Belfast may claim to be the centre of the linen trade, which finds habitation as well throughout the north of Ireland, and in the little Scotch towns of Forfar, Brechin, and Dunfermline. But in Scotland the linen industry and the jute industry are largely carried on together, whilst in Belfast the linen trade almost unsupplemented holds the field, and provides work for nearly 30,000 girls and women. The processes of manufacture closely resemble those of the cotton industry, but the wages are much lower, the unhealthy conditions far more marked, the protective agencies supplied by the workers themselves in the shape of trade unions altogether wanting, and a law similar to that which regulates the heat and humidity in the weaving sheds of Lancashire non-existent.[16] It is extremely difficult to give the actual wages earned, for although the supply of employment is usually regular, much loss of time is occasioned by the exhausting and unhealthy nature of the work, and a considerable lessening of wages is consequent upon the deductions and penalties which are enforced. Thus if a woman loses half a day she is deprived of half her bonus, whilst the loss of a whole day means the disappearance of the bonus altogether. This so-called bonus on regular employment is really a part of the time wages of the workers. In most of the factories and mills it is 1_s._ 6_d._, in some 1_s._ a week. As it is exceptional for a woman to be able to work the whole week through, this bonus rarely finds its way in its integrity into her pocket. In addition to this there are fines and deductions for damaged work, just as there are in the cotton and woollen industries. Taking all this into account, the average wages of the women can scarcely amount to more than 8_s._ or 9_s._ a week. Further reference is made to the grossly insanitary condition of the trade and the mills in another chapter. So far no labour movements on the part of the women have ever had the slightest success. The employers have been in the habit of meeting any movements of the kind by the threat of a lock-out, which has been carried into effect more than once. [16] The linen trade has since been classed among “dangerous trades,” and is now under “Special Rules.” CHAPTER V. _MISCELLANEOUS TRADES._ Machinery and Women’s Labour--Demand for Cheap Labour--The Sweating System--Basis of Men’s and Women’s Wages--Women’s Wages merely Supplementary--Women’s Wages in various Industries--Difference between Men’s and Women’s Wages artificially kept up--Policy of Men’s Unions.