The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-17 00:00:00

of consideration as the brightest records of success
in manufacturing and commercial skill, for the
" moral aspect" bears so much interest and value.
Wo have seen a population, counted almost by
millions, cast into distress, and we have seen those
millions meet and encounter distress." Speaking of
the measures adopted for the relief of the distress,
Mr. GLADSTONE truly stated that it was a great
feature in itself that 90 much should have been done
to alleviate the misfortune in a spontaneous manner.
" To think that the wants of hundreds of thousands,
almost millions, could be met as they have been met—
not by the agency of Government—not by convok-
ing Parliament, and passing special laws—not by
the employment of an army of official persons sent
forth at the public charge to ascertain, to record,
and to regulate that relief—but by the voluntary
action of the community itself; by the mixed influ-
ence of Christian charity and practical wisdom
thoroughly combining together; by the power and
organisation made applicable on a gigantic scale
to the relief of a gigantic calamity, is almost new in
the history of the country." The Chancellor of the
Exchequer has done well to speak in appreciating
terms of the glorious spectacle that has been
exhibited by the North of England ; it is
one which any Minister should recognise, and
it has been of signal service in displaying the
extent of the improvements that have taken place
of late years among the community. Education
and the increase of reading among the lower
classes have been potent auxiliaries in helping
on this good work; their mighty influence was
not felt till a momentous occasion called forth its
powers and developed its resources, but having
once been appreciated they oan never be forgotten
nor despised again. Mr. GLADSTONE effectively
closed his address by expressing a hope.
that the results of this struggle would be to im-
prove the future condition of trade in the .north
—to establish it on a firmer basis—so that the
resources of many countries might be pressed into
the service, to supply the " industry to which the
whole world is a debtor, for there is no portion
of the world which is not a debtor to the cotton
industry of Lancashire."

The great colliery strike in the Midland Counties
is virtually at an end, and there are probably few
persons who would desire its continuance. After a
duration of fifteen weeks they have been compelled,
by the exigencies of trade, to abandon their pur-
pose, and to break up their organisation. With
the exception of some unwarrantable outrages,
which have recently tended to alienate public sym-
pathy from their cause, the general behaviour of
the men has been quiet and orderly, and those ex-
ceptions were probably regretted by no one more
than by the body of the colliers themselves, whose
good name was thus imperilled. But after this
protracted struggle of conflicting interests, the men
have had the sense to see that their cause was
growing only more hopeless as time went on, for
the demands of the great coal consumers were
being supplied from the north and from the west,
so that even now the strike is ended, its conse-
quences are likely to be felt in the new element of
competition which it has brought into the market.
The only strength possessed by men on strike is
their power of compelling their masters to accede
to their terms from the impossibility of carrying
on their trades without labour, Bat when e fresh
channel of supply is opened it is no longer a war
in which both sides are fairly matched, and the
questicn is which side can hold out the longest,
but the whole weight falls on the men and
their families, and it only remains to
bs seen to what extent these will carry their
useless privations. The large supplies of coal,
amounting, it is said, to 10,000 tons daily, which
are now coming into South Staffordshire, entirely
independent of the collieries of the Black Country,
must naturally excite considerable apprehension
in the minds of all connected with the local trade,
and, therefore, it is not surprising that the men
themselves should take some steps towards altering
the state of affairs. Accordingly on Saturday
afternoon a meeting of the Bilston colliers was
convened, for the purpose of hearing an address
from Mr. SAMUEL GRIFFITHS, a well-known and
highly-popular metal broker of the neighbourhood.
There was a very large attendance of men notwithe
standing that the notice had been short, and:they
listened to Mr. GRIFFITHS'S address with remark..
able attention. That gentleman spoke at some
length, and argued strongly against the continu-
ance of the strike, saying that although he thought
they had been justified in striking, yet the con-
dition of the iron trade rendered the struggle per
fectly hopeless. This was very unwelcome news to
the men, but they received it very quietly, and two
of their own leaders had the courage and good
sense to step forward and move that, in consequence
of the convincing nature of Mr. GRIFFITHS'S
arguments, work should be resumed on Monday
next. The motion having been put to the
meeting, was received with dead silence, which
was perhaps as might be expected, but after the
meeting the committee resolved to break up, leave
ing every man to do as he thought proper. So that
the great strike is really at an end, for, of course,
it would be useless for a part to hold oat while others
worked, and a good many men are certain to re.
turn to work as soon as the organisation is
broken up. It is to be hoped that the losses and
sufferings which it has entailed will not have been
fruitless, bat that masters and men will alike have
learned something from them. The masters cannot
be said to have altogether triumphed, for as we
have said the new arrangements for supplying
Welsh and Northern coals are likely to p rove
injurious to them, while the men have only too
much cause to remember the strike. It is on the
wives and little ones that the chief weight of these
strikes falls, and they are therefore to be doubly
deplored. At the same time the masters would do
well to remember that it is their own tyranny and
selfishness that drives men to combine against
them and seek that protection from union which
they cannot get from anything else. They are
quite acute enough to see that wages which go
down so promptly in bad times do not rise as
quickly in good ones ; in fact, do not often rise at
all. Self-interest is too often predominant with
employers, and who can wonder that the employed
are ready to extort from fear what they cannot get
from justice ? The system of intimidation to
fellow-workmen, and of dictating to the employers
what men they shall engage or what wages they
shall giv©, is altogether contrary to English prin.
ciples of fair play, and it is these tendencies that

are tho great evil of strikes. There is room for

improvement on both sides, before either fully re-
cognise the truth that their interests are, in fad,
identical.

According to the promises given at the Ports-
mouth banquet last week, the Ministry will yet be
called to account for the extraordinary doings with
respect to the Royal Sovereign. There was no
wonder that the topic should be brought forward
on the occasion in question, for Sir JAMES ELPHIN.
STONE, M.P. for Portsmouth, is one of the popular
representatives who are more feared than loved by
supine Lords of the Admiralty and their misma-
naging subordinates. The hon. member and his
friend,
Admiral Sir JOHN HAY, h.ve done good