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tho cube, ns ho cannot compete with the Englishman in countsabove 36’s, although the latter fetches the raw material and musttake back the yarn. The difficulty for the Indian spinner increasesin proportion as labour preponderates in the costs of production—a confirmation of the statement by Tucker already given.
On tho other hand, the hours of labour in England are If, withfree Sundays and Saturday afternoons. In India the hours oflabour cannot bo exactly determined; in Bombay they appear tobe 12 to 13 hours (13), in the interior, more. Added to this, acessation of labour on Sunday does not exist, but the mill onlystops every third Sunday for cleaning purposes. The religiousholidays of the operatives are observed by those who areaffected receiving leave, tho mill working on with the large numberof reserve operatives. Wages fluctuate in India between 15 and8 rupees monthly for adults, and 3 and 1 rupees for young opera-tives. Tho spinner proper receives 15 rupees (11)—i.e., with thevalue of tho rupee taken at Is. 5d., 21s. 3d. per month, theEnglish mule-spinner 35s. to lOs. weekly. This difference is ex-plained by the fact that in India 3^ to 5 times as many operativesare necessary as in England ; that the more unskilled hands leadto a more considerable wear and tear of machinery (7-J per cent,against 5 per cent.) ; even that the single spindle itself in Bombay produces less in 12 hours than in Oldham in 9 (with No. 20’s inOldham 51- hanks, in India 5j- hanks daily). Schoenhof evencalculates that in Lowell 35,000 spindles spin daily just as manylb. of 38’s as are spun in Bombay of 20’s (15).
In the face of these facts the English cotton industry does notneed to fear India in its finer productions. But Blue-Booksalready contain facts which point out that peculiar progress oflabour in India which is produced everywhere by a vital cen-tralised industry. In Bombay the wages in the spinning-millshave increased in the 5 years from 1883 to 1888 by 30 to 10 percent., in spite of which it is asserted that the productive capacityof the Indian operatives has increased so much that the cost of
13. East Indian Factories Report (1801). p. 23. Hours of labour in aspinning-mill in Bombay , without reckoning stoppages, are 13; also anotherinstance on page 24; but on page 25 only 11 to 12 hours; p. 74, 13 hours.The queries as to hours of labour frequently remain unanswered, because“ witness has uo definite ideas about time.” Thus on page 23.
14. Page 45 of Report just quoted.
15. Schunhof: “ Influences bearing upon Production ” (1888), p. 8.