Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-26 00:00:00

THE TRADE OF SREFF.ELD.

The present " ball week" is passing over with scarcely any signs of
increased act vity is on- m mufactone '1 here are a taw estiollsh-
ments in the town whore the workman are frilly employed ; and
others where the "stint" has bean partial y removed ; bat for the
groat majority of the workmen Vlore is no change fir the better.
The loc,l falla.es of the week are unimportant. With the clos-ng
year we may report as follows of some of the morn important
branches of the trade of Shefid3l4 :—The steel trade, which has long
been depressed, continues 1 nguid. File trada is gecerally du 1, but
there are houses who have on hand orders of considerable value.
For iailwav sp lugs, there has recently been a brisk demand, which,
however, now seems to b 3 slackening. In the saw trade, moat houses
share in the common prostration. With rare exceAlons. the cut-
lery trade is extremely bad. Taose iron founders who are engaged
in the manufacture of fine store-grates, fenders, &c. are mostly well
emp,oyed ; and we believe there is moderate call for many articles
Of metal and plated ware.—Sheffield Independent.

BrATN or TRAM; IN BIR3IINGFIA3i.
The accounts received this week in reference to the a ate of trade in
Birmingham are of a most unsatisfactory eharailter ; the utmost
quietude prevails in almost every branch. Tho fasters' orders have
been getting sin ller for seve-al weeks past; Ole week very fsw have
bean given out, and with the exception of a moderate amount of
acsivity in some of the fancy trades, which hi, sprang up during the
last few days, chiefly on acc]unt of small .orders for Chri tmas
preients and so forth, there is scarcely an exception to the languor
which pravals, tho workpoople hells g kept on (Though not as a rale
making three or four days) in getting a few ord-rs which drib',le in
from various quarieres. The falling off in the or ere from the agricul-
tural di stria s has been more observable during the last f:w days;
and with the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire asd Lancashire
there is scarcely any business ding. The tin-plain workers have
suffered less than some other trades; in Birmingham the mann(ac-
turers are p ietty well off fo- orders. The eleetro and plating tradss
generally are slack, as is the Vibe trade, both in Birmingham and the
district; the edge-toil trade continues tolerably brisk, but this and
one or two other instmu)s, are the only ,exciip ions as regards the
trade of the town to the dulness which pervades b 'illness generally.
Birmingham Journal.

THE ABERDARE STRIKE.
On Wednesday aboat 60 men resumed work at the Gad'eys
Co.liery, the property of Messrs. Waine and Co. Some of Mr. Wil-
liwns's men. of Yniscynon, hava also gone in • like visa those at the
Lletty Shenkin Colliery, the proper), of Mr. Rees ; and at the Upper
Duffryn Colit3ry, the property of Mr. Pavan. It is said that there
are other collieries whore a fe v - en have gone down to do sours
repairs. Soma of the pits, where the ventilation has been ne .lec'e
aro fall of fire up .to the mo sth of the pit, and it is feared that,
unless great precaution is take,, explosions must take place.
Hnndrede of workin.; men are rej Aced at this movemant. Indeed,
tho majority of real wor.:men hail it with strisfiat on. But the
Abirdare Valley has, for the list faw years, been swarming with
tramps from ail pafts or the kinzdo v., and it is to the tyrannical
inflaenceof these fallows that the strike is mainly to be attributed.—
Camsrian.

