=======================+=======================+========================= | | DOMESTIC EMPLOYMENT, PIECEWORK, CHIEFLY | TIME-WORK, CHIEFLY | GIRLS ONLY, WITH ONE BOYS | BOYS | OR TWO EXCEPTIONS -----------------------+-----------------------+------------------------- Selling | In shops or | Minding babies 11,585 newspapers 15,182 | running | | errands for | Other housework, Hawking goods 2,435 | shopkeepers 76,173 | including | | laundry work, Sports, taking | Agricultural | etc. 9,254 dinners, | occupations 6,115 | knocking-up, | | Needlework and etc. 8,627 | Boot and knife | like occupations 4,019 | cleaning, etc. | | (house boys) 10,636 | =======================+=======================+========================= The return revealed a surprising variety of occupations followed by these children--about 200 different kinds in all. HOURS PER WEEK NUMBER OF CHILDREN Under 10 39,355 10-20 60,268 21-30 27,008 31-40 9,778 41-50 2,390 51-60 576 61-70 142 71-80 59 Over 81 16 Not stated 4,434 ------- Total 144,026 The number of hours per week devoted by these children to the various employments will be found in the above table; it should be remembered that these hours were given to work in addition to the time spent at school.[30] It was recognized that the figures given by this parliamentary return did not represent the real situation, but nevertheless its revelations were sufficiently startling to show the need of further investigation. Accordingly in 1901 there was appointed an interdepartmental committee which after careful study reported that the figures in the parliamentary return were well within the actual numbers, but that the facts it contained were substantially correct.[31] This committee estimated the total number of children who were both in attendance at school and in paid employments in England and Wales at 300,000;[32] it declared that cases of excessive employment were "sufficiently numerous to leave no doubt that a substantial number of children are being worked to an injurious extent."[33]