The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-13 00:00:00

THE IRISH CHURCH.

order offices.

Mr. S. KNOX asked the bon. member for Swansea when
he proposed proceeding with his motion relative to the
Irish Church ?
Mr. DILLWYN said he should be very glad to bring it
on as early as possible if the Government would give him
a day for the purpose. (Laughter.)
Mr. S. KNOX asked the right hon. baronet (Sir G. Grey)
whether the Government would accede to the request of
the bon. member ?
Sir G. GREY replied that at the present time all the
Government days were fully occupied with business.
(Laughter.)
SUPPLY—THE POST-OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS.
Onlr the motion for going into committee of supply,
3
. CAVE rose to call the attention of the house to the
allowance to postmasters in respect of post-office saving

banks. Ho said, speaking generally, the postmasters
throughout the country were greatly dissatisfied in conse-

quence of a very great amount of labour being put upon
them, and that labour not being properly paid for. He
moved that in the opinion of the house it wis neither just
nor expedient that labour and responsibility should be im-
posed upon public servants without adequate remune-
ration.

Mr. AYRTON thought that a committee ought to be at

once appointed to inquire into the working of the act under
which they were established, with a view of discovering
how the matter stands with respect to carrying on this
new branch of business. If it was found that these banks
could not be carried on without a loss the sooner new ar-

rangements could be entered into the better. He thought

that course much more advisable, that it at once met the

case by an increase of expenditure.
Mr. SCOURFIELD thought the hon. gentleman who
_ _

had brought the matter forward had made out a case for

the favourable consideration of the Chancellor of the Ex-

'chequer.
Mr. F. PEEL said it would be a very bad sys-
tem of payment for public servants if the sala-.

made dependent upon the surplus of

any particular sum after the payment of the expenses.

He thought that the proper system was to make that
payment irrespective of that, because then the pub-
lic servants would all be quite independent of the

success or non-success of the system they might be
engaged in carrying out. There were about 3,000 post-
masters engaged in carrying out the Post-offices
Savings Bank Act, and of that number 2,200

were sub-officers, and 800 men were of a higher de-

scription. The remuneration paid was according to the
work done, just as was the case in the Post-office money

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that his
hon. friend the member for Oxford made his teeth water
when he talked of a profit of 10 per cent. upon those trans-
actions, and if his hon. friend would show the Government
how they could realise that calculation he would do them
a very great service. It was no doubt an important ques-
tion how far the Post-office savings banks were at present
self-supporting. The Government, in proposing the mea-
sure, intonded that they should be sell-supporting, and he
believed that they were so ; but the house ought not to as-
sume the existence of so large a surplus as the hon. gentle-
man opposite (Mr. Cave) imagined. The fact was, the
system was so novel and so complex that it was as yet im-
possible to ascertain the precise nature of the results. In
any case he did not think the existence of a system had
appreciable relation to the question under the notice
of the house. If there was a surplus the question

which the Government would have to consider was

whether they could afford to increase the rate of interest
to the depositors. His hon. friend the member for the
Tower Hamlets drew a lamentable picture of the operation

of the system, and he told them that the depositors received
less interest than they had expected. But if that were so,
it was a very extraordinary circumstance that the number
of depositors was constantly increasing. (Hear, hear.)

Wiht respect to the proposal immediately before the house,

he should observe that no one could object to it as an ab-
stract proposition ; and it had been the desire of the Post-
office authorities to'act upon it as far as possible. Not less
than 2,200 postmasters were paid according to the amount
of work which they performed ; and the cases of those
postmasters who were not so paid, and on whom any addi-

tional duties were imposed, were undergoing constant re-
vision. No sweeping plan ought to be adopted, and a fair
and careful application of the system was necessary.

The motion was then withdrawn.
WESTMINSTER IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION.
Sir W. GALL WEY called attention to the expenditure
and working of the Westminster Improvement Commis-
sion, especially with reference to the intended demolition
of a large number of houses in Westminster exclusively in-
habited by the poorer classes.
Mr. TITE, as chairman of the commission, described
the proceedings of that body, and explained that it was
not the industrious work-people living in the district who
would be affected by the contemplated improvements, but
a low and non-industrious part of the population.
A short discussion followed, in the course of which

several hon. membars bore testimony to the value of the
improvements which had taken place under the adminis-
tration of the present commission.
Mr. D. SEYMOUR directed attention to the position of
the civil assistants on the ordnance survey in regard to
their remuneration, and asked upon what grounds the
principle of classification adopted in the Irish valuation
and other Government offices was denied to this depart-
ment of the public service.
Observations were also made by Mr. Alderman RosE
and Mr. B. COCHRANE.

