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Leader (1850-1860), 10th January 1852, Edition Town of 1, Page 30, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      "Out of deference to him , and out of the respect which they entertained for him , that the men had taken the ¦ earliest opportunity of calling a meeting , in order to consider how far they could go id adopting the suggestions which that gentleman bad made to them . The feeling of the meeting was unanimous that , if the employers wished to receive a deputation , a deputation should attend them , " 'but that the men ought not to take the initiative . ' ( Cheers . ) At that meeting there also had occurred what lie anticipated would be general-. A number of persons who were not connected with the Amalgamated Society , and who had continued to work overtime , attended , and inquired if they could notas non-members of the society ,

      , cooperate in the movement ; if their assistance would be accepted , they would thenceforth quit their labour at the termination of the ten hours . This proposition on their part was readily acceded to ; and the fact was , that the determination of the masters to close their works on the 10 th , and to throw out alike both society men and nonsociety men , must greatly add to their strength and -numbers . ( Cheers . ) He was not enabled to give tbenvany very detailed information , but he might state , that ^ amongst the London employers who had posted the notice to close on the 10 th , or who had given personal notices 4 o their men , were Maudslay and Field , Rennie , Penn , Miller and Ravenhill , Swayne and Bovil , Easton and

      Amos , Seward , Blyth , and a good many of the small masters . Messrs . Robinson and Russell had not yet posted a notice , but he believed they would do so this day . From Manchester he had only received information of three firms having posted the . notice , but no doubt there were others . These three were Messrs . Parr , Curtis and Madeley , Wellhouse and Wren . He was liappy to say that every report they received was of the most encouraging nature , and that there was every probability of the resolution which the council had come to ^ relative to self-employment being speedily carried into . effect . ( Cheers . ) Advertisements had been prepared lor insertion in the newspapers , and vigorous and effi-• cient measures had been taken to enable them to execute

      a large amount of work . In the midst of the many kind Articles on their behalf in the weekly papers , he regretted that the Dispatch , an organ so largely supported by the working classes , had taken a different view .. It was consolatory to know , however , that the gentleman who wrote * he article in that paper and the secretary of the Masters ' Association were identical—Mr . Sidney Smith—agentleenan certainly of versatile ' powers , but neither < Sidney the wise , nor Sidney the witty . ' ( Cheers and ixmgMer ) . He called on them to remember that their position was a passive one , in resisting the strike of the employers , and that they had only been called into activity by the necessity of making preparations for their defence . ( C 7 ieers . )"

      _ Mr . Usher said he was glad to hear that preparations were being made to meet the crisis . He was igure the men were quite prepared to enter into the system of self-employment' « The . members of the society had not only a great tjnany tools , but a very considerable amount of money at their disposal , which they would readily lend to the council . ( Cheers . ) He believed that the movement -would not only aid the working men , but that it would Toe of the utmost advantage to the small employers , because a number of the repairs that the men would be enabled to get would be taken to those factories where the employers had identified themselves with the men . "

      Several other speeches followed , in approval of the proceedings of the council , and expressive of sympathy with the labourers whose discharge would be consequent upon the closing of the factories . It was intimated that means would be taken to afford pecuniary assistance to any who should be so situated .

      THE TACTICS OITTHK MASTERS . The operative engineers of Manchester and its neighbourhood , in compliance with the resolutions of masters agreed to at a meeting on Friday evening last , received notice on Saturday that the workshops would be closed against them after the 10 th instant , -unless the whole body of workmen in the mean time withdraw and disavow any further intention of acting upon the demands of the Amalgamated Society for the abolition of piecework , overhours , and the discharge of labourers . The workmen of Messrs . Hibibert , Platt , and Sons , at Oldham , went to work on " Monday morning under the same notice . The folllowing is the notice posted up at the doors of Messrs . JHibbert , Platt , and Sons' works : — "NOTIOE .

      " Central Association of Employers of Operative Engineers . « The Amalgamated Society of Engineers , Machinists , &c , uot having availed themselves of the opportunity Afforded them of dipavowin « and withdrawing the demands made upon their employers , and the same demands having been in several instances enforced , the committee ot the Central Association of Employers of Operative Engineers give notice that the workshops of its members will bo entirely closed on the 10 tli of January . In conformity with the above resolution , these works will be close'd on Saturday next , the 10 th of . January , until further notice . " Jan . 3 , 1852 . " " Hhibeut , Platt , and Sons .

