The Express.
London, England, 1853-11-23 00:00:00

THE STRIKES IN THE NORTH.

(Flow OUlt LOCAL Coen.--
A LABOUR PARLIAMENT.
MANCHESTER, TUESDAY.
The leaders of the working classes in this district
are by no es, ens discouraged, and now we are to Lave a
labour parliament. This, the capitil of the manufacturing
towns, is of course to be the seat of the new government.
The leaders, in starting it, acknowledge the futility of all
efforts by isolated bodies of working men to maintain what
they consider a just standard of wages, and " The emanei-
pation of labour from capital," and, therefore, they have
set on loot at Manchester, a movement to bring about a
national organisation of the working classes, to be
guided by one directing body, whose object shall be to cen-
tralise and confederate their strength. This new power in the
state is not to supersede the trades' onions and combina-
tions, but rather to be representative of them. It is to be
composed of delegates elected at public meetings in the
various towns, and its comprehensive duties are set forth
in the resolutions passed at the meeting held en Sunday,
se introduce the project, and which was held at the
Peoples' Institute, in lleyrocistreet, Manchester. The
ramnry elense of the meeting was stated to be to organise
a insawasseentent in aid of the Lancashire loek-outs. The
I EINECEIE was presided over by Mr. Cropper Clarke, and
neeolutions approving of the labour (parliament) scheme
were approved.
A committee of twelve working men, with power to add
to their number, was subsequently appointed to carry out
the resolutions.
The meeting was addressed at some length by Mr. James
Williams, and also by Mr. Ernest Jones, of London, and
their chief argument was that the working chimes are
entitled to, and will now demand, a share in profits; that
they have yet had their share of profit, because profit
is alone that which remains after the payment of all neces-
sary expenses; whereas the wages of the working man have
hitherto been no more than barely sufficient to supply him
with food, clothing, and the necessaries of life. As, in fact,
this remuneration has only been enough to keep the human
machine in working order, it has no more been profit, than
has the amount of money expended in supplying fuel for
Steam engines bees profit to the manufacturer.
BURNLEY, TUESDAY.
There is a probability that toe stnke will be brought
partially, if not wholly, t• a termination on Monday next.
Many of the employers are deeply grieved at the evident
suffering of many of their late workpeople, and though
the market has not improved, and they will not know
what to do with more cloth when it is made, there is a
disposition to resume work four days (or 40 h inn instead
of 60) per week, en the condition that the combinations are
abandoned. They propose, however, to take off the 10 per
cent. advance on weaving given before the lock-out, and
somewhat to modify tho advance which had been conceded
upon spinning.
There is reason is believe that the hands of a portion of
the mills will take work on the term* hero offered, but it is
not by any means expected that the whole of them will.
Mr. C. Owen, a tradesman, has addressed the operatives on
the absurdity of longer trusting men who constantly told
them that the masters dared not close their mills and who,
having promised them support if the most.,. did close their
mills, now asked them to seek relief at the workhouse. 'The
same persons, he says, had told them that influential gentle.
men were ready to build them factories of their own if the
masters closed theirs, with other stories such as the work-
people were usually cheated with ; but every promise made
oefore the strike had bees falsified. lie then examines
their balance sheet, showing very serious discrepancies, one
of which was the having charged twice over a sum of
2.3!. 189.2 d., besides the omission of contributions given by
various tradesmen of the town.