The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-11-02 00:00:00

BRIERLEY HILL.

CHARGE AGAINST A GAMEKEEPER,—At the Police
Court, on Monday, before Messrs Hall and Holcroft
John Lowther. a gamekeeper, was summoae on a charge
of having assaulted one William Dickens, on the 19th
ult. There was a eross-summons. Mr. Waldron ap-
peared for Dickens, and Mr. Addison for Lowther. The
complainant in the first case said that he lived at Whitt-
ington and when coming from Kinver in company with
a man named Johnson he met the defendant. Johnson
held a conversation with defendant. Lowther and wit-
ness requested his companion to " come along" as it
was raining. Defendant then attacked witness and
violently assaulted him. He left she place with his
companion but defendant followed and repeated the
assault. Mr. Addison's defence was that the case arose
out of illfeeling in consequent of a recent case in which
, defendant had been opposed to witneas's father. The
complainant said that in the close-summons against
Lowther deposed that he wa,s assaulteh by Dickens with-
out provocation. Lowther was fined `ls 61 and cos
in default sevsn days' imprisonment, and the charge
against Dickens was dismissed.
DRUNKENNESS.—Joseph Bloomer, horse nailmaker, of
Quarry Bank and Jabez Bloomer, of Kidderminster,
were fined 5s each and costs ; in default fourteen days'
imprisonment for being drunk, at Quarry Bank, on the
21st ult.—Joseph Bloomer was also charged with an
assault upon Moses Stevens but eomplainint withdrew
the charge on defendant paying costs.
STEALING COAL.—Mary Rushton, Faith Rushton, and
Mice Wright, girls, were summoned on a charge of steal-
ing coal, the property of the Earl of Dudley from 25 pit
Wallows Colliery. Additional constable Taylor deposid
that he saw the defendants commit the offence, but the
defendants in defence denied that they were at the
colliery. In the result they were fined 7s 61 or seven
days' imprisonment.
BREACH OF THE PEACE.—John Hadley and John
Robert Alibotts were charged with committiog a breach
of the peace, at Bank Street, Brierley Hill, on the 19th
ult. The first named defendant was bound over to keep
the peace as he has beed previously convicted and the
other defendant paid costs.—James Booth, William
Henry Brown, and Richard Cartwright were charged
with a similar offence, and were discharged on paying
costs and promising not to offend again.'—John Bradley
was ordered to pay 6s 61 costs for a breach of the
peace.
CHARGE OF REFUSING TO QUIT.—George Brooks,
Wombourn, was charged with being drunk and dis-
orderly and refusing to quit the Wagon and Horses Inn,
Wombourn, and further damaging a door to the amount
of 10s. From a statement made by the defendant to the
effect that he got drunk in the complainant's house.
The Bench adjourned the case in order that the landlord
might be summoned.
ASSAULT AND DRUNKENNES3.—WiIIiam Griffiths, miner
was chrrgtd with having assaulted Joseph Allen, oa the
11th June last, and further with having been drunk-end
disorderly, on the 2611 ult. In the former case it was
proved that defendant met conplainaut on Chapel Elill
and striking him upon the eye and knocked him down.
Previous convictions having been proved the Bench
fined defendant for the assault £2 and costs, or two
moths' hard labour; and £2 and costs, or a similar term
on the second charge.
STEALING MONEY. —David Little, aged 15, was charged
wiih having stolen 2s 61 from a till belonging to
William Dudley, on the 26th nit, The prosecutor i a
grocer at Quarry Bank and on the day named he
vaught defendant in the act of committing titre_ theft.
The Bench fined defendant 203, or one month's hard
labour.
ASSAULT.—Thomas Dyer, labourer, was summoned for
assaulting Charlotte Solway, at Trysull, on the 19th ult.
Mr. Waldron defended. The complainant alleged that
defendant assaalced her at :a public-house by striking
her and pushing her against a screen. In defence it was
urged that the man had received great provocation.
Defendant was fined•lOs and costs; in default fourteen
days' Imprisonment.
IRONWORKERS' MEETING'—On Monday last a private
meeting of ironworkers was held at the Alma inn, to
hear an address from Mr. Capper, the operative secre-
tsry of the Wages Board, who was to review the'pro-
ceedings of the late arbitration meeting. After a long,
speech from Mr. Capper and some remarks from mem-
bers of the trade present, it was agreed unanimously :
" That this .meeting, after due and proper consideration
of all the circumstances appertaining te the case, is of
opinion that the late award was not given in accordance
with the weight of evidence; nevertheless we will adhere
to the arbitrator's decree." It was also agreed, after
discussion, " That after taking into gousideration the
increased cost of living, togetner with the fact that wages
are at the prJsent time from five :to ten per cent. leas
than at any time during the last twenty years, and
further seeing that it is impossible with the present
wages to get the proper necessaries of life, we instruct
the operative members of the Wages Board to at once
give the requisite notice for the reconsideration of the
wages question, and that, with the view of securing an
increase of wages, they should urge upon the employers
if; needs be, to advance the selling price of iron " Mr.
Capper, in responding to a vote of thanks and confi-
dence in himself and the other operative members of
the Arbitration Board, and in answer to a statement

