Page:The Laboring Classes of England.djvu/13

 parties likely to afford me any information on the subject of factory life. In particular, I waited upon Clergymen of various denominations, Manufacturers, Surgeons, Inspectors and Overlookers. I had also opportunities of studying the habits and manners of the operatives, in the mills, cottages, places of amusement, public houses, &c., and of investigating the various causes of decrepitude, mutilation or death;—whether arising from long hours of labor, or accidents by machinery.

The facts contained in this volume have been carefully inquired into on the spot, and in many cases taken from the parties themselves, and corroborated by others not interested in the matter. I have no doubt the reader will be interested in perusing the following letters, which, with many others, I received from this nobleman while in his service.

[No. 1.] Oct. 12, 1841. ——. You have discharged your commission admirably, and I am much obliged to you for the trouble you take, and the accuracy with which you furnish details.

I trust you will derive from your present duty that real satisfaction, which is the portion of those who labor, in God's name, for the welfare of their fellow creatures. I commit you most heartily to His care, and wish you every happiness in this world, and in that which is to come. Faithfully yours,A——.

[No. 2.] St. G—— House, Nov. 24, 1841. ——. So far from thinking that you travel beyond your duty, when you write to me your opinions on all matters affecting the moral condition of the working classes, I am exceedingly pleased with your remarks; I altogether concur in them, and request you to continue your observations. I have always been