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He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Bible, Proverbs 19:17.
This verse is identical to one used in a ballad support of Frame-Knitters and sold on the streets of Sunderland in 1826. See Comments on Song

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"The person who will call for this bill will bring a sample of the very best reels of cotton for sale" :- Apparently the spinners distributed copies of the broadside and returned later with cotton for sale and retrieved the broadside for re-use. The broadside was printed in London. This raises two possibilities a) The more likely scenario is that the spinners went to London in search of work and used the sale of cotton reels as a stop-gap until they could find better employment. Perhaps they had money to fund the printing of the broadside or perhaps a printer was prepared to give them some copies on spec. b) the broadside was printed in London and sent to Manchester for distribution. From 1838 it was possible to send goods from London to Manchester by railway but there were perfectly good printers in the Manchester area.
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The busy railway station was a natural place for prostitutes to seek customers. This is a variant of an older song set beside the Thames (Roud 3457). It moves the action to a railway station just as prostitutes moved with their customers from river boats to railway trains.
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The song links ballad singing to criminality. A frequent accusation of the time and not without basis in fact.
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"And he is to be mine":- A Great Western Driver earned £2 7s 6d, per week when the average wage was £1. He was educated, respected by the community, well paid and naturally a good catch for any young woman in search of a husband.
  1. [Note 201.3]
  2. [Note 090.3]
  3. [Note 090.4]
  4. [Note 090.5]

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