The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-18 00:00:00

The Lock-out in the Iron Trade.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, Friday.
In this district all persons interested in the iron
trade are extremely anxious with regard to the in-
terview between the representatives of the masters
and men which will take place at York this after:

noon. A meeting of delegates from the Gateshead
Union of Ironworkers, in anticipation of the inter-

view with the masters to-day, was held at York last
night. From Middlesborough it was reported that a
vote of approval had been passed to the executive
for their conduct in respect to the North Stafford-

shire strike, and for the policy adopted by them at
the delegate meeting on Tuesday. The meu were
prepared to withhold all support to the North Staf-
fordshire men, but were totally opposed to sign-

ing any document, as suggested by the masters at
the conference. From Jarrow, Darlington, Black-
hill, Wittonpark, and Spennymoor, the reports were
substantially the same as that passed at Middles-
borough, and at each place the men were opposed
to signing any document. From Walker it was re-

ported that the men were fully satisfied with the pro.

ceedings of the council relative to North Stafford-
shire, were pleased with the spirit of the delegate
meeting, and were determined to withhold all support
from the North Staffordshire men until they came
within the pale of the association. They were al3o
against signing any document. From Consett 11r.

APlver reported that the men had proposed a reso•

lution to withhold all supportfrom the men of North
and South Staffordshire, providing the masters of

the north of England would terminate their connec•

tion with the masters of North and South Stafford-
shire. He said that the men were desirous that the
ironworkers of the north of England should have a
union and executive of their own, and have no con-
nection with the southern ironworkers ; and they
wished the northern masters also to discontinue their
connection with the south, so that each district
might settle its own differences, as they felt confi-
dent that if the northern executive had had no con-
nection with the south the north would not have
been brought into the present difficulty. As the
Staffordshire delegates had not arrived, the meeting
was adjourned until this morning. A telegram was
received from Sheffield stating that two delegates
from the iron-workers of that district would be in
York to-day. They would have been there yester-
day, but they had to attend a meeting of the trades
union of that town last night, called for the pur-
pose of making arrangements for a levy on their
members in support of the persons locked out.
There are 5,600 men out of work at Middlesborough,
and if the lock-out is protracted in that town for
any length of time there will soon be great distress,
and as there are a great number of Irishmen in this
population it is feared that mischief will arise. At
a meeting of the Labourers' Union held at Middles-
borough the night before last the following resolu-
tions were adopted. It was proposed by J. MALO-
NEY and seconded by J. BRANNEN :
" As we, the Labourers' Union, are the only organization
through which the thousands of labourers in this district
can give expression to their thoughts or invoke the sym-
pathy of the public, we adopt the interests of both Union
and Non-Ution labourers, and pledge ourselves to obtain
work or aid for them, if possible:,
It was proposed by C. MTARTIIY, and seconded
by HENRY WILLIAMS :
cc That we get up a requisition and present it to the
Mayor, requesting him to convene a public meeting at his
earliest convenience to take into consideration the best
means of supporting the 5,600 men who aro locked out at
present ; and that this association pledges itself to refuse
any aid to any person or persons who, by any riotous con-
duct;
and the like person or per-
sons shall be liable to forfeit any benefit from the associa-
tioncomi shallt
breachplace person or e
hereafter."
The following is a copy of the memorial men-
fcoroperty in danger, or otherwise
commit, a of the p
tioned in the foregoing resolution :

" To the Worshipful the Mayor of Middlesborough.
"We, the undersigned burgesses and ratepayers of Mid-
dlesborough, taking into consideration the hardships likely
to be endured by the great body of the labouring classes,
with thoir helpless wives and families, by the present lock-
out, a cause for which they are not directly or indirectly
responsible—and which, if protracted, will inevitably drive
into
et
tyhee Bankruptcy Court, and en-
ars of prosperity will fail to
tt
ah
iel
as m an a lml e
or
ut
nr at do ef s
emv
Ins
erase—we, thinking an expression of opinion might conduce
to an early settlement of the dispute, or, if not, to arrange
some means by which the large numbers of the labouring
classes now out might be employed, earnestly request you
to convene a public meeting to take the subject into consi-
deration."

At Witton-park and Spennymoor many of the
workmen occupy houses belonging to the masters. At
Spennymoor there is some prospect that the men
and their families will be evicted unless the lock-out
is speedily terminated. At Witton-park the agents
of Messrs. Bolckow and Vaughan refuse to pay the
men their " baff-money" until they quit the cottages
and give up the keys. The Jarrow workmen have
come to a resolution that after Messrs. Palmer's
works are reopened they will not lay their hands
upon a tool until every man in the works becomes
a member of the union. In consequence of this step
Mr. C. Bladen, head manager of the ironworks, met
a deputation from the men yesterday morning, and
expressed his great regret that a meeting of the
workmen should, after having thanked Mr. Palmer
for his kindness and courtesy at the Newcastle
meeting, in the very next breath threaten to keep
the works closed unless every man joined the union.
After the conference with the deputation from the
union, Mr. Bladen proceeded to Newcastle and had
an interview with Mr. Palmer upon the action taken
by the union men, the result of which was that Mr.
Palmer immediately telegraphed to Jarrow an order
that all the labourers and men engaged in extend-
ing the ironworks should at once be paid off. In the
afternoon a meeting of the Jarrow Lodge was held,
when the following
resolution was put and carried
" That this meeting, having reflected upon the motion
passed at a meeting of this lodge yesterday about the men
not commencing work till all had joined the union, now
:
withdraws that motion in its entirety, feeling that it is
unjust and most unreasonable ; at the same time it wishes
the fact to be known that the chairman, Mr. Leech, dis-
sented from the motion, and that when the motion was
proposed and put to the meeting it was partly broken up."
After this meeting had been held, Mr. Leech, the
chairman of the lodge, waited upon Mr. Bladen, and
explained that the resolution of Wednesday was
passed at the end of the meeting, and after a portion
of the men had left, and though no hands were held
up against the motion, many of the members of the
union were decidedly opposed to its spirit, and, as
the resolution above states, that he as chairman, did
not agree to it. Mr. Bladen again waited upon
Mr. Palmer and gave the above explanation. Mr.
Palmer expressed his deep regret that the men had
evinced such a spirit of opposition, and said that he
could not go to the York conference with the same
hopes of a speedy settlement as he otherwise would
have done.
Yesterday the mill men were solicited to go in

and work at Jarrow, as the masters were in want of
certain plates for the purposes of shipbuilding, but,
as the men refused to go unless in company with the
puddlers, it was afterwards announced that Mr.
Palmer had made arrangements by which he would
secure a supply of plates for some time to come.