The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-18 00:00:00

Mr. BRIGHT—It is not mine.
Mr. FERRAND—Then he was a shareholder, or had
something to do with it.—(Cries of order). The Manchester
Examiner confirmed the fact that the question had been
put at the Rochdale meeting and answered in the manner
he had described. At the very time the Hon. Member was
making his speech last Wednesday a message was sent
down to Bradford, and the next morning a meeting of the
operatives was advertised by placard. It was held in the
evening, in Christ Church School, and presided over by the
Rev. Wm. Oldham. It was densely attended, and
when the question was put about the wages, every
hand was held up for the Bill.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon.
Member had also told the House that the mechanics of the
north were always glad to work long hours when they could
get an increase of wages. He (Mr. Ferrand) had since then
received a letter from the mechanics of Manchester, denying
the statement, and enclosing a copy of a prize essay,
issued under the auspices of the delegates of the
united mechanics of Great Britain and Ireland, as to the
benefits resulting from a reduction of the hours of labour.
The Honourable Member had also denied that any com-
pact had been entered into between the Anti-Corn-
law
League and the factory operatives, on the con-
dition that if the latter supported the repeal of
the corn-laws the former would withdraw their oppo-
sition to the Ten Hours' Bill. Now, in answer to that
he could prove that in 1843 and 1844, when the League was
not very popular with the operatives, his old friend Mr.
Brookes, of .‘ God bless you, we're all for ourselves" noto-
riety made efforts to convince the leaders of the factory
operatives, if they would support the repeal of the corn-laws,:he
and many other manufacturers would support the Ten Hours'
Bill. Mr. Ashworth had also corresponded with the short-
time delegates in London, to the effect that the corn-laws
were the cause of long hours of labour, and that they should
be repealed before any reduction in the hours of working took
place. (The Hon. Member then read several extracts from
letters and documents in support of what he had advanced.)
The League had obtained the repeal of the corn-laws • were
they prepared to fulfil their contract ?—(Hear, hear.) He
would not argue the question of foreign competition with
them, but he claimed it of them, as an act of duty, justice,
and honour, to carry out their pledge, and not endeavour to
intimidate the House in order to rob the poor man of his
rights. The Manchester manufacturers had also pledged
themselves to Lord Ashley, through Mr. Greig, that if the
Corn-laws were repealed they would not oppose a Ten Hours'
Bill. The llon. Men- her then proceeded to read a letter, ad-
dressed by Lord Ashley to the Secretary of the Operative
Short-Time Committee, sitting in London. His Lordship
said that Mr. Greig of Manchester had done him the honour
to call upon him at the Albion Hotel, and he there ex-
pressed his strong desire for the settlement of the short-
rime question. The manufacturers had been benefited by
the repeal of the duty on raw cotton, and they would be
further benefited by the repeal of the corn-laws ;
and he thought it but fair justice that the
workman should receive his share of those advantages
in abridged hours of labour. This he conceived could only
be done by legislative enactment, as every proposition for
regulations between the employers and the workmen had
failed already. So much for the opinion of Mr. Grieg.
Now, he thought that he had proved to the House that a
deliberate compact had been entered into between the manu-
facturers and the work-people. But what had been the con-
duct of some of the largest manufacturers in Manchester,
after the poor people had been at the expense of sending upto
London delegates to watch over their interests ? It was, perhaps,
lucky for them that they did so, as he (Mr. Ferrand) had been
informed that there was in the House a document purporting
to be from some of the workmen of Manchester (for the
purpose of showing that they were opposed to the Ten Hours'
Bill), and he believed that that paper would be used in the
course of that debate It was lucky for the operatives that he
( Mr. Ferrand) had caught the Speaker's eye before the Hon.
Member had, as he thus had an opportunity of forestalling the
statement made by the Hon. Member. Now what had the
manufacturers been doing inManchester ? On Monday last the
overlookers and managers of Messrs. Murray's works—and he
wished to call the attention of the House to this fact, in
order to show the degree of intimidation which was used
against the operative. The overlookers and managers of
these mills went round among the workmen, with books in
their hands, all ruled in columns, under these heads—
Ten hours' work and ten hours' wages"—"Eleven hours'
work and eleven hours' wages "—" Twelve hours' work and
twelve hours' wages ;" and to each worker they put the in-
quiry, Do you prefer a twelve hours' work and a twelve
hours' wagee, or an eleven or ten hours' work with an eleven
o 1 ten hours' wages ?—(" Hear, hear," from Mr. Bright.)
