The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-13 00:00:00

The Dispute in the Iron Trade.

WOLVERHAMPTON, Wednesday.
To-day, at about a quarter to two o'clock, the Mayor of
Wolverhampton, with the Town Clerk of that borough,
waited upon a number of the ironmasters, assembled at the
Swan Hotel, in this town, and presented the request of the
men that the masters of Wolverhampton would meet a de-
putation of the men of the same town, with a view to the
former consenting to the establishment of a court of arbi-
tration for the settlement of all future differences.

The masters consented to meet the men, and the mayor
and the town clerk both several times went below to inquire
if the men were about. The arrangement made between the
mayor and the men yesterday was, that they should be
ready in front of the Swan Hotel at two o'clock, and that at
about that hour they should apply at the bar of the Swan
to ascertain if their request had been conceded. This
morning, however, as was subsequently explained by the
men, Mr. S. Griffiths sent to the secretary of the district,
stating that he had obtained a room for them at the public-
house kept by Mr. Councillor Willcock, in which they were
to assemble, and he would obtain an interview for them, for
he had seen Mr. Matthews (an ironmaster) and the mayor.
The men were to place one of their number outside the
Swan, and when the masters were ready to receive them,
he (Mr. Griffiths) would let him know, and he could fetch
the rest. Of any interference of this kind neither the iron-
masters, the mayor, nor the town clerk, knew anything.
As often as inquiries were made for the men at the bar the
replies were that they had not applied, and they could no-
where be seen in the space in front of the hotel. Mr. Grif-
fiths, however, was near the entrance to the hotel all the
time. The masters, after waiting nearly an hour, arranged
with the mayor that through the town clerk he should
communicate with the men, telling them how they had
waited in vain to see them, and also that the masters always
had been, and still were, most willing to meet their own
men at their own works.

The mayor and the town clerk were leaving the hotel,
and had nearly reached the Townhall, when the men, who
had just been informed of what had happened, were leaving
the public-house, which is near to the Townhall, in great
haste to go up to the Swan. The mayor and the town clerk
returned with them, and met Mr. W. 0. Foster, M.P., the
chairman of the Ironmasters' Association, who proceeded to
the Exchange and endeavoured to find the Wolverhampton
masters, but they had all left.

The mayor then told the men how they had broken the
arrangement that ha had made with them on the previous
day, and they on their part explained how they had acted
upon the advice of Mr. Griffiths. They expressed the
utmost disappointment, and one of them said they had
been " sold "—not, however, either by the mayor or the
town clerk, both of whom they thanked for the efforts they
had made to bring about an interview.

The Mayor said Mr. Griffiths spoketo him in the morn-
ing, and he (the mayor) told him he should try to get an in
terview for them at two o'clock, and he thought he should
succeed. He told Mr. Griffiths no more, and made no ar-
rangement with him. The men had better now see their
respective masters, who would be very happy to see them,
and resume work as soon as possible. It was a sad thing that
they had not acted upon the understanding of the previous
day, for the labour of all had now come to nothing.

The Town Clerk said that Mr. Griffiths saw him proceed-
ing to the Swan to make the arrangements for the inter-
view, and he said nothing about having the men waiting in
a publichouse ; and Mr. Griffiths was near to the bar of the
hotel whilst the masters were waiting for the men, and
knew that they were wanted. The men could now do no
better than act upon the advice which the mayor had given
them, see their own masters at their works, and to return
to work as soon as possible. The masters, he said, felt that
there had been a mistake current as to their willingness or
otherwise to meet their men. They had never been un-
willing. All though the lock-out they had been at their
offices during business hours, and would have been very
ready to see their men.

The interview between the mayor and town clerk and
the men then terminated with the expression of mutual
regrets.

On Change the trade generally expressed great disap-
pointment that no solution of the difficulty in Wolverhamp-
ton, which is unsettling other districts, had been arrived at.

WOLVERHAMPTON, Wednesday Night.
At a general meeting of puddlers held this evening, it
was resolved to ask another interview with the masters, and
not resume work till they have got it.
Lord Lichfield is in London.

THE APPROACHING DISSOLUTION.—In little more
than three months from this time we may expect to see the
last day of the present Parliament. Amid hot weather and
thin houses the necessary business of this session will have
been forwarded through its final stages, and, in all proba-
bility, before the end of July the writs will have been de-
spatched empowering the constituencies of the United
Kingdom to send representatives to a fresh Parliament.
DEATH IN A STEEPLECHASE.—An inquest was
concluded on Tuesday evening by Mr. Moor, coro-
ner for Leominster, on the body of a young man named
John Jones, son of a veterinary surgeon, who came,by his
death in a steeplechase at Leominster a few days previously.
The deceased who was only 16 years of age, and a youth
of much promise, had been induced to ride a mare named
Wee Annie, in a " scurry" stakes, in heats. He had ridden
the first heat, and obtained a place, and was going on with
the second heat, when the mare fell at a fence, and before
Mr. Jones could get up another horse following jumped
upon him, crushing in his chest and breaking his ribs,
which entered his lungs. He Was picked up insensible,
and died shortly afterwards. After an adjournment the
jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death."