The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-13 00:00:00

ADDRESS BY MR. GLADSTONE TO
COLLIERS ON STRIKE.

About twelve weeks ago the men employed at the
Aston Hall Colliery struck, in consequence of a
reduction of 15 per cent, in their wages, and it appears
from a letter addressed by the managing director
(Mr. Hanson) to Mr. Gladstone that not only had the
workmen refused to accept a compromise as to terms,
but they had refused to resume work on any terms
unless four nomTJnion men who had been working
during the strike were dismissed. Under the circum-
stances Mr. Hanson laid the matter before Mr. Glad.
stone, asking whether men who could thus unwarrant-
ably interfere with the liberty of their fellow-work-
men were such as he would be disposed to continue in
the tenancy of the cottages on his estate.
Mr. Gladstone replied as follows

" Hawarden Castle, Chester. June 8.

My Friends,--1 have received a letter from Mr. Hanson,
of the Aston Hall, Colliery Company, referring to the ques-
tnms now pending between that company and the miners
latterly empliryed in the pit, and asking my intervention as
owner of some of the dwellings which the miners inhabit. I
do not consider that I have any title to interfere as land-
lord and part owner of the pit at the solicitation of one
party in any question relating to wages But Mr.
Hanson's letter brings in another matter having no con-
nexion with wages. It is one connected with the workmen's
liberty of action, and I am very desirous to make known to
you without delay the allegation which has been laid before
me. For this purpose, as the matter is a serious one, I take
the liberty of asking you to meet me at three o'clock to-
morrow, which I am told will be a convenient hour for you,
at the Vestry-room, llawarden, that we may have a free and
friendly communication together. I nave asked Mr. Ward
to be in the immediate neighbourhood in case there should
be occasion to request their presence--I remain, my friends,
your faithful servant, W. E. GLADSTONE...
"To the Miners, being tenants of mine."

In response to the invitation, the Vestry-room was
crowded, and Mr. Gladstine met the miners, accom-
panied by Mrs. Gladstone and the rector.
Mr Gladstone at once opened the proceedings by an ex-
planation of the relations in which he stood to them and by
rew ling the letters given above, the latter of which he had
requested his agent, Mr. J. S. Vickers, to circulate He
then said . I should be worth very little to you or
anybody else if I were here for any other purpose than
that of speaking the truth plainly and outright, and
I think it is my duty to believe everything Mr. Hanson
tells sic, as he is, I believe, a very upright and honour-
able man. lint I must confess am loath to believe
this demand lias been made If I understand the facts
they are these—a question arose between you and the
Aston Hall Colliery company as to wages. I say the more
wages you can get the better. If they 'ire used well,
none call have too much, but if they are used ill none can
have too little. (Hear, hear ) A question arose in regard
to the amount of wages, and as I understand, four workmen
in the pit differed from the majority of the workmen as
they thought fit to accept the wages offered by the com-
pany, or to make some terms with them and to continue
work upon those terms. The majority in the exercise of
their undoubted right-- I don't care a pin whether the in-
struction came from the Central Union or not if they chose
ti place confidence in it —refused to work for less than what
they considered to lie the value of their labour, but these
men who thought otherwise, though there were only
four, had as good right to form an *pinion as the ma-
jority had : and if we have come in this country to the
day when the majority shall endeavour to put down
the minority and refuse freedom of opinion to those who
are fewer in numbers, in my opinion the country
will be one of which I should say the sooner we get out of it
the better. (Hear.) lam told these four men committed no
other offence except that of differing in opinion from the
others. I can understand their being sore and annoyed - I
don't doubt that at aIL I ant told they committed no other
offence except working upon terms which you thought in-
jurious to your Position ; but as the allegation stands, these
four men for that offence of having worked upon terms
which toil think should not he accepted are now in the pre-
dicament of having befriended their employers, who are now
told to dismiss them, or the general hotly of miners won't
go to work in the pit. Well, lam very loath to believe
that the demand has been made upon these grounds, and
I should be very glad in a friendly mminer to enter into
conversation, and I would first ask ill am correct in my
statement.

John M dlington aaid Mr. Gladstone was right. They could
not resume work until the tour men were di-missed.