There was no option left here for the workmen. They were to
be bound down to these agreements. The manufacturers were
determined to protect themselves—("Hear,"from Mr. Bright)
—but there was no protection extended to the workmen—.
(Hear, hear)—for they were given to understand, in almost
as many words, that as they chose the alternatives offered,
so would they please or displease their masters. The Messrs.
Holdsworth had adopted the same course, and the men there
had signed for eleven hours' work and eleven hours' wages„
and the women for twelve—thus the weakest went to the
wall. Messrs. M'Connell had adopted a similar course, but
they gave some hours' notice, and the men chose ten hours'
labour, and informed their employers that they would take
their chance of the wages. Now, if the House would listen
to what took place in the borough of Manchester the House
would understand the workpeople would no longer be trifled
with. The Hon. Member proceeded to read—" Last night a
meeting washeld in the Mead House (one of the largest halls in
Manchester), which was crammed to excess. The meeting
was entirely conducted by operatives. The first resolution
adopted was—' That this meeting cannot but view with
a feeling of regret and indignation the conduct of those mas-
ters who had adopted the disreputable course of sending their
managers and overlookers through the mills with books in
their hands, demanding in a hasty and peremptory manner
whether they were in favour of a Ten, an Eleven, or Twelve
Hours' Bill—the object being to receive such answers as
would enable Hon. Members to offer some further opposition
to the Bill now before the House.' The second resolution
was, " That the factory-workers are prepared to accept a Ten
Hours' Bill, regardless of its effect on wages, leaving the
prices of their labour to be regulated by the same principle
which fixed the prices of other commodities in the market."'
He (Mr. Ferrand) had intended to have alluded to several
other mis-statements made by the Honourable Member
for Durham, but he did not know that he would be j ustified
in taking up the time of the House. Before he sat down be
operatives
should wish to tell the House that the factory
with.
The
throughout the land would no longer be trifled
them in this House that they a_ef
hFerrand) was glad that
Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer had
chkadthtarouungthed.
out England.—( Hear.) He •
f handedrpr
had come to this House prayin.'rayers had been denied.
and children, and their p
they had not done so. The horny-14
the wives and children
men
tecetniona for their
wives
t d exci e in their
sympathy was
of the miners,
but
decorations which illustrated the
favour by the
hear.) The factory operatives
They had not denied protection to
wo
blue book---(Year,
getum up similar decorations. They would also work
upon the feelings of Hon. Members, if they could not rely
upon their justice, and 500 factory cripples, assembled ire Palace-yard, would raise a shout of supplication to the ROllBB
of Commons, and the universal burden of their prayer would
be, We will have the Ten Hours' Bill.
Mr. ROEBUCK said he would pass over the noisy decla-
mation of the Hon. Gentleman who had just resumed his
seat, and direct his attention to the little argument con•
tained in his speech. He was in no way connected with the
commercial interest of this country, and therefore
could have no other motive for opposing this
Bill, except that he considered it would be for
the public good that it should not pass; and yet. be-
cause he opposed it upon conviction, he was to be called -a
cold-blooded political economist.—(Hear, hear.) It was
time he had investigated the science of political economy as
applied to the laws of trade, and as that investigation
had induced him to come to a very different
conclusion to that of Honourable Gentlemen opposite, it was
hardly fair that vituperation of the vilest character should
be heaped upon his head.—(Hear, hear.) He should, how-
ever, hardly have addressed himself to this question had it
not been for the address of the Noble Lord the Member
for Newark, who wound up his speech with half a doom
of this country
perorations, and concluded the last of them with this
observations—" And yet the working people
Ho
(mean
understand that gentlemen on this side theof_
_
ing of course his own) also are attache
Ten Hours' Bill, and
d to that party Of
historic recollection, are in favour of a
were not opposing themselves to the rights nn*g_hptsary of
indeed He
tthepeople.".—
( Hear, hear.) Historic recollection
thought, if he were to look back into the page of history, he
should find that this party
had been engaged
in one continued effort to repress the energies of the people ;
t, 'Me
but he was not called upon on that occasion to enter into
the lists with the Noble Lord upou that subjec but