In the book Baines attacked those who had campaigned against child labour. He accused them of providing a false picture of what it was like to work in a textile factory. Baines claimed in his book that "factory labour is far less injurious than many other forms of employment".

Edward Baines (1774–1848) was the editor and proprietor of the Leeds Mercury (which, by his efforts, became the leading provincial paper in England), politician, and the author of historical and geographic works of reference.

Baines wrote this article because he opposed legislation regulating factories and extending voting rights to the English working class. 3. (Close reading) What does he mean in the second paragraph, when he states, “But abuse is the exception not the rule”?