The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-22 00:00:00

THE NINE HOURS' MO YEMENI.

If the masters adhere to their resolution to keep
their establishments closed until the resumption of
work by Messrs. Trollope, the prospect of their
opening them would appear as distant as ever. A
month has now elapsed since the men struck work
at Messrs. Trollope's, and although the most ener-
get'x measures have been resorted to in order to
obtain hands, the result has been by no means
commensurate with the efforts used. Operatives
from different parts of the country have, indeed,
gene in for a day or two at a time ; but suddenly
some secret influence is exercised upon them and
they cease to reappear. The fact is that the pic-
kets engaged by the Conference exercise an amount
of " persuasive eloquence " which was thought to
be the peculiar gift of those persons who sud-
denly make their appearance in a corrupt borough
when a contested election is about to take place.
Their power of persuasion is enormous ; but
the process pursued is simple. Suppose half-a-
dozen new men enter on one of Messrs. Trol-
lope's jobs to-day, when they leave in the even-
ing the picket get hold of them, enter into conver-
sation, " explain the nature of the case," show the
men how false they are to their order by working
where their fellows have struck for their rights,
and ultimately convince them either that they had
much better never have come to London at all, or
that, having come, the best thing they can do is to
make their way back again to their old quarters.
Should there be any difficulty as to the means of
returning, it is soon removed by the funds being
provided, and so Messrs. Trollops's yards continue
to be unsupplied with labour. It became known to
the Conference towards the end of last week that
Messrs. Trollope had despatched a foreman to the
north of England to engage hands. On Saturday
they sent two masons upon his track, and it is ex
petted that the " persuasion" of these men will
exceed the "persuasion" of the foreman, so that this
further attempt, like the previous ones, will prove
abortive. This, no doubt, looks like a gross inter-
ference with the right of an employer to obtain
labour how and where he can, but the men justify
it upon the ground of necessity. War has been de-
clared, they say, and it is of so severe and unprece-
dented a character that no stratagem which pro-
mises success can be neglected. Each side hopes to
force the other into a surrender, and the plan
adopted is the favourite one in warfare, of cutting
off the supplies—the masters close their shops and
pay no more wages ; the men open their subscrip-
tion lists and stop the supply of labour. It is on
this principle that the Conference justify " calling
out" men in such small numbers as two or three at
a time, however pressing the nature of the works
on which they are engaged. Henceforth, if they
can keep it, not a man will be obtainable for an
hour to perform however essential a service unless
the master who wants him consents to open his
whole establishment unreservedly. This is the
serious issue which is now joined. There are works
which will not admit of delay. Are these to be
handed over to the smaller builders who have never
closed, or can the larger masters obtain hands suffi-
cient to complete them within the proper period? This
is the problem which just now is so difficult of solu-
tion ; but that it must be solved shortly in some way
of another is evident. In the present posture of
affairs it is useless to address argument to either
side. Each is thoroughly persuaded of the justice
of his own cause, and nothing but dire necessity
will cause either to yield.
In the meantime, in addition to the two masons
who have been sent in the footsteps of the foreman
above referred to, the four delegates, whose ap-
pointment was noticed in The Sun of Friday, have
proceeded on their course; but, as these also travel
in pairs, they cannot bo expected to cover much
ground in a short space of time. Two of them
have proceeded, via Reading and Oxford, to Bir-
mingham. They will make only a short stay at
the intermediate towns, but will push on to that
busy hive of industry, where they will put them-
selves into communisation with the powerful trades,
in the hope of creating a large amount of public
sympathy among the artisans of the Midland
Counties. The other two proceed by way of
Northampton to Nottingham, and thence north-
ward. Their first stay will be at Northampton,
where they expect to enlist the support of the shoe-
, makers and other trades. A meeting of the "Build-
ing and other Trades of Northampton" is convened
for this evening at the lecture-hall of the
Mechanics' Institute. The delegates have not yet
forwarded any subscriptions to the Conference, but,
as they only left London upon Friday, that could
not yet be expected. Independently of the pro-
riinndgsor n
Friday
pro-
gress of the delegates, however, meetings are
being held in different parts of the country, at
which resolutions are passed in support of the
subscriptions.
onight,
ght This was
when
men, and committees are formed for the pur-
pose of recciv
the case at v‘
a meeting took place at the Duke's Head, Peascod-
street, at which resolutions of the nature alluded to
were unanimously carried. A deputation from the
Conference will proceed to Windsor to-day to meet
the committee appointed at that meeting and to
make further arrangements. At Brighton also a
public meeting was held on the same evening at
the Running horse, King-street. Mr. Betham oc-
cupied the chair, and on the motion of Mr. Rowse
the following resolution was carried :
" That it is the opinion of this meeting that a committee
consisting of an equal number of members of the building
trades be formed immediately with a view to assist their
brethren in the metropolis locked out by their employers,
the said committee to use every endeavour to collect sub-,
scriptions by such means as they may hereafter determine."

