The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-22 00:00:00

Trades' Unions.

Last night a meeting was held in the large room
of Exeter Hall, which was convened by the Society
of Amalgamated Engineers for the purpose of taking
into consideration, in conjunction with the members
of trades' associations generally, the recent decision
in the Court of Queen's Bench; the Royal Commis-
sion for inquiry into the conduct of trades' unions ;
and Mr. Neate's Bill, now before Parliament, for

giving protection to their funds.
Mr. W. NEWTON presided, and the ball was filled
by a very numerous audience, consisting princi-
pally of working men. In opening the proceedings
the chairman said that the subjects on which the

meeting was called to deliberate were of the most
vital importance. Ile would try to show that the
Trades' Unions were justified in maintaining the
principles upon which they had been established.
Duringthe decision of the Friendly Societies' Act in
the House of Commons in 1851 and 1855 some of

the representatives of the Trades' Unions put them-
selves into communication with the late Mr. Sotheron

-- - -
Estcourt, Lord Godericb, and other members of

Parliament, with a view to secure as much as pos-
sible the contributions of working men against the
defalcations of those who were intrusted with the

management of their associations and funds. A
special committee of the House of Commons consi-
dered the whole question, and in 1854 reported that
they were of opiuion that, inasmuch as the state in
which numbers of unregistered societies found them-
selves from being unable to remedy by law if they
should be defrauded by the officers of these societies
was most unsatisfactory, what was formerly a pri-
vilege ought rather to be extended as a matter of
policy and justice. They therefore recom-
mended that a clause should ,be introduced
giving power to the members of all Friendly So-
cieties, unregistered as well as registered, to sue and
to be sued as among themselves and their own offi-
cers. The bill of 1855 was then prepared and in-
troduced on this recommendation, the 44th section
of which was specially framed to carry out the ex-

pressed opinion of the committee. The speaker then
read a portion of the judgment of the Chief Justice of
the Queen's Bench, and continued to say that in
1831 Sir Alex. Cockburn, at that time Attorney-

General, gave it as his opinion that it was legal for
men to combine to resist reduction of wages, in-

creased hours of labour, or other encroachments on
their interests, and to persuade others to act with
them, provided that neither violence to persons or pro-
perty, threats, intimidation, or molestationwere used
or intended ; and further that, though certain rules
might have been framed with greater certainty, he
was of opinion that they were not objectionable in
point of law; and the members of the society would
not incur any penalties in conforming to them, re-
gard being always had to the law as pointed out in
the answer to the first query. The same authority,
therefore, who had supported the principles upon
which the trade societies were established and adnii-

nistered in 1851 had pronounced their condemnation
in 1867. The working men of England deprecated
as much as any class i❑ the country outrages like
those which had been perpetrated in Sheffield. They
were not afraid of the results of the Royal Commis-
sion which had been appointed, for they knew well
that they would be favourable to those whom it most
intimately concerned. But he could not see why a
commission should not be issued, or the operations
of the present commission extended, for the purpose
of ascertaining the constitution and transactions of
those combinations of masters by which wages were
lowered, and the state of the working man so much
deteriorated. Reports had recently appeared in The
Sun, in which it was stated that the Thames Iron-
works Company had lost a contract because the ship-
wrights in its employ were not satisfied with Gd. a
day less than what they demanded. But they should
remember that, since there were only GO men con-
cerned, the total sum which had induced so consi-
derable a loss would amount to nothing more than
the inconsiderable sum of £450. The speaker then
spoke of the effects of trades' unions in their influ-
ence on the exportation of capital, and concluded by
saying that they were calculated to raise the character
and to raise the social status of the working man.
Mr. APPLEGAIaII, of the Amalgamated Engineers,

proposed the first resolution, which was to the fo:
lowing effect :--"That in the opinion of this meel
ing the recent decision of the Court of Queen's Bench
in the case of Hornby v. Close' virtually destroys
the protection which trade societies have enjoyed
since the passing of the Friendly Societies Act, and
takes from them the privileges the Legislature in-
tended to give in the passing of that measure. It
therefore calls ou all trade societies to support the
following requisition to the Home Secretary in
favour of Mr. Neate's Bill."
The requisition alluded to in the resolution set
forth the considerations urged in the chairman's
address, and prayed that the Home Secretary would
grant his concurrence to the bill introduced by Mr.
Neate, which would be temporarily efficacious, and
that at the same time he would undertake the intro-
duction of a permanent measure such as would in-
sure to Trade Societies the protection which for the
last 12 years they thought they possessed, and thus
do an act of justice to thousands of industrious and
deserving workmen.
The proposition was seconded by Mr. GUILE, an
ironfounder, who, in the course of a lengthy and
discursive speech, eulogized the principles and con-
stitution of Trades' Unions, and vehemently endea-
voured to prove the superiority of artisans over
every other class in the community.
The first resolution having been put and carried,
Mr. ODGERS, London Trade Council, rose to pro-
pose the second, which ran thus :—" That in the
opinion of this meeting no commission of inquiry
into the doings of Trade Societies can give satis-
faction to the working classes unless they be repre-
sented on the commission by members of their own
order ; and that, as the Royal Commission ap-
pointed to inquire into the organisation and trans-
actions of Trades' Unions contains no such direct
representation, we feel bound to express our disap-
pointment and regret that the commission has not
been more equitably composed."
It was seconded by Mr. MANTZ, a compositor,
and having been carried unanimously, the proceed-
ings closed with the customary vote of thanks to the
chairman.

Silver Mines in Nevada.

The San Francisco Times, of November 29th,

says :--

" Quite a crowd of people were collected in front
of the Bank of California yesterday, watching the
struggles of a powerful team of horses in their at-
tempts to move a waggon load of silver bricks. The
load was so heavy that the wheels sunk into the
cobble stones nearly to the hubs. After a long
struggle, and the assistance of several of the by-
standers, the team started the load, which consisted
of about one hundred large silver bricks from the
State of Nevada."
Silver bricks from Nevada, and gold bars from
California, will soon work out the problem so diffi-
cult in the eyes of European financiers—how the
United States are to return to specie currency, and
at the same time pay off the large national debt.
It is becoming widely known that the slopes to the
west of the Rocky Mountains are rich to a wonder-
ful degree in argentiferous ores. Nevada literally
possesses mountains of silver, mixed with quick-
silver, lead, and antimony. In 1865 the populatio❑
of Virginia-city, situated in the centre of Washoe
mining region, was estimated at 15,000. This city
is stated to have exported daily an average sum of
x:3,000 in bullion. The yield of the Washoe dis-
trict was said to be for the year 1864 $24,000,000
in silver, and the total exportation for the same
year was thirty millions of dollars,ll or six millions
sterling. The surface of the State is mountainous,
even its valleys stand at the average elevation of
about 5,000 feet. The peaks of the Humboldt
ranges attain an elevation of 6,000 feet above these
valleys, or 11,000 from the sea level. In the
vicinity of the mountains the valleys are fertile,
containing extensive grassy tracts suited for pas-
ture. The land of the State is generally barren,
but capable of cultivation if artificially irrigated.
Though the level of the Territory is so high
the winters are neither severe nor of long duration.
The climate is healthy, having a period when some

*NeTab, is ale() Territor;