The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-09-20 00:00:00

THE MINERS' STRIKE.
MEEIING AT DUDLEY.

On Wednesday morning a mass me3ting of the
Men on strike wits held on Porter's Field, Dudli y.
Whitehouse presided, and there were also
present the Revs. C. Leach (Birmingham), T. Parr
(West Bromwich), and elet,sra. Whitehouse, South-
all, Winwood, and Poulton, delegates.
Cho Chairman said he-regretted that there was a
nezt:siity for io-tiding another meeting in that place;
but Icbe master were 'determined that they shovild
cv orig. ohiy,at a reduction. It w.ts fer them to gay
who: her they would do so or not.
Mr. 6outhall raid there were thtee gentlemen in
the district—he need not mention their .names—
wh etti.t, by their actions if not by thei'r words,
that they did not care whether or not the wives
and f ,milies of the miners had aoy bread to eat,
any clothes ti wear, or any bed to lie on. but they
must, un .er any eircurnstanctii. go to work at the
rthluetion. It was for them to devise steps to
bredi the power of tilos,. inn---(ch,ers). He found
that in the mirth the men worked only six hours
4,1 (hi p.n. day. How was it, he asked, that the
South Stafford,hlre men, wile they worked eight
hours, could only get 33 41 per day? Thar, he
thouelit, was their own fault, end they must learn
the virtue of combinstion ? Tout , was their only
hope of salvation. They knew that the masters
wanted to get them to work an hour extra per
day. lie, however, ur,ed th2rn rather to agitate
for a re .uction of an hour. per day; and if coal was
scarce this wiuter as he believed it would be, tu try
and get two houre per day off,—(cheers).
The 'Lev. T. Parr, who next epoke, regretted
that the Court of. Appeal had lamentably failed=
failed ovviug.to the action of the masters. He be-
lieved that they Went to that :fleeing fully de-
terminej to ct.neede n.ything—(khatne). He, law.
over, thought the men were to be eonqatulated on
the failure of the negotiation, as it had called at-
tention to the tact that they were willing to again
submit to arbitration; ant the sympathy of the
public towcrds them was shown by the Increased
subscription to the strike fund. With a view of
offering a practical suggestion for concluding the
Struggle, he advised the men, if such an arrange.:
ment could be made, te go to work at 3s 4d per
day if the masters Would undertake after a week or
two, to advance them to 3s Bd. He believed that
the struggle in Which they were engaged was far
reaching in its moral and social aspect, and assured
thein tbat other branches of the workin,, class
fully recognised the fact that they were fighting
their battles. It was, therefore, fel. them to recog-
nise the fact, too, and nerve themselves to meet it,
no :natter what the cost might be. lie would like
to tale,: • !le Countess of Dudlek; and ladies like,
her, to nature of the wort they had to per-
form, and Jima ask her it she thought the wages too
much—(cheers). Their object was to force the
masters to look at the question from a different
standpoint from. their own, and the men also must
learn to regard the question. He asked them to
meet the masters and discuss the matter. if possible,
not in a spirit of humility but in a spirit of equality
—(applause). He complained 'hat the masters
had not yet made known the grounds on which the
award was based, and the responsibility of continu-
ing the struggle rested with them—(cheers). lie
commended the men for their behaviour during the
strike, and urged them, while being true to the
styes and others, to follow the same course of Loa-
duct to the enti—(cheers).
The hey. Charles Leach next addressed the meet-
-ng. In the course of his speech he referred to a
-ewspaper correspondence which had taken place
Petwoon biateolt ouci 419 chainnau 91 the Coaluitte-