The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-20 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, OCT. 20, 1865.

All the accounts that reach us from all parts of
the country only serve to confirm the impression at
first entertained of the universal regret which Lord
PALMERSTON'S death would occasion. Beginning at
the city of London, the Court of Common Council
moved a resolution to condole with Lady PALMER-
STON on the sad event which has taken place. It
was moved by Mr. MAYNARD, the first member of
the Common Council, in appropriate terms. lie
said that the death of the Prime Minister was a
public calamity, and that he need not dwell upon
those details of his career which were so well known,
but contenting himself with briefly prefacing
his resolution by the remark that the late Pre-
mier had brought rare ability and intelli-
gence to the accomplishment of his task
of whatever nature they were in the service of the
State. The Resolution conveyed in emphatic terms
the regret of the Council, and stated that the Court
regarded the " decease of the eminent statesman
as a severe loss to the nation,-and to the world at
large, and in expressing its high admiration of his
talents, his manly bearing, and his great adminis-
trative capacity, which have so materially tended to
increase the prosperity and uphold the honour and
dignity of this country, desires to convey to Lady
PALMERSTON its heartfelt and sincere sympathy
with her in the irreparable loss she has sustained."
Mr. Alderman SALOMONS, on behalf of the Court
of Alderman, seconded the Resolution, and expressed
his satisfaction that the Court had met that day,
because the Corporation of the City of London
would thus be the first of the municipal bodies in
the country to express the sorrow which all felt at
the death of the Premier. The resolution was car-
ried unanimously, and the Lord Mayor was en-
trusted to convey it to Lady PALMERSTON. It is in
all respects satisfactory to find that the City has
thus come forward at so early a period to express its
regret at the national calamity that has taken place.

At a meeting of the Liverpool Town Council
yesterday the Mayor, Mr. LAWRENCE, alluded to the
sad event of the Premier's death. " They had been
accustomed," he said, " to associate him with eTery-
thing that had life and energy, and failed to re-
cognise the fact that he had already passed the
usual limit of human existence." This is strictly
true, and it may be said that many men half his ago
would not have taken the nation so unawares as the
departure of this eminent statesman, who has been
engaged in public life for half a century. Mr.
LAWRENCE declared that there might be men
of greater ability than Lord PALMERSTON,
but certainly no man had been more successful
as a statesman ; and in the present day no man had
ever succeeded in securing to the same extenc the
sympathy and confidence of all men of all shades
of political opinion. Ile would be carried to his
grave amid the regrets of the nation, and he would
ever live in the grateful hearts of all classes.
In Elinburgli also due mention was made of the
gloomy event, and at a public dinner, which took
place in the evening, Mr. ADAM BLACK, late M.P.
for the city, alluded to the melancholy intelligence
before passing to titp subject of his discourse. "A
great man has fallen in Britain to-day," he said,
and then went on to inform his audience of some
of the details of the noble lord's political life, with
which he was intimately acquainted. The amount
of work which the late Premier got through was
really surprising, and ware it not certified by eye-
witnesses the publit in general might well doubt its
veracity. Ile would come to the House of Com-

