It will be perceived that the Welsh rates are much below those of England. Including a bonus of 10d. per shift for full time, the head puddler could earn 58., and his underhand 2s. 6d. per day when the price paid was 4s. 5d. per ton S.W., the produce being 30 cwts. In Cleveland 274 cwts. is considered a fair day's work. This quantity at 7s. per ton, with a bonus of 94d. per ton for full time, enabled the chief man to get 7s. 2d., and his underhand 3s. 6d. per shift. It is not always an easy task to compare the work of an English puddler with that of a foreigner. In many places abroad it is the practice to have three men, or two men and a strong boy, at the furnace, which of itself enables a little more work to be done. The chief advantage, however, in respect to labour lies in differences in the quality of the iron; which abroad frequently contains only one-fourth of the silicon usually found in Cleveland iron; and, as is well known, this metalloid calls for special exertion on the part of the workman. In the year 1867, during a visit to the south of France, I found 36 to 40 cwts. represented the twelve hours' produce of a puddling furnace; the price paid varying with the quality turned out by the puddler, and a premium being often reserved for excellence of produce. The prices paid fluctuated from 5s. 10d. to 7s. 24d., and the average weight produced was 38 cwts. The total earnings per shift therefore amounted to about 12s. 4d., divided approximately in the following manner: the first man 6s. 9d., second 3s. 3d., third 2s. 4d. At Middlesbrough the earnings at that period of the head man would be 8s. per day. On the Rhine, in 1867, 32 to 36 cwts. seemed to constitute the ordinary twelve hours' work, for which 5s. 6d. to 5s. 9d. per ton of puddled bar was paid. This amounted to about 9s. 3d., to be divided by giving probably 5s. 3d. to the first man, 2s. 6d. to the second, and 1s. 6d. to the boy. In this case the chief puddler earned about 60 per cent. of that of the head man in England; the same weight of iron costing for puddling about one-half more in England than in the German works referred to. In 1878 I found that in this part of Germany the price averaged for different qualities about 6s. 2d.; which on the weight obtained, 31 cwts., would give 9s. 10d. Two men only appear to have been working the furnace, something after the fashion of what is known as "levelhand" in England, for the money was divided by giving 5s. 6d. to the best of the two workmen and 4s. 4d. to his mate. The price of puddling in that year at Middlesbrough was 7s. 9d. long weight, or say 7s. 3d. short weight; being about 18 per cent. higher than the German rate. In Western Germany, in 1878, I found two men doing eleven heats of pig per turn, giving 48 cwts. of puddled iron: the pig only contained 25 per cent. of silicon. The price paid was 2s. 11d. to the upper and 1s. 94d. to the underhand, or 4s. 84d. together. At these prices the former earned 7s., and the other 4s. 1d., per day. The pig iron was preheated in a chamber known as a "dandy." The English price for puddling was therefore fully one-half more than that of the German; but, owing to the large make, the chief puddler earned nearly as much as is paid in England. In the same portion of the German Empire, a mechanical rabble is used, and by its means 65 cwts. of puddled iron are produced from each furnace. The men were paid according to quality, the iron being all sorted. The prices per ton were 3s. 82d., 4s. 51d., and 5s. 2d., the average actually paid being 4s. 104d.; and the individual daily earnings were 5s. to 6s. to the first man, 5s. to the second, 3s. 94d. to the third, and 1s. 64d to a boy. This was in 1875, when the price paid in the North-east of England was 9s. 7d., or almost exactly double the price paid by the German ironmaster. It is to be remarked that the relief afforded to the men by the mechanical appliances is such that they are able to work for 12 hours instead of 10 to 10 hours as at Middlesbrough. An economy, about 50 per cent., in the consumption of coal results from the use of this improved furnace which would represent a saving of about 4s. per ton of puddled iron. In Spain, in the year 1872, 36 cwts. of puddled iron were received in twelve hours, for which 6s. was paid; the cost on the Tees for the same quantity being 11s. 3d., or say 10s. 6d. short weight. The output in Belgium is usually about 35 cwts. for twelve hours; for which, in 1883, 4s. 9d. was paid per ton, the Cleveland rate being 7s., with an allowance for full time. The staff of three men at the Belgian furnace would therefore earn 8s. 4d., against 9s. 8d. for the two men at the English. The earnings however of the upper-hand in the former case would be probably 5s. 4d., against 6s. 2d., in the latter; so that the Middlesbrough puddler receives 16 per cent. more than the Belgian, and the work costs the English ironmaster 47 per cent. more than his foreign competitor. Some confusion arises in comparing the entire