Similar meetings have been held in other places,
and everywhere with the same result. In many
cases, however, more prompt assistance has been
tendered, and post office orders, usually varying in
amount from £5 to £lO each, have been received
from a great number of provincial towns. Among
these may be mentioned Reading, Oxford, Wind-
sor, Cardiff, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Burton-on-
Trent, Newcastle-on-'1 yne, Liverpool, Brighton,
Woking, and other places.
The London trades as yet, with two exceptions,
engineers
he have made no contributions in support of the "lock-
ou'two exceptions, are the amalgamated
t
and the hatters, the former having con-
tributed £lOO and the latter £2O. Both will send
further subscriptions, and the comparative small-
ness of the hatters' donation is accounted for by the
fact that they are just now engaged in supporting
an extensive strike in America, by which their
funds arc somewhat crippled. The pianoforte-
makers and the cork-cutters have met, and from
both handsome sums are expected. Many other
of the metropolitan trades met on Saturday
night, but the result of their deliberations, and
the ex tent of pecuniary support which they may
be willing to afford, will not be made known
until the adjourned meeting of delegates from all
the trades, which is to take place to-morrow. Nu-
merous additions to the funds of the Conference
have also been made by private persons, both ladies
and gentlemen, who have called' at the Paviors'
Arms and left sums varying in amount from £1 to
£5.

In addition to this there is a levy of 10 per cent.
upon the wages of all the members of the building
trades now in work, and as this amounts to about
:33. per week per man—which it is said they. have
" voluntarily agreed to pay"—it will be seen that
there are many sources of revenue to which the
Conference have to look. They do look to these
sources with confidence, and although they had
hoped that before this the declaration would have
been withdrawn and terms come to, they express
no fear of the result, and rely upon their ability to
stand cut longer than the masters, and so to carry
the object for which they are contending.
But numerous as these sources of revenue are, and
large as may be the sum expected from them, a mo-
ment's reflection will show how speedily it may be
absorbed. The Conference have intimated that this
day they will " strike a dividend," so as to award a
certain amount to every man locked out and now out
of work. The number of these men is usually esti-
mated at from 15,000 to 20,000, but the Conference
do not anticipate that more than 12,000 will pre-
sent themselves for a share of the funds. Should
this be so, and should 20,000 have been thrown
out in the first instance, 8,000 represents the
aggregate of thoSe who have either gone into
the country, or have obtained work from other
'masters in London, or have money in the savings-
bank and are too proud to be the recipients of this
relief. Supposing, howeYer, that 15,000 should pre-
sent themselves, it would require £750 to make a
payment to them of only ls. a-piece. In addition to
this, Messrs. Trollope's men , on strike have to be
provided for. In this state of things the probability
is that these latter will have to submit to a reduc-
tion on the allowances which they have hitherto re-
ceived, and that the general body of the lock-outs
will be disappointed if they expect anything beyond
a very small modicum of relief indeed, The arrange-

ments which have been made for paying these men
appear to be as good as the circurnsiances will ad-
mit of. By 12 o'clock to-day tke lists from every
shop of the names and oc-.,-copations of the men
locked out, and still out of, work will be handed in
complete to the Conference. The total number will
thus be arrived at. By the same hour every cheque
and Post-office order will have been realised, and all
the available funds i,ill have been added up into
one sum. A conP:altation will then take place, and
the dividend Will be struck of as liberal a nature as
the assets will allow, a small sum only being kept
in hand for present use. The committees of each of
the five trades and of the labourers will receive
their share from the Conference ; and these again it
is presumed, will re--distribute it among the heads of
the different branches, so as to disseminate the pay-
ments as much as possible, and to lessen the time oc-
cupied in making them. The head-quarters of the
carpenters and joiners are the Mitre, Long-acre; of
the bricklayers, at the Lord Nelson, Clare-maret ; of
masons, at the Sun, Mason-street, Lambeth; and of the
plasterers, at the Pine Apple, Pimlico. The pain-
ters and the labourers also have separate houses
where the distributions will be made. It is antici-
pated that as a rule the payments will begin be-
tween 4 and 5 o'clock, and that they will be finished
by 7 o'clock. The best arrangements have been
made to secure expedition in the matter ' • but in a
case where many questions are likely to be asked,
and many remonstrances perhaps to be made at the
smallness of the dividend, it is not an easy matter
to get through the payment of 12,000 or 15,000
men. It will be something analogous to compound-
ing with a crowd of needy creditors. Let us hope
that all may pass off quietly. There can be little
doubt that the Conference will do their best, and
that they will distribute what they have fairly
among all.

'Throughout Saturday several board-men might
have been seen parading the metropolis with
placards 3 feet by 2 in dimensions, of which the
following is a description :
It is headed in full capitals " The Odious Docu-
ment." Then follows, enclosed within a mourning
border, a copy of the, declaration put before the
men at the firm of Messrs. Trollope, together with
what purports to be the counterfoil of the agree-
ment retained by the employer :—The copy of
the " document " we have already given. The
counterfoil is printed in red ink and runs
thus :—" No. 36. Name, Henry Noble. Dated
August 18, 1859. Initials of foreman or clerk,
G. W. (George Wales)." At the bottom of
this counterfoil are the words, also in red ink,
" Retained by the master," while under the docu-
ment, forming the other part of the paper, are the
words, printed in black, "To light your pipe with."
The placard concludes thus :—" Fellow-Work-
men—The above is a copy of your badge of slavery."
By order of the Executive. Geo. Potter, Secretary.
This is not a very pungent piece of wit at best.
It can do no good, may do some harm, and as it has
already got one of the board-men into a temporary
difficulty, probably the sooner it is withdrawn the
better.