The Express.
London, England, 1853-06-16 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

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LONDON, THURSDAY, JUNE 16.

YESTERDAY the Combination of Workmen Bill was
read a third time, and passed. But whilst the Legis-
lature is dealing with the relations of labour in one

direction, the changed

of the country

are acting upon them very remarkably in another.
The stir among the working men of all trades
which was sure to follow the gold discoveries and
emigration of last year is now becoming apparent to
all eyes. For somo months we have been hearing
of a rise of wages in most employments; and now
there arc strikes. There is a great turn out at
Stockport. Nearly twenty thousand men, women
and children are out of work ; and there will be

more in a few days. In Liverpool, the cotton-por- ,
ten and dock-labourers are out; and the letter-car- ,
riers threaten resignation. In Manchester the police
give notice of their intention to retire, in consider- ,
able numbers, if their wages aro not raised. And in
various towns, and among a multitude of occupations,
the terms remain unsettled. How little could we ,
have believed, at any former time within the century,
that we could announce strikes and turn-outs without
painful feelings, even with a sense of satisfaction,—
though as far as ever from thinking strikes good
things in themselves! At the beginning of the ,
century, when the cotton spinner worked seventy-
four hours per week, and paid ls. 10d. for the
quartern loaf, his wages of 325. 6d. kept him
very low, and in a complaining state, the comforts
of life being much less abundant than now, and
"every thing so dear." The labourers struggled on for
a while, till somebody put it into the heads of a few
of them that there were lands across the Atlantic
where labour was sure to obtain a plentiful subsis-
tence : and then emigration began. It seems to
have gone on for some time in a stealthy way, lest
King GEORGE should stop the process, and make
soldiers of the departing citizens; but, in 1808, there
was a wreck of an emigrant ship, and- public atten-
tion was called to the fact, that 130 men were
"flying their country" at a time when thirty or forty
guineas were paid for a substitute for the militia.
Emigration was the resource of an extremely small
number then,as appears from the outcryaboot the sedi-
tion or treason of men deserting King GlEoac E and it
was considered to boa sign of distress which could go
no further. The distress deepened, however, as the
war went on, till the awful period from 1811-1814
showed what the lowest depth of the working man's
life might be. The price of provisions was such that
the salaries of clerks and the wages of artisans in
government employment wero doubled, to enable
them to live and keep to their work ; but the un-
happy beings who were less immediately valuable
sank all the lower. The lowest of all were,
as at all times in the century, the hand-
loom weavers. They had complained of hard-
ship in 1806, when they could earn 17s. 6d. a
week; but in 1811 they had only 7s. 6d. Then came
strikes on the part of those who were not too much
depressed to argue the matter; but the employers
were suffering too; and if, in dread of popular de-
spair, they seemed to yield an increase of wages,
they saved their dwindling wages fund by reducing
the hours of labour. The horrors of those Luddite
times will never be forgotten by the elders of the
existing generation; and they will go down to the
future in history and tradition. And many have
been the painful strikes since; many the heart-
burniogs on the part both of employers and em-
ployed ; many the crimes committed by the ignorant
under the oppression of masters or comrades;
so that there came to be something heart-sickening
in the very mention of disputes about wages.
The workmen, by refusing to do work which must
be done, compelled the invention of labour-saving
machinery; which was again made the occasion of
Luther quarrel : and, on the other hand, the em-
ployers were too strongly tempted to work their
human tools as if they were made of wood and iron,
and not of bone and sinew, mind, heart, and soul.
And now, what a change !
In the first place, the controversies are not all—
nor nearly all—about money. Many are about time.
This is one of the surest indications of the exist-
ing prosperity. From thirteen hours to twelve,

eleven, and ten and a half, the operatives in vari-
ous trades have gained their point of ten hours.
Others are still standing out for it. From
the harmony and prosperity which exists where-
ever piecework is agreed upon, we are inclined to
think that in piecework will the solution of the dis-
pute be found in many cases; and that piecework
will be found possible in many more cases than has
been usually supposed. All England, and all peoples
who trade with England, will watch with deep inte-
rest the use made of their leisure hours by those who
have struggled for and obtained them. We have
strong hopes of a creditable issue, in spite of much
painful evidence of the misuse of money and time by
some to whom prosperity is new and intoxicating. It
is too tree that intemperance and brutal amusements
bring reproach on certain claws of workpeople, but
there are so many who show a wiser mind and a bet-
ter spirit--so many who can and do speak and preach
eloquently on the moral and intellectual benefits of
leisure—that their cause; and the reputation of their
body may, we believe, be left in their hands ; and if
so, the next generation will show the happy effects
of the leisure granted to this. Little uit is, as yet,
it is enough, if well used, to change materially the
character and the chances in life of the working
classes of our country.

It may not be altogether a novelty that strikes for
wages ensue on prosperity instead of adversity. It
has usually been the least distressed of the working
classes who have struck, for the obvious reason that
they alone have resources to begin upon ; and, again,
because any amount of welfare bu made them desire
more. As the employers need to say in the days of
ill blood, "it made them saucy." It is not therefore
new that the more prosperous are the turn-outs.
But it seems to be a new thing that the in-
ventions of labour-saving machinery, which are
sure to be forthcoming if the strikes con-
tinue, will be rather welcomed than cursed,
and will tend to promote quiet rather than outrage.
In the agricultural departments of labour, the new
machinery which is invented from day to day seems
to meet with an universal welcome, because the la-
bourers are emigrating as fast as their place can be
supplied by the machinists. The factory operatives
are a far better informed class than the rural la•
bourcrs—more familiar with machinery, and the
history and philosophy of machinery. They must
know very well that if they stand out for time or
money beyond a certain point—trade remaining
prosperous—new ways of superseding them will
certainly turn up; and, knowing this beforehand,
they cnnnot be angry when it happens. They arc
challenging the machinists to do their utmost; and
they will accept the issue with a good grace—as
eqn afford to do. the very stru,,,,le arisinn.