The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-01-08 00:00:00

MEETING OF IRONWORKERS AT
BRIERLEY HILL.

On Tuesdiy morning a mass meeting of iron-
workers in the Brierlyy llill district was held at the
Alma Inn, Brierley Hill, to discuss the wages
question There was a very large Atendance, nine
works ling represented, viz., Primrose Hill,
Hurts Hill, Round Oak. 01.! Level, BreLtell Lane,
rcy.nl3y, Corn2reaves, Providence, and Seven
Dwellings.
'rue Chairman (a puddler) explained the object
of the meeting, and said the question was whether
they were going to play and brc.ak up the Wages
Board or not He thought they were not being
done right by, and he thought they should continue
on working and give proper notice to leave the
Board altogether—(hear, hear). At present they
ugrecct to abide by thp regulationa of the
Bo,rd, and it was only right and fair that proper
notice should be given before withdrawing from it
and breakirtg it up altgether. He suggested that
they should go to work and call mass meetings
and decided ether to br,ak up the Board, or with-
draw from it, or else from some kind of an assoca-
tion and make an alterati )11 in the wages system,
either one way or another.

An employe suggstecl that if they were gaing
to play they should play altogether, or go to work
in a body. The arbitration was against them, and
the report of the official accountants was against
them, and he could now see what resoroes they hai
left to rely upon. He sugg:.stecl that thy should
continue working and give notice to leave in a
proper manner if they were dissatisfied with the
Board— (hear, hear). He th,ught that before any
one of the districts withdrew from the Arbitration
and Conciliation Board they should • know what
other districts were going to do. He believed that
if the men in the Wolverhampton district had
sh,pwn tne masters earlier that they were dissatis-
fied with the present arrangements, a bvtter scheme
would have before this been arrived at.

Anothe.r workman said those employed at the
Brettel-lane Works played all la-t %%Tees:, and after
seeing the papers on Saturday agreed not to
resume work. The men were dissatisfy(' with the
Atbitration and ConcilLstion Board altogether,
and would pay no more towards it.
The next speaker said that the men were walking
about by hundreds, and the opinion of the men at
BrtAtell-Lane was that the sooner the Arbitration
and Conciliation Board was turned over the better
—(hear, hear). He was of opinion that they were
not being fairly dealt with, and he believed there
would be no good done untill they revived, the
old system of payment, viz., "shillings for pounds
and a shillinc, above a pound price," and whatever
was afterwards found wrong should be fought
out—(hear, hear), No Ironworker was satisfied
with the present rate of wages, and if the last
awaid was correct, some firms must be selling iron
for £4 2s. 6d per ton. His opinion was they should
resume work, and give proper notice to throw over
the Uonciliation and At bitration Board, and fight
for themselves if they were not dealt with as they
should be—(hear, hear)
The next speaker urged that t!le Wolverhampton
district had taken a proper course, and another
workman stated that all the workmen at Harts dill
were dissatisfied with the Board.

A representative from the Sinethwick district
said all the works there were standing with the
exception of one, and the men were dissatisfied
with the sliding scale and Conciliation Board, con-
sidering it unjust and unequitable. The old scale
was fixed upon marked bars, and now they had
common bars which brought the wages down
ba
olnintwrieloertylltiini, tag'
ditfibttel7eiesn.lsageoli:vdleeOrhniiiecp,li
ebbreytedintihi
eotoihiltdynslcawarl,le:
ldidn s arvsde.
been paid 6s. 6d. or Os., and Vie in considered
that they were now working at Is. or is. 6d per
ton under what they really should be earning.
An Empl,)ye from Primrose Works expressed his
legre:, that the miners had contracted themselves
out of the employers' Liability Act. Mr Mac-
donald and others had been agitating for it and
nosy, as on as it was passed, the masters and
men were contracting themselves out of it. He
went on to say that Mr. Daniel Jones (secretary tl
the Board) was endeavouring to c.lra.v.up a scheme
oflinsurince for ironworkers without the men's
sanction, and which he said the men would be
dissatisfied with.
A resolution was proposed—" That we resume
work and convene nia-s meetings, and when we
know the determination of the other districts, that
we give notice of what we think is right as a body
of workmen.
Ultimately it was agreed to resume Work, and to
settle the question of withdrawing from the Arbitra-
lion and Concid.ttion Board at a monstre meeting
.to be held on a future date.

