The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-01-18 00:00:00

THE ENGINEERING TRADE.

The Times of Monday says :—" The question of re-
turning to the old 57i weekly working hours in the
engineering trade and the consequent abolition of the
nine hours system may be said to have been set at rest
for the present at least. The manifesto issued last
week by the executive council of the Amalgamated
Society of Engineers has, it is stated in the trade, made
a deep impression upon the employers, and many of
the latter have openly declared to their foremen and
managers that they would not extend the hours
of labour except under the very greatest pressure,
as any disturbance in the present amicable
relatiens between the employers and the employed
in the engineering trade, which, from the tone of the
society's manifesto, was certain to arise should the
hours of labour be extended, would utterly destroy the
business, which is at present in a not too flourishing
condition. The employers further state that if any
change is forced upon them by circumstances it must
rather take the form of a reduction in wages than an
extension of the hours of labour, and they believe the
society would yield to this if a necessity for it were
fairly shown, especially as the manifesto of the coun-
cil of the society stated,—` We know the times are
hard, and whenever a necessity for a reduction of
wages is shown to exist we have quietly given way.'

Last Saturday night at most of the London
branches of the society the subject was again dis-
cussed. The course taken by the council of the
society was thoroughly endorsed, and a determination
was unanimously expressed to resist any attempt to
extend the hours of labour. It is generally believed
that the crisis will pass over without either a reduc-
tion of wages or an extension of hours‘"

The Graphic remarks upon the Nine Hours
System :—" The Executive Council of the Amalga-
mated Society of Engineers is doing good work in pro-
testing and arguing against the proposal to break up
the nine hours' system. .As yet not even the semblance
of a good reason has been urged in favour of the sug-
gestion. It is true that trade is bad, but trade is bad
everywhere, and it is a mere assumption to attribute
the evil in even a slight degree to the diminution that
has been effected in the houra of labour. Manufacturers
complain bitterly of the difficulty of competing with
foreign producers, but there is no evidence that the
addition of an hour to a day's work would make the
taek less severe. An average man who works con-
scientiously will achieve as much in nine hours as in
ten; and if this were not the case it would still be
advisable to abide by the shorter term, since by over-
working men we dry up the sources of vital energy,
and thus in the long run do the greatest possible harm
to industry. On the whole, the nine hours' system
has produced excellent effects. There are, of course,
men among the working classes, as among all other
classes, who abuse their leisare • but the world hears
only of the bad specimens. There are thousands of
others who pass the time in innocent amusement
or in praiseworthy efforts to cultivate their minds.
In the manifesto issued by the Amalgamated Engi-
neers some extremely interesting statistics on this
subject were produced. It was decisively shown that
since the introduction of the nine hours' system there
has been a steady and remarkable increase in the
numbers of workmen who attend evening classes for
instruction in art and science. On purely human
grounds this ought to suffioa ; but even from the
special point of view of the manufacturers, surely it is
obvious that they must in the end profit by the eleva-
tion of their men. The work of artisans who respect
themselves, and who do their duty intelligently, is
certain to bear the marks of their higher intellectual
and moral qualities."