The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-05 00:00:00

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shillings. as daily wages instead of five or merely
two ? Is it the humanity of his master, or his own
importunity that adjusts the rate? 'lt is not.
The rate is adjusted for him by the universal law
of demand and ,supply. The whole capital of
a country, together with all other descriptions of
income, is devoted to the payment of wages, or else
is exported abroad, where it is used in %precisely
the same way. To wages, then, all capital and
there-
fore, were to get .more presenttsheallinitileiheirless,
un l'
income gravitate. If one class of abourers
another class must
increase of wages becomes a deduction from erssfit the
But profits admit of a very slight reduction es.
com-
pared with the aggregate sum laid out in wao-Let us sopposz_,, that profits are ten per eent.l7.
annum in Eng?a,nd. This whole percentage, per
devoted to raisiug wages, would increase them
but very slightly. Tee per cent. profits on the
sums paid throughout a whole year in wages
would amount to but a very small proportion of
each day's wages. But even the whole ten per cent.
could not be added to present wages, else capi-
talists would be left without any income. Now,
1 a unionist may here observe that some capitalists
derive an income of tens and hundreds of
thousands from their trade; that these vast incomes
would greatly swell the wages paid at present to
their workmen respectively ; and that what is
true of great incomes, is also true of small ones.
If, then, even half of existing profits were di-
vided amongst labourers, in the shape of increased
wages, all, it might be supposed, would be well
off, and the greatest good of the greatest num-
ber would be attained. The fallacy of this sug-
gestion consists in overlooking the fact that every
penny of the incomes of capitalists is at present
devoted to the payment of wages, except the
amount spent in luxurious enjoyment by the
capitalist and his family. If Rothschild and
Gurney, then, have each an income of half-aeuillion
a year, and expend on their living merely a tenth
of that sum, it is only that tenth which could he
added to the existing funds devoted by them to the
payment of wages. For in those funds are already
included such portions of their income as are in-
tended by them to be added to their capital, and as
such applied by themselves, their agents, or debtors,
to the hiring of labour. Indeed, as noene swallows
his gold in its original state, but first exchanges it for
some commodity or other, every portion of income
appears, on a superficial consideration, to be cast
into the wages fund ; and, in fact, operatives, as a
rule, think that the purchaser of costly fabrics-
and other luxuries is their chief benefactor, inas-
much as he circulates his money freely. But,
money thus circulated, would be much more bene-
ficial to the labouring class if invested as capital,
for a demand for commodities is never a demand
for labour; while a great proportion of capital is
directly employed in hiring labourers. The sums,
however, spent by capitalists in luxuries is so
inconsiderable, compared with the whole amount
paid away in wages, that to• appropriate a share
'of the former amount is a consummation alto-
gether unworthy of any combination or strike on
a large scale, much less for an international
trades union. Mr. INl'Donald, however, the Presi-
dent of the Scotch Miners' National Association,.
recently announced that more than half-a-million
has been gained by the Scotch miners within nine
months by means of combination. Other trades
unions too could doubtless tell a similar tale. But
these facts do not, on examination, disprove the
theory we have stated. Let us, then, examine a
little further the general effects of a rise of wages
in a particular trade. It being an ascertained fact,
as well as demonstrable a priori, that the rates of
profit and wages tend to the same level in all em-
ployments of the same difficulty, it follows that a
threatened diminution of profits, consequent upon
a rise of wages, in a particular line, is obviated
by a rise in price of the manufactures or other
articles produced in that trade. A rise of wages in
a particular trade is like a tax upon capitalists in
that line : such a tax would fall upon the consu-
mers of the taxed articles. A usual result of spe-
cial taxation of this sort, whether imposed by the
legislature or by trades unions, is thus to place the
particular trade at a disadvantage in the foreign
market. Articles that have risen in price will be
displaced by foreign competition ; so that the ulti-
mate effect of a strike is to divert capital from the
very employment in which the strike occurred,
and, consequently, to lower wages in that em-
ployment. For instance, the Thames Ironworks
Shipbuilding, Engineering, and Dry Dock Com-
pany were recently offered a contract by a for-
eign company upon certain terms, which, how-
ever, would involve a reduction of wages with re-
spect to any new labourers they employed, in
addition to their exisiting daily average of two
thousand. The English company proposed to the
working shipwrights of the port of London such
a reduction as would enable them to enter upon
the contract. The reduced scale of wages was
refused by the shipwrights, so that the contract
has passed to foreign shipbuilders. Rarely, then,
do employers suffer any loss consequent upon a
rise of wages in a particular trade, except indi-
rectly, when the articles in which they deal are
displaced in the market by foreign competition.
