Manchester City

There were a plethora of issues being raised by the growth of Manchester such as, Living conditions for the population, and Poverty amongst the people that lived in Manchester; the reactions to those issues usually consisted of there being a decrease in poverty and the conditions of living.

One of the issues that was raised by the growth of Manchester was living conditions, as supported by Robert Southey who states that Manchester is the second in the kingdom in size and population, and has buildings the size of convents that were blackened by the smoke coming from the factories, in addition Southey says how the streets are narrow because of the buildings are packed together which creates a feeling of despair, every time the people of Manchester hear the bell ringing instead of their prayers the air is filled with calls of wretches from their work. Southey is qualified to make this statement because he is a poet so it is fair to say that he has never worked in a factory before making his opinion not biased at all, Southey may also be considered an educated man since he was able to write a book about the things in which he has seen. To show a similar relationship Alexis de Tocqueville states how in Manchester you don’t see happy ease going out for a walk in the streets or even going out to walk in the county side, yet you see the individual powers of man being taken away to where he is somber and uncouth individual, where a civilized man is turned back into a savage, yet able to produce things that fertilize the world.

This is also seen by Flora Tristan who states that most of the workers of Manchester lack clothing, bed, and wholesome food, and work form twelve to fourteen hours each day in a low ceilinged room where they breathe air tainted with the very products they create. She continues pointing out how sickly and emaciated their thin frail bodies are. To show a similar relationship document 11 shows a engraving of Manchester, this engraving points out the closeness of the buildings, and the toxins being spat into the air which would later be breathed in by the population of Manchester, the engraving shows the convent like buildings black and full of despair. This was a big issue raised by the growth of population in Manchester. Another issue raised by the growth of the population of Manchester was the increase in poverty, as supported by Frances Anne Kemble who states crowds would shout “No Corn Laws” since the population of Manchester was mostly the lowest order of artisans and mechanics who simply could not afford to pay the tax.

This is furthered by Edwin Chadwick who states how the people in Manchester are poor and living in homes filled to the brim with people, he continued to say that these people living in poverty were exposed to atmospheric hardships produced by decomposing animal cadavers and vegetable substances rotting in their own juices. Tristan is qualified to make these statements, because he is a public health reformer so we can assume that he has seen cases such as the one in Manchester, he is also qualified because he has written a report on the conditions of the laboring population of Britain which would imply that he has been to other laboring populations and has been amongst people who are living the same way as the people in Manchester. A reaction to the issues of the increase in population of Manchester was that there was a decrease in poverty and living conditions, this is supported by Thomas Macauley who states how the people live longer because they are better fed, better taken care of, and better clothed because of the increase in national wealth which the manufacturing system has created, he continues to say that the life of a peasant will never be in good state of being in the contrast to what Southey says.

This is furthered by Wheelan and Co. wh0 states that Manchester has more attractive features than any part of England , because it is the workshop of the world. Wheelan continues by saying that Manchester has not been affected for the worse by the fruits of its industry yet it has been affected for the better. Wheelan and Co. is qualified to make these statements because they are giving advice to a business directory meaning they know a lot about business in order to direct a business. Wheelan and Co. is also qualified since we can assume that they have worked with businesses before on the royal chartering of a city. To show a similar relationship William Abram states that with the passing of the Hours of Labor in Factories Act that helped to reform the hours of labor to ten hours per day. Abram continues by stating that sickness and mortality have been reduced because of the passing of the act. This is one reaction in response to the increase in population of Manchester. The issues raised by the growth of Manchester were Living conditions and the rise in poverty, and these were lessened by the passing of the reform bill and the granting of a royal charter by the monarch of the time.