Would Hard Times have been better after another edit

Do you think that Hard Times might have been better after another edit? I wonder whether time considerations meant it was not as good as it might have been.

1) Stephen Blackpool's accent and Sleary's list make them difficult to read. Sleary's long speeches become wearing because of his lisp. Blackpool's accent is not right.

2) Stephen Blackpool refuses to join the union because he made a promise to someone. It is not clear who this person is or why he made this promise. I think this was originally in the text, but Dickens took it out again.

3) In the original text, Rachel had lost her sister in an industrial accident about twenty year before. I think this had an important bearing on the story, but again it was taken out.