MERITING OF COLLIERS AND THEIR MASTIRS ON WAGES.
On Tuesday. in pursuance of a resolution passed at a colliers'
meeting at Willenh 11, lost week, a deputation of four colliers met the
chairman and secretary (Mr. Philip Williams and Mr. John Hartley)
of the iron trade, respecting the ones'i na of wages, at the Swan
Hotel, WolVerhamoton. The Earl of Dartmouth, Colonel Hogg
(chief constable of Staffordshire), and Mr. Southern, ground bailiff to
mr.Willizras, were also present. The Chairman said he believed the
masters 'were as willing as himself to meet a de,,ntation of the men,
and hear their statements as to any grievance or supposed grievance.
Ths note had been (as he since fouon) addressed to him alone; but
he had Invited the Earl of D srtmouth and the other gentiespen to
be present. [the deputation said they wis ied to Invite three other
employers, Messrs. Slackwall. Bagnall, and Thorne croft, but did not
know their addresses.] William Creswell, tone of the deputation,
after some explanations, and offering to postpone the interqiew,
so as to have more masters present, handed a note to the chairman,
which was read aloud: It stated that the coliera c:nsidered
the present reduction of wages an unjust one, looking at the
prices of provisions They complained o? the oppression of
the " buttlas" in adding to their stoats, and working the-n from 6
a.m., to 2 p.m. for half a day, and other things. A fortnight ago
they received noice of a redaction of 6d a day; a d they wished
this reduction not to be male. They also complained of the battle;
compelling them to spend part of their wages in drink. Mr.
Williams and Mr. Hartley raid it was impossible. if the masters ware
to pay their way and to compete with other dist ids, for them to
give previous rates of wages. Mr. Williams read a letter he had
received that morning from Lo :don, as follows :—" As regards a
reduction. I wish with all my heart that you could remain as you
are, but with Welsh bars at £6, and no buyers, I do not see how it is
possible for Staffordshire to remain stationary. I can assure you
that a redaction of £2 per ton is more widely advocatel and
expected than I could have believed if I had not titian' it. For
myself I am utterly opposed to it, as it woold lead to the widest
spicalation, which would punish us hereafter. I repeat my regret
that even a 23s (redaction) appears to be inevitable. Th-re is
nothing doing; people will not buy at any price, even though we
offer (as we have done for weeks past) subject to guitar day."
Lord Dartmouth and these two gentlemen, howeve*, strongly
reprobated the bottles interferi ig with the coll,e,s iu spending
their money, and promised that all shoed bs done to tint an end to
this. The deputation then received Is. each, and withdrew."

MEETING 4F SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE COLLIERS.
On Tuesday afternoon, aboat 5 0 colliers assembled at ,Villenhall,
to receive the disputation appo used at a previ ,us meeting to hare an
interview witU the masters. Caswell, one of the deputation, reported
the result of the interview, and recommended the m-n to return to
work, as the waste s had shown that they were reducing wages only
in proportion to the declice in the price of iron ; and especially as
Mr. Williams and Mr. Hartley hal eatd that as soon a, pr ces im•
prove', colliers' wages would Also be increased. This he thoeght was
all that the men had a right to expect from their employers as to
wages. The masters gave the deputation a very favourable reception,
and promised to do all in their power to repress their goi ,vances,
if they would only make them (the masters) acquainted with
them. James Loyd. a member of the depntation, supported
the remarks of the chairman, bnt expregsed himself diesatistled
with rho position in which the question of the " stent " was left.
Isaoc Platts, an intelligent collier, recommended his fie low-7-:rkmee
to take the chairman's advice; bat with the view of being better
pr pared for a sine•lar emergency, by being better informed and
and in
order:also to pmenre unity of aetion, and. therefore, sympathy
amongst the colliers throughout the South Stdff•aelshire cod field,
he recommended that a commit:ea should be appointed, with power
to procure a room, and furnish it with newspapers, from which the
men might ascertain the state of the iron mai het a, to price, and
thus know how to regula'e neir proceedings with their employers,
upon the question of wages. This committee, he suqge3tcal, should
meet every weak, and. register the price of iron weekly, so as ts be
ab'e to compare the prices of w-ages now with future pri^es. This
committee should also have authority to take into consideration. any
grievance; of particular pits or fields, and should be expected to devise
means for bringing those grievances before the maeters, and aidieg
lily men who might be compelled to leave work in consequence of an
unjust infringement a f their rights by buttes or masters. The
appointment of each a committee with the powers entrusted to them,
ought alma to be the nucleus of an institution fur the better education
of the colliers, whose want of education was the re',uke levelled at
them by every other description of workmen, and which levered
them beneath their true po,itio t. Why should ever/ at er cless of
operative educate himself to attain to higher positio es in society, and
the collier remelts in his low estate, and continue deplorable ignorant?
There must be no rising—no breaches of the peace—no doing any-
thieg that would make them amenable to the law ; they mast first
understand what were their rights. and then be able to enforce them
with the self-respect and the dignity that belongtd to their noiltion.
It appeared teat, under present circumstanc s. they had nothing* to
do but to return to their work on their masters' terms Let them
de so pe ceahly, and with good grace. and in the future learn a
lesson from the past, and be more watchful of their interests. A
committee was then appointed, consisting o' th'rteen c.lliera, and
they were entrusted with the powers set out for them Resolutions
were then priced approving the course taken by the depntaton at
the meeting with the masters, thanking them for th,ir services, and
the masters for the reception which they hid given to them—par-
ticular'y for promising to redress real grievances when the men
brought them before thorn. _

It was then determine I by resolution, to which there were on'y a
few d'svntionts, that the men should retarn peacoahly to their work
yesierdey. A vote of thanks .sit passed to the chairman, and tha
meeting, which was oreerly throughout, tormmated.