Another meeting of the Spitalfields silk-weavers was held at the
Crown and Anchor, Waterloo Town Bethnal Green, on Saturday, for the purpose of receiving the report Of the acting committee appointed to investigate the condition of the silk-weavers of that district. It declared the distress to be fully equal to what had been before represented. One half of the looms were unemployed, while those at work were not fully employed. Complaints were made of the hardships to which the weavers were exposed if they applied to the parish, by being put to stonebreaking, which rendered their hands so rough as to unfit them for resuming their work at the loom. In the year 1837 a special order had been obtained, by which no man engaged in silk-weaving could be put to stone-breaking ; but the old system had been resumed. It was resolved— " That this meeting, from the various accounts given by the several victims of atone-breaking, are disgusted with the practice, and further are of opinion that it is unconstitutional and unchristian ; and from the knowledge of the effect that it has on the hands of the silk-weaver, by disabling him from working, do pledge themselves to oppose this horrible system to its utmost."
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