The Marquis of HARTINGTON said there was no
analogy between the class of employes and other civil
servants, while under the present system and rates of pay
the department was able to get with ease exactly the kind
of service which was required.
THE WYCOMBE UNION AND THE POOR LAW
BOARD.

Mr. DISRAELI rose to call attention to the conduct o
the Poor Law Board with reference to the High Wycombe
Union. The right hon. gentleman said he hoped the house
would not be unwilling to grant their attention to the
question on the ground that it was one of purely local in-
terest. He could assure them it was one of general interest
—nay, of universal interest, for it concerned every board
of guardians in the kingdom. In the case which ho
was about to submit to the house, it appeared to him that
there had been great and most injurious neglect. He
would not say that he had not formed an opinion as to the
body to whom that neglect should be attributed ; but at
the same time he was anxious in all candour to afford the
Poor Law Board the fullest opportunity of entering into
such explanations as would remove the great discontent
and indignation which existed in a very considerable dis-
trict. The union to which his observations would apply
consisted of thirty parishes, and contained a population
exceeding 35,000. The union house was situated at a place
called Sanderton ; and at six or seven miles off, at a place
called Bledlow, there was the union school. Within the
last two years a person named Stallwood was appointed
master and his wife matron of the union school. Stall-
wood was apparently a man most qualified for the post ; he
was a person of fair fame, of very good abilities, and of
considerable ability in the administration of the poor law.
Still occurrences took place in the union school which
could hardly have been expected under the pfllcient system
of inspectorship which he admitted. At the beginning of
the present year a rumour got afloat that very great bar-
barities had been practised• upon a boy in the union school.
So strong was the feeling in the neighbourhood that
the mother of the boy referred to obtained her dis-
charge from the Sanderton Union, and went over to
Bledlow. On the following morning she obtained an
audience of the chairman and some of the chief guar-
dians, and in consequence of the communications she made
to them they caused a general meeting of the guardians
to be held at Bledlow. Upon that occasion the matter of
the tyrannical and cruel punishment of the boy was gone
into, as also the cases of several of his companions who
had been treated with extraordinary cruelty—evidence
being taken down from the boys' own mouths. It came
out at the examination that these acts of cruelty, that these
severe punishments on the part of the master, were rather
influenced by a desire to establish a system of terrorism
than through a desire merely to practise cruelty. It seemed
that the boys had heard rumours of the indecent conduct
of the master towards female paupers who were inmates of
the institution, and were under the direction of the matron.
It appeared that periodically this thing was talked of among
the boys; and that thereupon the master had recourse to
punishment of a most outrageous character, even to placing
knives at the boys' throats with a view of terrifying them,
and suppressing their conversation. This led to a further
investigation, and it became necessary to examine the girls
of the school. The result was to establish a course of pro-
fligacy of the most heinous description against the master,
extending, too, over a long period of time. However, it was
not necessary to go into any further details, as there was
no controversy between the beard of guardians and the
central authority as to the nature and character of the of-
fences of the master. Bothagreed thathis conduct had been
most profligate and indefensible. Nor could it be said that
the evidence against Stallwood was ex parte, for he was
present throughout, and was permitted to say what he liked.
However, in general ho kept a strict silence, and contented
himself with affirming that the boys were telling lies. The
board of guardians were of opinion that the evidence should
be forwarded immediately to the central authority, and that
they should be asked to stud down some one to inves-
tigate the case. For himself, ho believed it would have boon
better if the guardians had acted with more decision, and
had brought the man before a magistrate, and had him
committed for trial. However, that was not a view which
could be urged by the central board in London, for they
never acted upon it. At the same time the absolute autho-
rity of boards of guardians was very slight compared with
the importance of the duties which they administered. For
example, they had no Authority to dismiss a subordinate
officer. But a short time previous to the transaction to
which he was now referring this very board had dismissed
an officer who had behaved in a very improper manner,
and they were at once reminded by the central board that
they had no authority to do so. These events were re-
garded in that part of the country with great alarm and
dissatisfaction. A week elapsed, and, at the next meeting
of the guardians at Sanderton, it was found that no answer
had arrived from the Poor Law Board. A letter, however,
awaited them from Mr. Harold Stallwood, the schoolmas-
ter, whose conduct had lieen so impunged, who resigned
his office on the plea of the illness of his wife, and who re-
quested the guardians to give him a general certificate of
good conduct. Well, the board was in a very embarrass-
ing position. No answer had come from London, and they
therefore determined not to accept the resignation of this
man, but they informed him that he was from that moment
suspended from his office. Without delay they despatched
adoptedc
eive d t
a letter to the central board stating the course they had
thirehlisetwtear. s oNnotw the the 20th, bduiatnz beoasnisdwes suerwspasenrde:
ing this man from his office, appointed a committee of their
own body to visit the schools at Bledlow daily, and to
report on the state of affairs at the next meeting of the
guardians, which would be held on the 27th. Before
that day, however, the Poor Law Board, without
replying to either of the letters of the Board of

