Jane Humphries s Protective Legislation, The Capitalist...

To a large extent, the extract from the Report by Samuel S. Scriven, Esq., on the Employment of Children and Young Persons in the Collieries of a Part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; and on the State, Condition, and Treatment of such Children and Young Persons, 1842 confirms the charges of class bias contained in Jane Humphries article Protective Legislation, the Capitalist State, and Working Class Men: The Case of the 1842 Mines Regulation Act. This is shown in Humphries description of how the ruling class viewed the working class, the bias contained in the testimony and written reports by the sub-commissioners, and finally tying in Scriven’s words to Humphries’ conclusions. Under the Unit 3 Commentary, found in the Industrial Revolution Study Guide Humphries herself asserts that readers of the testimony need to read carefully and â€Å"assess the extent to which class bias may have coloured the analysis that is provided†(48), which will be employed in confirmi ng the charges of class bias. Humphries states that working class people and families were united with common interests and had to struggle for a better life. The promotion of social obligation led to the development of class consciousness. Even though the sub-commissioners were not coalminers themselves, they understood that the contributions made by working families (women and children) were made for the families’ best interest. With this said, the bourgeois observers could separate â€Å"the material foundations of