      On Monday tho forced strike commences . Tho amen will bo dismissed to-dny ; tho masters are the aggressors . Both parties have taken offices at Manchester . Tho employers have declined to recognize . tho executive of tho Amalgamated Society , and also to compromise with tho men . They will give no -quarter , and on their side the rnen seem disposed to iftct on like principles . Differences , tho precursors of the events of next wock , having Sprung up , have been

      cut short by strikes in special instances in 'London , Bolton , and Manchester . Meantime the men , we are informed , are busy organizing employment for themselves . They do not intend to play . The money in hand will be used to establish workshops , and in this laudable attempt they will , it is said , be backed by capital to a considerable amount .

      Untitled Article

      Leeds , January 3 , 1852 . Sir , —In the matter of the relations between labour and capital , —between the engineers and machinists , and their employers , —there appears a most lamentable ignorance of the vital or turning point of either the public or private interest of the dispute . Permit me to place before you a hint or two upon the matter , Which you may use at your discretion ; as these matters are pretty dear to " , who , from a certain position , see matters which you cannot see *

      This dispute involves two grand considerations the first , public and national , being that of the economical or commercial aspect of the trade , and with which you are probably well conversant ; the second , and less understood , is the private interests of the employers and the employed . It is to this latter aspect I wish to address myself . You well know , if the economical school axiom be true , that labour and capital have each the perfect right to buy at the cheapest and sell at the dearest markets , this is practised in the fact of the masters getting as much labour as possible for as little wages as possible , and of the men getting as much wages as

      possible for as little work . On this principle , if the practice be fairly balanced , neither will gain , though the cost of production will be materially reduced ( this the economists will not see ) to the public . 'In the working of this principle through years of ups and downs of demand and interest , it has come to pass that a standard of pay has become common for a standard day ' s work , of a standard amount and quality . Suppose we take 4 s . per day as the agreed wages of a mechanic , or 24 s . per week of six days , from six to six . ( Men differ in their abilities as they do in stature ; but there is also a sort of common standard of both , the extremes of which may be always * avoided by either men or masters . ) So long as this rule is common in the country , neither men nor

      masters ought to complain , nor can any one interest prevail . ~ That is , no master has any advantage over any other master , and no man over any other man ; while leaving or discharging will always correct any very great discrepancy on either part . At that scale of wages masters can tell the cost of labour in a machine , and competition soon reduces all to a standard of profit . It is , however , the masters' interest to reduce the wages while obtaining the full price of the machine , and hence the continued tendency of the employers to do so . Hence the continued contention of the men to oppose the reduction of the standard rate of wages . Twenty-four shillings being deemed a standard week ' s pay , any deviation from that standard is at once so evident that a

      strike is a consequence , or a reduction to all else , and so in the price of the machine ; and hence the master has no gain . It matters not to masters whether wages be 20 s . or 24 s . per week , so long as it be standard , the machine being priced accordingly . If , however , a reduction can be made without that reduction being very evident , then masters may for a while obtain a higher price for leaB wages ; and that has been and is the sole point of dispute in the time and piecework parts of this question . It operates thus : —Suppose a man of average ability were employed twelve days upon a machine , at 4 s . per day ; this would come to £ 2 . 8 s ..

      upon which his employer ought to have his profit . Suppose the man worked equally , it would just cost masters £ 2 . 8 s ., whether the man took the job by the day or by the piece ; but the temptation to get by the job causes the workman to work longer per day , or harder , and to plan , in order to realize £ 2 . 8 s . in less time , and thus apparently to increase his wages ; and hence , in the early stage of piecework ( calculated at a standard work for 4 s . ) , they uid increase their pay ; but then they did also increase their labour . Suppose the man put fourteeh . days '' work into twelve days ' time , he would apparently increase his wages to 28 s . per week , and hence piecework was deemed an advantage .

      Some few , shrewder than others , soon saw through this , and saw where it would lead to . The employers soon offered a £ 2 . 8 a . job for £ 2 . 6 s ., and tho bait took ; for the man put fourteen days' labour into twelve days' time , and eo got 2 Cs . per week . In other words , he did half a day ' s work more for the enino pay as before . Then tho masters ordered a job to bo done for £ 2 . 4 s . ; and at this rato the workman still got 24 b , per weok , but then l > 0 had to put another day ' s work in to obtain that wnges . In other words , he had to work seven days per weok iriatead of six . In tho mean time , while' the market competition was levelling tho price , tho employers got what tho men lost ; but when that price became the rule , then tho reduction was no advantage to the master . No reduction upon labour can over ultimately bo an advantage to the employer , while it is a manifest injury to tho employed . Masters are , however , too opt to

