The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-13 00:00:00

BTIZIK_E TIIE MANCgESTEK 13.ZULDINO

TBAD-E,

_Per some time past great differences have existed in, the
Manchester building trades, and on Saturday the greater
part of the stonemasons connected with the Man-
cheater lodge struck work. The main question in
dispute concerns the reduction of hours, the Dien
wishing to make the day's work nine hours in-
instead of ten, while the rate of wages, 335., remained
the same. The masters refused this proposal, and in last
October the men gave the required six months' notice of their
resolution. This notice expired on Saturday last, and several
attempts at conciliation having failed, the strike was resolved
upon. The employers, who had not expected this, asked
for a week's extension of the notice with the view of fur-
ther negotiations, but to this the men refused to accede.
The masters allege that the men are opposed to the use of
machinery and of quarry-dressed stone, but the
workmen state that they have no such objections.
The carpenters and joiners also demand a reduction of their
hours of labour, while the employers seek to apply the hour
system, and a six months notice is now pending between
them, which will expire on the Ist of May. It is hoped,
however, that the dispute in this branch of the trade will
be amicably settled.

SERIOUS LABOUR RIOTS IN BELGIUM.

As announced by telegraph, a strike, accompanied by
disturbances, has taken place amongst the workmen, pudd-
lers, and colliers of the extensive coalworks and machinery
establishments of Messrs. Cockerell, near Liege, in Bel'
gium. The details given by the Belgian papers make it
appear that the cause of this great strike was the unpopu'
larity of the manager. On Friday the men congregated
together near the workshops, and seem to have
given the masters considerable alarm. They were
quiet, however, until a party of ten gendarmes a clieval
was seen approaching. These soldiers were hooted bY
some of the workmen, but the rest remained quiet.
Another small party of soldiers arrived and were
hooted, but still no disturbance of consequence took
place. But during Friday night a great number
of the workmen assembled, and assailed Messrs.
Cockerell's establishment with stones, breaking windows
and doing other damage. The burgomaster, the police,
and the soldiers ran to stop this attack, and were
greeted with a shower of stones, several of the party
being very severely wounded. Three battalions of troops
were then summoned to Seraing, the name of the village.
During Saturday the men on strike assembled in great
numbers, and attempted to prevent others going to their
work. They then hooted the soldiers, and assaulted
them with stones. The soldiers made a sortie
without using their weapons, but ultimately a
regular fight took place. Most of the gendarmes were
wounded with stones, and many of the workmen sustained
severe injuries. The accounts agree in stating that the
causes:of the strike were verEtriN ial, but it is, nevertheless,
increasing in proportion.

THE NORTHA:LLERTON ELECTION

PETITION.

In opening the isTorthallerton election petition against
the return of Mr. John Hutton, Mr. Serjeant O'Brien
claimed the seat for Mr. Johns on the ground that Mr.
Hutton had obtained a colourable majority at the last
election through bribery, undue influence, and intimida-
Lion. The constituency numbers about 800, and being
somewhat of an agricultural borough there are villages sur
rounding it, in which live hand-loom weavers, who covet
nothing so much as a small patch of land on which to
grow produce for family use. The system of providing
inch pieces of land for poor voters appeared to have been
first introduced by the agent of Mr. Miles in 1865, and
nothing (the learned counsel said) could be so tempting
to these humble men. Offers of such land were eagerly,
sought after, and offers of that kind had been made by
Mr. Hutton's agents. One instance of such bribery was
alleged against Mr. Hutton himself. Another branch
A the case was undue influence, but the learned serjeant
was not able to lay the evidence of agency before the court.
Mr. and Mrs. Causfield were the first witnesses examined,,
and they proved an offer of a bit of land for a vote.
Joseph Barker, the rag-gatherer said to have been cor-
rupted, described how he had resisted the tempter, and
voted for Mr. Johns. Ittter Roberts appeared for a long
time to have been living rent free. He said he had always
anderstood he was to pay no rent so long as he voted blue.,
the judge remarked that the whole thing was too obscure
to found a charge of bribery upon. Thomas Lazenby'a
ease was one of the most serious the petitioner relied
upon. He voted blue and voted early, having never
been inclined to the yellows ; and the whole
A his evidence went to show that he had voted
honestly, and that he had not been bribed with £5, AO
alleged by the petitioner's counsel. William Henry Walton,
brother of Mr. Hutton's agent for election expenses, and
an assistant surgeon, was the person said to have given
Lazenby, the last witness, £5 on the night before the
election. He was called by Mr. Serjeant O'Brien, and he i
mid lie took no interest in the last election, and he had not
paid Lazenby anything for his vote. Several workmen said
to have been intimidated were examined, and the effect a
the evidence upon the judge's mind was that the opening
A the petitioner's counsel had not, so far, been proved.
When it had, his lordship said, there would be an end to
the election.

