FACTORY LEGISLATION FOR WOMEN IN CANADA.
Before entering upon the subject proper, it seems necessary to make some comments upon the manufacturing interests of the country under consideration. A mere presentation of the pro- tective laws would seem to place Canada in a bad light when compared with Great Britain and the United States. But, when read with an intelligent understanding of her position among the manufacturing nations of the world, odious comparisons cannot be drawn.
Although Canada is not primarily a manufacturing country, yet the manufactures of certain portions are worthy of attention. Like other new countries,' the vast agricultural interests are the most prominent. Canada, as a united colony, is new, the first of last July marking the thirty-second year of her birth. And this is but a short time in which to develop industries. The great part of the Dominion yet in its infancy may have before it a future in which untold wealth shall be gained from its manu- factures. The mighty prairies of the Northwest may yet have great manufacturing centers. The Klondike gold may build great cities on the western wilds. But all this is suppositious. What exists now is the vital question.
The smaller and the older Canada, too, looks chiefly to agri- culture, mining, and fishing for its revenue, but manufacturing is receiving some share of attention, particularly in Quebec and Ontario. In the maritime provinces it is not of the same importance. Canning factories for the preserving of fish and fruit, and cotton and woolen factories, and sugar refineries, are the most prominent.
With such a condition of affairs, it is not surprising that fac- tory legislation should not have attained the proportions that it has in England and the United States. In both of these coun- tries we have nearly a half century of struggle before any legal attempts were made to lessen the evils connected with factory life.
' No attempt has been made to include an account of the manufactures of the separate colonies prior to the formation of the confederation in 1867.
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