The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1873-02-18 00:00:00

Local anb District Itcbbs.

DOECHNHTER CANDLEMAS FAIR.
The usual hieing fair it Dorchester took plus last
Priday,ead sever bef ore lieu so many rustles mumbled
at the yearly saturnalie • for, of late it has bottoms ba-
y *day for plea:nee and less and less • gather-
tiattirkg. The weathe; was reasonably mild and
dry, and woorao, and children to the number of
awa7 poured Into the county town by road
and rail in the surly part of the morning. Of *ours. I
all were in their "Sunday beet," but certainly so far
as elething showed it, there were no indicatioos of that
miserable poverty under elates it is said the Dorset
labourer groans; we are inclined to believe that to •
certain extent at any rate, such a description is but •
rhetorical flourish. The men for the most part wore
broadelotb, and the womite—partiottlarly the younger
portion—were u fine as needs be, and some even came
out in veils—perhaps to meow' their blushes of shame
at standing in the Slave market" as Mr. Arch dubs
it. Malay of the lads displayed a bit of bine ribbon
In their bates-, a token that they were Unionkts, and
they seemed as proud of it as the proverbial "dog with
two talk." Some of the good people of the town per-
suaded themselves to fancy there would be "dreadful
going* on with these Unioniste," but they were all as
mild as the ale they drink in harvest, and as harmless
as the lambs they get • bounty of • penny • heed for nose-
bag. But for one or two gay spirits who had dipped their
110111111 rather too far Into the II loudly "pot of six-ale,"
and became slightly hilarious, the town was singularly
ta"l, at some parts of the day even to Anthem, and
p1:11oe report wee "nothing doing." Very few
farmers were to bosun in High street—the focus in pro
of the hiring fair —and thou whom other business
took there were particularly sexless that it should be
understood they were not hiring—" they wouldn't do it
on any account ; " still we did see a few agrieulturists
from the western part of the county examining
fernlike in bye-streets, and one or two frees nearer
home. Still it is certain there were fewer engagements
made it this fair than in any former year. And why?
A farmer who hoe • decent cottage to offer • labourer,
and anything like fair terms as the times go, can
readily get men by inserting an advertisement in the
Tdeprant ; a very large number have already done so,
and no doubt others will take the same may and con-
venient arouse between this and Lady-day. Bo for as
we can learn wages have gone up from two to fame
shillings a week, the general run now being 10a to ilia
a week with the usual perquisites, via, house awl
• garden, potato land, furze sod from half-a-kin to • tee
of soul for fowl, no-toting- beet at 6s. • bushel (Dom
worth 7t, 6d.) and " at the old price 01 $.,,
with extra wages in hay and ecru harvests, and tundf7
other smaller benefits. Another Important feature is
that whereas it Pat been customary to pay wallet
when'working on Die farm eightpence a day, a shilling
La now in ii.any ease, agreed to be given. The
"perquisite" systole has been likened by "the
agitators" to fle Truck System, hut reslity it is
essentially different ; Arad we do cot con. a: our gratin
cation that It is being for the most part continued.
Some It t. true, have given their labourers 14.. • neck
cub and no more, bat the majority of the men are
wise enough to see that such terms are not nearly so
good as lue. and the' perquisites" we have named and
meet of the masters knowing the advantage end soon-
fort fuel and gristle( at • fixed price are to their
labourers' families, are willing to bear the obloquy
whbala is oast en them by superficial observers of the
system, or by it as carried cut by "herd" men; for,
of course, some few farmers wheel wheat is 74.6 d. •
bushel can't find it In their hearts to let their
labourers have it at 55., though the bargain ie part
of their wages, and hence we hear of bread that
testes es if the flour were mixed with tar water
from vetch feeds, and of • peak of paving
Noses Ming picked out of • auk of labourers'
arkting : while good mestere, as we know on
unqueetionable authority, have over and over again
pad 7s. 6i. ibusbel for wheat to sell to nehmen at ss.
But se "one bad sheep will infect • flock, " one bed
master will bring discredit on the whole of the farmers
of • (aunty. Well, but how has the present rise of
wages come about? Phtioephical people say by the
natural influence of supply and demand; though in the
next breath they'll say, there are heaps of labourers to
be had. Others will exp`alo that wages and prices
have been rising all over the country, and indeed
throughout the civilized world, sod therefore it follows
here: lint they doo't tell us of any employer who was
so impressed with this truth that be spontaneously
Increased the wages of his men. And it's not • likely
story. Neither manufacturers, tradesmen, nor farmers
are likely—save in very ezeeptional cases—to adopt any
such course. Disguise the truth however one might
wish it, the Labourers' Union hes occasioned the rise.
Migration and emigration—however disastrous or other-
wise as the case may be to those who have gone—and
the wore of power and security the Union has imparted
to the labourer, hu unbuttoned the breeches' pockets
of the agriculturists. This "Aland and deliver' policy is
unpleasant and irritating, but farmers most grin and
bear it, and we hope they will all get good value for
their extra pay. But perhaps every labourer is not
equal to the work of the time,. Well, such will be in
cue, for masters won't have incompetent men
sorry
iters. That too will be a rood result, though
awkward for the .dullards : and if the Union trains
up the rising generation se independent, manly, skilled
labourer* it will not have done the farmers an 111 turn,
or the labourers either, for that is one of the crying
yenta of the timer.
An important feature In the day's proceedloge was •
series of labourers' meetings addressed by Mr. Joseph
Arch, the apostle cf the move wet, Mr. J. C. Cox, J.P.,
of Belper. Mr. Mayor (Dorset Secretary), Mr. J. Smith,
of Whitechureb, Mr. Atherton the Warwickshire dele- .
gate, and others. Between 11 and 12 in the morning the
first meeting was held on Fordincton green, the
speakers sod • body of Union officers mounttog a
waggon set in the middle of the sward. About two
thousand reruns and usembied, the large majority
being labourers and their families. Mr. Gould, of I
Yeovil, was voted to "the chair"—• centre meat on the
side of the waggon. It was ssid he keeps • 'temperance
hotel" at Yeovil, but certainly his appearance world
lead one to judge he was in the opposite line of business,
so rotund and jolly is he. However, he offered • few
Introductory remark, in a straightforward business-like
manner, and was succeeded by Mr. Allirgton, whose
ready earned appeals and denonociatiorue were tell-
ing, and evoked an sorts of at proving demonstrations
from the audiessee. The great Arch followed, and he
ruled the men not to make yearling contracts, but
monthly or quarterly, for he orna6dently predicted wages
will rise still higher; tut he plainly told the men Yost
If they did hire themselves for the year they mu.t ful-
fil their booming. He isalogieed Mr. Guard Start,
M.P. for letting cottages direct to the labourers and ,
allowing them to take their labour to the but market,
and he also spoke in the highest terms of Mr. J. T.
Homer, of Heursererth, for the gentlemanly way In
which he had met his labourers. They asked for 16e. •
week by notmorkl ; he answered by letter, saying he
was pleased at the polite way in which they put the
matter, but told them it would not pay him to farm at
such wages, and he certainly should not farm if it did
not, and he stated that if in the eourse of the next
week they did not agree, those who were not under
agreements mast leave, and both parties must try their
luck elsewhere. The speaker thought this • manly
and proper course to pursue; and he added that in the
sourer of the week they all agreed with Mr. Homer,
getting nearly equivalent to what they asked. At his
suggestion three cheers were given for Mr. J. T.
Homer. Mr. Arch styled the ogriculteral lab:oven
slaves., and said years ago Zeeland paid twenty
million to liberate the slaves in the West Indies; if the
farmers could not or would not pay them wages enough
to live decently and like men, let the country devote •
couple of million to taking them all—nouns 600,000—t0
America. Mr. J. C. On; the Derbyshire magistrate
followed, in • good-tempered speech ; but at the outset
he spoke of the fearful abuse to which they were sub-
jected by • farmer at Wintarborne Kingston a night or
two ego, deprecating his conduct most earnestly, and
temarkiog that the same man had on several *custom
similarly attacked Mr. Buook. But, if it were not
stopped, he ma, legal prooeedlogs would be Wen, and
the liberty of the Union officials would be amerted.
Both ho and the preoeeding speaker argued in favour
of the County Franchise, and in the and resplations
were pealed approving the National Agricultural
Labourers' Union as the only means to raise the
labourers "physically, morally, and sociaily," and
pledging the meeting to support It; and adopting •
petition to Parlircent in support of Sir J. Ttevelyan's
County Franchise Bill. Other speakers addressed the
meeting, and It was kept up till after one o'clock.
Great attention wee paid, and •good deal of enthusiasm
manifested.
The afternoon meeting was held at three o'clock, at
the same pleat, and an Immense number of labourer/
assembled, with • fair sprinkling of farmers. The
proosedhap throughout wore of the most easterly
character.

