Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-16 00:00:00

MEETING OF PILOTS.

Yesterday evening, a meeting of Pilots was held in the
Clarendon Rooms, Mr. Martin presiding, who explained the
object of the meeting to be the taking into consideration the
correspondence which had taken place between the pilot
committee and themselves regarding the following me-
morial:—

"TO TUB PILOT COMMITTE OF THEIfEnSEYDOCNS AND
RARDOUR BOARD.
" The memorial of the undersigned journeymen 'pilots em-
ployed in the Liverpool pilot service sheweth—
" That your memorialists wish to bring before your com-
mittee certain grievances under which they consider they
labour, respecting the management of the pilot service, and
humbly beg that your committee will take the same into
your consideration.
"Your memorialists complain of the system pursued Ert •
the boarding of vessels entering the Mersey, namely, the
power vested in the master in command of each pilot-boat
to choose the pilot to board such vessels. In most instances
the pilot is not chosen to board a vessel until she has arrived
sufficiently near to enable the master to distinguish whether
she is a foreigner, deeply laden, leaky, disabled, or in distress,
aad the master has the power to choose the pilot (without
any appeal) to hoard such vessel ; and, in most cases, the
pilot has not sufficient time to prepare himielf in a suitable
manner. Frequently he is called out of his bed, and has to
hurry on his clothes (the vessel, in the meantime, being
detained). and has to present himeelf on: board such vessel
with a sloven!y appearance, unsuitable to his profession,
and unpleasant to himself. This system causes a great deal-
of discontent and ill-feeling rtiaonest the pilots generally, as
some men are invariably chosen by the'masters, and boarded •
first, which is con:iidered a great privilege, as they are
generally on shore, in eel:sequence, five or six days
before their less fortunate companions, and are also
favoured by the masters with vessels of a superior
character, and light draft of water, whilst others are chosen
for vessels which, in consequence of their draught, &c may
be detained in the river for want of sufficient water, and
prevented, from c10,...kin,g for some time. The masters affirm
that there are prints holding first-class certificates who are
not competent to take charge of them. If such is the case,
your memorialists would respectfully ask why the masters
do not report sueh persons to the proper authorities, to
determine whether or not they are qualified to fulfil the
duties of first-clans pilots, and not allow such persons to
hold certificates to which they are not entitled, and at the
same time receive an equal amount of earnings as those who
are capable of --felfilling such duties, and who have conse-
quently to run a greater amount of risk.
"To remedy the above grievances, your memorialists
would humbly suggest to your committee, that the system
of drawing for turns he introduced into the service (which
system your memorialists. believe has been introduced into
one of the boats, and found to work with complete success),
•so that each person may enjoy the same privilege.
"Your memorialists are convinced that, if such a system
is adopted, it will do away with the discontent arid ill-
feeling above referred to, as each person would then know
his turn for boarding, and would have • sufficient time to
prepare himself to board the vessel, falling to his turn, with-
out loss of time. That it would take away from the masters
a power which your memorialists believe is very often abused
by them, and would make the men more careful and attentive
to their business, and at the same time would be of great
benefit to the shipowners and merchants interested in the,
shipping entering the Mersey.
" Your memorialists, therefore, respectfully request that
your committee will direct that the system of drawing for -
turns in the boarding of vessels, be introduced into the
Liverpool pilot service.
"And your memorialists will ever pray," &c.
Signed by 95 Journeymen Pilots.
The following letter accompanied this memorial :
"Li verpool, a Bth March, 1859.
" Sir,—l have been requested by ninety-five first-class
pilots of Liverpool to transmit to you the enclosed
memorial, signed by them, relative to drawing for turns in
boarding vessels entering the Port of Liverpool, and
respectfully to beg that the Pilot Committee will take the
same into consideration.

