The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-09-23 00:00:00

The following is the letter olhuled to above

Vont. columns for some time past have recorded the prm
urea, of a strike at Newcastle-on-Tyne, which, whatever its
result, will certainly be felt by all the manufacturing teaks
in tlroat Britain, and your excellent leader on the subject
having elevated it into a public question, we trust that you
will permit us to state our view of the matter, as being the
most certain way to call the attention not only of ourbrother
engineers, Mit also other employers of labour, to a Mot,
meat w latch will affect them, our apology being that our
stake iii it islet unimportant. employing as we do 400 bands,
15101 compethig such With fereianers.

I. This dcloool of Ono litirs for the day's actual work is
Tierfeetly legitireate, .mite olilferent from the demands in
1,1,0, which I,re tyrannical, and properly reskted try it
lock-omit. In the ewse of the nine hours, it is no more than a
question of buyer awl seller. The nian wants one-ninth
more for his labour. Is the master willing to give it We
presume the answer will be, " No. if we can get cheaper
elsewhere : yes, if we cannot, and are not able to get you to
take less."

2. Is there A probability that the employe', can get
cheaper labour elsewhere? As to gettina foreigners we
think all s ill i5......we ea!, book fir nothing permanent from
that Sour, , :Ind these days 44 easy c4,llllllllllkltiolin, news•
tapers, awl ennildmitions among men, exereiSilla ii terrorigni
Over rind' nther that empinyers are strangers In in their • -
bination., sit pr,vent it, even if we oil,! f 4.1-0,10.,,
and it Is nude is rtain, if thin nine hones' movement he
ciente,' at , 41' on Tv., it will have to lie gieen all
over the ,/motry. tidally preventing the employers Irene
getting labour Great Britain.
3, If the employers in reat Britain combine together wills
other countries shire labour 41,arer a condonation with
tontinental emph.y, en in Ilit 11111 Ch Une, as the men will not
go to them to get less neon y), then, the combinatiiins being
honourably kept, it is al t certain the mem will he beaten.
As the nice combine to lit-it the einiiin)ers the emPloYenl
audit In, et.il,ltie to prevent it. Is it pos.silde to get other
eiblilltet.n, As America. Australia, phi iis in this
movement I We do nit think It is and therefore the men
sill an away, they ran, fie vetter waaes, as they an
alr,adv. The coMbination eni loyers sill be conlinedi to
Great Britain.

.• then, looked at the politie...e...mornical aspect
: Maim question, u hat 1% the moral and Just
asta,t r Is it an unfair thing for the men to have nine hours
1:r the .lay's work e We do not think it is on ~,,, panng
th,:m 0 ith other lotsinesses and profession.. Asa rule, it is
"t Fur irnirirt of lahnur, sedentary or otherwise, that regu-
Ert.-s the hoer, of labour, but eliStOni. Sinee first middle•
call r.ni,n,ber the hirers were six to six
•cry rli.y in tire sir k, Satinday berlml-.1 rkl lweirs b.r
: while clerks iir Government oMees did hut :Si
!. `ns in banks 42 hours. Warehousemen and others
the rltielit time, only WOrli 114311 trifle tO nix
• :3111 nine to one out Satnnlays, which allow-
. •Jr for dinner, girt s but 44 hours trove
while the engineers workmen in London
% • Irs. There is no explanation but custom that
-• zr. at a difference. Even in enginct In.• 1111% 3 one
Irk. et nine, while the workman begins at six. For
briea•ii.ra inc have often is:Herta-41 on it ftli it manifest Innis-
tice that the workman, whose abilities are much higher than
tima, I ,f lair clerks, is compelled hy custom to labour harder,
loe his I.rains nmre, working at trlnic
Stairs to learli tilitil a clerk, looked down upon [mum.: he
In
3,,i1,31 I y 1,1% trade, getting rossibly less pay, and their has to
cork two and that! more hours every day .1 his life than
the clerk elm is often intellectually inferior to him. Every
practical engineer nood admit this, and 8130 that the fore-
men over the men, who are very much superior to the clerks
h, knowledge. awl Whir have to exercise flinch more brain
power, are compelled also to work two Mill a half hours
more daily than the clerk, because the men must not he left
nithout tile
:Now, with the advanced eiltteatlon of the workmen, which

is very :WWII Mont now luau 3. yeats ago, at hen the engineers
1,1111111111 reduced the daily work from ten anal a half to ten
hours. it is not to 1.1,11,1.1 that men will be satisfied with
this Memo, of hoots of labour between themselves and
Mel". Thereto 111,e airungth takenont Of Omooldler,lllo,iler-
maker, and &smith by his work than fomi any clerk or ware-
houseman by his work, and by middle life they begin PS feel
it. Most employers in middle and beyond middle life would
not like to Mr compelled to be at work by the ring of the
bell at ^ix hi the morning, summer and winter, how. tb,n,
ran we e‘pect our men, and particularly our worthy foremen,
to like it, especially when they see lithera often tint so ouch
no tlirllselvv in the wine factory lady start at nine! There
is more taken out of a draughtsman in seven or eight hours
than out of a workflow lie ought net to do more, but it is
not so with ethos who lo,in at nine.

