The+reforms+of+the+Great+Ministry,+1841-1846

[[image:http://c1.wikicdn.com/i/c.gif width="1" height="1" caption="add to favorites"]]__**The reforms of the Great Ministry, 1841-1846**__

 * __Mines Act 1842__ **
 * A freak accident at Huskal Collery in Sulkstone near Barnsley - steam overflowed into a vent system after thunder storms in 1838. The flood caused the death of 26 children, 11 girls (aged 8-16) and 15 boys (aged 9-12) --- This raised public awareness and Queen Victoria demanded an enquiry, which took the form of the Children's employment commission which was headed by Lord Shaftesbury.
 * The Act meant that no boys under 10 and females were allowed to work in mines.

However....
 * There was only 1 inspector for the whole of GB and so this act couldn't be regulated.
 * The working classes were unhappy as their family incomes were lowered.

__**Railways Act**__ The results of this act were.....
 * Mainly safety related.
 * Railways had to be inspected by the Board of Trade who could demand enquiries into accidents
 * The Government could also demand the use of railways in a National Emergency and they also had the power to fix fares.
 * Companies had to provide a minimum service.
 * All carriages had to have seats and protection from the elements.
 * Companies weren't allowed to charge 1d per mile and had to stop at every passanger station.
 * There had to be a train going in both directions at least once a day.

It improved the quality and availablility of 3rd class railway travel. Owners of the companies didn't like this act as it was expensive to implement these changes. An example of the government moving away from Laissez Faire as they were interfering with private companies.

__**Factory Acts 1844**__ Aims.....
 * These were passed with the help of Lord Shaftesbury. (A great social reformer who was particularly concerned with improving working conditions, public health and education. He established the Ragged Schools Union in 1843.)
 * To reduce the working hours of women and children and to improve working conditions around machinery (machinery was fenced off.
 * To ban women and young people aged 13-18 from working for more than 12 hours per day.
 * Under 13s - not allowed to work for longer than 6 and a half hours per day.
 * Under 8s - not allowed to work.
 * Give everyone extended lunch breaks to increase productivity

Problems.....
 * The government didn't employ enough people to regulate this, they were poorly paid and easily bribed.
 * Families' incomes decreased so they started to lie about the age of their children to get them into work. Some doctors would produce erroneous certification.
 * GOOD IN THEORY BUT DIFFICULT TO ENFORCE

**__Bank Charter Act 1844__** Causes.....
 * Banking system was unstable
 * Any bank could issue notes with any face value without the gold reserve to support the value. This could lead to inflation.

Key features.....
 * No new banks could issue notes
 * Existing banks were restricted in issuing notes
 * Bank of England could issue notes to the value of £14 million - anything beyond that had to be covered by Gold reserves.
 * The government retained the right to suspend the act in cases of crisis, this happened on 3 occasions, 1847, 1857, 1866.

Successes....
 * The £ became stable
 * London became the monetary center of the world.

**__The Companies Act 1844__**
 * The government placed controls on the formation of companies - they all had to be officially registered and produce accounts.
 * It had limited success.

(There was also the reintroduction of income tax as well as a gradual removal/lowering of tariffs on imported goods.)