" I am also requested to inform you that, if the committee
wish for any information relative to the subject of the
memorial, a deputation from the memorialists will be very
happy to wait upon your committee and furnish the same.
If your committee should wish such deputation to attend,
lam requested to ask that a few days' notice be given
before the time appointed, so that I may take the
necessary steps for the appointment of the deputation.
"I am further directed to inform your committee that, if
the prayer of the memorial is acceded to, it would be one
of the greatest boons that could possibly be granted to the
service.

" Humbly hoping that your committee will grant the
prayer of your memorialists, I remain, for Self and Co-
Memorialists, yours, respectfully, _ _

" THOMAS MARTIN, No. 4.
" To the Chairman of the Pilot Committee of the Liver-
pool Mersey Docks and Harbour Board."
The committee returned in answer :
" Pilot Committee Room,
" Liverpool, April 2, 1869.
" Sir,—l am directed to inform you that the memorial
you forwarded to the committee, on behalf of 95 journey-
men, praying to be allowed to board by turns, was laid
before the committee at their meeting held on the 28th ult.,
together with the observations of the masters thereon,
when it was resolved that the petition of the journeymen
pilots be declined.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,

"D. ItowiklsTD.

" To Mr. Thos. Martin, journeyman No. 4."

Mr. George Penington said it was for the meeting to
express their sentiments with regard to the manner in which
the pilot's committee had been pleased to accept their
memorial, but, as first-class men, he thought they ought to
be placed on an equal footing with any other class of men
who might =moralise a committee. He liked every man
to have a fair share of work, and therefore he would pro-
pose the following resolution : " That this meeting
expresses its great regret at ti e course adopted by the Pilot
Committee of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, in
declining to accede to the memorial of 95 first-class pilots,
requesting to be allowed to draw for turns in boarding ves-
sels, and cannot but feel that the pilots have not been
fairly treated by the committee, in not having permitted
a deputation to attend and explain the justice of the prayer
of the memorial, but, on the contrary, receiving as evidence
the exparte observations of the masters of pilot boats on the
memorial, and coming to a decision thereon without giving
the pilots an opportunity of confuting such observations,
and also in the committee not furnishing the pilots with a
copy of the observations made by the masters on the
memorial."

Mr. Budge seconded the resolution, which was adopted
without opposition.
Mr. Taylor quite concurred in what Mr. rum ington had said,
and proposed the following resolution That a COPY of
the foregoing resolution %e transmitted to the pilot com-
mittee, and that the committee be respectfully requested to
furnish the pilots with a copy. of the observations of the
masters of boats on the memorial."
This resolution was seconded by Mr. Durat, and
adopted.
• The Chairmen said, in calling their attention to the
proceedings of the committee, ho thought it well to say that
every man who held a first class certificate from thaCcom-
mittee, should be considered equal to a fair share of the
work, and take each ship as it came in their turn. He
thought it a very hard case for a man to go to the pay
table, and receive as much wages as a man who had done
twice the anlount of work.

Mr. Pennington concurred in the statement made by the
chairman. He would observe that the man who neglected
his business was the man who was most respected
master, however .trange it mightm saene,mb,oatnnad, was,al tu
the
hair
tfhoa the
csattt
every instance, reported as a first-class man, when
was that he was not a first-class
was more subject to the mbaysterhitmhan other men
He was sure that the matter not
would not be censured
done their duty.when they had
only affected themselves, but every
the
msrh.ipFpoisntgerinstaeirdesht
eofLierp person connected with
I lien
onlywho
work had been done by each belongedtalltNo his. 6
turn,
abroaa,t, a
iid whereit had
other
tehe
enr foundb o
ats toe ooarknwte well,
circumstances,
Under
unfair
tthhaetsweoenre
he could not see why all the
anything but odo the same, and he thought it very
man should live at' the expense of another.
Men who favourites, and who could not be called
"muffs," were chosen for the light work, and
good men, who_ were independent, were often sent on hoard
a ship, and kept there for a fortnight, before she could be
docked. The system, as at present carried on, was very
unfair.

Some further observations were offered, and thr• pro-
ceedings wound up by thanks being returned to the Chair-
man, and also to the Press for attendance.

