The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-10-17 00:00:00

'THE NEXT THING.

•
The next thing Is trades unions. What do I intend to do
supposing you re-elect me, upon that subject? Well, what I
Intend to do Is this—it a tnan, with his eyes ovissi, enter
Into a auclety awl widertalso certalm obllgativur 141 tiust

society— legal obligati., I mean, not illegal ones—,.hear
hear —if he does it wills his eyes open, I do not see why the
iw should not enforce those obligations. Cheers. And.
A voice.—

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'•Voluntarily. ' , es, V. b ditarily, not coerced, Wind you
cheers—if lie voluntarily gc or Into a union and undertakes
to make certain payments, weekly, the non-payment of them
ought to he considered a debt to be enforced by the ordinary
provisions of the Isw. Cheers. But the moment illegality
steps in the inomeot there is an attempt either to coerce
by fear or fright, or to do any illegal thing, or to ask the
member to do any illegal thing, then that legal bond is gee
—(hear, hear —and tht moment that any band of unionists
does n illegal thing their rights are gone. Cheers)„ That
what I intend to do (hear, hear,—so that if a man to en-
couraged to ratter], if a man he encouraged to she-it at
another—and such things have happened—if a man be
encouraged to beat another, away shall go all the rights
of the Union. I,ourl cheers. t I think there can be no mis-
take about that. ,Ilear, hear, and laughter.)

MIL ROEBUCK WILL NOT HAVE IT.
But there is one other thing I want to speak about, for I
have been asked, and the question has been put to another
candidate, would! limit the slumber of apprentices by law
I say no sheers , and I tell you why I won't do it. It is
giving a monopoly to a certain number of men, and consign-
ing all beyond that narrow circle to indigence, and prevent-
ing them from exercising the powers that God has given
them m the field of labour. .cheers.) I have beard it said
that I myself belong to • trades' union. Well, lam a lawyer,
and every step of nay progress hi my profession has been
to throw the gates of that profession open. (Hear, hear.
Only last year there was a law in the statute hook that no
clergyman of the Church of England can be elected a
member of Parliament. The same law was adopted by the
Bencliers of the various Inns, and they consequently would
not allow any ecclesiastical member of the Church of
England to become a barrister. Well, what did I do!
opposed my brother benchers on the very point. We called
together the four Inns of Court, and we carried my proposi-
tion against them. And now the Bar is open to the clergy
as well as to anylssly else. Cheers.) But mark again—the
trades' union to which I belong does not say that no man
shall enter it but the son of a lawyer. (" Ilear, hear," and
a voice--" You are right." Who was Lord Tenderden
Why Lord Tenderden was a son of a barber 'laughter,; and
I could go through a long list of luminaries of the law who
have sprung from quite as low an origin as that. hear,
hear. Well, Own, I say it we are a trades' union, we are an
open trades' union. Anybody can be called to the Bar; any-
body can be a lawyer; and I say that exactly in the same
way anybody ought to be able to become a grinder. Cheers
ate! laughter.) Don't you think that it is very cruel to shut
out a poor man behind who may have half-a-dozen children,
and say to hlm, "You are not a grinder, and none of your
sous shall be here." I say that is cruel, and if you don't
elect me for it I can't help it. I tell you I won't support it.
(Loud cheers.)