The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-01 00:00:00

Freedom will be found at his post, and the earnest
he gives us for hope, is the fact, unparalleled in

modern or ancient higtory

FOUR CROWNED BEADS sit

that he lived to see

ting at oue period, or

ow may well be proud of her Freeman, anc
la of her Minister!

IT is not for any peculiar love of the theme that
We recur to the subject of Strikes. It is one which
must, as a general rule, be unsatisfactorily dealt

With, inasmuch as any argunient advanced, pleas,
big to the einploYed, will, as a matter of course
seem to bear against the employers, and vice versa.
Thitt comliinatioilS, or league@, to employ a p olitico-
fashionable title, may be effective of a vast amount
of good, cannot be denied. But a good servant
may sometimes proVe a bad master; and we must
confesS that we regard With feelings of
.apprehen-
sion the strikes ii6iv daily chronicled throughout
the country. The wages movement seems to be
general; and has, Already oceasioried b. very de-
cided oiipositidn oil the part of the emplOYers.
There really is something infectious in the
proceedings of the operatives. If those of
a certain district, were to make a successful
stand for a higher rate of pay, or for privileges to
which they deem thertiselVeS entitled, their exam-
ple is immediately fdlloWed by Varibus artizans
of other crafts; Mid this has iloW proceeded to
such lengths, that the capitalists are compelled to
bestir themselves: We beliee, that in these days,
even with:Mit Strike 6, the just deiiiandS Of the
labouring population would not, and Could not, be
disregarded. What a sense of justice on the part
of employets might riot effeCt by the toice of
public opinion; to say nothing of the certainty of
a dice balailee in the labourer-market being
maintained. One fact by the way, seems
self-evident. If funds can be readily raised
from the labours of artizans in full employment,
to support those strikes, the aggregate of the
wages received by them; cannot fall far short of
what Is equitable, This; however, is not the most
important point of view in which to regard the
subject. The price of labour will tight itself with
or without the aid of strikes ; and if, by
this means, any undue advantage be gained by
those who engage
.in them, a reactionary loss
is sure to follow. There are other and more im-
portant evils to be anticipated ; and some of these
will, we think, be evident to all who have read in
our columns, or elsewhere, the account of the
strikes which have lately taken place at Preston.
For instance, the manufacturers have appeared as
firmly resolved to close their mills, as the working
men, emboldened and supported by aid from other
places, are to persevere in their demands. In some
cases, the hands have struck in consequence of
a mere fractional difference between the concessions
made,. and the advance demanded. "We have
heard," says a London contemporary, "df an in-
stance in which the sum of Os. 9d., claimed jointly by
the hands in one department, has led to the
whole of the operatives in that mill leaving their
employment." Surely this single fact is sufficient
to prove that strikes may be, and are made, con-
ducive sometimes to very worthless purposes.
Throughout the country similar movements have
been set on foot, and when no principle is con-
tended for—when the claimants ground their
appeal for higher wages on the higher prices of
the necessaries of life, it is with something like
astonishment we read of the sums subscribed by
their co-mates, for their subsistence while off
work. Surely, so much valuable time need not
have been lost—so - much capital have been dor-
mant—so much ill-feeling between the employers
and the employed been excited, for such compara-
tively diminutive results.
And who can tell where all, this is to terminate ?
Miners at Wigan and Bury ; tin-plate workers in
Birmingham ; the dyers in Manchester ; the shoe-
makers in Somersetshire and Devonshire ; brick-
layers, carpenters, founders, lamplighters, bakers,
seamstresses and slopworkers, et cetera, in London ;
nay even the police in various districts, are
striking, or contemplating a strike. Now, the
serious matter for consideration is, who after all
will be the parties benefited or injured ? Such a
movement is not always successful, as the state `of

affairs at Preston exemplifies ; but even if success-
ful, is it trustworthy ? Can it be always relied on
by those who now fly to it at once ? We think, the
good common-sense, the right good feeling of the
English artizan will soon decide this question.
He well knows that the capitalist is as dependant
on his industry, as he is on the capital of his
employer. We may always find there are matters
to be discussed and points of difference to be
adjusted between them ; but, we trust the time
will very soon come, when we shall hear no more
such a word as a Strike.

WE had occasion lately to advert, in common
with our contemporaries, to the disgraceful arrest,
and subsequent imprisonment, of Miss CUNNING-
HAME, by the Tuscan authorities; and we then
expressed a hope that our FOREIGN SECRETARY
would act energetically and decisively in the matter,
and thereby uphold, not only the dignity of the
British CABINET, but likewise that of the English
nation. We are now much gratified to learn, that
Lord CLARENDON is "up and doing ;" and that
instructions of a very summary kind have been
dispatched to Mr. SCARLETT, our Charge d'Affitires
at Florence, who, in like manner, is acting with
considerable zeal in the matter ; so that reasonable
expectations may be entertained of a speedy and
successful issue.

We have neither time nor inclination to enter upon
the discussion of the question, as to whether Miss.
CUNNINGHAME was right or wrong in distributing
tracts, and other religious publications, within the
Tuscan territory. Indeed, such discussion would
be productive of no tangible benefit, view it in what
light we may. We nevertheless contend, that per-
sonal liberty should not be imperiled, much less
forfeited, on such slender, and even paltry grounds;
and that neither religious enthusiasm, or a little
womanly indiscretion, on the part of Miss CUN-
NINGHAME, should have subjected her to such de-
grading punishment, and such a fearful depriva-
tion of human rights.
We entirely agree with Lord CLARENDON'S opi
nion, that the act lately perpetrated by the TUSCAN
Government, is " contrary to the spirit of the age ;"
nay, more, would be a disgrace to any age ! And
we think it our imperative duty, as directors of the
public opinion, to offer a bold, earnest, and con-
demnatory voice, against any Government, or any
Ruler, that could foster so iniquitous a principle
in support of Law—and worship the Demon IN-
TOLERANCE in the name of GOD !