costs of labour in the puddling forge in different works, owing to the differences of the modes in which the accounts are kept; some charging men's time for repairs under a general head, which includes materials. Besides this source of derangement there are differences arising from the nature of the work performed, and in the general convenience of the appliances. I believe, however, I shall not be far from the truth in laying down the following data for puddling ordinary quality in 1878: England-Cleveland, with a bonus for full time ... Average per Ton. 7s. 2d. short wt. 4s. 10 d. Rhenish Provinces, 4s. 7d., 5s. 2d., 5s. 9d., 6s. 6d., av. 4 works 5s. 6d On comparing the total wages paid in the puddling forge in the North of England with the payments on the Continent I find that the cost in England is often fully 50 per cent. higher than the average of works I have visited in Western Germany and the East of France. The effect of this is that the expense of making puddled bar, irrespective of the price of pig iron, is some shillings more in England than in those localities with which I have compared it. It may be added that the average earnings of all the staff in one of the foreign establishments were 3s. 6d., whereas in England it is close on 4s. In Germany the puddled bar rollers and shinglers were earning 58. 3d. per day, whereas in the county of Durham the former were paid in 1878, 13s. to 15s. per day, and the latter 10s. to 18s. per day. и н The metal delivered to the foreign puddling furnaces is frequently hard and white, and, to use the workman's language, "soon comes to nature." A material, somewhat of the same character as that in question, is often used in South Wales, for the working of which about the same price is paid as that current in Germany and elsewhere. I believe that the Welsh practice has not been followed, at all events to any extent, elsewhere in the United Kingdom; and it may be observed that wages in the Welsh iron works have always been notably lower than in England or Scotland. Pig iron intended for forge purposes is distinguished in Belgium under five denominations. These are: At one work which I was permitted to visit puddling was performed in a double furnace worked from both sides, but without any mechanical aid. No Metis was used. Of Nos. 2 and 3 eight charges of pig were worked in every shift weighing about 72 cwts.; but of Nos. 3 and 4, 54 cwts. per shift only were puddled. For Nos. 2, 3, and 4 the prices paid in 1878 were 4s. 24d., 4s. 6d., and 4s. 114d. per tonne of 1,000 kilogrammes. At these rates the head puddler earned on common iron 5s. 24d., and his underhand 3s. 54d. per shift, the quality of the product being very similar to that made at Stockton and Middlesbrough. When the work of the finishing mills is examined, it will be found in certain instances that the difference between Great Britain and Continental countries far exceeds that just named as obtaining in the puddling forge. In Great Britain for boiler-plate or ship-plate rolling I find that between 1841 and 1843, the prices paid were 10s. in the former year and 8s. 9d. in the latter per ton for heating, rolling, and shearing. The same work cost in 1875 about 9s. 3d., so that practically there has been no change in the actual tonnage prices paid to the work On the Continent the tonne is 1,000 kilogrammes 2,204 lbs. men in the last forty years. material change in the conditions of plate-rolling between the two periods. In 1840, 50 tons per week was probably a fair make for a mill, now, in consequence of the use of more powerful machinery, and the extensive character of the orders so largely given out for shipbuilding, the production has risen to 400 and sometimes reaches 600 tons or more in a week. In one respect, however, there is a By the favour of a friend, the manager of a large plate mill in England, I have an account of the earnings of fourteen head platerollers. The lowest amount received was 17s. 5d. per shift, the highest £2 Os. 11d., and the average of the whole number was £1 7s. 8d. The wages of the head shearman ranged from 18s. 10d. to £1 16s. 1d. per day, the average being £1 8s. 8d. The heaters earned from 11s. 4d. to 13s. 8d., the average of fourteen men being 12s. 8d. each per day. These wages were received after all deductions for assistance had been met. I have in my possession a statement representing the actual payments made in 1879 by a Continental firm for carrying on a work turning out about 300 tons of puddled iron per week, with a plate mill producing 200 tons. I propose comparing the wages, exclusive of those for repairs, paid in the various departments, with those of an English work, turning out also 300 tons of puddled iron, along with a weekly make of 300 tons of plates. In the latter case the deficiency of puddled iron is supplied by purchases from other quarters. I would first point out the great dissimilarity between the daily pay of most of the workmen in the two instances selected for comparison. |