Alltheseshiftsnaturallywereofnoavail。TheFactoryInspectorsappealedtotheLawCourts。ButsoonsuchacloudofdustinthewayofpetitionsfromthemastersoverwhelmedtheHomeSecretary，SirGeorgeGrey，thatinacircularofAugust5th，1848，herecommendstheinspectorsnot\"tolayinformationsagainstmill—ownersforabreachoftheletteroftheAct，orforemploymentofyoungpersonsbyrelaysincasesinwhichthereisnoreasontobelievethatsuchyoungpersonshavebeenactuallyemployedforalongerperiodthanthatsanctionedbylaw。\"Hereupon，FactoryInspectorJ。Stuartallowedtheso—calledrelaysystemduringthe15hoursofthefactorydaythroughoutScotland，whereitsoonflourishedagainasofold。TheEnglishFactoryInspectors，ontheotherhand，declaredthattheHomeSecretaryhadnopowerdictatoriallytosuspendthelaw，andcontinuedtheirlegalproceedingsagainstthepro—slaveryrebellion。
ButwhatwasthegoodofsummoningthecapitalistswhentheCourtsinthiscasethecountrymagistrates？Cobbett’s\"GreatUnpaid\"？acquittedthem？Inthesetribunals，themasterssatinjudgmentonthemselvesAnexample。OneEskrigge，cotton—spinner，ofthefirmofKershaw，Leese，&Co。，hadlaidbeforetheFactoryInspectorofhisdistricttheschemeofarelaysystemintendedforhismilp;Receivingarefusal，heatfirstkeptquiet。Afewmonthslater，anindividualnamedRobinson，alsoacotton—spinner，andifnothisManFriday，atalleventsrelatedtoEskrigge，appearedbeforetheboroughmagistratesofStockportonachargeofintroducingtheidenticalplanofrelaysinventedbyEskrigge。
FourJusticessat，amongthemthreecottonspinners，attheirheadthissameinevitableEskrigge。EskriggeacquittedRobinson，andnowwasofopinionthatwhatwasrightforRobinsonwasfairforEskrigge。Supportedbyhisownlegaldecision，heintroducedthesystematonceintohisownfactory。[122]Ofcourse，thecompositionofthistribunalwasinitselfaviolationofthelaw。[123]Thesejudicialfarces，exclaimsInspectorHowell，\"urgentlycallforaremedy？eitherthatthelawshouldbesoalteredastobemadetoconformtothesedecisions，orthatitshouldbeadministeredbyalessfallibletribunal，whosedecisionswouldconformtothelaw……whenthesecasesarebroughtforward。Ilongforastipendiarymagistrate。;[124]
Thecrownlawyersdeclaredthemasters’interpretationoftheActof1848absurd。ButtheSavioursofSocietywouldnotallowthemselvestobeturnedfromtheirpurpose。LeonardHomerreports，\"HavingendeavouredtoenforcetheAct……bytenprosecutionsinsevenmagisterialdivisions，andhavingbeensupportedbythemagistratesinonecaseonly……Iconsideredituselesstoprosecutemoreforthisevasionofthelaw。ThatpartoftheActof1848whichwasframedforsecuringuniformityinthehoursofwork，……isthusnolongerinforceinmydistrict（Lancashire）。Neitherhavethesub—inspectorsormyselfanymeansofsatisfyingourselves，whenweinspectamillworkingbyshifts，thattheyoungpersonsandwomenarenotworkingmorethan10hoursa—day……Inareturnofthe30thApril，……ofmillownersworkingbyshifts，thenumberamountsto114，andhasbeenforsometimerapidlyincreasing。Ingeneral，thetimeofworkingthemillisextendedto131/2hours’from6a。m。to71/2p。m。，……insomeinstancesitamountsto15
hours，from51/2a。m。to81/2p。m。\"[125]Already，inDecember，1848，LeonardHomerhadalistof65manufacturersand29overlookerswhounanimouslydeclaredthatnosystemofsupervisioncould，underthisrelaysystem，preventenormousover—work。[126]Now，thesamechildrenandyoungpersonswereshiftedfromthespinning—roomtotheweaving—room，now，during15hours，fromonefactorytoanother。[127]Howwasitpossibletocontrolasystemwhich，\"undertheguiseofrelays，issomeoneofthemanyplansforshuffling’thehands’aboutinendlessvariety，andshiftingthehoursofworkandofrestfordifferentindividualsthroughouttheday，sothatyoumayneverhaveonecompletesetofhandsworkingtogetherinthesameroomatthesametime。\"[128]