mons at three or four o'clock in the day, and, with
the exception of an hour for refreshment in the
evening, he would remain until two or three in the
morning. He had to rise in good time to attend to
the duties of his department, and receive deputa-
tions, &c. ; and " all this he did day after day
without the least sign of anxiety and fretfulness."
He was also remarkable for the urbanity with
which he invariably received every one who came
to him on rtusiness, and his readiness to oblige
every one, and listen to their remarks, made him a
shining example to all Ministers who have to undergo
the ordeal of receiving deputations." Mr. BLACK
concluded his impressive remark, by stating that the
" country had suffered a great loss, and that Parlia-
ment had suffered a great loss. I believe they will
be in great difficulties as to how they are to pro-
ceed. I trust they will be so directed as to come to
that which will be _ most for the benefit of the
country. Not only was Lord PALMERSTON re-
spected in this country, but I believe that over all
Europe the name of PALMERSTON was a shield and
protection to every Englishman."
In Leeds a very painful sensation was created on
Wednesday by the intelligence of the death of Lord
PALMERSTON. The great bell in the Town-hall was
tolled, and in all quarters universal sorrow was ex-
pressed for the loss of the Premier. In the evening
Mr. BAINES, M.P., presided at a public meeting of
the Leeds Auxiliary of the Bible Society, and ob-
served that no assembly could possibly take place
that night without some allusion being made to the
sad event just imparted to them, an event of
national importance—the death of a man who had
held high office in the Councils of England for
nearly 60 years, and who for many years had held
the chief place in those Councils. At Southampton,
as may readily be supposed, the sad news was re-
ceived with peculiar sentiments of sorrow, because
Lord PALMERSTON was so much associated with the
place, and his memory will long be cherished there
personally as well as politically, not only as a mi-
nister and a statesman, but as a good neighbour and
a kind landlord. At Tiverton, also, the same regret
was experienced at the close of the connection
which has so long subsisted between the late
Premier and the town that he has faithfully
represented for a tenure of thirty years,
and nearly all the shops were shut, and all
possible marks of regret and respect were mani-
fested. In Manchester many flags on warehouses
and public buildings were hoisted half-mast high ;
and on the Exchange much was said concerning the
loss of the great statesman, and it seemed almost to
monopolise attention to the exclusion of business.
At the weekly sitting of the representative vestry
of Marylebone yesterday, a resolution was passed,
which expressed the deep regret of the meeting at
the loss of the able and manly English Minister,
who had served his country for so long a time,
and identified his name with all the poli-
tical and social progress which have marked
the destinies of Great Britain during that period.
Nothing has been wanting indeed to assure the
friends of the lamented departed of the high esteem
in which he was everywhere held, and the
deep and general regret which pervaded all ranks
and classes at the receipt of the mournful intelli-
gence. Such unwonted sympathy and sorrow may
well take away the chief bitterness from the thoughts
of his nearest connexions, and may afford the most
cheering assurance of his enduring remembrance in
the hearts of his countrymen, with his fame still
flourishing in perennial splendour—

"For those bright laurels ne'er shall fade with years,
Whose leaves are watered by a nation's tears."

The employment of children in our manufactories
seems likely at last to receive careful attention. It
will be remembered that the report of the Childrenq,
Employment Commission referred especially to the
town of Sheffield, in which very young children are
employed at various trades. The matter has been
taken up by the Sheffield Town Council, before whom
it was brought by Mr. IRONSIDE on Monday last.
This gentleman was inclined to resent the possible
interference of Government inspectors, and declared
his conviction that the evidence given in the
Report could not altogether be relied upon. He
thought whatever reforms were needed had bet-
ter be left to be gradually introduced by the
force of public opinion. He further said that in
many instances the cases stated by the Commissioner
were not fairly put, but that often they could be ex-
plained. As for the educational difficulty, he did
not believe it to be so great as had been stated.
The children were more frequently too sharp
than not sharp enough, and as for a girl of ten
years old not being able to answer a simple
question in arithmetic, he thought that of little con-
sequence, as at that age it was better to strengthen
children's bodies than their minds. Fortunately for
the rising generation of our manufacturing cities
the others speakers were not all of Mr. IRONSIDE'S
opinion, and it is only fair to that gentleman him-
self to remember that he proposed a committee to
inquire into the rights_ of the matter. There can be
no doubt whatever that in towns like Sheffield a
large number of children of very tender years are
employed at hard and exhausting labour, to the in-
jury, in spite of Mr. IRONSIDE'S "strengthening"
principles, of their bodies and their minds: Mode-
rate exercise and healthy play may be better for the
growing powers of children under twelve or
thirteen than any training can be for their minds ;
but it is certainly a new theory that a long day's
labour in a furnace-room or in a factory is
beneficial to them in any way. Too much
exertion is worse than too little, as the
prematurely aged and dwarfed little creatures too
surely testify. As for the assertion that official
inspection is opposed to the liberty of the subject,
and that the matter would be better Loft to the
judgment or humanity of the masters, we must re-
member that this plan has been already tried and
failed. It was not until Lord ASHLEY had carried
the Factory Acts against the most formidable oppo-
sition that the capitalists and factory owners con-
sented to any restriction being placed upon the
labour of women and children. Similar opposition
• was made to the attempt to lessen the toil of the chil-
dren and girls employed in the bleaching and dyeing
trades, though they were shown to be often engaged
for 16 or 18 hours at a stretch in such an exhaust-
ing atmosphere that it was no uncommon thing for
them to faint from heat and fatigue. In every case
where any increase has been proposed for the bene-
fit or protection of the younger and more helpless
classes of employes the masters have opposed
it. Of course there are many exceptional
instances ; but it must be borne in mind
that while those who try to avert the evils
themselves do not shrink from the inspection, those
who are the least to be trusted with the unrestricted
charge of their workpeople are the least likely to be
influenced by the public opinion which Mr. lIZON-
IDE would trust to. A hard or oppressive
taskmaster, who values his own gains far
above the health or training of the children whom
he employs, is not very likely to be influenced by
the mere opinion of his towns-people. Many long
years of
ipiaoiwneft:el:xperience have shown that such a
w
relied on in this one.powerful in some cases, cannot be
Neither waste. s nor fathers
can always be trusted to look after the interests of
the young children LI manufacturin; towns ; the

