The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-04-20 00:00:00

ett ,3toarbriDge qserVer.

SATURDAY. APRIL 20, 1872.

The AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

Isolated demands on the part of agricultural
labourers for au increase of wages have now and
again been made before we heard anything of
the movement in Warwickshire. There have
indeed been labourers' unions before Mr. Arch
and his friends among members of Parliament,
special correspondents, and professional agita-
tors commenced their crusade. But this move-
ment in Warwickshire inaugurated a new era of
what we will call agricultural unionism, and the
movement moreover has spread, is spreading,
and will spread over a large extent of the United
Kingdom. We think there has been a great
deal of unnecessary alarm about this. Antici-
pations have been indulged in to the effect that
our agricultural labourers will be taken off to
the colonies and absorbed in manfacturing pur-
suits, and that there will be no agricultural bib.
our at the command of the farmer, but at an
unremunerative price. Now we do not think
is the slightest occasion for alarm. The
price of agricultural labour will rise in the mar-
ket, that is certaiii, but in itself this is not a
great calamity, while the price would not rise
unless there were pretty good reasons for it.
Nor do we think there is any cause for alarm at
the permanent derangement of the relations be-
tween the employer and the employed in the
agricultural community-. There is and will con.
ilium to be a disturbance of existing arrange-
ments, but affairs will conic right ere long, and
the relations of landlords, farmers, and labourers
tiil be more amicable than ever. What is wan-
ted is a conciiiatory spirit and a full recognition
if filets which it is impossible to ignore and
dangerous to attempt to overthrow. It is there-
fore with pleasure that we refer to the proceed-
ings at the meeting of the Warwickshire Cham-
ber of Agriculture. After conning over the ac-
counts of subsequent agricultural meetings in
"the disturbed districts 'S it is strange to revert
to the proceedings of the Chamber PP ferred to,
and to see how all the main points in dispute
elsewhere are treated by the speakers connected
with this Cuaruber. The fact is that all the dis-
putes are exactly the same in kind though they
way differ in detail or in degree. Let UN there-
fore refer to some of the utterances at the Shire
Hall, Warwick, premising that we are far from
endorsing them all.
Considering that this large meeting wis en-
tirely composed oi laudowusrs and ten oit far-
mers, and that the labourers were quite mire-
presented, the latter ()lass was, we think, very
fairly treated. Tim riari of Denbigh and some
other speakers were rather bitter against " poli-
tical agitators," and we think justly so. There
are men who, more or less, make political agita-
tion a profession; they are the stormy petrels of
public his: and no matter what may he the sub-
ject which may produce commotion these men
alwAys come forwent and increase that commo-
tion, taking the side of the employed, or of the
iwople against the Goverumeut, as a matter of
course. We are glad to see these professional
agitators denounced. and wish toe agricultural
labourers would see that their cause is more

;here

likely to be injured than benatted by the " wan-
dering politicians" of trades' unionism. There
is no subject in dispute that landowners, farmers
and labourers canuot settle among themselves,
and the Warwickshire Chamber of Agriculture
has gone the right way to work to effect a settle-
ment. It has decided "to bring about a confer.
ace between properly appointed representa.
• Lives" of tile classes we have mentioned; to
' promote payments in coin, cud discourage those
in kind ; and also to adopt as far as possible the
payment of wages, according to the kind of
work and qoautity done, instead M by time.
[tie minor proposals are by no means uoimport-
ant, as the truck system, so far as it exists and
ati,rever it exists, whether among mechanics or
farm litoourers, is a demoralising and unsatisfac-
.

tory mode of payment, while the payment by
piece-work wou.a tend to decrease the hours 01
.abour wiLhout diminishing the labourers' earn-

tugs or practically incriZing the cost of toe
[tamer. But, of course, the most important
tiling decided on by the Camphor is the proposed
conference. This is the only mode, we believe,
of getting over the existing difficulty, and deal-
ing fairly with the three masses to be represen-
ted. It would be well if other Chambers of
Agriculture would follow the example thus set
to them, and the sooner that siniiiar action is
taken elsewhere the better it will be for society
at large, for this is the only means of obviating
extravagant claims on the part of the men owing
to the success of some of their class, and of
checking the pernicious meddling of professional
trades-unionists.