show that the surgeon is satisfied as to the age of the child, and that he has been personally examined by him, and is not incapacitated by disease or bodily infirmity for working daily for the time allowed by law in that factory. The occupier of a workshop may obtain such a certificate, but is not required to do so.

When an inspector is of opinion that a child or young person under the age of sixteen years is, by disease or bodily infirmity, incapacitated for working daily the time allowed by law in the factory or workshop in which he is employed, he may serve written notice on the occupier requiring that the employment be discontinued from the time named in the notice, not being less than one or more than seven days from the service of the notice, after which time the occupier cannot continue the employment without a new certificate that the child or young person is not incapacitated. When a child becomes a young person a new certificate of fitness must be obtained. The occupier is required to produce certificates of fitness to an inspector on demand.

Miscellaneous provisions.-Every person must, within one month after he begins to occupy a factory, serve on an inspector a written notice containing the name of the factory, the place where it is situated, the address to which he wishes his letters. addressed, the nature of the work, the nature and amount of the moving power therein, and the name of the firm under which the business of the factory is to be carried on, and in default is liable to a fine not exceeding £5.

Occupiers are required to keep in the prescribed form and with the prescribed particulars registers of the children and young persons employed in the factory or workshop, and of their employment, and of other matters under the act, and to send such extracts from the register to the inspector as he may require.

The act prescribes that there shall be affixed at the entrance of a factory or workshop, and in such other parts as an inspector directs, and be constantly kept so affixed in the prescribed. form, and in such position as to be easily read by the persons. employed in the factory or workshop:

(1.) A prescribed abstract of the act.

(2.) A notice of the name and address of the prescribed inspector.

(3.) A notice of the name and address of the certifying surgeon for the district.

(4.) A notice of the clock (if any) by which the period of employment and times for meals in the factory or workshop are regulated.

(5.) Every notice and document required by the act to be affixed in the factory or workshop.

The act applies to Scotland and Ireland, with a saving for twelve months as regards children under ten and young persons over thirteen years of

age.

The act will make little change in the English factory system, being for the most part a consolidation of previous legislation with such change in matters of detail as experience has suggested. An idea may be obtained, therefore, of the working of the act from the reports made to Parliament from time to time by the inspectors previous to January 1, 1879. All proper means are used to detect and suppress violations of the law, but no attempt is made to exact a large sum by way of fines and penalties. One of the ablest and most experienced inspectors says in a report: "We are happy to have the law kept by warnings when warnings are sufficient; but we are bound to enforce it when remonstrances have failed. I rejoice when the opportunity is afforded me of passing by transgressions; but I cannot forget that the Factory Acts were enacted for the benefit of both masters and workers, and that it is our duty to hold an even hand between those that are willing to obey the law, and those who seek undue advantages by disobeying it."

Of 367 prosecutions instituted in one division during six months, 45 were for employing children without proof of phys ical fitness; 4 for employment amongst dangerous machinery; 35 for employment during the night (many of the workers being children of tender years); 65 for employment of children by masters without proof of attendance at school; 72 for employment of children by parents without proof of attendance at school; 6 for employment during meal hours; 14 for employing children forenoon and afternoon during the same day; 46 for

employing workers after 6 P. M.; 61 for employing children more than 6 hours per day; 14 for employment after 4 P. M. on Saturday; 4 for employment after 8 P. M. on Saturday, and 1 for employing a child under eight years of age. Of these only 8 were dismissed, but a considerable number were withdrawn upon payment of costs and a promise to respect the law in future. It will be noticed that most of the violations are connected with the employment of children. Masters and parents join in attempts to evade the law, and devices to escape detection and conviction. The inspectors report, that "it is often next to impossible to obtain a repetition of evidence given by children in the first instance to a prosecutor, if it seems at all likely to reduce their wages from full time to those of half time."

adopt numerous

It has already been stated, that a motion by Mr. Fawcett excepting adult women from the provisions of the act met little favor in the House of Commons. On the other hand, a strong sentiment is growing up in favor of further restrictions upon the labor of married women, and it is proposed to class them with children so far as employment in factories is concerned. As it is, a great deterioration is going on in the health and physical and moral condition of wives and mothers -infants and children suffer from the lack of maternal care and nursing the ordinary duties of a housewife are not attended to, and home ceases to be attractive to husband or children. This state of things will continue as long as married women are allowed to be employed full time.

ARTICLE VI.-OUR NEW ENGLAND THANKSGIVING, HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED.

THERE is a certain tradition which wanders about New England in a lawless kind of way, and which undertakes to account for the origin of our old festival of Thanksgiving. The story runs somewhat as follows: In the early days of the New England settlements, the people somewhere were gathered together to consider the propriety of appointing a day for fasting and prayer, in view of the many sorrows and calamities by which they were then encompassed. One brother, more cheerful-hearted than the rest, ventured to suggest the propriety of counting up the many blessings which had fallen to their lot, and impressed his thought so deeply upon the minds of those present, that they concluded to appoint a day of thanksgiving instead of a day of fasting. From this ancient circumstance we have our modern autumnal festival. Twice within a year or two, we have encountered this tradition coming from the pulpit on Thanksgiving day. From this and other incidents of a similar kind, we have been led to believe, that the people at large have rather obscure ideas on this general subject. It is not at all unlikely that somewhere, and at some time, in a local New England church, matters took shape in the way described in the above tradition. But it is quite certain that our Novem ber festival did not have its origin in that manner.

And yet we desire to say, at the outset, that we shall not attempt to exhaust this subject. In all history, there is an inner circle of facts which are often hard to find. They were so natural and common-place at the time, that no particular record. was made of them, and they lie buried in the tomb of forgetfulness. If we could call back some prominent man from the early New England generations-if we could summon Increase Mather, for example, who was born in 1635 and died in 1723, he would easily tell us, in a few moments, certain things which we shall find it difficult to gather out of any printed records. Nevertheless, there is an outline history of this whole subject

that can be traced, and this is all that will be attempted in this article.

Our first New England Thanksgiving occurred within ten months after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in the autumn of 1621. Edward Winslow has told the simple story in language so condensed and graphic, that the children of New England will never tire of reading it.

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, so that we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoyt, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they (i. e. the Indians) went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the Captain (Myles Standish) and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet, by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Governor Bradford, in his history, also gives us a pleasing picture of the abundance in which they were then living, as compared with the destitution and want which prevailed a few months before:

"They begane now to gather in ye small harvest they had, and to fitte up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength, and had all things in good plenty; for as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about codd, and bass, and other fish, of which yey tooke good store, of which every family had their portion. All ye Somer ther was no wante. And now began to come in store of foule, as Winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And beside water foule, ther was great store of wild Turkies, of which they tooke many, beside venison, &c. Beside they had about a peck of meale a weeke to a person, or now since harvest Indean corn to ye proportion."

The first New England Thanksgiving occurred, therefore, in the autumn of 1621. Though the exact time of it is not fixed by any public record, it probably happened in the month of October, since it seems to have been largely an outdoor festival, and it lasted a week. There are strong reasons for believing that the Pilgrims, in keeping this festival, had in mind the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. In a general way they were endeavoring to reproduce this ancient Jewish custom. In the