one from ignorance, the other from indifference.
In many cases the fathers are very much to blame,
and when one speaker observed that the children's
wages were often indispensable to the family,
another gentleman very truly said that the fact
was the men often consumed the boys' wages in
drink. In a place like Sheffield, where wages are
good and employment plentiful, there can be no
need for a steady working man to rely upon his
children's earnings, and he ought to be ashamed of
:himself if, for the sake of gratifying his love of
drink or pleasure, he sacrifices his boy's health and
education. In some cases the fathers would be
glad not to employ their children, but are afraid of
offending their employers by refusing, and in these
instances they would profit by the protection
afforded by an inspector. As for the so-
called interference with the liberty of the
subject, it is no more interference than is
everywhere necessary to protect the weak against
the strong ; and from age, ignorance, and weakness
these poor children are entirely at the mercy of the
large employers of labour. Mr. IRONSIDE indig-
nantly referred to the case of a boy nine years old,
who worked at a furnace, and who slept on the floor
of the furnace room, so as to begin work at three
in the morning of Saturday. He asked if the
Commissioner wanted the boy to be provides with
a bed at the Victoria Hotel, and said that it was
owing to the manufacturer's desire that the men
should leave off work early on Saturday that they
began at such an early hour. This is all very well,
but three o'clock in the morning is not the time for
a boy of nine years old to begin work if he is
to grow up a strong and healthy man ; and if Mr.
IRONSIDE considers that twelve hours a day is a fair
measure of work at his age, we no not think he will
find many parents to think with him. As for the
boasted " sharpness" of Sheffield children, they
may be sharp enough, no doubt, in knowledge of
life and in matters beyond their age, but they are
not likely to know much of the plainest rudiments
of education. The cases in which the wages of the
children are necessary for the support of the
family are very few in comparison with those
where the parents will not refuse money, but
could very well dispense with it. The
children themselves would do much better on bread
and water, with natural hours of sleep and easy
work or play. The foundation of all kinds of
diseases are laid by this unnatural system, and
moral evils of a very serious kind are likely to
follow. A case was cited in which children
employed in a large house were kept working till
midnight, and then turned into the streets. Well
might the members of the Town Council cry shame
on such a proceeding, but there are many other
facts connected with the employment of children
which are equally bad. Alderman SAUNDERS laid
down an axiom which was indisputable when, he said
that if a child was too young to go to school it was too
young to work. He gave the men part of the
blame, since, he said, that nowhere were they more
independent of their masters. If all the large em-
ployers, however, followed the excellent example of
the Mayor, who is a large steel manufacturer,
matters would now be different. He allows no boy
under 11 on his place, and in the furnaces no boy
under 13, and insists on his men sending their chil-
dren to school till then. Mr. HARVEY, one of the
councillors, mentioned the case of a friend of his
who refused to employ children at all ; and he added
that if all employers would follow his example there
would be no need of inspectors. Unfortunately
the love of gain interferes both with masters and
men, and the children suffer. It would be well
if the acts, which have done so much good
in Lancashire were extended to Sheffield and
similar towns ; and we have no doubt that when
humane and prantinal tradesmen come to consider
the question they will suggest active measure for
the reformation of a great and growing evil.