Mr7—WATOII prraidad, and el:nerved that he was
pleesed to @Mod theie that day to advocate right. He
wee sorry to say few men had svflicient moral courage
to some forward in support of the labouring classes,
but he bad taken kik photo cm the side of right against
might, and hies:patience had made him, he might say,
impreguable—bomb proof—for the shots that were
fired it him bounded uff, se they would from • stone
wall. He knew some would retaliate, and say that he
rocepled the position be did from selfish motives; but
If people thought so he hoped that impresrion would
mom be removed, as ft was quite oontrary to the truth.
He looked upon all men as his brother., nmembering
that God IVY no respecter of persons. sod that He had
made of one Beth and blood all rations of the earth.
lie (the speaker) said the labourers' movement WM
bound to summed, These were days of great and rapid
changes, and If they refused to give the Isbo-trer his
due, they most not be surprieed it the time came otos
there would be • great uprising, sod the might which
bad hitherto overcome right would have to cucoumb
to the univerral &mend of the oppressed. The fear of
man brought a snare, and as soon as the labaturera wore
more Independent, so soon would there be a change for
the better. Once whilst living on an that*, be (the
meeker) was salted to vote for • particular candidate;
het be did net do so, as It was contrary to his principles.
No, he would rather have a clear conseienoe than
£lO,OOO In his pocket. Ho had been often puzzled to
know how • labouring man with 9.. or lie, • week,
scald support his wife and family. one thing be knew,
however, and that was that 10s. did not psy for what
we. put ea a farmer's dinner table any day of the
week. Was this right ? Had any men aright to live
in luxury whilst ellen had not the here neameiths of
III.? A short time sines, a company of labourer, who
bad 9s. a week on a farm, thought they ought to have
a the of at least is. a week, bat the question was who
should broach the sub jut to the employer. At length
one young man stood forward and said, " do it, but
we must all go in together, and nee the • master."
They went, but bow were they met? Said the master,
"Flow dare you ask snob • thing? I tall you what VII
do. If you don't all leave my houses La a fortnight,
I'll have you put out by the polies." What were these
sin to do? They were ate • had no one to book
them up. and therefore were obliged to be contact. To
wieol tble evil the Union had been established. It was
mild "Money mode the mare to go," but he thought
money made some men great foois. Every right-think-
ing man most with to see the labourer put on more
independent ground than that on which h. now
stood,
and that end, he felt sure would soon beo
Me (the Brooker) lived cim, other side of the well at
Misdeed, bet today he bad brought the Arab with
MEN and be would tall then what they suet do.
Some porous thought that Izieluses would be brought