The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-20 00:00:00

Meeting of the Trades' Delegates.

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The adjourned meeting of delegates from the
London trades in support of the operative tailors
was held;on Tuesday at the Sussex-hall, Bouverie-
street, Fleet-street ; Mr. George Potter in the chair.
The chairman having opened the business, and ex-
pressed hispleasure at seeing delegates present from
several trades not represented at the previous meet-
ing, Mr. Druitt, the president of the Operative
Tailors' Association, rose to explain the exact posi-
tion of the strike at the present moment. The dele-
gates would have seen by the letter of the president
of the Masters' Association, published iu the papers
this week, that the masters still refused any arbi-
tration on the matters in dispute. This, he thought,
ought to disentitle them to that amount of public
sympathy they boasted of possessing. The reason
assigned for this refusal now was that they had a
large number of men working for them who were
quite satisfied with the terms on which they were
working. This fact h 3 denied. Their real reason
in so persistently refusing arbitration was their de-
sire to break up the union of the men. Now, as re-
garded the number of the men they had obtained
to work for them after putting forth all their efforts,
and lavishing a large sum of money during the last
eight weeks, he would state a fact which would
show the delegates how much truth there was in the
letter published with the signature of the President
of the Masters. At this season of the year Mr. Poole
had usually 500 journeymen at work ; at the pre-
sent time he had but 24. Mr. Smallpage's usual
Dumber was 60; he had now 16. Mr. Pulford's
120 ; be had now 4. Mr. Hill's 150 ; he had now
16 ; and he might go on through the whole list of
the shops on strike. He could positively state that
in the whole 90 shops struck, where nearly
2,800 men came out, there were not at most 200
men at work, and that the majority of those
men would not obtain employment at these shops
in the ordinary course of trade. He also could state
from positive knowledge that the majority of these
men were not employed in the making of new gar-
ments, but in altering and putting into a fit shape
for wear those which had been put together in the
Whitechapel sweating shops. He then gave the
names of several firms where this was daily being
done. In the name of the operative tailors be
thanked the trades.generally for their generous as-
sistance, and if that aid was continued a short time
longer he believed they would come out of the
struggle successfully. The masters had postponed
their meeting intended to be held next Saturday.
He looked on thatas a sign of weakness on theirpart•
Several delegates having spoken, the delegate from
the tinplate-workers moved, and a delegate from the
joiners seconded, the following resolution:—‘ That
this meeting learns with regret that the master tailors
remain obstinate in refusing arbitration, and, bac'
ing heard the statement made by the president of
the Tailors' Association, hereby recommends the
~
trades generally to continue their pecuniary supper'
to the Operative Tailors' Association until the pre;
sent struggle is brought to a successful termination.
The resolution was agreed to unanimously. Among
a large number of subscriptions announced in sums
of from £1 to £lOO were :—£loo from Edinburgh,
£5O from South Yorkshire miners, £5O from the
shipwrights of London, and £25 from the engineera•
The meeting was adjourned for a fortnight.