That the tyranny of the men is to the full as
oppressive as the despotism of the few, is a fact that
has often been demonstrated, but it has seldom been
more clearly shown than in the case of intimidation
recently brought before the Lord Mayor. Trades'
Unions have their good points and their bad points.
Many thoughtful and enlightened men of rank and
position have expressed themselves in favour of the
principle of combination, which affords the labour-
ing man a protection against the greed or oppression
of his employers. But when they have thus sup-
ported the system of Trades' Unions, it has only been
so far as men act up to their own views and join with
others who think with them to secure a certain end,
by fair and legal means. No honest man, or lover
of fair play, could for a moment tolerate the course
of intimidation towards men who prefer individual
independence to a union which is too often followed
by the members of such societies. They are formed
originally in support of the workmen's rights and
privileges, and they very often end in a system of
dictation, petty tyranny, and interference which no
employer would venture upon in this country. If he
did he would soon find his men refusing to submit,
and leaving his service ; but the Trades' Unions
allow no such action. A man may refuse, indeed,
to become a member, but he is not the less at their
mercy. Ile is harassed, and persecuted, and
threatened, till both masters and men are really
tyrannised over to an extent that if •it were
possible in other ranks . would call forth a great
many democratic diatribes. Mr. HuGuEs spoke out
boldly at Sheffield as the friend of the working men,
and those able and intelligent workmen who
answered his arguments will be doubtless amazed
to find in the recent case of HENNEVAN and RAWSON
proof that his charges against Trades' Unions were
too well founded. It appears that Mr. PRITCHARD,
a builder in the city, employs a number of masons,
twn of whom named CROMDIE and HOARE, he had
had in his service for nye tn-- six years; -71.17CTUU
fortnight ago two of his other men came to him and
asked him to discharge HOARE and CRoMBIE.
When pressed for a reason they said they
would not join their union, and that if
Mr. PRITCHARD would not discharge them
twelve men would leave at once. Mr. PRITCHARD
very properly refused to submit to such unwarrant-
able interference, and to be threatened into dis-
charging unjustly two respectable men. The others
fulfilled their threat, and left him suddenly, thereby
putting him to great inconvenience in his business.
Not content with this they waylaid and threatened
all the men whom he engaged, and continued such
a system of - persecution that after securing ample
evidence he brought two of the worst offenders be-
fore the Lord Mayor. His lordship expressed great
indignation at the tyranny of these Unionists, and
asked if that was what they called liberty when a
manmight not do as he liked in a fair and honest at-
tempt to gain his living. Ile sentenced both offenders
to two months' imprisonment with hard labour,
which, it is to be hoped, will enlarge their notions
of political economy. It is worth notice that these
men had previously admitted having been paid for
watching Mr. PRITCHARD'S workmen, so that it is
evidently an organised system on the part of the
Trades' Unions. Those who wish to maintain the
system had better reflect that nothing of the sort
can be successful unless backed up by public opinion,
and public opinion, in every rank of English life,
is against dictation and apprehension. Fair play
is the Englishman's motto, and we should soon
have an outcry all over the country if masters wer
suffered to treat their men in the manner in whit
the men aspire to treat each other.

SUN, LONDON, FRIPAY EVENING, OCTOBER 20, 1.F65.