The Express.
London, England, 1863-04-03 00:00:00

THE DISTRESS IN LANCASHIRE.

A publio meeting of the unemployed operatives
al Hyde and the neighbourhood was held at the Tem-
perance-hall. Hyde, on Tuesday eight. " to take into con-
sideration the position of the uuemployed operatives, sad
the plans which have been submitted to them by the local
relief committee." Upwards of 400 operatives, the greeter
part of whom were recipients of relief, attended the meeting.
Mr. W. Lee, • factory operative, but not a recipient of re-
lief, occupied the chair. In opening the proceedings he said be
believed the working classes had only to express any just
grievance, and the relief committee would do their beet to
remedy it. Mr. T. Williamson then read • memorial, which,
after stating the williogness of the memorialists to work,
proceeds as follows That your memorialists, having
been informed of your intention to find week for all in
receipt of relief, cannot help expreming their belief that
the arrangements made by your committee are such ea
could not be approved of by the subscribers to the relief
fund. Your memorialista admit that the gentle° ha often
been asked by them why work has not been found for
the oat-of-work operative, and it is their opinion that
the reason why many pv• so generously was that they
were helping to raise a feed that would open up new
emcee of temporary employment that would be produc-
tive of such remuneration to the operatives as would
provide them with the uecesomies of life until the revival
of the cotton trade." The memorial then goes 00 to urge
that the recipients of relief should Dot be employed in
opening sewers, from which they may have to throw dirt
ten or eleven feet, for such a remuneration as 2s. 68. per I
week. Mr. Williamson, in moving the adoption of the I
memorial, said he considered the relief committee were I
not doing right to the recipients of relief in offeriog them
such work as was referred to. It was taking men out of '
warm mills and putting them into a sink. He urged
that the committee were now refusing to relieve men
not factory operatives, who were need to this kind •
ci work, and more 6t to perform it, and said, if they (the
factory operatives) began to do each work, instead of
healthy men, when the mill resumed operations they would
he cripples. The motion was seconded by Mr. James
Beard. The Chairmen deprecated the idea of taking
men who had been working in an atmosphere of some 70
or 80 degrees of heat and putting them to work in a sewer,
and urged that men equal to each work would require
more food than could be found onto( 21. 6d. pat week. Mr.
John Wardle, • deputy from Ashton-under-Lyee, supported
the resolution. He advocated the formation of a general
emaciation of working men on the subject ci relief. He
thought that from such meetings as these they would ob-
tain redress. It would be, he thought, • loop time before
they should be able to work in the factory again. They
had had to live on charity, and they could not expect to be
supplied as if in work, but they did think it was the
bounden duty of government to fled them remunerative
work, or if not, to make them a grant from the ommelidated
fund, for they did know this, that they had • right to live in
this country. The guardians had given • certain amount
of relief, and humane men had come forward to supple-
ment that relief, beelines they knew that what was
obtained from the guardians was imuffieient for their maia-
teeeeen The relief committer and the partition were now
working together to rodeos the relief. bat they (the re-
cipients) thought that whet wee proposed to be allowed
them was too small, sad they thiregore WMPlail'ea. He
did wit meephda of workiag, but he okeeted to such work
as that to which the Hyde committee were putting the re-
cipients. Be medemeed the Manchester committee for
keeping each • large fund in hand, and concluded by morn.
mending peace mod ceder, with unity and permirerenee.
(Clasera) The chairman explained that the Hyde com-
mittee were offering to pay one peony in the dulling per
week when the :Feats were workies, which would nuke
their mew 2a. 8 per week. A oosamitese was thee ap-
plated, and • Leedom made to defray eapennes. The
meeting was most orderly and well coeds/Md.