Guardians, sent down the Poor Law Inspector of the dis-
trict, Mr. Kaye, who proceeded to Bledlow, and there on
his own authority and responsibility directed Harold
Stallwood, the master, and his wife the matron, to give
him written and unconditional resignations of their
offices. He afterwards either casually or by agreement
attended a meeting of the committee of guardians, and
told them that the whole affair was at an end, as the
offices of Stallwood and his wife were vacant. He gave the
written resignation to the committee, who handed them to
the Board of Guardians at their next meeting. Before ad-
verting to what then took place, he (Mr. Disraeli) would
make a few remarks on the conduct of the Poor Law In-
spector. Now he gave that gentleman full credit for hav-
ing been actuated by good motives—but it should be re-
membered that the best motives were often most erroneous
in point of policy, and the present case was certainly no
exception to that principle. Mr. Kay possibly may have
thought it best to hush up so disgusting and offensive an
affair. Now, hushing up a private scandal might be an
act of wisdom or of charity, and an act of charity was ge-
nerally an act of wisdom ; but when a scandal is a public
one, the act is of a very different kind. It was indeed a
very foolish act, because enough was always known of a
public scandal to attract a great deal of attention ; and,
unless the matters be investigated, they assumed in the
popular imagination more horrid features than they really
possessed. In the present case it might be said that the in-
spector may have thought that the evidence against Stall-
wood was not strong enough to secure his conviction by a
jury ; but, however this might be, how could the central
board justify their conduct in acting contrary to the Board
of Guardians, who would not acceptthe resignations? How
could they justify their conduct in recommending the re-
signation of the schoolmaster and his wife ? Tho moment
Stallwood's resignation was accepted neither the board of
guardians nor the central board had any authority over
him, and he might at some futuro time, when the circum-
stances of this case had been forgotten, or at some place
where he was unknown, be elected to hold some office
under the Poor Law Board. The central authority by
accepting the resignation absolutely freed him from the
only penalty which he could incur if he were not pro-
secuted for his heinous conduct. Well, under' these cir-
cumstances, the Board of Guardians met for the third
time on the 27th of February. In the first place a
new charge had been made against Stallwood. A
young woman, one Anne Allen, who was about to leave
the Union House at Sanderton, paying her farewell visit
to the master and matron communicated to them that she
was in the family way, and that the father of the impending
child was the schoolmaster at Bledlow, where she had been
a pauper pupil some years before. She stated that the in-
timacy commenced at that time, and had since been re-
newed. This evidence was taken down in writing, and it
was determined to send it immediately to the central board,
from whom they had not as yet received any letter. (Hear.)
The next business was to receive the report of the commit-
tee, but they refused to accept that report, and protested
against their conduct in confirming the resignations of the
schoolmaster and his wife. They then sent a third letter to
the Poor Law Board, and made another earnest appeal for
advice and instructions. At last they received an answer.
It was dated Whitehall, March 4, and informed them that
the acceptance of Stallwood's resignation by the guardians
was not necessary to give legal effect to it, and that, as Stall-
wood was no longer responsible as officer either to the guar-
dians or to the central board, the board could take no steps
in regard to his alleged misconduct. A very strong feeling
of indignation was aroused by this communication, which
seemed to terminate the business. However, the matter
was subsequently mentioned in the house, and he believed
the board of guardians passed a resolution that they looked
upon it as altogether unsatisfactory, and they informed the
Poor Law Board that they should consult their represen-
tatives and take their advice as to the best course they
ought to pursue in order to obtain redress ; and he did not
see why men should have members of Parliament if such
incidents as this were to be allowed to take place with im-
punity and silence. On the 15th or 20th March a letter was