Mr. Gladstone : That is a very serious matter These men
have done nothing. What right have you to ask that they
should demand certain wages? I do not suppose you will
deny them the right to work for what they please. What is
the nature of your right, which you enjoy in common with
everybody else? Liberty of judgment and of action—that is
the foundation of your right It Is not because you area
greater number, and the others are a smaller number,
but because you have a title to liberty, and that liberty
which the people of this country won for themselves,
and have enjoyed for many generations, is the liberty
of the few as well as the liberty of the many ; and
If one wen kman choose to work for nothing in the face of a
thousand other men, he has as goal a right to do so as the
thousand have to any what they will work for. Now, if I un-
derstand you to speak plainly, you deny these four men that
tight—that iss to any, you are saying they shell be turned
out of their employment ; and permit me to say you are
asking the Aston Hall Colliery Company to do that which
in my opinion would be mean and dishottourable. If
the company had chosen to turn out those men it would
not have been my business to interfere. I have nothing
to do with it; but they are appealing to me, and I am bound
to say they would have committed a mean end dishonour-
able act if they had turned out those four men, and I would
go further and say that you here present would not have
respected them if they had done it. You could not respect
man who, for his own interest, would turn round to please
the majority upon a few men who had stood by him in the
time of his difficulty. I am quite sure you could not respect
such a man, and I believe that in the long run you will re-
spect Mr. Hanson very much more in refusing to turn them
out than in having agreed to do so. That, however, is a
matter ef opinion, and you will forgive me for speaking so
plainly but what I beg, entreat, and pray of von is that you
will consider this matter a little now you have plenty of
power. Your condition is different from that of other
labourers. The agricultural labourers till quite lately were
not aware that they had any power in their own hands
arising from their own lahour, but they have been making
demands of late, and I must say, as far as I have seen, those
slemands have been moderate demands. But I never heard
of a case throughout the whole country where agricultural
labourers have gone to a farmer and said, "Sack and such
persons differfrom us. They refuses' to strike when we struck,
and we require you to turn them off, or else we will not go
back to work." Your position is all excellent position. You
have an excellent organization, an immense establishment all
through the country by which you can communicate one with
another you are a large body diacharging a difficult end
arduous occupation—very difficult, very arduous ; don't sup-
pose I make light of that It is no small thing in my opinion for
Oman to go down below the surface of the earth, away
front the light of the sun, and spend a considerable portion
of his life there. You ought to be well paid ; lam glad
you are well paid But let me tell you that no portion of
the community has advanced SO notch within the last forty
or fifty years as youtselves. Ills hardly credible. One can
hardly understand how It could have been. After referring
to a local incident to contrast the past condition of the
miner when he received only 2s. a slay with the present.
Me. Gladstone continued —Just think of the im-
mense change in your condition. ought you not to be
satisfied with it? Why should you endeavour to press
your opinion upon four men? They may be right and you
wrong, or you wrong and they right. Ido not presume to
give an opinion upon that ; but as they have no right to in-
terfere with you, so you have no right to interfere with
them. As Englishmen, as Welshmen, I appeal to you not to
interfere with them. (Hie them liberty ; let them exercise
their own judgment. You are quite strong enough in your
endeavour to keep up the wages, but don't interfere with
other's who are taking a different course. You will destroy
the whole moral strength of your position if you do it.
You will take away your own self-respect, and Mr.
Hanson will lose his title to the respect of the men if
these men are turned off, and for my part I will do every.
thing I call in standing by them. I entreat you to con-
sider the matter further. I will not say another word,
as nip relation is of very recent slate, but there is one
thing I should like to tell you. I do not like dragging in
political questions on an occasion of this kind, but still
there are a few words it would be as well to say. I do
not know whether it is a matter that will interest yott or
not, but if Ind I will not dwell long upon it. It is a
question about the county franchise. (Hear, hear.) I have a
very strong opinion, which I have declared elsewhere, that
the householder who if he lives in a borough has a vote
ought to have a vote if he lives outside the limits of a
borough. I cannot draw any distinction. find I ant not the
man to change my opinion, or to hesitate what to do in con-
sequence of strikes or difficulties that may arise in the way.
I am persuaded myself that the more the people of the
country are accustomed to think upon public affairs the lees
difficulty there will be about these questions• -the more they
think about their own rights the more they will respect
the rights of other's, and no man can value his own
rights miless he respects the rights of others. But I must
tell you this—that there are very many people who are
very much prejusliced against the isles of extending
the suffrage into the counties when they bear of the
attempts of the majorities of working men to in-
terfere with minorities. I think you know we all re-
quire learning in our duties one towards another. The rich
have a great deal to learn in their duties to the poor, and
employers in their relations to workmen but depend upon
it, workmen have a great deal to learn also, and permit use
to say they have a great deal to learn in respect to their re-
lations one to another. I have had discussions, friendly
discussions--with leaders of Trades Unions, and have told
them that very plainly—for instance, in the attempts made
to render the pay of a good workman equal to that of a bad
workman, in the attempts made to repress a man front
doing as much as he can de, in the attempts made to dis-
,ourage the labour of women and of children— that is, of boys
not fully grown up, —all these are superstitions and errors
which prevailed to a certain extent among many of the
working classes of this country. Those errors will, I
believe, cure themselves. But when it conies to an at-
tempt to interfere with the liberty of others, it is a very
sei ions matter; and there is certainly a great prejudice in
the nunda of many in Parliament against giving the franchise
to working most when there is a disposition to interfere with
one another's labour, and when all should enjoy equal
rights. This is a political consideration worth thinking
about if you value a vote and it you desire to strengthen
the hands of those who desire to have the suffrage ex-
tended But Ido ns,t stand upon that. I stand upon the
moral and asscial gromid and I say to you, as Englishmen,
se men who possess and value liberty, there is no true value
in liberty where a man dzes not respect the liberty of every-
body else just as much as ii,, reapects his own liberty.
Now, my friends, I will not go on further to-slay. I feel
this is a serious matter I wish to state clearly and ex-
plicitly what I think about It, and I think it my duty to do
so. Having again referred to the question at issue, not that
of wages, but a much more serious one—the question of
equal rights—Mr. Gladstone concluded,—God grant you
may come to a wise decision; for it you do not, I am
afraid there will be more difficulties then we could well
define at present, or than it would be easy for us to see our
way out of.

Edward Wainwright, in a temperate speech, admitted it
was not quite a question of wages, and said they had no
bitter feeling against the four men who had acted badly
towards them. He complained that tine company gave
notice of reduction of 15 per cent, twelve weeks before the
neighbouring colleries.

Mr. Gladstone thanked the men heartily for what was
said, and remarked that the conduct of the four men might
be matter for examination, and they ought to make an
apology if they had conducted themselves as described. He
relied upon the promise of the men to consider the matter,
and left the room, many expreasing regret that he did not
stay longer.

From an official document issueti on :Nlonday it ap-
pears that the exports of British and lroah produce in the
last five months was ar:90.4133.601. against x:106.11.26,474 of the
preceding year