The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-07 00:00:00

TICS

This section met under the presidency of Ur. W. Nate.
MAW H, F.R.S., and rue numerously attended.
The Pitesiumer, who was unable from illness to attend
the previous day, delivered a lengthened and able address
on the subject of economic science generally, its progress and
present condition.

Mr. D. CHADWICR read a paper on the progress of im-
provements in Manchester and Salford during the last
twenty years.

KTRIAES.

Dr. wArrs read r paper on 'Dikes, of which the follow.
Mg isan abstract :- After some observations on the general
nature of strike., Dr. Watts amid—Economic science rules
that the price of labour like that of any other commodity
will be re-gulated by the supply of, compared with the de-
mand for it, and uorkiic.; men practically acknowledge the
truth of the theory even while fighting against it, for they
withdraw labour (rota the market, thus making it artifi-
cially scarce, in order to keep up the pries.
But such an operation, even if successful,
is short•si,;lited. The operatives forget that ill increase to
the wages fund comes out of the profits of the employer
sad the rented savings of the weeirmaa, and that to arbi-
trarily prevent the production of wealth is just as injuries'
to society, 1/011 so certainly lessens the future demand for
workmen, as if the employers and workshop and ploughed
been burnt or bean cast into the sea. The main object of
trade societies is to keep up wages, and I am not prepared
rarer that thee do sot in some eases succeed, but 1 wish
to inquire if strikes be a texuenary coodition to that success,
or if, un the contrary, any possible success achieved by such
process could not equally ha arrived at by lOW 011ibt1C100abla
means, and if it be nut possible to armoire trade disputes
without resort to this fearful sword of strife. The nods
I causes of strikes have been threefold—the desire to limit
Welt, the iutroductiou of new inachinery,and dissatisfaction
with the rate of wages paid. &meth-nes the strike is agstust
the sew machine, and sometimes against the 4 arrangeousta
rendered necessary by its introduction. A Liverpool ship.
builder in 17459 got the copper for a ship'sbottom punched
by niachirry. ready fur nailing on, but his workmen struck
and ohlaed Inns to set the baud wedges to work to go over
the job, as if it as.. out already done, and to pay them for
the sham. The stoy.stitehers of Kettering struck against 1
the employment of the sewing-machine, mid so strong was
the sympathy of trade societies that subscriptions were sent
in aid of the strike from the very machine.shop which sup-
plied the obnoxious articles. It seems to he very difficult for
workincrneu to set nut of the idea that unproved nia- 1
chioery will lessen the demand (or labour, although both
theory and practice prove the contrary. It is quite certain
that for a new machine to get adopted it must make a profit '
to its owner over and &bow that of the machine which it
supersedes. It is equally carter that the increased
demand for labour, the increase of population and of ma-
teriel wealth, bare been most rapid where machinery has
achieved the greatest perfection, as in the cotton trade of
Lancashire. And is it possible, by any strike, to stay the
progress of itiventioa I I hope and believe it is not. But I
most of the strikes which hays corms under my observation
have resulted from dissatisfaction with the amount of wages
paid. This dissatisfaction, so far as the cotton trails is con-
cerned, is sometimes general, and sometimes local. It is
general when the state of trade requires a reduction of
wages, or when workmen think the state of teed. justifies i
a rise ; it is local when the hands of one place think theca-
selves wont paid than the hands in other plume. The
workmen seem to desire to have a regular standard list of
wages throughout each deportment of the trade, regiiniler I
of the advantages or disadvantages of particular localities,
the quality of the maehmery used or of the material to be
wrought up. If trade always'left • large margin of
profit, these differences might not be important, but
when a manufacturer has to keep up • large establishment
upon • single penny per pound between the price paid for
yarn, and the prim obtained fee cloth, then a shilling per
to, extol fur ails, or the existence of an extra toll-bar, and
a few extra miles of carriage to the market, mike the dif-
fervor between profil and loss. The manufacturer also
feels that if he In,. out capital on improved machinery,
or supplies extra red material, and thus enabled his work-
people to produce more in a given time, be ought to get a
trading profit upon such extra outlay. The price of labour
is n bargain betweeo the employer and the workman, and it
is not unnatural that each should put • iliffereut estimate
upon the proposed arrangement. Any dissatisfaction on the
side of the workmen is submitted to the central committee
of their gaiety, which advisee whether to accept the terms
of the employer or to organise • strike in order to force the
employer to give the price demanded by the society. The
d,fference in dispute is sometimes not more than gi, fre-
quently not more than 5, and seldom exceeds 10 per
cent. of the wages paid. The duration of • strike
varies much. The great Preston strike lasted
3$ weeks ; the late one at Padihatn.29 weeks ; Bolton, six
weeks ; Ashton and district, six weeks ; Clitheroe, six
weeks ; Blacki.urn, three weeks. The strike of the Loudon
bulkier' lasted 2ti weeks, and the late Collie strike, 50
weeks. Let ue aro mu live par cent. as the average amount
in dispute, and o-stines that the strike is in every case sue•
earful, and we shall then nod that theadagewhich isapplied
to disputants at law, " that he who wins loses," is equally
applicable here. A week is nearly 2 per cent. of a working
year, and of course represents nearly 2 per cent. of the
wages of • year. If therefore • strike for 5 per cent. suc-
ceeds, its malts will be exhibited in the following table :
I Tim lose of see month's ware will require to make it up
1 3.5 th of a year of work at the extra rate two mouth"'
; wages, 3 I.sth ; three mouths' wages, 4 4.5th0 ;
six months wages, 9 3-sths ; 12 months' wages,
19 I.sth. But as money is worth five per cent., it
: follows that if a strike lasts 12i mouths, and then succeeds,
the workman has lost sn interest snook more than he has
gained in wear, and therefore no part of the loss can ever
be made up, for if lie would have worked for the lower sum
during the year of strike, and bare invested instead of
I spending the money, the year's wages would have grown
into three years' wages nearly by the time in which the gain
of the strike would make up fee the loss of a single year.
Of course • strike fur 10 per cent, would require only half
the above term to make up the less, whilst • strike for 21
per cent. would require double the time exhibited in the
table, or 41 years. The strike of the London builders in
IMO was for 10 per cent., and as it lasted 26 weeks, would,
if successful, have required 10 2-sth years of continuous
work at the extra rate to make up the loss of wages sacri-
ficed. The amount in dispute between the weaver. Of Coln.
and their employers did not average more than 31 per cent..
and had tea strike been successful would have required
more • than 28 years' continuous employment at the
adviser to arks up the amount of wage lost, by
which time the lost ware would at 5 p.r cent. have

