The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-24 00:00:00

mittee, and it is understood that Mr. Myers
will an dertake to bring it under notice at their next
meeting. The mode in which it has been proprosed,
and especially the channel through which it has
been made, augur much in favour of its success.
Originally rising from the rahks himself, Mr. Myers
thoroughly understands all the peculiarities and
feelings of the numerous body of working men en-
gaged in this extensive field of industry, and re-
spects and. appreciates their trade associations when
conducted within legitimate bounds and for pur-
poses of common relief against misfortune. The in-
terview was managed with the utmost frankness
and good nature on both sides, and afforded an in-
stance of how much of long standing and mutual
jealousy, distrust, and misunderstanding may be
instantly dispelled by persons in the relation of
masters and men being brought face to face, instead
of negotiating through a third party. The masons,
unlike the bricklayers in this respect, are under-
stood never to have taken any decided part in favour
of the nine hours agitation, though they would
have countenanced it to a certain extent. As a body
of working men uncommonly shrewd, it is believed
they never thought it tenable from the beginning.
This at all events is certain, that they have never
been supported during the strike out of the accumu-
lated funds of the trade society in general to which
they belong, which they would have been, in a
liberal and systematic manner, had that society re-
cognised it as what they call in their own language
a " legal strike," though they have received occa-
sional donations of money made voluntarily from
the members at large.
The circumstances connected with the interview
with Mr. Myers afford a curious illustration of the
distrustful feelings imported into this particular
stike, and of the tyrannical restraint which a trade
society often imposes upon its own members. Chas.
Henry Pomeroy, a confidential foreman in the
service of Mr. 'Myers, of his own motion and un-
kaown to his employer, wrote a letter about
the middle of last week to Richard Harnott, the
Secretary of the Central Committee of Operative
Masons at Bristol, pointing out to him in some
detail the disastrous character which the strike had
assumed to both masters and men, and appealing
to him to use his influence among the body with
which he was so intimately connected, with the
view to an amicable settlement of the quarrel. Mr.
Harnott, it appears, is a man of great good sense,
with a quiet persuasive manner and a good pre-
sence, and he is fusty respected by the. fraternity at
large of which he is the leading member. Pomeroy
knew all this, and, moreover that he had been in-
strumental in terminating a strike among the masons
at Netley Abbey. Harnott, on his good offices being
so sought, took the opinion of the committee at
Bristol, and the result was that he and another of
the members were deputed to come to London on a
mission of reconciliation. The Paviors' Arms com-
mittee were early apprised of this circumstance,
and when Mr. Harnott reached the Paddington sta-
tion on Monday morning he was met by several of
the London masons on strike, who were awaiting
his arrival, and whiske I. away in a cab to a com-
mittee-room of one of their lodges at the Sun Ta-
vern in Lambeth, in sight of Mr. Pomeroy, who had
gone to meet him. Two of them slept in the same
room with him, and the surveillance over him dur-
ing the day has been equally systematic. At first
the committee of this particular lodge of the metro-
politan masons were exceedingly wroth at the pre-
sumption of a man coming from Bristol in the hope
of settling a quarrel between them and their em-
ployers. In vain did Mr. Harnott produce the let-
ter he had received from Mr. Myers's foreman, or
state his own good intentions. They met in the
Bower Saloon, and stigmatised his mission by a vote
of censure. But he was not to be diverted from his
purpose in that way. He inunediately convened a
general meeting of the whole of the London masons,
and having explained his errand to them, and the
reasons for it, they rescinded the vote of censure
passed at the previous sectional meeting, and gave
their sanction to his attempt at a negotiation.
More than that, the committee at the Sun, who at
first took great umbrage at his interference, have
since approved his errand, and are understood to be
assisting in carrying it out through the agency of
Mr. Myers, though all his intercourse with the
enemy is watched with some amount of distrust.
