The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-12-06 00:00:00

THE CRISIS IN INDITSTRY.

"A Working Man" contributes the following article
on the above subject to the Daily Mrotrick: The
settlement of the Franchise Question, by the Govern-
ment and the leaders of the Opposition, will have the
effect of calling greater attention during the coming
recess to the alarming depression in trade, and will
doubtless result in a calm discussion as to the remedies
to be provided to assist in removing it..
At several meetings which I have attended during
the last few weeks there have been some interesting
discussions on "State-aided Emigration," which is
urged would be an excellent remedy to relieve the
ever-increasing congested state of the labour market.
I am aware that emigration is not popular with
some working-men leaders, who prefer in preference
to it a reform in the land laws, or what is more
popular with some, the "nationalisation of the land."
But whilst the "grass is growing the steed is
starving." In my opinion, a good system of emigra-
tion, aided and directed under Government control,
would to a large extent do much to relieve the pre-
sent depression, and would ultimately tend to bring
about the realisation of the other.

The annnal increase of our population and the dif-
ficulty of working men in obtaining employment is
becoming alarming, and throws upon the nation a
permanent and her,vy burden in the cost of maintain-
ing some 3,000,000 of pauperised, starved, and de-
graded fellow-creatures. No reform in our land
laws, however drastic in its character, could do more
than postpone the solution of this great social
problem.
• Mr. Samuel Smith, the Liberal member for Liver-
pool, and who has devoted much time and attention
to the study of our over-population, and who has just
issued a pamphlet on "National Progress and
Poverty," which is full of authoritative information,
says on the subject of the difficulty that will arise on
our over-population as follows:
We were adding to our population every year as
much as we did during every century up to the close
of the seventeenth century. It rose from five and a
half to 11 millions during the eighteenth century, and
during this century it had further risen to 30 millions,
and before its close it would apparently approach to
40 millions. If the increase of our population were to
go ou during the next century at the same rate, this
island would contain 150 millions of people before
the year 2000, and Great Britain would present the
appearance of little else than one continuous city
from Land's End to the Firth of Forth. . . . No
country had increased with such rapidity as our own,
and that, too, in spite of much enngration. During
the present century we had parted with nearly 10
millions of persons by emigration, and had these
remained at home the overcrowding which we now
deplored would have been ten times worse. . . In
France the population was almost stationary, while in
England it i•ncreased about 15 per cent. every 10
years; and we could not disguise the fact that this
added not a little to the strain and difficulty of life.
. . .He was in favour of all such legislation as
proceeded upon a sound and just basis, but he would
urge his readers not to expect a panacea for their
poverty in any changes it was possible to make in our
land laws. The declining population of the rural
districts was largely owing to causes which laws could
not arrest. They were, on the one hand, owing to
the enormous importation of foreign food at extremely
low prices, and, secondly, to pie large adoption of
labour-saving machinery.*
But to return to the depression in trade, the fol-
lowing are some more extracts from letters just re-
ceived:
The secretary of the Liverpool Industrial Union
writes: "Trade in all industries here is bad. Our
delegates are of opinion that there is only one remedy.
Our population at home is too large, and is increas-
ing largely every year, whilst there is plenty of room
in our Colonies. If the Government would adopt
sore well-directed system of State emigration to ab-
sorb our surplus population there might be some hope
of improvement in the future of our home labour."
The United Boiler Makers' Society's report for the
quarter shows 4 that great stagnation prevails in all
its branches, and an unprecedented number of unem-
ployed members are on the funds. During the last
quarter the large sum of £18,734 was paid to members
out of work, being an increase of £3653 over the pre-
vious quarter. In addition to this, arrears of members
due to the saciety amount to £7233. This amount of
money paid for unemployed labour, and arrears due
by members, is all owing to the stagnation in ship-
building, which throws the boilermakers in the ship-
building districts in England and Scotland out of
work."
From Darlington the report is that "the iron trades
are still very slack, and that a large number of men
are out of work in all the iron districts of the North.
It is difficult to keep some of the works going at all,
whilst in others the men are only working halt
time."

The Tyneside reports saT, "There is no decrease of
the distress in the local districts. The master ship-
builders on the Tyne have given notice of another
reduction in the wages of the ship joiners of 2s. per
week. The depression in all trades of the North con-
tinues, and the suffering amongst the men and their
families is becoming serious."
The secretary of the Glasgow Trades Council
writes: "All trades are suffering from the present
most abnormally bad state of trade. Working men
must eat, and no trade means starvation to them. I
trust that some remedy ere long may be found to
' lessen the evil."

From the coal districts the reports all agree that
trade is bad and wages low. Thousands of miners
are out of work, and at all the centres there is great
distress and great anxiety.
What is to be the result of all this it is difficult to
say. The working classes feel more than any other
section of society the dreadful effects of bad trade.
There is no question which more demands the atten-
tion of statesmen at the present time than an inquiry
into the causes of the great depression of trade either
by the appointment of a Royal Commission or a
special committee of the House of Commons. The
Government must be pressed to see the necessity of
such an inquiry without further delay.
Let me frankly say here that in asking for an
inviry the working classes do not desire to return
again to Protection, nor are they aiming at helping
the Fair Trade League. The advocates of both these
movements may have much to say in support of their
policy, and no doubt they are entitled to fair hearing.
If they think that they can show on an inquiry that
what they call a "one-sided fair-trade system is not
beneficial, but is injurious to the best interests of the
country, well and good, but if, after a full and
impartial inquiry they fail, and it is proved by investi-
Fatima that Free Trade is beneficial to our national
interests and thoroughly sound in its character, it
would not only establish its excellency, but prove
beyond all cavil how groundless are the objections
urged against free trade by protectionists and "fair
traders."

I feel convinced that the Conservatives, as a party,
do not desire to push the question of " Protection "
too far, although some of its members are urging its
adoption at "bye elections."