The Rev. W. Stubblns, the minister of a small Baptist
congregation, deposed that he had lost numbers of his coil'
;regation because he voted for the Yellows.

The bill brought in by Mr. Charles Reed, M'•
Baxley, and Mr. Graves, to exempt Sunday schools and
ragged schools from rating, contains two operative clauses'
of which the first is indicated in the title, and the second
provides that the act shall not extend to Ireland.

A movement has been proposed in the Blackburn
Ind Preston districts to obtain a repeal of the customs duty
of 5 per cent, levied in India on cotton cloth imported front
Europe. It is asserted that this duty is about equal to the
cost of weaving the cloth, and it is urged that the remission
of the duty would greatly improve the condition of the oofr
ton trade.

The Irish Court of Common Pleas having held that,
Mr. Weguelin was responsible for the acts of bribery corn''
milted by him between the period of his arrival in Youghal
as a candidate and the dissolution of Parliament and issuing
of the writ, has pronounced bis election void. Sir Joseph
M'Kenna has proceeded to Youghal and commenced to
canvass the constituency.
From a return issued on Monday we learn that
on tLe Ist July, 1868, the number of paupers of all classes
relieved in 655 unions in England and Wales was 971,3870
compared with 925,544 on the Ist July, 1867, en increase of
45,843, or 5 per cent. The number of adult able-bodied
paupers relieved on the Ist July, 1868, was 155,208, an hi'
crease of 10.543, or 7.3 over those relieved on the Ist Julys
1867.
A parliamentary return has been issued giving the
names and sentences of those Fenian convicts whom it fO,
not proposed to release. Of those convicted in Ireland, eVI
elusive of military convicts, there are now twenty-three cool
fined in the United Kingdom, and nine in Australia. Fold
of the former and one of the latter are under sentence a
penal servitude for life, and the °therefor periods varying frore
twenty to five years. There are also in the convict pri'
sons sixteen persons who were convicted in England, three
of whom are under sentence of penal servitude for life, one
for fifteen years, one for ten years, and the other for seVe4
and five years.

A destructive fire took place early on Monday mortal
ing on the premises occupied by the members of the junior
Carlton Club, in Lower Regent-street, and adjoining the gale
lery of Illustration. The policeman on duty saw flameo
issuing from the basement, and ho immediately gave all
alarm. The fire engines were soon in attendance, and the
inmates were, after considerable difficuly and danger to
the rescuers, soon in a place of safety. Notwith-
standing the efforts of the firemen the flames completely
consumed the interior of the building, from the basement to
the attics. 'The damage done is very considerable, and the
loss will fall on the Royal Exchange Fire and other oiliGe°'
The cause of the fire is at present a mystery.

A Conference convened by the Standing Commit'
tee of the Yorkshire Board of Education on Middle Cleo 4
Education, for the purpose of eliciting the opinion of school"
masters on the provisions of the " Endowed Schools Bill,,
was held on Saturday, in Leeds. Tho Rev. Canon Hey, 9,1-
York, presided, and there was a good attendance of gentle%
men connected both with public and private schools. The pr°'''
visions, of the bill which affect these schools wore discussed at
considerable length, and opinions were expressed adverse t°
the exclusion of the seven public schools mentioned in sec:
tion throe from the proposed examinations ; and in favour 01,
some modification of restriction which requires that the/
masters of endowed schools should be in holy orders, and 4,
the constitution of the Educational Council. The feeling
_°;
the masters of pilvate schools appeared to bo very generP.
in favour of the examinations being extended to the schools,
in which they are interested.
The Liverpool Courier states that the first leg -
steps have been taken to set aside the will of the late bit'
Samuel Holland Moreton, whereby the whole of his 131.°:
perty, to the computed value of £30,000, is bequeathed to D"
Goss, Roman Catholic Bishop of Liverpool. The cirettur
stances under which the will was drawn by a local priest, 614
our contemporary, appear fully to j ustify the allegation that Psi
Moreton was not of disposing mind when the document
thrust upon him as he lay, apparently unconscious, 074
deathbed. A aveat,has been lodged against the will in the
District Court of Probate, and there is every reason to 911,1
ticipato—unlep the Roman Catholic Church abandons
pretensions voluntarily7--ltaillu"1, liiiiiiilllol-I?je
litization.