The Express.
London, England, 1867-04-16 00:00:00

THE WORKING MEN'S DEPUTATIONS TO

Int. DISRAELI.

(From the Derbyshire Advertiser of April 12.)
" The working man has at length spoken ! Wearied of
being so long and so often impereoeated by impudent pre-
tenders he has finally come forward in hie own character,
and declared, in a manner that cannot be mistaken, his
real sentiments and his political wishes ! " Such is the
ponderous way in which the Standard commences an ar-
ticle on the deputation which waited upon Mr. Disraeli on
Monday last. At this deputation, says the Standard,
Derby was " worthily represented by a goodly array of
conservative artisans." These artisans of Derby, and
from other places, " shouted so lustily when Mr. Dia-
melt entered the room where they were assembled,
that they proved themselves genuine working men."
So says the Standard, and his words are se
striking that we copy them. " The greeting with
which they received the Chancellor of the Exchequer;
oa his entry proved to him that he was at length.
brought face to face with the real working man.
. . . Their honest unsophisticated natures were not ;
to be awed or frightened into repressing the impulse at j
their hearts by any chilling or superstitious reverence for
the spot. They gave vent to their feelings in loud and
lusty cheers, which must have startled many an old and
staid government official at his desk, as the peels of their
enthusiastic approbation broke through that portion of
the building where they were assembled, ran along the
corridors, were heard loudly the startled wayfarers
without, snd invaded the quiet of Whitehall. (! !)
Here was the real, true, unmistakable English artisan in
downright earnest; the homely 'Clod bless 'em' bursting
irons his lips with straightforwardsimplicdty, when the names
of his true leaders fell from one of the members of pouts-
ment who bad introduced the depststion. ' Let not tie
sonde Is via,' MililieeiMlLDiMeii, INA tho-
spontaneous and unanimous response' It shall not be' de-
monstrated who were his hearers. These were no sham
working men, no reformers in buckram, no professional
agitators, no cunning secretaries, wire pullers,
hoe genus man,. . . . The real artisan is too indus-
trious, thorough, and concentrated a man to be able to
devote much time to organised political rowdyism ; nor,
even had he the time at his disposal, is the thing to his
taste. The man, no matter what his station, who sweats
and saves is the natural enemy of the man who
14ponds, or starves. . . . We owe Messrs. B
antle more thee we imagined. Their pretensions have
aroused the dormant voice of the genuine British work-
man (!) Anybody who was in Downing-street on Monday
afternoon could have told at a glance that this deputation
at least was not from Bouverie-street. Between the real
and the concocted article, between the sturdy but respect-
ful braes founders from Birmingham and the blasphemous
penny-a-liner from Adelphi-terree, there is as much dif-
ference as between the theatrical horse and a real winner
of the Derby. It was high time that the miserable coun-
terfeit should be exposed. Thus far the Standard, and
the article from which we quote continues the resin
throughout. Seeing Derby enumerated among the towns
from which the deputation came, we were naturally anxious
to learn who were the positive Simon Purer—" the real,
true, unmistakable artisans in downright earnest," whom
our borough sent up to prove their 'honest, unsophis-
ticated natures," which could feel no • chilling or
superstitions reverence" for Downing-street, by such
"loud and lusty cheers" as startled "old and staid
officials," do., dm, do. We sought to discover the names
of these who "were no sham working men (!), no re-
formers in buckram" (!) do., do., he. ilWe wished to in-
form the public who were these " genuine British work-
men" of Derby, so that the less favoured citizens of the
borough might respect them at their worth. We panted
for the publication of the Derby Mercury, trusting that
their names would appear in double capitals. We thought,
now surely we shall find them, when we read the following de-
ecription of the effectof their visit :—"Nodoubt thispower-
" ful demonstration affected Mr. Diaraelimuch, and nerved
" him to sustain his poaition with a wonderful power, ands°
"doubt it affected in a contrary direction the waviness
" in the opposition eanip." Men who contributed to
so memorable a remit deserved to be named, known,
admired ! We learn from the Mercury that the deputa-
tion consisted of "delegates from the working men's sow
elation." The only one of the deputation front Derby
whose name appears in the Mercury is Mr. William Cox.
Why was be singled out What sins had the others coup
muted that they should not share in the honour—in the
admiration—in the gratitude of their fellow townsmen—.
of their fellow countrymen—of future senerstisua
of Mal:ache!. Who were these others! We resolved to
know, and to make up to them for the cruel partiality of
the local tory organ. We will trumpet them forth till
the echoes have caught up their names as the genuine
British workmen of Derby.
Our readers will thank us, for here follows the list :
Mr. John Flewker (solicitor) ; Mr. Gesooyne (son et •
borough magistrate, and silk manufacturer) ; Mr. James
Barrington (master plumber) ; and -Mr. NVilliam Omar
(manager at /darn Browett's silk mill). Two othame of
the same type of " real, true, unmistakeable artist In
downright earnest," were appointed, but could not sc.
company the deputation.
What? A solicitor and member of the Town Conned—
the son of a magistrate and silk manufacturer—a master
plumber, and the manager of a mill, " the real working
men," of " honest and unsophisticated natures," who
felt "no chilling or superstitious reverence" far
Downing-street, ' the real true, unmistakable," de.,
" the genuine British workman r' Fancy Mr. Fles•
ker ' startling staid officials with lusty cheers r
Fancy " the homely God bless 'em' bursting from his
Bps with straightforward simplicity (!) when, fic. Mr.
Flewker and Mr. Cascoyne, no sham working men, no re-
formers in buckram, no professional agitators, no cunning
secretaries, wire-pullers' log-rollers, hoc genus opine." We
do not wonder that the Derby Mercury only publishes the
name of Mr. William Cox. It was desirable to get "as
near to nature as possible for sixpence," and the
of a silk mill was the nearest approach they could
We are not surprised at our contemporary's reticence. To
have told the whole truth would have turned the entire
affair into too flagrant and palpable a farce. We know
not what might have been the case with deputations from
other towns, but if Derby furnishes a fair sample, the
whole business was a hoax on Mr. Disraeli and on the pub-
lic, alike discreditable to all concerned in palming it off
as a deputation of gamine working men.