written to the clerk to the board of guardians, and it was
written in such a way as if no previous communication on
the subject had taken place. In this letter the guardians
were referred to the several statutes bearing on the offence in
question, and were directed to take such legal proceedings
against Stallwood as they might deem necessary under the
circumstances. Such were the facts which he had occasion
to bring before the house, and he could only say that the
amount of indignation which had been visited upon the
guardians of Wycombe had made them anxious that the
matter should be laid before the house. What they com-
plained of was, first of all, that their letters of the 14th and
20th, when they sent up the evidence they were able to
produce, had never been noticed at all ; secondly, that the
poor law inspector, without conferring with the guardians
or clerk, went down to the place and occasioned the resig-
nation of Stanwood ; and, thirdly, for informing the guar-
dians in the letter of the 4th of March that no proceedings
could be taken in the matter, and then by the letter of the
15th of March informing them that they might prdsecute
the man, and offer if necessary a reward for his apprehen-
sion—which was very necessary, for Stanwood had long
ago absconded. At the present moment things were in
such a state that no proceedings could be carried on, and
when after a while the witnesses were scattered, and the
facts of the case wore partly forgotten. Stanwood might
appear without the slightest stain upon his character as a
public servant who had resigned his situation, and there-
fore there was no reason why he should not again be em-
ployed as a relieving officer or in some other capacity.
Having read an.extract from a letter written by an inmate
of the workhouse, on his own behalf and on behalf of the
other inmates, praying that justice might be done in the
matter, and for protection against such offences, the right
hon. gentleman concluded by moving for the copy of a let-
ter from the Poor-law Board signed H. Fleming, and dated
March 4, 1865. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. VILLIERS justified the course pursued by the cen-
tral board as consistent with the law and practice. The
papers, on their receipt from the guardians, were the same
day transmitted to the inspector of the district, who in
four days afterwards had the man before him, told him the
nature of the charge against him, that an investigation
would take place, and that he must attend and defend him-
self, or admit his guilt and retire from his situation. That
was the course laid down by the law, and that was the
limit of the duty of the central board. They were to see
that no unfit or improper person remained in any office in
a union ; whilst the proceedings for the punishment of the
offending person were entirely in the hands of the guar-
dians. In this instance a committee of the guardians in-
vestigated the case, the master gave in his resignation un-
conditionally and absolutely, and the committee made no
objection. With regard to the conduct of the inspector,
he was satisfied that he had acted from' the best of mo-
tives, and, indeed, he could have had no object in doing
otherwise.
After this explanation the motion for the production of
the letter was withdrawn.
In reply to a question of Mr. COX, relating to the dis-
graceful proceedings which have lately taken place on
Sunday evenings in the Upper-street, Islington,
Sir G. GREY stated that, in order to prevent their re-
currence, the number of policemen doing duty on the spot
had been increased to six.
The house then went into committee of supply, and
agreed to several votes for the civil service.
On the vote of £9,500 towards completing the Nelson
Monument in Trafalgar-square,
Sir W. FRASER inquired when the work of completion
was likely to take place,
Mr. COWPER once more repeated the old story that
Sir Edwin Landseer had finished the cast of one of the
lions, and that it would soon be reproduced in metal.
The remaining three would, he hoped, be speedily
finished.
Among the votes agreed to was one of £lO,OOO, being a
contribution towards the maintenance of the Metropolitan
Fire Brigade.
The Customs and Inland Rovenue Bill passed through
committee.
The Dogs Regulation (Ireland) Bill, the Local Govern-
ment Supplemental (No. 4) Bill, the County of Sussex Bill,
and the Ecclesiastical Leasing Act (1858) Amendment Bill
were read a second time.
The house adjourned at 10 minutes past 12 o'clock.

