In every street there was a well: behind
the factory were the public baths; the schools were under the
direction of the perpetual curate of the church, which Mr
Trafford, though a Roman Catholic, had raised and endowed. In
the midst of this village, surrounded by beautiful gardens,
which gave an impulse to the horticulture of the community,
was the house of Trafford himself, who comprehended his
position too well to withdraw himself with vulgar
exclusiveness from his real dependents, but recognized the
baronial principle reviving in a new form, and adapted to the
softer manners and more ingenious circumstances of the times.
And what was the influence of such an employer and such a
system of employment on the morals and manners of the
employed? Great: infinitely beneficial. The connexion of a
labourer with his place of work, whether agricultural or
manufacturing, is itself a vast advantage. Proximity to the
employer brings cleanliness and order, because it brings
observation and encouragement. In the settlement of Trafford
crime was positively unknown: and offences were very slight.
There was not a single person in the village of a reprobate
character. The men were well clad; the women had a blooming
cheek; drunkenness was unknown; while the moral condition of
the softer sex was proportionately elevated.
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