THE ENGINE DRIVLBSANDTHEIR GRIEVANCES.
—At • large meeting of engine drivers and firemen held in
the Metropolitan Music-hall on Sunday night, the follow-
ing resolutions were pared : —" That the vacillating
and oppressive conduct of the directors and officials of the
North Eastern Railway Company justifies the engine
drivers and firemen in refusing any longer to submit to it.
That this meeting sympathises with the men on the North
Eastern in their present struggle, and pledges itself to
give them every moral and material aid during the con-
test. That a deputation be appointed to wait upon the
President of the Board of Trade, to represent the gnevance
under which the North Eastern men are suffering, and desire
legislative arbitration between them and their directors."—
Owing to the existing strike of engineulen and others on
the North Eastern Railway a number of platelayers and
others in the employ of the company have been put on
in the places of the men on strike. On Friday night
about half-past right o'clock, a platelayer named Robert
Bennett, aged 24 years, residing at Hartlepool, was
acting as guard to a coal train which had been brought
from Castle Eden by an engineman connected with the
Hartlepool Malleable Iron Company. When the train
arrived at Hartlepool, fourteen of the waggons bad to be
shunted into the yard of the ironworks. Bennett was
riding on the buffer of the foremost waggon, and the
waggons were shunted several yards, when Bennett fell
off, and five or six waggons pared over him. The
waggons were thrown off the lbw, and poor Bennett was
most frightfully mutilated. Another accident occurred on
the same line on Saturday morning, at Kelloe Bank. A
man connected with a coal train got entangled with the
chain for lowering the waggons, and had his leg broken.—
The large staff of engine-drivers and firemen employed on
the Great Northern Railway having, with the men of the
North Eastern and other important lines to the north,
memorialised their director for a reduction of the hours
of labour, an increase of wager, and a general redress of
grievances formerly complained of, the directors, through
Mr. Stirling, the locomotive superintendent of the line,
have acted most liberally toward', them, and, like the
Midland and the London and Brighton Companies, have
granted the men's alai= in such a manner as to leave no
cause of complaint.
ARTIrul A L DAY Lin Hr. —A magnesium hand-lamp
has been made on Mr. Larkin's principle, in which the
magnesium is not supplied to the light in wire or ribbon
form, but in the form of a granular powder, either alone
or mixed with sand. It is supplied by a tap through a tube
to the flame of a spirit-lamp, which ignites it ; and the in-
stant that the magnesium smoke is formed it passes off
through afunnel orchimney, which meets Hat the spot where
it is formed. The magnesium powder, though considerably
cheaper, we arc told, in use than the wire or ribbon, is still
rather costly, being Ca. an ounce ; but, manufactured on a
large scale the price would be much leas ; and we would
suggest that experiments should be tried with lime, a
mixture of which with the magnesium powder might
perhaps economise the expenditure, by yieldiog a light
equal to the magnesium light with half the quantity of the
metal. The light given by Larkin's lamp is splendid, and
in its power of displaying colours closely resembles day
light.—Builder.
OirirrAL PALACE. ONE SHILLING DAT.•-
MORDAT, APRIL 15.—Admissions on payment, 716;
ditto by season tickets, 950: total visitors. 1,666.
SOUTH KENSINGTON binazon.—Visitors during
the week ending April 13:—On Monday, Tuesday,
and Saturday, free, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
7,959 ; on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (admis-
sion 6d.), from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m.. 1,792; total, 9,711.
Average of corresponding week in former years, 11,369.
Total from the opening of the Museum, 6,636,002.