The Express.
London, England, 1865-03-16 00:00:00

XRE .EXP:

look-oid were amplyirsfifeletft- to
abet /E taikjolklg the Iron'
condom' pons, and all NIPS la On= to
have required from the men • end a jewel lookaut
in the face of those efforts is • unwarraotable, unjust,
end deserving of the strong condemnation of all dames."
Be condemned in the stroeg litre tho conduct og the
frenasistere ia refusing all ~mason,. and endeavour's('
through the cruel means of stery the women and children
of thaw who bad bad noddy( atever to do with the
strike, and never contributed a farthing to the funds, to
entree the workmen of North filleffehlre into the so-
ospience of theirl terms. He said that no conqueror at
the heed of his legion, bad ever dictated such cruel
terms to conquered people as bad the iron-
masters' Alllooilitiioll to- the men of North Staf-
fordshire, and he asked how could the miss
of the North Staffordthire men be Judi) visited
upon the mailmen of West Bromwich ? He psephested the
complete success of the strike, and said that there could be
no
greater traitors to the country then three who drove the
bone and sinew of England, to another shore, and so
weakened the resources at the empire. He thought that U
the madders gave way It would greatly strengthen their
position in any future struggle.
Mr. Gasman:, of the National Association of Plasterers,
seconded the model:, and observed that to look out, men
not responsible in any shape &sae= for the meant strug-
gle was and and Inhuman, end &dimmest° the nation. All
that could be done by the men of South Staffordshire
had been does to bring the struggle to a settlement, and the
conduct of the Gateshead meoticie had really been most
humiliating. It was quite safficient for the South Stafford-
shire men to withdraw their support from the North Stet-
fordthire men on strike; that wee punishment enough, and
it was a disgraceful this; for the tronmasten to say that
they would not believe them unless they went direct to North
Staffordshire to supplant the men on strike, and be could
arum them that they could never put an end to trades
unions by oppression of this character. He implored the
masters to give way and save the net misery which must
otherwise moue to women and children.
Mr. Genial PUIPPS, a delegate from North Stafford-
shire, said• that the men had been out on strike for
nine weeks. He belonged to the Gateshead district, and
they had been out off from the sympathy of both execu-
tives. There were about 1,000 on strike, and though they
were very sorry to be the cause of suffering to others, they
had no intention to dame a look-out. Ledo out were com-
paratively new, and ware not se much aimed spinet strikes,
as against trades naiad. He had never knows • look-out in
the bon trade before the Leeds look-out, sad because they
enooesded is It the MOWS is dose of the same medi-
eine should be tried on every occasion when say dispute
arose. The responsibility of the strike did not rat entirely
on the locality, but wee first sanctioned by the executive.
There wee a conference on the 'abject, and had the votes
been properly taken the North Staffordrbire men would have
won. At the ISM time, the South Staffordshire executive
advised them to make a proposition for a reduction of 6d.
The only support that 900 members had hrd for nine weeks
was 850/. the only effect of which was to mike them more
firm, and had never aeon men more determined than they
were. He complained' bitterly of the conduct
of ,the Gateshead executive, of which Mr. Kane was
the president, tie tW 3 that Mr. Kane and the
executive sanctioned the strike, and they were after.
wards told by him that they were to go out to try the
strength of the masters, and were then to go in again, when
they replied that they bad come out with the sanction of the
executive, and they would stand out on their own. He gave
a deplorable account of the distress to which many men,
with their wives and families, were already reduced, but
stated that no determined were they, so strong in the juiv
tice of their cause, that they would not glee way, even if
their very bads were taken from under them.
The resolution was then put and carried unanimously,
but a demand woe made on the part of some present that
I only the votes of delegates should be taken, which, how-
• ever, was not listened to.
--- - • •

Mr. COIL; seoretary of the bronfoundera' union, then
moved the following resolutioa:—" That the magnitude of this
aggremion of combined capitol upon labour, evidently made
not eo mach from the local strike in North Staffordshire so
from a drake on the part of the iroomesters to destroy the
combinations of the men, calls for • corresponding amount
of resistance on the part of the kedge societies, and that
this macho[, therefore, rsoommeads every trade society
throughout the kingdom to at once vote, without waiting
for any formal deputation, a aura of mossy from their funds,
also to plata a Weekly 111 V ontheir members ; the 11.1210111411
thus voted and raised to be sent as early as possible to the
executive councils of the men te al.jortly lookedouk"

The resolution warn seconded by lir. Liner's.
Mr. Swgeriso pointed oat that as the resolution stood
all help would be withheld from the North Staffordshire
men on strike ; and on his motion, seconded by Mr. Watimo,
words were added by which the relief collected by the
weekly levies was to be sent to the North Staffordshire men
on strike as well. This warn carried unanimously, sod it
was understood that money would be collected immediately
and sent to the district by each trade union independently
until some organisation had been agreed upon.
On the motion of Mr. lAMIIIRT, secretary to the London
ironworkers, seconded by Mr. Dunrrotc, secretary to the
bookbinders, the thanks of the meeting were given to the
conductors of the Beehive newspaper for their prompt action
in the matter ; and another resolution was agreed to to the
effect that, having heard the statement made by the
delegates from North and South Staffordshire, the meet-
ing strongly reoommended the reconciliation of the two
districts.
A vote of thanks was then pawed to the Staffordshire
delegates, and to the chairman for his conduct in the coheir,
and the meeting *operated.
The proceedings did not close until 12 o'clock.