W ORC ESTERSH IRE QU A.RTER SESSIONS
-
STEALING A JACKET, &C., AT STOUEBRIDGE.
}Pproperty
of L eer . Mr. J.
Before Mr. G. NV. Hastings, on Wednesday, Geo.
Green (29), painter, and Nary Eliza Green (29), his
wife, were indicted for stealing one sealskin jacket,
aptu:sueis.
a itand.,baiiilisuonuil:,...ornotfhoethiBeit:haNrtoicvl:rsil,
Amphlett prosecuted The male prisoner pleaded
~. guilty, and the female prisoner was acquitted by
. direction (.2 ;he Court, a,s shu eou'd not be legally
Eli
co.lv et u 1 r:.,..:Piving 1.,•,-,,n t. er itus;xtml.--Te
1
• husband.w.v s.uitenced to six months' hard labour.
ASSAULTING A WOMAN AT HALES OWEN.—Edwin
Jones (18), Jews'-harp maker, pleaded guilty to
unlawfully a-saulting.; °za Pugh, on the 21st
—:ie was sentencel to twelve months
. hard laLour
"
CATTLE ROBBERY AT HAGLEY.--William smith
ILAQIIO (28). laboura, aud 5.4144e1 goat, aged So
i

fitter, were indicted for stealing four heifers, on the
23rd November, the property of Mr G. K. Harrison.
Mr, Godson prosecuted ; Mr. Woodgate defended
Instone, and Mr. It H. Amphlett defended Monk.—
Instone was bailiff to the prosecutor, and Monk is
Instone' 6 brotter-:n-law. On the 22nd November
a lad, named Morris, saw the prisoners together. A
day previously fourteen catvle were in a field cn the
farm, and on the 23rd the lad found that four of
them were gone. He informed Instone, who
directed him to search for the animals on the Hagley
Hill road, in an opposite direction to Kidderminster. '
William Harris, a roadman, said that on the morn-
ing of the 23rd he saw Monk driving the four
cattle along the road from Hagley to Kidderminster.
The same morning Monk put the four animals into
Mr. E-good's auction sale, at Kidderminster, saying
they belonged to Mr. Harris, of Belbroughton. The
cattle were sold, but in consequence of something
Mr. Elgood heard he did not hand over the money
to Monk. Evidence was given to show that Instone
was also in Kidderminster the same, day, and
although a description of Monk was given to him
he made no effort to secure him. The day after
the robbery, when one of the stolen heifers was
taken back to prosecutor's farm, Instone told the
constable he had no idea wi.o drove the cattle away.
Some time after the disappearance of the cattle
Instone absconded. On the 2.lth November Monk
was arrested at Smethwick, near Birmingham.
When arrested he said he took the four cattle by
order of Instone, and that Instone helped him to
drive them to Kidderminster. Monk made a similar
canfession to Superiuteudant Wheeler while in
custody. When Instone was arrested he said he
did not intend to steal the cattle, but he was driven
to it from want of money.—Mr. Woodgate, in
defence of Instone, urged that he sold the cattle in
pursuance of his duties as bailiff, and said the
" want, of money" which he had mentioned was
not want of money for his private use, but for use
about the farm.—Mr. Amphlett contended on
behalf of Monk that he was acting throughoat as
aa innocent aAent in selling the cattle at Instone's
orders,—The jury convicted the prisoner,, but
recommended Monk to mercy—There was another
indictment against Instoue for stealing five ca. tle
belonging to Mr. Harrison, and to this he pleaded
guilty. Still further indictments against him of
stealing barley and fowls were not proceeded with.
—lnstone was sentenced to five years' penal
servitude, and Monk to six months' hard labour.