In such a case part of their capital must be em-
ployed in some other line, and a change of
investment is always attended with more or
less loss. But, so much of their capital as
continues to be invested in the old employment
will still bear the usual rate of profit, the rise in
wages being compensated by a rise in price of
the articles so produced. A strike in a particular
line, however, inflicts as much damage upon the
general body of labourers as it does service to
the strikers. For, as the consumers of the arti-
cles affected by the strike pay more than they did
previously for them, so now they have so much
less to buy other articles. If the class which
struck is itself a large consumer of the articles
they produce, they are themselves the chief
sufferers by the consequent rise in prices. A
strike for an advance in agricultural wages is,
therefore, not so expedient for the labouring
class as a strike by factory operatives. Besides,
since the adoption of free trade, a slight increase
in the price of corn is certain to be followed by
importation on so vast a scale as to restore the
old range of prices. Free trade thus precludes
the possibility of any undue demands of agricultu-
ral labourers being complied with. In manufac-
turing industry alone can they be successful.
The profits of trade, however, are now so low in
England that any further fall is sure to lead to
the investment of capital abroad, or else to be
wasted in futile speculations, from which high,
even though temporary. dividends maymbee
expected.reluctant
Besides, foreign contractors will
any country whose punctuality
to enter upon a contract with the merchants
ateththe
er
mercy
.
into the
condition of the Belgian 1
of a trades union. The
ceoenettraindcleuilqr
Creed and Williams shows that our prices of
are to retain our
iron admit of no increase if we
position in the foreign market. The same, we
believe, may be conedtly stated of all our chief
manufactures. A successful strike in England,
therefore, is likely to be followed by the loss of
the foreign market for the commodities, the prices
of which are affected by the strike, unless foreign
operatives are induced by means of a Universal
Labour Unity Scheme, as it is termed, to exact
similarly high wages for themselves. A monetary
propaganda of this nature, founded upon an in-
tended confiscation of the profits of capitalists,
would be the most fatal blow which could be
inflicted upon • industrial enterprise, and the
general progress of civilisation. The rate of
profit is low in old countries and high in new
ones. Hence spring the centrifugal tendencies of
capital to emigrate to new countries, where it is
also most required. Social law thus spontaneously
replenishes the face of the earth. Is the world,
then, to be regulated by compulsion and force
instead of contracts. The results of such an•
hypothetical state of society, or rather of human
beings in an advanced stage of savage life, are
too fearful to contempate. Combinations
amongst workmen are, indeed, as unexceptionable
in principle as combinations amongst masters.
But any resort to intimidation or other violent
interference with the laws of contract involve
ruin to both masters and operatives in proportion
to the degree in which force is substituted for
their mutual agreements.

PRICE.... ld.
STAMPED sd.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—In the spring oflast year a ship sailed
from Newport, bound ostensibly for Shanghai. She
was fortunate in her weather, and reached the
'reopi.cs without encountering more than a " hit of
a 'mfr." Nevertheless, soon after passing the Bay
of Biscay she began to leak, and the pimps haul to
b. 2 constantly worked. At length, on the 14th of
June, the water began to gain rapidly, and on the
following day the ship had to be abandoned. The
crew took to the boats, and, as the weather was
very favorable, they were all picked up and reached
England i n safety. On their arrival the usual ap-
plication was made for the insurance, which
amounted to a large sum. The hull of the vessel
had been insured for £9,500, the freight for £3,600,
and somecases of swords and firearms had been
specially insured for £1,500. Suspicion was raised
that the ship had been wilfully scuttled, and even-
tually a prosecution was instituted by Lloyd's Sal-
vage Association against four persons. One of
these, named Webb, was the first mate ; two others,
Berwick and Holdsworth, were the real owners, and
the agents in fitting out the ship; the fourth,
Dean, was either the confidential clerk or the sub-
ordinate partner of Holdsworth. These four per-
sons were indicted on a charge of having played
various parts in a deliberate scheme for wrecking
the ship, and. defrauding the ostensible owners and
the underwriters. The trial, after lasting five days,
was yesterday brought to a close in the Central
Criminal Court. All four prisoners were found
guilty. Berwick and Holdsworth were sentenced
to 20 years' penal servitude,' Webb, the mate, to ten
years', and Dean, the accessory, to five years'. The
case is one of great importance, not only from the
' magnitude of the crime, but as an instance of a
practice which seems by no means uncommon. The
evidence is somewhat complicated, but the main
facts may be readily told, and form a very startling
story. The prime agents in the transaction were
unquestionably Berwick and Holdsworth. They
were both men in a substantial position. Berwick
was a master mariner living at Liverpool, and had
frequently been the owner of ships ; Holdsworth
was a ship and insurance broker, and had offices
both in Liverpool and London. 'These men con-
trived, by a complicated series•of transactions, to
become possessed of the Severn, without having
really paid any money for her at all. Berwick had
a bad name at Lloyd's, and kept out of sight as
much as possible. Holdsworth acted as broker, and
persuaded Mr. Ward, a wine merchant in the city,
to allow his name to be registered as the real owner.