(Mow OUR WOLF

CORSESPONDI:I7.)

In South Staffordshire the belief is prevalent that
the masters in the north of England will act long keep their
works closed. The workmen who promulgate statements to
that effect allege that they hays received communications
frees certain of their fellows who are Dow employed in the
Newcastle district, encouraging them to entertain this view.
Upon certain of the works it is alleged the operations of
important shipbuilding yards depend, and that eo pressing
were the neceentke of some of those yards before the lock-
out took place, that, in the words of the writers " the iron
was being dragged out of the works nearly red hot."
But the nonmasten in South Staffordshire have perfect
confidence in the good faith of the masters in the north
of England, and do not believe that the arrangement
come to at the last greet meeting of the trade in Binning-
ham will be departed from on either side. By that arrange-
ment north and south became one in enforcing the universal
observance by their men of any determination in respect of
wages upon which the masters generally should ready..
The muter' do not, it is said, see soy means of termi-
nating the lock-out by any rearrangement of the wages
wale. They arty that the men are now and have for some
time past been receiving a much higher rate of wages than
the price of bar iron, by which price that rate has always
been understood to be regulated, and that therefore they
would be unwilling to submit to any alteration the effect of
which would be to reduce the amount of remuneration which
they are now receiving. Therefore they believe that to
commence any negotiations with a view to a settlement on
• wages basis which would be satisfactory to both sides
would be only to complicate matters. The men generally,
it is now known by the executive, are not Prepared to work
on &lower rats than that which now prevails. As • body,
the men believe that they ought not to be paid less than
10s. a ton for puddling, whatever may be the price of iron
and they have confidence in the power of their union to
help them to swore this rate, or certainly to prevent
much et durum upon the present scale, which is at the
rate of 9s. 6d • rate as compared with pest years
which is regarded by the masters as very high, and Is.
higher than the scale by which wsges are usually regulated.
Yesterday was the usual weekly gathering in Wolver-
hampton of the ironmerters of the West Midland district on
Change in that town. In the interim between the quarterly
preliminary meetings of the trade, when the members of the
Iroomastele Annotation assembleand discuss the question of
future prices, and other matters which may be regarded as
the legislation of the trade, the affairs of the association are
managed by the chairman for the year (Dow Mr. W. 0.
Foster, M.P.) sod • committee of gentlemen who have been
nominated to fill the office of chairman in suonsesion, one
of them (sow Mr. Walter Williams, jou.) acting as the hon.
secretary, misted by a paid secretary.
Yesterday they bad received • communicatioo from the
hot. secretary of the Association of the North of England
Ironmasters, communicating the result of the meeting be-
tween the committee of that body and members of the
Gateshead executive of the men on the previous day in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was to the effect that the North
of England muter, had promised the executive of Gates-
head that a general meeting should be called to consider
the prompt condition of affairs ; and it desired that a ge-
neral meeting of the masters of the South should be called,
to be held in York on Friday next. The communication
said nothing whatever as to what would be dis-
cussed at the meeting • but • statement had
appeared to the effect ihat the Nash of Eng-
land uonmasters ware prepared to send piddled
bars to North Staffordshire, to enable the masters
there to restart their works. This statement, the com-
mittee believed, had emanated from the men, as they did
not think that the masters would conceive that the scheme
was practicable. It waseertainly not thought to be so by the
oommittee. The scheme, it was shown, was tried in Booth
Staffordshire by a section of the muter there during the lee
strike of the peddlers, and it failed. Many more difficul-
ties, it was felt, would be in the way of such an arrangement,
in which the masters of different districts might combine to
wee each other in this way. If the masters in the north
of England should really contemplate such • step, it was
thought that so soon u they knew the result of such a mein
sure, when it was trial in the south of Staffordshire, they
wouldseeiteiropeacticability. It was, however, the opinion of
the committee that the strike of the man in North Stafford-

siarraonlw
of trade societies in Loedon it should not be resolved to
support the North Staffordatire men very liberally.
Intimation I. understood to bore been convoyed to
South Staffordshire from certain of the men to this effect.
The peddlers in North Staffordshire, it is smarted,
will not remain oat on 4e. a week, but, it is added. they
will not go to work se long aa they cam obtain The. or 20e.
a week. As the probabilities are all whilst ouch liberal
relief being forthcoming, the oommittss foal pretty oonb-
dent that cause for the loek-out will moon terminate. If
the decision of the meeting in Leedom should be to support
the North Staffordshire men tea large eataak then the era-