The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-14 00:00:00

The Pitmen's Strike in the North.

The result of a conference between Mr. Love and a de-
putation of his own workmen was stated in 2he 82411 of
Saturday last, and an opinion was expressed that as the
members of the deputation were fully satisfied with the
terms proposed the strike would in all probability imme-
diately cease. When the question, however, came to bo
referred to the Union delegates, to whom Dlr. Love has a
great aversion, and with whom he will hold no correspon-
dence, a further complication of matters ensued, and the.
termination of the strike seems now to be as distant as ever
One of the paid delegates, an Irishman named Peter Doyle,
has accused the members of the deputation of having
accepted a bribe from Mr. Love—the fact being that they
merely partook of refreshments at his expense—and, from
the warmth of language which has been used by some of
the paid agitators, it is more than suspected that they have
no very cordial desire to bring these unfortunate dif-
ferences between masters and men to a close. The masters
ttumhopecoanse
confiscateuot rlhleie,
e rpt
yio t
ohaawl
enl
aonypwe
owners,
suot, hb checkteowp hi
pt
have acceded to the demand to substitute weight for
which
acythehnfeiostrwo
Neavhi
ligilti
hvhoen
vnaea
rns76s man
it
ghcohfef, t
employthe i their own
upon the pit heap to check the weighman in the employ of
b.
bwehilaeg
agreed
dee
measure, ing to substitute weight uponfor as the standard weight. The
upon having a standard tub, because, as the putters, the
on-setters, the banksmen, and all the expenses of horses
and machinery would be the same for light tubs as for
heavy ones, a serious loss would be entailed upon them if
the weight of the tubs should fall short
of a certain
recognised standard. What that standard shall be seems
now to be the main point in dispute. The men assert
that before the strike their tubs were entirely confiscated if
they fell short of a fixed standard, a standard so high that
the required quantity of coals could not be got into them
without rocking and jolting the tubs, in order to solidify the
mass, and then filling them up again. The masters are now
willing to accept as the standard the average of six tubs,
filled in the workings without rocking, and the men demand
as the standard the weight of a tub filled " wood-full " on
the pit heap. This the masters decline to accede to, inas-
much as they allege it would practically amount to an in-
crease of wages to the extent of 9d per score tubs, and this
is an advance which, in the present state of the coal trade,
they do not feel themselves justified in giving. At the begin-
ning of the week the men belonging to the Brandon Colliery
expressed their willingness to go to work on the terms pro-
posed by the masters, but as the men of the other pits desire
them to hold out and assist them in securing their demands,
they still remain on strike. The men connected with the
Bitchburn and Houghall collieries,also belonging to Messrs.
Straker and Love, have this week struck work. They have
not yet issued any manifesto of their grievances, but it is
understood that they are similar in character to those which
have been announced by the men belonging to the Sunny-
brow, Brancepeth, and Brandon collieries. For some time
past the men at Bitchburn Colliery have been on what is
termed the restrictive system"—a system dictated by the
agents of the Union with the avowed object of raising wages
by limiting the supply of coal. Though able to earn from
from 4s to 5s per day of eight hours, the men have for some
time past been voluntarily restricting their labours. Re-
cently they restricted their labours to 2s Gd per day, then to
Is 3d per day each, afterwards to one tub per day each, and
on Wednesday morning they ceased work altogether. In
other collieries the same species of restriction is being carried
on to a greater or less extent, and at nearly the whole of
the pits in this neighbourhood there is an under current of
disaffection at work, produced by tho machinations of the
paid agents of the Union. On Thursday a procession of
from 600 to 700 of the miners on strike visited Houghall
and Shincliffe collieries, near the city of Durham. They
held an open-air meeting and numerous harangues were
delivered, but the Shincliffe men declined to fraternise
with them or acknowledge them in any way. Y ester_
day and the day before a number of the families of the pit-
men on strike at Spennymoor Colliery, in the county of
Durham, belonging to the West Hartlepool Railway Com-
pany, were evicted from their cottages. Down to Thursday
night 58 families had been evicted. The strike at this col-
liery has been going on some weeks. It is directed mainly
against an obnoxious overman, named Ralph Parker, whom
the masters will not discharge.

