The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-27 00:00:00

THE MINERS' STRIKE

STOTTRBRIDGE OBSERVER.

Mr. Joseph Lee (Dudley), said it appeared I
hat the men of Netherton, Old Hill. and
,tow ky, were as firm iii their determination to
elrry on the strike as they were when it
e,mmeneed, twelve weeks back, notwith-
standing the false statements so industriously
• mutated daily by the melts' traducers.
rite speaker then made some allusion to the
,lenefits of combining together. They were
fighting a great battle, and it became all men
stand up for their rights. Should the
masters win this battle, they would ride
roughshod over them, and sad would be the
condition of the colliers. Let them be firm
and victory would be theirs—(applauso.
Mr. Haden (Old Hill) also addressed the
meeting, and in the course of his remarks he
counselled the men to continue the strike in
an orderly manner, and show by their con-
duct that they were earnestly engaged in a
good cause.
A resolution to play on" unless the
masters will refer the matter to arbitration,
was carried unanimously, and the meeting.

,
hir,l was orderly throughout. WAR closed h 1
the usual way.

At a meeting of No. 5, Lodge, of the Old
Hill district of the Amalgamated Society of
miners, held at Mr. Connop's, the Lytteltou
Arms Inn, Halesowen, on Tuesday morning,
it was decided to give the men e,s. per week
in addition to what they are at present re-
ceiving. It was unanimously carried, that
the men still remain on strike, unless the
masters concede them the old rate of wages,
submit the matter to arbitration.

MEETING AT KINGSWINFORD,
An open-air meeting of colliers took place
on Thursday, at Kingswinford.
Mr. Joseph Lee said the miners of South
Staffordshire were contesting for a common
principal, and they meant to maintain their
rights. He was aware that a few " black-
legs " in that district had betrayed their com-
rades, and had seceded from the rest, but
grom what he could learn the action of these
Ineksliders would in no way affect the union
men generally of that district. When a
war was raging in the battle-field the struggle
did not cease because a few of the soldiers
were wounded. The men became bolder,
and the struggle Went on until the strongest
side won. He believed that Waa the position
of the present struggle. They knew they
had right on there side, andhence their deter-
mination not to give way. Much had been
said about the few me i who had gone to work
at No. IE Pit, Shut End, but it affected the
real position of the union men very little.
He could hardly understand the reason, for
the union had not deserted them, but they
had deserted and deceived the union, whose
money they hadbeen supported by until they
, thought fit to run in. He was prepared to
admit that the blacklegs" were the tools of
the masters, whose chief object at the present
time seemed to be to crush the union, but this
they would never do, for they were strong
enough to resist the efforts of their opprcs-
;ors, and no matter how long the strike lasted
the men will hold ont—(eheers). It ap-
peared that the masters had made up their
minds that unless the union wascrushed they
would be beaten, but did the men intend after
so many years' suffering, to give up what they
had so dearly bought ?—(cries of " never")
The principal agent of Mr. Foster had won
over to his way of thinking a few faint-hear-
ted men. In effect he had said to the chief
" blackleg," "Well done, George lad, you
have done a grand thi g, you have "broken
the spell," as thea,elette says, and when there
is a chance you shall be promoted. But that
is all moonshine, for they would never get
the promised reward. The only reward they
would get for their treachery and deception
would be the obloquy and scorn of all honest
straightforward men. He would call upon
them to be true to themselves, and show there
oppressors that they had a spirit of indepen-
dence, and were resolved to carry on the
struggle until they secured their rights.
Mr. Levi Britain said he should be glad to
se the present dispute amicably settled. H.
was surprised to hear that all the" doggies'
connected with Mr. Poster's colliery had re-
ceived notice that if they wished to retain
there old pos;tions they mast cease to have
any connection with the union. He believed
the rumour v. as correct, for the order had
been obeyed. Victory would, nevertheless, be
on the 111011.5 Silk 11' they were true to each
other.

The usual resolution to " play on.' was un-
animously passi•d.

was an unjust on—(hear, hear). He was
.qWl't that trade washed ; but, notwithstand-
ing that, he did not belive the masters were
justified in trying to reduce their wages Is. a
day for thick coal and 9d. for thin coal. While
they were willing to submit the question to
arbitration, he believed the men of Lye Waste
were determined to resist the reduction and
tight the Isittle even to the bitter end—
(hear, hear). He was sorry for the poor
tradesmen who were suffering though the
strike, but the blame of all their suffering
must lie on the heads of the masters, for they
were the guilty parties. He hoped they
should continue to be men together—, hear,
! bear). He asked theni to stand by their
glorious association, which had been their
friend in peace and war, in health and sick-
ness, and which provided for their widows
and children—(applartse).
Mr. Levi Britain tHtulleyl said the object of
the miners in this dispute was to improve their
pasition, and in that respect might be considered
a selfish one. It was their duty to ask them.
selves whether their cause was a righteous one,
what their ohj: cts were, consistent with moral
rerson, sound intelligence, and good order in so-
ciety at large. They as a body in that contest.
had been prepared to have their case weighted
f rirly in the balance of reason. They had been
so convinced that there object was a righteous
one, that they had dared to place their case in
the bands of some independent person, altkough
they knew that that person, whoever he might
be, must be one who ranked amongst the higher
orders of society. From the first moment he
started to advocate the rights and clairns of work-
ing men, he bad always had his eje fixed upon
one idea, that it was quite possible that working
men sometimes, from the want of intelligence,
might try to go much farther than reason would
necessitate them to go. But the offer to go to
arbitration showed the reasonableness of the men.
One of the objects of the association was to pro-
vide for the sick and the widows and the old
!nen, and they had been successful in saving the
parish a great deal of money. He was sorry
: :hat a few of their brethren on the other side of
I the country had gone over to the enemy. He
did not envy them their feeling, but he felt sure
their consciences wonld lash them like a cat-o%
nine-tails applied to their backs—applause).
He mentioned the case of menwho where alleged
to have gone in at the drop. The fact was that
they were paid at the drop in the office, but got
the extra shilling outside. All this was done
with the view of deceiving the public.
The feeling in the meeting was strongly in
favour of resistance.

MEETING OF MR FOSTER'S COLLIERS.

A well attended meeting of colliers connected
with the Shut End Colliery, was held on Thurs-
Ouy afternoon, at the Albion Inn, Kingswinford,
aud, after a long discussion, it was unanimously
resolved " to remain out, and not to follow the
example of the few who had returned at the
drop."