Extraordinary Assault by Manufacturers.

-a•-

On Thursday an Under-Sheriff's Court was held
at Leeds, before Mr. Wheelhouse, barrister, to
assess the damages in an extraordinary case of
assault and battery. Mr. Shaw, barrister, appeared
for the plaintiff ; and Mr. Maule was for the defen-
dants. ' Plaintiff, Mr. Walter Shaw, is a bobbin-
maker at Dewsbury ; and defendants, Messrs. John
and James Gomersall and William Thackray, are
manufacturers residing in the same town. On the
18th February, plaintiff being anxious to pay his
addresses to the defendant's (Gomersall's) sister, and
not having been introduced to her, although he
lived in the same street, and had known the family
all his life, adopted the plan of writing a letter to
her, with the object of apprising her of the state of
his affections. This love-epistle was couched in the
following terms :--
C 6 To Miss Sarah J. Gomersall.

" Feb. 19th, 1865.

"I hope you will excuse me racing to you, but as I
never meet you in compuny I thouht it would be the best
I wish to see you some time this week about Thursday
night iff you leve your house about halfo past-two and go
up Wakefield road I will Ovate for you about the bar. The
fact is I am going down to York and now a young lady
there and I wish to see you before. An answer will oblige
by Wednesday morning first.—l am respectfully yours,
" WALTER SHAW."
It would appear that the young lady, on receiving
this letter, showed it to her brothers, the defen-
dants, and the latter determined to punish the
love-sick bobbin-maker for his impertinence. They
accordingly concocted the following reply, and got
a young lady to write it in her most approved femi
nine style of caligraphy

" Dewsbury, Feb. 21.

"My dear Sir,—l received your letter yesterday evening,
but I am sorry to say I cannot meet you up Wakefield-
road, as I never go out during the day without my sister is
with me, but if you will come to our house on Thursday
night, about 8 o'clock, I shall be in the house by myself.
But if any of our people should be in I will send the ser-
vant to the gate, so that you will know not to come in if
she is there. If you don't see her you must come through
the yard to the side door. If this arrangement does not
suit you, please say by return.
This arrangement, however, appeared to suit the
plaintiff perfectly, and on the appointed night he
hied off to keep the appointment. No abigail was
at the gate to check his progress, and he joyfully
opened the wicket, but he had no sooner got fairly
into the yard than the gate was fastened behind him,
and he found himself in the presence of the three
defendants. John Gomersall inquired what he
wanted there, upon which the plaintiff asked him
what he had to do with it. John Gomersall then
demandeckto know whether it was he (plaintiff) who
had written a letter to his sister, and Mr. Shaw re-
plying in the affirmative, John exclaimed with an
oath, " Then I will give it you, come along chaps."
The other defendants then came up, Shaw was
seized round the waist and carried to the horse-
trough in the yard, and soused in the water time
after time. At length he managed to crawl out of
the trough, but he was again seized, his necktie
torn away, a horse-pipe introduced near the spinal
column, and the full force of the town's water on
the main turned on, the effect being that his body
was completely saturated, and his clothes torn nearly
to shreds. The defendants practised this hydro-
pathic treatment for about ten minutes, and sub-
sequently the gate was opened, and plaintiff was
allowed to depart, his movements being quickened
by a kick. His hat was pitched into the street after
him, but he did not recover it. lie estimated his
spoilt wearing apparel to have been worth £5, his
hat 13s. 6d., 'and his cravat 2s. 6d.; but he had also
suffered from a severe cold, and from rheumatic
pains in the left leg.
Mr. Maule addressed the jury in mitigation of
damages in a humorous speech. He did not deny
the facts as stated, but he urged that the defendants
were young men, that the two Gomersalls were in-
dignant at the coolly impertinent tone of the letter
plaintiff had addressed to their sister, and that what
they did was by way of punishing him for his pre-
sumption. kr. Shaw had no business to write such
a letter to a young lady to whom he was unknown,
and to whom he had never been introduced.
Mr. Shaw having been heard in reply,
The assessor summed up on the law of the case,
the facts being undisputed.
The jury, after about two hours' deliberation,
awarded £BO as damages to plaintiff. The case
created considerable amusement in court.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