•
ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA,
COVENT-GARDEN.
Under the Management of Miss Louisa Pyae and
Mr. W. Harrison.
THIS EVENING, Wallace's Romantic Opera, THE
DES if:RT FLOWER : Miss Louisa Fyne, Miss Susan Pyue
Messrs. W. H. Weiss, H. Cond. A. Cook, and W. Harrison.
Conductor, Mr. A. Mellon.—Doors open at half-past Seven.
Commence at Eight.

HEATRE ROYAL DRURY - LANE. --
a Managers, Messrs. E. Falconer and F. B. Chatter ton.
THIS EVENING the performances will ,ommence with an
by .1. Oxenford, Esq., entitled BEAUTY OR THE
BEAST.
Principal characters by Messrs. Addison, G. F. Neville,
Barret, Spencer, and G. Weston; Mrs Edmund Falconer and
Miss R. Lecicrq.
After which, Lord Byron's Choral Tragedy', MANI' RE'T).
Messrs. t helps, Ryder, Rayner, Mt a,,-reson, Ward, Spencer
Miss Heath, Miss E. Atkinson, Misr; Leclercq, and Mrs. E.
Falconer. Vocalists—Miss Poole, 3liss tatter, Miss Cicely
Nott, Miss Heywood, and Mr. Swift.
To conclude witlt a New and Original Farce, by Messrs.
W Brough and A. Halliday. entitled MY UNA BT'S IN
THE HIGHLANDS : characters by Mr. J. Neville, Mr. G.
Weston, Mr. Wardc, Mr. J. Marris ; Mrs. C. Melville, and
Miss Hatfleur.

THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET.—
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Buckstone.
THIS EVE.NING, LIT rLE DAISY.
.
Alter which (Ist time). SILKEN FETTERS : Measrs. C
Mathews, Chippendale,
C. Mathews and M. Harris. larren, Howe, &c. ;Mesdames
Followed by COOL AS A CUCUMBER. Mr. C. Mathews.
And MY HUSBAND'S GdOST.
Commence at 7.

A], LYCEUM THEATRE.
J
" oy
Under the Sole Management of Mr. Fechter.
BEL DEMONIO (a Triumphant Success) will be repealed
Every Evening until further notice.
THIS EVENING, the Comerlietta, by W. Gilbert, entitled
UNCLE BABY: Mess's. Widdicombe, J. G. Shore, Charles ;
Miss P. Leclercq, and Carlotta Leclercq.
' "

After which, at Eight o'clock, BEL DENONTO, a Love
.Story, in Twelve Tableaux, laken from Stendhal's "Italian
Chronicles," by Mr. John Brouzharo. Principal charac-
ter by Mr. Fechter, supported by Messrs. Jordan, Charles,
Branham, Emery, Raymond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford,
Collett, Andrews, Sims ; Mias Kate Terry, E. Lavenue, N
Lee, and MISS Elsworthy.
Doors open at half-pest 6—commence at 7.

pEL DEMONIO; a LOVE STORY in Twelve
ALI, Tableaux. ,

NEW THEATRE-KO VAL, ADELPHL-
- 1-1 Noie Pmnristor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, at 7, THE TitAGEDY QUEEN : Mrs.
kt 8, the New Drama of LEAH : Miss Bateman, supported
by Messrs.Atthur Stirling, It. Phillips, Billimi-ton, Stuart,
A Wood, Ithurne, Miss If. Simms and Mrs. Billii.gton.

To conclude with CATCHING AN HEIRE6S : Miss
Woolgar and Mr. A. Wood.

J.
BATEMAN.—LE A 1-1.---The triumphant
and enthusiastic success of the great tragic artiste,
Miss BATE3IAN, on her first appearance in the character of
LEAH, in tue new live act Drama of that title, having been
-nightly repeated, and even exceeded during the last four
Weeks, amidst the applause and tears of crowded audiences,
and tiie profound impression created upon all who have wit-
nessed the touching- impersonation by Miss Bateman of the
lievt-broken Jewish maiden, being confirmed by the unani-
mous verdict and critical approval of the entire press, the
anag.,Yer of the NEW AD EL I'll E THEATRE has the honour
to announce that 31,AS BAT KMAN will appear in the New
Drama of LEA El EVERY EVENING till f urther notice ; and
in order to meet, as far as possible, the increasing demand
for stalls, has added two more rows to those previously
existing.