A. SAD FATE.—Among the passengers who arrived at
Southampton, in the India mail packet Ripon, on the 4th
inst., was a Major Harriett, whom no one onboard seemed
to know. He was taken ill at 3falta, and died at South-
ampton two days after he landed there. There was no clue
as to who he was, and his relatives were advertised for in
the London newspapers. His nephew saw the advertisement,
and came to Southampton: The Major turned out to be
one of the judges who presided at the trial of the Piing of
Delhi, and among his baggage was property to the amount
of £30,000. Ire was about 48 years of age, and has died
worth £lOO,OOO.

A POPULAR HISTORY

ADDRESSED TO THE WORKING CLASSES

THEMSELVES

PART FOURTH.

CHAPTER FOURTH

INGS OF THE LABOURING CLASSES.-LEGISLATIN
ENACTMENTS RESPECTING THE REGULATION OF

WAGES

rs without destroying their simplicity. I
agree with him, also, in believing that it is to the
decline of this happy simplicity that the decline of
this custom may be traced. Some attempts, indeed,
have been made of late years, by men of both taste
and learning, to rally back the popular feeling to
those standards of primitive simplicity ; but the time,
I fear, has gone by, the feeling has become chilled by
habits of gain and traffic ; the country apes the
manners and amusements of the town, and little now
is heard of May-Day except from the lamentations
of authors who sigh after it from among the brick-
walls of the city.

One can readily imagine, says Washington Irving,
what a gay scene it must have been in jolly old
London, when the doors were decorated with
flowering branches, when every hat was decked
with hawthorn ; and Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Maid
Marian, the Morris-dancers, and all the other
fantastic masks and revellers were performing their
antics about the May-pole in every part of the city.
On this occasion, we are told, Robin Hood presided
as Lord of the May,—

With coat of Lincoln green, and mantle too,
And horn of ivory mouth, and buckle bright,
And arrows winged with peacock feathers light,
And trusty bow well gathered of the yew ;
whilst near him, crowned as Lady of the May, Maid
Marian—

With eyes of blue
Shining through dark hair, like the stars of night,
And habited in pretty forest plight,
His greenwood beauty sits, young as the dew.
And there, too, in a subsequent stage of the pageant,
were

The archer-men, in green, with belt and bow,
Feastinl; on pheasants, river-fowl and swan,
With Robin at their head, and Marian.

It is in May, says a writer (1), " that spring is
with us, once more pacing the earth in all the primal
pomp of her beauty, with flowers, and soft airs, and
the song of birds everywhere about her, and the
blue sky and the bright clouds above."
There is one thing, however, wanting to give that
happy completeness to her advent which belonged to
it in the olden times, and without which it is like a
beautiful melody without words, or a beautiful
flower without scent, or a beautiful face without a
soul. The voice of man is no longer heard, hailing
spring's approach as she hastens to bless him ; and
his choral symphonies no longer meet and bless her
in return—bless her by letting her behold and hear
the happiness that she comes to create. The soft
songs of women are no longer blended with her
breath as it whispers among the new leaves ; their
slender feet no longer trace her footsteps in the
fields and woods and wayside copses, or dance
delighted measures round the flowery offerings that
she prompted their lovers to place before them on
the village green. Even the little children them-
selves, that have an instinct for the spring, and feel
it to the very tips of their fingers, are permitted to
let May come upon them, without knowing from
whence the impulse of happiness that they feel pro-
ceeds, or whither it tends. In short, it has been
truthfully sung,—
All the earth is gay ;
Land and sea
Give themselves up to jollity,
And with the heart of May
Doth every beast keep holiday :
_

while man, man alone, lets the season come without
glorying in it ; and when it goes, he lets it go
without regret —as if all seasons and their change
were alike to him • or, rather, as if he were the lord
a all seasons, and they were to do homage and
honour to him, instead of he to them ! How is this ?
Is it that we have "sold our birth-right for a mess
of pottage ?"—that we have bartered " our being's
end and aim" for a purse of gold ? Alas ! thus it is :