- --

TIMES.—Lord St. Leon.ards has recently called
the attention of the Legislature to the aspect now
presented by Trade Disputes between- masters and
Men. The subject, indeed, has a twofold importance
at this moment, for the controversies in question
have assumed an intolerable form and the capacity,
of the working classes for political power will natu-
rally be estimated in some degree by their conduct
in these disputes. At the same time it must be
universally felt that the efficacy of any legislation
in such a matter is exceedingly doubtful. No law
can well interfere with private contracts. One man
is free to invest his money, and another to sell
his labour, on such terms as he pleases. Lord St.
Leonards is perfectly aware of all this, and, indeed,
appears by no means sanguine as to the effect of his
own proposal ; but he sees at the same time that if
the remedy is obscure the evil is overpowering, and
so he offers an alternative. That, in fact, is all
that can be done. There must be differences be-
tween masters and men, and there must be some
method of trying the issue. Hitherto the method
has been by " strikes" and " lock-outs," and that
method, as even the men confess, has been brought
to such perfection as to have become impracticable.
It cannot be endured that a local quarrel should
paralyse a national trade. Combination has been
carried too far. The men have organised them-
selves with such success as to force the masters into
an •organisation at least equally powerful, and so
every dispute brings about a dead-lock and
threatens a suspension of industry over the whole
country. Cannot the disputants, then, if they
must occasionally disagree, resort to some less de-
structive method of conducting their controversies ?
The recent dispute in the Iron Trade has undoubtedly
shown that the men are not yet really disposed
towards arbitration. We do not impute any insin-
cerity to them, but merely an inability to look
fairly at the subject. They consider their own
side of the question only. They conceive that
their labour is worth so much per day, and main-
tain that opinion without thinking of the fund from
which their wages come, or the way in which it
may be affected by the state of the trade. They
contrast their own earnings with the profits of
their employer, and think that he will easily bear a
little curtailment for their benefit. The rulers of the
Trade Unions, indeed, seem to regard a master as a
mulch cow, out of whom as much is to be got as
possible by any available means of coercion. Such
means of late have been very successfully applied,
and the prospect seemed altogether promising, when
suddenly the masters appeared in the field with
similar weapons and even greater power. At this
the men were frightened, and began to talk of some
alternative ; but it was evident from their speeches
that their ideas were still the same. In North Staf-
fordshire the ironworkers refused arbitration abso-
lutely and in every possible form, and they refuse it
to this day. Their position deserves to be well un-
derstood. The masters reduced the rate of wages,
on which the men " struck." Then arbitration was
proposed, pending which the men were to resume
work, but they have resolutely declined to go to work
again except at the original rate of wage. This
means that masters are not to be allowed to name
the terms on which they will give employment to
men. If the " strikers" are successful, and can esta-
blish their demand as a rule of the trade, no iron-
master can lower his wages, let the market go how
it will. It is not for the mere difference of pay that
the men are on " strike." If it had been, they would
have accepted Lord Lichfield's equitable proposal, to
which the masters assented—viz., that they should
resume work, and draw wages on account, with-
out prejudice to any claims whatever. This
would have been an unobjectionable mode of settle-
ment, if the men had merely wished to have the
question of wages fairly argued. But they wished for
something more ; they wished to make the masters
yield on the original point, and by yielding admit
that they could not take the initiative in fixing
a rate of wage. They were told that if they
would resume work at the new rate of wage, and
the arbitrators should pronounce in favour of the
old rate, the difference should be made up to them
for every single hour of labours But they would not
agree ; they had " struck" against a reduction, and
that reduction should be, cancelled before they would
go to work again. The masters must give way, and
confess that they had exceeded their rights by pre-
suming on their own authority to lower the pay of
the men. ' Now, is that position justifiable? Does
such a demand on the part of the men indicate
economical intelligence, or unreasoning combina-
tion ? We do not observe that any advocate of a

new electoral franchise attempts to defend the

general proceedings of the worliing classes in their
management of strikes. Mr. Bright himself once
said that hardly one strike in 20 could be fairly
justified as reasonable or expedient ; and yet, except
for the unexpected impediment of lock-outs, strikes
would have been everywhere the order of the day.
The men have either persuaded themselves or have'
been taught by their leaders that they can never do
wrong in claiming to have their wages increased, or
their hours of labour reduced, and that coercion by

means of concerted action is the instrument by
which their claims can be best enforced. It is plain

