literacy in Victorian England is the first book to bring together a detailed examination of the two sets of factors. Mitch compares the relative importance of the rise of popular demand for literacy and the development of educational policy measures by the church and state as contributing factors that led to the rise of working class literacy during the Victorian period. He uses an economic-historical approach based on an examination of changes in the costs and benefits of acquiring literacy. Mitch considers the initial demand of the working classes for literacy and how much that demand grew. He also examines how literacy rates were influenced by the development of a national system of elementary school provision and by the establishment of compulsory schooling laws. Mitch uses quantitative methods and evidence as well as more traditional historical sources such as government reports, employment ads, and contemporary literature. An important reference is a national sample of over 8,000 marriage certificates from the mid-Victorian period that provides information on the ability of brides and grooms to sign their names. The Rise of Popular Literacy in Victorian England is a valuable text for students and scholars of British, economic, and labor history, history of literacy and education, and popular culture.

UK. Report of a committee inquiring into and commenting on the adequacy of labour legislation relating to occupational safety and occupational health - covers labour inspection, sanctions, safety, radiation protection, precautions against fire, noise and poisonous substances, administrative aspects of occupational medicine, safety training, research, employment accident benefits, etc., and stresses the need for more management initiatives and more involvement of workpeople themselves. Bibliography pp. 216 to 218 and statistical tables.

Lionel de Rothschild's hard-fought entry into Parliament in 1858 marked the emancipation of Jews in Britain - the symbolic conclusion of Jews' campaign for equal rights and their inclusion as citizens after centuries of discrimination. Jewish life entered a new phase: the post-emancipation era. But what did this mean for the Jewish community and their interactions with wider society? And how did Britain's state and society react to its newest citizens? Emancipation was ambiguous. Acceptance carried expectations, as well as opportunities. Integrating into British society required changes to traditional Jewish identity, just as it also widened conceptions of Britishness. Many Jews willingly embraced their environment and fashioned a unique Jewish existence: mixing in all levels of society; experiencing economic success; and organising and translating its faith along Anglican grounds. However, unlike many other European Jews, Anglo-Jews stayed loyal to their faith. Conversion and outmarriage remained rare, and connections were maintained with foreign kin. The community was even willing at times to place its Jewish and English identity in conflict, as happened during the 1876-8 Eastern Crisis - which provoked the first episode of modern antisemitism in Britain. The nature of Jewish existence in Britain was unclear and developing in the post-emancipation era. Focusing upon inter-linked case studies of Anglo-Jewry's political activity, internal government, and religious development, Michael Clark explores the dilemmas of identity and inter-faith relations that confronted the minority in late nineteenth-century Britain. This was a crucial period in which the Anglo-Jewish community shaped the basis of its modern existence, whilst the British state explored the limits of its toleration.