The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-10 00:00:00

MEETING AT 11.4.NCIIESTER.

On Thursday evening, the operatives engaged in
the iron trades at Manchester held a great agere,rate meet-
ing in Cerpentere-hall, which was attended by upwards of
3,tele people, including society and nonanciety men. The
branches represented were moulders, boiler-makers, smith.,
millwrights, and engineers. The chair was taken by Mr.
TAYLOR. of ltochdale, formerly a workman in the trade,
but now in indeeendent circumstances.
Reporters were not admitted, but the secretary subse-
quently furnished the press with the following sketch of
the proceedings.
'file CHAIRMAN briefly opened the meeting, hoping
that all the speakers w0u1.4 abstain from harsh and personal
expressions towards either masters or any other parties.
Mr. lIF.MM, secretary to the Manchester branch of the
Amalgamated Society of Operative Engineers and Machin-
ists, moved the first resolution, which was, " That we. the
members of the iron trades in Manchester, after serious
consideration, are of opinion that the resolutions issued by
the amalgamated executive council for the discontinuance
of overtime and pieceert rk are absolutely necessary; and
therefore we pledge ourselves to do all in our power peace-
ably but firmly to effect the abolishment of those evils."
Mr. Henna commenced by giving a sketch of the eociety's
proceedings since the last meeting, which woo held on the
2nd of October. That meeting was held at Manchester,
and pawed a resolution that systematic overtime should
cease, as far as they were concerned, on the Ist Nov. 1851;
that edelliam had taken the initiative, and had also passed
a resolution to abolish systematic overtime on the 17th of
October ; that Rochdale had in like manner passed a
similar resolution, to take effect on the let Dee.; end that
in fact, so far as Manchester was concerned, the great bulk
of the trade had already given up overtime. Me. Ilemm
next proceeded, as one of the deputation to Oldham when
the dispute occurred between Messrs Ilibbert, l'latt, and
Sons and their workmen, in May last to give a history of
that proceeding. That dispute, he said, arose in cones
quence of an individual named Michael Bernard, one of the
oyericekers at the works, having, as alleged by the work-
men, tyrannised over those employed under him. On that
occasion a meeting of the workmen was called at the Hall
of Science, fur the purpose of considering the propriety of
appointing a deputation to wait upon Mr. John Platt, the
managing partner, to see if some arrangement could not he
made to removethat grievance. A chairnsan having been ate
pointed, the proceedings commenced by the workmen them-
selves
giving a statement of their grievance,which was to this
effect :—They said that Bernard, as foreman of the works,
had engatred a number of men, such as wheelwrights, house
joiners, &e., to do the work of skilled and able workmen,
who were, in fact, allowed only to do teach portion of their
business as required skill and was difficult of accomplish-
ment, such as planing, morticing, &c., whilst the other men
were called in to take it up from that point and complete it.
That this was port of is system of injury and anuiteanee
against the skilled and higher paid workmen, and that
arising out of it the second complaint of Messrs. Ilibbert,
Platt, and Co.'s workmen was, that one of the man.
awes had avowed his determination to carry on this
system against the skilled workmen until he had re-
duced their wages below those of hand-loom weavers.
They further told the meeting that for this purpose he had
taken a quantity of the work usually dune by the skilled
hands, and was instructing labourers to do the same work
upon a new machine. (We understood that the manager
was named Richardson.) A deputation was then appointed
to lay these complaints before the firm of Meer*. Heiken,
Platt, and Son, accompanied by a request that overtime
shuuld be dispensed with. That deputation obtained an
iuterview with Mr. Platt, who agreed that overtime should
be done away with. He also sat the same time promised
that the wheelwrights and irregular hands shuuld be dee
charged—though he now denied it—end to give the matter
further cousideration as regarded their complaints. The
motion lay over for a week or two, and no steps
having been taken by the firm to remove the
gretinds of complaint, another meeting of all the
workmen of Oldham, engaged in the iron trade, was called,
and a reptest was made that Mr. Newton, of London, and
hiinself (air. Ilemm, of Manchester), should be present,
with the view of rendering the best services in their power
as peacemakers between the masters and men. Ile would
here take on opportunity once more to deny that they were
there officially from the Amalgamated Society, and, as a
proof of it, their expenses were paid solely by the Oldham
puople. Mr. Newton and himself did attend the meeting.
Resolutions were passed by the workmen there present re-
questing Mr. John Platt to remove Bernard from his posi-
tion. and also to the effect that complaints which had been
previously made should be laid before him with regard to
boring machine*. Mr. Newton himself, and other persons
at that meeting, waited upon Mr. John I'latt, and laid
these resolutions before him. After reading them over, Mr.
Platt objected to portions of them : for instance, he wished
not to discharge Bernard, and wanted to know what line of
demarcation illiquid be drown to distinguish the work to be
done by skilled workmen and tram who were unskilled.
After considerable discussion, Mr. Platt wrote out three
resolutions fur the deputation to present to the workmen,
and requested them to use their best influence to allay the
ill feeling of the men which had arisen out of these dis-
putes. Mr. I'latt said he was quite willing to meet the
workmen's views by discharging the unskilled labourers,
but there was a difficulty as to the time at which it should
take place, and lie suggested that it should be postponed
to Whitsuntide', 1852. The men had proposed that it should
be done at once. The deputation suggested the propriety
of meeting Mr. Platt hallway, and ultimately Christ-
mas, 1831, was adopted as the period on both
sides. The resolutions were finally submitted to Mr. Platt,
in the presence of his managers, and ho agreed to them,
with a proves(' in the shape of a fourth resolution, by which
it was determined that, in the event of other large firms in
this district rot carrying out the same regulation. before
the end of three years, the question should be open for re-
consideration. After such addition had been made, his
own c:erks wrote out the resolutions, divided into six,
stead of four parts, Mr. Platt, on behalf of the firm,
signing one copy, and the deputation, on behalf of the
men, another copy. In July Mr. Platt was found not to
have acted upon the resolution with reference to Bernard,
, and in that mouth the workmen called another meeting at
Oldham, inviting Mr. Ilemat's atte,danee, as before, to
consular what further steps should be Liken in the matter.
A full statement of the whole affair was laid before the
meeting, and it wax deviled that a. Mr. John Platt hail not
carried out this portion of his agreement, he should again
be requested to do so. This time the men declined
to go beck to their work until Mr. Platt had
completed his promise, and he removed Bernard from the
premises, and sent him up with the machines Messrs. nib-
beet and Co. were placing in the Great Exhibition. Some
time haring been lost by this turn out, Mr. Platt re-
quested that the workmen would continue to work over-
time for one month ; and he basing complied with their
requi ate tan other points, they willingly consented to do so.
At the expiration of that mouth he made a further re-
quest that they should work overtime for another month ;
and to this they aloe agreed. At the end of thesceond
month Mr. Platt made a r.quest for a further extension of
over-time, but the men now became d 4surti.fled, saying it
was doubtful where such a system would end ; told they
conmeted the Oldham committee, also requesting the ad-
vice of the Manchester Branch Society, who advised them
to aec..l^ to the request, tabs^rvin7 by the cepiration of
the is edit it was probaele a general trade regulatitea would
be mail) for the discontinuance of overtime throughout
the country. But while ileac men wcro thus aresaing
_to
the recisid of Mr. Platt, in all howdy of purpose, Mr.