been quadrupled. In the cotton trade wages appear to
undergo something like a general adjustment every throe or
four years, in consequence principally of defective or abund-
ant harvests of oorn m cotton, or both. Such adjustments
occurred in 185.1, 11457, and In6o. If, therefore, the strikes
which occur were spread equally over these periods, they
would, even if sueofteful, only affect the rate of wages fur
about two years upou an average, awl therefore could not
make up for more than :ibout live weeks' loss of wages by
strike. But strikes are seldom successful to the workmen ;
so that whilst they sarritice the wages of the present time
they also Kasen the wealth of the world, and so lessen the
future demand for labour, and put further off the day when
any advance of wages will be possible. Here is a list of un-
succoeiful strikes, with a rough estimate of the losses con-
sequent thereon. Nome of these were amongst spinners and
some amoorst weavers; and learning that about 451. in
weaving and 80f. in spiuning will represent the capital per
hand engaged, I have me.umed for the purpose of my calcu-
lations 651. se Use general average.
EXAMIJI OF ON/HICCCHHVUL RTRILEM, WITH FSTIMATZ OF

.
Lotus To isoctitTY.
Name of No of Weeks of Salm-rip. Total
Town. lland.4. Strike. tion. Loan.
Preston 15,000 38 £108,875 £82.4,.218
['minim
Cllthcroc 3,000 6 3.375 19,000
Blackburn and dn

[4141 10.800 22,500 132.000
Ashton district 22.1,00 6 21.750 145,271
Calm 1,5411 50 11.089 89,199

holtoo
London builders

C 271017 f.;