The world is too much with us ; late and soon
Getting. and snond;Tic. nr. —.-„

.rituiug, we lay wast,
Little we see in nature that is ours

We have given our hearts away---Ordid boon
But, be this as it may, we are still able to feel what
nature is, though we have in a great measure ceased
to know it. Though we have chosen to neglect her
ordinances, and absent ourselves from her presence,
we still

tain some instinctive reminiscences of. her
beauty and her power ; and every now and then the
sordid walls of those mud hovels which we have

before the magic touch of our involuntary fancies,
and give us glimpses into that " imperial palace
whence we came," and make us yearn to return
thither, though it be but in thoualt
Weddings, we al

_so learn, were-really joyous affairs
reign of Elizabeth - gay to a degree, even
amongst the middle and working classes. Among
other festivities a procession was held, in which the
bride, in her best dress and ornaments, was led to
church between two boys -wearing bride laces and
rosemary tied about their silken sleeves, while before
her was carried a fair bride-cup of silver, filled with
wine, in which was a large branch of rosemary,
gilded, and hung about with silken ribbons of all
colours. Musicians came next, and then a troop of
maidens, some bearing great bride cakes, and other
varlands of wheat finch- gilded • and thus they
shed onwards to church, amidst' the shouts and
benedictions of the spectators. When a year and a
a day had posed over, if
they could swear that they
had never repented their union in all that time,
sleeping or waking, they might then deirssnedx,thoer
flitch of bacon from Dunmow priori in
Wichenowe in Staffordshire, for at both of these
places was this curious law established ; and when
the exp)anatory pair had taken the oath with due
solemnity, they received the reward amidst the
songs and acclamations of the crowd, and were
dismissed 'with a popular ovation. It is somewhat
(i) Mirror of the Konthe.

WORKING.TEECLASSES.

RURAL FESTIVITIES DURING THE ELIZABETHAN AGE.
-MODERN DECLINE OF THESE.-DIET AND DWELL-

It is pleasing to turn from those barbarous and
degrading sports, which I adverted to in the previous
chapter, to the notice of others of a more genial and
innocent character. Conspicuous among these was
the great rural festival of May Day—a festival
which royalty itself even delighted in and cor-
porations patronised. At the dawn of May
morning, we are told, the lads and lasses left their
towns and villages, and repairing to the woodlands,
by sound of music, they gathered the May, or blos-
somed branches of the trees, and bound them with
wreaths of flowers. Then returning to their homes
by sunrise, they decorated the lattices and doors
with the sweet-smelling spoil of their joyous
journey, and spent the remaining hours in sports and
pastimes. These, for the most part, consisted in
dancing round the May-pole, which was placed in a
convenient part of the village, where it stood conse-
crated to the Goddess of Flowers for the whole circle
of the year. An old writer thus describes the
bringing of the May-pole home :—" They have
twentie or fourtie yoke of oxen, every oxen bearing
a sweet nosegaye of flowers tyed on the tippe of his
horns, and these oxen draw home the May-pole,
which is covered all over with flowers bounde rounde
about with stringes, from the top to the bottom, and
sometimes painted with variable colours, with two or
three hundred men, women, and children, following
it with great devotion. And thus being reared up,
with handkerchiefs and flags streaming on the top,
they straw the ground about, binde green boughs
about it, sett up summer-halls, bowers, and arbours,
hard by it ; and then fall they to banquet and feast,
to leap and dance about it, as the heathen people did
at the dedication of their idols, whereof this is a
perfect pattern, or rather the thing itself."
Such is the description given by Stubbs of a
festival that has now nearly become obselete, and
for which my own regrets extend more at its
discontinuance than any of the others of ancient
character. Like Washington Irving, I value every
custom that tends to infuse pure poetical feeling into
the people, and to sweeten and to soften rustic
man