The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-13 00:00:00

were spoilt. A number of barrows and other pro-
perty were destroyed, and the loss would be about
£4O. Thought at the time the premises had taken
fire accidentally, but, finding bottles of naphtha
and oil left on the premises, he thought it must have
been maliciously done. He offered a reward of £5,
but did not discover the offenders. Worked com-
fortably afterwards up to 1861. Employed non-
union men up to 1861, but employed union men
afterwards, because ho wanted his work done and to
go en comfortably. _ _

James Clifford, examined by Mr. Pickering—
Worked for the last witness in 1859. There was a
union about to be formed of brickmakers at the

time. He and the men employed by Mr. Taylor
were non-union men. One of the unionists came,
named James Marsden, and asked them if they
would join the union. They answered they did not
know. Remembered the fire at Taylor's yard. He
had no watchman at the time, but had afterwards.
Had been a member of the union, but left it because
he did not like it.

John Butterfield said he is the son of John King
Butterfield, who had been watchman in February,
1861, at Mr. Joseph Barlow's brickcroft in Droyls-
den. Some men came at the time and threatened
him if he started watching. There were two or
three, and they kicked up a regular row. They said
they would do something at him if he started firing
(the bricks). His father went that night and lit
the fire. His father's horse after this had its throat
cut, but only skin-deep. The horse had his back
sinews cut, and had to be shot there and then.
This was six months after. His father continued to
watch and fire after this. The union men were on
strike at the time, but Barlow's men were at work.

Joseph Frith, examined by Mr. Pickering—ls a
member of the Ashton trades' union, and had been
president one quarter of last year. Was a member,
and went to the bottle-throwing at Kirk's. He
was there with Burke and the others, and received a
pound. He believed Ensor was engaged to carry
out the affair, and paid all the money. The reason
for the attack on Kirk's and Clifford's places was
that they employed non-union men. He had not
been concerned in any other. He did not know
of any depredations while he was president, but if
there were any he should pay for it as president.
He was president in 1860 or 1861, and remembered
paying Ensor £l5 or £2O, but could not remember
what it was for. Thought it was for spoiling bricks.
The secretary gave him the money and entered it as
he liked. His duty would simply be to pay the
money. The money was kept in a safe with five
keys, which were held by five different persons,
.who had all to be present when it was opened.
By Mr. Chance—Had only been at two of these
affairs, and never intended to be at any more. He
did not approve these outrages, and should be glad
to put a stop to them.

Before the Commissioners adjourned to lunch at
one o'clock Mr. W. P. Roberts served the following
notice on the Court in reference to the box they had
threatened to force open :
"To Messrs. Pickering, Barstow, and Chance,
barristers-at-law, Commissioners acting in the
Assize Courts, in Manchester, under the Trades
Union Commission Act, 1867.'—1, the undersigned
William Prouting Roberts, of 44, Princes-street,
gentleman, attorneyfor the Brickmakers' Society of
Manchester, for whom I am appearing in the said
courts, hereby give you notice that the said society
deny your right to seize, or authorise the seizing, of
their boxes (the same having been seized and taken
away from their possession, as is
said, by your
authority and connivance), and they require you to
cause such boxes to be taken back to the place and
places from which they were so illegally taken. And
they deny your right and the right of all persons to
open the said boxes by violence or otherwi.se. And
if any violence is used to the said boxes, or any
boxes or property belonging to them, they will bring
an action or actions against you under the Bth sec-
tion of the said Act, and also against all other per-
sons by whom such violence is authorised or prac-
tised. And they desire me to require you to stop
at once the practice of examining them in private,
either before or after any public examinations, or at
any other time or times, such private examination
being most unfair and partial, and calculated to
entrap into admissions and statements the persons
subjected to them. And they desire to conform to
the law in all respects. And lam to inform you
that the Act of Parliament under which you are act-
ing gives no power of seizure of boxes, or of break-
f September, 1867.
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having been recalled, said that on
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Joseph
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Frith
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" W. P. ROBERTS."
one occasion his carter was carting bricks to build
the Manchester City gaol, out of the Ashton dis-
trict into the Manchester district. His carter got a
good thrashing, and so did Samuel Lees, who went
with them. Witness sold about 40,000 afterwards
into
the Manchester district, and had delivered
On one occasion the carter was obliged to
bring his bricks back and put them in the yard
again. Manchester would not let the bricksetters
30,000.
set Ashton bricks. Manchester Union claimed a
circle of four miles round Manchester for ten dis-
tricts or 121 square miles, and were too powerful for
Ashton, and the weak always fell to the wall. There
was no objection by the Stockport or Oldham
Unions to Ashton bricks. The Manchester Union
was the only one that claimed that monopoly.
James Harrison said, in answer to Mr. Chance,
that he is a master brickmaker. As a journeyman
he was a member of the Ashton Trades' Union. In
1866 his brother had some clay that they were
grinding by machine, and the men said they must
not use it. The clay was not fit for bricks without
grinding, because of there being lime in it. There
was a ready sale for such bricks, if they could have
supplied them.
ry. AbOut 3
Three men came and gave notice
and went away. This was on a Wednesday, and
,000 bricks
were spoiled.
in
nn
wthhieehSburekniday following
drying,
were
Could not find out who did it. Were
only employing three or four Union men. That
was the only damage they had sustained. Once
afterwards they were fined 2s. for using moulds out
of shape, and as they had a good deal of work,
the shed was on fire
sooner than 18 or 20 men should be stopped they
paid the fine. Some of their fowls had been poisoned.
A neighbour was knocked insensible by a man on
his way home the other Sunday night, and there
was reason to suppose he had been mistaken for
their watchman.
J. Smith said in 1863 he was manager of the Ard-
wick Brickmaking Co., and in the night a quantity
of timber had tar thrown on it. They were having
timber from Mr. Bennett, but had ceased because of
Bennett's carters being threatened and one of their
horses being killed, They were machine brick-
makers, and Bennett thought they had better get
their timber somewhere else. The tar thrown on
the timber was set alight and the timber destroyed,
or rendered unfit for the purposes intended. On
one occasion a stable was broken open of theirs, and
a grey mare being tied up by the head shavings
were placed under it and set on fire. The horse
died within a Couple of hours. This was at 3 o'clock
in the morning. A neighbouring woman gave alarm
of the fire, and said she saw three or four men like
brickmakers leave the stables. When the horse was
found it had struggled and pulled the hay cratch
down. In July, 1861, their brick carts had the
kecker bars withdrawn while the carter were lunch-
ing in the Ashton Old-road. If this had not been
discovered the five carts would have been upset and
the bricks in them when started, and the horses
would have been injured. A woman saw a hand
brickmaker do it, and told the carters. On another
occasion he left a boy to take some letters to the
post-office, and as he went three or four brickmakers
took him and threw him into a pit of water 10 to 12
feet deep, and left him there. A mechanic was
passing, or the boy must have been drowned. One
man took him by the shoulders and another by the
feet, and they threw him five or six yards into the
water. Knew of no reason for it but that they were
makers of bricks by machinery. In June, 1864,
some brickmaker set fire to a joiner's shop belong.
ing them. A bottle had been put into his house
since that, containing gunpowder, and a flannel
saturated with spirits. On the first of May some
bricks made by machine were sent by them in
carts, and three hand brickmakers came and cut
the ornaments from the horses, and the traces were