The money for the purchase was advanced by
Smith, Simpson, and Co., on the security of mort-
gages and bills provided by Berwick through Holds-
worth. The real value of the ship is very clearly
ascertained. In February, 1865, she had been
bought for £4,500. In the following January she
was sold for £4,250, and the person who finally
sold her to Holdsworth asked £6,500 for her. No
freight of any value was put on board her, and the
ship and freight together were, at most, worth
£B,OOO. As we have seen, however, she was insured
for no less a sum than £13,100, and, in addition to
this, there was one special insurance. The evidence
respecting the latter insurance Ivasof great impor-
tance, as it afforded a clear indication of the frau-
dulent character of the whole transaction, and sup-
plied the chief ground for the conviction of the
prisoner Dean. At the request of Holdsworth Mr.
Ward received for him 40 dozen jars of salt, and,
after selling some, sent 20 dozen down to Liverpool,
addressed to Holdsworth's office. Holdsworth, at
the same time, wrote to a man named Pride, living
in' Liverpool, directing him to obtain some cases
similar to those used for packing " hardware," to
repack the salt in these cases, and then to direct
them to the captain of the ship at Newport. About
a fortnight afterwards Pride received from Holds-
worth a letter, which he was requested to copy.
This letter was addressed to " Messrs. Allsopp and
C 0.," and stated that Holdsworth had sold to them,
on account of Mr. A. Smith, 500 revolvers, 200
carbines, 40 sabres, and 200 swords, and that these
would be packed in cases and sent to Newport in a
few days. It was shown that " Allsopp and Co." I
were a fictitious firm, that the title had been em-
ployed by Dean, and that some of the letters with that
signature were in Dean'a handwriting. 'These cases
and their contents, according to Pride, when sent
on board the Severn, were worth about £6, but
they were insured, under a false description, for the
sum of £1,500. In short, by a series of ingenious
and fraudulent transactions, this ship sailed for
Claw% worth about £5,000 more at the bottom of
the sea than anywhere else ; and if this large sum
had been recovered from the insurance offices, the
profits would have gone to Berwick and Holds-
worth, though, doubtless, the subordinate agents
would have had some share in the spoiL Such are
the main facts of this extraordinary story, and,
perhaps, what will most strike the reader is the
barefaced and deliberate manner in which the con-
spiracy was conceived and executed. It appears,
however, to be a fact that this practice of wrecking
forms a regular trade. After the verdict, it was
stated that Berwick had on two previous occasions .
been directly charged with the wilful destruction of
ships, and that no less than 15 vessels, belonging
either to him or to his father-in-law, had been sunk
at sea. It is evident that some such example was
very necessary, and no one will dispute that the
sentences were richly deserved. It must be remem-
bered that the injury to property is not the only
nor even the chief enormity involved in the crime.
The plan could not be executed without exposing
the crew to imminent danger, and it might have
involved murder as well as robbery. Indeed, the
only subject for regret is that some have escaped
punishment who equally deserved it. The captain
is at least as bad as IVebb, but it was necessary, of
course, to accept hint as an informer. Nor did the
Judge hesitate to express his belief that Pride was
cognisant of the nature of the transaction as well
as Dean. But the crime has, at all events, been
brought to light, and punished in the persons of its
chief agents, and it may be hoped that so severe an
example will at least check. this iniquitous and in-
human abuse.

THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE ON STRlKES.—Con-
tendon between the different orders of a State
appears to be almost a necessary result of the
existence of different social classes. In Old
Rome the Patricians and Plebeians created as
much tumult within the walls of the Eternal
City as the lEqui and Volsci did without. A
secession to the Aventine corresponded in prin-
ciple to the modern k‘ strike." In short, in
every age and clime we find class arrayed against
class, each hoping to coerce the other into submis-
sion
by importunity, threats, or open force. It I
was reserved for a very recent date and a very
modest philosopher to discover that there are laws
which regulate the distribution of wealth amongst
the different ranks and individuals in a State
with a force and accuracy which need no extra-
neous aid. Notwithstanding, however, the fact
that the doctrines of Adam Smith and of free
trade in every department of social life are univer-
sally accepted as the Mate scriptures of humanity
and civilisation, and have been long acted upon
by our Legislature, still, scarcely a week passes
without producing a fresh strike, or in lieu
thereof, a vigorous declamation by some friend of
the working man, on the unprotected condition of
the rights o labour. Yet, the laws of gravitation.
are hardly more certain than the social laws
which regulate, the rate of wages ; and any attempt
to force up wages by means of combination is as
futile, so far as the interests of the whole labour-
ing class are concerned, as it would be to endea-
vourwiatger of a lake
above toits raise n any depres-
iwonithoefutthneau
naturala levelport
mass. The poverty which
sion of the remaining
is the lot of so many thousands amongst us
is, indeed, an occasion of regret to all. But,
it appears to be almost a law pf nature that
the' great majority of every nation should differ
vastly in point of wealth from the upper ten
thousand. 'This law, doubtless, is not one of such
rigorous necessity, as that it must always inevitably
be found to operate in every stage of society :
much less is there any ground for considering that
there must always be poor in the land. It is cer-
tain, however, that in whatever quarter the
evil originates, it is there the remedy should be
applied. Now, philosophers differ in opinion as
to the nature of the evil, and consequently as to
the relative values of different suggested reme-
dies. But, all who have bestowed any attention
upon the matter, are unanimous in considering that
tlie condition of the labouring class is not a fit sub-
ject for legislation, so far at least as the rate of
wages is concerned. Upon any other theory, the
question of the elective franchise would be a very
serious matter indeed ; and where
without any reference to an objective standard,
would be required to decide what is a fair
remuneration for a fair day's work, the upshot
would, doubtless, be a confiscation of capital,
a bounty against accumulation, and a complete
dissolution of civil society. The existence of
an indisputable standard of what is a proper
rate of wages, however, renders unnecessary all
appeals to opinion, legislation, or force on the
matter. Why doea a labourer receive three

It is currently reported, according to the Army
and Nary Gazette, that Sir John Pakingtou hasgiven Vice-
Admiral Lord Clarence Paget, the commander-in-chief in
the Mediterranean, permission to visit the port of Toulon
with the fleet during the approaching summer, so as to
afford an opportunity to as many under his command as
can be spared from their necessary duties to proceed to
Paris for the purpose of seeing-the Exhibition.

The Pull Mall Gazelle states :—" A person in
London wishing to prepay a letter to Rome has to
pay Bd. ; but if he posts his letter without prepaying
it, it is delivered in Rome for hi 1., and letters from
Rome to England, whether unpaid or prepaid, cost but
Sid. "W. C. Cartright, Arthur Rnssell, Plowden,
Cholmeley and Co., 11. Caldwell, and J. T. Payne."
Englishmen residing in Rome have applied to the
General Post Office for an explanation of this
anomaly, but can obtain none—at least none that
they can understand. Mr. Hill throws the blame
of the overcharge on the French Post Office, and
Messrs. Cartright, Russell, Plowden, Cholmeley
and Co., Caldwell, and Payne reply, that if the
French Pit Office make an unjust overcharge of
21d. on each paid letter from London to Rome, it
tsroliele at th
dtbhet the
e pospimeeialadituiQty the EnglislePost 0 rico
n is of
atated,,,.