      consider the immediate ; overlooking the fact that reduction of labour will necessarily narrow the demand of his labourers to the extent of such reduction . Four shillings per day being a standard for twelve hours' labour , a reduction may be made equally by increasing the labour or the hours , as the reduction may be made in price . The latter is too evident , and the former is now pursued . The men , on the economical principle , are , therefore , fully warranted in combining to resist piecework if they find it reduces their labour , as it has done , by increasing their time . If resistance becomes a rule ,

      and does away with it , the masters cannot be injured ; for , as all will be alike , the price standard and profit would be common . Considering the threatened strike in this point of view ( and the papers have never considered it thus , and neither men nor masters are frank enough nor sufficiently disinterested to explain the utter selfishness of the strife , and neither appear up to the ultimate bearing of their contention in a philosophical point of view ) , I think you will do well to pay attention to this matter , in order to put this question on a better footing , and to submit an amalgamation of interests , by a more equal distribution of the results of labour . Believe me , ever truly , John Holmes .

      Untitled Article

      KOSSUTH IN AMERICA . Tho idea of intervention , or to write more correctly , respect for European nationalities , gains ground in America . In spite of the strong language of certain journals attached to the policy of Jefferson , who scruple not to assert that tho belief in efficient holp for Hungary from America is a " delusion , " tho words ot Kossuth , have stirred up an ardent desire in tho breasts of the citizens of the United States to cast their swords into the balance in which the fate of European nationality and Democrucy are weighed .

      Not only the overbearing cnthutnusrn of the people proves this ; but a fact substantial and tangiblo , which . Englishmen will not bo slow to appreciate , an immense sum of money has been already subscribed in aid of the Hungarian cause . The amount mentioned in the journals is far short of the total , and is indeed onl y a peculiarly subscribed fund . All over the Union committees are formed by thjs time to rooeivo subscriptions . Support comes from all quarters , from Whigs and Democrats , from all tho groat oitioa of tho Union . Hero und there a voice is raised

      aguinst it ; but in tho general shout this is drowned . The candidates for tho Presidency arc for a leaguo of freedom . Opposed to thorn und to tho nation aro the diplomatists ; those , if any good is to bo done , must give way . Wo oxtraot two passages from speeches of welcome : — MIOM Mil . IfAOADOBN ' S ADDftESS , " Fpr my part , and I auk no one to bo responsible for

      Untitled Article

      30 M ^ P ; ' :. &M p ' ft * ' fSATtoRlJA ^

      Untitled Article

      Application having been made to Lord Ingestre to endeavour as far he could to bring about a settlement of the dispute , he has , in a letter dated January 8 , proposed the following plan of arbitration . "I venture to suggest that the three parties , viz ., the masters , the operatives , and the unbiased party , the aristocracy and gentry , should each delegate four people to form a jury ; that one of the judges of the land should be invited to preside ; and that an eminent lawyer , properly selected . by the jury , should examine the witnesses of both parties . The verdict to be final . Full liberty for the press , and access to the public , as in a court of justice . "

      . *•• This , perhaps , might show the necessity of a permanent board to settle future disputes ; but time alone would prove this . , " I would suggest that , as a preliminary measure , twenty gentlemen , ten nominated by the masters and ten by the operatives , should nominate one nobleman or gentleman , " one master , and one operative , to form a committee to decide upon what sort of a tribunal should be fixed upon , as to mode of examining witnesses , " length of time of trial—in fact , all preliminary measures ; and , perhaps , that they should nominate the jury . " He declines to "be trustee of any fund raised to enable the men to employ themselves . This letter was read to the Executive Council , but no decision arrived at . ,

      Thp pncrinpf » r « Vipld ft mC ' . P . tinrr at . t . Ti p PTironi-ir Ta-The engineers held a meeting at the Phoenix Tavern on Thursday , when Mii Newton announced that measures had been taken to provide employment for the men thrown out of work , and he had no doubt but that they would be able to commence immediately . Tools and money had been subscribed by the workmen , and capital was promised . It must never be forgotten that the men were willing to remain at work , but that they complained that the masters would have them to work overtime as a

      condition of their working at all . One trade has promised that 2000 of their members will pay five shillings a-week to support the engineers . The " Moulders , " hitherto a distinct society from the Amalgamated Engineers , seem likely to become an active party in the dispute , as they have conveyed an intimation to several employers that , in the event of their losing work through the realization of the threat to close the establishments , although they have not hitherto interfered in any way in the matter , they will only return to their shops upon the same terms as are now demanded by the Amalgamated Sooioty .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 10, 1852, page 30, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1917/page/6/