Factory Inspection In Great Britain In The 19^th Century

In the second half of the eighteenth century,the most significant event in British history was the Industrial Revolution:the invention of the machine,the improvement of the mode of production,the establishment of the factory,the increase of the product and the development of the foreign market.With the development of power technology and demand of product,the factory system first appeared in the cotton textile industry and promoted the rapid development of the British economy.But at the same time,the factory system had also brought a series of problems such as poor conditions of the labors,child labors were always too young and couldn't accept education,female workers were facing double pressure and were vulnerable to violations.To deal with these problems,the British parliament continued to promulgate and revise the Factory Act in the 19th century.At the same time,to ensure the effective implementation of Factory Act throughout the country,the factory inspection system appeared.Foreign scholars have done some research on the British factory inspection system,but lack systematic research on the origin,development and operation of factory inspection system in the entire 19th century,and the successes to the factory inspection system.Based on the relevant historical data and the research achievements of foreign scholars,I make an overall discussion on the development process of the British factory inspection system in the 19th century,hoping to draw more attention to this theme.Driven by social reformers and politicians,in 1802,the British parliament enacted the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act,which provided rules for the working hours and working conditions of factory apprentices.At the same time,in order to ensure the implementation of this Act,two of the local judges or priests were appointed as the "Visitors",they have the right to enter the factory to investigate and report the results to the local court.However,due to the poor implementation of the visitors,the effect of the implementation of the Act is not optimistic.With the development of steam power technology,the factory owners gradually moved the factory from remote areas close to the water to the towns and began torecruit adult labors and free child labors.In the process,the British parliament was separately promulgated the Factory Act in 1819,1820,1825and1831,Which provided rules for the age of labors,the working hours of the factory,and some adjustments to the duties of the visitors.But until 1833,the Committee of Experts found that in the process of investigating the status of the factory,even in large industrial cities such as Manchester,the existing Act is almost ineffective,thus the Committee of Experts proposed the establishment of factory inspection system recommendations.In 1833,the Factory Act was enacted,and four factory inspectors were appointed to ensure the effective implementation of the Act.At that time,the factory inspection system,which was one of the most beneficial inventions of Britain's 17th century,was formally established.Since then,with the promulgation and continuation of the new Factory Act,the inspectors had been formed from the initial four to the late organizational system,including the working class inspectors and female inspectors,and the scope of their inspection had expanded from the original cotton textile mill to almost all factories and workshops and eventually improved the health and safety of child labors,women labors and the sanitary and security status of factories.In general,the British factory inspection system was successful.Besides the inspection organization system with the chief inspector as the core performed their duty effectively,the dedication spirit of the factory inspectors,and the cooperation of factory owners and workers were also promoted the improvement of the factory inspection system in the 19th century,which lead to the continuous development of this system.