made by a person in the body of the meeting, said there
was little hope for the future of the ironworkers but in
themselves, and that it was simply sickening at times to
isten to the silly claptrap as it emanated from those
who had no sympathy with working men. When they
heard paople asking the question, What would labour
do without capital ? The answer should be, What
would capital do without labour? The one was neces-
sary to the other. Taking the world as they found it, it
would appear that everybody outside the ranks of labour
had got into the habit of looking up to capital and
making gold their god, and to look down upon labour as
Leing the reverse; yet everybody knew, or ought to
know, that capital, in the common acceptation of the
term, was the offspring of labour. Yet labour was the
servant of capital, and the latter, reversing the legend
of Satan had been destroying its creator. A knowledge
of the correct definitions of capital and labour was, he
was inclined to think, somewlaa; limited. The defini-
tions which he believed to be correct he was willing to
confess were coined by wiser heads than hissl The
modern school of political economists treated labour as
an article of merchandise; as something having no in-
dividual right, as something abstract from the man, the
same as coal or iron; and said it was to be regulated
alone by the law of supply and demand, With these in-
structions he demurred, because they could not separate
the labour from the man the same as they could an
article of merchandise ; and there was the fundamental
distinction, coal and iron had no sentient being, no
thirst or hunger, no hope or fear, no right or will, no
responsibility or duty ; but labour meant arms and legs.
They could not sever them with impunity from the
living man and pack them off and sell them in the mar-
kets. Labour meant hearts and brains; labour, in
short, meant the man himself, whose passing life and
whose eternal future you influence by the way they
treated him hero. (Applause.) The meeting then con-
cluded.

LOCAL COLLIERS AND THEIR WOREING HOURS—Now
that the whols of the districts in South Stafbrdshire
and East Worcestershire have spoken on this question,
it is distinctly seen that the men will nut accept, upon
any terms, the proposition that they shall work an hour
extra per day. This was shadowed forth very plainly
some days ago. The proverbial " thin end of the
wedge " is what the men seem to fear more than any-
thing else, and they applaud even a reduction in the
already low wages rater than any addition to lhe work-
ing hours. One or two masters, too have expressed
privately their opinion that if 4the hours are increased
nove the moment the moment trade revives the first
eff)rt of ;he men will be to bring about a reduction to
the eight hours system, and so the trade will be again
violently agitated at the moment when it can least
afford to be interfered with. It has been hinted at
some of the meetings, and insisted upon tv., others, that
Mr. E. Fisher Smith threatened the men that if they did
net work longer hourse he would reduce the price of
coal and wages. This Mr. Smith dtd not do as a threat.
In the course of the discussion, he said the men must
remember that under the agreement he could reduce
Lord Dudley's furnace coal, and wages would necessarily
drop. This of course can be construed into a threat,
but the majority of the masters and men present did not
for a moment look ukon the remark is one mended to
coerce the men in any way. In conclusion it may be
said that the resolutions of the men are no idle ones,
and that they raally do feel that to increase the hours
would be to lose one of their most valued privileges
Tuesday next will see whether any different arrange-
ment can be arrived at by tt e masters, the agents, and
the delegates.—On Tuesday last, meetings of miners
were held at the Three Crowns Inn, Hill Top, and the
Black Boy Inn, Lyme, West Bromwich to consider the
proposal of the local coalmasters to increase the working
hours of the miners, and at both of the meetings—
which were of a private character—resolutions were
pas,ed expressive of the determination of the men to
resist by every legitimate means the proposed increase of
working time.—At a large meeting of miners, at Dar-
laston, on Tuesday evening last, it was stated that in
most of the South Staffordshire and East Worcester-
shire strikes the men had decided on to work on the
eight hours system. The delegates said unless the men
would work nine hours the employers said they must
close the mines. A. resolution was passed to work eight
hours only.—A meeting of miners' delegates of the East
Worcesterstaire and South Staffordshire districts took
placo at the Bell Inn, Horseley Heath, Tipton, on Tues-
dag night last. Staaements were laid before the meeting
setting forth that at meetings of miners held in all parts
of the district resolutions had been passed by the men,
who were unanimous in their determination not to
accept' the masters' proposals. In the course of a dig-
clifsion which followed it was urged that very little
benefit could result either to men or masters from the
ad option of the system referred to. At the conclusion
the meeting a resolution was passed, in which the
ged themselves to support the miners eu
chic)