!rom the demand of the North Staffordshire men

that the old idea of ruling the destinies of trade by
means of trade unions still survives. If the men,

indeed, had succeeded, the trade would have been in
their hands—that is, unless it had perished altogether.
Yet it is plain that the calculation of wages must
be left, in the first instance, in the employer's hands.
He alone knows all the circumstances by which the
product of capital and labour—or, in other words,
the fund from which both profits and wages must
come—is likely to be determined. That the workmen
should have a voice in the question, and that labour
should be protected by combination against.thepos-
sible tyranny of capital, is perfectly fair. But the
North Staffordshire men go beyond that demand ;

they will not allow that the masters could have had
any right to reduce a prevailing rate of wages, and
until the reduction which is made is cancelled they
will listen to no terms whatever. That is not the spirit

of compromise by which political differences aread-
justed and political controversies rendered harmless.
The suggestions made by Lord St. Leonards that
Courts of Conciliation shonld be appointed will cer-
tainly not satisfy the desires of men like the North
Staffordshire ironworkers ; but, then, on the other
hand, it was proved by the late " lock-out," and
the attitude of the masters generally, that such de-
sires were not likely to be satisfied at all. The
Trade Unions have been stopped in their 'career, and
they know it. They can no longer attack the mas-
ters singly, and overpower them in rotation. The
masters have been frightened into a combination of
their own, and the men can no longer count on
winning. It is just possible, therefore, that they
may consent to adopt some new machinery, and the
proposed Courts will offer them a fair alternative.
A Court of Conciliation or Arbitration will, at any

rate, do this much for them—it will provide theM
with a public tribunal and a right of public appeal.
Even if the Court itself should do them less than

they think justice, they can fall back upon their
countrymen, and it is scarcely probable that they
should fail in establishing any really reasonable de-
mand. Lord St. Leonards thinks that, " with all

