The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-19 00:00:00

THREATENED STRIKE OP COMPOSITORS.

We have had strikes of cabmen, tailors, builders,
and other trades, and now we are threatened with
one from a body of men whom it is, perhaps,
scarcely too much to say are amongst the most intelli-
gent and respectable of British workmen—the compo-
sitors. Nearly 2,000 of them met the other night
when the report of " The London Society " was read.
It was stated that the society deemed it wise to double
the present trade subscription, and to invite all non-
unionists and " rats " to join tho society. A resolu-
tion for a general strike was read, but a person in
the meeting said it would be both impolitic and
unjust to adopt it. By so doing they would be
inflicting not only an injury upon themselves, but
upon those masters who were paying the full prices
of the scale. They would also compel the
compositors upoithe daily papers, whose scale was
not interfered with, to strike, which would be a great
hardship both to the men and the proprietors of the
papers. An amendment by which the meeting
pledged itself not to work under the scale was carried
unanimously. - -

DO WOMEN WISH TO VOTE ?
This question is going to be settled by a very
simple method in Ohio. Certain persons allege that
the sex as a whole are in no way desirous of exer-
cising the franchise, and that the agitation in favour
of their doing so is only kept up by a few " strong-
minded women." To come to a clear conclusion on the
matter, a bill has been presented, and, it is thought,
will pass the Legislature of that State, for a sort of
test ballot to be held. Every woman over the age of
21, who shall have resided in the State for a twelve-
month, is to be entitled to vote. Separate polling
places and ballot boxes are to be provided in the
usual place for holding elections, and all the women
registered may vote one of two tickets—for
female sufFra‘re or against it. The votes of these
ladies are to be returned to the Secretary of State,
and if the majority are in favour of women having
the vote, the general assqmbly will submit in due
form the question of female suffrage to the electors.
Such is the outline of a plan that will be eagerly
watched not only in America, bnt in countries where
the vestloo of female suffrage is a vexed one.

NEW MATERIALS FOR PAPER.
Thlutueoticq of w_hothovnyolgitaiult.can la Q.V.:

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd.

tainett for the manufacture of paper is one that just
now is occupying a good deal of• public attention.
The proprietor of the Sankey paper mills states
that too much stress has hitherto been laid upon
the fibrous productions of tropical countries where-
with to meet the papermakers' wants. The plants
from which thv-se fibres aro obtained exist in immense
cuantities, and in one sense can be had for nothing—
that is to say, they can ba "had for the fetching;''
but the question of. the cost incurred in fetching
them should not be overlooked. It is also most im-
portant to bear in mind the bulky nature of most of
these plants of rapid growth, and still more so the fact
that in many, indeed in most cases, the proportion
of fibre contained is but small, and yet the whole of
the plant must be brought home for treatment.
In another letter on the same subject the writer says:
"That paper of the finest texture and colour, can be
made from wood alone I have proved by frequent ex-
periments; and by a uew process not yet secured by
patent I have produced a paper as strong as that
made from rags, and as pure in colour, manufac-
tured entirely from wood, and at a cost of at
least three farthings to one penny per. pound less,
than a very inferior article made from esparte.l
That there are hundreds of fibres among the vegeta-
tion of the tropics well adapted for the manufacture
of paper there cannot be a doubt, but manufacturers,
as a body, are very slow in adopting any new fibre,
and will not give any encouragement to those who
have spent years in perfecting processes for their
use."