The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-23 00:00:00

NORTH BRITISH AUSTRALASIAN COMPANY.

Yesterday, a special general meeting of the share-
holders of this company took place at the London T ,
Mr. Lowndea in the chair, for the purpose of sanctioning,
and tinally—on certain resolutions laid before the proprie-
ton, and sanctioned by them at the I meeting
on the 15th of December (reported in the Daily News
en the 16t10—confirm,ng the appointment by the managing
committee of Memrs.John Taylor and Sons, &sibs managers
and cashiers of the company, in the room of Messrs. Jopp
and Shand, reducing the number of the committee from
ten to six, exclusive of Mews. Taylor and Son, who will
be ex offwis members, and the election of the
committee. The resolutions were unanimously inafirmed.
The chairman stated that, since the meeting of last week,
the committee had received a communication from Mr.
. .

aiTcoespany's colonial manager, intimating that
Mr. Begar, the aewly appointed agent for conducting the
works rt the Cawan mine, had arrived and entered upon
his duties; that he (Mr. !['Kay) luny approved of the step
taken by the committee in this respect, and anticipated the
meet satisfactory remits. The colonial liabilities were stated
to be only a few hundreds. The manager urged the impor-
tance of his being provided with sufficient funds to carry on
the operations of the eompany, and stated that he bad oppor-
Braitise of making purchases of suburban lando,which would
produce a large profit. The accounts he promised to for-
ward by tke neat mail. After some desultory oonvenation,
the meeting broke up.

AN INDEPENDENT MINISTER AND TILE
I'RESTON OPERATIVES.
The factory Operative' at 010180 p have entered I
most eathasiesticelly into the dispute between the masters
sad the men at Preston. At their weekly public meetings
they *swum* the names of persons who refuse to contri-
bute, who are represented as enemies to the working classes.
TM whale body of shopkeepers are under coercion. At-
My* have been made to bring Waist/re of the gospel
maw es same bandage. The Rev. T. Atkin, an indepen-
dent MllltiltSr, having refused to ooctribute, has been
fravited to a public meeting, and he accordingly came
baldly forward. He said—You have a right to ask any price
pen fake for your labour. Your austere have • right to
say what they will give you for it. You have no right
to combine against them to force them to pay your puce.
They have no right to combine against you to compel
you to take their offer. Each party ought to be left at
liberty to act as they may think fit. Labour Is a market-
able commodite, regulated like any other, by supply
and demand. if your masters had vacant looms, and
there was a brisk demand fur cloth, if they were lookiug
out for weavers, and round it difficult to obtain them, your
wages would rise. Nothing would prevent it; but if, as is
the case at present, weay. rs are superabundant, end many
cannot obtain work—if markets, as is the case now, are
falling, and manufacturers cannot sell their goods except
at reduced prices—your wages cannot advance, and the
Preston strike cannot succeed. Before coming to this
meeting, I called upon Mr. Potter, of Dieting Vale Print •
works, who is as extensive buyer of cloth, for information
as to the state of the markets, that I might be prepared
with facto end Agues. He furnished me with the following
statement, which many of you will understand:—Six
weeks ago, 26-inch cloth was selling at 41. 71d., now at
es. if& ; 60 reed 943 was selling at ss. 3.1., now at es. 9d.
It has b en gradually tallies doling the strike, although
mere than 300,000 pieces lees have been made. G 6
and 72 7.8 sande in Olomop are lower, and the tendency
is decline In price, notwithstanding that the prods.-
don is so mush less. In the face of these facts and figues,
which Mr. Potter will prove to any deputation you may
appoint to visit him, a strike for an advance of wages must
be seen to be very unwise, arid without any probability of
theses.. I wish you to obtain good wages. It is my interest
as well as yours you should do so, but I do not wish you to
injure yourselves by engaging in a hopeless contest. I say
wait until the times are better, and enmesh for an advance,
when, if hands become scarce, you will be sure to get it.
Kr. Atkin proceeded to show that the demand of the opera-
tives to settle wages questions by arbitration was absurd, as
cotton mills are private property, u lab infers are not share-
holder., es they incur no responsibility, and do not share in
losses, end that no sound principle can be adduced on which
arbitration can be based. He also showed that the demand
for an equalisation of wages is absurd, as men are
wt equal, places are not equal, circumstances are not
in all cases the same; and then spoke as follows:
If your masters were to discharge any of you fur contri-
buting to the fend, you would raise a great outcry against
them and call theta tyraats. You are guilty of tyranny in
yont conduct towards shopkeepers, and practise what you
would condemn is others. Your masters have just as much
right to deprive you of work for supporting the strike as
you have to injure shopkeepers for not supporting it. Oue
of Co delegates has said, that if men will not subscribe, you
have a right to punish them for not doing right. \V no ere
you that you should presume to think for others, to dictate
to others, to punish others? Every man has a right to
think for himself, to form his own judgment, to act upon
his own convictions. The shopkeepers are quite as thimble
of thinking and acting for themselves as you. You profess
to act and think for yourselves, and it is nothing less than
gross tyranny to deny the same to others. At the ;close of
Mr. Atkin's speech a discussion took place. The spirit and
temper of the meeting were on the whole good,. and though
now and then escited, the pledge of a fair hearing was kept.
The meeting broke up after 11 o'clock, the parties amens-
bled having been kept standing between four and five hours.
—Manchester E.:winner.

A MODERN GREEK. The rood is narrow, and I
give plane to my emapezion. He is • small, thin, angular
man, with undecided eyes, and an anaiotu unpleasant smile
always upon his face. He is stealthy and catlike in his
movements. He seems to walk with mailed feet. In dram
he is something like a fares idea of an elderly Frenchman
of the old school ; except that he wean the red cap, or tee,
which is worn by all Turkish subjects se a mark of their
nationality. He has a long straight frock-coat of an nude-
eided colour, Dowsers, and delicate grey jean boots with
varnished tips. lie has also a superluity of watch chain.
Upon the whole he is a very (request specimen of the mo-
dern Greek. lie is not of the race of Polychronopoloa,
who scudded before us on his wiry horse over the plains of
Corinth. He is not the Greek of the loud voice and ready
hand ; of the brave apparel and twirled moustache. Ile is
unhappily of another school tar mgrs.:onuses. He is of the
race which assaminated Cepo d'lstrias, and would have
he ken B)ron's heart if he had lived. Who base no syni-
pithy with the teething and honesty of Wyse, or gratitude
for the services of the brave and gentle Church. He is of
the Greeks who are so proud of the ancient glories of
the land they are bringing daily aad hourly to shame. Ile
is of that plausible and clever race who have by turas won
every statesman in Europe to what is called the Greek
cause, only that he might add another to those who have
abandoned it with deep disgust..Of the race who would ra-
ther live despised on a pittance obtained by intrigue and
roguery, than make one single effort for honourable inde-
pendence. They are the sons of men who were opprened
for many generations, of Turkish !lapilli, of 'levee. What
need is there to say more, or wonder why they are so
fallen ?—Dickerts's " &toehold ;Kook."