=Fines.=--The system of fines is deeply felt and bitterly resented. The fines may be divided generally into two classes; namely, disciplinary, and those inflicted on account of damage done to the work. Under the first head are included fines for late attendance in starting work, and in returning to the mill after meal hours; being found in the wrong shed or room; laughing, sitting down, etc. Fines for late attendance range as a rule from 1_d._ for the first five minutes lost up to 3_d._ and 6_d._ according to the time lost; other disciplinary fines from 6_d._ to 2_s._ 6_d._ The deductions made for damages of various kinds are even a more serious matter. After the work leaves the loom it is examined and passed, and if any flaw is found in it the weaver is liable to have the piece returned with the intimation that she must buy it, or submit to a heavy deduction. In many cases the fines imposed amount to the wages earned upon the piece. The injustices incident to such a system--if system it can be called where no rule obtains--are many. In the first place it gives an immense power into the hands of the overlooker or cloth looker who examines the work, and this power is often abused. Then again it enables the employers to shift from themselves to the workpeople the loss sustained by the use of bad material. The system of piece-work itself accomplishes this, as the worse the material the longer and more troublesome the job, and the less the wages. But in addition to this the worker’s own time has to be lost in “mending,” and wages are deducted for mistakes which no amount of watchfulness or skill could avert. Frequently too the operatives are not even shewn the piece on account of which the fine is imposed. The “Particulars Clause,” which was inserted in the Factory Act of 1891, had mainly its origin in what amounted to a fraudulent system of deductions. The system is somewhat too technical for explanation here, but it consists in giving weavers and other textile piece workers a false basis on which to calculate the amount of work done, so that the wages paid to them fall short of what they are entitled to receive. It is now compulsory upon employers to furnish to certain classes of operatives particulars of piece-work--another instance in which Trade Unionism has suggested legislation, for the clause is entirely due to the influence of the Textile Unions. Among other forms of deduction are charges made for the use of hot water, the oiling of looms, the renewal and repair of brushes and oil cans, and the cleaning out of lavatories. I have known mills in which the system of fines has been purely nominal; but unfortunately these constitute a minority, the rule being that the workpeople have to ensure the employer out of their own wages against all risks and damage in the process of production, whether due to defects in material, machinery, or workmanship.