The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-02-28 00:00:00

THE SCOTCH MINERS and DEAR COAL.

An itnportant meeting of 'Linen' delegates from
different parts of Sootlaud was held in Gla'wow on
Tuesday. It was reported that notices of a reduction
of wages had been given in several districts, and that
already a number of the miner. had struck work rather
than submit to the reduction preipleel, and which
I. to the extent of len per day. The miners' secre-
tary, Mr. Alexander Macdonald, UP., said the one
thing they had fairly to look at war the announce.
went which had been pretty generally made that
there were difficulties hers and there. When there was
an expanding 13116145 t difficulties were not in the habit
of occurring; but now there was a contracting market,
and that was the cause of some of the difficulties.
Another thing, wages hod been high, and thaii fact had
attracted a large body of men to the trade. The high
price of material had also seriously :fiffidered the in-
creese of consumption and the expansion of trade in
a number of direotioris. The present state of matters
net i nfined to Eaglancl and Scotland, but it also
prevailed on the C intiueut. The coal districts of
France and Belgium were to a considerab e extent
paralysed. For months the coal andiron trades of the
United States Lad also been greatly disorganized.
That pos tiou of affairs, he regretted to say, still con-
tinued to a certain degree, although there were indict.
tions of returning vigour of trade in differsnt districts.
Undoubtedly there was an apparent reluctance to pur-
chase on the part ot buy ere, in tne belief that better terms
will soon be current. He, however, wished them to
direct their attention to, and keep a careful watch on
the matter of production in relation to the demand
which Old and might exist. He thought that in doing
so the miners would be doing nothing more than the
rest of the community did; and although their coming
to the decision to do so might create to morrow a con-
siderable degree of excitement, that fact should not
deter them. If the manufacturer found hie shelves
tilling with cloths, and that more than was necessary,
there being no market for his goods, he closed his
works tor one day or three days a week. There was
no reason why the manufacturers should be hound to
Induce an article that is not remunerative, and there
should be no feeling in the public mind against the
working miner acting on the same principle. He did
not look upon high prices as an advantage. Extra-
vagantly high prices were not advantageous to the
community. Be
_believed
.that those high prices
. . .

which ad prevailed had led to a large 'extent to
the contraction of demand. But there was a dif-
ference between high prices, whereby the men and
the employers might live and have large returns,
and low priers, by which neither employers nor
men could live. Mr. Macdonald then referred
to the propmred esotblishment of an association
for tne regulation of the price of coke in Derbyshire
and Yorkshire, and other places in England, and main-
tained that if such a proceeding was a proper one there
would be no sin in the working men also acting for
their common benefit. What the conference had to
consider wan not whether they would keep up ex-
travagant prices, but whether they would prevent
starvation prices. He proceeded to refer to lb loupe°.
tion of Mines Act, and said they had now anew Govern-
meet, and certainly he was plea.ed to find a Home
Secretary ap, Milted who was not in any way connected
with manufacturing interests. The Home Secretary
f Mr. Disraeb's hat Achoiuhrtration ( Vtr. Gsthorne
Hard)) was a very large employer of lab rur, the late
rlime Secretary (Mr. Bruce), now Lord Aberdare,
wee a coalowiter, and there was always a feeling of
want of security In these circumstances; but he had
no doubt that the new secretary, from his position,
would adminhtter all acts affecting the workman
fairly, an 1, of course, everything would be done to tee
that he did so. The remainder of the sitting was
private.