Prior to the year 1832 Chester was the only Cheshire town which had its own members of Parliament. The county returned two members, one for the north division and the other for the south. The big manufacturing towns which had increased so rapidly in size and population had no representatives, while numbers of small towns and villages in other parts of England returned one and sometimes even two members to the House of Commons. The workers of the busy industrial districts felt that this was very unfair, and demanded to be allowed to be represented. After a long struggle Reform Bills were passed, and now Stockport is allowed to choose two members, and Stalybridge and Birkenhead one each. The number of county members has also been increased from two to eight, one from each of eight divisions, to which the names Hyde, Macclesfield, Altrincham, Knutsford, Crewe, Eddisbury, Northwich, and Wirral have been given. Until the passing of the 'Reform Bills' only those who possessed property were allowed to vote, the great majority of the people of Cheshire had no say in the government of the country at all. The Reform Bill of 1832 gave the vote to many more people, to every man in fact who paid a rent of ten pounds or more a year for his house. Thus much of the power which had previously belonged to the rich passed into the hands of the poorer classes. One of the first results of the Reformed Parliament was the passing of a number of Factory Acts. The cry of the children at work in the mills had long been heard through the land, and the people were indignant at the cruelties put upon them by some mill-owners. As early as the year 1802 Sir Robert Peel, a Lancashire manufacturer, had persuaded Parliament to pass an Act to improve the condition of the factories. The Reformed Parliament now made it illegal to employ children under nine years of age, or to make boys and girls under thirteen work for more than twelve hours a day. Later Acts have still further shortened the hours of work for women and children, and in many other respects have made the lot of all the working classes more tolerable. Manufacturers are now compelled to keep their factories clean and wholesome, and fit to work in. Factory inspectors are appointed to see that the laws are carried out, and those whose lives are spent in dangerous occupations, such as coal-mining or the making of chemicals, are protected by strict rules which lessen the danger to life and limb.