The sinews of war in support of the men on strike
appear far from being exhausted. Money flows into
the hands of the Paviors' Arms Committee from
sympathising artizans in London and the provinces
at the rate of about £l,OOO a week. The sum re-
ceived yesterday amounted to £145 odd, and in-
cluded contributions from Weston-super-Mare, £3
2s. ; Bristol Carpenters' Society, £3O ; Cardiff Car-
penters' and Masons' Society, £lO ; Glasgow Cloth-
-1 ppers, Democratic-rooms, Nelson-street, £2O ;
Oxford, £3 9s. 4d. ; Yorktown, £2 ; Middleton,
14s. 2d. ; St. Helen's, Lancaster, glass bottlemakers,
£5 ; Worcester, £8 ; Portsea, 10s.; Southamp-
ton, 13s. 10d. ; Blue Boar, Long-acre, coaohpainters,
£lO ; London Coachmakers' Friendly Society,
Crown, Broad-street, Golden-square, £25 ; United
Flintglass-makers' Society, £2O. Total, £145 9s. 4d.
The committee have originated a system of enu-
merating the men actually at work in the various
masters' establishments, but as the results are yet
far from perfect, and might possibly, though unin-
tentionally mislead, we forbear to give the figures
for yesterday, the first day on which it has been
put in practice. Perhaps the best criterion of the
extent to which the men still refuse to return to
work will be again furnished on Monday by the
number of recipients of the relief fund at the Paviors'
Arms.
The new library in the Temple, with the wood
work of the roof half finished, the Palace Hotel,
Westminster, and many other extensive building
operations suspended at critical points in their pro-
gress, with winter eoming on, still attest the pro-
tracted duration of the strike ; and hands at work
on " jobs" of minor extent in all directions may be
literally summed up in the figure of speech, " a
man and a boy,"

STEEL-PLATED Snips.—The Moniteur de la
Flotte says :—" There is going to be put upon the stocks at
Cherbourg a second blisde (steel-plated) vessel of the first
class, which will be called the Solferino and will be on the
model of the Magenta, now constructing at Brest. The
trials of the steel-plated gunboats just made off the Islands
of liy4res having completely succeeded, the Emperor has,
it is said, decided that after seine corrections, pointed out
by experience, have been made in the first model, 50 of
those gunboats shall be constructed."
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SHOCKING DEATIL—On Tuesday evening last
Mr. J. Lister, the coroner for the borough of Doncaster,
held an inquest at the Guildhall in that town, relative to
the death of Mrs. Dickson, aged 67 years, the sister of the
Rev. Joseph Atkinson, whose death was caused by burns
accidentally received. The deceased lady entered the kitchen
of her house on the 11th inst., and requested the cook to
fetch her some article. The cook did so, and in her ab-
sence the deceased stood by the fir," and stirred some milk
that the cook was boiling. Her light muslin dress caught
tire and, the servant's attention being attracted by her
mistress's screams, she ran to her assistance, and endea-
voured to extinguish the flames by folding or overlaying
the dress. The steel of a crinoline skirt prevented this
being done, and she then took some water and put out the
d Imes. Assi:4ance, medical and otherwise, was soon- at
hand, and the deceased lady was removed to her bedroom ;
but, notwithstanding the able medical skill of Mr. F. C.
Fairbank, she never rallied, and death ensued on Monday.
Her dress was completely destroyed, and the action of the
tire was most apparent in the upper part of her body, her
head, halals' arms, and face, ears, nose, chin, and breast
being frightfully scotched. The coroner said that this
fatality was another instance against the use of crinoline
soar the fire, but he directed the tury that the facts were so
clear that they would have no difficulty in arriving at their
verdict. A verdict of "Accidentally burnt" was retained.
[ADvEnTismiENT.) Mr. Benson, Ludgate-hill, has
just published a new illustrated pamphlet on watches (free
by post for two stamps). It should be read by all who are
about buying a watch, as it contains prices and important
information as to—What watch to buy I where to buy it
and how to use it!