We are well aware, it may be said, that the workman in of
A Coarser 111"Ilid, hilt all employers know they have a lar,gr,
herd Men whom they can hold in high esteem, yet all
mast h.e treated alike.

Also it in the tendency of the employed generally to
abldeviate the lomn, I labour : even those in city ware.
houses, who alredl had shorter hours than workmen, now
leave td at .115011 natordays. We, therefore, must expect
that our workmen as they advance hi intelliindivc will wish
their hours of falser shortened, and must look on it in the
end as inevitable.

0. What, then, is the proper course for employers to
pursue in this agitation for nine hours' instead of ten Ileum'
daily lailalif S We respectfully submit to the eonsideration
of onie brother employers to link at it in the light that the
hours of labeur must ultimately be shortened. Also, if the
hours lie shi;rtened throughout the kingdom ultimately, that
we shall be ill no worse Is .sition than we are 111,W ; and as
regards other comitries, depend is it if Mite Mums is the
rule in England, it Iv ill be sure to be the rule there ; there-
fore we shall he no worse off as regards foreigners, who are
our chief competitors.
We migilleering employers are in general men accustomed
to self-denial, not harniling all our earnings as each week
rolls int, but having practised eve...my, given all our leisure
time to srlt-lttilironenteut with. 1 aSpollaillilitita alai cares
that few of I,ur workmen know as thing of, awl by all these
means we have acquired a capital st Melt we have it;vested In
lilt liminess as mutineer's with a e,,lisilotts ability to Use it.
It is not, therefore, In be expected that we are to sacrifice
It to ally unfair combinat if oar worlinicti, awl it is
neither our interest 111,1' that of our workincli to be placed at
ilisadvalitage with the fereiguer. A large I,l,laiall of the
bosinehs of engineers I:l4.ists if contracts extending over a
length of time before they are finished. We have no right
to he coerced to lose le per cent. on theta ott account of the
combination of trades' unions, international or otherwise.
What we have a right to, ask is time. If we can work off
otir contracts at the present rates we eau 'mike new con-
tracts accordingly.
As the nun have commenced combinations against the
employers, we think the employers should thoroughly com-
bine and show to any combinations of workmen, inter-
national or otherwise, that they are strong eineigh mit to
be taken advantage of in detail, for, however philanthropists
may wish, we have mit arrived at the halcyon tMie that
strength sill not make a wise combatant pause in his attacks
This being done, then to pmpose that in (say steer "
months, so may lie agreed, the day's work shall consist of nine
I to. or any ether time that may be agreed on with fair
atipulations. This ntay be done by committees appointed by
Leith employers awl workmen, or by each employer
with his own workmen, or in ally other desirable manner.
If, being Strong el ~,,, gli, we show that we are amenable
Lit reason and fairness, we stay expect to have not only
the sensible men with us, laff also all sue foremen,
whiste wishes must natorally be for the success of this move-
ment, mill whose influence Is deservedly great. Engineers,
both cniployers miff eninloyeil, has e won tom Many successes
ill the world w ithout Parliament interfering (as a brother
employer in a steak moment asked for the other day in a
letter in your Ilency Article) not to be capable of settling
their differenees this titne. Engineers have been protielinceff
Isy ear thief statesmen to lie the first Linde or profession in
the i 1 orb', tout we shall he mistaken if we are net now
capable of potting it stop to a strike or preventing a Iwk-tiut
withoot etcettuih interference, which, in the present revival
of trade, will be disastrous to all.

At the meeting on Monday night of the Central
Committee of Amalgamated Trailes, formed to support
the men on strike in the North, held at their rooms,
lilarkfriars, London, the secretary reported that sub-
scriptions werecoming in to a far greater extent than
since the commencement of the strike. This week the
Central I 'ommittee hail sent £45 to Newcastle for the
support id the men on strike, and that was the largest
elm yet transmitted. The. London Central Society of
House Painters had, unsolicited, sent in a handsome
subscription. The secretary added that the 435 was
quite independent of the amount realised by the
" benefit" at Canterbury-hall, which had not yet been
ascertained, lint which no doubt would be substantiaL
Arrani:ements were made for holding district meetings
in ci part, of the Mari polio.