The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-28 00:00:00

TUE COVENTRY STRIKE.

The strike is virtually at an end. After six
weeks of standing out by operatives, representing
nearly 18,000 souls, the men are giving in in detail.
In the course of the past week a number of the
hands have returned to work in some of the fac-
tories, and a still larger number of outdoor
weavers are engaged.
We have now some explanation of the strike.
In its earlier stage the strike was partial—limited,
in fact, to the "hands" of the manufacturers who
declined to give the prices which had, up to the last
six weeks, been paid for work. Subsequently the
strike became general, and one of the conditions
insisted upon by the operatives was that they
should not resume work in any factories unless the
price list agreed upOn at a general meeting of the
weavers had been accepted and signed by the
masters. The negotiation with the employers was
delegated to a committee appointed by the opera-
tives for this purpose, as welt as for conducting the
general business in the interest of the strike. The
manufacturers, while professing their readiness to
treat each with his own hands, refused to treat with
or recognise the committee. This has been the
position of affairs during the last month, large
meetings of the operatives being held daily in
the interval, to receive reports of the progress of
the strike. These assemblages were addressed by
members of the committee, and delegates from the
weavers of Derby and other places, the principal
burden of the speeches being exhortations to the
working men " to stand to their rights" and " main-
tain their unity of action," certain success at no
distant time being the reward of perseverance in the
cause. This unity was, however, more ideal than
real ; it is doubtful whether it was ever acted up
to among the large class of out-door weavers, par-
ties who do not work in the factories, but have
small looms in their own houses. At all events,
first symptoms of a return to work occurred among
them, and their example has been followed by the
. hands in a few of the factories. Subsequently to
this partial return to work, the committee them-
selves initiated a resolution, which was adopted at
a public meeting, to the. effect—" That each manu-
facturer's hands should meet, and, if the employer'
is prepared to pay the list price, as revised and
agreed to by a public meeting held Aug. 10, 1860,
the hands resume work on condition that they take
out their cards and register their names not to
work below the list." During the week that has
followed the adoption of this motion, hands have
been gradually dropping into work, although by
far the larger portion of the weavers are still out,
and the strike still assumes for the local trade of the
town and neighbourhood very formidable propor-
• tions.

In the great majority of instances the men have
returned to work at prices substantially the same as
the list prices which they received before the
strike, but the acceptance of any list has been suc-
cessfully resisted by the employers, and in no case
have the operatives been able to obtain from the
manufacturers what was a prominent object of the
strike, their signature to a list, with a view to gua-
ranteeing the permanence of the rate of labour remu-
neration. The masters say that they will neither di-
recily nor indirectly recognise any list of wages that
may emanate from the Weavers' Committee, and
som of them have notified that, in order to prevent
any future misunderstanding, the price paid per
piece on which the warp is taken shall be stated on
every weaver's note ! If it is difficult to point out
what object has been gained by the strike, there is
unfortunately no difficulty in indicating its disas-
trous results to the operatives themselves as well as
to the general trade of Coventry. The loss to the
retail- trade of the town through the stoppage of
circulation of wages is at its lowest estimate £6,000
a-week. This estimate assumes that the wages of
the operatives, taking men, women, and children,
average only 10s. ahead per week. The calcula-
tion is considered by many parties conversant with
the trade to be too low, and that from £B,OOO to
£9,000 a-week would more accurately represent the
weekly loss to trade.
The strike bears heavily on the ratepayers of the
three parishes constituting the Coventry Corpora-
tion, the number of in-door paupers in the past week
being 220 against 152 in the corresponding week of
last year. The number of persons receiving out-
door relief during the strike has been from 86 to 96
each week, being an excess over the average of from
40 to 50. In money and kind the out-door relief
last week amounted to £6l 2s. Bd. The principle
adopted by the guardians in the administration of
out-door relief is to give each married applicant for
himself and wife ls. a day for three days per week
—6d. in money and 6d. in bread.
For every two children an additional ls. is al-
lowed. Strong objections have been urged against
the course thus adopted by the guardians, on the
ground that public rates are by their so doing em-
ployed in aid of the object of the strike. The com-
plaints on this head were brought to a culminating
point at the meeting of the guardians on Wednesday
last,when Alr.Hart, a guardian, and one of the largest
manufacturers in Coventry, protested against the
course adopted by the board, and offered to en-
gage each out-door applicant to work for him as
they severally asked for relief. The offer was not
adopted by the operatives, and the guardians were,
of course, compelled to refuse the whole body the
relief sought.

I 0 UNTR Y MARKETS.

COLCHESTEIt-AuG. 25.

There was a small supply of wheat, which sold at 4s per
qr. over late rates, many refusing to sell at that advance.
Beans and peas is dearer. The past week has been mostly
wet, and the crops must have sustained considerable dam-
age.

Wheat, white Ns to 68s Beans, Mazagan..37s to 420
red 54s to 64s Middle & small 40s to 485
Barley 2Bs to 32s White peas 3Bs to 40s
Oats 26s to 28s Grey, 4Q.• to 44s

,1) At a. 24.

Prices 2s per qr advance on
u. good qualities, and is on in-
iiness. Very little doing in
)eforc. The weather still con-

yeas, Partridge 42A to 43s
White 42s to 45s
Boiling 42s to 45s
Dun 37s to 409
Beans, Tick 39s to 45s
Harrow Ticks 40s to 48e
Mazagan 37s to 429