their intelligence, they do not seem to estimate their
own just position." Perhaps we should say that they
have been led by recent successes to miscalculate
their power. We suspect that since the late " lock-
out" the men have begun to estimate their position
more correctly ; but if they wish to establish a cha-
racter for practical intelligence and moderation they
cannot do better than forsake for some reasonable
alternative the tactics to which their leaders have
lately habituated them.
HERALD.—lreland has been welcoming the recep-
tion of the Heir Apparent on her shores with a
greeting dearer than even the outspoken love of her
children—the contemporaneous success of one of the
greatest of her works, the International Exhibition
of 1865. The large blank that has been so long
lying open in the industrial history of a country
called by so many blessings of Heaven and so many
gifts of man to take so large a share in the pros-
perity of the greatest of modern empires, is receiving
another of those instrumentalities of good and filling
it up with another of those earnests of enterprise
which make it almost impossible that Ireland will
remain much longer the least favoured member in
the national confederacy. With its brilliant Court,
the presence of the future Sovereign, and the pos-
session of the new International Exhibition, the
capital of the empire is transferred for the moment
to the banks of the Liffey, and Dublin may claim
to be offering to the world the most interesting of
the contemporaneous spectacles that can attract the
curiosity or reward the study of other nations. The
fourth in the number of these Industrial Exhibitions
which Dublin has given us, the inauguration, under
such illustrious auspices, of what is to be a perma-
nent ornament of the city as its Crystal Palace and
Winter Garden, makes this the Exhibition par ex-
cellence; and Dublin—as she smiles upon her visitors
in new riches of public buildings--io more than ever
what the Americans, in their fine manner, would
call the " city of monuments and capital of fine
architecture." So great a work, which could have
been achieved only under very disheartening diffi-
culties, may be accepted as pleasant evidence of the
latest spirit and enterprise of an intelligent and ac-
complished people in their struggle against influences
they have not wisely appreciated, and it would ill
become the English press to speak with ill-temper or
faint-praise of such an epochal event in its history.
As it is difficult not to wish to be pleased with it, so
is it impossible not to feel satisfaction in the assur-
ances of everybody that the managers have been
able to secure, within the limitations of their tie,
more than the general effect that might reasonably
have been expected from them. We owe Ireland
much ; if asked " how much ?" we should answer,
"Only less than what Ireland owes herself ;" and the
illustrious Prince, who, on behalf of the empire, is
now giving his assistance to its national festival may
be considered to be there offering its inhabitants, in
the most practical of forms, our acknowledgment of
the debt and the assurance of our readiness to pay it.
The enthusiastic reception and brilliant series of il-
luminations, banquets, balls, and reviews, are all
well in their place, but, in our opinion, are after all,
magnificent as they have been, but the accessories of
the visit. The true interest of the business is some-
thing far higher, and is suggested by the assiduity
with which his royal highness studies the display of
industrial ingenuity laid before him, and addresses
himself to the consideration of the actual needs and
means of the people around him. Those who are
heedful of these matters would probably find that
the Prince is not the least hard-working of the thou-
sands of visitors who are daily examining the Exhi-
bition with a less public object. As his influence i 8
vast, we may believe that in that proportion has he
been taught to rate his responsibilities, and it would
be a happy circumstance if this remarkable exhibi-
tion of international art and industry should so
direct his studies to the resources of the country,
and the misuse that has been made of them, that
we might owe to his visit that mastery over " the
question of Ireland" which would insure it the ad-
vantage of that steady interest and powerful pro-
tection all important to its happy solution. Fortu-
nately or unfortunately for Ireland its wealth is
still most of all a thing of the future. For the pre-
sent the Prince finds himself surrounded by para-
doxes in material existence, which answer to what
the vernacular of the same country commends to us
as " bulls." With all the means and agencies of
wealth he finds Ireland poor. With a population
about him the most active in Europe he sees
comparatively little industry. With the most
essentially agricultural country in Europe spread
before him—the population being ty no means
dense—he finds it importing corn in a proportion
that will remind him of England. And finally, in
an exhibition of Irish industry and manufactures,
be will be obliged to conclude that the most remark-
able specimen of all is the building which has been
erected to contain them. What is the want which
makes worthless so much wealth, paralyses so much
intelligence, and sterilises so much usefulness? Why
is a country unrivalled for its poplins and linens
obligedto import nearly every other article of manu-
facture, down to her coarsest crockery ware? As in
the case of some of our over-scientific farmers,
nothing is wanting but the one thing desirable—
products. The sea is there ; and rivers, canals,
railways, and roads reach it everywhere, running
about and around you in all directions through a
soil of unequalled fertility. There are plenty of able
and intelligent men, too, generally underworked,
always underpaid and often underfed. There is
likewise a plethora of capital unused. Everything,
in short, is there except—the use of everything.
The noble building, raised by Irish skill and enter-
prise as by magic, which received the Prince on
Tuesday last, has the value beyond all that was in-
tended for it of showing him that all this need not
be so. As with it formerly, the fabric of Irish pro-
sperity is absent not from want of materials, but of
the able and enterprising architects who know how to
use them. Those who know the country would pro-
bably sustain his Royal Highness in the opinion that
with a revival of agriculture we should have the only
basis on which we may.hope to erect the edifice we
want. Blessed with the most fertile soil under heaven,
situate near the best markets in the world, Ireland
needs but that perfect cultivation of the land which
the industry and number of its inhabitlants might
so easily secure it. That given it would be as
prosperous as England, and at least as happy. It
is as incontestable as a mathematical axiom that
there exists in the land more than remunerative em-
ployment for all the labour of the country, and
all that is probably needed to bring it into play
are moderate rents, long leases, and a size of hold-
ings suited to the capital and intelligence of the
cultivator. Set the agricultural mind of Ireland in
healthy and full movement, and there will be a
corresponding influence on every division of Irish
industry and enterprise. Among a people subject
to the dwarfing influence of provincial isolation,
envenomed by a system of absentee proprietors, the
action of their rejuvenescence, like that of their
decay, will be general or not at all ; and clearly a
solid renewal and extension of their interest in the
land—the source of wealth and prosperity for all—
is the only means to which we may look for so in-
estimable a result. Even the fine arts, for which
he emotional and imaginative nature of a Celtic