•
The associated colliers have spent about a quarter of
a million since 1842, and the arnalgainated cashmere threw
away 'mealy balf-a-million in 1852. According to our
assumption of capital of ail per individual, the amount
thus hot would have given employment and wages to 17,184
persons. AU the above named except the Preston strike
have oosurred within the Luit two veers and a half, and all
bassended unsuccessfully, so that there has been no comnen-
eation whatever. If a trader' society in addition to opemtiog
as benefit society in cases of sickness and death, should
also become a simple trade agency' where information might
be obtaioed of the state of employment and the amount of
%eVe in every locality, and should also MOW to remove
workmen into the best markets, or in case no better could be
found, to advise them to remain ; then mist of the strikes
for wages would be prevented, whilst all the results of a
successful strike would be achieved without its expense and
lugs. The exemptions would be when, as at Colne, a strike
occurs from mitunderstendiog or misrapresentatiou as to
the wages paid elsee lore. This strike occurred during a
very prosperous' trade. when labour was so scares that every
hand employe. at Coles might readily have got work else.
where. But dm hands refused to go bemuse those who did
leave soon found that they could do better at home. This
clime of cases would furnish useful work toren arbitration
court I would throw out the hint that each a court
each party to the dispute should name an squid num-
ber of jurymen, the county court judge fur the district being
appointed umpire. Aod from this court I Wok it would he
desirable to exclude lawyers. The parties would be
evenly belonged, the umpire would be perfectly
disinterested, -and legal expenses would be avoided.
These two modes of preventing strikes could be
put in operation ; the one by trade societies,
themselves, ties other by the sithetiou ot the legislature, but
there is a thin, plan now corning rapidly into operation
which will sevgrely te,t, the capacities of the working chime
and prove whether ow Dot the °platens expressed of them
lately he well or ill &eluded. I allude to the rise of co-
operates societies and manufacturing companies with
limited liability. If the real co-operative societies extend
and succeed it is potable that we may see individual em-
ployers, in self-defence, meditating their workpeople part-
ners in profits, in the Wild that the extio interest excited
in work would make the employer's share of profit greater
than the whole amount formerly obtained.
A discussion followed, in which the Rev. W. A. MOW.
worth, Mr.Fsweett, Mr. &Ashworth, Mr:E.Hill, Mr. C. H.
Bracelridge, and Lord Montegele took touts The speakers
generally approved in the view taken by Dr. Watts, and a
suggestion was made that means should be taken to diffuse
sound knowledge on this subject, and that Dr. Watts should
publish the paper with some modifications.
The PREaIDIKT aninatheed that a toper by Mr. F. li
Purdy, on the relative pauperism in England, Seotland, and
lreland, from 11459 to 1880, would be postponed until to-
morrow (this day), as it was probable there would be a
good deal of diseassioo upon it.
Mr. EDWARD POTTER read a paper on "Cooper's.. ,
and its tendencies, the conclusions from which he smutted
up In theme words :—" 1. That co-operation is sound °alp
when limited to simple and elmost unispertublive trodlqk
such as the division of stores for supplying a provided de-
m and from shareholders ; or for institutions and establish.
meet, for limited purposes, such as would safely admit the
'temperer° principle of inaolgemeut. 2. That it is in-
, efficient for competitive, sod therefore speculative, coin-
, menial uniiertakiegs ; bemuse it could not, through agents
I democratically appointed, and entrusted only with limited
responsibility, compete with individual responsibility of great
power. 2. That it would prove weakest during periods of
' depression, sod could not tied power of sustention from a
undtitude of sharehohlers of the capitalist class. That
it would not apply the power of purchase or expansion
during those period* when the private capitalist invest.",
and invests most profitably. 4. That the more substantial
capitalist would be dolor,' by the socialistic rule, which
limits the amount of shares to be held, from finding tiumn•
cial soil moral support, therefore the preinuro of adversity
would come with infinitely greater weight in ...operative
associations than on joint stock or iudiri•lual trailers. 5.
That co-operative experiments, though costly to their sup-
paters, may be valuable to society by afforling practical
lessons in pontifical economy, sod leather the value of, and
neeassity fur forethought and experience ; that the greater
diffusion of education will not lead to cooperation fur tract-
inirposee, but to pester and competition.
Mr. Darien &VON; ECM., then read a paper ou the
Itoclidale cooperative societies, which be showed had
prospered exceedingly.
The 11ev. W. TLIORBVIIN read a paper on co-operative
stores, ice., which was also laudatory of the co-operative
system.
SECTION G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE.

This section met nodes the presidency al T. F. BA LENDAN,
Esq., F.R.S. Amongst those present were Lord Mettler',
the Hight Hoe J. P. Napier. W. Fairbeirri, seq., the
president of the aasocistion ; nod Jansen Heywood, Esq.

Mr. flcorrEssu,, in presenting the third report of the
committee of tho association on steam ship perfor 121JWCON
said the report consisted chiefly of valuable tables, which
had Ines framed from actual experimental trials of serious
steam ships—some of them in her Majesty's uaryead others
employed iu the mercantile service.