The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-13 00:00:00

DR. BOWRING AT MANCHESTER.

Yesterday morning, an interesting and highly influen-
tial meeting was held at Manchester, in the Mayor's
parlour, to which the members of the Chamber of Com-
merce and Commercial Association were invited to be
present, along with the leading merchants and manufac-
turers, to meet Dr. Bowring, previous to his departure
for China. Amongst the leading gentlemen present
were :—Mr. James Heywood, M.P., Mr. J. Kershaw,
M.P. ; Mr. George Hadfield, M.P. ; Mr. Alexander
Henry ; Mr. Thomas Bazley, and Mr. J. A. Tur-
ner. Benjamin Nicholls, Esq., the Mayor, introduced
Dr. Bowring, who having expressed the gratification he
felt at meeting so many gentlemen eminently connected
with the industry of the country, delivered an ad-
dress, of which decimal coinage and our commer-
cial relations with China were the more prominent
topics. He believed the empire of China was destined
to fulfil a great mission by the emigration which was
now going on from thence through all the eastern na-
tions. Such was the population of China that there
was not a foot of it scarcely but was cultivated. Such
was the over population, in fact, that, notwithstanding
the most violent interdicts against emigration, its sur-
plus streams were overflowing the countries of the east.
In the island of Java he found 25,000, in the islands of
the Indian Archipelago he believed there were not less
than 70,000 Chinese ; whilst in San Francisco there had
been settled 25,000 more, and great numbers were emi-
grating to Australia, and the islands of Polynesia, or
wherever there was a field of labour open to them. It
appeared to be a law of Providence that the superior
races of mankind should supplant the inferior, and
we saw in the progress of time the inhabitants
of the West India islands swept away—that the Anglo-
Saxon population was invading and removing (he
would not say destroying) the red Indian tribes of
America. So the Chinese race was setting aside the
Malay in the same way that they (the Malays) had set
aside the Dyaks. He ought also to have referred to the
great and growing importance of the opening in
Western America, in the great changes taking place
in Australia and in India, which had opened a trade
with India equal to that between Great Britain
and China. All these subjects afforded topics
for reflection and for encouragement, and he would
say that he had seen in China an exemplification
of its value, to which he might be excused for refer-
ring. When we first reached China many ships came
there from this country, which were an opprobrium to
the name of England. Such was the character of craft
from this country, and when two years ago the Americans
introduced their magnificent clippers, they could obtain
no more than two guineas, whilst the Americans obtained
seven guinea freights to load tea for England. At that
time the gentlemen present knew what were the appre-
hensions of merchants as to the results of free trade, if
it were allowed to touch its last stronghold of monopoly,
the shipping interest. It was introduced into shipping,
however, and as all were aware, there was no interest
which had been so benefited. (Cheers). And when he left
China the ships built in England under this system were
some of the finest that ever glided over the great waters
and the freights which they were able to command were
equal to the average of those given of the finest clippers
of America. (Cheers.) Some alarm had been expressed
he was told, that if we opened the tea trade more fully
least there should be an efficient supply, but he could
assure them there was no fear of that. The quantity
used here was but a drop in a bucket to what the
Chinese themselves used, and to what was necessarily
therefore produced. Tea was drunk in China by three
hundred to four hundred millions of people as many
as three or four times a day, and there was not a
cottage at which you could call, where it could
not be supplied. They did not use it as we did ;
they did not fire up black tea to the black-
ness of ours, and they did not paint their green tea to
the extent we required—(laughter)—but it was, never-
theless, an article of universal request. He had no
fear but China would be able to supply any amount of
tea we might ever require ; and as to silks, he would
only call attention to the progress in exportation which
was already taking place in that article. Its value was
more fully recognised he believed every day, and,
strange to say, this country had almost a monopoly of
its importation. When he was in France the other day
this was mentioned to him, and he believed the reason
was the singular trait in the French character which
so soon discouraged him. He had been asked how'
it was there was not a single French merchant'
at Canton ? They had sent orders to Shanghai
for silk, but those erders had not been preceded by the
arrangements which the English merchants had made to
secure a supply. He was of opinion, however, that they
would have French merchants there ere long, and thought
we could hardly expect to retain the whole trade of that
important branch of Chinese exports. He admitted that
great mists and doubts and darkness overhung the future
of the Chinese empire, but at the same time believed that
our own relations with that country would yet assume a
more important and beneficial character. (Applause.)
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the
chairman.

ANOTHER HEAVY FIRE AT MONTREAL.—lntelligence
reached London yesterday (Jan. 12) that oz Christmas
.
morning a very destructive fire occurred one of the
finest blocks of buildings in Montreal, entirely destroy.
ing it, partly occupied by J. and D. Lewis as dry goods
stores. The losses are as follows :—London offices._
Globe, 10.000/. ; Royal, .5,000/. ; Phcenix, 3,000/, ;
Equitable, 2,100/. ; Liverpool and London, 2,000/
Local offices.—Hartford, 2,000/. ; Home, 2,000/..•
Etna, 2,6001. ; Protection, 1,200/, Total, 29,800.
Magainr.

PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 12.
The Apollo store-ship, Master• Commander Johnson.
carne into harbour to-day, to fill up with provisions for
the fleet in the Bosphorus
The Simoom, 18, iron troop-ship, Captain Smith, is
ordered to refit her boiler department, and prepare for
further troop service. This ship is fitted with Grant's
galley, which cooked provisions for 750 men and 26
officers per day on the passage from the Cape, besides
distilling 650 gallons of water per day---no mean item in
comfort for a troop-ship.
An awful case of unexpected death occurred in this
dockyard this morning. A respectable man named
Blake, a messenger in the Storekeeper's-office, was
gently walking down the yard on duty, when, from some
cause unexplained, he ruptured a blood-vessel, and ex-
pired immediately. He was a remarkably steady, well-
conducted man, and the support of an aged father and
a wife and three children.
The Banshee steam despatch vessel, Lieutenant-
Commander Reynolds, remained at Spithead awaiting
despatches to the Commander-in-Chief and British Am-
bassador at Constantinople.
The Manotuvrer navy lighter remains in a very criti-
cal position in the Woolsner Sands, off Langstone Har-
bour. Should it come on to blow from the south-east
(of which there is every probability), she must very soon
go to pieces. _ _

- The Serpent, 12, Commander Lambert (acting), came
into harbour this morning to be paid off.
ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE. —The following young gen-
tlemen passed their examination at the Royal Naval
College :
For Naval Cadets—Duke Douton Yonge, Robt.
Kemmis, William Henry Maxwell, Francis Charle:,
Vincents, Alfred Mannors:Fairlie, Henry Baillie Hamil-
ton, Constantine M`Dougall Moorsom.
For Masters' Assistants—Smith Edward Hannington,
Francis Blueman Christian, Georg* Alexander Brown-
ing, William Edwin Archdeacon.

For Clerks' Assistants—George Menion Pedler,
Joseph Hume Manley, Alexander Macall, William
Henry Sheriff Batt.

PLYMOUTH, DEO. 12.
Her Majesty's steamer Rhadamanthus, Master-Com-
mander 1341!am, from Sheerness, for Pem broke, with
materials for the Queen's yacht, put in here yesterday
morning, and, having coaled, left again at 3 o'clock for
Pembroke.

The repairs of the Magicienne are ordered to be made
good forthwith. She will probably be ready to go out
of harbour on Tuesday.
Shipwrights have commenced laying the groundways
for launching the Phoebe, building in No. 2 slip.
Yesterday afternoon Lieutenant Frank B. Hawkins,
of the flag-ship Impregnable, 104, was shooting will
fowl in a boat in Hamoaze, and while a justing the lock
of the gun it unfortunately went off, and the charge wa,-
lodged in the thigh of the boatman, William Alg►ar, of
Devonport, who was immediately conveyed to the Devon
and Cornwall Hospital, where he lies in a dangerous
state.

PRESTON, JAIL 12.
Mr. Hollins's manifesto elicited a lengthy reply from
the Power-loom Weavers' Committee, the chief para.
\ graph of which is as follows :—" Mr. Rollins (says the
committee) has given a list of the average earnings of six
weavers in October, 1847, and the average earnings of _
six other weavers in the month of October, 1853 ; and
in 1847 he gives it as 75. 6d. per pair of looms, and in
in 1853 as 12s. 6d. But he forgets to explain that the "i
;ix weavers he gives in 1847 were probably working in- s
feriorly paid reels, whilst in the list of 1863 he has taken
care e thoseare w who
on havey
the tw o
arrangements. beenoomworkingvv eav e r
sat
,ht
the Sove-
reign nbd e s
ct
0- paid
sorts,.
( l y, give
i
reign Mill, those who have received a bonus of 10
per cent. because they had averaged more than ten
shillings per week during the month of October. Four.
loom weavers were not allowed this bonus, whatever
their average earnings might be ; so that it is only
a friction of the hands who receive any benefit from it.
uent lo and
accordingvwho
If Mr. Hollins had given the average earnings of these
weavtrs without the bonus or the advance he was giving
in the month of October, 1853, we presume that it would
he found that the average earnings of these six weavers,
upon his best-paid sorts, would only average about 10s.
per week, whilst we have the authority of his own hands
to state that the average earnings of the whole weavers,
with the advance paid in October last, would not exceed
9s. 9d. per week. But it appears that Mr. Hollins's
weavers cannot understand what he intends to do. In
October last he was paying prices that were satisfactory
to his workpeople. They are prepared to resume work
at those prices at any time. In r ferring to-the ave-
rages earned in October, 1853 (that was the last mouth
he worked his mill before turning his workpeople out),
he says :—" I have offered, and still do offer, to pay
the rate upon which the latter statement of wages was
earned ; higher than that I cannot afford to pay,
having reference to the demand for that particular
class of goods which I manufacture." We ask Mr.
Hollins what he means by this. Our understanding of
it is this—that he has offered, and still does offer, to
pay the prices paid during the month of Octobei, 1853 ;
and if he does mean this, and is intending do so, why
not inform his workpeople when they waited upon him
of such intention ? Had he done so, we feel confident
that he would have had a full complement of hands be-
fore this ; but if he does not mean this, if there is some
other arrangement not fully specified, we thick that we
are not presuming too much to ask Mr. Hollins to in-
form the public clearly and explicitly what that arrange.
ment is.'
Subsequently an interview took place between a depu-
tation of Mr. Hollins's workpeople and that gentleman's
manager, the result of whic'i was made known by a
placard headed "The Mystery Unravelled," issued' "by
order of the weavers' late in the employ of Mr. Hollins."
In this document the hands state that, having hoped
that Mr. Hollins was prepared to pay the prices of last
October, they found themselves sadly mistaken.
To-day, Mr. Hollins has sent forth a second manifest*,
a copy of which is subjoined
__

"THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN MILL.
" TO-THE PUBLIC AND OPERATIVES OF PRESTON.
"In reply to a placard headed Edward Hollins and
his Statements,' I fear I shall be obliged to trespass
further on your time and attention than I hoped would
he necessary. At the commencement of this unfortunate
lispute, in August last, I was waited upon by a de:asta-
Lion from my weavers, with a request that I would make
a general advance throughout my establishment of 10
per cent. After some conversation with them, I replied
:hat I would give this advance on the prices of 1847
throughout the mill on all descriptions of work not
already increased, alluding to about twenty fabrics,
which, as I have before stated, had been advanced
within the previous two years from 7i to 17 per cent.
" To the justice of this proposition they appeared to
accede, but, to my astonishment, they returned again in
tiloiepceorucresnet.ofupa few hours,
onallsort saying
s,regrdtihesast
of fhanmy ueta
previous
hve
advance. I again begged them to reconsider this ques-
tion, showing them, at the same time, that this demand
(being from 20 to 30 per cent. over my lowest, and con-
sequently least remunerative, sorts) would, in effect, de-
,troy my trade ; and although I entirely disapproved of
combinations, such a course as that (for they determined
not to work on any other terms) would drive me to act
with the associated masters, and I did hope, from the fair
.wages I was willing to pay, they would allow me to re-
main master of my own worles. They again retired, and
Ater a further consultation with parties apart from the
mill, they returned, saying they must have the 10 per
cent. on the payments of the previous week. I then
told them to go their work (having orders to complete)
on their own terms, but I was sure they would regret
this decision. About two months afterwards I gave
notice that it was my intention to close my mill, but to
prevent any misunderstanding with any of my opera-
tives on the subject, I called a meeting of all in my em-
ploy, and then stated. why I considered the stoppage I
had advised them of to be necessary. I told them
I was not allowed to regulate my own prices, or, in
other words, to be the master of my own mill ; and that,
for the good of all concerned, the sooner a clearer under-
standing was come to on this point the better. I also
stated that, as I now considered it a question of autho-
rity and not of wages, it would be dishonourable, if not
dishonest, towards my brother manufacturers if I worked
my mill during the present contest.
" In a day or two after this meeting I was again
visited by my weavers, who offered, through my ma-
nager, to work through me at the prices of March last;
but this I declined to do, as I felt sure that this offer
was made merely to promote the object of their union,
and would therefore only prolong this unfortunate con-
test we are still engaged in. With respect to the prices
I now offer, I beg to reiterate that they are, taking the
lifference of the hours worked into account, quite equal
to the advance stated in my former addr.ss ; and I am
so satisfied that I have rather understated than other-
wise this part of my case that I will willingly allow any
disinterested party to see my Li oks, and thus confirm
or disprove any of the statements I have made. There
is, however, one error which I wish to correct, although
in reality not affecting any previous statement—it is
that the bonus if given to any pair-loom weavers is five
per cent. on 40s. and ten per cent. on 445. per month,
instead of ten per cent. on 40s. as before stated ; this
error arose from taking a bonus list of 1851, instead of
a later one issued in 1852.
" In conclusion, I beg to say that a deputation of my
weavers of Wednesday last intimated to myself and to
my manager that they were satisfied, and they hoped to
return to work at the prices I was offering ; and I feel
convinced that were they and their fellow-operatives
free agents in this affair, and, like myself, the members
of no combination, this sad struggle would have ended
long ago, and that the town of Preston would never
have witnessed those scenes of misery and demoralisa
tiun always attendant upon labour warfare.
" EDWARD HOLLINS.
" Sovereign Mill, Jan. 11, 1854.
Mr. Hollins has succeec4d in getting a few looms to
work, having obtained some hands from the suburban
village of Farrington. These people were locked out,
and, not being connected with the trades' union, have
suffered extreme privations.
A man who was deputed to convey the last week'a
sub,cription of the Dam win people to Preston has ab-
.,conded with 160/., and as yet has contrived to elude toe
vigilance of the police.